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Friday, November 14th, 2003.  Near Lawrence, Kansas.

Two Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies conduct a welfare check at an isolated farmhouse. They find the scene of a bloody struggle in the living room. A women’s body lies face up on the floor. She is brutally beaten and stabbed multiple times. She appears to have been dead about a day. As the deputies search the house, they find a little girl’s room filled with toys and books. The little girl cannot be found.

I posted the links to the sources used for this episode in the show notes. Author and Attorney Robert Beattie wrote the definitive book on this case Language of Evil. I highly recommend it. It’s available on Amazon. You can also find Dr. Thomas Murray’s scholarly works online, like The Language of Sadomasochism (available on Amazon for only $38.00 plus free shipping)  For newspaper reports, I used the Lawrence Journal World, and the Manhattan Mercury.  48 Hours and a couple of other true crime tv series covered the case. I remember watching the 48 Hours episode when it came out not too long after the trial. It was very good. The family and police cooperated, and they even got to put cameras in the courtroom for the trial.

https://www.amazon.com/Language-Evil-Robert-Beattie/dp/0451225309

https://www2.ljworld.comhttps://themercury.com

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-mind-for-murder/

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ks-supreme-court/1131588.html

http://skepdic.com/consegrity.html

https://www.newspapers.com/

https://newspaperarchive.com/

https://www.ancestry.com/

https://www.genealogybank.com/

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Friday, November 5th, 1999.  Rural Kansas.

At 4:20 PM, Camille Arfmann, 14 years old, steps off her school bus. She walks to the trailer where she lives with her older sister and her family. About 5:00 PM, a friend, Rose Meyer, stops by. She goes in the trailer and sees the teenager’s jacket and book bag inside the house. Not finding anyone home, Rose leaves. At 6:30 PM, friends stop by to take Camille to an activity at nearby Countryside Baptist Church. When there is no answer at the door, they leave. At 12:50 AM Saturday morning, the Jefferson County Sheriff receives a call reporting the teenager missing.

https://www.thepitchkc.com/news/article/20615896/brothers-keeper

https://law.justia.com/cases/kansas/supreme-court/2007/95396.html

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ks-supreme-court/1329300.html

https://www.kscourts.org/cases-and-opinions/opinions/supct/2002/20020201/85735.htm

https://www.innocenceproject.org/cases/floyd-bledsoe

https://www.newspapers.com/https://newspaperarchive.com/

https://www.ancestry.com/

https://www.genealogybank.com/

https://www.findagrave.com/

https://www.kansascity.com/

https://www.atchisonglobenow.com

https://www.jeffcountynews.com

https://www2.ljworld.com

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7 people were convicted of the murders listed below. One died in prison and one is still incarcerated.  The others are either on parole or have been released.

June 17, 1979, Topeka, Kansas. Catherine Cummings, age 20, 6-1/2 months pregnant, is found raped and stabbed to death with a screwdriver.

September 2, 1980, Pittsburg, Kansas. A man walks into the police department saying he has just shot two people.

April 8, 1987, Wichita, Kansas. Zeola Wilson, age 36, 8 months pregnant, is shot to death in her car.

February 19, 1989, Kansas City, Kansas. 17-year-old honor student at Piper High School, Syndi Sue Bierman, is found beaten and stabbed to dead in her bed.

February 7, 1993, Kansas City, Kansas. Police are called to the scene of a fatal shooting. Two men are seen leaving a home near the crime.  One of the men pipes up “I shot the bitch.”

The initial source and inspiration for this podcast is Kansas City Star “19 Kansas inmates convicted of 1st-degree murder paroled in last 3 years” posted by Hurst Laviana.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article314454/19-Kansas-inmates-convicted-of-1st-degree-murder-paroled-in-past-3-years.html

Other links:

https://law.justia.com/

https://www.doc.ks.gov/

https://www.dougmagee.com

https://www.pomc.com

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org

https://www.newspapers.com/

https://newspaperarchive.com/

https://www.ancestry.com/

https://www.genealogybank.com/

https://www.findagrave.com/

https://www.kansascity.com/

The link for the podcast blog is https://prisoncitymurders.blubrry.net/ Comments may be posted at that site.

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March 27, 1890, Leavenworth, Kansas.  A local man places a personal ad in the Leavenworth Times, reporting his wife missing. Soon, her gruesome fate will trigger memories of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders, which shocked London just two years before. The sensational case will make headlines all over America.

Most of the research material for this episode is from these three newspapers:

Leavenworth Times, Leavenworth Standard (defunct), Kansas City Star

Source links:

https://www.newspapers.com/

https://www.ancestry.com/

https://www.genealogybank.com/

https://www.findagrave.com/

https://www.leavenworthtimes.com/

https://www.kansascity.com/

https://www.atchisonglobenow.com

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March 27, 1890, Leavenworth, Kansas.  A local man places a personal ad in the Leavenworth Times, reporting his wife missing. Soon, her gruesome fate will trigger memories of the infamous Jack the Ripper murders, which shocked London just two years before. The sensational case will make headlines all over America.

Most of the research material for this episode is from these three newspapers:

Leavenworth Times, Leavenworth Standard (defunct), Kansas City Star

Source links:

https://www.newspapers.com/

https://www.ancestry.com/

https://www.genealogybank.com/

https://www.findagrave.com/

https://www.leavenworthtimes.com/

https://www.kansascity.com/

https://www.atchisonglobenow.com