Sword and Scale

20-year-old Amanda Plasse was a bright and bubbly modern-day hippy that lived alone in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Sadly, her life was cut short in late August 2011. Amanda was found dead on the floor of her kitchen. She had been brutally stabbed to death. The murder of Amanda Plasse remained unsolved for over two years, and the investigation led detectives to suspect a new boyfriend, an angry ex-boyfriend, and a jealous ex-girlfriend. It wasn’t until a hidden clue inside Amanda’s apartment led the police to a killer that no one ever suspected. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Independence, Missouri has never seen much crime, let alone against middle-class churchgoers. When 42-year-old Randy Stone was found dead in his insurance office in 2010, the list of possibilities was endless. Ultimately, a ripped up note in the trash can would lead detectives down a promising path. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fire fighters responded to calls leading them to Chattaroy Road in Colbert, Washington during the early morning of May 26, 2015. Rushing to the blazing scene, they quickly learned this was no ordinary fire. A deceased female had to be dragged from a hole cut into the home, but where were the other three family members who lived there? One answer was found in a fire fighter’s helmet lying on the ground, and it didn’t belong to anyone on the current force. Instead it belonged to Lieutenant Terry Canfield. Everyone loved Terry, and no one would believe he was wanted dead - except for one person. His daughter. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In February of 2020, Orange County deputies reported to an address in Winter Park, Florida, and discovered the body of an adult male in a suitcase. This incident appeared to be a tragic accident triggered by alcohol, but upon further investigation, a deeper evil was finally unmasked. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Megan Rose Hiatt thought she had met her Prince Charming when a handsome, military man named Gawain Rush Wilson waltzed into her life and swept her off her feet. A year later her world would be changed forever. Today we tell a story of tragedy and survival. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On March 11th, 2018, 15-year-old Kyle Bancroft and his younger brother invited two teenage friends to a sleepover at their home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. By about 1:30 AM the following morning, everyone had gone to bed, but nobody would get a full night’s rest. Around 4 AM, a knife-wielding manic decided to go on a bloody rampage, fully intent on stabbing everyone in the house to death, as they slept. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A young pregnant mother goes missing in the chill of an Arkansas December night. The small town of Rison and surrounding communities are well known fishing and hunting areas, but they also hold some sinister secrets. Cherrish Allbright wasn’t the only person to come up missing . Who would be found, and who wouldn’t? Were the disappearances related, and more curious, was there evil in the town of Rison where humans are mistaken for deer? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Introducing Sword and Scale Nightmares! True Crime for Bedtime. Your nightmare begins now... The first three episodes will drop on 3.2.23 at 3:23pm EDT. In the meantime, please take a moment to subscribe on your preferred podcast listening platform... SUBSCRIBE NOW: https://link.chtbl.com/sasnightmares Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sword-and-scale-nightmares/id1657802345 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/08GhRV98AIgR0st3oUQRpa iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-sword-and-scale-nightmares-109465564/ Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3N3b3JkLWFuZC1zY2FsZS1uaWdodG1hcmVz Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/094b065e-48ef-48ff-ba18-02c6d106d403/sword-and-scale-nightmares Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/ITEM_NAME-Podcast/B0BWP1PC94 Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/id5326540 Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/sword-and-scale-nightmares/PC:1001058998 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/sword-and-scale-nightmares Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/8pl80b4f RadioPublic: https://radiopublic.com/sword-and-scale-nightmares-8QwEVP PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/ikr6g-2a4841/Sword-and-Scale-Nightmares-Podcast Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/4290345 Castro: https://castro.fm/podcast/935d7ee3-514a-4b2f-997a-dbd0ee1f48f4 PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/sword-and-scale-nightmares Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/us/show/5766517 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 2018, 25-year-old Amelia Bissoon worked as a personal banker in Florida. In July of that year, Orlando detectives questioned Amelia about 50,000 dollars that she had stolen from one of her banking clients, but as the police continued interviewing her, it became clear that what they really wanted was information about a much more serious crime. They wanted to know what role Amelia had played in a recent and gruesome double homicide. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Philosopher John Locke believed that we have no innate ideas; our minds are blank slates upon which experience writes. Modern geneticists argue that we are nothing but the stage on which a play written by our genes is performed. The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest philosophical issues within psychology, and countless experiments tested which theory is correct. However, none have ever come close to explaining what happened to 65-year-old Nancy Noone and her twin children. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When the body of 17-year-old high school student Kendrick Johnson was found in his own Lowndes County gym back in January of 2013, the whole nation took notice. The case was odd, the investigation seemed to have major holes, and Kendrick’s family was convinced that law enforcement was involved in a county-wide murder coverup. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The world can be a scary place when you’re young. After her husband moved to a nursing home Barb Olson thought the scariest times were behind her. At 78 she still had an active lifestyle. Between church, driving friends to their appointments, and the gym she was always busy. She still made time for her children and grandchildren though. That’s why when Barb missed her usual Tuesday morning visit with her daughter, Judy, she began to worry. When she went to check on her that afternoon she would discover more about her family than she wanted to. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Every mother’s worst nightmare came true for the Joughin family on July 19th, 2016, when their daughter Sierah never came home from her bike ride. As minutes turned into hours and hours into days, the investigation led the FBI to the quaint, quiet, and empty, corn-lined roads of Fulton County, Ohio. A place where angst turned to horror as agents uncovered a level of human perversion as vast as the field where they discovered Sierah’s blood-covered bicycle. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In June of 2012, the dismembered body parts of 23-year-old Jaren Lockhart began washing ashore on various beaches in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. In tracing Jaren’s last known whereabouts, the police learned that she was last seen leaving work with a woman in her late 20's and a man in his late 30's. As the police began investigating this duo, it became clear that the couple was anything but normal and their bizarre spiritual beliefs may have led them to perform a gruesome human sacrifice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When 6-year-old James Hutchinson went missing from his family home in the early morning hours of February 28th, 2021, police immediately began compiling a list of oddities. This family was not normal. When detectives in Middletown, Ohio finally discovered the true chain of events leading up to James’s disappearance, they were horrified. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Bad things can happen in good places. On January 31st, 2011, Johnny Clarke and his girlfriend, Lisa Straub, were house-sitting for Lisa’s parents in the affluent suburbs of Holland, Ohio. That night, authorities were called to the residence when Johnny’s concerned mother could not reach him, and after entering the home, the police found a bizarre and horrifying murder scene that was nothing like anything they had ever seen before. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It took nearly a year to solve the murder of Alexis Robinault. After her nude body was found a few miles from home on the side of the road her status as a newly successful social media influencer slowed the progress of detectives with the Houston PD. Only after an early person of interest began acting suspiciously did they zero in on a suspect. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Throughout the year of 2017, the police in Strongsville, Ohio were called to the home of The Pleskovic family several times. For months, this kind-hearted and well-liked family had seemingly been victims of repeated thefts, harassment, vandalism, and an attempted break-in. Meanwhile, there were no other reports of similar crimes in the area, which suggested that The Pleskovics were being targeted. But by who? And why? Then, in late October of that year, the police were called to the home for the last time, and when they arrived, they found one of the most gruesome and bloody murder scenes that the city of Strongsville had ever seen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ashley yearned to grow up, move out, and live by her own rules. She was so sure she was mature enough to be on her own she began sneaking around and dating the much older Sam Shelton. But when Ashley went missing Sam was no help to the police even though they were sure he was hiding something. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

First looks can lead you astray. That was the case for young Ryan Waller when he was mistaken as the killer of his girlfriend rather than another victim. After being accused of murder a years-long fight in and out of the courtroom begins. The family of Heather Quan will stop at nothing to get the justice they seek. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.