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  • The Counselor Who Wasn't: How a Fake Therapist Rebuilt Her Life

    The Counselor Who Wasn't: How a Fake Therapist Rebuilt Her Life
    2026/09/10
    The Counselor Who Wasn't: How a Fake Therapist Rebuilt Her Life

    A quiet Thursday ritual, a forged license, and a sticky note with seven words set off a nine-year unraveling that ended with $94,000 moved out of a family account and a fictitious therapist named Alan Reeves seeing Sandra Murphy. Who built the geometry of this scheme, and how did a careful estimator miss the numbers until it was too late?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from a 4:47 a.m. bicycle discovery to the revelation that Sandra’s twice-monthly clinician was actually Kevin Slade, a former paralegal using a falsified 2017 license, asking how ordinary routines were exploited to rebuild someone’s reality around deception.

    Person: Todd Murphy
    Person: Sandra Murphy
    Person: Kevin Slade
    Person: Troy Boyd
    Date: September 11, 2019

    - A 14-year-old paperboy named Carl Foster found a silver four-door with a manila folder marked Boyd & Associates and a sticky note reading "Tell him the counselor already knows. He'll fold."
    - Sandra Murphy began seeing "Dr. Alan Reeves" twice a month in late 2017; the license under that name was obtained via a falsified application in 2017.
    - Kevin Slade, a former paralegal with no valid clinical license, was the real person posing as Dr. Alan Reeves.
    - Todd and Sandra's joint college fund of $94,000 was closed in January 2019 and transferred to a brokerage account under an unfamiliar name two months before Sandra announced a divorce in March 2019.
    - Troy Boyd, owner of Clearview Home Services LLC, entered the Murphy house in autumn 2016 for skylight repairs and later served as Sandra's divorce attorney in March 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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    24 分
  • She Gave Her a Shoebox of Silence: The Sister Who Never Got Letters

    She Gave Her a Shoebox of Silence: The Sister Who Never Got Letters
    2026/09/09
    She Gave Her a Shoebox of Silence: The Sister Who Never Got Letters

    Fear of being gaslit into losing your life is a slow, private terror - forty-one handwritten letters from a sister who died two years earlier were found sealed in a shoebox under a culvert, and the silence between them was manufactured. This episode follows the deliberate, years-long campaign that erased Emily Stewart’s relationship, finances, and social ties: who built that silence, and why?

    In this episode, you will hear how a routine roadside encounter snowballed into the revelation of a systematic coercive-control operation that stole nine years of correspondence and about $75,000 from a retired teacher - how altered address books, impersonated calls, and intercepted mail combined to sever a sisterhood. What traces did investigators find that reveal the scope and pattern of the deception?

    Person: Emily Stewart
    Person: Dorothy Stewart
    Person: Holly Novak
    Event: Forty-one letters found in a sealed shoebox on February 3, 2019
    Status: Dorothy Stewart deceased (October 2016)

    - Forty-one handwritten letters addressed to Emily Stewart were found sealed in a plastic bag and bound with rubber bands.
    - Dorothy Stewart wrote to Emily consistently from 2006 to 2015, a span of nine years.
    - Emily Stewart lost approximately $75,000 and most of her social connections over the course of the scheme.
    - Dorothy Stewart lived at 4418 East Calle Nogal in Tucson; the return address on the letters matched that address.
    - Dorothy Stewart died in October 2016, more than two years before her letters were discovered.

    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
  • He Watched Her Move Out: The Quiet Design of a Stalking Landlord

    He Watched Her Move Out: The Quiet Design of a Stalking Landlord
    2026/09/08
    He Watched Her Move Out: The Quiet Design of a Stalking Landlord

    The idea that someone could design a tenant out of their own home is quietly terrifying: a powered camera, mounted at 5'8", angled beneath a window, recorded a woman for nine months while a landlord tracked a timeline to recoup lost rent. How many ordinary repair requests, canceled visits, and falsified complaints does it take before a person gives up and leaves?

    In this episode, we present the sequence of events and documents uncovered around one apartment and one landlord, tracing maintenance logs, a dated camera bracket, and altered paperwork to the question: was this a calculated eviction-by-coercion or a series of isolated incidents?

