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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

49:16

DEEP DIVE: SHOW ME DEM ALIENS

The First Degree ·

2025/09/11

This week we’re going all over the place, so buckle up for the ride. Starting off with a dead body being found in a TikTok star’s Tesla trunk (but he’s been on tour so who put it there???), UFOs are all over the damn place, just released terrifying shirtless selfies of Bryan Kohberger, and Elizabeth Gilbert admitting to *almost* attempting to kill her partner but no one seems to care?? WHAT IS HAPPENING🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on

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69:07

Episode 368: Zahra Baker

The First Degree ·

2025/09/10

On the afternoon of October 9, 2010, police in Hickory, North Carolina, receive a report of a missing 10-year-old girl. Everyone in her life is desperate for her safe return. But as the search continues, it emerges that she hasn’t been seen outside the house for some time. Almost a month after the youngster is reported missing, her remains are found in nearby woods, her cause of death unknown. When a suspect is arrested, the community is stunned and appalled when it learns the gruesome and

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49:13

DEEP DIVE: UNKNOWN CALLER, THE HIGH SCHOOL CATFISH

The First Degree ·

2025/09/04

The title says it all. This week we are deep diving Unknown Caller: The High School Catfish documentary, because we’ve got THOUGHTS. We analyze every moment of the documentary, what was missing from it, and share how we really feel about Kendra. Plus, Luigi Mangione modeling for SHEIN??🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook:

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40:28

Episode 367: An Arrest: Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain

The First Degree ·

2025/09/03

When we first covered the disappearance of 39-year-old mother of four, Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain, in episode 330, her case was still classified as a missing persons investigation. Months later, everything has changed. Authorities have reclassified the case as a homicide, Nikki’s husband Tyler has spoken publicly for the first time, and now he’s been arrested and charged with her murder. In this update episode, Jac and Lex revisit Nikki’s story, track the dramatic turns since March, and explore how

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48:49

DEEP DIVE: BASED ON A FAKE STORY

The First Degree ·

2025/08/28

It’s a variety show kinda week, and we’re covering all ends of the oddity spectrum for you. From Will Smith’s AI concert promo fail, to forensic otters, to getting knives stuck in your chest for 10 years, to the Burning Man Orgy Dome, to super powered humans who feel no pain, you’e bound to learn a new random useless fact or two to take with you this week!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram:

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51:16

Episode 366: The Kalamazoo Uber Murders

The First Degree ·

2025/08/27

It began as an ordinary night in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Families were out, friends gathered, strangers hailed rides to get across town. But beneath the surface of that routine evening, something unthinkable was unfolding. A man who seemed to have everything together, a job, a family, no history of violence, suddenly broke from the life he knew. Over the course of just a few hours, a city was gripped by a series of random, senseless attacks that defied explanation. Between rides for a car service, he

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45:11

DEEP DIVE: DIZZY GLIZZY

The First Degree ·

2025/08/21

It’s a week full of replacing eyeballs with teeth, con men “suicides”, and thousands of hotdogs flying through the air. Plus, Jenna Miscavige is officially on TikTok and answering all of our most burning questions about Scientology (like where the HELL is Shelly???).Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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60:45

Episode 365: Carrie Lepak

The First Degree ·

2025/08/20

Homicide detectives are trained to speak for the dead. They build cases from silence, piecing together fragments of lives they never truly knew. Rarely do they ever get to meet the people they fight for. But for one Los Angeles investigator, that changed in the fall of 1987, when a woman lived through the impossible. After being abducted, held captive for 48 hours, and shot in the head twice, she somehow survived. Her story not only defied medical odds, it reshaped a detective’s career and life,

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47:46

DEEP DIVE: TOUR DE EPSTEIN

The First Degree ·

2025/08/14

Have you ever wondered what the inside of Jeffrey Epstein’s New York brownstone looked like? Well have no fear! The photos have been leaked and we are going through and analyzing each and every detail. Plus, cursed labubus and banned baby names!🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about

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43:34

Episode 364: Just Outside the Line

The First Degree ·

2025/08/13

She did everything right. She kept the records. Filed the reports. Changed her routines. But none of it mattered. Because the man tormenting her stayed just outside the rules. A case where psychological terror was real, constant, and intentional- and yet, legally invisible. In episode 364, Jac and Lex unravel how stalking can become a form of slow-motion violence. How the system waits for blood before it acts. And how, sometimes, the most dangerous threats are the ones hiding in plain sight,

