Let's Go To Court!

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! This week, Kristin starts us off with an old, yet very timely story. In 1992, Yoshihiro Hattori and his friend Webb Haymaker arrived at what they thought was the location of a halloween party. In reality, the two teenage boys were at the wrong house. When they went up to the house and knocked on the door, a woman opened a side door, spotted the two boys, then quickly slammed it shut. Yoshi and Webb were confused, but they figured they’d arrived at the wrong home. As they were walking away, the door opened again. This time, a 30 year old man stood in the doorway with a gun. When Yoshi approached him, saying that they were there for the party, the man shot Yoshi in the chest. Then Brandi tells us about Maribel Ramos, who thought she’d found the perfect roommate when Kwang Choi “KC” Joy responded to her ad on Craigslist. KC described himself as an easygoing professional. He soon moved into Maribel’s home in Orange County, California. Initially, Maribel and KC got along great. They even went on vacation together. But when KC couldn’t pay rent, their relationship went downhill. Maribel feared that things might get violent between them. Then she disappeared. 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: “Yoshihiro Hattori: The door knock that killed a Japanese teenager in the US,” by Toby Luckhurst for the BBC “Defense depicts Japanese boy as ‘scary’,” The New York Times “Acquittal in doorstep killing of Japanese student,” The New York Times “Student’s trust in people proved fatal,” by Adam Nossiter for The New York Times “Judge awards damages in Japanese youth’s death,” by Adam Nossiter for The New York Times “Mother of slain teen felt murdered herself,” by Leslie Zganjar for the Associated Press “Each other’s arms,” by David Schimke for the Carleton College Voice The book, “I have lived in the monster,” by Robert K. Ressler and Tom Shachtman “How the mother of Japanese student shot dead became a force for US gun reform,” by Daniel Hurst for The Guardian “Homeowner testifies in shooting death of Japanese exchange student,” UPI Archives “Slain teen’s parents hope U.S. gun control fight continues, 30 yrs on,” Kyodo News “Parents of slain Japanese student push for gun control from afar,” by Akiko Fujita for ABC News “Gun violence conference to remember 20 years since Yoshi died,” by Kira Chawla for WAFB “Rodney Peairs found innocent in exchange student shooting case,” UPI Archives In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Rent Check” episode See No Evil “Murder Can’t Be Proved in Death of Maribel Ramos: Defense Attorney” by Melissa Pamer and Chip Yost, KTLA5 News “Roommate Found Guilty of 2nd-Degree Murder in Death of Maribel Ramos” by Melissa Pamer and Chip Yost, KTLA5 News “Maribel Ramos’ Killer Sentenced to 15 Years to Life in Prison, Says He Cared for Victim ‘More Than Anyone’” by Melissa Pamer and Chip Yost, KTLA5 News “KC Joy gets 15 years to life in prison for Maribel Ramos murder” by Greg Lee and ABC7 News Staff, ABC7 News “Who Is Kwang Chol 'KC' Joy, The Killer Profiled In 'Worst Roommate Ever?’” By Jax Miller, oxygen.com “Southern California man convicted of killing ex-roommate Army veteran Maribel Ramos” by Sasha Goldstein, New York Daily News “The Murder of Maribel Ramos” by Kiley, It’s Crime O’Clock Somewhere “'Worst Roommate Ever': KC Joy killed Maribel Ramos for demanding overdue rent” by Akhila Suresh, meaww.com YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 45+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

26 Apr 20232h 23min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Barry Hornstein wasn’t sure what, exactly, was in his driveway. It looked like some sort of metal cylinder. Barry went to pick it up, but thought better of it. He gave it a kick instead. The second he did, the device exploded. Steel flew through the air, tearing through Barry’s leg. When he awoke later in the hospital, he received troubling news. He’d been the victim of a pipe bomb. But Barry had no known enemies. Who wanted him dead? Then Kristin tells us about a con woman who, in May of 2013, went by the name Mair Smyth. She told people that she was an Irish heiress. She boasted about her famous friends – namely Jennifer Aniston and Ashley Judd. She appeared generous. When she befriended her neighbor, Jonathan Walton, she treated him to a fancy dinner. She offered to help with his campaign to win back their apartment building’s access to a local pool. Jonathan had no idea that her friendship was fake. 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 Heiress Con” episode of The Con “The Hollywood producer, the “heiress” and a very personal quest for justice,” by Katie Kilkenny for The Hollywood Reporter “Queen of the Con” podcast JonathanWalton.com/how-she-conned-me In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Pipe Nightmare” episode Web of Lies “Pipe Nightmare” by Nick Budnick, Willamette Week “Goff Guilty: Pipe bomber cops a plea.” By Nick Budnick, Willamette Week YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 45+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

