In this episode of Murder Blueprint, retired Kansas City Police detective Gary Jenkins sits down with retired KCPD homicide detective Mike Luster to go inside the investigation that finally identified Kansas City serial killer Lorenzo Gilyard.  

For years, women were found murdered around Kansas City, many of them vulnerable women working the streets. The cases stretched back decades and initially appeared to be separate homicides. Then advances in DNA technology began connecting them.  

Luster explains how he started digging through old homicide files and discovered striking similarities among the victims. What began with a few DNA-linked murders eventually grew into a much larger investigation. Detectives compiled thousands of names, eliminated suspects one by one, examined jail records and old police reports, and ultimately narrowed the investigation to Lorenzo Gilyard. 

The breakthrough also came from evidence collected years earlier and preserved long before DNA technology became the investigative tool it is today.   Luster describes the surveillance of Gilyard, his arrest at a North Kansas City restaurant, and the marathon interrogation that followed. He also reveals what Gilyard told detectives, why investigators struggled to get an emotional reaction from him, and what Luster would do differently if he could interrogate Gilyard again today.  

Gary also shares his own encounter with Gilyard years before anyone knew he would eventually be identified as a serial killer.   It is a firsthand look at cold-case detective work, DNA evidence, interrogation strategy and the painstaking police investigation that connected murders spanning decades.

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The interview introduces Ann Spry, a longtime editor and former newspaper publisher, and discusses her work with the host on several books. The main topic is Ann’s book, Searching For Summer: A Solved but Unresolved Missing Persons Case. This is the story about the disappearance and killing of Summer Shipp.

Ann says she met Brandy Shipp, Summer’s daughter, after moving to Kansas City and having home remodeling work done. Brandy later introduced herself, and Ann asked whether she had considered writing about her mother’s case. Brandy had been approached before but was not ready at the time; later, she agreed to collaborate.

Summer Shipp is described as a former owner of the Bijou Theater in Westport who later worked in marketing surveys. In December 2004, she went to Independence, Missouri, for a survey assignment and did not return. Brandy and many of Summer’s friends organized a large search, and the case received major media attention, including appearances by Brandy on national television programs. The search found Summer’s car in Independence, which helped confirm she was missing.

The discussion also covers the investigation and the trial of suspect Jeffery Sauerbry. Police interviewed him and searched his home but found no clear evidence. Several months later some fishermen found Summer’s remains in the Little Blue River. The fisherman noticed a red scarf and when he pulled on it, he found it was attached to a dead body.

At trial, Sowerby was acquitted in Summer’s case, but he was later convicted in another murder case involving William Kellett. Ann says the book focuses less on the crime itself and more on Summer as a person, emphasizing the community support around her and Brandy. She describes the case as one where love, friendship, and grief were central themes. The interview ends with brief comments about writing and preaching as ongoing work, and Ann shares contact information for her publishing website and email.

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A short episode to update listeners on the outcome of jury deliberations in the Lindsay Clancy trial.

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This episode of Murder Blueprint examines the Lindsay Clancy case as the jury deliberates her fate. At the center of the trial is a difficult legal question: how should severe mental illness be weighed against criminal responsibility?

We review the defense case, including testimony that Clancy sought help from numerous medical providers, received multiple psychotropic medications, visited emergency rooms, contacted crisis and suicide hotlines, and participated in outpatient treatment, partial hospitalization, and a psychiatric admission.

We also discuss concerns that her mental-health treatment was fragmented and lacked a single provider coordinating her care. The defense argues that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children.

Prosecutors contend that her actions demonstrate planning, pointing in part to evidence that she calculated how long her husband would be away from the house and used that opportunity to commit the killings.

We examine the distinction between suffering from mental illness and meeting the legal standard for insanity, along with the role premeditation could play in the jury's decision.

Whatever the verdict, the most important fact remains unchanged: Cora, Dawson, and Callahan Clancy lost their lives. Their deaths remain at the center of this case and the questions surrounding it.

