TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Jake Merfeld with me today.

In April 2013, Julia Merfeld, a 21-year-old newlywed from Muskegon County, Michigan, was arrested after attempting to hire a hitman to kill her husband, a plot that turned out to be a police sting operation.

Merfeld had contacted a man she believed could arrange the murder, offering $50,000 in life-insurance money to have her husband killed. What she didn’t know was that the man was cooperating with police. In a recorded meeting, she calmly discussed how she wanted the killing carried out and how she planned to collect the insurance payout afterward.

When officers arrested her at the scene, the case quickly made national headlines. Merfeld later admitted to planning the murder, though she claimed she never intended for it to actually happen.

In 2014, Julia Merfeld pleaded guilty to solicitation of murder and was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison. The case became one of the most widely discussed examples of a murder-for-hire plot uncovered through an undercover operation.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering George Harrison and Olivia Harrison with me today.

In December 1999, former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and his wife Olivia Harrison survived a terrifying home invasion at their estate in Henley-on-Thames, England. In the middle of the night, a man named Michael Abram broke into their home armed with a knife.

Abram attacked George, stabbing him multiple times and puncturing a lung. As the assault continued, Olivia Harrison fought back, striking the intruder with a fireplace poker and a heavy lamp until he was subdued. Her actions likely saved George’s life.

Police later arrested Abram at the scene. During the investigation, it became clear he was suffering from severe mental illness and believed he was on a religious mission. In 2000, Abram was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a secure psychiatric hospital.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts with me today. The murder of Mollie Tibbetts is a haunting true crime case that shattered the illusion of safety in small-town America. On July 18, 2018, the 20-year-old University of Iowa student vanished while out for a routine evening jog in Brooklyn, Iowa.. a run she had taken countless times before. When Mollie failed to return, an urgent nationwide search began, gripping the country and leaving her family and community desperate for answers. Weeks later, investigators identified a farmworker, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, after surveillance footage captured his vehicle circling the area. He ultimately led authorities to Mollie’s body concealed in a remote cornfield. Prosecutors revealed she had been violently stabbed to death, turning an ordinary summer night into an unthinkable tragedy. Cristhian Rivera was convicted of first-degree murder in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison without parole, but Mollie’s case continues to resonate as a devastating reminder of how quickly everyday normalcy can turn into horror.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Meggan Lambesis with me today.

In May 2013, Tim Lambesis, the lead singer of the metal band As I Lay Dying, was arrested in San Diego, California, after attempting to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife. What Lambesis didn’t know was that the person he contacted was actually an undercover police officer.

During recorded meetings, Lambesis discussed payment, timing, and details about his wife’s schedule, believing the murder would allow him to avoid a difficult divorce and custody battle. Days later, he was taken into custody and charged with solicitation of murder.

In 2014, Lambesis pleaded guilty in court, admitting he had tried to arrange the killing. He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released on parole in 2016 after serving about half his sentence.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Alexis Tiara Murphy with me today.

In August 2013, 17-year-old Alexis Murphy disappeared after leaving her home in Nelson County, Virginia, to buy something at a nearby gas station. Surveillance footage captured her arriving but she never returned home.

Investigators soon focused on Randy Allen Taylor, a local man whose vehicle was seen at the station at the same time Alexis was there. Evidence from his property, including Alexis’s hair and personal items, tied him to her disappearance. Despite extensive searches, Alexis’s body was never found.

In 2014, Taylor was convicted of first-degree murder, abduction with intent to defile, and other charges, and was sentenced to two life sentences plus additional years in prison.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Tatiane Spitzner with me today.

In June 2018, 29-year-old Tatiane Spitzner, a university professor and martial arts instructor in Guarapuava, Brazil, was found dead under a bridge near her home, her body discovered hours after she was last seen at a birthday party. What initially looked like a tragic fall quickly turned into a harrowing case of betrayal.

