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  • The Number That Sent a Man to Trial: Digoxin, Drugs, and Doubt

    The Number That Sent a Man to Trial: Digoxin, Drugs, and Doubt
    2026/07/26
    The Number That Sent a Man to Trial: Digoxin, Drugs, and Doubt

    The moment Vernon Rice found Angela Ferris behind a pantry shelf, a single lab value - digoxin 4.1 ng/mL - turned a missing-person case into a homicide that would hinge on one number and one unexamined assumption. How did a drug level more than four times the therapeutic ceiling become the linchpin of a prosecution when the victim had no digoxin prescription but did have a routine spironolactone prescription?

    In this episode, we lay out what happened from discovery to indictment: the scene at the Calvary Fellowship food pantry, the medical examiner’s ruling, and the arrest of a twenty-two-year-old clerk whose access logs and workplace tensions put him at the center of the investigation. Could a testing platform’s known cross-reactivity with spironolactone explain the fatal result, and what did that mean for the case against Michael O'Connor?

    Person: Angela Ferris
    Age: 33
    Date found: Tuesday morning in the second week of October (at 7:14)
    Toxicology result: digoxin 4.1 nanograms per milliliter
    Prescription drug: spironolactone, one tablet daily for 14 months

    - Angela Ferris was found fully clothed behind steel shelving at 7:14 AM with no wound and no signs of struggle.
    - The medical examiner listed cause of death as acute cardiac arrhythmia and manner of death as homicide.
    - The reported blood digoxin level was 4.1 ng/mL, compared with a therapeutic ceiling of roughly 1.0 ng/mL.
    - Angela had a spironolactone prescription bottle in her apartment, prescribed 14 months before her death at one tablet per day.
    - Michael O'Connor, age 22, was arrested 21 days after the body was found; his building access card was deactivated two days before Angela's disappearance.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Stake That Unraveled a Twelve-Acre Real Estate Scam

    The Stake That Unraveled a Twelve-Acre Real Estate Scam
    2026/07/25
    The Stake That Unraveled a Twelve-Acre Real Estate Scam

    The first flicker of orange from a two-foot wooden stake on a desert trail exposed a pattern of precise reductions in deed maps that defrauded out-of-state buyers; one retired engineer paid $94,000 for twelve acres only to have a survey show about 7.5 acres. How did photocopy scaling and a single ledger of deed-by-deed numbers become the evidence that broke a long-running scheme?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries that connected a misplaced stake on Seco Flats trail, a complaint to the New Mexico Real Estate Commission, and a civil fraud investigator’s bound ledger to reveal the discrepancy between deed text and the maps buyers received. Could a systematic reduction in copied maps have been used to steal acreage from buyers who never visited the land?

    Person: Marcus Weld
    Date: September 11, 2009
    Location: Seco Flats, Harwick, New Mexico
    Case: Complaint filed with New Mexico Real Estate Commission on September 19, 2009
    Person: Vernon Petersen

    - A two-foot wooden stake with a tag was found between two piñon trees on the Seco Flats trail on September 11, 2009.
    - Marcus Weld purchased a twelve-acre parcel in spring 2009 for $94,000 and hired surveyor Al Quijano.
    - Al Quijano measured the parcel and reported approximately 7.5 acres, documenting the shortfall.
    - Survey maps were originals at 1 inch to 200 feet and photocopied into closing documents at roughly 72% scale, producing maps that appeared closer to seven or eight acres without any reduction notation.
    - Civil fraud investigator Vernon Petersen used a hand-built bound ledger of deed-by-deed numbers while working the file after Weld’s complaint reached the district attorney’s office.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Typewriter That Shouldn't Have Written Her Name

    The Typewriter That Shouldn't Have Written Her Name
    2026/07/24
    The Typewriter That Shouldn't Have Written Her Name

    A locked evidence locker, an unbroken seal, and a typewriter that somehow produced a ransom note naming the victim - an impossible link that nearly sent an innocent man to trial. How did a Remington logged in 2006, untouched for three and a half years, leave the exact same damaged serif on every capital R in a 2009 ransom note?

    In this episode, you’ll hear the timeline from the missing person call to the discovery of the note and the shocked forensic finding that matched a broken type slug to a machine already catalogued in the sheriff’s evidence. Who could have accessed the evidence locker or replicated the typewriter’s defect, and what did that mean for the investigation into Deborah Stine’s disappearance?

