The Unlovely Truth
Exploring the intersection of faith and true crime.
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Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
When someone takes a child and meets physical and emotional needs,that child gets attached to and depended on them. Hopefully, these people are loving parents. Too often, they are predators who sell that child for sexual services. Even when the child knows that what’s happening isn't okay, they may not seek help because they are trying to fill a void. After a while, they believe that what’s happening to them is simply a life they are meant to live.
This is Season 5, Episode 5. Our book this week is “Somebody’s Daughter” by Julian Sher. Our guest is speaker, author, and anti-trafficking advocate BJ Garrett. We will check in with BJ after we investigate this compelling story about one daughter in particular. A young girl named Maria.
Maria was from Atlantic City, but was excited to be relocating to Las Vegas. She knew that Sin City was very aptly named in part because it was the biggest market in America for underage prostitutes. She was seventeen, and had walked the streets in many east coast cities since she was 14. Now she was in the big leagues, working the casinos. It had started when Maria ran away from home.
Authorities estimate that roughly one third of children who run away end up being exploited by sex traffickers within 48 hours of leaving their homes. Their average age? Around 12 to 14 years old. Like Maria. Maria didn’t exactly grow up dreaming of being a prostitute. What she’d dreamed of becoming was a Methodist pastor.
Maria finally saw how little she really meant to this man. Working with law enforcement, Maria helped land him in jail for a long time. It wouldn’t have been possible if the officer she was working with hadn’t been a part of a group of officers who decided to treat child prostitutes like children first and prostitutes second.
Grab a copy of this book so you can read the whole story - it actually is very uplifting to hear about not only how police are looking at new ways to help these kids rather than just punish them for being victims. You’ll also learn about groups of women who have gotten out of the life, and now devote their time to reaching out to the very young girls.
John 8:1-11 NLT
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught
in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
The young girl from today’s story and others like her didn’t grow up wanting to prostitute themselves. Her community treated her like she deserved being stoned like the Pharisees wanted to do to this woman. But their zeal wasn’t for the law, it was for trapping and discrediting Jesus. The law required both parties in an act of adultery to be stoned. Even though she was caught in the act, the man with her wasn’t brought before Jesus. Maria was a child, yet for a very long time she was treated more harshly than her trafficker or the men who paid for her services.
How many of us are throwing stones without considering our own sins first? And the only one who had the moral right to, wouldn’t do it. And I want us to consider his words to her, “Go, and sin no more.” in a different light than we often hear it used. He’s just told her that he does not condemn her, so to me it makes so much more sense that “Go and sin no more” isn't a harsh command as much as a loving invitation. The Savior knows that when we follow him, we are joining in a life that is so much better than what we could come up with on our own.
Let’s make sure that all of the women in our communities who have been forced into a life like Maria’s or have just made choices like this woman brought to Jesus know that they are welcome in our lives and in our faith communities. Not one of us has the moral authority to cast any stones.
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.
Link to buy "Somebody's Daughter"
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Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
A Common Sense Media survey found the average age that most kids were exposed to porn is 12 years old. The author of the story we are investigating today was just three, and it was a relative who introduced her to what no child should ever see. Sexual abuse followed a couple of years later so it’s no wonder that being trafficked into the adult entertainment world didn’t seem very out of the ordinary.
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. Our book this week is Scars and Stilettos by Harmony Grillo and our guest is Jeanne Roberson. We will check in with Jeanne after we investigate this compelling book.
I’m going to guess that when most of us think of sex trafficking, we imagine the victims are mostly women from foreign countries who are lured in by the promise of legitimate jobs that will help them escape grinding poverty. For Harmony Grillo, it started with a handsome young man her mother took in when his own home life grew too chaotic. Harmony was just 15 when Derrick moved into her house. It wasn’t long before they were having sex which, since he didn’t force her, to Harmony meant he cared about her.
When it became clear that he only wanted to freeload off Harmony’s mom, she told him if he didn’t get a job, he had to move out. Harmony was devastated. As poor as she was, she gave him what little money she had saved from her summer job. She knew he needed her. Weeks later he told her he was thinking about joining the army as a way to support himself. She was terrified and told him she’d get a job and they’d get an apartment. There was no mention of him getting a job.
