True Crime Brewery

Barbara Weaver was raised in a strict Amish community where she learned to be caring and obedient.  She knew her future husband, Eli Weaver, from childhood.  They courted according to their church rules. But after marriage, Eli did not live up to the expectations of a devoted husband.  He left the community more than once and was repeatedly unfaithful, making life miserable for Barbara.Join us at the quiet end for The Amish Stud. In 2009, Barbara Weaver was living in a marriage with her five young children and a callous man.  But in the Amish community, divorce is virtually unheard of.  As Barbara tried to hold it all together, Eli became abusive.  He had several girlfriends and broke the Amish rules by using computers, cell phones, and even online dating apps.  But Eli’s behavior was not only hurtful and dismissive, it put a target on Barbara’s back.

Bruce Cleland was a shy, intelligent man who, at age 41, had very little experience with women.  Rebecca Salcedo was younger, extremely manipulative, and very experienced with men. When the two came together as a couple, it was a complete disaster. Bruce adored Rebecca and would do anything to please her.  Unfortunately, there was no pleasing Rebecca.Join us at the quiet end for Despicable She: The Plot to Kill Bruce Cleland.  After winning Bruce’s love, Rebecca began making demands.  An opulent home, no sex before marriage, a Mercedes, a boat, an unlimited line of credit, and the wedding of her dreams.  As an engineer who had always been frugal, Bruce was able to provide everything.  Sadly, no matter how much he gave to her, Rebecca was unfaithful, dismissive, and cruel. But Bruce never predicted how far Rebecca would go to get rid of him and to keep his all of his money for herself.SourcesHoneymoon with a Killer by Don Lasseter & Ronald E. BowersThe People v Rebecca Cleland et al., Court of Appeal of th

In a classic Keith episode of Dateline, a rural Michigan community searches for a young woman last seen at a Halloween party.  The party took place on acres of farmland with hard rock bands, plenty of alcohol, and no guest list.  22-year-old Chelsea Bruck went to the party with her girlfriends, but they left without her.  She had been so excited about having fun in her homemade Poison Ivy costume, but the party did not go as planned.  Alone, crying, and without transportation in a crowd of hundreds of partiers, Chelsea was a vulnerable target for a predator. Join Keith as he leads us through the investigation, finding her killer, and reliving the real horrors of Chelsea Bruck's last party.Happy Halloween and be careful out there, kids!

Richard Marc Evonitz had already abducted three girls from their front yards in Virginia before he took 15-year-old Kara Robinson from her friend’s house in South Carolina. Evonitz had a troubling history of criminal sexual behavior, but his friends and neighbors knew him as a good-looking, intelligent, and compassionate person living an ordinary middle-class life. Only his victims, teenage girls who were used to fulfil his twisted sexual fantasies, knew the monster inside of him.Join us at the quiet end for One Lived to Tell: The Victims of Richard Marc Evonitz. On June 24, 2002, Evonitz imprisoned Kara Robinson in his apartment for 18 hours and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.  After Kara managed to escape, Evonitz fled to Florida. In the end, it was Evonitz’s sister who tipped off the police, setting off a high-speed chase which would end his life of cruelty and violence.SourcesEnd Came with Love, Fear, Horror, Fredricksburg.com, Hall & Pugh, 6/16/2002Escaping Captivity: The Kara Robinson Story, Oxyg

Vicki Bader’s divorce from her attorney husband Seth Bader was beyond contentious.  Alimony and child custody issues persisted well after the break up. Vicki, emotionally fragile and at times suicidal, endured months of harassment and gaslighting by Seth and his toxic accomplices. But when Seth decided to involve their oldest son in his campaign to destroy Vicki, things took an ominous turn.Join us at the quiet end for Gaslighting: The Extermination of Vicki Bader. Seth Bader was a terrible human being who would stop at nothing to destroy his ex-wife.  After getting custody of their children, he withheld alimony payments, had her tires slashed, and even cooked her beloved parakeets in her oven.More than anyone, the Bader’s oldest son Joey was put in the middle of his parents’ conflicts.  Turned against his mother and living in fear of his father, Joey’s life would be upended by his own actions, done on behalf of Seth Bader. The plot to kill Vicki Bader included several people who either hated her or expected

