Shear Crime Podcast

On this week’s episode, Kenzie and Ame cover another installment in the series The Killer Speaks with the interview of Gene Meredith. A women’s body is found behind a dumpster, and a strange man lurked around the crime scene and sped off before the authorities could respond to the 911 call. Luckily, the witnesses who made the call were able to give a vehicle description which was quite unique to a van with mismatched colored doors. Within 24 hours, police were on the lookout for Gene Meredith, and quickly caught up with him at his girlfriend’s house - just moments before he had planned to kill her. But during interrogations, it became pretty obvious that something was bothering Gene, almost pushing him to do and say things he claimed he normally wouldn’t. Was this man haunted by voices only he could hear, or was he laying the ground work for a great defense? 

On this week’s Minnesode, Kenzie shares the story of the murder of Katherine Ann Olson in Savage, MN. On Oct 25, 2007, she answered an ad on Craig’s List for a nanny job and went to meet the family looking for care for their kids. She was never seen alive again, as she was shot in the back shortly after entering the home. Her body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag in the trunk of her car five blocks away. You may have heard of the Craig’s List Killer… this is that story. 

On this week’s episode, Kenzie and Ame cover the capture of Aileen Wuornos in the Netflix series Catching Killers. Known by many as the first female serial killer in America, Aileen was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of 6 men in central Florida. After multiple bodies are found dumped on the side of highways, police are frantic to figure out who is responsible. Eventually they catch a break when an eye witness is able to describe two women leaving the scene. Police begin tracing their steps which lead them to motels and pawn shops. Once they get the names of the femme fatales they are able to track them to Daytona Beach. Using an undercover cop armed with a wad of cash in a tough biker bar, they succeed in getting the attention of Aileen and soon after, apprehend her before she can strike again. 

On this week’s episode, Kenzie and Ame cover another installment of the A&E series The Killer Speaks. On a cold, snowy December day in 2002, Earl Forrest wakes up, downs a bottle of whiskey and sets off to his best friend’s house. Harriet “Toddy” Smith and Forrest had been close for over 30 years beginning their friendship in California in the 80’s. Earl had lived a hard and fast life as a high level drug dealer and after serving time in jail, he wanted a fresh start in a new place.  Toddy had recently moved out to Missouri to take care of her family farm after the death of her father and talked Earl into following her. Everything was great, Earl was sober, working full time, and got to live by his best friend again. But before long, a deal between he and Toddy goes sour and Earl’s temper flares, resulting in a double homicide and a shoot out with police that would also end with the death of a beloved deputy. What could make someone murder their best friend of three decades? The answer is somewhat surprising but no less tragic. 

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On this week’s episode, Ame and Kenzie bring you another chapter from the Netflix series Catching Killers. In the late 1980’s investigators in Seattle were finding themselves knee deep in the discarded bodies of young women and girls with little to no evidence pointing them in the direction of who was responsible. Each of these women were known sex workers that walked a busy stretch of highway known as The Strip. The other commonality was that each one had been strangled and dumped, mostly near the Green River.  Police were having less than a successful time finding the solid evidence they needed, and what was collected was still a decade away from the technology needed for accurate testing. But almost twenty years later, those samples would prove to be worth saving. Would investigators finally be able to close in on the man who’d kept their community gripped in fear for so many years? 

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On this week's episode, Kenzie and Ame cover the two-part installment on The Happy Face Killer in the Netflix series Catching Killers. On a cold January day in 1990, the body of an unidentified female is found along a mountain road in Oregon with a rope around her neck and the fly missing from her jeans. A composite sketch is released and shortly after they were able to determine that the young women was missing 23-year-old Taunja Bennett. Police are immediately pointed in the direction of a man named John Sosnovske when his girlfriend Laverne calls in a tip stating he'd confessed the killing to a friend at the bar, and she had found evidence linked to the murder in their home. After several interviews, however, Laverne's story turns more and more sinister and eventually lands both of them in prison. But a few years later, the local newspaper gets a letter from a man claiming he was actually the one responsible for the death of Taunja Bennett, as well as 7 other women. Police now have to track down the leads contained in the letter to determine if this was truly the man they'd been looking for, and if a couple of innocent people were doing time for a crime they didn't commit.

On this week’s episode, Ame and Kenzie cover another episode from the A&E series The Killer Speaks. Dena Riley thought she had finally hit the jackpot when convicted sex offender Richard Davis entered her life. He was charming, intelligent, stable...everything that Dena was not. Most of all, he was attentive to her and offered a kind of support she hadn’t seen before. But this love affair was anything but healthy. Knowing her appetite for meth and openness to involving others into their sex life, Richard would lure women who shared the same liking into three way sex that would soon take a dark turn once the camera was rolling. Not only was he excited by the control and power that came with being a sadist, but his violent fantasies were to become even more realistic. By the end of their 8 month long relationship, Richard and Dena would find themselves on the run from police and guilty of raping, torturing, and murdering two Missouri women in 2006. 

