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  • The Open Door, the Shoe, and the Will Signed by a Dead Man

    The Open Door, the Shoe, and the Will Signed by a Dead Man
    2026/09/10
    The Open Door, the Shoe, and the Will Signed by a Dead Man

    The morning a paperboy found a size eleven brown dress shoe in an open doorway, an eighty-one-year-old man had already been dead for days - and a new will had been filed naming a witness who had died three days before the document was dated. How did a will dated December 19, 2010, bearing a dead man's name as witness, nearly redirect nearly two million dollars away from the decedent's named heir?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events from the open door on Crestfall Avenue to the probate contest, following the people, the documents, and the forensic work that exposed the contradiction at the heart of the case. What forensic detail unspooled a carefully positioned fraud and proved the will could not be genuine?

    Person: Walter Pryce
    Date: January 9, 2011
    Location: 412 Crestfall Avenue, Dunmore
    Case: 2011-PR-0047
    Person: James Cutter (deceased December 16, 2010)

    - The front door at 412 Crestfall Avenue was standing open at 6:14 AM on January 9, 2011.
    - Walter Pryce, age 81, had been dead for three or four days when found by the paperboy.
    - A will dated December 19, 2010, was filed on January 12, 2011, by a man named Frank Seward.
    - The filed will named James Cutter as a witness, but Cutter died on December 16, 2010, three days before the will's date.
    - Examiner Carol Hutchins compared the will signature against 47 authenticated Pryce exemplars from 2004-2010.

    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 Hammer That Convicted Him - Evidence No One Read

    The Hammer That Convicted Him - Evidence No One Read
    2026/09/08
    The Hammer That Convicted Him - Evidence No One Read

    A discarded hammer found in a roadside ditch after a December storm carried blood that matched a murdered 61-year-old teacher - and a single partial fingerprint that matched the county's own evidence technician. How did one exhibit, logged as Exhibit 14 in Harwick County Superior Court case CR-7741, become the hinge for an arrest, a dismissal, two convictions, and a destroyed object that nobody read closely enough?

    In this episode, we walk through the timeline from the plow blade striking the tool on the morning of December 9, 2011 to the hammer sitting on the defense table during eleven days of trial in October 2013, and we ask how a forensic evidence log could hold the question that decided the case.

    Person: Deborah Vance
    Date: December 9, 2011
    Location: County Road 18; 4 Millstone Court, Fallston
    Case: CR-7741
    Exhibit: Exhibit 14 (hammer)

    - 7:14 AM on December 9, 2011 - Bruce Burke's plow blade kicked a sixteen-ounce Estwing claw hammer into the ditch.
    - The hammer was not present when Burke plowed the same stretch two days earlier on December 7, 2011.
    - Biological material on the hammer head matched Deborah Vance at every tested DNA locus.
    - A single latent print of eleven ridge characteristics was lifted from the steel collar of the hammer.
    - The latent print matched Tina Okafor, the Harwick County forensic evidence technician who first processed the hammer at the road shoulder.

    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
  • The Orange Juice That Should Have Freed Her: How Evidence Lied

    The Orange Juice That Should Have Freed Her: How Evidence Lied
    2026/09/06
    The Orange Juice That Should Have Freed Her: How Evidence Lied

    The glass of orange juice on a cold concrete step never froze even though the temperature stayed below 28°C, and that single, overlooked detail should have upended the case from the start - so how did it get logged, photographed, and then ignored while a young woman went to prison? What other pieces of evidence were misread, and how did a reversed surveillance tape send an innocent person to a 22-year sentence?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events as recorded in reports and interviews, from the discovery on Teller Road to the forensic review that flipped the key video evidence, and we ask whether routine procedures and unexamined assumptions can cost someone their freedom.

