162: Undercover Mother & Another Bathtub Murder?

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Mark Fisher just wanted to have a little fun. That’s why the 19-year-old college sophomore headed into New York City with his friends. While they were out drinking, Mark ran into another friend, and by the end of the night, he found himself at a house party in Brooklyn, surrounded by mostly strangers. The next morning, Mark’s body was discovered just two blocks from the house party. He’d been beaten and shot. When investigators tried to speak with the people Mark had partied with that night, they clammed up. But over time, police came to suspect John Giuca, who’d thrown the party, and his friend, 17-year-old Antonio Russo.

Then Brandi tells us about yet another questionable bathtub murder. When Michele Somers’ family first met Martin MacNeil, they knew something was up. They couldn’t quite put their finger on it, but something about Martin seemed sketchy. But Michele was under Martin’s spell. They eloped in 1978, and aside from Martin’s six month jail stint for forgery, the couple had what appeared to be a healthy marriage. They raised four children, then adopted more. Martin got a medical degree and a law degree. They prospered. But after several decades of marriage, Michele became suspicious of Martin and unhappy with her appearance. Martin suggested she get a facelift.

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:
“Undercover Mother” episode of 20/20
“Mother Justice” by Christopher Ketcham for Vanity Fair
“A murder, a conviction, and a never-ending case,” by Alan Feuer for The New York Times
“Second suspect is charged in 2003 murder of student,” by Michael Wilson for The New York Times
“Citing misconduct, lawyer seeks review of conviction in ‘03 Brooklyn killing,” by Vivian Yee for The New York Times

In this episode, Brandi pulled from:
“Martin MacNeill: Was his wife Michele's death accidental or was it murder?” by Sara Lenz and Brian West, Desert News
“Martin MacNeill timeline” by Brian West, Desert News
“Secrets in Pleasant Grove” episode Dateline
“Utah doctor's life of lies unravels after some of his children are convinced he murdered their mother” by Allie Yang, ABC News
“Murder of Michele MacNeill” wikipedia.org
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