True Crime Dumpster

Join TCD's first trivia mini-episode with hosts Amy, Kevin, and special guests Cole and Friday as they pour garbage straight into your ears. Follow along and see how you do with the first 16 questions listed below: True Crime Dumpster Trivia What was the Black Dahlia’s real name? The Grim Sleeper, Lonnie Franklin, also sometimes known as the Southside Slayer, terrorized what California city for more than two decades? Which serial killer enjoyed dressing up as a clown and working charity events? Joseph DiAngelo, The Golden State Killer, was also known as EARONS. What does EARONS stand for? Which serial killer claimed that a demonic dog commanded him to commit murder? What does BTK stand for? What famous author wrote In Cold Blood, which detailed the gruesome murders of the Clutter family in 1959? In 2019, what was the approximate percentage of women who listen to true crime podcasts? According to the data from the FBI, in 2018, what city had the highest murder rate? Have the murderers of Breonna Taylor been arrested yet? On the night he shot John Lennon, which book was killer Mark David Chapman carrying? In 1974, Ronald (Butch) DeFeo Jr. killed six members of his family on the same night. Which horror film franchise was inspired by the murders? What are the names of the Menendez brothers? In which year did the trial - People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson take place? What kind of a car did Ted Bundy drive when he lured his victims in and kill them? Sharon Tate, brutally murdered by the Manson family, was the wife of which famous director?

The Stiles family had a long history of ectrodactyly--a condition that gives the person's hands and/or feet the appearance of "claws"--dating back to 1840. Grady Stiles Sr, born with ectrodactyly, used his birth defect to his advantage, as best as he could… and joined the circus! Beyond that, he was also an abusive jerk to his family. Join Amy and Kevin as they talk trash about the life and death of the late Grady Stiles.

Brock Turner is a garbage person rapist. The survivor of his sexual assault back in 2015, Chanel Miller, is not. She's amazing. Also amazing--Brian Banks--who fought a racist, prejudiced system, and eventually won back his freedom and is giving back to his community. He is also not a garbage person. Join hosts Amy and Kevin as they discuss these 3 people and close the dumpster lid on Brock forever.

Elijah McClain was a 23-year old massage therapist who spent his lunch breaks playing his violin to cats and dogs at a nearby shelter in Aurora, Colorado. He was sweet, marched to his own beat, and everyone loved him. On August 24, 2019, Elijah went to go buy his mother an iced tea at the convenience store and never came home. We talk about this unjust homicide by the hands of those sworn to protect him. Join the other 3.5 million people who have signed his petition here. In our second story--Natasha Ryan was not unlike most young teens who rebelled, but her rebellion went a bit further. Thought to be the victim of serial killer Leonard Fraser, Natasha was written off as a goner...until one fateful day nearly 5 years later. What do these two cases have in common? Pretty much nothing, but we wanted to cover them both in this episode. Give it a listen and let us know what you think by leaving us a rating, review, and/or comment on your listening platform. We really appreciate it!

The enormous outrage and interest of people--all people--after the wrongful deaths of Breona Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have forced the media to report on cases of Black people that normally would not have been as heavily publicized. This intense public pressure makes things happen--like in the case of Tamla Horsford. Though it occurred in November of 2018 and was closed soon after, the intense public interest/pressure surrounding her death has forced the county sheriff to reopen the case and hand it over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as of June 12, 2020. In this episode, we tell you our thoughts and the story of the night Tamla tragically lost her life at an adult slumber party where she was the only Black person present. Normally, we don’t post our sources here, but these are ones you’ll want to know about: Tamla Horsford’s Change.org petition, Episode 8 of Cases of Color podcast, and the website Blackgirltragic.com. All were excellent sources for our episode this week. Check out our other source material at truecrimedumpster.com. Thanks for listening.

In 2002, Subway surpassed the number of McDonald's restaurants and became the largest fast food chain in the world. Part of this was due to the genius marketing of hiring a fat guy who lost a bunch of weight eating their low-fat sandwiches. In 2000, this former fatty, Jared Fogle, helped to nearly triple their sales soon after he came on board. His boring, milk-toast personality and lazy diet was nonthreatening and easy to swallow until, that is, all of his pedophile secrets starting pouring out. Join Amy and Kevin as they help you understand the downfall of this dirty pervert and explain his induction into the dumpster full of garbage people regurgitated. You may never look at a foot-long sub the same way again.

