Episodes
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Tonight's episode focuses on the recent history of the death penalty. Julia and Harper take a look at how public and private executions have changed since the beginning of the country's history, both in and outside of the Coalfields. The depth and breadth of cases involving execution is huge, but a historic perspective goes a long way.
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In this week's episode, Julia and Harper examine a case of cold-blooded murder- from shocking court outbursts, surprising video evidence, and a disturbing father-daughter relationship that ends with one of them dead. This is a recent case from just this past February 2024, where Carl Cox was officially found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder of his own daughter Rhonda Cox, and her husband, James Neal. Tune is as we explore Cox's unsettling motive and discuss the ins and outs of this unique case.
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Missing episodes?
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After nearly a quarter century - the missing persons case of Alex Carter has finally come to a close.
Listen as Julia and Harper delve into the efforts that went into closing this cold case in 2024.
Although it ends with a terrible truth - that Alex Carter and her mother, Susan Carter, were in fact murdered by a trusted individual over money troubles - her case now at least becomes a shining example of how hope is always important to keep, for both the law enforcement agencies that fight to close cold cases, and for the families of victims searching for answers.
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In 2011, more than a decade after she first disappeared from Summers County, the remains of Cathy Jo McCoy eventually led police to her own mother, Mary Bowles. The question that remains even after all this time; Did Mary Bowles kill her daughter?
Julia and Harper dive into this Summers County murder case to try to provide answers to that question and to the question of why such a personal crime would be perpetrated on someone's own family.
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Two women: Vicki Durian and Nancy Santomero were hitchhiking to the Rainbow Gathering in 1980. The Rainbow Gathering was a world-peace festival meant to celebrate love, harmony and freedom held in Pocahontas County. The two women, however, would never make it there alive. Their murders would result in eight different suspects, an admission, a wrongful conviction lawsuit, and even the survivor's guilt of a close friend. Julia and Harper discuss the case of the Pocahontas County Rainbow Murders.
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The Appalachian Trail is known for having some of the most scenic views on the East Coast of the United States, if not the entire country. However, the Appalachian Trail can also be a sinister place.
The Appalachian Trail has seen a total of 13 murders and many more disappearances. Tonight, Harper and Julia take a look at why this trail is sometimes known across the world as America's most deadly trail.
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The strange and supernatural can be found all across the state of West Virginia. In tonight's episode, Izzy and Harper return to the topic of Cryptozoology to discuss the cryptids in our home. This week, the spotlight is on the Flatwoods Monster. We delve deep into not only the possibilities of what happened when the monster was sighted, but the cultural relevance of its legacy.
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Harry Powers was a West Virginia serial killer who used local advertisements and false personas to catch unsuspecting people, which we in modern society are no strangers to ourselves. Izzy and Harper touch upon the similarities to our era and why this case teaches us so much. The world that Harry Powers committed his murders in might have been a different world than the one we live in today, but his monstrous tactics are just as effective.
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A case that is 30 years old this week: Angela Cherice Gwinn-Stephens, known to everyone as Cherice went missing in September of 1993. Foul play is suspected in Cherice's disappearance by both her family and law enforcement. In 2014, she was declared legally dead, and her case became a homicide. Izzy and Harper delve back into a case covered previously in "Missing in Southern West Virginia" with a much greater depth.
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A potential new lead in a cold case that has been a burden for a local father for 23 years. Could the new path in this case spell an end to another cold case thanks to the arduous work of law enforcement, or will the evidence elude any hope of closure?
This episode Izzy and Harper revisit the case of Natasha "Alex" Carter
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Izzy and Harper continue to delve into the case of Danny Casolaro, a man who apparently committed suicide in a hotel in Martinsburg West Virginia in 1991.
After being found dead, the procedures following his death have been critiqued by both his family and previous followers of this case. Danny was working on a book suggesting government conspiracy. His life was cut short, and the potential web of these conspiracies that surround his passing may serve to suggest he was in fact: murdered. Was this a suicide or a silencing?
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Danny Casolaro is a new kind of case for Crime in the Coalfields. His apparent suicide has become the subject of several conspiracy theory rabbit holes and true crime deep dives. Izzy and Harper break down the basic details of what happened surrounding his suicide.
