George Kogan grew up in Puerto Rico before moving to New York City, where he became a successful antiques and art dealer. In 1990, at age 49, George was happy. He was planning a new life with his former publicist and current girlfriend, Mary-Louise Hawkins, after years in an unhappy marriage. But George’s newfound happiness was short-lived. One morning, while he was walking to his girlfriend’s apartment, he was approached on the street and shot to death.

Join us at the quiet end for Murdered for Money. Ever since George and Mary-Louise became involved, George’s estranged wife, Barbara, was consumed with bitterness. As she and George worked out conditions of their divorce, Barbara became angry and greedy, demanding more alimony than George could afford. Since Barbara stood to collect $4.3 million in life insurance upon George’s death, she was the first person suspected in George’s murder. But it would take investigators nearly twenty years to uncover a link between Barbara and the man who killed George, finally leading to an arrest.

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Sources

Lawyer Got 25 Years for Brokering Hit on Client’s Husband But ‘Black Widow’ Gets Only 12 Years Today, ABAJournal, Martha Neil, 6/4/2010

The Millionaire’s Wife by Cathy Scott

New York’s Black Widow to be released on parole, Oxygen.com, Jill Sederstrom, 10/19/2020

Victim cries foul as NYC’s infamous ‘Black Widow’ makes parole: ‘She’s an animal’, New York Post, Laura Italiano, 10/19/2020

Here is a blast from the past—a members-only episode of a Dateline rewatch and recap! Happy New Year and we hope you enjoy our recap of a crazy episode of Dateline Unforgettable hosted by Andrea Canning. 

In this case, an Alabama husband, Michael Reese, is murdered in his own home. His wife Cindy seems beyond reproach. That is, until she doesn’t eat her french fries before they get cold.  Then, all eyes turn to her with suspicions of a torrid love affair and a murder done in cold blood!

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On the morning of December 30, 1978, the bodies of 45-year-old Nancy Spangler and her two teenage children were found in their home in Littleton, Colorado. All three had been shot to death with a handgun. The children were found in their bedrooms and Nancy was slumped in a chair in the basement, a bullet wound visible on her forehead. A typewritten suicide note was found nearby, signed with her initial.

Join us at the quiet end for A Very Bad Husband: Robert Spangler. Nancy’s husband admitted to police that he and his wife had marital problems, that he planned to leave her, and that he was having an affair with another woman. The implication was that Nancy was so distraught over her failing marriage that she took her and her children’s lives. But many people close to Nancy couldn’t believe that she could kill her beloved children.  They wondered if Robert could have killed his entire family, setting the scene to make it look like a murder/suicide. This seemed even more likely after it was discovered that other people in Robert’s life had died suddenly in his company.

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Sources

Dying Man Admits He Killed Four in Family, LA Times, Catherine Tsai, 10/22/2000, retrieved 12/2/2024

Colorado News & The Denver Post Archives, retrieved 12/2/2024

Married to Murder by Robert Scott, 2004

We’re back with another premium episode rerelease for the public, this time a rewatch and recap of a Dateline episode with our favorite reporter, Keith Morrison. If you haven’t subscribed for TCB premium ad-free and bonus episodes, maybe you should? Just something to consider! Happy Holidays!

Larry Isenberg disappeared on Feb. 13, 2018 while out on his boat on Lake Coeur d’Alene in Northern Idaho with his wife Lori. Lori claimed that Larry fell into the water while trying to fix a broken motor. She cried, insisting she’d done all she could to save him. But according to Lori, she’d tripped and hit her head, so it took her over an hour to call for help.  There was sympathy for the new widow initially, but when it comes out that Lori was embezzling money from her job, suspicions came up about whether Larry’s death really was an accident.

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Engaged Swedish couple Heidi Birgitta Paakkonen and Sven Urban Höglin were in their early twenties when they disappeared on a visit to New Zealand back in 1989. They were on an adventure, backpacking through the bush that April, and they were reported missing that May.

Join us at the quiet end for The Swedish Tourist Murders. Heidi and Urban were due home on May 7, but no one had heard from them in over a month. Interpol was notified of the couple’s failure to return. Looking into the matter, they discovered that the couple had not boarded their flight home. It was out of character for them not to contact their families, so they were worried that the couple could have been victims of foul play. These concerns grew after they learned that a convicted killer was on the loose in the area where they were last seen.

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Sources

David Tamihere’s backpacker murder convictions will be heard by Court of Appeal again, Sam Hurley, New Zealand Herald, 4/20/2020, retrieved 12/6/2024.

David Tamihere’s murder convictions referred back to Court of Appeal, RNZ News, Anneke Smith, 4/21/2020, retrieved 12/2/2024.

Guilt podcast, Ryan Wolf, retrieved 11/14/2024.

Missing Pieces by Ian Wishart

Relative Guilt exerpts, Screen, NZ, nzonscreen.com, 1999, retrieved 12/4/2024.

Report By the police Complaints Authority on the Investigation into the Validity of Affadavit of Witness C, Police Complaints Authority, 9/3/1996, retrieved 12/2/2024.

