The State of Perfect Balance: A True Crime Podcast

S.3 Ep.1--The Murder in Wooster

The big question remains: does incarceration as a punishment work? As we currently handle crime and punishment, are inmates rehabilitated to the point where they can safely be returned to society? We can tackle these quandaries in an abstract way...

S.2 Ep.10--The Murders in New Franklin

There are couples who seem to have all "The Things." Successful careers, a family they’ve lovingly created, social connections, important charity work--the kind of people who do good things for the right reasons and leave behind a positive legacy of...

S.2 Ep.9--The Murder in Youngstown

After Christmas of 2016, Shannon didn’t check in with her family. What would happen next is the stuff of nightmares...

S.2 Ep.8--The Murder in Mentor-On-The-Lake

The most dangerous times in a woman’s life are when she is in the company of men. That may seem like a dramatic overstatement, but if you think about it, it’s true. This is the story of a young woman...

S.2 Ep.7: The Murders in Martin

America has a self-created mental health crisis, and state and federal prisons are dominated by populations of the mentally ill, where resources are few and treatment is non existent. Our story involves a family struggling to deal with a very...

S.2 Ep. 6: The Murder in North Canton

You don't know anything about the people who live next door.

S.2 Ep.5-The Murders in Dublin

When we think of a crime committed by someone who is truly, demonstrably, certifiably insane, an image of such a person may come to mind. We imagine someone who has seen lengthy periods of institutionalization, in cells designed for their...

S.2 Ep.4: The Murder in Lowell

When a child commits a murder, and the victim’s surviving family members rightfully want the killer to be punished, the age of a youthful perpetrator can automatically dial down how severe that punishment is, because we, as a society, don’t...

S.2 Ep.3: The Murder in Champaign County

When you hear of a home invasion, the words likely conjure a scenario in which one or more people enter a home forcibly, seeking to rob the inhabitants and perhaps relieve them of their lives. And you’d be right. Such...

S.2 Ep.2: The Murder in Dover-Continued

Join us for part two of this amazing story about love, loss, and forgiveness, as we sit down with Mrs. Reiser while she talks about her beautiful and talented daughter, Liz.

S.2 Ep.1: The Murder in Dover

When we hear the story of a life that has been taken, we can feel empathy and share in the family’s grief in a small way, but can never really know what that experience is like. Early this year, we...

Season 2 Premiere: Sneak Peak

S.1 Ep.22: The Murder in Willoughby Hills

It really doesn’t matter whether the desire to lend a hand to a young person in need comes from. Maybe it’s a sense of duty. Maybe it’s rooted in your faith or belief system. Maybe you just want to pay...

S.1 Ep.21: The Murders in Norton

This story looks at several people whose lives intersected on a stretch of interstate highway late one night in 1986. Two of them just happened to arrive at a certain place in space and time at just the right moment....

S.1 Ep.20: The Murders in Huber Heights

You’ve probably known a couple who just can’t seem to make things stick, you know? They’re together, they’re apart, they make up, they split up, and all the while, they seem to generally get along. They seem like a good...

Bonus Episode 1: The Circleville Mystery

On the face of it, Circleville is just another quiet, sleepy, Ohio town, but if this podcast has taught you anything, it’s that…not all small towns are safe. In 1976 someone started a terror campaign against the residents of Circleville. And...

S.1 Ep.19: The Murder in Nelsonville

Learning about relationships, and how that all works, is a part of becoming an adult. It’s an experience that is common to all of us, and though it may be difficult, most of us emerge with no greater harm than...

S.1 Ep.18: The Murder in Deer Park

Troy Lee Temar was a big fish in the little pond that is Deer Park. He was a well-liked, all American guy. But what happened when he crossed paths with a particular femme fatale, would change the lives of not...

S.1 Ep.17: The Murder in Bellevue

The passing of time is a serious enemy in finding a missing person, and in solving a murder case. A body is discovered, the crime scene is sifted carefully, evidence gathered, theories formed, suspects identified. Grieving families want answers. The community...

