Based in Fact

In this bonus episode, I talked to Rick Mullenax of Burn After Reading, whose WM3 episodes include "Perception Isn't Always Reality" and The Forgotten West Memphis Three," which is a review of Bob Ruff's Oxygen series. Rick and I talked about his examination of the WM3 case, future episodes on his YouTube channel and the denial of Echols' request for additional DNA testing that was issued by Judge Tonya Alexander on Thursday, June 23, 2022. We also talked about the next steps and the potential implications of Echols' planned appeal.

In this bonus episode, I talked to Rick Mullenax of Burn After Reading, whose WM3 episodes include "Perception Isn't Always Reality" and The Forgotten West Memphis Three," which is a review of Bob Ruff's Oxygen series. Rick and I talked about his examination of the WM3 case, future episodes on his YouTube channel and the denial of Echols' request for additional DNA testing that was issued by Judge Tonya Alexander on Thursday, June 23, 2022. We also talked about the next steps and the potential implications of Echols' planned appeal.

In Episode 11, Kyle and Lisa talk about the May 5, 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and Michael Moore, in West Memphis, Arkansas.  Their bodies were found bound and naked in a ditch in an area known to locals as “Robin Hood Hills,” a patch of woods bordering the boys’ subdivision.  On June 3, 1993, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. were arrested after Miskelley confessed to West Memphis detectives.  The three were convicted after two separate trials in 1994.  Their campaign in the court of public opinion started with Paradise Lost:  The Child Murders in Robin Hood Hills and continues today with press releases alleging that the State of Arkansas has an obligation to allow re-testing of DNA evidence.  Kyle and I will talk about the evidence against the three killers, their direct appeals and state post-conviction claims and outcomes, the inconclusive DNA testing conducted between 2005 and 2011 and the Alford pleas, which were entered instead of the three killers presenting their allegedly exculpatory evidence at new trial hearings that were set to begin in December, 2011.

In Episode 10, Lisa talked to Joe Nevills (and Natalie Voss Nevills) about the 148th Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby being held on May 6 and May 7, 2022.  Lisa has loved horses and ponies all of her life and has been a fan of horse racing since Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973.  She's experienced the joy of seeing five Triple Crown winners in her lifetime and the heartbreak when young horses like Ruffian, Eight Belles and Barbaro couldn't be saved after an injury.  Our lives have highs and lows, but we keep moving forward and horse racing is no different.   Those connected to the industry do what they do because they love the horses and they love the sport.  Her first guest, Joe Nevills, is the Bloodstock Editor at The Paulick Report, a turf writer, Arabian enthusiast and expert and Eclipse Award winner for his feature article Biting the Dust: A Long Goodbye to Mount Pleasant Meadows.  Joe’s love for horses comes from his family’s Belgian draft horses and his grandfather’s thoroughbreds who raced on Michigan tracks.  Her second guest was Natalie Voss Nevills, 3-time Eclipse award winning writer and Editor-in-Chief at The Paulick Report, who has embarked on a new journey with OTTB Underscore, lovingly known as Blueberry.  Natalie’s 2020 Eclipse Awards were for articles in both the writing and feature/commentary categories.  Her feature article was titled, “An Angel on His Shoulder”  This Thoroughbred’s Fate was Writen in Ink.

In Episode 9, Kyle and Lisa talked about State of Texas v. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio. Lucio was convicted and sentenced to death in connection with the February 17, 2017 death of her 2-year old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. During five hours of interrogation, Lucio admitted abusing Mariah to investigators and denied that her husband or children inflicted the many bruises and injuries observed on Mariah's body. Lucio also insisted that Mariah's fatal injuries were sustained two days before her death as the result of a fall down a flight of stairs. Recently, the Innocence Project inserted itself into the case, claiming that Mariah was never abused and bringing experts into the case to bolster their claim that Mariah's fatal injuries and extensive bruising were the result of a fall and clotting disorder. They talked about the evidence against Lucio, the twisted version of events being presented by the IP and the claims that led the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to grant Lucio a stay of execution and remand four of her successive state post-conviction claims to the trial court for further development.

For more information about next week's guests, you can find articles at paulickreport.com, www.joenevills.com and www.natalievoss.com.

In Episode 8, Kyle and Lisa discuss the August 14, 1980 murder of Playboy Playmate, Dorothy Stratten.  Dorothy was more than a pretty face, who stepped off the pages of Playboy and onto our television and theater screens.  During the two years between her arrival in Los Angeles and her casting in the movie They All Laughed, Dorothy grew from a shy, confused little girl into a confident woman, who knew what she wanted and knew how to stand up for herself.  Unfortunately, that meant that Dorothy quickly outgrew her hustler boyfriend, later her husband, Paul Snider.  While Snider had some success with promoting car shows and events in Vancouver, they never made enough money to support his extravagant tastes, which included expensive sports cars and a jewel encrusted Star of David pendant.  They talked about Dorothy’s early life, her family, her relationship with the older Snider, their eventual marriage and her meteoric rise to stardom, which ended when her husband placed the barrel of a shotgun to her face and pulled the trigger.

