Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast

Special Bonus Mini-Cast Event! Playing Games with Gary Ridgway!

What if the friendly coworker who lingered after his shift to play Pokémon with you was one of America's most notorious serial killers? In this unforgettable mini episode, private investigator Shane Moreland reveals how an ordinary workplace friendship took a chilling turn when he recognized his former coworker on the news: Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer. Shane revisits the conversations, the warning signs that never appeared, and the unsettling truth that a killer can hide in plain sight. He also shares his remarkable childhood connection to true-crime legend Ann Rule—and the eerie parallel between her experience with Ted Bundy and his own. It's an intimate, stranger-than-fiction story that will leave you wondering: How well do we really know the people around us?

AND explore the upcoming October 10, 2026 WINE, DINE AND DEATH Event in Walla Walla, Washington, that benefits the Little Theater of Walla Walla!

BID on Jill's Merch Bag! Contents:

Build a true-crime reading nook with a basket assembled by the Murder Shelf Book Club. It includes six books: autographed copies of Swans Don't Swim in a Sewer by Sheryl "Mac" McCollum and Dog O' War by Aphrodite Jones; and, The Tylenol Murders: A Father's Confession to His Son by Joseph Cibelli; Fatal Lunch: The Death Cap Mushroom Murders by Cheryl Warren; Killer in the House: Ten Days of Terror in a Pennsylvania Suburb by Kathryn Canavan; and The Serial Killer Cookbook by Ashley Lecker. Two Library Lantern mini bookshelf lamps, a 12-ounce insulated travel wine tumbler, a Murder Shelf Book Club tote bag, a bookmark, and drink coasters complete the basket.

Estimated fair market value: $175.00 Includes shipping to a US address. Allow 7 to 10 days for delivery.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and enjoy Jill's SERIAL KILLER Case Studies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, photographs, maps, and other information can be found on Jill's Blog- October 2026

Part 3: This conclusion of A Monster in Mount Pleasant continues the gripping legal thriller, filled with surprising twists and turns, devastating setbacks, and a justice system forced to balance outrage, evidence, and constitutional rights as it prosecutes a brutal killer.

Over the decades, evidence is questioned, convictions are challenged, and long-awaited justice remains painfully uncertain. Courtroom strategies and emotional reckoning collide. At its heart, this episode is about memory, persistence, and the victims whose names should never be forgotten: Karol, Clementine, and Susan. For true crime listeners who want more than headlines, this episode delivers legal complexity, emotional depth, and an unforgettable finale.

Listen to Ep 181 and 183, Parts 1 and 2, before this episode! It will make much more sense!

Coming in two weeks, Jill chats with the author of A Monster in Mount Pleasant and former prosecutor CJ Williams!

Buy A Monster in Mount Pleasant: A Story of Murders and Justice by CJ Williams on AMAZON or ABE BOOKS.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and enjoy Jill's SERIAL KILLER Case Studies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, photographs, maps, and other information can be found on Jill's Blog- September 2026

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/09/

In this special episode, Jill ventures into one of humanity's oldest and most unsettling taboos through Nathalie von Zelowitz's extraordinary true-crime work, I Ate His Heart: Interviews with a Cannibal. Drawing on her decade-long therapeutic relationship with a man identified as 'Bernard', Nathalie von Zelowitz takes listeners far beyond shock value, into the complicated psychology of trauma, identity, compulsion, and the desperate human need to be seen and understood.

Jill and the von Zelowitzs explore what it means to confront the unthinkable without sensationalizing it, balancing clinical insight with compassion, accountability, and respect for the victim. Just as compelling is the discussion of Bernard's possible release and the careful work of preparing him for his future outside of Château-Thierry prison in France, and his daunting transition back into a world that has changed dramatically during his decade in prison.

This episode invites true-crime readers and psychologically curious listeners to look past the headline horror and ask deeper questions: how does a person become trapped inside such an extreme identity, what role can therapy play in transformation, and what happens when someone long defined by a monstrous act begins to imagine himself as something more?

Though Bernard's case is widely known in France, it remains far less familiar to many listeners in the United States, making this conversation a rare introduction to a disturbing and psychologically complex story.

