174: A Determined Mother

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Kelli Peters was the heart of Plaza Vista School in Irvine, California. She was the PTA president and the volunteer director of the after school program. But then, one day, as she was filling in for a teacher, a police officer said he needed to speak with her. He took her out to the parking lot and asked for her car keys. Kelli was puzzled, but she handed them over. The officer dug through her car, and eventually pulled out a bag of pot, a pipe, some Percocet and some Vicodin. Kelli dropped to her knees. She sobbed. She pleaded with the officer. The drugs weren’t hers, she said. But if they weren’t hers, then why the hell were they in Kelli’s car?   Then Kristin talks about two things she knows inside and out: fine wine, and the perils of having millions of dollars in spending money. In the early 2000’s, Rudy Kurniawan was just a young, geeky-looking guy bidding on California wines at high-end wine auctions. Hardly anyone paid attention to him. But then his bids got bigger. And bigger. He spent millions on wine, and then began selling it. But over time, the people who bought his wines got suspicious. The wines didn’t taste quite right. And some of the labels looked a little funny. Had they been duped?  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: “Chateau Sucker,” by Benjamin Wallace for New York Magazine The documentary “Sour Grapes” “Prosecutors reveal evidence against accused wine counterfeiter,” Wine Spectator “Counterfeit fine-wine dealer sentenced to 10 years,” Wall Street Journal “Kurniawan to tell all in $3M settlement with billionaire Koch, as sentencing is delayed,” Decanter “Rudy Kurniawan’s court date is set,” Wine Spectator “Alleged counterfeit wines go on trial,” Wine Spectator  In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Framed: A Mystery in Six Parts” by Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times “Former Irvine attorney convicted of planting drugs in the car of PTA volunteer disbarred” by Sean Emery, The Orange County Register “Jury awards $5.7 million to Irvine PTA mom in drug-planting case” by Kelly Puente and Sean Emery, The Orange County Register “Irvine mom Kelli Peters writes book about drugs being planted in her car” by Kelly Puente, The Orange County Register

26 Sep 20181h 58min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Paul Kruse had an irresistible sales pitch. He told his investment clients that their principal investment would be totally safe. They could expect annual returns between 10 and 15 percent. In other words, watch your money grow, risk free. Sounds great, right? If only it’d been true. Paul’s scheme robbed people of their life’s savings, but his plan ground to a halt when his assistant, Amy Weatherford, got suspicious. The feds had plenty on Paul, but he didn’t go down easy. From the comfort of his prison cell, he hatched a violent plan that would make him a free man. Then Brandi tells us the story of Anthony Curcio. Anthony has always been smart. He’s always been a planner. But he hasn’t always used those skills for good. In 2008, Anthony had an expensive drug habit and a busted real estate business. He needed a lot of money, and he knew just where to get it. Over the course of several months, Anthony made a meticulously detailed plan to rob a Brink’s armored car. His plan was so thought-through, it’s hard to believe he got caught. 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: American Greed, “A Mother’s Costly Revenge” “Greed Report: How to blow the whistle on your boss– and live to tell about it,” CNBC.com “Jacksonville con man who tried to hire hitman sentenced to 30 years in prison,” The Florida Times-Union In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Out of Prison, Real-Life Thomas Crown Looks Back on Almost-Perfect Heist” by Brooke Stangeland, ABC News “How an Idaho football player became a bank robber” by Martin Rogers, USA Today “6-year sentence in robbery with getaway inner tube” by Ian Ith, The Seattle Times  “Anthony Curcio” wikipedia.org

