Sword and Scale

Ronald William Brown was a ventriloquist puppeteer on a television program called Joy Junction, a variety show on the Christian Television Network. Last year he received a 20-year sentence for child pornography charges, but the real story is much more disturbing. Brown along with 42 others were netted in a child porn sting that spanned two continents and perpetrators from every walk of life. Believe it or not, the worst part of the story isn't that these individuals wanted to molest children. Instead, their online chat logs revealed a deep desire to murder, mutilate and eat their corpses too. Brown even had a particular victim in mind, a boy that attended his local church. The horrific level of detail in their plans is captured in the eerily benign nature of their back and forth dialog, which has been recreated using computer voices for this program. Sword and Scale has never released a show this disturbing, so if you are sensitive to topics like this please do not listen.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

12 Jun 201451min

Elliot Rodger's privileged background and his family's ties to Hollywood didn't help him get accepted by those around him. Instead his awkward behavior and creepy mannerisms made girls want to ignore him and guys want to bully him. For most of his life he endured what he described as a torturous and tormented life, so on May 23rd he took his revenge on the world that had created "such an injustice", in what he called his "day of retribution". We also cover two cases in which South Florida, from the last month, in which police officers have been shot by their girlfriends. Although these cases occurred in adjacent counties, they had very different outcomes. We'll also tell you about a 911 call that may make you mad ...very mad.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

4 Jun 201455min

How much to you trust your friends? How much do you know your friends? What would they do for you? What would you do for them? In this episode of Sword and Scale we examine a story of betrayal involving new age cults, sound healing, apocalyptic scenarios and a self-serving meth-head who has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Welcome to the story of Eric Preimesberger's unfortunate premature death, and the people responsible for killing him and hiding his body. It's also a tale about the perimeter, the friends that were just outside the fold and due to luck or divine intervention, stayed there. It's also a story about you, and who you know, how well you know them, and how easily you could be sucked into being an accomplice to murder.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

26 Mai 20141h 10min

In this episode of Sword and Scale we recap the last month's most bizarre stories in the genre of true crime. Quite a few people in trouble have gotten in trouble with the law lately because of their poor choices and bizarre behavior. Although to them it may be no laughing matter, everyone else is left thinking "just what on earth were they thinking?" We also catch up with Cathy Russon from Court Chatter who fills us in on all the courtroom drama behind the Julie Schenecker murder case. We'll hear her take and also let you hear Schenecker's bizarre apology which, interestingly enough, did not include any mention of her estranged ex-husband.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

19 Mai 201455min

Lauren Giddings had just graduated law school and was getting ready for a new life when she suddenly disappeared from her apartment in Macon, Georgia. As her friends and family desperately tried to find her, they were surprised to see Lauren's reclusive neighbor on the news overreacting to word that a dismembered body had been nearby. The shaggy, bearded introvert was questioned by police in one of the strangest and most infuriating interrogations ever caught on tape. In this episode of Sword and Scale we discuss Stephen McDaniel's bizarre behavior, and what led up to his eventual admission of guilt. We also talk to Sergeant Mario de los Santos of the City of Miami Police Department, and former personality of A&E's The First 48, about his experience interrogating murder suspects, and the tactics used by police to secure a confession.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

12 Mai 20141h 1min

A deliberate murder that took 8 years of planning and plenty of hard work to accomplish. It involved a man, his truck, and an underground bunker in the Washington mountains. Peter Keller was described as a survivalist with a distrust of authority by his family and friends, but none of them had any idea he would ever resort to what he did. Now they're left wondering how they could have missed the clues and whether there was anything they could have done to prevent the murder of his wife and daughter. We'll also cover the castle doctrine case of Byron David Smith, in which all of the condemning audio was recorded by the home owner’s own security system. Even if you strongly feel in the second amendment and the right for homeowners to protect themselves and their property, you'll find this particular case absolutely chilling. The pure evil in Smith's voice is nakedly obvious on tape, stirring memories of Norman Bates in Psycho.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

4 Mai 20141h 20min

Usually we find the stories we want to talk about on Sword and Scale. This week the story found us, in the form of a cry for help from the surviving sister of Kimberly Renea Mabry, whose mutilated body turned up in a Rockford Illinois creek in 1995 and whose killer remains at large almost 20 years later. We bring you her story and ask for your help in solving this bizarre cold case that all but everyone has forgotten about. We next travel back to 1935 for a bizarre case of extortion and attempted murder in a small rural town of American Indian heritage. This story, titled "The Tahlequah Coed Case", is a place and time where prejudice prevails against justice, and a need for attention would put in motion a case highlighting the dark underside of small town life. We'll also cover the WTF Stories of the week and give you an update on the Oscar Pistorius Trial with Pistorius himself taking the witness stand in his own defense.Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

23 Apr 201450min

This week we're joined by former ex-inmate Glenn Langohr, who spent 10 years behind bars at some of California's toughest level 4 prisons, before reinventing himself as a best-selling author. His latest book, Prison Riot, takes the reader through the details of an actual prison riot he was involved in at California's Solano State Prison. We also talk to Professor Natasha A. Frost, author of the book The Punishment Imperative: The Rise and Failure of Mass Incarceration in America, about America's addiction with prisons and exactly how much it is costing us. We'll also show you how to make your own prison alcohol and taste test some prison food known as Nutraloaf (or Nutriloaf).Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com

16 Apr 20141h 9min