March 20, 1984 started out as a promising spring day for a single mom from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. It wouldn’t end that way. Phyllis Cottle is assaulted in broad daylight as she leaves work, forced into her car at knifepoint, and left wondering why no one came to her aid.

We recommend you first listen to the Prologue.

*2024 Update: Based on listener feedback, we've revised a portion of this episode.

EPISODE CREDITS
Host - Carol Costello
Producer - Nijah Golliday
Audio Engineer - Sean Rule-Hoffman
Production Director - Brigid Coyne
Executive Producer - Gerardo Orlando
Original Music - Timothy Law Snyder

The History of Mass Incarceration (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/history-mass-incarceration)

For additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That Day

In this podcast, journalist Carol Costello revisits the first big assignment she covered as a 22-year-old, novice reporter: Phyllis Cottles’ brutal attack. Psychologists call them “Triumphant Survivors,” but Phyllis Cottle was more than a survivor, she used this crime to better herself and the world around her.

True crime

In this episode of Blind Rage, Carol gains insight into Samuel Herring's bid for exoneration from the man who heads Ohio's Innocence Project, attorney Mark Godsey. 

Despite the initial intrigue, DNA evidence led to a perplexing ending: Herring's guilt was confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Godsey, a former prosecutor turned innocence advocate, explains how and why the organization took up Herring's case, reveals how DNA evidence was discovered, shares the history of the nationwide effort to overturn wrongful convictions, and addresses the emotional toll on victims' families.

EPISODE CREDITS
Host - Carol Costello
Producer - Chris Aiola
Audio Engineer - Sean Rule-Hoffman
Contributor - Nijah Golliday
Production Director - Brigid Coyne
Executive Producer - Gerardo Orlando
Original Music - Timothy Law Snyder

Guest: Mark Godsey (https://law.uc.edu/faculty/directory/mark-godsey.html)

Ohio Innocence Project at Cincinnati Law
(https://law.uc.edu/real-world-learning/centers/ohio-innocence-project-at-cincinnati-law.html)

Ohio Innocence Project Application:
(https://law.uc.edu/content/dam/refresh/law/pdfs-temporary/oip-inmate-screening-application.pdf)

For additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why That Case? An Interview with The Ohio Innocence Project

Carol shares the results of DNA testing on newly recovered evidence in the case of Phyllis Cottle’s brutal assault.
The results are infuriating and…baffling.
The Ohio Innocence Project prompted a forensic review of evidence, raising the possibility that Samuel J. Herring, the man convicted of the crime, may be innocent. 
Herring, now 67 years old and wheelchair-bound, has spent nearly 40 years behind bars. He has maintained his innocence.
Today we know the truth.
And while it leads to a man who is definitely guilty, it also raises questions.
 
EPISODE CREDITS
Host - Carol Costello
Producer - Chris Aiola
Audio Engineer - Sean Rule-Hoffman
Production Director - Brigid Coyne
Executive Producer - Gerardo Orlando
Original Music - Timothy Law Snyder
Cleveland Channel 5’s story on Samuel Herring: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/investigations/new-testing-shows-dna-of-akron-rapist-found-on-victims-clothing
The Marshall Project’s story on Samuel Herring: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/12/06/dna-ohio-innocence-project-conviction-integrity-unit-prison
For additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Update: DNA Results | "I'm a Gun Man"

Carol shares a shocking development in the case of Phyllis Cottle's brutal assault, one that she knew might come.

The Ohio Innocence Project has prompted a forensic review of evidence, raising the possibility that Samuel J. Herring, the man convicted of the crime, may be innocent. 

Herring, now 67 years old and wheelchair-bound, has spent nearly 40 years behind bars. He has maintained his innocence. 

Now DNA testing of recently unearthed evidence may reveal the truth.

So, what if the justice system got it wrong? And if Herring is innocent, then who did it?

EPISODE CREDITS
Host - Carol Costello
Producer - Chris Aiola
Audio Engineer - Sean Rule-Hoffman
Contributor - Nijah Golliday
Production Director - Brigid Coyne
Executive Producer - Gerardo Orlando
Original Music - Timothy Law Snyder

The Marshall Project’s story on Samuel Herring: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/11/09/after-nearly-40-years-behind-bars-in-ohio-dna-testing-is-finally-underway?

For additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Update: The Unthinkable

Phyllis and her family felt ambushed by the media during what was an incredibly difficult and delicate time in her life. The relentless pursuit of her story interrupted her recovery at home.

In this bonus episode, Carol interviews her former colleague, producer Ronni Berke, about what it’s like to interview victims.

Ronni is an award-winning journalist and producer, who spent 17 years at CNN covering some of the biggest stories, including the September 11th terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.

She’s also the Director Of Development And Communications for the LAM Foundation, the leading nonprofit in the fight against lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) - a rare lung disease affecting primarily women.

EPISODE CREDITS
Host - Carol Costello
Producer - Chris Aiola
Audio Engineer - Sean Rule-Hoffman
Contributor - Nijah Golliday
Production Director - Brigid Coyne
Executive Producer - Gerardo Orlando
Original Music - Timothy Law Snyder

Guest: Ronni Berke (www.ronniberke.com)

The LAM Foundation (https://www.thelamfoundation.org/) 

For additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus: Survivors and the Media

Phyllis Cottle nearly killed herself when she found out she would never be able to see again. She had a plan, and was about to follow through with it, until she felt a “warm hand on her shoulder,” one that she was convinced was divine. Was she right? Was God intervening? And, if so, what should she do with that sign from above? 

In this bonus episode we explore those questions with Larry Vuillemin, Phyllis’ good friend who says he also heard God speak to him after a pivotal, life-changing health scare.

Larry is a former Senior Trial Attorney with the Summit County Prosecutor’s office, an Akron City Councilman, and former Adjunct Professor at the University of Akron School of Law.

In 1990, he co-founded Heart to Heart Communications, which focuses on personal and spiritual development as a foundational way empowering leaders and enriching workplaces 

EPISODE CREDITS
Host - Carol Costello
Producer - Chris Aiola
Audio Engineer - Sean Rule-Hoffman
Contributor - Nijah Golliday
Production Director - Brigid Coyne
Executive Producer - Gerardo Orlando
Original Music - Timothy Law Snyder

Guest: Larry Vuillemin, Attorney at Law 
(https://www.ohiodefensefirm.com/about/lawrence-vuillemin)

Heart to Heart Leadership: https://www.htohleadership.org/

For additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello).
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That Day

Download our free app to listen on your phone