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The Most Terrifying Serial Killers of South Dakota · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: Welcome in. Today, we're ditching the tourist traps and postcard
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  views for something a little.
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  Speaker 2: Different, a little darker, a little more intense.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. We're talking about the crimes and criminals that
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  have left their mark on South Dakota. You know, you
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  might be thinking South Dakota, that's Mount Rushmore Country, that's
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  going to be one of the most peaceful states in
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  the US.
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  Speaker 2: Right right, wide open spaces, quiet prairies, peaceful scenery.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly. But like every state out there, even South Dakota
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  has a dark side.
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  Speaker 2: Every state has its secrets.
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  Speaker 1: And today we're diving headfirst into those secrets, uncovering the
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  stories that shocked small towns and captivated the entire nation.
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  Speaker 2: These are the cases that really make you think about
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  the darkness that can hide beneath the surface, you know,
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  the potential for good and evil that exists in us.
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  Speaker 1: All absolutely, and to guide us through this journey into
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  the underbelly of South Dakota, we've got our resident true
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  crime expert back with us again.
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  Speaker 2: It's amazing how these stories, these individuals can capture our
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  imaginations even decades later.
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  Speaker 1: It's like we're drawn to the miss the darkness of
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  it all.
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  Speaker 2: So where do we even begin with a state like
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  South Dakota.
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  Speaker 1: Let's start with the case is really Stuck with Me,
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  a case that shook the community of Sioux Falls to
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  its core. Robert Leroy Anderson, the duct tape killerilling nickname,
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  Yeah it is. In the mid nineteen nineties, Anderson terrorized
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  Sue Falls. He kidnapped and murdered two young women, Larissa
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  Domanski and Piper Streil. And it wasn't just the brutality
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  of the crimes, it was the way he did at
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  the duc tape. He used it to bind and silence
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  his victims.
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  Speaker 2: Like that one detail just etches itself into your mind.
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  Speaker 1: It's those little things that really get under your skin, right,
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  like something so ordinary becoming a symbol of something so horrific.
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  Speaker 2: And for investigators, those little details, that's what we call signatures.
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  They're invaluable.
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  Speaker 1: So it's not just about catching the bad guys, about
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  understanding them right exactly.
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  Speaker 2: We want to know what makes them tick, what drives
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  them to commit these horrific acts.
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  Speaker 1: So, in Anderson's case, what was it about the duck tape?
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  What did that tell investigators about him?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the meticulous use of the duct tape. It pointed
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  to a need for control, a desire to completely dominate
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  his victims.
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  Speaker 1: It's almost like they're trying to exert their power in
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  a way to control the situation completely.
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  Speaker 2: Sadly, that need for control often goes hand in hand
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  with these types of crimes, and for Anderson, his story
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  ended in a prison cell where he ultimately took his
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  own life.
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  Speaker 1: Which, of course brings up a whole other set of
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  questions about justice and whether someone like that can ever
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  truly escape the consequences of their actions. But for now,
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  let's shift gears a bit from the confines of Sue
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  Falls to a name that echoed throughout the entire nation.
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  John Dillinger.
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  Speaker 2: Now there's a name that conjures up all sorts of images.
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  Speaker 1: Oh absolutely. Jillinger may not have been a South Dakota native,
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  but his crime spree left its mark on the state.
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  I'm talking about that infamous bank robbery and Sue Falls
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  back in March of nineteen thirty.
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  Speaker 2: Four, March sixth, to be exactly, March.
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  Speaker 1: Sixth, nineteen thirty four. Yeah, Dillinger and his gang hit
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  the bank just three days after he'd broken out of jail.
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  Talk about bold, and not just any jail. He escaped
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  from Crown Point using a fake gun. Stuff of legends,
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  it really is, yeah, And I think that's part of
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  what made Dillinger so fascinating to the public. He was
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  this charismatic outlaw living life on his own terms.
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  Speaker 2: Especially during the Depression era, people were struggling. They were
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  looking for someone to root for, even if that someone
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  was a bank robber.
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  Speaker 1: He was like a real life Robinhood.
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  Speaker 2: To some exactly robbing from the rich and powerful, even
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  if he wasn't exactly giving it to the poor.
