All Episodes

November 25, 2025 12 mins

After the cyanide poisoning death of 23-year-old Christopher Erick in 2012, his mother, Kim Erick Smith, began a years-long fight for answers. She believes not only that her son didn’t die by suicide, but that key details surrounding his final days point to something far more sinister.

In this episode, we walk through Kim’s own archived investigation. She lays out claims involving early warnings, missing toxicology tests, a cremation pushed through before results came back, and a series of messages that repeated the same unsettling phrase about Chris’ death. She also details financial records tied to a cyanide purchase, contradictions in official explanations, and disturbing findings she says she uncovered after viewing the crime-scene photos years later.

It’s a heavy, complicated timeline. And it raises the question at the center of this case. Was Chris’ death a suicide? Or was something else happening inside that Midlothian home?

Listen and decide for yourself.

Subscribe for new weekly episodes.

Listen to our sister serial podcast, Skeptical, available on any podcasting platform. Find links to listen at http://murdercreekmedia.com/skeptical.

Dead Diary is a production of Murder Creek Media, a woman-owned podcasting and media company. Without backing from any production studio or corporate entity, we have the freedom to explore cases thoroughly and tell the stories that matter the most. While this independence allows for creative control, it also means that we rely heavily on listener support to keep the show going. Please visit murdercreekmedia.com to learn more about us, our mission, and how you can support the show.

This episode was created with Descript, a podcast editing and transcription tool that’s been a game-changer for our production process. By signing up using our link, you’ll not only get a great tool but also help support our show.



Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/dead-diary/exclusive-content
Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.