The Sleuth

Blackman Detective Services

The Sleuths are real private investigators here to help you find the truth when you need to know. With sometimes shocking, heartwarming, and hilarious stories from the field, they keep it real. Interviews with experts bring you insights on how people leverage P.I.'s in their lives and businesses. When you need to know, call the sleuths — licensed by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Jamie hosts this entertaining and informative podcast to educate individuals and business owners. read less

Crime Scene Clean Up - Maggots Mean Money
Feb 23 2021
Crime Scene Clean Up - Maggots Mean Money
We start the show with some talk about football and the Superbowl. Raven talks about how she became the owner of 4C cleaning, and how her background has made her the perfect owner for her business today. Her team can handle decontamination due to blood, decomposition, and all other bodily fluids.  Our technique also removes foul odors. 4C certified for removing mold and we handle Coronavirus cleaning according to CDC regulations. Her team removes debris from a hoarder/cluttered homes, construction sites, and post-cleaning. We contract with local businesses for repairs and site rehabilitation, if desired.She has also launched Final Passage, which is a compassionate end-of-life transportation company. We are located in Raleigh, North Carolina, and serve all the surrounding counties and more. We will travel across the state or across the country to get your loved one safely to their final destination. Many people don't know that their insurance policies normally cover the services of a company like 4C Cleaning. Biohazard issues especially are eligible to be covered by insurance. Things like blood spatter, deaths in hotels, etc. Raven shares some pretty crazy stories of situations where 4C Cleaning was called. Once the contaminated items are removed the smell starts to dissipate, but sometimes it lingers in the air and special air cleaning can be necessary. We talk about her hoarding services and what they offer. Raven also shares what she has learned as an entrepreneur and business owner. The importance of hiring great people and how they go about identifying them.We share a true crime story related to body cleanup and ask Raven's opinion on some of the facts of the story.Find out more about 4C Cleaning on their website, Facebook, and Instagram
Two stories and a role playing game
Feb 9 2021
Two stories and a role playing game
Story number one is about Jeff McDonald. He married Collete Stevenson on September 14, 1963, and had two kids. Jeff was intelligent. He studied thorastic surgery. He became a Green Beret physician.  One night Jeff called 911 to report that there had been a stabbing. His wife had been stabbed 21 times in the chest and 16 times in the neck. His children had also been brutally murdered. Jeff sustained a few injuries but reported that after finishing washing the dishes, his daughter had wet the bed, so he went and slept on the couch. He said men broke into the house with a woman who was holding a candle and chanting "Acid is groovy, kill the pigs."Police thought the story was a bit fishy, but they didn't have more to go on. He was formerly charged in 1970 of the deaths at an army hearing. He was dishonorably discharged and move to California for a successful career. His civilian trial began in 1979. He was convicted of the murders, it was found out that he found his daughter in bed after wetting the bed and killed her. After that, he killed his other daughter and wife to cover it up.Story number two is another family of four. In a small town which people call "Little Washington". The husband and wife were attacked in their bedroom by intruders, while the daughters slept through the attacks.  Police couldn't find any evidence of the involvement of the kids so turned their attention to the husband. He was very much into Dungeons and Dragons. Our own social media coordinator is very into role-playing games and explained it to the Sleuths. The husband had made friends at his college around the game D&D. They decided to murder his family in exchange for a part of the inheritance. The connection between these two stories will surprise you.
