254. Natural Born Killers: Joshua Maxwell and Tessie McFarland

We are on day ten of the 12 Nightmares Before Christmas. On a freezing cold night in December of 1977, two women in their mid-thirties were leaving the Forker’s Café at 64 Union Street in Newark, Ohio. At 2:30 a.m., Joyce Vermillion, a barmaid at the café, and Karen Dodrill (dod-rill), a patron and friend of Joyce’s, were preparing to call it a night. Karen had been out celebrating her birthday and had offered to give her friend Joyce a ride home. Since it was minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, Karen went out to warm up her car first and was headed back into the bar when she was gunned down by a person waiting in the bushes.  Since there was a homemade silencer on the gun, Joyce had no warning of any danger and walked out of the building and was shot and killed as well. (Some sources say they were walking across the parking lot when they were gunned down.) When Joyce failed to return home from work, her husband notified the police. No one knew that there was not just one killer at work; there were two, and they were related.Join Jen and Cam of Our True Crime Podcast as we discuss ‘Ohio's 22 Caliber Killers: The Lewingdon Brothers.’Thank you to our team:Written and researched by Lauretta AllenListener Discretion by Edward October from Octoberpod AMExecutive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky PawprintSources:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_and_Thaddeus_Lewingdonhttps://mail.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/partners/lewingdon_bros/4.htmlhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/288325368/?match=1&terms=Joyce%20Vermillion%20Karen%20Dodrillhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/288325794/?match=1&terms=Joyce%20Vermillion%20Karen%20Dodrillhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/288326901/?match=1&terms=Joyce%20Vermillion%20Karen%20Dodrillhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/288331767/?match=1&terms=Joyce%20Vermillion%20Karen%20Dodrillhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/989648304/?match=1&terms=%22Robert%20McCann%22https://www.newspapers.com/image/601876460/?match=1&terms=%22Robert%20McCann%22https://www.newspapers.com/image/844598598/?match=1&terms=Robert%20Mickey%20McCannhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/406055736/?match=1&terms=Jenkins%20Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Dec 202436min

It is day 9 of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas. On a sweltering June 26, 1957, Margaret Harold, a vibrant young woman, and her boyfriend, a U.S. Army sergeant, were enjoying a rare weekend getaway. As they were making their way, a green Chrysler came barreling toward them. Without warning, the car swerved, forcing them off the road. The driver, a tall, dark-haired man, stepped out with a sinister calmness. He approached their vehicle with a wicked look in his eyes. The stranger demanded that they roll down their window as he brandished a nickel-plated .38 revolver. At first, the man demanded money and then cigarettes. When the couple did not have anything to give him, he shot Margaret point-blank in the face. The horrified soldier, paralyzed by shock, fled the scene, racing through the rural fields that surrounded him. Finally, he reached a farmhouse, where he managed to call the police, relaying the horror he had just witnessed. The sergeant provided a clear description of the man who had attacked them—a man with an average build and somewhat tall stature, marked by dark hair and a clean-shaven face. Before police could find the stranger, he would do a lot more damage. Join Cam and Jen on this episode entitled “The Sex Beast: Melvin Rees.”Listener discretion by @octoberpodVHSAll music is by our executive producer and editor @theinkypawprintSources:https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-serial-killer-preys-upon-a-woman-out-for-a-drivehttps://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/193/849/1733703/https://www.facebook.com/baileysarian1/videos/the-chilling-story-of-melvin-rees/1122503025475063/https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r/rees-melvin.htmhttps://www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/predators/melvin_rees/13.htmlhttps://www.sharda.ac.in/apply/ed/4c000655-Ay9X2VWw1xs.htmlhttps://www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/predators/melvin_rees/12.htmlhttps://www.tamucc.edu/online/video/video-kMVK9ybIbWB.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Dec 202440min

