Truer Crime

In the small town of Kotzebue, Alaska, police responded to a call at the mayor’s property and found 25-year-old Jennifer Kirk dead, a rifle beside her and a bullet wound under her chin. Within days, her death was ruled a suicide. But many in the community saw something different: a history of domestic violence involving all three of the mayor’s sons, unanswered questions at the scene, and an investigation closed almost as soon as it began. Today’s episode examines a powerful family, a rushed case, and a community still searching for the truth. Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at ⁠⁠⁠tenderfootplus.com⁠⁠⁠. Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at ⁠⁠⁠truercrimepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠. Keep up with us through our ⁠Truer Crime Substack Newsletter⁠. Follow @truercrimepod on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠. Follow me @celisiastanton on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for my weekly newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠Sincerely, Celisia⁠⁠⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Within days of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance, her mother suspected Joran van der Sloot was involved. What she couldn’t have known was just how much, and for how long, Joran would manipulate the truth. For nearly two decades, he cycled through lies, near-confessions, and sensational claims that kept Natalee’s story in the headlines while dragging her family through hell. In Part 2, we follow the Holloways through the maze of shifting stories, the scams and false leads, a shocking murder in Peru, and finally, after eighteen years, the shocking revelation that broke the case wide open. Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at ⁠tenderfootplus.com⁠. Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at ⁠truercrimepodcast.com⁠. Keep up with us through our Truer Crime Substack Newsletter. Follow @truercrimepod on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠. Follow me @celisiastanton on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for my weekly Substack newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠Sincerely, Celisia⁠⁠⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eighteen-year-old Natalee Holloway vanished during a senior trip to Aruba, a disappearance that captured international attention and reshaped the island overnight. Her family fought for answers with a level of visibility most grieving families could only dream of. But more attention doesn’t always mean more truth. In Part 1 of our two-part deep dive, we revisit the night Natalee went missing, the investigation that unraveled almost immediately, and the media storm that turned her case into a global spectacle. This episode examines what the spotlight illuminated, and what it obscured, in a family’s desperate search for their daughter. Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at ⁠tenderfootplus.com⁠. Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at ⁠truercrimepodcast.com⁠. Keep up with us through our Truer Crime Substack Newsletter. Follow @truercrimepod on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠. Follow me @celisiastanton on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for my weekly Substack newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠Sincerely, Celisia⁠⁠⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In May 2005, eighteen-year-old girl Natalee Holloway vanished in Aruba and became the center of a media storm that spiraled far beyond the island. Beneath the headlines was a family desperate for answers and a suspect whose shifting stories kept the truth just out of reach. This December we return to the beginning: the night out, the investigation, the media frenzy, and the forces that turned one family’s nightmare into one of the most controversial true crime cases of the last two decades. Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at ⁠tenderfootplus.com⁠. Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at ⁠truercrimepodcast.com⁠. Follow @truercrimepod on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow me @celisiastanton on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for my weekly Substack newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sincerely, Celisia⁠⁠⁠⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this bonus episode, I sit down with investigative reporter Jennifer Mayerle, the journalist behind the WCCO documentary Footprint to Murder. Jennifer spent years following Jeanie Childs’ case, building trust with Jeanie’s family and navigating the emotional and ethical challenges of reporting a story this complex. We talk about what it was like to cover this case from the inside: the relationships behind the reporting, the tensions around forensic genetic genealogy, and how the footprint evidence shaped the investigation. We also get into the questions that still linger, and what it means to center a victim’s humanity in a story often flattened by headlines. Want early access to every episode, all at once? Tenderfoot+ subscribers get the full case at the start of each month—plus ad-free listening and exclusive content from over 30 shows. Sign up at ⁠⁠tenderfootplus.com⁠⁠. Find all action items, sources, and resources in the show notes at ⁠⁠truercrimepodcast.com⁠⁠. Follow @truercrimepod on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow me @celisiastanton on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up for my weekly Substack newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sincerely, Celisia⁠⁠⁠⁠. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices