The Unlovely Truth

There Are Clues. There Are Always Clues: S6E3

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Security issues are hiding in every church - do you know where to look for them? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission here is to find actionable steps that will make our churches sanctuaries of physical, emotional, and spiritual safety. To give you tools to help make that happen in your church, we’re going to investigate real crime stories from real churches. I’ve got three cases for us to investigate today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
Trust should be given based on character - not titles
How NOT to respond to a crisis
Crimes in church are bad enough - the coverup is always worse
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovely Truth:
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Car scam pastor 
 
Social Security con pastor
 
Christian school teacher tries to kill husband
 
Priest tries to kill reporter

Church Safety in the Spotlight After High-Profile Misconduct: S6E2

I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime here at The Unlovely Truth. Security issues are hiding in every church - do you know where to look for them? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission here is to find actionable steps that will make our churches sanctuaries of physical, emotional, and spiritual safety. To give you tools to help make that happen in your church, we’re going to investigate real crime stories from real churches. I’ve got three cases for us to investigate today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
A church treasurer and a pastor managed to embezzle tens of thousands of dollars from their respective churches due to lack of proper checks and balances in financial management. Learn how your church can avoid a similar tragedy.
You’ll discover a little thought about cyber-security threat and how you can protect your church from more than the loss of sensitive data. Hint: it’s your public Wifi.
Are controvertial comments from the pulpit a risk to half of your congregation’s emotional safety - and could they even border on spiritual abuse?
 
James 3:9-12 speak directly to this type of communicating. I’m going to read from the International Children’s Bible to make it as simple as possible so you can share it with anyone who thinks this behavior is ok.
 
We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people. And God made them like himself. Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers, this should not happen. Do good and bad water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree make olives? Can a grapevine make figs? No! And a well full of salty water cannot give good water.
 
Just a few verses prior to this, in James 3:1, James says “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
I’d say that we can extend that logic to pastors as well. Any pastor that would say such degrading things about half of the world’s population has no place in leadership. Do you think that’s too harsh? Would you think that if rather than being of a sermon, these words had been spoken directly to your daughter or some other woman you care deeply about? If that would be seen as abusive, then saying it from the stage should be looked at as being much, much worse
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovley Truth:
 
Share the episode (w/link)
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn (add pinterest when done)
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Read about the pastor who embezzled from his church
 
Article about church treasurer turned embezzler
 
This is why you need to be careful with your church Wifi
 
The Roys Report
 
Read about Pastor Bobby

That Would Never Happen in My Church: S6E1

Security issues are hiding in every church - do you know where to look for them? I’m your host, church safety advocate Lori Morrison and I’m so glad you’ve joined me at the intersection of faith and true crime. Our churches need to be the safest places in our communities, so our mission here is to find actionable steps that will make our churches sanctuaries of physical, emotional, and spiritual safety. We’re going to investigate The Unlovley Truth about real crime stories affecting real churches so you can help make your church a safe and secure place. I’ve got new cases for us to investigate today, so let’s dive right in. 
 
I don’t share these stories with you because I’m wanting to bash the church. I love the church - especially when it functions in healthy and Christ-honoring ways. But it doesn’t always work out like that does it?
 
Highlights from this episode include:
 
49% of adults in America say that religion is losing influence in public life
Living Word Church in Midland Michigan recently had 2 leaders charged with sex crimes
An Asheville, NC church found a shocking intruder hiding in their crawl space last week
 
Christian ministries need to keep the church building safe, and the people within. We can take what we’ve learned today to partner with pastors and other church leaders to enhance the safety of our flocks.
 
Visit my website to access more episodes. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Ways you can support the work of The Unlovley Truth:
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn 
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 
Read the Pew Research article here
 
Read the LifeWay Research article here
 
Stats from notinourchurch.com
 
Investigate today’s cases here, here, and here

Compassionate Communities: a Key to Crime Reduction, Part Two

Threats of violence didn’t keep Dr. William Cook and his staff from treating the growing number of HIV-positive patients in Austin, Indiana. Their efforts were paying off with more and more people beginning treatment crucial to their short and long-term health. Then the government got involved.
 
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. 
 
We’re wrapping up our deep dive of William Cooke’s fascinating book “Canary in the Coal Mine: A Forgotten Rural Community, a Hidden Epidemic, and a Lone Doctor Battling for the Life, Health, and Soul of the People”. We’ll also talk about ideas for how anyone can be what I call a different kind of P.I. - not a private investigator like me but a person of impact in your community. 
 
