True Crime Campfire

People can be pretty strange. And not just people—as we’ll see in one story of this week’s episode, you can add all our extended family of primates to that. If you have a big brain and opposable thumbs, there’s a good chance you’ll be getting up to shenanigans. But as we’ll see in our other story, human beings still wear the crown for weird, ridiculously confident nonsense.

Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets.

Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027.

Sources, Monkey Invasion case:

Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-170-wild-monkeys-escaped-from-a-jungle-camp-and-terrorized-new-york-180985537/

NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/23/archives/monkey-runaways-still-number-111-32-simian-flagpole-sitters-are.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/22/archives/150-monkeys-flee-camp-stop-train-simians-escape-from-frank-bucks.html

Farmingdale Local History Blog: https://farmingdalelocalhistory.blogspot.com/2018/07/frank-bucks-jungle-campmassapequa-zoo.html

https://omeka.hofstra.edu/exhibits/show/long-island-business-and-indus/frank-buck-collection--1935-19

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1935/08/30/issue.html

https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-174-monkeys-skip-jail/159743530/

https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026749/1935-08-24/ed-1/?sp=1&q=MASSAPEQUA&r=0.241,0.976,0.311,0.229,0

Sources, Alison Gu case:

U.S. Court of Appeals filings: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-2nd-circuit/2140129.html

https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/6943f1bbcfa51735e29ca3b7

Bennington Banner: https://www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/former-winhall-woman-back-in-court-more-fraud-charges/article_f37d8ad2-dd24-11ec-94e0-4f8b05aedbae.html

"Lowering the Bar," Kevin Underhill: https://www.loweringthebar.net/2025/07/defendant-recruited-seven-actors-to-testify-in-fraud-trial.html

Manchester Journal: https://www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/former-winhall-woman-headed-back-to-prison/article_63203790-1e66-11ed-ba8a-77d4d5eff5ee.html

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Today we’re sharing something a little different from our friends at ABC News and 20/20. It’s the first episode of a brand new original true crime series called "Blood and Water."  In 2001, Leslie Preer was found brutally murdered, her body left in the shower of her home in the wealthy suburbs of Washington, D.C. Investigators initially set their sights on Leslie’s husband as the prime suspect — until bombshell DNA evidence revealed the presence of an "unknown male" at the scene. With extensive access to the original police tapes and interviews with the cold case detectives who worked to solve the crime, Blood and Water tells an in-depth story of the decades-long wait for justice for Leslie’s daughter, and the cutting-edge investigative techniques that finally caught the killer.  To hear the rest of the series, follow "Blood and Water" on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Music⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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I’m sure most of you have heard some variant of the phrase, “nobody wants to see how the sausage gets made,” which refers to the often messy procedures behind getting things done in, say, business or politics. But it’s also a literal truth that most of us don’t want to see how sausage gets made, and that goes double if the person making it cuts corners and develops a wildly aggressive attitude to any kind of government oversight.

Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets.

Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027.

Sources:

LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-18-mn-38382-story.html

SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/news/baycitynews/article/sausage-king-guilty-of-killing-3-meat-2641380.php

https://www.sfgate.com/news/baycitynews/article/girlfriend-says-sausage-king-wanted-to-grind-up-2758522.php

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/oakland-sausage-factory-secretary-tells-of-fear-2721223.php

East Bay Times: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/06/10/survivor-recalls-shooting-spree-in-sausage-factory/

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/04/29/ex-meat-inspector-describes-factory/

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/05/21/linguisa-not-safe-to-eat-expert-says/

https://web.archive.org/web/20160527100913/http://www.mindfully.org/Food/sausage-king.htm

KCBS Radio Podcast, “The Sausage King”

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Secrets can ruin everything. Not little ones, we’re talking big, looming secrets that might change your life forever if they were ever brought out into the light of day. Some people just can’t help themselves, stacking lie upon lie, hiding the secret truth behind an ever-growing wall of falsehood. And if that wall comes crashing down…well, some people will go to any lengths to keep their secrets safe.

Go to quince.com/CAMPFIRE for free shipping and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!

Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk,
PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠
for more info and to buy tickets.

 

Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0, Feb. 8-12 from Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas! Visit
crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us!

Follow us, campers!

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Anger can be useful. If you need to defend yourself or those you love, or if you need to stand up against some outrage in your community, anger can give you the necessary fire to get things done. It can also be poisonous, eating away at a soul until there’s not much left but dense fury that constantly leaks out like oil from a ruptured tanker. This week’s story is about a man who let his anger consume not only himself, but the lives of three innocent people.

Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets.

Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027.

Sources:

The Parable of the Knocker by Bryan Porter

ID's See No Evil, S9E6, “Shaken and Disturbed”

https://web.archive.org/web/20160215131616/http://mentaldisorder.com/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/mother-of-severances-son-testifies-of-frightening-threatening-letters/2015/10/14/270a887c-729d-11e5-8d93-0af317ed58c9_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/at-severances-trial-nancy-dunnings-son-describes-finding-her-dead/2015/10/15/5375017c-7364-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/alleged-alexandria-serial-killer-scheduled-to-appear-in-court/2015/09/16/472604b2-5bc6-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/police-look-for-gunman-clues-in-fatal-shooting-in-alexandria/2014/02/07/da370d26-9004-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/virginia-serial-killer-charles-severance-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/2016/01/20/0ba176c6-bfb0-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html

https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/2020/04/22/recently-released-the-parable-of-the-knocker-sheds-new-light-on-charles-severance/

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