The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

On this CWO Classic, we look back at our December 9, 2016 review of "Crimetown." Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier take us to Providence, Rhode Island, a city where organized crime corrupted every aspect of public life. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

27 Jul 202323min

Leon Benson says he’s innocent of the 1998 murder of Kasey Schoen, who was shot in his truck in Indianapolis. Despite his alibi, no motive, and a lack of physical evidence, Leon was convicted based on a cross-racial identification from 150 feet at night. Attorney Lara Bazelon looks for clues to winning Leon’s exoneration. Was evidence about alternative suspects withheld? And should Bazelon’s team approach the man they believe actually pulled the trigger?“Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark” is season three of the acclaimed series from Campside Media and Wondery. In a break of format, host Matthew Shaer works with Bazelon in a side-by-side effort to clear Leon’s name. Will the one-two punch of lawyers and podcasters get him out of prison? And what does correcting this wrong mean for Schoen’s family? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SUSPECT: FIVE SHOTS IN THE DARK" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Chinese food take down. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

24 Jul 202346min

Fresh off the news of an arrest in the Long Island serial killer case, we go back to March 23, 2020 for the panel's review of Netflix's film adaptation of "Lost Girls" staring Amy Ryan. Does this two-hour dramatization of Bob Kolker's excellent book live up to the expansive source material? For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

20 Jul 202326min

In 1988, twenty-two year old Jane Boroski was attacked at a soda vending machine. The seven-month-pregnant New Hampshire woman was stabbed 27 times and left for dead. Boroski is believed to be the last victim and only survivor of the Connecticut River Valley Killer, a suspect who murdered at least seven women between 1978 and ‘88. Decades later, the question remains why did he kill and where did he go?In the podcast “Dark Valley'' from Crawlspace Media and Glassbox Media, Jennifer Amell looks back at the murders along the Vermont/New Hampshire corridor. The host accompanies Jane as she reexamines the lasting impact of the attack on her life, all the while seeking new information on who the Valley Killer - or Valley Killers - were.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DARK VALLEY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: cowabunga!  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

17 Jul 202343min

America was fascinated with the lives of the Duggars, a devout Christian family with 19 children and their own reality TV show. While they projected an image of wholesomeness on screen, off screen the Duggars tried to cover up allegations their son Josh had molested his sisters.The Duggars’ views on marriage, education, and childrearing were formed by the Institute of Basic Life Principles, a radical religious organization that espoused obedient children and subservient wives. Its practices shaped the Duggar household in which their growing kids were oppressed and groomed to be victims.The four-part Prime docuseries “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” looks at the truths hidden in plain sight about the ultra-conservative reality TV family. It also explores how the IBLP informed the Duggar’s worldview and how its purity culture is masking misogyny and sexual exploitation.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 14 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: lying liars who lie. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

10 Jul 202351min

Jared Fogle became the pitchman for Subway after his unconventional sandwich diet helped him lose 245 pounds. While on a promotional tour, Fogle shocked a local radio host with a sexual comment about children. Rochelle Herman began taping their phone calls, hoping to record the celebrity’s fascination with pedophilia.  While Herman helped an FBI investigation, Fogle’s business associate Russell Taylor was creating explicit images of children. The two paths would cross, exposing the pop culture icon’s world of sexually exploiting minors.From Investigation Discovery and now streaming on Max, “Jared from Subway: Catching a Monster” looks at Fogle’s secret life of pedophilia. It features audiotape of him discussing his deeds and desires with Herman and the toll it took on her.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "JARED FROM SUBWAY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 16  MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Who's your daddy?Want to chip into the Go Fund Me for our Pet of the Week? Click here!  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3 Jul 202353min

When a Texas Ranger asked Larry Driskill if he could help solve a cold case, he agreed to talk to him. But Ranger James Holland accused him of killing Bobbie Sue Hill in 2005. After two days of intense interrogation, Driskill wondered if maybe he did do it and walked into a confession. Holland is revered for his talent at getting confessions, even though he uses questionable techniques like deception, suggestion, and forensic hypnosis. Did the detective known as the “serial killer whisperer” ensnare an innocent man?In the latest season of “Smoke Screen: Just Say You’re Sorry,” host Maurice Chammah asks what happens when suspects are convinced they can’t trust their own memories to defend themselves. It does a deep dive into Holland’s interrogation of Driskill, as well as those of other suspects subjected to his unorthodox questioning style.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SMOKE SCREEN: JUST SAY YOU'RE SORRY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

29 Jun 202347min

While touring a building that had been a defunct swingers club, Margie Cantrell’s foster children said they’d been there before. As Margie helped police with questioning, the children said adults made them dance and have sex with each other. Seven people were charged with grooming and exploiting them for money. But there was no evidence nor adult witnesses who could corroborate the claims. Did the abuse actually happen - or were the allegations planted in the impressionable children by a caretaker with ulterior motives?The Max series “How to Create a Sex Scandal” examines the 2008 Mineola Swingers Club case. Did innocent people go to prison based solely on the word of children coaxed into making the allegations? And if so, why would somebody put them up to it?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "HOW TO CREATE A SEX SCANDAL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: scam of the cloth. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

26 Jun 202345min