It is day eight of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas. At 5:45 a.m. on May 12, 2005, Michael Ross woke up and got out of bed as usual. It was a partly cloudy morning in Somers, Connecticut, and the day would be warm and pleasant. At 6:00 a.m., Michael had oatmeal for breakfast, then watched television and read the newspaper. After reading for a while, he received communion from a Catholic priest. The day was going well—pretty typical for him, actually. He visited with family and friends in the afternoon for a few hours. The only thing unusual about Michael’s dinner of turkey a la king, rice, fruit, mixed vegetables, and white bread was that it would be his last because, a few hours later, Michael Ross was executed by the state of Connecticut. It was the first execution in the state of Connecticut since Joseph “Mad Dog” Taborsky was electrocuted in 1960. Join Jen and Cam of Our True Crime Podcast on this episode entitled 'The Roadside Strangler: Michael Bruce Ross.'Thank you to our team:Written and researched by Lauretta AllenListener Discretion by Edward October from Octoberpod AMExecutive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky PawprintSources:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mAMXqN0Eaw (If you watch or listen to one thing on Michael Ross, watch this one. It's the one Jen spoke about.)https://murderpedia.org/male.R/r1/ross-michael.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bruce_Rosshttps://www.newspapers.com/image/972592729/?match=1&terms=1.%09Dzung%20Ngoc%20Tu%20https://www.newspapers.com/image/254927798/?match=1&terms=1.%09Dzung%20Ngoc%20Tu%20https://web.archive.org/web/20050616003937/http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/14/rossexecution.letter.ap/index.htmlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7144278/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175726038/dzung-ngoc-tuhttps://magazine.nd.edu/stories/my-name-is-michael-ross/ (in his own words)https://www.newspapers.com/image/490184513/?match=1&terms=%22Paula%20Perrera%22 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Dec 202436min

As we start this episode, it is day seven of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas. On Sunday, February 16, 1997, around 9:45 to 10:00 a.m., an employee arrived at Captain D’s restaurant on Lebanon Road in Donelson, Tennessee, ready to start another routine day. But as he approached the establishment, an unsettling sight greeted him: the doors were firmly locked, which should not have been the case since two other employees were scheduled to open earlier.  He went to a neighboring restaurant to call Captain D’s, and when he received a busy signal, he felt relief. After a few minutes, he tried again, but the phone continued to ring this time. He knew something was wrong. Concerned for his colleagues, he contacted another employee whose father served as a Metro police officer. When the employee’s father arrived at the scene, they entered the restaurant between 11 a.m. and noon. What they found was shocking.  In an instant, the routine of a Sunday morning was replaced by an unspeakable tragedy, and the community would soon grapple with the aftermath of this horrific crime. Sadly, this was just the beginning. Join Cam and Jen of Our True Crime Podcast on the episode “The Fast Food Murders: Paul Reid.”Listener discretion by @octoberpodVHSAll music is by our editor and executive producer @theinkypawprintSources:https://law.justia.com/cases/tennessee/court-of-criminal-appeals/2001/m1999-00803-cca-r3-dd.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/paul-dennis-reid-never-confessed-230942209.htmlhttps://www.reddit.com/r/serialkillers/comments/s8rviv/does_anyone_on_here_know_about_paul_dennis_reid/https://www.tba.org/journal/the-murders-of-paul-dennis-reid-jrhttps://web.archive.org/web/20060616222357/http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3867https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/nashville-serial-killer-paul-dennis-reidhttps://web.archive.org/web/20070127141638/http://chattanoogan.com/articles/article_98859.asphttps://www.nashvillescene.com/news/convicted-mass-murderer-paul-dennis-reid-pronounced-dead/article_782aac80-7223-594f-b2ac-be4105f56968.htmlhttps://tubitv.com/tv-shows/320079/s02-e05-the-fast-food-killerhttps://web.archive.org/web/20110527105333/http://www.kwtx.com/news/headlines/4809806.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY22n_y5Msghttps://www.wbir.com/article/news/tennessee-mass-murderer-paul-dennis-reid-dead/51-95431900 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Dec 202434min

