64: Delphi Murders, 8 Passengers Ruby Franke, & Alex Murdaugh
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Hey everybody, welcome back to this week's episode of Headline Highlights on Serialistly. It's me, Annie, your true crime bestie, here to keep you in the know of everything going on in the true crime world this week. We have got a lot of case updates. We've also got some new cases.

There has been a lot of movement in some key cases that we have been following for several months, even years. So we're going to discuss the latest news on everything going on in the true crime world. As I mentioned, this week there have been some disturbing new cases as well as updates to ongoing cases, including Alex Murdoch, eight passengers, Ruby Frankie and Jodi Hildebrandt, and even Richard Allen in the Delphi case.

We have got a lot to talk about today, guys. So I'm going to jump right in and start with Alex Murdoch.

He is the disgraced South Carolina attorney who has been convicted of murdering his wife and son. He has now agreed to plead guilty to 22 federal charges. This includes wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. The charges carry a maximum punishment of 20 years in federal prison, with some carrying a maximum of 30 years.

Additionally, federal prosecutors have agreed to recommend in court that Murdoch serve any prison sentence on the federal charges concurrent to any state sentence that he receives for the same alleged crimes. Overall, not surprising because he literally admitted all of this during his murder trial. From what I understand, this is completely separate from the Gloria Satterfield matter and other state charges that are scheduled to go to trial in late November.

The jury tampering claims, which Alex and his defense attorneys say warrant a new trial regarding the murder, are still being looked into. Last week, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson asked the court to order the defense team to correct their motion due to several procedural defects.

The prosecutor's office didn't directly dispute the motion, but noted the ongoing investigation has already revealed significant factual disputes that undermine the credibility of the claims. Which I just want to say, in my opinion, guys, even if the claims were warranted and even if it did allow a new trial to take place, the fact that he pled guilty to the 22 federal charges and he's facing 30 years, 20 years, things like this,

Why the push to get a new trial for the murder if you're already going to be spending pretty much the rest of your life in prison anyway, unless it is strictly for ego? Because you want to prove your innocence. You don't want to tarnish your name in regards to murder, but you're okay with tarnishing it in regards to crime.

theft and money laundering and all fraud and all of those things. So I'm curious what you guys think about all of that. I personally believe that the push isn't to truly advocate for his innocence. I think it's more of an ego-driven thing, but who knows? I could be wrong, but you tell me. Now let's talk a little bit about some 8 Passengers updates with Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt.

If you haven't been following this case, Ruby Frankie and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested last month and later charged with six felony counts of aggravated child abuse after one of Ruby's children literally ran from Jodi's home after escaping to a neighbor's home, then knocked on the door and asked for food and water. The neighbor called 911 and told dispatch that the boy was emaciated and had tape around his legs, duct tape.

Now I did a full deep dive on this case, a two-part actually, one on what happened with the arrest itself, who Ruby Frankie is, the family, eight passengers, all of that. And then I did a part two where we dove more into Jodi Hildebrandt connections, which is like her cult.

and more information too about Ruby as well. So both of those are up on the podcast. They also, the video versions are up on my YouTube channel, 10 to Life. So I'll link all of that in the show notes for you, just in case you aren't familiar, or even if you are, if you wanna get caught up. So the news that is coming out now

The search warrant for Jody's house was released on Wednesday, and it revealed just how disgusting the children were actually treated. According to the warrant, and I quote, "...when officers arrived, they observed the wounds and the malnourishment of the child to be severe, and he was transported to the St. George Regional Hospital."

The child was placed on a medical hold due to his deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment. They were abnormally thin and weak. The child told medical personnel and police that his wounds were from the rope, which was used to tie the victim to the ground.

The child identified Jody as who put the rope around their ankles and wrists and used cayenne pepper and honey, a mixture of the two, smeared into the wounds as a way to dress the wounds, which, hi, no, cayenne pepper and mint honey does not dress a wound.

Duct tape was also used to both bind the child and dress the lacerations. Police also found two sets of handcuffs, rope, duct tape, and cayenne pepper and honey that paced next to medical gauze dressings. In the documents, it also said that Ruby left her three children in the care of Jodi. Officers also seized three iPhones and five Mac computers from the home.

Jodi Hildebrandt, the mental health counselor, if you can even call her that, has officially surrendered her license to practice. This according to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing. Now this is a quote from a Fox News station in Utah that I'm about to read for you.

According to the department, officials have been working with Hildebrandt's attorney since her client's arrest on August 30th as a way to secure the voluntary surrender of her professional license with limitations, ensuring that she cannot practice if released. Given the heinous abuse allegations, the agency felt that the surrender of her license was the best course of action to protect the safety of the Hildebrandt's patients and clients, which obviously no shit.

That probably shouldn't come as too much of a shock from the same agency that received complaints of Jodi taking private information from counseling sessions to the leaders of her church. Yet, here we are. Additionally, a status review hearing scheduled for the child abuse case against Ruby Frankie and Jodi Hildebrandt has been postponed. Attorneys filed a stipulated motion to continue the review hearing until after August 5th.

citing additional time needed to review copious amounts of discovery. Reports from the KSL News say that both were ordered to be held without bail on September 8th and will continue to be held without bail. The judge was expected to decide on bail release during Monday's hearing.

Additionally, on Monday, Ruby attended a hearing for the child welfare case. KSL News also reported that Ruby's children are in custody of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services. Ruby's oldest daughter, Sherry Franke, attended the hearing and declined to comment through her attorney. Kevin Franke was also at the hearing, the father and Ruby's husband—estranged husband, I should say—

Kevin's attorney spoke to the media briefly and said that Kevin is trying to get custody of the kids. Once known as the father and husband in the 8 Passengers YouTube series, Kevin Franke's attorney now says the father of six is fighting for custody of his children.

There's a lot to be told. There's a lot of chapters in this book. Law and Crime Network crews traveled to Provo, Utah this week to sit down with Kevin Franke's attorney, Randy Kester. He says his client had no idea his children were being abused and instead points the finger at Jodi Hildebrandt, alleging she brainwashed the entire family. Once she got involved in their lives, it just destroyed his family. It did.

And he's now trying to recover from that and put it back together. He wants it back the way it was. In recent days, Kevin Franke has stopped speaking with his estranged wife, Ruby, after she dropped bombshell news on him during a jailhouse phone call. He hasn't spoken to Ruby for about two weeks now. So he did speak with her after her arrest, it sounds like then. He spoke with her. I think there are reports out there actually.

He spoke with her a week ago Friday, and that was when he started to realize the broad perspective of the deception that he'd been fed. And in that discussion, found out a lot of things from her that he should have been told, he should have been involved, and after the phone call, he just decided that...

He he'd been deceived and hasn't had contact with her since. In fact, Kevin Frankie hasn't even discussed the abuse allegations with his wife. His his backing off from communication with Ruby was because he felt betrayed. He felt deceived and so he didn't feel like that they it would merit any further consultation and discussion between them. But I don't know. He may be.

He may be following the proceedings, but they're pretty inaccessible. Neither one of us have been willing to drive 250 miles just to go to a short hearing, and it's my understanding that the WebEx links crashed, and so I just gather information and give it to him about what's going on.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. An official message from Medicare.

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Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An in-person pre-trial conference was scheduled for October 17th. Now, so many of you guys have been talking and wanting and requesting updates in the Delphi case because it is getting crazier by the moment. So now let's get into the major, major news that has come out of the Delphi case this week.

Richard Allen, the man who is currently in custody and charged with the murders of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German from the murders in 2017, through his attorneys, have now filed documents with the court alleging that the girls died in a ritualistic sacrifice by white nationalists who practice a Norse pagan religion and that Richard Allen was not involved.

Now, I want to stress that this is what the defense is saying in their filings as to whether or not this is true. I guess we will find out. Personally, I have my own opinions on this. Defense attorneys revealed the shocking new claims in a 136-page memo, which they said supports Richard Allen's request for a hearing to contest the validity of a search warrant.

The filing alleges that there are several white nationalists practicing the religion Odinism, and this document states that they are the ones that ritualistically sacrificed the girls. According to NBC, Odinism is a term frequently given to a racist variant of the Norse pagan religion known as Oshetru, a religion sect that attempts to revive ancient Norse religious beliefs and practices of pre-Christian Europe.