The Murder of Steven BeardSteven Beard grew up poor in Dallas, Texas. He had ambitions to go to medical school, but he joined the Navy during World War II. After the war, Steven took a job at a department store. He met his first wife, Elise, while working at the store. They had three children together. Hard working, smart, and good with people, Steven worked his way up to become an executive and co-found Austin’s first independent TV station. Steven and his wife, Elise, were a rags to riches success story. But then, Elise died of cancer. After 42-years of being happily married, Steven was lost and despondent. Join us at the quiet end for Trophy Wife. As a wealthy widow, Steven began spending much of his time at the exclusive Austin Country Club. A 31-year-old waitress there, Celeste Martinez, caught Steve’s eye. He hired Celeste to be his housekeeper. But within a year, the two were married. Unfortunately, Steve was not aware of Celeste’s checkered past or that she was only marrying him for his money.

The Story of Debra & Christopher MilkeDebra Milke was a cute 24-year-old single mother in 1989.  She and her 4-year-old son, Christopher, were living with a friend while Debra prepared to move into her own apartment and start a new job.  She was excited for what she saw as a fresh start, saving up new clothing and household items for her and Christopher’s new life.  But, on December 2nd, Christopher disappeared.Join us at the quiet end for Dead Woman Walking. When Debra’s son went missing on a trip to see Santa Claus, she was frantic.  Trying to do everything possible to find her son and bring him home safely, Debra readily spoke to the police. But when one detective finished interviewing Debra, he claimed to have a confession.  Debra, he said, had had her son murdered to collect on a small life insurance policy. Put on trial for murder and abandoned by most of her family and friends, Debra found herself living a 20-year nightmare which was likely to end with her execution by lethal injection.

The Murder of Alan HelmickOn the morning of June 10, 2008, a robbery was staged in the Colorado home of businessman Alan Helmick.  His wife, Miriam, came home to find Alan on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Because Alan had been shot in the back of his head, investigators believed that he had been taken by surprise and executed.  But who was Alan’s killer and what was the motive?Join us at the quiet end for In the Cold Light of Day. After two years of marriage, Miriam and Alan were known to be a happy couple.  Miriam had financial issues in her past, but she and Alan had worked out an arrangement where his property was kept in his name and Miriam was given spending money as she needed it.  It wasn’t until after his death when it came out that Alan had his own financial issues and that there had likely been previous attempts on his life.

On May 20, 1988, 30-year-old Laurie Dann left poisoned snacks and juice boxes at several houses, started a fire that nearly killed a mother and her two children, and sprayed bullets inside of an elementary school classroom. After years of living with a serious mental illness, she had made a plan to hurt everyone she believed had slighted her as well as others who were completely innocent. There had been signs that Laurie a danger to herself and society. In fact, in hindsight, her rampage was entirely predictable.Join us at the quiet end for A Ticking Time Bomb: Laurie Dann. Laurie grew up as an awkward child whose parents made perfunctory and misguided efforts at helping her. As an adult, her so-called “quirks” progressed into full-blown psychotic episodes.  But for a variety of reasons, Laurie never received the intensive psychiatric treatment she needed, leaving the lives of everyone in her path at risk.

On November 10, 2010, in broad daylight, a man broke into the home of Tina Herrmann and her two young children.  The attacks, murders, and kidnapping that followed were some of the worst crimes in the history of the state of Ohio.Matthew Hoffman was known by his neighbors as a bit of an oddball, but this didn’t necessarily mean that he was dangerous. He did have a history of breaking and entering that put him in prison once, but he didn’t appear to be a violent person. Then, in 2010, Hoffman’s odd behavior began to escalate.Join us at the quiet end for House of Leaves.  Tina was a working mother, determined to give her son and daughter a stable, safe, and loving home.  Despite not having much money, she had been successful. But Tina had no way of knowing that her home had become the target of the increasingly disturbed Hoffman. When Tina didn’t show up for work on November 11, the scene inside her house pointed to unspeakable violence. And, when the police entered Hoffman’s home, what they saw inside was unli