The year is 1995 in Burien, WA, a Seattle suburb. Vili Fualaau is a 12-year old, first-generation, Samoan sixth grader whose father is in prison and lives in a “tough” part of town. His mom isn’t home much because she works many jobs. He has a crush on his teacher he had in second and now sixth grade. He thinks she’s a movie star. His teacher is none other than the infamous Mary Kay Letourneau--a 34-year old mother of 4 who knows better than to be a child rapist. So, where is she now and what has she been up to since her media firestorm that spanned much of the 90’s and into the early 2000’s? Mary Kay, you are our third featured garbage person, regurgitated! Congratulations. You’re the worst. Also--our hearts go out to the people who are most affected by the protests and Covid-19. Black Lives Matter. Do what you can to actively fight our systemically racist system! Can’t attend the protests? Donate your money to worthy causes and Black-owned businesses. Broke? Write/call/text your local and federal officials demanding reform/change now. Call out your racist friends on social media. Stay safe and keep your eyes open!

This week, we finish up our Silk Road series with all the action that culminated into chaos. It's hard to tell who is good, bad, guilty, or innocent by the end. We highly recommend Nick Bilton's American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road which we heavily borrowed from. Also, to keep it balanced, check out https://freeross.org/ to sign his clemency petition and read more about the case from his side. Check out truecrimedumpster.com for the rest of our source material. We seriously spent like 30-40 hours researching this case so that we could be as fair and balanced as we could be. This one was a doozy! Thanks for listening.

This week we continue the Silk Road saga and talk about the next steps Ross Ulbricht/The Dread Pirate Roberts takes on his journey to become an alleged drug kingpin online. Also, one of our favorite listeners hooked us up to an early user of the Silk Road website. We were lucky enough to be able to interview him to get an in-depth look into what it was like to be an early and avid member of the website. Lastly, we discuss a few of the key players that we will delve into further next week.

The Dark Web, not surprisingly, is a dark place. It’s easy to hide things in the dark--like illicit drugs and guns, but it can also serve as a safe haven for political dissidents and whistle-blowers who need the anonymity that this dark place provides. Ross Ulbricht, AKA the Dread Pirate Roberts, used this place to promote a truly free marketplace for anything and everything that anyone could want. A Libertarian through and through, was Ross a pawn in a game or was he the cunning Kingpin that evidence suggests? This week, hosts Kevin and Amy explore the complex world of the Dark Web, cryptocurrency, and the elusive Dread Pirate Roberts of the Silk Road website in this multi-part episode. Join us!

Eli Weaver, AKA the “Amish Stud” from Wooster’s profile read: “Who wants 2 do an Amish guy!” Who wants to? Apparently quite a few women--Barb Raber for one, and also 2_much_ass, 69smileygirl, and naughtylittlesexysexslave. This week, we go into the dark and twisted mind of Eli Weaver, who was torn between a simple Amish life devoted to his beautiful wife, Barbara Weaver, and a torrid online dating life rife with multiple women in the complicated “English” world. Join hosts Amy and Kevin as they talk out the trash this week and educate you (and themselves) about Amish culture, Pennsylvania Dutch, Rumspringa, churning butter, and old-fashioned MURDER. During this quarantine, there has been a huge uptick in domestic violence and self-harm cases across the country. For anonymous, confidential help available 24/7, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) now. You can also text 9-11 if it’s unsafe for you to talk. Or, you can call 9-11 and just remain on the line. Dispatchers are trained to use a series of taps to communicate with you if you can’t talk.

April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain -T.S. Eliot, “The Wasteland” Is April the cruelest month? Join hosts Amy and Kevin as they discuss some of the atrocities of this bitter month and then go into detail about The Virginia Tech Massacre which occurred on April 16, 2007--the most deadly school shooting in US history. In this episode, we honor the victims and try to understand the strange and twisted mind of Cho Seung-Hui, a first-generation Korean who seemed to have everything he needed to live a good, productive life. So, what went wrong? Check out shooting survivor Kristina Anderson's Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools that she created in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy: https://koshkafoundation.org/ It is a non-profit dedicated to helping local community and school stakeholders work together to prevent, respond, and heal in the aftermath of school violence, after becoming one of the most critically injured survivors from the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy. Shot 3 times, Ms. Anderson returned to graduate from Virginia Tech with a degree in International Studies and Foreign Languages, and is now a resource to school administrators, teachers and students within higher education and K-12 regarding violence prevention initiatives and ways to increase individual personal safety awareness. The Koshka Foundation also partners with law enforcement agencies and first responders to provide educational presentations on surviving an active shooter from a survivor’s perspective, and best practices in incorporating lessons learned.

