TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein

BRATTERSTEIN
  • 4.7 (58)
  • True Crime
  • Weekly

As someone who has been personally effected by homicide, I approach every True Crime case I cover with the goal of balancing facts with empathy—giving victims a voice while exploring the larger cultural and societal implications of the cases. I want you to leave my episodes not only knowing that the people who I talk about are real.. what happened to them is real but also acknowledging that they are much more than just their deaths. Each audio file from this podcast is taken from my videos on YouTube. If you want to see me in action, you can search "Bratterstein" there.

  1. 1d ago

    Cold Case Solved with help of Podcast

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Cayce Lynn McDaniel with me today. In August 1996, 14-year-old Cayce Lynn McDaniel disappeared from her home in Milan, Tennessee, after returning from a back-to-school church party. A chaperone watched her enter the house, but when her mother returned later, Cayce was gone. Her clothes were laid out on her bed, the television was on, and milk and cookies sat nearby. The back door was open, but there were no obvious signs of a struggle. For more than two decades, the investigation produced no charges. In 2017, local musician and podcaster Brandon Barnett launched Searching for Ghosts, revisiting Cayce’s disappearance and bringing renewed attention to the case. Members of her family credited his work with helping generate investigative momentum, including renewed scrutiny of the home where she had lived. The podcast helped revive public interest, though the eventual prosecution also depended on police and FBI investigations. In July 2018, authorities publicly identified family acquaintance Finis Ewin “Pete” Hill as a suspect. Cayce had known him as “Uncle Pete,” and investigators said his alibi for the night she disappeared did not check out. In October 2019, a grand jury indicted him on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated rape. He was already in federal custody over an unrelated sex crime involving a minor. On August 26, 2022, Hill entered a best-interest plea to criminal responsibility to commit second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. The plea allowed a conviction without a full admission of guilt, and he received a 15-year prison sentence to be served in full. The agreement also required him to cooperate with efforts to locate Cayce’s remains. Although the criminal case reached a resolution, her remains have not been recovered, leaving her family without the chance to bring her home.

    Cold Case Solved with help of Podcast

  2. 4d ago

    22-Year-Old Woman Murdered Over a Dog’s Water Bowl

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Esmeralda Romero with me today. Support Esmeralda's family by purchasing a Love Like Esme, Wear Her Light shirt. All proceeds go towards Esmeralda's permanent headstone: https://www.bonfire.com/love-like-esm...

    22-Year-Old Woman Murdered Over a Dog’s Water Bowl

  3. 6d ago

    Gary Plauché Settles a Score with his Son's Abuser on Live TV

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Jody Plauche with me today. On March 16, 1984, Gary Plauché shot his son’s kidnapper and sexual abuser, 25-year-old karate instructor Jeffrey Doucet, as police escorted him through Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport in Louisiana. A local television news crew recorded the shooting, and the footage was subsequently broadcast widely. Doucet died the following day. Doucet had befriended the Plauché family while teaching 11-year-old Jody karate, gaining their trust before sexually abusing him. In February 1984, he kidnapped Jody and took him to California. Authorities located them at a motel, rescued Jody, and arrested Doucet. Medical evidence subsequently confirmed that Jody had been sexually assaulted. While Doucet was being returned to Louisiana to face charges, Gary waited near airport payphones, wearing a cap and sunglasses. As Doucet passed with officers, Gary turned and fired a single shot into his head at close range. Police immediately restrained him. The killing took place before Doucet could stand trial for the crimes against Jody. Gary was initially charged with second-degree murder but later pleaded no contest to manslaughter. He received a seven-year suspended prison sentence, five years’ probation, and 300 hours of community service, avoiding a prison term. Jody later became an advocate for child-abuse prevention and publicly discussed both his abuse and the lasting impact of his father’s actions.

