The First Degree

On the afternoon of Sunday, November 14th, 2004, Carl “Doc” Waterman and his 16-year-old daughter, Rachelle Waterman, return home to small-town Craig, Alaska, after a weekend trip. But, when they enter their house, Doc and Rachelle notice something strange: an empty wine bottle, a wine glass, and no sign of Rachelle’s mother, 48-year-old Lauri Waterman. In a forest 40 miles north of Craig, local hunters find a still-burning Chrysler van with bones inside. Experts confirm they are Lauri’s human remains and that she was undoubtedly murdered. Law enforcement officials investigate Doc, the potentially cheating husband, and Rachelle, the rebellious daughter with a blog called My Crappy Life. But when Rachelle’s two 24-year-old lovers, Jason Arrant and Brian Radel, break under police questioning, the entire community unravels at what is revealed. In episode 233, Jac and Alexis expose the unexpected killers responsible for the assassination of Lauri Waterman.🎟 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⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

This week, the girls are joined again by the one and only Holly Madison for a Killing Time of epic proportions! Turns out, Holly brought her own On The Stand, so we’re putting on the stand compact car spaces, Playboy bunny tanning stickers, and body glitter! Then for this week’s true crime rewind, we’re taking a deep dive into the sometimes dark and always intriguing inner workings of the Playboy lifestyle!Also - Don't miss Holly's new show "The Playboy Murders" airing on Discovery ID and streaming on D+. Premiering 1/23 and airing Mondays at 8/9 central.🎟 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⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

Playboy is an internationally recognized brand and household name. Whether you were a fan of E!’s hit reality show Girls’ Next Door or whether your brother had a stack of playboys under his mattress- you’ve been exposed to Playboy. Considering the indulgences that the Playboy brand represents-- sex, money, women, and power-- it should be no surprise how many crimes are connected to the institution. And today, with the help of the incomparable Holly Madison, we're going to take you through one of them: the case of January 1991 issue's playmate, Stacy Arthur.Also- Don't miss Holly's new show "The Playboy Murders" airing on Discovery ID and streaming on D+. Premiering 1/23 and airing Mondays at 8/9 central.🎟 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⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

This week the girls and the ginger are waxing poetic as they learn some perplexing and polarizing facts about Poe. That’s right, Edgar Allan Poe. Did you know the dude was a lightweight? Anyways. On the stand this week: bathroom door disturbances, self-quoting poets, and sweet gherkins! PLUS! A firstie worstie with some poorly timed bad news! Get ready to snap those fingers, it’s a poem party!🎟 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⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

On June 29, 2001, the badly beaten body of a 58 year old Native American man is pulled from his burning home in Wichita, Kansas. The victim has been robbed and left for dead before his attackers set the house ablaze. Within hours, police learn that an 18 year old man and a 16 year old teen may know something about the murder. As police talk to associates of the young men, and the victim’s own family, it becomes apparent that the perpetrators have committed a hate crime - they claim the victim, who was gay, made unwanted advances. When the evidence piles up against the offenders, it seems as though justice will be served. However, this is just the start of a long and painful road for the victim’s family. In episode 231, Jac and Alexis detail the heartbreaking murder of Marcell Eads Jr at the hands of Zachary Steward and his friend Brandon Boone.🎟 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⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

In the early 2000s, the US Army opens a misconduct investigation on Bennie William Schuck II. Bennie’s teenage daughter is accusing him of sexually molesting her seven years ago when she was only five years old. But, when the Criminal Investigation Division struggles to secure an interview with the daughter, they close the investigation. Eleven years later, Bennie retires from the US Army as a respected Sergeant First Class. During his military tenure, Bennie was deployed twice, received multiple medals for excellent service, and was an esteemed expert among his peers. His record was spotless. But on August 8th, 2019, 45-year-old Bennie William Schuck II is arrested for creating and distributing child pornography with his girlfriend, 35-year-old Amber K. Talley. One of their victims is Amber’s 9-year-old daughter. In episode 230, Jac and Alexis discover the shocking truth behind why Bennie William Schuck II was able to escape justice for so long while working for the US Army.🎟 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⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

This week, we're releasing our Killing Time episode early to discuss the Idaho Murders. Jac and Lex will be discussing the strange details surrounding the case,  and what we know so far after the release of an affadavit on Thursday.🎟 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⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:patreon.com/thefirstdegreeGreetings and Happy New Year Firsties! It’s our first Killing Time of 2023 and we’ve got a lot to talk about. On the stand today: multi-level Target stores, bottle service, small talk with your dentist, and byobh (bring your own bottle home). Then we’re doing a deep dive into the wild world of famous alleged celebrity deaths! Then, our Worsties call in with a pregnancy predicament and a dead mouse (not the DJ).📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree⚖️ On the Stand: (818) 446-6889💩 Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done: (818) 446-6889 🎟 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

On November 26, 1981, four men are killed and two others are wounded in a shooting massacre on Thanksgiving night in Chicago, Illinois. The murders make headlines as being the worst multiple slayings in the city in four years. In the coming days, police arrest four Mexican nationals over the killings, who also all happen to belong to one family. It soon emerges that the circumstances leading to the massacre are buried in a deep and ongoing dispute between the accused and victims families, resulting in bloodshed. But not everything is as buttoned up and clear cut as the courts make it appear. In episode 229, Jac and Alexis detail the murders of Valente Galindo, and brothers Ramon, Arnulfo, and Heliodoro Sanchez, and the lifelong, far reaching impact on the wrongfully convicted men in their case which irreparably changed lives forever. 🎟 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

This week, the girls and the ginger are back to ring in the new year! That’s right, it’s the week after Christmas and nobody really knows what to do with their lives. Might as well put some final things on the stand. We’re talking resolutions, a midnight kiss, and cheap advent calendar chocolates. Next, a new segment! Reddit Said It! A deep dive into the blunders of internet strangers! And finally, a worstie firstie with a story we’ve named “Pee Bong”. Happy New Year! 🎟 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