19 Apr 20232h 44min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Leith, North Dakota, is a very small place. So, when Craig Cobb moved to town, everyone tried to be friendly. He was a little odd, but he seemed harmless. He was just an older, lonely man who’d come out to work on a nearby oil field. But what the people of Leith didn’t know was that Craig Cobb was a white supremacist, and he had a plan to take over their town. Then Brandi tells us about Greg Mulhivill, who received a call late one night from a person who claimed to be a private investigator. The caller instructed Greg to meet him at a remote location. When Greg arrived at the spot, he sensed that something was off. He used his flashlight to survey the area and was stunned to spot a man crouching in the bushes. 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 documentary, “Welcome to Leith” “Craig Cobb” entry on the Southern Poverty Law Center “Village of the Damned,” by Ryan Lenz for the Southern Poverty Law Center In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Diana Lovejoy” episode Snapped “The Night of the New Moon” episode Dateline “Diana Lovejoy” chillingcrimes.com “Gun Instructor Who Tried to Kill Lover's Husband: I Regret Cheating on My Wife More Than Shooting” by Christine Pelisek, People “Couple Guilty in Bizarre Attempted Murder Speak Before Sentencing” by Liberty Zabala and R. Stickney, NBC San Diego 7 News “Wife and her gun instructor get long terms in shooting of husband during divorce” by Teri Figueroa, The San Diego Union-Tribune “California v. McDavid” justia.com  YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 45+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

12 Apr 20232h 47min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Faylene Grant’s death could have been many things. It could have been an accident. It could have been a suicide. It could have been cold-blooded murder. It could have been the result of emotional manipulation at the hands of her husband, Doug Grant. It was difficult to say for certain what led to the drowning death of 35-year-old Faylene Grant. But when her husband remarried just three weeks after Faylene died, it raised some eyebrows. Then Kristin tells us a truly vomitrocious story. At its peak, the Peanut Corporation of America produced peanuts, peanut butter and peanut powder for major food conglomerates like Sara Lee, Kelloggs and General Mills. They supplied peanut butter to hospitals, nursing homes and schools. Over the years, their profits soared. But their factories were unsanitary. Their workers were badly paid. Worst of all, the people in charge didn’t care about whether the food that they sent all over the country was safe to consume. 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 episode of American Greed, “From Peanuts to Sick Millions” “The rise and fall of a peanut empire,” by Lyndsey Layton and Nick Miroff for NBC News “PCA prison terms put industry on notice about accountability,” by Kathy Holliman for foodqualityandsafety.com “Praise for an unlikely whistleblower,” by Darin Detwiler for Food Safety News “Michael Parnell’s attorney paints him as the ‘little guy’ in the PCA case,” by Dan Flynn for Food Safety News “Unprecedented verdict: Peanut executive guilty in deadly salmonella outbreak,” by Moni Basu for CNN “Former peanut executive sentenced to 28 years in prison,” by Brady Dennis for the Washington Post In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “A Divine Death” episode A Wedding and a Murder “Fatal Visions” episode Dateline “Mormon Widower Doug Grant Wasn’t Counting on a Murder Rap When He Followed His Late Wife’s Instruction to Marry His Ex-Lover” by Paul Rubin, Phoenix New Times “Doug Grant Gets Five Years After Slain Wife’s Sister Pressed for His Conviction Based on a Dream” by Paul Rubin, Phoenix New Times “Grant v. Grant” casetext.com “Woman sues over mom's 2001 drowning” by Gary Grado, East Valley Tribune YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 45+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