Life was tough for Harmony for years. Ten signed up for a ballet class. That’s where she met and became friends with Tanya. They chatted before, after, and sometimes during class. Inevitably, Tanya asked what Harmony did for a living, and Harmony answered honestly. It didn’t seem to phase Tanya, which impressed Harmony.
You see, she’d learned that Tanya was a Christian, and of course feared being judged and rejected if Tanya knew about the life she was living. In what was, to me, the most poignant and heartbreaking quote in the entire book was when Harmony said about Tanya, “Through her eyes, I began to see myself differently.” Did you know that we have that kind of power too?
We have the power to help someone make the move from an unsafe life to a safer one just by treating them like they matter. Because they do. Today’s guest, author, speaker and trafficking survivor Jeanne Roberson has a lot in common with Harmony, so let’s get to my chat with her.
Psalm 82:2-4 NIV
“How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
God never fails in His compassion for those in need. In this Psalm, He is calling out those abusing the official power they had. But all of us have unofficial power if you think about power as the ability to influence someone. I think the same principle applies then to any of us. Who do you know that needs to hear that they are seen, that what they are going through isn’t right and that they deserve better? And if that person is you, then let me speak over you that if you are being taken advantage of, God has so much more for you. I hope you’ll seek out a loving church family to help you. If you don’t know how to find one, send me an email and I’ll do what I can to help connect you to one.
Let me know what you think 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.
Link to buy Scars and Stilettos
Connect with Jeanne here
Read Jeanne's story in Chosen to Live
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Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Hollywood seems to find obsessive love very romantic. Breakups often aren’t taken well, and the stalking starts. What concerns me are the movies where obsessive love wins the day, like in “The Notebook”. I know that old Allie and Noah are amazing, but young Noah was crazy aggressive in his pursuit of Allie. And what about Edward from “Twilight”? Showing up unannounced and watching Bella sleep is just creepy. What would we do about those situations in our own lives?
Hello and 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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
This is Season 4, Episode 3. Our book this week in honor of National Stalking Awareness Month is “Stalkers: True Tales of Deadly Obsessions” and our guest is Kara Werner. Kara is a temporary licensed counselor working toward licensure as an LPC-MHSP in TN. She is doing fascinating research on stalkers. We will check in with Kara after we investigate this fascinating book.
Hollywood was being good to 18 year old Rebecca Schaeffer. She had landed a big role in a new TV sitcom with veteran actress Pam Dawber. Seventeen Magazine put her on their cover. She was starting to receive fan mail. It was all very exciting and seemed to promise her a very bright future. What she didn’t know was that one of her letter writers was a disturbed man named Robert Bardo. He watched her show and checked magazines for mentions of her or better still, pictures. His favorite picture was the one she had signed in response to one of the letters he’d sent her. She wasn’t aware that he wrote letters that he didn’t send her. Letters that even his twisted mind knew went too far.
1 Peter 5:8 NLT
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.
He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
I’ll bet you’ve never stopped to consider what Satan has in common with stalkers. I never really had either, but let’s take a closer look at this passage. The devil is described as our great enemy. Can you imagine a greater enemy than a stalker who seems to know your every move, who watches you in secret, and harrasses you with attention you don’t want? Aren’t they prowling around, seeking prey to greedily gobble up? Each of these enemies seeks to control you and if that fails, they would just as soon see you dead. I hope that in today’s episode, you learned some red flags to look out for and some best practices to protect yourself from someone who wants to draw you in with false promises but in the end is only concerned about themselves.
Let me know what you think! 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.
Link to buy this week’s book
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Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
When it comes to great philosophers, I’ve always said my favorite is Winnie the PoohPooh once said, ““How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
When today’s guest Bill Gilmour last saw his niece, Jennifer Kessee, he didn’t know that he would have to find a way to be able to say the same thing.
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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
This is Season 5, Episode 2. Our book this week is “Aftermath of Jennifer Kesse's Abduction: An Uncle's Quest for Understanding & Inspiring Life Lessons" and our guest is the book’s author, Bill Gilmour, Jennifer’s uncle.
On Tuesday, January 24, 2006 Bill Gilmour got a call from his sister telling him that his niece Jennifer Kesse was missing. Two days later the lives of every member of his family were changed forever when it became apparent that Jennifer hadn’t just disappeared on her own. She’d been kidnapped. Bill wrote this book, incredibly, to share not just Jennifer’s story, but how he was able to eventually regain joy.
Despite their efforts, their beloved Jennifer remains missing. Bill Gilmour has endured his own agony over the past nearly 18 years. By writing his book, he hopes to share the brokenness he used as a catalyst to change the course of his outlook on life. Now he’s here to share his heartbreaking story and invite you to emerge from suffering into joy through family, community, and God.
Romans 15:13 NIV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hope is always forward focused. That’s one reason I think it is so important to highlight unsolved cases like Jennifer’s. We can’t change what’s happened, but we can hold onto the hope that someday soon there will be answers for her family. In the meantime, Bill learned how to still have joy and peace in the time of hopeful waiting. Is someone that you know in a period of hopeful waiting, whether it’s for answers, or healing, or the return of a prodigal. Share Bill’s story with them so they can be encouraged.
And of course, as always, share this episode with your Florida friends, and ask them to share it as well. Someone out there knows what happened to Jennifer, and it’s time for her family to know as well.
Let me know what you think about 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.
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Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
Tuesday Jan 02, 2024
What does a human trafficker look like? We might picture wealthy men whose greed has destroyed whatever decency they may have once had. But in reality, that person may look like someone you already know.
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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
This is Season5, Episode 1. This week we are going to investigate stories from the book "In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It”, by Nita Belles. She began studying human trafficking while working on a master’s degree and hasn’t stopped since. In her book, she shares countless stories of this evil and how we might bring some light in this very dark and very often misunderstood evil.
Close your eyes for a minute, and draw a picture in your mind of what a human trafficker looks like. I’ll bet you saw a man, dressed in dark clothes, very menacing looking. What if I told you that the trafficker in the first case I want to share with you was a confident and fashionable teenage girl?
If your son or daughter or grandchild were being exploited, wouldn’t you try to move heaven and earth to stop it? The victims whose stories I shared today and thousands of others like them are someone’s son or daughter or grandchild. I hope you’ll get a copy of this book to hear more stories and learn more ways you can help.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIrV
Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do.
Suppose either of them falls down. Then the one can help the other one up. But suppose a person falls down and doesn’t have anyone to help them up.
Then feel sorry for that person!
Or suppose two people lie down together. Then they’ll keep warm. But how can one person keep warm alone? One person could be overpowered. But two people can stand up for themselves. And a rope made out of three cords isn’t easily broken.
We’ve all seen those videos where a predator approaches a herd of some sweet, innocent animals. It’s so stressful to wonder which one is being targeted. Then you see it. It’s the one off to the side, all by itself. If one of the other members of the herd doesn’t try to help it, that animal’s chances of survival are very slim.
Are we really so different? When we look out for each other, when we work together, and when we care for each other, life goes so much better for us. Predators, of course, don’t like that. They prefer to isolate us, or better yet, for us to isolate each other.
Let’s make 2024 the year we work together, for our good, the good of our families, and our communities. If you’ve been putting off getting involved in serving people who have been impacted by crime, remember that two are better than one! Convince a friend to join you so you each feel safe and confident in your new avenue of serving God by serving others. Together we can and should make a difference.
Let me know what you think! 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.
If you suspect a human trafficking situation in your community, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. You can also text HELP to BeFree (233733)
Learn more about identifying trafficking victims with information from the Polaris Project
If you know someone with a porn addiction, look for helpful resources here
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Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
Tuesday Dec 26, 2023
We had quite a journey in Season 4 of The Unlovely Truth. Let’s look back to some of the episodes that defined, inspired, and challenged us. There were blockbuster moments, unexpected plot twists, and heartwarming scenes all year long. Most of all, there were impactful takeaways to help us enhance our physical, emotional, and spiritual safety.
