

The First Degree
Alexis Linkletter, Jac Vanek
Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest. (Plus, join them every Thursday for Killing Time, the light-hearted, true crime-adjacent aftershow!)
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 4, 2024 • 46min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: HUMAN SHOES
Welcome back to Killing Time! This week the girls and the ginger are going all-in, trying to learn as much as humanly possible! Today I learned: Dual destinies, human shoes, C-sections, narwhals again, and a dress debacle!
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 3, 2024 • 48min
Episode 306: Samantha Marie Young
On April 19, 2015, a 21-year-old mother fails to turn up to work not far from Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. After her sister calls the police, the young woman’s body is found in a shed at the rear of a local residence. Despite fighting for her life, she has been brutally stabbed almost 50 times. It’s only a matter of time before the perpetrator is apprehended, and sadly, it’s the worst nightmare come true for the young woman’s family when they learn who’s responsible. But as the days and weeks pass, the full extent of what went on behind the scenes in the lead-up to the attack - and the potential for other victims - is revealed, as the ugliness of the case is laid bare. In episode 306, Jac and Alexis revisit the horrifying murder of Samantha Young at the hands of Marcus Bordelon and Natasha Stover, and explore how her family has been dealing with the aftermath of her senseless loss.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 27, 2024 • 49min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: FREE MESO BOOK
The girls and the ginger are back! Today on Killing Time, we’re talking conspiracies in a big way! Then! Today I learned… How the Earth (and Arby’s) got their names, plus, the inspiration behind “No Scrubs” by TLC! Then! The return of On the Stand! We take one call from a listener but ya gotta get to the end to hear it!
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 26, 2024 • 1h
Episode 305: Lizzi Marriott
On October 9, 2012, 19-year-old Elizabeth “Lizzi” Marriott leaves a note for her uncle and aunt. Although Lizzi is a Massachusetts native, she is living with her family in Chester, New Hampshire while she attends a nearby university to pursue her degree in marine biology. In the note, Lizzi explains that she is going to a friend’s place after her evening class. Lizzi is never seen again. Two days later, Lizzi’s friend whose place she was going to, 18-year-old Kat McDonough, is questioned by the police. Kat claims Lizzi did not arrive at her apartment that night. However, Kat’s boyfriend, 29-year-old Seth Mazzaglia, says differently. In an eleven hour interview with the authorities, Seth explains his version of events- which are disturbing, senseless and heart breaking. In episode 305, Jac and Alexis unravel the web of lies surrounding the sexual assault and murder of Lizzi Marriott.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 20, 2024 • 47min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: MACAULAY MACAULAY CULKIN CULKIN
Well-known actor Macaulay Culkin joins the hosts to discuss his decision to change his legal name interactively. They also cover quirky topics like favorite pizza toppings, historical inventions, and the popularity of Costco hot dogs.

Jun 19, 2024 • 50min
Episode 304: Leon Laureles
In the late night hours of May 9, 1996, a 30-year-old man leaves his home for his midnight shift in Brownwood, Texas. But he never makes it inside. Just after midnight, his car is found burning near a gun range, and his body is discovered nearby with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Despite the brutality of the man’s death, the police do not take his murder seriously, and the case quickly goes unsolved. In episode 304, Jac and Alexis delve into the life and tragic death of Leon Laureles, exploring the systemic failures that have left his case unsolved for nearly three decades and highlighting his niece's unwavering fight for justice.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 13, 2024 • 48min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: ALEXIS’ WEDDING RECAP
Hello! Welcome back to another very special episode of Killing Time! Today, the girls and the ginger are reminiscing about Alexis and Matt’s incredible “surprise” wedding! That’s it! So much to say about such an incredible weekend celebrating our amazing friends. Oh, also, we got a surprise Pizza Hut delivery mid-episode shout out to the hut!
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 12, 2024 • 36min
Episode 303: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 2
Over a decade after Ronda Reynolds was killed, her mother wins the right under state law to have a judge convene an inquest into the death. When a jury determines that in their view the coroner originally got it wrong, the focus eventually pivots to not one but two people in the woman’s life. In episode 303, Alexis and Jac take you through the culmination of the Ronda Reynolds case, and how Barb, Ronda’s mother, joined forces with Ann Rule in the quest to find justice.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 6, 2024 • 44min
BONUS: KILLING TIME: WALKIN & TALKIN
Welcome back to another exhilarating episode of Killing Time! This week, the girls and the ginger are ALL over the place, but eventually, it’s time for everybody’s favorite segment, Today I Learned! On the menu today: the origins of Dungeons and Dragons, Manatee facts, Avocados, and a listener-submitted T-bell grievance! And yes, we know you know Alexis got married this weekend, don’t worry, the episode is coming!
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 5, 2024 • 44min
Episode 302: Ronda Thompson Reynolds, Part 1
On December 16, 1998, a 33-year-old woman named Ronda Reynolds is found dead with a gunshot wound to the head inside her home in Toledo, Washington. Her death is ruled a suicide. But her mother believes there’s more behind the circumstances of the incomprehensible loss of someone who was one of the first female state troopers in Washington, and had only been married to her new husband of 18 months. In episode 302 Jac and Alexis detail the tragic murder of Ronda Reynolds, her mother’s fight for someone to be held criminally responsible, and how the bizarre aspects of the case catch the eye of famed crime writer, Ann Rule.
🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegree📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices


