Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

After Sue Knight’s body was found in her home, a past acquaintance was stunned she named him executor of her estate. While Steve Barksdale was settling her affairs, the Texas man received a mysterious phone call from the CIA. The Barksdales tried to set aside suspicions that the unassuming British ex-pat and pistol marksman was a spy. But a warning from a local sheriff made him think he should stop asking questions.From Apple TV+ and Spoke Media comes the podcast “Under Cover of Knight.” The hosts lay back and let the interviewees tell Sue’s story. Was her death a personal tragedy or the work of clandestine operatives? And is it possible Sue is still alive?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNDER COVER OF KNIGHT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael and Kristine Barnett thought they were adopting a six-year-old little person with a disability from Ukraine. But Natalia had the physical traits of an adult, including pubic hair and a period. Soon the family lived in fear as the girl was threatening to harm them. The Barnetts petitioned a court to declare her an adult and they moved Natalia to her own apartment to live on her own. But police were not convinced Michael and Kristine hadn’t used the system to abandon a special needs child.From Investigation Discovery and available to stream on Max comes “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.” With extensive interviews from Michael Barnett, the docuseries explores Natalia’s identity and true age, the family dynamics, and the legal fallout that resulted. Viewers are left to decide whether the Barnetts or Natalia are the actual victims.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE CURIOUS CASE OF NATALIA GRACE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: date crashers.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 2017, Deven Grey claimed self-defense when she shot and killed her abusive partner in a remote trailer in rural Alabama. Instead of freedom, she was handed a “blind plea” – an option to take an unknown sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. Deven’s 15-year sentence became the final link in a chain of generational trauma, coercive control, and a broken justice system. How did this academic star from Baltimore wind up in Alabama, living under a false name, trapped with a violent boyfriend, and no way outFrom the makers of “Believe Her” comes the ten-part podcast “Blind Plea” from Lemonada. Host Liz Flock asks who do we believe, and why? And in America, who has the right to self-defense and a fair trial?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BLIND PLEA" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1987, Jennifer Pandos vanished from her Virginia home after a quarrel with her father. Her mother discovered a suspicious note from someone claiming Jennifer had willingly left with her, though she never returned.After odd behavior, flunked polygraphs, and accusatory handwriting analysis, Stephen Pandos believed his parents were involved in her disappearance and had covered up the crime for years. But his mother insisted she knew nothing and now only wants her son back in her life.Eight years in the making, the HBO series “Burden of Proof” follows Stephen’s journey to solve his sister’s cold case by getting his parents to confess. With a team of cops, private eyes and other experts in tow, can the answers to Jennifer’s disappearance be found within his family - or somewhere else?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BURDEN OF PROOF" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: bathroom break.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amanda Riley was known as a loving stepmother, devoted church member and an inspiration to an online community that followed her cancer journey. Her upbeat attitude in the face of a terminal diagnosis won her emotional and financial support from admirers far and wide. But despite her intricate medical details and convincing photos, a reporter became suspicious of Amanda’s back and forth stories of illness and remission. Soon investigators wanted to know if social media’s most popular cancer survivor was a phony.“Scamanda” from Lionsgate Sound recounts how Amanda Riley ripped off friends, celebrities, and online supporters by faking a terminal illness. Host Charlie Webster dissects her blog and interviews family and friends about a six-figure scheme that took advantage of people’s kindness.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SCAMANDA" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On June 3, 2017, two FBI agents arrived at the home of Reality Winner, an Arabic language translator with a top secret security clearance. While a team executed a search warrant, the pair gently quizzed the 25-year-old about documents she viewed and whether she may have mishandled classified material. The agents asked Reality whether she sent secret military documents to online journalists who published the leak. As she revealed more and more about her actions, the whistleblower said she felt the government was lying to the American people.The script for the HBO film “Reality” is made entirely from the interrogation during the espionage case. Sydney Sweeney portrays Reality Winner as smoldering with fear and sadness, as Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis softly tug the thread on how and why she’d risk everything.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "REALITY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL [ ] MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: Bad license photo. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Emma Mannion told police she was raped in a car by a fellow University of Alabama student. When investigators said her story wasn’t credible, she reluctantly recanted her claim. That’s when cops arrested and prosecuted her for filing a false report.Journalist Rachel De Leon discovered a nationwide pattern of law enforcement using deceptive interview techniques to break the victim’s resolve, then turning the tables on them and accusing them of their own crimes. De Leon traveled the country to explore the story of Emma and others like her who were treated less like victims and more like suspects.The Netflix documentary “Victim/Suspect” follows De Leon as she exposes why women who sought justice for their assaults were falsely arrested and imprisoned because police didn’t believe them. It also recounts the case of several victims who’ve lived with the personal and public pain of false recantations.    OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "VICTIM/SUSPECT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Teenage Shauna and her stranded soccer teammates face death during the brutal winter after their plane crash in the wilderness. As the birth of Shauna’s baby approaches, the Yellowjackets are desperate for food. Meanwhile, Lottie emerges as a spiritual leader, getting the team to connect to the supernatural powers of the forest.  Back in present day, the police home in on Shauna and her family for the murder of her lover Adam, as Misty attempts to throw an internet detective off the track. A troubled Taissa reunites with Van as they join Natalie and the others at the cult-like self-help commune run by Lottie. With the world closing in on them, are the surviving Yellowjackets ready to confront their long-held secrets?Showtime’s Emmy-nominated “Yellowjackets” returns for a second season. We see the teenage survivors take their first steps toward the foreshadowed nature-worshiping, antler-wearing, cannibalistic tribe they’ll become - while their adult selves are drawn to their one-time woodland priestess for answers. Did the Yellowjackets escape the malevolent force of the wilderness, or did they bring it back with them?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "YELLOWJACKETS" SEASON TWO BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: long, long overdue.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Candy Montgomery seems to have it all: loving husband, adorable kids…and friends from church like Betty Gore. But to fight the mundanity of suburban life, Candy propositions Betty’s husband, Allen. After the affair runs its course, Candy and her husband Pat are closer than ever. But a visit to Betty’s house turns deadly when the women fight over an ax.Elizabeth Olsen stars in the Max Originals “Love and Death,” chronicling the 1980 murder that captivated the nation - and spawned a different miniseries about the case on Hulu less than a year ago. Why would Candy kill Betty with 41 blows from a three-foot ax? Was it the affair…or did she just snap?  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LOVE AND DEATH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 1980s, brokers at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were not Ivy League financial-types. They were mostly blue-collar workers with on-the-job training in commodities exchanges. And they were making more money than most knew what to do with. All that cash caught the interest of the FBI, who suspected financial fraud at the Merc. But after undercover agents spent thousands of hours on the floor losing millions of dollars in taxpayer money, their investigation turned out to be a bad investment.In “Brokers, Bagmen, and Moles” host Anjay Nagpal takes listeners into the pits of Chicago’s exchanges to detail one of the costliest FBI investigations ever. Were authorities really going after the handful of small fish they caught - or did they actually have their sights on some blue chip executives?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "BROKERS, BAGMEN, AND MOLES" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: booze cruise. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.