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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
This is Season 4, Episode 49. We’re going to review some of our episodes because as I was looking back, I was just amazed at the journeys we got to take with all of our incredible guests. It amazed me to see the strength, the dignity, and the determination to help others they shared.
Proverbs 27:17 NIV
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Useful tools like scissors and knives get dull with use. To make them work well again, we have to sharpen them. That means we have to put the blade up against a hard surface and apply pressure, shaving away bits of metal to restore a proper angle that will allow the blade to cut again.
That’s what I want to do with each episode of The Unlovely Truth. We’re going to find clues in these tough stories that help us become sharper so that we can protect ourselves and our loved ones. The topics we cover might be a bit painful to listen to, but it’s how we become useful tools in our communities.
I’m excited for season 5 starting with our next episode. Let’s make 2024 a year to sharpen each other so we can each be a person of impact for someone who needs us.
Let me know what you think! 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!
Miss any of the episodes re-visited here? I got you covered!
Deliver Us From Evil: Purging Guilt from Unsolved Murders (the Jim Duckett case)
Surviving: Doing Whatever You Need to Do (Candice Reyes of Her Well)
Therapist or Sexual Predator? How Do We Learn Who We Can Trust? (Amy Nordhues)
How Coroners Use DNA to Make Bones Talk (Jeff Jellison)
Domestic Violence Statistics Don’t Lie: Meet the Man Trying to Change Them (John Peace)
The Decision to Kill: A Teenage Killer and the Mother Who Loved Him (Leslie Ghiglieri)
Is There a Serial Killer Gene? (Karen Spears Zacharias)
Exposing the Truth about My Minister Father (Jimmy Hinton)
Made to Kill: Domestic Violence by Proxy (Chris Moles)
Safety Tips for Stalking Victims (Mike Kenney)
Rules or Relationship: When Does a Religious Movement Become a Cult? (Lori Prather)
Forgiving the People Who Wrongfully Sent You to Jail (joshua Kezer)
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 training, consulting, and investigative services, please email me at lori@theunlovelytruth.com.
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Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
Tuesday Dec 19, 2023
We’ve all had someone lie about us. But imagine that the lie is that you murdered a loved one. In today's episode,we'll untangle a mess of lies and unveil the jaw-dropping truth behind a murder that was all about revenge. Not toward the victim, but against a member of the victim’s family.
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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
This is Season 4, Episode 48. Our book this week is “We Thought We Knew You: A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, and Murder” by M. Williams Phelps and we’re going to welcome back licensed counselor and pastor David Brannock as our guest for the next two weeks. We will check in with David again after we investigate the rest of the fascinating case of the murder of Mary Yoder.
Last week we started looking into the sudden and shocking death of Dr. Mary Yoder. The sixty-year-old chiropractor had died of colchicine poisoning and no one knew how she could have come in contact with it. If it wasn’t accidental, then it was time to start looking at suspects.
Of course investigators began with those closest to her. Her son Adam and his on-again-off-again girlfriend Kaitlyn, or Katie, had both worked at the clinic with Mary and her chiropractor husband William. Katie was flaky and Adam was obsessed with her, but did they have anything to gain from Mary’s death.
One of Mary’s own sisters called police and told them they needed to take a close look at Bill
Someone else sent an anonymous letter to police telling them exactly who the letter-sender thought killed Mary. Adam, her son.
As the author of this book wrote, “There are soul-sucking humans in this world.” The question is, how do we recognize them? We’ll talk a bit a that with our guest, and in our Scripture for this episode
We are back in Proverbs this week for our Bible passage because this book of the Bible is just so practical!
Proverbs 20:11 NLT
Even children are known by the way they act,
whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.
Do you remember me saying that when people tell you who they are by how they act - believe them!? I didn’t just pull that outta thin air - it’s Biblical. We can assess a person’s character by the way they act. Katie could put on a good front when she wanted to, but her true character couldn;t help but leak out when she didn’t get her way. She not only killed Mary, but think about the emotional damage she’s done to Mary’s family and friends.
