

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

Jun 2, 2022 • 51min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: KILLED BY YOUR MAKER
This week the girls and the goth dive into all of the poor, poor inventors who were murdered by the very things they crested. They debate the two soy sauce maximum, the Mexican Pizza, and the concept of a table soup. Plus, how much is too much cheese?
🎟 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

Jun 1, 2022 • 1h 1min
Episode 198: Matthew Kelly
On December 12, 2021, a 34 year old Kansas man is arrested on a misdemeanor count of property damage. As fate would have it, the man’s cellmate is a family friend who fronts him half the money to pay his bond. On the night of the 13th, the 34 year old man is released from jail. Less than three hours later, his body is found in the back of a truck - he’d been brutally murdered. In episode 198, Jac, Alexis, and Billy dig in to the murder of Matthew Kelly and try to make sense of why anyone wanted him dead.
🎟 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

May 26, 2022 • 52min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: I VANT TO SUCK YOUR BLOOD
This week the girls and the goth put their fangs in and dive into the dark history of Dracula! They debate charcuterie vending machines, binging TV shows, and the word moist. And real question: was Dracula hot or nah?
🎟 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

May 25, 2022 • 58min
Episode 197: Marie "Lisa" Peak, Part 2
In December 1975, Lisa Peak helps authorities bring down John Carmody, the head of a sex trafficking extortion ring. By September 1976, Lisa, now 19 years old, is starting to move on with her life. She moves into the dorms for her sophomore year at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Two days later, she’s found dead. The obvious suspect is Carmody, but he’s still behind bars, so authorities look into the possibility that Lisa’s murder is connected to the unsolved murders of 14 year old Valerie Klossowsky and 18 year old Julie Benning. In episode 197, Jac, Alexis, and Billy pore through the details of all three murders and try to figure out if they’re connected.
🎟 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

May 19, 2022 • 45min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: QUEEN FOR A DAY
This week the girls and the goth learn all about Henry VIII’s 6 wives (victims) and all of his bizarre medieval gaslighting. They debate bartender gatekeeping, iced water vs room temp, and if it’s an abomination for servers to call tap water “sink water”. Fun fact: did you know catfishing was invented in the 1500s?
🎟 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

May 18, 2022 • 46min
Episode 196: Marie “Lisa” Peak, Part 1
In the fall of 1975, Lisa Peak is a freshman journalism student at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa when she is trapped into a sex trafficking extortion ring run by a sick and twisted man named John Carmody. After months of abuse, Lisa goes to the police and helps secure a conviction against him. With Carmody behind bars, Lisa tries to move on with her life - she decides to write a book about her experiences and she re-enrolls at Wartburg. But only one day after she moves into the all girls dorm, Lisa goes missing. In episode 196, Jac, Alexis, and Billy examine Marie “Lisa” Peak’s disappearance and her time as a member of John Carmody’s “Family”.
🎟 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

May 12, 2022 • 49min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: DOH!
This week the girls and the goth learn about all the wild predictions The Simpsons made throughout the years. They debate unpacking your suitcase right away, nacho cheese, and judging people by their book covers. PLUS! Is "you're not cool" the best dig ever?
🎟 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

May 11, 2022 • 54min
Episode 195: Terror Begins at Home, Part 2
In part one, our first degree Katie shared harrowing details of her relationship with her ex boyfriend Ryan, and the abuse and escalating violence she experienced first hand. By the time she left him, Katie was convinced that Ryan had the ability to kill... and she was right. In episode 195, Jac, Alexis and Billy learn what happened after Katie escaped this relationship, the victims who came after her, and the senseless murder that sent shockwaves through Mansfield and Ashland Ohio.
🎟 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

May 5, 2022 • 44min
BONUS: KILLING TIME- WHAT'S IN THE BAG, NAPOLEON?
This week, the girls and the goth discuss espresso martinis, unsolicited guitar playing, and the magic of dueling piano bars. Also! A short talk about the Napoleon complex. Plus! Oops, we blew up your car!
🎟 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

May 4, 2022 • 58min
Episode 194: Terror Begins at Home, Part 1
Fifty seven women each month are shot and killed by intimate partners in America. An additional one million women in America have survived being shot by an intimate partner. How do we stop these perpetrators, and how can we avoid getting into relationships with them? The short answer is--We can’t. What we can do is educate ourselves in what behaviors to look out for, which is exactly the purpose of today’s episode. In episode 194, Jac, Alexis and Billy talk to Katie, a woman who survived one of these relationships, getting out of it just in the knick of time. And while she made it out alive, not everyone in this story did.
🎟 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


