Sword and Scale

A family divided, a hungry media looking for answers, and an inept police department looking for answers to explain and more importantly prove the inexplicable actions by a father of two young boys, sets a community in turmoil.  Soon, the entire nation is wrapped up in the “what ifs” that emerge from the web of lies and misinformation that has been weaved by a family of deviants. In the end answers are few and far between, but there is a resolution, although not the resolution anyone would have hoped for.  This is the story of Josh Powell, his wife Susan Powell, and their two young kids Charlie and Braden.  Of course, the story also involves the friend and family around them that were, and are still, affected by the actions on the night of and early morning hours of December 6-7th, 2009. Sources Searching for Susan Powell: Neighbor describes husband’s odd behavior Joshua Powell Interview Wiretap warrants reveal new details in Susan Cox Powell disappearance Missing woman’s husband is a no-show at 2nd police interview The Early Show – Josh Powell on wife: “I could never hurt Susan” Police: Humans Remains Found in Utah Are Recent Susan’s father blames Josh, files for custody of grandchildren Nancy Grace Exclusive: Susan Powell’s sister Susan Powell Dateline Josh Powell made ‘admission of guilt’ in wife’s death, psychologist says Josh Powell’s sons ‘chopped to the neck’ with ax before home explosion Did Josh Powell’s Brother Commit Suicide Because He Buried Susan’s Body? The Susan Powell timeline Music Alva Noto – Xerrox Monophaser 2

Historical Crime Detective Jason Morrow joins us once again to tell the tale of a mysterious killer who took on the persona of a secret agent in the Summer of 1930.  One of the first documented cases of a narcissistic killer engaging the media to taunt police, the tale of 3X captured the imagination of the nation.  However after the killing stopped abruptly, this story was all but forgotten… until now.  With similarities to the Zodiac Killer case, this is a story you have to hear. We also invite trial reporter Jen Wood from TheTrialDiaries.com to give us an update on the Seth Mazzaglia and Bryan Wayne Hulsey murder cases which she is covering. Also… some fun. Source Mr. Secret Agent Man: The 3X Killer of Queens @TrialDiariesJ on Twitter The Trial Diaries Music Antonymes – Endlessly

Ronald William Brown was a ventriloquist puppeteer on a television program called Joy Junction, a variety show on the Christian Television Network. Last year he received a 20-year sentence for child pornography charges, but the real story is much more disturbing. Brown along with 42 others were netted in a child porn sting that spanned two continents and perpetrators from every walk of life. Believe it or not, the worst part of the story isn’t that these individuals wanted to molest children. Instead, their online chat logs revealed a deep desire to murder, mutilate and eat their corpses too. Brown even had a particular victim in mind, a boy that attended his local church. The horrific level of detail in their plans is captured in the eerily benign nature of their back and forth dialog, which has been recreated using computer voices for this program. Sword and Scale has never released a show this disturbing, so if you are sensitive to topics like this please do not listen. Sources All 74 School Shootings Since Newtown, In One Depressing Map Reddit Thread Largo puppeteer accused of plotting to cook, eat children Possible new clues in puppeteer case headed to lab Florida man linked to an international child porn network and talked about eating them 42 others arrested in child-porn sting that netted Largo puppeteer Ronald Brown’s Indictment Ronald Brown’s Puppeteer Website Music Art rainerstr145 (Creative Commons)

Elliot Rodger’s privileged background and his family’s ties to Hollywood didn’t help him get accepted by those around him. Instead his awkward behavior and creepy mannerisms made girls want to ignore him and guys want to bully him. For most of his life he endured what he described as a torturous and tormented life, so on May 23rd he took his revenge on the world that had created “such an injustice”, in what he called his “day of retribution”. We also cover two cases in which South Florida, from the last month, in which police officers have been shot by their girlfriends. Although these cases occurred in adjacent counties, they had very different outcomes. We’ll also tell you about a 911 call that may make you mad …very mad. Sources Elliot Rodger’s Last Video & Police Scanner Isla Vista Killings Timeline Two Shooters? Elliot Rodger’s 137-Page Manifesto Video Contradicts Girlfriend of Fallen Officer Woman at Home at Time of Police Officer’s Death Florida Woman Charged with Murder Neighborhood React’s to Tiniko Thompson’s Arrest Cops Girlfriend Commits Suicide During 911 Call Middleton Mother’s Fear and Anguish Heard on 911 Call Music M. Sage – Red Dwarf In E Art Nikita Gravilos

