

The First Degree
Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek
Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest. (Plus, join them every Thursday for Killing Time, the light-hearted, true crime-adjacent aftershow!)
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 18, 2024 • 28min
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: LOOKING FOR LINDA
A note for our listeners:The New Year means a brand spankin’ new Killing Time. Don’t worry, we’re not leaving you hanging while we revamp our Thursday episodes. We’re dropping some of our favorite Patreon shows in the feed in the meantime. If you like what you hear join us over there. If not, hang tight, Killing Time will be back before you know it.A college student goes on her dinner break in Santa Clara, California. As she walks to her car, a mysterious man attacks the 19-year-old and drives off with her. Decades went by and many gave up hope that the ice cold case would ever be solved. Until a new revelation connects her death to a known serial killer along with a list of other victims.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 17, 2024 • 52min
Episode 282: Kimberly Kaye Jones Wallace
On December 13, 1990, 27-year-old Kimberly Kaye “Kim” Wallace travels to her estranged husband 62-year-old Dr. Jack Ray Wallace’s home in Cobb County, Georgia to grab Christmas decorations. She is never seen alive again. Hours later, a small airplane lands 300 miles to the south near the Okefenokee Swamp. Those piloting the Cessna 172 aircraft did not turn on the radio-activated runway lights while landing, and an onlooker calls the authorities. When the officers arrive, they find Kim’s nude body on board the plane stuffed into a large, black toolbox with a plastic bag tied over her head. Piloting the plane is Dr. Wallace’s divorce attorney, 53-year-old Michael Glean, and his former neighbor, 43-year-old Frederick Steven Speas. Both men, along with Dr. Wallace and a fourth co-conspirator, are arrested, charged, and tried for orchestrating Kim’s murder. In episode 282, Jac and Alexis reveal how an elaborate murder-for-hire plot unraveled through sheer chance.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 11, 2024 • 37min
PATREON EXCLUSIVE: FOR THE THRILL OF IT
A note for our listeners:The New Year means a brand spankin’ new Killing Time. Don’t worry, we’re not leaving you hanging while we revamp our Thursday episodes. We’re dropping some of our favorite Patreon shows in the feed in the meantime. If you like what you hear join us over there. If not, hang tight, Killing Time will be back before you know it.A student murder becomes the center of speculation at Hofstra University in New York. The sophomore was missing from campus for three weeks. The case had hit a standstill. But investigators found out that was because the killer was burying their tracks across Long Island.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 10, 2024 • 53min
Episode 281: Joey Comunale
On Sunday, November 13, 2016, Pat Comunale worries about his son, 26-year-old Joey Comunale. Joey was supposed to arrive at his father’s house to watch football, but he never shows up. After a brief investigation, investigators discover that Joey has been brutally murdered by either 25-year-old Jimmy Rackover, 28-year-old Larry Dilione, or both. Jimmy and Larry, both affluent men with powerful friends, met Joey at a late night after party held in Jimmy’s New York City luxury apartment. Following a drug-fueled argument, Joey was brutally beaten and stabbed to death. After failing to dismember Joey’s body in Jimmy’s bathtub, Larry and Jimmy push Joey out of Jimmy’s penthouse’s fourth floor window onto the busy Manhattan sidewalk. To this day, Larry claims Jimmy dealt the final blow to Joey, while Jimmy claims the opposite. In episode 281, Alexis unravels the complicated politics, scandals, and accusations that shroud Joey Comunale’s murder in mystery.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 4, 2024 • 48min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: ASK A GIRL ASK A GINGER
This week the girls and the ginger ring in the new year with a good ol’ fashioned Q&A! We polled our firsties and then proceeded to offer some slightly solicited advice! Take it at your own risk! On the stand today: Sub-tweets, Trader Joe’s potstickers, and broccoli cheddar soup! Happy New Year!
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jan 3, 2024 • 47min
Episode 280: Pamela Kay Wills and Patricia Ann Mizell
On Friday, September 17, 1971, 10-year-old Pamela Kay Wills returns from Boyd Elementary School to her home in northern Jackson, Mississippi. That afternoon, Pamela and her friend, 11-year-old Patricia Ann Mizell, spend time together at Pamela’s house. The two girls tell Pamela’s father that they are going to walk the two-block journey to a nearby department store. Hours later, the Jackson Police Department is notified that Pamela and Patricia are missing. The ensuing investigation reveals little new information. It’s unclear if that’s due to a particularly careful child abductor or a lack of effort on behalf of the Jackson Police Department. On February 14th of 1975, two farmers discover the skeletal remains of Pamela and Patricia. They are located in a leafy ravine west of Vicksburg, Mississippi. In episode 280, Jac and Alexis unveil how two young girls vanished off the face of the Earth with zero explanation, few leads, and no evidence leading to their killer.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 28, 2023 • 46min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: TRADITIONS
This week the girls and the ginger are hanging on by a holiday thread! It’s trash week! The best week of the year for those of us who just want to sit around and do nothing! On the stand today: auto-reply emails, fancy outfits on NYE, and wearing high heels to a house party! Then! We’re getting into some very bizarre traditions, stay tuned!
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 27, 2023 • 45min
Episode 279: Marie Buck
On Christmas Eve, 2016, an 81-year-old woman is shot dead at her family-owned business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The sudden and senseless slaying had an added layer of heartbreak, as the grocery store owner was a beloved community figure and familiar face known by everyone in the neighborhood. When it emerges that the victim wasn’t the target of the shooting this only adds to the confusion. But law enforcement quickly learns the offender’s likely identity, coming to realise the killing is not just a matter of ‘wrong place, wrong time’, but also sadly a case of payback at any cost. In episode 279, Jac and Alexis detail the devastating murder of Marie Buck at the hands of Maurice Green, and how, when pride and the desire for revenge take hold, it can have tragic consequences that override one’s moral compass in irrevocable ways.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 21, 2023 • 49min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: NOT QUITE FESTIVUS
The girls and the ginger are back and we’re getting festive yet again! It’s a Christmas episode! Do people even listen to podcasts around the holidays? Who knows! But we’re here to give you some high quality content because you know we always have your back. On the stand today: Food gifts, Matching xmas PJ’s, and adult Christmas lists. Then! A worstie gets a surprisingly stinky present!
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 20, 2023 • 36min
Episode 278: Wilbur & Wilma Williams Part 2
Alexis and Jac conclude with the second installment of the coverage on the case of Wilbur and Wilma Williams.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices


