The First Degree

Internet technology evolves faster than any of us can keep up with.  And as more and more of our lives are spent online, criminals are adapting. They’re exercising ingenuity, and concocting creative new ways to harm, victimize, and exploit the most vulnerable. This story is about one of those criminals: a pedophile who thought he was untouchable…only he wasn’t. 🎟 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

This week the girls and the ginger dive into the fascinating phenomenon of the Mandela Effect, and go through some of the craziest false memories from our recent history. They debate the concept of flavor blasted, carpets in airports, and sponges. Plus the best Worstie Firstie revenge involving puzzle pieces! 🎟 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

In July of 1999, Racine County, WI Law Enforcement was called to the scene of a female victim who had been left in a cornfield. Based on her injuries, she'd suffered years of abuse and had been killed within 24 hours of being placed in the field. In the decades that followed, law enforcement agencies used every resource at their disposal in an effort to not only identify the victim, but also hone in on her killer. The answers to these questions wouldn't be revealed until 2019, and the person responsible for the crime would shock and horrify the people who knew her, especially those who'd  had close encounters with the perpetrator.  🎟 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

This week the girls and the ginger dive into the messiest celebrity divorces of the 2000s, starting with the iconic Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey.  They debate over-preparing for a trip, 2 drink maximums at brunch, and shar pei tails.  Plus the most heartwarming Worstie Firstie we’ve ever received. 🎟 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

Following soldier Deirdre Aguigui’s untimely death in July 2011, her husband Isaac becomes disenchanted with the military and government. For the next five months, Isaac and a small group of fellow soldiers spend the majority of Isaac’s $500,000 life insurance payout to get back payback. Multiple law enforcement agencies know what Isaac and his group are up to, but it’s not until two more innocent people are murdered that anyone is stopped. In episode 202, Jac, Alexis, and Billy detail how Isaac Aguigui funded and founded a militia within the Army, and how doing so led to the deaths of Tiffany York and Michael Roark. 🎟 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

In 2010, a soldier in her early 20s returns to the US from a deployment to Iraq - she’d been injured in a mortar attack. She and her husband settle into an apartment located on Fort Stewart, Georgia. They soon get pregnant, and are both beyond excited to be parents. But on July 17, all that excitement comes crashing down when the woman dies inside their on-base apartment. Her husband tells everyone he found her unresponsive, and that she died as a result of the injuries she sustained in Iraq. His story seems believable on the surface…until you find out how he spends the wife’s $500,000 life insurance payout. In episode 201, Jac, Alexis, and Billy detail the teenage years of Isaac Aguigui, his military career, and his marriage to Deirdre Wetzker, which ended in her death. 🎟 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

This week the girls and the goth discuss all of the movies inspired by real life killers, starting with the classic: Psycho. They debate audiobook gate keepers, peeing on the toilet seat, and the gloriousness of Topo Chico. Also a tangent about plane crashes! 🎟 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

A 20 year old woman escapes an abusive relationship, and moves into her own place, taking her young son along with her. She starts working at a job she loves, and focuses on providing a better life for her and her son. But just as things are starting to really look up for the woman, she’s found beaten and strangled in her South Carolina home. In episode 200, Jac, Alexis, and Billy detail the murder of Melissa “Missy” Clary, a victim of domestic violence in both life and death. 🎟 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

This week the girls and the goth do a deep dark dive into Donald Duck’s possible involvement in WWII. They debate $35 beers, wooden utensils, and not throwing your trash away properly.  Oh, and muppet is our new official word used to insult people! 🎟 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

On October 21, 2020, two brothers aged in their early twenties are gunned down at their home in Wolcott, Indiana. Their bodies are discovered the next day. In the following days, police get a tip off that a 20 year old woman may know something about the shootings. When she’s interviewed, she admits to being at the scene of the crime with her boyfriend and his associate. She denies being involved in any shooting, and it soon becomes a matter of ‘he said, she said’. But the stories of the three accused don’t line up, especially when evidence emerges suggesting the alleged murders may have been planned all along. In episode 199, Jac, Alexis, and Billy detail the alleged murders of the Benyon brothers, Mathew and Daniel, at the hands of a former classmate Breann Cobb, her boyfriend Marlin Seay and another associate named Dorian Hale Jr. 🎟 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