Just The Tip-sters

Diane Louise Augat did not have an easy life.  Diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her early 30s, she lost her marriage and custody of her children as she was forcibly institutionalized 32 times between 1990 and 1998.  Living the best life she could, protected and watched over by family who cared for her, Diane was living with her sister in Odessa, a tiny town located in Pasco County, just north of Tampa, Florida when, on April 10, 1998, the sister left the house briefly and returned to find Diane gone.  At least one witness reported seeing Diane wandering on U.S. Highway 19 the following day, April 11.  On April 13, Diane’s mother received a telephone call from Diane in which it sounded like her daughter was in a struggle for the phone and pleading for help – and then quickly hanging up.  Then, two days after that, on April 15, a stranger on her way home along Route 19 spotted what looked like a dismembered finger on the side of the road – and fingerprinting confirmed it had belonged to Diane.  But no blood.

There is absolutely no doubt that a new era in crime-solving was introduced with the bombshell announcement in the spring of 2018 that the four decades-long search for the infamous and evil Golden State Killer had been solved utilizing publicly available DNA data and applying the science of genetic genealogy.  In the two-and-a-half years since Joseph James DeAngelo was brought to justice, more than 120 cases have been solved using genetic genealogy techniques and committed, hard-working law enforcement professionals.  Oh.  And scientists.  Let’s not forget the scientists.  People like Paul Holes (a biochemist who became a police investigator to solve crime) or Barbara Rae-Venter, a genealogist and attorney who – in retirement – became one of the leading experts in the field of genetic genealogy…and then there are the new pioneers – those scientists who are now taking crime-busting through the use of DNA to previously inconceivable new levels.  One of those new pioneers is David Mittelman, the CEO of Othram L

This episode takes us back to the Tri-State area (the Cincinnati Metro Area), where Episode 147 took us in an overview of the Bill and Peggy Stephenson murder investigation out of Kenton County Kentucky.  The Stephensons were murdered in their townhome on a quiet suburban street over Memorial Day weekend in 2011 under strange circumstances.  Across the other side of the Ohio River, to the northwest and about half an hour’s drive from the Stephenson residence, sits Hidden Valley Indiana, where in 2018, 73 year-old Tom Biedenharn (known to friends and neighbors as “Big Tom” because of his imposing physical size at 6-feet-7-inches and his oversized, smiling, gregarious personality) was living in happy, active retirement.  A former basketball star in his high school and college playing days, Big Tom was spending his golden years in service to his community.  Ever on the move, Tom not only his money donating to help those in need – even more impressively, he spent hours and hours of his time volunteering, and co

This week’s episode updates two podcasts from the first season of JTT – Episode 16, which focused on the weird death of Vicki Morgan, who had been a sort of paid mistress to Alfred Bloomingdale and (sometimes) his high powered friends – and Episode 19, which told the tale of Grade A Asshole Scott Peterson – who may or may not have murdered his wife Laci and the couple’s unborn son back in 2002.  The Vicki Morgan case took a fascinating turn over the course of this year when photographer, writer and blogger Brandon Stanton began filling the pages of his Humans of New York blog with stories of one Stephanie Johnson, who in her younger days as a burlesque dancer in New York was known simply as Tanqueray.  Stanton’s publication of Tanqueray’s stories have made her a social media star at 76 – and her fans have raised over $2.5 million dollars through crowd sourcing to make sure her rent and medical bills will never be a worry,  But it’s those stories – and those stories of stories – that brings Tanqueray to the V

This week’s episode is the third in a row wherein Melissa looks at a case revolving around a state of emergency – the first two are still technically unsolved – this one is solved but every bit as fascinating.  Dana Marie Surette Pastori, who was known as "Polly" to her friends and to her customers at the Bourbon Street restaurant in New Orleans where she last worked in 2002, had lived a turbulent life.   Divorced from her first husband and estranged from her two daughters by the courts after she had taken them to Puerto Rico to spare them from poor treatment at the hands of the girls’ new stepmother, Dana was also not particularly connected to her own parents.   Dana had recently taken up with a delivery driver at the restaurant, one John Henry Morgan – and the two were living together in New Orleans in 2002 – the last time anyone was sure they’d seen her.  Because she was heard from so rarely by her parents, it hadn’t seemed strange to Dana’s father – a police officer in nearby South Carolina – that his dau

