278: Insurance Fraud

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Patricia Douglas had been misled. She, like all the other girls and young women who’d answered MGM’s casting call, thought she’d been hired to dance in a movie. Instead, she was taken to a wild party, held in honor of MGM’s salesmen. Patricia did her best to avoid a creepy salesman named David Ross, but he followed her into the parking lot and attacked her.  Then Brandi tells us about the disappearance of Annie Le. Annie had a lot going on. She was a busy doctoral student at Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology. In a few days, she was set to marry the love of her life. But then she disappeared. Surveillance footage showed her entering a Yale building, but never leaving.  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: “It happened one night…. At MGM,” by David Stenn for Vanity Fair The documentary, “Girl 27” “Visiting film salesman freed of ‘haymow’ party charges,” San Bernardino Daily Sun, June 18, 1937 “Figures in the probe of film party scandal,” the Kansas City Times, June 17, 1937 “Movie colony party trial starts today,” The Cushing Daily Citizen, June 17, 1937 In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Vanishing Bride-To-Be” episode A Wedding and A Murder “Lab Murder: The Brutal Slaying of Yale University Student Annie Le” by Kym L Pasqualini, soapboxie.com “Annie Le: The Yale Lab Murder” by Kristal Hawkins, The Crime Library “Annie Le couldn't wait to get married. On her wedding day she was found murdered” by Nama Winston, mamamia.com.au “Annie Le: Yale grad student touted as 'next Einstein' was murdered by lab technician days before her wedding” by Pritha Paul, meaww.com “Raymond Clark III "Control Freak"; Did It Lead to Annie Le's Murder?” By Edecio Martinez, CBSNews “Read the full statement Raymond Clark III made about killing Annie Le” New Haven Register “Murder of Annie Le” wikipedia.org YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

25 Maj 20222h 13min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! We’ve got a theme! …. A weird, totally accidental theme! This week, we’re talking about wrongfully convicted people who also happen to have the last name Brown.  Brandi starts us off with the story of Sabina Kulakowski, a social worker who was discovered dead near her home. Her home had been set on fire and Sabina had been stabbed, bitten and strangled. Investigators had another suspect in their sights, but eventually locked in on Roy Brown. Roy was a decent enough suspect – he’d been recently released from jail when Sabina was murdered. He also had a history of threatening social workers.  Then Kristin tells us about a robbery at a Dallas furrier. May 6, 1980, was supposed to be a typical day at Fine Furs by Rubin. Then two women walked in. One had a gun. The other held empty trash bags. One of the women shot and killed the store owner, Rubin Danziger, as the other filled the bags with valuable furs. The women fled, leaving behind Ala Danziger as an eyewitness to their crime. It didn’t take long for investigators to locate the women’s getaway car. It had been abandoned, with rental paperwork in the front seat. The paperwork indicated that it had been rented by a woman named Joyce Ann Brown. 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 “Joyce Ann Brown” episodes of Vindicated “Joyce Ann Brown, shackled by her name to another’s crime, dies at 68,” by Margalit Fox for the New York Times “Joyce Ann Brown,” entry on The National Registry of Exonerations “Joyce Ann Brown, exonerated after nearly a decade in prison, dies at 68,” by Emily Langer for the Washington Post “Joyce Ann Brown, exoneree who championed justice, dies at 68,” the Dallas Morning News “Wrongful conviction charges haunt Dallas prosecutors,” by Paul Weingarten for the Chicago Tribune “Joyce Ann Brown,” entry on Bluhm Legal Clinic’s Center on Wrongful Convictions In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Freedom Fighter” episode Forensic Files “Quest for Freedom: The True Story of Roy Brown” by David Lohr, The Crime Library “With DNA From Exhumed Body, Man Finally Wins Freedom” by Fernanda Santos, The New York Times “Roy Brown, who spent 15 years in prison for murder he did not commit, dies at 58” by Sarah Moses Buckshot, syracuse.com “Roy Brown” innocenceproject.org YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

