He called himself “Mr. Social Security,” a small-town lawyer who turned double-wide trailers into a legal empire in Eastern Kentucky. Eric C. Conn built his fortune on outlandish marketing, luxury cars and roadside monuments to himself. But behind the spectacle was something darker: the largest Social Security fraud in U.S. history.

In the first episode of The Eric C. Conn Case, hosts Marcus Roland and Emily Steele trace Conn’s rise from humble beginnings to Appalachian celebrity, and how his flashy persona masked a system of lies, bribes, and corruption.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

The murder of Amanda Ross sent shockwaves through Kentucky and beyond. In The Steve Nunn Case, Pt. 3: Amanda Ross, Her Law and the Limits of Justice, the final installment of our three-part series, we look beyond the crime itself and examine the lasting impact of Ross’s death — and the fight for change that followed.

Ross's mother turned grief into advocacy, pushing for stronger protections for victims of domestic violence. The result was Amanda’s Law, a measure designed to use GPS monitoring to help keep survivors safe. But the law that ultimately enacted was far weaker than intended — and heartbreakingly, would not have protected Ross herself.

Hosts Marcus Roland and Emily Steele explore the politics, compromises and obstacles that shaped the law, as well as the programs and resources created in Ross's name.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses domestic violence and intimate partner homicide. Listener discretion is advised.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

By noon Sept. 11, 2009, police had tracked former legislator Steve Nunn — accused of killing his ex-fiancée, Amanda Ross — to a rural Kentucky cemetery. What followed was a tense armed confrontation, a mounting pile of damning circumstantial evidence, and a legal case shaped by the very laws Nunn helped pass.

In The Steve Nunn Case, Pt. 2: From the Statehouse to the Jailhouse, hosts Emily Steele and Marcus Roland trace Nunn’s arrest, the twists and turns of his prosecution, his surprising plea deal, and the multimillion-dollar civil judgment that would follow. The story of Steve Nunn’s fall from power is one of pursuit, justice, and consequences that echo long after sentencing.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses domestic violence and intimate partner homicide. Listener discretion is advised.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this gripping first episode of a three-part chapter, Kentucky Case Files unpacks The Steve Nunn Case. In Part 1, The Governor’s Son, His Obsession and Her Fear, we meet Amanda Ross — a bright, beloved young woman gunned down outside her Lexington home in September 2009. Her killer? Steve Nunn, a former state legislator and the son of a powerful Kentucky governor.

Hosts Emily Steele and Marcus Roland trace Nunn’s fall from political royalty to convicted murderer, revealing a harrowing story of power, control and ignored warning signs. From a fast-moving relationship to escalating violence, the episode exposes the dangerous facade of a man who once helped pass a law meant to protect domestic abuse victims like Ross — the same law that would ultimately seal his fate.

Featuring expert analysis, firsthand accounts and archival media, this episode sets the stage for a haunting tale of love turned lethal and the system that couldn't stop it in time.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses domestic violence and intimate partner homicide. Listener discretion is advised.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In The Clay Shrout Case's final episode, Pt. 4: That Was How, This Is Why, hosts Marcus Roland and Emily Steele explore the deeper psychological and emotional factors behind one of Kentucky’s most shocking family murders. Through discussion, parole hearing audio, and expert analysis from psychologist Dr. Peter Langman, this episode examines Clay Shrout’s conflicting motives — from claims of parental control to a late-stage allegations of abuse — and his disturbing lack of remorse. The hosts unpack Shrout’s psychopathic traits, the possible roots of his rage, and whether any insight has emerged from his decades in prison. Concluding with practical advice for parents, schools and teens, this episode is both a chilling profile and a call to recognize red flags before tragedy strikes.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

IIn The Clay Shrout Case, Pt. 3: Inside the Mind of a Psychopath, Kentucky Case Files hosts Marcus Roland and Emily Steele speak with Dr. Peter Langman, a psychologist and leading expert on school shooters, to delve into the psychological profile of Clay Shrout. Langman examines possible motivations behind Shrout’s 1994 familicide, discusses the traits of psychopathy, and questions the credibility of Shrout’s late-stage claims. With insights into psychopathic behavior, fame-seeking violence, and the role of nature versus nurture, this episode explores whether true rehabilitation is possible — or if some minds remain irreparably dark.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In The Clay Shrout Case, Pt. 2: Guilty but Mentally Ill, hosts Marcus Roland and Emily Steele follow the aftermath of Shrout’s horrific 1994 familicide, tracing his legal journey from juvenile hearings to a plea of “guilty but mentally ill.” The episode explores the courtroom decisions that spared him the death penalty, his turbulent years in Kentucky’s prison system marked by violence, escape attempts, and solitary confinement, and his eventual transfer to a lower-security facility. As Shrout faces his first parole hearing 25 years later, listeners are left to grapple with the consequences of a crime that devastated a community and the question of whether true rehabilitation is possible.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music or wherever you get your podcasts.

In the premiere episode of Kentucky Case Files, hosts Marcus Roland and Emily Beaulieu Steele examine The Clay Shrout Case, the shocking 1994 story of a high-achieving high school senior from Florence, Kentucky, who murdered his parents and two younger sisters before heading to school armed with a gun. With firsthand insights and local context, Pt. 1 explores Clay’s descent into darkness, marked by depression, obsession with violence, and disturbing behavioral changes—all culminating in one of the most haunting crimes in Kentucky history.

CAUTION: This episodes contains descriptions of violence that listeners will find disturbing.

Listen at https://pod.co/kentucky-case-files or wherever you get your podcasts.