    Person: Deanna Marsh
    Person: Kelly Wagner
    Person: Raymond O'Brien
    Date: November 14
    Location: 42 Teller Road

    - The orange juice on the concrete step remained unfrozen despite temperatures not rising above 28 degrees since before midnight.
    - Raymond O'Brien was dispatched before seven in the morning on November 14 and found the back door open about four inches.
    - Deanna Marsh, age 43, was found strangled with her purse on the kitchen counter and her car in the driveway.
    - A porch camera recorded a figure at 11:47 PM on November 13 wearing a dark green quilted jacket with a pale stripe.
    - Kelly Wagner, age 24, was convicted of second-degree murder after six hours of jury deliberation and sentenced to 22 years.

    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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    19 分
  • Locked Gates, One Punch Card, and the Confession at Trial

    Locked Gates, One Punch Card, and the Confession at Trial
    2026/09/03
    Locked Gates, One Punch Card, and the Confession at Trial

    Fear that someone you trust can slip back into a locked place: at 7:41 a.m. on October 9, 2011 a runner found a silver Buick behind locked gates and Miriam Castillo inside, dead from manual strangulation - and the south gate's punch-card recorded a closing that same night. Who used a legitimate key when only four people were authorized, and why was nothing taken from her car?

    In this episode, we tell how routine paperwork, a low-tech punch-card, and a duplicate key purchased in cash connected a seasonal contractor to a murder scene, and how one small unreturned object led to a courtroom confession that would decide the case.

    Person: Miriam Castillo
    Date: October 9, 2011
    Location: Fenner Park access road behind the maintenance shed
    Cause: Manual strangulation
    Investigator: Detective Marcus Webb

    - Time of discovery: 7:41 a.m. on October 9, 2011
    - Victim age: 44 years old, deceased approximately 18 hours prior to discovery
    - Gate log: two punches recorded on the south gate between approximately 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. on October 8, 2011
    - Authorized keyholders: four people listed; Richard Olson had returned his key on August 22, 2011
    - Duplicate key: Richard Olson purchased a replacement key at Denner Hardware on July 30, 2011, paid in cash

    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
  • The Watch That Convicted Her: How One Blood Type Ruined Tammy

    The Watch That Convicted Her: How One Blood Type Ruined Tammy
    2026/09/01
    The Watch That Convicted Her: How One Blood Type Ruined Tammy

    A stopped Seiko on a dinner plate, a kitchen door left ajar, and a single blood type that sent a woman to prison-could one common antigen decide a life? The pool of B-positive blood found on a kitchen floor, a nine-day trial, and evidence that was visible from day one all point to a case where what everyone saw was not what they asked-so who did Beverly Crane’s blood and the B-positive trace really belong to?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries from the morning William Rafferty found the watch to the trial that followed, following the physical evidence, witness accounts, and the quiet detail that went unnoticed for fourteen years. How did a B-positive blood type, shared by one in eight people, become the central fact that unraveled-or failed to prove-guilt?

    Person: Beverly Crane
    Date: September 9, 1986
    Location: 714 Orrin Street, Caulfield Township
    Case: Docket CR-87-0341
    Prosecutor: Vincent Marsh

    - A Seiko watch with a tan leather strap was found stopped at 11:14 on a white porcelain plate at 8:45 AM on September 9, 1986.
    - Three blood deposits were collected: a smear on the door frame (matching A-positive), a mixed partial handprint on a refrigerator handle (A-positive and B-positive), and a pooled deposit near the kitchen counter base (B-positive).
    - Beverly Crane was 38 years old and worked as a billing coordinator at Taft Regional Medical Center in Portsmith.
    - Tammy Phillips had cleaned Beverly’s house six times between the prior year and March 1986 and had a prior unresolved $20 theft complaint filed in spring 1986.
    - The nine-day trial opened in February 1987 before Judge Helen Pryce, where a statistician testified that B-positive occurs in approximately 12% of the population (about one in eight people).

    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
  • The Tote Bag That Convicted One Woman - And Freed Another

    The Tote Bag That Convicted One Woman - And Freed Another
    2026/08/30
    The Tote Bag That Convicted One Woman - And Freed Another

    Fear that a single overlooked object can upend a life: a pale green Harwick Farm Supply tote with a cut wristwatch and license plates was found behind Calvary Lutheran Church five days after a reported burglary, and within two weeks the homeowner was arrested - but whose prints were on the strap, and where did the bag really come from?

