For weeks, the search for Mollie Tibbetts consumed her small town, her face on posters, her name on everyone’s lips. And when investigators finally closed in on the man behind the wheel of the car seen circling Mollie on the night she vanished, justice for her family felt within reach.

But what unfolded next wasn’t the ending anyone had imagined. Instead, Mollie’s disappearance was thrust into the national spotlight, sweeping her family, her community, and even the country into a battle over who gets to tell her story and why.

In Part 1, we told you about the search to find Mollie. Today, we’re finishing this story with the town left to pick up the pieces.

Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at tenderfootplus.com.

Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at truercrimepodcast.com.

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In July of 2018, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts went on a run in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Something she’d done countless times before. But this time, she didn’t come home.

What followed was a search unlike anything this town had ever seen. Neighbors combed the fields. Reporters camped out at the local diner. And as the weeks stretched on without answers, the questions only grew louder: How does someone vanish without a trace in a town this small? Who could have seen something and stayed silent?

Today, we’re digging into the first chapter of Mollie’s story, a case that began as a missing persons search and grew into something bigger: an investigation that transformed a town and captured the attention of a nation.

Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at tenderfootplus.com.

Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at truercrimepodcast.com.

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A 20-year-old college student. A small-town summer night. A run she’d done a hundred times before.

When Mollie Tibbetts vanished from her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, the search to find her captivated the nation. But the story didn’t end there. What began as a missing persons case soon became something much bigger, sweeping up not just a family and a town, but the country itself.

On Monday August 4th, Truer Crime returns with the first case of Season 3.

Want early access to episodes? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at ⁠⁠tenderfootplus.com⁠⁠.

Keep up with us through our ⁠⁠Truer Crime Substack Newsletter⁠⁠.

Follow @truercrimepod on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠.

Follow me @celisiastanton on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠.

Sign up for my weekly newsletter, ⁠⁠Sincerely, Celisia⁠⁠.

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Vanished. Vilified. Voiceless.

This season on Truer Crime, every story has something in common: it’s not what it seems.

What starts as a disappearance, a tragedy, or a headline quickly reveals something deeper—about power, about prejudice, about who gets to be heard and who gets written off.

We’re digging into six gripping cases. Some you might recognize. Others you’ve never heard before. But every one of them will leave you questioning the stories we’re told and the stories we choose to believe.

Six months. Six cases. One show that digs deeper.

Truer Crime returns August 4th. Listen for free on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts.

Want early access to episodes? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at tenderfootplus.com.

Keep up with us through our Truer Crime Substack Newsletter.

Follow @truercrimepod on Instagram and X.

Follow me @celisiastanton on Instagram and TikTok.

Sign up for my weekly newsletter, Sincerely, Celisia.

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Season 3 of Truer Crime launches this August—and this time, we’re doing things differently. Each month, we’ll spend multiple episodes digging into one case, with deeper stories, bigger arcs, and the kind of nuance and context you’ve told us you love.

After years of on-and-off releases, we’re finally bringing you a season built for consistency with new episodes most weeks for six months straight.

Season 3 starts August 4th. We can’t wait to share it with you.

In the meantime you can stay in the loop by following Truer Crime on Instagram, X, Threads, and Bluesky @truercrimepod, and you can sign up for the official newsletter at truercrime.substack.com.

And if you want to keep up with me personally, I’m @celisiastanton on Instagram and TikTok. I also write a weekly newsletter called ‘Sincerely, Celisia’ where I share fun recommendations, reflections, and my unfiltered thoughts on culture and politics. You can read and subscribe at sincerelycelisia.substack.com.

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Early Saturday morning, a man disguised as a police officer went door to door in the Minneapolis suburbs with a hit list. He shot State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. He murdered State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband. He nearly reached my own childhood senator, Ann Rest.
This was a political assassination—and it happened in my hometown.
In this bonus episode, Olivia and I walk through what we know, what we still don’t, and the questions we can’t stop asking: Could this have been prevented? Why was it so easy for the killer to impersonate authority? And what does accountability look like when the truth is still unfolding?
We also speak with News Nation reporter Brian Entin, who traveled to Minnesota to cover the story as it happened, about what he’s learned on the ground and what might come next.
If you’re looking for a way to support the Hortman family, Melissa and Mark’s children have shared this GoFundMe: Support Colin and Sophie after their tragic loss

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In the first episode of Nobody Should Believe Me’s latest season, host Andrea Dunlop unpacks the origin story of Sophie Hartman — a young woman from Michigan who, by 25, had adopted two Zambian girls and written a memoir titled Crowns of Beauty. Andrea explores Sophie’s evangelical roots, the savior narrative she constructed, and what it reveals about identity, motherhood, and power.

Andrea is joined by Chad Goller-Sojourner — a performance artist and transracial adoption coach — who helps contextualize the complexities at play.

If this episode grabs you, good news: the full season is out now. You can binge all of Nobody Should Believe Me wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out the show notes: https://link.chtbl.com/NSBM2025

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In this special crossover, Celisia joins Andrea Dunlop — host of Nobody Should Believe Me — for a Casefiles conversation on the Susan Smith case. In 1994, Smith falsely claimed a Black man had kidnapped her two sons. The truth was far more chilling — and her lie launched a national manhunt.

Together, Celisia and Andrea unpack the media frenzy, the racial panic Smith weaponized, and what this case reveals about bias, mental health, and motherhood.

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The Manson murders have been told and retold—but rarely like this. In this special bonus episode, Anthony DiMaria, nephew of victim Jay Sebring, reveals the story behind the headlines. Anthony shares what it’s like to grow up under the shadow of a crime that defined a generation, how the media erased Jay’s humanity, and why so much of what we “know” about the Manson Family is wrong. From his uncle’s groundbreaking influence on men’s style to the disturbing truths Anthony uncovered about the parole process, this is a story about family, justice, and fighting to reclaim the truth.

Follow Anthony's work:

- Instagram: instagram.com/jaysebringfilm

- Twitter/X: twitter.com/jaysebringfilm

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Jay-Sebring-Film-100056007829576/

- YouTube: youtube.com/@jaysebringcuttingtothetruth

- Jay Sebring: Cutting to the Truth Book: geniusbookpublishing.com/products/jay-sebring-cutting-to-the-truth

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In October 1983, 23-year-old Timothy Coggins was brutally murdered in the small town of Sunny Side, Georgia. As his family grieved, they were met with menacing threats, warning them to back off from the investigation. Today’s episode covers a case that had stayed cold for more than three decades, spotlighting a family that never stopped hoping for justice.

A full list of action items, sources, resources mentioned, and photos related to the case are available in the show notes of today's episode, https://truercrimepodcast.com/timothy-coggins

Truer Crime merch is here! Get your limited-edition shirt before they're gone: https://shop.tenderfoot.tv/products/take-care 

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