It is day six of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas, and we are headed to Germany. After World War II, Germany was divided into four Allied occupation zones, with the Soviet Union controlling East Germany and East Berlin, while the United States, France, and the U.K. managed Western Germany and West Berlin. By 1949, Europe had transformed dramatically, symbolized by the creation of two Germanies. Initially, movement between the two regions was unrestricted, but as East Germans fled westward in droves, the border was sealed in 1961, culminating in the Berlin Wall, a defining emblem of the Cold War.  In Plauen, East Germany, young Volker Eckert grew up in a Communist city near the Czech border. As a child, Volker developed a fixation on hair, playing with his sister’s dolls and mother’s wigs, which sparked sexual fantasies he kept secret. By age 14, his obsession with hair escalated into violence. On May 7, 1974, he strangled his classmate Sylvia Unterdörfel in her home under the pretense of needing help with homework, driven by an uncontrollable urge to feel her hair. Fearing exposure, he killed her and staged her death as a suicide. Sadly, Sylvia would not be his only victim. In fact, there would be many more. Join Jen and Cam of Our True Crime Podcast on this episode entitled ‘The Polaroid Killer: Volker Eckert.’A huge thank you to Sleep Creme for sponsoring this episode. Order your bottle today at sleepcreme.com. Use the code OTCPODCAST at checkout to save twenty bucks on the first order! Thank you to our team:Written and researched by Lauretta AllenListener Discretion by Edward October from Octoberpod AMExecutive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky PawprintSources:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8BLkEZ7zk0&ab_channel=Mia%27sRealityChannelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volker_Eckerthttps://murderpedia.org/male.E/e/eckert-volker.htmhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/07/crimehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/01/germany.gilestremletthttps://web.archive.org/web/20120103001441/http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_11264.shtml#ixzz5TG24bAlwhttps://www.novinite.com/articles/73211/Bulgarian+Victim+of+German+Sex+Killer+was+Pregnanthttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/23/germany.gilestremletthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Dec 202432min

For the fifth day of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas, we are headed north to Anchorage, Alaska, where we meet 52-year-old Mindy Schloss. Mindy had moved to Anchorage back in the 1980s by accident. Mindy came for a visit and never left. Mindy worked as a nurse practitioner in Fairbanks' psychiatric department. The commute from Anchorage to Fairbanks was a long one-hour flight, but Mindy had to make the trip twice a month. Her good friend Gerri would care for her cat Willy while she was gone working.  The friends would meet up before Mindy left for work, so when Gerri didn’t hear from Mindy, she called and left a message with Mindy checking in, but Mindy did not return the call, which was unlike Mindy. “Maybe she is just busy’ her friend thought. Mindy’s other friend, Bob Conway, her on-again and off-again boyfriend, reached out to Mindy as well, and when he could not leave a voicemail due to a full mailbox, he knew something was wrong. Bob called Gerri to inquire if she had heard from Mindy. When Gerri said no, they both felt something was wrong. Join Cam and Jen of Our True Crime Podcast on the episode “Cold Blooded Killer: Joshua Wade.”Listener Discretion is by @octoberpodVHSAll music is courtesy of our executive producer @theinkypawprintSources:https://alaskapublic.org/2024/06/21/alaska-serial-killer-joshua-wade-dies-in-indiana-prison/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Wadehttps://apnews.com/article/alaska-serial-killer-dies-prison-2e292616a49b5cd49eabb2f3256fd412https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/anchorage/news/convicted-killer-joshua-wade-claims-responsibilty-for-additional-murdershttps://www.oxygen.com/fatal-frontier-evil-in-alaska/crime-news/serial-killer-joshua-wade-is-found-dead-prisonhttps://archive.today/20220506153526/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-alaska-man-sentenced-to-99-years-in-nurses-murder-2010feb17-story.htmlhttps://archive.today/20210625194748/https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/authorities-joshua-wade-admits-3-additional-killings-0/2014/06/20/https://archive.ph/20220506153526/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-alaska-man-sentenced-to-99-years-in-nurses-murder-2010feb17-story.html#selection-2173.1-2201.114https://archive.ph/20210625194748/https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/authorities-Joshuaua-wade-admits-3-additional-killings-0/2014/06/20/https://archive.ph/20161127222923/https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2016/11/27/exceptional-account-traces-path-of-alaska-serial-killer-Joshuaua-wade/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Dec 202442min

