Shows / The First Degree
The First Degree
Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new…
Episodes
- The First Degree
Episode 71: Margaret Cho
Comedian Margaret Cho joins Jac, Alexis and Billy to tell the harrowing tale of how she found out a former romantic flame had taken a turn towards darkness…
- The First Degree
Episode 70: A New Year’s Eve Murder
New Years day, 2003. The small town of Fillmore, California. A horrific discovery is made in a drainage ditch. The community is in shock. But as they file out…
- The First Degree
Episode 69: Rose & Daisy Edwards
It was January of 2013 when friends and family lost touch with sisters Rose & Daisy Edwards. The radio silence from the girls would come to destroy a family…
- The First Degree
Episode 68: Curtis Gray
They crossed paths by an abandoned house in Dayton, Ohio. 27-year-old Curtis Gray and 51-year-old Daniel Mooty were strangers, but this chance encounter would…
- The First Degree
Episode 67: Becky Sutton
Things didn’t add up when a neighbor found Becky Sutton’s two year old strolling the apartment building courtyard unattended. Becky was known to be a…
- The First Degree
Episode 66: A Bad Boy Romance
What happens when you fall for a bad boy—a boy your parents refuse to let you to see? On episode 66, Jac, Alexis and Billy discuss a tragic murder case that…
- The First Degree
Episode 65: The Hollywood Ripper Part 2
Mike Gargiulo was a chameleon who possessed the ability to blend into the gritty backdrop of Los Angeles, slipping into the lives and proximity of his targets…
- The First Degree
Episode 64: The Hollywood Ripper Part 1
22-year-old Ashley Ellerin was standing outside her Hollywood home next to a car with a flat tire when a handsome guy approaches and insisted on helping. This…
- The First Degree
Episode 63: Jesse "LJ" Matthew
One student is last seen at a Metallica concert. Her remains are found three months later. Fast forward five years, another student is last seen on late night…
- The First Degree
Episode 62: Betty Stotts
When a fire breaks out at a Texas drive-in theater, everyone assumes it was an accident. But once the firemen entered the ticket booth, they learned the truth—…
- The First Degree
Episode 61: Serial Killer Roger Fain
On the morning of June 28th, 1999, Darlene Anderson failed to show up to work. Darlene always showed up to work. After a massive search, police made an awful…
- The First Degree
Episode 60: Jaymie Adams
25-year-old Jaymie Adams went out to meet a friend in Oklahoma City. When the pregnant mother of four failed to return home, the community watched as a bizarre…
- The First Degree
Episode 59: Tracey Schoettlin
The body of a young woman is found under a bridge in Birmingham Alabama. She had been stabbed and sexually mutilated. Her murder sent shock waves through the…
- The First Degree
Episode 58: The Casanova Killer
Glen Rogers charmed his way into Linda Price’s life at the Mississippi state fair in the autumn is 1995–and in less than three weeks she would be found…
- The First Degree
Episode 57: Linda Price
On a fall evening at the Mississippi State Fair, Linda Price was approached a blonde stranger named Glen Rogers. He was charming, mysterious, and exactly what…
- The First Degree
Episode 56: Marti Hill
On Sept. 10, 2010, Marti Hill was savagely attacked and left for dead in the basement of her Kansas home. On episode 55 of The First Degree, Jac, Alexis, and…
- The First Degree
Episode 55: Kim Goldman Part 2
On October 3rd 1995, 100 million Americans watched as a jury declared OJ Simpson not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald…
- The First Degree
Episode 54: Kim Goldman Part 1
On the night of June 12th, 1994, two people were murdered in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. This double homicide would change the world, shatter the…
- The First Degree
Episode 53: Crystal Kipper
On the landmark 52nd episode of The First Degree, Jac, Alexis and Billy are joined by Justin Evans of the Generation Why Podcast. Justin shares his first…
- The First Degree
Episode 52: Christmas in St. George
On episode 51, Jac, Alexis and Billy delve into a double homicide that rocked the small town of St. George Utah over Christmas in 2010. Two men were…
