Susan Woods’ naked body was found with her head in a bathtub full of black water in 1987. In her small town of Stephenville, Texas, her murder was especially shocking and unimaginable. Susan was a softspoken and beautiful young woman, living alone since her biker husband had left her and fled the state. When she missed her shift at the local sandpaper factory, her father was notified.  Sadly, he would be the one to find her body.

Join us at the quiet end for Not the Usual Suspect. Murders were very rare in Stephenville, and Susan’s case was the worst anyone there had seen. Since there was no sign of forced entry, detectives believed that Susan had known her killer. Suspicions quickly turned to her estranged husband, Michael. When he left Susan, he had left behind a cassette tape disparaging her for destroying their marriage. His anger frightened her, so nearly everyone thought he was responsible. But the case went cold, and Susan’s loved ones feared no one would ever be held responsible for her brutal murder. Until DNA testing changed everything.

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Sources

The 1987 murder of Susan Woods, a Stephenville sweetheart, Brooklyn McKinney, 11/8/2024, retrieved 2/12/2025.

Everyone in Stephenville Thought They Knew Who Killed Susan Woods, Texas Monthly, Bryan Burrough, 7/2023, retrieved 2/12/2025.

The Monster at Large, Dateline NBC, S29 E 31, 2/12/2021.

Stephenville Podcast, Texas Monthly, June-July 2023.

There is a Monster in Me, 20/20, ABC, S47 E15, 1/19./2024.

We hope you enjoy this re-release from a members-only show in 2024. It’s one of Jill’s favorites!

Jill and Dick rewatch and recap the HBO 2-part docuseries I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders. This is a shocking case of a mother and grandmother who kills her husband, then goes on the run and commits another cold-blooded murder in Florida. We discuss the unexpected twists, the mental health history of Lois and her family, and the unsatisfying interview where Lois fails to take any real accountability for her crimes. Join us!

One day in January 2009, 91-year-old Selma “Sally” Hill was not answering her phone calls, which was very unusual for her. Sally’s life partner, Lester, had a daily habit of speaking with Sally at 4:00 pm each day. When Sally didn’t answer Lester’s calls on January 7, 2009, Lester became concerned. He called Sally’s grandson Eric, who later showed up at Sally’s house to find Lester’s family waiting and worrying outside. While they waited, Eric went inside the house to search for his grandmother, but he could not find her. As Sally did not drive, it made no sense for her not to be at home.

Join us at the quiet end for Operation Custody. Eric and his young daughter had been living with Sally since Eric and his wife separated. A heated custody battle for their young daughter had gone on for some time, but what happened that January day would shock everyone involved and end in unforeseeable violence.

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Defendant Seeks Separate Trial from Wife, Daughter in Dublin Murder Case, Patch.com, 3-7-2011, https://patch.com/california/dublin/defendant-seeks-separate-trial-from-wife-daughter-in-1ac34c3606, retrieved 4-8-2025.

Killing for Custody, Worst Ex Ever, E3, retrieved 4-8-2025.

People v. Hill, California Court of Appeals, Decision date 4-16-2025, retrieved 4-9-2025.

Raised in Riverside, California, twenty-year-old college student Jason Bautista and his fifteen-year-old brother Matthew were living roller coaster lives with their mentally ill and abusive mother, Jane. Jane Bautista’s mood swings and unpredictable behavior effected the two young men in ways not understood at the time. Then, one January night, the family’s dysfunction led to unfathomable decisions and a shocking crime.

Join us at the quiet end for A Tale of Two Brothers. On January 15, 2003, Jason returned to his college courses at Cal State Bernardino. Explaining that their mother had run off with yet another boyfriend, the two brothers tried to carry on with their lives as before. But when Jane did not return home, the truth of what had happened with the family of three would forever change them.

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Sources

Los Angeles Times Archives

Man who dismembered mom cites ‘Sopranos’, Associated Press, 4/9/2005

Murder, Mafia-Style, A “Sopranos”-style murder shocks the world, Psychology Today, 1/1/2003

Son sentenced to 25 years for mother’s murder, North County Times, 4/9/2005

Such Good Boys: The True Story of a Mother, Two Sons, and a Horrifying Murder by Tina Dirmann

When Ernest Brendel, his wife Alice, and their 8-year-old daughter Emily disappeared from their Barrington Rhode Island home, the FBI and state police suspected that they were victims of foul play. The family of three had just moved to Barrington from Providence about three years earlier, believing they had found a safe and happy place for Emily to grow up.

Join us at the quiet end for Trading in Murder. When Ernest Brendel filed a complaint against commodity trader Chris Hightower, Hightower’s life was in a tailspin. The deadline for responding to the complaint came and went, Hightower’s wife asked for a divorce, and he was served with a court order barring him from contact with his children. Exposed as a conman and a thief, Hightower stalked the Brendels and plotted to kidnap young Emily.

Watch the Holland trailer

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Death of an Angel by Don Davis

Family of 3 Slain by Arrow, Strangling : Murder: Rhode Island family had been missing since Sept. 20. Autopsies on the mother and child point to asphyxiation, LA Times Archives, 11/17/1991

State v. Hightower, STATE v. Christopher J. HIGHTOWER, Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 8/1/1995.

World’s Most Evil Killers – Season 4, Episode 3 – Christopher Hightower, FilmRise, 8/12/2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hfk2XagJzE

We hope you enjoy this re-release of a members-only episode from 2023!

