Let's Go To Court!

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Abraham Shakespeare won a $30 million lottery, he was ecstatic. He bought himself a beautiful home and a new car. He was generous with nearly everyone he encountered. When friends needed a loan, he gave it to them. When they fell behind on their mortgages, he stepped in. But Abraham was quickly overwhelmed. He worried that peo...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Happy Halloween, and welcome to a very spooky episode of Let’s Go To Court! This week, we discuss crimes so terrifying that they inspired horror films.  Kristin starts us off with the most disgusting story of all time. Ed Gein was just a quiet bachelor who lived alone on his isolated Wisconsin farm. But there was more to Ed than me...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Chandra Levy had her life together. She was an intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was just a few days shy of graduating with a master’s degree in public administration. She had dreams of working for the FBI. Maybe the CIA. So when she suddenly went missing in early May of 2001, her parents were alarmed. Their alarm swelled...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Ethan Couch did a horrible thing. When he was 16 years old, he got drunk, loaded his friends in his truck, and drove recklessly down a dark, two-lane road. Not far from his house, Ethan lost control of his truck. He hit one vehicle, and then another, which hit another. Four people died. When police arrived, one deputy remarked that...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Here’s a tip: When a member of your spouse’s family asks to stay with you, just say no. That’s the lesson Brandi took from the murder of millionaire Jacques Mossler. When his younger, “toothpaste model” wife, Candy, suggested they let her nephew Melvin move into their sprawling Houston home, Jacques said sure. But over time, Candy...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Kristin starts us off with one of the trials of the Scottsboro Boys , a group of nine African American boys and young men who were accused of gang raping two white women in 1931. Their cases are infuriating and upsetting. The Scottsboro Boys were nearly lynched before their trials. At every turn, the justice system was unjust — so...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Kelli Peters was the heart of Plaza Vista School in Irvine, California. She was the PTA president and the volunteer director of the after school program. But then, one day, as she was filling in for a teacher, a police officer said he needed to speak with her. He took her out to the parking lot and asked for her car keys. Kelli was...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Paul Kruse had an irresistible sales pitch. He told his investment clients that their principal investment would be totally safe. They could expect annual returns between 10 and 15 percent. In other words, watch your money grow, risk free. Sounds great, right? If only it’d been true. Paul’s scheme robbed people of their life’s savi...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Cindy Anthony’s 911 call in the summer of 2008 was as upsetting as it was chilling. She said her granddaughter, three-year-old Caylee Anthony had been missing for 31 days. Her daughter Casey Anthony had also been missing, but now she was back — and her car smelled like it’d held a dead body. Police rushed to the scene to interview...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Lizzie Borden’s dad and stepmom were brutally murdered in their Massachusetts home, people were stunned. The wealthy couple had been mercilessly hacked to death. But who could have done it? Police had their immediate suspicions — surely this heinous crime was carried out by a male intruder. But in the aftermath of the crime, p...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Marybeth Tinning ’s infant daughter Jennifer died, friends, neighbors and medical personnel felt sorry for the grieving mother. A few weeks later, Marybeth’s young son died, too. People couldn’t believe it. How many losses could one person withstand? Then another child died. And another. And another. In total, nine of Marybeth...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! In Gypsy Blanchard’s world, nothing is as it seems. For years, people saw her as a sickly girl plagued by medical issues. She was wheelchair bound. She suffered from mental delays. She had trouble breathing. Her life was marked by constant doctor visits and too-frequent surgeries. All the while, her doting mother Dee Dee was by her...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! For years, it looked like investigators would never figure out why 23-year-old Cora Okonski disappeared. One spring day, she left home to buy cigarettes from a local convenience store. She was never seen again. Family, friends and police searched for her, but years passed by without a trace of the young mother. In fact, so much tim...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! By the early 1930’s, Nell Donnelly had it all. Women everywhere loved Nell Donnelly’s stylish, well-made, and inexpensive dresses. But she didn’t just make great dresses. She made a great work environment, too. Unlike a lot of factory owners at the time, Nell paid well. She offered her employees medical care and a pension plan. She...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brandi starts us off with the strange story of millionaire adventurer Michael Marin . Marin likened himself to the dapper man in the Dos Equis commercials — the Most Interesting Man in the World. As obnoxious as that sounds, he wasn’t wrong. Marin lived most of his life on top of the world, which made it all the more shocking when...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Eric Abramovitz plays the shit out of the clarinet. He’s amazing. But you know what’s cool about him? He wants to get better. So a few years ago, he applied to the Colburn Conservatory of Music. He set his sights on a huge scholarship and the life-changing chance to study under one of the best clarinet instructors in the world. A f...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire in 1911, it was the worst workplace fire in New York City’s history. In fact, if it weren’t for September 11th, it would still hold that horrible record. In just 18 minutes, the fire took 146 lives. It was devastating, but it was also preventable. The incident inspired activists and...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! This week, we’re covering old timey Kansas City cases.  Two brothers entered Henry McElroy’s home in the spring of 1933 with a sinister scheme. They wanted to kidnap Henry’s daughter and hold her for ransom. But they were surprised by what they discovered. Henry’s daughter, Mary, wasn’t a child. She was a full grown woman. And she...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Rolling Stone published an article about a gang rape at the University of Virginia, people were outraged. Not only had a young woman been assaulted — but her attempts to get meaningful help from university administrators went nowhere. The piece was as beautifully written as it was horrific. But was it accurate? Then Brandi bum...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! The Gaming Historian is back, by popular demand! Norman agreed to do another episode with us on one condition: that we talk about food. We agreed. (Let’s face it… we’re in no position to be turning down internet celebrities.) Brandi starts us off with a finger-lickin’-good story about Burger King’s chicken fries campaign. Everyone...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brandi starts us off with a story that’ll have you giving the side-eye to good looking white guys everywhere. This horrible crime began when a well-dressed, charming man walked into a Los Angeles high school and politely informed the school’s registrar that he needed to speak with a wealthy banker’s daughter. It only took a little...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Roy Pearson landed a new job as a judge, he knew he’d have to wear suits to work. But his budget was tight — and so were his pants. Rather than buy a new wardrobe, he took all of his dress pants to Custom Cleaners for alterations. But when he came back to the store a while later to pick up his pants, Roy made a shocking discov...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Conrad Roy committed suicide. That much we can all agree on. But did text messages from his long-distance girlfriend, Michelle Carter play a role in his death? And if so, what sort of punishment — if any — should she face? Michelle egged him on. She encouraged him to take his life. But she wasn’t physically at the scene of his deat...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Kristin kicks things off with the story of tenured Rutgers University ethics professor Anna Stubblefield . A few years ago, Anna began working with a physically and mentally disabled man. Thanks to a mostly discredited technique called facilitated communication, Anna uncovered what no other professional had ever considered — that a...

Hate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Warning: This is an especially explicit episode. Blame Denver Fenton Allen.  Brandi starts us off with an absolutely insane pre-trial hearing unlike anything you’ve ever heard of. Denver Fenton Allen ’s went a little nuts in his pre-trial hearing. He accused everyone of wanting to “suck his dick.” Then, when it was clear things wer...