278: Insurance Fraud

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! We missed you all! We are back from break, refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to bring you a VERY meaty boi! Kristin starts us off with a sports story. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Over spring break of 2006, the Duke University men’s lacrosse team was bored. So they threw a party. As the night wore on, they hired two exotic dancers to come perform at their house party. The night was a shitshow. The two women performed for the crowd of men, but stopped when one of the players made a threatening comment about a broomstick. Later that night, hours after the party dispersed, one of the women reported that she’d been gang raped. Then Brandi shows off her giant balls by giving us part one of her Jodi Arias coverage! When Travis Alexander met Jodi Arias, he was awestruck. She was beautiful. They talked all evening, and Travis fell head over heels. Jodi was everything he wanted in a woman. She seemed equally smitten with him. Even though they lived in different states, they tried to make their long-distance relationship work. Jodi even converted to Travis’ religion. But Travis’ friends weren’t quite so taken by Jodi. Over time, he came to question whether Jodi was really the one after all. 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 book, “The Price of Silence” by William D. Cohan “Fantastic Lies” episode of 30 for 30 “Duke lacrosse case,” entry on Wikipedia In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Case Continues: Jodi Arias Pt. 1” episode Snapped “The Case Continues: Jodi Arias Pt. 2” episode Snapped “Friends say they warned Travis Alexander that Jodi Arias was dangerous for months before she killed him” by Gail Deutsch, Denise Martinez-Ramundo, Jonathan Balthaser, and Enjoli Francis, ABC News “Jodi Ann Arias” murderpedia.org “Murder of Travis Alexander” wikipedia.org “Jodi Arias Timeline: Key Dates In Case Of California Woman Accused Of Stabbing Ex-Boyfriend 27 Times” by David Lohr, huffpost.com “Timeline: A look back at the Jodi Arias murder case” azcentral.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!

2 Feb 20223h 8min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Shawn Bentler had money trouble. He wanted money desperately, but didn’t want to work for it. In fact, Shawn was so bad at showing up for work that he got fired from the family business. He later got fired from another job when he told his boss that he was overwhelmed by the sudden passing of his father. (His dad was very much alive.) But at some point, Shawn came up with an idea. If his family was dead, he’d inherit a lot of money.  When Christy Mack and Jon Koppenhaver, a.k.a. “War Machine” met on a photo shoot for Hustler Magazine, Christy was indifferent. She wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. She valued her independence. But she and Jon got to talking, and she was charmed. She’d never had someone shower her with so much love and attention before. Within a few weeks, they began dating. A few months later, the violence began. 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 Case of Jon Koppenhaver,” JCS - Criminal Psychology “The tragic love story of Christy Mack and MMA fighter War Machine,” by Jane McManus for espn.com Christy Mack’s twitter account “Cage-fighter War Machine blames anti-male society for his domestic violence in suicide note,” by Scott Kauffman for rawstory.com “Ex-fighter War Machine gets judge to postpone trial,” by Ken Ritter for the Associated Press “War Machine sentenced to life for brutal assault of ex: Inside the MMA star’s fall,” by Mike Bohn for Rolling Stone “Christy Mack vs. War Machine: The whole ugly case, explained,” by Meera Jagannathan for the Daily News “Porn star Christy Mack’s alleged ‘rape fantasy’ new focal point of War Machine abuse trial,” by Jessa Schroeder for the Daily News “War Machine blows ‘offensive’ kiss after arguing that porn star ex cant’ claim rape because of her job as sex worker,” the Daily News “MMA Fighter ‘War Machine’ arrested in Simi Valley, was sought in Las Vegas beating of ex-girlfriend,” by Melissa Palmer and Mary Beth McDade for KTLA In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Shawn Bentler” podcast episode, This Is Monsters “Shawn Michael Bentler” murderpedia.org “Man charged in killing described as unreliable” Associated Press “Trial Opens for Man accused of Killing his 3 Sister, Parents in Iowa” Associated Press “Judge to visit home where man is accused of killing his family” by Amy Lorentzen, Associated Press “Emotional day for Bentler family” Associated Press “Remembering the Bentlers” by Melissa Shriver, KHQA News “Killer’s Children Get Millions” KTVO News “State v. Bentler” 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 28+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

