Least of These

An evening walk, a phenotype report, and a public confession. On May 13th, 2016, 25-year-old Chantay Blankinship, went for a walk around her North Lake neighborhood as she did all the time.  But this time Chantay didn’t make it back home. Two days later, she was found murdered at an abandoned farmhouse. Despite the fact that the killer had left behind DNA, for nearly two years Chantay’s case remai...

I'm off for Holy Week! But our friend, Holly, with Crime with Holly is here! On June 27, 1995, TV news anchor Jodi Huisentruit vanished without a trace from the parking lot of her Mason City, Iowa, apartment complex. Signs of a struggle were left behind, but no definitive answers have surfaced in nearly three decades. Who took Jodi, and why? In this episode, we explore the haunting details, th...

A trip to the bathroom, speed, and DNA evidence. Dennis Dechaine takes the stand in his own defense. This time he has a whole new story as to what he was doing in the woods when Sarah Cherry was abducted and murdered. Dechaine is ultimately convicted but as he sits in prison, is there new DNA evidence that will lead to his exoneration?  Sponsors: Gabb  Protecting your kids has never been easier....

Confessions, denials, and a trial.   After 12-year-old, Sarah Cherry was found murdered, Dennis Dechaine was taken into custody. The statements he made to police after those cuffs were slapped on were concerning to say the least. By the time the case made it to trial, the evidence was stacked against Dechaine. But his defense team had a trick card up their sleeve. Would the jury believe Dennis&#39...

March 28th, 2025, marks five years since Mary Collins was brutally murdered at the hands of people she trusted. In those five years, only one of the four, Kelly Lavery, has been convicted. Lavi Pham, James Salerno, and America Diehl are still awaiting trial. Salerno and Diehl are currently free on bond. Every year from March 28th - April 5th Mary's family holds an online candlelight vigil mark...

An auto repair receipt, a red Toyota, and a dog named Major.  On July 6th of 1988, 12-year-old Sarah Cherry had landed her first babysitting job for a family in Bowdoin, Maine.  Sarah was excited as she headed over to the Henkel home to watch their 10-month-old daughter.  But when Mrs. Henkel returned home from work that day, she found her baby sound asleep in her crib but no sign of her babysitte...

A call home, bruised knuckles, and two small witnesses . On the morning of August 10th, 2023, 32-year-old Spencer Moen called to report that his 30-year-old wife, Sonja Moen, was unresponsive and not breathing. When officers arrived on scene, Spencer suggested that his wife had fallen up the stairs and in the bathtub. But Sonja's injuries were extensive and soon Spencer told a whole different...

A farmer, a geneticist, and a coroner. On October 2nd, 1976, a farmer and his 12-year-old granddaughter made a grisly discovery. They found the body of a woman in a ditch off Highway 6 in Grundy County. For over 47 years, the victim remained unidentified and known only as the Seneca County Jane Doe. The summer of 2024, the Seneca County Jane Doe was finally identified as 20-year-old, JoAnn "Vi...

Surveillance cameras, a freezing pond, and three plea deals. On December 20th of 2020, the Benton County Sheriff’s Department was called to a home in Cole Camp. James Mast claimed his four-year-old daughter, Jessica Mast was deceased, and he and his entire family had been beaten by their neighbors, Jessica Aumen and Ethan Mast. Initially it was believed that James and his wife were also victims of...

A podcast, a librarian, and a genetic genealogist. After police identified Terry Peder Rasmussen as the man who had killed at least six people across the United States, they were still working to identify the four victims found outside of Bear Brook Park. Thirty years after the first two blue barrels were found, the case was cracked twice independently and nearly simultaneously in the span of a we...

A serial killer, a trail of destruction and a name police had never heard . In 1985 in Allenstown, New Hampshire, a blue barrel with the remains of a woman and a young child were discovered in the woods near Bear Brook State Park. Fifteen years later, a cold case detective made another grisly discovery, another blue barrel and two more victims, both of them children. As investigators began to retr...

A surprise plea, two blue barrels, and cat litter. In 2002, 45-year-old, Eunsoon Jun, stopped taking her friend's phone calls. Her boyfriend, Larry Vanner, gave all kinds of excuses, none of them good ones. After two months, her friend, Renee, reported Eunsoon missing. Eusoon was found deceased in her home. As police were questioning her boyfriend, Larry, his fingerprints were run at the stati...

