Episodes

  • South Carolina: Susan Smith

    South Carolina: Susan Smith
    Jul 1 2024
    David Smith met Susan Vaughn at the local Winn Dixie in Union, South Carolina when the two were teenagers working as cashiers. Soon, they started dating and fell in love and Susan became pregnant. The two married and started a life together. They then had a second son.
    But things were not perfect, not even close. Susan and David both had affairs and they fought over things like money constantly. Until October 25, 1994, David received a call at work. He and Susan were separated by that point. It was Susan telling him that she had been carjacked and that the man had taken off with her car and their two boys in the backseat. For nine days, a massive search effort was launched, until early November when Susan admitted the terrifying truth. She had made the whole thing up, and had drowned their two precious baby boys.

    Show Notes:

    https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-All-Reason-Susan-Smith/dp/0786002921
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    26 mins
  • Rhode Island: The Brendel Family Murders

    Rhode Island: The Brendel Family Murders
    Jun 17 2024
    Ernest Brendel was an attorney who lived with his wife, Alice, a library assistant, and their young daugther, Emily in Barrington, Rhode Island. Through a mutual friend, Ernie met Chris Hightower, a twice-married financial advisor and the families became close. They even vacationed together in the New Hampshire moutains. But Ernie had invested $11,000 of his money with Chris and Chris lost it all. Irate, Ernie called the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission and placed a complaint against Chris Hightower.
    That enraged Chris to the point where, on September 20, 1991, Chris snapped. He purchased a crossbow at a local sporting goods store and laid in wait for Ernie Brendel in his garage. The next few days would have Chris going on the run, committing multiple murders and other criminal acts, and would involve wild tales of mob hits and buried bodies.

    Show Notes:

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216550.Death_of_an_Angel
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    32 mins
  • Pennsylvania: The Murders of Andrew and Zachary Bagby

    Pennsylvania: The Murders of Andrew and Zachary Bagby
    Jun 3 2024
    Andrew Bagby was a well-liked and gregarious guy who always knew he wanted to be a doctor. He went to medical school in Newfoundland, Canada, and that is where the 28-year-old met 40-year-old Shirley Turner. Shirley was twice divorced and had left three kids behind with three different fathers when she went to medical school.
    Andrew Bagby broke things off with Shirley Turner when he started his residency in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, but Shirley did not like that much. She came back to Pennsylvania and fatally shot Andrew Bagby on November 5, 2001. Shirley would be in and out of jail, and, over the next year, birthed Andrew's baby, a boy named Zachary.
    What followed was a tragic occurence that Andrew Bagby's parents tried to prevent. Shirley would soon take her own life, as well as that of her son, Zachary.

    Show Notes:

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152758/
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    27 mins
  • Oregon: The Cowden Family Killings

    Oregon: The Cowden Family Killings
    May 20 2024
    On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, 1974, the Cowden family, which consisted of Richard Cowden, 28, Belinda, 22, David, 5, and Melissa, 5 months, made a spontaneous decision to go camping at one of their favorite spots, Carbury Creek, 40 miles to the Southwest from where they lived in White City, Oregon. They packed the truck then stopped off at the General Store in Copper, Oregon to visit Belinda's mother, Ruth Grayson. Ruth offered to have the family over for lunch the next day, Sunday. The family agreed and set off.
    But when the next night rolled around and Ruth still hadn't heard from her daughter and her family, she made the mile drive to go look for them. What she found was concerning. Melissa's diaper bag and fishing poles were next to some trees. Richard's wallet and watch were on the ground, along with Belinda's cigarettes. And some milk and water had been left out on a picnic table. There was no sign of the Cowden family.
    A search began that same day and lasted for months. Until finally, half a year later, the family's bodies were discovered near and inside an old mining cave. But who would do such a thing? And what sort of depraved killer would have wanted a young, innocent family dead?

    Show Notes:

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22138532/

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6372106-but-i-trusted-you-and-other-true-cases
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    25 mins
  • Oklahoma: The Murder of Brittany Phillips

    Oklahoma: The Murder of Brittany Phillips
    May 6 2024
    Brittany Phillips had just moved back home to Tulsa, Oklahoma to attend nearby Tulsa Community College, with plans to transfer to Oklahoma State. She aspired to work in the medical field. She had a lot of friends nearby, and was very close with her mother, whom she talked to at least once a day and made the two hour drive to visit every weekend. But at the end of September, 2004, Brittany's mom, Maggie had not heard from her.
    Neither had her friends. So one of her friends went to check on her and found her apartment door ajar. Not wanting to enter, she called her father, a former District Attorney, who called some police buddies to do a wellness check. There was Brittany, lying on the floor by her bed. She was dead and had been sexually assaulted.
    What followed was two decades of the desperate search for Brittany's killer. Her mother, Maggie, still travels the country, searching in desperation for who could have done this to her. If you have any information on Brittany Phillips' murder please contact someone below.