On April 22, 1970 over 20 million people took to the streets over the lack of regulation of corporations’ pollution. Since then, Earth Day has been an annual chance to motivate citizens to do something good for the planet. Often people think that Ira Einhorn had something to do with the creation of Earth Day because of an iconic picture taken at a rally on that first day in April of 1970. In the 1960s and early 70s, Ira Einhorn was known as an academic expert on the counterculture movement. However, he was hiding a dark side--one that abused the women that he was supposed to love. One woman, Holly Maddux, would not be able to escape him or his apartment, and 18 months after her disappearance, a Philadelphia detective would find her mummified remains shoved in a steamer trunk. Join us this week as we go on a wild dumpster ride through from the 1970s to just this month as we talk about Ira Einhorn, the Unicorn Killer. During this quarantine, there has been a huge uptick in domestic violence and self-harm cases across the country. For anonymous, confidential help available 24/7, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) now. You can also text 9-11 if it’s unsafe for you to talk. Or, you can call 9-11 and just remain on the line. Dispatchers are trained to use a series of taps to communicate with you if you can’t talk.

In 1985, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) sought to bring the music industry down, compiling a list of the “Filthy Fifteen” songs that they found too violent, too sexual, too devil-ish, and too drug-inducing for impressionable kids’ ears and eyeballs. Before the PMRC could put labels on all music they found offensive, the Senate agreed to hold a hearing in September of 1985 on what they called "porn rock." Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, Frank Zappa, and John Denver all led the charge to keep the PMRC away from censoring art and music in these landmark hearings. It was a war of attrition, with the artists coming out with a little less carnage than the PMRC. We also discuss the political and social climate that helped to breed the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980’s and 90’s, discussing cases that involved Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest (our favorite), and Slayer. So, join Nipper and Tipper Gore as they go head to head to see who can talk out the most trash on this week’s episode. Cheers!

Dimebag Darrell Abbott was the guitarist of the heavy metal band Pantera. Sam Cooke is considered by many to be the father of modern soul, with hits like “You Send Me” and “A Change is Gonna Come.” What do these two have in common? Almost nothing, except that they were both musical legends in their own time, and they were both tragically killed. Join us this week as we discuss the untimely deaths of these two musical titans and talk out the trash.

Music and true crime, unfortunately, seem to go hand-in-hand. This week, we discuss untimely deaths, mysterious and often controversial deaths, and other elements of true crime when it comes to some of our favorite musical artists. We also take a deeper dive to highlight the life of Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes from TLC and dispel some myths about her "crazy" facade as well as her premature death. We hope you are doing well during these difficult times! Stay safe and take care!

Dr. Frasier Crane and Sideshow Bob have been beloved characters played by Kelsey Grammer, but what about the man behind the masks? Kelsey Grammer has lived one of the darkest existences in Hollywood, starting with the violent murder of his father. Kevin and Amy bring you this week's episode where we explore all the dark and twisty turns of his life. Hold onto your garbage lids--this one is quite a ride.

Kathleen (Atwater) Peterson was a successful business woman in Durham, North Carolina. She had a daughter, Caitlin, and met who she thought was the man of her dreams, Michael Peterson. They happily blended their families together in their 14-room mansion they bought together. They married and lived happily ever...until the night of December 9, 2001. If you've seen the Netflix documentary The Staircase, then you know some of the story. Join us for our True Crime Dumpster Regurgitation of Michael Peterson as we continue to descend the staircase to see what happens after the cameras stopped rolling.

We're finishing up the amazing survival of Jaycee Lee Dugard in this episode. We also update you on everyone's least favorite garbage psychos, Phillip and Nancy Garrido. We're serving up justice, dumpster style!

Jaycee Lee Dugard was a sweet 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped by Phillip and Nancy Garrido in June of 1991. Jaycee was held as a prisoner for 18 years in the couple’s secret backyard in Antioch, CA, but she survived. Repeatedly raped by Phillip, Jaycee eventually gave birth to two of their children. Listen to the first half of this terrifying tale in this week’s episode where we talk out the trash!

