Episodi

  • The Oak Tree Jury Card That Freed a Wrongfully Convicted Wife

    The Oak Tree Jury Card That Freed a Wrongfully Convicted Wife
    Oct 13 2026
    The Oak Tree Jury Card That Freed a Wrongfully Convicted Wife

    The discovery of a laminated jury instruction card lodged nine feet up in an oak tree changed everything: it had survived two winters and proved to be jury instruction number seven on premeditation-the single document a foreperson took from the jury room after a guilty verdict. How did a card hidden on a road Alice Hayes walked daily overturn a life sentence and expose a false eyewitness?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the March 2011 disappearance and death to the 2019 discovery on Eckert Farm Road, tracing how physical evidence, witness statements, and procedural choices intersected to create a wrongful conviction-and then unravel it. What links a small-town route, a storm drain handle, and a removed jury card?

    Person: Alice Hayes
    Person: Thomas Hayes
    Person: Carl Hunt
    Date: March 8, 2011 (death determined)
    Date: March 4, 2019 (card found)

    - The laminated card was lodged nine feet above the ground in the split trunk of an oak tree on Eckert Farm Road.
    - The discovered card was labeled jury instruction number seven, covering the premeditation standard.
    - Alice Hayes was 43 years old in spring 2011 and worked eleven years at the side-street dental office.
    - The household maul used to kill Thomas Hayes had its original handle missing; a replacement handle was in the garage.
    - Carl Hunt reported seeing Alice at approximately 11:00 PM on March 8, 2011, from roughly sixty feet away through a partly obscured view.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 min
  • The Watch That Sent One Woman Free-and Another to Prison

    The Watch That Sent One Woman Free-and Another to Prison
    Oct 11 2026
    The Watch That Sent One Woman Free-and Another to Prison

    Fear of a hidden error: a running wristwatch engraved "For Mara always" was found face up on a septic tank deflector three weeks after the tank was pumped dry-an object that toppled one prosecution and built another. Who placed the watch inside the tank after service, and was it a deliberate act or a single mistake that ruined lives?

    In this episode, we tell the story as the evidence unfolded: the discovery of the watch, the connection to twenty-six-year-old Mara Elgin, and how that solitary item shifted the course of investigations and trials. What does a single object reveal about who was with Mara, and who was lying?

    Person: Mara Elgin
    Date: December 28, 2016 (last contact)
    Location: Sutter Fork Lane (room rented from Eugene Simpson)
    Event: Watch found on deflector lip of septic tank on a February morning, 2017
    Person: Eugene Simpson

    - The watch's face read 7:44 and its second hand was still moving when Wendy Carlson found it.
    - The watch was twenty-two millimeters wide and engraved with four words: "For Mara always."
    - Verdant Drain Service pumped and fully vacated the septic tank on January 17, 2017, per a receipt signed by Eugene Simpson.
    - Mara Elgin was twenty-six years old, had last texted on December 28, 2016, and was reported missing by her family six weeks later.
    - Phone records show Mara and Julie Turner exchanged fourteen calls in the six weeks before Mara's disappearance.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 min
  • The Tote Bag, The Bus Log, and the Man Who Vanished

    The Tote Bag, The Bus Log, and the Man Who Vanished
    Oct 8 2026
    The Tote Bag, The Bus Log, and the Man Who Vanished

    A woman’s tote bag sat upright in four inches of frozen water with a wallet, library card, license, and keys still inside - and seven days later divers found her body eighteen inches under the ice, thirty yards away. Who left the bag and why did the bus log show a nine-minute delay that let the bus run past her stop?

    In this episode, we walk through the timeline and the records around Jennifer Anne Ramsey’s disappearance and the trial that followed, focusing on the overlooked transit entry that may rewrite where she actually was when someone reached her. Could a nine-minute mechanical hold and an unasked bus driver change everything the prosecution relied on?