Evidence found at the crime scene consisted of symbols in the form of runes made up of sticks and fashioned with tree branches, which defense attorneys say were an obvious signature left behind by the Odianites.

According to the filings, detectives previously obtained information that connected two groups of men who practiced Odianism to the murders, one in or near Delphi and another who lived in Rushville. The defense attorneys stated that a letter regarding the possible connection between the killings and the group practicing Odianism in Rushville was withheld by the prosecution.

Since the murders, very little information about how the girls were found and their injuries have been released to the public because of the ongoing investigation. But we did know that the girls had very different injuries and that they were also posed or staged. When I was reading these documents, I was absolutely horrified, guys. I had absolutely no idea that it was this sickening.

It says,

Libby's right hand was covered in blood. Libby's left hand was covered in blood. Blood spots and blood drippings were seen all over Libby's body, from head to toe. Libby's right arm was placed along the side of her body. One large tree branch had been placed on her left shoulder. This branch was so long that it extended above Libby's head several feet, and below her legs for several feet as well.

Two smaller branches formed a V where her legs joined her body near her pelvic genital area, with both sides of the V extending upward toward Libby's head, with one branch extending to the left of Libby's head and the other one to the right of Libby's head. The last of the four branches extended across Libby's body on a line from her right shoulder to her left shoulder.

This fourth tree branch also connected with the other three branches and was placed under both branches that formed the V. Libby's sliced neck was partially covered by this fourth branch. There appeared to be no blood sprayed or dripped onto the leaves or near the tree near Libby's head and sliced neck.

it appeared likely that Libby had been killed at a nearby tree and then dragged to her final resting place, where she was then positioned before having the tree limbs placed on her in a very specific pattern.

The murderers treated Abby very differently, though. Abby was found just a few feet away from Libby. Her body was not placed parallel to Libby, but rather at an angle, with Abby's legs just a few feet from Libby's legs. However, both their heads were found a few feet farther apart from each other.

Significant differences existed between how Libby's body was found and how Abby's body was found. Abby was not found at the base of a tree. Abby was also fully clothed. In fact, in a horrifying detail, Abby was dressed in Libby's sweatshirt and jeans.

No blood appeared on Abby's clothing, meaning that she was likely murdered while naked and then dressed by the murderers after she died and after the blood had stopped spilling from her neck. Abby's hands were also clean. No blood. Abby's feet were clean. No blood.

Other than blood found around Abby's neck area where the murders had inflicted the fatal wound, very little, if any blood, was found anywhere else on Abby's body or clothing. The juxtaposition of the spots and streaks of blood found all over Libby's body with the lack of blood on Abby's body, undergarments, and overgarments is very stark.

The murderers appeared to have gone to great lengths to keep Abby's body and clothing clean from blood. Abby was found on her back, like Libby. However, unlike Libby, Abby's elbows were bent with her right and left arms both placed on her chest. Abby's left hand and arm near the left side of her face and her right hand and arm near the right side of her face. Also, Abby's left leg was straight, while her right leg was bent at the knee.

The murderers also placed her bent right leg under her left leg. Like Libby, those involved in the murder had placed tree branches in a very specific pattern on top of Abby. The pattern looks very similar to an asterisk consisting of three branches all joined.

At least one of the tree branches appears to have been cleanly cut by some instrument, like an electric saw, rather than split or broken by hand, indicating that this was a preconceived plan. Above Abby's head were smaller sticks that had been placed all over her hair, crudely mimicking horns or antlers.

The amount of blood that would be perhaps expected at the crime scene based upon the location of the injuries of both girls was not visible in the crime scene photos. In addition to the unusual way that the girls were posed, including the stick formations that was placed on their bodies, another unusual marking was found on a nearby tree. A symbol that looked similar to the letter F appeared approximately four feet above the baseline of the tree.

The F was red in color and later DNA testing showed that the F had been painted on the tree using Libby's blood as the so-called paint. Additional blood spatter was found at the base of that same tree. All of the blood at the base of the tree appears to have been Libby's blood as well. The defense has also provided the court with Exhibit 17 and DNA documentation supporting the fact that Libby's blood was the source of the F painted on the tree.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. An official message from Medicare.