Last week’s episode concerning the disappearance of Sneha Philip right on the cusp of the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11/2001 got Melissa to thinking about other cases revolving around major national emergency events.  And so this week’s episode is about someone else whose disappearance – this one occurring just the day after 9/11 – is still a mystery and whose killer has never been convicted – although the authorities thought for sure they had identified that person…and arrested him…and tried him…FOUR TIMES…  Michele Harris was splitting with her husband, Calvin (“Cal”) Harris, and the split was not going well.  Both living together in separate wings of the Harris estate in rural upstate New York pending a drawn out finalization of their divorce, things had gotten nasty between Michele and Cal by the time the summer of 2001 had rolled around.  The main issue appeared to be money – how much of a settlement would Michele accept from her multimillionaire soon-to-be-ex husband?  If you asked Cal, he’d say

The recent anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001 was once again a moment to pause and reflect on the awful events of that day, and the heroism of so many people from all walks of life who helped remind us all of the humanity we all share.  So many souls were lost that day – the official count is nearly 3,000 – and even after all this time there are so many missing who have never been physically identified – only presumed – as victims of the attack.  In this episode, Melissa tells the story of one of those presumed, but never proven, to have died as a result of the 9/11 attacks – and the mystery and intrigue that still surrounds her disappearance.  Sneha Anne Philip was a physician, living with her husband Ron Lieberman (also a practicing physician) in lower Manhattan just a few blocks away from what came to be known on Ground Zero.  On the day before the attacks – Monday September 10, 2001 – Ron left for work and left Sneha – who had the day off – at the a

Earlier this year, in Episode 130, Melissa retold the story of a terrible and terribly unsolved murder out of Fort Worth Texas – the tragic 1974 abduction and killing oif 17 year-old Carla Jan Walker.  Carla and her boyfriend had just attended the Valentine’s dance at Carla’s high school and were doing what young lovers do in the front seat of the boyfriend’s car, in the parking lot of a local bowling alley that was popular with teenagers.  Suddenly, the passenger side door opened and an unidentified man grabbed Carla and pistol-whipped her boyfriend into unconsciousness.  The last words he heard Carla say before he passed out were “go get daddy!”  Just three days later, Carla’s body was found in a culvert close to nearby Lake Benbrook.  She had been violently sexually assaulted and strangled.  For more than 46 years, the case remained unsolved – there were guesses and solid leads, but all of them fell apart.  All that ended this week when a total stranger to Carla’s life – a 77 year-old churchgoer with a sp

If you’ve never experienced small town life, it’ll be almost impossible to comprehend the now-infamous tale of tiny Skidmore Missouri and the day nearly forty years ago that forever changed it.  That day – July 10, 1981 – was the day 47 year-old Ken Rex McElroy was gunned down in cold blood, in a hail of gunfire, in broad daylight while sitting in his truck alongside his wife, on Skidmore’s Main Street, with several dozen of its citizens surrounding the truck.  And yet, almost four decades after the fact, not a soul has admitted to seeing what happened.  How does this happen?  How does an entire town close ranks and keep a secret of such an unbelievably deadly act for so long?  The truth hides in the cracks of a story so wild it begs credulity.  It is a story of the sort of raw brutality and menace usually only found in cheap novels and overly broad morality plays.  It turns out that Bad Guys who are Bad Guys just for the sake of being Bad Guys do exist in this world.  And maybe the worst of the worst was the

What makes a prolific serial killer like Randy Kraft – who authorities say brutalized, sexually assaulted and mutilated at least 61 (and almost certainly more unknown) young men in Southern California, Oregon and Michigan in the 1970s and early 1908s – prolific?  How is it possible for such a large number of victims to fall prey to someone who is inarguably a monster?  The answer appears to be that the best monsters know how to transform their image so that they appear as the exact opposite – as genuine, good people.  And that is a terrifying thing to realize.  In this, the second of two parts focusing on Kraft – the so-called “Scorecard Killer” because he had a list of nicknames of all of this victims – Melissa takes a closer look not just at the trial and interminably delayed prosecution in this horrific case, but  at the question that most of us ask after serial killers are discovered: How could so many get tricked into Randy Kraft’s trap?  In the stories of the only two survivors known to experience the d

For more than a dozen years, from the early 1970s through the early 1980s, Randy Kraft, a callous and truly sinister serial killer, terrorized young men and boys throughout Soutern California.  His crimes, which included several in other states as well, were some of the most horrific and brutal ever seen by law enforcement.  Kraft was convicted of 16 murders – which involved everything from torture, sodomy, emasculation and other unspeakable acts – and is suspected of killing as many as 67 in total.  A book found in the trunk of his car on the night he was arrested included “code” names of 61 suspected victims – all having something to do with where and how he found or killed them.  Police have, since the time Kraft was arrested, tied 45 of those names (including the 16 he was convicted of killing) to victims whose mutilated bodies were found thrown on freeway offramps, parking lots and even in the middle of the road over his long run of evil.  That sinister book of code names has led to Kraft being dubbed “T

It’s the big Tuesday after the Big Thursday of last week, when our gal got her first taste of TV fame in her home town of Cincinnati – and it’s time to get back to the business at hand with a brand new episode...In June of 1978 the body of a young man – aged 15 to 19 years old – was discovered face down on a back street/alley/parking lot in Long Beach, California.  He was well dressed.  His body appeared to be healthy – there were no drugs found in his system.  There were no signs of sexual assault.  He had been strangled to death.  There was nothing on his person to identify him other than a stamp on his wrist that indicated he had been to a bar or a club or a sporting event – or some other venue where he had paid for admission.  While the crime scene was very near a popular gay bar, it was impossible to determine whether the stamp came from that establishment or somewhere else.  Who could this young man – a child, really - this “Long Beach John Doe” - be?  He was clearly well-taken care of; someone somewhe

Even though Nicole Croom (originally from Stockton California) and Jordan Taylor (originally from Waterbury Connecticut) grew up 3,000 miles apart from each other, both of the two young women found themselves fascinated with pathology – specifically forensic pathology – you know: the science of cutting into dead bodies to see what’s what.  As it happens both Nicole and Jordan found themselves first year pathology residents at the University of California at San Francisco – where, at a mixer held for all pathology interns, they discovered they had even more in common than just their love of forensic pathology and became fast friends.  Both huge fans of true crime podcasts, Nicole and Jordan began to become frustrated with the lack of scientific knowledge imparted – particularly with regard to their chosen field - during all those stories of murder and mayhem.  Nicole began to (at first) joke with Jordan that they should start a podcast to focus on the stories of forensic pathology imbedded in some of true crim

40 years ago this past weekend, on August 16, 1980, 17 year-old Randy Sellers went to the Kenton County, Kentucky Fair to meet with friends and hang out.  Sometime during the evening, he had too much to drink, got into a fight, took a swing at one of the policemen who responded to the scene and was eventually taken away in a squad car.  He has not been seen or heard from since.  In early 2019, on Episode 69 of Just The Tip-Sters, Melissa interviewed the detective then assigned to the case.  Then earlier this year on Episode 121, Melissa revealed the wild series of events that occurred after she visited Kenton County to poke around the case in the autumn of 2019.  Suffice it to say that if you haven't listened to those past episodes, now is the time.  In this episode, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Randy's disappearance, Melissa recaps the case, focusing on the story told by admitted serial killer Donald Leroy Evans, who led law enforcement on a protracted and needless wild goose chase claiming h

57 years ago psychiatrist J.M. Macdonald  wrote a paper published in The American Journal of Psychiatry entitled "The Threat to Kill," in which he proposed that there is a link between three childhood behaviors - persistent bed-wetting past the age of 5, an obsession with fire and fire-starting, and cruelty to animals - and violent behavior, most notably homicidal and sexually predatory behavior.  This formula for criminal behavior has come to be known as The Macdonald Triad, and while the theory is still debated by criminologists and criminal psychologists to this day, statistics over time have tended to bear out its worth.   This is particularly true of the characteristic of animal cruelty.  Time and again studies have shown a distinct tie between those who torture and/or kill animals and behaviors of sexual deviancy, serial murder and - as discussed in this episode - terrorism.  One of the leaders in the charge to convince law enforcement to take seriously the extensive data on animal cruelty as it pertain

