All Episodes Discussion

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, Melina22 said:

What? I must have missed this one. Is this supposed to kill someone? Isn't it just saline? 

The eye drops meant to "get the red out" contain tetrahydrozoline, which is poisonous if ingested.   It's a nice change from the usual antifreeze in the Gatorade method.

[TVbitch]

Thanks for the tips, but the guy knows I hate him, so I can't just stroll up and give him a beverage while wearing latex gloves! Plus they might discover the poisoning when a healthy 40-year old suddenly dies.

He rides a motorcycle, is there a poison we could put on the hand grips that would cause him to have an accident? They would just assume he lost control. ... ... No, wait, that might hurt someone else. Dammit! This is harder than I thought!

[cooksdelight]

On an episode of Law & Order Criminal Intent, they put battery acid in the gas tank, causing the engine to stall out abruptly. They also put KY in his helmet so he wouldn’t wear it. When the bike seized up, the guy went flying over the handlebars onto a spiked fence. Deader than a doornail!

[Mondrianyone]

3 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

The eye drops meant to "get the red out" contain tetrahydrozoline, which is poisonous if ingested.   It's a nice change from the usual antifreeze in the Gatorade method.

So embarrassing that I didn't know this! Especially considering my father worked his whole life for that "get the red out" company. I'd always heard the worst that would happen was a nasty case of diarrhea.  Is my face (not to mention my eyes) red.

We always buy the pet-safe antifreeze, so I don't even know if I could poison anyone with that.

[OpalNightstream]

2 hours is too long! The deliberate evil episode could’ve easily have been an hour. I had to ff through a lot of it. 

[iMonrey]

I think 2 hours is too long for almost all of them. The only cases that really merit 2 hours are the ones that have resulted in convictions which were then overturned or otherwise revisited or re-tried. Because then you need the extra time to cover the crime itself, the trial, and the efforts to overturn the trial or in the case of a hung jury, multiple trials, etc. 

That said, this one wasn't too stuffed with filler. It was an interesting case, and I always record this anyway so I can fast-forward through the countless commercials. 

[mousegirl]

I have to chime in and say that my favorite two-hour Dateline will always be "Deadly Connection", the one about the evil granola-bar guy, Travis Forbes, who killed Kenia Monge in Denver, CO, and tried but failed to kill Lydia Tillman in Fort Collins.  That episode worked as a two-hour two-parter, as there were (obviously) two stories.  And just to be as shallow as possible, I love watching it because the lead detective on the case, Nash Gurule, makes my heart skip a beat (or three).  

The final scene with the woman who survived, Lydia, giving Keith Morrison the inspirational bracelet with L.Y.D.I.A printed on it, meaning "Live Your Days Inspired Anew", is so moving.   

Edited November 8, 2019 by mousegirl
It's nice to have the actual names here

[LittleIggy]

Karma kicked the Black Widow in her ass! 

[Annber03]

That story was bonkers. It's crazy how far-reaching it was, going from California to Washington to Iowa, of all places (woo, my home state) to the Philippines. 

I feel for poor Jetmark, having been witness to Larry's murder like that. And then to have Sherry and Dennis being dragged into this mess as well, with threats and disturbing e-mails...damn. This family  was ruthless. 

It's not surprising Sherry wasn't able to find her brother's ashes, given how much time had passed, but her disappointment was still heartbreaking nonetheless. Keith comforting her was sweet. 

I couldn't help laughing, though, at the whole idea of Delacruz murdering Sonia for whatever was in the will...only to get nothing. Talk about backfiring, huh? 

[biakbiak]

I have seen this story a few times so I was sort of surprised that this was new.

[Melina22]

What a crazy story! A murder victim who was a murderer! It's crazy that a small woman was somehow able to terrorize and manipulate 2 men for years, purely through the force of her personality. 

[Josette]

On 10/5/2019 at 1:05 PM, UsernameFatigue said:

And as others have said, how the hell did that even get approved that she take them to his house, rather than a neutral place? Mind boggling. I hope the judge had some sleepless nights over that stupid decision.

IIRC, on another show about this case, it was said that other parents at the neutral meeting  place were uncomfortable with Josh Powell's presence, so visitation was switched to his home.

[MsJamieDornan]

Quote

I have seen this story a few times so I was sort of surprised that this was new.

Yes, and I was surprised they gave it 2 hours.

[CrazyInAlabama]

There was an article, I think in Deseret News, that Josh Powell's 'home' to visit the boys was only rented for visitation, and he never lived there.   

I also despise the Powell family for the pain their delusional, vicious lawsuits, and statements have brought to Susan Powell's family.    Suing to get every penny they could, defending Josh and his father, and trying to bury the boys next to the father that murdered them is horrible.    

Edited November 12, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[cooksdelight]

Prepare yourselves for Andrea’s eyebrows tonight ...

[patty1h]

While watching the case with John Yelenic (episode "The Premonition") I played the game "Whodunnit" with myself as I usually do at the start of the murder cases on true crime shows.  After hearing the statement the victim made  that he would be killed and the case would go unsolved, I guessed it would be a situation where the ex-wife's new husband/BF was the killer and that the new man would be in law enforcement and that would be a factor in finding valid facts (either he'd bury evidence or had friends on the force who'd cover up for him). 

By the halfway mark, I was onto the old "killed for the life insurance" and the wife had hired someone/got her new man to murder John.   Ding Ding Ding - I owe myself a treat for being correct on scenario #1.  However, that Foley guy had to be bold to be so obvious in his dislike of his wife's ex. not thinking it would throw some suspicion on him.  I kind of fault that female investigator for turning a blind eye because Foley was on the force.

I got distracted at one point - did it come out if Michelle knew anything about the murder?  Also, did those psychic sisters get any of their facts right?  I zoned out on that mess.

I know some here have a problem with Andrea Canning... as a rule, she doesn't bother me but I did roll my eyes when she asked the first cop on the scene about bloody footprints found at the crime scene.  She asks "do you think they belonged to the killer?".

[LittleIggy]

Premonition: I really hated that the wife used the child as a weapon against Yelenic. That is so despicable. I hope karma gets her...

[Annber03]

5 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Premonition: I really hated that the wife used the child as a weapon against Yelenic. That is so despicable. I hope karma gets her...

God, yes. I feel so bad for that poor kid. I'm honestly amazed that nobody really zeroed in on her as a suspect right from the get-go, 'cause her behavior is textbook. I have no problem whatsoever believing she was involved somehow in his death. 

I'm also amused by the sheer naivete of these people, being shocked at the thought that an officer could also be a criminal. I can understand people who are friends or co-workers of his being upset at the thought, because yeah, obviously nobody wants to believe somebody they've known for years is a killer.

But for the others who didn't know him that closely, do they never watch the news? Have they seriously never heard stories about cops committing crimes before? It's like the people who refuse to believe that religious people can commit crimes. 

I also felt bad for the guy whose father was initially a suspect, and who got taunted about it by his classmates. 

[cooksdelight]

He was killed the day before his divorce would be finalized. As in, the wife would no longer be eligible to receive his life insurance. If that didn’t put her at the heart of this murder, and raise suspicion on her and her cop boyfriend then the entire police force is guilty of stupidity. They should have made a beeline to her home to look for bloody boots, and the knife.

[EtheltoTillie]

We were just talking about the wife. Cop wouldn’t implicate her because he was maintaining his own innocence. She really got away with something. Sounds like maybe she was able to manipulate him very well. 

[LittleIggy]

3 hours ago, GussieK said:

We were just talking about the wife. Cop wouldn’t implicate her because he was maintaining his own innocence. She really got away with something. Sounds like maybe she was able to manipulate him very well. 

Of course she manipulated him (no doubt dressed up in her Budweiser outfit!) The state trooper BF had no reason to express such hatred of Yelenic unless she had fed him all kinds of BS.

[iMonrey]

I've just been watching this show for way too long, I knew in the first five minutes his wife had something to do with it. You can tell because when they start out interviewing everyone except the wife, you can be pretty darn sure she's the culprit. Of course, I didn't know about the cop boyfriend until around Hour 2 because they spent the first hour on red herrings like they always do. 

They also took their good sweet time before they got around to telling us his marriage was on the rocks and he was in the midst of a divorce. I mean, classic Dateline case. 

Michelle really got away with murder in this case.

[Ohmo]

On 11/4/2019 at 8:25 AM, TVbitch said:

On a serious note, I actually think I have learned a lot about men and personal safety by watching Dateline. 

Exactly, and the lesson is "Just don't date."

John the Pennsylvania dentist: See above advice.  I felt this case was very unsatisfying because Michelle was never charged with anything.  She might not have planned or explicitly told Kevin to do it, but she certainly influenced him to commit the act.  Kevin wouldn't have killed John if Kevin hadn't known Michelle.