In September 1985, two Muncie, Indiana, teenagers were shot and killed in their car while parked in the popular Westside Park. The murders stunned Muncie families because the victims were well-liked students at Muncie Northside High School. Kimberly Dowell and Ethan Dixon were found late at night by the police officer who was clearing out the park at closing time. Their car was still running, with one window down and the other shattered by gunfire.Join us at the quiet end for The Westside Park Murders. From the very beginning, investigators were inundated with possible suspects, from family members to serial killers. Suggested motives ranged from a random killing, to a family dispute, to a drug deal gone wrong. Although many leads have been investigated over the years, this remains a cold case and an enduring mystery.SourcesMuncie crime: 150 years of murders, mysteries, Star Press, by Douglas Walker, 3/20/2015Probe Centers on Two Cars, Muncie Star, by Diana Newlin, 10/03/1985Sketch of suspect by an uncredited

Sandra Renee Cantu vanished from her Tracy, California, mobile home park in March of 2009, just weeks after her 8th birthday. It was a Friday afternoon. Sandra left home at around 4 p.m. to play at a friend’s house. She was expected home for dinner, but her mother called the police and reported her missing at 7:53 p.m. Police did not find Sandra that day, but they did locate surveillance camera footage showing the little girl skipping happily toward her home before something caught her eye and she walked off screen. Join us at the quiet end for The Abduction of Sandra Cantu. The FBI became involved in the search for Sandra early on. Their Behavioral Analysis Unit’s profile for Sandra’s abductor pointed to an adult male between 25 and 45 years old, who knew Sandra, lived in the trailer park, and had a history with sexual assault or child pornography. But the profile was based on statistics alone. With no crime scene, investigators had to rely on Sandra’s family and neighbors for clues. And there was one ne

1998 was a shocking and disturbing year for the residents of Port Angeles, Washington. First, a three-day old infant died at the hands of beloved pediatrician Dr. Eugene Turner. Then, the wife of ER physician Bruce Rowen was found hacked to death inside of her car. But were these two deaths connected?Join us at the quiet end for A Very Bad Year in Port Angeles. Dr. Eugene Turner was considered saint-like by Port Angeles families. He had delivered at least one-third of the babies born at the Olympic Peninsula Hospital over the past 30-years. He donated to Habitat for Humanity, cut wood for disadvantaged families, and could even be seen picking up trash on the side of Highway 101. Dr. Bruce Rowen was a respected emergency medicine physician with a nice home and a young family. So, what happened in 1998 to turn these two formerly irreproachable men into murder suspects?

No one really knows what happens between two people in a marriage. But after events in the home of couple Mary and Matthew Winkler led to a deadly shooting, everyone had an opinion. Mary and Matthew had married young. Matthew was a preacher for the Church of Christ in a small town in Tennessee. Depending on who you’re talking to, Matthew was either a devoted family man or an abusive deviant and Mary was either a long-suffering victim or a repressed and vindictive wife.Join us at the quiet end for The Wife of a Preacherman. In 2006, Mary Winkler became involved in a financial scam. She wrote bad checks and opened a separate bank account almost certainly without Matthew’s knowledge. Then, just days before Matthew would learn about her banking escapades, he was on their bedroom floor, bleeding to death, while Mary took their three children and left town in the family van. This should be an interesting discussion today because Dick and I have some different takes on what happened and if the punishment fit

When Jeanne Dominico woke up on the morning of August 6, 2003, she didn’t expect to die that day. She was a hard-working divorced mom of two teenagers, so every day was busy.  After working one of her three jobs, Jeanne would go home to fix dinner and clean up the house for her son, Charlie, and her daughter, Nicole.  Nothing was more important to Jeanne than her children.For the past three years or so, 43-year-old Jeanne had been in a loving relationship with a co-worker named Chris McGowen.  He got along well with Jeanne’s children and they planned a future together as a family.  But in the months leading up to August 6, Jeanne had been having trouble with 14-year-old Charlie, who was hanging with a rough crowd, and 16-year-old Nicole, who had become obsessed with a new boyfriend.Join us at the quiet end for First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder. It was Chris McGowen who called the police after finding Jeanne unresponsive in her home.  Interviews with Chris and Jeanne’s ex-husband were done that evening, but

