Dark Deeds

In the early morning hours of December 25, 1945, the Sodder family which included George and Jennie Sodder along with their 10 children (one of which was away in war) awoke to a house fire in their Fayetteville, West Virginia home. George, Jennie, and four of their children escaped. The other five children did not. After an investigation, it was determined that the other five children must have perished in the fire, despite their remains not being uncovered. For the next 20+ years for George and 40+ years for Jennie, the family frantically chased every lead believing their children were kidnapped and may still be alive. To this day, no trace of the five missing children has ever been found. Was it grief that led the Sodders to exhaust themselves, never putting the case to rest, or were they onto something and the children were truly kidnapped?

Sources
Smithsonian Magazine (2012)
Legends of America 
r/UnsolvedMysteries 
The Encylopedia of Unsolved Crimes

Documentaries
Nexpo- What Happened to the Sodder Children? (2025)
MysteriousWV- Sodder Family: CASE STUDY (2022)

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On February 9, 2023, 43-year-old mother of 2, Crystal McCrory Jones was found deceased inside her Louisiana home with a pillow over her face and a gunshot wound to the head. Less than 2 hours later, her death was ruled a suicide even though circumstances were very shady and almost no investigation had been conducted. Her husband, Tony Jones, was an ex deputy for the police department in charge of investigating Crystal's death. 
Tony had a history of verbally abusing Crystal as well as cheating, but the police department insists that does not make him a killer. 
    Inconsistencies in the investigation piled up, with a botched autopsy report (Crystal's name was not spelled correctly, her time of death was scratched out and rewritten as a different time, her hair color, eye color, previous surgeries, and health conditions were all listed incorrectly), lies about the crime scene photos (the sheriff insisted the spent shell casing was seen in the photos but it was not found by Tony until 8 days after Crystal's death), important testing on the weapon and bullets was not even conducted until months after her death, and it just seemed as though Tony had all investigating parties as well as others in Oak Grove wrapped around his finger. 
    Despite all of this, Crystal's sister, Jana, and brother, Dane have not given up on trying to have Crystal's case heard and properly investigated. The case remains open despite the lack of follow up investigations from the police department.

This is where we come in. Please sign Jana's petition and help get the word out there. Crystal needs justice!! 

All sources used in this episode can be found through Jana's linktree below. 

Crystal McCrory Jones LinkTree

Justice for Crystal Instagram 

Petition to Reopen Investigation into Crystal's Death

Jana's book about Crystal's death and her fight for justice 
          Justice Denied: Book 1 

Reverie True Crime Episodes (you can listen to Jana's calls with the Sheriff and DA on these)

Reverie True Crime Part 1
Reverie True Crime Part 2
Reverie True Crime Part 3
Reverie True Crime Part 4
Reverie True Crime Part 5

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Many people are aware how organ transplantation is handled in the United States, but what most people aren't aware of is just how flawed the system is for handling body donation and brokerage. In this episode, a dive is taken into some of the commonly known and lesser known cases involving illegal body brokerage within the US. 

The Biological Resource Center was founded in Phoenix, Arizona in 2003 by Stephen Gore and is responsible for the most widely known instance of illegal body brokerage. In the facility, agents found 10 tons of frozen human remains which equates to 20,000 pounds. 1,755 body parts were found that included 281 heads, 241 shoulders, 337 legs and 97 spines. Family members of the victims were informed that "the donations, if accepted, would be used solely for medical and/or scientific research ... that donor bodies would be treated with dignity and respect; and that donor bodies would not be dismembered and/or sold for profit," They were also told that the unused remains of their family members would be cremated and returned to them. Many did recieve boxes with ashes in, but it is hard to tell if the ashes recieved were even their family members since the parts were all commingled and not labeled. 

Federal authorities had actually began investigating the BRC in 2011 when a Detroit body broker from a company called International Biological Inc was stopped by US customs agents as he crossed the border from Ontario. He had 10 human heads with him. 

Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation Inc. was a funeral home and body brokerage that was purportedly organized for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes and claimed it was a non-profit. It was ran by Megan Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch. During it's time of operation from 2009 to 2018, the pair devised and carried out a plan to defraud families by selling donated bodies and parts. During this time, the pair forged consent forms and stole bodies for which no donation authorizations were signed and sold them. After bodies were stolen and sold, the pair then delivered false cremains to the families of the deceased. There were 811 bodies or parts sold of which 560 of those were stolen


Other body brokerages known as Restore Life USA and Science Care Inc. were involved in questionable and often fradulent body brokering practices but were never charged with anything official. 

Sources:
Courthouse News (2020)
Sunset Mesa Timeline
9News (2025)
9news (2023)
9news (2024)
Reuters (2017)
Reuters (2017)
Reuters (2017)
Reuters (2017)
Reuters (2017)
CBS News (2019)
BBC (2019)
Washington Post (2019)

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When Angela Craig, a devoted mother of six and wife to Colorado dentist James Craig, began experiencing mysterious symptoms after drinking her morning protein shakes, no one suspected the true horror unfolding behind closed doors. In a matter of 10 days in March of 2023, Angela had been hospitalized three times with no one able to figure out the case of her mysterious symptoms, that is until lethal amounts of Cyanide, Arsenic, and Tetrahydrozoline (eye drops) were found in her system. Tragically, Angela passed away on March 18, 2023 and this is when James Craig's web of secrets came to light. 

Sources

CourtTV (2025) 

BBC (2025) 

CNN (2025)

CNN (2025)

CBS (2025)


Colorado Public Radio (2025) 



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Yaser Abdel Said, who was born in Egypt, ruled his family with an iron fist due to his extreme religious and cultural beliefs. His family, who lived in Texas, consisted of his wife, Patricia Owens, 17-year-old daughter Sarah Said, 18-year-old daughter Amina Said, and 19-year-old son, Islam Said. One of Yaser's most strict rules consisted of his daughters not being allowed to date or even talk to boys. He was to pick their husbands from Egypt and they would go there to marry them, but the girls held secret relationships while in school. Yaser found out about Amina's secret relationship with her boyfriend, Joseph Moreno through methods of surveillance he had placed on his daughters and threatened to kill her. Sadly, he made good on his promise on January 1, 2008 when he took his daughters out in his taxi and fatally shot both of them, leaving their bodies in his taxi while he fled. Yaser evaded capture for 12 years before being arrested on August 26, 2020. He had been on the FBI's Most Wanted list for 6 years.
SourcesAudio:Patricia Owens' Statement: Court TV (2023)- Victims' Mom: "You are the devil." | Texas Honor Killing Trial9-1-1 Call: Associated Press (2014)- Texas Teen 911 Call: 'I'm Dying.'
NY Post (2022)Documentary: Devil in Suburbia- Under His Eye (2022)NBC News (2022)United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Texas (2020)Documentary: The Price of Honor (2014)

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In March 2006 in the Bronx, New York, three children watched in horror as their pregnant mother, 37-year-old Marilyn Ginel was brutally beaten and stabbed to death by her ex boyfriend, Robert Coakley and his wife, Maria Coakley. 12 years later in 2018, Marilyn's eldest daughter, 25-year-old Lisa Marie Velasquez would meet a similar fate when she was brutally beaten to death with a hammer by 34-year-old Daquan Wheeler as she tried to help her friend, Ciara Martinez after she stated that Daquan was beating her and had fled with their child. Ciara and Daquan proceeded to then dismember Lisa and place her remains in trash bags in two park near the area.
SourcesWRAL (2018)NY Times (2006)CBS (2018)NY Times (2006)NY Post (2018)Evil Intentions- Slain as her Kids Watched, Daughter Betrayed and Cut in Pieces- Marilyn Ginel, Lisa Velasquez Crime Files- Death Strikes Twice - Marilyn Ginel and Lisa Marie Velasquez Murders Audio:PIX11 News- Wake held for Bronx Woman who was found murdered, dismembered

