Bonus Episode

In this special episode of Dog Days of Murder, Paula sits down with Emily Bernie, founder of LIFE Animal Rescue. Emily shares how one pregnant dog changed the course of her life when she was just 17, leading to the creation of LIFE—Living Is For Everyone. They talk about more than three decades of animal rescue, international rescue efforts, the heartbreaking realities rescuers face, and the lives that have been changed along the way.

Visit us at our weekly adoption location at PetSmart:

PetsMart in Westlake Village, CA
Every Saturday From 10am to 5pm
5766 Lindero Canyon Rd

If you are unable to come to PetsMart, please contact us at: lifeanimalrescue@gmail.com

And you can visit lifeanimalrescue.org to see what L.I.F.E. is all about.

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu

Hansel's life could have ended before it really began.

Seized as a puppy from an alleged dog-fighting operation in Ontario, Hansel became one of a group of pit bulls caught in a years-long fight over whether they could—or should—be saved. But when rescuers were finally given the chance to find out who these dogs really were, Hansel showed them something nobody expected.

His second chance would take him from Canada to Florida, then to New Jersey, where an unusual partnership, an extraordinary nose, and one very determined pit bull would help investigators connect a series of warehouse fires and lead to arrests .

This week, Paula is joined by Monica for the story of Hansel, the fire department K9 who went from facing an uncertain future to helping solve real crimes—and changing minds about pit bulls along the way.

And stay with us through the end of the episode, when we talk about an important effort that could change the way animal abuse follows offenders—and give the rest of us another tool to help protect animals.

Sources

• Daily Paws — Austin Cannon, “Hansel the Pit Bull Barely Escaped Euthanasia. Now, He's Investigating Arson Cases With His Partner,” October 19, 2021.
• Daily Paws Presents: Warm Fuzzies — “Hansel: The Crime-Solving Arson Dog,” interview with Millville Fire Marshal Tyler Van Leer, November 16, 2023. This was our primary source for Hansel's training, his partnership with Van Leer, and the warehouse arson investigation.
• Lower Bucks Times — June Portnoy, “Huntingdon Valley resident turns ‘Throwaway’ dogs into a national mission,” January 21, 2026. Background on Carol Skaziak and the Throw Away Dogs Project.
• CBC News — “From fighting ring to police dogs: Rescued CK pit bulls launch new lives,” January 24, 2020.
• The Canadian Press / CTV News — “Court battle brewing to save dogs seized in alleged fighting ring,” February 21, 2016.
• The Chatham Voice — reporting on the October 2015 Morris Line raid, the 31 pit bull-type dogs seized, and the criminal charges that followed.
• CBC News — reporting on the legal fight and agreement that ultimately allowed the surviving dogs to leave Ontario for rehabilitation.
• AM800 News — “Multiple Charges Dropped In Alleged Dog Fighting Case,” February 16, 2017.
• Ontario Dog Owners' Liability Act / Ontario government materials — background on Ontario's breed-specific restrictions involving pit bulls.
• Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal — “A Critical Review of Canines Used to Detect Accelerants Within an Arson Crime Scene.” Used for background on ignitable-liquid detection dogs, canine alerts, handler influence, and the need for laboratory confirmation.
• American Humane — 2021 Hero Dog Awards information on Hansel, the Law Enforcement and Detection Hero Dog of the Year, and Boone, the 2021 overall American Hero Dog.

Organizations & Resources Mentioned in This Episode

• Throw Away Dogs Project
• Stand Up for Pits Foundation
• Paw Watch Registry

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu

In January 2013, a five-year-old girl disappeared from her Philadelphia elementary school after being released to a woman claiming to be her mother.

When the child was found the next morning, she had survived an unimaginable ordeal—and remembered far more than her captor could have expected.

Among the details she gave investigators were pieces of a neighborhood, a house she couldn't see…and a talking bird.

This is the story of a remarkably brave little girl, the detectives who listened to her, and Marty, a loud blue-and-yellow macaw who became an unlikely part of a very serious investigation.

Sources

1. Associated Press / Fox News — February 2013 reporting on the arrest of Christina Regusters and the talking bird's role in the investigation. This is also where attorney Tom Kline said the bird became one of the investigation's focal points.
2. NBC10 Philadelphia — Sarah Glover and Vince Lattanzio, “Christina Regusters Found Guilty on All Counts in Child Kidnapping & Rape Trial,” September 2014.
3. The Philadelphia Inquirer — 2014 trial coverage detailing Detective Daniel O'Malley's investigation, the child's neighborhood drive, 6243 Walton Avenue, and Marty. This was our strongest source for Marty's actual investigative role.
4. The Philadelphia Inquirer — Matt Gelb, “Christina Regusters gets 40 years' prison in 'horror show',” October 5, 2015.
5. CBS News / Associated Press — “Kindergarten kidnapper says, ‘I'm not a monster,’ gets 40 years in prison,” October 6, 2015.
6. Pennsylvania Superior Court — Commonwealth v. Christina Regusters, No. 869 EDA 2016 (2017), appellate opinion.
7. 6ABC Action News — February 2013 coverage of Regusters's arrest and Animal Control's confiscation of the macaw as evidence.
8. The Philadelphia Inquirer — “Questions remain about abduction of girl, 5,” February 17, 2013; identifies Marty as a blue-and-yellow macaw and discusses the bird as evidence.
9. L.R. v. School District of Philadelphia — federal civil-rights litigation concerning Bryant Elementary's release of the child and the Third Circuit's qualified-immunity ruling.
10. Philadelphia School Reform Commission — May 17, 2018 official meeting record authorizing the $5 million settlement of the family's civil-rights litigation.

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu

When police in New Lenox, Illinois, began investigating a man suspected of downloading child sexual abuse material, their search led them to Timothy Mol—and eventually to his home.

But investigators didn’t arrive alone.

With them was Boone, a three-year-old Labrador with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and a nose trained to find the things people don’t want found.

What Boone discovered that day would take the investigation in an unexpected direction.

Trust the Dog.

• OUR Rescue — “ESD K9 Boone,” May 13, 2024.
• Chicago Sun-Times — reporting on Boone, Daniel Codd and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office electronic-storage-detection K9 program, including Boone’s training, early searches and work with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit.
• FOX 32 Chicago — reporting/interview with Daniel Codd on Boone’s work, training and case history, including his work throughout Illinois.
• Patch / New Lenox — reporting on Timothy Mol’s February 2024 arrest and the search of his New Lenox home.
• New Lenox Police Department — information regarding the investigation, search and charges involving Timothy Mol.
• Will County booking records — Timothy Mol booking/charge information, including the March 2025 record.
• Jordan Detection K9 — background on Todd Jordan, ESD K9 training, Bear, and the development of the electronic-storage-detection K9 program.
• Reporting/background on ESD K9 Bear and the Jared Fogle investigation — regarding Bear’s role in locating electronic evidence during the search of Fogle’s home.
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) — terminology and information regarding child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
• Illinois covert-recording/privacy-law resources — background regarding unauthorized recording and expectations of privacy, particularly in restrooms and when minors are involved.
• OUR Rescue — organizational information regarding its mission and sponsorship/support of electronic-storage-detection K9s.

Help & Resources

If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or CSAM
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) operates the CyberTipline for reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation, including CSAM and child sex trafficking. Reports can be made through the CyberTipline or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). NCMEC's call center is available 24 hours a day.

Suspected child abuse or neglect
The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is available 24/7 for people experiencing, witnessing or concerned about child abuse. Call or text 1-800-422-4453; you can also use live chat through the website. Childhelp can provide support and help determine how and where to make an official report in your state.

If you believe you are being secretly recorded
Recording and privacy laws vary by state and by the circumstances involved. If you believe someone is recording you without your consent in a place where you have a reasonable expectation of privacy, consider contacting local law enforcement or a qualified attorney for guidance about the laws and options available where you live.

Additional music by Dmitri Kolesnikov (The_Mountain)

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu

When 22-year-old Raquel Rivera and her boyfriend, Jay Johnson, are murdered inside their South Park home in Seattle, their six-month-old puppy, Chief, is found gravely wounded nearby.

Police soon identify suspects, but an unusual piece of evidence raises a question investigators have never faced before: Can the blood of a dog help identify a killer?

What follows will put Chief at the center of a groundbreaking forensic investigation—and make his case part of criminal justice history.