A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

And it gets even more nuts here. The defense attorneys also stated that there is a group of Odeonists throughout the community and that some are even law enforcement, specifically saying that they have proof that some of the prison guards at Richard's facility are Odeonites and that they may have intimidated Richard by threatening to kill his wife or family if he didn't do what they told him to do.

They also outline some of the rune and Odinist symbols being found in social media posts of several individuals, who they named.

Now, I can't go through the whole document on this episode, but rest assured, a deep dive is coming. I think it is scheduled to come out and be released Monday. What's so crazy to me about this filing is that not only is the defense coming in with information that, if true, is mind-blowing in itself, but they are pointing fingers and naming names, all of which they say the prosecution has known this entire time.

Personally, it's hard for me to believe that the defense as officers of the court would go through this extensive of a memo if they didn't actually think that they were onto something. But it is possible that this is just smoke and mirrors. I'm still researching this case and going through all of the details and pages, so I don't want to get ahead of myself yet, but holy shit, guys.

And not only this, but this was filed right after the defense filed a motion to have cameras inside the court. This again kind of plays right into the memo, but it also makes me believe that they want this information public for a reason. We know that some cases have a majority of documents sealed or maybe don't have cameras for court proceedings. And that has been how this case has been handled so far.

We have Brian Koberger, whose attorneys do not want cameras in because of the publicity, and they believe that he won't get a fair trial. And then we have an equally high-profile accused murderer who wants the cameras in. It's a little interesting. Retired police commander and the host of the Profiling Evil podcast, Mike King. Mike, good morning. Wonderful to see you as always. Tell us what you think about this. Could there be truth to this?

You know, I think anything's possible anymore, Julie, and I guess we have to look at this and really pick it apart. And it's going to be interesting to see how the prosecution responds and how law enforcement, the investigators respond.

respond. But I go back to my early days as a young detective and testifying on the stand and how upset I was when the defense said what a rotten guy I was. And I remember the prosecutor saying, hey, this is a great tactic to take people away from the actual facts of the case.

But holy cow, they're introducing some things that seem to have some fact backing it up. So the question is going to be, is it explainable? Right.

Mike, something I'm wondering about, we know this case was so hush hush from the outset and we still don't know very important things. Those of us in the public, like for instance, just how were these girls murdered? This hasn't come from police. We're hearing this coming from the defense. Police kept it quiet. We didn't know anything about a murder weapon until long after Richard Allen was in jail, his house was searched. And then they say, well, the children were killed with a sharp object.

But there wasn't much more than that put out there. There was no information as to whether they were sexually assaulted. I always wondered about that. Could it be that police held back those important details because of what the defense is saying in their motion about these alleged murdering, Odinus being responsible?

Well, I take into account maybe the morality of that local law enforcement agency and the state in that area of Indiana. And I think, number one, it's just kind that they don't share how brutal these crime scenes can be. I hope that we don't as a public.

end up viewing these images in one way or another, even if they're blurred out or something, because what they're describing is absolutely horrendous. Does it point to ritualism? I'm not sure.

sure I'm there yet, Julie, and it's going to be interesting to see the actual kind of placement of things. But, you know, you go back to the early days of like Jack the Ripper in the 1800s and the way people were describing those crime scenes and how horrific they are. That's what we're dealing with. I don't know. Like I said, I'm still going through everything, so I don't really know what to think of all of this at this point yet, but I definitely will let you know in the deep dive that is coming.

all right guys so those are the three major updates for this week's headline highlights you've been asking for them so i wanted to go a little deeper into each of those cases i will link all of the deep dives in the show notes below for the existing ones if you are looking to get caught up

And I will keep you posted on all of this, but I am very, very curious to know your thoughts on this case. So make sure to let me know in the review section if you like these, if you want to hear smaller bite-sized information with more headlines, or if you like kind of this like little mini deeper dive onto a couple key headline highlights, let me know what you guys like so I can cater the content to you.

All right, guys, thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode of Headline Highlights. As a reminder, we have relaunched Patreon with different tiers, and we are now including ad-free extra bonus episodes every Friday if you want to get your true crime fix and you just haven't gotten enough. So check that out either on Apple Podcasts or you can go to Patreon, which will also be in the show notes. All right, guys, I am signing off, and I will talk with you again very soon. Have a good rest of your week and have a great weekend. Bye.

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