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Episode 133 In the early morning hours of May 20, 1999, a police officer spotted smoke pouring from a home in North Bend, Oregon. Inside, he discovered LaQuinta Smith unconscious in her bed. Despite his efforts to save her, LaQuinta was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. What initially appeared to be a tragic accidental fire quickly became something far more troubling. Investigators discovered suspicious circumstances surrounding the furnace where the fire appeared to have originated, an open bottle of sleeping pills, and autopsy findings that challenged the initial assumption that LaQuinta had died from smoke inhalation. As detectives examined her personal life, their attention turned to her estranged husband, Alby Smith. Conflicting accounts of their relationship, two missing rings, and questions about Alby's whereabouts raised new suspicions. But how much of the evidence pointed toward murder, and how much was open to interpretation? In Part One of this two-part series, we explore the investigation into LaQuinta's death, the troubling allegations that emerged, and the difference between the compelling story presented in a true-crime documentary and the evidence required to prove guilt in a courtroom. Because suspicion isn't the same as proof beyond a reasonable doubt. And when a jury ultimately reaches a verdict, the question isn't simply whether you agree with the story you've heard. It's whether you would have reached the same conclusion. Join us next week for Part Two, when we examine the trial, conflicting testimony, and the fire science behind the case. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, and Brett Russ for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: “Burning Obsession.” Exhumed: Killer Revealed, Season 2, Episode 5. May 29, 2022. Viewed on Fandango at Home. https://athome.fandango.com/content/browse/details/Exhumed-Killer-Revealed-Burning-Obsession/2040880 Sirocchi, Andrew. “Smith Gets 32 Years.” The World, June 30, 2021. https://theworldlink.com/smith-gets-32-years/article_e638b6a8-fcc4-5f9b-8f0e-44920d677c84.html Sirocchi, Andrew. “Counselor Testifies Wife Had a Temper.” The World, June 15, 2001. https://theworldlink.com/counselor-testifies-wife-had-a-temper/article_e337deb7-9c1d-5581-8555-40bba36bca27.html Sirocchi, Andrew. “Murder Trial: Federal Agent Says Fire Scene Altered.” The World, June 13, 2001. https://theworldlink.com/murder-case-moving-more-quickly-than-expected/article_2b988284-1efb-56d7-b066-7078ae8a03a4.html Sirocchi, Andrew. “Testimony Focuses on LaQuinta Smith’s Rings.” The World, June 14, 2021. https://theworldlink.com/testimony-focuses-on-laquinta-smiths-rings/article_7ed44866-f7eb-5dcd-931a-a6993d48f71c.html “Court Rejects Smith Convictions Appeal.” The World, March 13, 2004. https://theworldlink.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/court-rejects-smith-convictions-appeal/article_17855d76-3cc9-5b51-9359-0aff5bdb5373.html Sirocchi, Andrew. “Jury Finds Alby Smith Guilty.” The World, June 21, 2001. https://theworldlink.com/jury-finds-alby-smith-guilty/article_15a2ddde-baa4-5c6d-a8af-1c3eddde6721.html Alby Ardell Smith, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Guy Hall, Respondent-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Submitted January 10, 2012. [Link not provided] Sirocchi, Andrew. “Family, Friends Grieve Victim as Trial Begins.” The World, June 7, 2001. https://theworldlink.com/family-friends-grieve-victim-as-trial-begins/article_0c96b13b-7449-55b3-b4b6-e80677f68167.html Sirocchi, Andrew. “Murder Case Moving More Quickly Than Expected.” The World, June 12, 2001. https://theworldlink.com/murder-case-moving-more-quickly-than-expected/article_2b988284-1efb-56d7-b066-7078ae8a03a4.html