One of the very reasons this podcast got started nearly three years ago was that Melissa became involved with her local community in searching for a man who seemingly disappeared into thin air back in 2017.  As far as Linda Cierzan knew, her husband, Will Cierzan was at home making dinner on the evening of January 26, 2017.  But when she entered the house upon returning from work, a chicken was sitting out of the oven,  Will’s personal belongings (including his wallet and keys) were out in the open and Will was nowhere to be found.  Melissa covered this case in Episodes 4, 64 and 120 – the first, second and third anniversaries of Will’s disappearance.  As covered in those episodes, while the search for Will himself is frustrating, the frustration that comes from the fact that the people who are responsible for his disappearance were still free was even more frustrating.  Well some of that frustration has now been dissipated.  On this MURDERTIZER, Melissa breaks the happy news that law enforcement has final

On this episode Melissa gets real about a couple of true crime-related issues - one about those delightful folks who use (far too) easy racism as a way to excuse or further their awful or simply stupid deeds - and the other involving the very nature of the True Crime genre itself.  We start off with a silly story from a detective contact Melissa converses with from time to time - involving a car, a gun, an alleged carjacking, a bullet hole in a...er...um...very personal part of the male anatomy - and a "victim" who isn't really a victim at all.  We follow that up with the story of one Hannah Potts, a 23 year-old woman living in rural Gibson County, Indiana - who, with a couple of idiot friends, perpetrated a hoax abduction in which Ms. Potts herself was the "victim," terrifying her family, friends and loved ones, and tying up law enforcement resources for days - all in the cause, evidently, of writing a novel.  Right.  And what do these two stories have in common?  A simple, sad and unfortunately tried-and-tr

Just across the Ohio River and a few miles south of downtown Cincinnati lies the quiet suburban community of Florence, Kentucky.  It was there, in an average condominium on a quiet residential street in the community of Oakbrook, on Memorial Day weekend, when Bill and Peggy Stephenson were brutally murdered in the early morning hours of May 29, 2011.  And they were murdered for reasons - and by people - no one has yet been able to determine.  Unsolved murders are, unfortunately, not a rarity - but it isn't often that an unsolved case is simultaneously so disturbing and so puzzling as are the Stephenson murders.  Both 74 years old when they were killed, Bill and Peggy were beloved members of the community.  Members of their local Baptist church, Peggy was the church's organist; Bill ran a ministry at a local truck stop for truckers who couldn't be home for Sunday services, and performed charitable work in his home of Boone County as other parts of Eastern Kentucky.  Who would have killed such a well-respected

Sometimes the life of a cop can be filled with danger and even terror.  Sometimes with grief none but those wearing Blue can even begin to comprehend.  But a police officer's day is also filled with a never-ending parade of examples of the weirdness and wonder of the human species - and oftentimes those examples can be amazing in their complexity and/or rife with outrageous (and sometimes gruesome) hilarity.  So goes the second career of retired 20-year NYPD veteran Vic Ferrari, who has spent his post-police life writing books about his life in law enforcement - such tomes as "Through the Looking Glass: Stories from Inside America's Largest Police Department" or (Melissa's favorite title) "Dickheads & Debauchery and Other Ingenious Ways to Die" have made Ferrari one of the most entertaining American crime writers.  In his latest book, "Grand Theft Auto: The NYPD's Auto Crime Division," Ferrari ventures into some of the most colorful, strange and downright wild stories from his years chasing after car t

In this episode, the last of a four-part series on what came to be known as the "Baton Rouge Serial Killers," we meet Sean Vincent Gillis - the "other" of the two evil men who rained terror upon women in South Louisiana in the late 90s and early 2000s.  The "original" killer, whom Melissa dubbed "The Key Collector" (because of his penchant for keeping victims' keychains as souvenirs) was Derrick Todd Lee, whose murders, arrest, conviction and death while awaiting execution were chronicled in the first three parts of the series.  Gillis was arrested for the rape, murder and mutilation of three women in the Baton Rouge area in 2004, a full year after Lee was finally brought down.  But Gillis, unlike Lee, once he knew his goose was cooked, became a complete chatterbox, and with little or no coercion by law enforcement, immediately admitted to five - five! - additional murders of five additional female victims over the previous decade.  Gillis' crimes were in many ways even more gruesome than Lee's, as Gillis t