15 Dec 20212h 25min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Nearly every day, Ahmaud Arbery went out for a jog. February 23, 2020 was no exception. His route included a loop through Satilla Shores – a neighborhood just a couple miles from his own, but not nearly as racially diverse. After a while, a truck with a Confederate flag vanity plate began following Ahmaud. Inside the truck were Gregory and Travis McMichael. Both men had guns. They yelled at Ahmaud to stop. They wanted to “talk to him.” Ahmaud wasn’t interested. He tried to get away from the men, but soon, a man named William Roddie Bryan joined in. He used his truck to trap Ahmaud. Ahmaud had nowhere to run.  Then, Brandi tells us about a mysterious pool death. As handyman Gerald Gardener walked toward the back of Samira and Adam Frasch’s home, he spotted the couple’s dog running loose by the pool. Then he saw a pair of sandals. One was caught under a hose on the first step of the pool. The other floated nearby. Gerald moved in closer. That’s when he spotted Samira, dead at the bottom of the pool. 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: Episode of 20/20, “Nowhere to Run” Episode of 48 hours, “A Promise to Ahmaud” “Ex-Brunswick DA indicted for misconduct in Ahmaud Arbery case surrenders,” by Brittany Muller for News4Jax “In Ahmaud Arbery’s name, Georgia repeals citizen’s arrest law,” by Emma Hurt for NPR “Factbox: Who was Ahmaud Arbery?” by Rich McKay for Reuters “The citizen’s arrest law cited in Arbery’s killing dates back to the Civil War,” by Frances Robles for the New York Times “Ahmaud Arbery: Waycross district attorney explains in letter why no one was arrested in 25-year-old’s shooting death,” by Amber Krycka for Action News Jax “Race not a factor jurors will consider in the case of three men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery,” by Anne Schindler for First Coast News In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Illicit Affairs” episode In Ice Cold Blood “At The Bottom Of The Pool” episode Dateline “Frasch murder investigation reveals couple’s torrid existence” by Jennifer Portman, Pensacola News Journal “Samira Frasch” chillingcrimes.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 29+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

8 Dec 20212h 52min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Initially, Sarah Stern’s disappearance looked like a suicide. Her car had been found abandoned on a bridge. On the day she went missing, she gave a box of keepsakes to a neighbor. Her best friend, Liam McAtasney, confirmed to police that Sarah had been depressed. She’d told him she wanted to “get away.” But Sarah’s family and other friends told a different story. For one, she would never have left her beloved dog unattended. Secondly, she wasn’t depressed at all. Then Kristin tells us about the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Junior. Barry Keenan was down on his luck. He was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and for the first time in his life, he was broke. He needed money, fast. So he hatched a plan to kidnap Bob Hope’s son. But Bob Hope seemed so nice. He was always entertaining the troops! Kidnapping Bob Hope’s son would be positively un-American. So Barry decided to kidnap Frank Sinatra’s son, instead.  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: “Snatching Sinatra” by Peter Gilstrap for The New Times Los Angeles Magazine 1998 “‘Son of Sam’ law upheld in Sinatra kidnapper’s movie deal,” Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press “Frank Sinatra, Jr., kidnapping,” FBI.gov “Kidnapping ordeal tested family ties,” by J. Randy Taraborrelli for Arizona Republic, Nov 26, 1997 “Court asked to overturn ban on felons selling stories,” by Robert Jabion for the Associated Press, December 7, 2001 “Both Sinatras due to testify soon,” by Ridgely Cummings for Civic Center News Agency, Feb 27 1964 “Perjury enters Sinatra case as witness changes his story,” UPI, Feb 25, 1964 “Frank Sinatra, Jr., denies kidnapping publicity stunt,” Associated Press, Feb 29, 1964 “Sinatra could go, defendant claims,” Associated Press, March 3, 1964 “Sinatra-abduction case goes to jury,” Associated Press, March 7, 1964 “Jury gets Sinatra kidnap case,” Associated Press, March 7, 1964 In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Sarah Stern” chillingcrimes.com “With Friends Like These” episode 20/20 “Sarah Stern murder: Suspect said she wanted to run away, had suicidal past” by Kathleen Hopkins, Asbury Park Press “Sarah Stern murder: No new trial for Liam McAtasney” by Kathleen Hopkins, Asbury Park Press “Friend Who Killed 19-Year-Old New Jersey Student Sarah Stern Gets Life Without Parole- Plus 10 Years” by Brian Thompson, NBC New York News 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 28+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

