The Generation Why Podcast

August 15, 2010. Seminole, Florida. Bill Kyne and his stepson, Kevin, both called 911 to claim that the other had murdered Diane Kyne. The wife and mother would later be found in bed having been strangled to death. Investigators found that both men may have had a motive to kill. Kevin Kyne had been having trouble at home as his parents were fed up with his lack of concern for his own future as well as disobeying their rules. Leading up to the murder he had even been more combative and...

July 1999. Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. David Coughlin and Raffi Kodikian were best friends. Both from Boston, though David was preparing to move to California. Raffi joined him on a cross country trip which would take them about five days. But a decision to stop in Rattlesnake Canyon in Carlsbad Caverns National Park would prove to be too much. Though they were cautioned about the desert and being prepared, they thought that one night wouldn't be a big deal. Days later when...

Humboldt County in California is known for its marijuana production, making up well over half of the total grown in the United States. But it's also known for how many people disappear there. The new Netlfix docuseries, Murder Mountain, follows the story of a man named Garrett Rodriguez who may have met with foul play. Despite testimony that the man was murdered, law enforcement has chosen not to take the investigation further. But why? Josh Zeman, director of The Killing Season and Cropsey,...

Israel Keyes: A Patreon Preview is an introduction to the extra content that Justin & Aaron produce for the Generation Why Patreon page. Have you wanted more content from us but are all caught up on our nearly 300 episodes? Then we have a solution for you. Head over to Patreon.com/generationwhy and for just two dollars each month you will get an extra episode each month as well as any interviews or off the cuff discussions that we record. You will also have access to all previous episodes we...

May 29, 2017. Holtville, Alabama. Susan Osborne, 42, and her 15 year old son, Evan Eric Chartrand, were last heard from on May 29, 2017. Since then there has been no contact and friends and family are worried. Susan was married to a man named Jerry Osborne, an Air Force veteran They had been experiencing some difficulties in their relationship but Susan told others that they were working on things and that she loved her husband. Linda Anklam, Susan's mother, reported them missing on July 29,...

On episode 311 we discussed the investigation into the death of Jerry Tobias, an oilfield worker in Gaylord, Michigan. On this episode, we bring the story to its conclusion by discussing how the case went completely off the rails. The prosecution's star witness, Debbie Parmentier, had a lot of information to give but she was also a liability. If you thought that you had heard of some unbelievable cases in the past, then you will want to listen to this one. There aren't too many true crime...

December 8, 1986. Gaylord, Michigan. A police officer stopped to check out a truck parked on the side of a road and discovered a body in the bed of the truck. The man was oilfield worker Jerry Tobias. He was bloody, bruised and his hands appeared to have been bound with jumper cables. Also in the truck was a clue; packages of meat from a local butcher shop. The investigation into the case first focused on a single suspect, Laurie Moore, a local butcher. He would later be arrested and tried...

April 4th, 1994. Farmington, New Mexico. On the morning of April 4, 1994, Paul Dunn called 911 claiming that his wife had been shot. When police arrived, Paul was performing CPR on his wife, Monica, in the open garage. He was also covered in blood. She was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. She had died from a gunshot wound to her abdomen. She and her husband, Paul, had separated after she discovered he was having an affair. He claimed that she died by suicide....

February 29, 2000. Aberdeen, New South Wales, Australia. The most infamous woman in Australia is Katherine Knight. In the year 2000, she was arrested for the murder of her boyfriend, John Price. She had stabbed him to death one night but the crime didn't end there. What she did after that guaranteed that those who learn of her actions will never forget her name. Her past is littered with incidents and abuse that reveal just how dangerous she was to those around her. Join us as we discuss...

June 5, 1983. Chino Hills, California. The Ryen family consisted of Douglas, Peggy, Jessica and Joshua. They had invited Joshua's friend, Christopher Hughes, to stay the night. The next day after Chrs hadn't returned, his father visited the Ryen home to look for him. Soon after, he would make a terrible discovery. Sometime during the night the Ryens and his son had been attacked and all had been killed save for Joshua. An investigation turned up a suspect in Kevin Cooper. He had recently...

