That's a Bad Sign

Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," was just 22 years old when she was brutally murdered in Los Angeles on January 15, 1947. Not only was it a horrific crime, but it’s also proven notoriously difficult to solve. We dive into all the interesting facts most people don't know and discuss who the prime suspect is. Then we cover the case of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping.  26 children and their bus driver were taken more than 45 years ago: they were placed into a moving truck and buried alive in a quarry 100 miles away. 

Sources:

• https://www.biography.com/news/black-dahlia-murder-mystery
• https://crimereads.com/the-black-dahlia-history-los-angeles-cold-case/ 
• https://www.novelsuspects.com/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-black-dahlia/ 
• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/26/black-dahlia-murder-steve-hodel-elizabeth-short 
• 48 Hours “Live to Tell”: The Chowchilla Kidnapping
• https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22570738/chowchilla-school-bus-kidnapping
• https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/28/us/chowchilla-bus-kidnapper-parole/index.html

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In September of 1984, at least 751 people got violently sick in The Dalles, Oregon. At first, no one in the town could figure out why. Those sickened had all eaten at ten different restaurants in the area, but local health officials couldn’t find a common food that may have caused their illness. A year later, the public learned the sinister reason the town fell ill. Then we dive into the case of April and Michael Holton. Less than 15 minutes after a deputy left the home of the former mayor, gunshots went off, killing both Michael and his estranged wife, April, in 2016. At first, the scene looks like a murder-suicide. But when facts don't start lining up, the police focus the investigation on an unlikely suspect.

Sources:

• Forensic Files Season 7, Episode 16 “Bio-Attack”
• https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/a-strange-but-true-tale-of-voter-fraud-and-bioterrorism/372445/
• https://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/guru-poison-bioterrorrists-spread-salmonella-oregon-article-1.1373864
• Dateline – 11 Minutes
• https://www.oxygen.com/dateline-secrets-uncovered/crime-news/did-madison-holton-kill-parents-michael-and-april
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6940203/19-year-old-accused-killing-parents-breaks-silence.html
• https://heavy.com/news/2019/04/jesse-madison-holton/

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Diane Kyne died in her Seminole, Florida home, one August afternoon surrounded by two of the men that had been closest to her. One killed the nail salon owner. The other witnessed the murder. But both men—her adult son and husband—quickly pointed the finger at the other, leaving investigators baffled about who had really taken her life. Then we cover the story of missing teen Leigh Occhi. She disappeared from her home during Hurricane Andrew, leaving behind a bloody trail. A quarter-century later, people still want to know what happened to Leigh Occhi. Is she alive? Is she dead? Will anyone ever be charged?

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19-year-old Kara Nichols went missing October 9, 2012 after telling friends she was going to a modeling shoot. Soon enough the police learn Kara was an escort and the investigation has a prime suspect in her disappearance. Unfortunately, the case turned cold... until February of 2022 when Joel Hollendorfer was finally arrested. Then we cover the deadly love triangle of young Joy Risker with married couple Sheila and Sean Goff. Joy was a teenager when she met charismatic youth pastor Sean. He convinced her to move in which soon turned into a polygamous marriage. After a few rocky years, Joy seemingly disappears into thin air.

Sources:

• https://people.com/crime/missing-colo-model-kara-nichols-found-buried-in-a-horse-grave-nearly-a-decade-after-she-vanished/
• https://www.facebook.com/justiceforkara/
• https://www.denverpost.com/2022/02/09/kara-nichols-cold-case-arrest/
• https://www.denverpost.com/2012/11/20/colorado-springs-investigators-say-missing-teen-wanted-to-be-a-model/ 
• https://www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/affidavit-reveals-new-details-regarding-events-leading-up-to-kara-nichols-disappearance 
• Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins, Season 1 Episode 5 “Forbidden Love, Brutal Death https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16553112 

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Brandi Hicks, 18, faced the unthinkable when she was forced to 'play dead' to escape the grips of a crazed killer (Matthew Vaca) who had just murdered her best friend, Elizabeth Reiser. Then we cover “the trial of the century” when a Houston socialite, Candy Mossler, was accused of plotting her husband's murder—and of having an affair with her own nephew.


Sources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdYLWFMTc0o 
• https://veritycreates.medium.com/the-murder-of-elizabeth-reiser-and-how-her-best-friend-battled-to-survive-f455b23d9590 
• https://www.morningjournal.com/2000/05/26/man-confesses-to-killing-teen/ 
• https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-notorious-mrs-mossler/
• https://www.truecrimetalestx.com/mossler-powers/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Mossler

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On August 12, 1997, 20-year-old Ricky Cowles, was found lying on the floor of his home barely alive. A local drug dealer was arrested for his murder, but the case didn't sit right with his family who believed the murderer was still at large. Then we cover the story of Jacob Stockdale. He showed disturbing behaviors on the early-thousands reality show "Wife Swap" only to commit murder a decade later. Police and the public then look to his 30 minutes of fame hoping to find clues.