On this week’s episode, Kenzie and Ame discuss the case of the one punch assault by Brandon Joyner from the A&E series Accused: Guilty or Innocent. Brandon was your typical 20 year old college student, working a part time job, attending classes, hanging out with friends and living at home with his mom and dad. One evening, he and his friends were together in his front yard when they hear neighbor David Turner, in a drunken rage, throwing his disabled son-in-law down the front steps of his porch. Being a Good Samaritan, Brandon walks across the street to assist the man they call New York into his vehicle and away from Turner’s anger. But filled with the liquid courage, 65 year old Turner’s aggression focuses on the next big challenge in his way: Brandon. Without much consideration, and scared for his own well being, Brandon throws a punch that knocks David Turner to the ground and results in a traumatic brain injury that changes the course of his life forever. Now, Brandon is looking at being prosecuted by the state and faces up to 20 years behind bars if he can’t prove this was done in self-defense. 

On this week’s Minne-sode, Ame shares the case of the murder of 19-year-old Katie Poirier of Moose Lake, MN. Katie was working at a gas station in her small town late at night when a man comes in and forces her out of the store. Video surveillance shows her grabbing at her throat which makes police think she may have had something tied around her neck. The video was clear enough to give a decent description of the suspect including what he’d been wearing. An eye witness saw a vehicle and was even able to give a partial plate to investigators. Very soon, a man by the name of Donald Blom is identified and his very dark past is arrested while driving home from a camping trip and his property is searched for human remains, but a fire pit on the property did reveal a human tooth and bone fragments. Shortly after, he confesses to abducting Katie, strangling her, and burning her body on his property. 

On this week’s episode, Ame and Kenzie share the story of the murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers as told by the series Killer Cases on Hulu. Dr. Sievers was a beloved wife, mother, and holistic family physician with her own successful practice in sunny Florida. After returning home from a trip to Connecticut to visit family and celebrate her mother’s birthday, she is met by two men lying in wait inside of her home. The next morning, prompted by her not showing up for work, her neighbor comes upon her brutally murdered body on the floor of her kitchen, with a blood covered hammer nearby. With little to no evidence left behind, the case looks like it may be impossible to solve. But a phone call on a tip line lead police to a small town in Missouri and points the finger at two career criminals as the ones responsible for her death. It doesn’t take long, however, for a trail to appear that links these men as being lifelong friends with Dr. Sievers husband, Mark. Now looking like a murder-for-hire job, investigators scramble for evidence and prosecutors use testimony from one of the convicted killers to charge Mark for being the brains behind the whole operation. Will they have enough proof to put him away? 

On this week’s episode, Kenzie and Ame cover another installment in the series The Killer Speaks. Robert Lopez was a career criminal with a terrible temper. This internal anger mixed with a low self esteem was a dangerous mixture for anyone who got on his bad side. Unfortunately, the ones to find that out were his much younger girlfriends, Libby Williams and Brandi Bernard. At the age of 22, Lopez attacked Libby with a knife when she tried to end their relationship, permanently scarring her face and barely leaving her alive. He’d go to prison and serve many years after pleading to a lesser charge only to be released and free to find his next victim. Lopez soon fell in love with a 19-year-old Brandi, and after some time they learned she was pregnant. Unable to believe the baby was his or the knowledge that he would have to share her affection, he began a downward spiral of abuse and anger. When he could handle no more, he attacked the young girl with a hammer in their home, making sure to finish the job this time.

On this week’s episode, Ame and Kenzie cover another installment in the series Accused: Guilty or Innocent. Danita Tutt was a wife and mother in Texas who spent many days and hours in the hospital caring for their son Colby, who had been born 3 months prematurely and had a laundry list of health issues because of that. As Colby grew up, numerous surgeries and interventions were done to help assist his GI tract with consuming food and eliminating waste properly. At one point, however, Danita and her family are told that there was no more that could be done for the 13 year old boy and that hospice was the best option for him. Stunned and heartbroken, the family tried their best to follow the instructions of hospice nurse Connie, who helped take care of the child in what was supposed to be his final days. But when Colby seems to get better, suddenly fingers are pointed at Danita and she is accused of deliberately starving her son and coercing surgeons into performing unnecessary operations on him. Could this mother have been silently planning the demise of her own child, or were the people in charge of his medical needs painting a picture of a mentally ill mother with evil in her veins?

On this week’s Minnesota based episode, Kenzie shares the story of the murder of Haile Kifer and Nicholas Brady. In 2012 on Thanksgiving in Little Falls, the two cousins decided to break into the home of Byron Smith, a 65-year-old recluse. With a background in the state department, he was trained and always on alert. He began wearing a holster with a gun on himself even at home due to having his home burglarized over a half dozen times in the months leading up to this day. After installing security cameras in his home and on his property, he identified Haile and Nicholas as being repeat offenders to some of the recent burglaries. Having had enough, Byron would go on to set a trap for the teenagers that would end in both of them being shot, at point blank range, inside his home that November day. 

On this week's episode, Kenzie and Ame cover the case of Todd Mullis in the series Killer Cases on Hulu. Todd and his wife Amy lived in and operated a hog farm in rural Iowa along with their three children. What looked like a happy marriage to the family, was known otherwise as toxic by the small town gossip. Amy had been involved in more than one extra marital affair, while Todd was said to be quite a violent and scary man. One mid-November day, Todd and their eldest son Trysten were working in a barn while Amy was in their red shed about 100 yards away. Unfortunately, that would be the day that 13-year-old Trysten would find his mother with a corn rake in her back, clinging to life. A 911 call and a frantic ride to the hospital wouldn't be enough to save her life. But investigators would soon question the explanation of a freak farm accident when the autopsy reveals six puncture wounds from a four pronged rake. Was a jealous lover to blame, or is it always the husband?

On this week's episode, Ame and Kenzie cover the story of Maksim Gelman from the A&E series The Killer Speaks. At 23-years-old, Max, who went by Wes on the streets, was a cocaine dealing and PCP using character with visions of grandeur. One day in early February 2011, the chronic drug use caught up with him in the form of paranoia as he's convinced himself that the feds were onto his dealings and after him. In an attempt to flee Brooklyn, he winds up at his mother's house in search of his passport. A confrontation with his stepfather that morning would change the course of his life as Max would go on to stab the man 55 times, his mother bearing witness to it all, leaving Gelman on the run. That would be the beginning of a 28-hour anger and revenge spree that would leave 4 people dead and another 4 people injured, some clinging to life. An all points bulletin goes out over the city of New York for the man the media has dubbed 'Mad Max'. After he's arrested, many wonder if the lack of remorse was due to the anger inside of him, or was this truly the work of an insane mad man?

On this week's episode, Kenzie and Ame share the story of Bryan Lawson, a man who shot and killed his wife in their small apartment. The A&E series Accused: Guilty or Innocent follows those convicted of crimes that aren't so black and white. Bryan could have had the book thrown at him without a blink of an eye had it not been for the indoor surveillance cameras the couple had installed that caught the entire event on tape. Domestic violence can come in many shapes and sizes, and with the help of his defense team, Bryan works to build a case showing his actions that day against wife Chandra were warranted. Video tape of just before the fatal shooting clearly displays his wife physically assaulting him and berating him while their small child is in the back room. Will this be enough to convince a judge that he did it in fear for his life, or did he set the whole thing up to look innocent?

What have we been up to, you ask? Or maybe you didn't...either way, we are throwing in this bonus episode to give you the details of the major events that occurred in the month of August: the birth of Gabriel, and the incredible trip to Ireland! While true crime is our favorite subject to cover, sometimes we like to release a show without the darkness to remind everyone that life is beautiful and has many things to be grateful for!

This week, Ame and Kenzie cover the brand new documentary Vanessa Guillen: Remember Her Name. Vanessa was a 20-year-old United States Army soldier who was brutally murdered inside Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas on April 22, 2020. After having been missing for over 2 months (with little help from the military) her family, friends, and the community take charge and lead a search that would ultimately end in her remains being found in a horrific method of disposal. But it wasn't long after her disappearance that a lone suspect was identified and put on 24/7 watch. Specialist Aaron Robinson knew he was cornered the moment her body was discovered and he fled the base with authorities on his tail, which ended in him taking his own life. Any answers we would have had died that day along with Robinson. Vanessa's family would go on to demand change in the military and how situations of sexual harassment and assault are handled by the government we entrust our soldier's lives with. The bright light in this story shines upon an immigrant family who fought hard and has since forced the spotlight on these issues within our United States Military. 

Kenzie and Ame dive in this week to another episode from the A&E series Cults and Extreme Belief: Jehovah's Witnesses. While many are familiar with the nicely dressed and friendly faces who may have come to your door offering religious pamphlets, few know just how secretive this group can be. Romy Maple was born and raised in the organization as a 4th generation Jehovah's Witness. Growing up, she often felt scared and anxious, constantly being told that the end of the world was upon them. She wasn't allowed to celebrate birthdays, attend holiday parties in school, or even to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. Besides feeling like her childhood had been robbed from her, she also grew up being sexually molested by another member beginning at the age of 4. When repeated efforts to tell the elders were ignored and rejected, she began questioning what else could be going on to others without a voice to be heard. 