We commemorate James Wormley Jones and Sylvia Elizabeth Mathis--the first black man and the first black woman to serve as FBI agents. We also talk about the importance of race, gender, and the need for more diversity in law enforcement and other positions of power. We throw in a few other garbage people to discuss because it’s trash day every day here at the True Crime Dumpster!

Garbage People, Regurgitated: Casey Anthony Since 2008, Casey Anthony has been one of the most hated women in the country. We explore why this is and what that little lady has been up to since her daughter, Caylee Anthony, was found murdered over a decade ago. We will continue to regurgitate some garbage people for you, but this is just the start. Sorry about the technical difficulty this week!

We kick Ariel Castro to the curb for good and celebrate the amazing people who survived his violent crime spree. Hosts Amy and Kevin discuss some of the aftermath--both good and bad. Join us as we talk out the trash!

Cleveland's Boogeyman, Ariel Castro, lived at 2207 Seymour Avenue. This house of horrors contained three kidnap victims/survivors Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus. Their decade-long imprisonment has been a fascination to onlookers for years. Hosts Amy and Kevin dive deep into the dumpster to talk out the trash and put that Castro out on the curb.

What happened to Johnny Gosch? In this episode, we pick up where we left off and dive into this dumpster fire of this sad, infuriating story, full of rabbit holes to fall down.

We're putting Johnny Gosch on hold while Kevin's out to interview our amazing friend, Liz, who was kidnapped at age 16 in Chile. She's done a lot of amazing things, but one that we highlight in the episode is her music. She wrote the song "Shadows in the Dark" based on her experience. Her band is "Dreaming Dead." Here's her playing the song live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_CnL4kICwU Enjoy!

The mysterious disappearance of Johnny Gosch and other kidnapping cases have a tendency to grip the nation. We all hold our collective breath, hoping that we see our nation's missing again. Some people survive while others, unfortunately, do not. We discuss some of the most infamous cases and zero in on Johnny Gosch's unsolved case in today's episode.

Richard Gere's Butt Gerbil, faux-snuff films with Charlie Sheen, sexually-assaulting sea creatures, and Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? This week, Amy and Kevin go deep into some of life's most important questions--did Gere really resort to rodent play? Did Charlie Sheen really call the FBI?? Dolphins are too cute to rape, aren't they??? Well, jump in the TC Dumpster and find out!!

In this week's episode, Kevin and Amy discuss parties that went tragically wrong, starting with the unsolved murder of David Josiah Lawson from Humboldt State University. Then, we will discuss the Party Monster Michael Alig and his victim, Angel Melendez. We hope you had no party fouls this New Years and wish you a safe 2020!

Happy Holidays from True Crime Dumpster! Almost everyone is on the naughty list in this episode-- like Bruce Pardo, the murderous, flame-throwing Santa. We also discuss the 1945 mystery of the Sodder children. Curl up by the fire...actually, don't. Just take a listen. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.

Hello friends! In episode 6, we dive into the origins of Friday the 13th. Hosts Kevin and Amy discuss Finland's most infamous cold case, the Lake Bodom murders and find that reality sometimes is bloodier than fiction.

True Crime Dumpster is celebrating this contentious holiday a little differently--with some people who definitely belong in the garbage with those leftovers. In this episode, we explore the hideous crimes of Paul Merhige and Joel Guy Jr., along with the paths of destruction they left behind on this American holiday.

Amy shares the story of Vietnamese refugee Ha Jade Smith, a psychic spell-caster who was slayed alongside her daughter Anita, by people who couldn't take a little bad misfortune. Kevin shares the story of Jayne Braiden, a fortune-teller and tarot card reader who keeps her cool when the cards reveal a heinous murder. Join the True Crime Dumpster Facebook group, our Instagram (truecrimedumpster), & our Twitter (tcdumpster) that accompany our episodes!

In this third and final installment of Bad Garys, we trash the end of Gary Ridgway's freedom and celebrate the dumpster fire known as Gary, Indiana! Join us.....

Episode 2 (part 2 of 3)--we explore the worst Gary we know, Gary Ridgway. Hosts Kevin and Amy begin to explore the depraved mind and life of the serial killer known as the Green River Killer. Let's take this human garbage out to the curb!

In this two-part episode, we talk about some bad Garys, starting with killer Gary Gilmore and child-molester Gary Glitter. Be sure to listen to the next episode as we dive into Gary Ridgway and Gary, Indiana.