General True Crime Shows

[ApplesandPears]

On 4/26/2022 at 8:14 PM, Vermicious Knid said:

Peacock is premiering "Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run with Warren Jeffs." today. I'm sure you all remember when Warren Jeffs was convicted for 'marrying' and raping 12 year old girls in his polygamous cult. Some of the wives and kids successfully got out.
 

 

Oh yes. There was more to that on another show, but I believe same channel. He left the families poor with no access to the money. They had to ration the food to make it stretch as long as possible. Most of the families had very small children. I felt bad for the kids, not the effing adults though.

Edited May 9, 2022 by ApplesandPears

[SunnyBeBe]

On 5/3/2022 at 12:50 AM, kathyk24 said:

New episodes of Cold Justice start on Saturday.

I forgot to check in on this Sat., but when I went to the site, it only had a clip available fro Dec, 2021.  

[Vermicious Knid]

They are 'new' shows, repeats with the pop-up background info. Some of which are local statistics that seem to be cribbed from Wikipedia. If the description starts with 'Inside the Episode' it's one of these.

The fugitive and prison guard have been caught.

[Minivanessa]

Surely we'll be seeing this covered in one of the true crime series: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/11/1098249869/a-man-died-of-a-heart-attack-while-burying-a-woman-he-killed-s-c-sheriff-says. Wow, instant karma.

[LuvMyShows]

Very surprised to have never come across anything before about the crimes of Todd Hodne, a Penn State football player from the later 1970s.  Truly awful.  ESPN did an in-depth story at https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/32496588/before-jerry-sandusky-penn-state-football-had-another-serial-sexual-predator-untold-story-crimes-fight-bring-justice but I have never read about it anywhere else, and surprised that no true crime shows have covered it.

[SunnyBeBe]

Here’s a true crime mini series on Hulu. I just finished watching it. It’s pretty good.  There’s a thread for it here under Specials.  Some may recall a TV movie about many years ago. This one stars Jessica Biel.   
 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The book about Candy's crime is horrible.    I don't understand why her story was believed over the woman she killed.      She's supposed to be living in Georgia now, probably changed her name. 

[Annber03]

I saw an episode of that "1980s: The Deadliest Decade" series that featured Candy's case. Truly bizarre and freaky. 

(When the episode got into when those people went into Betsy's darkened home and found her dead body and the bloody murder weapon lying there...and then the phone rang, and it was Betsy's husband, I remember thinking, "Now there's a horror movie moment if ever there was one." As if that scene weren't creepy enough already.) 

Edited May 14, 2022 by Annber03

[Vermicious Knid]

Oxygen has a new series starting Sunday, Exhumed: Killer Revealed.

[LuvMyShows]

Thought I'd mention that Paul Holes -- of the Golden State Killer case, the TV show The DNA of Murder with Paul Holes, and The Murder Squad podcast -- has a new book called "Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases".  I didn't read it but it's getting really good reviews.  Seems the crime solving has taken a real toll on his life.

[Vermicious Knid]

Oho. Armie Hammer and Family will be focus of true crime special.
 

Quote

 

The downfall of the controversial “Call Me By Your Name” star will be the focus of a special that promises it also will examine “the dark, twisted legacy of the Hammer family dynasty.”

Launching later this year as part of a new slate of specials from ID and Discovery+, “House of Hammer” will take a true-crime lens to five generations of men in the actor’s family, who the logline says “have more secrets and scandals than any vault can contain.”

“Debauchery. Deceit. Abuse. Addiction. Corruption,” the press release says. “Armie Hammer’s alleged crimes are only the tip of the iceberg. Through a trove of archive and interviews from survivors and family members, the dark and twisted secrets of the Hammer family come to light. Behind the money and power lies a dysfunctional dynasty with its male characters exhibiting all the devastating consequences of privilege gone wild.”

 

 

[One Tough Cookie]

On 5/9/2022 at 6:20 AM, ApplesandPears said:

Oh yes. There was more to that on another show, but I believe same channel. He left the families poor with no access to the money. They had to ration the food to make it stretch as long as possible. Most of the families had very small children. I felt bad for the kids, not the effing adults though.

I saw interview with one of his son son who got out,  changed his last name and is living a normal life. I believe his mom got out also.