- The First Degree
Episode 51: Elyse Pahler
The disappearance of a 15-year-old girl named Elyse Pahler was initially ignored by law enforcement. But months later, a 16-year-old boy confessed to killing…
- The First Degree
Episode 50: Mackenzie Lueck
At 2:00 am on June 17th, 2019, 23-year-old Mackenzie Lueck got off a plane in Salt Lake City, took a Lyft to a suburban park, and then vanished. Police…
- The First Degree
Episode 49: Katie Beers
A 10-year-old girl goes missing from an indoor amusement park in Smithtown, New York. The family friend caring for her calls the police and dozens of officers…
- The First Degree
Episode 48: Joel Rifkin Part 2
On Episode 47, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude with part two of the story of Joel Rifkin. In 1993, the discovery that a serial killer had been operating in the…
- The First Degree
Episode 47: Joel Rifkin Part 1
The police chase that began in that late evening in June revealed the body of a murdered woman in the bed of a pickup truck driven by Joel David Rifkin. At the…
- The First Degree
Episode 46: The Warriners
On May 5th of 2019, police were called to an apartment in the Dallas suburb of Denton. The door was ajar, and the scene inside was straight out of a horror…
- The First Degree
Episode 45: Kenny Thomas Jr.
There's a moment in every child's life when they discover what death is, whether it's through losing a grandparent or flushing a pet fish down the toilet...”…
- The First Degree
Bonus - Sneak Peek of 22 Hours: An American Nightmare
It’s a case nightmares are made of. As Kaitlyn mentioned this week, we’ve got your sneak peek into the new true-crime series, 22 Hours: An American Nightmare…
- The First Degree
Episode 44: Ali Kemp
A 19-year-old student at Kansas State University home for the summer, was found by her father murdered in a pump room at a community pool in Leawood, Kansas…
- The First Degree
Episode 43: Terra Newell
On August 20th, 2016, Terra Newell was attacked on the roof of her apartment building by her mother’s estranged husband, John Meehan. Against all odds, Terra…
- The First Degree
Episode 42: Gloria Marmolejo
On episode 42, Jac, Alexis & Billy examine the bizarre 2009 disappearance of 54-year-old Gloria Marmolejo, who vanished mysteriously from her El Paso home…
- The First Degree
Episode 41: Bob Ward Part 2
On episode 41, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude with part two of the story of Bob & Diane Ward, and their two daughters' decade-long fight to prove their…
- The First Degree
Episode 40: Bob Ward Part 1
On the night of September 21st 2009, police responded to a 911 call at the Isleworth mansion of Bob and Diane Ward. Inside they found Diane dead from a gunshot…
- The First Degree
Episode 39: The Bishops Part 2
On episode 39, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude the puzzling case of family annihilator William Bradford Bishop. The international manhunt for Bishop has spanned…
- The First Degree
Episode 38: The Bishops Part 1
In March of 1976, police were drawn to a fiery stretch of North Carolina woods. At the time, first responders had no idea that the horrors revealed there would…
- The First Degree
Episode 37: Two Sisters and a Psychopath
Psychopaths make up about one percent of the general population. We work with them, we're friends with them—and some of us even date, fall in love with, and…
- The First Degree
Episode 36: Ashlea Ann Harris
Black Friday is the name assigned to the notorious shopping day after Thanksgiving. Although the original derivative of the term has been diluted, some say…
- The First Degree
Episode 35: The DeBeers
There is no crime more difficult to comprehend than the murder of a child by his or her own parents. Nevertheless, tales of the killing of newborn children are…
- The First Degree
Episode 34: Michelle Lavin
Women are 70 times more likely to be killed in the two week window after leaving their partners than at any other time during the relationship. And on Episode…
- The First Degree
Episode 33: Samantha Young
On April 19, 2015, a 21-year-old named Samantha Young was found brutally murdered behind her ex boyfriend's house. Her killing was horrific; but even more…
