PI’s Declassified!

Beautiful Nina Sharanova vanished in 2006. Hailing from Russia, Nina fell in love with computer whiz kid, Hans Reiser, while he was visiting and working in Russia. Nina and Hans married and moved to California, setting up housekeeping in Oakland. Nina continued to pursue her medical career. Two children and some years later found the marriage in trouble and divorce proceedings ensued. Failing to arrive for dinner at her friend’s home one Sunday evening set a chain of events in motion that surprised even the most seasoned of investigators. Tune in to hear San Francisco News reporter Henry Lee relay the story that captured the news starting with the day Nina disappeared.

When a family member dies at his or her own hands, it often leaves a trail of unmentionable pain, shame and guilt fostered on the loved ones. Always the question…is it a suicide? Or not? Who decides? What are the determining factors? Can the death have been caused another way? Are their risks in either determination? Enter Dean and Karen Beers to discuss a topic that causes sorrow for so many. Both Dean and Karen are certified in Medicolegal Death Investigations and together they co-developed an on-line continuing education program called “Death Investigation for Private Investigators.”

If you are a fan of Stacy Keach aka Mickey’s Spillane’s Mike Hammer, this is a show you must hear. Stacy Keach’s view of Mike Hammer: “First of all, he's a great character. Mickey Spillane captured the essence of the tough, no-bullshit, vigilante who loves women, and women love Mike, who was the champion of the common man, and who views the world of good guys and bad guys with a droll, and oftentimes, an acerbic wit. I think of Hammer as a cross between Dirty Harry and James Bond, with one foot in the back alleys of Manhattan, but the other firmly planted in supercoolness. But Hammer bleeds …Story line must be triggered by Mike's making an emotional investment with the victim. …Mike cares. He takes it personally when innocent people are done over by the bad guys. He doesn't work for money. He takes a case because he cares (www.stacykeach.com)” Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer is one who developed a TV private investigator myth that still carries over today.

Seasoned Journalist Don Ray has spent a life time tracking down a plethora of documents to pursue leads, check for accuracy, gather background information or verify information provided by other means. He has a wealth of knowledge about tracking down source documents and scrutinizing their content that he calls Interviewing the Document. Tune in to hear Don impart critical information needed to search and interpret documents, from gathering background information to conducting genealogical research or working to locate a birth family.

Scores of women brutally murdered in Washington and Oregon in the 80’s became known as the Green River Murders. Subsequently Gary Ridgeway confessed. In the interim, Sam “Glesty” Waters was identified by a San Diego police officer as “matching the description of the Green River Killer” after stopping at the site where Waters’ car broke down in San Diego. Those eight words in the officer’s incident report changed the course of Waters life. Two weeks later, he was arrested for attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery, and assault of a prostitute, an unrelated case, and identified as a suspect who was on the run for the Green River murders. Finally, Waters, with the assistance of Private Investigator Mike Kiger, is clearing the label that has that has dogged him for almost 25 years. Tune into to hear Waters and Kiger detail Waters’ gripping story and describe the recent investigation to clear his name.

Can you imagine traveling to war-torn Rwanda, the killing ground of the Hutu extremists? In 100 days over 800,000 Tutsi people were murdered by Hutus in 1994. The world watched. This wide spread genocide destroyed a population of doctors, lawyers, teachers & government leaders. Can you envision yourself helping to rebuild this tiny East African country? The Saddleback Justice Task Force did. A group including private investigator Dan Goldsmith trekked to Rwanda to assess the Rwandan justice system.The Rwandan National Police invited their return and 18 months later six hardy volunteers, including Dan, two police officers, two attorneys and a domestic violence & marriage/family counseling expert, began formal classes to share their expertise with the fledgling new Rwandan Police force. In 2009 & 2010, Dan led 2 more teams back to Rwanda to conduct additional police training. You will want to hear this story of commitment and courage by a PI who decided to make a difference.

Fifty years ago Joyce Sterrenberg and Tim McKillop were murdered in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1974, 12 years after the murders, a sheriffs department employee told the police that her estranged husband, Bill Macumber, confessed to her. Macumber, besides being a single father of three, was an army veteran, Little League coach and a member of the Sheriff's Search and Rescue Posse. Bill was tried and convicted in 1975, based mostly on fingerprint evidence. But, the jury never heard about the confession of a drifter who confessed to the murder several years earlier. And, there are suggestions that his ex-wife tampered with the evidence in the old case file that she had access to at the sheriff's office. Macumber, now 76 years old, has served 35 years of his two life setences. The Arizona Justice Project, assisted by private investigator Rich Robertson of R3 Investigations, has been working on his case for nearly a decade. The Arizona Executive Board of Clemency recommended his sentence be commuted, but that was rejected by the governor. Tune in to hear Rich Robertson’s journey into the depths of this old case and how The Justice Project pulled the facts together.

Are you adopted? Would you like to find your birth family? Do you need to know your family medical history? Have you or a family member put a child up for adoption? Do you have a desire to reconnect with that child?

Author and filmmaker, Jean Strauss is an adoptee who found her birth family, a journey that changed her life path. Hear Jean tell her miraculous story. Private Investigator Tamara Thompson is an expert in genealogy research and locating people including birth families. If you have questions about this provocative topic, tune in and Jean and Tamara will offer you valuable tips concerning adoption searches.

Madalyn Murray O’Hair offended millions when she advocated keeping religion out of the schools in the 60’s. Founder of the American Atheists Association and President from 1963-1986, her law suit, Murray v. Curlett lawsuit led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling ending government sponsored prayer in American public schools. But what happened to her? She vanished in 1995. Private Investigator Tim Young played an integral part in uncovering the facts surrounding O’Hair’s disappearance. Tune in to hear the road Tim traveled to find the truth about what happened to the “most hated woman in America”.

Killing the Messenger is the true story of the inconceivable murder of an Oakland, CA newspaper editor, Chauncey Bailey, the flawed police investigation and the involvement of several members of the now defunct bakery business and religious cult, known as Your Black Muslim Bakery. Tune in to hear this award winning journalist, Thomas Peele, tell the tale of a story he not only wrote, but lived.