How much to you trust your friends? How much do you know your friends? What would they do for you? What would you do for them? In this episode of Sword and Scale we examine a story of betrayal involving new age cults, sound healing, apocalyptic scenarios and a self-serving meth-head who has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Welcome to the story of Eric Preimesberger’s unfortunate premature death, and the people responsible for killing him and hiding his body. It’s also a tale about the perimeter, the friends that were just outside the fold and due to luck or divine intervention, stayed there. It’s also a story about you, and who you know, how well you know them, and how easily you could be sucked into being an accomplice to murder. Sources Timothy Morgan’s Sound Healing Remains of Eric Preimesberger Found The Mystery is Solved Timothy Morgan Sentenced to 25 Years for Murder Man’s Murder Sparks Law Change Websleuth’s Thread on the Eric Preimesberger Case Music Esmerine – Hayale Dalmak alva noto ryuichi sakamoto – summvs (album preview) Mike Weis – Out Of The Flowers

In this episode of Sword and Scale we recap the last month’s most bizarre stories in the genre of true crime. Quite a few people in trouble have gotten in trouble with the law lately because of their poor choices and bizarre behavior. Although to them it may be no laughing matter, everyone else is left thinking “just what on earth were they thinking?” We also catch up with Cathy Russon from Court Chatter who fills us in on all the courtroom drama behind the Julie Schenecker murder case. We’ll hear her take and also let you hear Schenecker’s bizarre apology which, interestingly enough, did not include any mention of her estranged ex-husband. Sources Court Reporter Steals from Dead Woman Woman Attacks HOA President Woman Hoards 239 Cats in her Home Kentucky Derby Bachelor Party Ends When Corpse Found in RV First Grader Brings Grandma’s Heroin to School Man Masturbates on Crowded Bus Man Wants to Marry his Pornography-Filled Computer Man in Fortune Cookie Teen Hides Loaded Gun in her Vagina Court Chatter TV’s coverage of the Julie Schenecker case Court Chatter TV’s court coverage schedule Music

Lauren Giddings had just graduated law school and was getting ready for a new life when she suddenly disappeared from her apartment in Macon, Georgia.  As her friends and family desperately tried to find her, they were surprised to see Lauren’s reclusive neighbor on the news overreacting to word that a dismembered body had been nearby.  The shaggy, bearded introvert was questioned by police in one of the strangest and most infuriating interrogations ever caught on tape. In this episode of Sword and Scale we discuss Stephen McDaniel’s bizarre behavior, and what led up to his eventual admission of guilt.  We also talk to Sergeant Mario de los Santos of the City of Miami Police Department, and former personality of A&E’s The First 48, about his experience interrogating murder suspects, and the tactics used by police to secure a confession. Sources Stephen McDaniel’s first interview with the Macon Police Department Stephen McDaniel’s interview with the media Music Esmerine – Hayale Dalmak