    Person: Jennifer Anne Ramsey
    Date: January 2, 2019 (last seen), January 9, 2019 (discovery)
    Location: Harlow Pond; 118 Tolland Street, Dellwood
    Case: Murder trial centered on transit log and bus driver testimony
    Person: Vernon Vogel

    - Victim age: 54 years old at time of death.
    - Tote contents: $43 in cash, a library card, a driver's license, and car keys with a foam fish float.
    - Timeline gap: Bus delayed at Waverly Avenue for 9 minutes; scheduled arrival at Tolland Street 6:44 PM, actual arrival 6:53 PM.
    - Body recovery: Located beneath 18 inches of ice, 30 yards from the tote bag, seven days after the bag was photographed.
    - Suspect history: Vernon Vogel, 41, prior conviction for aggravated stalking in 2012 with 14 months served.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 min
  • A Glove Points at the Door: The Murder of Noreen Haskell

    A Glove Points at the Door: The Murder of Noreen Haskell
    Oct 6 2026
    A Glove Points at the Door: The Murder of Noreen Haskell

    A single men's leather work glove cuff-down, fingers pointing at the front door-found at 5:52 a.m. on December 11, 2009-became the crucible of a murder trial. The glove sat atop a half-pint canning jar with partially frozen dark red liquid; who placed it there and why would decide a jury's verdict. What did that deliberate arrangement reveal about the killer and the hours between 9 p.m. and dawn?

    In this episode, we walk through the timeline, the household clues, and the witness statements that shaped the case and the trial. You will hear how a paid caller, a broken hasp, and a volunteered confession converged-so what did those precise details prove?

    Person: Noreen Haskell
    Date: December 11, 2009
    Location: 4 Galloway Road
    Person: Robert Mitchell
    Person: Curtis Cooper

    - The glove was found cuff-down with fingers pointing toward the front door at 5:52 a.m.
    - The jar beneath the glove was a half-pint canning jar containing partially frozen dark red liquid.
    - Time of death was estimated between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. the previous evening.
    - The back storm door had a broken hasp latch and a ceramic pot was used to prop it shut; the pot was found overturned in the mudroom.
    - Curtis Cooper walked into the sheriff’s office on December 22, 2009, and reported three non-public details: the overturned ceramic pot, a canning jar with dark contents on the counter, and a glove on the porch.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 min
  • Buried Amendment, Burned Barn: The Paper That Proved Arson

    Buried Amendment, Burned Barn: The Paper That Proved Arson
    Oct 4 2026
    Buried Amendment, Burned Barn: The Paper That Proved Arson

    The smell of charred wood led a county grader to a padlocked aluminum box frozen in a ditch - inside was a single insurance declaration page with a handwritten margin note dated three days before the fire. That paper, forensically linked to an insurance employee, and a mailbox with no delivery confirmation became the thin, combustible thread between an insured barn reduced to ashes and a disputed $412,000 claim - who altered the coverage and why?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries from the burned ceramics barn to the legal files and the evidence that shifted the case from an insurance dispute to a possible deliberate suppression of coverage. Follow how a handwriting match, timestamps, and a motel receipt raise the question at the heart of the story: was the policy amended before the fire to limit payout, and who benefits from that timing?

    Person: Cheryl Slater
    Date: November 5, 2011
    Location: 4418 Felton Mill Road, Osker Township
    Claim Amount: $412,000
    Case: Harlan County Circuit Court docket 2012-CV-0049

    - The padlocked aluminum box was found nine days after the fire, buried in a ditch culvert with frozen mud packed around it.
    - The handwritten margin note on the declaration page was dated November 2, 2011, three days before the November 5 barn fire.
    - Gas chromatography identified charcoal lighter fluid as the accelerant applied at four-to-six-foot intervals along the rear property line.
    - Cheryl checked into a motel in Dunning at 6:52 PM on November 5, 2011, forty-three miles from her property; the receipt and clerk confirmed her presence.
    - Meridian Heartland’s filed clause with the state in January 2011 showed full barn contents coverage (~$230,000), while an internal amendment allegedly reduced it to $50,000 with an internal log timestamp of November 2, 2011.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 min
  • The Mug on the Gravel: How a Coffee Cup Proved a Murder

    The Mug on the Gravel: How a Coffee Cup Proved a Murder
    Oct 1 2026
    The Mug on the Gravel: How a Coffee Cup Proved a Murder

    A single ceramic mug, half-full of cold coffee, sat upright in the gravel eighteen feet from a utility pole and forty feet from a house where a sixty-two-year-old woman lay dead. That misplaced cup, photographed by a lineman and later examined by a forensic paralegal, became the pivot that transformed a presumed cardiac death into a homicide-how did a coffee mug connect to digoxin levels over three times the therapeutic ceiling?

    In this episode, we lay out the sequence of events from discovery to indictment: the initial scene, the toxicology that changed the cause of death, the phone records and witnesses, and the moment Lloyd Andrews recognized what the step-pegs and the mug meant for the case. How did those details rewrite the investigation into Diane Jones's death?

