229: The Murders of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind & Rachel Hoffman

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Savanna Lafontaine-Greywind had no reason to suspect her neighbor, Brooke Crews, was up to something. Brooke claimed she just needed a quick favor. Would Savanna come upstairs and try on a dress she’d been making? Savanna was eight months pregnant and about to sit down to dinner, but she told Brooke she’d help her out. It was the last thing she ever did.

Then Kristin tells us a story that illustrates the dangers of becoming a confidential informant. When police discovered marijuana and ecstasy in 23-year-old Rachel Hoffman’s apartment, they leveled with her. She could go to prison for up to four years. Or she could become a confidential informant. Rachel chose the latter and soon found herself at the center of a very dangerous drug bust.

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 Throwaways,” by Sarah Stillman for The New Yorker
“Rachel’s timeline,” The Rachel Morningstar Foundation
“Botched sting: killed with the gun she was supposed to buy,” by Brian Ross and Vic Walter for ABC News
“Hoffman’s attorneys release statement critical of TPD,” Tallahassee Democrat
“Lieutenant who OK’d Hoffman drug buy has ‘sustained’ investigation on record,” by Corey Clark for the Tallahassee Democrat
“City commission approves $2.6M deal with parents of slain police confidential informant Rachel Hoffman,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Lance Block bio,” lanceblocklaw.com
“A decade later, Rachel Hoffman’s tragic death helps make police informants safer,” by Jennifer Portman and Karl Etters for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Transcripts released in Hoffman investigation,” by Nic Corbett and Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“TPD: We shouldn’t have blamed Rachel Hoffman,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Parents stand behind son on trial for murder,” by Donna Koehn for the Tampa Tribune
“Murder-trial testimony begins,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Shooters frantic, testimony alleges,” by Donna Koehn for the Tampa Tribune
“Bradshaw seen buying bleach, witness says,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Expert: Hoffman killed in her car,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“State rests in murder trial,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Closing arguments today in murder trial,” by Jennifer Portman for the Tallahassee Democrat
“Murder case stymies jurors,” by John Frank for the Miami Herald

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“A Killer Upstairs” episode Killer Motive
“Fargo woman lured pregnant neighbor to her apartment, killed her and took her unborn baby” by Kyle Swenson, Washington Post
“Pregnant Woman's Killer Cut Out Her Baby with Small Blade Then Smuggled Her Body Out in a Dresser” by KC Baker, people.com
“Man Found Not Guilty After Girlfriend Lured Pregnant Neighbor to Their Apartment and Cut Out Her Baby” by KC Baker, people.com
“Slain Mom’s ‘Miracle Child’ — Who Was Cut From Her Belly — Thrives 2 Years Later” by Daniel Egitto, oxygen.com
“State Supreme Court Tosses Life Sentence For Man Whose Girlfriend Cut Baby From Neighbor’s Womb” by Dorian Geiger, oxygen.com
“Man acquitted in pregnant woman’s slaying in North Dakota” by Dave Kolpack, Associated Press
“North Dakota court overturns life term in cut from womb case” by Dave Kolpack, Associated Press
“North Dakota v. Hoehn” justia.com
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