Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast

Charged with 1st degree murder, Byron Smith’s trial beings for shooting Nicholas Brady and Haile Kifer to death in his basement on Thanksgiving 2012. Armed with damning evidence, the Prosecution presents its case of calculated revenge, as the Defense presents the Defendant as a fearful man, who only wanted to defend himself against violent intruders.  The wheels of justice turn, with some stunning decisions, as debates erupt over t...

In Pt 2, with two teenagers dead, the Byron Smith investigation heats up, focusing on the rash of burglaries that had occurred recently, including those at Smith’s previously, with damning conclusions.  Accomplices and witnesses are interviewed, arrests are made, and another search warrant unearths the ‘mother lode’ of evidence that turns this case upside down, causing huge media surge and dividing the town, state and country in th...

Enjoying a day with the family, Lead Investigator Jeremy Luberts is called into work at the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office to look into a concerning call. Arriving at the Elm Street residence, a retired Byron Smith meets him, telling him two burglars had broken into his house, and he’d defended himself, shooting them.  With 2 dead bodies, Jeremy Luberts begins an investigation that would change the small town of Little Falls, Min...

In Part 4 on Frozen in Fear, Jill chats with our author and survivor of the East Area Rapist, Jane Carson-Sandler.  Jane went from being a victim to a ‘Survivor-Thriver’, taking back control over her life, an extraordinary life of service, giving, and caring for others.

You may want to listen to Ep 1 & 2 on Michelle McNamara’s book on the Golden State Killer, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark in conjunction with this trilogy.

Donati...

Part 3: In this uplifting conclusion of the Frozen in Fear trilogy, the voices of the survivors of the East Area Rapist are raised, allowing us to see how these brave souls overcame adversity, trauma, and worse, taking back control, rejecting fear Updating what’s happened since the 2018 arrest of EAR-the Golden State Killer, Jane Carson-Sandler and her sister survivors reflect on his arrest, and what’s happened since, as they enjoy...

In Part 2- Struggling to climb out of the dark hole in the aftermath of rape, other challenges test Jane’s resolve and faith as she finds herself in rehab. With more rapes happening, Jane recounts the lessons learned from counselling & her work with other rape victims. And more voices of other EAR rape survivors are heard, sharing the impact he had on their lives, and their decisions to live their lives fully, on their own term...

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Written by the 5th Victim of the East Area Rapist, Frozen in Fear tells Jane Carson-Sandler’s story of living a normal, fulfilling life in California in 1976- until the day a ski masked intruder, aka EAR, broke in and viciously raped her.  Surviving, Jane shares how the rape impacted her life, the shame ...

Happy New Year 2024! 

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

Part 3: Franklin, Virginia was home to murder victim, Trent Whitley and the authors Anne Varner and Karen DeVanie.  These energetic, dedicated ladies are also the hosts of the Sugar-Coated Murder podcast.  Karen and Ann chat with Jill about how their book came about, their perseveranc...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024!

Trent Whitley’s family struggles with his loss and the uncertainty of what happened to their precious son. Certain someone knows something, Delores Whitley makes repeated appeals for that someone to come forward.  

Meanwhile, a killer’s life fractures under the weight of the responsibility for killing an ...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

Blinding flash. BANG- and the target was dead.  A missing person report was filed in Franklin, Virginia by anxious parents, searching for their precious teenager. The investigation would follow lead after lead, to no avail. Suspects would emerge, but those responsible would not fall under suspicion, as t...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

With the families engrossed, the prosecution of Sean Vincent Gillis begins, with the Defense committed to saving his life and avoiding the death penalty. With his 40-hour confession, this should be a slam dunk, but it is far from that! Legal maneuvering, calls for mistrial, and surprise rulings impact th...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

In Part 2, They get it.  With over 60 women dead, Baton Rouge Sheriff Offices realize they have a serial killer on the loose! But they’re wrong. There are TWO; the murders of Sean Vincent Gillis are camouflaged by those of Derrick Todd Lee.  No one is looking for Sean Gillis.  As the victims’ families mo...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a gruesome murder is discovered, with the Sheriff’s office investigating, but the case goes cold. Repeat this over and over, and over as serial killer, Sean Vincent Gillis, kills and mutilates all over the area.  An elderly woman and a housewife, he mostly preys largely on sex ...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

Now deep into the murder motive, each of the suspects are investigated and the evidence scrutinized fully.  Who had a motive and opportunity to commit murder?  Who benefitted from the death of Amy Robsart? Given the court verdict, what happened to the suspects?  And, Jill shares her theory on how Lady Du...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

Jill discusses Crimecon 2023 in Orlando!  Being on Podcast Row, meeting her Murder Bookies and meeting so many in the True Crime community! Then, she continues the story of Lady Amy Robsart, found dead at the bottom of the stairs.  In every royal court in Europe, and across every town and hamlet in Engla...

Crimecon 2024 is coming!  Use Jill's code  murdershelf   and save 10% on your badge! See you in Nashville, May 31-Jun 2, 2024! 

Episode 71: “The Original Staircase”- The Death of Amy Robsart: An Elizabethan Mystery by Sarah-Beth Watkins Part 1

1560: Tudor England. Amidst rumors of adultery, poisoning divorce, and murder, Lady Amy Dudley, nee Robsart, was found dead at the foot of the stairs. Immediately, suspicion fell upon her h...

We met Russ Faria after he was charged with the murder of his wife, Betsy.  Wrongfully convicted, Russ spend 3 years in prison, until he was  finally exonerated (Ep 40-44). Enter new DA, Mike Wood, who begins investigating the investigators for corruption, determined to right the unbelievable wrongs.  In an alleged effort to derail the investigation, former Lincoln County detective, Mike Merkel is implicated, spirally the investiga...

Our author, the "most prolific cold case investigator in the United States for single-event homicides", Chief Clay Bryant chats with Jill, discussing his cold case investigations and a bit on life itself.  His common sense and down to earth brilliance shines through, as Clay shares moments that simply take your breath away—What were the odds THAT could have happened? Get the inside story of the next book, on yet another cold case h...

Episode 68 –2ndCast“ Alls Well that Ends Well”- The Cold Case Murder of Fred Wilkerson: Untangling the Black Widows Web in West Georgia by Clay Bryant Part III

In Part III, we see Connie Quedens ensnaring Fred Wilderson in her web, entangling finances, escalating demands, culimnating with Fred abruptly vanished, leaving his beloved daughter and son behind. Who had a life insurance policy on Fred?  Connie.  But, nothing tied her to ...