Sources:

• Darrell Glover, “Man Gets 26 Years in Murder Case Using Dog’s DNA,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 9, 1998.
• Elaine Porterfield, “Life Term for Convicted Killer in Dog DNA Case — Not ‘Drop of Remorse,’ Judge Says of Leuluaialii,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 3, 1998.
• Elaine Porterfield, “Dog DNA Helps Convict 2 in Murder of Couple, Pet,” Deseret News / Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 17, 1998.
• “Dog’s DNA Helps Convict 2 of Murders,” Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1998.
• Florangela Davila, “2 Life Terms in South Park Murders,” The Seattle Times, October 3, 1998.
• “Court Disallows Use of Dog DNA,” The Seattle Times, October 14, 2003.
• State v. Leuluaialii / State v. Tuilefano, Washington Court of Appeals, Division One, Nos. 43507-8-I & 43769-1-I, decided October 13, 2003.
• Forensic Files, Season 7, Episode 17, “Chief Evidence.”
• Joy Halverson and Christopher Basten, “A PCR Multiplex and Database for Forensic DNA Identification of Dogs,” Journal of Forensic Sciences (2005).
• National Institute of Justice, Animal DNA / Non-Human DNA forensic training materials.
• Find a Grave memorials for Chief Johnson, Raquel Eloise Rivera, and Jay Dedric Johnson. The Chief memorial also supplied some biographical detail about him.

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu

When Davenport police begin investigating suspected drug activity at an apartment complex, two K9s—Kurly and Dawn—are called in to put their noses to work.

What follows becomes much more complicated than a narcotics investigation. The dogs' work raises a Fourth Amendment question that makes its way through the federal courts, forcing judges to consider where the protections of a home begin when that home is an apartment.

This week on Dog Days of Murder, we're following two very different police dogs, the investigation that brought their paths together, and a legal fight where even the hallway matters.

Sources

• United States v. Donell Hines, No. 21-2477, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, opinion filed March 10, 2023.
• U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Iowa — “Davenport Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug Charge,” June 30, 2021.
• U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Iowa — federal sentencing information concerning Donell Hines's subsequent drug conviction and 2026 sentence.
• Davenport Police Department — K9 Kurly memorial/retirement information and community responses, Facebook.
• Davenport Police Department — K9 Dawn retirement announcement and career information, Facebook.
• City of Davenport, Iowa — community and city background.
• Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1 (2013).
• United States v. Scott, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (2010).
• United States v. Hopkins, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (2017).
• United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (1984).
• Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978).
• National Institutes of Health / National Library of Medicine — research on canine olfaction and the biology of the canine nose.

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu

A respected California vice principal appears to have the perfect alibi after his wife, three young children and mother-in-law are found murdered in their Bakersfield home.

As detectives begin pulling at loose threads, an unlikely clue emerges from insects crushed into the radiator of a rental car. What follows is one of the most unusual forensic investigations ever presented in a courtroom, proving that sometimes the smallest witnesses can help uncover the truth.

Sources

• The Principle Suspect (Investigation Discovery)
• The New Detectives – "Written in Blood"
• Forensic Files – "Insect Clues"
• Bakersfield Californian (2003–2007) trial and investigation coverage
• Los Angeles Times coverage of the Vincent Brothers investigation and trial
• Associated Press reporting
• University of California, Davis – Bohart Museum of Entomology
• Dr. Lynn Kimsey interviews and publications on forensic entomology, including The Case of the Red-Shanked Grasshopper
• Compiled newspaper archives, court records, and source documents used in researching this episode

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu

When a former boxer is abducted from his home and brutally murdered, detectives in West Yorkshire are left with a case built almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. Then they discover a few seemingly insignificant dog hairs on the victim's clothing.

What follows is a groundbreaking investigation that stretches from England to California and changes forensic science forever. But just when the case appears to be over, one final twist brings one more question: Who Was Sasha?

Sources

• BBC News. "Family dog 'helped solve murder.'" January 20, 2004.
• Crimewatch UK. BBC television broadcast and transcript covering the investigation into the murder of Brian Keating.
• The Birmingham Post. "Reunited – dog who helped solve murder." January 21, 2004.
• The Sun. "Dog-hairs DNA snares killers." January 21, 2004.
• The Times (London). Andrew Norfolk. "Hair of the dog sends killers to jail for life." January 21, 2004.
• Yorkshire Evening Post. "Boxer's murderer loses freedom bid." November 10, 2005.

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Music by Vibe Depot and Mircea Iancu