Our True Crime Podcast

This month, we have a talk with Courtney from The Book of the Dead, who joins us to talk about the murder of Sister Tadea Benz and the execution of Johnny Frank Garret.

In October 1981, the quiet city of Amarillo, Texas, was rocked by a crime that felt like a nightmare: the brutal assault and murder of 76-year-old Sister Tadea Benz inside St. Francis Convent. The pressure to catch the killer was on, and the police quickly set their sights on 17-year-old Johnny, who lived across the street.

Johnny Frank Garrett was executed by the state of Texas in 1992, but was he a cold-blooded killer, or a convenient scapegoat?

Don't forget to subscribe to Courtney's podcast, ⁠The Book of the Dead⁠. We think you will like her as much as Jen and Cam do.

Music by Nico Fyffe-Vettese Editing by Jesse Fyffe-Vettese

Both from ⁠The Inky Pawprint⁠

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When hunters in Bulltown Swamp discovered the remains of an unidentified woman in late 2022, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was left with a mystery that felt impossible to solve. There were no matching missing person reports, no DNA matches, just a dental implant and a crime scene that looked like an attempt to make a person disappear forever.

Months later, the GBI got the lead they needed when someone recognized the victim from an artist’s rendering that appeared on television.

What they would soon hear would be unbelievable.

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Our team:

Listener Discretion by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward October ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen

Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of The Inky Pawprint

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COq5nugr08w

https://people.com/married-couple-on-the-run-wife-dead-who-killed-her-11854940

https://gbi.georgia.gov/press-releases/2023-05-12/unidentified-womans-remains-found-riceboro

https://www.newspapers.com/image/959876255/?match=1&terms=Kassotis

https://www.newspapers.com/image/1008274478/?match=1&terms=%22Nicholas%20Kassotis%22

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/286941684/mindi-ruth-kassotis

https://www.keenesentinel.com/community/announcements/mebane-kassotis-wedding/article_22c52c0b-dd2b-5b40-b57d-1ec745c0d94c.html

https://bfmg.news/go/docket/georgia-v-nicholas-kassotis/

https://www.courttv.com/title/dismembered-wife-murder-trial-watch-the-verdict/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/husband-granted-bond-missing-woman-220306182.html

https://coastalcourier.com/news/kassotis-found-guilty-sentenced-to-life-without-parole/

https://www.wjcl.com/article/nicholas-kassotis-pre-trial-hearing/65502593

https://people.com/crime/mindi-medane-writer-slain-husband-charged-months-later/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5bhtulFxD4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5bhtulFxD4&t=10s

https://vanishinggeorgia.com/2023/09/17/portal-hunting-club-georgias-oldest/

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/man-arrested-for-death-of-wife-whose-remains-were-found-at-georgia-hunting-club-in-2022

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In the early 1990s, long before his name would be tied to something unthinkable, Scott McLaughlin was already unraveling. Untreated childhood trauma, cognitive struggles, and severe mental illness shaped his life. Suicide attempts. Institutionalizations. Heavy medication. And yet, nothing seemed to stick. The help he received was fleeting. 

A decade later, in 2002, his path crossed with Beverly Guenther, a woman who knew hardship in a very different way. Beverly had lived through devastating loss, including the death of her young child, and years of grief that followed. But she fought her way back. She found purpose in her work, her creativity, and her compassion for others. To those who knew her, she was kind, intelligent, and resilient, someone who believed in helping people, even when they were broken.

“She was really turning her life around,” her brother once said.

And then… she met Scott McLaughlin.

Join Cam and Jen for this episode of Our True Crime Podcast, titled ‘Waiting in the Dark: The Murder of Beverly Guenther.’

This episode is sponsored by Hello Fresh. Go to HelloFresh.com/otcp10fm now to get 10 Free meals plus a Free Nutribullet® Ultra Plus+ 2-in-1 Compact Kitchen System—that’s a $189.99 value after you order your 3rd box!

Listener discretion is by @octoberpodVHS.

All music and editing is by our team @theinkypawprint.

Sources: 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/amber-mclaughlin

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/missouri-governor-refuses-clemency-to-first-openly-transgender-woman-to-be-executed-in-u-s

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11539779/Transgender-inmate-Missouris-death-row-asks-mercy.html

https://www.stlpr.org/law-order/2023-01-03/missouri-executes-transgender-woman-amber-mclaughlin-2003-murder

https://prisonjournalismproject.org/2024/02/25/remembering-first-trans-woman-executed-us/

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/03/us/amber-mclaughlin-missouri-execution

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/16/us/missouri-transgender-inmate-death-row/index.html

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/missouri-set-to-execute-amber-mclaughlin-on-january-3-in-first-u-s-execution-of-a-transgender-person

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/03/amber-mclaughlin-missouri-transgender-person-execution

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MODOC/bulletins/340c2a4

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-execution-of-amber-mclaughlin-in-missouri

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/federal-appeals-court-reinstates-death-penalty-in-2003-st-louis-county-rape-murder/article_aa1dc368-0f70-5560-b9cd-6d9c7cdcc149.html

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The 1970s were more than just shag carpet and polyester; they were a time of deep contradiction. While things felt full of possibility, a shadow of distrust hung over everything—fueled by Vietnam, Watergate, and a struggling economy. As more parents headed to work to keep up, many children were left unsupervised for long stretches.

By this time, neighborhoods like Houston’s “The Heights” had become run-down and poverty-stricken. Many teenage boys were dropping out of school just to help their families survive. Growing up in a world that felt increasingly unstable and often without a father figure at home, these boys were vulnerable. They were searching for belonging and a mentor, but tragically, they found a monster who used his own teen accomplices to lure them into a trap.

Join Jen and Cam as they discuss "In the Boat Shed: The Houston Heights Murders."

A huge Thank You to our team:

Listener Discretion by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward October ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen

Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of The Inky Pawprint

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theinkypawprint.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sources:

available on ourtruecrimepodcast.com

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This month, Nina Innsted of the Already Gone podcast joins Cam and Jen to discuss the disappearance of Paige Renkoski. Paige was a 30-year-old substitute teacher who seemingly vanished into thin air in May of 1990. It’s a curious case because it happened in broad daylight, on a busy highway. The only thing she left behind was her shoes and her purse.

We are thrilled to have Nina on Our True Crime Podcast. Not only did she just celebrate the 10-year anniversary of her podcast Already Gone, but she’s also an Ambie Award winner for her collaboration with Payne Lindsey for the podcast Up and Vanished: The Trial. Plus, she just published her first book, "Unsolved Michigan".

Please make sure to subscribe to Nina's podcast, Already Gone. It's a must for any true crime fan.

You can find Nina's book, Unsolved Michigan , HERE

If you want more information on the organization Missing in Michigan, you can find it HERE

If you have any information on the disappearance of Paige Renkoski, please call the Livingston County Sheriff's office at 517-546-8477.

Music by Nico

Audio Editing by Jesse
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