Over the last two episodes, I’ve told you the story of three-year-old Arabella Parker, who died in November 2019 after severe abuse at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, Jahrid Burgess.  For this episode, I was honored to speak with three people close to Arabella’s case. First, you’ll hear my recent conversation with the Sunbury Daily Item’s crime reporter, Francis Scarcella, who followed Arabella’s story from the very beginning. Then, you’ll hear me talk with two of Arabella’s maternal...

In episodes 35 and 36, back in late 2020, I told you the story of 9-month-old Jacob Landin, a tiny boy with a big laugh and an even bigger personality. Jacob died in April 1987 from a severe traumatic brain injury. When the injury occurred, he was in the care of his mom’s boyfriend, Steven Chavez, who told several different stories to Brenda Landin, medical professionals, and investigators. Despite being the only suspect, failing a polygraph, and reportedly confessing to police, Steven was...

In the last episode, I told you the first part of the story of three-year-old Arabella Parker, who was rushed to the hospital on October 10, 2019, reportedly suffering from a seizure. Because medical staff wasn’t told that the seizure resulted from severe head trauma, the damage was irreparable, and Arabella died on November 22, 2019. In this episode, I’ll take you through the hearings and the trials of the three people accused of allowing, causing, or covering up the reason for Arabella’s...

Four years ago, in episodes 16 and 17, I told you the tragic story of 3-year-old Arabella Parker. Because that was so early in my podcasting journey, I’m not satisfied with my coverage of her story, so I’m revisiting it in an all-new, comprehensive re-telling as I’ve never told it before: with the help of her family and others.  On October 10, 2019, Arabella reportedly suffered a seizure at her home in Trevorton, Pennsylvania. At the hospital, doctors immediately suspected child abuse based...

(This episode was originally released in April 2022.) On the morning of Wednesday, March 18, 2020, police in Bakersfield, California responded to an apartment on a report of an eight-year-old child not breathing. Although Ger’Mya Alexander was rushed to the hospital, she died of her injuries the same day. Her mother’s boyfriend, 37-year-old Clint Mason, who had been caring for Ger’Mya when she was fatally injured, fled on foot and was apprehended the next morning.  This is the story of a...

In episodes 87 and 88, I told you the story of four-year-old Judah Morgan. Judah lived for most of his life in a foster care kinship placement with the family of his second cousin, Jenna Hullett. In April of 2021, Judah was returned to his biological parents, Alan Morgan and Mary Yoder, despite multiple red flags and warnings to DCS. Six months later, Alan and Mary were arrested for Judah’s brutal murder. In this episode, you’ll hear multiple updates to Judah’s story in my most recent...

On this podcast, I’ve told you the stories of many children whose deaths came at the hands of parents or guardians after extended periods of what can only be described as torture. Intra-familial child torture is a disturbingly common occurrence, and it has a 36% fatality rate for the children affected. In this episode, you’ll hear my conversation with childhood torture survivor and advocate Ali Davis. Ali survived 19 years of torture at the hands of one of her parents. Her experience led her...

On February 17, 2020, police in Fort Myers, Florida responded to a horrific single-vehicle accident in which a minivan carrying two women and a three-year-old girl veered off the road, hit several palm trees, and flipped over. The little girl, Serenity Robinson, was not in a car seat and was unrestrained. Her mother, Leslie Joe Zeagler, was found to be impaired by multiple controlled substances and survived with minor injuries. Serenity was not so lucky. Leslie was arrested and charged with...

Last week, I told you about the abduction and murder of seven-year-old Joan D’Alessandro. On April 19, 1973, Joan was delivering Girl Scout cookies when her neighbor, Joseph McGowan, a high school science teacher, lured her into his basement, sexually assaulted her, and brutally beat and strangled the helpless little girl. McGowan pleaded guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to life in the New Jersey prison system with the possibility of parole after 14 years. In this episode, I’ll dig...

On April 19, 1973, seven-year-old Joan D’Alessandro left her family’s home in Hillsdale, New Jersey to deliver her last two boxes of Girl Scout cookies. She never returned. After a massive search and an intensive investigation, police zeroed in on the family’s neighbor, 27-year-old high school science teacher Joseph McGowan, who soon confessed that he had sexually abused and murdered Joan before dumping her body in Harriman State Park, just over the border in New York State. For decades,...

**This episode was originally released in June of 2021. I am re-releasing it due to the recent arrest of Lisa Jo Vanderlinden, the woman who spent less than a year in jail for Lucas's murder, on charges of abusing another child.** In 2017, Lucas Call and his baby sister were removed from their biological mother’s custody, in part because she had a learning disability and was unjustly deemed an unfit mother. They were placed in the care of a woman who had previously fostered upwards of 40...

As a child, Antonia Deignan believed that her father’s nighttime visits to her bedroom showed the special love he had for her. Still, some part of her knew that what he was doing to her was wrong. She began to create fantasy worlds in her mind to escape. As Tuni grew up, she traded her fantasies for dancing, but her inner turmoil also manifested in self-destructive ways. After she suffered a serious bike accident that forced her to face the demons from her past, Tuni finally began to work...

