Just The Tip-Sters: True Crime Podcast

It was October 7, 1992 in Morphett Vale, South Australia, and 12 year-old Rhianna Barreau was on a school holiday. Rhianna, who lived with her mother and brother, wanted to buy a Christmas card for her pen pal in America (remember, this was 1992 and it took awhile for a card to get from Australia to the U.S.). The family lived only about a mile or so away from a local shopping center, so when Rhianna asked her Mom if she could walk there to buy the card for her American friend, Mom said okay. When Mom came home from work later that day, the television was blaring, one of Rhianna's favorite record albums was lying on the floor - and that Christmas card Rhianna had wanted to purchase was on the table. But Rhianna was nowhere to be found. And to this day, she's still missing. In this episode, Melissa retells the details of Rhianna's last known whereabouts, the witnesses who saw her that day walking back home - the mysterious fact that there was no sign of forced entry into the house - the fact that none of Rhianna's personal belongings were missing - and the lingering, haunting question: Who did Rhianna open the door to that fateful afternoon? VISIT OUR SPONSOR - KLEANSPA BATH & BODY by Jennifer Hardaway - Get 15% off your total order by visiting www.kleanspa.com and entering promo code TIPSTERS at checkout. Kleanspa - prepare to smell delicious! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Back around the turn of the century...no not 2001....no, no, not 1901...the turn of the century before THAT, in the late 1700s and early 1800s...a young man raised in a good family in France was very busy being a very very bad boy, all over France as well as a good chunk of Europe. His name was Eugene Francois Vidocq, and his penchant for getting into trouble with the law was matched only by his way with the ladies - he was such a rounder that he married no fewer than three times during his 82 years and was never far from romantic...er...adventure. His criminal behavior was legendary - Vidocq was so addicted to trickery, forgery and downright slippery behavior that he often helped other criminals just because he enjoyed being devious. He landed in jail many times, and was once even sentenced to death (which he obviously ended up avoiding...somehow...). But sometime in his mid-thirties, something happened to Eugene Vidocq. He decided to stop plotting and running and going to jail - and begin to use his talents AGAINST criminals. He ended up not only becoming one of the most effective law enforcement officials in history - he pretty much invented modern criminology---his methods are the basis of everything today's law men and women utilize very single day. Take a ride back in time to 18th- and 19th-Century France with Melissa as she weaves the remarkable tale of the criminal who became the cop - who re-shaped the very nature of police work - and whose name graces the Vidocq Society, a group of criminologists, scientists and law enforcement specialists who meet every month here in the U.S. to investigate difficult-to-solve crimes. SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR - KLEANSPA BATH & BODY - Get 15% your total order by entering the promo code TIPSTER at check out. Kleanspa- prepare to smell delicious! www.kleanspa.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Back at Season 2, Episode 28 Melissa covered the missing person case of Savannah Spurlock, a young single mother who lived near Lexington, Kentucky and who disappeared after leaving a bar with two men in January of 2019. Her family's quick response to her disappearance and steadfastness in making sure law enforcement stayed relentless in finding out what happened has been nothing short of phenomenal. In this update of the case, Melissa reports on the recent discovery of remains and clothing in the back yard of one of the men Savannah left with the night she vanished, his arrest, and some puzzling questions - most importantly among them: What took so long for the cops to make a bust? SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR - KLEANSPA BATH AND BODY by Jennifer Hardaway - perfumes, rubs, moisturizers and oils, all made with naturally inspired ingredients and featuring dozens of unique, hand-crafted fragrances. Enter Promo Code TIPSTERS at checkout and receive 15% off your total order! www.kleanspa.com - Prepare to smell delicious! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The tragic 1987 public suicide of Pennsylvania State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer is one of the most well known, horrifying and sad media events ever to occur in the United States. A media event because Dwyer shot himself in the mouth with a .357 magnum revolver during a live, highly-publicized press conference. Horrifying because it was a snow day and kids were home from school watching TV when it happened. Sad - so sad - because of the details that led to Dwyer's desperate action. In this episode Melissa details the life of a meticulously honest public servant done in by petty political revenge and a misguided sense of duty to take care of his family...and the interesting side note of a song written by someone deeply affected by it and a story of how his intentions were first misunderstood, then understood and forgiven, by another artist - one who lost his friend to a fate almost identical to Dwyer's. SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR - KLEANSPA BATH AND BODY - get 15% off your total order by visiting www.kleanspa.com and entering the word TIPSTERS at checkout. Kleanspa - prepare to smell delicious! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the dark early evening of November 20, 2011, 23 year-old David Michael Grubbs left his job at a local supermarket in Ashland Oregon, carrying some groceries, to walk home. Just a couple of hours later, David's body was found just off a bike path that was on his route home. The body was nearly decapitated by what police determined was a medium to large blade such as a sword or machete. Now going on eight years since the horrific crime, law enforcement is still struggling to arrest a suspect - despite a raft of possibilities - including the fact that Ashland is home to dozens of LARPers (Live Action Role Players) who routinely use such weapons in their games. And other than David's family, no one is more frustrated and determined to bring his killer to justice than Ashland Police Chief Tighe O'Meara, who at the time of the murder was a uniformed officer, and first on the scene. Listen as Melissa and Chief O'Meara discuss the case,some possible motives and even a person of interest that police have not been able to question. If you have any information on the Grubbs murder, contact the Ashland Oregon Police Department at (541) 488-2211. SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR - KLEANSPA BATH & BODY - Offering a full range of scrubs, oils, moisturizers and perfumes in dozens of unique, hand-made fragrances. Visit kleanspa.com and get 15% off your total order by entering Promo Code TIPSTERS at checkout. Kleanspa - prepare to smell delicious! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On January 4, 2019 Savannah Spurlock, a 22 year-old mother of 4 who had given birth to twins just a month earlier, was told by her mother that she should take a break and go have some fun. So with grandma watching the kids, Savannah did just that - she and two friends went to downtown Lexington Kentucky for a night on the town and ended up at a place called The Other Bar. After one friend left to be ready for an early day the next morning and the second friend left after she and Savannah had an argument, Savannah stayed at The Other Bar until security cameras caught her leaving with three men. From there the story gets weird - and not for reasons one might think. Savannah has not been seen or heard from since the early morning hours the following morning. But this isn't just the story of a missing young woman - it is also the story of her family, who from virtually the moment they realized Savannah was missing, did not hesitate and did not wait. This incredible group of loved ones is fully engaged in every way - including some very unique and creative ways - to find their daughter/niece/granddaughter. Join Melissa as she re-tells the agonizing-yet-hopeful tale of the disappearance of Savannah Spurlock - and the family that is determined to bring her home. SPONSORED BY KLEANSPA BATH & BODY - scrubs, cleanses, perfumes and washes that inspire inner bliss and outer beauty - go to www.kleanspa.com - enter TIPSTERS at checkout and receive 15% off your total order! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Recently a Tip-Ster from Boston - "Tip-Ster Jennifer" - brought a case to Melissa's attention that she had not been aware of - the 1993 murders in Houston Texas of 14 year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16 year-old Elizabeth Pena. The facts of the case are among the most gruesome and disturbing Melissa has ever encountered - but more than the horror of the crimes themselves were two compelling side-stories...one is that Tip-Ster Jennifer was a friend of Jennifer Ertman at the time she was murdered...and the other is the awe-inspiring story of Jennifer Ertman's dad, Randy who, along with his wife and the family of Elizabeth Pena, waged a crusade not only to find the killers, but once they were caught, to change the laws to give victims' families higher standing in the judicial system - things we take for granted today like victim impact statements and the right for families to remain in the courtroom even when other family members are testifying. Tip-Ster Jennifer calls in from Boston on this episode to talk about the gut-punching details of the murders - and the heroic passion of the families left behind. SPONSORED BY KLEANSPA BATH & BODY - Prepare to smell delicious! Go to www.kleanspa.com and get 15% off your total order by entering Promo Code TIPSTERS at checkout! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the last day of June in 2017, Craig Lackey got to watch his 25 year-old son Chase compete in a ballgame in his home town of Houston, Texas. After the game, Craig hugged his son and told him he'd had a great game - and Chase, a dazzlingly cheerful, happy young man and friend to all who knew him, told his dad he loved him. That was the last time Craig saw his son. The next day, Chase was seen walking his dog outside his apartment near the Houston Beltway - and then he vanished. And no one - not Chase's family, his friends, his neighbors, and most especially not the police - have a clue what happened to him. On this episode Melissa is joined by Craig Lackey, who discusses his dedication to finding his son and the frustration of dealing with nearly two straight years of not knowing what the police are doing - or if they're doing anything at all - to find the son he loves. SPONSORED BY KLEANSPA BATH & BODY - Prepare to smell delicious! Go to www.kleanspa.com and get 15% off your total order by entering the Promo Code TIPSTERS at checkout! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

By all appearances, Peter Chadwick is a pretty rotten human. A millionaire British ex-pat living in an exclusive Southern California enclave with his wife and three sons, he suddenly disappears, along with his bride, one day in October 2012. Early the next morning 911 operators some 100 miles away in San Diego get a call from Chadwick, who claims his wife had been killed the previous day, and that he'd been...well...kidnapped...or something...by the killers. Let's just say the police didn't buy any of it, and just a few days later when his wife's body was found (under astounding circumstances), he was charged with First Degree Murder. Flash forward two-plus years later when, out on bail and on the eve of trial, Chadwick takes a powder. And no one has been able to find him. Anywhere. But it gets worse - and possibly much worse. In this episode Melissa shares not just the frustration - but the outrage - of how the police have completely controlled the information on the case while blocking access to the general public that might allow concerned citizens help catch Peter Chadwick - and for no apparent reason other than they simply don't trust the citizens they've been sworn to serve. Buckle up - Melissa is more than just a little worked up about this - and you will be too. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's been just over a year since the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo, the alleged Golden State Killer, who was captured through an ingenious ploy by law enforcement, which registered the then-unknown killer's DNA under a dummy name on GEDMatch, a public DNA-based genealogy website. That sample led to distant relatives of DeAngelo who had registered their DNA on GEDMatch. From there, detectives pared down a list of those relatives until DeAngelo's DNA was confirmed to be a match with that of the murderer. In this past year alone, at least 50 arrests in other cases around the country have resulted from law enforcement's use of this form of DNA comparison. Recently, in a move obviously aimed at averting litigation, GEDMatch announced that henceforth no GEDMatch client's DNA can be used by law enforcement unless the client "opts-in" to such use. This policy applies even to the more than one million clients that existed prior to the policy change. In this episode, Melissa discusses the challenges this decision - and others likely to follow by other DNA testing sites - poses to police everywhere trying to solve murders where DNA exists but no DNA match can be found through traditional means. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this special Memorial Day Weekend MURDERTIZER (an appetizer of murder!), Melissa takes a look at a case not even a month old. One that is seemingly solved...or is it? On May 15, 2019 sheriff's deputies in Merced County (in California's San Joaquin Valley) were alerted to a big rig parked on the side of a major Interstate highway. Unlocked. With its motor running. With the driver's wallet and cell phone inside. Strange? Yes. But wait. The driver's body was found several days later in a canal two miles downstream from where the truck was found. Okay, that's NOT necessarily strange. But when Melissa starts piecing together some incredibly...er...COINCIDENTAL facts about the driver's name, she gets us all (especially Producer Mark) into the Freakout Zone. Take 30 minutes out of your holiday weekend to freak out a little bit yourself and join Melissa on a wild ride up the I-5. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week, in a tip-of-the-cap to her growing band of Tip-Sters in Australia, Melissa focuses on one of the most agonizingly maddening murder mysteries our brethren Down Under still have no answers for - the 1980-1981 killings of six women in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne. Known simply as the Tynong North and Frankston Murders (based on the two locations where the bodies of the victims were found and the general areas in which they lived), the six slayings were originally treated as two separate serial killer matters. Six women - aged as young as 14 and as elderly as 75 - three in each of the two areas - fell to the killer or killers in a less-than-two-year period. And then they simply stopped. Was it because police had focused on the identity of someone they pegged to all six murders but just couldn't formally pin them on him - and he was disciplined enough to end his spree? Join Melissa as she digs in to the tragedy and crazy-making details of these still-unsolved crimes - and the now-85 year-old devout Christian gentleman who may - or may not - hold the key that would unravel the entire mystery. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Say True-Crimers, here's a couple of brain teasers for the next time you want to stump a fellow Murder Maven: What was the investigation covered in the very first episode of "Forensic Files"? Or how about this: What was the first "no body" murder trial to result in a conviction in the State of Connecticut? Well surprise! The answer to both questions is the same - it's the gruesome-yet-freakishly-weird 1986 case of Helle Crafts, whose husband, Richard, was convicted of killing her in their Newtown Connecticut home, throwing her body in a brand new Westinghouse freezer purchased just for the occasion, chopping her frozen body parts into bits with a brand new Stihl chainsaw (obviously this was someone who insisted on quality brand-name products), then renting a wood chipper to shred those bits and send them flying into nearby Lake Zoar. Yep, you guessed it - the Cohen Brothers didn't invent the - let's call it the "Wood Chipper Paradigm" - when they wrote the screenplay for "Fargo" - Richard Crafts thought up the idea all by himself some 10 years before Steve Buscemi's leg protruded out of that famous chipper on movie screens across America. And unlike the movie, the real-life case featured Dr. Henry Lee - one of Melissa's monument-worthy heroes. Join her as she re-tells the truly bizarre tale of one man's epically brutal - and monumentally stupid - attempt at avoiding divorce. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The brutal strangulation death of Karina Vetrano in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens New York in August 2016 seemed like a slam-dunk, easy-to-solve crime at first blush. The 30 year-old beauty had been killed while jogging in the late afternoon, her body dumped just a few yards off the running path in Spring Creek Park. But then things got not so slam-dunk. And fast. Police followed empty lead after empty lead. The touch-DNA found on the young victim's body could not be matched in any database - and the case went cold for six months. Then, through what can only be described as a complete fluke of a train-of-thought hunch by a police officer in a completely different jurisdiction, 20 year-old Chanel Lewis was arrested after a DNA swab matched that of the DNA found on Karina's body. Shortly thereafter, Lewis confessed to the murder in a videotaped police interview. Seems like cops were back running toward the hoop unchallenged again, right? Not so fast. In the following 14 months, right up to April 2018, the road to justice in this case ran into a bizarre series of courtroom mishaps, alleged jury misconduct and a mystery letter to the defense team that makes this case - though officially now "solved," one that the locals in Queens still wonder about. And it ain't over yet. Join Melissa as she conveys the twists and turns of this intriguing and tragic case. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On June 21, 2014 Jeff Joseph - a Southern California cannabis entrepreneur who had opened a marijuana growing operation some 700 miles to the north, was on his way back to his farm when he disappeared seemingly off the face of the planet and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Sadly, Jeff's story is just one of literally hundreds of missing persons in Humboldt County, where - as detailed in the recent documentary series "Murder Mountain," to this day a cloak of deadly secrecy encompasses the entire region. On this episode, Melissa discusses Jeff Joseph's disappearance with Jeff's sister Vikki Joseph, a brave and dedicated warrior for her brother who is relentless in demanding answers - even in the face of terrified, closed-mouthed locals and law enforcement that seems to block the truth at every turn. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How about an update on the prosecution of one of our most fascinating topics - the Golden State Killer? One year after the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo, Melissa has the latest on the (possibly politically-motivated) legal strategies happening in this continually mind-bending saga. Plus: It's been a crazy week at Tip-Ster Central, with updates on three (3) (count 'em!) additional previously-covered cases hopping over the transom just in time for this week's episode --- such as the latest on the incredible (s)hero and DNA sleuth Barbara Rae-Venter...the search to find what happened to Kentucky high schooler Randy Sellers...and the further adventures of murder-for-hire slimebucket James Fayed Plus much more (including Melissa's battle with the 23 & Me test kit!). A fascinating hour of catch-up and insight. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On June 24, 1986 one of the most sensational and brutal attempted jewelry store robberies in US history took place at the storied Van Cleef and Arpels Jewelers on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It was there that a 22 year-old would-be thief named Steven Livaditis quickly and without much explanation at all turned himself into a cold-blooded murderer when the robbery he thought he could pull off went terribly wrong. One of the most heart-pounding and horrifying stories ever recounted by Melissa, who shares how this case changed her in ways she never expected. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Imagine living what would be every woman's worst nightmare: You're driving down the road with your favorite cousin in the passenger seat, not a care in the world, when suddenly a truck pulls up beside you and the guy inside fires a shotgun directly at you. And shoots. Blowing your elbow into shattered bone and blood. When you pull over, that same driver tries to pull your cousin out of your car, and when she won't move, blows her head off with that same shotgun. Imagine now that the driver hauls you away, rapes and tortures you, and then you end up in his trailer in the middle of the woods where no one can find him. Jennifer Holliday doesn't have to imagine any of that. Because it actually happened to her. And she survived. Through a combination of sheer guts, keen; raw intelligence and incredible calm under pressure, Holliday has lived to tell of her incredible ordeal - and Melissa shares it with you this episode in chilling, compelling detail. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A rare MURDERTIZER (an appetizer of murder) in our regular weekly time slot - but as this week's podcast reveals, Melissa and Producer Mark have a lot on their plate - but Melissa wanted to make sure you, dear listener, had a zesty treat until the next full episode. And this one is straight out of the "it's so strange it MUST be true" department... in 2010 a bank robbery took place in Gallatin Tennessee that featured one David Christopher Cotton in the role of Armed Robber...with...a twist. Suffice it to say that while this tale does not end well for Mr. Cotton or his getaway driver, Jonathan Skinner, the details of the event will likely leave you choking back a guffaw or two...or three... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2009 Mitrice Richardson, a young and beautiful twentysomething taking a year off between her graduate and postgraduate studies, showed up one night far from home at a ritzy Malibu, California restaurant - behaving weirdly. When she told the wait staff she couldn't pay the bill, the LA County Sheriff's Department was called and Richardson was hauled away to jail What happened next is the stuff of countless mothers' nightmares. Released from custody just after midnight, with no car, no money and no direction as to where to go next, Mitrice disappeared into the night - and into foreverville. Her remains were found months later, but to date clues as to how she died, or whether she was murdered, continue to run dry. Listen as Melissa is joined by clinical Psychologist Ronda Hampton, Ph.D., a mentor and friend to Mitrice, who has led a dedicated army of the young woman's friends and family in an unrelenting search for clues amid a story of - at best - some of the worst bungling ever committed by law enforcement. Tell us: Do you think you might have a tip that will turn this case around? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What kind of a sick monster would be so crass as to commit a burglary that he really didn't need to commit, then set out to murder anyone who not only betrayed him by telling on him, but also taking out anyone he THOUGHT MIGHT betray him...and recruiting others to do it for you? Our boy Clarence Ray Allen, that's who. Take a walk to the darkest side of Darkness Avenue with Melissa as she recounts the untold savagery and unexpurgated evil perpetrated by Allen and his dippy cohorts. And while she's at it, Melissa will also demonstrate how Allen just might be tied to the Ryen family murders for which Kevin Cooper was convicted (as was covered in Episodes 10 and 11 this season). Not for the feint of heart... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Are you addicted to true crime? Love a really scary ghost story? Seen all the "Freddy" movies 15 times each? Good for you! You are NOT a freak bunky - in fact, you may be healthier than most people. As Melissa explains in this intriguing MURDERTIZER (an appetizer of murder), exposing yourself to scary tales may just make you feel safer and more secure! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In part 2 of Melissa's exploration of the conviction of Kevin Cooper in the bloody slaughter of the Ryen family of Chino Hills California in 1983, your host gets into the nitty (and truly) gritty details of the positively botched investigation conducted by law enforcement at the time of the murders, and Cooper's decades-long path to having new DNA testing conducted on items that were overlooked or ignored. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In June 1983, two separate stories met at a ranch house in Chino Hills, California. The first story is the brutal stabbing/axing/icepicking mass murder of Doug Ryen, his wife Peggy, their daughter Jessica and Christopher Hughes, the 11 year-old best friend of the Ryans' son, Josh - Josh himself was near death, but eventually survived. The second story is that of one Kevin Cooper. a full-time convicted burglar and part-time convicted rapist, just escaped from the California Institution for Men - also known as the Chino Hills Men's Prison. Cooper, who had holed up in a house just a few hundred feet away from the Ryen home before (he claims) he headed for Mexico the night before the Ryen murders took place, was convicted of the slayings and sentenced to death. Seems like an open and shut case. Until one takes even a cursory look at how the case was handled. In this first of two parts on Kevin Cooper and the murder conviction that has him sitting on death row today, Melissa examines Cooper's history of burglary, his various name changes and escapes, including the escape from Chino Men's Prison that led him to his fate. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Kentucky teenager Randy Lee Sellers got into a drunken brawl at the Kenton County Fair in 1980, the police who arrived decided not to arrest the young man, and instead put him in their patrol car to take him home. And that's the last time his friends or his loved ones ever saw or heard of him again. The patrol officers stated that Sellers asked to be dropped off prior to getting to his house, and that they obliged. For the past 38-plus years the mystery of his disappearance has remained headline news in Kenton County, with theories of his disappearance ranging from the simple to the complicated to conspiratorial. But no one seems to have found the answer. Enter Kenton County Police Detective Brian Jones - Melissa's special guest on this episode - who is now assigned to the case and is working actively on it. Join Melissa as she and Jones discuss the disappearance, the path to finding an answer and the uniqueness of such a shocking and vexing case arising in small town America. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Greed is bad - evil greed is worse - and psychopathic evil greed is just downright bloody awful. And Dana Ewell and his best bud Joel Radovcich were about the greediest, psycho-nut-job evil rat bastards ever to crawl into the world. Melissa's retelling of this gruesome 1992 multiple murder of Ewell's parents and only sibling on Easter Sunday is as chilling as it is disgusting. As usual though, the nastiness is tempered by the heroism of two dogged Fresno County California detectives who took FIVE YEARS to finally bring the case to a close and bring Ewell and Radovcich to justice. Find out why this was known for years as "Fresno's Crime of the Century." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Melissa's first MURDERTIZER (an appetizer of murder!) of 2019 catches us up on some important developments in the Will Cierzan and Thomas Brown cases. PLUS a preview of an upcoming interview with one of the world's top DNA experts - AND a report on Melissa's personal taste test on that Trader Joe's garlic dip she's heard so much about from Tip-Ster Charlotte. Oh and so very much more! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Melissa visits with true crime podcast aficionado and budding criminologist Tanya Todd, who visits the Homestead Studios all the way from Toronto, Canada to share some of her insights, theories and general worldview as she embarks on a path toward her criminology degree. A delightful, funny, informative conversation between two lovers of the macabre, the mysterious and true crime solving. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Melissa takes us through the deeply creepy disappearance of 18 year-old Thomas Brown on Thanksgiving Eve 2016, just moments after being videotaped pumping gas in the small town of Canadian, Texas. Can it really be true that law enforcement botched this case so badly that the victim's mother had to hire a private investigation team to try to get to the truth? Evidently so. Because due to the hard work of that private investigator, Thomas Brown's remains were finally uncovered in January 2019. But still absolutely nothing is known about the manner of his death. The police insist it was suicide - but the bizarre array of evidence, the way it was collected or otherwise discovered and the erratic and baffling way the case has been handled by law enforcement raise far more questions than they do divulge answers. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The very case that first inspired Melissa to host her own podcast - the case of the 2017 disappearance in Santa Clarita, California of Will Cierzan, beloved husband, brother and friend of just about everyone he met. On the two-year anniversary of his vanishing, Melissa takes another look, determined to keep the case alive until Will is found. The facts of Cierzan's disappearance (he has not been located to this day) are frustrating, angering - and above all, sad. In this episode Melissa catches up on the developments of the case in the past 12 months, the maddening slowness of the investigation, the obvious priority shift since the lead detective in the case was assigned to a more glitzy, Hollywood-based investigation and the nagging sense that those responsible for Cierzan's disappearance (and likely demise) may never be brought to justice. A call to all Tip-Sters to be vigilant, look for clues, keep all ears and eyes open and if you know something, TELL SOMEONE. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jasmine and Jeremy and Jayme and Jake. Two young girls and their boyfriends with cute and alliterative names. Fun! Right? Um. No. In 2006, 12 year-old Jasmine Richardson disappeared from her home in Medicine Hat, Alberta after her parents and young brother were found brutally slain in their home. At first, authorities believed that Jasmine was kidnapped by the killer and was being held hostage. The truth was far more horrifying: Jasmine and her 23 year-old boyfriend Jeremy Steinke had actually committed the murders of Jasmine's family themselves - in a twisted plan to rid Jasmine of her ties to home so that she could run away with Jeremy. It was a crime so unimaginably horrible that it set a precedent for callousness and pure evil. So in 2018, when 13 year-old Jayme Closs of Barron Wisconsin went missing after HER parents were both brutally murdered in THEIR home, no one could blame some in law enforcement (and in the true crime blogosphere) from suspecting a replay of the Richardson case, and began looking for clues that a boyfriend was lurking somewhere in Jayme's social media background - a boyfriend that - who knows? - Jayme may have run away with after....you know... As it turned out, though, the two cases are completely UNlike each other - this time around, the plot was solely that of one of the most coldblooded, determined yet bizarre murderers anyone could ever imagine. Join Melissa as she delves into both cases, examines their similarities - and their truly frightening differences. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It takes a lot for Melissa to go wild over a podcast - there are plenty she LIKES but only a handful that turn her into a true fan. The "Big Feelings" Podcast with Lorraine Schweikhard and Ginger Warren shares that rare air. And for good reason - Lorraine and Ginger are hilarious, engaging, thought provoking and a true joy to listen to. Half chat-fest between two moms raising young children in the suburbs; half a unique exploration into the darker edges of true crime, "Big Feelings" is truly quirky and genuinely genuine - which is why Melissa fell in love. Join Melissa, Lorraine and Ginger as they cover topics as wide ranging as the nature of psychopathy (in adults AND children!), dirty diaper cleanup miscues, weird murder - and a not-to-be-missed discussion on the ins, outs, ups, downs and, well, every-other-direction of the bidet. We kid you not. We'll leave it at that, except to say that 'taint a conversation to be missed! A fun, bawdy hour-plus joy ride. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Season 2 opens with a case that's haunted Melissa for 2 decades - the untimely deaths of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette and Carolyn's sister Lauren. Amid the obvious story lines of the Kennedy family's tragic history, its place in U.S. culture as the closest thing to an American royal family - and the sadness surrounding the demise of the young 38 year-old John-John, his bride and sister-in-law, Melissa asks a question buried deep beneath the facts of the case to ask a harrowing question: Could JFK, Jr. have been a high-achieving, undiagnosed psychopath? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the Season One Finale of JUST THE TIP-STERS, Melissa is joined on the phone by Michelle Kramer Joe - whose son - Cody Turner - disappeared without a trace in July 2015 after going out for the night and never returning to his grandparents' home in Yakima, Washington. Michelle has spent the last three years struggling to keep Cody's name in the forefront of police and the press, both of which she believes have never given their full attention to the case due to the stigma attached to Cody's drug and alcohol abuse. As Melissa points out in her discussion with Michelle, it DOES NOT MATTER what sort of mistakes one has made in life - NO ONE deserves to be forgotten and EVERYONE's life has meaning. Join Melissa as she closes out 2018 with a heart- wrenching plea from a mother for clues that might lead to finding her son. JUST THE TIP-STERS/SEASON TWO DEBUTS ON JANUARY 8, 2019. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Getting ready to gorge on all those holiday appetizers? Before you start digging in to the fruitcake pops, how about a tangy-but-hearty MURDERTIZER? Melissa fills us in on the latest in the hideous swirling vortex of awful that is Joseph James DeAngelo - the latest being a surprising DNA test that may present more questions than it answers. Plus a court hearing sets the stage for a long (and expensive) taxpayer-funded journey to trial... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the second episode of this month's focus on unsolved missing person cases, Melissa is joined on the phone from Washington DC by special guest TAD DIBIASE, a former federal prosecutor and author of the book "No Body Homicide Cases: A Practical Guide to Investigating, Prosecuting and Winning Cases When the Victim is Missing." Dibiase has led a fascinating career, most recently focusing on how prosecutors can best find ways to bring to justice those whom law enforcement has everything to get a murder conviction EXCEPT a dead body. A terrific conversation that unveils some of the techniques that Dibiase makes available to law enforcement all over the U.S. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Melissa looks at the heartbreaking, frustrating disappearance of Shannon Baldwin Hokanson, a beautiful young mother of three who disappeared in Enid Oklahoma in 2012. One of literally tens of thousands of unsolved missing persons cases each year in the United States, Shannon's case represents one of the most haunting and nightmarish scenarios any family member or loved one can ever face - the sudden and unexplained disappearance of a mother, a wife, a sister, a friend - into the ether. Maybe you know something that will help bring Shannon - or another missing soul - back home. Call us if you think you may have a piece to a puzzle of an unsolved disappearance - (832) TIP-STER (832-847-7837). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In her third and final installment on Los Angeles' most prolific serial killer, Lonnie Franklin, Jr. - aka The Grim Sleeper, Melissa examines the details of the botched search for the killer over the decades, the Los Angeles Police Department's eventual recognition of the importance of catching him - and Franklin's arrest and conviction. Most compelling is Melissa's retelling of the victim impact statements during sentencing, and the brilliant work of LAPD detectives, who paved the road to Franklin's demise through his taste buds - and a piece of partially eaten cheese pizza. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's the second installment of Melissa's recounting of the awful life and times of Lonnie Franklin, Jr. - the infamous "Grim Sleeper" killer who terrorized South Central Los Angeles for three decades before finally being brought to justice. During those years Franklin, raped, tortured and murdered at least nine young women and killed one lone male victim - for reasons that are still only speculation. Join Melissa as she recounts the harrowing - absolutely terrifying - stories of two women who survived Franklin's assaults, and look into the abyss of the real possibility - the likelihood? - that the Grim Sleeper - so dubbed because he "slept" for over a decade at one point before resuming his killing spree - may not really have ever gone to sleep... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lonnie Franklin, Jr. was everybody's friend. Gregarious. Friendly to a fault/. Had good jobs, first at the City Sanitation Department and then as a mechanic for the LAPD. Lovely house on a corner lot. Lovely and devoted wife. Two kids. Kinda guy that would give you the shirt off his back - or perform sometimes complex repairs to your car for just 20 bucks. The epitome of a great neighbor. Problem is, Lonnie Franklin, Jr. had a side gig that wasn't so friendly. Turns out he was also one of the most prolific serial killers in the annals of crime. And he was good at it - eventually becoming infamous as the elusive "Grim Sleeper" who got away with at least 26 brutal slayings of women in South Central Los Angeles. 26 that we know of, that is. Join Melissa as she opens her case file on this devastating case with an overview of Franklin's evil career, to be followed in coming episodes with the horrifying details of the work of a monster who hid in plain sight for more than two decades before DNA and cheese from a pizza finally put him away. PLUS - Melissa reveals disturbingly hilarious details from her past that MAY explain...er...a lot! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Melissa is joined via telephone by one of the most fascinating crime-fighting duos ever to bring really bad guys to justice! Except this bad "guy" was actually a female, but just as - or even more - evil than your average serial killer. Kelly Cochran was more than just a "black widow" - she is suspected of knocking off at least 10 men, including her last husband, Jason - whom she had enlisted in helping murder the man she was cheating on Jason with - Chris Regan. Cochran was finally brought to justice by the cunning, determination and sheer will of an unlikely pair of law enforcement professionals three hours away from each other - Iron River, Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo and Hobart, Indiana detective Jeremy Ogden. The Cochran case - including Frizzo and Ogden's story - is the subject of the Investigation Discovery documentary "Dead North." It's an incredible journey - and Melissa fell in love with the documentary so much that she found Frizzo and Ogden living in Indiana and invited them for an interview on JUST THE TIP-STERS - and they said yes! It's a fascinating, hour-plus conversation with two true original Good Guys pf law enforcement you won't soon forget. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What ties together the still-unsolved 1981 Halloween murders of photographer Ronald Sisman and Smith College coed Elizabeth Platzman in a Greenwich Village apartment...and the murder of young, beautiful Arlis Perry in the Stanford University chapel some seven years prior to, and 3,000 miles away from, the Sisman/Platzman crime? Well - it ain't anything...or anyONE...you'd suspect. Join Melissa on her favorite holiday as she takes the spooky Halloween Trail linking two completely different cases through the ramblings of a single twisted (and well-known) psychopath. Lots of tricks, no treats from that guy. Buckle up. BOO! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In certainly what appears to be a series of gross miscarriages of justice, in the late 1970s Texas millionaire Cullen Davis was (a) acquitted of one murder, (b) not charged in a second murder and the attempted murder of his ex-wife and two others, then (c) got a hung jury in a SECOND trial where he was charged with soliciting the murder of two other people (and acquitted in the re-trial). ALL of this with evidence that was so compelling it would have resulted in convictions in any other place and with any other defendant. Join Melissa as she relives this outrageous story of mad entitlement, wild jealousy and how the American justice system can be corrupted through wealth and influence. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Melissa unravels another cold case brought to us by a Tip-Ster - this one frustrating to the point of maddening. In July 1999 in Fresno, California, teacher/wife/mother, 54 year-old Sandra Kerby went to Target to pick up a few things - and was never seen or heard from again. In the intervening years, lots of evidence points to one suspect - but not enough of it to issue an arrest warrant. And that is a tragedy - because Sandra Kerby, by all accounts, was one of the truly good people, and she left behind dozens of friends, family and former students who, to this day, seek answers. Someone out there knows something about what happened to Sandra...is it you? Now's the time to drop your tip on us! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this special edition of JUST THE TIP-STERS, Melissa travels south into deep Orange County California, to the campus of the University of California Irvine School of Law, where she spends a fascinating just-under-an-hour with Super Ninja Justice Lawyer Annee Della Donna, a private practice attorney in Laguna Beach who started and leads Innocence Rights Orange County. Together with a hearty band of law students from the UC Irvine Law School, Ms. Della Donna's homegrown innocence project has already worked on several impressive cases - including the case of the man she believes was wrongly convicted of the 1979 brutal murder of Joan Virginia Anderson - which, some of you Tip-Sters may remember, bore a lot of resemblance to the rapes and murders committed by the Golden State Killer (!). Della Donna and her team have convinced the Orange County D.A. to reopen that case...and they are now hot on the trail of a cold case also familiar to Just The Tip-Ster devotees - that of Garden Grove housewife Patricia Neufeld, whose murder in 1978 also looks suspiciously like the work of our old pal EARONS/GSK. A fascinating discussion with a remarkable champion for justice - and her personal story of her own possible...well... probable...encounter with you-know-who when she was a 17 year-old high school girl... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Friendly, regular family guy Altemio Sanchez - affectionately known around his neighborhood in suburban Buffalo, NY as "Uncle Al" - couldn't have been more of your basic solid citizen. A wife, kids, a good job at a local factory for more than two decades - all the markings of the Friend Next Door. Until he wasn't. Until he used his mornings off to attack, rape and murder unsuspecting women throughout the Buffalo area. With a string of assaults and murders stretching from 1990 to 2006 - and possibly going as far back as 1981 - Sanchez' capture and prosecution in 2007 remains one of law enforcement's most important successes. But the road to the killer's capture was fraught with miscues and outright bungles - and Melissa takes us through all the twists and turns of the investigation, arrest and conviction. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey! Don't be distracted by that...er...more Podcasty sounding introduction...it was just a little something we tried...for about 30 seconds...and then realized we just ain't traditional Podcasty People! Plus this is no time to mess around, since it's time for another TIP-STERS TWO CENTS, featuring listener emails, comments and general chit-chat. PLUS Melissa and Producer Mark mix it up on a wide variety of topics ranging from weirdly-pronounced city and street names to mispronounced words to...yes...peeing in the back yard. PLUS PLUS - there are scintillating updates in the seemingly bottomless trough of new stories coming out of the GSK investigation...and then Paul Holes news...and so much more! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's podcast, Melissa rips a story directly from the headlines in a shocking, still-developing story out of Oregon, where Chef Daniel Brophy - a professor and chef at a prestigious school for the culinary arts - was found on the floor dying from a gunshot wound in one of the institute's kitchens in June 2018. Just three months later, Brophy's wife, Nancy - a writer of romance/mystery novels - was arrested for the murder. But the police have convinced a judge to keep the reasons for the arrest under wraps - at least for now... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Who could have guessed that the trail to catching the infamous Golden State Killer led straight through the brilliant mind of a retired attorney, medical doctor and Ph.D. who took on genealogy as a hobby! But that's exactly what happened when Det. Paul Holes recruited then 69 year-old Barbara Rae-Venter after reading about her phenomenal work two years earlier in San Bernardino. In this episode Melissa explains in detail how Dr. Rae-Venter used her scientific and deductive skills to help Det. Holes and his team track down GSK - and also hear the story of the amazing case of "Lisa," who, abandoned as a little girl by a convicted serial killer she had thought was her father, finally found a family through the work of Dr. Rae-Venter, a dogged police detective and a whole lot of good people who volunteered to help. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kicking September off with a Big Bunch of a Bang, Melissa covers some fascinating new ground in the ongoing prosecution of Joseph D'Angelo, the accused Golden State Killer. Including a discussion of the brilliant legal move made by the Contra Costa County District Attorney to turn what could have been a legal dead end into a possible new prosecutorial avenue to get justice for more victims...a background profile of one of the unsung (hopefully soon to be loudly sung) heroes of the case - a retired attorney-turned genealogist who played perhaps the biggest role in capturing the suspect...and Melissa's take on the Sacramento County District Attorney's behavior at the recent boffo press confab (spoiler alert: it ain't pretty). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.