Episode 132 Cheetos belong in a snack bowl. Nuclear submarines belong in the fleet. And your wedding venue should still be standing when you leave. This week, we return with More Bizarre Blazes: Arson’s Strangest Stories—four stories featuring spectacularly bad decisions and one pig with no apparent criminal intent. In Massachusetts, a man tries to burn his ex-girlfriend’s home using Cheetos. At a Maine shipyard, Casey James Fury’s plan to leave work early leads to a devastating fire aboard the USS Miami and a $400 million restitution order. In England, Max Kay’s castle wedding ends with twenty double vodkas, a dispute over the bar tab, and a multimillion-pound blaze. And in Yorkshire, a pig eats a pedometer—and what comes out requires the fire department. Expect snack-food evidence, an exceptionally expensive exit strategy, and a reminder that “free-range” does not mean qualified to handle electronics. Grab your snacks. Leave the propane tank alone. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, and Brett Russ for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: “Jury Convicts Man Who Tried to Use Cheetos as an Accelerant.” CBS News, November 17, 2016. https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/jury-convicts-man-who-tried-to-use-cheetos-as-an-accelerant/ “Man Convicted of Using Cheetos to Try and Burn Down Ex’s Home.” WCVB, November 16, 2016. https://www.wcvb.com/article/man-convicted-of-using-cheetos-to-try-and-burn-down-exs-home/8299132 Lang, Cady. “Man Tried to Burn Down His Ex-Girlfriend’s House Using Cheetos.” TIME, November 17, 2016. https://time.com/4575329/man-uses-cheetos-house-fire/ Associated Press. “Shipyard Worker Who Set Fire to Nuclear Submarine Sentenced to 17 Years in Jail.” The Guardian, March 15, 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/15/uss-miami-military-submarine-fire-sentence Associated Press. “Worker Who Set Fire to Submarine Sentenced to 17 Years.” Deseret News, March 16, 2013. https://www.deseret.com/2013/3/16/20449465/worker-who-set-fire-to-submarine-sentenced-to-17-years/ “NH Man Charged With Setting $400 Million Submarine Fire to Stay in Jail.” CBS Boston, August 1, 2012. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/nh-man-charged-with-setting-400-million-submarine-fire-to-stay-in-jail/ “Groom Jailed After Setting Fire to Wedding Venue.” ITV News, March 21, 2012. https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2012-03-21/groom-jailed-after-setting-fire-to-wedding-venue Driver, Alistair. “Pedometer Eaten by Pig Sparks Fire—and Mass Media Coverage!” Pig World, March 9, 2020. https://www.pig-world.co.uk/news/pig-pedometer-sparks-fire-and-mass-media-coverage.html

Episode 131 Sometimes arson investigations are tragic, complicated, and painstakingly difficult. And sometimes a suspect confesses to a television reporter while the house is still burning behind him. This week, we take a break from the heavier cases to explore three of the most bizarre stories of criminal combustion they could find: a Maryland house fire with an unusually cooperative suspect, a Christmas Eve Walmart fire involving shoplifting, a lighter, and an astonishing escalation of criminal charges, and a Kansas City arson-for-hire plot that somehow gets stranger with every new detail.  There are surveillance cameras. There are questionable decisions. There is an undercover ATF agent. There is, inexplicably, a previous fire involving dentures. And there are several moments that will leave you astounded.  Three fires. Three very different motives. And three reminders that while arson can have devastating real-world consequences, the circumstances surrounding a crime can occasionally become absolutely chaotic. YouTube clip referenced in the episode: Man Tells ABC 7 News Crew 'I set it on fire'   CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, and Brett Russ for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Rockville, Maryland “Alleged Arsonist Has History of Schizophrenia, Alcoholism.” ABC 7 News/WJLA, November 20, 2014. YouTube Lewis, Kevin. “‘I Set It on Fire.’ Man Confesses to ABC7 News Crew About Setting Rockville House Ablaze.” ABC 7 News/WJLA, November 20, 2014; updated April 26, 2020. “Man Tells ABC 7 News Crew, ‘I Set It on Fire.’” ABC 7 News/WJLA, November 20, 2014. YouTube Graves, Mark Segraves. “Alleged Rockville Arsonist Confesses to Journalist.” NBC Washington, November 19, 2014; updated November 20, 2014. NBC Washington “House Fire: 301 S. Horners Lane.” Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, November 20, 2014. MCFRS Hammond, Louisiana “Hammond Man Arrested for Christmas Eve Walmart Fire.” Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshal, December 27, 2022. Louisiana State Fire Marshal news release “New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Arson.” U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, March 20, 2024. ATF “New Orleans Man Sentenced for Arson.” U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, October 17, 2024. U.S. Department of Justice “Man Faces Arson, Attempted Murder Charges After Walmart Fire on Christmas Eve.” WAFB 9, December 24, 2022; updated December 27, 2022. WAFB 9 Palermo, Jeff. “Authorities Say Suspect in Christmas Eve Fire Begged Authorities to Remove His Picture from Social Media, Then Confessed.” Louisiana Radio Network, December 28, 2022. Louisiana Radio Network Kansas City, Missouri “Gladstone Woman Charged in Arson-for-Hire Attempt of KC Businesses.” U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Missouri, April 29, 2019. ATF Margolies, Dan. “Woman Pleads Guilty to Arson-for-Hire Scheme Along Kansas City’s 39th Street Restaurant Row.” KCUR, June 4, 2022. KCUR Mashek, Kera. “KC Business Says Ex-Landlord Acted ‘Bizarre’ in Days Prior to Alleged Arson-for-Hire Plot.” FOX4 Kansas City, April 30, 2019. FOX4 Kansas City Rice, Glenn E., and Luke Nozicka. “Strip Mall on 39th Street in Arson-for-Hire Case Burned Down Before, in 1990.” The Kansas City Star, April 30, 2019. The Kansas City Star

