Crime With My Coffee

We unfortunately do not have a new episode for you this week. We will be back to our regularly scheduled episodes as soon as we can, but we do not have a set date for that at this time.

Since Christmas is next week, we wanted to make this week a lot lighter and more fun for everyone. Please enjoy this collection of dumb and funny crimes and criminals and laugh along with us.

Sources for this episode:
Listverse - Ten of the Most Bizarre Crimes of 2022
AP News - 2 escape jail and go to IHOP, where patrons report them
Metro.uk - Worse disguise ever? Burglars cover faces with permanent marker
NY Daily News - 8 Weird and Wild Christmas Crimes
Oddee - 10 Ridiculous Christmas Crimes
Law & Crime - Top 10 Most Outrageous Christmas Crimes
The Odyssey - 12 Funniest Crimes That Were Actually Committed
List 25 - 25 Dumbest Criminals and How They Got Caught
The Oklahoman - Outspoken Defendant gets Point Across

It was August 5, 1992, in Vancouver, Canada when Alexandra Pesic was gunned down outside her employer's building. The authorities were able to identify and arrest the two mysterious men that were in the car when she was shot along with two of their accomplices in less than two weeks.

Sources for this episode:
Oxygen - Jelka Pesic Uses True Crime Book As Blueprint to Terrorize And Murder Her Former Daughter-in-Law
PressReader - Mother-in-law who set up murder says she feels sorry for victim
Medium - Inspired by the Plot of a True Crime Book, a Grandmother Hired a Hitman to Murder Her Daughter-in-Law
Lepotesrbije.alo.rs - JELKA PEŠIĆ JE U SVETU POZNATA KAO SVEKRVA IZ PAKLA: Njena zloba i danas šokira, a na kraju je sve otišlo PREDALEKO

In Strongsville, Ohio, Melinda Pleskovic, a middle school teacher, was found dead in her home in October 2017. Her husband and soon-to-be son-in-law both called 911 right away. Less than two weeks after her brutal murder, police would have a suspect in custody, and it would surprise many at how close the murderer was.

Sources for this episode:
Medium - He Was Going To Be Exposed So He Opted For Murder
WYKC - Jeffrey Scullin sentenced to life in prison for killing Strongsville teacher Melinda Pleskovic
Cleveland - 'Manipulative' Strongsville man gets life in prison for brutal killing of fiancee's mother, popular teacher
The Post - Man who killed Strongsville teacher sentenced to life in prison
Fox 8 - Prosecutor: Strongsville teacher stabbed 36 times, killer planned crime weeks in advance
Cleveland 19 - Alleged killer calls 911 to report future mother-in-law's death (listen)
Court of Appeals of Ohio - State of Ohio v. Jeffery W. Scullin, Jr.
Wikipedia - Strongsville, Ohio

In August 2014 in London, England 14 year-old Alice Gross went missing while returning home from a walk. Tragically, a month later, her body would be discovered. Arnis Zalkalns, a Latvian builder and convicted murderer, was identified as the prime suspect.


Sources for this episode:
New Scotland Yard Files - A True Nightmare: The Murder of Alice Gross
Public Broadcasting of Latvia - Murder suspect Arnis Zalkalns found dead in London
The Week - Alice Gross: why did police not know about killer's past?
British Transport Police - London bombings of 2005
Wikipedia - Scotland Yard

Air Force Staff Sergeant Nathan Paet was shot multiple times in his garage in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 1, 2010. The motive behind the murder was revealed to be a life insurance policy taken out by Paet, with his wife, Michelle, as the beneficiary. Michelle Paet and her boyfriend, Michael Rodriguez, were arrested and charged in connection with the murder, leading to a high-profile trial that unfolded the details of the conspiracy to commit the crime.

Sources for this episode:
Oxygen - Why Was Military Staff Sgt. And Devoted Dad Of Four Gunned Down Outside His Las Vegas Home?
Review Journal - Man gets life in prison without parole for slaying of Nellis airman
Cinemaholic - Nathan Paet Murder: How Did He Die? Who Killed Him?
KSNV 3 News - Michelle Paet sentenced to life without parole for conspiring to kill her husband
American Monster - Season 3 Episode 6, Watch Your Back

The morning of July 27, 1989 in Kansas City, Missouri would forever change the lives of the Cox family. Fawn Cox's mom and sister found her lifeless body when they went to wake her up that morning. She had been beaten, raped, and strangled, all while the family slept downstairs the night before. It would be 31 years before her family would get the answers as to who had killed Fawn.

Sources for this episode:
Wikipedia - Kansas City, Missouri
Wikipedia - List of people from Kansas City, Missouri
CBS News - Teen's decades-old murder solved with new DNA technology
Fox 4 KC - KC teen's cold case rape, murder solved by 'advanced techniques' 31 years later
Northeast News - New DNA tech solves Cox cold case
Heavy - 31 Year-Old Rape & Murder of Kansas Teen Fawn Marie Cox Solved: KCPD
Newspapers.com - KC teen charged in death of girl, 16
Newspapers.com - Three teens held in girl's death
Newspapers.com - Northeast area girl, 16, found slain in bedroom
Newspapers.com - Northeast girl was strangled, autopsy shows

November 15, 2001 was a day of catastrophic storms for Austin, Texas. Diane Holik's coworkers were unable to get in touch with her the next day, so they called the police to do a welfare check on her. They found her body upstairs in the guest room. They would learn through their investigation that there was a strange man going around to homes listed for sale in the area trying his hardest to get in the homes when the women were home alone. Could this be Diane's killer?

Sources for this episode:
Caselaw - Russo v. State
Oxygen - Patrick Russo Is Convicted of Killing Texan Diane Holik
MRT - Jury convicts man who posed as homebuyer to kill
Medium - Texas Church Minister Killed A Woman For His 'Erotic Horror' Fetish
Spectrum News 1 - 15 Years Ago Today: Historic Texas Flood
Find A Grave - Diane Tammy Holik

In 1973 in Italy, John Paul Getty, III, heir to the Getty fortune, was kidnapped by several members of the 'Ndrangheta gang. He was held captive for about 5 months while his kidnappers negotiated a ransom amount with his family. They wanted $17,000,000 but his grandfather, the family patriarch, would only concede to $3,000,000 after the kidnappers sliced off his grandson's ear and mailed it to a local newspaper.


Sources for this episode:
Town & Country - The Tragic True Story of John Paul Getty III's Kidnapping
All That's Interesting - The True Story Of The John Paul Getty III Kidnapping
People - John Paul Getty III After the Kidnapping: How Drugs and Torment Destroyed Billionaire Heir
Wanted in Rome - The story of the kidnapping of John Paul Getty III in Rome
Rolling Stone - John Paul Getty III: The True Story Behind 'Trust'
Rolling Stone - J. Paul Getty III: Exclusive 1974 Interview with Kidnapped Oil Heir

Dean Corll, also known as the "Candy Man," was a notorious American serial killer in the early 1970s. He, along with teenage accomplices David Brooks and Elmer Henley, committed a series of brutal murders in Houston, Texas. They lured young boys with promises of money or parties and was responsible for at least 28 known victims. His crimes shocked the nation, and the case highlights the dangers of charismatic predators who prey on the vulnerable.

Sources for this episode:
Wikipedia - Fort Wayne, Indiana
Wikipedia - Dean Corll
Wikipedia - Rheumatic fever
Wikipedia - Pasadena, Texas
Criminal Minds Fandom - The Houston Mass Murders
Missing Kids - Candy Man Victim: New Clues in Serial Killer Mystery
Texas Monthly - The Lost Boys