18 Maj 20221h 58min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Michael Dunn pulled into a gas station parking lot, peeved. The teenagers in the car next to him were playing their music too loud. Michael told his fiance, Rhonda, “I hate that thug music.” When Rhonda was in the gas station, Michael asked the boys to turn their music down. They did. But one of the boys, 17-year-old Jordan Davis was annoyed by Michael’s request. So he told his friend to turn the music back up. Michael Dunn flew into a rage.  Then Brandi tells us about Brett Seacat. Brett was a pretty big deal in Kingsman, Kansas. (Just ask him! He’d tell you!) So when his wife, Vashti, said she wanted a divorce, Brett was outraged. He threatened to take the kids from her. Then, on April 30, 2011, Brett called 911 to report that Vashti had set their house on fire and died by suicide. 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, “3 ½ minutes, ten bullets” “The Case of Michael Dunn” by JCS Criminal Psychology on YouTube  In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Burning Suspicion” episode Dateline “In The Fire” episode Accident Suicide or Murder “Former Sheriff's Deputy Covers Up Wife's Murder With Fire, Forged Suicide Note” by Sharon Lynn Pruitt, Oxygen “Questions linger after Kingman fire” by Tim Potter, The Wichita Eagle “Vashti Seacat’s friends testify at trial” by Darcy Gray, The Wichita Eagle “In appeal, Seacat claims trial unfair without look at wife’s private side” by Amy Renee Leiker, The Wichita Eagle “Kansas man convicted of wife’s killing still fighting to overturn verdict” Hays Post “Seacat v. State” casetext.com YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

11 Maj 20222h 45min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brandi is back at it again with another Johnson County murder mystery. How does she keep finding these? Is it because she’s the one committing all these murders? Is that why she knows so many details?? (Don’t look at me! I’m just asking questions!) Barbara Haddock’s death was staged to look like an accident. Barbara lay dead in her garage, under a large amount of firewood. It looked as though she’d been crushed by the firewood. But a closer look revealed a different story. Barbara had been killed by several blows to the back of her head.  Then Kristin tells us about the Central Park Karen. On May 25, 2020, Christian Cooper was birdwatching in an area of Central Park known as the Ramble. The Ramble is home to wildlife and delicate plants, and several signs that state that dogs must be kept on a leash. Amy Cooper figured the rules didn’t apply to her. When Christian asked her to put her dog on a leash, she got offended. Then she decided to weaponize her white womanhood. 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: “Rescue organization returns dog to Amy cooper, one week after “Central Park Karen” video went viral,” by Sophie Lewis for CBS News “Christian Cooper on being racially targeted while birdwatching in Central Park,” video on YouTube from CBS News “Amy Cooper faces charges after calling police on Black bird-watcher,” by Jan Ransom for the New York Times “Case against Amy Cooper lacks key element: Victim’s cooperation,” by Jan Ransom for the New York Times “Why I have chosen not to aid the investigation of Amy Cooper,” by Christian Cooper for The Washington Post “Amy Cooper, who falsely accused Black bird-watcher, has charged dismissed,” by Jonah E. Bromwich  “Amy Cooper was fired after calling 911 on a Black birdwatcher. Now she’s suing her ex-employer,” by Jaclyn Peiser “Amy Cooper sues ex-employer for racial discrimination after viral Central Park incident,” by Meredith Deliso for ABC News “Franklin moves to dismiss Amy Cooper’s wrongful termination suit,” by Nicole Piper for citywireusa.com “How two lives collided in Central Park, rattling the nation,” by Sarah Maslin Nir for the New York Times “Central Park birdwatching incident,” entry on wikipedia In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “State v. Haddock” anylaw.com “Haddock v. Roberts” leagle.com “Olathe Man Charged in Wife’s Death” by Max Evans, Olathe Daily News “Insurance policies offered as possible murder motive” by Max Evans, Olathe Daily News “Haddock tries to build alibi defense in wife’s murder” by Andy Hoffman, Olathe Daily News “Shocking tape played at trial” by Tony Rizzo, The Kansas City Star “Police questioned suspect about cuts on his hand” by Tony Rizzo, The Kansas City Star “Haddock draws life sentence, continues to dispute verdict” by Andy Hoffman, Olathe Daily News “Man sentenced to life for killing wife is seeking appeal” by Andy Hoffman, Olathe Daily News “Fighting for their father” by Shaun Hittle, Lawrence Journal-World YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

