478 episodes

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest. (Plus, join them every Thursday for Killing Time, the light-hearted, true crime-adjacent aftershow!)

The First Degree Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek, Billy Jensen

    • True Crime

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest. (Plus, join them every Thursday for Killing Time, the light-hearted, true crime-adjacent aftershow!)

    BONUS: KILLING TIME: ALEXIS’ WEDDING RECAP

    BONUS: KILLING TIME: ALEXIS’ WEDDING RECAP

    Hello! Welcome back to another very special episode of Killing Time! Today, the girls and the ginger are reminiscing about Alexis and Matt’s incredible “surprise” wedding! That’s it! So much to say about such an incredible weekend celebrating our amazing friends. Oh, also, we got a surprise Pizza Hut delivery mid-episode shout out to the hut!

    • 45 min
    Episode 303: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 2

    Episode 303: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 2

    Over a decade after Ronda Reynolds was killed, her mother wins the right under state law to have a judge convene an inquest into the death. When a jury determines that in their view the coroner originally got it wrong, the focus eventually pivots to not one but two people in the woman’s life. In episode 303, Alexis and Jac take you through the culmination of the Ronda Reynolds case, and how Barb, Ronda’s mother, joined forces with Ann Rule in the quest to find justice.

    • 34 min
    BONUS: KILLING TIME: WALKIN & TALKIN

    BONUS: KILLING TIME: WALKIN & TALKIN

    Welcome back to another exhilarating episode of Killing Time! This week, the girls and the ginger are ALL over the place, but eventually, it’s time for everybody’s favorite segment, Today I Learned! On the menu today: the origins of Dungeons and Dragons, Manatee facts, Avocados, and a listener-submitted T-bell grievance! And yes, we know you know Alexis got married this weekend, don’t worry, the episode is coming!

    • 42 min
    Episode 302: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 1

    Episode 302: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 1

    On December 16, 1998, a 33-year-old woman named Ronda Reynolds is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head inside her home in Toledo, Washington. Her death is ruled a suicide. But her mother believes there’s more behind the circumstances of the incomprehensible loss of someone who was one of the first female state troopers in Washington, and had only been married to her new husband of 18 months. In episode 302 Jac and Alexis detail the tragic murder of Ronda Reynolds, her mother’s fight for someone to be held criminally responsible, and how the bizarre aspects of the case catch the eye of famed crime writer, Ann Rule.

    • 41 min
    BONUS: KILLING TIME: CUTIE CRAZY

    BONUS: KILLING TIME: CUTIE CRAZY

    The girls and the ginger would like to welcome you back for another week of Killing Time! Today, Jac goes deep into the halls of history with a super extended version of on this day! Then! Today I learned! The 7-eleven logo, the origin of Arby’s name, and chaos on the set of Titanic! Enjoy!

    • 44 min
    Episode 301: Greg Everett Wells

    Episode 301: Greg Everett Wells

    On January 6, 2002, a 31-year-old pizza delivery driver is bludgeoned to death and has his throat cut after making a delivery to an apartment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. the brutality of the attack, which police suspect is motivated by robbery, has the community on edge. Within days, a 17-year-old young man, who lives at the apartment where the victim is slain, and his 20-year-old female friend are apprehended. The sheer randomness of the attack is felt far and wide as the suspect’s identities and backgrounds are released to the public. But their subsequent lack of remorse over the violent slaying is what truly chills the community to the bone. In episode 301, Jac and Alexis detail the senseless murder of Greg Everett Wells at the hands of David James Keegan and Brandy Renee Byrd, and the devastating consequences of sheer malevolence colliding with being in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving a family forever shattered.

    • 44 min

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