Just The Tip-sters

In the second part of this multi-part series on California's infamous Golden State Killer, Melissa follows the path of the former East Area Rapist, now headed south to the state's Central Coast - and it's here where the now indicted John James DeAngelo allegedly acquires a real - and completely evil - taste for murder.  As fascinating as it is chilling (and not for the squeamish), the story of this phase of GSK's decade-plus spree of terror is the story of a demonic madman finding his true, horrible calling and the deep and unending suffering left in his wake.

In the first part of a multi-part series focusing on the infamous, decades-long mystery of the Golden State Killer - and the recent arrest of a suspect after 42 years - Melissa investigates not only the story itself but her own fascination - even obsession - with the case.  In this installment - "The Early Years" - Melissa pieces together facts from John James DeAngelo Jr.'s youth and his youthful career as a police officer to describe in detail each step of what now appears to be over 50 years of terror and terrorizing.  Each of the East Area Rapist's attacks are listed, in order, providing dramatic, staggering illustration to the enormity of his crimes.  The story is often frustrating - as demonstrated by the numerous missed opportunities to stop the killer's spree before it became epidemic - but also engrossing and compelling.  Now with the murderer's face is finally in the light, Melissa journeys into the place where the darkness first descended.

In this episode, Melissa takes the suggestion of a loyal Tip-Ster calling the Tip-Ster Hotline from Cincinnati, Ohio - and explores one of that city's most haunting and frustrating cold cases - the Bricca family murders of 1966.  A young family of three brutally stabbed to death on a peaceful Sunday night for seemingly no reason - and while some of the clues lead to what seems an obvious suspect, other clues lead to some bizarre possibilities far away from the Queen City and possibly into the past of one of the victims.  To this day no one has been arrested, and while cold case detectives still work the case, as time passes it gets harder to solve as witnesses and possible suspects fade away.  Here's one YOU might be able to help with - maybe you, dear Tip-Ster, have a tidbit of information that you never thought was important but could break the case.  Listen in and put on your thinking caps...

He was only arrested a few days ago, but already the capture of Joseph James DeAngelo - the alleged "Golden State Killer" accused of committing 12 murders and innumerable rapes and robberies over a decade-plus crime spree, and who has eluded justice for over 40 years - has created a storm of media coverage.  Some is speculative, much has turned out to be completely wrong.  With all the facts still rolling in, Melissa has decided to wait for things to calm down in order to tell the full story not just of the arrest and prosecution of the suspect, but the full, complicated, frustrating story.  In this MURDERTIZER, Melissa passes on her first impressions and gives a brief overview of the case so as to whet our Tip-Ster whistles for the full story - coming soon.  for now, here's a taste of what's to come.

In a special zesty MURDERTIZER between full episodes, Melissa follows up on the Zankou Chicken Massacre with a lighter chat about her numerous visits - some with Producer Mark and some by herself - to the new Zankou Chicken outlet near the Homestead Studios.  Funny and touching at once, Melissa relives her thrilling first visit to the new eatery and her subsequent interactions with the Iskenderian family following the store opening, and her appreciation for all the family has gone through.

Melissa completes her 3-part series on murderous men named Peterson with maybe the most fascinating of all - the tangled tale of Michael Peterson...who was convicted of killing his wife and making look like she fell down the stairs.  One of the most highly-covered murder cases in the last 20 years, this case - like one of the nightclubs promoted by SNL's Stefon - has everything: late night hot tubs, microscopic raptor feathers, phony-ass blood spatter experts...and blowpokes.  Yes, blowpokes.  Come along for the ride as Melissa details the story of an innocent man who never gave up - or possibly a guilty bad boy who had some very good luck come his way when he most needed it...

Yeah, he probably did it.  You can feel in in your gut, right?  That's pretty much what the jury said when it convicted Scott Peterson of the murder of his wife, Laci in 2004.  But is demeanor evidence really evidence?  And does it prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt?  In Part 2 of her series featuring three men named Peterson who were each convicted of murdering their spouses, Melissa takes an honest poke at how Scott Peterson - who by all accounts is a no-good, cheating, lying rounder, got convicted of first degree murder with special circumstances based on little more than the fact that the jury didn't like him.  Whether you think he did it or not, the key question of guilt beyond reasonable doubt was thrown to the wind in this case, and Melissa asks:  Is that the kind of judicial system we really want?  A truly unique case gets a fresh look and a critical view through Melissa's uniquely focused lens.

Who would have guessed that three of the most notorious, murderous men in recent history all share the same last name?  Not for nothing, ladies, but maybe if that dream date turns out to have a surname that starts with "P" and ends with "Eterson," you should reconsider Date No. 2.  In this, the first of a three-part series on three dudes who had no connection to each other - other than the name Peterson...and long interviews with homicide detectives...Melissa leads us down the raunchy life-path of Drew Peterson, a choice butthead of a fella, who thought so much of himself and so little of anyone else (especially the women who were unfortunate enough to enter his sphere) that he thought he could get away with disposing of two wives as if they were no more than yesterday's trash and get away with it.  In fact, it appears he still thinks he can.  A real prize package, this guy.  Melissa digs into the details of how the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife - whose body has never been found - led to his arrest

...crusty AND flaky too!  Here's another palette-cleansing, tasty and refreshing MURDERTIZER between regular episodes - this time so that Melissa can catch everyone up on the recent court ruling involving the remaining remains of Charles Manson, now dead nearly half-a-year and frozen solid in Kern County California awaiting this decision.  Melissa takes us through some of the bizarre details and even more bizarre characters involved in this battle, and offers up some of her own thoughts on what REALLY should have happened to Chuck's Cold Carcass...

