Crime To Burn

Episode 113

For decades, the people of Cleveland watched their river catch fire—and barely seemed to care.

In this special two-year anniversary episode of Crime to Burn, we dive into the astonishing history of the Cuyahoga River.

Long before the Environmental Protection Agency existed, the Cuyahoga River became a dumping ground for oil, industrial waste, sewage, and chemical runoff. The result? A river that burned not once, but at least thirteen documented times.

But the burning river is only half the story.

As pollution worsened, Cleveland embarked on an ambitious effort to secure cleaner drinking water by constructing massive offshore intake tunnels beneath Lake Erie. What followed was a decades-long saga of explosions, cave-ins, toxic gas, decompression sickness, fires, and rescue attempts that claimed dozens of lives.

In this episode, we explore:

What happens when a city becomes so accustomed to disaster that a burning river feels normal?

Join us as we examine one of the most remarkable environmental and industrial stories in American history—a tale of flaming waterways, deadly engineering projects, political indifference, and a river that ultimately helped change the nation.

CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Source for the bonus story at the end:

Episode 112

In the finale of Shockwaves: The 1947 Texas City Explosion, we examine the aftermath of one of the deadliest industrial disasters in American history—and the devastating questions that followed.

Why didn’t the firefighters, longshoremen, and citizens of Texas City understand the danger they were facing? Who did understand the risks of ammonium nitrate? And how did knowledge of those dangers fail to reach the people whose lives depended on it?

In this episode, we trace the history of ammonium nitrate from wartime explosive to postwar fertilizer, explore how critical safety knowledge became fragmented after World War II, and break down the landmark legal battle that followed the disaster: Dalehite v. United States.

We also examine the Federal Tort Claims Act, the government’s controversial defense before the Supreme Court, and the chilling realization that the Texas City disaster may have been entirely preventable.

This is the conclusion of our three-part series on the 1947 Texas City disaster.

CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Stephens, Hugh W. The Texas City Disaster, 1947. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.

Minutaglio, Bill. City on Fire: The Explosion That Devastated a Texas Town and Ignited a Historic Legal Battle. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003.

International Association of Fire Chiefs. The Texas City Disaster. National Hazardous Materials Fusion Center Hazmat History. https://www.iafc.org/docs/default-source/1haz/hazmat_history_texas_city_disaster.pdf

Fire Prevention and Engineering Bureau of Texas and National Board of Fire Underwriters. Texas City, Texas Disaster Report. https://www.local1259iaff.org/report.htm

Havel, Gregory. “Texas City Disaster.” Fire Engineering, October 6, 2008. https://dam.clarionengage.com/downloads.pennnet.com/fe/misc/20081006havel_texascity.pdf

Ross, Cheryl Lauersdorf. “The 1947 Texas City Disaster: Changing Lives in a Heartbeat.” Houston History Magazine, vol. 15, no. 1. https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Texas-City-Disaster.pdf

Episode 111

As Texas City struggles to respond to one of the deadliest industrial disasters in American history, chaos spreads across the burning waterfront. With the entire volunteer fire department wiped out in the first blast, civilians, medical workers, military personnel, and rescue crews are forced to improvise a disaster response in real time while rumors, chemical fires, and mass casualties overwhelm the city. But sitting just yards from the wreckage of the Grandcamp is another ship loaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer: the High Flyer. In Part 2 of Shockwaves: The 1947 Texas City Explosion, we follow the fragmented and increasingly desperate efforts to understand the danger still lurking in the harbor—and the catastrophic failures, misunderstandings, and expert reassurances that would lead Texas City toward a second devastating explosion.

CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Stephens, Hugh W. The Texas City Disaster, 1947. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.

Minutaglio, Bill. City on Fire: The Explosion That Devastated a Texas Town and Ignited a Historic Legal Battle. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003.

International Association of Fire Chiefs. The Texas City Disaster. National Hazardous Materials Fusion Center Hazmat History. https://www.iafc.org/docs/default-source/1haz/hazmat_history_texas_city_disaster.pdf

Fire Prevention and Engineering Bureau of Texas and National Board of Fire Underwriters. Texas City, Texas Disaster Report. https://www.local1259iaff.org/report.htm

Havel, Gregory. “Texas City Disaster.” Fire Engineering, October 6, 2008. https://dam.clarionengage.com/downloads.pennnet.com/fe/misc/20081006havel_texascity.pdf

Ross, Cheryl Lauersdorf. “The 1947 Texas City Disaster: Changing Lives in a Heartbeat.” Houston History Magazine, vol. 15, no. 1. https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Texas-City-Disaster.pdf

Episode 110

On April 16, 1947, a routine morning in Texas City, Texas turned catastrophic when a fire broke out aboard the French cargo ship Grandcamp, which was loaded with thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. As smoke poured from the vessel, onlookers gathered and firefighters responded—unaware of the danger posed by the volatile cargo. Efforts to contain the fire instead intensified the conditions inside the ship, leading to a massive explosion that devastated the port, killed hundreds—including the entire responding fire department—and injured thousands more. The blast triggered widespread destruction, secondary fires, and a cascading disaster that engulfed nearby industrial facilities. In this episode, we examine how a combination of misunderstood chemistry, risky cargo practices, and critical decision-making failures led to one of the deadliest industrial disasters in U.S. history—and why the danger wasn’t over when the Grandcamp exploded.

CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Stephens, Hugh W. The Texas City Disaster, 1947. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.

Minutaglio, Bill. City on Fire: The Explosion That Devastated a Texas Town and Ignited a Historic Legal Battle. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003.

International Association of Fire Chiefs. The Texas City Disaster. National Hazardous Materials Fusion Center Hazmat History. https://www.iafc.org/docs/default-source/1haz/hazmat_history_texas_city_disaster.pdf

Fire Prevention and Engineering Bureau of Texas and National Board of Fire Underwriters. Texas City, Texas Disaster Report. https://www.local1259iaff.org/report.htm

Havel, Gregory. “Texas City Disaster.” Fire Engineering, October 6, 2008. https://dam.clarionengage.com/downloads.pennnet.com/fe/misc/20081006havel_texascity.pdf

Ross, Cheryl Lauersdorf. “The 1947 Texas City Disaster: Changing Lives in a Heartbeat.” Houston History Magazine, vol. 15, no. 1. https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Texas-City-Disaster.pdf

Episode 109: 

In Part 2 of the Joey Lynn Offutt case, we move beyond the fire and into the contradictions that define this investigation—examining Joey’s life, relationships, and the nine critical days before she was reported missing.

Investigators confirm the fire was intentional and that her infant son died before it began, but answers only become more elusive as timelines, witness accounts, and physical evidence raise new questions instead of resolving them.

Joey’s history—marked by instability, complicated relationships, and conflicting reports about her mental state—collides with a series of unsettling details: groceries left to rot, a possible sighting days after she was last heard from, and her car discovered far from home under circumstances that suggest someone else may have been driving.

While Alexis Brolin Jr. cooperates with investigators and initially appears unlikely to have carried out such a crime, later developments in his life cast that assumption into doubt, opening the door to more troubling possibilities.

Nearly two decades later, with no definitive answers and multiple competing theories—from voluntary disappearance to foul play—Joey Lynn Offutt remains missing, her case suspended in a space where every explanation feels incomplete and every detail seems to point in more than one direction.

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

The Joey Lynn Offut Case follows the disappearance of Joey Lynn Offut in July 2007 after a suspicious early morning fire tore through her Pennsylvania home. Inside, investigators made a devastating discovery—her six-week-old son, Alexis Brolin III, was found dead in the upstairs bathroom. But Joey was gone, along with her car, and nearly two decades later, no one has been held accountable.

In this episode, we walk through the case the way investigators experienced it, starting with the fire and working backward through the days leading up to Joey’s disappearance. As timelines are reconstructed, details begin to shift. Witness accounts change, key observations remain uncorroborated, and what initially appears to be a domestic dispute stretches into nine days of silence that no one can fully explain. Along the way, questions begin to build—about what was known, what was assumed, and what may have been missed.

