100 episodes

Burden of Proof is a true crime podcast run by two paralegals with a generation gap. Join Elysia and Savannah as they tell each other true crime stories with a focus on what happens AFTER the criminals get caught!

Burden of Proof burdenofproofpod

    • True Crime

Burden of Proof is a true crime podcast run by two paralegals with a generation gap. Join Elysia and Savannah as they tell each other true crime stories with a focus on what happens AFTER the criminals get caught!

    Case Number 88: The Corpsewood Manor Murders

    Case Number 88: The Corpsewood Manor Murders

    Charles Scudder and his partner, Joseph Odom, moved to the town of Trion, Georgia to escape the hustle and bustle of city life in Chicago and live on their own terms. Many in the town were not happy with the couple's arrival due to their unorthodox lifestyle. Eventually acceptance grew when they realized Charles and Joseph had no ill intention toward anyone.
    Some of the towns people even became friends with the couple whether they enjoyed the couples' company, attended parties or partook in Charles' homemade wine. It was a peaceful life for six years before two men they thought were friends took their lives as well as their beloved dogs lives in a brutal attack. 
    Tune in as Savannah shares the story of how these two peculiarly creative souls were taken too soon and Elysia is reminded of how one's intuition of impending death can make a person do otherwise strange things.
     
    Don't forget to leave us the weekly emoji for your Sunday shoutout! Find us on Instagram and Facebook!
     
    Sources:
    “The Corpsewood Manor Murders of North Georgia” by Amy Petulla 
    https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/supreme-court/1984/40344-1.html
    Gore Report: A True Crime Podcast: "Hometown Legends Volume 2: The Corpsewood Manor Murders"
    Beers With Queers: A True Crime Podcast: Episode 2 "The Corpsewood Manor Murders"
     
     
     
    Graphic Art By: Taylor Poe
    Music By:
    https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/download/shady-business/2181
     

    • 1 hr 3 min
    Case Number 87: The Suspicious Fall of Bonnie Craig

    Case Number 87: The Suspicious Fall of Bonnie Craig

    When Bonnie's body was found at the bottom of a cliff just off a hiking trail, her family was in utter shock and disbelief. The park was nowhere near where she was supposed to be that day and it was completely out of character for her to stray from her routine.
    Karen, Bonnie's Mother, was further shocked when she arrived at the medical examiner's office to identify her body. She recognized the bruises and wounds on Bonnie's hands and arms as defense injuries. That began a 17 year journey to finding justice for Bonnie and advocating for stricter DNA laws.
    Tune in as Elysia takes us through the lengthy process of elimination in the investigation and possibly the most suspenseful trial we've covered. Meanwhile, Savannah is flabbergasted at the number of potential suspects Bonnie knew. 
     
    Don't forget to leave us the weekly emoji for your Sunday shoutout! Find us on Instagram and Facebook!
     
    Sources:
    Dateline: Justice for Bonnie, Season 20, Episode 18
     
    Justice for Bonnie by Karen Foster and I.J. Schecter
     
    https://justiceforbonnie.com/
     
    http://www.sitnews.us/0507news/050207/050207_shns_dna_arrest.html
     
    https://www.fosters.com/story/news/2007/05/13/cold-case-unites-mothers-on/52506313007/
     
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kenneth-dion-ex-soldier-on-trial-for-1994-murder-of-alaska-coed-bonnie-craig/
     
    https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/defendant-guilty-bonnie-craig-murder/2011/06/16/
     
     
     
     
    Graphic Art By: Taylor Poe
    Music By:
    https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/download/shady-business/2181

    • 56 min
    Case Number 86: The Society Murders

    Case Number 86: The Society Murders

    The prominent and wealthy Wales family dynamic had long been complicated but tensions rose when matriarch, Margaret Wales-King, and her husband, Paul King, both went missing. When it was discovered that Margaret's youngest son, Matthew, and his wife, Maritza, were the last to see Margaret and Paul, the rest of her children wanted answers. Instead, they got a lot of dramatics as Matthew would do nothing but sob and act out every time they spoke with him.
    Detectives quickly found some potential motives and the couple were the number one suspects. When their bodies were found, detectives had all the physical evidence they needed and when faced with murder charges, Maritza confessed everything she knew.
    Tune in as Savannah gives us the details one of the worst planned crimes we've seen and Elysia explains that this is why one shouldn't try to control inheritance from the grave.
     
    Don't forget to leave us the weekly emoji for your Sunday shoutout! Find us on Instagram and Facebook!
     
    Sources:
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/murder-in-the-family-20030411-gdvivr.html
    Bonney, Hilary (2003). The Society Murders: The True Story of the Wales-King Murders.
     
     
    Graphic Art By: Taylor Poe
    Music By:
    https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/download/shady-business/2181

    • 1 hr
    Case Number 85: The Kirtland Cult Killings

    Case Number 85: The Kirtland Cult Killings

    When the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints rejected Jeffrey Lundgren from both a position as the Kirtland Temple Guide and Sunday School Teacher, his already disturbing beliefs became completely unhinged. Having already developed a following of individuals within the church, he convinced many of them that it would be their Godly mission to oust the current church elders and recapture the Temple to bring about a long time mormon belief. As the plan took shape, Jeffrey's vision grew increasingly violent.
    Fortunately for the church, local police became suspicious and began working with the FBI to put a stop to the plan. Unfortunately for Jeffrey's followers, he caught on and the plans changed along with who he condemned. They would instead go out to live in the wilderness for a time to meet Jesus. He insisted they could only do so if they rid themselves of the worst sinners and according to him that was a family with 3 young children.
    Tune in as Elysia works really hard to get this horrific story out of her system and Savannah is truly left angry and speechless. Then plan on taking a mental health break because this one's a doozy!
     
