Decoding Death: The Gruesome Case of Jonathan Willette

A gruesome story out of Staten Island, a 45-year-old man is beaten to death with a meat tenderizer by his girlfriend's 19-year-old son. Damien Hurstel allegedly told police he wanted to know what it was like to kill somebody. His plan was to kill Anthony Casalaspro, 45, cut off his head, and liquify his body in a blender. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack discuss what happened when Hurstel attempts to carry out his fiendish plan and how a meat tenderizer, a hand saw, a spoon, and a blender, and a bathtub are all part of the crime scene. Transcribe Highlights 00:00.03 Introduction: No Country For Old Men 03:01.10 Learning from failure 08:10.78 Mental Health issues 12:18.65 Desecrating remains, displayed body parts 17:54.27 Arrival on scene 22:05.02 Cutting Body into pieces is hard 28:04.13 Suspects wants to know what it is like to kill somebody 33:36.79 Matching up the pattern from weapon 38:10.84 Blood in the blender would be everywhere 43:00.20 Mom says "why did you kill him, I still love him" 44:53.74 ConclusionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23 Okt 44min

On November 10, 1984, 16-year-old Theresa Fusco was fired from her job at the snack bar at the Hot Skates roller skating rink in Lynbrook, on the south shore of Long Island, New York. She was seen leaving in tears at 9:45 p.m., to walk to her home four blocks away. She did not come home, however. On December 5, 1984, her naked body was found covered with leaves and debris in a wooded area not far from the roller rink. An autopsy revealed Theresa was raped and died as a result of ligature strangulation. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack explain how three men were convicted and sent to prison for a rape and murder they did not commit, and how evidence found at the time of the murder brought about the arrest of a man more than 40 years after the crime. Transcribe Highlights00:00.07 Introduction, cold coffee 05:55.58 Theresa Fusco, 16 10:40.20 Body found nearby wooded area 15:33.76 1984 autopsy led to arrest in 2025 19:10.03 Getting a false confession 25:05.93 Evidence of trauma, strangulation, blunt force trauma 30:37.56 3 men go to prison for a rape murder they did not commit 35:03.84 Case starts off cold in 2005 40:02.17 Prosecutor says the match is100% 42:25.42 ConclusionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

22 Okt 41min

On September 13, 1964, Catherine Blackburn is - bludgeoned, raped, and tortured. A crime so heinous the local coroner said "We're dealing with a sadistic sex maniac." Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack look at a murder that happened in 1964 and when unsolved until 2025. Joe explains the injuries that include: fractured skull, stab wound in her neck, slashed throat, and heated steak knives on a gas stove used to burn "shapes into her lips and chest". Catherine Blackburn bled to death, and her case went unsolved for more than 60 years. Transcribe Highlights 00:01.55 Introduction 03:34.72 Exhumation - Tammy Daybell 08:17.05 Monster waiting around the corner 13:23.15 Coroner said whoever did this was a "sadistic sex maniac" 18:21.88 Mutiple areas of hemorrhage 23:40.19 Victim was targeted 28:41.02 Underlying impression of a name became a lead 33:01.64 Forensic detective got into the case in 2018 39:94.96 Exhuming the body of a suspect 43:30.97 Burglars going into private areas 48:36.67 Case Solved, Conclusion See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

21 Okt 48min

Does Houston have a Serial Killer dumping bodies in the bayous of Harris County Texas? The reason the headline is being tossed about is because of the number of bodies being pulled from the bayous over the last three years is now at 53 - and there will be more by the end of the year. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack break down the facts of the dead bodies and answer the question...Is a Serial Killer dumping bodies in the Bayous of Houston? Transcribe Highlights 00:00.11 Introduction: Fondest childhood memory, cane pole and a worm 02:43.94 Bodies in the water around Houston 05:30.16 Bayou water is moving 10:06.47 Real numbers 15:02.50 Undetermined manner of death 20:03.37 Looking for patterns 25:10.00 Homeless woman dies, body decomposes between two guys over 6 months 30:35.77 Lady Bird Lake deaths in Austin 35:04.01 Truth needs to have a day 40:02.15 Theory of "Smiley Face Killers" 45:22.95 Conclusion See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Okt 45min