5 Apr 20232h 46min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Gather ‘round, dear listeners, for a devastating tale! A nugget of pure comedy gold has, sadly, been lost forever. You see, two months ago, one of our Patrons suggested that we do something fun for our upcoming April Fools’ Day episode. He cited that thing that Michael Che and Colin Jost do when they swap jokes on SNL. He suggested we do something similar – why not write scripts for the other person to read? Kristin loooooved the idea. Brandi did not. Kristin, (brilliant goddess that she is) thought that if *she* handled the execution of this fabulous idea, she could get Brandi on board and we’d all revel in a comedic wonder. So, she quietly wrote up a script for Brandi to read. Then, she formatted it into cue cards.  When it came time to record, Kristin presented Brandi with the script. And Brandi was like… hell no, I’m not reading that. (Was it because the script contained a few tangents about her unwavering crush on Dr. Phil? The world may never know!) So, yeah, umm… that script will never see the light of day. …but we do have *one* story to tell you:  When Lonnie Paye didn’t return his girlfriend’s phone calls, she became concerned. Had she done something to upset him? Was he just busy? Days passed, and eventually, she called the police. When they arrived at Lonnie’s upscale home, they discovered that she’d been right to be concerned. Lonnie’s body was on the floor of his garage. He’d been shot multiple times. Lonnie’s family was shocked by his death, but gave investigators a few leads. Lonnie had a rocky relationship with the mother of his infant son. Could she have done something? He also had some business relationships that might have gone sour. Perhaps that was to blame. 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: 100% real life In this episode, Brandi pulled from: |“Deidra Griffin” episode Snapped “Deidra Griffin v. State of Maryland” mdcourts.gov “Michigan woman jailed in Bay County on Maryland murder charge; extradition hearing set” by Cole Waterman, mlive.com “Trial begins for Michigan woman accused of killing ex-boyfriend in Randallstown” by Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun “Michigan woman gets 60 years for murder of ex in Baltimore County” by Pamela Wood, The Baltimore Sun YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 45+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

29 Mar 20231h 35min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brandi starts us off with a gut-wrenching story. On the evening of November 3, 1998, all eight-year-old Maddie Clifton wanted to do was go outside and play. Her mother gave her permission to go outside for a few minutes, so Maddie went next door to the home of 14-year-old Josh Phillips to ask if he’d like to play baseball. He did. Later, when Maddie didn’t come home, her parents panicked. Police and volunteers searched for Maddie for days before she was finally discovered by Josh’s mother. Then Kristin tells us about an elaborate triple kidnapping. Michelle Renee was at home with her seven-year-old daughter, Breea, when, seemingly out of nowhere, three men burst through the home’s locked back door. The men wore ski masks. They brandished guns. They’d even brought spears. They told Michelle that they knew she worked for a local Bank of America. They said that if she wanted to survive, she’d have to go into work the next morning and clear out the vault. 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: 48 Hours episode, “The Kidnapping of Michelle and Breea Renee” “A mother was forced to rob a bank to save her daughter’s life after they were kidnapped and threatened with dynamite,” by Gayane Keshishyan Mendez for cbsnews.com “California mother who was kidnapped and forced to rob a bank falsely painted as a criminal in court: “100% felt like I was on trial”” by Tracy Smith for cbsnews.com “Hostage no more: Michelle Renee tells true story of kidnapping of daughter and self,” by Ruth Marvin Webster for The San Diego Union-Tribune “Suspected bank robber nabbed,” North County Times “Man convicted of kidnapping, robbery,” North County Times “People v. Butler,” casetext.com “Attorney: Bank chief plotted own kidnapping,” North County Times “Superior Court trial starts in bank robbery, kidnapping,” by Scott Marshall for the North County Times In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Maddie Clifton” chillingcrimes.com “Why Did Josh Kill Maddie Clifton?” By Malinda Fusco, Medium “19 years later, the narrative behind Maddie Clifton's demise gets even worse” by Eileen Kelley, The Florida Times Union “Life sentence upheld for Joshua Phillips, teen killer of Maddie Clifton” by Andrew Pantazi, The Florida Times Union “Wednesday marks 23 years since murder of Maddie Clifton” by Colette DuChanois, News 4 Jax “Josh Phillips” wikipedia.org YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 45+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