A deliberate murder that took 8 years of planning and plenty of hard work to accomplish. It involved a man, his truck, and an underground bunker in the Washington mountains. Peter Keller was described as a survivalist with a distrust of authority by his family and friends, but none of them had any idea he would ever resort to what he did. Now they’re left wondering how they could have missed the clues and whether there was anything they could have done to prevent the murder of his wife and daughter. We’ll also cover the castle doctrine case of Byron David Smith, in which all of the condemning audio was recorded by the home owner’s own security system. Even if you strongly feel in the second amendment and the right for homeowners to protect themselves and their property, you’ll find this particular case absolutely chilling. The pure evil in Smith’s voice is nakedly obvious on tape, stirring memories of Norman Bates in Psycho. Video Sources Building Peter Keller’s Bunker Video Man who slaughtered family was bored with life Peter Keller, killer of wife, daughter said: ‘I can always shoot myself’ ‘Camp Keller’ man who killed family tried to justify crime in video Man says he met Peter Keller on trail a day after murders State vs. Byron David Smith Audio Minnesota jury finds Byron Smith, 65, guilty of murdering two teen intruders Byron Smith gets life sentence for murdering two Little Falls teens Music

Usually we find the stories we want to talk about on Sword and Scale.  This week the story found us, in the form of a cry for help from the surviving sister of Kimberly Renea Mabry, whose mutilated body turned up in a Rockford Illinois creek in 1995 and whose killer remains at large almost 20 years later.  We bring you her story and ask for your help in solving this bizarre cold case that all but everyone has forgotten about. We next travel back to 1935 for a bizarre case of extortion and attempted murder in a small rural town of American Indian heritage.  This story, titled “The Tahlequah Coed Case”,  is a place and time where prejudice prevails against justice, and a need for attention would put in motion a case highlighting the dark underside of small town life. We’ll also cover the WTF Stories of the week and give you an update on the Oscar Pistorius Trial with Pistorius himself taking the witness stand in his own defense. Sources Kimberly Renea Mabry Case Files (PDF’s in ZIP file) Historical Crime Detective Websleuths Post about Kimberly Renea Mabry 10-Year Old Car Thief 7 Dead Babies in the Garage Google Search Murder/Suicide Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial Music Antonymes – Endlessly Howard Stelzer Frans De Waard – Pink Pearl (Exhaust)

This week we’re joined by former ex-inmate Glenn Langohr, who spent 10 years behind bars at some of California’s toughest level 4 prisons, before reinventing himself as a best-selling author. His latest book, Prison Riot, takes the reader through the details of an actual prison riot he was involved in at California’s Solano State Prison. We also talk to Professor Natasha A. Frost, author of the book The Punishment Imperative: The Rise and Failure of Mass Incarceration in America, about America’s addiction with prisons and exactly how much it is costing us. We’ll also show you how to make your own prison alcohol and taste test some prison food known as Nutraloaf. Sources Glenn Langohr’s Blog Nutraloaf Recipe Books   Music Hayale Dalmak by Esmerine

When 20-year-old Morgan Ingram tragically died in 2011, the family couldn’t deal with their grief. What followed was a bizarre and prolonged Internet campaign of hate which has attempted to ruin the lives of at least a dozen people. Sword and Scale followed the rabbit hole to see where it would go, and we soon found that the pattern of behavior can be traced back to a mysterious individual named Sarah Afshar who interviewed Morgan’s mom seems to have some sort of close relationship with. We dive head-first into this story and examine every aspect of it. No stone is left unturned. Morgan’s family, and particularly her mother Toni Ingram, continues to claim that her daughter was stalked and killed, even though there is no evidence to support their claims. Toni has even publicly “outed” who she thinks is responsible on the web and on national television. Was Morgan really stalked and killed in the same house that her parents slept, did she commit suicide, or is there an even more sinister explanation to her unfortunate death like Munchausen by Proxy? We’ll present you with the facts, but it’s up to you to decide. Update Absolutely amazing breakdown by Mayra Martinez on the timeline of events regarding the madness that is the Toni Ingram Troll Army – Posted on 4/2/2014 (after this show was released) New threat to Michael Odegard Recently, the trolls behind the network of hate sites (which almost certainly consist of Toni Ingram, Sarah Afshar, and her boyfriend Joseph Valo) have updated various of their anonymous blogs to include the following statement… “Mayra Martinez recently was interviewed along with Tricia Griffith about Toni Ingram by a guy named Mike Boudet. Mike, who is a friend of Mayra’s begged the Ingrams and their supporters for an interview. When they figured out his agenda and knew his connection between Mayra and him (they are friends, Mayra contributes to his blog every now and then), everyone blocked him. He’s desperate for ratings. No one of merit would ever interview these two pigs because neither know anything about this case. They are both known scammers and liars. I’m surprised Tricia’s doing interviews since she’s being sued. Want to throw out there too, the reason why the alleged other women that Mayra named didn’t appear on there is because they are all her. We couldn’t even listen to the entire podcast because Mayra’s voice annoyed us. I think most of us threw up in our mouths.” This is the quality of individual behind “Team Toni”. The fact that the individual(s) behind these sites is such a coward that they insist on hiding behind anonymity should be a clue as to their real character, and the character of someone who would allow this kind of behavior, from her followers, in the wake of her own daughter’s death. I’ll let you judge the story for yourself. Sources Munchausen.com – Dr. Marc Feldman Thomas P. Howard LLC Electronic Harassment: Michael Coleman Odegard’s Story Toni’s Site about her daughter Morgan Ingram Toni’s Facebook Page about her daughter Morgan Ingram Truth For Morgan Truth For Morgan 2 Truth For Morgan Tumblr Page Toni Ingram on Tricia’s True Crime Radio Part 1 Toni Ingram on Tricia’s True Crime Radio Part 2 Mayra Martinez’s Blog WebSleuths Forum Thread on Morgan Ingram Toni Ingram on Dr. Phil Music