19 Sep 20181h 42min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Cindy Anthony’s 911 call in the summer of 2008 was as upsetting as it was chilling. She said her granddaughter, three-year-old Caylee Anthony had been missing for 31 days. Her daughter Casey Anthony had also been missing, but now she was back — and her car smelled like it’d held a dead body. Police rushed to the scene to interview 22-year-old Casey. But Casey’s story was odd. She claimed her daughter had been kidnapped, and that she’d been trying to find Caylee on her own. Police quickly caught Casey in a string of lies. She was eventually charged in her daughter’s death. Then Kristin tells us about Dr. Linda Hazzard. Well, Dr. Hazzard wasn’t really a doctor, but thanks to a handy loophole, Linda was able to call herself one. In the early 1900’s she made a name for herself by championing the benefits of fasting. She even created a sanitarium called Wilderness Heights, where her wealthy patients endured lengthy fasts, enemas, and violent massages. But locals soon dubbed the sanitarium “Starvation Heights.” Linda’s methods killed several patients, but not before they signed over their valuables.   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: “Olalla’s Starvation Heights still causes chills after a century,” Kitsap Sun The book, “Starvation Heights,” by Gregg Olsen Linda Hazzard, Fasting Proponent and Killer, HistoryLink.org Linda Burfield Hazzard, Murderpedia In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Caylee Anthony” by Chuck Hustmyre, Crime Library “Casey Anthony” crimemuseum.com “Casey Anthony” biography.com  “Death of Caylee Anthony” wikipedia.org

12 Sep 20182h 18min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Lizzie Borden’s dad and stepmom were brutally murdered in their Massachusetts home, people were stunned. The wealthy couple had been mercilessly hacked to death. But who could have done it? Police had their immediate suspicions — surely this heinous crime was carried out by a male intruder. But in the aftermath of the crime, people weren’t so sure. The slain couple’s 33-year-old daughter was acting weird. Could she have been the violent perpetrator? Police thought so, and so did the district attorney. Lizzie Borden’s eventual trial captivated the nation. Then Brandi tells us the infuriating story of Alice Crimmins, a woman whose young children went missing one night in 1965. Police suspected the beautiful, perfectly coiffed mother immediately. She didn’t fit their grieving mother narrative. She was well dressed. Her hair was expertly teased and sprayed. Her makeup? Impeccable. Oh, and another thing — she liked to have sex. Police hounded her for years, and despite little to no evidence pointing her way, Alice was brought to trial. 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: “Lizzie Borden,” FamousTrials.com Thelizziebordencollection.com “Lizzie Borden,” biography.com Good ole’ Wikipedia In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Alice Crimmins Case” by Denise Noe, crimelibrary.com “Alice Crimmins” murderpedia.org “‘Why Can’t You Behave?’: Revisiting the Case of Alice Crimmins” by Sarah Weinman, Hazlitt Magazine

5 Sep 20182h 13min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Marybeth Tinning’s infant daughter Jennifer died, friends, neighbors and medical personnel felt sorry for the grieving mother. A few weeks later, Marybeth’s young son died, too. People couldn’t believe it. How many losses could one person withstand? Then another child died. And another. And another. In total, nine of Marybeth’s children died over the course of 14 years. In that time, people’s reactions evolved from sympathetic to suspicious.  Then Kristin tells us the story of Gilberto Valle, a.k.a., the cannibal cop. Kathleen Valle knew her marriage wasn’t going great. But when Kathleen figured out exactly what her husband Gilberto was doing online, her blood ran cold. Her NYPD policeman husband had been chatting online about torturing, raping, killing and eating her. But the horror didn’t end there. He talked about carrying out these plans on many women. Authorities took action, but Gilberto’s defense was strong. He hadn’t actually carried out any of these plans. He claimed he was just fantasizing — with no intention of ever harming anyone. This case had people everywhere trying to draw the line between fantasies and criminal intent. 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: “A Dangerous Mind” by: Robert Kolker for New York Magazine “Gilberto Valle, ex-New York police officer, talks about his cannibalism fantasies in film,” New York Times HBO Documentary, “Thought Crimes: The case of the cannibal cop” “Ex-officer’s conviction in cannibal case shouldn’t be reinstated, appeals court rules,” New York Times “Cannibal Cop’s wife takes the stand as horrific details of former NYPD officer’s twisted bondage fetish emerge in first day of trial,” New York Daily News In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “14 years and nine tiny corpses later, authorities finally took action on murderous mother” by Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News “Baby Killer” by Mark Gado, crimelibrary.com “Baby killer Marybeth Tinning leaves prison” Albany Times Union