A beautiful young girl with dreams of stardom moves from small town Colorado to Los Angeles to make her way to stardom...sound familiar?  Vicki Morgan's story actually did lead her to fortune - but not fame - at least not right away.  Over a 12-year period, she was the on-again, off-again well-compensated "kept woman" of millionaire Alfred Bloomingdale.  When Bloomingdale died and his widow ended the flow of dollars, Morgan sued the Bloomingdale estate for palimony - finally finding her fame when her sugar daddy's connections to the rich and powerful in California and Washington DC made for splashy and often tawdry headlines.  When she was murdered before her lawsuit came to trial, many wondered - and wonder to this day - if the murderer was actually the man convicted of the crime, or...???  Join Melissa as she unravels the ultimate tale of a Hollywood dream gone bad.

James Ray's self-help enterprise made him a zillionaire after Oprah Winfrey knighted him - however briefly - her favorite Guide to Self-Realization.  All of it came crashing down in 2009 when three people died and many more were permanently injured at one of Ray's "sweat lodges" in the Arizona desert.  Join Melissa as she weaves James Ray's rise to fame and success and ultimate fall to prison and financial ruin into her own experiences with the self-help movement and Ray himself.  Can't-put-down-your-earbuds stuff, and a telling glimpse into the deadly hubris that can come from fame.

What's more deranged than a TV sitcom set in a Nazi prisoner of war camp?  How about a drummer, radio personality and TV star who likes to feature himself in dirty home movies and gets himself bludgeoned to death in his Phoenix apartment?  Hah?  HAH?!  And that's just the outline of this bizarre tale of Bob Crane, star of the hit TV series "Hogan's Heroes," whose questionable friendship with a video equipment sales executive in the late 60's and early 70's is still the buzz of Hollywood - and not only because John Henry Carpenter put the Betamax to use for purposes other than intended - but also because of his purported involvement in Crane's bloody death in 1978 - something never proven and keeps this story as fascinating as the day the body was discovered.  Join Melissa as she makes the strangest visit to TVLand ever attempted.

The mystery of screenwriter/producer Gary DeVore's 1997 disappearance on a dark and lonely highway - and the discovery of his body a year later - sans both hands! - continues to baffle and disturb to this day.  Melissa revisits the facts of this weird case, and delves into some of the speculation on what sinister forces may have been behind his death.  Hint:  Black helicopters ARE mentioned!

Melissa is joined by author, singer/songwriter, columnist and photographer PAUL ZOLLO to talk about the infamous case of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two young men who, in 1924 stunned the city of Chicago and the entire nation when decided that they could commit the perfect murder and proved themselves spectacularly and gruesomely incorrect.  Melissa joins Zollo, a Chicago native who has been fascinated by the story for years, to discuss the deeper aspects of this weird yet spellbinding story of two sociopaths who found each other in the same neighborhood and attending the same schools - and who may have had a more complex relationship than simply teaming to commit a cruel and random murder, which generated the first-ever "Trial of the Century" and transfixed the U.S. and the world.

They say that the fun is doubled when twins are involved...but whoever thought up that little gem never met the Duval Sisters of Maui, formerly of Park City, formerly of West Palm Beach - and for one of them, most recently, formerly of this mortal coil.  Melissa rips a page from the headlines in this spellbinding tale of two identical twins who thought teaching yoga to the rich and famous would make them...well...rich and famous too - only to be done in by the fact that they were, um, BATS**T CRAZY - which led to tragedy.  But was it murder?  Take a listen and decide for yourself.

Ever wonder why so many serial killers live their entire lives without ever getting caught?  They're CLEVER, that's why.  And the clever ones who do get caught?  Maybe it's just because they want to be caught.  Join Melissa as she investigates the totally depraved, disturbing and utterly brilliant killing spree of Israel Keyes, whose meticulous pre-planning and strict self-discipline enabled him to murder randomly and always getting away clean - until the day he broke his own Rules of the Hunt.

Melissa investigates a murder right in her own town - a 2007 "unsolved but solved" case involving the bludgeoning of Lawana Clary, a housewife and special education teacher whose killer will never come to justice - but whose case still needs closure.

Melissa discusses the tragic case of Barbara Ann Hackman, known only as "Tent Girl" when her body was first found wrapped in a circus tent canvas in rural Kentucky in 1969.  Through the determination of her family and the passion and commitment of one special man who, through pure coincidence, became the force behind her eventual identification decades later.  A tale of sadness, but also of the beauty of the human spirit, and the small Kentucky town that gave her dignity in death, though it never knew her name.

Melissa is joined by renowned spiritual counselor and psychic detective PAM CORONADO, who for more than two decades has helped law enforcement solve a wide array of murders and other crimes.  Known for her numerous appearances in film and television, including "Sensing Murder" and "The Unexplained," Coronado is also an educator and personal spiritual advisor. In this episode of "Just the Tip-Sters, Melissa and Pam discuss the essence of psychic detective work and re-visit Pam's very first case from 1996 - as well as the 2010 homicide committed by one of her former business partners - who may have manifested his own grim destiny.  A fascinating, exhilarating and fun hour-plus conversation.

A delicious appetizer to whet your whistle until the next full episode - today Melissa  tells the tale of Frances Glessner Lee, who, at the age of 52 and with no college education, began a career that changed law enforcement and the art of medical forensics forever, and whose methods are still used today.