[Irlandesa]

It is frustrating that Michelle got away with so much but I guess that's what being hot will get you.  I had to roll my eyes when John was all excited he was dating the "cheerleader."  He got himself a hot babe and rushed to the altar before he really knew her.  Sometimes those whirlwind relationships work out but there's a hug risk in not waiting to see what red flags might pop up.  Although, it sounds like this guy was so generous that he might not have realized it until it was too late anyway.

And she probably manipulated her boyfriend in the same way--not that he likely had to be pushed hard.

[BusyOctober]

Another case that would have been done in an hour.  Why do they stretch out these very obvious “mysteries”?  I don’t have psychic powers, but I knew who dunnit as soon as the wife’s picture (in her Budweiser Bimbo review regalia) popped up.  
 

Andrea Canning does bug me as an “interviewer”.  Sometimes she does this wide-eyed stare when asking a question, like she - just- can’t - believe -  it!  

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Of course she manipulated him (no doubt dressed up in her Budweiser outfit!) The state trooper BF had no reason to express such hatred of Yelenic unless she had fed him all kinds of BS.

I think she actually figured she'd get rid of him too and she'd have the money and the kid.

Another question we have--what happened to the first husband, father of the older kids?  After last week's double husband murder, you have to wonder. 

[TVbitch]

OMG Dateline, you actually interviewed the psychics. You will do anything to stretch these shows to two hours. I am embarrassed for you.

How about use that time to give us more information: Was there any sign of forced entry into John's house? How come John did not have full joint custody of his son when all the allegations against him were proven wrong and the judges knew the wife had lied to the court? His cop friends said the trooper played with a knife all the time, did he still do so after the murder?  

If the cousin didn't have that connection to be able to talk to the AG, I'm guessing this never would have been solved. I hope the guy who is with Michelle now watches Dateline. I'm sorry, but she was not THAT hot. 

And finally, because you know I can't help it, Andrea Canning wore the tightest skinny jeans I have ever seen when she toured the crime scene.

[LakeGal]

I was happy to hear that the DA was the former DA.  I blame him for a lot of the delay.  Even the state trooper's boss wanted to get a search warrant.  But the DA turned it down.  Then he said he wasn't familiar with the guy but there were photos of them together.  The DA was the reason this dragged out.   

[UsernameFatigue]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I've just been watching this show for way too long, I knew in the first five minutes his wife had something to do with it. You can tell because when they start out interviewing everyone except the wife, you can be pretty darn sure she's the culprit. Of course, I didn't know about the cop boyfriend until around Hour 2 because they spent the first hour on red herrings like they always do. 

They also took their good sweet time before they got around to telling us his marriage was on the rocks and he was in the midst of a divorce. I mean, classic Dateline case. 

Michelle really got away with murder in this case.

I suspected the boyfriend early on, when Dateline said Kevin was a state trooper, and then that the investigating cop put the fingernail clippings in the fridge at the station rather than send them to the state police lab. I inferred from this that she may have suspected Kevin right away and wanted to make sure the evidence could not be tampered with. As it turns out that appears not to be the case, since she was happy to eliminate everyone else and their dog before finally turning to Kevin. He was my prime suspect all along. 

Also in the first few minutes, they said that when Michelle found out that John had died she thought he died of a heart attack. Didn't believe that she thought that for a minute, but was playing the part of the innocent separated spouse. So of course I immediately thought that she was the one who wanted John dead, and Kevin did her dirty work.

Another episode that could have been one hour - way too much filler. 

Edited November 16, 2019 by UsernameFatigue

[LittleIggy]

I figured it was the wife from the start since I always suspect the spouse! 🤨

[cooksdelight]

Tonight’s preview:

[TVbitch]

😲 All I see on tonight's schedule is a rerun of the Voice and SNL. ?! 

[shlbycindyk]

28 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

😲 All I see on tonight's schedule is a rerun of the Voice and SNL. ?! 

It's on tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, shlbycindyk said:

It's on tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC.

Not everywhere because they now play SNL live on the west coast so we won’t get the Dateline episode. Just The Voice and SNL. The episode is also a repeat.

Edited November 17, 2019 by biakbiak

[shlbycindyk]

5 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Not everywhere because they now play SNL live on the west coast so we won’t get the Dateline episode. Just The Voice and SNL. The episode is also a repeat.

