

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 13, 2019 • 11min
Bonus - Sneak Peek of 22 Hours: An American Nightmare
It’s a case nightmares are made of. As Kaitlyn mentioned this week, we’ve got your sneak peek into the new true-crime series, 22 Hours: An American Nightmare. It's the frightening story of a D.C. power couple, their 10-year-old son, and housekeeper who were held hostage, tortured, and brutally murdered inside their burning D.C. mansion. You won’t believe what happened during those last 22 hours alive, and the shocking trail of evidence that led police to the killer! Did he have help? Hear from key witnesses who reveal never-before heard details. Will this investigation lead to the release of discovered confidential audio recordings, so the public can hear the trial for the first time ever? Listen to the first episode now: http://bit.ly/2Mzf5Ks
New episodes from this 10-part series will be available every Monday on PodcastOne.com and Apple Podcasts.
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review.
🎟 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 12, 2019 • 60min
Episode 44: Ali Kemp
A 19-year-old student at Kansas State University home for the summer, was found by her father murdered in a pump room at a community pool in Leawood, Kansas. In episode 43, Jac, Alexis & Billy discuss the harrowing details of the case, the innovative methods implemented during the investigation, and one father's relentless pursuit to catch his daughter's 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

Jun 5, 2019 • 1h 16min
Episode 43: Terra Newell
On August 20th, 2016, Terra Newell was attacked on the roof of her apartment building by her mother’s estranged husband, John Meehan. Against all odds, Terra was able to fight him off, fatally wounding him in the process. Her story is the focus of the popular podcast and series of the same name, Dirty John. In Episode 43, Jac, Alexis and Billy are joined by Terra in the studio to discuss her heroism, her trauma, and the life that she built on the other side of a nightmare.
🎟 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 29, 2019 • 1h 17min
Episode 42: Gloria Marmolejo
On episode 42, Jac, Alexis & Billy examine the bizarre 2009 disappearance of 54-year-old Gloria Marmolejo, who vanished mysteriously from her El Paso home after a months-long vacation in Phoenix. The investigation into her disappearance was puzzling, and would come to expose the sadistic serial offender who was responsible, as well as a dark family secret.
🎟 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 22, 2019 • 1h 10min
Episode 41: Bob Ward Part 2
On episode 41, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude with part two of the story of Bob & Diane Ward, and their two daughters' decade-long fight to prove their father's innocence. We learn about the Space Chicken, the struggle against the media and how they found an incredibly key piece of evidence years after their mother’s 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

May 15, 2019 • 57min
Episode 40: Bob Ward Part 1
On the night of September 21st 2009, police responded to a 911 call at the Isleworth mansion of Bob and Diane Ward. Inside they found Diane dead from a gunshot wound. It launched one of the biggest courtroom sagas in Florida and a textbook example of trial by media. In Episode 40, Jac, Alexis and Billy are joined by First Degree guest, Sarah Ward-Rupp as she walks us through trauma of losing her mother and the decades-long battle to exonerate her father.
🎟 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 8, 2019 • 56min
Episode 39: The Bishops Part 2
On episode 39, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude the puzzling case of family annihilator William Bradford Bishop. The international manhunt for Bishop has spanned nearly four decades and lured law enforcement across international lines. Many questions remain, did Bradford Bishop use his international savvy to relocate abroad, or is he in the US hiding in plain sight?
🎟 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 1, 2019 • 1h 2min
Episode 38: The Bishops Part 1
In March of 1976, police were drawn to a fiery stretch of North Carolina woods. At the time, first responders had no idea that the horrors revealed there would prompt a world wide and decades long search for the person responsible. On Episode 38, Jac, Alexis and Billy explore the mysterious force that unprecedentedly and unexpectedly snuffed out what appeared to be a perfect 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

Apr 24, 2019 • 58min
Episode 37: Two Sisters and a Psychopath
Psychopaths make up about one percent of the general population. We work with them, we're friends with them—and some of us even date, fall in love with, and marry them. On Episode 37, Jac, Alexis and Billy speak with two sisters whose lives were uncomfortably intertwined with a dangerous psychopath, and how they were able to survive him to tell their tale.
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🎟 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

Apr 17, 2019 • 1h 10min
Episode 36: Ashlea Ann Harris
Black Friday is the name assigned to the notorious shopping day after Thanksgiving. Although the original derivative of the term has been diluted, some say that the phrase was originally coined by police in the 1950's to describe the mayhem prompted by a high volume of shoppers who cause traffic accidents, trample over each other, and resort to intentional brutality... all in the name of a bargain. On episode thirty six, Jac, Alexis and Billy discuss the details of a chilling Black Friday case that boasts all the trappings of what some believe the day itself represents; chaos, materialism, and violence-inducing greed.
Higher Education Skincare - Head over to HigherEducationSkincare.com and use promo code FIRSTDEGREE for 20% off your first order
Living Proof - Visit LivingProof.com/FIRST or use promo code FIRST for a free sample of dry shampoo
🎟 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