Episode 130 In the finale of Fire in the French Quarter: The Upstairs Lounge, we follow the State Fire Marshal’s investigation to its end—and confront the question it could never answer with certainty: did Roger Nunez set the fire that killed 32 people? We examine the evidence investigators believed pointed to Roger, the troubling inconsistencies that kept the case from ever being resolved, and alleged confessions that surfaced both before and decades after his death. We also tell the story of Ferris LeBlanc, whose family spent more than 40 years wondering what had happened to him, only to discover that he had died in the Upstairs Lounge and been buried in an unmarked grave. Finally, we look at the fire and life-safety conditions that turned a fire in a stairwell into a catastrophe—and at the dignity too often denied to the people who died, the survivors, and the community they left behind. Fifty-three years later, there may still be no certainty about who started the Upstairs Lounge fire. But the people who were there can still be remembered. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, and Brett Russ for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Delery-Edwards, Clayton. The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973. McFarland & Company, 2014. Fieseler, Robert W. Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018. Camina, Robert L., writer, director, and producer. Upstairs Inferno. Camina Entertainment / Upstairs Inferno, LLC, 2015. Documentary film. Narrated by Christopher Rice. The National WWII Museum. “Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation.” Conversation with Robert W. Fieseler and Ed Lengel, PhD. September 9, 2020. YouTube video. https://youtu.be/6A13PovoDAQ?si=7GnzAeQBCgEfE1it Soileau, Alida B. “Quasi-Property No More: ‘Human Heritage’ as a New Legal Status for the Dead.” South Carolina Law Review, vol. 74, no. 1. https://sclawreview.org/article/quasi-property-no-more-human-heritage-as-a-new-legal-status-for-the-dead/ Perez, Frank. “Ferris LeBlanc and the Up Stairs Lounge Fire 50 Years Later.” French Quarter Journal. https://www.frenchquarterjournal.com/archives/ferris-leblanc-and-the-up-stairs-lounge-fire-50-years-later

Episode 129 In Part Four of Fire in the French Quarter: The Upstairs Lounge, we follow the State Fire Marshal’s investigation as investigators finally locate and question their prime suspect, Roger Nunez. We examine the evidence against Roger, the questionable voice-stress testing used during the investigation, and the alleged confessions that surfaced only after his death. But with no physical evidence tying Roger to the fire—and serious questions surrounding those confessions—did investigators finally have their answer, or were there still more threads to pull? CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Delery-Edwards, Clayton. The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973. McFarland & Company, 2014. Fieseler, Robert W. Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018. Camina, Robert L., writer, director, and producer. Upstairs Inferno. Camina Entertainment / Upstairs Inferno, LLC, 2015. Documentary film. Narrated by Christopher Rice. The National WWII Museum. “Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation.” Conversation with Robert W. Fieseler and Ed Lengel, PhD. September 9, 2020. YouTube video. https://youtu.be/6A13PovoDAQ?si=7GnzAeQBCgEfE1it

