Cardinal Crimes

Corinne Perry was last seen at the Highlander Laundromat on April 17, 1983. Her car was left abandoned in the laundromat parking lot, with her clothes folded neatly inside of it. Days later, her purse was found miles away on a bridge. Despite multiple witnesses saying a man -- about 6 feet tall, with a medium build and medium-length brown hair, clean shaven, and wearing glasses -- followed Corinne out of the laundromat, there was n...

This June is the 30-year anniversary of Jodi Huisentruit’s disappearance and abduction. She was abducted from her apartment complex parking lot on June 27th, 1995. I covered this case in a different episode when we sat down with Scott Fuller from FindJodi, but I wanted to present the information in her case in a new format with the upcoming anniversary. In this episode, we will go over the details of her abduction, how she spent he...

On November 2nd, 2021, two 16-year-old boys beat their 66-year-old Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, to death. The reasoning? They were getting bad grades in her class. The murder of Nohema Graber stunned the community of Fairfield, Iowa, and the nation. In this episode we discuss the timeline of events, how the two teens stalked and meticulously planned their crimes, and discuss what transpired at their sentencing hearings. How coul...

In this episode, we discuss the tragic murder of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey by 14-year-old Aiden Fucci. I wanted to cover this case after watching the Netflix series Adolescence, a four-part series that dives into the epidemic of violence against women and girls, the radicalization of young men, and tries to answer the question “Why?”. 

In this episode, we attempt to answer that same question. We talk about the investigation in...

When Denise Fraley went missing in 1982, her husband was immediately suspected of having been involved. Not only because of his bizarre and changing stories about what happened to her, but because of a history of domestic violence in their marriage. 

Over 40 years have passed with nothing bringing investigators or Denise’s family closer to knowing what happened. But will advancements in forensic technology bring the evidence ne...

On October 13, 2016, Jesse Leopold, 23, left work during the middle of his shift and was never seen again. Days later, his truck was found abandoned at Ledges State Park in Iowa. While multiple searches have been conducted at the Ledges State Park, the current Sheriff openly questions the efficacy of and quality of those previous efforts.

Over the last nine years, Jesse’s father Jerry has worked tirelessly to find answers to what ha...

In early 2023 it was revealed that the Walker County Jail in Jasper, Alabama attempted to cover up the abuse and death of an inmate in their custody. The inmate, Anthony Mitchell, was forced to endure horrific conditions at the jail and was repeatedly denied medical treatment. 

In part 2 of our coverage of this case, we talk about the hours before Anthony Mitchell’s death and the inaction from the staff at the Walker County Jail, th...

In early 2023 it was revealed that the Walker County Jail in Jasper, Alabama attempted to cover up the abuse and death of an inmate in their custody. The inmate, Anthony Mitchell, was forced to endure horrific conditions at the jail and was repeatedly denied medical treatment which directly contributed to his death.

In this episode, we will discuss the circumstances surrounding Anthony Mitchell’s arrest, what his medical records rev...

On July 12, 1979, a fire at the Hill Top Motel in Red Oak, Iowa claimed the life of 3-year-old Keara Coshow. Investigators were quick to rule Keara’s death a tragic accident: the result of spilled paint thinner being ignited by a gas heater. But suspicions of child abuse by Keara’s stepmother, including an incident that left the 3-year-old almost completely blind, have prompted a decades-long fight for answers from Keara’s sister a...

Elizabeth Syperda, 22 years old, was last seen on July 16, 2000, at her apartment in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Almost immediately, her estranged husband, Michael Syperda, was suspected of having harmed her. The relationship between Elizabeth and Michael was extremely abusive, with Elizabeth having left him just a month before her disappearance. 

With no sign of Elizabeth, the case went cold. However, seventeen years after her disappeara...

In this episode, I had the opportunity to speak with Garrett B., a male victim of intimate partner violence. We have heard from victims of intimate partner violence before, but all of those were from a woman’s perspective. In this conversation, we talk about the barriers men face as victims of domestic violence, including not being believed, being laughed at, and not recognizing that they are being abused. 

If you are in an abusive ...

In December of 1993, two senior citizens - Gladys Held and Jacob Biretz -  were murdered within one day and three blocks of one another, and their cases remain unsolved to this day. Residents of Waterloo, Iowa in the 1990’s were frustrated with what they perceived to be rising rates of violent crime, and specifically crimes targeting seniors. Who murdered these two elderly Waterloo residents? Did the perpetrator go on to kill again...

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In this episode, I chat with Julia Cowley, a former FBI Profiler and forensic scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the host of The Consult podcast. We talk about her path to working for the FBI and how she then became a Profiler...

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On May 26, 1998, Patricia Jauron, a middle school secretary beloved by her community, was found brutally murdered outside of her old home in Sioux City, Iowa. Patricia had reportedly gone to her old home to meet someone interested in purchasing an old bed, that person, and the red car seen near her home, were never located. 

Decades later, this murder remains unsolved. Was...

In this episode, I talk with Brett Talley from The Prosecutors Podcast. Brett knew early on that he wanted to be a lawyer. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he decided against the “standard” law firm track and went into public service as a prosecutor in 2018. We talk about sexual assault conviction rates and rehabilitation programs, and I get his perspective on decriminalization and “crisis response teams”. 

We also tou...

In this episode I sit down with Janine Latus, an award-winning journalist, domestic violence survivor, and author of the New York Times and Internationally bestselling book If I am Missing or Dead: a Sister’s Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation.

In April 2002, Janine received a call that her younger sister, Amy, was missing. Janine’s response was, “That bastard killed her.” Amy had been murdered. Janine’s book is phenomenal, ...

In this episode, we dive into the tragic murder of Mary Bernice Lange, a mother of three and respected clerk with the Burlington, Iowa Municipal Court. We review the timeline of her last known movements, discuss the evidence in the case, and discuss her relationships. 

Despite investigators at the time indicating they had a clear suspect who could be arrested at any time, Mary’s murder remains unsolved to this day. 

If you have any i...

Jodi Huisentruit was abducted from her apartment complex parking lot on June 27, 1995, in Mason City, Iowa. Her case is well known among many Iowans because of her profession as a morning news anchor and because of the dedication of the journalists who run FindJodi, a nonprofit organization that aims to keep her case out in the public. 

In this episode, I speak with Scott Fuller, a journalist who has volunteered with FindJodi for ov...

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, a national leader in research and advocacy in the field of domestic and intimate partner violence (IPV). She has authored or co-authored more than 230 publications and seven books on violence and health outcomes. Her studies paved the way for a growing body of interdisciplinary investigations by researchers in the disciplines of nursing, medicine, and public health.

We ...