SISPICION

On March 18th, 1990, the single largest property theft in the world occurred at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA. How were two men dressed as police officers able to steal over $500 million dollars worth of art? Where did these pieces go? Who were the thieves? Find out all this and more on the second crime adjacent episode of SISPICION.

PS. CHECK OUT THE SPECIAL GUEST! (Hint: he created our theme music and is the voice in the background when we ask him questions)

Research Sources:

https://www.gardnermuseum.org/about/theft-story#chapter1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum_theft#CITEREFMcShane2006

LISTENER DISCRETION ADVISED, deals with child sex abuse.

Could you join a cult? Would you even know if you were in one? If you realized you were what would make you leave? This week we tackle an extremely difficult case, the Children of God. What started as a community of teenage hippies trying to convert others to Jesus would become a sex-fueled cult that would traumatize thousands of children and young adults for years. Learn more about this infamous cult on this weeks episode of SISPICION!

Organization Spotlight: Cult Escape, is an ever growing resource that aims to promote awareness of the struggles and inspires courage and hope for anyone who seeks freedom from religious control . For more information on this organization check out their website at cult-escape.com.

Research Sources:

Special thanks to the Cults Podcast from Parcast- https://www.parcast.com/cults

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/11/children-of-god-church-sex-cult-texas-mexico-fbi

https://timeline.com/children-of-god-5245a45f6a2a

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-44613932

http://www.eaec.org/cults/cog.htm

SISPICION is getting a new format! In order to get listeners bigger and better researched cases we will be switching to bi-weekly. Every other week we will be bringing you the true crime cases you want and don't worry in between we will post stories that we are call crime adjacent. These crime adjacent stories will be anything from crime documentaries we've watched, books we've read, or spooky stories. We hope you enjoy these two urban legends this week and get prepared for a wild case next Wednesday!

Research Sources:

"The Russian Sleep Experiment" by David Emery from LiveAboutDotCom https://www.liveabout.com/the-russian-sleep-experiment-3299532

"The Killer in the Backseat" by David Emery, as told by reader Emily Dunbar https://www.liveabout.com/killer-in-the-backseat-3299489

On July 4, 2005, George Allen Smith IV was on his honeymoon with his wife Jennifer of 10 days when he disappeared after a night of partying. Did he fall off the balcony? Was he pushed? Where was Jennifer? The young men who were partying with the newlyweds would be under suspicion and the timeline of their whereabouts would be scrutinized.  Find out what happened to George on this weeks episode of SISPICION!

Organization Spotlight:  International Cruise Victims Association represents victims of crime on cruise ships, their families and friends, and individuals concerned about the problems of victimization and disappearances on cruise ships. For more information visit their website www.internationalcruisevictims.org.

Research Sources:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2006/04/george-jennifer-smith-royal-caribbean-cruise-honeymoon

https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/New-details-in-Greenwich-man-s-2005-cruise-ship-2444582.php

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-closes-probe-into-vanished-cruise-ship-honeymooner/

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/05/nyregion/bride-recounts-disappearance-of-husband-during-cruise.html

Interested in this type of story? Check out the article below:

https://people.com/crime/cruise-ship-deaths-and-disappearances-a-honeymooner-vanishes-overboard-and-other-mysteries/

On May 5, 1993 three eight year old boys, Steve Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore, were playing their neighborhood when they never returned home. The next day their naked bodies would be found in a place called Robin Hood Hills. A community rattled by an atrocious crime would look furiously for the perpetrators to be held accountable. The investigation, trial, and conviction of Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols, would continue to be debated today, when three teenage boys would become the West Memphis Three. Welcome to season two of Sispicion!

Organization Spotlight: The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of Law, exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. For more information visit their website at www.innocenceproject.org.

Research Sources:

"Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,"  "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations," "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Directors: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky

"West of Memphis" Directed by Amy J. Berg

https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/the-west-memphis-three-case-an-evolving-story-of-doubt-misinformation

https://www.oxygen.com/crime-time/then-now-the-west-memphis-three

https://the-line-up.com/west-memphis-three-where-are-they-now

What would you do if someone close to you was murdered? Sheila Gibbons was a junior psychology major at Southern Methodist University when her best friend and roommate Angela Samota was found raped and murdered in her bedroom. On October 12, 1984, Angela and two friends had gone out to the state fair what should have been a fun weekend of activities would turn into a 20 year nightmare. If Angela was ever going to receive justice, Sheila would be the one to make sure it happened.

PS. Look for a special guest on this episode!

Organization Spotlight: Investigating Innocence, a not-for-profit organization that provides investigative support to indigent inmates, lawyers and Innocence Projects throughout the United States who seek to prove post-conviction claims of actual innocence. For more information visit investigatinginnocence.org.

Resources:

On January 23, 1959, nine students from the Ural Polytechnic Institute set off on an adventure trekking through the Ural Mountains with an instructor. Less than a month later, the bodies of the nine students would be found in the mountain with their tent cut open. What happened to make these experienced hikers cut their tent and flee into the dark and snowy night of the Ural Mountains would remain a mystery for decades. To this day no one knows what went wrong on this mountain that night......BUT we're going to speculate on this weeks episode.

Disclaimer: we apologize in advance for any mispronunciations.

The mountaineers: Igor Dyatlov, Yuri Dorohenko, Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Dubinina, Semyon Aleksandrovich Zolotaryov, ( Yuri) Georgiy Krivonischenko, Rustem Slobodin, Alexander Kolevatov, Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignolle, Zinaida Kolmogorova, Yuri Yudin

Research Sources:

If you want to go down a rabbit hole check out this website https://dyatlovpass.com/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2019/02/01/mystery-at-dyatlov-pass/#b97d8252741c

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/04/europe/dyatlov-pass-incident-scli-intl/index.html

A film student, a Wall Street banker, a producer, and a potential murderer. How did Clark Rockefeller become these things? Who is the real Clark Rockefeller? What happened to cause his downfall and how could a man from a small German town make his way into the elite circles of California and New York City? Find out all this and more on this weeks episode.

PS. SPECIAL GUEST ALERT!

Organization Spotlight: Victims of Crime, if you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud look for resources at victims of crime.org.

Research Sources:

https://allthatsinteresting.com/clark-rockefeller-christian-gerhartsreiter 

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2009/01/fake_rockefeller200901

On October 4th, 2009, the sleepy town of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire was rocked away by a senseless murder and assault of a mother and daughter. When a teenage boy goes to the police saying his friends were the perpetrators, the case became even more sensational. Why did four eighteen year olds from a small town in New Hampshire attack Kimberly and Jaimie Cates?

Join us for another listener request episode here or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Organization Spotlight: The Kimberly Cates Memorial Scholarship Fund

Research Sources:

https://www.wmur.com/article/mont-vernon-murder-case-background/5165120?fbclid=IwAR21zroq2GAVPvbKQXH3Zx642GMddUi5JaSpoPHYTczWD5lW2XYtujc7Pcg

https://www.wmur.com/article/nearly-5-years-later-cates-family-reflects-on-how-far-they-ve-come/5193094

http://archive.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2011/03/26/at_her_attackers_sentencing_12_year_old_victim_looks_on/

http://www.kimcatesfund.org/index.htm

https://boston.cbslocal.com/tag/jaimie-cates/

When Alex Cooper was 15 she told her parents that she was gay. What happened next would bring Alex to her limits physically, mentally, and spiritually. For more information read Alex's memoir, "Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay, and That's When My Nightmare Began," with Joanna Brooks. This weeks episode deals with the ever present practice of conversion therapy as well as an organization that goes above and beyond to help LGBTQ teens and young adults. 

The Trevor Project is an American non-profit organization founded in 1998 focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth. If you or someone you know needs hep visit their website at thetrevorproject.org or call 1-866-488-7386. 

Research Sources:

Lifetime Movie, "Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story"

https://www.distractify.com/p/the-alex-cooper-story-is-it-true

http://www.newnownext.com/trapped-the-alex-cooper-story-interview/09/2019/