Let’s all take a good look at the people in our lives and those close to our loved ones. Are they leaking out any concerning actions that might signal bad character? If so, are we going to set some healthy boundaries for that person, or make excuses? Our decisions can have a tremendous impact on our physical, emotional, and even spiritual welfare.
Let me know what you think about today’s 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.
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Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
Tuesday Dec 12, 2023
The unexpected death of a loved one is devastating. How much more grief is heaped onto your mourning when you find out that your loved one was murdered? What does this type of tragedy do to a tight-knit community? Let’s find out.
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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
This is Season 4, Episode 47. Our book this week is “We Thought We Knew You: A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, and Murder” by M. Williams Phelps and we’re going to welcome back licensed counselor and pastor David Brannock as our guest for the next two weeks. We will check in with David after we investigate the fascinating case of the murder of Mary Yoder.
Sixty-year-old Mary Yoder was a go-getter. Along with running a thriving chiropractic office with her husband Bill, she was passionate about healthy living and healthy eating. Whenever she was in a hurry at lunch, she had her go-to protein shake powder. But it was time to start slowing down.
Mary and Bill were looking to sell their practice and travel. It had to be to just the right person who would care for their patients as they would. And their staff was like family - literally in one case. Their son Adam worked part time for them as he finished up his degree. He convinced his parents to also hire his girlfriend, Katie. Sounds cozy, right? It was - until the young couple’s relationship went south.
Proverbs 27:4 NIV
Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
I’ve been overwhelmed with anger before. It’s not a good time to make decisions, and not a good time to interact with others. It’s too easy to want to get revenge on the person who did whatever we decided was worth losing our temper to start with. Here, the Bible teaches that as bad as that kind of situation is, how it can tempt us to act in ways we shouldn’t - jealousy can get us even more bent out of shape.
We’re all true crime friends here. We’ve all read the books and watched the shows about the terrible things people can choose to do when someone has something they want. Like the title of this week’s book, We Thought We Knew You, it can be hard to recognize harmful behavior in people we admire, like, or even love. And the failure of numerous people to recognize a seriously disturbed person cost Mary Yoder her life.
Who in our lives or the lives of our loved ones needs to be looked at a little more closely? They may not be lethal, but that doesn't mean they can’t do a lot of damage physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. It’s ok to speak up and tell people that you are concerned about a person in their life. Did anyone know how bad Mary’s killer really was? Find out next week.
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.
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If you need a way to securely store money and digital copies of important documents, listen to this episode
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Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
Tuesday Dec 05, 2023
Thirty two year old Patty Vaughan went missing on Christmas Day, 1996, from her home in La Vernia, Texas. Her family needs to know what happened and if she’s no longer alive, to find her body and lay her to rest. Someone knows what happened and together, we might be able to convince them to come forward.
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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
This is Season 4, Episode 46. Our case this week is the case of Patty Vaughan. Even after nearly 27 years, this case is still solvable. So let’s investigate and share all over the state of Texas and the world.
Lying on the south bank of Cibolo Creek, La Vernia Texas is a small town near San Antonio.
Patty and her husband Jerry Ray “J.R.” Vaughan had been separated for a couple of months.
Patty told friends and family that she had grown increasingly frustrated by JR’s controlling behavior. They claimed that Patty told them he didn’t allow her work and was verbally abusive. Some suspected there was physical abuse as well when they spotted bruises that Patty couldn’t explain.
Authorities in Patty’s case say there is circumstantial evidence, but not enough to charge anyone. That’s where we can help. A lot of people from the great state of Texas listen to this podcast. I hope you will all share it with your friends who live in the San Antonio area, or who did back in 1996 when Patty went missing. Sometimes all it takes to break a case wide open is one piece of information. Hearing about a cold case may stir up memories for people, or even a desire to share information they were once afraid to disclose. So let’s share with friends, share on social media, and try to get some more answers for Patty’s family and maybe even some justice.
Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
In Patty’s case, I firmly believe there are people who have lost their voices, figuratively speaking. They know what happened. Patty cannot speak for herself, so it’s up to someone else to stand up for her right to have justice done. If you are that person, you don’t need to worry that speaking up may get someone in trouble. It’s a person’s actions that do that, not the reporting of those actions.
