Murder by nature

Jazmin Hernandez

True crime podcast that dives into stories you never heard of, mysterious disappearances, and unsolved cases. You never know what small town we might be talking about this week. read less
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Episodes

She Had to Watch Her Grave Be Dug
Jul 24 2023
She Had to Watch Her Grave Be Dug
Send us a Text Message.On September 23, 2002, 18-year-old Rachel Burkheimer, was forced to watch her own grave being dug by her ex-boyfriend and his gang in foothills of the Cascade Mountains.Rachel Burkheimer resided, worked, and attended high school in the Tulalip Reservation, spanning over 22,000 acres in Snohomish County, near Everett, Washington.Rachel's social circles and wide-reaching connections were beyond her parents ability to keep track of. During Rachel's early years, her parents harbored concerns about her hearing, as she remained nonverbal until nearly reaching the age of three. Once she found her voice however, it seemed as though a floodgate had opened. With a vivid imagination, she excelled at mimicking others and possessed a library of amusing voices that brought endless joy and entertainment to her family.Despite her petite stature of just 4 feet 11 inches, Rachel possessed a tremendous sense of might and independence. She had a penchant for wearing four-inch heels wherever she went, and her makeup kit was the size of a toolbox. With her infectious smile and striking bright blue eyes, she effortlessly caught the attention of those around her.In August 2001, Rachel experienced a devastating loss when one of her best friends Cory Haynes was tragically killed in a rollover car accident. His sudden passing deeply affected her, leading her to find solace in preserving his memory. She took the death extremely hard and, in her grief, attached his pictures all over her Subaru dashboard and room. She hung his obituary on her bedroom wall.Support the Show.
The True Story Behind Love & Death: The Murder of Betty Gore Part 4
Jul 10 2023
The True Story Behind Love & Death: The Murder of Betty Gore Part 4
Send us a Text Message.Welcome back to part 4 of the true story behind the Love & Death series on Max. In last week's episode we dove into murder of Betty Gore and the shocking details that unfolded. We left off on the police arresting Candy. In this week's episode we will dive into the Trial of Candy Montgomery.After Candy was arrested news started to fly with rumors. As soon as Candy was able to post bail she did. As soon as Candy got home she stopped reading the newspapers and watching the TV news. Unknown to the Montgomerys, the community continued to support them. Pat was heartened by the way everyone stood by them, no matter what new evidence was leaked to the press. The church had been overwhelmingly supportive. Rarely a day went by that they didn’t receive at least half a dozen greeting cards and “Have a nice day” cards and “Thinking of you” cards, some of them awkwardly worded, all of them well-intentioned. People who hadn’t written or seen the Montgomerys in years were visiting Hallmark stores all over America, trying to find messages suitable for a family awaiting a murder indictment. Candy wrote replies to them all. As Candy was waiting for trial she knew that she needed to have a lawyer that would be in her corner. That is when Candy hired a lawyer she knew from church, Don Crowder, to represent her. Crowder, a partner in a small firm with attorney general Jim Mattox, usually handled personal injury work. He had never been close to a murder case before, and suddenly he had the hottest one in Texas on his hands. Support the Show.
The True Story Behind Love & Death: The Murder of Betty Gore
Jun 20 2023
The True Story Behind Love & Death: The Murder of Betty Gore
Send us a Text Message.If you're into true crime shows, we have all watched the Love & Death series on Max starring Elizabeth Olsen. In this week's episode, we will dive into the true story of Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery. In the 1980s, The American suburb, with neatly mown lawns and white picket fences, children at home with their mothers, fathers at work, and friends that felt like family has long been used in pop culture as a facade of normalcy, concealing chaos and violence. This suspicion of the suburbs was partly fueled by books and real-life cases of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a cheery suburban businessman who murdered more than 30 people in the 1970s. Though in this story, we have betrayal, adultery, and murder. Two families who seem to have it all decided they might want more. This will be a four-part series on our show; I advise you to listen cautiously as we will go into different details surrounding this case. I want to ensure we cover the events of the case. In 1977, when Candy was 28, she and her husband, Pat Montgomery, moved to Wylie, TX, a suburb about 30 miles northeast of Dallas. Pat was an electrical engineer, and Candy was a stay-at-home mom to their two children. The center of their social world was the local Methodist church, where Candy and Pat befriended a local couple named Betty and Allan Gore. Betty was an elementary school teacher; Allan worked for an electronics conglomerate and principal defense contractor. From the outside, they seemed to be living the picturesque American Dream. Support the Show.
The last text sent lead to the killer
Feb 7 2023
The last text sent lead to the killer
Send us a Text Message.Berkeley Springs, WV, is a small town within the county seat of Morgan County; its also known to be referred to as the area within the town of Bath. In 2019 Berkeley Springs had a population of 593 people. It's known to be a safe community with few crimes but nothing that compares to what they were going to be hit with soon.Riley Crossman was a gorgeous 15-year-old teenager from West Virginia. Riley was born December 22, 2003, in Martinsburg, WV, and she shared time between her parent’s homes in Martinsburg and Berkeley Springs, WV. Riley was a beautiful, innocent soul with a laugh that would fill the room. She was a natural artist, a talented dancer, and had the voice of an angel. Riley loved babies and small children; they were always drawn to her, but none more than her little sister and two younger brothers. She was helpful, caring, intelligent, stubborn, and as dramatic as teenage girls come. Riley was a beacon of light and love for her family; she was loving and kind.In 2019, Riley was growing up and doing what most teenagers do dating. Being 15 years old, like anyone else, she had a crush on one of her schoolmates, Hayden, and the feelings were mutual. Hayden and Riley adored each other, and they started a cute kid romance. Riley’s parents adored him and were so happy that Riley had found a sweet kid. Riley’s parents were divorced, and she had to split home with both of them. While she spent time with both her parents, she would mostly stay at her mother’s place so that she could go to school there. At Riley’s mother's house, she lived with her mother and her boyfriend, Andy McCauley. Everything seemed to be going great, school was going great she just started her Freshman year and it was a great start to the next chapter of her life. Riley tried out for the gymnastics team at school and made the cut. This was exciting for her as she was a model student and what every parent would want in a child.Support the Show.
The Diary to the Truth
Jan 24 2023
The Diary to the Truth
Send us a Text Message.In 2010, a teenager suddenly disappearance in Clayton County, Georgia, without a trace of where she might be. Candice Parchment was  15-year-old living in Clayton County, Georgia, with her mother, Caffian Hyatt. She was an aspiring writer attending Forest Park High School with a bright smile and, by all means, had a promising life ahead of her. She had a journal in which she used to write down her thoughts from the day that she experienced, and it was unknown to everyone that this very journal would be the key to the case. Candice was close to her mother following their emigration from Jamaica for a different, much better life, so it was uncharacteristic for her to suddenly leave home on April 28, 2010. When Caffian couldn’t get a hold of her daughter despite trying multiple times over a period of six hours, she decided it was time to report her missing. Like some, unfortunately, the police did not take the disappearance seriously from the beginning. As days went on, Candice's mother started to receive texts from Candice’s phone saying that she was in Tennessee and okay. But something seemed off by the messages friends and family said. If you knew Candice, you would know she did not send those messages. However, her mother knew that Candice would not just up and leave. She was someone who was very reliable and was definitely not a runaway. The police did not have any answers to give to Candice’s mother, who claimed that the texts were not from Candice and that she could not have been in Tennessee. As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, the police finally got a lead. Support the Show.
The Family Murders
Jan 16 2023
The Family Murders
Send us a Text Message.Danielle and Seren were living with Danielle's family in a mobile home rented by Robert Joseph Marzejka, Danielle's father, in Clinton Township. Danielle and Bryan shared a bedroom. Robert, their father, was sleeping in the home's living room because his son Kevin Marzejka and Erin Funk (Kevin's girlfriend) were staying in the only other bedroom. The family had resided in the home for about a month and had a history of frequent moves due to evictions for failing to rent. Robert did paintwork for a general contractor and his son Robert Jr worked with him most of the time, and Kevin would work when he needed the money. The contractor let the three have a white work van for jobs, but they also used it for personal purposes.Danielle and Bryan began working the night shift at National Coney Island with a friend of Danielle's, Khriscinda Whaley. Because Danielle and Seren did not have a vehicle, Whaley drove them to and from work. On August 22, 2018, the three went to work around 9:00 p.m., and Whaley dropped Danielle and Seren off at home around 8:00 a.m. on August 23, 2018. When she dropped them off, Whaley noticed the white work van outside. Danielle’s father, Robert, left for work around 8:15 a.m., saying goodbye to Danielle. This was the last time Danielle and Bryan were seen alive.Whaley, Danielle, and Seren were scheduled to work that evening of August 23, 2018, and Whaley was to give the other two a ride to work like normal. Around 1:00 p.m. that day, Whaley attempted to contact Danielle by Facebook Messenger to inform Danielle that she was having vehicle problems and would be unable to drive the three to work that evening. Around 5:00 p.m., Whaley sent a message to Danielle again, informing Danielle that she thought she found them a ride to work. And then, at 7:00 p.m., Whaley sent a third message to Danielle, informing Danielle the ride had fallen through. Support the Show.
