In time crime

October 11, 1925 begins like any other day in a bustling Chicago garage—until a single arrest attempt explodes into violence and an ordinary car thief becomes the most wanted man in America. In this episode, we follow Special Agent Edwin C. Shanahan as he walks into a trap that will change federal law enforcement forever.
Through breathless eyewitness accounts and the era’s paper-thin communications, we reconstruct Durkin’s trail of stolen Cadillacs, the small clues that built a nationwide dragnet, and the tense winter morning when a train became his final undoing. Feel the urgency of investigators piecing together telegrams and train schedules, racing against a fugitive who lived to steal and kill.
More than a historical case file, this is a human story—of a man doing his job, a city on edge, and the birth of a legacy preserved on the FBI’s wall of honor. Join us as we guide you through the suspense, the sorrow, and the surprising twists of a manhunt that played out across states and changed a bureau forever.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
FBI — “Durkin: Murder of an FBI Agent”This is the main source for the case. It covers Shanahan’s October 11, 1925 attempt to arrest Martin James Durkin, the shooting, the nationwide manhunt, Durkin’s capture near St. Louis on January 20, 1926, and his later convictions. FBI case history
FBI Wall of Honor — Edwin C. ShanahanThis confirms that Shanahan was the first FBI agent killed in the line of duty, gives his background, and summarizes the fatal encounter with Durkin. Edwin C. Shanahan — FBI Wall of Honor
FBI — Duty Weapon of First Special Agent Killed in the Line of DutyThis supports the stakeout details, Shanahan’s attempt to arrest Durkin, the nationwide search, the January 1926 capture, and the preservation of Shanahan’s duty weapon as an FBI historical artifact. Shanahan’s duty weapon and case history
FBI Chicago Field Office HistoryThis gives broader historical context for the Bureau in the 1920s and discusses Shanahan’s death and the manhunt that followed. FBI Chicago history
FBI Historical TimelineThis independently confirms the key date—October 11, 1925—and Shanahan’s status as the first Bureau agent killed in the line of duty. FBI historical timeline

Trigger Warning: Sound of gunshots after intro music 
More than 22,000 people gathered in Las Vegas for the final night of the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, expecting nothing more than music, dancing, and a good time. But in minutes, the night became one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history. In today's episode of In Time Crime, we travel back to October 1, 2017, to reconstruct the hours leading up to, during, and after the attack.
Through eyewitness accounts, the courage of first responders, and the fractured trail left by the shooter, we trace how a retired auditor turned reclusive gambler assembled an arsenal, chose a vantage point high above the crowd, and unleashed over a thousand rounds. Alongside heartbreaking profiles of victims and survivors, the episode explores the chaotic scramble of evacuation, the surge of compassion that followed, and the enduring mystery of motive — the unanswered question that haunts investigators and families alike.
Join us as we remember those who were lost, honor those who rushed toward danger to save strangers, and grapple with the societal reverberations of a night that changed Las Vegas forever.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department — Final Criminal Investigative Report of the 1 October Mass Casualty ShootingThis is the best primary source for the timeline, hotel rooms, weapons, police response, Jesus Campos, Paddock’s movements, evidence recovered, and the conclusion that no second gunman or conspiracy was established. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police DepartmentLVMPD 1 October records and reports
LVMPD — 1 October After-Action ReviewUseful for the emergency response, police deployment, hospital evidence recovery, command decisions, and lessons learned after the attack. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit — Las Vegas Review Panel Key FindingsThis is the strongest source for the motive section. The FBI concluded there was no single or clear motivating factor and found no evidence that Paddock was targeting a particular hotel, casino, festival, or victim. FBI
ATF / Federal Register — Bump-Stock-Type Devices rulemakingUseful for the bump-stock section, including their use in the shooting and the federal regulatory response that followed. ATF
ATF — National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking AssessmentProvides background on how bump stocks had previously been classified and how the Las Vegas attack led ATF and DOJ to reconsider those classifications. ATF
Clark County — 1 October Memorial Committee / Memorial ProjectBest source for the permanent memorial, the memorial committee, the victims and survivors being honored, and the community’s long-term remembrance efforts. Clark County, NVClark County 1 October Memorial
Clark County and LVMPD remembrance materialsUseful for the continuing memorial ceremonies and how Las Vegas still publicly remembers the victims, survivors, and first responders.

