March 25, 2025 • 8 mins
In Utah, a man has been charged in the shooting death of his friend which occurred in early March. The death was initially reported as a possible suicide.
In North Carolina, a man was arrested and charged in connection to a triple murder.
In Texas, a man is alleged to have killed his step-grandmother in an attack that was directed at his stepfather. His mother, however, believes his mental illness is what drove him to kill.
Consider joining PLUS+ at swordandscale.com/plus
In North Carolina, a man was arrested and charged in connection to a triple murder.
In Texas, a man is alleged to have killed his step-grandmother in an attack that was directed at his stepfather. His mother, however, believes his mental illness is what drove him to kill.
Consider joining PLUS+ at swordandscale.com/plus
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome back to Sword and Scale Daily, a
daily show covering all things true crime, five days a week.
It's Tuesday, March twenty fifth. I'm your host, Ryan Williams.
In Utah, a man has been charged in the shooting
death of his friend, which occurred in early March. The
(00:21):
death was initially reported as a possible suicide. In North Carolina,
a man was arrested in charge in connection to a
triple murder, and in Texas, a man is alleged to
have killed his step grandmother in an attack that was
directed at a stepfather. His mother, however, believes his mental
illness is what drove him to kill. All of this
coming at you right now here on Sword and Scale Daily.
(00:52):
On the evening of Sunday, March ninth, officers with the
Unified Police in Utah responded to the Revolve apartments in
Mill Creek and I have to rescips even reports of
a possible suicide. When responding officers arrived on the scene,
they made their way to the apartment in question, and
there they discovered an adult male dead on the living
room floor. It appeared as if the man had sustained
a single gunshot wound. The victim was later identified as
(01:15):
twenty nine year old Dominic Philip. Investigators responded to the
scene and began looking at a Dominic's death. They started
by speaking with witnesses who were reportedly inside the apartment
when this alleged suicide occurred. However, when investigators started speaking
with these witnesses, they started to notice that all of
them were giving pretty inconsistent statements. Furthermore, investigators noted that
(01:38):
one man in particular kept interrupting their conversations and was
making hand signals for witnesses to stop talking. When investigators
ordered the man to stop, he reportedly yelled out, quote,
don't say anything to the police. That man was later
identified as twenty year old at dang Auling. Based on
the information that investigators were receiving, they needed to wait
(01:59):
for the medical examiner to conduct an autopsy to figure
out what had actually happened. When the autopsy was performed,
the medical examiner noted a quote unquote visible imprint or
muzzle stamp indicating a contact gunshot wound. The manner of
death was ruled a homicide. The cause of death was
determined as a contact gunshot wound to the back. This
(02:19):
was no longer a suicide, and investigators needed to find
out what happened. Thankfully, they were able to secure some
surveillance footae from near the apartment where Dominic was killed,
and that footage had clear enough audio to not only
hear the shooting occur, but what followed. According to the
criminal complaint, in the audio, the sound of someone pulling
back the slide of a gun is heard, and roughly
(02:41):
thirty five seconds later, a gunshot goes off. After the
shot goes off, a man has heard saying, quote, he
not dead, He not dead. Broh, get up, You're not dead.
I gotta make a phone call. He not dead. Br damn, bruh. Hello,
I just killed him. Broh. I'm going to do life. Bruh.
I already know it. We was just playing around. It
(03:03):
went off. We were just playing around. I'm trying to
get out of here. I feel bad. Bruh. The voice,
as you might imagine, is alleged to be the voice
of Dang, auling, the man who was telling witnesses not
to speak with the investigators. Witnesses later stated that after
the shooting, Dang allegedly came into their bedroom and claimed
that Dominic shot himself Dang was arrested on Friday, March
(03:24):
twenty first, and has since been charged with first degree murder,
second degree obstruction, and witness tampering, a third degree felony.
His bond status is not known at this time. We
are going to continue following this story and bring you
an update if new information becomes available. On Monday, March seventeenth,
at around seven thirty pm, deputies with the Bladon County
(03:47):
Sheriff's Office in North Carolina responded to a home in
Clarkton after a man called nine to one one to
report a shooting. According to the dispatch log, the call
winn As follows, a man who identified himself as Randy, stated, quote,
I've been shot. The dispatcher replied, quote where have you
been shot at? Randy replied, quote, I don't know. I'm blind.