That's not fair!  

[cooksdelight]

Very disappointed the guy who actually murdered his friend got no time for that crime. The daughter is left with no one, but probably better off not to have her nutcase mother around. Granny ain’t all there, either.

[biakbiak]

42 minutes ago, shlbycindyk said:

That's not fair!  

It is for those people who don’t want to be spoiled for ever joke on SNL, I am not one of those people but it’s why they show reruns when it doesn’t air everywhere.

[JudyObscure]

Well  Lake Seminole was my kind of Dateline, one hour with a fairly satisfying conclusion and lots of laughs along the way.

We hear, "high school football hero" and see a picture of a skinny, pencil neck boy in a football uniform.

We hear, "homecoming queen" and see a gangly, awkward girl.

In the vernacular of the area, I'm thinking, "Somethin' don't add up."

Then we hear "Christian school" and it adds up. 

Denise was probably the prettiest of all 12 girls.

So we have a young man with a 1.7 million dollar life insurance policy, sold to him by his best friend, and in a short time that friend is married to the widow. Hmmm. But it's seven more years before the police sit Denise down for questioning and she says, "I mean, I just don't feel comfortable talking about this right now."

I don't mind that the man got less time than Denise because I just hate people who murder their spouse, rather than divorce, because they don't want to look bad to their fellow church members.  Denise  honestly thought God wouldn't think it was murder if they made it look like an accident.  It just goes to show you can send your kid through 12 years of Christian school and they still don't understand the basics. 

[Annber03]

3 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I just hate people who murder their spouse, rather than divorce, because they don't want to look bad to their fellow church members.  Denise  honestly thought God wouldn't think it was murder if they made it look like an accident.  It just goes to show you can send your kid through 12 years of Christian school and they still don't understand the basics. 

Seriously, it amazes me how common this line of thinking is in these stories. There's nothing in the Ten Commandments about divorce. Adultery, yes, which can often lead to divorce, but there's no "Thou shalt not divorce thy spouse" or something to that effect in there. 

That whole "don't kill people" thing, on the other hand? They spell that one out pretty damn clearly. You can't miss it. 

[LizBug]

Does anyone watch "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered" on Oxygen?  It's basically reruns of the two-hour shows but they've managed to cut them down to an hour (with commercial breaks) without losing any of the good parts of the stories.

[UsernameFatigue]

5 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Well  Lake Seminole was my kind of Dateline, one hour with a fairly satisfying conclusion and lots of laughs along the way.

We hear, "high school football hero" and see a picture of a skinny, pencil neck boy in a football uniform.

We hear, "homecoming queen" and see a gangly, awkward girl.

In the vernacular of the area, I'm thinking, "Somethin' don't add up."

Then we hear "Christian school" and it adds up. 

Denise was probably the prettiest of all 12 girls.

So we have a young man with a 1.7 million dollar life insurance policy, sold to him by his best friend, and in a short time that friend is married to the widow. Hmmm. But it's seven more years before the police sit Denise down for questioning and she says, "I mean, I just don't feel comfortable talking about this right now."

I don't mind that the man got less time than Denise because I just hate people who murder their spouse, rather than divorce, because they don't want to look bad to their fellow church members.  Denise  honestly thought God wouldn't think it was murder if they made it look like an accident.  It just goes to show you can send your kid through 12 years of Christian school and they still don't understand the basics. 

I didn't watch this episode since I had seen it before, but now wished I had rewatched after reading your comments. S funny. And true.

I have seen this case on a couple of shows, and have already deleted the episode from my PVR. Was it Dateline's version that featured the mom of the murdered man so prominently? She was such a character, with her long pigtails, but she had a will of steel. In the version I remember the most, she was the reason her daughter in law and son's "best friend" were caught. She would not give up. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a mother like her. 

[Irlandesa]

23 minutes ago, UsernameFatigue said:

In the version I remember the most, she was the reason her daughter in law and son's "best friend" were caught.

She kept up the fight and she was featured in this ep (and the 2 hour CBS version which is where I first saw the case--I think this was the first time I saw the Dateline ep.)  But no, the real reason the case broke open is that the lovers ended up getting married.  Then the marriage fell apart and he went a little bonkers, got in her car and held a gun to her head.  She went to the police to report him, testified against him and begged for him to get life in court without considering that he might have little left to lose if he were put away for life.  The next day, the husband's body was found because he clearly told them where to find it.  It was nowhere near where he allegedly went missing.

