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True Crime

TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein

BRATTERSTEIN

As someone who has been personally effected by homicide, I approach every True Crime case I cover with the goal of balancing facts with empathy—giving victims a voice while exploring the larger cultural and societal implications of the cases.

I want you to leave my episodes not only knowing that the people who I talk about are real.. what happened to them is real but also acknowledging that they are much more than just their deaths.

Each audio file from this podcast is taken from my videos on YouTube. If you want to see me in action, you can search "Bratterstein" there.

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  • 46 episodes
  • a few times a week
  • Avg 59 min
  • English

Episodes 46

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  • Monday · 39 min

    Murdered on Mischief Night : The Martha Moxley Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Martha Moxley with me today. On October 30, 1975, 15-year-old Martha Moxley went out with friends in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Greenwich, Connecticut, for “Mischief Night,” the evening before Halloween. She spent part of the night at the nearby Skakel family home but never returned to her own house. The following afternoon, her body was found beneath a tree in her family’s yard. Martha had been beaten with a golf club and stabbed with its broken shaft. Investigators traced the club to a set belonging to the Skakel household. The investigation initially focused on several people, including her neighbor Thomas Skakel, but no arrests were made for more than two decades. In 2000, authorities charged Thomas’s younger brother, Michael Skakel, who had also been 15 at the time of the killing. Michael, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, maintained his innocence. Prosecutors presented witness accounts of statements they said implicated him, but there was no forensic evidence or eyewitness testimony directly linking him to the attack. In June 2002, a jury convicted him of murder, and he received a sentence of 20 years to life. After serving more than 11 years, Skakel was released in 2013 when a judge ordered a new trial. Following further appeals, Connecticut’s Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2018 because his lawyer had failed to present important alibi evidence. On October 30, 2020, prosecutors announced they would not retry him, saying they could no longer prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Martha’s murder remains unsolved, with no standing conviction.

  • Friday · 50 min

    She Called 911 From Her Kidnapper’s Car… But Help Never Came

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Denise Lee with me today. On January 17, 2008, 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee was abducted from her home in North Port, Florida, by Michael Lee King, leaving her two young sons alone inside. King took her to his house, where he sexually assaulted her, then drove away with her bound in the backseat of his green Chevrolet Camaro. Despite being restrained, Denise managed to get King’s cellphone and call 911, pleading to be released so she could return to her husband and children. A passing driver, Jane Kowalski, also called after hearing screams and seeing Denise struggling in the car. Although Kowalski provided detailed location information, dispatchers failed to relay crucial details to officers searching nearby. King later took Denise to a remote construction site, shot her in the head, and buried her.caselaw. Police stopped King shortly afterward because his vehicle matched the description provided in a witness’s call. In 2009, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, sexual battery, and kidnapping, and he was sentenced to death. Following years of appeals, Florida executed him by lethal injection on March 17, 2026. The failures in the emergency response became a central part of the case. Denise’s husband, Nathan Lee, advocated for improvements in emergency dispatch, and Florida passed the Denise Amber Lee Act to strengthen training for 911 operators. Her death became a nationally recognized example of why accurate communication between dispatchers and responding officers is critical.

  • October 7 · 50 min

    If He Couldn't Have Her No One Could : The Tiana Notice Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Tiana Angelique Notice with me today. On February 14, 2009, 25-year-old Tiana Notice, a University of Hartford graduate student, was murdered by her former boyfriend, James Carter II, outside her apartment in Plainville, Connecticut. Carter stabbed her approximately 20 times. Tiana managed to call 911 and identify him as her attacker, but died later that night at Hartford Hospital. The attack followed weeks of harassment and threats after their relationship ended. Tiana obtained a restraining order against Carter on January 8, 2009, and repeatedly reported that he was violating it. In the 24 hours before her murder, she sought help from both Plainville and Waterbury police, but a subsequent investigation by Connecticut’s Office of the Victim Advocate identified serious obstacles and failures in the response to her pleas for protection. Investigators learned that Carter had tried to gain entry to Tiana’s apartment with a locksmith earlier on the day of the murder. When that failed, he waited for her to return and attacked her. Her identification of Carter during the emergency call helped establish his responsibility for the killing. In November 2011, a jury convicted Carter of murder and violating a restraining order. On January 13, 2012, he received a 60-year prison sentence, with a concurrent five-year term for the restraining-order violation. Tiana’s family established the Tiana Angelique Notice Foundation to advocate for domestic-violence prevention and stronger protection for victims.