Buy I Ate His Heart: Conversations with a Cannibal by Nathalie von Zelowitz, translated by Jon von Zelowitz, published by Feral House, on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and enjoy Jill's SERIAL KILLER Case Studies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, photographs, maps, and other information can be found on Jill's Blog- September 2026

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/09/

Part 2: After the murders of Karol and Clementine Beavers, fear settled over Mt. Pleasant as investigators searched for a killer hiding in plain sight. Among the young men questioned was Monte Seager, a troubled teen who had crossed paths with Karol at Mount Pleasant High School. His alibi raised no immediate suspicion, and the investigation began to drift, leaving the Mount Pleasant community forever changed—more cautious, more fearful, and still with the truth just out of reach.

Then, months later, another violent attack shook the same community—this time at the Iris Restaurant, where bartender Susan Wheelock was attacked, succumbing to her injuries. The clues in this homicide investigation raised eyebrows, as law enforcement began focusing on Monte Seager. As more evidence began to surface, old suspicions stirred again, pulling the Beavers case back from the shadows. What had once seemed like a trail gone cold now suggested something far more unsettling—a pattern that would take years, forensic persistence, and a series of unexpected turns to bring into focus.

Listen to Ep 181- Part 1 on A Monster in Mount Pleasant first!

Buy A Monster in Mount Pleasant: A Story of Murders and Justice by CJ Williams on AMAZON or ABE BOOKS.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and enjoy Jill's SERIAL KILLER Case Studies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, photographs, maps, and other information can be found on Jill's Blog- September 2026

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/09/

In this powerful special episode, Jill continues an urgent conversation sparked by EP 180, Carlos Rodriguez's The Ugly Underneath, by sitting down with Jenny Dutton, executive director of Raven. A former Florida prosecutor with decades of experience in special victims, homicide, sex crimes, and technology-facilitated child exploitation, Dutton pulls back the curtain on the fight to protect children in a rapidly changing digital world. Together, Jill and Jenny explain how Raven is working on Capitol Hill to secure funding, modernize laws, and support Internet Crimes Against Children task forces that often operate with far fewer resources than the crisis demands.

This episode is a wake-up call about the realities of online child exploitation, the rise of AI-generated abuse material, and the gaps in current legislation that make law enforcement's job even harder. But it is also a call to action: Jenny makes clear that ordinary people are not powerless, and that constituents' voices truly matter when it comes to pushing lawmakers to act. If you care about child safety, accountability for tech platforms, and giving investigators the tools they need to rescue and protect vulnerable children, this is an episode you will not want to miss.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Thorn: Defend Children from Sexual Abuse

Sources, photographs, and information can be found on Jill's Blog- September 2026

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime with other the Murder Bookies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Part 1: Author and Mount Pleasant native CJ Williams transports listeners to the seemingly safe and close-knit town of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in 1978. This was a place known for its unlocked doors, high school sports, family businesses, church gatherings, and neighbors who knew each other by name. However, that sense of security is shattered when the brutal murders of Karol Beavers and her mother, Clementine, upend the entire community. Through Williams's perspective as Karol's classmate, this episode explores not only the details of the crime but also how such violence can permanently change a town's heart. This episode offers much more than a simple recounting of a crime; it is a deeply human story about victims, memory, motive, justice, and the lasting impact one act of violence can have. If you are drawn to victim-centered true crime, personal narratives, and stories that grapple with difficult questions about why people commit violence, this episode is one you won't want to miss.

Buy A Monster in Mount Pleasant: A Story of Murders and Justice by CJ Williams on AMAZON or ABE BOOKS.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and enjoy Jill's SERIAL KILLER Case Studies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, photographs, maps, and other information can be found on Jill's Blog- September 2026

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/09/

In this special episode, Jill chats with retired Washington State Patrol Detective Sgt. Carlos Rodriguez, author of The Ugly Underneath: Navigating the Emotional Toll of Investigating Crimes Against Children, for a conversation that goes far beyond the usual true crime case file. Rodriguez pulls back the curtain on the world of child exploitation investigations—where undercover operations, online predators, human trafficking, and the relentless pursuit of offenders collide with the heavy psychological cost paid by the detectives who do this work. What comes through most powerfully is Carlos's deep concern for endangered children and his unwavering passion for preventing exploitation and rescuing them from harm, even when that mission demanded pieces of oneself. Drawing from his years as a detective, FBI task force officer, and child exploitation investigator, he explains how the book grew out of therapy, reflection, and the need to expose not only the crimes themselves, but also the trauma carried by those fighting to stop them.