Episode 128 In Part 3 of Fire in the French Quarter: The Upstairs Lounge, we turn our attention to the investigation—and to the stark differences between the work of the New Orleans Police Department and the Louisiana Fire Marshal’s Office. We dig into the physical evidence recovered after the fire, including the Ronsonol lighter-fluid can, laboratory testing of the stairwell carpet, and a surprisingly fascinating series of flammability tests. Then we follow investigators as their attention turns toward Roger Nunez, a man thrown out of the Upstairs Lounge shortly before the fire who, according to a badly injured survivor, left after making an ominous threat. As the Fire Marshal’s Office continues chasing witnesses and leads, investigators uncover a broken jaw, conflicting timelines, contradictory witness statements, and evidence that raises serious questions—but provides few definitive answers. The police file contains many of those same questions. What it seemingly does not contain is much evidence that anyone kept trying to answer them. More than fifty years later, we compare the investigations side by side and ask: Was the investigation into the deaths of 32 people simply difficult—or did investigators stop pulling at the threads before they should have? CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Delery-Edwards, Clayton. The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973. McFarland & Company, 2014. Fieseler, Robert W. Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018. Camina, Robert L., writer, director, and producer. Upstairs Inferno. Camina Entertainment / Upstairs Inferno, LLC, 2015. Documentary film. Narrated by Christopher Rice. The National WWII Museum. “Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation.” Conversation with Robert W. Fieseler and Ed Lengel, PhD. September 9, 2020. YouTube video. https://youtu.be/6A13PovoDAQ?si=7GnzAeQBCgEfE1it

Episode 127 In Part Two of Fire in the French Quarter: The Upstairs Lounge, we look at what happened after the flames were extinguished. Survivors faced the threat of being outed, victims and their families were met with cruelty and rejection, and investigators began trying to determine whether the fire had been deliberately set. As police chased conflicting leads, strange confessions, and a can of lighter fluid found near the bottom of the stairs, a clerk at a nearby Walgreens gave them their first potentially significant lead. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Delery-Edwards, Clayton. The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973. McFarland & Company, 2014. Fieseler, Robert W. Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018. Camina, Robert L., writer, director, and producer. Upstairs Inferno. Camina Entertainment / Upstairs Inferno, LLC, 2015. Documentary film. Narrated by Christopher Rice. The National WWII Museum. “Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation.” Conversation with Robert W. Fieseler and Ed Lengel, PhD. September 9, 2020. YouTube video. https://youtu.be/6A13PovoDAQ?si=7GnzAeQBCgEfE1it

Episode 126 On June 24, 1973, a fire tore through the Up Stairs Lounge, a second-floor bar in New Orleans’s French Quarter that had become a place of community and acceptance for the city’s gay population. Thirty-two people died in what remains the deadliest fire in New Orleans history. In Part One of Fire in the French Quarter — The Up Stairs Lounge, we go back to New Orleans in 1973 to explore the people and the place before following the events of that Sunday evening as a fire in the lounge’s narrow entrance stairway turns a popular gathering place into a death trap. But once the flames were extinguished, the hardest—and darkest—parts of this story were only beginning. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Delery-Edwards, Clayton. The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths in a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973. McFarland & Company, 2014. Fieseler, Robert W. Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018. Camina, Robert L., writer, director, and producer. Upstairs Inferno. Camina Entertainment / Upstairs Inferno, LLC, 2015. Documentary film. Narrated by Christopher Rice. The National WWII Museum. “Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation.” Conversation with Robert W. Fieseler and Ed Lengel, PhD. September 9, 2020. YouTube video. https://youtu.be/6A13PovoDAQ?si=7GnzAeQBCgEfE1it

Episode 125 After eight episodes unraveling the Whiskey Au Go Go fire, we're joined by Australian author and historian Geoff Plunkett, whose decades of research have helped uncover the complicated—and often contradictory—story behind one of Australia's deadliest fires. Geoff takes us behind the investigation, the people at the center of the case, and the evidence that has fueled questions about what really happened at the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub on March 8, 1973. We talk about the challenges of separating fact from decades of rumor, what the historical record can—and can't—tell us, and some of the details that surprised us most while researching the series. It's a chance to go beyond the case files with someone who has spent years digging into the story—and to revisit the Whiskey Au Go Go with a few questions we still weren't quite ready to put to rest. Books by Geoff Plunkett The Burning Desire: The True Stories of Australia's Deadliest Serial Arsonists Death Row at Truro: The Shocking True Story of Australia's Deadliest Sex Killers Chemical Munitions Sea Dumping Off Australia The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century Let the Bums Burn: Australia's Deadliest Building Fire and the Salvation Army Tragedies Death by Mustard Gas: How Military Secrecy and Lost Weapons Can Kill Chemical Warfare in Australia: Australia's Involvement in Chemical Warfare 1914–Today Chemical Warfare Agent Sea Dumping Off Australia Scuttled and Abandoned Ships in Australian Waters — with Ronald Parsons