  • October 5 · 35 min

    The Bathtub Killer : Dale Devon Scheanette

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Christine Vu and Wendie Prescott with me today. In 1996, Dale Devon Scheanette committed two rapes and murders at the same apartment complex in Arlington, Texas, crimes that later led to his nickname, the “Bathtub Killer.” On September 17, 25-year-old elementary-school teacher Christine Vu was found sexually assaulted, bound with duct tape, strangled, and left face-down in a partially filled bathtub in her apartment. About three months later, on Christmas Eve, Scheanette attacked 22-year-old Wendie Prescott, a teacher’s aide. Family members went to check on her after she failed to arrive for a planned holiday gathering and found her body in her apartment bathtub. She had been sexually assaulted, bound, and strangled; the medical examiner found that immersion in the water may also have contributed to her death. The cases remained unsolved for several years. A fingerprint recovered from Prescott’s apartment did not initially match anyone in law-enforcement databases. In 1999, Scheanette was arrested for burglarizing a car-audio business in DeSoto, Texas, and his prints were entered into the system. They matched the evidence from the murders. DNA evidence subsequently linked him to both killings and to multiple sexual assaults committed between 1998 and 1999. In January 2003, a Texas jury convicted Scheanette of capital murder for Prescott’s death during a sexual assault and sentenced him to death. He was also charged with Vu’s murder but was not separately tried for it. Texas executed Scheanette by lethal injection on February 10, 2009, when he was 35.

  • September 30 · 43 min

    He Asked for One Last Hug… Then Tried to Kill Her

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Melissa Dohme Hill with me today. On January 24, 2012, 20-year-old Melissa Dohme agreed to meet her ex-boyfriend, Robert Lee Burton Jr., outside her home in Clearwater, Florida. They had broken up, and a no-contact order was in place after an earlier domestic battery incident. Burton had repeatedly called and texted her that night, asking for one last hug. When she embraced him, he pulled out a knife and stabbed her 32 times. Two witnesses intervened, and Burton fled. Melissa suffered wounds to her head, neck, face, and arms, as well as severe blood loss and a stroke. Doctors said she came close to dying. She survived after emergency treatment, then spent months undergoing surgeries and relearning how to walk and speak. Burton pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder in August 2013. That October, a judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole. At the sentencing hearing, Melissa spoke about the attack and described herself not as a victim of domestic violence, but as a survivor. One of the first responders who helped save Melissa was firefighter-paramedic Cameron Hill. They reconnected during her recovery, later began a relationship, and married in 2017. Melissa has since spoken publicly about surviving domestic abuse and helping others recognize its dangers.

  • September 28 · 23 min

    An Evil Witch of a Woman : The Diane Downs Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Cheryl, Christie, and Stephen with me today. On the night of May 19, 1983, Diane Downs drove her three children, Christie, 8, Cheryl, 7, and Danny, 3, to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield, Oregon. All three had been shot at close range in the family car. Cheryl died from her injuries, while Christie and Danny survived with severe, life-altering wounds; Downs had a comparatively minor gunshot wound to her forearm. Downs initially claimed that a “bushy-haired stranger” had tried to carjack her on a rural road and shot the children. Investigators found her account inconsistent with the physical evidence, including the slow speed at which she drove to the hospital despite the children’s critical condition. Prosecutors argued that Downs shot the children because she wanted a life with a married man who did not want children. Christie, despite lasting neurological damage, later testified that her mother had shot her. In June 1984, a jury convicted Downs of murdering Cheryl and attempting to murder Christie and Danny, as well as assault charges. She was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. Downs has continued to maintain that an unknown attacker was responsible. She has been repeatedly denied parole; her most recent denial was in 2025, and her next parole consideration is scheduled for 2031.

