Carol Costello Presents: The God Hook

Coming Soon! Blind Rage: The Story of Phyllis Cottle

In 1984, Phyllis Cottle was tortured, then left to die in a burning car, yet she survived. For one reason: “To fry the son-of-a-bitch.” Detectives called Phyllis a “living homicide victim” because she could not identify her rapist, but Phyllis was no victim. Throughout her hours-long ordeal she never panicked, opting instead to channel a sort of controlled rage to, as she put it, “catch the bastard.” As a reporter and former CNN anchor, I (Carol Costello) covered every kind of vicious crime imaginable. Most stories I was able to leave at work. But not this one. Phyllis gets under your skin. She was one badass woman. You must know her name. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://carolcostellopresents.supportingcast.fm/

S1 E0 | Prologue: The Phyllis Cottle Story

Veteran journalist Carol Costello introduces the story of Phyllis Cottle, examining the case itself and its unimaginable cruelty, as well as the story of the victim who became a determined, heroic detective in the pursuit of justice.EPISODE CREDITSHost - Carol CostelloProducer - Nijah GollidayAudio Engineer - Sean Rule-HoffmanProduction Director - Brigid CoyneExecutive Producer - Gerardo OrlandoOriginal Music - Timothy Law SnyderFor additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://carolcostellopresents.supportingcast.fm/

S1 E1 | That Day

March 20, 1984 started out as a promising spring day for a single mom from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. It wouldn’t end that way. Phyllis Cottle is assaulted in broad daylight as she leaves work, forced into her car at knifepoint, and left wondering why no one came to her aid.We recommend you first listen to the Prologue.*2024 Update: Based on listener feedback, we've revised a portion of this episode.EPISODE CREDITSHost - Carol CostelloProducer - Nijah GollidayAudio Engineer - Sean Rule-HoffmanProduction Director - Brigid CoyneExecutive Producer - Gerardo OrlandoOriginal Music - Timothy Law SnyderThe History of Mass Incarceration (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/history-mass-incarceration)For additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://carolcostellopresents.supportingcast.fm/

S1 E2 | Terror

Phyllis’ nightmare has only just begun. Crumpled onto the floorboard of her Buick, she begins to mentally catalog every detail she can about her knife-wielding attacker as he drives toward an unknown destination where she endures horrible consequences. But a request from the assailant and an eye-catching object provide her with the ammo she needs to not only survive, but to “fry the bastard.”EPISODE CREDITSHost - Carol CostelloProducer - Chris AiolaAudio Engineer - Sean Rule-HoffmanContributor - Nijah GollidayProduction Director - Brigid CoyneExecutive Producer - Gerardo OrlandoOriginal Music - Timothy Law SnyderFor additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://carolcostellopresents.supportingcast.fm/

S1 E3 | Blind Rage

Ninety minutes after her abduction, Phyllis, bound and lying down on the back seat of her car, is brutalized and left for dead. Good samaritans rush to her rescue. And host Carol Costello recounts how, as a 22-year-old reporter at WAKR/TV23, word of something strange in East Akron began to spread through the newsroom.EPISODE CREDITSHost - Carol CostelloProducer - Chris AiolaAudio Engineer - Sean Rule-HoffmanContributor - Nijah GollidayProduction Director - Brigid CoyneExecutive Producer - Gerardo OrlandoOriginal Music - Timothy Law SnyderFor additional information about Phyllis Cottle’s case, please visit our newly-launched website (www.carolcostellopresents.com), Carol’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/CarolLMU) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/carolcostello). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://carolcostellopresents.supportingcast.fm/