Suspect
Suspect is an investigative series about mislaid justice and the kinds of weighty decisions that detectives, lawyers, and jurors make every day - decisions that, once made, are almost impossible to reverse. Season 3: Five Shots in the Dark follows Leon Benson, who spent 24 years in an Indiana state prison for the 1998 murder of a young man named Kasey Schoen. His conviction hinged on the testimony of two eyewitnesses – but what if their memories turned out to be wrong? And what if the people who knew what really happened had never been allowed to speak? Suspect Season 3: Five Shots in the Dark is the story of two victims: one murdered, one sentenced to life. Follow host Matt Shaer and attorney Lara Bazelon as they investigate how the justice system failed both Leon and Kasey, and who the real killer might be. Join this unprecedented look inside the attempt to overturn a wrongful conviction and find out if justice will finally be served. Follow Suspect wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
Episodes
An apartment complex hosts a big Halloween party with themed rooms and costumed partygoers. By the end of the night one of the party’s hosts is murdered. And the partygoers are the main suspects in the eyes of the police: was it the guy in the devil mask, the guy dressed as Jesus, the bank robber, the construction worker? As a complex investigation winds its way through forensic evidence, witness testimony, DNA, and even a...
The residents of the Valley View apartments organize a big costume party. Strangers come together. They argue and fight. They dance and drink. At times the party veers out of control. And when they wake up the next morning, one resident is dead.
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Arpana’s father hasn’t heard from her in days, so he asks a friend to check on her. What the friend finds will trouble him for years.
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The investigators weave the evidence into a tapestry of potential suspects. It could be anyone from a friend from Arpana’s motorcycle club to her next door neighbor.
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Photos from the party give investigators a new lead: a party attendee who was a stranger to nearly everyone at the Valley View that night. What the police uncover make him the new prime suspect.
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Forensic analysts burrow through complicated DNA evidence using controversial new techniques. Whether it’s tips from a psychic or making sense of the DNA, clear answers are still hard to come by.
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Prosecutors file charges, and the accused lands a “bulldog” public defender. Soon, he’ll be questioning the very basis of the investigation.
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After years of waiting, the trial finally begins. Who will the jurors believe?
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With the arrival of a verdict, the legal team turns to Seattle’s most famous rapper, Macklemore, to step in and help fight for justice. As the accused enters the end of a decade in jail, a new trial looms.
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Matt and the reporting team visit the various prime suspects again, including one person who did not expect to see them.
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What happens next in the Arpana Jinaga murder case? Matt Shaer speaks with Matt Baglio, the host of the Wondery series Over My Dead Body: Fox Lake about what the series tells us about the American criminal justice system, what it felt like to visit the Valley View apartments and which interview was the most challenging.
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For nearly three and a half decades, the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews was a mystery – a riddle neither authorities nor her family members could solve. The residents of her cloistered Colorado hometown had scoured every inch of prairie. The President of the United States appealed to journalists to help. Jonelle’s smiling face was printed on milk cartons nationwide. Still, every lead had fizzled. Every perso...
Leon Benson spent 24 years in an Indiana state prison for the 1998 murder of a young man named Kasey Schoen. His conviction hinged on the testimony of two eyewitnesses – but what if their memories turned out to be wrong? And what if the people who knew what really happened had never been allowed to speak? Suspect Season 3: Five Shots in the Dark is the story of two victims: one murdered, one sentenced to life. Follow host ...
In the days following his murder, Kasey’s family grieves his death as police begin rounding up witnesses and suspects. After conducting an array of interviews of residents, police focus their investigation on a local drug dealer named Leon Benson.
Follow Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Suspect early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Find Wondery Plus in the Wondery App ...
On a misty August night in 1998, a young man named Kasey Schoen was shot in downtown Indianapolis. Now – 24 years later – attorney, Lara Bazelon, reopens the case and uncovers a botched investigation based almost entirely on the memories of two eyewitness testimonies.
Follow Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Suspect early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Find ...
As Leon maintains his innocence, he hires a defense attorney to help him prepare for his upcoming trial. But the proceedings take a strange turn when his chosen attorney turns out to be the wrong man for the job.
Follow Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Suspect early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Find Wondery Plus in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.
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With a retrial looming, Leon faces mounting pressure to strengthen his defense. He enlists the help of Jimmy Hendrix, a skilled private investigator known for persuading even the most reluctant alibi witnesses to come forward. Unfortunately, an ill-fated decision from the defense undercuts Hendrix's hard work.
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While petitioning for clemency nearly a quarter century after his conviction, Leon connects with a wrongful incarceration advocate who believes his case could be overturned. But in order to exonerate him, Leon needs to find a good attorney to stand by his side.
Follow Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Suspect early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Find Wondery Plus in th...
Leon’s newest attorney, Lara Bazelon, and her students at the Racial Justice Clinic of the University of San Francisco’s Law School, continue to dig through Leon’s case files searching for any new evidence to prove his innocence. Months into their investigation, Lara and one of her students make a discovery that changes everything.
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To prove that Leon is innocent, Lara and her team attempt to discover everything they can about their alternate suspect. But after every possible lead is exhausted, they are forced to make the only decision left to them: Meeting the suspect face to face.
Follow Suspect: Five Shots in the Dark wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Suspect early and ad-free on Wondery Plus. Find Wondery Plus in the Wonde...
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