Small Town Mysteries

Kate, Christine, and Rachael

3 lifelong friends who like to dish on true crime and the kind of drama that only small towns can provide 💀

  1. 5D AGO

    How to Get Away with Murder…Or Not

    Send a text In 1999, Paul Warner Powell, a 20-year-old white supremacist, murdered 16-year-old Stacie Reed and brutally assaulted her 14-year-old sister, Kristie, in a racially motivated attack after learning Stacie had a Black boyfriend. After his initial death sentence was vacated due to a legal technicality regarding capital murder requirements, Powell taunted prosecutors in a letter, believing he was protected by double jeopardy. But Powell was not as smart as he thought he was... Sources:  1) https://www.vacourts.gov/static/opinions/opnscvwp/1031421.pdf 2)https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1999/04/23/a-grim-account-of-attack-on-2-sisters/9a4c2427-ba7b-48f0-96c2-acf72d3a577f/  3) https://www.pomc.org/murder-wall/murder-wall-stories/stacie-lynn-reed-16-years-old/ 4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect 5) https://fija.org/library-and-resources/library/jury-nullification-faq/what-is-double-jeopardy.html 6)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_murder#:~:text=Capital%20murder%20refers%20to%20a,others%20such%20as%20the%20media. 7) https://vocal.media/criminal/the-most-remorseless-killer-who-bragged 8) https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/01/14/letter-boasting-of-slaying-rape-returns-man-to-va-courtroom/e2363704-1fee-4c5b-851b-0e34f7723e69/ 9) https://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/18/virginia.killer.letter/index.html 10) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7790959/stacie_lynn-reed Support the show

    29 min

  2. FEB 3

    The Murder of Deborah Palmer

    Send us a text On the morning of March 26, 1997, Deborah was at home, getting ready for school. Her eleven-year-old cousin stopped by to walk her to class, but she wasn’t quite ready yet. The last words ever known to be spoken by Deborah were: “I’ll be right there. Go on ahead”. She never made it to school that day, and for the next twenty-nine years, her small hometown has been haunted by the question: Who took Deborah Palmer? Sources:  1) https://www.fox13seattle.com/washingtons-most-wanted/little-girl-doesnt-show-up-for-school-but-shows-up-days-later-dead-on-a-beach 2) https://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/oak-harbor-police-renew-search-for-deborah-palmers-killer/ 3) https://www.timesargus.com/news/fears-grow-that-sex-offender-had-other-victims/article_9a271d2a-4aba-5c80-b7e4-5d1e8f61c5aa.html 4) https://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/sunday-marks-20-year-anniversary-of-murdered-girls-disappearance/ 5) https://www.seattlepi.com/local/sound/article/Mother-of-Deborah-Palmer-holds-out-hope-that-892534.php 6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Harbor,_Washington Support the show

    21 min

  3. JAN 27

    The Curious Death of Cindy James: Part 2

    Send us a text Take a listen to Part 1 from last week if you want all the background info on this case! Before Cindy died, she reported about 100 incidents of various kinds of harassment/stalking to police...but police could never find any evidence of it. Cindy first reported instances of harassment/stalking in 1982. In the 7 years leading up to her death, Cindy reported about 100 incidents which consisted of harassment, stalking, vandalism, home invasions, and physical attacks. Cindy went missing on May 25, 1989. Two weeks later, on June 8, 1989, she was discovered deceased and in the yard of an abandoned house, with her hands and feet tied behind her back. She had been drugged and strangled. Cindy’s cause of death is heavily debated.  Spoiler: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) determined that Cindy had tormented herself and self orchestrated all of the incidents. She then elaborately committed suicide but staged it to look like a murder. Many strongly disagree with this theory, including her family, who believe she was murdered.  This week, we wrap up some stalking incidents and discuss Cindy's disappearance, as well as theories on what the heck happened to Cindy James. Trigger warnings: stalking, abuse, and animal cruelty.  Sources:  1) https://unsolved.com/gallery/cindy-james/ 2) https://evelazarus.com/the-bizarre-case-of-cindy-james/ 3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Cindy_James Support the show

    46 min

  4. JAN 20

    The Curious Death of Cindy James: Part 1

    Send us a text Before Cindy died, she reported about 100 incidents of various kinds of harassment/stalking to police...but police could never find any evidence of it. Cindy first reported instances of harassment/stalking in 1982. In the 7 years leading up to her death, Cindy reported about 100 incidents which consisted of harassment, stalking, vandalism, home invasions, and physical attacks. Cindy went missing on May 25, 1989. Two weeks later, on June 8, 1989, she was discovered deceased and in the yard of an abandoned house, with her hands and feet tied behind her back. She had been drugged and strangled. Cindy’s cause of death is heavily debated.  Spoiler: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) determined that Cindy had tormented herself and self orchestrated all of the incidents. She then elaborately committed suicide but staged it to look like a murder. Many strongly disagree with this theory, including her family, who believe she was murdered.  For part 1, we are mostly covering the incidents leading up to her death. Tune in next week to part 2 to hear about her disappearance and theories on what the heck happened to Cindy James. Trigger warnings: stalking, abuse, and animal cruelty.  Sources:  1) https://unsolved.com/gallery/cindy-james/ 2) https://evelazarus.com/the-bizarre-case-of-cindy-james/ 3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Cindy_James Support the show

