The Consult: Real FBI Profilers

We examine the 2019 murder of Elizabeth “Liz” Barraza, who was shot and killed in her driveway in Tomball, Texas, while setting up for a garage sale. Mike Morford of the Criminology podcast joins us for this three-part series. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional information and resources, please visit our episode website: https://www.truecrimecon...

We examine the concept of targeted violence (e.g., mass attacks, school shootings, lone-actor attacks, assassinations) and how it differs from spontaneous or impulsive acts of violence. We discuss the warning signs, motivations, and pathways that may precede these crimes. The focus is on understanding behavior with the goal of improving prevention, threat assessment, and investigative insight. You...

Part 2 of our discussion of the independent review of Philadelphia MEO case 11-0420, involving the death of Ellen Greenberg. Part 2 of 2. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional information and resources, please visit our episode website: https://www.truecrimeconsult.com/118-ellen-greenberg-review-of-the-meo-report-part-2/ Music “Light in the Basemen...

In this episode, we examine the independent review of Philadelphia MEO case 11-0420, involving the death of Ellen Greenberg. We share our initial thoughts on the report and its conclusions. This review was commissioned as part of a settlement between Ellen’s parents and the City of Philadelphia. For years, Ellen’s parents have been advocating to have the official manner of death changed from Suici...

In Part 2 of our analysis of The Murders of Dr. and Mrs. Littlefield in South Paris, Maine, we turn to Paul Dwyer’s final confession in which he directly implicated Deputy Sheriff Francis Carroll in the murders. This statement dramatically reframes the case and forces a re-evaluation of Dwyer’s role in these crimes. Part 2 of 2. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Faceb...

In part 1 of our analysis of The Murders of Dr. and Mrs. Littlefield, we examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Dr. James Littlefield and his wife, Lydia, in 1937. Their bodies were discovered in their car in North Arlington, New Jersey, far from their home in South Paris, Maine, with 18-year-old Paul Dwyer at the wheel. The discovery launched an investigation that raised questions wh...

In our third and final part on the missing and murdered women of Grand Rapids, Investigative Reporter Susan Samples from WOOD TV8 joins us again as we take a closer look at long-haul trucker Garry Artman. Artman was convicted of one of the Grand Rapids murders—the 1996 murder of Sharon Hammack—and linked by DNA to the killing of Dusty Schuck, who was from Maryland. You can follow The Consult on so...

In this bonus episode, Tiffany Link, Collections Curator for the Maine Historical Society and co-curator of the exhibition “Notorious: Maine Crime in the Public Eye, 1690–1940” joins the show. Tiffany discusses how the exhibition was developed and why the cases were chosen. We explore how crime reporting evolved from broadsides to newspapers to early photojournalism, and how the public’s relations...

In Part 2 of our 3-part series on the missing and murdered women connected to the Division Avenue area of Grand Rapids, Michigan, we continue our discussion with Investigative Reporter Susan Samples from WOOD TV8. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional information and resources, please visit our episode website: https://www.truecrimeconsult.com/113-...

In this series, we look at several missing and murdered women from the 1990s connected to the Division Avenue area of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Investigative Reporter Susan Samples from WOOD TV8 joins us to review the cases, what is known, and what remains unanswered, including whether any of these investigations might be connected. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Fac...

In this final follow-up episode, we continue our examination of Bryan Kohberger, considering the latest released investigative materials and supplemental reports. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional information and resources, please visit our episode website: https://www.truecrimeconsult.com/111-profiling-bryan-kohberger-part-4-review-of-newly-re...

In this follow-up episode, we revisit our analysis of Bryan Kohberger, considering recently released police reports and investigative documents. We examine how these new materials refine our understanding of Kohberger and the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional informati...

Larry Harnisch, retired Los Angeles Times reporter and a leading subject-matter expert on the Black Dahlia case, joins the show to discuss his decades-long research into the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, detailing his investigative approach and efforts to separate fact from myth. We also examine retired FBI profiler John Douglas’s behavioral analysis, which aligns closely with the suspect Larry...