On a chilly January morning in 2002, 12-year-old Ashley Pond disappeared on her way to her school bus stop in Oregon City, Oregon. Two months after Ashley disappeared, Miranda Gaddis, age 13, also vanished while on her way to the same bus stop. Miranda and Ashley were good friends and they lived in the same apartment complex. They were both friends with Mallori Weaver too, the daughter of local man Ward Weaver III.Join us at the quiet end for On the Way to the Bus Stop. After Miranda’s disappearance, the FBI put together a task force to search for both girls. While some were holding out hope that they had run away and would soon return, law enforcement and family members alike soon believed that the girls had been abducted. Ashley’s mom believed that Ward Weaver was responsible. And she had good reason to believe that. Just five months before her disappearance, Ashley had accused Weaver of molesting her. While the two girls were missing, he dug a hole in his yard and covered it with cement. And, as public

The day of July 22, 2007 had been a typical Sunday for the Petit family of Cheshire, Connecticut. But on that summer day, a convicted felon out on parole noticed mother Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her 11-year-old daughter, Michaela, shopping at a neighborhood grocery store. Michaela had taken an interest in cooking and she was choosing ingredients for the family dinner she would prepare that night. After following the mother and daughter home, the convict and another career criminal plotted out a ruthless home invasion for the Petit home. They would return that night, terrorizing the family and leaving all but one family member murdered with their house in flames.Join us at the quiet end for The Cheshire Murders. The murders of Jennifer and her two daughters Michaela and Hayley occurred after hours of torment and sexual assault. By the time husband and father, Bill Petit, was able to escape to get help, it was too late. This crime left the town of Cheshire shocked and disturbed. After the story made the nati

Whenever we hear of a case of a healthcare professional purposefully hurting a patient, I feel outraged. When the patients hurt are children, it’s ten times worse. The case of Genene Jones, LVN, is one of the most reprehensible instances of child abuse and murder in recent history. During her time working in a pediatric intensive care unit and then in a pediatric office, Genene was responsible for multiple codes and deaths. But Genene didn’t do it all on her own. If not for the willingness of physicians and hospital administrators to look the other way, she could not have gotten away with it and the children she killed would still be alive.Join us at the quiet end for In the Arms of Evil. Genene Jones is the deeply disturbed serial killer nurse who was the inspiration for the psychotic nurse in Stephen King’s book and movie Misery. And her actions were definitely in line with the horror genre. Genene Jones actually took pleasure from putting the children in her care at risk and she got a sick thrill f

Jay Orbin lived to be exactly forty-five years old. He was murdered on September 8, 2004, which was his forty-fifth birthday. It was just over a month later when his decomposing torso was found in a Rubbermaid container in the Phoenix desert. Everyone would agree that Jay had been kind and hard-working. He was a self-made man and a loving father. Unfortunately, he was married to a conniving and cold-hearted woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. Jay met his future wife, Marjorie, while she was working at a Phoenix strip club. She was just Jay’s type-- a beautiful, blonde, big-breasted, exotic dancer. Soon he was calling her “the love of his life.” Join us at the quiet end for What She Wanted: The Plot to Kill Jay Orbin. Jay and Marjorie married and eventually had a child together. But Marjorie wasn’t cut out for long-term monogamy. She had multiple extramarital affairs while married to Jay and she soon wanted him out of her way. But leaving him was not an acceptable solution for Mar

Russ Faria was a normal, working guy, in love with his wife, Betsy, when he was framed for her murder. He was convicted and spent years in prison before an acquittal was won by his attorney, Joel Schwartz. This story was enough for a true crime book or an episode of Dateline, but it was just the beginning. It turns out that the person responsible for framing Russ and brutally murdering Betsy was her "friend" Pam Hupp, who is now in prison for another murder.Join us at the quiet end today for this bonus episode, an interview with defense attorney Joel Schwartz. We recommend that you listen to our November 2021 episode on this case titled "Pam's Path to Prison" before listening to this interview. After listening, we recommend that you read Joel's book "Bone Deep" about this case and his work in getting Russ Faria out of prison for a crime he didn't commit. You can find the book on Joel's website https://joeljschwartz.com/ along with more information on the case!