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In this episode of Murder Blueprint, retired Kansas City police detective Gary Jenkins talks with Los Angeles crime writer and researcher Joan Renner about George and Stefan Spitzer, identical twin brothers who became known as the “Roofie Romeos.”

The brothers were convicted in 1998 of using Rohypnol to drug and sexually assault women in Southern California. Investigators searching their apartment discovered boxes of Rohypnol and videotapes documenting assaults. Sixteen women eventually came forward, although investigators believed there may have been additional victims. George Spitzer received a 60-year prison sentence and Stefan received 37 years.

Joan explains how the twins approached women, fabricated impressive backgrounds, gained their trust, and secretly drugged them. The discussion also examines why drug-facilitated sexual assault can be so difficult for victims to recognize and for investigators to prove.

The episode concludes with what happened after the brothers were released from prison and returned to Canada, along with an important discussion about personal safety, watching your drink, and trusting your instincts when something doesn't feel right

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In this episode of Murder Blueprint, retired Kansas City Police detective Gary Jenkins examines the disturbing Lindsay Clancy case and the central question at the heart of her murder trial: Was she legally responsible for killing her three young children, or was she suffering from a severe postpartum mental illness that prevented her from understanding her actions?  

The episode begins with listener Lilly outlining the case and the deaths of five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callahan. Gary then examines the prosecution’s case, including the narrow window of time while Clancy's husband was away, fitness-tracker data, her behavior before and after the killings, her writings, Internet searches, medications, and the method used to kill the children. 

Prosecutors argue that the evidence demonstrates planning, awareness, and deliberate action. The defense presents a very different picture—one of a mother struggling with postpartum mental illness who repeatedly sought treatment but may have been failed by a fragmented mental-health system.  
Gary also looks back at several other notorious cases involving mothers who killed their children, including Andrea Yates, Dena Schlosser, and Susan Smith, and considers why insanity defenses have produced dramatically different outcomes.  

This episode explores the difficult intersection of murder, motherhood, mental illness, postpartum disorders, criminal responsibility, and the insanity defense. When there is no dispute about who committed the killings, the question becomes much more complicated: Why did it happen, and should the person who did it be held criminally responsible?

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What would you do if your phone rang and you heard your child crying for help?

In this episode of Murder Blueprint, Gary Jenkins examines a disturbing form of fraud that uses AI voice cloning, caller ID spoofing, social media information, and psychological pressure to convince victims that a loved one has been kidnapped, injured, arrested, or is otherwise in immediate danger.  

The episode begins with a frightening case from Arizona. A mother receives a call from what appears to be her daughter, who sounds terrified and says she is in trouble. A man then takes over the call, claims he has kidnapped her daughter, demands money, and warns the mother not to contact police. By keeping her on the phone and emotionally overwhelmed, the scammer attempts to prevent her from verifying whether her daughter is actually in danger.  

Gary then talks with Mick, who experienced a remarkably similar call after leaving the gym. Mick heard what sounded like his own daughter telling him she had been in a car accident. A man then came on the line, claimed he was with her, made threats, and tried to maintain control of the conversation. Mick kept him talking long enough to contact family and confirm that his daughter was safe.  

The episode also examines a scam targeting an elderly woman whose grandson was supposedly jailed in Mexico and desperately needed money.

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In this episode of Murder Blueprint, retired Kansas City Police Detective Gary Jenkins examines one of South Carolina's most baffling unsolved homicide cases—the infamous Superbike Murders.   On November 6, 2003, four people were executed inside Superbike Motorsports in Chesnee, South Carolina. Owner Scott Ponder, his mother Beverly Guy, service manager Brian Lucas, and mechanic Chris Sherbert were all shot to death in what appeared to be a targeted execution. Strangely, no money was taken, valuable property remained untouched, and investigators were left with virtually no forensic evidence or credible suspects.  

Gary walks listeners through the investigation from the perspective of a veteran homicide detective, explaining how police evaluated witness statements, processed crime scenes, eliminated suspects, and explored theories ranging from drug trafficking to personal relationships and mistaken motives. The episode also examines how a DNA evidence mix-up briefly pointed investigators toward a nonexistent love triangle before that lead collapsed under further testing.  

More than a decade later, an unrelated missing persons investigation involving real estate broker Todd Kohlhepp changed everything. After rescuing kidnapping victim Kayla Brown from a shipping container on Kohlhepp's property, investigators uncovered multiple murder victims—and eventually obtained Kohlhepp's confession to the Superbike Murders. He admitted the Superbike killings stemmed from nothing more than anger over his treatment as a customer at the motorcycle dealership.  

Gary explains why experienced detectives withhold key crime scene details from the public, how investigators test competing theories, and why seemingly impossible cold cases sometimes break wide open through completely unrelated investigations. This episode offers a detailed detective's analysis of investigative strategy, evidence evaluation, and the unpredictable path that finally brought justice after thirteen years.

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In Part Two of this special Murder Blueprint series, retired Kansas City Police Detective Gary Jenkins continues his conversation with retired detectives Joe Langer and Tom Robinson as they reveal how investigators captured one of Kansas' most notorious serial killers—Richard Grissom Jr.  
The detectives take listeners inside the Johnson County Metro Squad investigation as hundreds of officers and investigators worked around the clock to locate Grissom before he could claim another victim. You'll hear how a nationwide manhunt stretched from Kansas to Chicago, Corpus Christi, and Dallas, where a carefully coordinated operation finally brought Grissom into custody.  

Joe and Tom describe the interrogation, Grissom's attempt to negotiate for a deal, and the mountain of forensic and circumstantial evidence that prosecutors assembled despite never recovering the bodies of Joan Butler, Christine Roosh, and Teresa Brown. From DNA evidence and trace hairs to stolen property, eyewitnesses, storage lockers, and ATM surveillance, every piece of evidence helped build one of the strongest no-body homicide cases ever prosecuted in Kansas.  

The detectives also discuss the trial, the prosecution led by Paul Morrison, the sentence that ensured Grissom would never be released, and why investigators continue to follow leads in hopes of someday locating the victims' remains.  

This episode offers a rare firsthand account from the detectives who worked one of the most complex serial murder investigations in Kansas history and explains how relentless police work brought justice for three young women and their families.

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In the first of a two-part series in Murder Blueprint, retired Kansas City Police Detective Gary Jenkins is joined by retired detectives Joe Langer and Tom Robinson to examine the opening phase of one of Kansas' most disturbing serial murder investigations.  

What began as the disappearance of Joan Butler in June 1989 quickly escalated when Christine Rusch and Teresa Brown also vanished within days. All three young women lived in Johnson County apartment complexes, and detectives soon realized they were facing far more than isolated missing persons cases.  

Joe and Tom take listeners inside the investigation as law enforcement slowly uncovered the methods of Richard Grissom Jr., a calculating predator who targeted young professional women. They discuss how detectives tracked ATM withdrawals, recovered abandoned vehicles, analyzed forensic evidence, coordinated between multiple police agencies, and gradually connected Grissom to the disappearances.  

The episode explores the challenges investigators faced before modern technology, when DNA analysis was still in its infancy, and every lead required painstaking detective work. You'll hear how alert patrol officers, crime lab specialists, and Metro Squad investigators combined their efforts to identify a serial killer before he could strike again.  

This is the first installment of the Richard Grissom Jr. investigation. In Part Two, detectives reveal how they built the case that ultimately brought one of Kansas' most notorious serial killers to justice.

Subscribe to Murder Blueprint wherever you get your podcasts, and join us each week as we uncover the stories buried beneath the headlines—and the bodies.

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