True Crime Arizona

In April 1997, a young woman named Ginger Rios visits the Spycraft store in Las Vegas while her husband waits outside. When she seemingly vanishes after going inside, a frantic search by family and police begins with an odd response from the spy store owner, John Flowers. Police uncover a slew of odd happenings surrounding her disappearance, as we learn what Ginger’s childhood was like up to the last day before she went missing.

Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey made millions, publishing cutting-edge journalism in alternative weekly newspapers across the country. Larkin and Lacey were considered champions of the First Amendment, and their brand of journalism won thousands of awards, including a Pulitzer Prize. But the duo also created Backpage.com, a website that was known for its adult section, and according to federal prosecutors – prostitution. In this episode, Morgan Loew interviews Stephen Lemons, an investigative reporter who worked for Lacey and Larkin for two decades. Lemons details Lacey and Larkins’ rise from college paper publishers, to newspaper moguls, to Backpage, to Larkins’ death by suicide, and Lacey’s conviction in federal court.

The four-part television series "Stolen Innocence" explores the manipulation and abuse of the FLDS cult that led to the new self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman’s reign and downfall as he awaits sentencing for sexually abusing and kidnapping child brides. True Crime Correspondent Briana Whitney and former AZ Family reporter Mike Watkiss discuss in detail Samuel Bateman’s rise to power, the roots of the FLDS and its corruption, the bizarre encounter Mike Watkiss had with Bateman, and where the FLDS community stands now. 

As the 4th of July turned to the early morning hours of the 5th, Phoenix Police got a call to the ritzy Renaissance hotel in downtown Phoenix after a security guard found a woman dead in a hotel room. But it turns out that wasn’t the only call they got to the hotel during that time—a man was also walking around naked in the lobby telling staff he was concerned about demons upstairs. Eventually this would all come together and Phoenix Police would charge that man with the murder of 28-year-old Desiree Serpas, a mother to two young kids. But his defense attorney casts suspicion on two other people who allegedly were in the hotel room at the time. 

On July 1st, 2024, 25-year-old Doris Aguilar went missing in Phoenix after leaving for the store. A week later, her car was found abandoned in a mall parking lot. Her family expressed concern about a man who was possibly stalking her outside the gym, but there seemed to be no movement in the case until they hired a private investigator in mid-July. He was able to uncover new information that led to the discovery Doris Aguilar was actually the woman found shot to death inside a car on July 7th. But alongside her also found dead? The man her family says was the stalker: 51-year-old Juan Cuellar. His cause of death: suicide. Her cause of death: homicide. Now, we’ve learned new crucial timelines and disturbing details as Phoenix Police continues to investigate what went so wrong. 

On June 30th, 2024, Kelly Paduchowski was reported missing by the Flagstaff Police Department after her family said she never came back from a run and swim while training for a race. Her car was found at a local trailhead, but cell phone data put her at another trail hours prior. What then unfolded was an arrest of someone close to Kelly, damning evidence inside her home, a homicide investigation, an all-out search for the mother for days, an unexpected plea deal, and the discovery of Kelly’s remains.

On July 29, 1994, 21-year-old Angela Maher was killed in a crash while going to pick up her friend from Old Town Scottsdale as the designated driver. The woman who hit and killed her, 31-year-old Gloria Schulze, was charged with manslaughter and endangerment after admitting she had been drinking and smoking weed. But after her first court appearance, Schulze vanished and was never seen again. Now, 30 years later, the fugitive was unexpectedly found and questions about where she fled and how she lived since are finally answered, officially closing the case.

In March 2020, as the world was shutting down at the beginning of the pandemic, Sandee Hines disappeared from her Mesa, Arizona home. But she didn’t just vanish alone. Her husband, Jason Hines, was also gone. Hines was a convicted criminal and became a fugitive on the run for sex crimes against children. The last known surveillance video of Sandee Hines’ car, shows Jason getting out of it. But ever since, no one has heard from them. Now, Sandee’s mother gives insight into what happened in the days leading up to their disappearance, as she fears her daughter is dead. 

For nearly two months, the Idaho man known as the “Doomsday Prophet,” Chad Daybell, faced witness after witness as he stood on trial for the murder of his wife Tammy Daybell, and the murders of Lori Vallow’s two young kids Tylee Ryan, and JJ Vallow. The killings were all tied to radical religious beliefs that a Second Coming was approaching, and people were “light and dark” spirits. Come with us as we dive into some of the most important, powerful, and emotional testimony during the trial, and the moments after the the verdict and sentencing decision on the death penalty were announced.

On May 17th, 2024, police are called out to a home in Surprise, AZ for an unknown shooting. They learn a woman, Allie, had escaped from being held hostage, but her 6-month-old baby, Jaxson, was still inside with his father and in danger. That man, Todd Marchetti, then shoots his own baby multiple times, and officers go inside to rescue Jaxson. A standoff then ensues, until the house unexpectedly goes up in flames during negotiations. What we learned next from family and friends was Marchetti had planned out days of torture and was in the middle of carrying that out when Allie escaped, after a history of domestic violence. 

Link to donate to Jaxson and Allie’s recovery: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-allie-and-jaxsons-path-to-recovery