August 20, 1989. Beverly Hills, California. Jose and Kitty Menendez were eating ice cream and watching a movie at home when they were shot to death. Their two sons, Lyle (21) and Erik (18) said that they were not home at the time but their behavior following the murders of their parents as well as the investigation into it began to reveal a different story. The two sons had burned through a lot of money buying cars, trips and even a restaurant. After Erik told his psychiatrist, Dr. Jerome...

May 14, 2013. Omaha, Nebraska. For five years the brutal murders of Thomas Hunter, 11, and Shirlee Sherman, 57, were a mystery. Then, in 2013, Roger and Mary Brumback, both 65, were murdered and the similarities between the two led the police to Anthony Garcia, a former employee of Roger Brumback and Thomas’ father, William Hunter, who appeared to have a grudge against those who fired him from Creighton University Medical Center. But with very little evidence found at the crime scenes, how...

April 26, 2005. Durham, North Carolina. 30 year old Raven Abaroa returns home after a soccer game to find his wife slumped over on the floor in their home. At first he was not alarmed as she would often do this when she had cramps. But when he got close to her, he could see that his wife, 25 year old Janet Abaroa, was covered in blood and appeared to be deceased. The couple's 6 month old son was found unharmed in his room. Investigators did not suspect that robbery was a motive in the crime...

April 16, 2003. San Antonio, Texas. Colonel Michael Philip Shue said goodbye to his wife and was supposed to drive to Lackland Air Force Base where he worked. But he was seen driving erratically on the highway away from both his work and his home later on. The Colonel's car then smashed into a tree, killing him. But he sustained injuries prior to the accident that suggested that he may have been the victim of a crime. Some of these injuries included: duct tape on his wrists and ankles, a six...

April 21, 1998. Onondaga County, New York. Recently separated but still living in the same home, Jeff and Jill Cahill got into an argument. Jill attempted to walk away, but her husband wasn't going to let her do that. Using a baseball bat he struck his wife multiple times in the head. He then called his mother. While his family spoke with him at the house, Jill was bleeding and near death. It wasn't until after a doctor, a friend of Jeff's family, showed up and demanded that they call for...

Feb. 9, 2010. Wenatchee, Washington. Beauty school student Mackenzie Cowell left class and said she would only be gone for 15 minutes. She didn't return. Days later, her mutilated body was discovered near the Columbia River. Who killed her? Her boyfriend? Her mother's boyfriend? Drug dealers? Or a fellow student? Conflicting information and confusing evidence didn't prevent this case from reaching a conclusion.

November 15, 2004. Bethlehem, New York. A 52 year old law clerk named Peter Porco unexpectedly misses work, prompting someone to check on him at his home. There, a grisly scene is discovered. Peter and his wife, Jean, had both been brutally attacked with an axe. Surprisingly, Joan is still alive and is asked a handful of questions by a detective. Among them, she was asked if she knew who had attacked her. She said that she did. But the investigation and the case would take surprising turns....

October 24, 2001. Montgomery County, Texas. Fifty year old Sandra Stotler, her 17 year old adopted step-grandson, Adam, and his 18 year old friend, Jeremy Richardson, were all shot to death. Sandra was murdered at her home. The young men were killed at a wooded area nearby. It took days for these crimes to become known to the police, but once they were it didn't take long to discover a motive. The primary motive being the theft of Sandra's Chevy Camaro. Identifying suspects in the crimes...

December 5th, 1981. Toledo, Ohio. Bobbie Russell, a 28 year old mother of three, is brutally attacked and murdered at her home. Detectives were able to get a name from the woman's six year old son who was there with his younger twin sisters. The name he gave was Danny. With that information they picked up 24 year old Danny Brown who had been seeing Bobbie Russell. Danny is cooperative, but denied any involvement. A jury disagreed and he spent years in prison before a dna test in 2000 flipped...

April 13, 2012. Irmo, South Carolina. A panicked man named Brett Parker called 911. He told police that a friend of his named Bryan Capnerhurst had shot his wife, Tammy Parker, and that he was forced to shoot Bryan in self defense. Brett Parker admitted to owing his friend money. He stated that his friend must have snapped due to being so far in debt. But early on in the criminal investigation, investigators began to doubt Brett's story. Brett scheduled a meeting with the sheriff to make his...