The First Degree

A woman is attacked in her own home by a man wielding a baseball bat. The man, wearing a white cap, runs out of the house and escapes in a gold car. The police are called to the scene, and find the woman’s brother dead on the side of the road. His skull is nearly split in two. A suspect is arrested. He is picked out of a lineup by the victim. He drives a gold car. He wears a white cap. Sounds cut...

16-year-old Emma Walker and 18-year-old Riley Gaul had been together for two years and appeared to be the perfect couple, especially on social media. And they were- until they weren't. On episode 121 of The First Degree, Jac, Alexis & Billy explore the case of 16-year-old Emma Walker. Please support the show by checking out our sponsors! Daily Harvest: Go to DAILYHARVEST.com and enter promo code F...

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In 2006, a Myspace post began circulating among a group of friends in Stevens point Wisconsin. The claims made in the post were sinister, horrifying and suggested that a murder had taken place. The revelations that followed devastated the community, fractured a group of friends and left loved ones of the victim at a complete loss. On episode 119, Jac, Alexis & Billy profile and search for answers...

A high school pole vaulting coach doesn’t show up for practice. His car is then found on the side of the roads near the woods, door open, keys still in the ignition. That’s just the beginning of this twisted case. In episode 118, Jac, Alexis and Billy delve deep into the story of Jeremy Scully, and uncover a tale of sex clubs, falling in love, jealousy and murder. Plus, talking dream talk show gue...

Imagine enlisting in the army before you even turn 18. You do two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, come back home to Boston and pursue a career in law enforcement. Then one night when you’re out with friends, words are exchanged with another group. A brawl ensues. And the unthinkable happens. On episode 117, Jac, Alexis and Billy investigate the murder of Stephen Perez. And if you stick around for K...

Diane Hood had been murdered in cold blood by her husband’s lover. That much is clear. But what everyone wants to know now is: Did she act alone, or did Diane’s husband come up with the idea? In episode 116, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude the story of the Fatal Attraction killing, with tales of manipulation, mercy killings, a life insurance policy, and a man twisting Bible verses for evil. 🎟 Catch...

Two women walk through a parking lot at night. They are accosted by a masked figure who demands their belongings. They comply. But as one of them runs away, she is shot in the back. The masked assailant then stands over her and shoots her in the chest, killing her. The police first think it’s a robbery gone wrong. But as they dig further, they find something far more sinister. In episode 115, Jac,...

Imagine being in college and getting a phone call--the police think one of your best friends from high school, a guy you thought of as a little brother-- murdered his mother and grandmother. Where would your mind go? Would you immediately think “this can’t be true” and go into help mode? Would you be defiant till the end? Or as the evidence piled up against him, would you finally accept it? In epi...

In episode 112, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude with part three of their series on The Oklahoma City Bombing. Please support the show by checking out our sponsors: Healist: Go to Healistnaturals.com/Firstdegree to sign up and get your free sample today Upstart: Go to Upstart.com/firstdegree to find out HOW LOW your Upstart rate can be 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video epis...

Imagine you just got married six weeks ago. You’re both secret service agents. You work in Phoenix. She works in Oklahoma City, but you are planning your next rendezvous soon. Then one morning, your beeper is filled with pages, one after another. All of them urgent. You learn the federal building in Oklahoma City has been destroyed by a terror attack. In episode 111, Jac, Alexis and Billy are join...

Depending on your generation, you have those defining moments of our childhood, where you can recall exactly where you were when it happened. For baby boomers, it's the Kennedy assassination, for GenX’rs, it's the Challenger explosion, for Millennials, its 9/11. But how you would feel if you were a child, watching the events unfold on TV, and not knowing if a loved one who was there at the site of...

Imagine being one month away from going on your first plane ride. One month away from seeing the ocean for the first time...and then the opportunity is snatched away, forever. In episode 110, Jac, Alexis and Billy delve into the shocking murder of Mikey Keller, a crime that deals with conspiracy, betrayal, petty greed and a big screen TV. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video...