At the center of it all is a timeline that doesn’t sit right. A fiancé reporting Joey missing just hours after her home burns. A baby found in a location that raises more questions than answers. A pattern of behavior that may explain the delay in concern—or may have obscured something far more serious. As investigators piece together what happened, the evidence doesn’t resolve the case. It complicates it.

This is where the investigation begins—not with answers, but with uncertainty. And as we move through the events of that week, one question remains: what happened inside that house, and why has no one been able to say it out loud?

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Episode 107

They were looking for a serial arsonist.

After five months and more than 80 fires, investigators finally catch the person responsible—but the truth behind the Accomack County fires is far stranger than anyone expected.

A former firefighter.

And in the end?

It was two.

This is the unhinged conclusion of Lit by Love: The Accomack County, Virginia Serial Arson Case.

Buy Monica Hesse's amazing book on this case: American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land here: https://a.co/d/0609yUqG

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Episode 106

In Part 2 of Lit by Love, the fires in Accomack County escalate from suspicious to unmistakably intentional—spreading fear through a rural community unaccustomed to this level of destruction. As investigators struggle to keep up with a growing number of blazes, tensions rise among residents, rumors take hold online, and volunteer firefighters are pushed to their limits responding to near-nightly calls.

But beneath the surface of this arson spree, a more personal story begins to emerge.

This episode dives into the background of Charles Smith—a troubled man shaped by addiction, loss, and a lifelong search for belonging—and his intense relationship with Tonya Bundick. What starts as connection and devotion quickly becomes something more volatile, as financial strain, emotional instability, and deep-seated insecurity collide.

As the fires continue to burn across Accomack County, one question looms larger than ever:

Is this just arson… or something driven by love, desperation, and a need to prove it?

Buy Monica Hesse's amazing book on this case: American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land here: https://a.co/d/0609yUqG

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Episode 105

In rural Accomack County, structure fires are rare—maybe a handful a year across an entire district. So when six fires break out in less than 30 hours, investigators know immediately: this isn’t coincidence. It’s arson.

What follows is one of the most baffling serial arson cases to ever hit Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Over five months, 87 fires tear through a tight-knit community of just 33,000 people—stretching volunteer fire departments to their limits and leaving investigators with little more than ash to work with.

But what makes this case truly unsettling isn’t just the scale—it’s the motive.

There’s no money. No revenge. No attempt to cover up another crime. The fires target abandoned buildings, offering no clear benefit to the person setting them. And the suspects? They don’t fit the profile. They’re not outsiders. Not isolated. Not young thrill-seekers.

They’re a couple.

In this episode, we break down how a quiet rural county became the center of a serial arson spree, what investigators look for when fire scene evidence is all but destroyed, and why cases driven by psychological motives—like pyromania—are some of the hardest to solve.

Because when there’s no clear reason… there’s often no clear path to a suspect.

And when someone sets six fires in 30 hours—

they’re not finished.

Buy Monica Hesse's amazing book on this case: American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land here: https://a.co/d/0609yUqG

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. 

SOURCES:

Episode 104

Survivor Stories: An Interview with Shawn Simons & Alvaro Llanos

In this special Survivor Stories episode, we step away from case analysis and into lived experience.

We’re joined by Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, two survivors of the Seton Hall University dorm fire—a tragedy that claimed three lives and forever changed many others.

This is not a retelling of the case.

This is what it was like to be there.

Shawn and Alvaro share their memories from that night, the moments leading up to the fire, the chaos that followed, and the long road of recovery in the years since. Their story is one of survival, resilience, and the lasting impact of a fire that should never have happened.

In the years since, they have dedicated themselves to advocacy—sharing their story to promote fire safety awareness, encourage resilience, and help prevent tragedies like this from happening again. Through their outreach efforts, they’ve worked to improve fire safety on college campuses and ensure that the lessons from Seton Hall are not forgotten.

Out of respect for our guests and the weight of their experience, this episode is presented without mid-roll interruptions.

We’re honored to share their voices with you.

Follow Shawn and Alvaro on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alvaroandshawn/

Book Shawn and Alvaro to speak or hear more about their story: https://www.alandshawn.com/

Find the book of Shawn and Alvaro's experience and recovery on their website or purchase on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0hnK67Ae

The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified. 

Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com

Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. 

If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.