Wrong Ride Home: Beyond the Book

For the first time in this series, we're stepping away from the chapter-by-chapter format to focus on one witness whose testimony shaped nearly every part of the State's case. Detective John Greaver wasn't just another witness. He was the lead investigator. The detective who interviewed witnesses, executed search warrants, collected evidence, and ultimately built the case against Austin Burke. In...

The prosecution's case continues as the jury begins hearing from experts, investigators, and witnesses whose testimony was meant to strengthen the State's theory. But does the evidence actually support the stories the jury has already heard? In this episode, we examine testimony about cell phone records, firearms, DNA, and a recorded jail call. You'll also hear from Jessica Simms, whose testimony...

After two episodes filled with alleged confessions and conflicting witness accounts, the prosecution finally begins presenting the evidence jurors had been waiting for. In this episode, we hear from the officer who discovered Brandon Sample's abandoned Malibu, Brandon's father as he recalls the last time he saw his son alive, and Detective David Morris as he documents the recovery of Brandon's bod...

By the end of the day, the prosecution finally had what it had promised the jury during opening statements: witnesses who claimed that Austin Burke had confessed. Nathan Moats, Rickey Roupe, and Deidre Keener each took the stand and told jurors what they believed happened to Brandon Sample. The problem? Their stories didn't always match. Josh White said Brandon dropped him off around 12:30 AM. Nat...

After nearly nine months of investigations, motions, media coverage, and preparation, the trial of Austin Burke finally begins. In this episode, we take a detailed look at the opening statements presented to the jury and the first witnesses called to testify. Prosecutors lay out the timeline they believe proves Austin's guilt, while the defense argues that the state still lacks the evidence needed...

After nine months of investigations, interviews, arrests, media coverage, and legal battles, Austin Burke's case finally reaches trial. But before a single witness testifies, before opening statements begin, and before any evidence is presented, twelve strangers are selected to decide his future. In this episode, we examine the plea offer Austin rejected, the process of jury selection, and a littl...

Episode 11 takes listeners into the months before Austin Burke's trial, where the pressure surrounding the case was already building long before a jury heard the first witness. In this chapter, we examine the decision to combine two separate cases into one trial, the motions filed by the defense, media influence before trial, plea agreement pressure, and the growing concern that public perception...

Episode 9 dives deeper into the investigation that continued long after Austin Burke was already sitting in jail. In Chapter Five: Stepping into Ohio's Judicial System — Part Two, we examine the witness interviews, shifting timelines, and growing inconsistencies that continued unfolding behind the scenes in late June of 2017. This episode explores: Rickey Roupe's recorded interview and the detaile...

This is the moment everything changes. Up until now, this case has been about questions—timelines, witness statements, and what may or may not have happened. But in Episode 8, the system steps in. And once it does… it doesn't stop. Within 72 hours of Austin Burke's arrest, the legal process begins. Hearings are scheduled. Decisions are made. And a case starts moving forward—despite one critical pr...

Chapter Four: Arrested — Guilty Until Proven Innocent What happens after the arrest… is where everything really begins. In this episode, we step inside June 21, 2017—the day Austin Burke wakes up in a jail cell and his life changes in ways he couldn't have imagined. But this isn't just about an arrest. It's about what happens when a narrative starts forming before the full story is told. You'll he...

We're back inside the investigation—and this is where things start to shift. In this episode, we take a closer look at the statements that helped build the case. Not just what was said, but how those statements changed… and how they line up against each other. Because when you slow it all down, the timeline doesn't just bend—it starts to break. You'll hear about Deidre's account and where it fits…...

Hatchet Man Road. If you've heard of it, you probably already have a version of the story. A road in Trumbull County. A house in the woods. A man with a hatchet. But depending on who you ask… the details don't stay the same. In this special episode, we step away from the timeline—just for a moment—to take a closer look at something that keeps coming up in this case: Hatchet Man Road. What is it, r...

This is where everything shifts. What started as a missing person case is now a homicide—and instead of slowing down to build a full timeline, the investigation begins to take direction. In this episode, I walk through the first major witness interview with Josh White—the person who said he was one of the last to see Brandon alive. At first, his story sounds clear. Detailed. Complete. But when you...

Episode 3 takes us into the first 48 hours of Brandon Sample's disappearance — the hours that should have mattered most. What starts as an abandoned car on a bike trail quickly turns into something much more complicated. A missing person report. Conflicting statements. Tips that don't quite line up. And decisions that begin shaping the direction of the case almost immediately. As the investigation...

Episode 2: Chapter One — Wrong Ride Home Before there was an arrest… there was a normal day. In this episode, we slow everything down and go back to where this story really begins—June 11, 2017. A family outing. A simple decision. A ride that, at the time, didn't seem like it mattered. But it did. We walk through Austin's timeline—his movements, his messages, and the moments that would later be qu...

Before the story unfolds, there's a moment where everything is quiet—and you have to decide if you're ready to speak. In this first episode of Wrong Ride Home: Beyond the Book , Donna Waters opens the door to the journey ahead, not just as a storyteller, but as someone still learning how to carry a story that never really let her go. This isn't about jumping straight into facts or timelines. It's...