Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast

Episode 22 A Wilderness of Error by Errol Morris Pt 2 Lawyers, Lawsuits, Lunacy and Lies

Convicted of murdering his wife Colette and daughters Kimberly and Kristen, Jeffrey MacDonald begins serving his life sentence in 1979.  This is only beginning, however, as defense attorneys file appeal after appeal, going to bat repeatedly as they doggedly pursue justice.  Hidden evidence, disputed forensics,  missing jewelry, disbarred prosecutors, join Tara and Jill as they wind through the twists and turns over 40 years of legal maneuvering, affidavits, surprise recollections, shocking revelations, and appeals to the Supreme Court of the U.S. in the pursuit of truth.  Who killed Colette, Kimberly, and Kristen?
Send your comments to jillandtara@murdershelfbookclub.com and find our source materials on our blog at www.murdershelfbookclub.com.

Episode 21 A Wilderness of Error by Errol Morris Pt 1 -Hippies, Hams, Homicides, & Hearsay

Part 1: February 16, 1970 Ft. Bragg, NC:  Jerked awake from sleep, Capt. Jeff MacDonald is seized upon by murderous hippies, only to find his wife, Collette and daughters, Kimberly 5, and Kristen 2, viciously murdered. 
Or had he?
Evidence would convince some that Jeffrey MacDonald murdered his family after a terrible argument went horribly wrong.  Convicted, Jill and Tara revisit the evidence, both presented in court and suppressed, in Errol Morris’s book, A Wilderness of Error. In Part 1, we meet the doomed family, Jeff’s in-laws, Army investigators, prosecutors and defense attorneys, and the events that triggered 50 years of horror, discontent, debate, and mystery.
 
Source material for the Wilderness of Error trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com/ Feb 2021.
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR, join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 

Episode 20 Pt 4-2ndCast: Gone at Midnight- Cecil Hotel, Haunts, Hallows, and Serial Killers

Part 4: Jill and Tara peer into the bleakest blackest corners of the history of the infamous haunted Cecil Hotel of Los Angeles, CA., telling the stories of the strange beginnings, odd endings, Dahlias, dark forces, and the serial killers who called it home, Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker and Jack Unterweger, the Austrian Ghoul. Who is the Night Stalker, whose rising body count had all of L.A. utterly terrified?   Five years later, European imported killer, Jack Unterweger arrives at the Cecil, and the body count begins once more.  Why does the Cecil Hotel draw this clientele? Listen in as Jill and Tara look at the facts and lore. Trust your gut and lock your doors!
Not for the faint of heart, this episode deals with suicides and multiple murders. Listener discretion is advised.
Source material for the Gone at Midnight, the mysterious death of Elisa Lam trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com/Nov 2020.
 
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 

BONUS 1st BIRTHDAY EPISODE Interview with author Jake Anderson, Pt 3: Gone at Midnight, the Mysterious Death of Elisa Lam!

Part 3: Happy Birthday Murder Shelf Book Club!  *Bonus Episode* A year ago, Tara and Jill launched the first episode of the Murder Shelf Book Club! Please enjoy this special bonus episode as we celebrate this milestone! Tara and Jill sit down with Jake Anderson, author of Gone at Midnight, the Mysterious Death of Elisa Lam to discuss delving into body language, backlog of processing rape kits in the USA, botched law enforcement investigations, Jake's motivation, the dire importance of normalizing mental illness as a medical condition, and sojourn on his quest to untangle the urban legends from truth.
 
Source material for the Gone at Midnight, the mysterious death of Elisa Lam trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com/Nov 2020.
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 

Episode19 Gone at Midnight the Mysterious Death of Elisa Lam by Jake Anderson, Pt 2--“Paranormpiracy”

Part 2--“Paranormpiracy”
The mystery deepens as the conspiracy theories about Elisa Lam’s death spring forth full throttle, as Tara and Jill contend with creepy security guards, altered videos, police corruption, business investments turned malignant, medication cartels, dark entities, demonic influences …  Which ones seem the most viable?  And, Jake Anderson, suffering his own serious mental health crisis, mirroring Elisa’s own, as he investigates the myriads of possibilities.
Listen in Murder Bookies, as you head into Jake Anderson’s rabbit hole of a tale, and a heartfelt plea for greater understanding of mental health issues in our society.
(We apologize for the crazy schedule, and the sound is bumpy!  This pandemic cannot end soon enough! Happy 2021! Stay healthy! J&T)
Source material for the Gone at Midnight, the mysterious death of Elisa Lam trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com, Nov 2020.
 