It was the 1970s, a time of freedom and adventure for 16-year-old Jim Boucher and 19-year-old Daryl Barber, when they headed out from their Michigan homes to Daytona Beach Florida for a week of fun and sunshine. The two young men had saved for this trip, their first trip to Florida, having no idea that it would be their last.

Join us at the quiet end for Road Trip. When James and Daryl failed to check in daily as agreed, their parents were concerned. But maybe the two were having so much fun that they’d forgotten. After all, they were young and on vacation.  But when James and Daryl didn’t come home from their trip on their planned return date, their parents began to panic. The Daytona Beach police didn’t have the resources to look for them—there were so many young people who disappeared from Daytona Beach. It was left to their families to find out what happened to them.

Sources

Orlando Sentinal Archives 1978-1990

The Snake & the Spider by Karen Kingsbury

One January night in 1997, Scott Falater’s next door neighbor looked on in horror as Scott dragged his screaming wife into the family pool and proceeded to hold her head under the water. When the police arrived, they found Yarmila Falater floating in blood filled water with 44 stab wounds to her body.

Join us at the quiet end for While He Was Sleeping? Scott told the police that he had no memory of hurting his wife, but they didn’t believe him. He was arrested and would go on trial for murder. His defense, that he was sleepwalking when he killed his wife, was controversial, and prosecutors worked to disprove it with evidence found at the scene.

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Forgive Me for Killing You by Marci Olsen Blau

His Dad Claimed He Ws Sleepwalking When He Killed His Mom-and Now Son is Speaking Out, People.com. Christine Pelisek, 1/29/2021

Scott Falater Today: Where is the Sleepwalking Killer Now? Alyssa Choiniere, Heavy.com, 12/8/2022

Scott Falater: Case of the sleepwalking husband who murdered his wife Yarmila, Daily Crime, Angelica N. Sumter, 1/6/2023

Sleepwalking, Criminal Behavior, and Reliable Scientific Evidence: A Guide for Expert Witnesses, American Psychological Association, M.R. Pressman, 2018.

While He Was Sleeping, 20/20, S43 E11, 1/29/2021

One Christmas morning in Madison, Wisconsin, a young man named Gerald Davies led the police to a dead body lying in a snowbank. Gerald was insistent that he did not kill the man. He explained that he and his fiancée, Barbara, had simply found the body in her apartment and buried it in the snow.

Join us for No Happy Endings. The circumstances of this situation were challenging to believe, but Gerald appeared genuine. It was then learned that the dead man was Barbara’s former partner who had recently transferred his house and an insurance policy over to her. Gerald too had named Barbara as the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. So, the question arose: was Gerald Barbara’s accomplice or was he now a potential victim?

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STATE of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Barbara G. HOFFMAN, Defendant-Appellant. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin. Argued 10/281981. Decided 1/261982. Retrieved 2/10/2025

Winter of Frozen Dreams: The Shocking True Story of Seduction, Suspicion, and Murder in Madison by Karl Harter

This is a re-release of a members-only episode from 2023.

Jill & Dick remember being riveted by this series and had to talk about it! Enjoy! 

A Recap of the Three-Part Series

Jill and Dick recap and discuss this docuseries about an alleged child sex ring in Mineola, Texas.  Spoilers abound so you may want to watch first!

Brenda and Dennis Bowman last saw their daughter Aundria on March 11, 1989. Dennis was the one who called the police when Aundria went missing that afternoon. He told them that he had come home from work and found Aundria missing, along with some of her things and some cash. He said that Aundria, 14-years old and adopted as an infant, was a troubled teen who fought with her mother and had run away before. When Brenda came home, she told the police that Aundria had stolen $150. This was enough for the police to get a warrant to arrest Aundria. Dennis was listed as the victim of Aundria’s crime.

Join us at the quiet end for The Lost Daughter. For decades, Aundria’s case was classified as a runaway. Then her biological mother began her own investigation, learning the stories of Aundria’s peers and those of similar women and girls who were victims of sexual assaults and murder. What they discovered was a much more complex and haunting story, leading back to Aundria’s adopted father.

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Sources

Allegan County woman tells court her husband admitted to burying their daughter’s remains, WWMT, 9/15/2024.

Commonwealth of Virginia v. Dennis Lee Bowman, Defendant, 6/5/2020.

The Girl in the Picture, The Atavist Magazine, No. 118, Nile Cappello.

Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter, docuseries, Netflix, 9/12/2024.

Justice for Aundri Bowman Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForAundriaMBowman/, retrieved 12/20/2024.

Man arrested in 1980 death of Virgina woman charged with murder of adoptive daughter in 1989, WSET-TV, Associated Press, 5/15/2020, retrieved 12/10/2024.

Man pleads guilty to 1980 killing of Navy wife, https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/norfolk/man-pleads-guilty-to-1980-killing-of-navy-wife/291-0fdea0d8-95d4-46c0-b696-397f4437dbcd, 6/10/2020, retrieved 12/10/2024.

Michigan man charged in 1980 Virginia Homicide extradicted, WTVR-TV, 5/16/2020, retrieved 12/22/2024.

Mom: Man Confessed to killing adopted daughter in 1989, FOX17, 9/16/2020, retrieved 12/22/2024.

State of Michigan, 58th District Court, Case No. C 741-00, Bail Bond, Felong Charges, Dennis Bowman, 5/30/1980, retrieved 12/10/2024.