    33 min

  5. JAN 13

    The Pike County Massacre

    Send us a text When Bobby Jo Manley arrived at her sister’s home on April 22, 2016 in Sunfish Township, Ohio, she expected to go in, feed the pets, give them some love, and then leave – probably see her sister, as well. Socialize a bit. What Bobby Jo found would change the trajectory of her life forever – and the lives of dozens of others. Bobby Jo first found two bodies inside the home, immediately calling 9-1-1. She then found two additional bodies in a separate trailer on the property – and after calling her brother, panicked, her brother James arrived and tried to find their sister. What he found instead was a THIRD crime scene, with three more bodies. A fourth crime scene was identified 5 hours later, in a home in nearby Pikeville.  There were 8 victims in total – and one glaring connection between them. All 8 victims were either born into or married into the Rhoden family. And all 8 of them were dead. Sources:  1)https://web.archive.org/web/20161028144512/http://www.kfvs12.com/story/33446144/pike-county-drug-cartel-speculation-were-wearing-that-label-now 2) https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/04/25/exclusive-we-aint-no-revenge-our-hearts-pike-co-family-says/83517330/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z118036u115936d00----v118036&gca-ft=249&gca-ds=sophi 3) https://www.wishtv.com/news/family-tree-released-of-8-ohio-shooting-victims/ 4) https://www.wlwt.com/article/no-arrests-made-in-pike-county-slayings/3564698 5) https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-shooting-eight-family-members-killed-451348 6) https://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-family-killings-evidence-consistent-cockfighting-found-scenes/story?id=38674426 7) https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/jake-wagner-back-in-pike-county-court-for-sudden-hearing 8) https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2024/04/15/what-happened-in-pike-county-in-2016/73293649007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119036d00----v119036d--xx--b--xx--&gca-ft=195&gca-ds=sophi 9) https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/state/2021/04/22/jake-wagner-rhoden-family-homicides-pike-county-ohio-pleads-guilty/7333052002/ 10) https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/09/10/legal-analyst-30-year-sentence-conspirator-pike-county-slayings-fair/8281747002/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119036d00----v119036d--xx--b--xx--&gca-ft=202&gca-ds=sophi 11) https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/April-2016/Pike-County-Multiple-Homicide-Investigation 12) https://www.foxnews.com/us/autopsies-completed-in-shooting-massacre-that-killed-8-ohio-relatives Support the show

    28 min

  6. JAN 6

    Fowl Play: The Duck Who Found Nellie Sullivan

    Send us a text When a 92-year-old with dementia disappears, all clues point to her granddaughter and her granddaughter's husband. Without a body though, the case grows cold. Until, that is, an unlikely detective waddles by... Sources:  1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candler,_North_Carolina 2) https://disability-memorial.org/nellie-sullivan  3) https://people.com/crime/pet-duck-helps-police-find-body-woman-vanished-two-charged/ 4) https://katv.com/news/nation-world/pet-duck-leads-to-discovery-of-womans-body-under-home-suspects-charged-with-murder-north-carolina-investigation-disappearance 5) https://wlos.com/news/local/pet-duck-leads-to-discovery-of-womans-body-under-home-suspects-charged-with-murder-candler-nellie-sullivan-angela-wamsley-mark-barnes-concealing-death- 6) https://www.facebook.com/buncombesheriff/posts/358810132957797?ref=embed_post 7) https://abc7ny.com/post/cold-case-solved-duck-as-a-pet-nellie-sullivan-dead-body-found/11809214/  8) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/04/28/duck-locates-missing-grandmother-north-carolina/9568080002/ 9) https://wlos.com/news/local/i-just-hope-this-is-her-woman-hopeful-human-remains-confirmed-to-be-her-missing-friend-neighbor-nellie-sullivan-mark-barnes-angela-wamsley-candler-concealing-death  Support the show

    21 min

  7. 12/30/2025

    Forty Years Unsolved: The Murder of Ken McElroy

    Send us a text When one man bullies an entire town into turning a blind eye to his numerous crimes over several decades, what else can a town do but finally enact some good old vigilante justice? Sources:  1) https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/us/16bully.html 2) https://www.nwmissourinews.com/news/article_ff2ddc1c-b317-11ef-ac2c-d706c09832af.html 3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy 4) https://www.shortform.com/podcast/episode/stuff-you-should-know-2024-01-24-episode-summary-the-strange-unsolved-murder-of-ken-mcelroy-stuff-you-should-know 5) https://medium.com/@darkvibestruecrime/the-ultimate-who-dun-it-who-killed-ken-mcelroy-83c1b78f8f68 6) https://allthatsinteresting.com/ken-mcelroy Support the show

    34 min

  8. 12/28/2025

    The Brutal Murder of Starr Harris

    Send us a text Today we are traveling to Tennessee, specifically to the unincorporated community of Drummonds, Tennessee. Here, the brutal murder of 36-year-old Starr Harris shook the small, tight-knit community.  Sources: 1) https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/spr-crt-ten-at-jac/1748758.html 2) https://www.actionnews5.com/story/17296068/jury-deliberating-in-starr-harris-murder-trial/ 3) https://scotblog.org/2015/11/in-controversial-3-2-decision-tennessee-supreme-court-affirms-death-penalty-conviction-that-is-virtually-certain-to-be-subsequently-overturned/ Nightmare Next Door, Season 8, Episode 10: Fallen Starr 4) https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TN/Delta/Drummonds-Demographics.html#:~:text=FAQs%20about%20Drummonds%20demographics,Drummonds%20are%20U.S.%2Dborn%20citizens? 5) https://www.actionnews5.com/story/13720983/frinds-of-starr-harris-remember-her-as-christmas-approaches/ Support the show

    34 min
See All (185)

3.7
out of 5
144 Ratings

About

3 lifelong friends who like to dish on true crime and the kind of drama that only small towns can provide 💀

Information

  • Creator
    Kate, Christine, and Rachael
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    185
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Small Town Mysteries
  • Show Website
    Small Town Mysteries

You Might Also Like