A social club, two more disappearances, and an abandoned five-year-old. Six weeks after Laureen Rahn vanished from her apartment in Manchester, on June 8th of 1980, 25-year-old Denise Daneault disappeared after spending a night out at a social club.  For years investigators didn’t take her disappearance seriously.  What they didn’t know was that another Denise, Denise Beaudin, also vanished from t...

A pay phone, three calls, and unscrewed lightbulbs. On April 26th, 1980, 14-year-old Laureen Rahn vanished from her apartment n Manchester, New Hampshire. A neighbor reported hearing voices in the hallway of the apartment building...followed by silence and Laureen Rahn seemingly vanished into thin air. Not long after her disappearance, her mother, Judith, reported a flurry of 3:45 am phone calls w...

A man in a dumpster, a bottle of bleach, and a couple social security numbers. During the summer of 2022, 17-year-old, Riley Whitelaw clocked in for a shift at Walgreens in Colorado Springs. Riley took a 15-minute break but never returned. Hours later, her co-worker, 28-year-old, Joshua Johnson claimed he and Riley had been attacked by a masked man. But what really happened? Learn more about the R...

Two 911 calls, a salon, and witches. In the fall of 2023, 30-year-old Yoshua Monday moved into an apartment with friends in Angola, Indiana. Less than a month after he moved in, 56-year-old Bryan Hall was shot dead inside his apartment. Investigators were able to piece the puzzle together quickly, but what was the motive? If you or someone you know is struggling, resources are available in the US...

Keys on the ground, a jacket, and a recording device. After Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams vanished in Naples, Florida, investigators turned their attention to the last person both men were known to have contact with and that was Collier County Deputy Steve Calkins. When Calkins sat down to talk, his stories about his interactions with the missing men left more questions than answers. As the...

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. Enjoy this special episode of Crime with Holly! A 33-year-old father of four was gunned down in Florida, with his 2-year-old daughter in the back seat of the car. Jared was a loving husband and father. He was a well respected member of his church and a Microsoft executive. Who could want him dead? Listen to his story now! GoFund Me to help Gaylord & JoAnne Brideg...

A white Cadillac, Circle K, and two internal investigations. In the fall of 2003, 23-year-old, Felipe Santos disappeared after a minor traffic accident in Naples, Florida. Three months later, 27-year-old Terrance Williams also vanished, leaving behind the white Cadillac he had just bought. There was only one connection between the two men, they had last been seen with Collier County Deputy Steven...

This week Margot with Military Murder Podcast is here filling in! On May 13, 1998, an unsettling discovery was made beneath a billboard in Mebane, NC - the lifeless body of a young boy. This tragic finding raised haunting questions: Who was this child? Had he been murdered elsewhere before being dumped in this desolate spot, perhaps weeks earlier? What added to the mystery was the heartbreaking re...

Nearly three decades, an unlikely suspect, and a new sheriff in town. On September 21st 1996, 15-year-old, Danielle Houchins made the short trip from her home to Cameron Bridge in Belgrade, Montana. She was only supposed to be gone a few hours. When Danni didn’t return, a search was launched and hours later her body was found in a marsh. For decades her family and the community was led to believe...

A barking dog, a father, and a pursuit. In the early morning hours of October 8th, 2024 the Spencer family awoke to find their teenage daughter missing. The girls father, 36-year-old, Aaron Spencer set out to find his daughter. In a matter of minutes he located the girl in a vehicle with 67-year-old Michael Fosler. Before deputies made their way to the scene, one man was dead and the other was cha...

100,000 photographs, a survivor, and a monster hiding in plain sight.  In September of 2022 neighbors in the 300 block of Old Orchard Avenue in Excelsior Springs awoke to a nightmare.  A young woman was beating on their doors begging for help, telling neighbors that her friends didn’t make it and “he” was coming to kill her.   As law enforcement began their investigation, they were led to 301 Orch...

Hurricane Milton came and threw us all for a loop. Thankfully, Kim from A Million Other Choices podcast is here filling in with the case of Alison Parrott. Eleven year old Alison Parrott left her upscale Rosedale home on July 25, 1986 to get her picture taken with her winning track and field team. She never returned home and her body was found 2 days later in Kings Mill Park. Ten years later the t...

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