24: The Charming Kidnappers & the Swope Family Murders (?)

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Byron David Smith was in his basement on Thanksgiving Day, minding his own business when he heard a window break upstairs. Then he heard someone enter his home. Byron grabbed his gun and waited quietly as the intruder roamed the house. When the intruder came down the stairs, Byron fired his gun three times. The intruder, 17-year-old Nicholas Brady, died. Ten minutes later, another intruder entered Byron’s home. It was 18-year-old Haile Kifer. Byron killed her, too -- shooting her six times. On the surface, it seemed that Byron had acted within his legal rights. In Minnesota, a person may use deadly force to prevent a felony from taking place in their home or dwelling. But as investigators soon discovered, this case wasn’t clear cut, and Byron wasn’t as innocent as he seemed.   Then Brandi tells us about a “normal, middle class family,” but we all know where this story is headed. Chris and Tina Lunney were living what appeared to be a pretty comfortable life in New Jersey. They had two children, and had asked Tina’s mother to come live with them. From the outside looking in, it seemed that everything was going well. But then one day, Tina called Chris in a panic. Her mother, Marie Zoppi, had died by suicide. She hadn’t seemed unhappy, but she’d taken her life. Or had she? 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: “12 minutes on Elm street” episode of Dateline “Court to announce jury’s verdict in Byron Smith murder trial,” by Ashli Overlund for WJON News “MN Supreme Court upholds Byron Smith conviction,” by Allen Costantini for KARE 11 “Graphic audio released by courts of Byron Smith as he guns down two teens in his Minnesota basement,” Associated Press “Little Falls man found guilty on all four counts of murder,” Associated Press  “Castle Doctrine,” entry on Wikipedia “Byron David Smith killings,” entry on Wikipedia  “Byron David Smith,” entry on Murderpedia In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Tina Lunney” episode Snapped “State of New Jersey v. Tina Lunney” law.justia.com “Prosecutor: Fairfield woman killed mother, 81, staged it to look like a suicide” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger “Husband reads letter to jurors where wife confesses to murdering her mother” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger “Fairfield woman told police she strangled mother with necktie” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger “Jury convicts Fairfield woman of strangling her mother” by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger

11 Nov 20202h 3min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Bruce Rouse didn’t show up for work one summer morning in 1980, his employees immediately knew something was up. So they called his house and Bruce’s teenage children went to their parents’ master bedroom to check on them. But the scene in their parents’ bedroom was shocking. Their mom, Darlene, had been shot in the face. Their dad, Bruce, had been shot in the face, too. He’d also been beaten and stabbed. A sheet covered their bodies. Who could have done such a thing? (This is a total Brandi case, so we’ll give you one guess.) Then Kristin tells us about Julia Phillips -- a Southern lady who was pumped to celebrate her birthday. She got a bunch of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, bought some sexy new lingerie from Victoria’s Secret and headed to her boyfriend, Melvin Roberts’ house. But as she was getting out of her car, a man came up from behind her. He was black. Or was he hispanic. He had an accent. Maybe Indian? It was all a blur as the mystery man wrapped duct tape around her wrists, legs, eyes and mouth.   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: “Death in the Driveway” episode of Dateline “Julia Phillips, convicted killer of former York Mayor Melvin Roberts, dies at age 72,” by Andrew Dys for the Herald  “Prosecution Rests its Case,” by Jonathan McFadden for the Herald  “Phillips found guilty; sentenced to life,” by Jonathan McFadden for the Herald  In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Family Secrets” by Mark Gribben, The Malefactor’s Register “Murder Mansion: The Shotgun Slaying of Bruce and Darlene Rouse” by Tori Richards, The Crime Library “Murder Thy Father and Thy Mother” by Marie Kusters-McCarthy, Crime Magazine “Man Confesses To Brutally Murdering Parents 15 Years After Squandering His Inheritance” by Benjamin H. Smith, Oxygen “Rouse’s Defense Tries To Implicate His Brother” by Shirley Salemy, Chicago Tribune “Judge Gives Rouse 80 Years, Wishes It Were More” by Gary Mays, Chicago Tribune

4 Nov 20202h 23min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! For a few years in the mid-2000’s, Dane Cook was on top of the world. He performed high-energy stand up routines to countless adoring fans. He sold out Madison Square Garden. One of his stand up comedy albums went platinum. The next one went double platinum. He got movie deals. He created his own production company. At the risk of stating the obvious, Dane got rich. Super rich. Luckily, his half-brother Darryl McCauley was by his side the whole time, acting as Dane’s business manager. Then Brandi tells us a story that’ll make your blood boil. In November of 2001, Kent Heitholt, a sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, was discovered dead in the newspaper’s parking lot. Kent had been brutally beaten and strangled. His murder went unsolved for two years. But a young man named Charles Erickson, who’d been 17 at the time of Kent’s murder, read about the crime and got a bad feeling. He and his friend Ryan Ferguson had been partying at a nearby bar on the night of Kent’s murder. Charles had done cocaine, taken adderall, and been drinking that night. He couldn’t remember the night in question, but he began having troubling dreams. Those dreams made him wonder whether he and Ryan had been involved in Kent’s death. Charles eventually confessed to the crime. Police accepted the story, despite the fact that Charles’ dreams didn’t match the evidence. 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: Dane Cook’s appearance on the podcast, “Your Mom’s House” Dane Cook’s appearance on the podcast, “Inside of You” Dane cook’s appearance on the podcast, “Bertcast” “Dane Cook’s half-brother, sister-in-law must repay $12 million,” by Alan Duke for CNN “Dane Cook’s manager-brother ordered to pay him $12 million,” by Lindsay Powers for The Hollywood Reporter “Wife of Dane Cook’s brother sentenced in embezzlement scheme,” by Lisa Redmond for the Lowell Sun In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Dream/Killer” Documentary “Ryan Ferguson’s Habeus Corpus Petition” courts.mo.gov “Saving Ryan Ferguson: One Lawyer’s Story” episode 48 Hours  “The Ryan Ferguson Case: An examination of a strange murder and conviction” by Chris Hamby “Ryan Ferguson Freed After Spending Almost a Decade in Prison for Murder” by Lauren Effron and Victoria Thompson, ABC News “Ryan W. Ferguson” wikipedia.org

28 Okt 20202h 24min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! It was a cold February day, and mother of the year Karen Matthews was in a panic. Her nine-year-old daughter, Shannon Matthews, hadn’t come home from school that day. Immediately, the tightknit community of Dewsbury, England, came together to find the missing child. Investigators searched 3,000 homes. They stopped 1,500 drivers. But the days crept on. Shannon was nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Karen acted like a big weirdo. Then Brandi returns from her battle with COVID to tell us about an old timey divorce.  Eliza Jumel was, too put it mildly, rich. When her husband died, Eliza became the richest woman in New York. By that point, Eliza had discovered that money could buy her a lot of things -- the former home of the American Revolution, for example -- but it couldn’t buy her acceptance from the upper crust of New York City society. For that, she needed to marry the right dude. So she set her sights on Aaron Burr.  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 Casefile titled, “Shannon Matthews”  The documentary tv series, “Tears Lies and Videotape” “The Kidnapping of Shannon Matthews,” wikipedia In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Invention” podcast episode, Lore by Aaron Mehnke “Long After Alexander Hamilton's Death, His Son and Rival Aaron Burr Dueled in Divorce Court” by Kirstin Fawcett, Mental Floss “The Life of Eliza Jumel” newyorkcityhistory.org “Burr’s Role In Adultery: Is It Opera?” by Dena Kleiman, The New York Times “Eliza Jumel” wikipedia.org

21 Okt 20201h 50min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Leona Helmsley referred to herself as the queen of the palace, but her terrible personality earned her a more apt nickname -- the queen of mean. She and her husband were rich beyond most peoples’ imaginations. They stayed that way in part thanks to savvy real estate investing, and to tactics that were illegal at worst and immoral at best. But when Leona finally stiffed the wrong contractor, her luck began to crumble. Then Kristin tells us about heiress Sunny von Bulow, who had the bad fortune of marrying the wrong man. When she married Claus von Bulow, Sunny was smitten. But the pair were a bad match. Sunny came to their marriage with a tremendous fortune. Sunny’s money was a sore spot for Claus, and Claus’s infidelity was a sore spot for Sunny. By the late 70s, the pair seemed headed for divorce. Then Sunny slipped into a sudden coma. She recovered, only to slip into another one for good. 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 Claus Von Bulow Case” by Mark Gribben for the Crime Library “Sunny von Bulow” entry on Wikipedia In this episode, DP pulled from: NY Times article by Edin Nemi “Leona Helmsley, Hotel Queen, Dies at 87” Time Magazine “Top 10 Tax Dodgers” The New Yorker article by Michael Schulman “Her Majesty” The Leona Helmsley Movie “The Queen of Mean” “Leona Helmsley” on Wikipedia