    Show Notes:

    Brittanyphillipsmurder.net

    Eddie Majors: Lead Detective: emajors@cityoftulsa.org

    Tulsa homicide hotline: 918-596-9141 or 596-COPS

    https://casefilepodcast.com/case-146-brittany-phillips/

    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/brittany-phillips-part-1-732/id1062418176?i=1000642664084
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    27 mins
  • Ohio: The Steubenville Rape Case

    Ohio: The Steubenville Rape Case
    Apr 22 2024
    On the morning of Sunday, August 12th, 2012, a 16-year-old High School student, Jane Doe, woke up in Steubenville, Ohio, about 15 miles from her hometown of Weirton, West Virginia. She woke up in a strange basement and had no idea where she was. She was missing her earrings, underwear and cell phone. In the room with her were tow boys, aged 16 and 17, named Trent May and Malik Richmond. Jane remembered very little from the night before, only that she had been at a few parties with the Steubenville Varsity Football players, and, after texting some friends, that she had also been raped.

    The following year would bring chaos to Steubenville, Ohio. Accusations, denials, lawsuits, hackers, crime blogs and an article in the New York Times would divide this small town. It was their word against hers, and they were the star football players. Until damning evidence in the form of text messages and a video came to light.

    Show Notes:

    https://rollredrollfilm.com/
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    26 mins
  • Re-Release: The Disappearance of Tyler Davis and the Murders of Aaron Grexa, Eric Hlass and Kayla Hurst

    Re-Release: The Disappearance of Tyler Davis and the Murders of Aaron Grexa, Eric Hlass and Kayla Hurst
    Apr 14 2024
    In February 2019, a young couple from the Cincinnati, Ohio area left their baby with his grandparents and made the two-and-a-half-hour drive up to Central Ohio to spend the night at the Hilton Hotel at Easton Town Center, a luxury shopping mall in Columbus. They were Tyler Davis and his wife, Brittany, whose birthday was the next day. But what started out as a fun evening with another local friend, turned into a nightmare. Around 3 am, after they were all dropped off at their hotel, Tyler became confused and a little belligerent, and wandered off in a drunken stupor...and seemingly vanished into thin air. He was never seen or heard from again...In July of 2003, an alleged drug deal was going down in an apartment in Columbus, adjacent to The Ohio State University's main campus. A man by the name of Vernon Spence visited the apartment of Aaron Grexa, a soon-to-be OSU student, hoping to buy marijuana. Spence decided he didn't like the quality of the weed and left. But one night later, he returned, with two other men and forced his way inside the apartment. Their intent was robbery: weed, pills, cash...but Spence's intentions went horribly awry. The next day, a third roommate returned from a night away and encountered the gruesome sight. Three innocent, young people, two roommates and a girlfriend, who was a student at OSU, murdered in cold blood. This is the disappearance of Tyler Davis and the murders of Aaron Grexa, Eric Hlass and Kayla Hurst. Show Notes: https://www.wnewsj.com/news/188391/clinton-county-man-missing-nearly-3-years-declared-deceased-by-courthttps://open.spotify.com/episode/5P0nf2barp7gmKuaPAHA9ghttps://www.thelantern.com/2005/05/murder-of-osu-shooting-victim-still-hard-on-family/https://casetext.com/case/state-v-spence-9Smells Like HumansLike spending time with funny friends talking about curious human behavior. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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    48 mins
  • North Dakota: The Disappearance of Barbara Cotton

    North Dakota: The Disappearance of Barbara Cotton
    Apr 8 2024
    Barbara Cotton was born on November 10th, 1965 in Tayoga, North Dakota. She had 9 brothers and sisters and a hard life. Her family was poor and her father abused many family members. When her mother finally divorced her father in 1973, she took Barb and two siblings and moved to Williston, North Dakota. There, Barb went to High School, partied some, had a bussing job at a local restaurant, The Country Kitchen, and saved money for a place of her own.

    But on the night of April 11th, 1981, Barb disappeared. She was last seen by her mother when she visited her place of work with a 21-year-old male friend named Stacy Wardner. Stacy was the last person to see Barb that night as she walked three blocks toward home. But no body was ever found, and the investgation would lead authorities down a winding path, with plenty of suspects, one of them being Barb's own brother.

    Show Notes:

    https://wondery.com/shows/the-vanished-podcast/episode/5623-barbara-cotton-part-1-a-lost-girl/
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    29 mins