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 
 

Episode 18 Gone at Midnight: The Mysterious Death of Elisa Lam by Jake Anderson Pt 1 Strange & Unexplained

Part 1: True crime sleuths recall the last images of Elisa Lam alive in the elevator of Los Angeles' haunted Cecil Hotel, triggering this baffling case from 2013 of the Canadian tourist, found dead days later in the water tanks on top of the building.
What happened? Murder? Suicide? Accident? Supernatural interference? The investigation created more questions than it answered as did the autopsy. Diving deep into the story is author Jake Anderson, who left no stone unturned, as he fought his own demons while slaying Elisa’s. Join Tara and Jill in telling this story, separating the rumors from the truth, if they can only find it in this 1st part of the tale.
 
Source material for the Gone at Midnight, the mysterious death of Elisa Lam trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com, Nov 2020.
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR, join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 
 
 

Episode 17 Killers of the Flower Moon- Pt 3, 2nd Cast: Finding Kristyn Sue Richerson

Part 3: Still in Oklahoma in this Killers of the Flower Moon trilogy, Tara and Jill delve into a 'missing and presumed dead' case from May 25, 2018.  Indigenous woman, Kristyn Sue Richerson, 51 years old, from Muskogee, Oklahoma, known as Krash by many, disappeared after attending the Rocklahoma concert with her roommate in Memorial Day weekend.  Or did she? What happened to Kristyn? Who were the last to see her? What evidence exists? Who are the suspects? How do we get a killer off the streets? 
Can you help hunt a murderer? Want to get him off the streets?  Do you have a tip that might help us find Kristyn? Contact Investigator Steven Brown at 918-680-3115. If he doesn’t answer, leave a message. He will get back to you pronto.
 
Source material for the Killer of the Flower Moon trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com, June 2020.
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 
 

Episode 16 Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Pt 2 'The Reign of Terror'

Part 2: Twenty-four Osage Indians have died under mysterious circumstances, casting a shadow across all daily existence in Oklahoma. Terror is commonplace, the fear is all too real. FBI Agent Tom White enters the scene with his team to root out those behind the conspiracy of death.  Following the trail of bodies, what he uncovers is deviousness and calculating betrayal.  Undercover agents, informants, murderous spouses, explosive experts—the story twists and turns speeding toward its conclusion!
Source material for the Killer of the Flower Moon trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com, June 2020.
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 

Episode 15 Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Pt 1 'Death Stalks the Plains'

 
Part 1:  The relationship between white man, his government, and the Osage was not easy, fraught with prejudice, broken promises, and 2nd class status. Then, oil was discovered, ‘black gold”, and it brought the oil barons.  Oil wealth changed everything for the Osage Nation, money, as well as challenges that disrupted their traditional way of life for the new millionaires.
Nevertheless, Mollie Burkhart, her sisters, Minnie, Anna, and Rita, lived the best they, could mixing tradition with new customs.  That is, until the Osage started dying.
Who was killing the Osage? Would anyone figure out the mystery while any remained alive? Who would die next? Was anyone safe?
Jill's cat, Olivia, joins us as our newest "co-host'! She has a lot to say this episode! LOL!
Source material for the Killer of the Flower Moon trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com, June 2020.
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.
 
 
 

Episode 14 The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber 2ndCast Pt. 3 “A bouquet of red flags”

Part 3: What is Charlie Cullen’s fate? Will justice be done?  Can one spot a potential 'Angle of Death' working at a hospital? What are the red flags that signal something may be “off” at a facility where you or your loved one is recovering? And there are other male nurses who kill, and we will analyze these cases.  Did the law change after Charlie? Are we safer today? What happened to “Agent” Amy, the true Good Nurse, and our persistent detectives, Tim Braun and Danny Baldwin?  Listen and find out as Tara and Jill wrap up the loose threads of terrifying story of The Good Nurse!
This trilogy of episodes and the book The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber deal with suicide. We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Please call 1-800 273- TALK or 8255.
 
Source material for the Good Nurse trilogy is on Jill’s blog www.murdershelfbookclub.com, May 2020.
ANNOUNCEMENT- JAN 2025:  My new Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast MERCH SHOP has launched!  Please go explore! I appreciate you supporting my true crime book club podcast!
Share your thoughts with me at  jill@murdershelfbookclub.com, on X,  Facebook,  Instagram or YouTube.  OR, join Jill on PATREON for $4 and help pick our next book and talk true crime developments, first Thursday of each month at 8:30 pm EST!
Music- The Pewter Elephant by Blue Dot Sessions.