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  Speaker 1: Right. He was a master of his own image too,
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  I mean escaping from jail with a wooden gun, posing
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  for pictures with law enforcement. The man knew how to
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  work the media.
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  Speaker 2: He understood the power of perception, and he used it
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  to his advantage.
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  Speaker 1: But Dillinger's story reminds us that behind the legend, behind
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  the headlines, there were real victims.
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  Speaker 2: People whose lives were forever changed by his actions.
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  Speaker 1: And that's something we can't forget as we delve deeper
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  into South Dakota's criminal past, because for every John Dillinger,
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  for every headline grabbing case, there are countless others that
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  don't get the same tension stories of ordinary people caught
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  in extraordinary circumstances.
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  Speaker 2: And those stories, those less told tales, they often revealed
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  just as much about human nature and the dark side
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  of the American dream as the more famous cases.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly, and in South Dakota, those stories are often intertwined
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  with the state's unique history and the fight for justice
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  that continues to this day. And some of these lesser
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  known cases they can be even more disturbing in a
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  way because they highlight the darkness that can exist in
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  everyday life.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, like the case of.
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  Speaker 1: Eric Robert Okay, yeah, Eric Robert.
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  Speaker 2: So in two thousand and five, he was convicted of kidnapping, right.
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  Speaker 1: Right, kidnapping, and then what happened while he was in prison, Well.
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  Speaker 2: He actually, during an escape attempt in twenty twelve, he
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  killed a correctional officer at the South Dakota State Penitentiary.
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  Speaker 1: It's a reminder that even within the walls of a prison,
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  violence can still erupt and that those who work in
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  law enforcement really do put their lives on the line
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  every single day.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah right about that. It's a dangerous job. And speaking
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  of dangerous jobs and difficult situations, let's talk about a
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  case that's really sparked a lot of debate over the years,
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  the case of Leonard Peltier.
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  Speaker 1: Leonard Peltier, Okay, yeah, this is the name I've heard before,
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  but I'll be honest, I don't know all the details.
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  Speaker 2: It's a complex case for sure. It goes back to
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  nineteen seventy five on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. There
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  was a confrontation between two FBI agents and they were killed.
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  Speaker 1: Oh wow, So two FBI agents dead.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and Leonard Peltier, an activist for Native American rights,
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  he was convicted of their murders.
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  Speaker 1: So he was found guilty of killing both agents.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, two consecutive life terms.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. And this case is still controversial today. Why is that.
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  Speaker 2: Well for a lot of reasons. Some people believe that
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  Peltier didn't get a fair trial, that the evidence against
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  him was weak or even planted.
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  Speaker 1: Oh so there are some who believe his innocent, Yes.
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  Speaker 2: And they see him as a political prisoner, a scapegoat
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  in the fight for Native American rights.
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  Speaker 1: So it's not just about the murders themselves. It's about
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  the bigger picture, the historical.
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  Speaker 2: Context, right, And that's what makes this case so fascinating,
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  so polarizing, because it forces us to confront some uncomfortable
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  truths about our nation's history, about the treatment of Native Americans,
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  and about the very nature of justice itself.
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  Speaker 1: It's a reminder that sometimes the lines between right and wrong,
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  guilt and innocence can get really blurry.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and sometimes even when there's a verdict, even when
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  someone's behind bars, the questions linger.
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  Speaker 1: It makes you wonder how many other Leonard Pelts are
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  out there, people whose stories are tangled up in these
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  larger narratives.
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  Speaker 2: It's a thought provoking question, for sure. But moving on
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  to another case that's left its mark on South Dakota,
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  Let's talk about George Sits.
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  Speaker 1: George Sits. Okay, so this is a name I'm not
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  familiar with. What's the story there?
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  Speaker 2: Well Sits has a grim distinction in South Dakota's history.
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  He's the only person to ever be executed in the
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  electric chair in that state.
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  Speaker 1: Wow, executed? So what happened? What did he do?
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  Speaker 2: In nineteen forty six, he committed a double homicide two
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  law enforcement officers.
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  Speaker 1: Oh man, that's awful.
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  Speaker 2: It was a brutal crime and it really shook the
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  community at the time.
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  Speaker 1: I bet, And so what happened? Did they catch him
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  right away?
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  Speaker 2: Well, that's the thing. Sits actually fled to Nebraska after
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  the murders.