Episode 124 In the finale of Pulpit and the Pyre: The Murder of Dawn Hacheney, the carefully constructed world around Pastor Nick Hacheney finally begins to collapse. For years, Nick maintained control through secrecy, manipulation, spiritual authority, and a web of relationships with women who each knew only pieces of the truth. But when those women began comparing notes—and finding support outside the closed system of the church—the stories Nick had told them started falling apart. Eventually, Sandy Glass went to police with an explosive allegation: Dawn Hacheney's death had not been an accident. Nick had murdered his wife. Investigators reopened a case that had been closed for nearly five years and took another look at the physical evidence. The extraordinarily high level of diphenhydramine in Dawn's blood. The wrapping paper found in bed around her body. The propane cylinders that were supposed to explain the flash fire—but weren't empty. And a fire timeline that didn't behave the way the original propane-leak theory said it should. Piece by piece, the explanation that had allowed Dawn's death to be ruled accidental began to collapse. We follow the investigation through Nick's arrest, conviction, successful appeal of the aggravated portion of his murder conviction, resentencing, and his currently scheduled 2027 release from prison. Finally, we look beyond the murder itself at the coercive control that allowed Nick to manipulate so many people around him—and why intelligence, charisma, compassion, religious knowledge, and even genuine acts of kindness are not proof that someone is trustworthy. Sometimes the most dangerous people wear incredibly convincing masks. If anything discussed in this series feels familiar—particularly coercion, undue influence, or control within a religious group, organization, or personal relationship—resources are available through the Freedom of Mind Resource Center. You don't have to decide whether what you're experiencing deserves a particular label before you're allowed to ask for help. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Mankiewicz, J. (Host). (2023). Mortal Sin [Audio podcast]. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline Olsen, G. (2005). A twisted faith: A minister's obsession and the murder that destroyed a church. St. Martin's Griffin. In re Personal Restraint of Hacheney, 169 Wash. App. 1, 288 P.3d 619 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).

Episode 123 When Dawn Hacheney’s death was ruled an accident, investigators had little reason to look beyond the fire. But outside the official investigation, troubling questions were already circulating about Pastor Nick Hacheney, the women he counseled, and the increasingly blurred boundaries inside Christ Community Church. In Part 2 of Pulpit and the Pyre, we examine the church culture that gave spiritual leaders extraordinary influence over their congregation, Sandy Glass’s prophetic visions, the custom rings purchased before Dawn’s death, and the relationships Nick cultivated with vulnerable women who trusted him as their pastor. As Nick increasingly framed his own desires as the will of God, questions and challenges became “spiritual warfare”—and manipulation could masquerade as faith. But eventually, the people around Nick began listening to the alarm bells they had been taught to ignore. And one of the women he manipulated would ultimately make a promise of her own: to tell the truth. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Mankiewicz, J. (Host). (2023). Mortal Sin [Audio podcast]. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline Olsen, G. (2005). A twisted faith: A minister's obsession and the murder that destroyed a church. St. Martin's Griffin. In re Personal Restraint of Hacheney, 169 Wash. App. 1, 288 P.3d 619 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).