In the last episode, I told you about the death of four-year-old Serenity Rabbit, whose mother fought for months to protect Serenity and her siblings from the abuse she felt they were enduring in kinship care at the hands of her uncle and aunt, Clyde and Brenda Rabbit. I told you about the many reports of abuse and neglect Children’s Services received about the children and the back-breaking contortions the agency seemed willing to perform just to close the kids’ files. In this episode, I’ll...

On September 18, 2014, four-year-old Serenity Rabbit arrived at the hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, emaciated and suffering from a catastrophic head injury, various bruises and abrasions, and hypothermia. Serenity was under the kinship care of her great-aunt and uncle, Brenda and Clyde Rabbit, whose own eight children also lived in their home. For a year and a half, Serenity’s mother, Ashley Rabbit, had begged anyone who would listen to help save her children, who she believed were being...

*Fallon Fridley should have turned 5 yesterday. I'm re-releasing this episode in her honor.* On December 9, 2020, in Sandy Springs, Georgia, two-year-old Fallon Fridley was spending the night at the home of her babysitter, who was also a good friend of Fallon’s mom, Kristin. The babysitter, Kirstie Flood, called 911 that evening to report little Fallon unresponsive, and Fallon was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Kirstie claimed Fallon had taken a fall...

Since I started making this podcast, I’ve told the stories of a number of children that have involved the failures of the family court system. So many names pop into my head when I think about it: Thomas Valva. Nakota Kelly. Averylee Hobbs. James Biel. Corey Micciolo. Since 2008, over 900 American children have died at the hands of a parent or guardian after involvement with the family court system, which punishes parents – especially mothers – for reporting domestic or child abuse. Ohio mom...

For fifteen years you could call a private number in Manhattan and anonymously apologize for anything. It was called The Apology Line. This is the story of the phone line and the man at the other end who became consumed by his own creation. He was known as “Mr. Apology.” As thousands of callers flooded the line, confessing to everything from shoplifting to adultery, drug dealing, to murder, Mr. Apology realized he couldn’t just listen. He had to do something, even if it meant risking...

In 1997, a pair of sisters in Elk Grove, California endured the unthinkable. Their mother and stepfather, Barbara and Larry Carrasco, abused methamphetamine and somehow became certain that Barbara’s daughters, 13-year-old Jessica and five-year-old Alexia, were possessed by demons and vampires. To exorcise the unwanted beings, Barbara and Larry began forcing the girls to drink bleach milkshakes three times a day for eight days. When Alexia died around June 19, 1997, Barbara and Larry forced...

Christian Crossland spent most of his short life in the care of family friends, Brittany and Trevor Easton, who took Christian into their Indiana home and loved him like their own. In January of 2022, Christian’s biological mother, Chelsea Crossland, took him back from the family who doted on and adored him. In under three months, Christian was dead. This is the story of a little boy with a bright smile and a personality to match. It’s also the story of the woman who gave birth to him, let...

In episode 7, I told you the first part of the story of 12-year-old Alex Hurley. I provided updates on Alex’s case throughout the next three years. This past week, the last family member charged in Alex’s death was finally sentenced, so I’m revisiting Alex’s story in an all-new, comprehensive episode like I’ve never told it before. On February 3, 2020, first responders were summoned to a home in West Yellowstone, Montana, where they found 12-year-old Alex Hurley dead on the living room...

When Mike Williams vanishes on a hunting trip, the authorities suspect he was eaten by alligators but the true predators who took Mike may lurk much closer to home. The mystery of Mike’s disappearance might have faded from memory, if it wasn’t for one woman’s tireless crusade. From Wondery, comes a new season of Over My Dead Body; a story about an obsessive love affair, a scandalous secret and a mother’s battle for the truth. Follow Over My Dead Body: Gone Hunting on Amazon Music or wherever...

Last week, I told you the story of 20-month-old Ryker Michaud-DaPonte, who suffered second and third-degree burns over 25% of his body in May of 2014. Despite the severity of Ryker’s injuries, his mother, Amanda Dumont, and her boyfriend, Scott Bakker, refused to take him for medical treatment. When they found Ryker dead in his crib on May 21, 2014, their many excuses and lies finally came to light. Justice was frustrated when their first trial ended in a mistrial. In this episode, I’ll go...

During Canada’s Victoria Day long weekend in 2014, 20-month-old Ryker Michaud-DaPonte was scalded over 25% of his body by a hot cup of instant coffee. Over the next three days, Ryker’s mother, Amanda Dumont, and her boyfriend, Scott Bakker, carried on with their lives as if nothing was wrong. They not only refused to take Ryker for medical treatment, but they went so far as to lie to Amanda’s family members, telling them they had taken Ryker to a doctor for his severe burns. Only when they...

In episodes 47 and 48, I told you the story of 4-year-old Averylee Hobbs. Avery was not even a month old when her mother, Britney Roll Mayes, fractured Avery’s skull and spent time in prison. After Britney was released, she was awarded visitation with Avery, who began returning to her paternal grandparents covered in bruises, burns, bite marks, and other inflicted injuries. Even though multiple family members reported the obvious abuse, Avery’s caseworker and guardian ad litem took Britney’s...