True Crime Campfire

Join us for part 2 of the Tracey Richter story. The cold case investigation heats up as Special Agent Trent Vileta and Prosecutor Ben Smith take over, and Tracey starts to sweat. And when Tracey sweats, she tends to engage in some truly bizarre behavior. Sources: Book: Beautifully Cruel by M. William PhelpsInvestigation Discovery's "Pandora's Box," Season 1, "A Murder, She Wrote"https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tracey-richter-wrote-to-wis-sex-offender-in-attempt-to/article_90c1d272-5258-5b01-9e77-d7ad9b85ff19.htmlhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/hero-claim-rejected-iowa-mom-guilty-of-murder/Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 2001. The tiny town of Early, Iowa. Police respond to a 911 call from an eleven year old boy who said his mom, Tracey Richter Pitman Roberts, had just been attacked by two intruders while her husband was out of town on business. They had choked her unconscious, and when she came to she managed to get to her gun safe and take one of them down while the other fled out the back door. At first glance, it looked like an amazing "hero mom" story, and Tracey became a local hero. But when police started looking into the identity of the dead intruder, this clear-cut narrative started to seem a lot fuzzier. The dead man was 19 year old Dustin Wehde, a local special-needs kid (and family friend of Tracey and her husband) who didn't seem to have a violent bone in his body. And when police got a look inside a pink notebook they found in Dustin's car, the story got even weirder.Join us for part 1 of this twisting tale about one of the most intelligent and devious killers you'll ever encounter. Sources: Book: Beautifully Cruel by M. William PhelpsInvestigation Discovery's "Pandora's Box," Season 1, "A Murder, She Wrote"https://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tracey-richter-wrote-to-wis-sex-offender-in-attempt-to/article_90c1d272-5258-5b01-9e77-d7ad9b85ff19.htmlhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/hero-claim-rejected-iowa-mom-guilty-of-murder/Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we tie up some loose ends: a spot of bother for Prosecutor Rick Guida, a shocking legal development for Jay C. Smith (and our extreeeemely irate reaction to it), Bill Bradfield's Prison Daze, and our theory of how this crime happened. Season 1 ends with a bang--and we can't wait for Season 2!Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our first Halloween special episode, we tackle one of the creepiest, most confounding, most fascinating cases we've ever encountered. For six and a half years, Vancouver nurse Cindy James was the victim of stalking, threats, vandalism, physical attacks and terrifying phone calls. Several times she was discovered unconscious and bruised with a black nylon stocking tied tightly around her neck. Her tormenter left notes that said things like BEHEAD; CINDY, SOON; and WE ARE WATCHING. Her house was set ablaze. Dead animals were left hanging in her front yard. And the Royal Canadian Mounted Police couldn't find out who was doing any of it. Eventually, they came to a shocking conclusion--Cindy was doing it herself, possibly without realizing it. This stunned and infuriated Cindy's family, friends, private investigator and psychiatrist, but the police were convinced. The investigation stalled. And then, one afternoon in May 1989, Cindy went missing. Her car was found in a shopping center parking lot, blood on the driver's side door, signs of a struggle strewn about. Two weeks later, her body was found in the yard of an abandoned house, hog tied and barefoot with a stocking tied around her neck. Was Cindy the victim of murder? Was it a suicide staged to look like a murder? Or was something else going on? This case is bizarre from start to finish; this description barely scratches the surface! We can't wait to hear your theories. Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireSources (also available on social media): http://www.melaniehack.com/http://thetroublewithjustice.com/2014/07/05/who-killed-nurse-cindy-james/https://unsolved.com/gallery/cindy-james/https://49thshelf.com/Books/C/Canada-s-Greatest-Unsolved-Mysteries?fbclid=IwAR0H8RxwRWMJhyysjUwEmTLkRz1CrR1gxO5g1bqQMYpsNZUZheUoTSbNO68Unsolved Mysteries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yJUBUF0s0UNews report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbrAggQE2EA&t=7sNews report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljymSSBqflUA Current Affair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPZ-G5bFEekBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Bradfield is in prison at last, convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Susan, Karen and Michael Reinert. Now the investigators turn their attention to "Prince of Darkness" Jay C. Smith, who is still sitting in prison for the Sears robberies. Enter two unlikely allies--the P of D's prison buddies. He's been having some VERY interesting conversations with these guys, and they have a lot to tell investigators. Follow us through the final days of the investigation into the Main Line Murders, and the arrest and trial of Jay C. Smith.Sources available on social media.Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, the investigators close in on Bill Bradfield, and he is finally arrested for conspiracy to commit murder. His arrest is one of the top 10 best-ever arrest stories, complete with night vision goggles and a cute dog. Bill goes to trial, and of COURSE insists on testifying on his own behalf. Sources available on social media.Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, the investigation into Susan Reinert's murder and the disappearance of her two children continues. The investigators dig into the lives of Bill Bradfield and his entourage, and they begin to zero in on Dr. Jay Smith as well. Bill's posse begin dropping him, one by one, and Bill does NOT handle these "betrayals" well. Some key evidence surfaces. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place, and justice is on the horizon.Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we learn about the early days of what would become the most extensive police investigation in American history. We learn a bit about the lead detectives, Joe Van Nort and Jack Holtz, and we watch as Bill Bradfield and his entourage begin to crack under the strain. Dr. Jay Smith heads to prison for the Sears robbery. And some compelling pieces of evidence begin to emerge, as the first threads of this intricately woven murder plot begin to unravel. Sources available on social media.Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Bill Bradfield shares more details about his private "hit man lessons" with Dr. Smith. Smith is out on bail awaiting sentencing for the Sears robbery, and Bill tells his entourage that Susan Reinert is in more danger now than ever. If Smith is going to strike, it will be before his sentencing. As for Susan herself, she was stunned when she realized that Bill had testified in Dr. Smith's Sears robbery trial. She had evidence that Bill's testimony was perjured, and she couldn't figure out why a man like Bill, a man of such perfect integrity, would lie on the stand. She knew he must have had a good reason, and she was determined to get it out of him--it was, she told her friends, a dealbreaker. And Susan's actions leading up to her murder become more and more secretive and strange. Upper Merion is about to be rocked to its core by the worst murder case it has ever seen. Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we learn a LOT more about the supposed "hit man lessons" going on between Bill and Dr. Smith, and Bill tells his entourage some dark secrets about both Smith and Susan Reinert. Bill does a few very suspicious favors for Smith. Smith goes on trial for the Sears robbery, and Bill testifies on his behalf, despite his new knowledge of Smith's murderous proclivities. Upper Merion is headed over a cliff, and no one seems interested in doing anything to stop it. Follow us, campers!Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We learn what police found in "Prince of Darkness" Dr. Jay C. Smith's car and basement after his arrest for the Sears robberies. And Ezra Pound-obsessed English teacher Bill Bradfield lets his nearest and dearest in on an explosive secret. The lives of our key players are about to get much more complicated--and much more dangerous. Follow us, campers! Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Odd things are beginning to happen in and around the town of Upper Merion. First, a man dressed as a Brinks armored car courier robs one Sears store, then attempts to rob another and gets away before security can stop him. Then, "Prince of Darkness" Dr. Jay Smith's daughter Stephanie and her husband Eddie go missing under odd and suspicious circumstances. Bill Bradfield is busy romancing his various lady friends, and for reasons no one understands, he seems to be cozying up to Dr. Smith. Last but not least, the man responsible for the Sears robberies gets caught red-handed in the middle of yet another crime, and the secret life of one of our major players is about to burst wide open, to the shock of everyone in town. Sources available on social media. Follow us, campers! Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In episode 1, we learn about the major players in this bizarre true story. There's William Sidney Bradfield, a.k.a. Bill--a handsome, charismatic teacher of English, Latin and Greek at Upper Merion High School. Adored by students and colleagues alike, Bill is a larger than life figure with larger than life stories that may or may not be true. And there's Dr. Jay C. Smith, retired Army Colonel and principal of Upper Merion High. Nicknamed The Prince of Darkness by colleagues, Dr. Smith is unlike anything this respectable community has ever seen, with his eccentric habits and unsettling eyes. He may make people uncomfortable with his perverted jokes and bizarre conversation, but no one knows (yet) about Dr. Smith's dark secret life. Then there's Susan Reinert, a kindhearted teacher and mother of two whose deadly mistake will be to put her trust in the hands of the wrong man. Join Katie and Whitney for the beginning of this epic story of love, greed, manipulation and murder.Sources available on social media.Follow us, campers! Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices