Vinnie After Dark

Vinnie Politan

Vinnie After Dark is true crime from someone who has tried the cases. Vinnie Politan is a former prosecutor and a longtime Court TV anchor. Each episode takes one case and walks you through it the way a prosecutor builds it: the evidence, the courtroom strategy, the mistakes, and the moment a trial turns.Murders, missing persons, family killings, and the verdicts that shocked the country. From the crime scene to the jury room, Vinnie explains what happened, why it matters, and what the jury didn't get to hear.New episodes every week. Watch the video version on YouTube and Spotify.

Episodes

  1. Oct 28

    Lindsay Clancy SUES Her Doctors

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVw0dW6YwdY See if you're overpaying for car insurance with Jerry: https://pnl.link/MdNNeEo Everyone who watched the criminal trial came away with the same conclusion: Lindsay Clancy’s doctors failed her. Kevin Reddington built a defense on it and eleven of twelve jurors bought it. So why are both civil lawsuits in serious trouble? Patrick Clancy is suing psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Tufts, nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollotta, Aster Mental Health and South Shore Health for the wrongful deaths of his three children. Lindsay Clancy is separately suing eleven defendants — including Women & Infants Hospital and McLean Hospital — for the injuries she suffered going out that window. She has bilateral lower limb paralysis and spinal cord damage. She will be in a wheelchair for life. Both of them have real damages. Neither of them, in my view, has a strong case. Here’s the Massachusetts shield law that explains why, what “preponderance of the evidence” actually changes, and why contributory negligence may be the thing that sinks Lindsay’s claim. A hearing on the motion to dismiss Patrick’s suit was held October 28. The judge has not ruled.

  2. Oct 28

    I Was Evidence in a Murder Case

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChEtMpzRMA See if you're overpaying for car insurance with Jerry: https://pnl.link/MdNNeEo Michelle Parker disappeared on November 17, 2011 - the same day a taped episode of The People’s Court, featuring her dispute with ex-fiancé Dale Smith Jr., aired on television. She has never been found. Nearly fifteen years later, Smith has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bond. And in a turn I did not expect: my own Court TV show was entered into evidence by the state. I was evidence in a murder case. In this one: why prosecutors asked a judge to keep the public from hearing the facts, what the cell phone records actually show about where Michelle’s phone was and wasn’t, the last known video of her Hummer, and why I think the push for silence says more about the prosecution’s case than the defense’s. Dale Smith Jr. is charged and has pleaded not guilty. Nothing in this episode should be taken as a finding of guilt. Please like, please subscribe, and don’t forget to hug the kids. 0:00 "I was evidence in court" 1:00 Welcome to Vinnie After Dark 2:00 Fifteen years, no body, now an arrest 3:00 The engagement, the twins 4:00 The People's Court episode 5:00 The sealed screen recording 6:00 The text messages between them 7:00 My own show, entered as evidence 8:00 Prosecutors ask for a gag order 9:00 Jerry 10:00 Why silence helps the defense 12:00 What is the new evidence? 13:00 The press conferences that made him look guilty 15:00 Starting with the timeline 16:00 People's Court paid them both $2,500 17:00 The ring she threw at him 19:00 Waterford Lakes 20:00 Her phone wasn't where the text said 22:00 The map: Carter Glenn, the 3:18 drop-off 24:00 The last video of the Hummer 26:00 Between 3:18 and 4:26 27:00 What the new phone extractions changed 29:00 Where prosecutors could have trouble 30:00 The twins were three years old 32:00 Children who never believe it 33:00 What happens from here

  3. Oct 28

    Lindsay Clancy Loses Again

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGKifZLXjxE See if you're overpaying for car insurance with Jerry: https://pnl.link/MdNNeEo Kevin Reddington convinced 11 of 12 jurors that Lindsay Clancy was not criminally responsible. One juror held out, and on September 4th Judge Sullivan declared a mistrial. Since then Reddington has lost almost every motion he’s filed — including his attempt to put the holdout juror on the stand under oath. On November 2nd he argues double jeopardy. I’ll tell you why that fails too, and it comes down to a Supreme Court case from 1824. But here’s the part nobody’s saying out loud: when this goes to a retrial, the advantage swings back to Lindsay Clancy. She’s hired Marty Weinberg — the same appellate specialist Karen Read used. The core facts aren’t changing. The mental health history isn’t changing. And 11 of 12 jurors already got there once. 0:00 Lindsay Clancy loses again 1:01 Vinnie After Dark 1:14 Reddington is losing everything 2:38 He wanted the holdout juror on the stand 3:39 Why Alex Murdaugh was different 4:31 Even her supporters said hands off the jury 7:25 Jerry 8:40 What Judge Sullivan actually ruled 9:34 The questionnaire and the cell phone 11:31 Phone records and other jurors — denied 12:48 The double jeopardy motion 14:07 A mistrial is a tie game 16:19 Clancy hires Karen Read's appellate lawyer 17:52 Massachusetts protects jurors more than anywhere 21:10 Manifest necessity 21:36 United States v. Perez (1824) 22:49 Richardson v. United States (1984) 24:18 Renico v. Lett (2010) 26:47 Discovering misconduct after the fact 28:53 Oregon v. Kennedy — the only exception 30:31 What happens November 2nd 31:23 The Karen Read connection 33:56 The polls track the jury 37:22 Advantage: Lindsay Clancy 37:51 Will Reddington change his defense? 40:19 Hug the kids

