Episode 29: Listener Requests

10/19/20 • 42 min

On this episode, I feature 3 cases chosen by my dear friends/coworkers who are also listeners of my podcast! Two cases are local to us, one is local to my friend at the time she lived in Kentucky, and the final case is one I have been wanting to get out there for a long time. Case #1 On October 31, 2019, 35-year-old Benjamin Lee Figard of New Paris phoned 9-1-1 to report that he had shot and killed his 40-year-old wife, Amanda Jane Figard, and his 12-year-old step-daughter, Laina Rae Haney and placed their bodies in the basement. Case #2 On the night of January 8, 2015, 21-year-old Stephanie Waters went to meet 15-year-old Ryan Hardwick and 16-year-old Deauntay Dontaz Moye in place of her boyfriend, Benjamin Holsinger to sell them some Marijuana. When she arrived with her dog, Duke, the two teens shot her and her dog, placed her in the back of the vehicle, and drove around the Altoona area while smoking the Marijuana. Case #3 29-year-old Tromain Jerome Mackall from southern Maryland moved to Owensboro, Kentucky to be with his girlfriend, Johnathan Dewitt aka Simone Dahlia in February 2016. After attending a party on July 24, 2016 and leaving at 1:30 A.M. on the morning of July 25, he went missing. A body was found floating in a truck toolbox on August 2nd in Spring Fork Creek near Owensboro Road in Falls of Rough, Kentucky about 30 miles from the party Tromain had attended. The body was identified as Tromain's using dental records on August 23rd. The cause of death was determined to be homicide from multi-modal asphyxiation. 5 people were charged in connection to the kidnapping and murder of Tromain Mackall. Case #4 Revell Reuben Jeeter, a 59-year-old man from Maryland moved to the quiet village of Harrisonville, Pennsylvania on 12 acres of land he had purchased to enjoy his retirement with his best friend, his dog, Bubba. On July 21, 2003, after obtaining meat from a butcher shop in McConnellsburg with his dog, he was to attend a crab feed with his friends and family but did not show up, and has not been seen since. He is still missing 17 years later. Anyone with information is asked to call the PSP at (717) 485-3131. Sources: Hancock Clarion Altoona Mirror Katie Pickens Jocelyn Brumaugh Jocelyn Brumbaugh Jocelyn Brumbaugh Jocelyn Brumbaugh Leagle.com **there are 3 more sources listed on instagram**

Previous Episode

Episode 28: The Murders of Conner and Brinley Snyder

This case had relatively widespread social media coverage by those believing it was a sad suicide story, but the truth has come out. On September 23, 2019 at 4:30 PM, dispatchers were called to a home at 2442 Route 143 Kempton, Albany Township, Berks county, Pennsylvania by Lisa Snyder. A mother who says her son, Conner Seth Snyder, age 8, committed suicide by hanging himself with a dog lead from the rafter of their basement after telling her he wanted to build a fort with the new dog lead she had purchased. She claimed he was severely bullied in school and kept saying he wanted to die, but did not want to go alone, so, there hanging with him was his little 4-year-old sister, Brinley Louise Snyder, on the same dog lead.

First responders responded to the 9-1-1 call about 11 minutes later, to find that Lisa claimed she had only briefly tried to get Brinley down from the lead but became sweaty due to her anxiety. The children passed away 3 days later on September 26, 2019. A large police investigation ensued, as this case was shady from the beginning, and on December 2, 2019, Lisa Snyder was finally arrested. She remains in prison while awaiting sentencing to see if she will receive the death penalty. There was no evidence suggesting Conner had ever been bullied.

Sources:

Egan, Leigh. (2019, December 3). Full affidavit of mother accused of hanging her children in basement, having sex with family dog. https://www.crimeonline.com/2019/12/03/read-full-affidavit-of-mother-accused-of-hanging-her-children-in-basement-having-sex-with-family-dog/ Chiu, Allyson. (2019, December 3). A mother said her children, 8 and 4, hanged themselves. She’s now been charged with their murders. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/03/lisa-rachelle-snyder-murder-conner-brinley-hanging/ Schroeder, Laurie & Lehman, Pamela. (2019, December 2) Conner and Brinley Snyder: Happy children who were not bullied, DA says after mom charged in their deaths. https://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-nws-berks-hanging-who-were-conner-brinley-20191202-ztyyw7pm6zhltmv7yitlkn2upi-story.html Harris, Chris. (2019, December 2). Pa. Mom Accused of Hanging Kids, Staging Murder-Suicide Allegedly Fabricated That Son Was Bullied. https://people.com/crime/pennsylvania-mom-accused-hanging-kids-fabricated-son-bullied/ Schroeder, Laurie, & Lehman, Pamela, & Gamiz, Manuel. (2019, December 2). 'It hits us in the heart’: Pennsylvania mom charged with murder, accused of hanging her children. https://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-nws-berks-child-deaths-arrest-20191202-n3awtpbfgjaqtoh3lk4pyqlcjy-story.html The Associated Press. Penn Live (2020, June 30) Mom accused of killing kids found hanging in Pa. home says she can’t afford lawyer. https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/06/mom-accused-of-killing-kids-found-hanging-in-pa-home-says-she-cant-afford-lawyer.html

Audio:

CrimeOnline-9-1-1 Dispatch: https://soundcloud.com/user-815495581/berks-county-children-911-call

Press Conference 6ABC Philadelphia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btWRIY4hKfg

Next Episode

Episode 30: The Texas Killing Fields

The Texas Killing Fields is an area that borders the Calder Oil Field in League City Texas. The Calder Oil Field is a 25-acre patch of land that is situated a mile from Interstate 45. This location, as well as the surrounding areas have been dubbed "The Texas Killing Fields" or "The Highway to Hell" due to a string of 30+ cases involving female murder victims' bodies being found in these locations from the span of 1971 to the early 2000s. Several other disappearances in the area have been thought to be linked to these cases, as well. Many of the cases still remain unsolved, despite suspects and confessions while few have been solved and deemed to be unrelated. Many of the victims were in the age range of 12-25 years old and had similar physical features which makes many people believe the killings to be the work of a serial killer or multiple serial killers during that time period. The Killing Fields have been often described as the perfect place to kill someone and get away with it, as it is difficult to be heard if yelling in the area and there is really no where to hide when running. Sources: Texas Killing Fields Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Killing_Fields_(location)#:~:text=The%20Texas%20Killing%20Fields%20is,of%20girls%20or%20young%20women. Websleuths forum: https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/cases-from-1970-1979.153591/ Unsolved Mysteries: Rhonda Johnson & Sharon Shaw: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Rhonda_Johnson_and_Sharon_Shaw I-45 Victims: https://psu-sk.tripod.com/frames/i45-victims.html Lise Olsen Grey Matter News Chron: https://www.chron.com/local/gray-matters/article/In-1974-two-Dickinson-girls-went-missing-Why-12305187.php Michelle Garvey Article: https://patch.com/connecticut/newlondon/missing-teen-from-new-london-identified-as-murder-victim-in-texas 12 Shocking Murder Cases in the Texas Killing Fields: https://www.ranker.com/list/texas-killing-fields-cases/jacob-shelton Texas Equusearch: https://texasequusearch.org/about/ Found Remains Prompt Lawsuit Over Killing Fields Murder: https://www.galvnews.com/news/free/article_5b9c69d3-0415-5d4e-9264-15a2990880c1.html Audrey Cook-Cold Case #86-216 https://www.leaguecity.com/3279/Audrey-Cook---Cold-Case-86-216 Kidnapper convicted in Texas City teen's 1986 disappearance denied parole again: https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/Shelley-Sikes-disappearance-Zwarst-parole-denied-12249397.php Shelley Kathleen Sikes: https://charleyproject.org/case/shelley-kathleen-sikes Suzanne Rene Richerson: https://charleyproject.org/case/suzanne-rene-richerson Lynette Bibbs https://sites.google.com/site/illinisweetie85/lynettebibbs Man convicted in Texas City girl's 1996 slaying: https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Man-convicted-in-1996-slaying-of-girl-3514233.php Laura Smither article: https://abc13.com/21-years-ago-today-laura-smithers-disappearance/1272189/ Tot Tran Harriman: https://charleyproject.org/case/tot-tran-harriman Remembering Jessica Cain, 20 years after her disappearance: https://abc13.com/remembering-jessica-cain-vanished-20-years-ago/2314855/ Terressa Vanegas Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/eb3t1t/on_halloween_of_2006_16_year_old_girl_terressa/ Donna Prudhomme-Cold Case #91-2200: https://www.leaguecity.com/3280/Donna-Prudhomme---Cold-Case-91-2200 Houston Matters article: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/10/18/243184/investigators-think-they-know-who-killed-eleven-girls-around-galveston-in-the-1970s-2/