- The First Degree
Episode 32: The Smiley Face Killer Part 2
Is there a serial killer gang murdering college-age men in the waters of America? Jac, Alexis & Billy conclude the story of the Smiley Face Killer theory, with…
- The First Degree
Episode 31: The Smiley Face Killer Part 1
Dozens of young men found dead in bodies of water in the northeast and Midwest. Most were last seen leaving parties or bars. Most of their deaths were…
- The First Degree
Episode 30: Todd Gieb
22-year-old Todd Geib goes missing after an orchard party in rural Michigan. For 20 days, his family and friends frantically search for him. On the 21st day…
- The First Degree
Episode 29: Sarah Johnson
A married couple is found murdered in the bedroom of their home. Their teenage daughter runs out of the house screaming that someone killed her parents. In…
- The First Degree
Episode 28: Maggie Guardado
On episode twenty eight of The First Degree, Jac, Alexis and Billy tell the story of the vicious murder of Maggie Guardado. When the charred body of 16 year…
- The First Degree
Episode 27: The Hawes Family
Have you ever gotten mad at a sibling? Sure. But have you ever conspired to kill them? On episode twenty seven of The First Degree, Jac, Alexis & Billy dive…
- The First Degree
Episode 26: Ted Bundy Part 3
In episode twenty six, Jac, Alexis and Billy conclude with part three of the Ted Bundy series. Covering Bundy's time on death row, his bizarre romantic…
- The First Degree
Episode 25: Ted Bundy Part 2
In part two of this First Degree three-part special on Ted Bundy, Jac, Alexis and Billy detail his horrific killing rampage in Florida following his second…
- The First Degree
Episode 24: Ted Bundy Part I
January 24th is 30 years to the day that serial killer Ted Bundy was executed at Raiford Prison in Starke, Florida. In part one of this special three-part…
- The First Degree
Episode 23: Gabe Zimmerman
In episode twenty three, Jac, Alexis & Billy delve into the 2011 Tucson mass shooting and assassination attempt of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, an attack…
- The First Degree
Episode 22: The Source Family Cult
On Episode twenty two, Jac, Alexis & Billy discuss Father Yod and The Source Family Cult. With the help of former member Magus The Aquarian, they detail all of…
- The First Degree
Episode 21: Chris Spotz
On episode twenty one, Jac, Alexis & Billy explore a baffling murder case that stretches from the bright lights of Hollywood to the wheat fields of Northeast…
- The First Degree
Episode 20: Milan Ross
Holiday hijinx abound as Jac, Alexis and Billy explore the bizarre case of Milan Ross: a celebrity vegan Chef with a secret past, a dark food obsession and…
- The First Degree
Episode 19: Jim Jones Part 2
On episode nineteen, Jac, Alexis & Billy close with part two of The Jonestown Massacre. They'll explore the events of one of the largest mass murders in…
- The First Degree
Episode 18: Jim Jones Part 1
In episode eighteen, Jac, Alexis & Billy explore what some call the one of the biggest mass murders in history. The First Degree connection to the Jonestown…
- The First Degree
Episode 17: Thad Reynolds Part 2
Jac, Alexis & Billy conclude with part two of the Thad Reynolds story, a case that deals with conspiracy, manipulation, and incredible acts of adultery, all…
- The First Degree
Episode 16: Thad Reynolds Part 1
On episode sixteen, Jac, Alexis & Billy examine a grisly murder that left the conservative town of Rome, Georgia reeling. Thad Reynolds, husband, father and…
- The First Degree
Episode 15: Internet Satan
On episode fifteen, Jac, Alexis & Billy speak with two First Degree guests who were plagued by the same fiendish stalker for decades, a stalker they came to…
- The First Degree
Episode 14: Travis Forbes Part 2
On episode fourteen, Jac, Alexis & Billy conclude the Travis Forbes case by exploring the details of the attack on his second known victim, the evidence that…
- The First Degree
Episode 13: Travis Forbes Part 1
A teenage girl goes missing and a smooth talking modern day Ted Bundy has all the answers. Follow Jac, Alexis and Billy as they explore the unthinkable crimes…