Exploring the intersection of faith and true crime.
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The Unlovely Truth
Episodes
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Season 4, Episode 12: Leaving the FLDS, Part 2: Control and Abuse
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Season 4, Episode 12: Leaving the FLDS, Part 2: Control and Abuse
Have you ever brought up a concern in your church, only to be labeled as an enemy of the faith? Do your leaders exhibit a troubling lack of humility? Are you sure you would recognize spiritual abuse if you saw it? Our book this week is The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser. She’s an author, activist, mom, and was the 19th wife of Rulon Jeffs, Warren Jeffs’ father. This is part 2 of a three-part deep dive on this case. We found some great takeaways from Rebecca’s story last week so if you …
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Season 4, Episode 11: Leaving the FLDS, Part 1: How Do You Spot False Teachings?
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Season 4, Episode 11: Leaving the FLDS, Part 1: How Do You Spot False Teachings?
If you had been told all through your childhood that people outside your faith are plotting to hurt you, you might feel safer sticking close to people who believe just like you do, even if you knew that at least some of what you are being taught is wrong. Would you have the courage to leave it all behind, have your family and friends disown you, and become, in the words of men like Warren Jeffs, an apostate? Our book this week is The Witness Wore Red, by Rebecca Musser. She’s an author, …
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Season 4, Episode 10: Cult Guru or Serial Killer: Who Murdered Patricia Hicks?
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Season 4, Episode 10: Cult Guru or Serial Killer: Who Murdered Patricia Hicks?
For many years, a set of remains found in Yosemite National Park were known as Summit Meadow Jane Doe. Just over a year ago, genetic genealogy revealed that the remains belonged to a woman named Patricia Hicks. Just 27 years old when the last credible sighting of her is recorded, Patricia had moved to Merced, California, after her marriage ended. Like a lot of us, she wanted a fresh start - but that wasn’t what she got. Let’s take a look at Matthew chapter 7, verses 15-20 from Jesus’ famous …
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Season 4, Episode 9: Like Ripples in Water: The Effects of Incarceration on Families
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Season 4, Episode 9: Like Ripples in Water: The Effects of Incarceration on Families
When a loved one is in prison, you’re serving a sentence of your own. The experience can break you, or shape you. Learn how today’s guest was able to overcome a system seemingly designed to tear families apart and have it ultimately bring hers closer together. Our book this week is My Incarcerated Life, and our guest is the book’s author, Qiana Riley-Jones. Qiana is a wife, mother, military veteran, nurse, and businesswoman. Remember the story from the second chapter of Mark where Jesus …
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Season 4, Episode 8: Domestic Violence Statistics Don't Lie: Meet the Man Trying to Change Them
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Season 4, Episode 8: Domestic Violence Statistics Don't Lie: Meet the Man Trying to Change Them
If you Google the words “Domestic Violence Statistics”, you’ll find some very sobering information. Did you know that according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence (and they give the examples of being beaten, burned, or strangled) by an intimate partner in their lifetime? I worked for a short time in a domestic violence court as a victim’s advocate, and I can tell you that the stat I just quoted …
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Season 4, Episode 7: How Coroners Use DNA to Make Bones Talk
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Season 4, Episode 7: How Coroners Use DNA to Make Bones Talk
It’s hard enough for me to imagine having a missing loved one. Can you? Then picture finding out that a serial killer has been operating where and when your loved one went missing. That’s the scenario we have for this week’s case. Authorities may never know exactly how many victims this killer had, but a new coroner investigating the case is determined to identify as many of the known remains as he can. Our book this week is “The Double Life of a Serial Murderer” and our guest is Hamilton …
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Season 4, Episode 6: Murdered and Missing on Long Island
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Season 4, Episode 6: Murdered and Missing on Long Island
We’ve all heard about the Long Island Serial Killer, but there are so many more true crime stories there. Did you know that Long Island is the home of roughly 40% of the entire population of New York State? With that many people living there, it’s no wonder that it has a lot more unsolved murders and missing persons cases than we know. We’re going to talk about one unsolved murder and one missing persons case from Long Island today and hopefully someone who hears this has some information and …