Decisions on how to handle the local health crisis started being driven by elected officials rather than trained medical personnel. Of course, the issue of IV drug use that fueled the spread of HIV infections was sharply debated. But the underlying poverty and hopelessness that factored in were mostly ignored. It seemed like the infection itself became the issue, not the well-being of the people who were suffering from its effects.
And very little was being done to address the root causes of the epidemic - domestic violence, generational poverty, a lack of resources, and other things that led to a sense of desperation and hopelessness that fueled the sex work and drug abuse that was spreading the HIV virus. Outside entities were trying to fix a problem they didn’t completely understand. 
Situations like this are where local churches can and should step in to do whatever they can. Everyone was going to have to set aside egos and the desire for control to work together if things were going to get any better for the citizens of Austin. 
 
Let’s take a quick look at Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector from Luke 18:9-14, and I’m reading from the New LIving Translation:
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer[a]: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
I love parables. Words from the mouth of Jesus himself that are often so much deeper than they appear at first glance. The Pharisee thought he was righteous, but his heart was exposed with the self-contered prayer that he prayed. The tax collector knew just how much he needed God’s mercy, so he received it. 
But it’s easy to miss the very beginning of this parable - the fact that Jesus boldly told this story to people who were acting just like the Pharisse in the story. He is giving them the opportunity to see themselves in this story and hopefully re-examine the states of their hearts. He is doing the same for us today. 
What traditions do we hold onto, like dressing a certain way for church, that we’ve allowed ourselves to believe make us more in tune with God than those who dress differently out of lack of awareness for our custom or lack of resources to dress up at all? When we tell ourselves that certain people don’t measure up to our standards, we forget that without Jesus, none of us can measure up to God’s standards.
SFX
We're going to take a break here at the Unlovley Truth for the next three weeks. A new episode will drop on April 9th, featuring a slightly different format. We’re still going to talk true crime and faith, but instead of using stories that have been written about in books, we’ll be checking out truly contemporary stories in the news right now.
 
Episodes will be shorter so they will be easy to digest and we will be focusing on crimes in and against our church families. I really believe that greater awareness of what is happening and how we can deal with it by taking proactive and practical steps is so needed in today’s society. I hope you’ll take what you learn and share it with YOUR church family so, working together, we can elevate physical, emotional, and spiritual safety in all our congregations.  
Let me know what you think of this episode! Send me an email at lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!
 
Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 

Compassionate Communities: a Key to Crime Reduction

Do some people deserve the suffering they are enduring? Or Should there always be room for compassion when criminal behavior regardless of why a person did what they did, ends in tragedy? If your community is struggling to find its way in a crisis you’ll want to hear how Dr. William Cooke has done it in tiny Austin, Indiana. 
 
This is Season 5, Episode 11. We’re going to take a two part deep dive into Dr. William Cooke’s incredible book, “Canary in the Coal Mine: a Forgotten Rural Community, a Hidden Epidemic, and a Lone Doctor Battling for the Life, Health, and Soul of the People”. We’ll also talk about ideas for how anyone can be what I call a different kind of P.I. - not a private investigator like me but a person of impact in your community. 
 
The U.S. Census Bureau says that roughly 20% of the U.S. population lives in a rural area, even though urban areas make up only 3 percent of the U.S. land area. That often means that our rural citizens may not always have direct access to things most of us take for granted. In Austin Indiana from the mid 1970’s until 2004, the down had no doctor of it’s own. When Dr, William Cook set up his practice he had no idea the journey he was about to take.
 
Not very many doctors start solo practices in impoverished areas, but Dr. Cook felt that was his calling. Some of his patients had never seen a doctor before. That’s not something we expect to hear in America, is it?
 
Every church has physical, emotional, and spiritual safety issues. Most just don’t know it. Are you going to wait for a trainwreck to occur before you address them? Helping churches be proactive about safety is why I wrote “Reclaiming Sanctuary: Enhancing Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Safety in Our Churches”. I know how hard it can be to address unpleasant issues because I’ve been where you are - in a leadership position needing an intentional approach customized to the needs of my unique church. 
 
I’m offering a free 20 minute strategy call for church leaders to see if my work might be a good fit for you. Email me today at lori@theunlovelytruth.com and we’ll start a conversation about your church’s needs and how we can work together to create a customized plan for your church. Schedule your no risk, all reward call today!
 