  4. Oct 24

    Breaking Down the Evil Mind of Christa Pike

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya2Qgx_gJ-Y See if you're overpaying for car insurance with Jerry: https://pnl.link/MdNNeEo DR. BRUCATO'S BOOKS: THE NEW EVIL: https://a.co/d/0e19N9zn NO CASE TOO COLD: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/no-case-too-cold/ Everyone is covering the botched execution. Nobody has asked who Christa Pike actually is. Forensic psychologist Dr. Gary Brucato, co-author of The New Evil, goes through Pike’s conduct and her own words one piece at a time — the weapons she brought, the gag, the pentagram, the piece of skull she carried in her pocket, the taunt while Colleen Slemmer was dying, the letter she wrote from jail signed “little devil,” and the 2012 escape plot. Brucato explains what each one suggests about a woman who was abused from toddlerhood and found her first stable attachment in the boyfriend she killed for. This is not a defense of what she did. Vinnie and Dr. Brucato are explicit about that throughout. It’s an attempt to answer the question the coverage has skipped: how does an 18-year-old end up on death row, and what do these specific choices tell us? Our hearts are with Colleen Slemmer’s family. Dr. Gary Brucato — The New Evil, co-written with Dr. Michael Stone. Pick it up.

  5. Oct 23

    Christa Pike Is No Angel

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axfN75Sk7yI If you or someone you know experienced serious mental health struggles as a result of social media use, you may be entitled to a potential recovery of over $1,000. Visit https://morganmorganpa.sjv.io/c/7273707/4089046/23429?sharedid=vinnie-politan The coverage since the botched execution has one story in it: Christa Pike is a victim. Vinnie Politan says that leaves out almost everything. This episode goes back through what actually put her on death row, and what she did after she got there. Colleen Slemmer was 19. She was lured into the woods near the Knoxville Job Corps center, attacked by three people, cut with a box cutter, and killed with a piece of asphalt. Pike kept a fragment of her skull as a souvenir. The jury took under an hour. Then there’s the letter. On the day she was sentenced to death, Pike handed a corrections officer a note to smuggle to her co-defendant and boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp. The officer turned it in instead and it was entered into evidence. In it she asks Shipp to recant his statement and match hers, describes the killing in her own words, and signs off “Little devil.” Vinnie reads the whole thing. Most people don’t know what came next. In August 2001, Pike attacked another inmate, Patricia Jones, with a shoestring — and was convicted of attempted first-degree murder in 2004. An intercepted call to her mother is the part that stays with you. And in March 2012, the TBI and the Department of Correction broke up a plot to get her out of the Tennessee Prison for Women. A 23-year-old correctional officer, Justin Heflin, and a New Jersey man named Donald Kohut who had been visiting her twice a month were both indicted. There were key impressions, maps, false identification and money changing hands. None of this excuses what Tennessee did wrong in that chamber. Vinnie is clear about that. But he argues the loudest voice in the room right now is the only voice, and somebody should be saying the rest of it out loud.

