Generation Why: True Crime

April 19, 2022. Lynchburg, VA. On April 19, Johnny Cashman Jr.’s family is informed that he died of an apparent medical condition in Virginia. They are devastated and have his cremains returned to them in Maine. However, they later discover that his apartment is covered in an abnormal amount of blood and his neighbor’s camera picked up chilling audio on the day he died. They are now urging detectives to re-examine Johnny’s case because the evidence seems to indicate foul play.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

July 24, 2016. Bend, Oregon. After a night out at her friend’s bachelorette party, Kaylee Sawyer walked down the street outside her apartment and disappeared. Edwin Lara, a campus security guard, kidnapped her in his campus security vehicle, took her to a remote parking lot, and murdered her. This was just the beginning of what would be a multi-day crime spree that ended with his capture. This case was important not only because Kaylee’s killer was identified and captured, but because it exposed serious safety concerns and legal violations within the Central Oregon Community College’s campus safety department.Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

August 7th, 2005. Mountain, Wisconsin. In 2005, Amy and David DeBauche were in the midst of a divorce and custody battle for their two children. One summer night, David trespassed on Amy’s parent’s vacation property with the intention to vandalize a trailer they owned. The altercation that ensued left Amy and her parents dead. Get bonus content from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

August 22nd, 2011. Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. Corey Scherbey was found dead in his home on August 22nd, 2011. The RCMP initially investigated his death as a homicide, but in 2014, Corey’s death was declared an accidental overdose. Corey’s family believes he was murdered. The way Corey’s body was found, details at the crime scene, and a strange letter leave some with the belief that this was a murder.All caught up on Gen Why episodes? Get more here: www.patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

November 16, 1989. Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, England. Julie Hogg, a single mother from Billingham in Northern England, disappeared in the early hours of November 16th, 1989. She had been dropped off at her home by a coworker from her pizza delivery job. When her mother, Ann, couldn’t reach her by phone around 7:30am, she knew something was wrong. She would find Julie around 80 days later, deceased where police had said they had already searched for her. Julie’s killer would escape a conviction twice, then go on to brag about how he could never be convicted of Julie’s murder because of a double jeopardy law. What the killer never suspected was Ann’s determination to get justice for her daughter despite the odds.All caught up on Gen Why episodes? Get more here: www.patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

January 16, 2009. Chattanooga, Tennessee. In October 2019, Angel Bumpass was found guilty of first-degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery for the 2009 murder of Franklin Bonner. Her fingerprints were found at the crime scene, the main evidence leading to her conviction. The problem is, Angel was just thirteen years old when Bonner was murdered. Hundreds of thousands of people believe that Angel Bumpass was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder, and that the real killer still walks free.All caught up on Gen Why episodes? Get more here: www.patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 24, 2012. Bismarck, North Dakota. Eric Haider was working as a top grounds man for a plumbing and heating company. After the crew he was working with returned from lunch, Eric was never seen again. Eric’s family begged and pleaded with police to help find him. His coworkers said maybe he had walked away from work after his vacation request was denied. His family knew he never left the jobsite. Eric was found three years later. Just like his family suspected, he was buried at the jobsite his coworkers said he “walked away from.” Was Eric’s death a tragic workplace accident or was foul play involved?All caught up on Gen Why episodes? Get more here: www.patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

December 15, 2005. Russellville, Arkansas. Nona Dirksmeyer was a beauty pageant queen, a college student, and a girl loved by many people. She was found murdered inside her apartment on December 15th, 2005, brutally stabbed and beaten to death with the base of her own floor lamp. Two suspects were tried and acquitted in Nona’s murder, meaning her killer either walks free, or is someone the police never found.Generation Why has episodes you have not heard. Find them here: www.patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 4, 2007. Belton, MO. Seventeen-year-old Kara Kopetsky walked out of her high school on May 4, 2007, and disappeared without a trace. From those early days, her mother, Rhonda, suspected Kara’s ex-boyfriend, Kylr Yust, was involved in her disappearance, but there was no way to prove it without physical evidence. So Rhonda waited for a crack in the case. On September 8, 2016, 21-year-old Jessica Runions was last seen leaving a party with Kylr Yust and disappeared afterward. Two missing women almost ten years apart with connections to a single man. Was it a coincidence? Or was Kylr Yust involved in two disappearances and possible murders?All caught up on Gen Why episodes? Get more here: www.patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

May 26, 1990. Wellington, Florida. Forty-year-old mother of one, Marlene Warren, was enjoying breakfast with her son and his friends when she heard a knock at the door of her home in the Wellington Aero Club in Palm Beach County, Florida. Marlene walked from the kitchen to the front door to be greeted by a clown holding a basket of red and white flowers and two balloons. “Oh, how lovely!” she exclaimed as she opened the door and reached out to take the gifts. The clown produced a handgun and shot Marlene point-blank in the face. Who would want to kill Marlene and why? The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office was determined to find those answers.Get even more episodes from Generation Why at: patreon.com/generationwhyListen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/generationwhy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.