Sources:

1. Dateline Season 19, Episode 12 “Mean Girls"  
2. https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20100428026
3. https://www.dailynews.com/2007/08/01/woman-convicted-in-1997-slaying-of-boyfriend/
4. https://icantbelieveitsnonfiction.com/2019/08/20/jacob-stockdale/
5. https://www.tuko.co.ke/413417-what-happened-stockdale-family-the-untold-story.html
6. https://www.christianpost.com/news/family-forgives-christian-stockdale-family-band-member-killing-mother-brother.html
7. https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/wife-swap-kid-ended-up-25214612
8. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9095281/Christian-musician-two-attempts-escape-mental-hospital.html
9. https://thenetline.com/stockdale-family-from-wife-swap-now

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One morning in 2008, 39-year old Gretchen Crain was working out at her gym in Jupiter, FL, and met a 33-year old personal trainer named David Anthony. Sparks flew immediately and after a few years, the two got married. While David was charming at first, he soon showed signs of violent behavior and mental health issues. Then during COVID-19, Gretchen disappeared and David blamed the deadly virus. Then we cover the disappearance of Dr. Margaret Mary Kilcoyne on Nantucket Island. Kilcoyne was last seen on January 26, 1980. She went to bed at 10:00 or 10:30 p.m. Just before 7:00 a.m. the next day, when her brother came to wake her up, she was gone. Kilcoyne has never been heard from again.

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Between the years 1961 and 1972, there were 150 planes hijacked in the United States - the most notable and still unsolved is the hijacking by D.B. Cooper. We'll dive into what happened and discuss the top suspects. Then we cover the murder of Ana Franklin and the harrowing survival of Jennifer Holliday. The two were in the car when a stranger pulled up and attacked them. When it seemed all hope was lost, Jennifer's quick thinking saved her life.

Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/24/opinion/d-b-cooper-still-among-us.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/12/22/db-coopers-skyjacking-continues-fascinate-americans-half-century-later/
https://www.opb.org/article/2021/11/24/d-b-cooper-50th-anniversary/
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/d-b-cooper-investigators-claim-theyve-discovered-skyjackers-identity-693912/
https://blurredbylines.com/articles/jennifer-holliday-survivor-eric-parnell-attack-texas/
https://lufkindailynews.com/news/article_11d856cf-dc98-51f8-b717-5149bb9e9ff5.html
https://www.ktre.com/story/7630583/east-texas-family-still-coping-with-loss-two-years-later/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLJ_iUWXTZk – I Survived, Season 2 Episode 6

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A starlight tour is a practice of police arresting Indigenous people and rather than bringing them to the station in town, police drop them off at the edge of the city. The police take their warm clothes in the middle of a winter night in Canada and force them to walk home. Often resulting in them freezing to death. Then we cover a story that started with a string of home invasions and robberies that began happening in 2008. Each time, two masked men were involved and were careful not to leave any evidence behind, so police had very little to go on in terms of suspects. When the perpetrators escalated by killing Karissa and Karen Lofton, and Delores and Ebony Dewitt - the police created a task force to solve the double murder.

Sources:
https://www.grunge.com/308625/the-messed-up-truth-of-canadas-starlight-tours https://www.youthofcanada.ca/post/anais-essay-the-starlight-tours
https://zeph456.medium.com/saskatoon-police-and-the-infamous-starlight-tours-a5d3c3015d6c
https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/winnipeg-police-operating-starlight-tours-study
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-mmiwg-genocide-1.5161681
Dateline Season 23 Episode 17
https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/scott-jason-thomas.htm
https://www.oxygen.com/one-deadly-mistake/crime-news/jason-thomas-scott-convicted-as-maryland-mother-daughter-killer

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In 2002, 12-year old Kacie Woodie disappeared into thin air from her home in Holland, Arkansas. At first, police are puzzled, until they learn about Kacie's friends who she met online - begging the question, are these internet friends who they say they are? Then we cover the story of Pedro Rodrigues Filho (aka Pedrinho Matador aka Killer Petey). From the 1960s to 2003, Pedro killed at last 71 people, both in and outside jail. 10 of these murders were before he was 18 years old. But instead of picking innocent, random members of society, Pedro specifically targeted criminals - leading him to be compared to fictional TV character Dexter Morgan.

Kacie Woody Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/kaciewoodyfoundation/
Killer Petey's youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCv8K2TMINhSHHSEP9UDRsw/videos

Sources:

• Web of Lies on Investigation Discovery – Season 1 Episode 2
• https://thecinemaholic.com/kacie-rene-woody-murder-is-david-fuller-dead-or-alive/
• https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2003/dec/14/evil-door/?news-arkansas-specials-caughtintheweb
• https://www.buzznicked.com/real-life-dexter 
• https://allthatsinteresting.com/pedro-rodrigues-filho
• https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Pedro_Rodrigues_Filho
• https://torontosun.com/news/world/serial-killer-says-he-murdered-dad-ate-his-heart-to-avenge-mom
• https://marketresearchtelecast.com/the-bloody-story-of-dexter-the-brazilian-serial-killer-who-killed-71-criminals/106285/

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