This week, Ame shares the story of the kidnapping and torture of high school math teacher Mary Stauffer. On May 16th, 1980, Mary and her 8 year old daughter were leaving a beauty salon in Roseville when a man appeared out of nowhere and forced the two into his car at gunpoint. The kidnapper held them hostage in a closet at his home for nearly 6 weeks. He confessed to Mary how he'd been looking for her for years and began raping her daily, video taping the events, with some of them lasting for hours. When his affections were not returned, he's try to strangle her daughter in front of her to make her comply. The entire time he held Mary and her daughter captive, he went on with his daily life and work schedule as if nothing was happening behind closed doors. Finally, on July 7th, still chained to her daughter, Mary was able to break free from the closet and call for police. Although they were rescued and the man was caught and charged, one innocent soul wouldn't be so lucky to make it back home. 

This week on Shear Crime, Ame and Kenzie share the wildly unknown case of ice cold Levi King. At the age of 23, this rage filled young man breaks into his abusive father's gun cabinet and takes off on a 24-hour rampage armed with an AK47, a 9MM handgun, and a hunting rifle. With a history of arson and animal cruelty, this was hardly the person you'd want lurking in your home when you didn't know it. Claiming the lives of two people down the road from his childhood home in Pineville, Missouri would quickly reveal something to Levi: utter peace and stillness of the anger that was constantly building inside of him. But that feeling wouldn't last forever. After driving all day and night, he found a remote farmhouse in Palma, Texas and murdered the family inside while they slept in their beds. Only this time, his emotional relief was not happening like it had the first time he'd taken a life. With no other options, he fled to Mexico. But a mix up in directions would land him in the custody of the American criminal justice system and Levi would soon face a victim he'd unknowingly left alive in front of a jury of his peers. 

Kenzie and Ame are back with another full length episode! This week, the girls cover the Netflix documentary Tread. Marvin Heemeyer was a master welder with his own muffler shop in a small town in the mountains of Colorado. After being pushed to his breaking point, Marv decided that not even his love for snowmobiling could keep him content in a town he felt was against his every move. In the quiet of the night, he spent months fortifying a sixty-three-ton bulldozer with steel and concrete, fueled by thoughts of revenge. Once loose and fixated on his anger, Marv took off on a 2 hour long rampage that flattened and destroyed several businesses and homes in the town of Granby. Police and military were completely ineffective in stopping the behemoth of a machine and after 8 million dollars of damages, the town feared Marv's temper may leave them with nothing but ruins of what once had been a quiet and peaceful place to live. 

Ame and Kenzie are back with another full length episode and this week they are covering the Netflix documentary Amanda Knox. Innocent until proven guilty is something we've all heard... but what if the crime takes place in another country and the officials in charge misread your every move and statements as admissions of guilt? Amanda Knox moved to Italy for a study abroad program and quickly fell in love with everything the experience had to offer. She made fast friends and even became involved with a young Italian man named Raffaele. Their love affair was fast and furious, as most young love can be, but before they could make it to a single anniversary, both were charged in the brutal murder of Amanda's English housemate, Meredith Kercher. With pressure from the entire world weighing on the shoulders of local police and prosecution to locate and arrest the person or people involved in the attack, Amanda and Raffaele quickly found their worlds turned upside down. The next 8 years would prove to be a rollercoaster of salacious tabloids, finger pointing, mishandled evidence and mind games all in the name of "justice".

This week, Kenzie and Ame are covering the documentary Truth and Lies: The Menendez Brothers - American Sons, American Murderers, found on Hulu. Erik and Lyle were convicted in 1996 for planning and carrying out the brutal murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez in their Beverly Hills mansion on a quiet Sunday evening. When the crime scene resembled that of a mafia hit job, the boys decided to keep the truth from the authorities. Not only did they seem to get away with murder for 6+ months, they also made is hard to ignore all they had gained from a monetary standpoint by the deaths of their mother and father through the payout of life insurance policies. When the truth is finally spoken to a psychologist, and leaked to investigators, the world would finally find out the truth of what happened to the Hollywood mogul and his wife. Since their confessions had been taped, the brother's only hope for a defense was to convince the jury of why they felt that their parents needed to be killed. Allegations of sexual abuse and molestation at the hands of their father was the most shocking claim that came about in court as to a motive. With the boys facing the death penalty, would this be enough to simply keep them behind bars?

