In 1984, Sheila Wysocki found herself helping the police investigate the murder of her college roommate. Detectives asked her to help gather information, even sending her out to dinner with the main suspect.
This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault and may not be suitable for everyone.
SPOILER WARNING: Please listen to Episode 53: Melinda and Judy before you listen to this one.
Melinda Dawson found out on the same day in 1998 that her adoptive mother had been killed and that her husband Clarence was being charged with the murder. Clarence was convicted in 1999 and given two life sentences. Left alone with her two sons, no money, and no experience, Melinda set out to try and prove that he was innocent. She started with a suspect list.
Special thanks to David Massar, who is currently working on a film about Melinda's life story, Miss America: http://www.missamericamovie.com/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez7zmzT3bwA
The story of a cryptic children’s book, a real-life treasure hunt, and its very mysterious winner: “He refused to be on camera. It’s just his voice. His wife even asks that they disguise his voice, but she asks too late. The interview is already happening. And she faints.”
For a transcript of this episode, send an email to transcripts@thisiscriminal.com with the episode name and number.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isxTZQHypHY
The Tennessee Walking Horse has a natural gait that's famously smooth. And, if trained in a certain way, it can perform a walk that's even more spectacular. But, there's a secret behind how, exactly, these horses are trained to do the crowd-pleasing step they're celebrated for. Mary Helen Montgomery brings us the story (http://www.maryhelenmontgomery.com/).
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEgD7vAHYOc
In March of this year, a biologist working in a nature preserve in Florida saw an alligator swimming along a canal with something in its mouth. When she looked closer, she realized it was a human arm.
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...
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In 2010, Michael McIntosh's son was incarcerated at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in the small town of Walnut Grove, Mississippi. One Sunday, McIntosh went to visit his son and was turned away because, he was told, prison officials "did not know" where his son was. He spent the next six weeks searching for his son, only to find him in the hospital with severe injuries. And McIntosh's son wasn't the only one who had been hurt at the facility. Walnut Grove was such a violent prison that one Federal Judge called it "a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts." Today, we have the story of an especially troubled youth prison, the for-profit corporations that managed it, and the small town that relied on it.
The U.S. Department of Justice Investigation of the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility:
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2012/04/09/walnutgrovefl.pdf
The Southern Poverty Law Center Lawsuit: https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/d6_legacy_files/downloads/case/cb_v_walnut_grove_complaint.pdf
The U.S. Department of Justice Memo Re: Reducing the Use of Private Prisons: https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/886311/download
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrbQRfKHGSk
Sgt. David Mascarenas is the Dive Supervisor for the Los Angeles Police Department. He's been diving his whole life, and prides himself on never refusing a dive, no matter how treacherous. At least until the summer of 2013, when a murder investigation led him into unusually murky waters.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTcbPn3sJrU
In 1977, a mild-mannered aeronautical engineer sideswiped a parked car in Compton, CA. When he stopped his car to survey the damage, a man opened the driver-side door, shoved him over, and started driving. He said, "I'm about to save your life."
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rmbj8eZ6Iw
In August 1934, Ann Cooper Hewitt was having lunch with her mother when she suddenly felt pain in her abdomen. When she went to the doctor, he told her she would have to have her appendix removed. He never examined her abdomen. She later told papers that when she woke up from surgery, she heard a nurse saying that Ann “didn’t suspect a thing.”
Audrey Clare Farley’s book is The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt: https://www.grandcentralpublishing.com/titles/audrey-clare-farley/the-unfit-heiress/9781538753347/
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If you'd like to introduce friends or family members to podcasts, we created a How to Listen guide based on frequently asked questions.
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Crime Blotter: “The Learning Center on Hanson Street reports a man across the way stands at his window for hours watching the center, making parents nervous. Police ID the subject as a cardboard cutout of Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Today, we're looking at mistakes.
Criminal is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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If you'd like to introduce friends or family members to podcasts, we created a How to Listen guide based on frequently asked questions.
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