(04:08):
I can't tell. The dispatcher said, quote what kind of
firearm or you shot with? Randy again replies quote, I
don't know. After a few moments, Randy explained that there
were others in the house at the time of the shooting.
The dispatcher asked, quote, are they breathing? Randy replied, quote, no,
they're dead. Everyone's dead. When deputies arrived on the scene,
(04:31):
they saw a man standing at the front door, covered
in blood holding a handgun. Deputies attempted to get the
man to drop the gun, but he went back inside
the home, shutting the front door behind him. As deputies
surrounded the home tactfully, the man tried running out the
back door and away from the deputies. Luckily, deputies had
a pretty swift response and were able to get the
man into custody. He was later identified as thirty five
(04:53):
year old Kevin Musser. Deputies found that Kevin was suffering
from what's only been described as quote unquote life threatening injuries.
Than as such, he was rushed to a local area
hospital for emergency treatment. Once deputies went into the home,
they found the bodies of three individuals who were far
beyond help. All three were pronounced dead at the scene
and later identified as sixty two year old Greg Dennis,
(05:14):
fifty four year old Randy Bitten, and thirty two year
old Philip Palmer. A preliminary investigation found that all three
died as a result of multiple stab wounds, a far
cry from the nine to one one call that was
reported the following day. Kevin Muster was arrested in the
hospital while recovering from his injuries. He was formally charged
with three counts of first degree murder. The motive for
(05:34):
the alleged murders is not currently known, but it was
found that Kevin was in possession of methamphetamine and one
of the victim's wallets when he was detained. After the
charges were made public, it was also announced that investigators
believe that Kevin was the one to call nine one
one and act like Randy. It's not known if Kevin
is still in the hospital or booked into jail at
the time of this writing, but we do know that
(05:56):
he's due in court on Thursday, April third. You following
this story and bring you an update when more information
becomes available. On Thursday, March twenty, at around eight thirty am,
officers with the Dennison Police Department in Texas responded to
a home on the two thousand block of Rivercrest Circle
(06:17):
after receiving a report that a body was discovered inside
the residence. When responding officers arrived at the home, they
made their way inside and confirmed that a woman had died.
Based on the suspicious circumstances around the death, investigators as
well as the County Corner responded to the scene. A
preliminary investigation found that the victim, later identified as seventy
(06:37):
seven year old Barbara Knocklinger, was the victim of a homicide.
Fortunately for investigators, it wouldn't take long to identify a
potential suspect in Barbara's death. After speaking with Barbara's family,
investigators identified thirty five year old Kirk Carsola as a
person of interest. They believed that Barbara's death may have
been an act of vent for Kirk after being served
(06:58):
in an eviction notice. You see, Kirk was the step
grandson of Barbara, and recently his stepfather and mother had
given him the notice to move out of their home,
and because of this, Barbara's son and Kirk's stepfather, James Knocklinger,
shared with investigators and later of the media his belief.
He stated, quote, he targeted my mom because he was
(07:19):
going after me. Kirk was located on Friday and taken
into custody. He's since been charged with murder. After the
arrest and the charges were made public, the media also
spoke with Kirk's mother, Sherry Knocklinger. She went on a
state quote, we'd given him a three day note to
leave the premises. According to Sherry, Kirk suffered from schizophrenia.
(07:39):
She also shared that while his family tried getting him help,
there was no way to make him take the proper medication.
She stated, quote, people with schizophrenia cannot be forced to
take medication. And my son's been struggling with schizophrenia for
more than six years. We've tried almost every avenue, exhausted
what we can to try to get Kirk help. And
Kirk has been arrested for murder because he murdered my
(08:00):
mother in law because of his illness. Although she believes
that Kirk's mental illness played a factor in what happened
to her mother in law, she acknowledged that murder just
wasn't the answer. Sherry stated, quote, people shouldn't have to die.
People shouldn't have to die. With all of that said,
Sherry said their family will be lobbing for laws to
(08:20):
ensure that people who are prescribed medications for serious mental
illnesses are taking the medication they need. As it stands,
Kirk car Soolo was booked into the Grayson County Jail
with a bond set at one million dollars. The investigation
is still underway, and we're likely to learn more in
the coming weeks. When new information is released, we will
be sure to bring you an update. Thanks so much
(08:42):
for tuning in for today's episode of Sword and Scale Daily.