I'm surprised.  I saw the two hour CBS version, as I said, but I do not remember a threesome in there. 

5 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Seriously, it amazes me how common this line of thinking is in these stories. There's nothing in the Ten Commandments about divorce.

Ah yes but the stigma of perception is what they care about more than actual religious tenets.  It's like all those people on Facebook who talk about how great their lives are but sometimes you know that it's almost complete and utter fiction.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Irlandesa

[Ohmo]

31 minutes ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I didn't watch this episode since I had seen it before, but now wished I had rewatched after reading your comments. S funny. And true.

+1.  I didn't watch this either because I thought it was a repeat, but then I read JudyObscure's post and realized I had seen the case on 48 Hours.

[UsernameFatigue]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

She kept up the fight and she was featured in this ep (and the 2 hour CBS version which is where I first saw the case--I think this was the first time I saw the Dateline ep.)  But no, the real reason the case broke open is that the lovers ended up getting married.  Then the marriage fell apart and he went a little bonkers, got in her car and held a gun to her head.  She went to the police to report him, testified against him and begged for him to get life in court without considering that he might have little left to lose if he were put away for life.  The next day, the husband's body was found because he clearly told them where to find it.  It was nowhere near where he allegedly went missing.

I'm surprised.  I saw the two hour CBS version, as I said, but I do not remember a threesome in there. 

Ah yes but the stigma of perception is what they care about more than actual religious tenets.  It's like all those people on Facebook who talk about how great their lives are but sometimes you know that it's almost complete and utter fiction.

I do remember the events that led up to the best friend confessing. IMO though, the divorce was due the stress of keeping their secret. Not sure what they showed in this episode (guess I should find it and watch it after all) but I remember the mom's non stop campaign to keep it in the public's mind. I think there is a good chance that had the mother faded into the woodwork, her son may still be buried in the woods. 

[TVbitch]

For those of you who avoid 20/20 because it's usually trash, Saturday's episode "Undercover Girlfriend" was really good. I teared up several times. Bob Woodruff is a great reporter. ...and he doesn't wear skinny jeans to interview cops. :)

[cooksdelight]

Preview of Friday night’s episode:

[Cementhead]

On 11/20/2019 at 7:26 PM, cooksdelight said:

Preview of Friday night’s episode:

I fell asleep after Hour One.  For those that watched --  Was it the husband's ex-girlfriend who killed her?  And I am taking it husband was also involved?

Edited November 23, 2019 by Cementhead

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, Cementhead said:

I fell asleep after Hour One.  For those that watched --  Was it the husband's ex-girlfriend who killed her?  And I am taking it husband was also involved?

Yes, it was the ex-girlfriend, but the husband wasn't in on it.

I've seen this case covered more than once, but I just love watching that crazy-eyed cop get interrogated.  She really thought she'd gotten away with it.

[patty1h]

I never heard of the Stephanie Lazarus case until about 6 months ago when I came across a true crime follower on Youtube who did a series of videos on it. True crime usually doesn't equal laughs in most peoples minds, but this guy does videos on different cases with a humorous slant (he's also a stand-up comedian). His videos on "Spazzy Lazzy" Stephanie Lazarus' crazy eyes and motor mouth are hilarious.   I wanna give this guy some love because he has made me laugh many times.  His site is called "True Crime Loser".

There are various Youtubers who do true crime - some of you may be familiar with Stephanie Harlowe - she does serious in-depth explorations of crimes.  If you want something in the same vain, but lighter, True Crime Loser is probably it.  He focuses on the criminal, not so much the crime itself, and points how their narcissism, or just plain stupidity, was their downfall.  He also explores:  Jeffrey Epstein, Russell Williams, Jodi Arias, Chris Watts, and various other known and obscure cases, which are just as entertaining.  

[Irlandesa]

I was a little disappointed. I love this case but Dateline billed it as new but I'm pretty sure they've already done two hours on the case under a different name. There may have been some new interviews but that's it.

Speaking of interviews,  I always suspected this case was probably the inspiration for a SVU: L&O and given that the one guy wrote for L&O supported that theory. 

I still watched, tho.  I love the second hour when the detective who solved it started to narrow things down and realized the need for secrecy.

It's amazing.  A great cop and trailblazer who threw it all away for a guy she was never gonna get.

Edited November 23, 2019 by Irlandesa