Mountain Murders

Betty Gail Brown was a 19 year old college student living in Lexington, Kentucky with her parents in 1961. After a late night study session on campus, Betty Gail fails to return home. Her body is discovered only hours after she is reported missing. With meager clues, the case stalls for several years. After an unsuccessful trial, a "confessed" killer walks free. Betty Gail Brown's case remains one...

Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach was a United States Marine who disappeared from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina on December 14, 2007. In the months before her disappearance, Lauterbach had made sexual assault allegations against a colleague. After a botched investigation, Maria vanishes. All eyes point to Corporal Cesar Laurean, the Marine accused of sexually assaulting her. Authori...

Grab a drink! It's time to talk about moonshine with Mountain Murders. Episode 95 Blood & Moonshine, The Outlaw Lewis Redmond, takes a look at man considered the most dangerous outlaw in America. Long since forgotten, his story remains an Appalachian folktale. Lewis Redmond grew up in the Reconstruction South where he carried on a family tradition of making moonshine. When he shoots a federal agen...

Middle aged mother of two, Susan Fassett, was an unlikely murder victim. Married to a policeman and an active member of her church's choir, Susan had a reputation as an honest, upstanding woman. After Susan's murder, secrets about a double life are exposed. Susan was involved with a man commonly referred to as a charlatan. Fred Andros, a mean, selfish, and physically repulsive, extorted money, fre...

We've all heard tales of the "crazy ex" --you may even have a crazy ex but we bet your ex doesn't hold a candle to Jessica McCord. Jessica McCord and her ex-husband Alan Bates had a bitter divorce, and an even more contentious custody battle over their two daughters. For 7 years, the former couple engaged in an all out war over custody of their kids. Jessica and Alan had both remarried. Jessica me...

In 1932, Mamie Thurman was a pretty, dark-haired 31 year old housewife married to a local policeman in Logan, West Virginia. The couple had resided in Logan for 8 years and were known to be active members of the community. However, Mamie had many secrets. The town was shocked when Mamie's body is found discarded off a rural mountain road. Even more shocking is the town's dark secrets now exposed b...

Our 91st episode features a true crime collaboration between Mountain Murders and Dreadfully Curious Podcast. We examine cases out of our stompin' grounds --Western North Carolina. Both cases center around crimes in the 1970s. In Part One, Mountain Murders discusses the brutal slaying of Jack Leo Clark, an elderly man who had a deadly encounter with lawless brothers in historic Frog Level, Waynesv...

Attorney Seth Bader and his wife, Vicki seemed to have a bright future together. The couple adopted two sons and were blessed with a biological son. After a move to the upscale town of Exeter, New Hampshire, the marriage began to crumble. A series of unfortunate events left Vicki a broken woman. Vicki was driven to the edge as Seth seduced a blonde bombshell and seemed to mastermind a series of ev...

On March 10, 2016, Alyssa Kenny, a single mother along with her 21 month old daughter were brutally attacked in their Galax, Virginia home. After a two month investigation and multiple suspects are examined, DNA evidence leads investigators to a stranger. The victims did not know their assailant. He was a pedophile who had targeted Anastasia. Listen to Mountain Murders new episode 89, fresh from a...

Memorial Day weekend 2002, Erika and BJ Sifrit wanted to kick off the start of summer with a vacation in Ocean City, Maryland. Benjamin was a former Navy Seal, an adrenaline junkie, looking for his next thrill. His wife Erika was a controlling drug addict who would do anything to keep her marriage in check. A few days into the trip, the pair find themselves in over their heads. After luring a coup...

In the summer of 1978, a mother and her four year old daughter are brutally slain inside their New Castle, Pennsylvania home. Without a weapon or motive, the case goes cold. An anonymous tip leads investigators to a carnival side show performer, Satanist and man known as the Witch of Highland Avenue who may have a sexual relationship with the victim's husband. Sex, drugs, and devil worship make fo...

On this week's episode of Mountain Murder's podcast, we take a breather with one Kentucky legend and three Tennessee true crime cases. First, we discuss the mysterious death of Octavia Hatcher. She's become a legend in Pikeville, Kentucky. Secondly, we move onto the strange unsolved case of JT Lutz Sr in Tennessee. His unsolved murder helped create the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Our third...

A brilliant, beautiful scholar with a charmed upbringing meets a young German, who happens to be the son of a diplomat, while attending the prestigious University of Virginia. Young lovers find themselves in a "Romeo and Juliet" situation-- a relationship which her parent's disapprove. Plotting a way to be together, the pair find themselves in a web of romantic obsession and will stop at nothing t...

In 1966, a record store owner and his employee went missing in Hendersonville, NC. Vernon Shipman and Charles Glass were well known homosexuals. Glass had ties to voodoo and black magic. Their bodies were discovered a week later along with a mysterious woman named Louise Shumate. The cold case has drawn much attention over the past 50 years sparking a lot of theories and suspects. Join Mountain Mu...

Mountain Murders Episode 84 takes a look into the disturbing killer couple Alvin and Judith Neelley whose crime spree spanned three states in the early 1980s. The pair were two bad eggs who happen to find one another and through their bonds of a dysfunctional relationship push each other over the edge from dark fantasy to evil deeds. Hosted by Heather and Dylan www.mountainmurderspodcast.com mount...

The historic 19th century feud between two mountain families known as The Hatfields and McCoys is etched into American folklore. The fight spanned generations and across two Appalachian states, Kentucky and West Virginia, drawing attention from national newspapers at the time. Mountain Murders latest episode explores the history of this famous true crime story! Become a supporter of this podcast:...

A self proclaimed Avenging Angel, Sheila LaBarre is a woman who used sex, manipulation and violence to get what she wanted. From an abusive childhood, Sheila rose from the ashes to become one of the most heinous female killers of modern times. Through years of practice, Sheila found the perfect type of victim, managing to strip them of their dignity and ultimately their lives. Mountain Murders exp...

A serial killer in training slips through the justice system after assaulting and attempting to abduct several women in South Carolina. Larry Gene Bell was responsible for one of South Carolina's most high profile cases. Shari Smith, 17, was a beautiful young woman with a bright future. 9 year old Debra Helmick was kidnapped from her front yard. Bell continued tormenting Smith's family with phone...

Patty Jo Pulley, a devoted wife of a youth minister, goes missing on May 14, 1999. After Patty's disappearance, cracks in the marriage are revealed. Her husband, Rick, becomes a prime suspect in the case. His behavior and actions are riddled with guilt. Mountain Murder's takes a look at the ultimate betrayal. Adultery, phone sex and pornography addiction, and lies that lead to murder. Become a sup...

An Army Private named Calvin Glover was convicted of beating a fellow soldier to death with a baseball bat in 1999. Many believed the murder of Barry Winchell was a hate crime. Winchell was perceived as a homosexual by some soldiers in his unit at Fort Campbell, KY. His death sparked a heated conversation in the United States. Mountain Murders takes a look at Winchell's life m his relationship wit...

In West Virginia, a restaurant owner suspects his wife of cheating. Instead of ending the relationship, he hires his wife's cousin to kill an employee who may be her lover. Mountain Murders takes on the murder of Joshua Oberg by two guys who are definitely not geniuses nor professional assassins. The botched hit only takes a few months to uncover sending three to prison. In another mysterious turn...

Gary Hilton earned the nickname "The National Forest Serial Killer" after killing hikers in National parks throughout the Southeastern United States. Mountain Murders brings you the second half of Hilton's story. Hilton, unlike most serial killers, waited until he was in his 60s to start acting on murderous impulses. In part two, learn about the cruel death of Florida nurse Cheryl Dunlap and the v...

Gary Hilton is America's only known serial killer to prey specifically in the national forests. Hilton struck in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina notoriously preying on hikers and unsuspecting outdoors enthusiasts. In part one, Mountain Murders investigates Hilton's background. From an abusive childhood to mental illness, his time serving in the US Army until he ultimately became a criminal and...

New Hampshire is picture perfect. Beneath the natural beauty, there's a history of murder that no one seems to talk about. Spanning over 40 years, women of all ages and backgrounds have been abducted and murdered. The woods of New Hampshire became a dumping grounds for discarded women. Some of those killings have been attributed to an unknown serial killer known only as the Connecticut River Valle...

In Central Pennsylvania from the 1800s-mid 1900s, many people practiced a type of "witchcraft" blending Christianity and European folk magic called Powwow. 30 year John Blymire, a practitioner of Powwow, believed he was laboring under a curse. In order to exorcise the alleged hex, Blymire consulted a number of fellow witches in hopes of discovering the origination of said curse. Blymire along with...