Luke 5:31-32
 
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
 
The teachers of the law, the religious folk of the time, tried to trap Jesus so many times. After He called Levi to follow Him, these leaders asked why Jesus and His followers would eat and drink with people they called “sinners”.  How easy it can be to fall into that trap. 
 
Does it remind you of the people who criticized Dr. Cooke for his work, and even threatened him? Does it remind you of anything else? Maybe something you’ve seen in your church? I know I’ve seen it in churches I’ve attended. I’ve probably even been guilty of it myself.
 
God can’t use us when we are showing that kind of pride. Casting Crowns has a great song called “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” . One line that really makes you think is “Nobody knows what we're for, only what we're against, when we judge the wounded”. I know that using drugs isn’t a good choice. Selling your body isn’t a great choice. But we don’t always know what has driven a person to make those choices.
 
Jesus would’ve hung out with drug addicts, and the homeless, and the sex workers. So why aren’t we? And if you do, I’m really glad to hear it. If you don’t, maybe it’s because you just don’t know how. If your church doesn’t have a ministry to feed the homeless, maybe you can work with another church’s ministry or a local non-profit. I don’t recommend going into a homeless camp by yourself though. Criminals will target the homeless because they are so vulnerable. If that type of ministry isn’t for you, consider leading a Bible study in your local jail. I’ve done that before and the vast majority of the women I met had drug addiction issues. Many turned to sex work to feed their habits, or after being pressured by their so called boyfriend. They need to hear that there is hope and that God still loves them. You’d be surprised how many were raised in church and have no idea that they have any worth or value.
 
This book that we made it halfway through today just breaks my heart.  I was raised in Indiana so a lot of the places and names are very familiar to me. But really this book could’ve been set just about anywhere. Every communities struggles with these issues whether we want to admit it or not. 
 
Let me know what you thought of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!
 
Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
Episode about pill mills
 
Link to buy Canary in the Coal Mine
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 

Unidentified: A Team Recovers an Unknown Victim’s Name

It’s not at all unusual to know the name of a murder victim, but not the name of the killer. But today we’re going to look at a case where the killer has most likely been identified while at least one of his victim’s names was unknown for decades. Today I’m going to feature one of those cases, and this one has a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction backstory.
 
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. 
 
This is Season 5, Episode 10. With thousands of unidentified murder victims just in the United States, giving a name to one can be like finding a needle in a haystack. A woman know for decades as 1985 Desoto County Jane Doe had a family and friends who needed to know what had become of her.  This case highlights how anyone can be what I call a different kind of P.I. - not a private investigator like me but a person of impact in your community. 
 
Every church has physical, emotional, and spiritual safety issues. Most just don’t know it. Are you going to wait for a trainwreck to occur before you address them? Helping churches be proactive about safety is why I wrote“Reclaiming Sanctuary: Enhancing Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Safety in Our Churches”. I know how hard it can be to address unpleasant issues because I’ve been where you are - in a leadership position needing an intentional approach customized to the needs of my unique church. 
 
I’m offering a free 20 minute strategy call for church leaders to see if my work might be a good fit for you. Email me today at lori@theunlovelytruth.com and we’ll start a conversation about your church’s needs and how we can work together to create a customized plan for your church. Schedule your no risk, all reward call today!
 
1 Corinthians 3:5-8
 
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
 
It took a lot of people doing what God gifted and equipped them to do in order for a set of human remains to be identified as Lorie Ann Mealer Pennell, a woman who was more than just a victim. She had a family and friends who loved her. She had dreams and hopes for her future - just like you and I do. It took a number of people who each played a unique role to restore her identity and give her family some answers they’d been waiting for for so long
 
How this all came together is a lot like the Apostle Paul’s ministry. He did amazing things, but he didn’t do them alone. 
 
Appollos wasn’t the only person giving Paul a hand. He had quite a few traveling companions like Barnabas, Silas, John Mark, and others. He also had the support of the disciples, once they realized that God had transformed Paul from a zealous killer of Christians to an apostle of Jesus. And let’s not forget the ladies! Lydia helped support Paul’s work as did Priscilla and her husband Aquilla. Paul specifically mentioned Phoebe as a benefactor to him and many others. It took so many people working together for Paul to be able to accomplish all that he did.
 
