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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

01:02:34

Episode 105: Seath Jackson

The First Degree ·

2020/08/12

When Seath started dating Amber, the 15-year-olds shouted their love from rooftops—and across social media. But as high school romances are want to do, the relationship fizzled, and Amber began to stray. She ghosted Seath, then started posting pictures on facebook of her with another man. These events would lead to jealousy, rage, name-calling, betrayal, conspiracy and, ultimately, murder. On episode 105, Jac, Alexis and Billy head to Summerfield, Florida, for a twisted tale of love and revenge. 🎟

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01:05:09

Episode 104: Colleen Ritzer

The First Degree ·

2020/08/05

Two people fail to come home after a day at high school. One is a 14-year old student and soccer player who just moved into town. The other is a 24-year-old math teacher. After a frantic search, police access the school’s surveillance video and watch a gruesome horror story unfold. In episode 104, Jac, Billy and Alexis delve into the tragic story of Colleen Ritzer and Philip Chism. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree❤️ The

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01:14:09

Episode 103: The BTK Killer Part 3

The First Degree ·

2020/07/29

It’s now 2004, and BTK has been lurking in the shadows of Wichita, Kansas for 30 years. The murders have stopped, and it looks like he got away with his crimes...until a newspaper publishes a story on the anniversary of his first murders. And the killer just can’t help himself. In episode 103, Jac, Alexis and Billy explore how Dennis Rader’s narcissism helped police track him down, how his own daughter unwittingly aided in his capture, and the “grand finale” murder he planned to commit right before

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01:07:49

Episode 102: The BTK Killer Part 2

The First Degree ·

2020/07/22

After murdering five people, the killer known as BTK made his first contact with the media. But now he’s disappeared. For three long years would waits, before forcing his way into the home of a woman and slaying her while her children listened. Nine months later he would kill again, and continue to taunt the police, writing “Do the cops think that all those deaths are not related? Golly-gee yes the MO is different in each but look--a pattern is developing.” The pattern was laid out for all to see

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01:06:38

Episode 101: The BTK Killer Part 1

The First Degree ·

2020/07/15

A mother, father and their two children are found murdered in their Wichita, Kansas home. When a group of men falsely confess to the crimes, the real killer directs the police to a letter. He writes about the monster inside of him. The monster who needs to kill. “Maybe you can stop him. I can't. He has already chosen his next victim or victims. I don't know who they are yet. The next day after I read the paper, I will know, but it's too late. Good luck hunting.” In the 101st episode, Jac, Alexis and

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01:11:02

Episode 100: John Getreu

The First Degree ·

2020/07/08

Two young women, their bodies beaten and strangled and found less than a mile from each other in the hills near Stanford University. For 40 years their killer went undetected. Then, during the hunt for the Golden State Killer, a name pops up on law enforcement’s radar: John Getreu. In episode 100, Jac, Alexis and Billy tell the tale of a family man, a boy scout leader, a loving father and grandfather who was attacking and murdering women for decades—and how he was finally captured. 🎟 Catch up to

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00:54:12

Episode 99: Margaret Williams

The First Degree ·

2020/07/01

A teenager is getting ready for a school dance. She’s quiet and shy but tonight, her friends are making her look and feel like a million bucks. It’s the summer of 1963, and they will all be dancing to the early strains of rock n roll. But for Margaret Willams, it would be the last dance she would ever attend. The next day her body would be found half naked on a nearby baseball field. Her killer is swiftly captured—but that is just the beginning of this story. In episode 99, Jac, Alexis and Billy

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01:05:40

Episode 98: The Short Family

The First Degree ·

2020/06/24

You drive past a lakefront mansion, see kids playing in the yard under the watchful eye of a smiling couple and you wish you could be that happy. They have it all. But what if there was something lurking in the shadows? Not everything is perfect. In episode 98, Jac, Alexis and Billy enter the home of the Short family on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, and discover that not everything is what it seems. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on

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01:19:59

Episode 97: Jayme Closs

The First Degree ·

2020/06/17

In the middle of the night, a man bangs on the door of a suburban house. A mother and daughter huddle in the bathroom. A father goes to the front door to investigate. Within minutes, both the mother and father are killed with shotgun blasts. And the daughter was kidnapped. In episode 97, Jac, Alexis and Billy are joined by a true crime obsessive who followed the crime—who learned of her unthinkable connection to the case after Jayme’s miraculous escape. For Killing Time, they discuss the death of

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01:04:28

Episode 96: NXIVM

The First Degree ·

2020/06/10

The story of how Keith Raniere became an international self-help guru — and, later, a convicted sex-cult leader — is one of those cautionary tales that’s not unfamiliar. A man who is a master of manipulation, able to seduce, exploit, alienate and control countless individuals after developing keen abilities to select precise prey, bait them, and slowly coerce them into doing exactly what he wants. In episode 96, Jac, Alexis and Billy are joined by Josh Block of the podcast, Uncover: Escaping NXIVM

