29: The Internet’s First Serial Killer & the Disappearance of Cora Okonski

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For years, it looked like investigators would never figure out why 23-year-old Cora Okonski disappeared. One spring day, she left home to buy cigarettes from a local convenience store. She was never seen again. Family, friends and police searched for her, but years passed by without a trace of the young mother. In fact, so much time passed that it looked like they’d never figure out what happened to her. Then, 16 years after Cora went missing, police made an arrest.

Then Kristin gives us the heebie jeebies with the tale of John Edward Robinson, often dubbed the internet’s first serial killer. John didn’t start off as a killer. For years, he was just a thieving con man. He was so conniving that at one point, thanks to an enormous ego and a lot of forged letters, he convinced the mayor of Kansas City to give him the “Man of the Year” award. Over time, John evolved from serial fraudster to serial murderer. His killing spree ended when police discovered barrels containing women’s bodies on his property. Warning: This story is as disgusting as it is disturbing.

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:
“Serial Killer JR Robinson’s Sinister Alter Ego,” by David McClintock for Vanity Fair
“Tearful wife of accused serial killer offers an alibi,” CNN.com
“Death sentence is upheld for serial killer John E. Robinson Sr.,” Kansas City Star
…and good ol’ Wikipedia

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Cora Ann Okonski” IowaColdCases.org
“Where Is Cora Ann” by John Speer, The Tama News-Herald
“Murder trial for Iowa woman whose body was never found begins Monday” by Grant Rodgers, Des Moines Register
“Cara Okonski feared for her life, friend testifies in murder trial” by Trish Mehaffey, The Courier
“Tait Purk guilty of 1st degree murder” by John Speer, The Toledo Chronicle
“Judge overturns murder conviction of Tama County man in fiancee’s death” by Trish Mahaffey, The Gazette
“Judge recuses self in Tait Purk murder trial” by John Speer, The Toledo Chronicle
“UPDATE: Tait Purk found guilty in disappearance of Cora Okonski” by Trish Mehaffey, The Gazette
“Tait Purk sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing fiancee in 2000” by Trish Mahaffey, The Gazette