Episode 236: Sidney Ann Merrick

This week we’re talking about the Ghost Adventurers murder for hire plot that just got 10x wilder, Ryan Reynolds throwing Blake Lively under the bus, and we’re just getting to the tip of the ice berg of Hailey Bieber’s obsession with Justin & Selena and how it might even be darker than anyone thinks.  🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

20 Maalis 202547min

On May 8th, 2016, a successful 46-year-old business manager and CPA is sitting an FBI polygraph test in Los Angeles, California. The well-respected executive partner with numerous high-profile, world-famous clients from the entertainment industry has it all. A happy marriage, three kids, and a career trajectory where the sky is the limit. But it’s all about to come crashing down in a very public and life-changing way due to addiction, insecurity, and denial. In episode 343, Jac and Alexis detail the life and crimes of Jonathan Schwartz, and how his descent into addiction and hubris not only destroyed the life and career he’d worked so hard for, but how his immediate remorse propelled him to a place of personal growth, healing, and self-forgiveness, with the ultimate aim of finding redemption through helping others who are now where he once was. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

19 Maalis 202545min

This week we’re diving the murder for hire plan to kill the star of Ghost Adventurers, the sad truth of Gene Hackman’s death, Blake Lively being cringe as hell at SXSW, and the story about a mom who is convinced her son was murdered and his body was sold to the Bodies Exhibit in Vegas. It was a dark week, people. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Maalis 202550min

Rumors and conflicting information are rife in what appears to be an unsolvable case. But years later, when the killer is finally identified and convicted at trial, it’s not the end of the story. In episode 342, Jac and Alexis detail the haunting murder of Anastasia Elizabeth WitbolsFeugen, and how some people close to the case remain convinced that all is possibly not as it seems when it comes to the evidence. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Maalis 202554min

This week we’re diving deep into the weeks dark headlines: Luigi Mangione’s alleged sex tape scandal, Gene Hackman’s bizarre death, Blake Lively hiring an ex-CIA agent for her crisis PR, and Casey Anthony joining TikTok like nothing ever happened??? 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6 Maalis 202541min

On October 22, 1997, an 18-year-old high school graduate is shot to death in a cemetery near Independence, Missouri. Her family is heartbroken, but sadly, she is not the only victim. Less than 72 hours later, someone close to the young woman then takes their own life. As the months drag on, the police investigation takes a series of twists and turns as suspicion focuses on a complex web of teenage relationships involving those closest to the victim. The case seems to stall until 3 years later a suspect is named. But is he The Real Killer? In episode 341, Jac and Alexis detail the haunting murder of Anastasia Elizabeth WitbolsFeugen. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Maalis 202554min

We’re coming back at you with this week’s dark headlines!  We’re talking Diddy’s lawyer quitting (saying “under no circumstances can I continue”), Kim K allegedly having satanic art in her house, and Fyre Fest is BACK BABY!  And of course we’ve got the Blake & Justin updates, including how Jenny Slate somehow twisted being offered $15,000 into a bad thing???? 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

27 Helmi 202544min

On November 26, 1981, four men were killed and two others were wounded in a shooting massacre on Thanksgiving night in Chicago, Illinois. The murders make headlines as being the worst multiple slayings in the city in four years. The son of one of the men whose life was stolen is our guest on this very special episode of The First Degree. Four members of his family were taken in foul swoop, and he takes us through the heart breaking aftermath of that loss and the continued injustice following the release of the men convicted of the murders. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26 Helmi 202545min