The Family Ties Podcast - True Crime Podcast Series

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This week, Kelley Richey and Julia Avery delve into the specifics of loneliness, its effects on mental and physical health, Kodokushi, and the importance of community. This episode is Part 1 of 2 episodes that addresses the current loneliness pandemic and the health risks associated. Part 2 will be focused on identifying creative solutions.
Quarantine's Impact On Community
Before the pandemic, what was the true quality of our social interactions? It appeared as though society was adopting the homebody and binge culture. However, after being instructed to stay at home to prevent spreading the virus, suddenly everyone seemed to crave social interactions and to be outdoors. In a way, social distancing was kind of a thing before this pandemic. Hopefully, quarantining has made most of us realize how important our relationships and other people’s involvement in our lives are.
Loneliness and Its Effects on Mental Health
"Human beings are social creatures. Our connection to others enables us to survive and thrive.” According to The National Institute on Aging, “Social isolation and loneliness do not always go together. About 28 percent of older adults in the United States, or 13.8 million people, live alone, according to a report by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but many of them are not lonely or socially isolated. At the same time, some people feel lonely despite being surrounded by family and friends.”
To be more specific, social isolation is the physical objective separation from other people while loneliness is the distressed feeling of being alone and separated.
Health Risks Associated with Loneliness

Research from The Cacioppo Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness predicts that “loneliness automatically triggers a set of related behavioral and biological processes that contribute to the association between loneliness and premature death in people of all ages.”
According to Steve Cole, Ph.D.’s research, the feeling of chronic loneliness causes the individual to feel threatened and distrustful of others which activates a biological defense mechanism. Losing a sense of community changes a person’s perspective of the world.
“Loneliness is an important worldwide public health concern affecting people of all cultures and ages, with prevalence rates predicted increase to “epidemic”levels in the future (Gerst-Emerson and Jayawardhana 2015).”
Researchers found that loneliness increased mortality by 26%. The effects of loneliness are linked to smoking, obesity, elevated blood pressure, heart disease, increased hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical activity, adverse effects on cognitive performance, the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, diminished executive functioning, and impaired sleep. Loneliness also has serious consequences for mental health and well-being, consistently emerging as a significant risk factor for depression, suicidal ideation and behavior. In addition, it has been associated with alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
Kodokushi and Japan's Battle with Loneliness
The Impact of Loneliness on Ol

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The day has finally come for me to cover a case from my home state of Kentucky. On Sunday, February 6th of 2022, Catherine McKinney, mother of 4-year old Serenity McKinney was arrested along with her boyfriend, Dakota Hill in Kansas. No one has physically seen little Serenity since Christmas Eve of 2020. This case is new and fresh details will probably be released after this episode airs, so keep that in mind in case you’ve heard something that differs from today’s telling.

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In this episode, we will discuss the disappearance and murder of 11-month-old baby Mercedes Lain who was reported missing by her father, Kenneth Lain and her mother, Tiffany Coburn in August of 2021. Mercedes’ dead body was found in the depths of the woods in Starke County, Indiana. This case has lots of twists and turns, with more than one victim (we’ll get into that a bit later) and more than one person that can be held responsible for the death of this precious baby.

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This week's episode, The Family Ties covers the murder of Kendrick Lee and the story from his surviving siblings. The news about this case just came to light in late October 2021, and the details are still coming out. Kendrick's 15-year-old brother made a call to police in October to report that he and his siblings had been abandoned and living in an apartment with the corpse of their younger brother since Thanksgiving of last year.

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In today's gripping episode of our True Crime Podcast, we delve into a case that was suggested by one of our astute listeners. This haunting story revolves around the tragic death of 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun, a case that shook the nation and left an indelible mark on our collective conscience.

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