In Episode 7, Lisa and Kyle talked about the State of New York v. Carolyn Warmus.  On January 15, 1989, Betty Jeanne Solomon was found by her husband, Paul Solomon, in their condo in Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York.  The investigation initially focused on Paul Solomon, who had engaged in an extra-marital affair with a younger woman, Carolyn Warmus.  During the Summer of 1989, investigation of Warmus’ phone records led detectives to a PI named Vinnie Parco.  Parco eventually admitted to illegally selling Warmus a gun and silencer in the weeks before Betty Jeanne’s murder.  Warmus’ indictment and arrest in February, 1990, led the media to refer the case as “The Fatal Attraction Murder.” After two trials, Warmus was convicted of 2nd Degree Murder and 2nd Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon and sentenced to 25 to Life on the murder charge and 5-15 on the weapons charge.  They covered the evidence against Warmus, her troubled relationship history, her trials, conviction, appeals and her continued claims of wrongful conviction.

In Episode 6, Kyle and Lisa talk about the May 5, 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and Michael Moore, in West Memphis, Arkansas.  Their bodies were found bound and naked in a ditch in an area known to locals as “Robin Hood Hills,” a patch of woods bordering the boys’ subdivision.  Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. were arrested in June, 1993 and convicted after two separate trials in 1994.  Beginning in 2002, the three began a 9-year saga of DNA testing that ended with inconclusive results and an Alford plea deal proposed by the killers’ attorneys in July, 2011.  In 2017, podcaster Bob Ruff requested additional DNA testing using MVac, a collection method that had been in use in Utah since 2011.  Ruff falsely led viewers to believe that the prosecutor was obligated to grant his request for testing, in spite of his lack of agency or authority on behalf of the killers.  When Ruff’s efforts proved unsuccessful, Echols’ attorneys stepped in to continue the propaganda campaign.  Kyle and I will talk about the request for testing by Echols’ attorneys and the propaganda campaign that continues with Echols’ request for DNA testing made in January, 2022.

In this bonus episode, I’m joined by Amy Kingry and Jennifer Harmon to talk about the recent developments in Oklahoma, including the pardon and parole reform bill that was passed in committee last week, the propaganda campaign by the bill’s opposition, the Oklahoma lethal injection trial, the grand jury investigation into the release of Lawrence Anderson and the recent and abrupt resignation of Kelly Doyle from the Pardon and Parole Board.  We’ll also talk about what that resignation means to the make-up of the board. 

About Amy: Amy, a native of Edmond, Oklahoma, has been a paralegal in Oklahoma City for 21 years.  She’s a co-founder of the Oklahoma Victims Innocence Project. OKVIP is a community organization dedicated to supporting victims/survivors of violent crime as they navigate post-conviction litigation.  OKVIP’s goal is to let victims of violent crimes know that they have a voice to speak the truth, even if their voices shake.

About Jennifer: Jennifer, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a community advocate, Alert Neighbor and a Navy veteran.  She holds a Master of Divinity from Phillips Theological Seminary and is a co-founder of Oklahoma Victims Innocence Project. In 2011, she co-founded Justice For Peggy Gaytan, a city-wide publicity campaign comprised of residents across Tulsa, local media, and small business owners, which was instrumental in helping police make an arrest in the December 22, 2011 murder of grandmother Peggy Gaytan.

Oklahoma Victims Innocence Project:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theokvip

Twitter: https://twitter.com/okvictimsrights

Instagram: @ok_vip_1

In Episode 5, Lisa is joined by guest co-host Kyle to talk about the 1983 KFC Murders.  September 23, 1983 was a typical night in Kilgore, Texas, with families attending football games and ordering take-out for dinner.  At the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, something went horribly wrong at or near closing time.  On Saturday, September 24th, the bodies of KFC employees Mary Tyler, Opie Hughes and Joey Johnson, along with friends David Maxwell and Monty Landers were found off an oil lease road in Rusk County, about 14 miles from the restaurant.  All five had been shot to death, with at least 2 different guns.  Initially, the only leads came from rumors and town gossip.  The case went cold until DNA testing identified blood found on evidence inside the restaurant belonging to Tyler, Texas cousins Darnell Hartsfield and Romeo Pinkerton.  We’ll talk about the lengthy and fruitless investigation hampered by technology that was primitive by today’s standards and the lack of solid leads or links to suspects.  Finally, we’ll talk about the ultimate convictions of Pinkerton, who pled guilty during his capital murder trial and Hartsfield, who was convicted by a jury at trial.