The Covid Cover Up
Dec 10 2022
The Covid Cover Up
Send us a Text Message.Intro“Welcome to Murder By Nature, where we discuss True Crime, Mystery disappearances, and unsolved cases! I’m Jazmin Hernandez, your host!References:https://awnaves.medium.com/florida-man-murders-wife-tries-to-hide-it-with-coronavirus-quarantine-5d91def8ae4ehttps://truecrimedaily.com/2021/01/19/florida-man-gets-38-years-in-prison-for-kidnapping-killing-wifehttps://www.insider.com/florida-man-charged-with-murder-after-wife-sent-suspicious-texts-2020-4https://heavy.com/news/remains-wife-found-husband-covid19-murder/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gretchen-anthony-murder-husband-cover-up-covid-19/https://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/jupiter/jupiter-man-sentenced-to-38-years-behind-bars-for-wifes-kidnapping-murderhttps://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/the-true-story-of-the-gretchen-anthony-murder-in-jupiter-florida-12053948https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2021/01/14/jupiter-man-says-mental-illness-led-him-kill-estranged-wife-gretchen-anthony/4162235001/https://people.com/crime/florida-woman-admits-killing-missing-wife-leads-police-body/https://nypost.com/2020/12/23/body-of-missing-jupiter-mom-found-as-husband-pleads-guilty-to-murder/https://thecinemaholic.com/what-happened-to-gretchen-anthony-is-she-found-or-missing/https://www.chillingcrimes.com/blogs/news/gretchen-anthonyhttps://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/florida-man-coronavirus-quarantine-rules-cover-wifes-murder-70143644https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/10/florida-murder-coronavirus/https://www.oxygen.com/killer-relationship-with-faith-jenkins/crime-news/david-anthony-used-covid-to-hide-murder-of-wifeSupport the Show.
The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Scott
Nov 12 2022
The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Scott
Send us a Text Message.“Welcome to Murder By Nature, where we discuss True Crime, Mystery disappearances, and unsolved cases! I’m Jazmin Hernandez, your host!Thank them for listening and being a part of this community. References:https://conspiracytheories.in/what-really-happened-with-dorothy-scott/https://www.truecrimeedition.com/post/dorothy-scotthttps://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles/169592.pdfhttps://www.stalkingawareness.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SPARC_IPV_StalkingFactSheet_2018_FINAL2.pdfhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dorothy_Jane_Scotthttps://www.crimetraveller.org/2020/10/the-tragic-death-of-dorothy-jane-scott/https://www.thetruecrimedatabase.com/case_file/dorothy-scott/https://thecinemaholic.com/dorothy-scott-murder-how-did-she-die-who-killed-her/https://kympasqualini.medium.com/taunted-by-an-anonymous-caller-the-murder-of-dorthy-jane-scott-4b77f0bc5069https://www.ranker.com/list/unsolved-dorothy-jane-scott/laura-allanhttps://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/x63ugi/a_theory_regarding_the_disappearance_and/https://www.ocsheriff.gov/page/woman-who-vanished-hospitalhttps://www.newspapers.com/clip/10010932/dorothy-jane-scott/https://news.google.com/newspapers?dat=19840820&id=PuVLAAAAIBAJ&nid=1298&pg=3792%2C2107697https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9926681/the-los-angeles-times/Stalking there are many different forms, from searching someone's social media profiles to watching them walk around the school. But some are more intense, making you look over your shoulder and lock your doors at night. The people you have had passed relationships with or who always watched you from afar. In the united states, more than 10% of our population is stalked at some point in their life. 89% of femicide victims who had been physically assaulted had also been stalked in the 12 months before their murder. 79% of abused femicide victims reported being stalked during the same period that they were abused. 54% of femicide victims reported stalking to police before they were killed by their stalkers.For months, Dorothy Jane Scott had received phone calls from the same mysterious admirer at her workplace.  The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but she just couldn’t place who it was.  Sometimes he expressed fawning adoration, and other times, resentment and violence.  He told her he was trailing her wherever she went, and he described details of her daily activities to prove it.Support the Show.