  • September 25 · 1 hr

    They Killed His Grandparents for $20,000... Then Tried to Burn the Evidence

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Shirley and Charles Severance with me today. In May 2014, Charles and Shirley Severance, both 70, were killed in their Sterling, Colorado, home by their grandson, Brendan Johnson, 19, and his girlfriend, Cassandra Rieb, 18. Prosecutors said the couple planned the murders because Johnson expected to inherit the house and about $20,000. Johnson and Rieb strangled the couple. Charles’s body was left in the home, while Shirley’s remains were burned and scattered in an effort to hide the crime. Johnson later called 911 to report discovering his grandfather’s body, but police quickly identified him and Rieb as suspects. Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received life without parole. Rieb accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

  • September 23 · 51 min

    He Had His Whole Life Ahead of Him… Then His Best Friend Killed Him

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Aaron Davis with me today. In November 2022, 21-year-old Aaron William Davis, a recent Brigham Young University–Idaho graduate, stopped in Rome, Georgia, to spend time with his longtime friend Brandon Christopher Risner while travelling to visit his girlfriend in Alabama. The two men had known each other since high school. After a night out, Davis stayed at Risner’s home but never continued his trip. Davis’s family reported him missing after he failed to return home. His Toyota Prius was found abandoned in a canal, and investigators later found his body in a shallow grave near Rome. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by stab wounds; reports described at least 40 stab wounds to his head, neck, and torso. Authorities concluded that Risner killed Davis during or after an altercation at his home, then tried to hide the crime. He disposed of Davis’s body, moved the victim’s car, buried the remains, and initially lied about Davis’s whereabouts. The motive was never publicly established. In June 2024, Risner pleaded guilty to 12 offenses, including malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, concealing a death, abandonment of a body, theft, evidence tampering, and obstruction. In July 2024, a Floyd County judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

  • September 21 · 54 min

    Kenia Monge and the "Good Samaritan"

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kenia Monge with me today. In the early hours of April 1, 2011, 19-year-old Kenia Monge disappeared after leaving the 24K Lounge in downtown Denver, Colorado. She had left her purse, phone, and keys inside the club. Travis Forbes, 31, later portrayed himself to police as a “good Samaritan,” claiming he had found Monge intoxicated and offered her a safe ride home in his white van. That account was a lie intended to distance himself from her disappearance. Monge got into Forbes’s van after he approached her and offered help. After Forbes dropped off another man who had been in the van, Monge fell asleep or passed out. Forbes later admitted that he sexually assaulted her; when she woke up, a struggle followed and he strangled her. He then cleaned the van with bleach and burned clothing in an attempt to destroy evidence. Forbes hid Monge’s body in a cooler, drove around with it for a day, and stored it temporarily in a freezer at the bakery where he made granola bars. He eventually buried her in a shallow grave near Interstate 76 outside Keenesburg, Colorado. Her remains were found in September 2011 after Forbes led investigators to the burial site as part of his plea agreement. On September 26, 2011, Forbes pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a mandatory sentence of life without parole in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty. He also pleaded guilty in a separate attack on Lydia Tillman, for which he received a consecutive 48-year sentence for attempted murder and related offenses.

