Domino Effect of Murder

The extended family of Barbara With endured two independent homicides just a few years apart.  Both killers were known to their targets.  Both victims were single parents of young children. Both of their attackers were convicted.

In this discussion, we discuss the impact of these murders on our guest Barbara With and her family.  But, we  also learn more about her background as an intuitive, creative performer and writer.

Jeanne Dotts Brykalski lost her parents to murder in a quiet neighborhood in East Tennessee when they interrupted a burglary in progress by three assailants in their own home.  Jeanne is a veteran of the homicide survivor experience.  She's been through the death notification, funerals, trial and faced the parole board before.  She's served as a victim advocate for others.  Jeanne has insights only an experienced "insider" could have.

This is the second time we've heard from Jeanne.  We first met her November 10, 2021, when she detailed the deaths of her parents, Les and Carol, and the comfort her parents' dog provided to her immediately following the tragic news.

In this episode, we will glean what it's like to go before a parole board.  And just as important, Jeanne invites you to get involved by signing the petition to keep David Scarbrough behind bars.  (You need not be a resident of Tennessee or be personally involved with the situation.)  The petition will need to be signed before December 1, 2024. Please go to: 
                 https://www.change.org/JusticefortheDotts-122024,
                 or click on the link in the corresponding Facebook Page for this podcast and episode.

Lynette Duncan was just a happy teenager living life in southern California when the unimaginable came to her family's door at 4:00 a.m.  Two serial murderers took the lives of her father and sister and seriously wounded her mother.  She became the de-facto head of the household.  She is still fighting parole for the one convict who remains.

..Reporter, author and executive producer Aphrodite Jones speaks about her career reporting true crime - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Megan Conner has known her older cousin, Lori Vallow Daybell, all her life.  They grew up within their tightly-knit, extended family in the context of the Mormon faith.  Megan eloquently explains the roots of the triple murders which her cousin was found guilty of.  This included the murder of Meegan's niece and nephew, Tylee Ryan, and Joshua "JJ" Jaxon Vallow at the hands of her cousin ("filicide").  The third conviction was for the homicide of Lori's last husband's wife, Tammy.  Lori was sentenced to three consecutive life terms. (Lori faces two additional counts of conspiracy to commit murder related to the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband Brandon Boudreaux.)

Lori's children went missing in 2019 which set off a national manhunt for their whereabouts.  Lori was nick-named "Doomsday Mom" in the popular press due to her religious beliefs solidified in the Netflix documentary series "Sins of Our Mother."

Today Megan speaks out in the hope that people will look upon the tragedy in her family as a cautionary tale.  She urges others to speak the truth, heed warning signs and get outside help earlier rather than later.

The wind was never at the back of Delicia Niami.  She started life in a tough area of East L.A. by a devoted single mom when she (and her brother) were kidnapped by her estranged father and whisked off to Baghdad. She was only four.  With little understanding of the culture and why she was taken, she endured rejection and poverty. Just as abruptly, Delicia was returned a year later.  Without a command of English, she wondered if she would be accepted. She was. Life went on.  But tragedy struck again at age 30 when her mother was murdered in a home invasion by a stranger.  It took years for Delicia to find her footing and she bravely shares her journey with us.

Murders of adults usually leave behind sons and daughters who must somehow move on with their lives. They are the forgotten victims of homicide - even by their relatives. It is rare for a child to get the mental health help they need and deserve following the loss of one or both parents to murder. Even worse, they are sometimes used by prosecutors at witnesses. This episode looks at a cross-section of eight people who lost one or both parents to homicide and the impact it had on them.

Sharon McConnell-Dickerson, equipped only with her phone, was able to set in motion a series of events that led to the capture and conviction of a serial murderer in Panama. Who knows how many lives she saved?

Captain Mike Schentrup retired in 2021 as a Bureau Commander for the Gainesville Florida P.D. where he had worked for almost 25 years. His years on the job brought him to investigate many murders. Before leaving Gainesville P.D. he founded Advanced Police Concepts, LLC in 2016. But Captain Schentrup has also experienced homicide from the view of the homicide survivor. His young niece was one of the students senselessly slain in the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas H.S. He felt the ripple effect on people closest to him.

Please join us as we discuss cold case investigations, his niece's murder and how working major cases can take a toll on officers.

Josephine Wentzel was a detective by training and retired when her 30-year-old daughter Crystal was murdered by her new boyfriend. He fled to South America on a forged Canadian passport. He had training in special operations. Even the U.S. Marshals didn't hold out much hope he'd be apprehended. But Josephine had promised she'd take care of her daughter from birth to death - and beyond.

Sheer grit, determination, a careful strategy and time eventually won out. He was captured and returned to the U.S. where he is currently awaiting trial.

Listen as we discuss the self-described "mama bear" bring the wrath of the U.S. government onto the man who stole the life of her daughter and the mother from her tiny grandchildren.