He was the first to use PCR testing on crime-scene DNA, inspiring a practice that has freed thousands of wrongfully convicted people. Edward T. Blake passed away due to pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. He is credited with being THE forensic expert that sparked the Innocence Movement, using PCR to help set wrongfully convicted people free. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack go behind the scenes of the life of Forensic Scientist Edward T. Blake and explore how the technology he helped develop showed up on the big screen as Jurassic Park but showed up in courtrooms across the country as a way to prove a convicted person innocent of the crime as charged. Transcribe Highlights00:00.03 Introduction 02:12.96 Edward Blake has died, led to exoneration of more than 50 people 06:26.42 Peter Neufeld calls Edward Blake the Ted Williams of DNA 09:53.90 What is a "forensic prostitute" 15:16.69 using fragmented DNA 20:08.12 DNA Replication and Jurassic Park 25:08.04 Blake was a problem solver 30:12.93 Work as a forensic scientist 35:07.77 Testing methodology 40:01.81 Blake set the standard 42:07.71 Conclusion DSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Okt 42min

The fake photos, false claims and wild conspiracy theories swirling around the murder of Charlie Kirk are nothing more than click bait for people trying to build a following on the death of a man who wanted to engage in a truthful discussion of our differences in an attempt to find common ground. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take a close look at what is really happening in the discussion about the murder of Charlie Kirk. Why does Joe call it a murder investigation? Who is really in charge of the investigation? Why are some people so ready to embrace unfounded, made up stories, while ignoring the facts of what actually took place when Charlie Kirk was murdered in front of the world? Transcribe Highlights 00:00.03 Introduction 01:32.62 The Death of Charlie Kirk 05:06.05 Murder of Assassination 09:57.63 Prosecutor press conference 14:25.00 Solving a murder, not a political event 19:02.29 Claims about autopsy 24:28.32 APs and Laterals 29:35.10 Autopsy would take place at a specific time 34:17.85 Discussion of ammunition size and speed 39:11.01 ATF might be consulting the case 43:03.48 Candace Owens "claims" of "inside info" 48:08.91 Murder Investigation See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Okt 48min

He is called "The Butcher of Plainfield" "Grandfather of Gore "The Ghoul of Plainfield" and has been a source of inspiration of countless movies that take a small truth about the life of Ed Gein and spin an entire book or movie series designed to scare those who dare read or watch. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack go behind the stories and tell the true story of a man who admitted to killing two women in the 50s but is suspected of so much more. Transcribe Highlight 00:02.83 Introduction 02:11.40 Conversation about Ed Gein 05:02.30 Scary movies using parts of Ed Gein story 10:09.05 Grave Robbing 15:08.53 Body exam done in a mortuary 20:13.24 Deputy sent to Ed Gein's house, finds decapitated victim 25:24.90 Gein admitted killing two women - did he practice on the dead? 30:09.33 Waste basket made of human skin, skulls mounted on bedposts 35:10.80 Gein made belt out of nipples 40:23.39 Movies using parts of Ed Gein story 42:03.25 ConclusionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Okt 42min

Franz and Theresia Kraus are a retired couple. In 2025 he is 92 and she is 83. The problem is that nobody has seen them in several years. Their social security checks are automatically deposited and their adult son, Lorenz Kraus, tends to other matters for them. After years of attempting to contact the couple without success, the social security office asks police to do a "welfare check" on Franz and Theresia Kraus. Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack take a look at what happened when police do the welfare check and how their "loving son" Lorenz Kraus ends up on local tv confessing to killing his parents and burying their bodies in the backyard. Transcribe Highlights 00:00.11 Introduction 01:16.21 Man buries mom and dad in backyard 04:36.12 Mountain Family Comes to big city to transport body of their loved one on a flatbed truck 08:59.11 News Anchor gets son to admit murder during interview 14:37.45 Early Luminol story 20:10.37 Body decomposing in soil will cause sinking 25:11.76 Newsman interviews murderer 30:14.33 Suffocated father 34:31.88 Admits killing in 2017 40:13.36 Skeletal remains can breakdown 44:27.65 Conclusion See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Okt 46min