Missing Magnolias

Thanks to forensic genetic genealogy and a pizza crust, in July of 2023 a perpetrator was arrested in connection with the case of the Long Island Serial Killings known as (LISK). Described as 'Ogre -like' in witness reports at 6'4 , 59-year-old Manhattan architect and Massapequa Park resident, Rex Heuermann, has been linked to the murders of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello of "The Giglo Four" and is a prime suspect in the murder of the fourth victim, Maureen Brainard-Barnes. In total, 11 remains of sex workers who were targeted on Craigslist were discovered on the South shore of Long Island from 1996-2011, some of who remain unidentified. It is believed he could be linked to more deaths in Las Vegas and South Carolina where he had properties.

Michelle with her background in criminology helps to recenter the larger conversation back onto the victims and the necessity of our culture to destigmatize sex work, as well as open the larger conversation as to why old typologies didn't work in this case. In other words, why what we largely know about serial offenders in their M.O. and signature is evolving and why forensic genetic genealogy is going to catch the 'less detectable' serial offenders and how that is going to inform how they are apprehended.

Books Mentioned

TV Mentioned

Our minisodes are a break from true crime where we discuss Michelle's internet search history, which is teeming with all things weird and wonderful. We are joined by special guest Paige to explore the topic of voyeurism in connection with The Voyeur's Motel, a nonfiction book written by the journalistic icon, Gay Talese, which was only just released in 2016 but was decades in the making. Naturally, our gang on the pod is highly skeptical of this wannabe 'Kinsey-like' sexologist and has some thoughts... Tune in to find out why!

The actual book is compilation of Talese’s reportage of a Colorado man by name of Gerald Foos, a father of two, who with the help of his wife Donna a nurse, created a motel in the late 1960s engineered to spy on his guests and to satisfy his voyeuristic tendencies. The book is also largely written from Gerald Foos personal manuscripts, which he referred to as “The Voyeur’s Journal”, which Talese described as handwritten entries on yellow legal pad notepaper with ‘near perfect penmanship’ whereby Foos catalogued and studied his guests noting his approximation of their heights, weights, education, and backgrounds and above all their sex lives and sexual proclivities all in the name of what he Foos noted as the good for 'sexual research.'  But while

Books Referenced

The Voyeur's Motel

The Monster of Florence: A True Story

Documentaries/Shows

The Watcher

Nancy from Damsel in Defense joins us to discuss how we can all use products for empowerment and self-defense! We learned why parking lots and grocery stores are potential hot zones for attacks and how to make tools like the kubotan, pepper spray, and stun guns functional for everyday use and even some more equipment that was not on our radar!

Be sure when you make a purchase from Damsel in Defense, use the link below from now until 1/13/24 and 10% of the proceeds will be donated locally to the nonprofit Southeast Louisiana Underwater Search and Recovery.

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Rebecca Hudsmith , a Louisiana Federal Public Defender, shares a trying moment of having a client on death row, as well as a monumental moment of arguing a case in the Supreme Court, all in pursuit of upholding a system of justice that works for us all.

Toby Savoy is a Death Investigator who works for the Coroner's Office in south Louisiana. With over 18 years of experience, Toby is a veteran in the field. He explains to us which seasons are more active for motorcycle accidents versus suicides, how he determines time of death, why your cat is more likely to eat you than your dog, what Cajuns keep in their fridge, and why he always carries a cooler in his truck...just in case duty calls. Toby's work is largely aimed at educating the public on preventative deaths. The recent uptick in gunshot and fentanyl deaths in our community is sobering and re-education for the public is greatly needed.

Lon Isaacson, retired California attorney and host's Scarlett's godfather, discusses some pivotal moments in his career. Beginning with his early contributions to California's child abuse reporting laws. As a then UCLA law student, Lon was hired by a law firm that was tasked with trying to find who should be held financially responsible for the injuries inflicted upon one high profile battered child, referred to by the LA Times as 'Baby Robison.' The term battered child syndrome in the early seventies was still a relatively new term, but Lon was able to find loopholes in the legal framework so that there would be financial penalties for doctors who fail to report when they spot child abuse. The success of the Baby Robison case would have ripple effects going all the way to the Supreme Court where Lon's lead article for the July 1975 addition of the San Diego Law Review was not only cited but pivotal in changing California's laws on reporting child abuse.

Although he specializes in tax law, Lon would find himself later again in his career fighting on behalf of the abused when he was able to secure 12.75 million dollars in settlement fees from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on behalf of his clients who were sexually abused by the infamous Cardinal Mahony.

*Articles Referenced:

"Child Abuse Reporting Statutes: The Case for Holding Physicians Civilly Liable for Failing to Report" (San Diego Law Review/ July 1975)" by Lon Isaacson

*Documentaries Mentioned

Multiple Award recipient and Academy Award-winning documentary-Summer of Soul (2021)

In 1984 at age 11, Jody Plauché was abducted from his home in Baton Rouge by his karate teacher, Jeff Doucet, and was taken to California. Jody's case then made headlines when his father, Gary Plauché, shot Jeff on live TV as he was being escorted off a plane to face criminal charges relating to child molestation. Jody went on to pursue a life of activism against sexual assault. Most recently, he has written a book Why, Gary, Why?: The Jody Plauché Story, which instructs parents on how to better protect their children and themselves from the hallmarks of grooming behavior. The title of his book is a reference to what law enforcement said to Gary (Jody's father) on camera after the shooting of Jeff (Jody's abuser).

We are inspired by Jody's sense of humor and positivity in turning a painful story into a tool to help others navigate.

You can contact/follow Jody here:

And be sure to purchase his book Why, Gary, Why?: The Jody Plauché Story here.

Back in September 2022, A Louisiana woman working as a confidential informant was sent undercover into a drug sting and was raped twice, as a result of being left 'alone and unmonitored.'

Reporting on the story is Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter with the Associated Press, Jim Mustian, here to discuss the subject of confidential informants (CIs) and the opportunity for better safeguards. You can read the full story ⁠here. ⁠

Jim also shares with us his latest project, a podcast Smoke Screen: Betrayal on the Bayou whi⁠ch tells the story of a corrupt DEA agent in New Orleans who some call the "White Devil." Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts!

Books mentioned on this episode:

Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice by Alexandra Natapoff

Jordan LaHaye Fontenot (Managing Editor of Country Roads Magazine) joins the pod to discuss her forthcoming true crime book, HOME OF THE HAPPY: A MURDER ON THE CAJUN PRAIRIE, which details the crime that still haunts her family, the 1983 abduction, ransom, and murder of her great-grandfather, Aubrey LaHaye, a prominent banker in Mamou Louisiana.

Jordan's book HOME OF THE HAPPY: A MURDER ON THE CAJUN PRAIRIE will be published with Mariner Books (winter/2025). Be sure to subscribe to her newsletter here and stay up-to-date.

You can also follow Jordan on IG @jordanilahaye

Beam me up, Scotty! Joining us is special guest Reggie Buck, a south Louisiana-based representative from The Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU) who collects and debunks evidence and experiences from the community and beyond regarding UAP or "unidentified aerial phenomenon." Similar to the stories we hear on the show from those whose lives are impacted by crime, we are reminded of the empowerment that comes with speaking out about any kind of experience, despite the stigmas. Not to mention, the importance of looking less at our phones and more toward to the sky. We asked Reggie what strange lights lurk in the bayou. Tune in to find out!

You can learn more about The Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU) here.

And you can follow/ contact Reggie on his Instagram @buck.reggie or email him at [email protected].

***Documentaries mentioned on the show: