Capable: A True Crime Podcast

the Villisca Axe Murders

Episode 14. The Villisca Axe Murders In 1912, an entire family and their two guests were murdered while sleeping in their beds. The culprit was a vicious killer wielding an axe and a motive that we will never know. This brutal event left their town forever infamous. Ttoday, it has become a hot spot for ghost hunters and paranormal investigators - leaving the lives of the victims as nothing more than background noise to the macabre story. Sources: the Smithsonian, the Daily Crate City, VilliscaIowa.com, Murdered In Their Beds: The History. & Hauntings of the Villisca Ax Murders, the Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), the La Crosse Tribune, the Denison Review, Ghost Adventures, the Witchita Beacon, Iowa Cold Cases, Des Moines Register, Man from the Train, MSN.com, Adams County Free Press, Pierre Weekly Free Press, Chanute Daily Tribune, Quad City Times, Abilene Daily Chronicle

Yingying Zhang

Episode 13. Yingying Zhang In 2017, a young Chinese student studying abroad in the US abruptly disappeared after missing a bus. Authorities investigating her disappearance discovered that a man on campus noticed her distress and offered her a ride to her destination - making him the last person to ever see her alive.Sources: the Central District of Illinois official complaint (United States of America V. Brendt Christensen), Trial Transcripts, the Daily Journal, the Chicago Tribune, ABCNews, NewsChannel 20 (ABC), WGNTV, Justice.Gov, WTTWNews , CBS Chicago, Southern Illinoisan, Fox Illinois, SCMP, Daily Illini

Oakland County Child Killer

In 1976 and 1977, a series of child abductions and murders rocked several Detroit, Michigan suburbs. The families that were left devastated in the aftermath are still fighting for justice today, nearly 4 and a half decades after the fact. With several compelling suspects, authorities believe that it's only a matter of time before advances in forensic testing identifies the person responsible for these cruel murders.Sources: Detroit Free Press, The Times Herald, the Ludington Daily News, NCJRS Documents, WXYZ, Hometownlife, CleveScene, Fox2Detroit, Medium, People.com, Associated Content, NYTimes, the Oakland Press, A Father’s Story (Barry King’s Blog), Catherine Broad (Blog of Timothy King’s sister), Unsolved Child Murders by Emily Thompson, SacBee.com, Helen Dagner

Bonus. Jacob Jeremiah Landin

Hey Capable listeners, The show is still re-launching closer to the end of summer or in early fall but I’ve been moved to put together this episode for a fellow podcaster, Eric Carter-Landin, who hosts the wonderful podcast, “True Consequences”. This special episode is about his sweet little brother Jacob, and the justice that he and his family deserve.  Petition: Justice for JacobSources for this episode:Eric Carter-Landin @TrueConsequencesJacob's case file.

The Murder of Lanny Horwitz

In 2011, a local Florida man was ambushed while taking a shower in his Jupiter, Florida home. The two other people in the house at the time happened to be his ex-wife and their son. As the investigation progressed, both mother and son claimed they were innocent while pointing the finger at one another. Each had motive and the means, however, only one was arrested and tried - twice. Resources: Court Records (Appeal Documents), CBSnews, 48 Hours, Super News World, WPTV, Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post