Revealed: The identity of secret Witness C whose false testimony helped send David Tamihere to jail for 20 years for the 1990 Swedish backpacker murders, Television New Zealand, tvnz.com.nz, 4/26/2018, retrieved 12/2/2024.

Swedish tourists case: David Tamihere loses long fight, is again found to have murdered Swedes, New Zealand Herald, Ric Stevens, 7/10/2024.

Timeline: All developments in the David Tamihere murder case, Radio New Zealand, 7/11/2024, retrieved 11/24/2024.

Witness C Affadavit, retrieved 12/4/2024.

This is a public rerelease of a members-only episode from last spring.  Hope you enjoy it! If you would like more episodes like this, without ads, check out tiegrabber.com/subscribe or visit our Patreon page at patreon.com/tiegrabber.

On Nov 2, 2016, 34-year-old Sherri Papini was jogging near her home in Redding, CA. She was apparently kidnapped sometime between 11am and 2pm.  When her husband Keith came home from work that afternoon, she wasn’t home and hadn’t picked up their two children. Keith located her phone by using the find my iphone app. It was about a mile from their house, sitting on the side of the road with a set of headphones and several strands of blonde hair. But there was no sign of Sherri.

Join us at the quiet end for The Sherri Papini Kidnapping Hoax. On Thanksgiving, after being missing for 3 weeks, Sherri showed up about 150 miles away from where she had disappeared.  She was chained, bruised, and branded. So, what had happened to Sherri? It would take years to fully understand this event, but investigators were suspicious of Sherri’s story from the get go!

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Sources

“FBI affidavit unravels astounding claims about California mom Sherri Papini”,  SFGate.com, Katie Dowd, 3/6/2022, Retrieved 3/5/2024.

Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies, and more Lies, Oxygen Network, 12/18/2022

So, now we’re back for part two of the fascinating and disturbing case of convicted child killer Lucy Letby. Since part one, we’ve reviewed interviews with her accusers, her defenders, scientific experts, and nurses who either worked in neonatal units, in the Countess of Chester neonatal unit, or worked directly with Lucy Letby. We’ve also read through the available evidence and testimony from her trial.

Join us at the quiet end for Lucy Letby: The Common Denominator Part Two. Today, we are going to talk you through Letby’s trials and what has been going on since her convictions. Dick’s been doing his homework, too, and he will share his interpretations of the statistical and medical evidence, outcomes, and published opinions surrounding the case.

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Sources

A British Nurse Was Found Guilty of Killing Seven Babies, Did She Do It? The New Yorker, Rachel Aviv, 5/13/2024.

Countess of Chester Hospital: Woman held in baby deaths probe, BBC News, 7/3/2018.

Lucy Letby: The Complete Story by Katherine Smith, 2023.

Lucy Letby: how did a nurse commit such unthinkable murders? The Guardian, 8/18/2023.

Lucy Letby: Killer or Coincidence? Why some experts question the evidence, The Guardian, Felicity Lawrence, 7/9/2024.

Lucy Letby’s weird behaviors that could explain why she killed, Times Radio, 11/2024.

Lucy Letby whistleblower says babies would have lived if hospital had acted sooner, The Guardian, Josh Halliday, 8/18/2023.

The King v. Lucy Letby, Sentencing Remarks, Honorable Mr. Justice Goss Kt., 8/21/2023.

Manchester Crown Court, The Honourable Mr. Justice Goss Kt. Between The King v. Lucy Letby, Sentencing Remarks, Redacted Version, 8/21/2023.

Panorama, Lucy Letby: The Nurse Who Killed, BBC One TV documentary, 8/21/2023.

Pulmonary vascular air embolism in the newborn, Archives of Disease in Childhood, SK Lee & AK Tanswell, 507-510, 1989.

Revealed: the files that show how Lucy Letby was treated as a victim, The Times, Shaun Lintern & David Collins, 8/20/2023.

Sir David Davis: It’s Highly Probable Lucy Letby is Innocent, Good Morning Britain, 9/2024.

Sudden unexpected neonatal death in the first week of life: Autopsy findings from a specialist centre, The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, Martin A. Weber, Michael T. Ashworth, Anthony R. Risdon, Ivan Brooke, Marian Malone, Neil J. Sebire, 2009.

What I learned about Lucy Letby after 10 months in court, BBC News, Judith Moritz, 8/24/2023.

What is the evidence against Lucy Letby? Five key points that convicted baby killer, YorkshireLive, Sophie Corcoran, 8/24/2023.

What is the Truth About Lucy Letby and the Married Doctor? Daily Mail, Liz Hull, 10/10/2024.

This is a rerelease of a bonus episode released last summer for subscribers only. We thought we’d share this on the public feed for those of you needing an escape from the upcoming holiday stress. Hope you enjoy our discussion!

Cullen Davis was a man who believed that money could buy anything. And he may have been right. His life, loves, and even his crimes show this to be true. In the 1970s, Davis, a wealthy oil tycoon from Texas, was accused of murder. The first incident occurred in August 1976, when there was a deadly shooting inside his estranged wife’s Fort Worth mansion. In the second incident, he was charged with hiring a hitman and conspiring to kill 15 people.

