エピソード

  • The Typewriter That Shouldn't Have Typed: How They Framed Amy

    The Typewriter That Shouldn't Have Typed: How They Framed Amy
    2026/09/10
    The Typewriter That Shouldn't Have Typed: How They Framed Amy

    A single fingerprint, letter by letter, from a typewriter that had been sealed in an evidence locker for twenty-six months turned a missing-child case into a fight over truth and trust. How could a machine with an intact seal and no access log leave the defective "e" impression on a ransom note that named a nine-year-old boy and demanded forty thousand dollars?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from a morning run to a forensic breakthrough and the impossible discovery that followed, and we ask whether the paper itself holds the answer to who really knew the department’s secrets.

    Person: Amy Watson
    Person: Cody Ashburn
    Date: August 6, 2009
    Item: Remington Portable Eight typewriter, serial RP8-441892
    Demand: $40,000 ransom

    - A jogger, Stanley Meyer, found a folded ransom note at 6:42 AM on August 6, 2009, wedged in a chain-link fence.
    - The note demanded $40,000 for the return of nine-year-old Cody Ashburn and set a drop deadline of August 7.
    - Forensic examiner Patricia Gould identified a hairline gap in every lowercase "e" matching a specific defective key.
    - The matching typewriter (Remington Portable Eight, serial RP8-441892) was logged into Harwick Falls PD evidence locker on March 14, 2007, sealed and showing no check-outs for 26 months.
    - Detective Howard Brent had the note bagged by 7:15 AM the same day it was found and by August 9 Gould had produced the typewriter identification.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    22 分
  • The Piggy Bank That Exposed an Arsonist - Innocence on Fire

    The Piggy Bank That Exposed an Arsonist - Innocence on Fire
    2026/09/09
    The Piggy Bank That Exposed an Arsonist - Innocence on Fire

    A pale pink ceramic piggy bank, smelling of accelerant, sat undamaged on a concrete pad inside a cleared crime scene six days after a house burned to its foundation - how did it get there and what did its survival mean? That single intact object eventually helped undo a wrongful conviction and point to an arsonist; but who placed it, and why did it outlast the fire?

    In this episode, we tell the story of the July 2014 fire at 414 Orchard Trace Road, the evidence found and the investigation that followed, and how one small object shifted the course of a case. What threads in the original inquiry were missed, and how did the piggy bank become the key that reopened everything?

    Person: Brenda Zeller
    Date: July 14, 2014
    Location: 414 Orchard Trace Road, Teller County
    Occupation: Billing coordinator at Meridian Logistics
    Insurance coverage: $142,000

    - The piggy bank was found on July 14, 2014 by gas meter reader Scott Hansen beneath a warped lattice slat on the concrete pad.
    - The house behind the lattice had burned to its foundation six days earlier.
    - Brenda Zeller was 30 years old in spring 2012 when she signed the mortgage for 414 Orchard Trace Road and paid $612 per month.
    - The homeowner’s policy covered $142,000 while the replacement value of the structure was closer to $160,000, leaving an $18,000 shortfall.
    - Fire investigator Paul Eckert filed a 22-page report eight days after the fire noting V-shaped char patterns, irregular burn depths, and multiple points of origin under a methodology used in 14 prior testimonies.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    24 分
  • The Cake in the Storage Unit: Why Patricia Never Came Home

    The Cake in the Storage Unit: Why Patricia Never Came Home
    2026/09/08
    The Cake in the Storage Unit: Why Patricia Never Came Home

    A perfect birthday cake-white frosting, pink rosettes, the number 52 in purple-sat undamaged inside a locked church storage unit with the receipt still taped to the lid, traced to a loyalty card in the name of a woman already missing for four days. How did a cake bought two days before a disappearance end up deliberately placed where someone could find it later, and what does that choice reveal about Patricia Brown’s fate?

    In this episode, we tell what happened from the moment Patricia failed to show up for her Thursday volunteer shift through the discovery that made the case inexplicable: a cake and an unlocked door. You’ll hear how routine details of her life-her 19-year career, her habit of locking the side door, the single missing volunteer day-collide with the evidence that suggests someone knew her schedule and her house; what could those contradictions mean?

