279: The Mini Madoff

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Bill Butterworth claimed he had no idea what happened. He awoke in a haze, hundreds of miles from home. He’d driven from Kansas to Florida in a car that wasn’t his. The vehicle belonged to a family whose house he’d been working on. But how had he come into possession of their car? Then, Bill says he heard a horrifying story on the radio. Phil Fager had been shot dead in his home. His daughters, Kelli and Sherri, had been killed as well. Their killer had not been found. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted 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, Brandi pulled from: “Kansas Trails: Sedgwick County” genealogytrails.com “Wichita murder suspect in custody” by AP, The Salina Journal “Suspect charged in family slayings” upi.com “Methods described by police” by Kaye Schultz, The Wichita Eagle “Prosecution rests case in Butterworth murder trial” by Jim Cross, The Wichita Eagle “Most self-professed amnesiacs fake it, psychologist testifies” by Kaye Schultz, The Wichita Eagle “Wichita triple-slaying case now up to jury” by Lynn Byczynski, The Kansas City Times “Jury weighs evidence in triple slaying” by AP, The Kansas City Star “Butterworth acquitted in deaths” by Bill Hirschman, The Wichita Eagle "Police report on Face case still in works” by Jim Cross, The Wichita Eagle “State of Kansas v. William T. Butterworth” “1988 murder trial still haunts jury foreman” by Roy Wenzl, The Wichita Eagle “The Fager Murders” episode, The Generation Why Podcast 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 49+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

16 Aug 20231h 47min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Are you ready to get buff? Boy, have you come to the right place! In this episode, we learn from the VERY REAL strongman duo, Chop and Steele. They’ll lead you through workouts you’ve probably never heard of… like chopping twigs in half! Wanna work those legs? Try stomping on an Easter basket! When you’re really ready to get your pump on, fill a jug with some leftover turbo gravy. Do a few reps. You’ll definitely feel the burn! (What’s turbo gravy, you ask? What a weird question! You’ve obviously never heard of Chef Keith Guerke.) … are you starting to think that these guys aren’t the real deal? Well, that probably means you’re smarter than the morning news anchors who invited Chop and Steele on air. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: The documentary, “Chop and Steele” “Fake strongman duo Chop and Steele prank morning TV shows,” Found Footage Fest channel on YouTube “Fake strongman duo Chop and Steele in North Dakota,” Found Footage Fest channel on YouTube “K-Strass the yo-yo guy super compilation,” Comedy for Profit channel on YouTube “The Found Footage Festival has triumphed in its copyright lawsuit,” by Jim Vorel for Paste Magazine “Gray Television Group, Inc v. Found Footage Festival, LLC” court documents “Chasing the story of Chop & Steele” by Richard Whittaker for the Austin Chronicle “Meet the comedy duo who got sued for pranking the news,” by Oliver Noble for Vice.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 48+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

9 Aug 20231h 59min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Plenty of people saw Michelle Martinko at the Westdale Mall on December 19, 1979. She spoke to a few friends, tried on a winter coat, and grabbed a bite to eat at Orange Julius. By the time she was ready to leave, Michelle was a little apprehensive about walking through the parking lot alone. Nevertheless, she walked out to her family’s car. No one witnessed what happened next. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted 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, Brandi pulled from: “And Then There Were Three” episode Dateline “Murder at the Mall: The Michelle Martinko Case” episode 48 Hours “Michelle Martinko” chilling crimes.com “Michelle Martinko’s murder ‘haunted’ the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Now, her suspected killer is set to go on trial.” By Jen Moulton, littlevillagemag.com “Police search of DNA behind much of the argument in Jerry Burns' appeal” by Shannon Moody, CBS2 Iowa News “Supreme Court affirms Jerry Burns' conviction in 1979 Michelle Martinko murder” by William Morris, Des Moines Register “Michelle Martinko” iowacoldcases.org “Martinko v. HNW ASSOCIATES” justia.com “State of Iowa v. Jerry Lynn Burns” iowacourts.gov “Murder of Michelle Martinko” 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 47+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

