True Crime Brewery

27-year-old music teacher Stephanie Kupchynsky disappeared from a Rochester, New York, suburb in 1991. Stephanie grew up in New Jersey and had taught on Martha's Vineyard. She was scheduled to attend a music conference in New Jersey that was organized by her father, also a music teacher, when she disappeared. Soon afterwards, her car was found abandoned at the airport. Join us at the quiet end for...

After Jimmy Don Beets’ fishing boat was found abandoned in Lake Athens, Texas, the locals speculated that he had accidentally drowned. But two years later, his body was found buried in a wishing well on his own property. And, shockingly, another missing man was discovered entombed on the same property. These two men had one thing in common---Betty Lou Beets. Join us at the quiet end for Down the W...

In its immediate aftermath, the 1984 murder of Brenda Lafferty and her baby daughter had their community asking “why?” But once the investigation was under way, law enforcement began to look closely at the family Brenda Lafferty had married into. Brenda was a devout Mormon, but she disagreed with the extreme religious beliefs of her brothers-in-law, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who had embraced fundament...

The ostensibly charmed marriage of Kelley and Jim Cannon became something like a bad lifetime movie after years of drug addiction and domestic disturbances. Judging from outward appearances, the two were a successful and happy couple raising a young family. Jim was a law school graduate and a well-liked businessman. Kelley was a housewife and mother of three, remembered by her old classmates as a...

Vicki Durian and Nancy Santomero were hitchhiking on their way to the Rainbow Family Gathering in June, 1980, when they disappeared. This was an annual gathering of hippies and free-thinking people where they would celebrate harmony, peace, and freedom at Monongahela National Forest. But after the two young women accepted a ride from a quiet young man driving a Chevy Nova, they were never seen ali...

Neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch had little in his background to predict the trail of surgical atrocities he would commit in his short-lived career. Before he was finally stopped, Duntsch had caused serious neurological injuries to most of his patients and killed two of them. In fact, of the 38 surgeries he performed, 33 were catastrophic. Join us at the quiet end for Dissecting Dr. Death . After...

After a 911 call came in late at night on August 2, 2006, paramedics were dispatched to a high-end Washington D.C. townhouse. Inside, the home was very neat with expensive electronics and other valuables in plain sight. On the second floor, 32-year-old attorney Robert Wone was found lying flat on his back in a t-shirt and gym shorts. He had three stab wounds to his torso. Mr. Wone was a houseguest...

As far back as Brian Stidham could remember, he wanted to be a doctor and work with children. As an exceptional student, he graduated from Harvard Medical School. Then he began his residency in pediatric ophthalmology. Eventually, Brian married, had two children, and moved to Tucson, Arizona. As one of very few specialists in the area, he was in high demand. But as Brian’s star was rising, his lif...

The Murder of Diane Pikul Diane Whitmore grew up in the Midwest. She was a smart girl and, as she matured, she was looking forward to an exciting life as an independent, sophisticated woman. But when it came to men, Diane had a bad picker. Diane married Joe Pikul after meeting him at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He was exciting to her: wealthy and outgoing but emotionally unstable with a terri...

The Murder-for-Hire of Dan Markel On July 18, 2014, 41-year-old law professor Dan Markel dropped off his two young sons at preschool, worked out at the gym, and returned home to his quiet Tallahassee, Florida home. It was a Friday and Dan was looking forward to a relaxing weekend. But as soon as he pulled into his garage, someone shot him at point-blank range. Join us at the quiet end for Conspira...

Jana and Bruce Koklich were the ideal couple in many ways. Jana was a smart and attractive woman whose father had been an influential California state senator. Bruce was her dedicated, hard-working, and charming husband. Together, they ran a successful California real estate business and owned several valuable properties. But after going to an Eric Clapton concert with a friend in August of 2001,...

Back on July 2, 1970, tourists visiting Loch Ard Gorge, Australia, found a crashed car teetering on the edge of an oceanside cliff. It looked like the car could plunge into the water at any moment. After investigators were called to the scene, the mystery grew deeper. The car’s license plate was traced to a family living over 100 miles away. Once the car was towed from the cliff’s edge, the inside...