Episode 122 Pulpit and the Pyre: The Murder of Dawn Hacheney – Part 1 When a house fire claims the life of Dawn Hacheney the day after Christmas 1997, investigators initially conclude it was a tragic accident. A bedroom filled with Christmas gifts, portable propane cylinders, a space heater, and an elevated level of Benadryl appear to support a devastating—but explainable—chain of events. But as a fire protection engineer, April isn't content to stop at the official explanation. In Part One of this new series, we examine the fire scene, the science behind the original accidental-fire theory, and the unusual beliefs of the charismatic church community surrounding Dawn and her husband, youth pastor Nick Hacheney. Along the way, we explore authority, discernment, and how deeply held beliefs can shape the way people interpret tragedy. Five years would pass before everything investigators thought they knew about Dawn's death would be turned upside down. In this episode: The December 26, 1997 fire that killed Dawn Hacheney The original accidental fire investigation Flash fires, laryngospasm, and the proposed propane leak theory Christ Community Church and the role of prophecy, miracles, and spiritual authority Why investigators initially believed no crime had occurred CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Mankiewicz, J. (Host). (2023). Mortal Sin [Audio podcast]. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline Olsen, G. (2005). A twisted faith: A minister's obsession and the murder that destroyed a church. St. Martin's Griffin. In re Personal Restraint of Hacheney, 169 Wash. App. 1, 288 P.3d 619 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).

Episode 121 After eight episodes, Foretold: Australia’s Whiskey Au Go Go Fire comes to its dramatic conclusion. In this finale, we examine the extraordinary events that unfolded after James Finch's release from prison, including his televised confession, his immediate recantation, and the allegations that reignited questions about police corruption, fabricated confessions, and perjury. We also explore the competing theories that have surrounded the Whiskey Au Go Go fire for more than fifty years—from organized crime and protection rackets to insurance fraud, revenge, and international heroin trafficking. Finally, we dive into the evidence presented during the recent coronial inquest, discuss why its findings remain eagerly awaited, and share where we believe the evidence points after eight weeks of research. But above all, we remember the fifteen innocent people who lost their lives on March 8, 1973, and examine the building failures that transformed a criminal act into one of Australia's deadliest nightclub fires. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Plunkett, Geoff. The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century. Big Sky Publishing, 2018. Siganto, Talissa. "Whiskey Au Go Go fire bombing witness told by police to change her statement, inquest hears." ABC News Australia, June 16, 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-16/qld-whiskey-au-go-go-inquest-witness-police-statement/100220474 "Murdered Because She Knew Too Much: The Untold Story of the Whiskey Au Go Go Fire." 7NEWS Spotlight, YouTube, June 15, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH4kz5dbj8g Australian Associated Press. "Police were warned Brisbane's Whiskey Au Go Go would be burned down, inquest told." The Guardian, May 11, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/11/police-were-warned-brisbanes-whiskey-au-go-go-would-be-burned-down-inquest-told Cavallaro, Ebony. "Whiskey Au Go Go inquest reveals new evidence into fatal nightclub fire." Nine News Australia, February 3, 2022. https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/whiskey-au-go-go-inquest-new-evidence-in-queensland-1973-nightclub-fire-that-killed-15-people-20220203-p5yegq.html "From the Archives: The Deadly Whiskey Au Go Go Nightclub Fire." Brisbane Times, March 7, 2019. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/from-the-archives-the-deadly-whiskey-au-go-go-nightclub-fire-20190306-p5127e.html Antrobus, B. (2022, January 27). Whiskey Au Go Go: Dramatic turn as inquest told top detective had critical recordings. News.com.au. https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/whiskey-au-go-go-dramatic-turn-as-inquest-told-top-detective-had-critical-recordings/news-story/1d2e7d543507fe43c2e1e5eb27651a0e Australian Associated Press. (2022, May 11). Police were warned Brisbane's Whiskey Au Go Go would be burned down, inquest told. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/11/police-were-warned-brisbanes-whiskey-au-go-go-would-be-burned-down-inquest-told

