Midwest Murder

A message from beyond the grave casts suspicion around the untimely death of a loving mother. What follows is a nearly 25 year effort to convict the person behind it all. Recorded live with a fantastic audience at the Icon Lounge in Sioux Falls, SD. Episode title submitted by: Kayci H. Location: WI Victim: Julie Jensen Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information a...

No Banter. No live audience. Just one host, in studio with a microphone. The Surprise Vacation In the last week of July 1993, five people walked out of their lives in Northern Iowa and did not come back. A single mom, her two little girls, and two men who knew too much. On paper, they hadn't been murdered. It would take seven years and one of the most prolific informants in Iowa history to uncover...

A woman sends her mother the same simple message every morning, the one that means she’s okay. On December 21, 2020, it arrives right on time, and then she is never heard from again. Her house is locked, her car hasn’t moved, and the man living in her basement says he hasn’t seen her in days. Recorded live at Rhythm City Casino Episode title submitted by: Kari G. Location: North Dakota Victim: Ali...

A globally recognized religious figure comes under public scrutiny, they suddenly start to receive menacing emails, the emails then become physical letters with escalating threats, but there's just one strange thing about it all: the threats are directed at the family of one of her employees. Recorded with a pajama party packed house at 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in Newtown, ND. Episode title subm...

For years the beatings didn't stop, the police wouldn't help, and the courts looked the other way. Then one night something broke, and she set the bedroom on fire while he slept, then drove straight to the sheriff's office to confess. It's the story of the marriage, the night it ended, and the trial that helped change how the country treats domestic violence. Victim: James “Mickey” Hughes Location...

When first responders arrive to the scene of a terrible accident to find a man crushed and burned by his own truck, the tragedy seems to explain itself, but questions arise when the coroner can't identify the body. Recorded with a packed house at Phat Fish Brewing in Dickinson, ND. Episode title submitted by: Emily H. Location: Illinois Victim: Justin Newman Sponsored by https://www.recoverycenter...

In November 1973, five teenagers rode out to Gitchie Manitou to sit around a fire. Only one came back, and at first, no one believed what she said had happened out there. It’s the story of the night at the park, the three brothers behind it, and a motive that never once added up. Sponsored by: https://www.recoverycentersofmontana.com/ Victims: Roger Essem, Stewart Baade, Dana Baade, Michael Hadrat...

Added Content Advisory On a quiet spring morning in 1927, a small Michigan farm town became the site of the deadliest attack ever carried out on an American school and almost nobody has heard of it. For over a year, one of the town's own trusted neighbors moved through his community completely unnoticed, right up until the moment everything changed forever. Sponsored by: https://www.recoverycenter...

In July of 2016, a twenty-year-old woman went for a bike ride home in rural Ohio and never made it. Investigators found her bike in a cornfield within hours, but it would take three days and a chance conversation with a neighbor to uncover the truth about what happened to her. And the man responsible had done something almost identical twenty-six years earlier. Sponsored by https://www.recoverycen...

After falling in love while attending college in the Midwest, a promising young couple relocates to Nashville to live happily ever after. It doesn't take long for the relationship to start crumbling, and when it does, the wife suddenly leaves for an impromptu vacation. Sponsored by: https://www.recoverycentersofmontana.com/ Recorded at the City Winery in Nashville, TN. Episode title submitted by:...

In 1986, a thirty-eight year old woman was found murdered in a small Minnesota town. For decades the prime suspect was the man closest to her. It would be thirty-three years before anyone in law enforcement knew who actually killed her. Sponsored by: https://www.recoverycentersofmontana.com/   Location: Minnesota Victim: Nancy Daugherty   Subscribe on Patreon for ad-free listening, early episode r...

Behind the facade of a family man, church leader, soccer coach, and respected member of the community hides a vile, cruel, and sadistic serial killer. Recorded with a sold out crowd at Swing Barrel Brewing in Moorhead, Minnesota. Location: Kansas, Missouri Victims: Paulda Godfrey, Lisa Stasi, Catherine Clampitt, Sheila Faith, Debbie Faith, Beverly Bonner, Izabela Lewicka, and Suzette Trouten. Epis...

A young pregnant woman is shot in her bed before sunrise in rural Iowa. Her husband says he was in the shower when it happened, and he has a name ready for who he thinks did it. But nothing about this case ends up being as simple as it first appears. Recorded at the historic Belle Mehus Auditorium. Victim: Lisa Techel Location: Agency, Iowa Sponsored by recoverycentersofmontana.com lilaclanemedia....