S.1 Ep.16: The Murder in New Concord

Striking out at the beginning of a college education marks many firsts for late teens. It’s the beginning of independence, and likely the first extended period away from family and a familiar home environment. Its the beginning of true responsibility...

S.1 Ep.15: The Murders in Pedro

In a calm and sparsely populated corner of southeastern Ohio, newlyweds Stacey and Todd Holston are starting out their lives together in a tiny mobile home. On an October day much like any other, a trusted relative brings husband, wife,...

S.1 Ep.14: The Murder in Barberton

Domestic abuse takes many forms, and sometimes it’s not easy to know which spouse is the abuser, especially when a couple is known to fight it out in regular quarrels. When one or the other is pushed to murder, and...

S.1 Ep.13: The Murders in Bellaire

Any murder in a small town is especially unsettling. But what if a murder in your town was soon followed by the news that your name may be on a list of the next victims of a ritual sacrifice? Just...

We Made a Promo!

S.1 Ep.12: The Murders In Logan

When a young couple, planning a life together turn up missing after a quiet walk in the autumn woods, who is to blame? And what did freaky crosses and nude photos have to do with it? Was it a case...

S.1 Ep.11: The Murder in Hamilton

In the case of James Allen Ponder, of Hamilton, Ohio, the only thing we’re really left with is questions, with no answers to be found. “Closure,” something families desperately seek when someone they love is taken violently from them, is...

S.1 Ep. 10: The Murder in Apple Creek

Amish Country is a land of simplicity and quiet. Horses, buggies, and bonnets. Reverence and respect. Hand crafted furniture, and a life far removed from everything modern. It was the life Barbara Weaver desired and expected. No one, least of...

S.1 Ep.9: The Murder in Bay Village

Some murder cases capture the attention of the public in a way that seems disproportionate. All murders are terrible, of course. All of them cut short a valuable life and bring sudden tragedy and emotional agony to the families of...

S.1 Ep.8: The Murder in Blue Ash

The relationships we form, especially romantic relationships, occupy a special place in our emotional lives. We choose our friends and we choose our romantic partners, and hopefully they are people who will care about us in return, look out for...

S.1 Ep.7: The Murder in Urbana

A poorly written horror story, a disturbed teenaged boy, a self-diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder, and that's only the beginning! Join us for a doozie of a story in episode 7 of The State of Perfect Balance.

S.1 Ep. 6: The Murder in Shaker Heights

This episode involves a couple of young boys, a screwy, sex-obsessed mother, protective snobbery and more than a few family secrets. Six people come together in mid 1960s suburbia in a bizarre tale ending in a calculated, tragic and heartless...

S.1 Ep. 5: The Murders in Mount Vernon

We tend to think of ourselves in danger of assault by strangers: We fear Someone entering our home in the dark of night with evil intent. But what do you do if that evil intent comes from someone you know...

A Message to Our Supporters

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S1. Ep.4: The Murders in Yellowsprings

You can do everything right, contribute to your community, and be well liked and admired. You can avoid the pitfalls of life, and concentrate on family and friends. Yet, in the darkness of anger stemming from the smallest of disappointments,...

S.1 Ep. 3 (part two): The Murders in Ashland

The conclusion of the unbelivable story of Ashland, Ohio's serial killer, Shawn Grate.

S.1 Ep. 3 (part one): The Murders in Ashland

There are killers, and then there are those who take the lives of others in such a monstrous way as to make any reasonable person wonder how it’s even possible. Not just murder, but deception, trapping, torture, rape, violent death,...

S.1 Ep. 2: The Murder in Cuyahoga Falls

When Amanda Russell began a romantic relationship in her mid 30s, she coundn't know the hidden background her new boyfriend brought with him. When she found it necessary to break things off, that background soon came horrifically to life and...

S1. Ep.1: The Murders in Strasburg

In a quiet Ohio village where the nearest grocery store is five miles away and the school gymnasium is packed for the third grade Christmas pageant, an elderly couple tries to get a few hours' sleep before driving their son...