And you KNOW what child molesters are in  the prison food chain😏

Edited May 19, 2022 by One Tough Cookie

[millennium]

I started watching Never Seen Again on Amazon Prime.   It's a Tyler Perry production but thankfully he's not in it much and the people on camera aren't made to appear in their underwear (a Survivor in-joke).

I started with the last episode, the disappearance of a college kid named Jason.   I am fascinated by shows about people who vanish inexplicably but they all seem to make the same sin of omission, and this show is no exception.

It paints Jason as a sensitive college student who was minding his own business and somehow vanished while traveling through the backwoods of Texas (I think).   His car was found wrecked in the brush.  It appears he walked away from the wreck and started to take his clothes off, leaving everything  in a trail on the road.

The show floated all kinds of theories: he was eaten by feral pigs, he had hypothermia due to the freezing temperatures and experienced paradoxical disrobing ... it suggested he had run afoul of a drug gang but even the sheriff was like "How could that have happened if he was just driving through? He would have had to pull over and approach people and ask 'Can you sell me some drugs?'" implying this never could have happened.

The show had his parents on, describing him as a good, sensitive son who just wanted to pursue his career.

The show concluded with a lot of open-ended questions.   So I went on the web and discovered that Jason was heavily into drugs, made no secret that he wanted to explore the outer realms of consciousness through narcotics, and in fact was so fucked up just an hour before leaving on his road trip that his own friend recorded 45 minutes of a facetime conversation with Jason just so he could show him later because he didn't think Jason would remember it -- that whole 45 minute facetime session is on a news site now (minus sound), released only recently.  The first five minutes of the facetime shows Jason sitting there rolling joints.

In light of these revelations, it doesn't seem quite as shocking that Jason's car went off the road or wandered off into the woods (plus it has been revealed that he googled "How long can someone live without food in the wilderness?" just before leaving). 

I get the angle of the show -- they want people to become invested in the mystery, they want to be sensitive to the family, etc.   Revealing that Jason was high as a kite when he disappeared or that he was deeply into weed, etc. would probably diminish the mystery of the show and also mitigate the viewer's empathy. 

But at the same time it feels very manipulative and deceptive.   I would think it also does a disservice to the investigation and perhaps reduces the potential of a viewer who may know something coming forward, simply because all the facts of the case are not presented.

I see this a LOT on true crime shows.   Maybe it's to avoid victim blaming.   But on many occasions I have googled the names of victims and discovered that the story I just saw on Discovery ID or wherever isn't the "true story" at all, but a story cobbled together out of cherry-picked facts and a lot of omission. 

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by millennium

[CrazyInAlabama]

I lived in a town were a robbery-murder happened a long time ago (1990), and it's never been officially solved.      The case was featured on several crime shows, and the information that was given was very piecemeal.   Lots of information was left out, or just plain wrong.  

[LuvMyShows]

Did anyone see episode 2 of Who Do You Believe? It was quite different from episode 1 and nowhere's near as easy to decide who was telling the truth.  I think it's a case of each of them having different perceptions, and there being some truth to what each of them said.  I guess I trust the court's decision, which it sounds like was for Kyle.

Observations:

• Given how contentious things were between Gilbert (the mgr guy) and Kyle (the son), I do not believe that Gilbert just handed him Nichelle's credit cards and ID.
• It was odd that Kyle wouldn't say how much Nichelle's house sold for.
• They both agreed that Kyle took about $20K.  Gilbert said Kyle just outright took it; Kyle said something about Nichelle having said that if something happens, he should take the money from the acct.  So he did, but it sounds like he kept it for himself...I would have thought that she meant if something happens, take the money out for her use.
• Kyle mentioned the >50 withdrawals of $300 by Gilbert.  Gilbert didn't deny making those withdrawals, but simply said the money had already been removed by Kyle.
• In general trying to restrict Nichelle from going to conventions doesn't seem like a good idea, but maybe it was a good idea for the weekend right after she had a mini stroke.
• Gilbert seemed genuinely emotional and bothered by some of the things Kyle did that he thought had a negative effect on Nichelle, especially her not being able to live out her days in her house.  I understand his point, but she clearly needs to be under close supervision at this point, and Kyle lives in New Mexico, so I guess it makes sense to move her there,, especially if the house is falling apart and there isn't money to fix it.
• I did not follow the thing about how Kyle saw that Gilbert had transferred the house to be under Gilbert's name, but then Gilbert said he only did it for a few seconds (something about his credit score being better for getting a home equity loan) and then transferred it right back.  But if Kyle saw it on-line, then it had to have been for far more than a few seconds.
• That room where Kyle was speaking from was all kinds of weird.

[LuvMyShows]

I've mentioned so many times when the cops/detectives do a sh*tty job, so I figured I'd mention two things I was impressed with.  One was from the recent Murder in the Heartland episode called "Murder on Beer Can Alley".  A car was left abandoned about a mile outside of town in a deserted area and it was clear a crime had taken place in the car (or maybe a body was found in the car).  At any rate, the cops figured that the perp may have left the car there and walked back to town.  So the cops walked the path that the perp would have taken, and picked up the cigarette butts that they found along the way.  I would not have thought of that!  And yep, the cigs ended up having the perp's DNA on them. 

I don't recall which show this other example was from.  But an unwitting accomplice ended up in the car when the perp was disposing of the body.  The accomplice didn't know where specifically they went, but remembered that at one point there was a left turn sign that mentioned a particular town.  Then because it was night, when they got to their destination, the accomplice couldn't really see where they were, but could hear a creek.  So the detective looked at google images to figure out which left turn sign they would have encountered, and then combined that with images that would have been at the right distance from a creek based on the sound.  He mentioned looking at over 200 google images.  And they did find the location of the body.  That's dedication!

[millennium]

I'm sick of ID shows where they let the family members tell the whole story, from start to finish.   I'm sorry for their losses but that doesn't mean I want to listen to them talk for a full show.  They drone on in monotone voices, they drag out the same old cliches every time "never thought it could happen here," "she always lit up a room," "they were the perfect  couple," "everybody loved him," etc.   They rarely concede that their loved one did something terminally stupid, like a girl hitchhiking or going to the hotel room/apartment of a stranger they just met at last call.   I watched a show called Handsome Devils last night.   The mother of "the Butcher of New Orleans" at one point described her son as a "boy scout" and appeared to sob more about him being dead than about the girl he murdered, chopped up and boiled on the stove.   These shows lose all objectivity when they put the family in charge of telling the tale.    And so many of them use this formula, probably because it's such a low-budget approach.   Hire some narrators.  Hire some writers.  

Edited May 23, 2022 by millennium

[LuvMyShows]

Season 2 of Murdered By Morning has started on Oxygen.

[Andyourlittledog2]

For some reason unfathomable to me ID has decided that we need a seven part series (seven hours!!!!) on the McStay Family murder, all seemingly focused on the poor convicted scumbag who was convicted of murdering him and featuring his family member(s) insisting he is innocent and apparently proposing that if a case is circumstantial then conviction must be questioned. I guess DNA and CCTV of the actual murder itself are the only ways that we are allowed to determine if someone actually committed a crime nowadays.

If anyone watched this I'd be happy to know what they thought of it. I have sworn off ID shows that are three or more episodes of the same crime because they are usually bloated and have no real ending to them. It's just someone's idea to 'explore' or 'solve' a crime and ends with no determination whatsoever. Waste of time. So seven hours of this was a no go for me. Seven freaking hours!!!

[Minivanessa]

2 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

For some reason unfathomable to me ID has decided that we need a seven part series (seven hours!!!!) on the McStay Family murder, . . 

Holy moley. I'm old. So old that I think my life expectancy and Josh Duggar's prison sentence are running neck-in-neck as to whether I'll still be alive when he's released. What you describe is not something I intend to spend seven freaking hours of my remaining time on earth watching. 🤣 Thanks for the warning! 

[SunnyBeBe]

Are you talking about Empty Graves?  I just saw it coming on Discovery+.  I have vowed to not get that channel.  So……I’m not sure I’ll pay to just see that, although I have always been fascinated by the McStay disappearance/murders.  

[Andyourlittledog2]

34 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Are you talking about Empty Graves?  I just saw it coming on Discovery+.  I have vowed to not get that channel.  So……I’m not sure I’ll pay to just see that, although I have always been fascinated by the McStay disappearance/murders.  