Cheaters suck, but they make for great stories
Jan 19 2021
Cheaters suck, but they make for great stories
After thinking 2021 was going to be an incredible year and the trainwreck that was 2020 would be ending, the Sleuths address what has happened so far in the new year. The Sleuth highlight three stories about cheaters.  Story One: California HighA stay at home mom was married for over five years to her high school sweetheart. The subject picked up the bad habit of vaping. She was vaping THC. Those are not legal in North Carolina. Her husband would ask her where she got the vape pens. He noticed an Instagram post on her phone she left open. He took a screenshot and sent it to Blackman Detective Services. After some digging, they were able to identify the man and his address.  We discuss alienation of affection. Women are more likely to cheat on men when the women are younger, and men are more likely to cheat on women when the men are older. We discussed "breadcrumbing" for dating on social media sites. Story two: Monetary MotivesMarty and Dan had been married for years when, unfortunately, the husband became suspicious that his wife was having an affair. We tracked the wife as she told the husband she was going out of town. The private investigators were caught with video evidence. Story three: Mr. CumbucketsThat's right, we keep it classy at the Sleuth. A husband and wife had been married for 18 years. They looked like a typical happily married couple. After COVID hit the wife started working more than normal. The client enlisted Blackman Detective Services to find out what she was up to when she would visit an unknown male's house at least two or three times a week. The client got a small audio recorder and placed it in the wife's car. After hearing an x-rated conversation with her Paramore the husband brought her pants into Blackman Detective Services for testing. Testing confirmed male and female DNA on the pants.
All I want for Christmas is a background check
Dec 22 2020
All I want for Christmas is a background check
The Covina massacre occurred on December 24, 2008, in Covina, a city in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, United States. Nine people were killed, either by gunshot wounds or in an arson fire inside a house at 1129 East Knollcrest Drive, where a Christmas Eve party was being held. The perpetrator, 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who had entered the house wearing a Santa suit, died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head at his brother's residence in the early hours of the morning after the attack. Authorities cited marital problems as a possible motive for the violence; reports indicated that Pardo's divorce had been finalized on December 18, one week before the massacre. Three people, including Pardo's ex-wife and his former in-laws, were initially declared missing pending identification of their bodies.This guy had a bad dating life and they call him the Santa-Gunman. We discuss what are red flags in dating? What should you look for and is it okay to get a background check on someone you've started dating.Significant age gapsExcessive drinking or drug useAn imbalance in power If you have to pay for everythingThey do a lot of lying about trivial thingsHow they interact with their familyAn excessively dirty houseWe talk about how it would be much easier to have a conversation about getting a background check at the beginning of a promising relationship than as a three-year anniversary present...   In your background checks, you can get civil criminal records, judgments, bankruptcies, social media searching. And then of course you can always throw that surveillance detail in there and collect information the old school way. A lot of, I don't want to say older people, but some like persons, they usually don't do a lot of social media searching.It's important to listen to your gut.
Serial killers: Dexter, Chikatilo and Dyer
Dec 8 2020
Serial killers: Dexter, Chikatilo and Dyer
Jamie binged the entire show "Dexter" since we last recorded and was excited to talk about serial killers. We start off by talking about who is not a serial killer. Often time mass murderers are mistaken for serial killers. The FBI defines mass murder as murdering four or more people during an even with no "cooling off period" between the murders. They typically happen at a single location where one or more people kill several people. An example would be a school shooter.There is also a spree murder. Usually defined as killings that take place at two or more locations with almost no break between the murders.What is a serial killer? A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people usually in service of abnormal, psychological gratification with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them.What makes someone a serial killer? Short answer: we don't know, but there are some tools that people use to identify serial killers. Some have been disproved, but others remain useful tools to this day. We discussed the lead crime hypothesis: the hypothesis is the proposed link between elevated blood lead levels in children and increased rates of crime, delinquency, and recidivism later in life. Check out the article by Kevin Drum "Lead: America's real criminal element." We unpack the real-life stories and details of actual serials. Andrei Chikatilo's story is shared by Jamie. He was from Ukraine. His upbringing was rough. And Candice unpacks the story of Amelia Dyer the notorious baby farmer and serial killer.