What happens when a family’s grief slips into malice and madness, when a mother is so hell-bent on being portrayed as a victim that she begins victimizing everyone who doesn’t see her as one?  Welcome to the sad story of Morgan Ingram‘s untimely death and the circus of insanity that followed and continues to this day. When Morgan’s car was keyed in 2011, a bizarre narrative began to unfold which consisted of a maniac serial-stalker who would terrorize the Ingram family for months.  This methodical madman with unbelievable speed and agility was able to go undetected for months, according to Morgan Ingram’s mother Toni, despite several attempts to catch him and an array of video cameras strewn around the Ingram household.  Despite over nine calls to police, this psycho stalker, who Toni Ingram is convinced was a neighborhood boy, devised a plan to gain access to the Ingram home, subdue and murder Morgan with the same drug she was prescribed, and then make his exit without morgan’s parents or two dogs noticing.  She has publicly named this boy, and his girlfriend at the time, as the murderers of her daughter because she says they were jealous.  She also watched his house for months, making note of when his car was in the driveway, driven by his workplace several times a day, and monitored his Facebook account looking for anything she could use to prove he was the killer, which would lead a sane person to question who the real stalker is. Update Recently, the trolls behind the network of hate sites (which almost certainly consist of Toni Ingram, Sarah Afshar, and her boyfriend Joseph Valo) have updated various of their anonymous blogs to include the following statement… “Mayra Martinez recently was interviewed along with Tricia Griffith about Toni Ingram by a guy named Mike Boudet. Mike, who is a friend of Mayra’s begged the Ingrams and their supporters for an interview. When they figured out his agenda and knew his connection between Mayra and him (they are friends, Mayra contributes to his blog every now and then), everyone blocked him. He’s desperate for ratings. No one of merit would ever interview these two pigs because neither know anything about this case. They are both known scammers and liars. I’m surprised Tricia’s doing interviews since she’s being sued. Want to throw out there too, the reason why the alleged other women that Mayra named didn’t appear on there is because they are all her. We couldn’t even listen to the entire podcast because Mayra’s voice annoyed us. I think most of us threw up in our mouths.” This is the quality of individual behind “Team Toni”. The fact that the individual(s) behind these sites is such a coward that they insist on hiding behind anonymity should be a clue as to their real character, and the character of someone who would allow this kind of behavior, from her followers, in the wake of her own daughter’s death. I’ll let you judge the story for yourself. Sources Toni’s Site about her daughter Morgan Ingram Toni’s Facebook Page about her daughter Morgan Ingram Truth For Morgan Truth For Morgan 2 Truth For Morgan Tumblr Page Toni Ingram on Tricia’s True Crime Radio Part 1 Toni Ingram on Tricia’s True Crime Radio Part 2 Mayra Martinez’s Blog WebSleuths Forum Thread on Morgan Ingram Toni Ingram on Dr. Phil Music

Any untimely death is a tragedy, but when the victim is young, beautiful, and an all-around wonderful person, the whole thing seems to be much worse. Unfortunately, there are two high-profile cases in the news this week that fit this too-familiar mold. We walk you through the backstory of both of them, told by those who knew the victims best. We also speak to high profile crime experts Levi Page, host of The Levi Page Show and frequents HLN contributor and Cathy Russon from CourtChatter.com. The first case is that of nursing student Holly Bobo, who was abducted from her home in 2011. The case made national headlines and the inspirational tale of how an entire town rallied around the search for Holly is truly inspirational. This three-year-old case had started to grow stale, until shocking news this week which suggest the perpetrator was someone that everyone in the community knew, including Holly. Next we travel to the crime-laden land of South Africa, which is hosting a murder trial which has the entire world captivated. It is that of Oscar Pistorius, who shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home on Valentines Day last year. According to Pistorius, he thought she was an intruder and he thought a home invasion was occurring when he shot Steenkamp, but his behavior leading up to the incident and the testimony of ear-witnesses who heard the incident that night tell a different story. Sources Nursing student missing, possibly abducted Community Reacts to Holly Bobo case Holly Bobo’s pastor says hope is renewed during search Who is Holly Bobo? Prayer Walk for Holly Bobo Zach Adams’ Former Stepfather Talks to Fox 17 Oscar Pistorious Website Oscar Pistorius What Really Happened Oscar Pistorius Trial Chilling Testimony at Oscar Pistorius Trial  Images Music

If you had to choose a method of execution for yourself, which would you choose? What if you learned that what is considered the most “humane” method of execution is probably the most painful? We discuss the controversy behind lethal injections, and why just about any other method may be a better option. Convicted murderer Dennis McGuire found out about this the hard way, and his botched execution left onlookers stunned and horrified. We also hear a bizarre murder confession caught on tape by a news crew that ends up becoming part of the story. It’s clear that schizophrenia is a major problem that even the neighbors know about, but help for people like this is still somehow inaccessible until they end up hurting others. And if those stories don’t wet your appetite, we’ll also tell you about the last meals of convicted murderers, including some of the strangest requests ever made. All that, plus Part 2 of the Curtis Reeves bail hearing where we hear from the alleged killer himself. You’ll want to hear this one. Sources The Science of Killing Human Beings – BBC Documentary Mario Marquez Ohio’s New Execution Method Explanation of Lethal Injection Virginia’s New Lethal Injection Cocktail Dennis McGuire’s Botched Execution Woman Confesses to Murder on Camera Craziest Last Meal Requests Last Meal Creepy Voice Audio Music

This week the true-crime media has been abuzz reporting the verdict of the Michael Dunn “Loud Music Murder Trial.”  On Sword and Scale we do things a little different, so we’ll let you get your fill of that case from other media outlets while we break the case of Curtis Reeves, who like Michael Dunn allegedly shot and killed someone because he didn’t like what they were doing and then tried to claim self defense afterwards.  Instead of loud music, it was the simple act of texting at a movie theater. I know if someone uses a phone during a movie it can be extremely annoying, but texting isn’t really that big of a deal unless you’re sitting right next to someone with a particularly big and particularly bright phone.  Even then, is it enough to get into an argument about, much less shoot someone?  During former cop Curtis Reeves’ bail hearing, we learn about all the details that led up to this senseless and tragic outcome where a man died for bad movie theater etiquette. Sources Michael Dunn Verdict Curtis Reeves Arraignment Curtis Reeves Bond Hearing Movie Theater Surveillance Video Music