  • September 18 · 52 min

    Nothing Good Happens After Midnight : The Sarah Ludemann and Rachel Wade case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Sarah Ludemann with me today. In April 2009, 18-year-old Sarah Ludemann was fatally stabbed by 19-year-old Rachel Wade outside the Pinellas Park, Florida, home of Joshua Camacho, the young man both women had been involved with. The case arose from months of jealousy, arguments, confrontations, and hostile online and phone exchanges linked to the volatile relationship between Wade, Ludemann, and Camacho. On the night of April 14, Ludemann went with friends to Camacho’s home, where Wade was also present. A confrontation developed outside. Wade had brought a kitchen knife with her, and during the argument she stabbed Ludemann once in the chest. The blade penetrated Ludemann’s heart, and she bled to death in the street shortly afterward. Wade said she had acted in self-defense because she feared being attacked by Ludemann and her friends. Her defense maintained that she produced the knife to frighten them, not intending to kill anyone. Prosecutors argued that bringing the knife and waiting for the confrontation showed Wade had prepared for violence; they also presented evidence of the long-running conflict and communications between the people involved. In July 2010, a jury convicted Wade of second-degree murder after deliberating for less than three hours. In September, Judge Joseph Bulone sentenced her to 27 years in Florida state prison rather than treating her as a youthful offender. Her appeal was unsuccessful, and Florida corrections records cited in recent reporting list a projected release date in March 2032.

  • September 16 · 47 min

    Three Naval Academy Graduates, Two Murders, One Obsession

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kerryn O’Neill and Alton Grizzard with me today. In the early hours of December 1, 1993, Ensign George P. Smith, 24, shot and killed his former fiancée, Ensign Kerryn “Kerry” O’Neill, 21, and their friend, Lt. j.g. Alton Lee Grizzard, 24, inside O’Neill’s room at the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters on Naval Amphibious Base Coronado near San Diego. Smith then died by suicide. The killings followed the recent end of Smith and O’Neill’s engagement, which had begun when they were students at the U.S. Naval Academy. O’Neill had asked Grizzard, a fellow Naval Academy graduate and Navy colleague, to come to her quarters because she was worried about Smith’s behavior. Grizzard was not romantically involved with O’Neill; he was there as a friend. Smith came to the building three times that night. On his final visit, at about 1:30–1:45 a.m., Grizzard answered the door. Smith entered carrying a 9 mm Ruger pistol and shot Grizzard multiple times. O’Neill tried to hide behind a chair, but Smith walked to her and shot her at close range. He then turned the weapon on himself. Grizzard and O’Neill died at the scene; Smith died later while being transported to a hospital. The case later became part of a legal dispute over whether the Navy had failed to respond adequately to signs that Smith was unstable and stalking O’Neill. O’Neill’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the United States, alleging that Navy psychologists and officials had ignored warning signs. The federal government’s account acknowledged that O’Neill had asked Grizzard to stay with her out of concern about Smith on the night of the murders.

  • September 14 · 43 min

    Failed at 4-Years-Old: The Samiah Downing Horrifying Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Samiah Downing with me today. In December 2012, four-year-old Samiah Christine Cornell Downing died in Adelanto, California, after prolonged abuse by her father, Ronald Dean Greer, and his girlfriend, Bianca Annie Mae Stanch. Prosecutors said Stanch resented Samiah and, with Greer’s participation, subjected her to repeated beatings, whipping, deprivation, and torture in the apartment where they lived. In the days before her death, Samiah was whipped with a belt and electrical cords and suffered scald burns after boiling water was poured on her. She had been deprived of water for two or three days, was malnourished and significantly underweight, and was locked alone in her bedroom while Greer and Stanch left the home. An autopsy determined that she died from dehydration, with extensive injuries across her body consistent with being whipped and abused. After finding Samiah dead, Greer decided to conceal the death. He and Bianca Stanch, with assistance from Stanch’s brother Rayshawn, wrapped Samiah’s body in a sleeping bag, drove it to a remote desert area near Baker, California, and buried her in a shallow grave. Authorities located her body in late December 2012 after receiving a tip and interviewing Greer and Stanch. A jury convicted Greer and Stanch in October 2020 of first-degree murder, torture, and child abuse causing death. On March 12, 2021, each received a sentence of 32 years to life in state prison, 25 years to life for murder plus a consecutive seven-years-to-life term for torture. The California Court of Appeal later upheld the convictions and sentences.

  • September 11 · 24 min

    True Story of a Family Annihilator : The Christian Longo Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Mary Jane, Zachary, Sadie, and Madison with me today. In December 2001, Christian Longo killed his wife, MaryJane Longo, 34, and their three children, Zachery, 4, Sadie, 3, and Madison, 2, after the family relocated to the Oregon coast while he was facing escalating debts, fraud allegations, and financial pressure. The victims’ bodies were discovered over several days in coastal waters and inlets around Newport, Oregon, near Christmas. Evidence established that Longo strangled MaryJane and two-year-old Madison, then disposed of their bodies in suitcases in the water. He initially claimed that MaryJane had killed the two older children, Zachery and Sadie, before he killed her in retaliation, but prosecutors argued and the jury found, that Longo alone murdered all four members of his family. After the killings, Longo fled to Mexico, where he assumed the identity of New York Times journalist Michael Finkel and attempted to start a new life. He was arrested in Mexico in January 2002 and returned to Oregon to face prosecution. At his 2003 trial, Longo pleaded guilty to murdering MaryJane and Madison, but a jury convicted him of aggravated murder in the deaths of Zachery and Sadie. The jury then sentenced him to death for all four killings; Oregon’s Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentence in 2006. In December 2022, Governor Kate Brown commuted Oregon’s 17 death sentences, including Longo’s, to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

  • September 9 · 47 min

    Alison Botha Survived the Impossible : Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger are Worms

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Alison Botha with me today. In the early hours of December 18, 1994, Alison Botha, a 27-year-old insurance broker, was abducted outside her home in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, South Africa. Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger forced her into her own car at knifepoint, drove her to a secluded area near Noordhoek, and subjected her to a prolonged sexual assault. Afterward, the men took Botha to an isolated field and attempted to murder her. She was stabbed more than 30 times, often reported as 37 wounds and her throat was cut repeatedly. Believing she had died, the attackers left her there. Despite catastrophic injuries, Botha managed to get to a road and obtain help; her detailed evidence was central to identifying and prosecuting both men. Du Toit and Kruger were convicted of kidnapping, rape, attempted murder, and related offenses in the Port Elizabeth High Court in August 1995. Du Toit received three life sentences, while Kruger received life imprisonment plus 25 years. The sentencing judge, Chris Jansen, said their crimes showed “inherent evil” and recommended that neither man be released on parole. The two men were released on parole in July 2023 after serving about 28 years, a decision Botha said had occurred without adequate victim consultation. In February 2025, Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald cancelled their parole following legal review and consultation, and both were returned to custody, where the department said they would remain.

  • September 4 · 49 min

    Local Hero Executed a Man on Christmas Night: The Ernst Brothers Murder Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Larry Streeter with me today. On Christmas night in 1997, brothers Ted and Jesse Ernst drove to the home of Dr. John Bradshaw near Bigfork, Montana, intending to burglarize it while Bradshaw was away. Ted Ernst, then about 20, was a well-known local wheelchair-racing athlete whose public image as an accomplished paraplegic competitor had made him something of a hometown hero. Larry Streeter, a 51-year-old businessman and Bradshaw’s friend, was checking on the house while Bradshaw was out of town. After noticing the Ernsts’ car at the property, Streeter approached to investigate. According to later accounts and the brothers’ confessions, Ted Ernst shot Streeter six times at close range with a .22-caliber pistol. As Streeter lay wounded in the snow, Ted fired a final shot from a .357-caliber handgun, killing him. The brothers attempted to remove evidence and conceal their involvement, but an investigation eventually led police to them. Both were arrested on May 18, 1998, and faced deliberate-homicide and burglary charges. Because they confessed and pleaded guilty, the case did not proceed to a conventional trial. Ted Ernst received a 100-year prison sentence without parole. Jesse Ernst was initially sentenced to 100 years, but his conviction was later overturned; a 2001 proceeding found him not guilty after his defense argued that he had Klinefelter syndrome and had acted under coercion and fear of Ted. He was released after roughly two years in custody.