    Person: Julie Whitaker
    Location: 4418 Alderman Court, Pelham, Oregon
    Date: July 2014 (camera discovered); lease began late summer 2013
    Owner: Gregory Quinn
    Camera runtime: nine months

    - The corridor where the camera was found is four feet wide, concrete, with no residential access.
    - The camera was mounted at five feet eight inches and angled upward toward a shared wall.
    - Julie filed eleven maintenance requests between November 2013 and June 2014; six were resolved and five were canceled the morning of scheduled appointments.
    - Gregory Quinn bought 4418 Alderman Court in 2003 and owned six properties through Meridian Residential LLC.
    - A laptop seized in August 2014 contained a spreadsheet with a "recovery timeline" projecting gains once the unit returned to market rate.

    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
  • He Took Her Trust - How a Pastor Stole a Widow's Life Savings

    He Took Her Trust - How a Pastor Stole a Widow's Life Savings
    2026/09/07
    He Took Her Trust - How a Pastor Stole a Widow's Life Savings

    A quiet shoe in a flooded ditch, a pastor with a counseling certificate, and $18,000 gone from a widow’s secret savings - trust turned into theft over 28 months. How did a man with an office two blocks from that ditch systematically take money, privacy, and a woman's sense of safety without any formal records?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events laid out in the transcript: the discovery of the dry sneaker on June 11, 2019, the counseling sessions that began in February 2017, the repeated cash withdrawals timed to visits, and the small signs neighbors noticed that later fit together - asking how the pattern of access and timing enabled the theft.

    Person: Sherry Mills
    Person: Duane Watson
    Date: June 11, 2019
    Period: February 2017-June 2019
    Amount: just over $18,000

    - A tan orthopedic sneaker size seven with Velcro and "S. Mills" written inside was found dry in a flooded ditch at 5:47 AM on June 11, 2019.
    - Sherry Mills began twice-weekly counseling sessions in February 2017 and disclosed a separate savings account in spring 2017.
    - Over 22 months Sherry made 22 cash withdrawals ranging from $400 to $600 each, totaling just over $18,000.
    - Fourteen of those withdrawals occurred within 48 hours of a counseling session.
    - Duane Watson served as Director of Congregational Care, had a pastoral counseling certificate, and had an office two blocks from where the shoe was found.

    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
  • She Stole Her Life With Letters - The Shoe That Exposed $41,000

    She Stole Her Life With Letters - The Shoe That Exposed $41,000
    2026/09/06
    She Stole Her Life With Letters - The Shoe That Exposed $41,000

    The discovery of a single navy blue shoe outside 412 Dunmore Road led investigators to $41,000 in certified checks hidden inside footwear - and to a months‑long campaign of letters, texts, and video calls that convinced a careful dental hygienist to flee her home. How did a fabricated engineer named Paula Vogel move money and erase a life without any visible struggle, and why did the shoe become the one thing that broke the illusion?

    In this episode, we tell what happened from the first message on a dating app to the morning a utility worker found the shoe, covering the methods used to manipulate trust, the small clue that unmasked a fabricated worksite, and the moment the missing woman’s life was exposed by an object no one expected. What exactly did the letters, texts, and questions about a bank account accomplish - and who else was being targeted the same way?

    Person: Brenda Peterson
    Date: May 14, 2019
    Location: 412 Dunmore Road, Carvell, Indiana
    Amount: $41,000 in certified checks
    Impostor alias: Paula Vogel

    - One navy blue left flat shoe was found wedged against a gas meter at 412 Dunmore Road on May 14, 2019.
    - Brenda Peterson had lived at 412 Dunmore Road for just under three years and was 32 years old at the time.
    - Between 12 and 20 text messages per day were sent to Brenda as part of the sustained campaign.
    - Paula Vogel contacted at least two other women in Indiana, named Nancy Chu in Bloomington and Debra Lim in Fort Wayne.
    - The first inconsistency was a highway number visible in a photo that did not exist in the interstate system, discovered in March 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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    22 分
  • He Taught Her to Doubt Her Own Mind - The Quiet Theft of Ruth Myer

    He Taught Her to Doubt Her Own Mind - The Quiet Theft of Ruth Myer
    2026/09/05
    He Taught Her to Doubt Her Own Mind - The Quiet Theft of Ruth Myer

    The most intimate theft is the one that leaves no bruises: a woman’s fourteen-page deed signed away, her reading glasses folded face-down, and twenty-three months in which a man taught her to distrust her own mind. How did casual attention and tiny corrections add up until she signed away the home she’d paid a mortgage on for nineteen years?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline laid out in Ruth Myer’s own spiral notebooks, witness statements, and financial records to show how everyday routines were altered and decisions were reframed. What sequence of small acts turned a careful, punctual widow into someone who relinquished the house she’d bought with her late husband’s insurance?

    Person: Ruth Myer
    Age: 52 in spring 2019
    Person: Chad Ford
    Age: 55
    Location: Fenwick Road, Caldwell Township

    - Ruth’s reading glasses were folded face-down on a fourteen-page legal document transferring ownership of her house.
    - The property was signed away on a Tuesday afternoon in April after twenty-three months of interaction with Chad Ford.
    - Ruth had paid the mortgage for nineteen years using her late husband Dennis’s life insurance to buy the house.
    - Ruth worked fifteen hours a week as a bookkeeper for plumbing contractor Jim Wolfe since 2009.
    - Investigators reviewed six spiral-bound notebooks Ruth kept for nearly three years documenting daily notes called her “memory notes.”

    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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    24 分
  • He Tore Down His Life Quietly - The Cedar Tree Deception

    He Tore Down His Life Quietly - The Cedar Tree Deception
    2026/09/04
    He Tore Down His Life Quietly - The Cedar Tree Deception

    A chill of precise betrayal: a senior compliance analyst lost $11,400, two friendships, and contact with his sister after a colleague methodically rewired his life without force or threats. What unseen steps turned routine attention into total control, and how did a man trained to spot irregularities miss the slow theft of his reality?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events that changed Todd Zimmerman's life from predictable and contained to unmoored, tracking the people, routines, and decisions that preceded his flight down a rural highway at 2:17 a.m. What cumulative manipulations allowed someone to erase a man's trust and finances without visible violence?

    Person: Todd Zimmerman
    Age: 44
    Occupation: Senior compliance analyst at Merritt-Crane Industrial Supply
    Date: March 4, 2021 at 2:17 a.m.
    Amount: $11,400 moved across 14 months

    - Todd walked seven miles along a rural highway at 2:17 a.m. on March 4, 2021 in dress socks with no shoes and no phone.
    - Todd had worked for Merritt-Crane Industrial Supply for 11 years and woke each morning at 5:50.
    - $11,400 was transferred in pieces across 14 months through an account Todd agreed to open.
    - April Porter was 37 when she arrived as regional accounts director in spring 2018 and had the new account placed in both their names.
    - Todd cut contact with his regular lunch companion Marcus Webb after April told him Marcus had been saying he was difficult to work with, a story later confirmed to be invented.

    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
  • Forgotten Folder: How a River Exposed an Elder Abuser

    Forgotten Folder: How a River Exposed an Elder Abuser
    2026/09/03
    Forgotten Folder: How a River Exposed an Elder Abuser

    The river delivered an orange accordion folder three miles downstream from the Calder River bridge, soaked and fanned open to reveal a filing system that linked a stranger to a seventy-seven-year-old man's ruined life. How did one man quietly take everything Leonard Anderson owned - and why did the person who dumped the paperwork forget to burn it?

    In this episode, we tell what the recovered documents revealed, how a retired postal worker and a persistent daughter intersected with a man named Scott Tucker, and what the folder's contents meant for Leonard's house, bank account, and legal authority - could these papers undo eighteen months of deliberate dismantling?

    Person: Leonard Anderson
    Date: February 9, 2019
    Location: Willow fork three miles downstream from the Calder River bridge
    Event: Discovery of accordion folder containing personal and legal documents
    Person: Philip Donnelly

    - The recovered folder contained a Heartland Federal passbook showing a balance of $41,000.
    - The folder included a quit-claim deed transferring 714 Orin Street to Starfield Property Management LLC.
    - A handwritten power-of-attorney in the folder granted Scott Tucker full financial and medical authority over Leonard.
    - Philip Donnelly, a 53-year-old retired postal worker, found the folder caught against a root and turned it over to the Tipton County Sheriff's Department the same day.
    - Dr. Irene Chappell diagnosed Leonard with early-stage vascular dementia in spring 2017.

    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