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In the early morning hours of September 22, 2015 in Bristol, UK, a man could be heard shouting through the streets. Neighbors thought this was some sort of prank or the sounds of animals, but when they exited their flats, they realized this was no joke. 27-year-old Mark Van Dongen wearing only boxers could be seen covered in a mud-like substance which was determined to be his skin disintegrating and melting off. His ex, Berlinah Wallace had snuck back into her flat where he was sleeping alone and dumped 98% sulfuric acid on his face and body. Mark endured unimaginable suffering over the next 15 months until he ultimately chose to be euthanized in Belgium.
SourcesBBC (2018)Evolution News (2017)BBC News (2018) - 999 call Independent (2018)The Case That Redefined Cruelty. The Ruthless Case of Mark Van Dongen- Crime A to Z (2025) The Guardian (2018)

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This episode honors the life and legacy of Judy Malinowski, a courageous woman whose voice transcended unimaginable pain to ignite change. After surviving a horrific act of domestic violence that left her with life-threatening burns, on June 2, 2015 by her estranged boyfriend, Michael Slager, Judy became a beacon of resilience, fighting for justice until her final moments. Her groundbreaking 3- hour testimony from her hospital bed led to the conviction of her attacker and inspired legislative reform through “Judy’s Law.” . This is the story of a life that turned tragedy into triumph, reminding us all of the strength of the human spirit.SourcesDocumentary- The Fire That Took HerLaw & Crime (2018)NBC (2017) Business Insider (2023)


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This episode features four stories that occurred in recent years, some of which are still ongoing. #1 Rachel HenryOn January 20, 2020, members of 22-year-old Rachel Henry's family were present at their Prague, Oklahoma home when all three of Rachel's children were discovered deceased on the living room couch, staged to look as if they were sleeping.
#2 Neil HowardOn September 13, 2023, 46-year-old Neil Howard was drunk when he attacked his 60-year-old mother, Norma Caraker in their home with a bungee cord. He wrapped it around her neck and left her body in her bed. He made an attempt to accuse an assailant that broke in, but was ultimately arrested as his story did not line up. It was said that Neil was tired of his mother dating and not giving him enough money. Neil was also tried in the 2005 murder of his father, but was acquitted.
#3 Asia GuercyOn January 26, 2025, 25-year-old Asia Guercy and her friend, 31-year-old Charles Dark were ran off the road by a vehicle being drove by Asia's husband, 31-year-old Isaac Albert Perez. The vehicle drove through a chain link fence and into a flood canal, instantly killing both Asia and Charles.
#4 Sam NordquistSam was a 24-year-old bi-racial, transgender male who left his home in Minnesota to be with his lover he met online, 38-year-old Precious Arzauga. He was to stay with her for two weeks in Canandaigua, New York, but when his family stopped hearing from him from January to February 2025, they became concerned and sent police to check up on Room 22 at Patty's Lodge, a hotel considered a "last-resort" place for many down on their luck. Room 22 is where Sam and Precious had been staying. Sam's body was located on February 13 wrapped in plastic in a field about a 20-minute drive from the hotel. He had been beaten, tortured, and sexually assaulted for over a month, held hostage at the hotel by seven perpetrators.

SourcesThe Telegraph (2023)People (2025)MSN (2025)People (2025)The Sun (2025)People (2025)NBC News (2025)NY Times (2025)NBC News (2025)Find Law (2025)NY Times (2025)

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On the night of April 9, 2001, a loud argument could be heard coming from the Fisher family home in Scottsdale, Arizona between Robert Fisher and his wife, Mary Fisher. The next morning at around 8:42 AM, an explosion could be heard coming from the home which then erupted into flames. Upon investigation, the bodies found in the home were that of 37-year-old Mary Fisher, and the Fisher children, Brittney (10) and Robert, Jr. (Bobby, 12). The children's' throats had been slashed, and Mary suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Robert Fisher was nowhere to be found. He had become the number one suspect. Police launched a search for Robert that has spanned 25 years, but so far, Robert remains missing.
Sources:FBI Press Release (2002) CNN (2016) The Arizona Republic (2004)The Arizona Republic (2001) Arizona Central (2021)The Arizona Republic (2002) KDVR (2014)Documentary- Finding Robert Fisher Documentary- Where is Robert Fisher?

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