245. The Happening: West Nickel Mines Massacre

 ***This episode talks about the school shooting at West Nickels Mines Amish School. If you are sensitive to this subject, you may want to skip this one.

***Jen had points where her voice cracked and tightened as this topic is very difficult for her. So please bear with her.

On October 2, 2006, the sun peeked over the horizon at 7:05 a.m. in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, bathing the green, undulating hills in a warm glow. It should have been a perfect day filled with friendship and laughter. Instead, this day would be remembered for the heartbreak and chaos that the community endured. It would also be remembered as when a small group displayed incredible compassion and benevolence. In fact, the day showed the entire range of human behavior, from the utterly vile to the impossibly divine.

That morning, children filed into the one-room schoolhouse, excited for the day to begin. Boys and girls, ages 6 to 13, took their seats. Their teacher, twenty-year-old Emma Mae Zook, was also excited to begin her day. Her family was thrilled that she decided to become a teacher, and that day, some of them, her mother, two adult sisters, and a friend had accompanied her to school. They wanted to watch Emma Mae do her job. This was not unusual for this community. The sign above the chalkboard read: Welcome Visitors.

Just one mile away from the West Nickel Mines School, 32-year-old Charles Roberts IV, known as Charlie to his friends, was having a very different morning. Charles put his two older children on the school bus. A neighbor heard Charles call his children back from the bus at the last minute for “one last hug.” The hugs lasted longer than usual, and he said to them, “Remember, Daddy loves you.”

He then loaded up his truck with carefully curated supplies and drove to the small one-room schoolhouse so he could "take revenge on God."

                                                Reuters

Join Cam and Jen as they discuss 'The Happening: West Nickel Mines Massacre'

Thank you to our team:
Written and researched by Lauretta Allen
Listener Discretion by Edward October from OctoberpodVHS
Executive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky Paw Print

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_West_Nickel_Mines_School_shooting
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3678190
https://www.newspapers.com/image/199843560/?terms=West%20Nickel%20Amish&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/199844055/?terms=West%20Nickel%20Amish
https://www.newspapers.com/image/199844055/?terms=West%20Nickel%20 Amish
https://www.newspapers.com/image/554591829/terms=West%20Nickel%20Amish&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/554591932/terms=West%20Nickel%20Amish&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/199844100/terms=West%20Nickel%20Amish&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/517171006/terms=West%20Nickel%20Amish&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/199849766/terms=West%20Nickel%20Amish&match=1https://lancasteronline.com/news/the-riddle-of-charles-carl-roberts-iv-west-nickel-mines-school-shooter/article_f10eb0f5-f72a-5cf5976c994e973400d5.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/02/amish-shooting-10-yearanniversary-pennsylvania-the-happening
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Platte_Canyon_High_School_hostage_crisis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=661vq-3yqXY&ab_channel=TrueCrimeDaily

244. Soul-Less: The Crimes of Jacob Kinn

 We are headed to Bemidji, Minnesota, where firefighters are at the scene of a mobile home fire where 35-year-old single mother Melissa Norby lived. As they worked to put out the fire, they noticed that windows had been blown away from the building by as much as 12 to 15 feet. They determined that the start of the fire seemed to be the primary bedroom. Once inside the home, in the bedroom they locate a gas can that had not burnt up in the fire. What else they find is much more disturbing. They find a body, but the body is underneath a mattress, and both the body and the mattress are severely burned. Furthermore, both were located in the middle of the home, not the bedroom. When firefighters noticed that the body had their hands taped and bound, they contacted the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Authorities rule it an arson, but it is clear that there is a homicide as well, but this is just the beginning of this twisted crime.

Join Jen and Cam of Our True Crime Podcast as we discuss “Soul-Less: The Crimes of Jacob Kinn.”

Promo is by British Murders

Listener Discretion is by @octoberpodVHS

Music by our EP @theinkypawprint


Sources:
https://wireofhope.com/prison-penpal-jacob-kinn/

https://lptv.org/tag/jacob-kinn/

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/jacob-kinn-sentenced-to-52-years-for-murder-kidnapping/89-452234228


https://www.twincities.com/2017/06/26/bemidji-man-sentenced-for-raping-5-year-old-girl-strangling-her-caretaker/