14 Okt 20202h 15min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a trailblazer. When she entered Harvard Law School, she was one of just 9 women in a class of nearly 500 men. Later, in her legal career, she faced incredible discrimination. But Ruth didn’t let the douchebags get her down. She was whip smart, and a tireless worker. Her children remember her staying up until the wee hours in the morning, poring over law books, with a stale cup of coffee on one side of her desk and a box of prunes on the other. She kept working, and working, and working. She argued before the Supreme Court multiple times -- and won. She became a judge. And then, in 1993, she became the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Then, with Brandi recovering from COVID-19, Kristin’s sister Kyla fills in with all the energy of an eager understudy! Kyla tells us about a family in Portland, Indiana, who had a hell of a time in the 90s. It all started with their mail being stolen. They got a PO box, but their mail kept going missing. Their credit scores plummeted. Someone was after them. Someone was stealing from them. This went on for years. When Axton Betz-Hamilton went off to college, she thought she’d get a break from the paranoia that had taken over her family. She was wrong.    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, “RBG” “Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” entry on oyez.org “Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” entry on Wikipedia “At Harvard Business School, Ruth Bader Ginsburg displayed the steel she’d be famous for,” by Asher Klein for nbcboston.com “Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” entry on History.com “A conversation with Ruth Bader Ginsburg at HLS,” video by Harvard Law School on YouTube In this episode, Kyla pulled from: Eh… she’ll fill this in soon!

7 Okt 20201h 53min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Steven Beard woke up on October 2, 1999, in horrible pain. His stomach was split open. His intestines were exposed. When he called 911, he couldn’t tell the dispatcher what had happened — he could only say that he desperately needed help. It didn’t take investigators long to discover that Steven had been shot in his sleep. But who would want him dead? Then Kristin tells us a story that, at first glance, makes no sense. A man walked into a QuikTrip, bought a couple of lottery tickets, and despite the overwhelming odds against him, won $16.5 million. Great, right? Not so much. He refused to claim the prize money. Iowa lottery officials were stunned. Who wouldn’t want $16.5 million? Months passed. The man still refused to come forward. Lottery officials smelled something fishy. 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: “Court says Iowa lottery rigging investigation took too long,” Associated Press “Just a dollar and a scheme,” episode of American Greed “The man who cracked the lottery” by Reid Forgave for the New York Times In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Marriage, Money and Murder: Steven and Celeste Beard” by David Krajicek, crimelibrary.com “Celeste Beard Johnson” episode Snapped “Marriage, Money, and Murder” by Bill Hewitt, People Magazine

30 Sep 20202h 1min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Jackie Coogan landed his first movie role when he was just an infant. A few years later, when he was performing the shimmy on stage, Charlie Chaplin was taken by his performance. He cast little Jackie in a couple of his films, and with that, Jackie’s career took off. Jackie became one of the industry’s biggest stars. By the time he was 12, he’d earned a million dollars. By the time he was 21, he’d earned four million. He was set for life. The money had all been set aside -- just waiting for him to hit adulthood. At least, that’s what he’d been told. Then Brandi tells us about a troubled marriage. Jennifer and Frederick Trayers had been married for nearly two decades. They’d been through ups and downs together. Frederick’s career in the navy took them all over the place, but they always had each other. But in 2002, Frederick began an affair. Suspicious, Jennifer installed spyware on Frederick’s computer. She began reading every emotionally-charged email between the two. She read and read and read, and eventually, she took action. 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: “Coogan Case Spurs Move to Safeguard Wealth of Minors” by Martha Martin, The Daily News, 1938 “California Child Actors Bill,” entry on Wikipedia “Jackie Coogan,” entry on Wikipedia “Jackie Coogan wins fortune fight decision,” Los Angeles Times, 1938 “Mother of Jackie Coogan reweds,” The Pomona Progress Bulletin, 1936 “In life, as on screen, pathos marks career of the kid,” Frederick Othman, The Oklahoman, 1938 In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Love Triangle Murder of Lt. Commander Fred Trayers” by Bryan Lavietes, The Crime Library “Jennifer Trayers” murderpedia.org “Trayers v. Johnson” casetext.com

23 Sep 20202h