October 8, 2024: a father wakes to find his teenage daughter gone and spots her in a pickup with a man already accused of abusing her. What follows is a high-stakes, heart-stopping confrontation that ends with the father firing the fatal shots and calling 911 himself.
As the county prepares to weigh justice against vengeance, a single piece of evidence — a dash camera memory card — vanishes while in police custody. With the footage lost and the murder charge dismissed, the central question remains unresolved: did a desperate parent save his child or did he take the law into his own hands? Join Robin Bagayoko on this episode of In Time Crime as we retrace the twists, the missing evidence, and the verdict the jury never reached.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
Arkansas Supreme Court — Spencer v. State of Arkansas (2025): this is the most important legal source. It confirms that Spencer was charged with second-degree murder and a firearm enhancement, that Michael Fosler had been charged with numerous sexual offenses involving Spencer’s teenage daughter and was out on bond, and that Spencer found his daughter in Fosler’s truck before the fatal confrontation. Read the Arkansas Supreme Court decision
Arkansas Advocate — June 4, 2026: covers Judge Ralph Wilson Jr.’s dismissal of the murder charge because of due-process violations involving the mishandled dash camera and missing memory card. It also explains that the court considered dismissal an extraordinary remedy. Read the Arkansas Advocate report
Associated Press / Washington Post — June 4, 2026: gives a detailed account of the shooting, Spencer’s defense that he was protecting his daughter, the prosecution’s argument that he could have called police while following Fosler, and the missing dash-camera evidence that led to dismissal. Read the AP/Washington Post report
Associated Press — March 2026: covers Spencer winning the Republican nomination for Lonoke County sheriff while awaiting trial, including his campaign focus on child-sex-abuse investigations. Read the AP primary-election report
Associated Press — 2025 profile: useful for Spencer’s background, his decision to run for sheriff while awaiting trial, and his public position that he acted to protect his daughter. Read the AP profile
Arkansas Advocate — March 4, 2026: reports Spencer’s GOP primary victory and summarizes the pending murder case and the Arkansas Supreme Court’s earlier intervention involving the trial judge and gag order. Read the Arkansas Advocate primary report
Stuttgart Daily Leader — May 28, 2026: covers the defense motion asking for dismissal because law enforcement allegedly lost critical evidence from the dash camera in Fosler’s truck. Read the Stuttgart Daily Leader report
Stuttgart Daily Leader — June 8, 2026: reports that the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office fired the detective whose handling of the dash camera and SD card was cited in the dismissal. Read the follow-up report

June 11, 1988 — a bright afternoon outside St. Francis Chapel turns from celebration to carnage in the blink of an eye. Thomas Dalton, thirty, collapses after two gunshots as guests reel from the impossible sight: a woman in sunglasses slipping back into a silver sedan and driving away. Surveillance photos, ammunition receipts, a .32 revolver recovered in the getaway car, and a haunting journal line about a wedding day "without her" point the investigation toward one person: Sarah Whitmore.
In this Murder Mystery Monday episode, the case reads like a dark ballad — obsession, planning, and a flight to Tijuana before capture. Listen closely as the clues unfold and the courtroom delivers its verdict: life without parole. The twist? The entire crime is hiding inside the lyrics of a song you probably already know. Can you name the track and the artist? Tune in, follow the evidence, and send your guess to Ear Balls Media
 

