Murder In The Rain

Part 2: "The Hatchet Man"

In last week’s episode “Leave Us Alone” we discussed the Cline Falls Axe Attack from 1977. College students Terri Jentz and Avra Goldman were in Oregon starting their summer cycling trip across the TransAmerica trail. A few days into their trip they were attacked while camping in Cline Falls State Park. The attacker drove his vehicle to the women’s tent, got out, and hacked at the girls with a hatchet. Miraculously, both women survived. After three years, the case was essentially closed and no one was arrested. Unfortunately, due to the statute of limitations, the Cline Falls Axe attacker would never pay for his crimes. Victim and advocate, Terri Jentz, decided that 15 years later, she wanted to solve her own case. In today’s episode, we explore the journey Terri took interviewing witnesses, gathering clues, and discovering who The Hatchet man was. 

For photos and sources for this episode, please visit the Murder in the Rain episode blog.

Episode Host: Emily Rowney

Part 1: "Leave Us Alone"

The 1970s was a decade where women lobbied and protested and people enjoyed the fashion and musical freedom the decade could offer. More than ever, women were going to college and breaking into careers that used to be solely for men, trying new things, and even going on new adventures. In 1977 two Yale University coeds embarked on the adventure of a lifetime when they decided to dedicate their summer to cycling the TransAmerica Trail. Terri Jentz and Avra Goldman had no idea that when they kicked off their trip in the beautifully scenic Oregon, that they would be stepping into a nightmare. Today, we’ll be discussing the infamous case of the Cline Falls Axe Attack.

For photos and sources for this episode, please visit the Murder in the Rain episode blog.

Episode Host: Emily Rowney

There are at least 63 available billboards along the 84. As cars travel along, and drivers and passengers' eyes wander across those billboards, that equates to 1.5 million impressions per week, and over 6 million impressions per month per billboard. After you hear today’s episode I hope we’ll be much closer to filling one of those billboards with the face of a beloved father who has been missing since November 2021; Charles Keller.

For photos and sources for today’s episode, please visit the Murder in the Rain episode blog.

To hear the Marsalis Trial recording referenced in today’s case, visit us on Patreon. Patreon Members at all levels will have access to the recording as well as ad-free versions of all episodes.

You can also donate to the family's Missing Person Chuck Keller Conservatorship gofundme page.

To donate to the Keller family, you can send funds to @murderintherain on Venmo noting “Charlie Keller” and we will forward them to the Keller family.

Episode Host: Emily Rowney

There seems to be no heavier pain to carry than the loss of a child. It’s hard enough to lose a child to a health issue or accident, but when a stranger and violence are involved, it seems unimaginable how a parent or any family member could get through the day when their heart has been shattered by the loss or worse when they don’t know where or what happened to their child. Today, I’ll be telling two stories of young children who went missing under bizarre circumstances. These cases are considered open, but are they in essence, solved? And in both cases, were family members involved? These are the stories of Wallace Guidroz and Lenoria Jones and their mysterious disappearances.

For photos and sources for today’s case, visit the Murder in the Rain episode blog.

Episode Host: Alisha Holland

"By nightfall, the buildings were burning; the commissary had been looted, blankets and bedding were brought to the yard by the inmates. Small make-shift tents sprang up. Convicts were seen eating fresh bread by the loaf, and sheet cakes by the dozen. They drank milk by the gallon and cooked meat and steaks over large bonfires built from the wreckage of the prison. The loud strains of steel guitars played in the background as a night of destruction…occurred. There were many assaults, several knifings, and total destruction of property. Taunting profanities were thrown at the guards whom they knew could not take action." This is the story of the 1968 Oregon Penitentiary Riot.

Photos and sources from this week’s case can be seen in the Murder in the Rain Unrest episode blog. 