A woman dies alone in her recliner, surrounded by pills, with no signs of struggle and no obvious suspects. What investigators find in her bloodstream months later changes everything. The story of Lynn Hernan is about poison, a quarter million dollars, and the specific kind of trust that takes a lifetime to build and one person to weaponize. Recorded live at Hay Camp Brewing Company. Brought to yo...

A Wisconsin couple leaves for a holiday weekend and never comes home. Their son has all the answers, except the truth. And by the time investigators figure out why, it’s already too late. Recorded with a nearly sold out audience at ICON in Sioux Falls, SD. Episode title submitted by: Katie Crawford Victims: Bart & Krista Halderson Location: Windsor, WI Brought to you by: https://www.recoveryce...

A beloved pregnant teacher is found shot dead in her St. Louis apartment — no forced entry, no gunshot heard, and a strange residue splattered across the bedroom walls. Her boyfriend, a school principal, called 911, but that's not the only call he made. Brought to you in part by: https://www.recoverycentersofmontana.com/ Recorded with a sold out audience at Phat Fish Brewing in Dickinson, ND. Epis...

A man pulls over on a bridge in Detroit and reports finding a body in the river below. At first, he’s just a witness. But as more victims are discovered and survivors come forward, investigators begin to realize they may have already met the man they’re looking for. Recorded in support of the McClean Family Resource Center, you can find their work here: https://mcleanfrc.weebly.com/ Episode title...

A late-night pickup turns into a nightmare in a Green Bay basement. What followed was a confession so disturbing it left no mystery; only the question of how chaos, drugs, and violence collided so completely.   Location: Wisconsin Victim: Shad Thyrion Support the show https://linktr.ee/midwestmurderpod Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collecti...

FAN MAIL TEXT HOTLINE On a walking trail near an abandoned mine pit in northern Minnesota, investigators discovered a burned body with a broken knife blade still lodged in the chest.  What began as a grim scene in the woods quickly led detectives back to a small apartment in Hibbing, where bloodstains conflicting stories, and a recliner told a far more complicated story.  Sponsored in part by http...

FAN MAIL TEXT HOTLINE In Prohibition-era Chicago, beer meant power, and power meant enemies. When a high-profile kidnapping shakes the city, Roger “The Terrible” Touhy becomes the perfect villain. What follows is a decades-long battle through courtrooms, prison walls, and a justice system that may not have been looking for the truth at all. Recorded at the legendary Anne Nicole Nelson Hall in supp...

FAN MAIL TEXT HOTLINE An employee at a paper mill in Wisconsin was murdered and found inside a pulp vat.  What followed was a case shaped by fear, investigative failures, and ended with six people on trial, and even more questions. Recorded with a fabulous crowd at the Sanctuary Events Center in Fargo, ND.  Episode sponsored in part by Lilac Lane Media https://www.lilaclanemedia.com/ Support the s...

FAN MAIL TEXT HOTLINE A young mother says her toddler pulled the trigger. Months later, another woman disappears. What begins as a domestic tragedy in 1960 Missouri quietly grows into one of the most baffling and enduring mysteries in Midwest crime. Recorded with a nearly sold out crowd at the Dickens Festival in Garrison, ND Location: Missouri, Mexico Victims: James Kinne, Patricia Jones, Francis...

FAN MAIL TEXT HOTLINE What began as the horrendous murder of a beloved elderly woman in Beatrice, Nebraska turned into a case defined by pressure, false confessions, and irreversible consequences.  The eventual truth raised troubling questions about how just is pursued and who pays the price when it goes wrong. Victim: Helen Wilson Location: Beatrice, Nebraska Episode title submitted by Michelle K...

FAN MAIL TEXT HOTLINE On Halloween night, 1975, a young farm family in rural Iowa went to bed and never woke up. What followed was one of the most controversial murder cases in state history; built on a highway timeline, forensic science that no longer exists, and a conviction still debated nearly fifty years later.  Episode title submitted by: Kelly C and Bekah Recorded live with a fabulous audie...

FAN MAIL TEXT HOTLINE When a Minnesota woman is promoted, thanks to her hard work at a major corporation, a coworker feels he deserves it more and begins bullying her at work. Would he have anything to do with her disappearance and eventual murder? Victim: Sharon Bloom Location: Woodbury, MN Episode title submitted by: Katie Jackson This episode was recorded at the 109 Club in Lignite, ND Support...