On September 27, 1996, 23-year-old Karyn Slover left work with plans for her son and a budding modeling career — and vanished. Days later her remains were found in Lake Shelbyville, bound and weighed down; investigators assembled a case from the smallest traces: rivets, a button, concrete fragments and even dog hair.
In this episode we follow the detectives, the courtroom drama that sent three family members to prison for 60 years, and the later challenges that would reopen the story. Through evidence, motive and the controversial rise of animal DNA forensics, the episode reconstructs how ordinary clues became the foundation of a life-and-death verdict.
We end by remembering Karyn as more than the headlines: a young mother with a future, and a son whose life was forever altered. Tune in to hear a careful, compelling retelling of a case that still leaves questions in its wake.
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Ear Balls Media
Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
Illinois Appellate Court — People v. Slover (2003): confirms the 2002 murder convictions, 60-year sentences, and the extra five-year concealment sentences for Michael Sr. and Michael Jr. Justia LawRead the 2003 appellate decision
Illinois Appellate Court — People v. Slover (2011): especially useful for the later Innocence Project-era litigation and the request to test fingerprint evidence from the bridge and vehicle. Justia LawRead the official 2011 Illinois court opinion
Illinois Appellate Court — People v. Slover (2001): documents the January 2000 indictments and some of the evidence/discovery issues surrounding the investigation and trial. FindLawRead the 2001 appellate decision
2024 post-conviction petition filed in Macon County Circuit Court: this is one of the most important sources for the current innocence claims. The filing argues there was no confession, murder weapon, eyewitness placing Karyn at Miracle Motors, or original DNA evidence tying the Slovers to the murder, and lays out the newer defense arguments. Bloximages
WAND-TV — Illinois Innocence Project coverage: reports on the 2024 amended petition and the claim that new DNA evidence was linked to three unidentified men; it also covers the continued effort after Jeannette Slover’s death. https://www.wandtv.comRead WAND-TV’s Innocence Project update
ABC News — “Family Murder Plot in Custody Battle”: useful for the later custody fight involving Karyn’s son Kolten and Mary Slover. It documents the state’s concerns that Mary may have known about or helped conceal the murder. ABC NewsRead the ABC News custody report
Crime Library — Karyn Hearn Slover case: detailed secondary account covering the Miracle Motors search, concrete comparison, cinders, clothing evidence, dog-hair evidence, trial, convictions, and later custody fight. It is useful for narrative details, although I would cite the court records first whenever possible. Crime LibraryRead the Crime Library case history
Oxygen — One Deadly Mistake: summarizes the Miracle Motors evidence, the rivets/buttons, January 2000 arrests, and the 2002 convictions. OxygenRead Oxygen’s Karyn Slover case coverage
Forensic Files — “Concrete Alibi”: the episode covers the forensic case involving the concrete, clothing evidence, and dog hair. TV Guide confirms the episode and its focus on the Karyn Slover investigation. TV Guide
Forensic Files transcript — “Key Evidence/Concrete Alibi”: useful if you want the detailed forensic explanation of the button, fabric weave, concrete, and animal-hair comparisons presented in the show. Forever Dreaming
Karyn Hearn Slover case overview / reference compilation: useful for cross-checking the timeline, 2008–2011 innocence litigation, 2022 death of Michael Sr., March 2024 release of Michael Jr., January 2025 death of Jeannette, and the list of television/podcast coverage. For your published source list, I’d treat this as a starting point rather than a primary source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Karyn_Hearn_Slover?utm_source=chatgpt.com

On September 27, 2012, an ordinary shift at Accent Signage Systems fractured in minutes: a termination meeting, a return to a car, and then a calm, deadly walk through an office where colleagues hid beneath desks and a UPS driver making a routine delivery became one more casualty. This episode reconstructs that afternoon step by step, following the shooter’s movements from the executive suite to the loading dock and into the basement where the killer ended his spree.
Through the voices of survivors, the scramble of failed 911 calls, and the quiet bravery of coworkers who tried to help the wounded, we trace how long-standing workplace friction spiraled into violence and how a community coped with shock, grief, and unanswered questions. We focus on the people who were lost—the founder who came out to help, the managers and production staff who never left their posts, and the delivery driver caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Join us for a careful, human-centered retelling that honors the victims, examines the chain of events that allowed the attack to unfold, and asks what can be learned to keep workplaces safer. This is a story about loss, memory, and the small, urgent acts of courage that mattered that day.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
MPR News — “Police: Workplace gunman started shooting at dismissal meeting”Used for the firing meeting, Engeldinger’s employment history, the movement through the building, Reuven Rahamim’s actions, and witness accounts.
MPR News — “Accent Signage workers’ 911 calls failed to connect”Used for the failed 911 calls, Sheryl McAdams hiding under her desk, the struggle in the termination meeting, employee testimony, the police search, the two workers barricaded in the basement, and details from the police report.
Star Tribune — “Police timeline for Accent Signage shootings”One of the most important sources. Used for the minute-by-minute sequence of the shooting, the 9mm Glock, the office struggle, the order in which victims were encountered, the loading dock shootings, Engeldinger going into the basement, and police finding him.
Star Tribune — “911 calls reveal fear inside, out during attack at Accent Signage”Used for the approximately 4:34 p.m. emergency call, the woman waiting outside for her husband, the UPS truck arriving, and the later police radio timeline.
Star Tribune — “Accent Signage Systems shooting: First victims fought for their lives”Used for additional details about the termination meeting, the struggle over the gun, and evidence suggesting Engeldinger went to his vehicle before returning armed.
CBS News — “Sixth victim of Minneapolis workplace shooting died in hospital, family says”Used for Eric Rivers, his injuries, hospitalization, and eventual death.
CBS Minnesota — “6th Accent Signage Shooting Victim Dies”Used to confirm that Eric Rivers died on October 10, 2012, making him the sixth person killed.
CBS Minnesota — “After Workplace Shooting, Mpls. Changes 911 Procedures”Used for the problems employees experienced trying to reach 911, the number of failed emergency calls, and the changes Minneapolis made afterward.
 