2 Aug 20231h 34min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! The Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure always drew a big crowd. People often waited for more than an hour to get into the spooky, dimly-lit corridors of the castle. But the Haunted Castle was scarier than the crowds at Six Flags would have ever imagined. The attraction was filled with flammable decor. It had very few emergency exits. There were no smoke detectors. Six Flags’ management was well aware of the Haunted Castles’ defects, but they refused to take basic safety precautions. Afterall, those efforts would have cost money. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: Storybook Amusement channel on YouTube, “The disaster that changed theme parks forever: Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure” The Documentary “Doorway to Hell? The Mystery and Controversy Surrounding the Fire at the Haunted Castle” “Officials recall code violations at Theme Park,” by Donald Janson, New York Times “Blaze fatal to 8 linked to lighter,” by Lindsey Gruson, New York Times “Worker at Great Adventure cites delay in reporting fire,” by Donald Janson, New York Times “Girl tells court about escaping fun house fire,” by Donald Janson, New York Times “Amusement park owners go on trial for fire that killed 8,” New York Times “Closing statements to jurors are made in park fire trial,” by Donald Janson, New York Times “Fire safety official criticized for testimony on fatal Jersey blaze,” by Thomas J. Knudson, New York Times “Charges dropped in Six Flags case,” Associated Press “Settlement in fire at park in Jersey,” Associated Press “Amusement park crisis management,” Joe Costal Rowan University 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 48+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

26 Juli 20231h 42min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Donna Palomba desperately needed the police’s help. She’d just been attacked in her home by a masked gunman. He’d raped her and threatened her life. Donna was shaken to her core. The attacker had taken pains to disguise himself, but Donna had an unsettling feeling that she knew the man. After all, what were the chances that she’d be attacked the *one* time her husband was out of town? Police needed to act quickly if they wanted to get this predator off the streets.  Spoiler alert: They didn’t. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted 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, Brandi pulled from: “The Man Behind the Mask” episode Dateline “Evil Paid a Visit” episode Dateline “Donna’s Story” janedoenomore.org “Victim ‘Angry And Afraid' as Attacker to Be Released From Prison Early” by Jill Konopka, NBC Connecticut “The Danger” by John Murray, The Waterbury Observer “Infamous Waterbury Case Hits National Spotlight” by John Murray, The Waterbury Observer “Rapist John Regan committed to psychiatric center in N.Y.” by Tracey O’Shaughnessy, Republican American 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 47+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

19 Juli 20232h 13min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! We’ve got big news to share… and boy are we nervous to share it. In this episode, we announce a change to the show’s format that will hopefully give us better work/life balance. From this point forward, we’ll present one case per week instead of two. This week, Kristin will share a case. Next week, it’ll be Brandi’s turn, and so on and so forth. This isn’t a change we’re taking lightly. As you probably know, we are anxiety-ridden people pleasers. We’re pretty damn apprehensive about messing with something that we’ve worked so hard to build. Unfortunately, the truth is that we’ve hit a breaking point. The time that it takes both of us to research, write, record and review an episode means that we have a lot less time for the other things that matter to us. For Kristin, that means that the novel she’s working on is on track to be finished in a quarter to never. For Brandi, it means not spending much time with the little family she wanted for so long.  We’re hoping that by making this change, we’ll keep the show fresh, prevent burnout, and give us some much needed time to harass our families. We’re grateful to all of you for supporting us. We hope you’ll continue to support us as we move to this new format. Back to your regularly scheduled programming… This week, Kristin covers a case that is often referred to as the “perfect” kidnapping. When Ginny Piper was kidnapped from her upscale home in Orono, Minnesota, investigators were a little puzzled. The Pipers were wealthy and well connected, but they didn’t have the money or name recognition of other nearby families. Why hadn’t they gone after the Pillsburys? The kidnappers also seemed to have wanted to kidnap Ginny’s husband, Bobby. But why had they thought a businessman would be home on a Thursday afternoon? As the investigation continued, the questions kept coming. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: The book, “Stolen from the Garden, The kidnapping of Virginia Piper,” by William Swanson “The ‘Perfect’ Kidnapping of Virginia Piper: Three-Part Series,” by Tracy Briggs for The Globe “50 years later, the Virginia Piper kidnapping remains a Minnesota mystery,” by Curt Brown for the Star Tribune  An episode of the Crimes of the Centuries podcast, “The $1 Million Kidnapping of Ginny Piper” 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 47+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

