True Crime with Kendall Rae

Niqui McCown vanished weeks before her dream wedding, sparking suspicion on her fiancé and her coworker Tommy Swint. Tommy's unsettling past was uncovered, leading to more questions than answers in this mysterious case. Podcast explores the emotional impact on her family and the ongoing efforts to uncover the truth.

Kelley Stage was funny, kind, endearing, and goofy… qualities that made her loved by everyone she met, including local hockey star Thomas Clayton. After meeting in a bar, the two quickly began dating, and a year later, they were married and starting a family together. They had what many perceived to be the perfect life. That is until September 29th, 2015, when Thomas came home just after midnight from a poker game to find his wife brutally bludgeoned on their kitchen floor. He called 911, and within an hour, the place was swarming with police. Though he performed well, the officers weren’t buying his story that he wasn’t involved. So much so that that same day, he was arrested for her murder. Even though his alibi checked out, too much pointed to his involvement. All investigators had to do was figure out who did the actual killing. And he wasn’t hard to find. Michael Beard, a recently fired employee of Thomas, was brought in for questioning, and after several hours and a failed polygraph, he confessed to everything. Though he later tried to recant, a jury didn’t buy it. They didn’t buy Thomas’ pleas of innocence either. Both men were convicted of 1st and 2nd-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Check out Futures Without Violence: https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/ Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Smalls - promo code: KENDALLRAE Nutrafol - promo code: KENDALLRAE Rocket Money Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

A huge thank you to Erika, Tom, Alahzay, Makenzie, and Astilia for participating in this case. Their effort these last few weeks has made this episode possible, and I am so grateful for their time and energy. A note from Erika to detectives:  Dear MCSO, FBI and the Great state of Arizona.  Your dismissive attitude towards my daughter’s murder is disgusting. The unimportance of her life is obvious. Your ignorance of reality and unwillingness to tell me why my daughter is gone pisses me off. If anyone deserves to know why she is gone, it’s me. It’s been almost a year... Explain to me why you can’t give her mamma an answer as to why she is gone!!! Why can’t you tell the mamma of this beautiful woman why her baby is dead!?!? Why do her siblings, cousins, grandparents, and her incredible friends continue to wait? No reason, no comfort, no answers?? Why do we have to continue to look over our shoulders for the killer of our loved one? Why are you not sharing details? Why aren’t you reaching out to the public for answers. Why are you unable to provide answers to these questions? Are you just ignoring us? Is she that unimportant to you? It can’t be that hard. I need you to find the ANSWERS! GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/reward-to-... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honoringmer... Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@honoringmerce... Press Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYnul... Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Skims Factor - promo code: tckr50 ZocDoc Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

Myrtle Simmons-Brown was not just a loving mother, but a leader in her community. Myrtle had just turned 73 and was living in Maywood, Illinois, with her oldest son, Sergio Brown. Sergio is known for his 7 successful seasons playing in the NFL, and for reasons we don’t know, he had moved in with his mom and didn’t have much to his name. And on September 14th and 15th 2023, when neither responded to loved ones, people grew concerned. So, on September 16th, a loved one went to their house to check up on them but found nothing - no sign of forced entry nor of Myrtle and Sergio. It wasn’t until family members reported them missing to police that neighbors got involved in the search. And it was only then, late on the 16th, that Myrtle’s naked body was found wrapped in plastic in a creek bed 150 feet from her own back door. After days of looking for Sergio, he was located in Mexico where he had made several concerning posts on Instagram. He was eventually extradited back to Maywood, where he is now facing a 1st-degree murder charge and a concealment of a dead body charge. Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation: https://stopcte.org/ Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Quince Huggies Rocket Money Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

Madison Marie Russo was a 19-year-old college student at St. Ambrose University who, for actual reasons we may never know, decided to fake having cancer. Her scheme began on TikTok where she spread her story to thousands of people willing to listen, pray, and follow her along her “cancer journey.” It wasn’t until anonymous witnesses brought her story to the police, citing medical discrepancies in her story. Investigators subpoenaed her medical records and it confirmed what many suspected - Maddie did not have cancer. But for months, she was able to solicit $37,303 on GoFundMe, not to mention that she was supported by several foundations, funds, and schools. She tricked innocent people into giving her money to fight a disease she never had. Maddie was thankfully arrested and charged with theft by means of deception in January of 2023, and in October was finally sentenced to 3 years probation and restitution. The Ohl Strong Foundation: https://ohlstrong.org/ Project Purple: https://www.projectpurple.org/ Scamanda episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2iOd6qpdweVxRh6IhiStjk?si=acc07fc0d7ab4b84 Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Modern Fertility 3 Day Blinds Nutrafol - promo code: KENDALLRAE Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