I'm your host, Ryan Williams, and we'll see you back
here tomorrow
Hello, and welcome back to Sword and Scale Daily, a
daily show covering all things true crime, five days a week.
It's Tuesday, March twenty fifth. I'm your host, Ryan Williams.
In Utah, a man has been charged in the shooting
death of his friend, which occurred in early March. The
(00:21):
death was initially reported as a possible suicide. In North Carolina,
a man was arrested in charge in connection to a
triple murder, and in Texas, a man is alleged to
have killed his step grandmother in an attack that was
directed at a stepfather. His mother, however, believes his mental
illness is what drove him to kill. All of this
coming at you right now here on Sword and Scale Daily.
(00:52):
On the evening of Sunday, March ninth, officers with the
Unified Police in Utah responded to the Revolve apartments in
Mill Creek and I have to rescips even reports of
a possible suicide. When responding officers arrived on the scene,
they made their way to the apartment in question, and
there they discovered an adult male dead on the living
room floor. It appeared as if the man had sustained
a single gunshot wound. The victim was later identified as
(01:15):
twenty nine year old Dominic Philip. Investigators responded to the
scene and began looking at a Dominic's death. They started
by speaking with witnesses who were reportedly inside the apartment
when this alleged suicide occurred. However, when investigators started speaking
with these witnesses, they started to notice that all of
them were giving pretty inconsistent statements. Furthermore, investigators noted that
(01:38):
one man in particular kept interrupting their conversations and was
making hand signals for witnesses to stop talking. When investigators
ordered the man to stop, he reportedly yelled out, quote,
don't say anything to the police. That man was later
identified as twenty year old at dang Auling. Based on
the information that investigators were receiving, they needed to wait
(01:59):
for the medical examiner to conduct an autopsy to figure
out what had actually happened. When the autopsy was performed,
the medical examiner noted a quote unquote visible imprint or
muzzle stamp indicating a contact gunshot wound. The manner of
death was ruled a homicide. The cause of death was
determined as a contact gunshot wound to the back. This
(02:19):
was no longer a suicide, and investigators needed to find
out what happened. Thankfully, they were able to secure some
surveillance footae from near the apartment where Dominic was killed,
and that footage had clear enough audio to not only
hear the shooting occur, but what followed. According to the
criminal complaint, in the audio, the sound of someone pulling
back the slide of a gun is heard, and roughly
(02:41):
thirty five seconds later, a gunshot goes off. After the
shot goes off, a man has heard saying, quote, he
not dead, He not dead. Broh, get up, You're not dead.
I gotta make a phone call. He not dead. Br damn, bruh. Hello,
I just killed him. Broh. I'm going to do life. Bruh.
I already know it. We was just playing around. It
(03:03):
went off. We were just playing around. I'm trying to
get out of here. I feel bad. Bruh. The voice,
as you might imagine, is alleged to be the voice
of Dang, auling, the man who was telling witnesses not
to speak with the investigators. Witnesses later stated that after
the shooting, Dang allegedly came into their bedroom and claimed
that Dominic shot himself Dang was arrested on Friday, March
(03:24):
twenty first, and has since been charged with first degree murder,
second degree obstruction, and witness tampering, a third degree felony.
His bond status is not known at this time. We
are going to continue following this story and bring you
an update if new information becomes available. On Monday, March seventeenth,
at around seven thirty pm, deputies with the Bladon County
(03:47):
Sheriff's Office in North Carolina responded to a home in
Clarkton after a man called nine to one one to
report a shooting. According to the dispatch log, the call
winn As follows, a man who identified himself as Randy, stated, quote,
I've been shot. The dispatcher replied, quote where have you
been shot at? Randy replied, quote, I don't know. I'm blind.
(04:08):
I can't tell. The dispatcher said, quote what kind of
firearm or you shot with? Randy again replies quote, I
don't know. After a few moments, Randy explained that there
were others in the house at the time of the shooting.