Police and prosecutors can only work with the information that is available to them. You can’t finish putting a puzzle together if you don’t have all of the pieces. You might be able to say with certainty what picture the puzzle makes, but you still aren’t done. Patty’s case isn’t done. It’s still missing a few pieces. If you have any of them, look in the show notes for how you can contact authorities to tell them what you know.
Someone, and maybe more than one someone, has literally gotten away with murder. While they’ve been free, who knows how many other people they may have hurt. Patty’s family certainly still hurts. Let’s do all we can to help them now.
I’d love to know what cases or topics you’d like to see on the podcast in 2024! Send me an email a lori@theunlovelytruth.com or message me on social media. Don’t shy away from hard topics. 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.
If you have information about Patty’s case, you can call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-TIPS or 210-335-6000.
You can also call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
Submit a tip online to the Texas Department of Safety
Read the articles from News4 San Antonio, nbcnews.com, and The Charley Project
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If you are in an abusive relationship and you need to store money and documents privately and securely, visit Safe Haven Services
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Tuesday Nov 28, 2023
Mark Abbott figured he’d better take the back roads to get home in the early morning hours of November 8th, 1992. He would later claim that he was drunk and didn’t want to get another DUI or get cited for driving without a license. When he pulled off of Interstate 55 near Benton, Missouri, he saw a car idling at the top of an exit ramp. He looked in, and realized he’d found a body.
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. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!
Our book this week is “The Murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless: An Honest Sheriff and the Exoneration of an Innocent Man” by Stephen R. Snodgrass with Joshua C. Kezer and our guest is Joshua Kezer. We will check in with Josh after we investigate this fascinating book.
The body Mark Abbott found was 19 year old nursing student Angela Mischelle Lawless.
With all the wisdom of a drunk man, he decided someone else would come by soon, and if the police came looking for him, he’d tell them he was Matt Abbott, his twin brother.
If true crime shows had been popular back then, maybe he’d have known that twins don’t have identical fingerprints.
Someone else did drive and notice the car, but didn’t stop in case whoever was inside might be looking for trouble. The couple went to the sheriff’s department to tell them the scene needed to be checked out. Deputies found Angela, who went by her middle name of Mischelle lying across the center console with her head on the passenger seat. Mischelle didn’t appear to be breathing.
Witnesses said that Josh had confessed to them. Despite having alibi witnesses that placed him over 300 miles away at the time of the murder, Josh was convicted and sent to prison. Prison is a rough and dangerous place and Josh had to learn how to survive there. As time passed, he got involved with the prison ministry attending Sunday services and joining Bible Study groups.
Josh says in the book that faith became the focus and center of his life, giving him hope for the future, and helping him handle the nightmare that was his present.
It was there that he met Jane Williams. Jane was at the prison giving a presentation on devotionals she had written. After meeting they forged a friendship through correspondence. Eventually, Josh trusted Jane enough to tell her his story.
Scott County reserve deputy Rick Walter had always believed that the case against Josh was weak. Though neither he nor Jane Williams knew what the other was doing, their combined efforts would change Josh’s life forever. It wasn’t easy, and he still lives with the trauma he endured spending so many years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. One of the most important things that he learned was the importance of forgiveness.
Psalm 109:1-3
Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths
are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
This is a Psalm of David, written when he was at a really low point in his life. Enemies were pursuing him with lies. Josh Kezer knows what that feels like. If you read the rest of this Psalm, you’ll see that even in his distress, David left vengeance to God. That’s not an easy thing to do at all. It certainly helped David that he cried out to God. It helped Josh that he turned to his faith too. What attacks are you facing where it’s really tempting to try to get payback? I hope that Psalm 109 inspires you to let God deal with it.
Let me know what you think! 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.
Get a copy of The Murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless: An Honest Sheriff and the Exoneration of an Innocent Man
Connect with Josh on Facebook or Instagram
Contact the Scott County Prosecutor at 573-545-3562
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Check out my newest book, Reclaiming Sanctuary: Enhancing Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Safety in Our Churches