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50:30

DEEP DIVE: THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW

The First Degree ·

2025/08/07

This week we’re deep diving into Matt Rife buying Ed & Lorraine Warren’s haunted house (AND the Annabelle doll WTF?!), Dave Franco x Luigi Mangioni, Radioactive Wasps, and the woman who is crashing out on tiktok from falling in love with her psychiatrist, and WOO BOY is it a ride.🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook:

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49:21

Episode 363: Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, Part 2

The First Degree ·

2025/08/06

Even with a young mother and her toddler missing, investigators don’t seem to push for answers. Instead, they accept her boyfriend’s version of events and ignore glaring red flags. For years, Jennifer Wix’s family is left to fight for the truth on their own, chasing leads and conducting their own investigation. Then, nearly two decades later, the boyfriend’s story changes and their worst fears are confirmed. In episode 363, Jac and Alexis break down the investigation, the devastating admission that

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53:45

KILLING TIME: EEL OSMOSIS

The First Degree ·

2025/07/31

You asked, we delivered! Killing Time is back (for a limited time only) and our very own Jared is back to guest host with us. Things got weird pretty fast. We’re talking Katy Perry & Justin Trudeau going on a first date, Orlando Bloom punching Justin Bieber, Cheesecake Factory vs P.F. Chang’s, an alien invasion coming in October, and how exactly does an eel get stuck in one’s intestine?? 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on

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00:38:39

Episode 362: Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, Part 1

The First Degree ·

2025/07/30

On March 25, 2004, a 21-year-old mother and her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter vanish without a trace from rural Robertson County, Tennessee. Their family is devastated…and immediately suspicious. In the months leading up to their disappearance, Jennifer Wix had become increasingly isolated, with no car, no job, and no way out. Her relationship with her boyfriend and his parents was volatile, and her final phone calls made one thing clear: she was scared, and she was trying to leave with her

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00:42:45

DEEP DIVE: WELCOME BACK OZZY OSBOURNE

The First Degree ·

2025/07/24

Have you ever heard of the Trisha Paytas Reincarnation Theory??? Well now you have. This week we’re discussing the Amy Bradley documentary (and her brothers new theory), Jeffrey Epstein updates, Bohemian Grove lawsuits, a biting lawyer, and a 38 year old woman who is living her best life in a retirement home.🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok:

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00:50:00

Episode 361: Brian Schaffer

The First Degree ·

2025/07/23

In the spring of 2006, 27-year-old Ohio State medical student Brian Shaffer walked into a popular Columbus bar called the Ugly Tuna Saloona, and was never seen again. Surveillance footage captured him entering the bar around 1:55 a.m., but he never appeared on camera leaving. No signs of a struggle. No phone activity. No trace. Nearly two decades later, Brian’s disappearance remains one of the most haunting and confounding cold cases in modern true crime history. In episode 361, Jac and Lex unravel

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00:39:22

DEEP DIVE: RELEASE THE LIST

The First Degree ·

2025/07/17

This week we literally cannot get over the gaslighting that’s happening with Jeffrey Epstein. Tin foil hats are staying on until further notice. We also dive into the Annabelle doll haunting (and…murder??), a man begging to be cursed by satanists and witches, a Christmas present that ended up being a severed toe, and a TikTok cult growing in real time. Like we said…tin foil hats ON. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸

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00:51:15

Episode 360: Jessica Gutierrez

The First Degree ·

2025/07/16

On June 6, 1986, a single mom of three awakes to find her 4-year-old daughter has been abducted from her bed near Lexington, South Carolina. The family is desperate to find her. The girl’s sister tells law enforcement she saw a man in a ‘magic hat’ carry her sister out the window. However, there is no sign of the youngster. The days, weeks, months, and years pass without answers as the missing girl’s mother battles racism, corruption, and a bungled police investigation that ignores key evidence

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00:38:08

DEEP DIVE: JEFFREY EPSTEIN DIDN’T KILL HIMSELF

The First Degree ·

2025/07/10

This week we’re diving into the absolute joke of the justice department declaring that “Jeffree Epstein DID in fact kill himself in prison and there is no ‘client list’” Yeah, sure Jan. We also chat about inmate immaculate conception, toothbrushes getting stuck in small intestines, fake Disneyland weddings, smuggling hundreds of tortillas on airplanes, and who the hell is Jacky Jhaj???🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on

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00:43:02

Episode 359: Megan Trussell

The First Degree ·

2025/07/09

In February 2025, a college freshman is reported missing from her dorm at CU Boulder. Days later, her body is discovered in a canyon miles from campus, an area her family says she never would have gone alone. She is bruised and battered, missing one shoe, and both her phone and purse are gone. When those belongings later turn up in the possession of strangers, Megan’s family braces for answers. But what they get instead is a ruling of suicide, leaving them reeling and desperate for answers. In

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629 results

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