This week, Ame and Kenzie bring you another episode from the A&E series Cults and Extreme Belief: Children of God. Founder David Berg set out in the late 60's with the vision of preaching an apocalyptic creed through the use of musically talented evangelists in an effort to build a Christian commune. Before long, his teachings were found worldwide, and reached the ears of young and old alike. But things started to get weird when David, who referred to himself as Father or Moses, began encouraging things like "flirty fishing" - a type of prostitution in order to raise funds for the organization. Not satisfied with the exploitation of the adults he led, he soon focused on the children and made things like videotaped stripteases, naked communion, and sex with minors a normality. In this episode we hear from Amy Bril, one of the first children born into the cult, and what she endured as well as witnessed during her time inside. Her story, along with a few others, helps to shed light on one of the biggest issues plaguing survivors of the Children of God: their massive suicide rate. 

This week, Kenzie and Ame discuss the Netflix documentary Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. What happens when a once popular music artist and a young, tech entrepreneur walk into a bar? They invite a bunch of known Instagram influencers, get super wasted, film the whole thing, and release a promotional video advertising a weekend music festival in paradise where you can live like a rockstar for a few thousand dollars. Unfortunately, this unlikely pair had no idea what they were doing, and the ring leader wouldn't take advice or "no" for an answer. Before long, it was evident that this festival wouldn't be the experience that it was hyped up to be. Festival attendees would soon find out that the paradise they thought they had purchased was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Social media posts went viral, leaving the Fyre Festival in a pile of ashes in which co-founders Ja Rule and Billy Mcfarland walked away from without explanation or apology.

This week, Kenzie and Ame discuss the episode in the A&E series Cults and Extreme Belief: NXIVM. We hear from a former cult member, Sarah Edmondson on what her 12+ years inside the organization was like. She'd come to learn about a group of people focused on self improvement and living up to their highest potential and was instantly hooked. Surrounded by positive, smiling and successful people, she quickly decided she wanted to be involved at a higher level. With her estimated number of recruits being close to 2,000 people, she never imagined the cult's founder and leader, Keith Raniere, had ulterior motives in mind. Soon Sarah found herself being initiated into sub-groups within NXIVM, where she was expected to engage in a slave/master relationship (all heavily promoted by Smallville actress Allison Mack). What she didn't realize was that not only was she expected to give several intimate pieces of her life in exchange for her loyalty and silence, she was also to give some of her flesh in the form of a branding. This is the story of how she managed to escape the universal sex-ring cult known as NXIVM.

The girls are back and this week Kenzie tells Ame the story of the Accent Signage Systems Massacre in Minneapolis. On the afternoon of September 27th, 2012, a former employee walks into the sign-making business wielding a Glock 9mm pistol with on thing on his mind: revenge. This quiet and socially awkward employee had been informed he was being let go and decided if he went down, others were going with him. By the end of the day, 7 people lost their lives and 2 others were injured in the murder-suicide that took place that afternoon, making this the largest workplace killing in Minnesota history.

Kenzie and Ame are back with the final installment of the Casey Anthony series on ID's - An American Murder Mystery. This week, we head back to the courtroom and see just how low defense attorney Jose Baez will go to get his client Casey off on the 1st degree murder charge in the death of her 2 year old daughter Caylee. Baez throws doubt on each and every piece of forensic evidence, and make a mockery of any expert the Prosecution had called on for testimony. The jury takes less than 11 hours to come back with a verdict that no one saw coming. But that wasn't the end of legal trouble for alleged child murderer, Casey Anthony. Lawsuits, bankruptcy, and anything else she deserved, came fast & furious. Rumors then began to circulate that she had been paying Baez in unconventional ways when it came to his legal services. In the end, we hear an exclusive interview from her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, and get their opinions on what they think happened to their lovely granddaughter in her final day on Earth.

Ame and Kenzie are back with part 2 of the Casey Anthony series on ID's - An American Murder Mystery. This week, we enter the courtroom and begin the "trial of the century" - or so it was dubbed at the time. Prosecution's Jeff Ashton brings hard forensic evidence to the table in an effort to show the jury just how callous and cold this mother could be to have murdered her toddler child. Casey hires defense attorney Jose Baez to prove her innocence in the alleged killing of young Caylee. We hear testimony from some amazing experts and begin to feel pretty confident that the verdict is in the bag for 1st degree premeditated murder.

This week, Kenzie and Ame begin the three part ID documentary series on Casey Anthony. It all began with a 911 call in Orlando, FL regarding an odor in the trunk of a car, that quickly turned into a full blown missing person's investigation. When it is discovered that 2 year old Caylee Anthony had been missing for over 30 days, police looked to her mother for answers. Not only did Casey not report the disappearance of young Caylee, but when confronted by police, stated she was worried about what her own mother would say. When pushed for information, Casey points the finger at her supposed long time nanny, Zanaida, accusing her of abducting her daughter one day. But investigators aren't buying this story. When many of the leads turn out to be completely false, they fix their eyes directly on Casey.