It's called Two Shallow Graves and it just aired over three days this week on ID. ID is on Discovery + as well so I don't know if it's the same one or what.  But I have it on my DVR and hoping someone bit the bullet and took one for the team and can tell us whether there is anything of interest or value to it. I had already given up on the three hour or more stuff so at seven hours and with what little I saw of the first five minutes and commercials think it will both bore me and enrage me so I don't know.  I don't trust ID to make good decisions on long things like this. Except for one case I have been super annoyed that I watched these extended one case series on there.

[auntjess]

7 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

If anyone watched this I'd be happy to know what they thought of it. I have sworn off ID shows that are three or more episodes of the same crime because they are usually bloated and have no real ending to them.

For me, with 2-parters, I only record part 2, and figure they'll include enough for me to get the gist of it.
I also google, when they go on too long.
 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’ll see what I can get.  I have ID on my cable and can get most programs On Demand. I’ll see if it’s available.  

[Schnickelfritz]

15 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

If anyone watched this I'd be happy to know what they thought of it. I have sworn off ID shows that are three or more episodes of the same crime because they are usually bloated and have no real ending to them. It's just someone's idea to 'explore' or 'solve' a crime and ends with no determination whatsoever. Waste of time. So seven hours of this was a no go for me. Seven freaking hours!!!

I think I lasted a grand total of 15 minutes before being warned by a friend (who lasted 2 episodes) and then gave up in disgust.

[Andyourlittledog2]

6 hours ago, Schnickelfritz said:

I think I lasted a grand total of 15 minutes before being warned by a friend (who lasted 2 episodes) and then gave up in disgust

Thank you!!  That helps a lot.

[SunnyBeBe]

Ref. Two Shallow Graves.  It’s available on ID on demand for me, so I will check it out.  It’s about 7 episodes!  I’ll post my take on it, after I watch the first one…..probably this weekend.   

Edited May 27, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m half way through the second episode of Two Shallow  Graves…..I’m finding it rather informative.  I’m actually learning a lot of info that I didn’t realize.  And while I could do without the convicted killer repeatedly pleading that he’s innocent, it’s clear he is guilty.  He’s obviously a liar.  There’s plenty of evidence that I wasn’t aware implicating this guy.  The defense team’s words are sort of pitiful.  I’m not sure why they spoke on camera.  And his witnesses lied on the stand. That was proven with Defendant’s own coaching in the jail visit.  Lol.  
 

One thing that people need to do is make sure that at least two people you know stay in contact with you and know if you fall off the planet.  If no one knows if you go missing, it could be a hinderance, if you go missing.  The McStay family case was another one where no one really knew they were missing.  Even though they didn’t return calls or respond to repeated calls from family members, the family just kept assuming there was a logical explanation.  This story is repeated on many shows that feature missing persons.  
 

Even when people are reported missing, it’s shocking how many law enforcement agencies STILL mishandle them.  I get blowing it off back in 1968, but a missing person investigation is very different today. Sadly, many departments seem to be untrained or just plain unconcerned. 

Edited May 30, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[Andyourlittledog2]

It's very sad when no one notices you are missing. But I think it's also weird when someone is fifteen minutes late for work or home and people immediately panic and go looking for them. I've seen that reaction in more than a few true crime shows. That's a little too 'paying attention' for my comfort.

[Minivanessa]

9 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

It's very sad when no one notices you are missing. But I think it's also weird when someone is fifteen minutes late for work or home and people immediately panic and go looking for them. I've seen that reaction in more than a few true crime shows. That's a little too 'paying attention' for my comfort.

I've wondered about that. I haven't tried to see if it's true, but I think in some cases it might be that the missing person is in some kind of tense life situation (usually with a significant other, occasionally with a stalker), and the people around them know it. So a deviation from routine + their whereabouts unknown + can't get in touch, sets off mental alarms. Maybe not even at a highly conscious level, but at that "gut feeling" level - which can be when the mind is subconsciously putting two and two together and hollering "WTF?." 

[SunnyBeBe]

I think that when a family man (runs a business) and his wife and children are out of contact (refuse to return calls) for days…….that’s concerning. You don’t just keep saying they’ve gone somewhere and are ok.  I’m not aware how sophisticated the family members were, but something seemed amiss.  

Edited May 31, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[SunnyBeBe]

One thing that I did miss was why McStay’s father was asked to not attend the Memorial service for the family.  He seemed quite bothered by it and said it wasn’t right.  Who asked him to stay away and why?