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  Speaker 1: He crossed state lines.
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  Speaker 2: He did. He was on the run for a while,
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  but eventually he was apprehended, extradited back to South Dakota
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  and put on.
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  Speaker 1: Trial, and of course he was found guilty, right.
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  Speaker 2: The evidence against him was overwhelming, and at that time,
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  South Dakota had the death penalty and the prosecution was
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  seeking the ultimate.
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  Speaker 1: Punishment, and obviously they were successful because you said he
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  was the only person ever executed in the state's electature.
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  Speaker 2: That's right. His case sparked a lot of debate at
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  the time about capital punishment, and it continues to be
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  a topic of discussion even today.
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  Speaker 1: It's a reminder that even in states that don't carry
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  out executions very often, the death penalty still looms large
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  as a potential consequence for certain crimes.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, it's a powerful symbol and one that elicits strong
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  emotions on both sides of the issue.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that's what makes exploring these true crime
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  stories so fascinating. They often lead us to these bigger
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  questions about justice, punishment, the very nature of good and
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  evil exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And sometimes those questions are even more intriguing than the
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  crimes themselves, for sure.
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  Speaker 1: And speaking of unanswered questions, let's shift gears a bit
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  and talk about the unsolved cases in South Dakota, Because
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  for every crime that's solved, there were always those that
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  remain mysteries.
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  Speaker 2: That's true, and those unsolved cases they leave behind a
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  different kind of pain for the victims' families. It's the
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  not knowing that can be the hardest part.
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  Speaker 1: It's like they're stuck in limbo, yeah, waiting for answers
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  that may never come.
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  Speaker 2: Exactly, and it's heartbreaking because you know, for some families
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  that closure never comes.
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  Speaker 1: But there have been some amazing breakthroughs in forensic science
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  in recent years. Do you think that offers some hope
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  for these cold cases.
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  Speaker 2: I think it definitely does, especially when it comes to
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  DNA technology. You know, we can now re examine evidence
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  that was collected decades ago and potentially find new leads.
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  Speaker 1: That's incredible to think about that we might finally be
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  able to solve some of these mysteries that have haunted
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  for so long.
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  Speaker 2: And it's not just technology that's making a difference. There
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  are also organizations like the Murder Accountability Project and Project
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  Cold Case that are doing really important work.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I've heard of those groups. What exactly do they do?
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  Speaker 2: They basically maintain online databases of unsolved murders and missing
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  persons cases.
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  Speaker 1: Oh wow. So they're like central hubs for information about
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  these cold.
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  Speaker 2: Cases exactly, and they're incredibly valuable resources for both investigators
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  and for the families of victims.
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  Speaker 1: So they help to keep these cases in the public
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  eye and hopefully generate new.
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  Speaker 2: Leads exactly because even though years or even decades may
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  have passed, people don't forget, and someone somewhere might have
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  a piece of information that could crack a case wide open.
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  Speaker 1: It's a good reminder that even in the age of
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  instant information and social media, there are still mysteries that
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  haven't been solved, stories that haven't.
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  Speaker 2: Been told, absolutely, and it's up to us to keep
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  those stories alive, to keep searching for answers, and to
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  never forget the victims.
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  Speaker 1: Well said, and I think that's a good place to
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  wrap up our deep dive into the dark side of
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  South Dakota. We've covered a lot of ground today from
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  the chilling crimes of Robert Leroy Anderson, to the audacity
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  of John Dillinger's bank robberies, to the controversial case of
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  Leonard Peltier and the somber story of George Sits. We've
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  seen how crime can touch every corner of society, from
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  small towns to big cities, and how the pursuit of
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  justice can be long and winding.
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  Speaker 2: And through it all, we've seen how these stories, these
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  crimes can reveal so much about human nature, but the
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  darkness that can lurk beneath the surface, and about our
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  own capacity for both good and evil.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, it's been a fascinating and at times unsettling journey,
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  but it's one that I think is important to take,
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  because by confronting these dark chapters in history, we can
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  learn from them and hopefully work towards creating a safer
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  and more just world. So thank you for joining us
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  on this journey into the heart of South Dakota's true
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  crime history. We'll be back next time with another deep
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  dive into a new case that's sure to keep you
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  on the edge of your seat. Until then, stay curious,
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  stay informed, Stay safe.