True Crime Brewery

Maria Cruz was a perfect example of the American dream fulfilled. Growing up in the Philippines, she moved to New York in 1992, received her M.B.A. from Fordham University, and took a job as a senior credit analyst. On Palm Sunday, April 13, 2003, Maria attended mass at St. Malachy’s Church. She stopped by her office that afternoon, excited about an appointment she had later that day for a cosmetic laser procedure.When Maria didn’t show up for work that Monday or Tuesday, everyone agreed that it was not like her to miss work without calling. On Wednesday, the police were called to her apartment, but there was no sign of Maria. It would take months before detectives searched her emails and ran a check on her laser specialist, Dean Faiello, uncovering his lengthy criminal history.Join us at the quiet end for The Pretender. Dean Faiello had looks, intelligence, and charm, but Maria’s disappearance would reveal that he lacked a conscience.

Dale Ewell worked hard to give his children all of the advantages he didn’t have as a child.  His wife, Glee, provided a loving home, staying home with their daughter Tiffany and son Dana, and showering them with attention as well as possessions.Growing up with every advantage, Dana Ewell didn’t appreciate what he was given. He always wanted more.  He didn’t inherit his parents’ strong work ethic, but wanted everything handed to him, all the while acting like he was a successful businessman in his own right.On April 19th, 1992, the Ewell’s home was robbed. Two days later, the housekeeper found the house torn apart, with three dead bodies sprawled across the floors.  Join us at the quiet end for Eight Million Reasons to Kill. We all want to give our children the best things in life, but this may have backfired for Glee and Dale Ewell.

When things didn’t go the way Raynella Leath wanted, she could be calculating and vicious. But she could also be quite charming. After attempting to kill a man who considered her a friend, and after two husbands died suspicious deaths, the people where she lived in Solway, Tennessee wondered about Raynella. Many feared her and even warned others not to cross her.Raynella is a grandmother, formally married to a state prosecutor. She is well-off, well-educated, and a former director of nursing. It took years for her to go to trial for murder but, despite a conviction, she is now a free woman.Join us at the quiet end for Until Death, a complex story of a justice system influenced by money and privilege and a woman who may had gotten away with murder twice.

With little medical training and no scientific basis for her treatments, Dr. Linda Hazzard was able to attract many wealthy clients to her Institute of Natural Therapeutics in Olalla, Washington.  Dorothea and Claire Williamson, wealthy sisters from England, read Dr. Hazzard’s book “Fasting for the Cure to Disease” and believed it was their path to true health.Two months after starting treatment, Dorothea and Claire each weighed about 70 pounds.  By the time family members were summoned to the institute, Claire was dead and Dorothea weighed 50 pounds.  She was unable to care for herself as she endured starvation, daily enemas and beatings.  In addition, Dr. Hazzard had been appointed the executor of Claire’s estate and the legal guardian of Dorothea.  Investigations revealed that Dr. Hazzard was responsible for the deaths of many of her patients.Join us at the quiet end for a story of greed and sadism in a time when pseudoscience and questionable medical practices went virtually unchecked.  In today’s episode

Kim Barry loved to dance and she had plans to train as a nurse. Living with her parents in a suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, she cared for disabled children in preparation for her future career. On Friday night, February 6, 1981, Kim’s parents left town overnight, leaving her in charge of her little brother. Kim was usually very responsible, but she also wanted to enjoy her freedom that night. After going to a movie with a girlfriend, the two girls headed to the local disco. Her friend left early, but Kim stayed on to dance and drink some wine. She was last seen chatting with a man named Graham Potter. Join us at the quiet end for The Girl Who Loved to Dance. Kim was a kind girl with simple dreams of a nursing career and a family of her own, until one night of freedom put her into the hands of a killer.

Amy St. Laurent went out on a Saturday night and seemed to vanish into thin air. As parents, this is our worst nightmare. Amy was a sensible, smart young woman who knew how to take care of herself, but one bad choice put her into the path of a violent predator. In the search for Amy, detectives had to deal with uncooperative witnesses, inaccurate stories, and a suspect who wove a complex web of lies. As time passed with no sign of Amy, her family had to accept a terrible fact: Amy was never coming home.Join us at the quiet end today for Finding Amy St. Laurent. What happened to Amy is, tragically, something that happens all too often. Sometimes, a monster presents himself as a charming and fun guy while out in the public eye. Then, when he isolates his victim and his violent and murderous true self emerges, it is too late to escape.