Savanah and Fabian were finally laid to rest. If you're interested, you can learn more about their service here: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/sava...  On the night of December 21st, 2023, 18-year-old Savanah Soto and 22-year-old Matthew Guerra left their apartment in Texas to sell marijuana to 19-year-old Christopher Preciado unbeknownst to their families. Then, two days later Savanah missed her appointment to be induced into labor. She and her boyfriend Matthew were expecting their first child together, a son, named Fabian. Their families reported them missing and a CLEAR alert was issued. Sadly, just 3 days later their bodies were found dead in Matthew’s car. Thanks to surveillance footage, San Antonio police detectives were able to determine 3 persons of interest. On January 3rd, 2024, 2 suspects were arrested. 19-year-old Christopher Preciado and his father Ramon Preciado. Then, a week after their arrests, a third arrest was made. Christopher’s stepmother, Myrta Romanos was also arrested and charged for her involvement in concealing the murders. More information is expected to come out in the coming weeks. Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Rocket Money Apostrophe - promo code: KENDALLRAE Smalls - promo code: KENDALLRAE Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

Valerie was a 17-year-old girl, living with her family in Arlington, Indiana. Her mom had moved them there, just outside of Indianapolis, to help get her daughter away from violence. During the summer of 2023, Valerie was working a handful of jobs, including helping her neighbor, a 59-year-old man named Patrick Scott, with his lawn care business. The two seemed to have developed a friendship and even when they weren’t working, they sometimes spent time together. However, on June 7th, 2023, Valerie went to work that afternoon for Patrick and vanished. After being reported missing, Patrick told police she did not work for him that day, and that he hadn’t seen her. He ended up changing his story to say that he WAS with her that day, but that he saw her get into another man’s car and drive away. Because he lied to officers, he was initially charged with false informing. Then, on November 28th, a search warrant was executed on his property, and sadly her remains were found in a homemade wooden box made of 2x4s. He was arrested, charged with murder, and quickly confessed to strangling her with his belt. He claims Valerie was trying to blackmail him into buying her a car. Learn more about the Anti-Predator Project: https://www.antipredatorproject.org/#  Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: ZocDoc SKIMS Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

Nicole (Nicki) Lenway was a crime scene investigator for the Minneapolis Police Department and a mother to her 5-year-old son, Callahan. Things in her life were going well with the exception that her ex-boyfriend, Tim Amacher, was trying to destroy her. They dated for many years but broke up after Nicki had had enough of his toxicity. But, a month after breaking up Nicki found out she was pregnant. After having her son, Nicki hoped that co-parenting would work, but Tim seemed uninterested. That is until she got into a new relationship with MPD officer Donovan Ford. Only then did Tim seem to care about his child. But he went about it in the worst way possible. He began making false claims that Nicki abused their son, and got CPS involved. CPS and a judge obviously believed that Nicki WASN’T abusing Callahan, and gave her full custody. So what did Tim do? He got his new girlfriend to try and kill Nicki. But she failed. Nicki survived being shot twice and lived to get justice. Both Tim and Colleen are in prison and will remain there for many, many years. Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop This episode is sponsored by: Nutrafol - promo code: KENDALLRAE Quince Huggies Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com

A highly respected woman named Trina Hunt goes missing during a 'digital detox'. Her remains are found near the campsite she visited with her husband, leading to speculation about his involvement. The episode explores the impact of her disappearance, efforts to find her, and the details surrounding her murder.

Amanda Riley was an ordinary girl living in Northern California until she wasn't. She was a teenager when she was introduced to the Riley family and, within a matter of years, started a relationship with and got married to Cory Riley. Then, a few years into the marriage, Amanda shared that she had cancer. For the next several years, she would use her blog to describe her journey with the disease and garner sympathy from people in her community and beyond. But the truth? Amanda wasn't sick. She never had cancer and never needed the THOUSANDS of dollars that people sent her for treatment. Thanks to Nancy Moscatiello, Amanda was exposed and eventually prosecuted for her crimes. Listen to Scamanda Elizabeth Finch episode Donate to NCMEC through my campaign! https://give.missingkids.org/campaign...  Shop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shop Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - kendall@INFAgency.com