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SUMMER OF FEAR, Part 2: Son of Sam Names Himself — the Ballistics Match, Christine Freund, and Virginia Voskerichian

In Part 2 of the five-part series Summer of Fear, the city finds out. On January 30, 1977, Christine Freund, twenty-six, and her fiancé John Diel leave a screening of Rocky in Forest Hills and never make it to the dance; Christine dies that morning, weeks after their engagement. Thirty-seven days later and half a block away, a nineteen-year-old Barnard College honor student named Virginia Voskerichian is killed walking home from the train with her books in her arms. Then a technician in a police ballistics lab lays two bullets side by side — one from Virginia, one taken from Donna Lauria in the Bronx eight months earlier — and the striations line up. On March 10, 1977, Police Commissioner Michael Codd and Mayor Abraham Beame tell eight million people that one man with one revolver has been hunting them. Six weeks later, on Easter weekend, Valentina Suriani, eighteen, and Alexander Esau, twenty, are shot in a parked car in the Bronx, and a white envelope is found lying in the street beside them. Inside, the killer gives himself a name. Garret Fisher on the ballistics match, the largest manhunt in New York City history, and the seven weeks the city didn't know what he called himself.Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!Join the Daily Crime & Justice community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Daily Crime & Justice" on either platform. You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Garret Fisher's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Garret's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.

SUMMER OF FEAR, Part 1: Son of Sam and the Bankrupt New York That Let David Berkowitz Start Killing

Fifty years ago this month, New York City was broke, burning, and about to meet the .44 caliber killer. In Part 1 of the five-part series Summer of Fear, Garret Fisher walks into the New York of 1976: a bankrupt city $14 billion in debt, five thousand police officers laid off, a police union handing out a survival pamphlet titled "Welcome to Fear City," the South Bronx going up in insurance fires, and six million people crowding the harbor to watch the tall ships sail in for the Bicentennial. Twenty-five days after those ships sailed, on July 29, 1976, eighteen-year-old EMT Donna Lauria was shot dead in a parked car in Pelham Bay, and Jody Valenti, nineteen, was wounded beside her. Nobody knew a serial killer had started. Over the months that followed, Carl Denaro, Rosemary Keenan, Donna DeMasi, and Joanne Lomino were shot in two more attacks across Queens — and no one connected them, because the precincts didn't talk. This is the story of David Berkowitz, and of the city that wasn't looking.Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!Join the Daily Crime & Justice community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Daily Crime & Justice" on either platform. You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Garret Fisher's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Garret's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.

GUILTY: Isaac Apodaca Convicted of First-Degree Murder in Grace Jennings's Sword Killing, Timothy Besaw Gets the Max .

A three-case roundup. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, a jury convicted Isaac Apodaca, 30, of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the 2022 death of 21-year-old Grace Jennings, who was killed with a sword in a detached garage after asking to stay the night. Nobody disputed Apodaca swung nothing; his girlfriend Kiara McCulley pleaded guilty and testified that he manipulated her into it over months. Apodaca was remanded into custody; sentencing has not been scheduled, and first-degree murder carries a life sentence in New Mexico. In Saratoga County, New York, Timothy Besaw, 35, was sentenced to 12½ to 25 years — the maximum under his plea — for the death of 69-year-old Walmart employee Michael Bushey, who was struck by Besaw's car after telling him to leave the parking lot and died three weeks later of a blood clot following multiple surgeries. And in Payette, Idaho, Andrea Shaw, 23, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her 18-month-old twins, had her $2 million bond revoked entirely after requesting a reduction; Judge Kiley Stuchlik cited risk to Shaw's newborn. Shaw has not entered a plea and is presumed innocent; the cause of the twins' deaths remains disputed. This episode discusses the deaths of children. If you are struggling with grief or loss, please reach out to a counselor, your doctor, or someone you trust.Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!Join the Daily Crime & Justice community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Daily Crime & Justice" on either platform. You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Garret Fisher's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Garret's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.

Isaac Apodaca Sword Trial: Kiara McCulley Testifies She Believed He Was an Archangel, Ryan Cooper Convicted in Lacambria Toomer's Murder

A three-case roundup. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the murder and conspiracy trial of Isaac Apodaca, 30, neared its end as the state's key witness took the stand: Kiara McCulley, 23, who has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy in the 2022 sword killing of 21-year-old Grace Jennings, and who testified under a plea agreement requiring her cooperation. Nobody disputes McCulley swung the sword; prosecutors say Apodaca was the architect who manipulated her into it. Apodaca has pleaded not guilty; his defense argues McCulley was the driver and Apodaca the gullible one. A verdict may have been returned since recording. In Albany, Georgia, a jury deliberated less than an hour before convicting Ryan Cooper, 28, of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and concealing the death of another in the 2022 disappearance of Lacambria Toomer, 23, the mother of his child — a case built on phone and GPS data, with no body, no crime scene, and no confession. Toomer has never been found; Cooper has not been sentenced and retains the right to appeal. And in Coral Springs, Florida, prosecutors added neglect and other counts against Joel Kohnert, 44, a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue lieutenant, and Jennifer Kohnert, 45, who have pleaded not guilty to aggravated child abuse involving their adopted daughter; trial is set for late August. This episode discusses violent death, domestic violence, and the alleged abuse of a child. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is 1-800-422-4453; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!Join the Daily Crime & Justice community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Daily Crime & Justice" on either platform. You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Garret Fisher's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Garret's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.

Lindsay Clancy Trial Begins Monday: Judge Bars Postpartum-Psychosis Survivors, Patrick Clancy to Testify for the Defense, and Baldoni Fights

A three-case roundup. In Plymouth, Massachusetts, the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy nears, with jury selection set for July 20th. Clancy, 35, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the January 2023 strangulation deaths of her three children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 7 months; her defense concedes she caused their deaths but argues she was in the grip of postpartum psychosis and not criminally responsible. Judge William Sullivan has barred the defense from calling other women who survived postpartum psychosis (ruling they can't speak to Clancy's state of mind), denied jury sequestration, and plans to seat eighteen jurors. The children's father, Patrick Clancy, is expected to testify for the defense. In New York, the civil battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively — which settled in May with no payment or admission after most claims were dismissed on legal grounds — continues over Lively's request for more than $8 million in legal fees; Baldoni's side calls the request excessive. And in North Carolina, an order for arrest was issued for Jen Belichick, daughter-in-law of coach Bill Belichick, after she missed a court date on a speeding citation. This episode discusses postpartum mental illness, suicide, and the deaths of children; the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7.Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!Join the Daily Crime & Justice community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Daily Crime & Justice" on either platform. You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Garret Fisher's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Garret's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.