Small Town Big Crime
Rachel Ryan, Jaclyn Piermarini, Courteney Stuart
3 Listeners
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Top 10 Small Town Big Crime Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Small Town Big Crime episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Small Town Big Crime for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Small Town Big Crime episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Free at Last
Small Town Big Crime
11/28/19 • 3 min
The announcement this week that Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom had been granted parole after spending 33 years in prison sent shockwaves across the world and surprised even Soering's staunchest supporters. This bonus episode features the phone call where Jason Flom and Amanda Knox learned of Soering's release, and reaction from a local sheriff who says he still firmly believes the murder investigation of Derek and Nancy Haysom should be reopened.
2 Listeners
Jens' Story
Small Town Big Crime
12/31/19 • 26 min
The weekend Derek and Nancy Haysom were brutally murdered in their home in Bedford County, their youngest daughter Elizabeth and her boyfriend, Jens Soering, had rented a car and driven to Washington, DC. After the killings, Elizabeth maintained Jens drove the 200 miles from Washington to Bedford County to confront her parents about their disapproval of their relationship and ended up stabbing them to death. But Jens has a very different story to tell. From behind bars at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Virginia, Jens gives his version of events that night in March 1985 and the days and months after the crime. He explains why he falsely confessed to murdering the Haysoms and how a DNA discovery supports his innocence. An attorney working pro bono for Jens discusses his 1990 trial in Bedford and several issues related to the Haysom murder investigation.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Written and Reported by Rachel Ryan and Courteney Stuart
Sound production by Jaclyn Piermarini
Sound engineering by Taylor Thomas
2 Listeners
The Motive
Small Town Big Crime
01/21/20 • 21 min
Officials in Bedford County are convinced that Jens Soering is guilty of brutally murdering Derek and Nancy Haysom in their home in 1985, even though new DNA testing suggests two unidentified men were at the crime scene. The refusal of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office to reopen the case and test additional evidence for DNA has frustrated many people, including a former lead investigator in the Haysom murders. Elizabeth Haysom has kept largely quiet since her conviction of accessory to murder before the fact in her parents murders in 1987. However, she did speak out after the new DNA revelations in 2016 and doubled down on her claims that her boyfriend, Jens, killed her parents. She told a newspaper reporter that suffering years of sexual abuse was the reason she wanted her parents her dead. Amanda Knox, the foreign exchange student who spent four years in an Italian prison for murdering her roommate before having her conviction overturned, dedicated a season of her podcast, The Truth About True Crime, to the Haysom murders. She weighs in on the case and talks about her connection to Elizabeth and Jens.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Written and Reported by Rachel Ryan and Courteney Stuart
Sound production by Jaclyn Piermarini
Sound engineering by Taylor Thomas
1 Listener
The DNA
Small Town Big Crime
07/07/20 • 19 min
The son of one of "the drifters", William Shifflett, shares his father had type O blood. The DNA evidence revealed in 2009 suggested two unidentified men may have bled at the crime scene. One of those men had type O blood, according to experts. Could it be a match? With Bedford County officials refusing to retest crime scene evidence, the investigation has remained at a stalemate. But a new path to DNA testing is forged through the Small Town Big Crime investigation.