[Vermicious Knid]

I was watching Exhumed: Killer Revealed and halfway through realized it was an episode of Forensic Files from the other side. That episode is titled 'The Cheater' and is about the murder of minor celebrity Walter Scott, who left to run an errand and never came home. His wife JoAnn arranged the killing with her lover James Williams, who also killed his own wife Sharon, so they could be together.

The Exhumed episode is centered on Sharon, whose death was initially ruled a car accident. The county coroner is an elected position and the person doesn't even need to have any medical knowledge. Which really should be abolished. But she was found in a wrecked car and the coroner wasn't a doctor, so accident it was. One of the police officers never was convinced so four years later when a new coroner was elected who actually knew how to perform an autopsy he told her about the case. She exhumed Sharon twice, because the first time was without a court order. She found two deep lacerations on her head from a blunt object, unofficially and then officially, to declare it a homicide. That's when they spoke to one of James Williams sons who was in jail and he remembered his father all of sudden installing a heavy planter over the cistern in the backyard. And that's how they found Walter Scott's disintegrating body, floating inside the cistern. James had ambushed him, killed him and buried him (hey, this could turn up on Buried in the Backyard too!), and he had bashed his wife's head in at their house and staged the car accident. He went to jail for life, which turned out to be 2011, and JoAnn only got 18 months.

[andromeda331]

1 hour ago, Vermicious Knid said:

I was watching Exhumed: Killer Revealed and halfway through realized it was an episode of Forensic Files from the other side. That episode is titled 'The Cheater' and is about the murder of minor celebrity Walter Scott, who left to run an errand and never came home. His wife JoAnn arranged the killing with her lover James Williams, who also killed his own wife Sharon, so they could be together.

The Exhumed episode is centered on Sharon, whose death was initially ruled a car accident. The county coroner is an elected position and the person doesn't even need to have any medical knowledge. Which really should be abolished. But she was found in a wrecked car and the coroner wasn't a doctor, so accident it was. One of the police officers never was convinced so four years later when a new coroner was elected who actually knew how to perform an autopsy he told her about the case. She exhumed Sharon twice, because the first time was without a court order. She found two deep lacerations on her head from a blunt object, unofficially and then officially, to declare it a homicide. That's when they spoke to one of James Williams sons who was in jail and he remembered his father all of sudden installing a heavy planter over the cistern in the backyard. And that's how they found Walter Scott's disintegrating body, floating inside the cistern. James had ambushed him, killed him and buried him (hey, this could turn up on Buried in the Backyard too!), and he had bashed his wife's head in at their house and staged the car accident. He went to jail for life, which turned out to be 2011, and JoAnn only got 18 months.

Isn't he also the guy who blamed his son for the murder in an interview or something? JoAnn should have gotten more.

[Vermicious Knid]

I don't think so. JoAnn absolutely should have gotten more.

[LuvMyShows]

It's not just cops/detectives that can be incompetent..it's doctors too!  I am finally watching Forensic Files II season 2 and there was an ER doc who saw a patient brought in who had died in a fire, and the doc declared they died of smoke inhalation.  No autopsy first to see if they actually had smoke in their lungs, to see if maybe they had died (been killed) before the fire.  Nope, just decided it based on the general concept. (Now that I think of it, maybe this was a recent Exhumed episode?)

I like the science of Forensic Files, but the episodes are so short in terms of content (approx. 20 minutes) that you don't get much time for the whodunit aspect.

[LuvMyShows]

Also watched a show, again probably Forensic Files, where the woman poisoned her new husband (seen it on other franchises -- Navy sailor poisoned at times she saw him on shore leave and then when he was released to her care) and the explanation that the show said for why she did it, was because she didn't want to be with him anymore and couldn't bear to hurt his feelings by divorcing him.  What on earth is wrong with people?!?!

[Vermicious Knid]

The whole Murdaugh saga is going to end up as a cable miniseries, maybe multiple series because there are so many crimes. Certainly episodes on multiple true crime shows. Now they're exhuming the housekeeper, and it's for reasons that fit right in with our discussion.
 