This week, Ame and Kenzie discuss the Amazon Prime documentary H.H Holmes: America's First Serial Killer. Going back to the late 1800's, we hear how this brilliant doctor, businessman, and con artist hustled money from anyone he came across. After settling into a southern suburb of Chicago, he constructs a home nicknamed by the community as "the castle". What people don't know, was that Holmes had designed his mansion with one thing in mind: Murder. A labyrinth of hallways built with the intention of disorienting his victims, torture chambers made to look like rooms for rent, greased chutes for bodies to slide down, and a crematorium in the basement were nothing short of pure evil. For years, he was able to keep up the facade with none the wiser. It seemed this handsome and sly monster would get away with it all, until the authorities finally break a case pointing towards insurance fraud and eventually Holmes meets his end in the gallows. 

This week, Kenzie and Ame finish Part 2 of the Netflix documentary Abducted in Plain Sight. Jan Broberg was only 12 years old when family friend, Robert Berchtold, abducted her for the first time, and a year later, he does it again! But not before he first engages in an 8 month long affair with her mother, Mary Ann. With Jan's young mind completely consumed with "the mission" and what would happen to her family if she failed to complete it before her 16th birthday, she is all to eager to run into the arms of the man who was ripping apart her family. While FBI keep a close watch on Robert, hoping for a clue as to where Jan could be, they finally catch a break and locate her stashed away in California under a different name. Years later, we hear how Jan and her family came to terms with what happened, and how they speak out today against pedophilia and recognizing the signs to watch out for.

This week, Ame and Kenzie discuss part one of the Netflix documentary "Abducted in Plain Sight". Jan Broberg was only 12 years old when family friend, Robert Berchtold, picked her up for an evening to ride horses and disappeared with the girl for over 5 weeks. Her family, worried but afraid of upsetting their neighbors and friends, didn't report them missing for several days. Finally enlisting the help of the FBI, the scared parents have to be convinced over and over again that this was indeed a kidnapping of their daughter and that a manhunt was underway, Weeks later, they received a phone call from Berchtold, informing them that he had taken Jan to Mexico and that they had gotten married. The search for the missing girl was over, but this is far from the end of this unimaginable true story of a family bamboozled and conned by a man that they had considered a very close friend.

Kenzie and Ame are back! This week, they are discussing the Netflix documentary Roll Red Roll. This is the case of the rape and dehumanization of a 16 year old girl by a couple of the star players on the high school football team in Steubenville, Ohio. An end of summer party turns dark in the wee hours of the morning when an unconscious Jane Doe is taken advantage of, while also having several spectators to her assault. Not only was there photographs taken, but the whole town's teenage population seemed to speak openly about it on social media. When it looked as though this would be yet another case being swept under the rug for the beloved Big Red football team, a local blogger took it upon herself to expose the posted these kids so carelessly left all over the internet. This started the wildfire that would sweep the nation and even gain global attention for the brutal and callus things many young women have had to endure at the hands of their popular male peers. 

This week, we get another Minne-Sode as Ame shares her hometown case of the murder of Deborah Hollerman at the hands of her spouse. This seemingly perfect couple had spent the evening shopping and dining in a nearby town only to end up at the hospital with one dead, and the other barely injured. What appeared to be a fatality caused by a car accident on a sketchy stretch of highway soon has law enforcement scratching their heads. Forensics, evidence, and good police work lead them directly to a cheating husband, because let's be honest: it's always the husband. 

On this episode, Kenzie and Ame discuss the 20/20 episode on The Dating Game Killer. Rodney Alcala was a trained photographer by day, and a remorseless killer by night. Murdering women on both the east and west coasts of the United States during the hay day of serial killers (the 70's), Rodney was able to evade police for more than 10 years. Having an alias he used to gain access to places like NYU, coupled with the lack of background checks at the time, Alcala's ego was stroked so much that he even appeared on the ever popular tv show "The Dating Game" - and won. It seemed as though he could not lose. That was until he met Robin Samsoe, a 12 year old girl whose disappearance would land him in prison and lead police to discover many other crimes he had committed that would have otherwise been left unsolved. 

This week, Ame and Kenzie finish the 3 part series on the ID documentary Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery. This episode starts with Jodi taking the stand in her trial for the murder of Travis Alexander. Finally admitting that she did in fact commit the crime, her only chance for a lenient sentence is to plead self defense. Using text messages, a recorded phone sex call and her own memory, she puts a different kind of light on her former lover and the victim in this brutal bathroom stabbing and shooting. But will the jury believe her flip flopping stories? And if they don't, will she be sentenced to death?

