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: 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…
Episode 352: Lynn Schockner
Around 11am on the morning of November 8th, 2004, a resident of the Bixby Knolls neighborhood in Long Beach saw what looked to be a prowler hoping the fence into the backyard of Lynn Schockner. Concerned, the neighbor immediately called th…
DEEP DIVE: HOLLY MADISON RETURNS
The bitch is back! This week Jac and Lex are joined by their fav, Holly Madison to gossip about all of the latest dark news. We get her hot takes on Blake vs Justin, the disgusting slew of female teacher predators, and of course Diddy (and …
Episode 351: Slanz Bilello
On August 21, 2023, a 53-year-old husband and father fails to return home from work not far from Oakland, Maryland. News eventually reaches his family that he’s been involved in a terrible incident. While driving home, the crane operator’s …
DEEP DIVE: DIDDY IS BACK
This week Jac and Alexis dive into the long awaited start of the Diddy trial (and why haven’t we seen ANYTHING about it on the news???), bringing the latest updates including the complexity of jury selection, celebrity names mentioned we’ve…
Episode 350: Holly Madison: Kerissa Fare
On July 30, 2000, an 85-year-old man and his 78-year-old wife are taken hostage and soon after killed in a home in Concord, California. In the following days, three more murders are committed as a trio of offenders seek to leave minimal wit…
DEEP DIVE: IS SHE CURSED?
This week Jac and Alexis unpack their recovery from Stagecoach and dive into the latest headlines: from Katy Perry’s tour flop (why was she fighting an HVAC tube???) to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ Time 100 Gala outing (why was she on th…
Episode 349: Molly Franquemont, Part 2
Molly Frequemont’s family wants answers and they refuse to stop advocating for her. Their determination and unwavering commitment to Molly is what ultimately unearthed the existence of a serial killer who had likely been operating under th…
DEEP DIVE: WHERE ARE THE BODIES BURIED?!
There’s a lot to talk about this week! Since the Blue Origin fiasco, people have been digging up Katy Perry’s past of stealing a house from a convent of nuns and one of the nuns dropping dead IN COURT, plus we dive into a dead guy making mu…
Episode 348: Molly Franquemont, Part 1
In March 2013, a 37-year-old California woman suddenly stops calling her mother and daughter, who live on the East Coast. Her family has no idea that just weeks earlier, she had moved in with a man she’d quickly grown afraid of. When her ph…
DEEP DIVE: TAKING UP SPACE
This week we were blessed by the cringe gods for giving us the gift of the absolute disaster of the Blue Origin trip! We dive into the nitty gritty of the controversies, dive deep into the conspiracies, and have a little chuckle at Jess Be…
Episode 347: The Simi Valley Rapist, Part 2
Four days after Megan Barroso disappeared, another woman was attacked. This time in broad daylight. Then came a break—an arrest that had nothing to do with murder or rape. A petty burglary. A bag in the trash. A call to the police. And sudd…
DEEP DIVE: MOUNTAIN DEWS, BABY!
This week we are deconstructing Chris Watt’s new letters to God blaming his mistress for him murdering his wife and children, the return of the Direwolf (can we bring back the T-Rex next??), Russel Brand blaming his new allegations on an at…
Episode 346: The Simi Valley Rapist, Part 1
Between 1996 and 2001, a series of violent attacks terrorized the seemingly idyllic community of Simi Valley, California. Women were being terrorized in their homes. Families were jolted from sleep by the sounds of screams—and silence. Ther…
DEEP DIVE: UNDERGROUND TUNNELS IN MIAMI?
We’re back again breaking down this week’s wildest headlines. From new Diddy claims implicating Gloria Estefan, Beyonce, and LeBron James, to Virginia Giuffre’s bizarre IG post claiming she was hit by a school bus, to even more Justin Bieb…
Episode 345: Crystal Deniece McCrory Jones
On February 9, 2023, police conduct a welfare check at a home in a neighborhood of Oak Grove, Louisiana. Inside the residence, they find a 43-year-old business owner, wife, and mother dead from a gunshot wound. The woman’s husband is devast…