    Person: Diane Jones
    Date: September 30, 2014
    Location: 4417 Sycamore Terrace, Bitterwood, Tennessee
    Toxicology result: Digoxin 4.1 ng/mL
    Suspect call origin: Duane Anderson, September 30, 2014, 11-minute call

    - Diane Jones was 62 years old and lived alone at 4417 Sycamore Terrace.
    - Death discovered October 9, 2014 after daughter Sandra Mercer’s unanswered calls beginning October 8.
    - Diane had been prescribed flecainide for atrial fibrillation for six years and had never been prescribed digoxin.
    - Toxicology showed digoxin at 4.1 ng/mL, over three times the upper therapeutic boundary of 1.5 ng/mL.
    - An 11-minute call to Diane’s number originated from Duane Anderson on September 30, 2014.

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    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 min
  • The Blue Stake That Tried to Steal a 468‑Acre Preserve

    The Blue Stake That Tried to Steal a 468‑Acre Preserve
    Sep 29 2026
    The Blue Stake That Tried to Steal a 468‑Acre Preserve

    Fear that a single blue stake could erase a public 468‑acre nature preserve started with a laminated deed and an 18‑inch fiberglass rod pinned in a parking lot - and that deed was processed through the county system on a Saturday. How did a forged filing, a scaled survey note in six‑point type, and a part‑time clerk's access nearly transfer Aldercreek Preserve to a shell company?

    In this episode, we walk through the events that began at 5:50 a.m. on September 9, 2014 and followed a nine‑day legal scramble to undo a deed; we detail the people, the procedural gaps, and the tiny printed notation that became central to the trial. Could a single oversight in the county land records office really put public land at risk?

    Person: Karen Farrell
    Date: September 9, 2014
    Location: Aldercreek Preserve parking lot
    Case: nine‑day trial over deed transfer
    Event: deed filed online on Saturday, September 6, 2014

    - At 5:50 a.m. on September 9, 2014 Karen Farrell found an 18‑inch blue fiberglass rod with an orange flag and a laminated deed in the Aldercreek Preserve parking lot.
    - Aldercreek Preserve is a 468‑acre tract whose deed was claimed by an entity named Ridgemont Parcel Holdings.
    - The survey map commissioned for the false claim was labeled Map 2014‑GC‑0441 and included a 1:2,400 scale notation in six‑point type.
    - The fraudulent deed filing was processed through the county web portal on Saturday, September 6, 2014 when the records office was closed.
    - Michael Roberts, a 24‑year‑old part‑time filing assistant hired in early 2014, had accessed parcel records for Aldercreek outside his duties before the scheme was discovered.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 min
  • The Typewriter Locked in Evidence That Wrote a Ransom Note

    The Typewriter Locked in Evidence That Wrote a Ransom Note
    Sep 27 2026
    The Typewriter Locked in Evidence That Wrote a Ransom Note

    A sealed evidence bin held a Royal Empress typewriter for eight and a half years - and a ransom note demanding $40,000 was later typed on that same machine. How could a note matching a machine never signed out of the Caldwell evidence locker appear in the middle of a child’s disappearance?

    In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the physical details of the typewriter evidence, and the courtroom moments that turned certainty into doubt. What overlooked fact inside the sealed bin ultimately unraveled the prosecution’s case?

    Person: Iris Fowler
    Date: August 16, 2011
    Location: Kettner Avenue; Dunmore Street; Caldwell Public Safety Building evidence locker bin 1142-C
    Case: Kidnapping and extortion charges filed September 2011 against Cynthia Stewart
    Item: Royal Empress typewriter serial RE-741-09224, logged February 2003

    - The ransom note demanded forty thousand dollars and was found August 18, 2011 inside an unsealed white envelope behind 14-B on Dunmore Street.
    - The note used Pica twelve-pitch typeface consistent with mechanical typewriters.
    - The Royal Empress typewriter with serial RE-741-09224 was logged into evidence bin 1142-C in February 2003 and remained there sealed for 8.5 years.
    - Document examiner Bette Holt identified a malformed lowercase "t" and a left-leaning numeral "4" linking the note to Royal Empress machines made 1974-1976.
    - The Caldwell evidence corridor visitor log showed 14 entries over 8.5 years, with 12 recorded property checks by officer Ron Vesey.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 min