After 18-year-old Kaitlyn Arquette was murdered in 1989, the Albuquerque police department believed it was a random act of violence. But as details were released, possible motives for her murder came to light. Join us at the quiet end for Who Killed Kaitlyn? Kaitlyn had argued with her boyfriend on the night she was killed. She also had knowledge of a gang-related insurance scheme. But despite her...

Registered Nurse Julie Keown had goals for her life: start a family, purchase a home, advance in her career. She just needed to stay the course while her husband completed his MBA at Harvard and they would be all set. But sadly, Julie’s life was cruelly cut short and she didn’t live to see the future which she had worked and planned for all her life. Join us at the quiet end for Sweet Talker. Juli...

McKay Everett was the adored only child of Paulette and Carl Everett. The tight-knit family of three lived a comfortable life in an upscale subdivision in Conroe, Texas, a town just a few miles north of Houston. Crime was uncommon in the Everett’s neighborhood, but they still took precautions, including the installation of a home security system. Join us at the quiet end for A Killer at the Door:...

The Heather Rich Story Heather Rich was only 16-years-old when she was brutally victimized by people she knew and trusted. A petite and pretty girl with translucent gray-blue eyes, Heather liked to laugh and she enjoyed the attention of her peers. But adolescence is not everything that they make it out to be in the movies. As a cheerleader and a nominee for homecoming queen, Heather was also a tro...

The disappearance of Scottish mother-of-two Arlene Fraser in April of 1998 alarmed her loved ones and set off rumors and theories throughout her community. After all, she’d waved goodbye to her children as they went off to school one morning and was never seen again. It was as if she had vanished into thin air. But, of course, she hadn’t. Join us at the quiet end for From Missing to Murdered: Arle...

Rick Anderson and his girlfriend Chantina Ginn were carnies, following a travelling carnival from Kansas to Arkansas in September of 1980. At the campground where the two slept, they met another couple. The two men, strung out on uppers and looking for cash, made plans to rob a jewelry store. Of course, their intended victims had no idea of what was coming. Join us at the quiet end for The Staton...

Barbara Weaver was raised in a strict Amish community where she learned to be caring and obedient. She knew her future husband, Eli Weaver, from childhood. They courted according to their church rules. But after marriage, Eli did not live up to the expectations of a devoted husband. He left the community more than once and was repeatedly unfaithful, making life miserable for Barbara. Join us at th...

Bruce Cleland was a shy, intelligent man who, at age 41, had very little experience with women. Rebecca Salcedo was younger, extremely manipulative, and very experienced with men. When the two came together as a couple, it was a complete disaster. Bruce adored Rebecca and would do anything to please her. Unfortunately, there was no pleasing Rebecca. Join us at the quiet end for Despicable She: The...

In a classic Keith episode of Dateline, a rural Michigan community searches for a young woman last seen at a Halloween party. The party took place on acres of farmland with hard rock bands, plenty of alcohol, and no guest list. 22-year-old Chelsea Bruck went to the party with her girlfriends, but they left without her. She had been so excited about having fun in her homemade Poison Ivy costume, bu...

Richard Marc Evonitz had already abducted three girls from their front yards in Virginia before he took 15-year-old Kara Robinson from her friend’s house in South Carolina. Evonitz had a troubling history of criminal sexual behavior, but his friends and neighbors knew him as a good-looking, intelligent, and compassionate person living an ordinary middle-class life. Only his victims, teenage girls...

Vicki Bader’s divorce from her attorney husband Seth Bader was beyond contentious. Alimony and child custody issues persisted well after the break up. Vicki, emotionally fragile and at times suicidal, endured months of harassment and gaslighting by Seth and his toxic accomplices. But when Seth decided to involve their oldest son in his campaign to destroy Vicki, things took an ominous turn. Join u...

The Murder of Steven Beard Steven Beard grew up poor in Dallas, Texas. He had ambitions to go to medical school, but he joined the Navy during World War II. After the war, Steven took a job at a department store. He met his first wife, Elise, while working at the store. They had three children together. Hard working, smart, and good with people, Steven worked his way up to become an executive and...

The Story of Debra & Christopher Milke Debra Milke was a cute 24-year-old single mother in 1989. She and her 4-year-old son, Christopher, were living with a friend while Debra prepared to move into her own apartment and start a new job. She was excited for what she saw as a fresh start, saving up new clothing and household items for her and Christopher’s new life. But, on December 2nd, Christo...