94: Skechers Shape-Ups & a Ton of Leaves

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Ten years ago, Skechers Shape-Ups took the world by storm. The shoes were a miracle. They melted our fat, sculpted our hips buns and thighs. And the best part? We didn’t have to do any extra work. All we had to do was put on a pair of Skechers Shape-Ups, and BOOM! Instant workout! Except… well, the shoes didn’t quite live up to the hype.

Then Brandi tells us an alarming tale (doesn’t she always?). When Tina Herrmann didn’t show up for work one day, her boss immediately sensed that something was up. She went to Herrmann’s home, broke in, and discovered a grisly scene. There was blood everywhere. Tina, her two children, and her friend Stephanie Sprang were missing. Investigators rushed to the scene. The clues led back to a man named Matthew Hoffman, whose home was filled with leaves.

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:
“Skechers will pay $40 million over claims that its sneakers toned muscles,” by Ashley Lutz for Business Insider
“Skechers Shape-Ups lawsuit: Woman sues saying ‘toning shoes’ caused hip fractures” by Elisabeth Leamy for ABC News
“Skechers to pay $40 million for exaggerated shoe claims,” by Brett Barrouquere for the Christian Science Monitor

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Killer Stuffed His House With Leaves, Kept Kidnapped Girl on Bed of Leaves” by Jessica Hopper, ABC News
“What was in the home (and mind) of Matthew Hoffman?” by Allison Manning and Holly Zachariah, The Columbus Dispatch
“Excerpts from Matthew Hoffman’s confession” The Columbus Dispatch
“Missing Ohio Trio Were Stabbed to Death; Bodies Found Stuffed in Hollowed Out Tree” by Dean Schabner, ABC News
“Ohio town grieves; hollow tree that held 3 bodies removed” Associated Press
“Matthew Hoffman, Ohio Killer Who Hid Bodies in Tree, Pleads Guilty” by Edecio Martinez, CBS News