Diane Whitmore grew up in the Midwest. She was a smart girl and, as she matured, she was looking forward to an exciting life as an independent, sophisticated woman.  But when it came to men, Diane had a bad picker. Diane married Joe Pikul after meeting him at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.  He was exciting […]

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Just after midnight on Christmas Eve 1945, Jennie Sodder woke up to the smell of smoke. The home she shared with her husband, George, and nine of their children, was going up in flames. It would be over seven hours before the fire department arrived. By then, the two-story house had burned to the ground […]

The Missing Sodder Children

As fraternal twins, Betty and Peggy were together from the very beginning. As adults, they were very different people but remained best friends.  Then, in 1992, they either conspired together to have Betty’s husband killed or fought together to prove their innocence. Join us at the quiet end for Split Decision. After Betty’s husband, Dr. […]

Split Decision: The Murder of Dr. Jack Wilson

17-year-old Karla Homolka met 23-year-old Paul Bernardo in 1987. Some saw their meeting as love at first sight, but the two had a dangerous attraction which would drive them to commit abductions, sexual assaults, and even murder. This good-looking couple became obsessed with each other. And Paul was very controlling of Karla. But Paul Bernardo’s […]

Killer Couple: Karla Homolka & Paul Bernardo

On a weekday afternoon in 1985 in Gary, Indiana, fifteen-year-old Paula Cooper stabbed 78-year-old Ruth Pelke to death. In a city with a history of racism, Ruth was a white, beloved bible teacher who refused to move out of her overwhelmingly black neighborhood. When Paula and her friends showed up at Ruth’s door that day […]

Death Sentence: The Murder of Ruth Pelke & the Punishment of Paula Cooper

April Kauffman didn’t have an easy life growing up.  When she was just seventeen, she gave birth to her daughter Kim and set out to make a better life for them both. April raised her daughter in a loving home despite an early split from Kim’s father. She earned her cosmetology license and worked as […]

One Last Family Weekend

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