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26761622/

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/race-against-time-the-search-for-a-missing-5-year-old/85-516024729


https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/jacob-kinn-murder-rape-sentence/

https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/videos/jacob-kinn-monster-who-asked-unthinkable-interrogation-raw


https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/search-warrants-bemidji-girls-kidnapping/

https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/waiting-for-answers-family-of-slain-bemidji-woman-wonders-why-no-arrests-charges-in-her-death


https://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/Doctor-finds-Bemidji-kidnap-suspect-competent-to-stand-trial-410952165.html


https://www.kare11.com/article/news/warrant-babysitter-plotted-bemidji-kidnapping/89-312072440


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuDKw1_a5zk

243. Coffee, Crackers & DNA: The Wichita Falls Serial Killer

 On a cold January night in 1985, just outside Wichita Falls, Texas, a bloodied and naked Toni Jean Gibbs tumbled from an abandoned trolley car where she had just been brutally raped and stabbed. Her attacker, knowing his job was done and that her death was inevitable, had already fled the scene, driving away in Toni’s brand-new Camaro.

Stumbling through the dark across the thick and scratchy grass of a north Texas grazing field, Toni, in a state of shock, ran for help. When she could run no further, she stumbled to the ground and pulled herself along on her belly. But there was nobody around to help. There was nothing around for miles. Maybe Toni just wanted to ensure that her body would be found. She wouldn’t be stuck in that rusty heap of metal, rotting away for years, while her family wondered what had happened to her. Finally, when she could crawl no more, 23-year-old Toni Jean rolled over onto her back, looked up at the endless starry sky twinkling above her, and took her last breath.

It would be almost a month before her remains were found, and the Wichita Falls police would eventually tie the murder of Toni Gibbs to several other murders in the area, and early DNA science would squash any doubt that it was the technology of the future.

 

Top Row: Terry Sims, Toni Gibbs, Ellen Blau
Bottom Row: Debra Taylor, Tina Kimbrew

Join Cam and Jen as they discuss "Coffee, Crackers & DNA: The Wichita Falls Serial Killer"

Promo from our friend Dawn of  Method and Madness Podcast
Thank you to our team:
Written and researched by Lauretta Allen
Listener Discretion by Edward October from OctoberpodVHS
Executive Producer Nico Vitesse of The Inky Pawprint
Link to shop with Jen's Dateline Sweatshirt- Not sure if they are still carrying it.
WitTeeUS on Etsy


Sources:

Scream at the Sky: Five Texas Murders and One Man’s Crusade for Justice by Carlton Stowers
https://www.amazon.com/Scream-Sky-Murders-Crusade-Justice/dp/0312998198
Wichita Falls Body Snatcher by Jack Smith
https://www.amazon.com/Wichita-Falls-Body-Snatcher-Faryion-ebook/dp/B0BS1MRNFX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhsmO4_N6R4&ab_channel=FilmRiseTrueCrime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zcNeuhiRpc&t=1577s&ab_channel=TheNewDetectiveshttps://www.newspapers.com/image/782051204/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (community reaction to Gibbs)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/638985170/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Gibbs found)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/780111197/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (About Gibbs)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779949485/ (Gibbs found)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779947478/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Missing Reward for Gibbs)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781953892/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Autopsy)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779933023/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin Murder suspect)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779949675/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Gibbs investigation)https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53140620/toni-jean-gibbs
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779950544/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (increase security)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779947298/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs (investigation)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781966083/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781966875/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/780042251/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin trial)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhsmO4_N6R4&ab_channel=FilmRiseTrueCrime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zcNeuhiRpc&t=1577s&ab_channel=TheNewDetectives
https://www.newspapers.com/image/782051204/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (community reaction to Gibbs)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/638985170/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Gibbs found)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/780111197/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (About Gibbs)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779949485/ (Gibbs found)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779947478/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Missing Reward for Gibbs)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781953892/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Autopsy)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779933023/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin Murder suspect)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779949675/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Gibbs investigation)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53140620/toni-jean-gibbs
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779950544/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (increase security)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/779947298/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs (investigation)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781966083/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781966875/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/780042251/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin trial)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/780042562/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Laughlin trial)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/589230733/?terms=Toni%20Jean%20Gibbs&match=1 (Mistrial)
https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/wardripfaryion.htmlhttps://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/wardrip-faryion.htm (the photo gallery is all pretty vicious crime scene photos.)
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/2021/12/21/wichita-falls-serial-killer-faryion-wardrip-37-years-ago/8969084002/
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781389608/?terms=Tina%20Kimbrew&match=1 (Tina murdered)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/781939572/?terms=Tina%20Kimbrew&match=1 (Tina autopsy)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/782048218/?terms=Tina%20Kimbrew&match=1