1 Listener
The Trial
Small Town Big Crime
12/24/19 • 22 min
In 1985 Jens Soering and Elizabeth Haysom were bright, promising students at the University of Virginia when Haysom's parents were found brutally murdered in their Bedford County home. The young couple became the prime suspects in the crime and fled the country. They were arrested in London several months later, and British detectives found some disturbing letters. Haysom pleaded guilty to being an accessory before the fact in her parents' murders and testified against Soering, saying he committed the murders because her parents didn't approve of their relationship. Forensic evidence presented at the trial sealed Soering's fate, and he was sentenced to two life sentences for the murders. But not everyone was convinced Soering could have committed the crimes.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Written and Reported by Rachel Ryan and Courteney Stuart
Sound production by Jaclyn Piermarini
Sound engineering by Taylor Thomas
1 Listener
The Crime Scene
Small Town Big Crime
12/17/19 • 20 min
It was the bloodiest crime scene investigators in Bedford County had ever seen. Derek and Nancy Haysom were stabbed more than thirty times in their own home. There was plenty of forensic evidence to collect, but detectives had few leads. After months of dead ends in the investigation, the couples' youngest daughter, Elizabeth, aroused suspicions with her strange behavior. When detectives started questioning her and her boyfriend, Jens Soering, the young lovers fled the country.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Written and Reported by Rachel Ryan and Courteney Stuart
Sound production by Jaclyn Piermarini
Sound engineering by Taylor Thomas
1 Listener
The Witness
Small Town Big Crime
06/30/20 • 21 min
The night after brutally stabbing a homeless man in Roanoke, Virginia in 1985, William Shifflett and Robert Albright checked into a nearby emergency shelter called the RAFT. In 2018, a volunteer from the RAFT wrote a letter to the Virginia governor and to one of the original investigators in the Haysom murders stating she believed Jens Soering was wrongfully convicted. She cited incriminating conversations volunteers at the shelter overheard between Shifflett and Albright including reference to a "rich bitch" who'd refused to pay. She has refused all interviews since writing those letters until now. For the first time, that volunteer, Sandra Thornton, talks publicly about the night the two men checked into the RAFT.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Written and Reported by Rachel Ryan and Courteney Stuart
Hosted and Sound production by Jaclyn Piermarini
Sound engineering by Taylor Thomas
1 Listener
The Son
Small Town Big Crime
06/30/20 • 23 min
With new DNA evidence showing two unidentified men bled at the Haysom crime scene, our focus turns to the two so-called "drifters" who were convicted of a separate fatal stabbing that happened a week after the Haysom murders. Who were these men, and could they have been involved? We track them down to a Virginia prison, where they had both been sent to serve life sentences, and we find another surprising source: William Shifflett's son. He has plenty to say about his father, who he says was anything but a drifter.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Written and reported by Rachel Ryan and Courteney Stuart
Hosted and sound production by Jaclyn Piermarini
Sound editing by Taylor Thomas
1 Listener
The Blood
Small Town Big Crime
01/14/20 • 21 min
Type O Blood was found at the crime scene and was an important piece of evidence in convicting Jens Soering in the 1985 murders of Derek and Nancy Haysom. But newly tested DNA evidence suggests Soering wasn't at the crime scene, and the Type O blood belonged to an unidentified male. More testing revealed a second unknown male left blood at the scene. DNA experts don't believe Soering could have been at the Haysoms' home when they were murdered. A small town sheriff named Chip Harding starts investigating and finds additional evidence that provides clues to who may have killed the Haysoms. A music mogul in New York City named Jason Flom advocates for Soering's innocence.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Written and Reported by Rachel Ryan and Courteney Stuart
Sound production by Jaclyn Piermarini
Sound engineering by Taylor Thomas
1 Listener
The Decision
Small Town Big Crime
06/28/22 • 28 min
After investigating the Haysom murders for three years, the reporters have eliminated three alternate suspects and created a path for DNA testing. Their investigation has come full circle back to Jens and Elizabeth, who now each have a decision to make.
To support the investigative efforts of Small Town Big Crime, please visit https://www.patreon.com/SmallTownBigCrime
Sound production by Taylor Thomas
1 Listener
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FAQ
How many episodes does Small Town Big Crime have?
Small Town Big Crime currently has 21 episodes available.
What topics does Small Town Big Crime cover?
The podcast is about News, True Crime, Murder, Virginia, Podcasts, Dna and Politics.
What is the most popular episode on Small Town Big Crime?
The episode title 'Free at Last' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Small Town Big Crime?
The average episode length on Small Town Big Crime is 21 minutes.
How often are episodes of Small Town Big Crime released?
Episodes of Small Town Big Crime are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Small Town Big Crime?
The first episode of Small Town Big Crime was released on Nov 18, 2019.
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