    Person: Patricia Brown
    Date: June 9-10, 2011
    Age: 52
    Location: Clement Avenue, Dellwood; storage unit on Perkins Industrial Road
    Person: John Rafferty

    - Patricia missed exactly one volunteer shift in her entire record-the Thursday she disappeared.
    - The cake was purchased two days before the missing-person report and had the receipt taped visibly to the lid.
    - Roger Williams, age 61, found the cake in a locked church storage unit after Patricia had been missing for four days.
    - Detective Ray Spivak documented long, directional scuff marks on the aluminum threshold of the side door, consistent with someone pulling the door open while carrying something heavy.
    - Six months earlier, in February 2011, John Rafferty spent several hours working alone in Patricia’s carport repairing a gutter and asked about her schedule and whether she lived alone.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    21 分
  • The Dry Handbag That Convicted Her: How a False Test Framed Alice

    The Dry Handbag That Convicted Her: How a False Test Framed Alice
    2026/09/07
    The Dry Handbag That Convicted Her: How a False Test Framed Alice

    A dry leather handbag sat upright against a red maple after six hours of rain, untouched by water while the mud twenty feet away held bootprints - a tiny, uncanny detail that helped turn a missing-person case into a near-conviction. How did a single field test and a mysteriously dry bag become the facts that almost condemned Alice Hensley?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from Alice leaving her home at 14 Corbin Street to being found disoriented on the Pelham Creek overpass, and the pieces of evidence that linked - and misled - investigators: the handbag, a Quick Mart receipt, a jacket with a white crystalline substance, and a field test that returned positive for methamphetamine. Which of these items told the true story, and which warped it?

    Person: Alice Hensley
    Date: May 7-11, 2019
    Location: Corbin Street; April Trail; Pelham Creek overpass; Route Nine
    Event: Handbag found dry after six hours of rain; woman found dehydrated on guardrail
    Case: Positive field test for methamphetamine from jacket pocket

    - The handbag was found upright against a red maple after six hours of steady rain with no waterline or soak marks.
    - The handbag contained $63 in cash, a library card with Alice Hensley’s name and 14 Corbin Street, metformin blister packs, and a cracked cell phone still powered on.
    - Alice was last seen leaving her home at approximately 7:30 PM on May 7, 2019, and was found on May 11, 2019, unable to account for the intervening four days.
    - A Quick Mart receipt timestamped 8:14 PM on May 7 showed a purchase of water and gum at a store roughly two miles from Corbin Street and opposite her usual route.
    - A jacket found on Alice at the Pelham Creek overpass had 14 grams of a white crystalline substance in the front pocket, which produced a positive methamphetamine result on a Chemtest Series Seven field kit in under 90 seconds.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    20 分
  • Pool Ring on Concrete: How Fresh Water Solved a Locked-Trailer Drowning

    Pool Ring on Concrete: How Fresh Water Solved a Locked-Trailer Drowning
    2026/09/06
    Pool Ring on Concrete: How Fresh Water Solved a Locked-Trailer Drowning

    A faint four-foot ring on concrete, a deflated kiddie pool, and a woman found with fresh water in her lungs in a county with no lakes-how did that water get there? One overlooked exterior sentence would be the thread that unravels a locked-door mystery and raises a single hard question: who brought the water?

    In this episode, we present the facts from the scene, witness statements, and investigative timeline that led prosecutors to charge Denise Keller and later refocus attention on that carport mark. How did a desert trailer end in a freshwater drowning and what role did the pool ring play in solving the case?

    Person: Sandra Peel
    Date: March 29, 2009
    Location: single-wide mobile home on Draper Flat Road, seven miles outside Questa, New Mexico
    Person: Denise Keller
    Person: Carl Rafferty

    - A faint circular ring roughly four feet across was noted on the carport concrete by Deputy Tom Seaver on the morning of March 29, 2009.
    - Sandra Peel, age 31, was found face-down on her bedroom floor with wet hair and lungs full of fresh water.
    - The nearest substantial body of water, Conchas Lake, is 41 miles northwest of Teller County.
    - Two calls from Denise Keller to Carl Rafferty occurred at 9:14 PM and 11:02 PM on the night of March 28, 2009, per cell logs in the file.
    - Denise Keller was charged with first-degree murder by District Attorney Philip Arcand in May 2009 based on circumstantial evidence including a locked front door and shared residence.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    18 分
  • The Boot on the Limestone Shelf That Sent a Man to Prison

    The Boot on the Limestone Shelf That Sent a Man to Prison
    2026/09/05
    The Boot on the Limestone Shelf That Sent a Man to Prison

    A single brown leather boot, double-knotted and upright on a limestone shelf with six inches of snow all around, became the hinge on which a murder case turned: no footprints led to or from the shelf, the boot was size seven, and investigators traced the only plausible approach to a private fire lane known to a local handyman - so how did that boot get there, and who moved Lena Griggs after she vanished?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from the last confirmed sighting of Lena Griggs at 7:09 a.m. on March 4, 2011 through the discovery of her boot on March 9, and follow how a discarded prepaid phone call, time gaps in surveillance and a handwritten optometrist note became central evidence that decided whether a juror would believe a lone eyewitness. What did the note say, and why did it matter more than the boot itself?