    Person: Deborah Stine
    Date: August 5-16, 2009
    Location: Wister Lane, Porterville; root cellar near Kellerton; Cassin River
    Event: Ransom note found typed in Courier on August 11, 2009
    Person: Robert Snyder

    - Deborah Stine was 53 years old and worked eleven years at the Warwick County tax assessor's office with no unexcused absences.
    - Deborah disappeared after leaving her sister’s house on Wednesday evening, August 5, 2009; her car was found parked at an odd angle on Wister Lane the next morning.
    - Deborah was held in a root cellar beneath an abandoned farmhouse outside Kellerton for eleven days before being found.
    - A ransom note naming Deborah was found in a gray metal box on the Cassin River on Tuesday, August 11, 2009; it was placed inside a plastic sleeve with the padlock on the box hanging open.
    - The ransom note was typed in Courier and showed a broken lowercase serif on the capital R that matched a Remington portable typewriter sealed and logged in the Warwick County Sheriff’s evidence locker since March 2006.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • The Mason Jar That Freed a Man - Inside Kettlebrook's Burn Mystery

    The Mason Jar That Freed a Man - Inside Kettlebrook's Burn Mystery
    2026/07/23
    The Mason Jar That Freed a Man - Inside Kettlebrook's Burn Mystery

    A perfectly sealed mason jar, sitting undamaged on a bed of ash with three folded papers inside, stopped a county surveyor cold on a July morning in 2009 - and that single artifact would later help free a man imprisoned for fourteen months. How could glass survive an entire house fire without a scratch, and what did those papers ultimately reveal about the true origin of the blaze?

    In this episode, we tell what happened at the house on Kettlebrook Road, how initial findings pointed to accidental electrical failure, and how later fire analysis and that unexpected piece of evidence raised new questions about motive, method, and misread burn patterns. What changed between the original report and the later reviews that shifted the case?

    Person: Charles Mills
    Person: Marcia Taylor
    Person: Tom Hewitt
    Date: late May 2009
    Location: Kettlebrook Road, Dunmore Township

    - The mason jar contained three pieces of paper and showed no scorch marks after a house fire.
    - The county surveyor discovered the jar on a July morning in 2009, weeks after the fire.
    - Fire investigator Tom Hewitt had 11 years in the role and closed the case after a one-day investigation.
    - The fire was reported at 9:47 PM; Charles Mills had left the house by 7:15 PM to attend a cousin's birthday party.
    - Fire investigator Patricia Souza noted burn lines on the vinyl floor inconsistent with a wall-origin electrical fault, suggesting accelerant applied directly to the floor.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    17 分
  • Sealed Cistern, Pink Sneaker, and the Paper That Freed Her

    Sealed Cistern, Pink Sneaker, and the Paper That Freed Her
    2026/07/23
    Sealed Cistern, Pink Sneaker, and the Paper That Freed Her

    A pink sneaker sat upright six feet below ground inside a cistern mortared shut more than a year earlier, and when it was found there was no dust on it - a detail never explained at trial. But the conviction that stood for thirty-eight months collapsed after one misfiled document surfaced in a courthouse no one was searching; how did a single paper undo a unanimous verdict?

    In this episode, we tell the story of the people, places, and evidence that shaped a conviction and its reversal, following missing persons, a sealed cistern, and the paperwork that changed everything; what did that document show that jurors never heard?

    Person: Tracy Brooks
    Person: Patricia Morrow
    Person: Dorothy Keel
    Date: October 14, 2016
    Location: Linden Parish Regional Airport

    - A pink sneaker was found six feet below ground, balanced on a ladder rung inside a cistern mortared shut more than a year earlier.
    - Patricia Morrow clocked out on October 14, 2016 and was last seen leaving Millhaven Regional Hospital; her white Honda Civic was found three days later in the long-term lot at Linden Parish Regional Airport with keys inside and her bag in the trunk.
    - Dorothy Keel went missing in 2014; her absence was logged and her file was treated as voluntary departure with no sustained investigation.
    - Grant Gray mortared the lid of the sealed cistern in September 2016 after first encountering it in 2012 and had delayed south-lot light repairs he was contracted to perform.
    - A prepaid phone linked to the case was purchased with a debit card belonging to Tracy Brooks - a card she had reported lost in September 2016, with the transaction recorded on store security footage.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • The Recalled Strip That Sent Her To Prison-Who Covered It Up?

    The Recalled Strip That Sent Her To Prison-Who Covered It Up?
    2026/07/23
    The Recalled Strip That Sent Her To Prison-Who Covered It Up?