Buy The UGLY UNDERNEATH by Carlos Rodriquez on AMAZON and BARNES AND NOBLE.

Sources, photographs, and information can be found on Jill's blog- August 2026

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/08/

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime with the other Murder Bookies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Part 4: In this fourth installment of KILLER IN THE HOUSE, Jill chats with reporter and true crime author Katherine Canavan about her book, exploring the 1976 murders of the Abt family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Canavan shares insights from her in-depth research, including her personal eyewitness account. The conversation highlights looking back on the case after 50 years, the devastating impact on survivors, the community's fear during the manhunt, and the troubled background of convicted killer George Geschwendt. She discusses the investigative efforts leading to his confession despite the limitations of 1970s policing. Additionally, Canavan emphasizes the importance of honoring victims and survivors. This episode is essential listening for true crime fans and those interested in the human stories behind these tragic events.

Anyone with information on the double homicide of Ed and Marguerite Vogenberger can call the Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354.

Buy Kathryn Canavan's book, Killer in the House: Ten Days of Terror in the Pennsylvania Suburbs on AMAZON or BARNES and NOBLE.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for free, or $2- $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, photographs, and information can be found on Jill's Blog July 2026!

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/07/

For 29 years, Neil Moran served as an FBI Special Agent, embedding himself undercover to outwit New York City's most notorious mob families. His deeply moving, firsthand accounts bridge the gap between historical headlines and human tragedy, offering unique insights into the heartbreaking 1978 kidnapping and murder of six-year-old Etan Patz, including the recent update in the case, and the exhausting investigation into the doomed TWA Flight 800 airliner, which crashed off Long Island.

Beyond the field, Moran offers a fascinating veteran's critique of Netflix's Mindhunter series! Come listen to a master storyteller as he reflects on the cases that defined an era, honors the memory of the victims, and examines the profound psychological impact these stories leave on us all.

BUY Neil Moran's book – STORIES by Former FBI Special Agent & Bronx Native on AMAZON.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and enjoy Jill's SERIAL KILLER Case Studies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, photographs, and information can be found on Jill's Blog – August 2026

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/08/

Part 3: March 1976- From the first, reporter Kathryn Canavan had covered the harrowing murder of Gary Engle and the Abt family, Jack, Peggy, Margie, Johnny, and Kathy, an event that instilled deep fear in the suburban community of Trevose, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After a lucky break, Bensalem investigators make an arrest just ten days after the brutal murder spree, with George Geschwendt, a neighbor living directly across the street from the Abts, emerging as the prime suspect. The news of this arrest sent ripples of disbelief and horror through the Abt family survivors, the entire community, and beyond.

George Geschwendt's confession reveals a chilling perspective as he blamed the Abts, who had tormented him, alleging that their laughter and pranks pushed him to an unimaginable breaking point. As District Attorney Ken Biehn and Defense Attorney Richard Fink prepare for the inevitable trial, the stakes could not be higher. Both sides rely on psychiatric experts to dissect George Geschwendt's psyche—an essential task that raises pressing questions: What drove him to commit such an atrocious act? Can he truly be held accountable, or did his perceived victimization cloud his judgment?

What would the jury decide? Freedom or conviction? If found guilty, a life sentence or the death penalty? Meanwhile, within the shadows of this tragedy, Clifford and Michael Abt grapple with the insufferable weight of loss, striving to carve out a new normal.

And in Langhorne, P.A., detectives faced growing frustration as the investigation into the horrible dual homicide of Ed and Marguerite Vogenberger as it went cold. As time passes, the urgency to seek justice for them remains. Despite the circumstances, the Vogenbergers' legacy remains one of warmth, nurturing the community that they loved.

Anyone with information on the double homicide of Ed and Marguerite Vogenberger can call the Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354.

Buy Kathryn Canavan's book, Killer in the House: Ten Days of Terror in the Pennsylvania Suburbs on AMAZON or BARNES and NOBLE.

Thinking about going to Crimecon 2027? Use Jill's code murdershelf and save 10% on your badge!

Jill's Merch shop is open! https://www.jusaskjan.com/murder-shelf-book-club

Join Jill on PATREON for $2- $4 and help pick our next book and enjoy Jill's SERIAL KILLER Case Studies! www.patreon.com/murdershelfbookclub

Sources, diagrams, photographs, articles, and other information can be found on Jill's Blog July 2026!

https://www.murdershelfbookclub.com/2026/07/