Quote

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said last year that it was opening a criminal investigation into Satterfield's death, based upon a request from the Hampton County coroner that highlights inconsistencies in the ruling of Satterfield's manner of death, as well as information gathered during SLED's other ongoing investigations involving Murdaugh.

"The decedent's death was not reported to the Coroner at the time, nor was an autopsy performed. On the death certificate the manner of death was ruled 'Natural,' which is inconsistent with injuries sustained in a trip and fall accident," the coroner's request to SLED said.

[andromeda331]

11 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

Also watched a show, again probably Forensic Files, where the woman poisoned her new husband (seen it on other franchises -- Navy sailor poisoned at times she saw him on shore leave and then when he was released to her care) and the explanation that the show said for why she did it, was because she didn't want to be with him anymore and couldn't bear to hurt his feelings by divorcing him.  What on earth is wrong with people?!?!

That's messed up. Somehow murdering him isn't hurting his feelings?

[Andyourlittledog2]

I'm watching The Secret, a Northern Ireland murder case on Acorn. Two Baptist married folks have an adulterous affair and the man convinces his partner that God meant for them to be together and since their respective spouses are so unhappy with their spouses cheating on them it is God's will to kill them so the adulterous affair can become a proper relationship in the eyes of God and the Baptist Church will allow them to continue worshiping with them, etc. You know, because they'll (the murdered spouses) be so much happier in heaven than miserable on earth upset and devastated by the betrayal of the affair, it's a mercy actually.

I never ever get tired of true stories where adulterers convince themselves that God would approve of murder if it means they can keep sleeping together and being respectable in church. Double points when one of them is the actual pastor of the church.

The delusion (and evil) - it is strong.

Edited June 5, 2022 by Andyourlittledog2

[Annber03]

11 minutes ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

I never ever get tired of true stories where adulterers convince themselves that God would approve of murder if it means they can keep sleeping together and being respectable in church. Double points when one of them is the actual pastor of the church.

The delusion (and evil) - it is strong.

I get a kick out of these stories, too. They'll happily commit murder, but they'll be damned if they dare go ahead and simply get a divorce, 'cause "divorce is against my religion!".

Truly boggles the mind, that pretzel logic. You know God's got to be sitting somewhere watching all of this and being like, "...I don't know how much clearer I could've made the 'Thou shalt not kill' commandment, people...."

[LuvMyShows]

Just finished watching the second part of the 2-part "Who Do You Believe?", which pitted Celeste Beard against her two daughters.  We've seen Celeste's story on many franchises, and there's no question who I believe!

[LuvMyShows]

Still watching Forensic Files II and learned about something that I am absolutely stunned to not have heard about before.  Just like CODIS for DNA, and AFIS for fingerprints, there is something called IBIS (Integrated Ballistic Identification System) for bullets and cartridge casings https://www.atf.gov/firearms/automated-firearms-ballistics-technology.  Agencies upload the images of fired bullets and expended cartridge cases, and then you can submit yours for comparison to find the gun that fired them, and then hopefully that was from a gun where the owner had been tracked down so you can make an arrest.  It's a little different from the other two databases in that it doesn't give you exact matches; it gives some possible matches and then the firearms examiner must assess which if any are an exact match.   The Wikipedia entry for IBIS didn't have much to say, and what it did, wasn't good in terms of the lack of success, but the FFII episode absolutely got their man because of the IBIS results.

[renatae]

Watching "Devil in the Web - Reptile Cult" about Sherry Shriner. I'd never heard of her before. The narrators are acting like she is this super charismatic radio person who could draw in just about everyone with her expertise in production of radio shows. Then you hear her voice and wonder what they're  smoking.

Gravelly, world weary voice droning on about she's in direct contact with God and the Devil, some sort of uber prophetess who is your only salvation. "We gotta get this army going against the conspirators, get off your butts" type of thing. Yes, she phrased things this way. Quite erudite and professional. 🙄

After the first two sentences I heard, I was thinking, boy, anyone with half a brain would have dived for the power button.

Haven't finished watching, so I don't know how they finally stopped her, but there appear to be murders on the road to justice.