29 Aug 20182h 5min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! In Gypsy Blanchard’s world, nothing is as it seems. For years, people saw her as a sickly girl plagued by medical issues. She was wheelchair bound. She suffered from mental delays. She had trouble breathing. Her life was marked by constant doctor visits and too-frequent surgeries. All the while, her doting mother Dee Dee was by her side. Then one day, someone updated the status on Dee Dee and Gypsy’s shared Facebook account. They wrote, “that bitch is dead.” Friends and neighbors were in for the surprise of their lives. Then Brandi tells us about four murders at a Chinese hostel. When police arrived at the crime scene in 1995, they had little to go on. The murders were as random as they were brutal. The few leads police developed were vague at best. The case went cold for nearly 20 years. Years later, with the help of DNA testing, investigators took another look at the crime scene. Their discovery led them to a surprising suspect. 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 HBO documentary, “Mommy Dead and Dearest” “Gypsy Blanchard’s ex-boyfriend upset with his attorney as murder trial approaches,” Springfield News-Leader “Judge sets trial date for next year in Nicholas Godejohn case,” Springfield News-Leader “Charged with murder, Godejohn give his side of the story,” Ozarks First In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Anhui Author Detained for 1995 Quadruple Murder” by Fan Yiying, sixthtone.com “Farmer-writer-killer sentenced to death” by Ma Zhenhuan, China Daily “Killer author who murdered four people 23 years ago then wrote acclaimed novels ‘inspired by the case’ is sentenced to death in China” by Tracy You, Daily Mail “Crime writer arrested for four murders committed 22 years ago” The Punch “Chinese author of unsolved-murder novel arrested over unsolved murders” by Sarah Zheng, South China Morning Post

22 Aug 20181h 53min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! 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

15 Aug 20182h 11min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! By the early 1930’s, Nell Donnelly had it all. Women everywhere loved Nell Donnelly’s stylish, well-made, and inexpensive dresses. But she didn’t just make great dresses. She made a great work environment, too. Unlike a lot of factory owners at the time, Nell paid well. She offered her employees medical care and a pension plan. She even paid for them to go to school. Nell’s hard work paid off. Fortune Magazine called her possibly the most successful businesswoman in America. She was rich, stylish and classy. But she was also a target.  On December 16, 1931, Nell and her chauffeur, George, were kidnapped and driven to a nasty old cabin. The eventual trials of Nell’s kidnappers captured the nation’s attention and involved some of Kansas City’s most prominent citizens. Then Brandi frustrates the hell out of us with the story of Lisa Techel’s murder. When Lisa was discovered shot to death in her Iowa home, everyone knew exactly who’d done it — her neighbor. The man had a bad history with Lisa and her husband Seth. Police were sure they had their guy. But when they went to question him, he wasn’t quite the cold-blooded murderer they expected him to be. Hold on tight, folks. This one has so many twists and turns that it could be a two-hour episode of Dateline. Oh, wait. It is.  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 book, “James A. Reed: Legendary Lawyer; Marplot in the United States Senate,” by Michael Cronan  The book, “Called to Courage: Four Women in Missouri History,” by Heather Roberson and Margot McMillen  The book, “The Devil’s Tickets: A Vengeful Wife, a Fatal Hand, and a New American Age,” by Gary M. Pomerantz “Strange bedfellows,” KChistory.org “Nell Donnelly Reed, 102, Pioneer In Manufacture of Women’s Attire,” New York Times In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Before Dawn” Dateline ep.  “Techel Trial: Opening Arguments Heard” by Stephanie Moore, whotv.com “Court upholds man’s conviction in slaying of pregnant wife” by Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press

8 Aug 20181h 44min