4 Maj 20222h 18min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Kristin starts us off with a catfish…. AUSTRALIAN STYLE! When Davine Arckens was 24-years-old, she set off on the adventure of a lifetime: A year in Australia. She had such a good time that she decided to extend her stay for an additional year. But in order to do that, she had to find work. It didn’t take long for Davine to connect online with a farmer named Max. He claimed he owned a remote farm and he needed a farmhand to help him raise cattle.  Then Brandi tells us a story of domestic violence. Camia Gamet crouched down in the bushes outside her boyfriend’s apartment and called 911. She asked the dispatcher to send help to her boyfriend’s apartment. Except, she didn’t admit that it was her boyfriend’s apartment. And when the dispatcher asked who she was, Camia ended the call. 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: “Backpacker kidnapped and shackled in abandoned pig shed by madman,” episode of 60 Minutes Australia “Backpacker rapist Gene Charles Bristow, who kept kidnap victim in pig shed, jailed,” by Rebecca Opie for ABC Australia “European backpacker says she felt like a ‘slave’ during two-day rape ordeal in ‘dirty pig shed’” by Rebecca Opie for ABC Australia “Australian farmer Gene Charles Bristow guilty of raping backpacker,” BBC News “Alleged rapist Gene Charles Bristow admits to using fake name,” by Rebecca Opie for ABC Australia “Lawyer for alleged ‘pig shed’ rapist Gene Bristow accuses backpacker of making up evidence,” by Rebecca Opie for ABC Australia “Farmer who kidnapped and raped a Belgian backpacker he kept prisoner in pig shed loses appeal against his convictions,” Australian Associated Press In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Camia Gamet” episode Snapped “Broken glass, dented frying pan, busted lamp found near body of Marcel Hill, allegedly beaten, stabbed to death by girlfriend” by Danielle Salisbury, mlive.com “Case manager testifies she warned Marcel Hill of Camia Gamet, the woman accused of killing him” by Danielle Salisbury, mlive.com “The Domestic Abuse and Brutal Murder of Marcel Hill” by Anita Durairaj, Medium “The Camia Gamet Murder Case” Jim Fisher True Crime “State of Michigan v. Camia Tiffany Gamet” justia.com “Camia Gamet” murderpedia.org YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

27 Apr 20222h 15min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Alisha Bromfield wasn’t interested in being Brian Cooper’s wedding date. But Alisha didn’t have much of a choice. Brian was her boss, and he was a vindictive creep. If she rejected his invitation, he might cut her hours, or worse, fire her. So Alisha told Brian she’d go to his sister’s wedding with him, as a friend.  Then Kristin tells a story that’s light on court stuff, but brimming with balloons! In 1986, the city of Cleveland wanted to reinvent itself. They figured out exactly how to do it. They’d host the biggest simultaneous balloon release, ever. It would be so fun! They’d be in the Guinness Book of World Records! They’d raise a ton of money for the United Way of Cleveland! What could go 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: “Balloonfest” short film  “How Cleveland’s Balloonfest ‘86 became a public disaster,” by Corey Irwin for ultimateclassicrock.com “Balloonfest ‘86: 35 years since downtown Cleveland event turned disastrous,” by Suzanne Stratford for Fox8 “When the balloons inflated, so did a man’s career,” by John Rogers for NBC News In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Postmortem Depravity: The Murder of Pregnant Mother Alisha Bromfield” by Kym L. Pasqualini, Medium “Horrific crimes against Alisha Bromfield spur law change in 32 states” True Crime Daily “Alisha Bromfield” chillingcrimes.com “Seventh Circuit Slams Home Depot in Employee Murder Case” by Lorraine Bailey, Courthouse News “Sherry Anicich v. Home Depot Inc.” findlaw.com YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