  • September 2 · 51 min

    2 Teen Girls were Taken, Only 1 Survived

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Liz Reiser & Brandi Hicks with me today. In May 2000, best friends Elizabeth “Liz” Reiser, 17, and Brandi Hicks, 18, went to a Hollywood Video store in New Philadelphia, Ohio, after a choir banquet to pick out a movie. As they were leaving, 27-year-old Matthew Vaca approached and said he needed a ride home, offering them $20. The girls, who knew each other through church and believed they were helping someone in need, agreed. Once inside their car, Vaca gave conflicting directions and led them away from town. When the girls became concerned and told him to get out, he pulled a gun and ordered Hicks to drive to a secluded area. He bound Hicks to the steering wheel with her shoelaces, then forced Reiser into a nearby field. There, he stabbed Reiser repeatedly and cut her throat, killing her. Vaca then returned to Hicks, made her see Reiser’s body, and drove her to a railroad trestle over the Tuscarawas River. He attempted to sexually assault and strangle her. Hicks lost consciousness but survived; when Vaca pushed her from the trestle into the river, she pretended to be dead and floated downstream until she was confident he had gone. She reached the riverbank and eventually flagged down help. Her survival and account were crucial to the investigation. Vaca was arrested after investigators developed evidence from Hicks and from a friend he had reportedly confessed to. He pleaded guilty to charges including aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape, aggravated robbery, and forgery. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, partly to spare the families a prolonged capital-case appeals process. He received a total sentence of 96½ years in prison; reporting described him as not eligible for parole until 2096.

  • August 31 · 42 min

    Brutalized on a City Bus : The Tim McLean Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Tim Mclean with me today. On July 30, 2008, 22-year-old Tim McLean was travelling on a Greyhound bus through Manitoba, Canada, when he was killed by fellow passenger Vince Weiguang Li. McLean had been sleeping or resting in his seat near the rear of the bus when Li suddenly attacked him with a knife. The assault was unprovoked, and terrified passengers and the driver escaped after the bus stopped near Portage la Prairie. Li stayed on the bus after the passengers fled. During a police standoff that lasted several hours, he decapitated and mutilated McLean’s body and consumed parts of it. When he attempted to climb through a bus window, officers arrested him. Li was charged with second-degree murder, but a Manitoba judge found him not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder in March 2009. Psychiatric evidence established that Li had schizophrenia and was in a severe psychotic state during the killing; he had believed he was following what he perceived as divine instructions and that McLean posed a threat. He was confined in a secure psychiatric hospital rather than given a prison sentence. After years of psychiatric treatment and supervised reintegration, review-board decisions concluded that Li, who later changed his name to Will Bakern, no longer posed a significant threat to public safety. He received an absolute discharge in February 2017, ending the Review Board’s supervision; McLean’s family strongly criticized the outcome.

  • August 28 · 37 min

    14-Year-Old Kills His Sleeping Father... But Says He Had No Choice

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Edwin John Olson Jr. with me today. In May 1998, 14-year-old Terry Charles Olson shot and killed his father, Edwin John Olson Jr., inside their home in Ferndale, Montana. Terry later testified that he had endured severe abuse, saying his father withheld food and beat him and that he believed killing him was the only way to make it stop. After shooting his father in the head, Terry checked for a pulse, showered, took money from his father’s wallet, and drove to a mall to play arcade games. When school officials contacted authorities about his truancy, he reportedly told them his father was dead; deputies then went to the house and found Edwin’s body. Terry was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with 10 years initially suspended, a sentence later adjusted to 40 years with 16 years suspended. He was paroled in 2009 but returned to prison by late 2010 after violating his release conditions, including an assault on a girlfriend and alcohol use.

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