Episode 120 Were the right men convicted? In Part 7 of Foretold: Australia’s Whiskey Au Go Go Fire, we examine the decades of controversy that followed the convictions of John Andrew Stuart and James Finch. As allegations of police corruption, questionable confessions, and organized crime connections emerge, the case becomes far more complicated than it first appeared. From the landmark Fitzgerald Inquiry to the shocking McCulkin family murders, we explore why many began to question not only whether justice was served—but whether the full truth had ever been uncovered. As public opinion shifts and new evidence comes to light, the stage is set for the explosive final chapter of one of Australia's most infamous criminal cases. CHECK OUT MY NEW AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Plunkett, Geoff. The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century. Big Sky Publishing, 2018. Siganto, Talissa. "Whiskey Au Go Go fire bombing witness told by police to change her statement, inquest hears." ABC News Australia, June 16, 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-16/qld-whiskey-au-go-go-inquest-witness-police-statement/100220474 "Murdered Because She Knew Too Much: The Untold Story of the Whiskey Au Go Go Fire." 7NEWS Spotlight, YouTube, June 15, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH4kz5dbj8g Australian Associated Press. "Police were warned Brisbane's Whiskey Au Go Go would be burned down, inquest told." The Guardian, May 11, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/11/police-were-warned-brisbanes-whiskey-au-go-go-would-be-burned-down-inquest-told Cavallaro, Ebony. "Whiskey Au Go Go inquest reveals new evidence into fatal nightclub fire." Nine News Australia, February 3, 2022. https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/whiskey-au-go-go-inquest-new-evidence-in-queensland-1973-nightclub-fire-that-killed-15-people-20220203-p5yegq.html "From the Archives: The Deadly Whiskey Au Go Go Nightclub Fire." Brisbane Times, March 7, 2019. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/from-the-archives-the-deadly-whiskey-au-go-go-nightclub-fire-20190306-p5127e.html

Episode 119 John Stuart and James Finch finally stand trial for the Whiskey Au Go Go firebombing—but this is no ordinary murder trial. As prosecutors build their case around disputed confessions, jailhouse informants, and weeks of alleged extortion threats, Stuart repeatedly sabotages the proceedings by swallowing homemade spring-loaded wire devices that send him into emergency surgery. Eventually barred from attending his own trial, Stuart dismisses his lawyer, forcing the court into the extraordinary position of conducting part of the proceedings in his hospital room. This episode explores the bizarre courtroom drama that followed, the witnesses whose credibility would be questioned for decades, and the evidence that convinced a jury to convict both men. But the story doesn't end with the verdict. From rooftop prison protests and repeated acts of self-harm to lingering allegations of fabricated confessions and unanswered questions about Stuart's death, the controversy surrounding Australia's "crime of the century" only deepens. And with another confession, a kidnapping, and fresh challenges to the convictions still ahead, the Whiskey Au Go Go saga isn't over yet.  Sources for this episode include Geoff Plunkett's excellent book, The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century, along with contemporary reporting and historical records. If you'd like a much deeper dive into the case, we highly recommend the book. As always, keep your exits clear and your fire escapes free of storage. 🎉 WANT A FREE CRIME TO BURN STICKER? 🎉 Record a 15–30 second video telling people why you love Crime to Burn and why they should check out the show. Post it to a public social media profile (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube Shorts, etc.), then email us the link at www.anauthornamedapril.com The Crime to Burn Patreon - The Cult of Steve - is LIVE NOW! Go join and get all the unhinged you can handle. Click here to be sanctified.  Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments: Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Jenny Mercer, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes. Listener discretion is advised. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated  Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at [email protected] We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review.  If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet.  SOURCES: Plunkett, Geoff. The Whiskey Au Go Go Massacre: Murder, Arson and the Crime of the Century. Big Sky Publishing, 2018. Siganto, Talissa. "Whiskey Au Go Go fire bombing witness told by police to change her statement, inquest hears." ABC News Australia, June 16, 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-16/qld-whiskey-au-go-go-inquest-witness-police-statement/100220474 "Murdered Because She Knew Too Much: The Untold Story of the Whiskey Au Go Go Fire." 7NEWS Spotlight, YouTube, June 15, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH4kz5dbj8g Australian Associated Press. "Police were warned Brisbane's Whiskey Au Go Go would be burned down, inquest told." The Guardian, May 11, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/11/police-were-warned-brisbanes-whiskey-au-go-go-would-be-burned-down-inquest-told Cavallaro, Ebony. "Whiskey Au Go Go inquest reveals new evidence into fatal nightclub fire." Nine News Australia, February 3, 2022. https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/whiskey-au-go-go-inquest-new-evidence-in-queensland-1973-nightclub-fire-that-killed-15-people-20220203-p5yegq.html "From the Archives: The Deadly Whiskey Au Go Go Nightclub Fire." Brisbane Times, March 7, 2019. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/from-the-archives-the-deadly-whiskey-au-go-go-nightclub-fire-20190306-p5127e.html