1 Dec 20212h 44min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Fred Korematsu led a fairly typical American life. His family went to church every Sunday. They owned a small business. The Korematsu family had always faced some level of racism, but nothing compared to the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the relocation and incarceration of more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps. None of the people who were put in the camps had done anything wrong. There wasn’t even evidence that they’d *maybe* done anything wrong. In the face of this racist hysteria, Fred Korematsu stood firm. As a person with Japanese ancestry, he had been ordered to leave his home. But he refused.  Then Brandi tells us another terrifying story about a bathtub. At around 1 a.m. on April 27, 2012, Chad Cutler called 911. He told the dispatcher that he’d just discovered his wife, Lisa, blue and unresponsive in their bathtub. He guessed she’d been in there for a few hours. He claimed he’d fallen asleep after she got in the bathtub earlier that evening. But when paramedics arrived on the scene, they noticed that the bed in the master bedroom was still made. Chad was fully dressed, and eerily calm. 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: “U.S. v Korematsu,” by Douglas O. Linder for FamousTrials.com “Fred Korematsu Fought Against Japanese Internment in the Supreme Court… and Lost,” by Erick Trickey for Smithsonian Magazine “Fred Korematsu,” entry on Wikipedia “Internment of Japanese Americans,” entry on Wikipedia “Fred’s Story,” from the Fred T. Korematsu Institute In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Dead In The Water” episode Accident, Suicide, or Murder “'None Of It Made Any Sense': Illinois Mother's Murder Staged As Bathtub Drowning” by Sharon Lynn Pruitt, Oxygen “Relationships of Cutlers Focus of Trial” by Huey Freeman, Herald and Review “Chad Cutler Trial Focuses on Injuries” by Huey Freeman, Herald and Review “Cutler Jury Begins To Deliberate” by Huey Freeman, Herald and Review “Illinois Man Who Drowned Wife For Insurance Remains Jailed” Insurance News Net “People v. Cutler” 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 25+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

17 Nov 20212h 31min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Alexis Murphy had a bright future ahead of her. She was the captain of her high school’s volleyball team, a robust social media presence, and plans to go to college. But one day in August of 2013, she left home to buy hair extensions and never came back. Investigators tracked down surveillance footage of Alexis at a gas station in Lovingston, Virginia. The footage didn’t reveal anything explicitly sinister, but it did reveal that a local creep had held the door open for her.  Then Norm joined the podcast to give us an American history lesson! (Turns out, if they didn’t sing about it in Hamilton, we don’t know anything about it.) Norm gives us the story of the Boston Massacre. It went down on March 5, 1770 amidst growing tensions between colonists and British soldiers. Private Hugh White was the lone soldier guarding the Custom House. When colonists insulted him, Hugh fought back. Hugh wasn’t outarmed, but he was outnumbered. 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, Norman pulled from:  Famous-Trials.com - https://www.famous-trials.com/massacre “Boston’s Massacre” by Eric Hinderaker https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674237384 In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “What happened to Alexis Murphy” True Crime Daily “Timeline: The Search for Alexis Murphy” NBC29 News “Alexis Murphy’s Family Addresses Marijuana Allegations” NBC29 News “Randy Taylor Trial Day Two: Alexis Murphy’s blood found, defense pushes human trafficking” by Lisa Provence, C-Ville.com “Day 4: Mystery man testifies in Randy Taylor trial” by Lisa Provence, C-Ville.com “Randy Allen Taylor trial Day 5: Taylor’s fate in jury’s hands” by Lisa Provence, C-Ville.com “Alexis Murphy Remains Discovered Seven Years After She Vanished” investigationdiscovery.com “Murder of Alexis Murphy” 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 25+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