Join us at the quiet end for A Perversion of Justice. Cullen Davis would become known for getting away with the criminal charges against him, thanks to the best defense his money could buy. But to many, the evidence against him was overwhelming. So, where and why did the justice system fail so miserably?

Sources

Blood Will Tell: The Murder Trials of T. Cullen Davis by Gary Cartwright, 1979.

Rich Man, Dead Man, Texas Monthly, Gary Cartwright, 1977, retrieved 7/5/2024.

A Texas Oil Dynasty: The Family Tree of T. Cullen Davis, Genealogy Magazine,  Pylant, James, 4/3/2007, retrieved 7/2/2024.

Texas vs. Davis: The Only Complete Account of the Bizarre Thomas Cullen Davis Murder Case by Mike Cochran, 1980.

In this previously released for members-only episode, Jill & Dick recap and discuss the ID docuseries The Lost Women of Highway 20. We recommend that you watch it first, but you can definitely follow the story by just listening to the podcast.

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When British nurse Lucy Letby went on trial in 2023, the case against her seemed overwhelming. She was charged with 22 murders and attempted murders in the neonatal unit where she worked at Countess of Chester Hospital. The case centered on an abnormally high number of deaths between June 2015 and June 2016. Although no one ever saw Lucy harming a baby and the coroner did not find foul play in any of their deaths, thousands of pieces of evidence were gathered to convict her. In August of 2023, Lucy was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Join us at the quiet end for Lucy Letby: The Common Denominator, Part One. At her sentencing, the judge said that Lucy had committed a cruel, calculated, and cynical campaign of child murder involving the smallest and most vulnerable of children. A public inquiry was ordered to discern how Lucy Letby was able to commit her crimes and how the hospital failed to protect babies. But she maintains that she is innocent and there are questions about the statistical evidence used to convict her and the working conditions on the unit. Is Lucy Letby the cruel, calculated killer that the jury found her to be, or could she be the victim of a false conviction?

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Sources

A British Nurse Was Found Guilty of Killing Seven Babies, Did She Do It? The New Yorker, Rachel Aviv, 5/13/2024.

Countess of Chester Hospital: Woman held in baby deaths probe, BBC News, 7/3/2018.

Lucy Letby: how did a nurse commit such unthinkable murders? The Guardian, 8/18/2023.

Lucy Letby: The Complete Story by Katherine Smith, 2023.

Lucy Letby whistleblower says babies would have lived if hospital had acted sooner, The Guardian, Josh Halliday, 8/18/2023.

The King v. Lucy Letby, Sentencing Remarks, Honorable Mr. Justice Goss Kt., 8/21/2023.

Panorama, Lucy Letby: The Nurse Who Killed, BBC One TV documentary, 8/21/2023.

Revealed: the files that show how Lucy Letby was treated as a victim, The Times, Shaun Lintern & David Collins, 8/20/2023.

Sudden unexpected neonatal death in the first week of life: Autopsy findings from a specialist centre, The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, Martin A. Weber, Michael T. Ashworth, Anthony R. Risdon, Ivan Brooke, Marian Malone, Neil J. Sebire, 2009.

What I learned about Lucy Letby after 10 months in court, BBC News, Judith Moritz, 8/24/2023.

What is the evidence against Lucy Letby? Five key points that convicted baby killer, YorkshireLive, Sophie Corcoran, 8/24/2023.

The van Breda family enjoyed wealth, travel, and the love of friends and family. They travelled together, had apparently enviable relationships, and the children were educated at some of the best schools from around the world. All five family members were living what seemed like a dream life in a high-security, luxury estate just outside Stellenbosch, South Africa. But everything changed for them overnight in late January of 2015.

Join us at the quiet end for What Marli Forgot: The van Breda Axe Murders. The gruesome murders of patriarch Martin, his wife Teresa, and their adult son Rudi shocked South Africa. A bloody axe, identified as coming from the van Breda residence, was recovered at the scene. But there was no indication of forced entry or an outside assailant. Could it have been that a member of the family was responsible for the violence that night? The youngest child, 16-year-old Marli, had no recollection of what happened that night. But her 20-year-old brother, Henri, who remembered details from that night, had a story to tell.

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Sources

As it happened: Henri van Breda pre-trial postponed, News24, 9/9/2016, retrieved 10/19/2024

The De Zalze Murders: The Story Behind the Brutal Axe Attack by Julian Jansen

Henri van Breda guilty of triple axe murders, News24, 5/21/2018, retrieved 10/20/2024

THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA (WESTERN CAPE DIVISION, CAPE TOWN) Case No: SS17/16 THE STATE v HENRI CHRISTO VAN BREDA, retrieved 10/24/2024

The Killer Within: Why Did Henri van Breda Murder His Family? 60 Minutes Australia, 2018, retrieved 10/25/2024 

Murder-Accused van Breda Claims He Saw Axe-Wielding Attacker Kill His Dad, Huffington Post, 4/24/2017, retrieved 10/22/2024

Listen to the emergency call: Henri van Breda call