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Season 4, Episode 5: The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child is Unknown No Longer
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Season 4, Episode 5: The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child is Unknown No Longer
Digging into a family search is no longer just for families tracing their own ancestry. It’s now a crime fighting tool, used by experts in the fast-growing field of forensic genealogy. I’m really going to be geeking out today because this stuff fascinates me. I’ve done quite a bit of research into my own family tree, and to see these techniques used to help solve crime is nothing short of amazing. Our book this week is “The Boy in the Box: The Unsolved Case of America’s Unknown Child” by …
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Season 4, Episode 4: Surviving: Doing Whatever You Need to Do
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Season 4, Episode 4: Surviving: Doing Whatever You Need to Do
I didn’t know that it takes about four pounds of pressure to pull the trigger on a 9 mm handgun, did you? I read that that’s like the pressure in a firm handshake. That’s not all that much, especially when someone is holding a 9 mm handgun to your head. If you found yourself in that situation, what would you do to survive? Our book this week is “Four Pounds of Pressure: A Memoir of Rape, Survival, and Taking Back My Power” by Danielle Louise Leukam. Danielle is an author, speaker, and …
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Season 4, Episode 3: Third Time's the Charm - Too Bad He Was Number Four
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Season 4, Episode 3: Third Time's the Charm - Too Bad He Was Number Four
Murder by poisoning has been a popular method of getting rid of someone for centuries. As life insurance policies became more commonplace, arsenic was given the nickname “the inheritance powder”. And who else would have easier access to other, more exotic poisons than people in the medical field. Like a nurse. Our case this week comes from the book An Almost Perfect Murder, by Gary C. King. Let’s investigate why it was only almost perfect. We’ll also investigate some of what David had to say …
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Season 4, Episode 2: Beyond Evil: Russell Smrekar and the Logan County Murders
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Season 4, Episode 2: Beyond Evil: Russell Smrekar and the Logan County Murders
Most people in Lincoln, Illinois, didn’t lock their doors in the 1970’s. They weren’t worried about murderers roaming around. Mike Hartnett and his wife arrived in town to work at Lincoln College, a private junior college. Both were ready to counsel Lincoln’s students and they wondered how much trouble there could possibly be in this peaceful looking small town in 1972. If they’d only known, who knows if they would have gone there at all. Our book this week is “And I Cried, Too “, by Mike …
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Season 4, Episode 1: Deliver Us From Evil: Purging Guilt from Unsolved Murders
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Season 4, Episode 1: Deliver Us From Evil: Purging Guilt from Unsolved Murders
Jim Duckett was a lot of things to a lot of people - father, son, brother, uncle, friend, horse lover, good listener, veteran and more. That’s why it’s so hard to understand how he came to be tied to a chair in his bathroom, bloodied and tortured to death on Nov. 10, 2008, in Shelbyville, KY. Well, it’s hard to understand for most of us. But somebody out there knows exactly what happened. It’s been 14 years. It’s time to come forward. Let’s tackle another story from the world of true crime …
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Season 3, Episode 52: The Wages of Sin is Death: Vigilante "Justice" in a Small Texas Town
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Season 3, Episode 52: The Wages of Sin is Death: Vigilante "Justice" in a Small Texas Town
Capital punishment is a hotly debated topic among Christians, and rightly so. Both the old and new testaments talk about it being within the government’s rights. But let me know if you are aware of any verses that condone private citizens executing a man when the government isn’t doing it fast enough for them. This week we are wrapping up the case of The Santa Claus Bank Robbery, an amazing book by the late journalist and author A.C. Greene. One robber died from injuries he suffered during …
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Season 3, Episode 51: Repeat Offenders: If Only They Were Still Inmates
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Season 3, Episode 51: Repeat Offenders: If Only They Were Still Inmates
Early release programs for convicted felons are controversial, and always have been. It’s a delicate balance to try to alleviate prison overcrowding yet keep the public safe. Marshall Ratliff, Henry Helms, and Robert Hill had all served time in Texas’ Huntsville Prison. If they hadn’t all been given what the public felt were light sentences with early release, would those who died during the Santa Claus Bank Robbery have lived full lives? We are in our third week of investigating A.C. …