10 Nov 20212h 33min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Hold onto your hats, because Kristin starts us off with a doozy. When investigators arrived at the home of James and Vivian Gray, they didn’t do a great job. They invited randos to help clean up the crime scene where the couple had been shot. Then, when they left, they handed the scene off to the crime’s main suspect -- the couple’s adult son, Anthony Gray.  Then Brandi tells us about Cody Johnson, who at 25, was thrilled to be marrying the love of his life, Jordan Graham. But Jordan wasn’t so happy. In fact, as she walked down the aisle, she cried and shook her head. Attendees might have written Jordan’s behavior off as nerves, but she later confided in a friend that she wasn’t happy. She was especially nervous about Cody’s desire to consummate their marriage. Not long after their wedding, Cody went missing.  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 ID show, “Kentucky Murder Mystery: The Trials of Anthony Gray”  “Kentucky man found guilty of killing parents in third trial,” by Michael Berk for CourtTV “Gray found guilty of double murder in third trial,” by Kiva Johns-Adkins for the News Graphic “Gray murder trial continues,” by Kiva Johns-Adkins for the News Graphic In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “New wife convicted of pushing husband off cliff 8 days after wedding” True Crime Daily “Newlywed Bride Pushes Husband Off Cliff 8 Days After Their Wedding” by Fatim Hemraj, Medium “Montana bride Jordan Linn Graham goes on trial in husband’s fatal fall from cliff” by Kyung Lah and David Simpson, CNN “Jordan Graham Trial: Did Her Wedding Blues Lead to Murder?” by Howard Breuer, people.com “Montana newlywed Jordan Linn Graham gets 30 years in husband’s murder” by Jack Hannah, CNN “Jordan Linn Graham” 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 25+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

3 Nov 20212h 25min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Harold Henthorn loved a good surprise. So when he began planning a surprise anniversary trip for his wife, Toni, he pulled out all the stops. He asked her office staff to clear her schedule. He packed her suitcase. Then, on what was supposed to be a typical workday, Harold gave Toni the good news: They’d be going on a romantic trip to Estes Park, Colorado, to celebrate their 12th anniversary. They’d leave right away. But Harold had more than a surprise trip up his sleeve.  Then Kristin tells us about the lynching of Timothy Coggins. Timothy’s murder was heartbreaking, but it wasn’t exactly a whodunit. In fact, within a few weeks, two black officers were closing in on Timothy’s murderers. But the higher-ups in the local police force put a stop to the investigation. They’d hit a dead end... supposedly. For 34 years, the case went cold. Then a young agent from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations gave the case a closer look. 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: “A brutal lynching. An indifferent police force. A 34-year wait for justice.” by Wesley Lowery for GQ “In the cold dark night” episode of 20/20 “The hate crime solved after 34 years,” by Natasha Frost for History.com “Two indicted in 1983 Georgia killing,” by Nelson Helm for the Atlanta Journal Constitution “Five things to know about the Spalding trial in the murder of man dragged behind pick up truck,” by Christian Boone for the Atlanta Journal Constitution In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Over the Edge” episode Dateline  “Harold Henthorn” chillingcrimes.com “Black Widower: How One Man Allegedly Murdered Two Wives” by Caleb Hannan, Rolling Stone “Harold Henthorn’s wife died in a freak accident. When his second wife died police had questions.” by Gemma Bath, MamaMia “The unusual deaths of the two Mrs. Henthorns” CBS News “Tip leads reporter to story of mysterious deaths” CBS News “‘Lethal love’: Harold Henthorn had two wives. Both died in bizarre, brutal ways.” by Michael E. Miller, The Washington Post “United States of America v. Harold Arthur Henthorn” 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 25+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

27 Okt 20212h 28min