    Dry earth beneath an orange tote bag, a retired county assessor who found it at 7:22 AM on May 7, 2019, and a field test strip from a recalled lot that would help send a woman to prison - how did a defective Kwick-Check ColorTest KC-4 lot KC4-2018-0047 wind up used to convict Shannon Armstrong? Who in the chain knew the kit was prone to false positives for cocaine when stored above 72°F, and why was that recall ignored?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the discovery of the coral-orange tote on Pelham Road to the courtroom where Shannon Armstrong was convicted and sentenced to four years, despite a lab report finding phenacetin, not cocaine. Listen to learn how the recalled test kit, prosecutorial choices, and limited defense counsel hours left one woman behind bars - and what questions remain about accountability.

    Person: Shannon Armstrong
    Date: May 7, 2019 (bag found); January 9, 2019 (arrest)
    Location: Pelham Road storage unit 41, Calloway, Ohio
    Item: Kwick-Check ColorTest KC-4 lot KC4-2018-0047
    Finding: Laboratory result - phenacetin (not a controlled substance)

    - The coral-orange tote bag was found at 7:22 AM after three days of rain, yet the earth directly beneath it was dry.
    - Officer Dennis Fry used a Kwick-Check ColorTest KC-4 strip on January 9, 2019, which produced a color associated with cocaine.
    - The Kwick-Check lot KC4-2018-0047 had been voluntarily recalled by Meridian Reagent Systems in July 2018 for reagent degradation above 72°F that could produce false positives.
    - The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation lab result, returned roughly three weeks after arrest, identified the substance as phenacetin, not cocaine.
    - Shannon Armstrong was convicted at trial and sentenced to four years despite no prior criminal record and her insistence she never possessed cocaine.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • Dry Dirt, Soaked Lungs: How a Drowning Unraveled Milo Flats' Truth

    Dry Dirt, Soaked Lungs: How a Drowning Unraveled Milo Flats' Truth
    2026/07/23
    Dry Dirt, Soaked Lungs: How a Drowning Unraveled Milo Flats' Truth

    A woman found drowned with fresh chlorinated water in her lungs - yet the ground beneath her was completely dry and the nearest water source was over forty miles away. How did 51-year-old Patrice Dunning end up submerged with no moisture trail, and what buried toxicology detail would topple one prosecution and build another?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the pre-dawn discovery to the arrest and the overlooked lab finding that changed everything. You’ll hear how routine paperwork, printer logs, and a single line on page seventeen reopened questions about motive, opportunity, and the source of the water.

    Person: Patrice Dunning
    Age: 51
    Location: Alderman Road, Milo Flats
    Date: late April 2011
    Finding: sodium hypochlorite in lung fields

    - Body found by 15-year-old Nicole Reynolds on a Saturday pre-dawn during a newspaper route.
    - Coroner ruled cause of death as asphyxia by drowning with prolonged submersion.
    - Ground beneath the body and the fence post beside it were completely dry with no moisture trail.
    - Crystal Collins was arrested in June 2011 and charged with first-degree murder.
    - Toxicology annex page 17 reported sodium hypochlorite at concentrations consistent with treated municipal water or a maintained indoor pool.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Photo in the Mailbox That Ruined Her Life-and Why

    The Photo in the Mailbox That Ruined Her Life-and Why
    2026/07/23
    The Photo in the Mailbox That Ruined Her Life-and Why

    Fear of being watched begins at dawn: a professional-grade, laminated photo sealed in a zip-lock bag was left at the base of a mailbox on March 11, 2009, showing a woman in a bathrobe at her kitchen window at 6:14 a.m. on February 28 - and the exterior flood light had been deliberately disabled beforehand. Who turned off the breaker, paid cash for lamination, and made sure the image would survive?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of physical evidence that started with a photograph in a mailbox and led investigators down two contradictory paths; we follow the discovery of tampering at the house, a timestamped image, and the receipt that linked the print to a local laminator - but who was being watched, and why, remains the central question.

    Person: Marilyn Meyer
    Date: February 28, 2009 (photo timestamp) and March 11, 2009 (mailbox discovery)
    Location: Sycamore Flat Road 6, Garner Falls, Breckett County
    Evidence: Laminated photograph in zip-lock bag; panel box hinge forced and 15-amp breaker manually tripped
    Business: Quik-Print in Harwick - one lamination paid in cash in mid-to-late February

    - Photograph timestamped 6:14 a.m., February 28, 2009.
    - Photo found by Darlene Parker at 5:40 a.m, on March 11, 2009.
    - Marilyn Meyer was 44 years old in spring 2009 and administered insulin to her 14-year-old cat twice daily at 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
    - Exterior flood light circuit ran through a 15-amp breaker that had been manually tripped; garage panel hinge showed forced reset discovered March 15.
    - Quik-Print manager Bev Holst recalled one lamination paid in cash in mid-to-late February by a middle-aged man who handled the photo carefully.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    23 分