    Gary Plauché Settles a Score with his Son's Abuser on Live TV

  4. Nov 2

    Newlyweds’ Campsite Becomes a Double Murder Scene : Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner with me today. In August 2021, newlyweds Kylen Schulte, 24, and Crystal Turner, 38, disappeared while camping in the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Utah. They had married about four months earlier and worked locally. After they were reported missing on August 16, a friend searching for them discovered their bodies near their campsite on August 18. Both had been shot multiple times; investigators later determined that the killings occurred on August 14. The investigation eventually focused on Adam Pinkusiewicz, a former employee of the Moab McDonald’s where Turner worked. Authorities established that he had been in the area around the time of the murders and left Utah afterward. Before dying by suicide in Iowa on September 24, 2021, he reportedly told a man he had been dating that he had killed two women in Utah, sharing details that investigators had not made public. Police publicly identified Pinkusiewicz as a suspect in May 2022. Investigators also cited surveillance footage of a vehicle matching his Toyota Yaris leaving the campsite area and evidence involving the unusual ammunition used in the killings. No DNA evidence linked him to the scene, but authorities concluded that the combined evidence identified him as the killer. On December 29, 2022, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office formally closed the case, stating that it believed Pinkusiewicz acted alone and that the evidence would have supported a prosecution had he remained alive. No charges were filed, and his responsibility was never tested at trial. The motive remains unknown, and authorities said the investigation could be reopened if new evidence emerged.

    Newlyweds’ Campsite Becomes a Double Murder Scene : Kylen Schulte and Crystal Turner Case

  5. Oct 30

    15-Year-Old Was Planning His Future While His Captors Dug His Grave

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Nicholas Markowitz with me today.

    15-Year-Old Was Planning His Future While His Captors Dug His Grave

  6. Oct 28

    Tragic Hate-filled Homicides : 4 Hours of True Crime

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Brandon Teena, L. King, Charlie Howard, Gwen Araujo, and Matthew Shepard with me today.

    Tragic Hate-filled Homicides : 4 Hours of True Crime

  7. Oct 26

    The Mornington Monster : The John Myles Sharpe Case

    As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Anna and Gracie Kemp with me today. On March 23, 2004, John Myles Sharpe killed his pregnant wife, 41-year-old Anna Kemp, at their home in Mornington, Victoria, Australia. After an argument that evening, he retrieved a speargun from the garage and shot her twice in the head while she slept. He buried her body in a shallow grave in their backyard. Four days later, on March 27, Sharpe killed their 20-month-old daughter, Gracie, with the same weapon while she was in her cot. He subsequently dug up Anna’s body, dismembered it, and disposed of her remains and Gracie’s body in waste bins at the Mornington rubbish-transfer station.smh+2 Sharpe attempted to conceal the murders by claiming Anna had left him for another man and taken Gracie with her. He appeared in emotional television interviews appealing for information about their whereabouts. He eventually confessed, and investigators recovered their remains from a landfill. The case became widely known as the “Mornington Monster” or “Speargun Killer” case.wikipedia+1 Sharpe pleaded guilty to both murders in February 2005. On August 5, 2005, the Supreme Court of Victoria sentenced him to two life terms with a minimum of 33 years before parole eligibility. The sentencing judge found that Sharpe had been fully aware of his actions and had killed Anna out of resentment.

    The Mornington Monster : The John Myles Sharpe Case

  8. Oct 23

    15-Year-Old Was Kidnapped. Everyone Knew… But No One Helped

    On August 6, 2000, 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz was kidnapped near his home in West Hills, Los Angeles, by drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood and two associates. Hollywood wanted to use Nicholas as leverage to collect a $1,200 drug debt owed by the teenager’s older half-brother, Ben. Nicholas himself did not owe the money. The group took Nicholas to the Santa Barbara area, where he was held for several days. During that time, he attended parties and interacted with people who knew he had been kidnapped, but no one contacted police. Hollywood eventually ordered his associate Ryan Hoyt to kill Nicholas, offering to cancel Hoyt’s own debt in return. In the early hours of August 9, Nicholas was taken to a remote area near Lizard’s Mouth in the mountains above Santa Barbara. He was bound and gagged, and Hoyt shot him nine times before his body was concealed in a shallow grave. His remains were discovered on August 12. Hoyt was convicted in 2001 and sentenced to death; in January 2024, a judge vacated his death sentence, and he is now serving life without parole. Hollywood fled the country and was arrested in Brazil in 2005. He was convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder in 2009 and also received life without parole. The case inspired the film Alpha Dog.

    15-Year-Old Was Kidnapped. Everyone Knew… But No One Helped
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About

As someone who has been personally effected by homicide, I approach every True Crime case I cover with the goal of balancing facts with empathy—giving victims a voice while exploring the larger cultural and societal implications of the cases. I want you to leave my episodes not only knowing that the people who I talk about are real.. what happened to them is real but also acknowledging that they are much more than just their deaths. Each audio file from this podcast is taken from my videos on YouTube. If you want to see me in action, you can search "Bratterstein" there.

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