  6. Oct 22

    His 5-Year-Old Watched Him Kill His Girlfriend

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdYFJQr4MWg If you or someone you know experienced serious mental health struggles as a result of social media use, you may be entitled to a potential recovery of over $1,000. Visit https://morganmorganpa.sjv.io/c/7273707/4089046/23429?sharedid=vinnie-politan Christopher “Dodge” Smith walked into the Harbor Bar in Safety Harbor, Florida on October 13 with his five-year-old daughter — looking for his girlfriend. What happened in that parking lot was witnessed by a child who later told law enforcement, over and over, “Daddy shot Jess.” Vinnie Politan breaks down the arrest affidavit line by line: the argument outside the bar, the walk back to the car to retrieve a 9mm, the shot through Jessica Antolini’s left eye, and Smith driving over her body as he fled with his daughter and the family dog still in the vehicle. Then the 911 calls, the chase nine to eleven miles north to Eastlake, and the PIT maneuver that ended it. Vinnie has the Pinellas County body cam of the arrest and the child being pulled from the back seat, plus Smith’s first appearance in court. Jessica Antolini, 30, fought for two days before she was pronounced dead on October 15. The attempted murder charge became first-degree murder. Smith also faces child abuse — which makes his daughter not just the witness, but a victim. He called his mother while fleeing and said he “messed up” and that he “shot Jess.” His public defenders have already been conflicted out. So what’s the defense? Vinnie walks through why temporary insanity isn’t available, why “possessed” and “hunting her down” cut against him, and why premeditation here only needed a few steps across a parking lot. Christopher Smith is charged and presumed innocent. 0:00 The story that will make you angry 1:42 Vinnie After Dark 2:22 Safety Harbor and the Harbor Bar 3:37 Who Jessica Antolini was 4:51 The man she was with 6:35 Reading the arrest affidavit 7:57 He brought his 5-year-old inside 8:38 The argument in the parking lot 9:04 "Through her left eye" 9:32 He ran over her body 9:54 "Daddy shot Jess" 10:04 What a 5-year-old witness means 11:02 She's a victim too 11:31 Witnesses: "as if he was possessed" 12:17 "Hunting her down" 12:46 The call to his mother 13:22 Jessica dies two days later 13:38 The sheriff's version is different 15:50 Body cam: the takedown 17:08 Why the child abuse charge matters 18:29 What's his defense? 19:16 Premeditation only takes an instant 21:24 Will she ever testify? 22:57 The PIT maneuver, frame by frame 25:37 The chase route to his mother's house 27:56 First appearance in court 28:40 No contact, no bond 30:52 Public defenders conflicted out 31:28 Leave your daughter at home

  7. Oct 22

    No Court Can Save Christa Pike

    Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Flh2nN2ROs If you or someone you know experienced serious mental health struggles as a result of social media use, you may be entitled to a potential recovery of over $1,000. Visit https://morganmorganpa.sjv.io/c/7273707/4089046/23429?sharedid=vinnie-politan Christa Pike survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her on September 30th. The state botched the lethal injection, then botched the emergency response - 911 dispatchers were told the call was false and that no medical assistance was needed at Riverbend. Her attorneys are asking for more time. Vinnie Politan argues none of it changes the outcome. The reason is a 1946 case almost nobody covering this story is citing. Willie Francis was a teenager strapped into Louisiana’s electric chair. The switch was thrown and he survived it. The state issued a second death warrant, his lawyers took it to the Supreme Court on double jeopardy and cruel-and-unusual grounds, and in 1947 the Court ruled against him on all three amendments. That precedent has never been overturned, which means no trial court, no appellate court and no state supreme court in the country can stop a second attempt. Vinnie also walks through the 911 audio and the code failure that delayed responders, why the defense’s alternative-method argument was a false choice, the electrocution waiver Pike could have signed and didn’t, and why the only person who can actually stop this is a lame-duck governor. And he makes the case that the coverage you’re seeing is skewed - not because the facts are wrong, but because of who is loudest. 0:00 Christa Pike Cannot Stop Her Next Execution 1:20 What Happened Inside The Chamber 3:41 Tennessee's History With Lethal Injection 4:17 Why This Is One State's Decision 5:17 The Media Witnesses 5:58 "She Was Still Breathing" 8:06 "A Spot That Was Burning And Hurting" 8:40 What Remedy Does The Defense Actually Want? 9:43 "None Of It Was Normal" 12:12 Now The State Has To Save Her Life 13:30 The Code Nobody Knew 15:30 The 911 Calls 16:14 "We Have Been Informed It Is A False Call" 18:24 Pike's Attorney Calls 911 Herself 19:40 Why This Fuels Distrust Of Government 20:36 What A Google Search Turns Up 22:30 The Headlines 23:32 The Coordinated Effort 26:35 The Most Important Part: The Law 27:07 Willie Francis, 1946 28:47 Double Jeopardy, Cruel And Unusual, Equal Protection 31:50 "Take It Off, Let Me Breathe" 33:30 Why No Court Can Stop This 35:30 The Veins Argument 37:00 The Waiver She Wouldn't Sign 40:30 Dehydration And IV Access 41:00 Only The Governor Can Stop It 42:14 Colleen Slemmer Was 19 44:20 What Happens Next

  • 7 Episodes

About

Vinnie After Dark is true crime from someone who has tried the cases. Vinnie Politan is a former prosecutor and a longtime Court TV anchor. Each episode takes one case and walks you through it the way a prosecutor builds it: the evidence, the courtroom strategy, the mistakes, and the moment a trial turns.Murders, missing persons, family killings, and the verdicts that shocked the country. From the crime scene to the jury room, Vinnie explains what happened, why it matters, and what the jury didn't get to hear.New episodes every week. Watch the video version on YouTube and Spotify.

Information

  • Creator
    Vinnie Politan
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Vinnie After Dark
  • Show Website
    Vinnie After Dark

You Might Also Like