20 Apr 20221h 56min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! PSA: If you haven’t Googled that “cool” teacher from high school, go ahead. We’ll wait.  Douglas Le had a reputation for being the cool teacher at Gilroy High School. He was young and highly educated. He could relate to his students! He told hilarious, edgy jokes! He joked about the size of his students’ genitals. He joked about having sex with their moms. In the fall of 2014, one mother alerted the school district to Douglas Le’s behavior. They didn’t listen.  Then Brandi tells us a very on-brand story. It was September 2, 2003. Sarah Johnson ran to a neighbor’s house in a panic. Her parents, Diane and Alan Scott Johnson were dead in their bedroom. When investigators arrived on the scene, they got there just in time to stop a garbage truck from taking evidence from the crime scene. 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 Web of Lies episode “The Enemy Within” “Ex-Campbell teacher who catfished students arrested again on teen sex allegations,” by Robert Salonga for the Mercury News “Gilroy sex offender teacher set free,” by Jack Foley for the Gilroy Dispatch “At school, he was the ‘cool’ teacher. Online, police say, he was a student-seducing porn star,” by Peter Holley for the Washington Post In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Disrobed” episode Forensic Files “Love Interrupted- Diane and Alan Johnson Murders” episode 20/20 “Couple’s killer wore bathrobe backwards, says” by Patti Murphy, The Times-News “Conflicting evidence brought at Johnson Trial” Associated Press, South Idaho Press “Family gets day in court” by Patti Murphy, The Times-News “Bellevue, Idaho” wikipedia.org “Teen Charged With Parents’ Gruesome Murder” by Elizabeth R. Grodd and Jeffrey L Diamond, ABC News “The Johnson Family Murders” by Emily Thompson, Morbidology “Sarah Marie Johnson” murderpedia.org “Sarah Marie Johnson v. State of Idaho” findlaw.com YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

13 Apr 20222h 42min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brandi starts us off with a story about a staircase in Durhan, North Carolina. To clarify: That’s a staircase in Durham – not the staircase in Durham. Turns out, there’s more than one staircase in Durham. Hmm.  It was January of 2007, and Corey Smith was on his way to work when he spotted a woman lying at the base of a staircase near his apartment. The woman was unresponsive, so he called 911. He checked her ID and learned that her name was Denita Smith. Denita was working on her master’s degree at North Carolina Central University. She’d recently completed a prestigious fellowship with the New York Times. She had no known enemies, and yet, someone had killed her.  Then Kristin tells a story that’s so stupid it’s delightful. (Unless you ask Brandi. Brandi is very anti-heist.) During a tour of the special collections library at Transylvania University, freshman Spencer Reinhard perked up when the tour guide showed off the library’s set of John Hames Audubon’s “Birds of America.” The librarian told the group that a set had recently sold for $12 million. Spencer was intrigued. The special collections room evidently held valuable books, guarded by almost no security.   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: “Majoring in Crime,” by John Falk for Vanity Fair “Secrets of the Transy Book Heist,” episode of Super Heists “Four charged in Transy book heist,” by Andy Mead and Cassondra Kirby for the Lexington Herald-Leader “Librarian: Emotional scars remain,” by Beth Musgrave for the Lexington Herald-Leader “Wrong-way gang,” by Gary Thompson for the Philadelphia Inquirer “Transy thieves took names from film,” by Beth Musgrave for the Lexington Herald-Leader “College caper appeal backfires, robbers to get even more time,” by Martha Neil for the ABA Journal “Sentence stands in Transy book theft,” by Brandon Ortiz for the Lexington Herald-Leader In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Internal Affairs” episode Dateline “Shannon Crawley” episode Snapped “Denita Smith” chillingcrimes.com “Shannon Elizabeth Crawley” murderpedia.org “State of North Carolina v. Shannon Elizabeth Crawley” findlaw.com YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you skeezy scunch! You must be hungry for more! We’d offer you some sausage brunch, but that gets messy. So how about you head over to our Patreon instead? (patreon.com/lgtcpodcast). At the $5 level, you’ll get 30+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

6 Apr 20222h 36min