Brandon Teena was a female to male transgender person born into a homophobic culture. As we discuss Brandon’s life growing up in rural Nebraska in the 1970s and 80s, it’s difficult to conceive of the difficulties he faced. Looking back, you can see how his life spiraled out of control as he attempted to navigate relationships and endured abuse, judgment and disapproval.Join us at the quiet end today for what we hope will be an insightful look at the struggles of a young transgender person and the hate crime that took his life, in Boys Do Cry: The Brandon Teena Story.

Kurt Sonnenfeld has been in the news for nearly 18 years, both for the death of his wife Nancy and for being an outspoken 9/11 “truther.”  As a videographer for FEMA, Kurt put together footage of the 9/11 disaster for media outlets around the world. On CNN, he spoke of the heroics of the recovery workers under tragic circumstances.  But, back at home, Kurt was a very troubled man.Nancy Sonnenfeld died on January 1, 2002 under suspicious circumstances.  When it looked like Kurt might be prosecuted for her murder, he fled the country.  Since then, he has remarried and developed a new narrative about his work and Nancy’s death.Join us at the quiet end today for Justice Denied.  The death of Nancy Sonnenfeld has been determined, by scientists and investigators, to be a murder.  But will her loved ones ever get a chance for justice for Nancy?

It’s been nearly 40 years since young wife and mother Lynette Dawson disappeared from her New South Wales home. Lynette’s last known conversation was with her mother. On the morning of January 8, 1982, her mother called to plan an outing to a local beach. Lynette agreed, but she was nowhere to be found when her mother arrived.Over the years, as Lynette remained missing, suspicions landed on her husband, Chris Dawson. His behavior leading up to and following his wife’s disappearance was improper and offensive. Lynette was not reported missing for six weeks and she was quickly replaced by his teen-aged lover. Still, the investigation did not lead to any arrests. Finally, the case was reopened in 2015. Investigators gathered evidence for a case against Lynette’s husband and a true crime podcast “Teacher’s Pet,” put together the case with witness interviews and well-supported theories. Join us at the quiet end today for A Lovely Drink. This is a cold case, surrounded by years of deception and speculation, tha

Stacey Castor was a recent widow suspected of two murders when her eldest daughter Ashley was hospitalized following an apparent suicide attempt. While some looked at Stacey with sympathy, others thought she was evil, a woman who was alone responsible for the tragedies in her life.The story of Stacey Castor’s life, her relationships, and her losses is a complex and twisted narrative. After it all played out, she would be exposed as a heartless, calculating killer. Join us at the quiet end today for Her Dark Plans: Stacey Castor. After getting away with one murder, Stacey Castor became comfortable with eliminating anyone who got in the way of what she wanted. Her murderous plots knew no boundaries, not even the lives of the children she claimed to love.

Summer Shipp reinvented herself after her divorce, but she always had a big heart and a lively, idealistic personality. When she disappeared in 2004, she was happy with her life. She had a close relationship with her adult daughter, Brandy, and she had a large group of friends. Money was tight, but she was as far from materialistic as one can be.Summer liked her job doing market research. She had autonomy and she loved to meet new people and learn about them. But her company sent her out on her own, going door to door, sometimes in rough neighborhoods. Her friends and family worried, but she had no concerns.Join us at the quiet end for Searching for Summer Shipp. This is a case where many of the questions have been answered, but will her loved ones ever have a true resolution?

Most of our TCB episodes deal with the intricacies of family, friend, or co-worker relationships, where different personalities and vulnerabilities come together in one tragic act of murder. But what about the less common but often more perplexing cases of random killings?American serial killer Israel Keyes was arrested in 2012 in connection with the disappearance of Alaskan woman Samantha Koenig. Samantha was a young woman much like our friends, sisters, and daughters, working as a coffee shop barista and enjoying time with her boyfriend and her friends. Needless to say, her disappearance was alarming and devastating to her community. But after Keyes arrest down in Texas, the alarm and devastation spread to the lower United States as interviews with Keyes revealed a lengthy history of crime, along with an unknown number of victims. Join us at the quiet end today for A Killer on the Road: The Abduction of Samantha Koenig. It was Samantha’s kidnapping which finally led to the capture of a dangerous predato

In February, 2010, Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer, and their young sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr., disappeared from their Fallbrook, California home. Days later, their SUV was found abandoned in a parking lot near the Mexican border. A dark and fuzzy surveillance video was released which seemed to show a family matching their descriptions walking across the border into Mexico. The media speculated about reasons why the family would leave everything behind as McStay family and friends swore it was impossible.Then, in 2013, the disappearance became a homicide investigation. But who would be evil enough to kill an entire family, including a 3 and a 4-year old, and what was the motive?Join us at the quiet end today for Betrayed & Buried. We’re taking you back to February 4, 2010, as we follow the McStay family’s story all the way from their mysterious disappearance to the trial of their killer.

When handsome, wealthy investment banker Ted Ammon missed a Monday morning business meeting and failed to pick up his children from school, friends were concerned. Ted was nothing if not reliable. He had spent the weekend at his East Hampton home, so his business partner took a helicopter ride to his estate to see what Ted was up to.Ted had really stood out as an athletic guy who loved his kids and his three dogs. But Ted had been going through a lengthy, nasty divorce and child custody battle. His wife was universally believed to be a difficult woman and she was dating a man with a criminal history. Join us at the quiet end today for In His Own Home: The Ted Ammon Story. This story shows us how even the most perfect-looking among us has struggles and unexpected dangers in their lives that may lead to tragic endings.

Brandon Michael Reid was in and out of hospitals from infancy. His mother, Tanya, a devoted mother and part-time nurse, seemed to take her son’s illnesses in stride. But when a pattern emerged suggesting Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, Brandon Michael was put into foster care. Then, an investigation into Tanya’s past revealed a very disturbing history.Join us at the quiet end today for A Mother’s Love as we examine a case of serial child abuse perpetrated in multiple states by an unlikely suspect.

On the day after Thanksgiving in 2010, Tanya Zuvers reported her three young sons missing from her home in Morenci, Michigan. Her husband was supposed to bring the boys back to her on Friday morning, but he never did. The couple had been living apart and planned to divorce. Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, just 5-years old, had spent Thanksgiving Day with their father, John Skelton. When Tanya tried to get them back the next morning, John told her that they were with a friend of his. John turned up at a hospital following an apparent suicide attempt.In the years since, family and authorities have searched for the Skelton boys without success. John Skelton has refused to disclose their whereabouts. As time passes, the chances that the boys will be found alive continue to dwindle.Today at the quiet end, we’re discussing the details of the Skelton case and the possibilities of what happened to these three young boys. In Stolen Lives: The Skelton Brothers, we will go over the family history and the tim

Mom and skilled pilot Kelsey Berreth was last seen on Thanksgiving Day, 2018.  After not hearing from her daughter for over a week, her mother Cheryl Berreth reported Kelsey missing.  Authorities contacted Kelsey’s fiancé, Patrick Frazee, but he said he hadn’t seen Kelsey either and that the two had recently broken up.As the search for Kelsey began, police investigated Frazee and learned about another woman in his life, Krystal Lee Kenney.  The story eventually told by Kenney exposed a months-long plot leading up to a horrific crime.Join us at the quiet end today for a closer look into the disappearance of 29-year old Kelsey Berreth.  The details of this crime, along with its planning and cover up, has left her family heartbroken and many people wondering if there is any true justice for Kelsey.

Susan McFarland, a hard-working mother of three, disappeared just before Thanksgiving in 2002. Three days later, her car was found in an abandoned parking lot with the keys still in the ignition. Her friends and family hoped that Sue had just gone off to have some time alone. But investigators became suspicious of foul play based on her husband’s unusual behavior both before and after Sue’s disappearance.Join us at the quiet end today for Gone From Home: The Disappearance of Susan McFarland. There is an interesting story here about the lives of a family under emotional and financial distress and three young children who lost the only stable parent they had.

Today’s crime has been compared to the 1987 film “Fatal Attraction” starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Calling the murder of Betty Jeanne Solomon “The Fatal Attraction Murder” was good for headlines, but if you were to ask Carolyn Warmus, she would probably tell you there were no similarities at all.Carolyn was a young, attractive elementary school teacher living in New York City when she became involved with the older, married Paul Solomon. Paul would say that Carolyn stalked him and threatened her own life when he tried to break things off. The murder of Paul’s wife in the Solomon home was both brutal and shocking. Paul was the prime suspect, but as the facts came to light, the focus turned to Carolyn.Join us at the quiet end today for Fatal Attraction, a gripping story of lust, obsession, and murder.