    In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of discoveries from the morning the tote was found through arrests and defense review, and how one partial fingerprint and a thirteen-week gap between readings of the same evidence changed the case. Which reading was right, and how did the same evidence both convict and clear a person?

    Person: Frances Hunter
    Date: August 3-9, 2011 (burglary night to tote discovery)
    Location: Whitmore Drive (home) and Calvary Lutheran Church (tote found)
    Item: pale green Harwick Farm Supply canvas tote with Harwick logo
    Charge: evidence tampering and theft by deception

    - Tote was found at 7:20 AM on August 9, 2011 behind Calvary Lutheran Church.
    - Items inside the tote: two license plates on a sheared steel bracket and a silver Citizen wristwatch with its band cut.
    - Frances reported a burglary the night of August 3 into August 4 with missing items including a Citizen quartz wristwatch, laptop, and $200 cash.
    - Frances was arrested on August 17, 2011, thirteen days after her burglary report.
    - The tote strap carried a partial fingerprint that did not match Frances Hunter.

    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 Rain Gauge That Sent a Woman to Trial - Then Freed Her

    The Rain Gauge That Sent a Woman to Trial - Then Freed Her
    2026/08/27
    The Rain Gauge That Sent a Woman to Trial - Then Freed Her

    Fear that a single overlooked object can decide a life: a plastic rain gauge found eleven feet off Azalea Creek Trail became State's Exhibit Fourteen, helped send Judith Nelson to trial after a body was found beneath the pine duff, and later opened the path to her freedom-so who really placed it there and why?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from Alice Turner's July 9, 2019 discovery through the arrest and trial that followed, tracing evidence around a rain gauge, a deleted text, payroll discrepancies, and a late confession that reshaped the case-how did one small object change everything?

    Person: Renata Voss
    Person: Judith Nelson
    Date: July 9, 2019
    Location: Azalea Creek Trail
    Event: Rain gauge found eleven feet off trail, water column still reading

    - The rain gauge was located eleven feet off Azalea Creek Trail, pressed into dry Tennessee soil.
    - Alice Turner discovered the gauge and disturbed earth at 7:40 AM on July 9, 2019.
    - Renata Voss was last confirmed at work on June 28, 2019 and reported absent by June 30, 2019.
    - A message from Judith Nelson's number on June 24, 2019 read: "We should talk somewhere quiet. I know where you walk."
    - Judith Nelson's E-ZPass registered a toll on Route Nine at 11:58 AM on June 29, 2019.

    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
  • The Door That Didn't Lock: The Timestamp That Broke a Trial

    The Door That Didn't Lock: The Timestamp That Broke a Trial
    2026/08/25
    The Door That Didn't Lock: The Timestamp That Broke a Trial

    A wrong camera timestamp off by exactly fifty-eight minutes turned a single photograph into the hinge of a murder trial that deadlocked a jury. Who was standing in the doorway before Melissa Tran left work, and how did a maintenance work order timestamp change everything?

    In this episode, you will hear the timeline of Melissa Tran’s disappearance, the discovery of her body in the Aldine River, and the three pieces of evidence that focused suspicion on maintenance technician Kenneth Johnson - but left crucial questions unresolved. How could a completed work order stamped at 4:17 p.m. place Johnson at an apartment he never entered?

    Person: Melissa Tran
    Person: Kenneth Johnson
    Date: June 1, 2011
    Location: Aldine River
    Cause of death: Manual strangulation

    - Melissa was twenty-six and had called her mother every Wednesday at 10:30 p.m, for three years.
    - Gas station cameras recorded Melissa at 9:47 p.m. on Birch and Colton the night she disappeared.
    - Kenneth Johnson had worked six years for Harmon Property Group with master keys for fourteen buildings.
    - A DNA match from a hair in Melissa’s tote was reported by Dr. Carl Weston as one in four hundred billion.
    - A work order for apartment 4-C was timestamped 4:17 p.m. on June 1, 2011, but the tenant Howard Bell heard no knock and no one entered.

    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