It is day four of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas, and we are headed to the Midwest. Every city has trouble with crime. Just watch the news for an hour, and it’s pretty evident that violence occurs even in small communities, no matter how many disbelieving residents claim otherwise.  However, some cities statistically have a higher crime rate than others, and many reasons and factors contribute to that. According to the U.S. News Real Estate website, Kansas City, Kansas, located in the middle of the United States, has a slightly higher crime rate than the national average. In 2001, Kansas City had 10,909 violent crimes. Among those were 92 murders, 945 rapes, 7,449 assaults and 2,423 robberies. But, oddly enough, there was no category for “Death by Vampire Cannibal.”Join Jen and Cam of Our True Crime Podcast on this episode entitled ‘The Kansas City Vampire: Marc Sappington Day.’Thank you to our team:Written and researched by Lauretta AllenListener Discretion by Edward October from Octoberpod AMExecutive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky Paw PrintSources:https://youtube/Hv3ISDg811U?si=DtrujPt8oYKO-Lcwhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Sappingtonhttps://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/sappington-marc.htmhttps://www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/weird/sappington/1.htmlhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/686892606/?match=1&terms=%22Marc%20Sappington%22https://www.newspapers.com/image/686883369/match=1&terms=%22Marc%20Sappington%22https://www.newspapers.com/image/686887661/?match=1&terms=%22Marc%20Sappington%22https://www.newspapers.com/image/686895681/match=1&terms=%22Marc%20Sappington%22https://www.newspapers.com/image/686894452/?match=1&terms=%22Marc%20Sappington%22https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/06/11/schizophrenic-episodes-linked-to-the-drug-pcp/647db04d-f0c2-4a1e-aee5-2cdc458aa203/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Dec 202436min

It is day 3 of our 12 Nightmares Before Christmas. In December 1995, 19-year-old Conan Wade Hale and his accomplice, Jon Susbauer, unleashed a wave of terror in Oregon. It began on December 4, when they ransacked a woman’s home, stealing valuables worth thousands and slashing furniture before fleeing. Days later, on December 16, they drove a stolen silver Chevrolet Suburban through Eugene and encountered two teenagers, Kara Krause and Jesse Jarvis, parked on a desolate road. After Susbauer posed as a property owner to engage the couple, a masked figure armed with a machete emerged from the darkness, forcing the teens to strip before sexually assaulting Kara. Both survived and later identified Susbauer as the "property owner," though only Jesse tentatively linked Hale to the attack. The duo escalated their spree on December 19, burglarizing another home to steal valuables, including a rabbit-fur jacket and a .38-caliber revolver, leaving behind more vandalism. By December 20, cruising the streets in the stolen Suburban, they crossed paths with Hale's 15-year-old ex-girlfriend Kristal Bendele and her friends. These young teens would not be as fortunate as those before. Join Jen and Cam of Our True Crime Podcast on this episode entitled “The Killer, the Confession and the Magazine Spread: Conan Hale.”Listener Discretion is courtesy of @octoberpodVHSAll music is courtesy of our editor and executive producer @theinkypawprintSources:https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19980516/2750951/man-guilty-of-triple-murderhttps://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=474https://www.lmtribune.com/northwest/priest-involved-in-jailhouse-confession-is-leaving-town02e73f9c/https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/05/whos-on-oregons-death-row-27-men-2-others-held-elsewhere.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/05/11/taping-of-jailhouse-confession-to-priest-creates-furor-in-oregon/fdc77ccb-fc07-4c85-850d-90e08855b90a/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1996/05/12/violating-the-confessional/e333b7df-bb5f-460b-b48c-af7a1c9f51be/https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/news-of-the-weird-6361362https://www.statesmanjournal.com/picture-gallery/news/crime/2016/11/14/oregon-death-row-inmates/93826530/https://casetext.com/case/hale-v-belleque-4https://murderpedia.org/male.H/h/hale-conan-wayne.htmhttps://nypost.com/2000/02/18/united-victims-of-benetton-families-speak-out-against-ads-that-honor-their-loved-ones-killers/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Dec 202427min