On September 13, 1990, thru‑hikers Molly LaRue and Geoff Hood stopped at Thelma Marks Shelter—and never made it home. In this episode of In Time Crime, I your host Robin Bagayoko threads together witness accounts, cold‑case breakthroughs, and the haunted beauty of the Appalachian Trail to trace how a place of refuge became the scene of unspeakable loss.
From sudden violence in remote shelters to decades of investigations, the story unfolds like a hike gone wrong: quiet moments broken by alarming sounds, a race for answers through dense forest and forensic time, and the determined effort to remember the lives behind the headlines. Tune in for a compassionate, suspenseful retelling that centers the victims, the investigation, and the fragile trust that binds trail communities.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
Julie Williams & Lollie Winans (1996) — FBI: The FBI’s official 2024 announcement explains the murders, the cold-case review, DNA testing, CODIS match, and identification of Walter “Leo” Jackson Sr. FBI — 2024 Identification of Walter Leo Jackson Sr.FBI — 25 Years Later Case BackgroundFBI — Walter “Leo” Jackson Sr. Seeking Information Page
Robert Mountford Jr. & Laura Susan Ramsay / Randall Lee Smith (1981): Contemporary reporting covers Smith's arrest and extradition; UPI documents his guilty pleas to two counts of second-degree murder and sentencing. Washington Post — Smith Extradition and 1981 CaseUPI — Randall Lee Smith Guilty Pleas
Randall Lee Smith's 2008 attack: The Washington Post reported on Smith's attack on Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer, their survival, Smith's vehicle crash and his subsequent death. Washington Post — Randall Lee Smith's 2008 Attack and Death
Rebecca Wight & Claudia Brenner (1988): Contemporary UPI reports cover the shooting in Michaux State Forest and the capture of Stephen Roy Carr. UPI — Murder on the Appalachian TrailUPI — Capture of Stephen Roy Carr
Molly LaRue & Geoffrey Hood (1990): The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision is especially valuable because it documents the murders, Paul David Crews' conviction and the DNA evidence used at trial. Contemporary reporting also documents the original investigation and guilty verdict. Pennsylvania Supreme Court — Commonwealth v. CrewsWashington Post — 1990 InvestigationWashington Post — Crews Guilty Verdict
Ronald Sanchez Jr. / James Jordan (2019): Reporting based on federal court records covers the attack, Sanchez's military background, Jordan's psychiatric evaluations and his 2021 finding of not guilty by reason of insanity. Washington Post — James Jordan/Ronald Sanchez Case
Appalachian Trail shelters/background: The Appalachian Trail Conservancy explains how the trail's backcountry shelters work, including the typical three-wall design mentioned in the script. Appalachian Trail Conservancy — Camping & Shelters
 

He survived the morning of September 11, 2001, only to meet a different kind of violence that night. This episode follows Henryk Siwiak — a Polish father and immigrant who came to New York to provide for his family — as a wrong subway stop, a camouflage jacket and a walk through an unfamiliar neighborhood turned into tragedy.
Through sparse witnesses, a blood trail, unanswered knocks at a stranger’s door and the chaos that swallowed the city that day, we trace the last hours of Henryk’s life and the theories that still haunt investigators. His murder became the city’s lone non‑terrorism homicide on a night of unimaginable loss — and it remains unsolved.
Join us as we reconstruct the moments, lift up the human story behind the statistics, and ask the simple but urgent question: who knows what happened? Listen, remember, and help give Henryk’s family the answers they deserve.
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Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
ABC News — Emily Shapiro, “One murder on 9/11 is still unsolved in New York City” (2018). This is one of the best detailed sources. It includes interviews with Henryk’s wife Ewa, retired NYPD detective Michael Prate, details about the Pathmark job, his limited English, the wrong directions, the neighborhood, witness problems, and the difficulties police faced because of 9/11.
CasePin — Henryk Siwiak case file. Useful for the timeline: his construction job closing, the new cleaning job, getting lost, the approximately 11:40 p.m. shooting, the 11:42 p.m. 911 call, the location near Albany Avenue and Decatur Street, and the case remaining unsolved.
Inside Edition — “Unsolved Death of Polish Immigrant Is New York City’s Only Murder on 9/11” (2019). This includes comments from NYPD Detective George Harvey and discusses the lack of eyewitnesses despite people hearing the gunshots.
Unresolved — Henryk Siwiak. This is a secondary true-crime research source that provides additional reading references, including reporting from The New York Times, AP, the New York Daily News, and WNYC/Feet in 2 Worlds.
Wikipedia — Killing of Henryk Siwiak. I would use this mainly as a roadmap to original reporting rather than as your primary podcast source. It contains a detailed chronology, including his camouflage clothing, subway mistake, the reported argument and gunshots, his attempt to get help at 119 Decatur Street, the .40-caliber shell casings, and the limited NYPD resources available that night.

September 6, 2018 — an exhausted off-duty Dallas police officer walks into the wrong apartment and, believing an intruder is inside, fatally shoots her upstairs neighbor. This episode of In Time Crime unfolds the life of Botham Jean, the fateful missteps that led to his death, and the ripple effects that followed: a criminal conviction, a landmark law, a roadside memorial, and a family’s fight for justice. Told with intimate detail and human perspective, this narrative traces sorrow, accountability, and the haunting question of how one mistake can change so many lives.
Donate to the Botham Jean Foundation: Botham Jean Foundation
For all things In Time Crime and all Ear Balls media podcast join us at:
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Music by- Jeremy Blake 
Sources:
Texas Fifth Court of Appeals — Guyger v. State of TexasThis is one of the strongest primary sources. It contains a detailed account of the shooting, apartment numbers, Guyger's testimony, the two gunshots, her 911 call, trial arguments, conviction, and appeal. The court upheld her murder conviction. Read the appellate court opinion
The Texas Tribune — Murder convictionCovers the September 2018 shooting, Botham eating ice cream in his apartment, the red doormat evidence, Guyger's defense, prosecution arguments and the October 1, 2019 guilty verdict. Amber Guyger found guilty of murder — Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune — Murder indictmentUseful for the early investigation, apartment numbers 1378 and 1478, Guyger's original manslaughter arrest, her firing from the Dallas Police Department and the grand jury's decision to indict her for murder. Amber Guyger murder indictment — Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune — Guyger fired from Dallas Police DepartmentCovers the Dallas Police Department's September 24, 2018 decision to fire Guyger following an internal-affairs review. Amber Guyger fired — Texas Tribune
The Texas Tribune — SentencingExcellent source for the punishment phase. Guyger was sentenced on October 2, 2019 to 10 years in prison after being convicted of murder the previous day. Amber Guyger sentenced to 10 years — Texas Tribune
City of Dallas — Botham Jean BoulevardThis is an official city-government source. The January 13, 2021 City Council agenda documents the proposal to rename South Lamar Street between Interstate 30 and South Central Expressway Botham Jean Boulevard. City of Dallas — Botham Jean Boulevard record
Associated Press — $98.65 million civil verdictCovers the November 2024 federal civil trial in which a jury awarded Botham Jean's family $98.65 million in damages and found that Guyger used excessive force and violated Jean's constitutional rights.
Federal civil case / Jean family attorneys — Civil verdict detailsProvides the breakdown and background of the $98.65 million verdict against Guyger. Botham Jean civil verdict information

On a cold evening outside an unnamed Wisconsin town, a father takes his youngest daughter into the woods and a quiet farmstead is torn open by a single, brutal act. Neighbors hear panicked cries; the child’s body is found at the base of a ravine and the man’s collapse follows—an act of violence bound up with isolation, religious dread, and a mind undone.
We reconstruct the Farmhouse Cliff Homicide—step by ominous step—layering witness accounts, small-town whispers, and the suspect’s spiral into delusion. The scene unfolds like a confession: the slow tightening of a family’s life, the sudden, staggering descent, and a final, tragic silence in a barn loft. Themes of untreated illness and desperation make this more than a crime story; it’s a moral and human mystery.
But here’s the twist: every detail lives inside the lyrics of a song you probably know. Listen closely, gather the clues, and see if you can name the tune that contains this case. Send in your guess and be the first to crack Murder Mystery Monday #2.
Be sure to check out Ear Balls Media to leave your guess of what you believe today's song may be by sending an email, and for all things Ear Balls Media. 
Music by- Jeremy Blake