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
LISK: Getting to know Amber Lynn Costello
On September 2nd of 2010, 27-year-old Amber Lynn Costello leaves her house to go meet a john for sex work. Her final words to her roommate as she leaves are…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: ARE WE THE ASSHOLES?
The girls and the ginger welcome you back for another week of Killing Time! This week, we’re taking to Reddit to analyze some stories on r/AmITheAsshole. Also!…
- The First Degree
Episode 254: Adrian Marshall
On July 29th of 1994 24-year-old Adrian Marshall was senselessly murdered. While there were early suspects, the leads fizzled out, which devastated Adrian’s…
- The First Degree
LISK: Getting to know Megan Waterman
Life wasn’t always simple for 22-year-old Megan Waterman. She was a single mother, in a relationship with a questionable man, and struggling to make ends meet…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: WORLD RECORDS
This week the girls and the ginger are back with a record setting episode! We’re visiting the hall of fame of humans and their super bizarre achievements! It’s…
- The First Degree
Episode 253: A Jensen Beach Nightmare
On February 24th of 2022, 57-year-old Cynthia Marie Cole of Jensen Beach, Florida vanishes into thin air. That morning, she’d walked on the beach. That…
- The First Degree
LISK: Getting to know Melisssa Barthelemy
From the moment she was born on June 24th, 1985, Melissa Mary Barthelemy was loved. Between her mother, father, and siblings, Melissa was raised alongside…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: BEN FRANKLIN
This week the girls and the ginger return with an electrifying episode! It’s all things Benjamin Franklin! Find out what it takes to make it onto the 100…
- The First Degree
Episode 252: Zadie Cooper
On July 4, 2016, 911 is called to respond to a 4 year old girl in Athens, Alabama, who’s not breathing. At the hospital, the youngster is placed on life…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: BIG BROTHER
This week, the girls and the ginger are PARANOID! We’re here drawing some interesting conclusions between modern society and George Orwell’s dystopian social…
- The First Degree
Episode 251: Thomas Brackett
When you think of public places where children should all be expected to feel safe, school is one of them. Church is another. Sometimes in such spaces, it’s…
- The First Degree
LISK: Getting to know Jessica Taylor
Today The First Degree is joined by Jessica Taylor’s cousin, Jasmine- who fondly recalls the details of growing up with her vivacious older cousin. Jessica…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: DOOMSDAY
This week get ready for another installment of Ask a Girl, Ask a Ginger! That’s right, we’re here yet again to offer some advice to some of our faithful…
- The First Degree
Episode 250: Suffolk County Police (LISK Part 3)
On December 9th, 2015, the former Suffolk County Chief of Police James Burke is arrested for assaulting Chris Loeb three years earlier. Back in December 2012…
- The First Degree
LISK: Her name was Valerie Mack
Valerie Lyn Mack was a loving sister, a caring mother, and a dynamic woman During her childhood, Valerie trekked from foster home to foster home for almost a…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: DOWN YOU GO
This week the girls and the ginger are back to explore some post-life plans. Turning into a coral reef, maybe a tree? Get launched into the sun? Anything is…
- The First Degree
Episode 249: Shannan Gilbert, et al. (LISK Part 2)
On May 1st of 2010, 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert gets into a black SUV with her hired driver and de facto security guard, Michael Pak. Shannan and Michael…
- The First Degree
LISK: Getting to Know Shannan Gilbert
Shannan Gilbert was an aspiring actress, singer, and writer. After overcoming her tumultuous childhood, Shannan moved to New York City for her big break. In…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: HELLO DARKNESS
Grab a flashlight! This week the girls and the ginger are getting dark! That’s right! Radiation poisoning, humans birthing rabbits, dancing to death, being…
- The First Degree
Episode 248: Megan Waterman (LISK Part 1)
In the early morning of June 6th, 2010, 22-year-old Megan Waterman walks out of a hotel on Long Island and is never seen alive again. A week prior, Megan and…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: M’LADY
Hear ye, hear ye! This week the girls and the ginger are headed to the Renaissance Pleasure Fair! Lace up your tunics, sharpen your axes and join us for some…
- The First Degree
Episode 247: Cindy Ching Stevens
On January 12, 2006, a 44 year old woman is shot at her home in Houston, Texas. The community is in a state of disbelief. The wife and mother of two leaves…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: SAY WHAT?