    Person: Lena Griggs, age 51
    Date: March 4, 2011 (last confirmed sighting); March 9 (boot found)
    Location: limestone shelf forty feet off the county easement near Kellum Township
    Witness: Ruth Zimmerman, county surveyor, found boot at 9:47 a.m. on March 9
    Investigator: Ross Walker, lead investigator with wall calendar of facts

    - Lena clocked out of Aldermoor Community Hospital at 7:03 a.m. and left at 7:09 a.m. per security footage.
    - A phone call to Lena’s phone from a prepaid number lasted 4 minutes and 30 seconds at 7:22 a.m.
    - Neighbor Cynthia Oberg did not see Lena’s car in the driveway until after 9:00 a.m., creating an approximate two-hour unaccounted gap.
    - The boot was size seven, belonged to Lena Griggs, and sat on a swept clean limestone shelf with no footprints approaching or leaving.
    - Wade Bailey, age 44, had performed three jobs at Lena’s home between 2008 and 2010 and appeared in the timber contractor records tied to the private fire lane.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    19 分
  • The Library Card That Framed an Innocent Man: Roaming Betrayal

    The Library Card That Framed an Innocent Man: Roaming Betrayal
    2026/09/04
    The Library Card That Framed an Innocent Man: Roaming Betrayal

    A laminated library card, sealed in a freezer bag and buried beneath a septic riser, was found dry on February 9, 2019 - fourteen months after Brenda Okafor vanished; how did that deliberate planting help trigger one of Malone County’s most consequential wrongful arrests? The case hinged on a single line in a carrier data file few understood and a cell record that seemed to place a 23-year-old man at the scene.

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events from Brenda Okafor’s last confirmed sighting to the evidence that led to a forty-one-day wrongful custody; what went wrong with the carrier data interpretation, and who was watching as the case unfolded?

    Person: Brenda Okafor
    Date: November 28, 2017
    Person: Jason Christensen
    Date: February 9, 2019
    Location: Sutter Township

    - Brenda Okafor was 41 years old and had been missing for 14 months when the library card was recovered.
    - The library card was sealed in a zip-closure freezer bag and found dry beneath a concrete septic riser on February 9, 2019.
    - A cell tower record placed Jason Christensen’s phone approximately one mile from Brenda’s building at 9:18 PM on November 28, 2017.
    - Jason Christensen, age 23, spent 41 days in custody and was charged with murder in April 2018.
    - Eleven lines into the carrier's technical export appeared the notation: "roaming handoff - partner network, signal origin unverified."

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    17 分
  • The Impossible Signature: Why a Dead Man's Will Rewrote an Estate

    The Impossible Signature: Why a Dead Man's Will Rewrote an Estate
    2026/09/03
    The Impossible Signature: Why a Dead Man's Will Rewrote an Estate

    A bone-dry will folded inside an archival sleeve was found on a frozen pond trail, discovered at 8:20 AM on January 9, 2011 - a document that would become Exhibit Thirty-One in Docket CR-4471-J. How did a signature appear from a man who had been dead for three days, and why did a four-gram-per-square-meter difference in paper weight become the case's turning point?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events in the last week of December 2010 and trace the connections between visits, phone calls, cash withdrawals, and notarizations to ask whether the signature was forged and who benefited. Which link in that deliberate chain finally cracked the scheme?

    Person: Harold Voss
    Date: December 22, 2010 (death)
    Location: Abner Pond (portfolio found), Harlen County (farmhouse and county seat)
    Case: Docket CR-4471-J
    Person: Michael Wilson

    - The portfolio was found on January 9, 2011 at 8:20 AM under a clump of cattails at Abner Pond.
    - Harold Voss’s estate was approximately $1.4 million and he was 78 years old at death.
    - Michael Wilson notarized 41 documents in Harlen County in the 14 months before Voss’s death, including 4 wills or will amendments.
    - Dennis Farrow, listed as a witness on the will dated December 19, had died on December 16, three days before the will was dated.
    - The paper weight difference that mattered was 4 grams per square meter between Voss’s will page and surrounding pages.

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    22 分