Janet Downing lay dying in her dining room. Dying from 98 stab wounds. The person arrested for murder was not an escaped mental patient. He was not the boogie man. He was her son’s best friend, the 15-year-old boy who lived across the street, who she had watched grow up. Were there any signs? Any warnings that this cherub-faced child had a bloodlust lurking inside him? Turns out, there very well m...

It was the hang-out house in the neighborhood. All the kids would come by the Downing residence, visiting with 16-year old twins Ryan and Paul, chilling in the living room playing Sega, and being served snacks by the mom of the household, Janet Downing. But on the night of July 23rd, the house on Boston Street would become a horror scene. On episode 108, Jac, Alexis and Billy head to Somerville, M...

When 12-year-old Shannon Leigh Kos disappeared on a Sunday afternoon, the police initially suspected that the rebellious 7th grader was just blowing off some steam and would be home soon. But after days of searching, they discovered the grim reality of what truly happened to Shannon. On episode 107, Jac, Alexis & Billy delve into the brutal, tragic, and utterly senseless events of October 8, 2000,...

Can someone be born evil? Or is evil a product of your environment. The McFeelys had their hands full with their teenage grandson, Brian. The boy they had custody of was rambunctious and childish—and then he turned dangerous. He would go away, seemingly get better then come back and get worse. And then one day, the situation became deadly. On episode 106, Jac, Alexis and Billy tell the story of me...

When Seath started dating Amber, the 15-year-olds shouted their love from rooftops—and across social media. But as high school romances are want to do, the relationship fizzled, and Amber began to stray. She ghosted Seath, then started posting pictures on facebook of her with another man. These events would lead to jealousy, rage, name-calling, betrayal, conspiracy and, ultimately, murder. On epis...

Two people fail to come home after a day at high school. One is a 14-year old student and soccer player who just moved into town. The other is a 24-year-old math teacher. After a frantic search, police access the school’s surveillance video and watch a gruesome horror story unfold. In episode 104, Jac, Billy and Alexis delve into the tragic story of Colleen Ritzer and Philip Chism. 🎟 Catch up to F...

It’s now 2004, and BTK has been lurking in the shadows of Wichita, Kansas for 30 years. The murders have stopped, and it looks like he got away with his crimes...until a newspaper publishes a story on the anniversary of his first murders. And the killer just can’t help himself. In episode 103, Jac, Alexis and Billy explore how Dennis Rader’s narcissism helped police track him down, how his own dau...

After murdering five people, the killer known as BTK made his first contact with the media. But now he’s disappeared. For three long years would waits, before forcing his way into the home of a woman and slaying her while her children listened. Nine months later he would kill again, and continue to taunt the police, writing “Do the cops think that all those deaths are not related? Golly-gee yes th...

A mother, father and their two children are found murdered in their Wichita, Kansas home. When a group of men falsely confess to the crimes, the real killer directs the police to a letter. He writes about the monster inside of him. The monster who needs to kill. “Maybe you can stop him. I can't. He has already chosen his next victim or victims. I don't know who they are yet. The next day after I r...

Two young women, their bodies beaten and strangled and found less than a mile from each other in the hills near Stanford University. For 40 years their killer went undetected. Then, during the hunt for the Golden State Killer, a name pops up on law enforcement’s radar: John Getreu. In episode 100, Jac, Alexis and Billy tell the tale of a family man, a boy scout leader, a loving father and grandfat...

A teenager is getting ready for a school dance. She’s quiet and shy but tonight, her friends are making her look and feel like a million bucks. It’s the summer of 1963, and they will all be dancing to the early strains of rock n roll. But for Margaret Willams, it would be the last dance she would ever attend. The next day her body would be found half naked on a nearby baseball field. Her killer is...

You drive past a lakefront mansion, see kids playing in the yard under the watchful eye of a smiling couple and you wish you could be that happy. They have it all. But what if there was something lurking in the shadows? Not everything is perfect. In episode 98, Jac, Alexis and Billy enter the home of the Short family on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, and discover that not everything is...