Killer Destinations

Michael Francke moved to Salem, Oregon to be the director of the State Department of Corrections and address problems in their prison system. Michael was the perfect candidate… he was an honorable and fearless leader who believed honesty was a requirement for every public servant. Tragically, in 1989 he was found murdered. In Part 1, we follow detectives as they search for possible suspects and determine if it was a robbery gone wrong or if there were more nefarious forces at work.

In 1982, James Krauseneck left work and went home to his wife Cathleen and young daughter in Brighton, New York. He went upstairs and found Cathleen dead in their bedroom with an ax embedded in the side of her head. The case remained cold for almost four decades until 2019 when the Brighton Police Department finally made an arrest. Trial began in September 2022. Did they finally get their man? Or did the jury disagree?

In 2002, Marlyne Johnson was 58 years old and looking forward to the arrival of her first grandchild. When she missed lunch with her daughter-in-law - with whom she was very close - her son and daughter-in-law went to check on her and found her body in the basement of the family home. Marlyne was kind and caring and everyone liked her. So who could have committed such a heinous crime? And when police found the perpetrator, would the family finally find justice?

Episode 55 is ripped from the headlines! Over Labor Day weekend 2022, Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German’s body was found next to his house by a neighbor. Throughout Jeff’s long career, his reporting had exposed organized crime, corrupt elected officials and unethical government agencies. With all of these potential adversaries, where do police start looking for a suspect?

Eleven days ago, Eliza Fletcher was abducted during her regular early morning run near the University of Memphis. Quick work by Memphis PD, with the assistance of county, state and federal authorities, enabled them to arrest their suspect the next day. Sadly, her body was found three days later, leaving behind her husband and two young children. Who did police arrest and how did they find him so quickly? 

We kickoff Season 2 with the true story behind the hit Apple TV+ crime drama Black Bird. In 1993, two young women went missing - college freshman Tricia Reitler disappeared after taking a study break to pick up a soda and magazine from a market close to her dorm. Police believe she was abducted and has never been seen again. Jessica Roach was 15 years old when she was abducted near her home, and her remains were found across state lines six weeks later. Is one man responsible for ending the lives of both young women? And are there more to be found? 

In our Season 1 finale, we cover the case of 8-year-old Jennifer Schuett, who, in 1990, was taken in the early morning hours from her bedroom in Dickinson, TX. She was found 12 hours later in a field with her throat slit and clinging to life. Investigators found clothing in a nearby field that they assumed belonged to the perpetrator, but it didn't provide a large enough sample for 1990 technology. Despite the police department's best efforts, the case went cold.

In 1988, social workers in Sacramento, CA went to police asking for help finding one of their clients - a man named Bert Montoya. It was unlike Bert not to be in touch with them, and after receiving an odd phone call they were worried something was wrong. Investigators went to the old Victorian boardinghouse where Bert was living to dig up some information, and it was there they uncovered secrets of a violent past that had been buried for years. 

In January 1993, Jennifer Mullin was late coming home from a friend's party. Her parents weren't too worried when she missed curfew, but when she wasn't home the next morning her parents reached out to friends and neighbors. When no one reported seeing Jennifer after she left the party the night before, they filed a missing persons report. Tragically, her body was found later that day just a few miles from her home. It took years for her family to get justice. But... will an August 2022 court ruling pave the way for her killer to walk free???

In Episode 27 we talked about the 1995 murder of Mary K Ross, who was a single mom of a 13-month-old daughter and going to school to become a paralegal. It was a vicious murder that happened with her baby girl asleep in the bedroom next to hers. On August 10, 2022, there was an update on the case that came as a surprise to everyone.