22 Mar 20232h 36min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Hank Robar is not one to be messed with. So when he got into a dispute with village officials in  his hometown of Potsdam, New York, he got even by decorating his property with toilets. Over the years, Hank added more toilets. He decorated the bowls and tanks with artificial flowers. He put so much time and energy into the toilets that he began referring to them as “toilet gardens,” and later, as “art.” Town officials were not amused. They did everything in their power to stop him.  Then Brandi tells us about the death of Josephine Galbraith. For Josephine’s family, her death was sad, but not shocking. The 76-year-old woman suffered from chronic back pain. She’d recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She’d told her husband and children that she didn’t want to continue living. But when Josephine died in an apparent suicide, a detective on the scene suspected she’d been murdered.    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 documentary, “Potty Town” “Hank Robar: The man behind Potsdam’s toilet gardens,” by Sydney Schaefer for NNY360 “Potsdam agrees to toilet garden lawsuit settlement,” by Tom Graser for NNY360 “Owner of Potsdam toilet gardens, village reach undisclosed settlement in federal lawsuit,” by Sydney Schaefer for NNY360 “Robar v. Village of Potsdam Board of Trustees,” casetext.com “How 5Pointz artists won $6.75 million in lawsuit against developer that destroyed their work,” by Jessica Meiselman for artsy.net In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Red Sash Death” episode Accident, Suicide, or Murder “Digging Up Buried Bones” by Loren Stein, MetroActive “’He Would Have Done Anything For Her': Family Fights To Prove Father's Innocence After Mom's Suicide Leads To His Arrest” by Sharon Lynn Pruitt, Oxygen “$400,000 settlement in wrongful charge” by John Coté, SF Gate “Santa Clara County to pay $400,000 to Palo Alto family” by Howard Mintz, The Mercury News “Galbraith v. County of Santa Clara” findlaw.com YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 40+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

15 Mar 20232h 16min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Heather Bogle’s murder was nothing short of brutal. The young, single mother’s body was discovered in the trunk of her car, shot and beaten. Detective Sean O’Connell was assigned to Heather’s case. Despite the fact that Heather disappeared shortly after she finished a shift at the local Whirlpool plant, Detective O’Connell didn’t bother talking to her co-workers. Instead, he focused on three people with no apparent tie to Heather. When samples of their DNA didn’t match DNA found on Heather’s body, the detective hid that information from the district attorney. Then Brandi felt like she’d been told to go straight to jail when, by chance, Kristin told the history of everyone’s least favorite game – Monopoly. Brandi was tempted to turn on the water works, but she hung in there as Kristin told the tale of how Parker Brothers’ sought a monopoly on Monopoly. Rumor has it that Brandi nearly kicked a small dog with an old boot (again!) but Kristin distracted her with her community chest.  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: An episode of American Experience, titled, “Ruthless Monopoly’s Secret History” “Monopoly was designed to teach the 99% about income inequality,” by Mary Pilon for Smithsonian Magazine “How a fight over a board game monopolized an economist’s life,” by Mary Pilon for the Wall Street Journal “New game is marked by a two-way stretch,” by Richard Ramella for The Berkeley Gazette “‘Anti-Monopoly’ loses to Monopoly,” Associated Press, The Hanford Sentinel “Ralph Anspach,” holocaustfoundation.com/ralph “Monopoly loses its trademark,” by Pamela G. Hollie for the New York Times In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Good Cop/Bad Cop: The Heather Bogle Murder” episode 48 Hours “Jagged” episode Dateline “Heather Bogle” chillingcrimes.com “How Did An Investigator End Up Behind Bars Himself After Probing The Murder Of An Ohio Mom?” By Jill Sederstrom, Oxygen “O'Connell victim wins his lawsuit” by Matt Westerhold, Review Times “Justice comes in 2 colors” by Staff, Sandusky Register YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 40+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

8 Mar 20232h 28min