243: Fires

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Brandi starts us off with a story that’s as bizarre as it is upsetting.

Ashlea Ann Harris was, most likely, exhausted. She was an assistant manager at American Eagle, and she’d spent hours preparing the store for Black Friday. When she finally arrived home, it was the wee hours of the morning. She chatted for a while with a friend who’d come over to check on her dog, and then, presumably, fell asleep. But just a few hours later, one of her neighbors called 911. He told the dispatcher that he suspected Ashlea’s apartment was on fire.

Then Kristin talks about the heartbreaking and infuriating conviction of Michael Politte. When Michael was just 14 years old, he woke up one morning to discover that his mother was dead. She’d been bludgeoned to death. Her body had been set on fire. When police arrived on the scene, they were horrified by Michael’s behavior. He didn’t seem sad enough. He wasn’t emotional enough. So, Michael quickly became the prime suspect.

Early one morning in the winter of 2014, firefighters arrived at the River Ranch Apartments in Fort Worth, Texas. Neighbors pointed them toward the source of the fire – Ashlea Ann Harris’ apartment. They began extinguishing the blaze

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

In this episode, Kristin pulled from:
“The Case Against Michael Politte” episode of 48 Hours
“Michael Politte has served 22 years for murder. Experts say he’s innocent.” by Sarah Fenske for St. Louis Public Radio
The “Gates of Hell” episode of Unlocking the Truth
“‘This kid never had a chance’ – Team of lawyers work to prove innocence of 14-year-old convicted in mother’s murder,” by Angie Ricono and Cyndi Fahrlander for WIBW
“2 more jurors say Mo. prisoner Politte deserves new trial,” by Luke Nozicka for The Kansas city Star
“Man gets life in murder of his mother,” by Leroy Sigman for The Daily Journal
“Politte found guilty of murder, “by Doug Smith The Daily Journal
“Testimony continues in murder case,” by Doug Smith The Daily Journal

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Ashlea Harris” chillingcrimes.com
“Couple Murders Store Manager Who Got Them Fired As Part Revenge, Part Black Friday Heist” by Benjamin H. Smith, oxygen.com
“The Murder of Ashlea Harris” by Kiley, It’s Crime O’Clock Somewhere
“Police: Couple beat, strangled, burned woman” by Staff Writer, Amarillo Globe News
“Police: Texas woman strangled by fmr. co-workers” CBS News
“Mallory v. State” casetext.com

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