Based in Fact

In Episode 5, State of New Jersey v. Melanie McGuire, Lisa and Kyle talked about the case against Melanie McGuire. Between May 5 and May 16, 2004, three suitcases containing dismembered human remains washed up near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia. The remains inside the cases were identified as Bill McGuire, a New Jersey computer program analyst. In 2007, his wife, Melanie, was convicted of first degree murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, desecration of human remains and perjury. In July, 2007, she was sentenced to life in prison, plus five years, making her ineligible for parole until 2073. We’ll talk about Bill’s disappearance, the McGuires' troubled marriage and the evidence against McGuire, along with the course of her direct appeal and post-conviction claims since her 2007 conviction.

In Episode 4, guest co-host, Roberta Glass, joined Lisa to talk about the case against Scott James Eizember was executed in January, 2023, for the 2003 capital murder of AJ Cantrell in Depew, Oklahoma. Lisa and Roberta talked about the facts of the case, the trial, direct appeal and post-conviction proceedings, including arguments by Eizember and his advocates blaming Mr. Cantrell for his wife's death and alleging that Eizember acted in self-defense when he killed Mr. Cantrell.

In Episode 3, State of Tennessee v. Janet Elaine Hinds, Lisa and Kyle looked at the case against Janet Hinds, who was charged with vehicular homicide by intoxication after she struck and killed Chattanooga Police Officer Nicholas Galinger on the night of February 23, 2019. In April, 2019, Hinds was also charged with reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of another, failure to report an accident, failure to render aid, violation of traffic control device, speeding, failure to exercise due care, failure to maintain appropriate lane and DUI. Lisa and Kyle looked at the case against Hinds, her 2021 trial and direct appeal.

In Episode 2, State of Maryland v. James Allen Kulbicki, Lisa and Kyle looked at the case against Kulbicki, a former Baltimore City police sergeant, who was convicted of the murder of Gina Marie Nuelsein in January of 1993. After a brief affair, Gina gave birth to a son in September, 1991. At the time of her murder, she was seeking child support from Kulbicki. They talked about the case against Kulbicki, including the reinstatement of his conviction by the U.S. Supreme Court and the 2020 order of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals granting Kulbicki's petition for writ of actual innocence.

Welcome to Season 3 of Based in Fact: A True Crime Podcast with your hosts, Lisa O’Brien and Kyle Evans. In Episode 1, Updates, Kyle and Lisa talked about the new developments in cases covered in Seasons 1 and 2, including TX v. Rodney Reed, OK v. Richard Glossip, TX v. Melissa Lucio and NC v. Molly Martens Corbett and Thomas Martens. They also looked ahead to some of the cases they'll talk about in Season 3.

In Episode 15, Arizona v. Jodi Ann Arias, Part 2, Lisa and Kyle continue their look at the 2008 murder of Travis Alexander, re-cap the five year pre-trial period after Arias' 2008 arrest and indictment and her trial, which began with jury selection in December, 2012. They then looked at her direct appeal, which was decided in March and April, 2020, the disbarment of Arias' first chair attorney L. Kirk Nurmi and prosecutor Juan Martinez. Finally, they looked at her pending state post-conviction claim currently making its way through state court in Arizona.

In Episode 14, Kyle and Lisa looked at State of Arizona v. Jodi Ann Arias. On the evening of June 9, 2008, Travis Alexander was found murdered in the floor of the shower in his house in Mesa, AZ. He'd been stabbed multiple times, including a fatal wound in his chest, shot in the head and his throat had been slit. Fingers were immediately pointed at Jodi Arias, a former girlfriend and failed waitress/salesperson/photographer from Northern California. Travis and Arias had been engaged in a sexually charged on-off relationship since their first meeting in September, 2006. Forensic evidence found at the scene soon confirmed Arias' presence in the house at the time of Travis' murder and she was indicted and arrested in July, 2008. Initially, Arias denied being in Mesa, even in the face of date-stamped photographs of her in Travis' bed, naked on the day of the murder. When that story didn't work, Arias told a tall tale of a male and female intruder wearing ski masks that Arias called "beanies over their faces," who entered the house to kill Travis and threaten her. In Part 1, Lisa and Kyle talked about the brief relationship between Travis and Arias, Arias' odd and disturbing behaviors, including her extreme violations of Travis' privacy, Travis' murder and the pre-trial period between Travis' murder on June 4, 2008 and Arias' trial, which began in December, 2012 with jury selection.

In Episode 13, Lisa is joined by Roberta Glass, of The Roberta Glass True Crime Report, for a look at the case of State of New York v. Ronald Joseph Defeo, Jr.. Defeo murdered his father, mother, two sisters and two brothers in the early morning hours of November 13, 1974. Defeo was arrested, tried and convicted in November, 1975. Lisa and Roberta talked about the murders, Defeo's trial, conviction and sentence and the claims made by George and Kathy Lutz, who bought the house in December, 1975. The Lutz family's claims of paranormal activity in the house during their 28 days there led to the book, "The Amityville Horror," by Jay Anson. They also talked about the controversy surrounding the Lutz' claims and the allegations made by William Weber, Defeo's trial attorney, who claimed that the haunted house story was hatched over multiple bottles of wine with the Lutzes.

In Episode 12, Notable Supreme Court Cases, Part 3 Kyle and Lisa talked about cases decided between 1995 and 2010, including Schlup, Atkins, Roper, Crawford, House and Panetti. They looked at the background of each case, the issues raised by the Petitioners and the decisions of the Supreme Court. We are open to suggestions for any cases we missed and we will do this again next season.

In Episode 11, Notable Supreme Court Cases, Part 2, Lisa and Kyle talked about cases decided between 1985 and 1994, including Ake v. Oklahoma, US v. Bagley, Coleman v. Thompson, Ford v. Wainwright, Murray v. Carrier, Sawyer v. Whitley, Herrera v. Collins and Tison v. Arizona. They briefly looked at the background of each case, the issues raised by the Petitioners and the decisions of the Supreme Court. Finally, they talked about the outcome of several notable cases.