The First Degree
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 perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be o...
Episodes
DEEP DIVE: BAD WITCH CLUB
It’s officially soooky szn, and what better way to kick it off than with a PROFESSIONAL WITCH! It’s a super special Deep Dive with Sarah Potter: tarot reader, psychic medium, and yes…pro witch. She helps us lean into our own powers to be …
Episode 371: The Hillside Strangers, Part 1
In late 1977, Los Angeles was terrorized by a string of brutal murders that the press dubbed the work of the “Hillside Strangler.” Victims were found in public places, bound and strangled, their bodies eerily posed. A witness spotted two me…
Introducing: CRIMES OF…
Power. Fame. Obsession. Betrayal. These are more than headlines. They are the forces behind some of the most unforgettable crimes in history. Crimes Of... is a weekly true crime anthology series, hosted by Sabrina Deana-Roga and Corinne Vie…
DEEP DIVE: BIG ASS WIGS
Get in loser we’re going to reveal the bleak, disgusting truths about your favorite fashion trends (hint: they all originated as ways to hide disease in the Medieval times)! Plus, a deep dive on belly buttons and what they say about your pe…
Episode 370: Brown's Chicken Massacre, Part 2
For nearly ten years, investigators had no clue who killed seven people in the Palatine Brown’s Chicken on January 8th of 1993. They followed more than 4,800 leads and arrested several potential suspects, but nothing came of these efforts. …
DEEP DIVE: DEEP IN OUR EELINGS
Move over octopuses, eels are the REAL alien in town. Jac accidentally fell into the Bermuda Triangle and she’s sharing all of her eel facts with the class (spoiler alert….we don’t know ANYTHING about them???). Plus Dancing with the Sharks …
Episode 369: Brown's Chicken Massacre, Part 1
Shortly after 9 p.m. on January 8th of 1993, seven people begin the closing routine for the Brown’s Chicken & Pasta restaurant located in Palatine, Illinois. Of the seven people, five are employees: 16-year-old Michael Castro, 17-year-old R…
DEEP DIVE: SHOW ME DEM ALIENS
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 t…
Episode 368: Zahra Baker
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…
DEEP DIVE: UNKNOWN CALLER, THE HIGH SCHOOL CATFISH
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 Ke…
Episode 367: An Arrest: Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain
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 recl…
DEEP DIVE: BASED ON A FAKE STORY
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 s…
Episode 366: The Kalamazoo Uber Murders
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 …
DEEP DIVE: DIZZY GLIZZY
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 wh…
Episode 365: Carrie Lepak
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…
DEEP DIVE: TOUR DE EPSTEIN
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 n…
Episode 364: Just Outside the Line
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 inte…
DEEP DIVE: THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW
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 h…
Episode 363: Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, Part 2
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 t…
KILLING TIME: EEL OSMOSIS
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 punch…
Episode 362: Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, Part 1
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 disappe…
DEEP DIVE: WELCOME BACK OZZY OSBOURNE
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…
Episode 361: Brian Schaffer
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 …
DEEP DIVE: RELEASE THE LIST
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 sat…
Episode 360: Jessica Gutierrez
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 ‘ma…
DEEP DIVE: JEFFREY EPSTEIN DIDN’T KILL HIMSELF
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, too…
Episode 359: Megan Trussell
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, mi…
DEEP DIVE: RULES FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME
It’s been a terrible, horrible, no good very bad week, and we’re here to talk through all of the BS: Diddy being found not guilty of his most serious crimes (literally…HOW???), Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to escape the death penalty, and …
Episode 358: Anatomy of Betrayal
When a woman made the life-changing decision to anonymously donate her kidney, she did it out of pure compassion for a total stranger. But what happens when that stranger doesn’t stay anonymous? When the recipient of your organ begins threa…
DEEP DIVE: THE YELLOW DELI
You’ve been asking us to deep dive The Yellow Deli (and the Twelve Tribes cult) for months now, and the day has finally come. We’re diving into their “communal living” and “child discipline”, bizarre Sabbath gatherings, and disgusting beli…
Episode 357: Terence Freitas
On February 25, 1999, a 24-year-old environmental and Indigenous rights activist and two Native American advocates disappear from Arauca, Colombia, after meeting with local U’Wa people. The U’Wa’s lives and lands are under direct threat fro…
DEEP DIVE: EVERYONE IS CRASHING OUT
Everyone seems to be crashing out this week, and we are here to cover it all for you! R Kelly’s “alleged” murder attempt in jail, Kanye showing up at Diddy’s trial, Trace Cyrus’ wilddddd accusations against Brenda Song, Justin Bieber postin…
Episode 356: Christy Giles Cilliers & Hilda Cabrales-Arzola
On November 13th of 2021, two young women, aged 26 and 24, head out for a night on the town that finishes up near Beverly Hills, California. They dance the night away at a warehouse party into the wee hours. But come daybreak, the friends -…
DEEP DIVE: DEEP SEA DRAMA
There’s a lotttt that happened last week and we’re covering it all: JP Miller (the creepy abusive pastor) married his mistress just a year after his wife mysteriously took her own life, Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit was dismissed (but is it real…
Episode 355: Vanishing Act
Over a span of 39 years, at least 14 aliases, 17 arrests, and nearly a dozen imprisonments, Robert Spears had lived a con artists' life of unparalleled adventure and intrigue. His crimes culminated in an ultimate act of evil, when he downed…
DEEP DIVE: DIDDY, BLAKE, & CELINE DION?
It’s part two of our Diddy trial coverage, and this week we FINALLY learn wow and why the infamous tape from The Intercontinental hotel was covered up for so long (hint: $100k). We go through the rest of the highlights from this week in tri…
Episode 354: Destiny McClain
In the early morning hours of July 18, 2021, a 23-year-old woman is standing in line at a food truck outside a Phoenix nightclub when gunfire erupts. She is struck in the chest and later dies at the hospital, leaving her family devastated. …
DEEP DIVE: DIDDY TRIAL
We’re back and (almost) live, giving you the latest updates of the Diddy trial. This week, Lex is bringing Jac up to speed on everything that has gone down the past few weeks at trial, including details about Kid Cudi’s car bombing, Cassie…
Episode 353: Melissa Lamesch
A 911 call brought firefighters to the home of Melissa Lamesch in November 2020. Melissa was only days away from being induced and delivering her first child, a son. Instead, first responders would find her unconscious on the kitchen floor.…
DEEP DIVE: SHEN YUN
IT’S TIME! This week, the girls are finally deep diving into Shen Yun. And this time, it’s personal. Jac and Lex went to a Shen Yun show themselves to see what all of the fuss was about. They’re diving into the bizarre history of Shen Yun i…