Episode 3 follows Brian Lee Hendrickson’s case through late 1965 and 1966, as court procedures, psychiatric evaluations, and a Minnesota trial unfold under the state’s Youth Conservation Commission. At the same time, a new Supreme Court ruling on Miranda rights reshapes the very laws surrounding confession and sentencing.

We meet Hendrickson’s brothers, Mark and Gary, whose memories of that era reveal a family story caught between denial and discovery, and we open a parallel thread on Michelle’s early life — the beginnings of a second tragedy yet to come.

Through careful investigative journalism, Dakota Spotlight continues this true crime podcast journey through Minnesota’s justice system, where one decision inside a courtroom still echoes six decades later.

Meanwhile in Mankato was written, researched, edited, and produced by James Wolner. Additional research assistance by Mari Zoerb Hansen.

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