God has wired us to work together. Moses had his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, and later his father in law Jethro. Jesus had a whole twelve man team. We just saw how Paul’s team was almost too numerous to count! It should make all of us wonder - whose team am I on? What mission can I help reach more people or have a greater impact? 
 
That’s how we’re going to make ourselves, our families, and our communities safer. We need to make those connections to help each other get a little further down the road. So my challenge to all of us this week is to think about something from this episode that really resonated. Maybe it was the role forensics plays in helping reclaim identities for unknown murder victims. OR maybe you really felt that check in your gut when I mentioned high school students doing incredible real world work in their classrooms. How many of you have already decided to check out that podcast, Murder 101? I did and it’s fantastic! Or maybe you know someone with a missing family member or dear friend who just needs you to listen to them and now you’ve decided to reach out. Whatever it is, don’t wait. I believe God put that on your heart, and when you join that team He’s calling you to, you will see amazing things happen.
 
Let me know what you thought of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!
 
Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Learn more about the cases Othram had helped solve
 
News story about Carla Davis
 
Learn more about the unidentified missing epidemic
 
Listen to Murder 101
 
Share this episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 

But He’s a Good Man: A Shocking Twist to Domestic Violence

When Richie Wilder Jr. was convicted of the brutal slaying of his ex-wife Angila, his new wife Cyndi broke down in tears. “He’s a good man,” she told reporters covering the case. She continued to maintain his innocence until a slip of the tongue to an old friend unraveled everything.
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. 
This is Season 5, Episode 9. Our book this week is “Wilder Intentions: Love, Lies, and Murder in North Dakota” and our guest is Dr. Mary Foley, the Executive Director at Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center in Paducah, Kentucky. We will check in with Mary after we investigate this fascinating book. We’ll also talk about ideas for how anyone can be what I call a different kind of P.I. - not a private investigator like me but a person of impact in your community. 
For a lot of us, the term “domestic violence” makes us think about spouses or intimate partners. But most states have expanded the definition to include former spouses and parents who share children in common. One scenario I hadn’t seen before I reviewed this case was a tag-team partnership. Once Angila Wilder was in the sights of just such a pair, she never stood a chance. 
In November of 2015, the busy mom of three had recently found out that baby number 4 was on the way. She had mentioned to her live-in fiancee, Christopher Jackson, that she felt like someone was watching her. She even thought that she’d heard someone rattle their door at night while he was at work. She was right. 
This week I want to read a passage from Ephesians. Very often, abusive husbands who are part of a faith community will quote Ephesians 22-24 about wives submitting to their husbands. Let’s talk about what follows that - the part about what Scriptures says a man’s responsibilities in a marital relationship are.
 
Ephesians 5:25-27
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.
 
It sounds to me like the spouse called to a higher standard of behavior is the husband - not the wife. Husbands are called to constantly perform acts of self-sacrificial love for their wives in the very ideal of Christ himself. They don’t use Scripture to subjugate us but to cleanse us. Our imperfections are lovingly washed away to make us holy. 
Ladies - who wouldn’t want to follow a leader like this? This is true love. Don’t settle for the Hollywood version of it. Each and every one of you deserves an earthly love who is striving to love this way. And even if you don’t have a man in your life who is willing and able to humble himself in submission to this Scripture right now, you do have someone who loves you and serves you like this. Jesus. You are beautiful and worthy to Him just as you are in this moment.
Let me know what you thought of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!
I want to remind you that I’m on a mission to see a revival sparked by churches genuinely safeguarding not just the physical safety, but the emotional and spiritual safety of their congregations and communities as well. I've worn multiple hats – church staffer, church security team member, domestic violence court paralegal, private investigator – and I've seen it all. Now, I want to come alongside church leaders, crafting customized safety blueprints that fit each church’s unique needs and accounting for their unique resources and culture.
I'm not just here to talk; I'm here to walk with church leaders. I’m in this for the long haul, attending live trainings, constantly learning, and bringing that knowledge back to my clients. If you’re interested, let's chat! Set up a call today, and we will investigate your needs together. Because church safety isn't just a job for me – it's my passion. I’m looking forward to helping you make your church a true sanctuary.
Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Share this episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 
 

Keeping Mom’s Secrets

Secrets can destroy things. Like the home that the Overton sisters shared with their parents Frank and Nancy near Atlantic City. The fire that killed the girl’s parents was ruled an arson. Could it be possible that secrets drove one of the sisters to torch their family’s home?
 