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01:16:12

Episode 95: Listen

The First Degree ·

2020/06/05

This week, we are handing our mic over to our Black listeners to share their experiences of living in this country as a Black American. To everyone who sent their stories in, thank you. We appreciate the time and energy you gave us, and we feel honored that we can amplify your voices. 🎟 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:

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00:00:20

A Message To Our Listeners

The First Degree ·

2020/06/03

🎟 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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01:11:17

Episode 94: Lorena Bobbitt

The First Degree ·

2020/05/27

The story of Lorena Bobbitt drew media attention in 1993 for being one of the most and disturbing domestic dispute stories to ever hit the news. Lorena was not the first woman to ever fight back against her husband- and she wasn’t the last. But her story was one of the first to demand change in the way the world perceived domestic abuse and sexual assault. On episode 93, Jac, Alexis and Billy are joined by Lorena, as they reexamine the impact of the single cut that forever changed pop culture and

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01:26:15

Episode 93: Jim & Sandy Melgar

The First Degree ·

2020/05/20

You get a call that your father is dead. You rush home and find he has been murdered. He was tied up, stabbed 31 times and beaten over the head. What could be worse? Police believe your mother—who was found tied up and locked in the bedroom closet—is the lone suspect in his death. In episode 93, Jac, Alexis and Billy tell the story of the murder of Jim Melgar, and how law enforcement disregarded key evidence and employed tunnel vision to zero in on Sandy Melgar as his killer. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR

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01:22:24

Episode 92: Jodi Arias Part 3

The First Degree ·

2020/05/13

It was a trial that seduced, consumed, and horrified the nation— Jodi Arias, facing the death penalty for the murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. Over the course of four months, Arias was up against a mountain of physical and circumstantial evidence. How did she defend herself? She went on the attack, grasping at straws, telling shocking and fabricated lies about Travis. In episode 92, Jac, Alexis and Billy examine the evidence against Jodi and explain how one woman spared the most hated

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01:06:15

Episode 91: Jodi Arias Part 2

The First Degree ·

2020/05/06

Travis Alexander was found Murdered in his shower—shot in the face, stabbed in the back, his throat slashed ear to ear. Many of his friends pointed a finger at his ex-girlfriend, Jodi Arias. But police had to piece together her whereabouts on the day of the murder—and her calculating actions made that incredibly difficult. In episode 89, part two of a three part series, Jac, Alexis and Billy delve into the investigation of Jodi Arias, including blood evidence, her bank and credit card statements and

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01:16:28

Episode 90: Jodi Arias Part 1

The First Degree ·

2020/04/29

Jealousy. Suspicion. Rage. And a calculated murder. You may think you know everything about Jodi Arias, the woman who killed Travis Alexander. But in episode 90 of The First Degree, Jac, Alexis and Billy speak with a first degree who had a front row seat to their ill-fated relationship, and learn details about Jodi’s actions that have never come to light before. 🎟 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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01:16:50

Episode 89: Serial Killer Bruce Mendenhall Part 2

The First Degree ·

2020/04/22

A Detective is trying to solve a murder at a local truck stop. His only lead is a grainy image of a yellow truck. One day, When a yellow long haul truck passes in front of him, his eyes widen. It’s a long shot, but Sgt. Pat Postiglione stops the driver. Inside his cab, he finds a bag of bloody clothes—evidence of other murders. In episode 89, Jac, Alexis and Billy delve into the murders of trucker serial killer Bruce Mendenhall. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes

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00:52:09

Episode 88: Serial Killer Bruce Mendenhall Part 1

The First Degree ·

2020/04/15

A woman is found murdered at a truck stop in Nashville Tennessee. She is nude, displayed grotesquely, and a chunk of her flesh is missing. Was it to hide her identity, or did the killer take a trophy? In episode 86 of The First Degree, Jac, Alexis and Billy not only speak with the sister of the victim, but also with Detective Pat Postiglione, who was tasked with finding the killer-who soon learns that this wasn’t his first kill. 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes

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00:57:21

Episode 87: The Ramirez Murders

The First Degree ·

2020/04/08

Jose Ramirez frantically called the police. He told them that his house had been ransacked, his parents were missing—and there was dried blood on the floor. When the police arrived, they didn’t find professor Susan Brill De Ramirez or her husband Antonio Ramirez Barron. But what they would later discover would shock the community of Peoria’s Bradley University to its core. On episode 87, Jac, Alexis and Billy explore the details of the case, the mind frame of those responsible, and search for an

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648 results

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