The dispatcher asked, quote, are they breathing? Randy replied, quote, no,
they're dead. Everyone's dead. When deputies arrived on the scene,
(04:31):
they saw a man standing at the front door, covered
in blood holding a handgun. Deputies attempted to get the
man to drop the gun, but he went back inside
the home, shutting the front door behind him. As deputies
surrounded the home tactfully, the man tried running out the
back door and away from the deputies. Luckily, deputies had
a pretty swift response and were able to get the
man into custody. He was later identified as thirty five
(04:53):
year old Kevin Musser. Deputies found that Kevin was suffering
from what's only been described as quote unquote life threatening injuries.
Than as such, he was rushed to a local area
hospital for emergency treatment. Once deputies went into the home,
they found the bodies of three individuals who were far
beyond help. All three were pronounced dead at the scene
and later identified as sixty two year old Greg Dennis,
(05:14):
fifty four year old Randy Bitten, and thirty two year
old Philip Palmer. A preliminary investigation found that all three
died as a result of multiple stab wounds, a far
cry from the nine to one one call that was
reported the following day. Kevin Muster was arrested in the
hospital while recovering from his injuries. He was formally charged
with three counts of first degree murder. The motive for
(05:34):
the alleged murders is not currently known, but it was
found that Kevin was in possession of methamphetamine and one
of the victim's wallets when he was detained. After the
charges were made public, it was also announced that investigators
believe that Kevin was the one to call nine one
one and act like Randy. It's not known if Kevin
is still in the hospital or booked into jail at
the time of this writing, but we do know that
(05:56):
he's due in court on Thursday, April third. You following
this story and bring you an update when more information
becomes available. On Thursday, March twenty, at around eight thirty am,
officers with the Dennison Police Department in Texas responded to
a home on the two thousand block of Rivercrest Circle
(06:17):
after receiving a report that a body was discovered inside
the residence. When responding officers arrived at the home, they
made their way inside and confirmed that a woman had died.
Based on the suspicious circumstances around the death, investigators as
well as the County Corner responded to the scene. A
preliminary investigation found that the victim, later identified as seventy
(06:37):
seven year old Barbara Knocklinger, was the victim of a homicide.
Fortunately for investigators, it wouldn't take long to identify a
potential suspect in Barbara's death. After speaking with Barbara's family,
investigators identified thirty five year old Kirk Carsola as a
person of interest. They believed that Barbara's death may have
been an act of vent for Kirk after being served
(06:58):
in an eviction notice. You see, Kirk was the step
grandson of Barbara, and recently his stepfather and mother had
given him the notice to move out of their home,
and because of this, Barbara's son and Kirk's stepfather, James Knocklinger,
shared with investigators and later of the media his belief.
He stated, quote, he targeted my mom because he was
(07:19):
going after me. Kirk was located on Friday and taken
into custody. He's since been charged with murder. After the
arrest and the charges were made public, the media also
spoke with Kirk's mother, Sherry Knocklinger. She went on a
state quote, we'd given him a three day note to
leave the premises. According to Sherry, Kirk suffered from schizophrenia.
(07:39):
She also shared that while his family tried getting him help,
there was no way to make him take the proper medication.
She stated, quote, people with schizophrenia cannot be forced to
take medication. And my son's been struggling with schizophrenia for
more than six years. We've tried almost every avenue, exhausted
what we can to try to get Kirk help. And
Kirk has been arrested for murder because he murdered my
(08:00):
mother in law because of his illness. Although she believes
that Kirk's mental illness played a factor in what happened
to her mother in law, she acknowledged that murder just
wasn't the answer. Sherry stated, quote, people shouldn't have to die.
People shouldn't have to die. With all of that said,
Sherry said their family will be lobbing for laws to
(08:20):
ensure that people who are prescribed medications for serious mental
illnesses are taking the medication they need. As it stands,
Kirk car Soolo was booked into the Grayson County Jail
with a bond set at one million dollars. The investigation
is still underway, and we're likely to learn more in
the coming weeks. When new information is released, we will
be sure to bring you an update. Thanks so much
(08:42):
for tuning in for today's episode of Sword and Scale Daily.
I'm your host, Ryan Williams, and we'll see you back
here tomorrow
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
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
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a thought-provoking, opinionated, and topic-driven journey through the top sports stories of the day.