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. 
 
This is Season 5, Episode 8. Our book this week is “The Fire She Set” and our guest is Phyllis Mantelli. We will check in with Phyllis after we investigate this fascinating book. We’ll also talk about ideas for how anyone can be what I call a different kind of P.I. - not a private investigator like me but a person of impact in your community.
 
In June of 1974, Leigh Overton Boyd was just 17 years old, the oldest of four sisters. Her world was turned upside down when the condo where her family was living caught fire in the middle of the night. She escaped, and so did her sisters, but both of Leigh’s parents died in the fire. 
As if that wasn’t enough tragedy for them all to deal with, rumors began to swirl that one of the girls purposely set the fire. Attorneys were hired and a lie detector test was given to at least one of the sisters. No one was ever charged in Frank and Nancy’s deaths. Leigh was on the brink of adulthood and ready to move into another phase of life. Years passed and the sisters rarely brought up that night. But secrets don’t always stay secrets. Not when someone is determined to know the truth.
 
Proverbs 14:1 ICB
 
A wise woman strengthens her family. But a foolish woman destroys hers by what she does.
 
Sometimes what we call foolishness is really rebelliousness. Even accounting for the potential that Nancy was dealing with some form of mental illness, she had lucid periods where she put herself and her own desires above the needs of her children. She did have opportunities to strengthen her family to the extent she was able. When those chances were ignored too many times, tragedy followed.
 
But did she have the support she needed to make the most of those opportunities? The book made it pretty clear that her husband felt like he’d done what he could but it wasn’t too terribly effective. Neighbors and family members knew. There’s even a scene in the book where store clerks watched Nancy forget one of her kids in a store, come back drunk, and drive away with her. No one intervened. 
 
Paul tells the church in Galatians 6:2, in the NIrV, “Carry one another’s heavy loads. If you do, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Between addiction, possible mental illness, and having several young children to raise it seems as though having someone help bear her burdens might have made quite a difference. We aren’t meant to do life alone, but rather in community. Who in your community has a heavy load that you can help lighten? Your help might open a door to share Jesus with them.
 
Let me know what you thought of this episode! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!
 
I want to remind you that I’m on a mission to see a revival sparked by churches genuinely safeguarding not just the physical safety, but the emotional and spiritual safety of their congregations and communities as well. I've worn multiple hats – church staffer, church security team member, domestic violence court paralegal, private investigator – and I've seen it all. Now, I want to come alongside church leaders, crafting customized safety blueprints that fit each church’s unique needs and accounting for their unique resources and culture.
I'm not just here to talk; I'm here to walk with church leaders. I’m in this for the long haul, attending live trainings, constantly learning, and bringing that knowledge back to my clients. If you’re interested, let's chat! Set up a call today, and we will investigate your needs together. Because church safety isn't just a job for me – it's my passion. I’m looking forward to helping you make your church a true sanctuary.
Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Buy The Fire She Set
 
Connect with Phylis here
 
Share the episode 
 
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
 
Check out my Amazon Author Page to find resources on personal safety, and safety training for churches. 

Conspiracy Theories and False Leads in an Ozark Cold Case

True Crime fans have done so much to bring attention to cold cases. Some just like the genre as a whole and some, like today’s guest, are drawn to one particular case. But not many will spend years of their life trying to sort through the red herrings and confusion caused by people who seem determined to keep a cold case cold. 
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. 
This is Season 5, Episode 7. Our book this week is “The Girl I Never Knew: Who Killed Melissa Witt?” and our guest is its author LaDonna Humphrey. We will check in with her after we investigate this compelling case. We’ll also talk about ideas for how anyone can be what I call a different kind of P.I. - not a private investigator like me but a person of impact in your community. 
LaDonna Humphrey never met Melissa Witt, but she feels like she knows her. She's spent over 7 years searching for the man who killed Melissa. It started, oddly enough, because of O.J. Simpson. It was 1995 and LaDonna was tuned into an update on the Simpson case when the radio station she had on announced that a body had been found in the Ozark National Forest. Authorities thought it might be the body of a missing 19 year old woman from Fort Smith Arkansas named Melissa Witt. LaDonna wasn’t just drawn in by the circumstances of Melissa death, but by the unfinished potential of her life.
Acts 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
 
In the twelfth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he is urging believers to practice self-sacrifice, perform acts of service, and practice love in action. I believe that one of the best ways to practice love in action is summed up in verse 21, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” 
 
It’s always easy to give into our feelings and want to strike back when we see evil being done. That’s our natural inclination, right? Killing Melissa was evil, spreading rumors about her was evil, and giving false leads in her case was evil. 
 
But we aren’t supposed to follow the example of the world, are we? LaDonna followed what Christ taught us - sacrificial service. She has shown such love for Melissa and her family as she continues to search for Melissa's killer and overcome the evil that he did. 
 
Each of us can follow that same example in our own way. I want to hear what ideas you come up with! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!
I want to remind you that I’m on a mission to see a revival sparked by churches genuinely safeguarding not just the physical safety, but the emotional and spiritual safety of their congregations and communities as well. I've worn multiple hats – church staffer, church security team member, domestic violence court paralegal, private investigator – and I've seen it all. Now, I want to come alongside church leaders, crafting customized safety blueprints that fit each church’s unique needs and accounting for their unique resources and culture.
I'm not just here to talk; I'm here to walk with church leaders. I’m in this for the long haul, attending live trainings, constantly learning, and bringing that knowledge back to my clients. If you’re interested, let's chat! Set up a call today, and we will investigate your needs together. Because church safety isn't just a job for me – it's my passion. I’m looking forward to helping you make your church a true sanctuary.
Visit my website to access more episodes, read my blog posts, or check out ways you can financially support the podcast so that together we can impact more people, more families, and more communities. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my consulting and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
Buy The Girl I Never Knew: Who Killed Melissa Witt?
 
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Romance Scams: When “Love” is a Crime

Valentine’s Day is almost here and that makes my snarky little heart want to talk about the kind of love that doesn’t fill your soul - it drains your bank account. Have you heard of romance scams? It’s when love is a crime.
 
Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another compelling true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. Today, we’re going to investigate some cases to learn the warning signs that you or maybe someone you know has an online Romeo who is really a vampire trying to suck them dry.
 
The first Romeo scammer we’re going to look at is actually a Juliette. Just last week, a Utah court sentenced thirty-nine year old Nelly Idowu to six years in prison using fake profiles to bilk her victims out of over six million dollars. Her favorite victims? Lonely women over sixty-five. What should we do when we come across a scammer in our own lives?
 
Romans 5:8 NLT
 
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
 
This was not at all the Biblical direction I was planning to go this week. I was looking for some condemnation for the wicked. But as I was doing some research for the episode I came across a blogpost by Kevin Halloran. He was writing about scammers lurking on FaceBook Marketplace and other sites. Once he was onto them he used to tell these people that he knew they were scammers then he’d report them to FaceBook. Good plan, right? 
 
After doing this for a while, he actually came up with a better plan. He still tells them he knows they are trying to scam him, but he asks them to pause and consider the consequences of their actions. He cites Scripture and shares the Gospel. 
 
He still reports them, and he should! Are you thinking, “But what about grace?” Well, let’s talk about that. I believe that too often as believers we give out too much cheap grace. We believe everyone who says they are sorry. Believe me - they aren’t all sorry. Sometimes people just know what we want to hear. Even if they are truly repentant - not just sorry but actively pursuing a new way of behaving - their actions should still have consequences. 
 
A great example of that from Scripture is found in the 20th chapter of Numbers. Moses is leading the people of Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land. They’re all grumbling about not having water and to make a long story short God tells Moses how to fix it but Moses gets mad at the people and does it his own way, and then tries to take the credit. 
I’m going to guess that Moses was sorry afterward. He seems like that kind of guy, doesn’t he? But his actions caused him to lose out on getting to enter the Promised Land. All of the ‘I’m sorries” in the world could not change the outcome. God did grant him a measure of mercy though by taking Moses up to Mount Nebo to allow him a glimpse of the land he wouldn’t set his feet upon. Moses’ relationship with God wasn’t broken by his disobedience, but a price did have to be paid.
 
Visit my website to access more episodes and subscribe to my newsletter. If you would like to contact me about booking me as a speaker, or ask about my church safety consulting or investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com. 
 
National Elder Fraud Hotline: 833-FRAUD-11 (833 372 8311)
 
Office for Victims of Crime
 
Report online fraud to the Federal Trade Commission
 
Romance scam in the news
 
Kevin Holloran's blog
 
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