Our True Crime Podcast

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

344. Targeted: The Killing of James Craig Anderson

For much of the twentieth century, Mississippi was a place where racial violence was not merely ignored but actively erased. Witnesses stayed silent. Juries looked away. It was just a different time, they say.

James Craig Anderson’s murder did not happen in 1955. It happened in 2011.

This time, the cameras were watching. This time, the federal government stepped in. This time, the perpetrators pleaded guilty. Progress would be measured not in apologies or promises, but in prison sentences.

And unlike so many before him, Anderson’s killers were not celebrated, excused, or folded gently into historical amnesia. They were named. They were tried. They were sentenced. Dragged into the light, they could not escape what they had done.

Join Cam and Jen on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled ‘Targeted: The Killing of James Craig Anderson.’

Listener Discretion by @octoberpodVHS

Music by @theinkypawprint

Sources:

⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRcYtzZS5kE⁠

⁠https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/us/23jackson.html?hp⁠

⁠http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/james-craig-anderson-fbi-investigation_n_930155.html⁠

⁠http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2014/07/17/hate-crime-indictment-tells-details-five-attacks-one-fatal/12793527/⁠

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-of-alleged-miss-hate-killing-victim-doesnt-want-death-penalty/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/james-craig-anderson-fbi-investigation_n_930155.html

⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW8dRJ3SNh0⁠

https://www.law.virginia.edu/static/uvalawyer/html/alumni/uvalawyer/spr15/reeves.htm

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/ten-sentenced-in-hate-crime-case

⁠https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/01/four-white-men-ordered-to-pay-840000-for-jim-crow-style-lynching-of-mississippi-black-man/⁠

⁠https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/12/385777366/a-black-mississippi-judges-breathtaking-speech-to-three-white-murderers⁠

⁠https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/10/james-craig-anderson-case/25563641/⁠

⁠https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/02/10/deryl-dedmon-two-others-to-be-sentenced-in-hate-crime-tuesday/23166397/⁠

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/restitution-ordered-jackson-mississippi-hate-crime-case-involving-death-james-craig-anderson

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

343. Trusting Evil: The Murder of Sarah Everard

In March 2021, Sarah Everard left a friend’s house in London and started walking home. It was a normal evening, the kind of walk most people do without thinking twice. But when she didn’t return, her family and friends became worried. They called her, searched the area, and waited for news.

As the hours turned into days, the story spread beyond her friends and family. The case became a national headline, and the worry turned into fear. What began as a missing-person investigation soon felt much more serious.

Then the investigation took a turn that surprised many people. What seemed like a simple disappearance became something far more disturbing, and the impact reached far beyond one woman’s life.

What happened to Sarah Everard raised serious questions about women’s safety, and about how much we can trust the people who are meant to protect us. It became a case that shook the country.

Join Jen and Cam as they discuss "Trusting Evil: The Murder of Sarah Everard."

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:

⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB4NMA0koJs⁠

2 ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYCZAtlUSNU⁠

3 ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHerzQzR1kk&t=1309s⁠

4 ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/29/killer-of-sarah-everard-should-never-have-joined-police-report-finds⁠

5 ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sarah_Everard⁠

6 ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58746108⁠

7 ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-58742568⁠

8 ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/sep/18/male-police-officers-accused-of-domestic-abuse-have-been-promoted-report-says⁠

9 ⁠https://www.met.police.uk/police-forces/metropolitan-police/areas/notices/our-response-to-issues-raised-by-the-crimes-of-wayne-couzens/⁠

10 ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnv258p6mq0o⁠ (Mother)

11 ⁠https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/crime/sarah-everard-what-happened-wayne-couzens-report-b2504551.html⁠ -timeline

12 ⁠https://www.newspapers.com/image/719876863/?match=1&terms=Sarah%20Everard⁠

13 ⁠https://www.newspapers.com/image/1173490500/?match=1&terms=Sarah%20Everard⁠ (Arrest)

14 ⁠https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/timeline-lockdown-web.pdf⁠

15 ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-57740729⁠

16 ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-58739421⁠

17 ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Nuclear_Constabulary⁠

18 ⁠https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/29/wayne-couzens-timeline-of-missed-signs-before-sarah-everard⁠

19 ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_geography⁠

20 ⁠https://www.newspapers.com/image/719543154/?match=1&terms=Sarah%20Everard⁠

21 ⁠https://www.newspapers.com/image/1173510928/?match=1&terms=Sarah%20Everard⁠

22 ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_card⁠

23 ⁠https://www.jmcsecure.co.uk/blog/country-with-most-cctv/⁠

24 ⁠https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/london-metropolitan-police-cressida-dick-resigns-scandals-rcna15849⁠

25 ⁠https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-62766240⁠

Monday, January 26, 2026

Unsolved: Bill & Peggy Stephenson with Melissa From Just the Tip-Sters

In this month's special, Melissa from Just The Tip-Sters shares a case close to her heart with Cam & Jen. It's a head-scratcher.

In May 2011, Bill and Peggy Stephenson, a kind, generous, and deeply loved couple from Florence, Kentucky, were brutally murdered inside their own home. Both were 74 years old. Their deaths sent shockwaves through Northern Kentucky and left family, friends, and an entire community searching for answers.

More than a decade later, this horrific double homicide remains unsolved.

There was no obvious motive, no clear suspects, and no explanation that made sense. Even seasoned detectives and the FBI have described the case as complex, haunting, and deeply baffling.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department continues to pursue leads and believes that more than one person may have information about what happened that night. Investigators have vowed to leave no stone unturned, but they still need public help.

If you have any information, no matter how small it may seem, please get in touch with law enforcement.

Boone County Sheriff’s Department

Phone: 859-334-8496

Toll-Free Tip Line: 844-210-1111

Email: ⁠stephensontip@boonecountyky.org⁠

If you know anything about the murders of Bill and Peggy Stephenson, please speak up. One detail could be the key to ending this long nightmare and bringing justice to a family that has waited far too long.

You can also send your tips to Melissa

Phone: 832-842-7837

Email: ⁠jttipsters@gmail.com⁠

Make sure you follow Melissa's podcast Just the Tip-Sters. We know you'll love it. You can find her podcast on the same app you use to listen to OTCP.

343. Dardeen Family Massacre

In the quiet, unassuming town of Ina, Illinois—where life moved slowly and danger felt distant—Keith and Elaine Dardeen were building a modest, faith-centered future with their young son, Peter, and a baby on the way. Their trailer sat tucked into the woods near the highway, close enough to hear passing traffic yet isolated enough to disappear into the darkness. When Keith failed to report for his night shift on November 18, 1987, concern quickly turned to dread as calls to the home went unanswered. What investigators would soon discover was beyond comprehension: the entire family had been brutally massacred.