Halloween True Crime Killer Candy Quiz
Nov 3 2020
Halloween True Crime Killer Candy Quiz
Candice takes over the show for this special Halloween episode featuring a real true crime story. Follow along and take the quiz along the way to compete with our other Sleuth and podcast producer. Candice has prepared 10 questions scattered throughout the tale of a family going trick or treating, a sick child, a sudden death, and more.Our story takes place in Deer Park Texas, a family was out collecting candy during Halloween. After stopping at a house with the lights off and not getting a response from the door the group went ahead. One dad stayed back and brought back six giant Pixie Sticks from the house with the lights off to the excited kids. Since there were only five in their group the extra stick was gifted to a lucky passerby.After returning home the parents told the children they could each pick one piece of candy. Timothy chooses the giant Pixie Stick. Within an hour he was gravely ill and died shortly after. Upon further investigation, they found that his breath smelt like almonds which was a sign that he was poisoned.  The parents quickly contacted the other children and made sure no one else ate the contaminated sugar sticks.Timothy's father tried to collect the insurance money the morning after and other evidence came in to narrow down who the culprit was, but when questioned, Ronald did not plead guilty.At trial, the jury only deliberated for 46 minutes before finding Ronald O'Brien guilty and punishing him to death by execution.Timothy was the only child on record to have passed away from deliberately tainted Halloween candy.
Free Ronnie Long with Candice
Sep 1 2020
Free Ronnie Long with Candice
Candice reached out to Blackman during the COVID-19. She decided she wanted to be a Private Investigator a year before. The process can take a long time, so she got all her paperwork together and sent it all off, and then the day after it was sent off, the pandemic started. The firm she applied to decided to close their practice, and he forwarded her information to Blackman and has recently joined the team!A week after Candice began at Blackman, we received a request to do some work on a cold case. They are working on the cold case for a UNC student who was killed in 2012 whose murder had gone unsolved. We are excited to share more about the investigation in the future. We talk about Candice's murder board. We learn about her previous employment and love of true crime podcasts. We discuss the "Undisclosed" podcast. It has three hosts who are all lawyers. The first season is them going through the "Serial" Podcast with personal insights from the case. The following seasons have been helping with wrongful convictions. Today the Sleuth's discuss the case of Ronnie Long. There are four episodes, between the seasons of two and three in the "Undisclosed" podcast. Ronnie long was living the average 20-year-old life in Concord, NC. Concord is a company town. A woman in the town was raped and through a strange happenstance, they come to find Ronnie Long as a suspect. There was a lot of shadiness that came through the investigation in 1973. Ronnie was a black man in a mostly black town. You're not going to believe some of the details and the process that Ronnie Long went through in this case despite him not matching the original description at all. The jury selection seemed highly skewed against Ronnie Long as they didn't allow black people in the jury pool.If you're interested in other wrongful convictions cases check out the podcast "Wrongful Conviction." If you're looking for comedy true crime podcasts check out "Let's go to court"
True Crime with Mallie Bissett
Jul 14 2020
True Crime with Mallie Bissett
Mallie grew up locally and then spent two years in the military, he came back, went to North Carolina, Westland college, and got a bachelor of science in criminology after which he went to work for the Raleigh Police Department.He spent over 13 years in the homicide unit. We get into the details of the life of a homicide detective.He shares a lot of stories of the tricks of the trade learned from his time on the force. Including a story about a crime committed at a convenience store where they tested some empty cans in the back, got a fingerprint hit, and picked up a local suspect who promptly confessed to the crime. Lindsey shared about her experience watching crime scene investigators do their job while she was working security at the scene of a shooting where an investigator noticed a bullet hole that was 7 feet in the air and drove to the Lowe's across the street to buy a saw and a ladder and removed the bullet hole to take it in for testing.Today we are talking about the "State Versus Taylor" case. On September 26, 1991, RPD discovered a body of our victim on a cold morning.  The woman had been brutally murdered with both blunt force trauma and cutting trauma injuries into her head and neck.A vehicle belonging to, our defendant was located approximately 150 yards away and out of view, stuck in the mud on gravel and a dirt service road.The victim was known to trade sex for drugs.We talked about the reliability of witnesses when it comes to things like clothing and times.The police dog placed a crucial role in this case. It was trained to smell blood. The victim's injuries were brutal.The detectives had not told the victim anything about the crime scene and he seemed to know more than he should have known.After his conviction. This guy sits in jail for 17 years. He speaks with the innocence commission and they decide to take a look at his case. He feels as if he has had ineffective counsel.
Tiger Kings and Zoombombing - The world is crazy
Apr 7 2020
Tiger Kings and Zoombombing - The world is crazy
We unpack the state fo things in our "new normal" during the pandemic. Jamie explains Zoombombing, where hackers are taking over Zoom calls to put offensive, sexual, or racist stuff up on the screen during the virtual meeting and what you can do to prevent this kind of activity on your next Zoom meeting. Zoom went from 10 million to 200 million users in a couple of months.Here are some best practices for Zoom:Add two-factor authentificationLearn how to remove people from meetingsDon't use your personal zoom meeting IDHave people wait in the waiting room instead of joining automaticallyOur show producer shares a real-life story of a zoom call that his wife was on that was hacked.The Sleuths discuss many of the stories in the national and local news about COVID-19. Online schooling in Wake County. The Sleuths are considered an essential business and are still doing background checks and surveillance. They work criminal and state cases and they have clients who are in jail. Right now the US federal prison system is on a heightened state of lockdown due to the Coronavirus. North Carolina at the time of this recording has had four staffers in prisons test positive. There is talk about releasing non-violent offenders if it continues to spread.Lindsey is obsessed with a show Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. Joe is watching Ozark. Jamie is watching Tiger King. We talk about all the great shows to binge while you are stuck at home.
We might be self-quarantined but people are still cheating...
Mar 24 2020
We might be self-quarantined but people are still cheating...
Today's episode, recorded over Zoom, is brought to you by Melvin Moore Fitness.What are the effects that the quarantine and business closing having on marriages? While we hope that many relationships are strengthened the Sleuths let us know that the cheaters are still on the loose.We discuss the state of things in our neck of the woods, what is running low at the groceries, what the news is saying about Coronavirus in our area and stories of things we've seen in the past week.There are some courthouse closings that are beginning to affect some cases and slow down some processes. At the time of this recording, cases were being postponed for 30 days.If you are suspecting your spouse is cheating now is a good time to start paying attention, take some notes, and call a PI start doing some investigation.Lindsey shares another story for the news for the Sleuths to discuss that begins, it takes a certain mentality to want to be an adult actor. It takes something else altogether to make a half-assed audition tape with a hooker and a GoPro camera and all behind your wife's back. Does the recent closure of bars and restaurants make it harder for private investigators? In many cases, it is making it easier for the Sleuths and they discuss why.Lindsey also shared a story called "Tiny cups of coffee" where a man had taken advantage of his working from home. We discussed the productivity of the average worker and what will the influx of people who are learning to work at home, many for the first time on employee productivity.
Army Counterintelligence Special Agent joins the Sleuths
Mar 10 2020
Army Counterintelligence Special Agent joins the Sleuths
Patrick shares about what his role was and the responsibilities he had while in Afganistan serving as a Counterintelligence Special Agent and what his plans are for the future with the army. Lindsey mentioned a case where they used DNA from a rape kit, from a murder victim from the 90s and they took the DNA of the assailant from the rape kit from the 90s and used it today, and they were able to generate a police sketch.So they, they were able to say, you know, clearly, they can tell you how old the person was when the DNA was taken, and they can tell you their ancestry now. Right. And then they can give you a ballpark of what their hair color or eye color was and provide an actionable police sketch from DNA.Can the government listen to our smart speakers or listening devices in our homes? The answer may surprise you. We also discussed how Target predicted a teen girl was pregnant before anyone in the family knew with their predictive marketing algorithm. Lindsey shares a story about a family member who was in the FBI and how he would tell other family members if they saw him in public and he was not wearing a suit to never talk with him. She also shared a story of how he apprehended some mafia members in a pretty unique situation.The Sleuths also discuss the Coronavirus and how there was a case documented less a mile from where they record their show. There are ways to help prevent the spread of this virus. Wash your hands' people. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. 100,000 people have been confirmed to have contracted this new Coronavirus. As of this morning, I'm a little more than two months since the outbreak began in China, Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the instances of the viruses, says. A hundred thousand 330 people have been affected, and 80,000 were in the mainland of China.Listen to the Sleuths and Patrick discuss their thoughts and concerns about the virus spreading in our area.Also mentioned in this episode:DexterPolice sketch from DNA
Expert on body language, speaker, and author Terry Vaughan
Mar 3 2020
Expert on body language, speaker, and author Terry Vaughan
Terry teaches D.I.R.T. Dangerous Individual Recognition Training® In an unpredictable world, employee safety is achieved through the application of multiple strategies comprising of body language decoding, environmental awareness, & reality-based plans that deal with likely threats. He also served as a British Royal Marine Commando and has had extensive training in weapons and various fighting styles and now he spends his time primarily as a speaker and author. "I taught combative for a bunch of years after getting out of the military But I always maintain an element of what I was teaching this advice, stay away from it if you can. Because most people are not going to put in this the training necessary to be proficient, to guarantee that you can actually fight your way out of something. Use your cunning. Use your observation skills. Be aware. Look for certain things from the people in the environment that will tell you, something's out of place" TerryTerry teaches how an understanding of human behavior and body language can provide a set of skills to recognize threats and in some cases prevent dangerous situations from happening.Tips from Terry when going into an interaction with people. If we think about What do I expect to see?What do I not expect to see? And what's missing? You can clue into so much that just that stands out that you might otherwise miss.One tip that Terry often teaches women is how to recognize when someone gets inside of your personal space. This is a comfort level for each individual but when someone gets danger close it is time to take action.The Sleuths and Terry talk a bit about some of their past cases. Rapid blinking may be a sign of lying, but it may not be as well. It is a signal of cognitive load. That doesn't necessarily mean lying.What often happens with police officers that are trained to some degree to have that command presence, what is that command presence? What is it about their behavior that makes us feel like they're in control and we're not, even if their hands are shaking, what is it that they do? They move less. They get still and they get still because stillness says calm and "calm" says control.Terry and the sleuths discuss his book Not with My Daughter!: A Dad's Guide to Screening Dates and Boyfriends in a candid conversation about parenting kids who are dating.
Melvin Moore - Change your butt, change your life
Feb 25 2020
Melvin Moore - Change your butt, change your life
Some more about Melvin: Even while being very active, he grew up an overweight child. As a child, he always had aspirations of being physically fit and strong like action figures and professional wrestlers. He played baseball from 4 years old up until varsity in high school.In 2010, he began pursuing a career in public safety. The ability to protect and serve weighs heavily on one’s fitness level and was required of him from day 1. I am a proud former EMT, Law Enforcement, Tactical Experience, & Current US Army Reservist.When he got my fitness life together, his real-life got together. As he started to see success within his fitness journey, he started to see that discipline, consistency, mental health and all the other principles of fitness were the same as all the principles of success.  