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A brutal and personal murder that has gone unsolved results in a college campus being haunted by the spirit that remains. This episode, Izzy and Harper tackle what little remains in the story of the Glenville State Ghost: Sis Linn. How did she die, and who perpetrated the crime? Beyond her death, what are the signs of her haunting? Was it business disguised as a gruesome murder, or was the death of Sis Linn personal?
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The second part to the case of Sister Roberta Elam. A Postulant Catholic Nun, Sister Roberta Elam was brutally strangled to death in a park near Mt. St. Joseph Mother House in Wheeling, West Virginia. Despite being a relatively sparse case from a time with little in the way of DNA evidence, there are more possibilities lying in wait. This episode dives into several possible theories, some well developed and others less so. These theories form the only unique possibilities for this case. With so little to go off of, people have taken it upon themselves to theorize what happened to Sister Roberta: in many cases ignoring the main suspect. Izzy and Harper discuss all the options for one of West Virginia's most well-known cold cases.
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Anyone can be targeted by violent crime, including the pious. An upcoming full-fledged Catholic Nun, Sister Roberta Elam was an unlikely victim, but nonetheless, she was brutally strangled to death in a park near Mt. St. Joseph Mother House in Wheeling, West Virginia. She was in the midst of her silent meditation before taking vows in 1977, when she was silenced forever. This episode, Izzy and Harper lay down the foundation of the case: Sister Roberta's whereabouts and routine, as well as who the major suspect was in her sudden murder. Despite being a relatively sparse case from a time with little in the way of DNA evidence, there are more possibilities lying in wait. Stay tuned for part two, where more details and possible theories will be discussed.
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In rural areas in Pocahontas, communities are much more close-knit. So when a popular business owner goes missing and is found days later brutally murdered and dismembered by her own business and life partner, the public's reaction can be extreme. So much so that the accused killer's trial is set in a separate county to ensure impartiality from jurors. This episode of Crime in the Coalfields delves into the Pocahontas County case of Melba Marie Hickson Fitzgerald. Izzy and Harper discuss the unique legal battle, and the possible warning signs of this sudden murder.
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When he died, LaRoy Earl Gorman was the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Charleston National Bank and had just negotiated the acquisition of First national Bank of South Charleston. He had just finished a night out at his favorite restaurant when he was shot three times and left to die. He made it to the hospital and managed to vaguely identify his attacker, but not clearly enough to be found. There were rumors surrounding people losing money because of him, his habits with women and more. So what could have been reason for his death? The options don't paint any clearer a picture after 43 years.
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Family murder, Abuse, and Kidnapping all the day after an early release. William 'Bill' Bradford was just released early from prison for good behavior. He had been in jail for a petty larceny charge of his father's property. When he got out, he took matters into his own hands. He committed a gruesome family murder which was may have been his second, which then snowballed into depraved acts. Why did Bradford do the things he did? Crime in the Coalfields seeks to answer that using court information and investigative reports following Bradford turning himself in.
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In the year 1947, the Black Knight Country Club was the scene of a grisly double murder, but not the scene of the crime. The bodies of Nelle Rand and her lover E. Ray Bailey were found elsewhere after they were shot to death while having a secret meeting in his car on an access road behind the Black Knight. Joining Izzy and Harper in a full interview to dig into this old case is Raleigh County Historian and Crime in the Coalfields collaborator Scott Worley, who helped feature the case on national television. The show 'Kindred Spirits' featured extensive paranormal investigations of the case and the Black Knight. Between Scott Worley's expert knowledge and spiritual contact, is there enough to know what happened on that night?
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A woman from Mercer County goes missing after her son's first birthday. Did she leave without a trace or was she murdered? Brenda Lambert was a fun-loving and feisty woman, according to her sister. So why would she leave her children? Did her husband drive her away? The case is cold enough that we may never find out the answers to these questions, but it doesn't stop hope. Christy Kennedy, Brenda's Sister hasn't given up hope, even garnering the interest of national television and most recently: Crime in the Coalfields.
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