[auntjess]

On 6/5/2022 at 1:24 PM, LuvMyShows said:

Still watching Forensic Files II and learned about something that I am absolutely stunned to not have heard about before.  Just like CODIS for DNA, and AFIS for fingerprints, there is something called IBIS (Integrated Ballistic Identification System) for bullets and cartridge casings

There is also SoleMate, for shoe prints.
https://www.officer.com/command-hq/technology/computers-software/databases/product/11506051/foster-freeman-usa-inc-solemate-fpx-30-footwear-mark-identification-system

[Annber03]

11 hours ago, renatae said:

Watching "Devil in the Web - Reptile Cult" about Sherry Shriner. I'd never heard of her before. The narrators are acting like she is this super charismatic radio person who could draw in just about everyone with her expertise in production of radio shows. Then you hear her voice and wonder what they're  smoking.

Gravelly, world weary voice droning on about she's in direct contact with God and the Devil, some sort of uber prophetess who is your only salvation. "We gotta get this army going against the conspirators, get off your butts" type of thing. Yes, she phrased things this way. Quite erudite and professional. 🙄

After the first two sentences I heard, I was thinking, boy, anyone with half a brain would have dived for the power button.

Haven't finished watching, so I don't know how they finally stopped her, but there appear to be murders on the road to justice.

I seem to remember hearing her story on another show about deadly cults on Oxygen once.

And yeah, I don't get how people got sucked in by her, either. I know cults and their power don't often make sense, and lord knows people have brought into the weirdest, kookiest stuff in the past, but no matter how often I see these kinds of stories it still boggles my mind how people can listen to this crazy nonsense and think, "Yes. That makes perfect sense."

[Andyourlittledog2]

10 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

And yeah, I don't get how people got sucked in by her, either. I know cults and their power don't often make sense, and lord knows people have brought into the weirdest, kookiest stuff in the past, but no matter how often I see these kinds of stories it still boggles my mind how people can listen to this crazy nonsense and think, "Yes. That makes perfect sense."

Q Anon, anyone?  People will believe any nonsense once they go down the internet rabbit hole. Scientology? There appears to be something about the human psyche that makes some people latch onto crazy nonsense. The right person, the right situation, the right amount of need for something to believe in and there you go.

There is a series on Vice called True Believers that profiles six or so of these kinds of weird things and it's fascinating. And since this is a true crime thread, a number of them fit the bill with financial fraud and sexual abuse and assault allegations/situations. And most of them cost many thousands of dollars for their followers to get into.

At least Shriner was no charge unless you chose to buy her orgone crap. She died in 2018 I think but her channel lives on and she has more followers now than when she was alive. Let that sink in for a minute.

[andromeda331]

12 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

Q Anon, anyone?  People will believe any nonsense once they go down the internet rabbit hole. Scientology? There appears to be something about the human psyche that makes some people latch onto crazy nonsense. The right person, the right situation, the right amount of need for something to believe in and there you go.

There is a series on Vice called True Believers that profiles six or so of these kinds of weird things and it's fascinating. And since this is a true crime thread, a number of them fit the bill with financial fraud and sexual abuse and assault allegations/situations. And most of them cost many thousands of dollars for their followers to get into.

At least Shriner was no charge unless you chose to buy her orgone crap. She died in 2018 I think but her channel lives on and she has more followers now than when she was alive. Let that sink in for a minute.

I know your right. But it still blows my mind that people get sucked into cults and believe such crazy stuff. It seems so obvious.

Edited June 12, 2022 by andromeda331

[auntjess]

I watched (don't remember which show) the one where the woman who was giving fitness classes at a church in the very early AM.
No one has been charged, but I wonder if they have a good idea who did it, but no proof yet.
I thought this because at first they were showing video of suspect (masked and in full body armor) and a car, but they never said the height of the person, which they'd have gotten from the video.
I wondered if it was a woman.

[renatae]

2 hours ago, auntjess said:

I watched (don't remember which show) the one where the woman who was giving fitness classes at a church in the very early AM.
No one has been charged, but I wonder if they have a good idea who did it, but no proof yet.
I thought this because at first they were showing video of suspect (masked and in full body armor) and a car, but they never said the height of the person, which they'd have gotten from the video.
I wondered if it was a woman.

I think I know which one you mean. I think she lived in Florida. They did say on one of the shows I saw that they thought the suspect might be a woman, because of the way the person moved, and the projected height.

Regarding Shriner, I believe the program did say a big part of the scam was her constantly asking for money and scamming people into buying orgone from (and for?) her.