This week the girls and the ginger return with some erroneous excerpts! That’s right, we’ve all been misquoting Marilyn Monroe this whole time. And Gandhi?! On…
- The First Degree
Episode 246: Sam Olson
On the evening of May 27, 2021, police in Houston, Texas, receive a report of a missing 5 year old boy. Everyone in the youngster’s family are beside…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: MOST LIKELY TO…
This week the girls and the ginger return with a quiz. Who’s most likely to get a tramp stamp? Urinate in public? And more! On the stand this week: The…
- The First Degree
Episode 245: La’Reko Williams
On the evening of July 20th, 2011, 21-year-old La’Reko Antonious Williams goes to the movies with his girlfriend in Charlotte, North Carolina. As they prepare…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: 420
This week the girls and the ginger are dazed and confused about the origin of the term “420”. Follow us to the Mount Rushmore of reefer as we uncover the true…
- The First Degree
Episode 244: The O'Connell Funeral Home Murders Part 2
When the murders of Dan O’Connell and James Ellison had all but gone cold, new detectives caught a break while investigating a complaint made against a priest…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: PUMPKIN EATER
This week on Killing Time, the girls and the ginger are back and we’re diving into some cheating scandals that rocked our pop culture worlds! That’s right…
- The First Degree
Episode 243: The O'Connell Funeral Home Murders Part 1
The city of Hudson, Wisconsin was rocked when Dan O’Connell and James Ellison were found gunned down in the office of The O’Connell Funeral home. The case…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: WORM RAIN
This week the girls and the ginger are back with more unsolicited advice in our new segment ask a girl, ask a ginger! But before we get to the throwaway…
- The First Degree
Episode 242: Nicole Crystal Sinkule
On October 16th, 2005, the 25-year-old daughter of today's first degree guests had her life taken while she was asleep in her Oceanside, California apartment…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: APRIL FOOLERY
This week the girls and the ginger are talking all about pranks! That’s right, it’s spoof and goof season, and we’re going all-in on April fools. Come with us…
- The First Degree
Episode 241: Jeff Wood
On January 2, 1996, a 31 year old gas station clerk is shot and killed on the job in Kerrville, Texas. The killer then forces his friend at gunpoint, who is…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: PIGEONS
This week the girls and the ginger are on a quest to discover the true meaning behind some phrases we all use day-to-day. Should be a piece of cake. Piece of…
- The First Degree
Episode 240: Jessica Berry
On July 18th, 2016, 32-year-old Jessica Loraine Berry gets into a red car with a friend. She is never seen again. Six days later, Jessica’s family reports her…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: OWN YOUR SHIT
This week the girls and the ginger are taking a brief look into the Scarlet Letter and the value of owning your shit! Speaking of, we’re starting a new segment…
- The First Degree
Episode 239: HitmanForHire.Net
On the morning of Saturday, September 16th, 2006, 51-year-old Essam Ahmed Eid and his wife, 43-year-old Teresa Engle, meet with 23-year-old mortgage broker…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: BARBIE BLUNDERS
This week the girls and the ginger are toying around with the most bizarro Barbie blunders of all time! Then, on the stand this week: wacky wedding dances…
- The First Degree
Episode 238: Rebeca Peña
On April 10th, 2001, actress 26-year-old Rebeca Peña works on the film Muhammad Ali in Miami, Florida. Late that night, Rebeca leaves the set and drives to her…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: BODIES
This week the girls and the ginger are digging deep! About six feet to be exact! That’s right, we’re talking grave robberies! On the stand this week: calling…
- The First Degree
Episode 237: Nina Viktoria Hilt
On July 2, 2005, 911 is called to respond to a 2 year old adopted girl in Manassas, Virginia, who’s not breathing. At the hospital, medical staff find the girl…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: BOTCHED
This week the girls and the ginger are back in the studio and we’re diving deep into the wild world of botched executions. Uplifting stuff really! But before…
- The First Degree
Episode 236: Sidney Ann Merrick
On Monday, September 26th, 1983, 21-year-old Sidney Ann Merrick drives from Salt Lake City to Park City, Utah, to run an errand for her boss. While heading…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: BABERAHAM LINCOLN
This week the girls and the ginger are here with some fascinating facial hair facts. One in particular actually. The story of Abraham Lincoln’s iconic beard!…
- The First Degree
Episode 235: Oscar Alvarado
On August 22, 2010, a 22 year old Salvadoran man is repeatedly stabbed to death in the backseat of a car in broad daylight in Charlotte, North Carolina…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: THE VMA’S
This week the girls and the gourmand (Matt’s back!) are taking a trip to the golden days of award television, and we’re talking about all the crazy happenings…
- The First Degree
Episode 234: Ana Carrillo
On September 3, 2017, a 35 year old mother of three goes missing from Wyoming, Michigan, after failing to pick up her three children from her 38 year old…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: THE OREGON TRAIL
This week the girls and the ginger are heading west to discover all the different ways you can die on the Oregon trail! On the stand this week: the…
- The First Degree
Episode 233: Lauri Waterman
On the afternoon of Sunday, November 14th, 2004, Carl “Doc” Waterman and his 16-year-old daughter, Rachelle Waterman, return home to small-town Craig, Alaska…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: HOLLY MADISON
This week, the girls are joined again by the one and only Holly Madison for a Killing Time of epic proportions! Turns out, Holly brought her own On The Stand…
- The First Degree
Episode 232: Stacy Arthur with Holly Madison
Playboy is an internationally recognized brand and household name. Whether you were a fan of E!’s hit reality show Girls’ Next Door or whether your brother had…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: EDGAR ALLAN POEM
This week the girls and the ginger are waxing poetic as they learn some perplexing and polarizing facts about Poe. That’s right, Edgar Allan Poe. Did you know…
- The First Degree
Episode 231: Marcell Eads Jr.
On June 29, 2001, the badly beaten body of a 58 year old Native American man is pulled from his burning home in Wichita, Kansas. The victim has been robbed and…
- The First Degree
Episode 230: Bennie William Schuck
In the early 2000s, the US Army opens a misconduct investigation on Bennie William Schuck II. Bennie’s teenage daughter is accusing him of sexually molesting…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: THE MOSCOW MURDERS
This week, we're releasing our Killing Time episode early to discuss the Idaho Murders. Jac and Lex will be discussing the strange details surrounding the…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: DEAD CELEB ISLAND
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree Greetings and Happy New Year Firsties! It’s…
- The First Degree
Episode 229: The Milwaukee Ave Massacre
On November 26, 1981, four men are killed and two others are wounded in a shooting massacre on Thanksgiving night in Chicago, Illinois. The murders make…
- The First Degree
BONUS: KILLING TIME: NEW YEAR, SAME US
This week, the girls and the ginger are back to ring in the new year! That’s right, it’s the week after Christmas and nobody really knows what to do with their…
- The First Degree
Episode 228: Dr. Ricardo Cruciani
From 2002 to 2017, 63-year-old Dr. Ricardo Cruciani practices medicine as an esteemed anesthesiologist, neurologist, and pain management specialist. He works…