Investigators revealed that Tatiane’s boyfriend, Cristiano dos Santos Rodrigues, had violently assaulted her in the hours before her death. Evidence showed that Rodrigo had beaten her and then staged her fall from the elevated bridge in an attempt to cover up the crime. Surveillance footage and witness testimony ultimately contradicted his version of events.

At trial, prosecutors demonstrated that the injuries Tatiane sustained were consistent with a severe beating prior to the fall, and that Cristiano’s behavior after the incident suggested guilt and an attempt to mislead investigators. In 2021, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to 37 years in prison.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Michael Tatalovich, Jonathan Gilbert, and Michelle Machusko with me today.

In January 2008, a quiet evening near Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania turned into a deadly attack when 23-year-old H. Paul Visnansky, a part-time postal worker, entered a North Fayette apartment and opened fire on three students studying together. Two of the young men, 22-year-old Jonathan Gilbert and 20-year-old Michael Tatalovich, were killed, and a third was seriously wounded.

Visnansky had been infatuated with one of the victims’ girlfriends and later told police that “there was a lot of stuff going on in my head,” though his motive was never fully explained. The attack shocked classmates and community members who knew the victims as hardworking, ordinary students.

At a 2008 hearing, Visnansky pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted homicide, avoiding the death penalty in exchange for his plea. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus additional decades in prison. Relatives of the slain students spoke of grief, disbelief, and the senseless loss of young lives.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Melissa Jenkins with me today.

In March 2012, 33-year-old science teacher Melissa Jenkins, a beloved educator at St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont and devoted mother, was kidnapped and murdered after being lured from her home under a cruel pretext. A couple she loosely knew called her that evening, claiming their car had broken down and asking for help. When Melissa pulled over with her 2-year-old son still in the back seat, she was ambushed.

Prosecutors later revealed that Allen Prue and his wife Patricia Prue had concocted the ruse to abduct her. After Allen allegedly strangled Melissa and Patricia helped ensure she was dead, they dumped her body in the nearby Connecticut River and attempted to cover their tracks.

The crime sent shockwaves through the quiet communities of northeastern Vermont. In December 2014, Allen Prue was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and related charges, receiving 50 years to life in prison. Patricia Prue was also convicted and sentenced to life.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Iana Kasian with me today.

In May 2016, 30-year-old Iana Kasian, a Ukrainian-born model living in West Hollywood, California, was found dead in the apartment she shared with her fiancé, Blake Leibel. Iana had just given birth to their daughter three weeks earlier, but what should have been a joyful new beginning instead became a horrifying tragedy.

Investigators later revealed that Leibel, a Canadian-born graphic novelist and heir to a prominent real estate fortune, had tortured and mutilated Iana over the course of hours, ultimately killing her in a brutal attack. Her body was found mutilated and drained of blood, with evidence that her scalp had been removed.

Prosecutors argued the crime stemmed from Leibel’s jealousy, rage, and need for control after Iana turned attention to their newborn. In June 2018, Blake Leibel was convicted of first-degree murder, torture, and aggravated mayhem, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Sheri, Garrett, and Gavin with me today.

In May 2009, what appeared to be a devoted husband and father in Columbia, Illinois turned out to be something far darker. Christopher “Chris” Coleman, a former Marine and head of security for a prominent televangelist’s ministry, strangled his wife, Sheri Coleman, and their two young sons, 11-year-old Garett and 9-year-old Gavin, inside their family home while they slept.

At first, investigators pursued threatening letters and emails sent to the family and to Chris’s employer, clues that seemed to hint at an external threat. But the truth that emerged was far more chilling: Chris had been leading a double life, engaging in an extramarital affair and plotting the murders in an effort to start a new life without the constraints of his marriage and job.

During the investigation, police uncovered evidence that Chris had fabricated threats, emailed them from his own accounts, and sent them to his wife and ministry leaders to divert suspicion. He was arrested, tried, and in 2011 was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder for killing Sheri and the boys. The judge sentenced him to three life terms without the possibility of parole.