In this episode, Dr. Paige Wilcoxson joins the show to discuss what true crime often gets wrong about forensic psychology. Dr. Wilcoxson worked as a clinical and forensic psychologist, and her experience spans training in forensic hospitals, working in high-and maximum-security prisons, and serving as a professor in both the U.S. and the U.K. While working on her doctorate, she spent time in the F...

In the third and final part of our analysis of the Black Dahlia case, we discuss our observations of the offender. Based on the crime scene, autopsy findings, and what we know about Elizabeth Short, we develop a profile of the person responsible for her murder. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional information and resources, please visit our episod...

In the second part of our analysis of the Black Dahlia case, we examine the victimology of Elizabeth Short. Who was she, and what can her life tell us about the person who killed her? We explore her background, relationships, lifestyle, and movements leading up to her death. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional information and resources, please vi...

We begin our analysis of one of the most infamous unsolved murders in American history—the Black Dahlia case. In this episode, we focus on the crime scene and autopsy of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short, whose body was discovered on January 15, 1947, in a vacant lot in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. She had been bisected at the waist and subjected to extensive post-mortem mut...

Dr. Ann Burgess joins the show to discuss her book Expert Witness: The Weight of Our Testimony When Justice Hangs in the Balance . An internationally recognized pioneer in the assessment and treatment of trauma and abuse victims, Dr. Burgess collaborated with the FBI Academy to study serial offenders and the connection between child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and later violent crime. We discuss...

In this episode of The Consult, I talk with Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee, hosts of The Murder Sheet podcast and authors of Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland. We discuss their book with a focus on the behavior in the case of Abigail Williams and Liberty German—and what it reveals about the offender. You can find Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Mur...

In this final episode of our three-part analysis of the West Memphis Three case, we bring together everything we’ve learned about the murders of Michael Moore, Steve Branch, and Christopher Byers on or about May 5, 1993, and share our overall assessment of the case. Part 3 of 3. You can follow The Consult on social media: X/Twitter Instagram Facebook For additional information and resources, pleas...

In this episode, we look at the autopsies and victimologies of the three boys: Michael Moore, Steve Branch, and Christorpher Byers. We review what the medical examiner found, the condition of the bodies, and the significance of the injuries. We also examine the boys’ victimology to better understand who they were and what risk factors may have drawn the offender’s attention. Part 2 of 3. You can f...

In this first episode of our three-part analysis of the West Memphis Three case, we look at the events of May 5, 1993. That afternoon, three 8-year-old boys, Michael Moore, Steve Branch, and Christopher Byers, went missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. The next day, they were found in a drainage ditch in an area known as Robin Hood Hills. They had been murdered. We cover the timeline of their disappe...

In this episode, Alyssa and Michael McFarland, hosts of Tragedy: A True Crime Podcast, join the show. We discuss the unsolved murder of George “Jody” Kilgore, who was stabbed in his driveway, in broad daylight, on October 6, 2014. He was 50 years old. For Michael, this case is deeply personal—Jody was his relative—and both he and Alyssa have devoted an entire season of their podcast to telling Jod...

In this third episode on the unsolved murder of Karina Holmer, geographic profiler Doug MacGregor joins the show. Doug takes a close look at the locations tied to Karina’s case and what they might reveal about the offender, his comfort zones, and the behaviors behind his choices. We also talk about how geographic profiling and behavioral analysis work together to help narrow the focus in an invest...

We continue our analysis of the case of Karina Holmer, a 20-year-old au pair from Sweden who was last seen outside a nightclub in Boston in the early morning hours of June 22, 1996. On the afternoon of June 23, the upper half of her body was found in a trash bag in a dumpster about a mile from where she was last seen. We continue our review of the case facts, discuss victimology, and offer our obs...