Kenzie and Ame are back this week with part 2 on the ID documentary Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery. This week begins the trial for the murder of Travis Alexander against his former girlfriend. We get to hear testimony from experts on how the scene unfolded that night in the master bedroom of his home in Mesa, Arizona. We also learn a little more about Jodi's history and just what level she is willing to drop down to in order to make the victim look like the perpetrator. 

Ame and Kenzie are back and this week we start a three part series on the ID documentary Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery. This episode explores the gruesome murder of Travis Alexander. After several days of silence, a close circle of friends showed up to his house and found his body, half bloodied and half mummified on the floor of his shower. Clues all around the scene lead them quickly to his ex girlfriend, Jodi, who claims she wasn’t even in the state at the time. But forensics quickly close in and her stories need to be much more convincing to police. 

This week's episode is another backyard crime from our home state in Minnesota. The old timey case Kenzie shares with us is that of the murder of Catherine "Kittie" Ging. On the evening of December 3rd, 1984 the 29 year old dressmaker's body was found shot in the head and left along the shores of Lake Calhoun. With all eyes looking at her slime ball boyfriend, a twist in the story make this case even more interesting. 

Ever wondered if some of the thoughts that creep into your mind could get you into trouble? In this weeks episode, Kenzie and Ame examine the HBO documentary "Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop." This is the story of Gilberto Valle (a former NYPD officer) who spent many nights in secret chatting online with people around the world exchanging fantasies of kidnapping, torturing, murdering, and consuming the flesh of women. This ended abruptly when his wife, who slept in the very next room with their baby girl, stumbled upon the chats and pictures he'd posted on these sites. Terrified for her life, she made the decision to turn him in to the authorities. While he never acted out the stories he wrote about in these conversations, people wonder if he was just one step away from making his online nightlife a gruesome reality. 

Ame and Kenzie are back with the conclusion of the two part HBO documentary "Who Killed Garrett Phillips". This week, we get to enter the courtroom for the stunning case brought against former college soccer coach Nick Hillary. Prosecution, the family, and most of the town is convinced that Nick is the only logical suspect in the murder of Garrett, using video footage take from the high school parking lot that day as their nail in the coffin. The defense sees their evidence as not only lacking, but actually bringing about more of a civil rights infringement rather than murder charge siting their accusations as mostly race motivated. Today we get the verdict - guilty or not?

Kenzie and Ame are back with another episode of Shear Crime. This week they dive into part 1 of the 2 part HBO documentary “Who Killed Garrett Phillips?”. When a 12 year old boy is found strangled in the upstairs apartment he shared with his mom Tandy and younger brother, the small New York town of Potsdam is desperate for answers. Not long after the murder, all eyes turn towards Tandy’s ex boyfriend Nick Hillary. Will this small town police department have the evidence they need, or was the entire theory hanging on by a thread? 

Ame and Kenzie are back with another episode of Shear Crime. This week they are covering the HBO documentary "Baby God", the incredibly disgusting story of a fertility specialist in Las Vegas who used his own sperm to impregnate his patients (unknowingly) for over 40 years. With the help of DNA and companies like Ancestry.com, more and more of his offspring are finding out that their fathers didn't biologically contribute to their creation. This case has our hosts fired up and listener caution: there may be a few more f-bombs than you're used to hearing, but it's all completely warranted!

We have BREAKING NEWS people!!!! Take a listen to find out what we have been "hiding" from you.

This week on Shear Crime, Kenzie and Ame dive into the HBO Documentary "The Mystery of D.B Cooper", the only unsolved airplane hijacking in United States history. One man boards a commercial aircraft with a bomb and a plan: to extort $200,000 from the U.S government and jump to freedom. Several theories have been explored over the years and a few key suspects still remain. To this day, almost 50 years later, many people remember his act of air piracy as heroic - what do you think?

This week, we are switching gears and sharing a true crime story from our own backyard! The first in a series called Minne-Sodes is the murder of Amy Allwine. She was a small town, god fearing woman who owned a dog training business and seemed to have it all until she was notified by the FBI that someone had hired a hit man to kill her. But a sloppy murder scene and some computer digging reveals the killer and it sure doesn't take long to put together the pieces to this puzzle.

This week on Shear Crime, Ame and Kenzie discuss the truly bizarre case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother Dee Dee. For almost 2 decades, the public believed Gypsy was terminally ill and rallied behind this mother daughter duo in support. After Dee Dee is brutally murdered in her Missouri home, investigators look to the sick girl who miraculously seems to be a healthy young women, no longer confined to the wheelchair they were used to seeing. What they soon find out has everyone questioning whether her mother actually deserved what she got in the end. 

Kenzie and Ame discuss the final installment in the Netflix documentary Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. This week, we see the end of the first trial against Aaron landing him with a murder conviction. With another trial looming ahead, he hires a celebrity defense attorney and begins thinking about his appeal with the Odin Lloyd case. We also discover more information as doctors examine the damage to his brain from the years of hits taken while playing football.