12 Juli 20232h 9min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! One thing is certain: *Something* happened to Thalia Massie on the night of September 12, 1931. She’d stormed out of a party at the Ala Wai Inn alone, annoyed with her husband and his Navy friends. Later, when a car stopped to pick her up, Thalia had injuries to her face. She said she’d been assaulted and robbed. When her husband came home that night, she told him that she’d been beaten and raped by a group of Hawaiian men. Police quickly rounded up five young men. Then Brandi tells us about the disappearance of Katherine Heckel. When Katherine never returned from her lunch break on July 15, 1991, her friends and family were concerned. She had two young children at home – she wouldn’t leave them voluntarily. Naturally, investigators looked into her husband, John. He had an airtight alibi. So, suspicions turned on other men in Katherine’s life. Police discovered a good suspect, but the case stalled out. 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 American Experience, titled, “The Island Murder” “Massie Trials,” entry on Famous Trials by Douglas O. Linder An episode of the podcast Crimes of the Centuries, titled, “The Massie Affair” In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “She Didn’t Come Home” episode Dateline “Katherine Heckel” chillingcrimes.com “Groves’ ex-wife talks about case after 27 years” by Lana Muthler, Williamsport Sun-Gazette “Timeline of cold case that endured 'bumps and bruises' over 27 years” by John Beauge, PennLive.com “Pa. man found guilty of third-degree murder in 27-year-old case where no body was found” by John Beauge, PennLive.com “Pa. man gets maximum penalty for death of woman whose body was never found” by John Beauge, PennLive.com “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Loyd Waitman Groves” justia.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 47+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

5 Juli 20232h 46min

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brandi starts us off with the mysterious death of Dee Dee Jackson. Dee Dee was at her boyfriend’s house late one night in 1994 when she passed away. Her boyfriend, Don Bohana, told police that she’d drowned in his pool after a night of heavy drinking. But that explanation sounded fishy to Dee Dee’s family. They said that Dee Dee had never learned to swim. She was terrified of water. There was no way that she’d willingly gotten in the pool that night. Then Kristin tells a dark, old time-y tale that made a big impact on the justice system. The crew of the Mignonette was probably doomed from the start. The yacht wasn’t built for long, arduous voyages, but the crew had been paid to sail it nearly 15,000 miles. So they tried. When a wave did irreparable damage to the ship, it sank in less than five minutes. The crew of four managed to get on a lifeboat, but with no fresh water and just two tins of turnips, they knew they couldn’t last long. After approximately 20 days at sea, they resorted to cannibalism. 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: “In warm blood: Some historical and procedural aspects of Regina v. Dudley and Stephens,” The University of Chicago Law Review “Regina v. Dudley and Stephens,” casebriefs.com “What’s eating me about this tale of cannibalism?” Western Daily Press The book, “Cannibalism and the common law: the story of the tragic last voyage of the Mignonette and the strange legal proceedings to which it game rise,” by A W B Simpson. “R v Dudley and Stephens” entry on Wikipedia In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Jackson Family Mystery” episode 20/20 “Drowning in Lies” episode Accident, Suicide, or Murder “Man in prison for Tito Jackson's ex-wife drowning says she 'could swim’” by Enjoli Francis and Joseph Rhee, ABC News “L.A. Businessman Claimed Girlfriend Accidentally Drowned — But Evidence Pointed To Murder” by Joe Dziemianowicz, oxygen.com “The Mysterious Death In Michael Jackson’s Family — Delores Martha Jackson” by Shenbaga Lakshmi, Medium “People v. Bohana” findlaw.com “Neighborhood Spotlight: Pricey Ladera Heights, tucked away in the Westside, retains a sense of community” by Scott Garner, Los Angeles Times 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 47+ full length bonus episodes, plus access to our 90’s style chat room!

31 Maj 20232h 9min