Coaching others to maneuver through their fitness journey is his PASSION. Melvin also worked in the jail and on the SWAT team. So he shared some pretty intense stories from his time working in prison. Including how being spit on by an inmate who was mentally unstable.The sleuths discuss the case of Faye Swetlik and the information known from the story of the 6-year-old who was found dead in the woods by her house. They discuss the details of the case form the reports, the topic of amber alerts (What are the legal requirements for issuing an amber alert?) The details surrounding the case leave a lot to be questioned and it brought up the topic of letting our kids play outside today versus what our parents were comfortable with when we were children. Is this a growing epidemic or do we just know more about it thanks to 24 hours news and social media? In either case, cases like this are very sad and our hearts go out to the family members and those affected by it.Also mentioned in this episode:Last Child in the Woods Melvin Moore Fitness | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube
Special Delivery with Mary Gurganus
Feb 18 2020
Special Delivery with Mary Gurganus
Mary is the owner of Triangle Divorce Lawyers and focuses her practice on litigation. Mary graduated with honors from North Carolina Central School of Law. During law school, she was the president of the law school’s Innocence Project, which investigates claims of innocence by inmates whose innocence may be proven using new technologies, such as DNA. Mary was also a member of the North Carolina Central Law Journal and Parliamentarian and National Delegate for the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. Mary completed her undergraduate degree at Loyola University in Baltimore, MD (Go Greyhounds!), where she majored in Business Management and Law.Mary shares stories, counsel, and a few laughs with the Sleuths as they talk about cases they've worked and give practical advice to our listeners about all things family law and divorce.Why family law? "My parents divorced. I went through it as a child and I know how it feels. I know how it feels when one person in your family doesn't have enough money to live. I know what it feels like when your dad doesn't get to see you enough. So that's my why." - MaryFor somebody to either go through a divorce situation or custody situation, what is the average amount of time?Even if they don't hire a lawyer, what I tell them is it's not even just going through the legal process. When you got married, you rented a limo you reserved your space for your marriage. You know, people are taking a year and a half to get married. You're scheduling your caterer and all that stuff. It's gonna take about that same amount to try to figure out how to be this new person that's an individual. Now you were this couple and this family, what's the new normal now that you're divided. So I tell people it's going to take about that same amount to recreate and be the new you as the amount of time it took to plan your life together.The Sleuths unpack the "lights out rule" when it comes to proving an affair. Mary speaks about proving an affair from the aspect of a divorce lawyer. They share a hilarious story that took place at a stadium that Triangle Divorce Lawyers employed the services of Blackman Detective Services to follow a man suspected of cheating on behalf of his spouse.The Sleuths try to find the truth for a case that was brought up by askthesleuth@gmail.com of a messy custody case and ask for Mary's legal expertise on the issues of the case.You can find out more about Triangle Divorce Lawyers on their website or call 919 752-8832 for a case review.
The Death of Lindsey's 20s, Snapchat, and Yelp Reviews
Feb 11 2020
The Death of Lindsey's 20s, Snapchat, and Yelp Reviews
The Sleuths start out the show talking about the Krispy Kreme Challenge. 5 Miles. 12 Doughnuts. 1 Hour.The 16th Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge was held on February 1st, 2020 and raised $175,000 for UNC Children’s Hospital. Lindsey invited Jamie to her special birthday party that is funeral themed to celebrate the death of her youth. Complete with coffins and a funeral. Everyone is instructed to dress in black and have a good time.The Blackman Detective Services had their first meeting in their new building just before the bad weather and tornado hit the Raleigh area. Be sure to follow the Sleuth Podcast on social media to see Jamie's Black History Month posts celebrating Black History. The Sleuths read several news stories about how men are catfishing young women on Snapchat and using the app's social media features to track and assault them. It's important, as a parent, to understand and educate your children in order to make sure they are being safe online.Jamie and Lindsey break down another episode of ABC's Stumptown called The Dex Factor. Dex goes undercover as a potential buyer to help Hoffman and Grey with the next phase of their drug case. Meanwhile, Dex unexpectedly becomes close to a fellow veteran support group member and soon discovers they have more in common than they thought. After being left in charge of the Bad Alibi, Ansel struggles to maintain order and enlists Tookie's help.This led to a fascinating and hilarious conversation about a private investigator's going undercover. The Sleuths share some real-life stories and updates from past cases. Including a happy ending for a domestic case that has been going on for over a year. One of the cases involved a bad Yelp review. We spent some time talking about funny Yelp reviews.