Ame and Kenzie are back with part 2 of the Netflix documentary, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. This week we learn a bit about Aaron's transition to college life and some red flags that were either ignored or covered up due to his rising athletic presence. We also hear from a former friend with a shady record that gives a different picture of the All-American football star Aaron was thought to be. 

This week on Shear Crime, Kenzie and Ame start a 3 part series on the Netflix documentary, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. What could have provoked this rising star in the NFL to kill his friend Odin Lloyd, leaving him to be found in a field less than a mile from his mansion in Bristol, Connecticut? This story is one that left many people scratching their heads and wondering if money truly can't buy happiness.

In this week's episode of Shear Crime, Ame and Kenzie cover the very odd story of Diane Schuler from the HBO documentary, There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane. On the way back from a camping trip with her children and nieces, the mini van she was driving ends up in a horrendous head on collision while driving the wrong direction down the Taconic highway, killing herself and 7 other people. Friends and family are convinced something medical led to the very out of character actions that took place just before the accident, but no one will know for sure. 

Kenzie and Ame are back this week with another episode of Shear Crime! This is the story of Cyntoia Brown, a 16 year old runaway turned sex worker, turned killer. Taken out of the juvenile courts and tried as an adult, Cyntoia fights for mercy. But can the actions of a young girl be held against her forever? This case shows how maturity, rehabilitation, and a change in the law can spare the life of a promising young woman.

In this episode, Ame and Kenzie cover the Watts family murders from the Netflix documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door. Today, they take us through real life footage during the search for missing and pregnant mom, Shanann, and her young girls Bella and Cece. Home videos and recovered test messages help to build a timeline and motive to give investigators an idea of what happened to this seemingly perfect family. Everything leads up to the discovery and conviction of her husband in the brutal murder and concealment of his family.

Kenzie and Ame are back with the final installment in this heart wrenching series of the life and death of a young boy at the hands of his own mother and her boyfriend. It's sentencing day in the court room for both of them and we finally get to see a little justice for Gabriel. But all is not well, as this situation is now becoming a pattern in LA County and true change is necessary.

This week's episode is Part 5 of The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. Ame and Kenzie take us through the courtroom battles that occurred to clear the charges against the four social workers who were involved in Gabriel's case. Later, we hear heartbreaking testimony from his siblings of what went on in that nightmare of an apartment these kids called home, as well as their account of what took place the night Gabriel died. With one episode left, the evidence is mounting!

Kenzie and Ame are back with Part 4 of The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. This week we meet the social workers who are being prosecuted for their lack of involvement in helping to save Gabriel from the torture inflicted by his mother and her boyfriend. We also hear from the former security guard at the LA County Gain Office, Arturo Martinez, who called and reported yet another incident of abuse he observed while Pearl was attempting to collect welfare benefits. As if we needed another reason to shake our heads, this episode still has us asking: why?

This week's episode is Part 3 in the Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. Ame & Kenzie introduce us to some important people in Gabriel's life, including his first grade teacher and one of the men who raised him from infancy. We get to hear heart wrenching testimony on the stand at Isauro (aka Tony) Aguirre's trail, from family members filled with guilt over not being able to protect him. Despite some efforts, it's pretty obvious there were failures on all levels in this horrific child welfare case gone wrong. 

Kenzie & Ame are back with Part 2 in The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. This week we enter the courtroom of defendant, Isauro Aguirre, whose facing the death penalty in the murder and torture of his girlfriend's 8-year-old son. Along with the help of his own mother, Gabriel withstood things on a daily basis that we can only imagine in our nightmares. Now finally, people are going to hear about it. 

Who even are the hosts behind Shear Crime? We are more than just working moms who share a passion for murder and mystery! This quick bonus episode gives you a tiny glimpse into who we are, our lives, and how we got started as true crime fanatics. Want to know more? Hit us up, we'd love to answer your questions!

Ame & Kenzie are back (drinks in hand) with their second episode, this time diving into one of the most heartbreaking and horrific cases of child abuse this country has ever seen. Gabriel Fernandez was just 8 years old when he was brutally tortured and murdered by his mother and her live in boyfriend. A story of how children in the system are often over looked and in this case, completely ignored. This is part 1 of a 6 part series you DON'T want to miss!

In their very first episode, Ame & Kenzie discuss the Netflix documentary "Long Shot" and explain the absolutely unbelievable story of Juan Catalan and his fight to find justice. Juan was arrested for a murder he did not commit and everything seemed to be stacked against him. His attorney had to build a case to prove his innocence around raw footage shot from the popular TV show "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Will Juan find his justice or will he spend the rest of his life behind bars?