    Don't forget to leave us the weekly emoji for your Sunday shoutout! Find us on Instagram and Facebook!
     
    Sources:
    Cult Justice: The Cult Tapes; Season 1, Episode 5
    https://www.news-herald.com/2014/12/30/kirtland-cult-killings-timeline-of-events/
    https://fox2now.com/news/true-crime/true-crime-dinner-invite-ends-in-missouri-family-cult-killing/
    https://www.news-herald.com/2014/12/30/kirtland-cult-killings-the-prison-sentences/
    https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-13-me-188-story.html
    https://casetext.com/case/state-v-lundgren-1
    https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-6th-circuit/1105132.html
    https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/state-v-lundgren-1993-892948386
    https://murderpedia.org/male.L/images/l/lundgren_jeffrey_don/lundgren_jeffrey.pdf
    https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ohio-cult-leader-executed-for-slaying-family-of-5/
    https://casetext.com/case/state-v-lundgren-7
    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-timeline/
    https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/fundamentalist-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints
    Timesuck | The Kirtland Cult Killings and Jeffrey Lundgren: 1 of 2
    https://www.jstor.org/stable/43200280
    https://appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/Search/Details/W025516
    https://appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/Search/Details/A224420
    https://appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/Search/Details/A237062
    https://appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch/Search/Details/A230044
    https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2007/11/14/site-ohio-cult-murders-razed/23329962007/
    https://krcgtv.com/news/local/alleged-child-abuser-had-cult-murderer-father
    https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/crime/2010/03/05/father-jailed-in-infant-abuse/64062068007/
     
     
     
     
     
    Graphic Art By: Taylor Poe
    Music By:
    https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/download/shady-business/2181

    • 1 hr 32 min
    Case Number 84: Aileen Wuornos, America's First Female Serial Killer

    Case Number 84: Aileen Wuornos, America's First Female Serial Killer

    After a tragic childhood, Aileen was living on the streets by age fourteen. From that point forward all she really knew was drinking, drugging, grifting and hooking. When she met Tyria Moore, Aileen hoped to settle down in a place of their own. However, she would go to great lengths to make ends meet and keep Tyria.
    From 1989 to 1990, Aileen killed seven men by hitchhiking and receiving rides from them under a false pretense or in some cases engaging in prostitution. She then shot each of them and stole anything of value. Eventually, she was caught, convicted and sentenced to death. Questions still remain as she had sworn from the beginning that she killed in self defense. However, on the day of her execution, she asked for one last interview where she said she needed to confess and then claimed not a single one had been in self defense.
    Tune in as Savannah attempts to give the facts with insight as to why Aileen may have suddenly changed her story. Meanwhile, Elysia tries to think of anything at all to say other than "yeah", "oh my god", and "I don't know about that". 
     
    Don't forget to leave us the weekly emoji! Find us on Instagram and Facebook!
     
     
    Sources:
    Prime Video - Aileen, Life and Death of  Serial Killer 
    https://www.biography.com/crime/aileen-wuornos
    https://capitalpunishmentincontext.org/cases/wuornos - lots of detailed trial information and break down. 
    https://allthatsinteresting.com/aileen-wuornos
    https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/aileen-wuornos-serial-killer-murders-b2455045.html
    http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/wuornos805.htm
     
     
     
    Graphic Art By: Taylor Poe
    Music By:
    https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/download/shady-business/2181

    • 1 hr 8 min
    Case Number 83: The Survival of Amber Smith

    Case Number 83: The Survival of Amber Smith

    After passing out and being abandoned in a park, Amber Smith woke up face down on a floor, bound and gagged. When she attempted to fight back and scream, her attacker brutally assaulted her until she passed out again. The next time she regained consciousness, she was outside still naked, bound, gagged and blinded by duct tape wrapped around her head. Choosing to fight for her life, she screamed continuously for help. Fortunately, nearby residents heard her and called 911. 
    Despite having a clear dna profile, years went by with no further leads on who committed the atrocity against her. Amber had finally learned to come to terms with not knowing when he committed another felony and was entered into the system. The horrifying truth was that Amber did in fact know who her attacker was, just not at the time of the crime.
    Tune in as Elysia terrifies Savannah with one of the most awful twists we've ever covered and we sidebar about the importance of stolen bicycles. 
     
    Don't forget to leave us the weekly emoji! Find us on Instagram and Facebook!
     
    Sources:
    Dateline: Left for Dead; Season 29, Episode 2
     
    https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/video/more-from-detective-seymour-s-interview-with-brian-and-susie-moon-92400197593
     
    https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2019/10/08/stefan-moon-cottonwood-glen-park-sexual-assault-kidnapping-fort-collins-sentence/3911338002/
     
    https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2019/08/15/man-convicted-2013-sexual-assault-woman-found-naked-fort-collins-park/2020140001/
     
    https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Court_Of_Appeals/Case_Announcements/Files/2022/EA6A8008-25-22%20.pdf
     
    https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Supreme_Court/Case_Announcements/Files/2023/EFD8E604-17-23.pdf
     
    https://www.doc.state.co.us/oss/
     
    https://www.gofundme.com/f/amber039s-future
     
     
     
     
    Graphic Art By: Taylor Poe
    Music By:
    https://www.fesliyanstudios.com/royalty-free-music/download/shady-business/2181

    • 50 min

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