The Murder by The Masked Wolf
Oct 22 2022
The Murder by The Masked Wolf
Send us a Text Message.Halloween is the only day in a year when people around the world dress up, knock on doors in their neighborhood for candy, and decorate their homes like crime scenes. It's the day that the communities come together to celebrate. Halloween night in 1984 turned out to be a genuinely nightmarish one for the Erbert family in San Jose, California, as a family was celebrating a holiday filled with fun and spooky events. One family would soon see why opening the door for trick-or-treaters is not always the best idea. Doreen Rae Hitchens was born in Santa Clara, California, in 1952. She grew up in a very loving family. She had a job as a physical therapist, and that’s how she met her first husband, Michael Dennis, also known as Mike. Michael Dennis worked at the Lockheed factory as a sprayer next door to Doreen’s job. Mike had suffered from hearing loss, which often caused him to stutter. His friend, Jim Patriott told Snapped on Oxygen that Mike was depressed and he didn’t socialize a lot. He didn’t often have girlfriends, so when he met Doreen, he said he had found the one. After only a few months of dating, the couple got married, and Doreen soon gave birth to a baby boy, Paul Dennis. While Mike relished his role as a father, the stress of being new parents was too much for the young couple to withstand. They divorced in 1977, and Doreen retained primary custody of their son, who visited Mike on weekends. Mike cherished the time with his son, but he remained bitter about the divorce. On the other hand, Doreen quickly bounced back and married local carpet store owner Charles Erbert. The two had a daughter, Deanna Erbert, in 1979, raising her and Paul together. The couple was quickly starting to become a family and moved into a beautiful home within the community.Support the Show.
The Triple Murders on Halloween
Oct 15 2022
The Triple Murders on Halloween
Send us a Text Message.Intro“Welcome to Murder By Nature, where we discuss True Crime, Mystery disappearances, and unsolved cases! I’m Jazmin Hernandez, your host!Thank them for listening and being a part of this community. References:https://www.oxygen.com/homicide-for-the-holidays/crime-news/bj-liske-kills-3-family-members-in-halloween-murdershttps://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/article/13-horrifying-halloween-homicideshttps://crypticchroniclespodcast.com/horrifying-true-holloween-tales/https://crimeandcoffeecouple.com/2022/10/09/the-liske-griffin-family-halloween-murders/https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsReadOfficial/comments/de99cr/halloween_story_3/https://sanduskyregister.com/news/40338/tragic-timeline-details-surface-on-halloween-family-killings/https://the-mystique.medium.com/a-murderous-halloween-the-liske-family-massacre-7253c5c45dehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-triple-murder-teen-thought-it-was-halloween-prank/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61058958/william-e-liskehttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61058889/susan-m-liskehttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/61058862/derek-l-griffinHalloween is a time of spooky nights and scary movies. The month that everyone wants to be scared and dress up as their favorite characters from movies, shows, or books. It's the time when the air is crisp and leaves start to change colors. Some might use this opportunity to blend in with the crowd of Halloween celebrators and seek out their victims for fun, while some take this as a chance to unleash terror on people who had the misfortune of crossing their path. Support the Show.
Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood
Oct 1 2022
Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood
Send us a Text Message.Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.” Derek and Maria Broaddus couldn’t have been more excited to move into their dream house at 657 Boulevard in the well-to-do town of Westfield, New Jersey. But as the couple was preparing to settle into the $1.3-million house with their three children, they received this disturbing note in the mail. Signed only “The Watcher,” the letter had no return address. But whoever wrote it seemed to have been watching the Broadduses carefully.Before the family purchased “The Watcher House” in 2014, the Broadduses was a fairly average suburban family. Maria Broaddus had grown up in Westfield, New Jersey, just blocks away from the house at 657 Boulevard. On the other hand, Derek Broaddus had grown up in Maine in a working-class family. But from his humble beginnings, he had worked his way up to a position as a senior vice-president at a Manhattan insurance company.One night in June 2014, Derek Broaddus had just finished an evening of painting at his new home in Westfield, New Jersey, when he went outside to check the mail. A white, card-shaped envelope was addressed in thick, clunky handwriting to “The New Owner,” and the typed note inside began warmly:Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.“Welcome to Murder By Nature, where we discuss True Crime, Mystery disappearances, and unsolved cases! I’m Jazmin Hernandez, your host!Thank them for listening and being a part of this community. Starting Oct 8th, we will be doing short videos on Youtube of our case! I am so excited to move this podcast to be on Youtube for the start of the spooky season. This month we will focus on the case that was inspired by crimes or that inspired the killers to do the crimes. Please stay tuned for our first Youtube video next Saturday!As the new Netflix show is soon to be released, “The Watcher,” I thought we should jump into the case that sparked the show for the beginning of our spooky season. References:https://www.thecut.com/article/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.htmlhttps://www.cnn.com/2019/08/12/us/the-watcher-house-stalker-trndhttps://allthatsinteresting.com/the-watcher-househttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/the-watcher-netflix-stalker-new-jersey-b2175373.htmlhttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/owner-n-j-watcher-house-admits-he-sent-some-menacing-n936661Redditt.comTwitterZillow.comhttps://sites.psu.edu/passionknightly2/2021/03/11/the-watcher/Support the Show.
The Case of Adnan Syed PT 1
Sep 17 2022
The Case of Adnan Syed PT 1
Send us a Text Message.Intro“Welcome to Murder By Nature, where we discuss True Crime, Mystery disappearances, and unsolved cases! I’m Jazmin Hernandez, your host!Thank them for listening and being a part of this community. Today's case is gonna be a case that I've been researching and following for seven years now. I think there's too much in this case to cover all in one episode, but I'm going to do my best, so it's going to be a long one. This case had some breaking news come just in the last few days, and I got really emotional about that, but as I go through this case, I'm in the state just the facts and what we have through all the evidence that I've looked at the podcast of serial docu-series that they had made on it anything everything I was able to find to give you an unbiased opinion, and at the end, I'll state my opinion so stay tuned for the case of Hae min lee also known as the Adnan Syed case.References:HBO The case against Adnan SyedSerial Podcast Season 1allthatsinteresting.com/adnan-syed-murder-of-hae-min-leehttps://www.adnansyedwiki.com/https://www.adnansyedwiki.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Serial-Podcast-Transcripts-of-All-Episodes-with-ToC.pdfhttps://www.rootclaim.com/claims/serial-who-killed-hae-min-lee-11513https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Hae_Min_Leehttps://www.wsj.com/articles/adnan-syed-serial-podcast-vacate-murder-conviction-11663163015https://www.newsweek.com/adnan-syed-baltimore-prosecutors-move-vacate-conviction-1743065https://www.biography.com/news/adnan-syed-hae-min-lee-timeline-factsThe beginningOn Jan 13, 1999 Hae Min Lee disappeared. Hae was an 18 year old senior at woodlawn high school in Baltimore County. She was Korean. She was smart, beautiful, goofyl, and played field hockey and lacrosse. Hae was in the magent program at her school and had a great group of friends. On the day in question Hae was supposed to be leaving school to pick up her cousin from school and take her home. After she was going to go meet up with her boyfriend. Adnan and Hae’s RelationshipAdnan and Hae started dating April 1, 1998 and kept it secret from their parents. As a Pakistani American and a Korean American, Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee apparently feared negative reactions from their families due to multiple religious and cultural differences. Their relationship started as any other highschool couple does. By telling their mutual friends that they liked the other until finally Debbie told Adnan to just ask Hae to prom and he did. Adnan asked Hae and she said yes, on the day of prom Adnan picked Hae up from her house to go to Anisha house to take pictures and all ride together. Hae recalls that Adnan wasnt ready when he picked her up and she feared that he would make them late. At prom Adnan was surprisingly announced Prince and Stephanie was his princess. Due to tradition Adnan and Stephanie were supposed to dance together butSupport the Show.