Episode Host: Josh McCullough

Last week, I told you about Bruce Nickell, a man who mysteriously collapsed and died. Then, just a few days later, also in Auburn, Washington, 40-year-old mother and banker Sue Snow also collapsed and died. When her death was ruled a homicide via cyanide poisoning, her husband Paul was looked at as a suspect and the country was terrified to hear there might be another murderer tampering with capsules. With a nationwide recall, those who had bottles of Excedrin at home were checking the bottles so they could call in if they were in possession of one from the same lot as those Sue Snow had ingested. That was when Stella Nickell, Bruce’s wife, realized they not only had a bottle from that batch, but Bruce had died right after taking a few capsules. So perhaps his death wasn’t caused by emphysema after all.

For photos and sources for today’s case, check out the Murder in the Rain episode blog.

Episode Host: Alisha Holland

The Tylenol murders of Chicago in 1981 brought a flurry of change. They inspired a total redesign of medical packaging, to hinder tampering and it spawned the creation of a new anti-tampering federal law. The ripple effect of change went as deep as homes and individuals. Some were so fearful there would be another attack by the uncaptured perpetrator, or perhaps a copycat, they wouldn’t even buy medication in capsule form. Which was why it was so shocking to find Sue Snow, someone who was worried about capsules, in possession of some the morning she collapsed on her bathroom floor. Was this another attack at the hands of the same person from Chicago? Was there someone in the house who wanted Sue dead? Or even worse, was Sue simply a necessary casualty in the eyes of a villainous killer who needed Sue to die for her own benefit? In today's episode, we'll hear the story of Sue Snow, Bruce Nickell, and the Excedrin murders that rocked Washington in the 1980s. 

For photos and sources for today’s case, check out the Murder in the Rain episode blog.

Episode Host: Alisha Holland

In December of 2011, the tiny city of Deer Park, Washington, was shaken by the horrific news that a local mother of five was found murdered in her own bed. Over the course of the investigation, police pieced together a grim scene. A man broke into her home and laid in wait for his opportunity to strike. He then violently murdered her and left her body in a state to humiliate and degrade her. To this day, there is a line drawn in the sand, and a family is divided on who that man was. Was it a stranger? Was it an online lover? Was it her ex-husband? Though a man sits in prison convicted, by his peers, of the horrific murder of Chanin Starbuck, some of the people closest to her can’t agree that he is the one who actually did it.

For photos and sources for today’s episode, check out the Murder in the Rain episode blog.

Episode Host: Emily Rowney

In 1923 rural Oregon, a brazen daytime train robbery ended after a strong-arm takeover and a massive dynamite blast, deployed to open a safe containing an alleged fortune, destroyed the train's mail car, setting it ablaze. As it charred to ruin, one person was consumed in the fire and three others were brutally cut down by gunfire. These crimes resulted in a years-long manhunt for the three-man team who had fled far and wide from their epicenter. This is the story of The DeAutremont Brothers, their folly in taking after the Old West outlaws they had grown up worshiping, and the railcar they stopped one cloudless October afternoon: Train Number 13, The Gold Special.  

For photos and sources for this case, visit the Murder in the Rain “Episode 96. A Long Run in the Shadows” episode blog.

Episode Host: Josh McCullough

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp is customized online therapy that offers video, phone, and live chat sessions with a licensed therapist. For 10% off of you first month, go to https://www.betterhelp.com/murderintherain

So often in true crime, we hear about the Bogeyman; the Westley Allan Dodds, or Gary Ridgways. An animalistic creature that stalks a person like prey with no rhyme or reason. But too often, the perpetrator of violence is someone within the home; a family member who takes domestic violence too far and ends up killing their family. These horrendous acts leave people wondering how well they know those they share a home, and sometimes a bed with. Today, I’ll be exploring three cases of full or partial family annihilations and speaking with Dr. Stephanie Leite, clinical and forensic psychologist to discuss the signs of someone who may go over the edge and what you can do if you think you’re seeing them.

To help with Raechyl and Jaylay Blackshear’s funeral expenses, Please visit their family’s Go Fund Me page. 

For additional information like photos and sources, visit the Murder in the Rain episode blog.