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PODCAST

The First Degree

Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek

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

true crime

All Episodes

00:34:03

Episode 307: Under the Influence

The First Degree ·

2024/07/10

On March 8, 2015, a 25-year-old man visits his friend’s apartment in Indianapolis, Indiana. What begins as a casual hangout quickly turns into a tragedy. After consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms, one friend suddenly grabs a loaded gun and shoots Ian and another friend, without any provocation. A third suffers a fatal gunshot wound to the neck and tragically dies that night, while the is left paralyzed for life. Neighbors witness the aftermath as the shooter, in a dazed state, paces back and forth,

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01:06:58

PATREON EXCLUSIVE: JUSTICE FOR CLAYTON

The First Degree ·

2024/07/09

The true crime x bachelor nation crossover you didn’t know you needed. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project: theheavymetalproject.com📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889🤝 Advice: hello@thefirstdegreepodcast.com

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00:42:49

BONUS: KILLING TIME: HUMAN SHOES

The First Degree ·

2024/07/04

Welcome back to Killing Time! This week the girls and the ginger are going all-in, trying to learn as much as humanly possible! Today I learned: Dual destinies, human shoes, C-sections, narwhals again, and a dress debacle!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project: theheavymetalproject.com📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook:

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00:44:43

Episode 306: Samantha Marie Young

The First Degree ·

2024/07/03

On April 19, 2015, a 21-year-old mother fails to turn up to work not far from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. After her sister calls the police, the young woman’s body is found in a shed at the rear of a local residence. Despite fighting for her life, she has been brutally stabbed almost 50 times. It’s only a matter of time before the perpetrator is apprehended, and sadly, it’s the worst nightmare come true for the young woman’s family when they learn who’s responsible. But as the days and weeks pass,

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00:46:07

BONUS: KILLING TIME: FREE MESO BOOK

The First Degree ·

2024/06/27

The girls and the ginger are back! Today on Killing Time, we’re talking conspiracies in a big way! Then! Today I learned… How the Earth (and Arby’s) got their names, plus, the inspiration behind “No Scrubs” by TLC! Then! The return of On the Stand! We take one call from a listener but ya gotta get to the end to hear it!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project: theheavymetalproject.com📸 Instagram:

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00:57:01

Episode 305: Lizzi Marriott

The First Degree ·

2024/06/26

On October 9, 2012, 19-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott leaves a note for her uncle and aunt. Although Lizzi is a Massachusetts native, she is living with her family in Chester, New Hampshire while she attends a nearby university to pursue her degree in marine biology. In the note, Lizzi explains that she is going to a friend’s place after her evening class. Lizzi is never seen again. Two days later, Lizzi’s friend whose place she was going to, 18-year-old Kat McDonough, is questioned by the

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00:43:39

BONUS: KILLING TIME: MACAULAY MACAULAY CULKIN CULKIN

The First Degree ·

2024/06/20

It’s Killing Time! This week, the girls and the ginger are discussing new developments with the Long Island Serial Killer case, followed by some general tangents as of course is tradition! Then it’s on to Today I Learned! On deck today: Macaulay Culkin, Sierra Mist, and Costco hot dogs (again!) Here we go!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project: theheavymetalproject.com📸 Instagram:

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00:46:53

Episode 304: Leon Laureles

The First Degree ·

2024/06/19

In the late night hours of May 9, 1996, a 30-year-old man leaves his home for his midnight shift in Brownwood, Texas. But he never makes it inside. Just after midnight, his car is found burning near a gun range, and his body is discovered nearby with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Despite the brutality of the man’s death, the police do not take his murder seriously, and the case quickly goes unsolved. In episode 304, Jac and Alexis delve into the life and tragic death of Leon Laureles,

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00:45:47

BONUS: KILLING TIME: ALEXIS’ WEDDING RECAP

The First Degree ·

2024/06/13

Hello! Welcome back to another very special episode of Killing Time! Today, the girls and the ginger are reminiscing about Alexis and Matt’s incredible “surprise” wedding! That’s it! So much to say about such an incredible weekend celebrating our amazing friends. Oh, also, we got a surprise Pizza Hut delivery mid-episode shout out to the hut!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project:

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00:34:03

Episode 303: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 2

The First Degree ·

2024/06/12

Over a decade after Ronda Reynolds was killed, her mother wins the right under state law to have a judge convene an inquest into the death. When a jury determines that in their view the coroner originally got it wrong, the focus eventually pivots to not one but two people in the woman’s life. In episode 303, Alexis and Jac take you through the culmination of the Ronda Reynolds case, and how Barb, Ronda’s mother, joined forces with Ann Rule in the quest to find justice.🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus

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00:42:11

BONUS: KILLING TIME: WALKIN & TALKIN

The First Degree ·

2024/06/06

Welcome back to another exhilarating episode of Killing Time! This week, the girls and the ginger are ALL over the place, but eventually, it’s time for everybody’s favorite segment, Today I Learned! On the menu today: the origins of Dungeons and Dragons, Manatee facts, Avocados, and a listener-submitted T-bell grievance! And yes, we know you know Alexis got married this weekend, don’t worry, the episode is coming!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on

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00:41:03

Episode 302: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 1

The First Degree ·

2024/06/05

On December 16, 1998, a 33-year-old woman named Ronda Reynolds is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head inside her home in Toledo, Washington. Her death is ruled a suicide. But her mother believes there’s more behind the circumstances of the incomprehensible loss of someone who was one of the first female state troopers in Washington, and had only been married to her new husband of 18 months. In episode 302 Jac and Alexis detail the tragic murder of Ronda Reynolds, her mother’s fight for

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00:44:09

BONUS: KILLING TIME: CUTIE CRAZY

The First Degree ·

2024/05/30

The girls and the ginger would like to welcome you back for another week of Killing Time! Today, Jac goes deep into the halls of history with a super extended version of on this day! Then! Today I learned! The 7-eleven logo, the origin of Arby’s name, and chaos on the set of Titanic! Enjoy!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project: theheavymetalproject.com📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺

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00:44:28

Episode 301: Greg Everett Wells

The First Degree ·

2024/05/29

On January 6, 2002, a 31-year-old pizza delivery driver is bludgeoned to death and has his throat cut after making a delivery to an apartment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. the brutality of the attack, which police suspect is motivated by robbery, has the community on edge. Within days, a 17-year-old young man, who lives at the apartment where the victim is slain, and his 20-year-old female friend are apprehended. The sheer randomness of the attack is felt far and wide as the suspect’s identities and

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00:41:21

BONUS: KILLING TIME: BEEZIN

The First Degree ·

2024/05/23

This week the girls and the ginger return for another fact-filled frenzy edition of Killing Time! Jac has about one million things to say before we get into the good stuff: Today I Learned! This week: Dolphin name tags, Hangover origins, Narlugas? Then back-to-back listener submitted TIL’s about KFC and eyedrops!! Let’s get it on!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project: theheavymetalproject.com📸

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00:59:36

Episode 300: Ashleigh Love

The First Degree ·

2024/05/22

In the early morning hours of October 6, 2009, a 19-year-old woman is shot in her bed as she sleeps in her family’s Milwaukee, Wisconsin home. Immediately after the gunshot, the woman’s mother awakens to the sound of footsteps outside her door. Upon opening it, she comes face to face with an intruder holding a shotgun in his hand. The intruder flees, and the family rushes to the woman’s room, only to find her tragically deceased. Police immediately determine the murder was targeted, yet they

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00:46:00

BONUS: KILLING TIME: TATERS

The First Degree ·

2024/05/16

Welp, here we go again. The girls and the ginger return, and in the most Killing Time fashion ever, proceed to go on about 100 tangents before we get to our favorite new segment, Today I Learned! Our listener submission today is a fun fact about strawberries! Then! Angler fish reproduction, Five Guys fries, and bird flu! What a time to be alive! 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The Heavy Metal Project:

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00:52:58

Episode 299: John Wayne Gacy, Part 2

The First Degree ·

2024/05/15

On December 11th, 1978, a 15-year-old boy disappeared after finishing work at a drugstore in Des Plaines, Illinois. Law enforcement was soon on the case and two days later, a search warrant was executed at a family home in the suburbs. But what investigators uncover in the coming weeks and months is beyond their wildest and most grotesque nightmares, as the public is left aghast when one of the country’s most infamous and prolific serial killers is exposed. Someone who killed not just Robert Jerome

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00:50:06

BONUS: KILLING TIME: IT’S SCIENCE TIME

The First Degree ·

2024/05/09

Here we go again! The girls and the ginger return for another week of who honestly knows anymore. This tangent-filled episode takes so many twists and turns it’s hard to remember where we started. But one thing remains: this week, you will LEARN! With us! Today I Learned is back, and we’re taking another listener submission about snails! Then! The rejection hotline, horseshoe crabs, and Bill Nye! Let’s go! 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on

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00:37:37

Episode 298: John Wayne Gacy, Part 1

The First Degree ·

2024/05/08

In the spring of 1977, 18-year-old Matthew Bowman mysteriously disappeared from a suburban Chicago neighborhood. Matthew’s family immediately knew something horrible had happened, yet he was dismissed as a runaway by local police. Soon the arrest of serial killer John Wayne Gacy and the horrors found in the crawlspace under his house made the news. It was only then that Matthew’s family learned what happened to him. In speaking with members of Matthew’s family, this episode demonstrates how the loss

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