Before her death in December 1998, Julie Jensen left behind a letter warning police that if anything happened to her, they should suspect her husband. In Part 1, we begin Julie’s story, exploring the fears she shared before her death and the circumstances that sparked an investigation. Her letter would become central to a case that stretched across more than two decades.

NOTICE: IT’S come to our attention the audio in this episode glitches. We’re really sorry about that. We are trying to fix it.

On April 8, 2013, 43-year-old mother of three Traci Lynn Rataczak was found dead in the basement of her Wyocena, Wisconsin, home. Her boyfriend, Patrick Kraemer, reported finding her hanging from an extension cord—but investigators believed there was more to the story.In this episode, we examine the final hours of Traci’s life, the troubling evidence discovered after her death, allegations of coercive control, conflicting accounts, and the case prosecutors presented against Patrick. Although a jury ultimately found him not guilty, Traci’s family was left with questions the verdict could not answer.Using court records and testimony obtained through the Columbia County Clerk of Courts, investigative documents, and information shared by Traci’s family, we look beyond the trial and remember the woman at the center of the case: a beloved mother, sister, and friend whose family believes her death was not a suicide.Content warning: This episode discusses domestic abuse, suicide, hanging, and graphic details surrounding a death.Sources: Columbia County Clerk of Courts records and case materials; information provided by Traci’s family.If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or emotional distress, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. Support is free, confidential, and available 24/7.For confidential domestic-violence support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

In May of 1992, a brutal double murder rocked the small Wisconsin community of Pardeeville.
Geraldine Knipfer and Michael Walker were found murdered inside Geraldine’s home in Pardeeville. What followed was an investigation that quickly turned toward someone Geraldine knew all too well—her estranged husband, James Knipfer.
In this episode of Dark Matter Moms, we dig into the events surrounding the murders, the evidence investigators uncovered, witness statements, James Knipfer’s arrest, and the disturbing details revealed through interviews and court records.
But this story is about more than the man accused of taking two lives. We also want to remember Geraldine and Michael as people—the lives they lived, the people who loved them, and the family left behind to carry the weight of what happened that night.
This is the story of Geraldine Knipfer and Michael Walker—and the case against James Knipfer.
Listener discretion is strongly advised. This episode contains discussions of domestic violence, homicide, graphic injuries, and other disturbing details.

In Part 2, we return to the house on West Oneida Street in Portage, Wisconsin.

We examine the death of Tammi Garlin, the horrific abuse endured by her 11-year-old son, A.C.G., and the impossible position Tammi’s 15-year-old daughter, Felicia, was forced into. We also discuss the investigation, the medical evidence, and the convictions and sentences handed down to Michaela Clerc, Michael Sisk, and Candace Clark.

This episode contains detailed discussions of child abuse, torture, starvation, domestic violence, homicide, and severe injuries. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Resources:

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
Call or text: 1-800-422-4453
https://www.childhelphotline.org

National Domestic Violence Hotline
Call: 1-800-799-7233
Text START to 88788
https://www.thehotline.org

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text: 988
https://988lifeline.org

If you believe a child or another person is in immediate danger, call 911.

Sources for this episode include:
Columbia County court records and case filings, appellate records, medical and autopsy findings contained within the case records, contemporary news coverage, and our interview with retired Portage Police Detective Mark Hahn.

What began as a routine attempt to locate a parentally abducted three-year-old child would expose something far more horrifying inside a home in Portage, Wisconsin.

When officers arrived at 304 West Oneida Street, nearly everyone inside lied about who they were. Then, at the police station, one woman revealed that officers had unknowingly left someone behind: an severely injured 11-year-old boy hiding inside an upstairs closet.

But the child wasn’t the only secret concealed within the house. Freshly disturbed soil and newly planted flowers in the backyard would lead investigators to an even darker discovery.

In Part 1 of the Portage House of Horrors, we follow the investigation from the officers’ first knock on the door through the rescue of A.C.G., the discovery of Tammie Garlin’s body, and the multistate search for Michael Sisk.

Content warning: This episode discusses severe child abuse, torture, domestic violence, and murder. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

SOURCES:

• Columbia County Circuit Court records obtained through the Columbia County Clerk of Courts
• A personal interview with retired Portage Police Detective Mark Hahn
• “House of Horrors,” published by Milwaukee Magazine on March 5, 2008
• This case was recommended to Dark Matter Moms by retired Portage Police Detective Daniel Pionke

🎙️ Dark Matter Moms
🖤 A Wisconsin true-crime podcast

On February 15, 1974, 25-year-old Mary Kathlene Schlais was hitchhiking from Minneapolis to Chicago to attend an art show.

She never made it.

Mary's body was discovered along a rural road in Dunn County, Wisconsin. Despite an eyewitness, physical evidence, and decades of investigation, her killer remained unidentified for 50 years.

Then, modern DNA technology and investigative genetic genealogy gave new life to a piece of evidence preserved since 1974: a stocking cap containing hair.

That evidence eventually led investigators to Jon Keith Miller.

Join us on Dark Matter Moms as we tell the story of Mary Schlais, the investigation that spanned generations, and the evidence that finally helped reveal the man responsible more than five decades later.

Sources:
CBS News Minnesota
Billy Lund, Crime Reporter — YouTube
Dunn County Sheriff’s Office / Dunn County Crime Stoppers

On April 20, 2019, firefighters responding to a house fire in Montello, Wisconsin, discovered the burned body of 43-year-old Daniel Gilmartin.

Hours before his death, Daniel told friends—and posted publicly—that his ex-girlfriend, Frances Rittmann, had attempted to set fire to a couch inside his detached garage. When investigators questioned Frances, her version of events began to change. Internet searches, witness accounts, physical evidence, and her own statements would ultimately reveal what happened inside Daniel’s home.

In this episode, we examine Daniel’s final hours, Frances’s shifting explanations, and the evidence that led to her guilty pleas and 45-year prison sentence.

This episode includes audio excerpts from Frances Rittmann’s recorded police interrogations.

Source: Official court records obtained from the Marquette County Clerk of Courts.

⚠️ Listener discretion is advised. This episode discusses domestic violence, suicide, fatal fire, and other disturbing subject matter.

In the summer of 1995, 13-year-old Thad Phillips went to sleep inside his home in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
When he woke up, someone was carrying him away.
That someone was 17-year-old Joseph Clark—a teenager who lived nearby and had a horrifying fascination with breaking bones.
For more than two days, Thad was held captive and subjected to unimaginable torture. His legs were repeatedly broken, his ankles were twisted, and his body was pushed to the point where survival seemed almost impossible.
But Thad refused to give up.
Unable to walk, he did the only thing he could think of: he threw himself down a flight of stairs in an attempt to reach a telephone. Fighting through excruciating pain and slipping in and out of consciousness, Thad eventually managed to call 911.
He survived.
And what Thad told investigators afterward would lead them to take another look at the mysterious death of 14-year-old Chris Steiner, whose body had been found in the Baraboo River the year before.
Suddenly, investigators were faced with a terrifying possibility.
Thad may not have been Joseph Clark's first victim.
He was simply the one who lived long enough to tell them what happened.
Join me on Dark Matter Moms as we tell the disturbing story of Joseph Clark, the teenager who became known as The Baraboo Bone Breaker, the young life that was lost, and the incredible survival of Thad Phillips—a 13-year-old boy who endured 43 hours of hell and somehow found the strength to save himself.

SOURCES: *wkow.com/kidnapped-and-tortured-by-the-bonebreaker
*I survived (Netflix) Season 5 Episode 18
*Medium.com/Twisted tale of Joe Clark