Journalist. Palindrome. Writer.
Do lie detectors really work? How do psychopaths convince other people to commit murder? What’s the deal with familial DNA? I explore these questions and more in Season Two of The Philosophy of Crime. All 6 episodes are now available everywhere you can find podcasts. Check it out!
2019 TOUR ANNOUNCED!
This June, I’ll be on the road in the eastern U.S. for my “Confessions of a True Crime Addict” tour. It’s a mix of stand up and scary tales about my adventures in true crime journalism. Get your tickets before they sell out!
Here are the links for venues by city:
Thursday, May 30, Music Box Concert Hall, Cleveland. Get tickets here.
Wednesday, June 5, Zanies, Nashville: Get tickets here.
Thursday, June 6, Birmingham, Alabama, Stardome: Get tickets here.
Saturday June 8, New Orleans, The New Movement: More info here.
Tuesday, June 11, Charlotte, The Evening Muse: Get tickets here.
Thursday, June 13, D.C. Improv: Get tickets here.
Friday, June 14, Brooklyn, EastVille Comedy Club: Get tickets here.
My new novel, MUSE, comes out May 14 but you can pre-order a copy, today at this link! This story is limited to only 750 signed copies and Cemetery Dance has done a wonderful job with it.
Here’s a hint of what it’s about:The enclosed was transcribed from ten mini-cassette tapes that were recovered from the offices of Boston attorney William J. Latch following his disappearance on June 19, 2014.
These tapes are part of the evidentiary record in the civil case of Latch V. Weymouth Life & Casualty.
William J. Latch was declared dead by the State of Massachusetts in April 2015 after Magistrate Gavin FitzGerald reviewed these tapes, privately, in his chambers. Weymouth Life & Casualty was therein ordered to release Latch’s survivor’s benefits to his children.
Latch’s body has never been found.
His client, Michael Hadley, also remains missing.
A very excellent, three-part docu series on the Amy Mihaljevic cold case is now available to view on demand via ID Discovery (it’s actually the first part of a new series called The Lake Erie Murders). They cover the case and some suspects in great detail. There are some things revealed that even I didn’t know about.
BIG NEWS!
ID Discovery has graciously given me my first crime series, LAKE ERIE’S COLDEST CASES, which debuts at the end of the month only on IDGO. Each episode explores a new unsolved case I’ve researched in the Cleveland area (one of them is solved as I’m covering it!).
And it gets better! This online series is a companion project to a new TV series that will run on ID Discovery, called THE LAKE ERIE MURDERS. The first three episodes explore the unsolved abduction/murder of Amy Mihaljevic. Tune in on December 30 to see what we’ve uncovered!
I have a new long-form true crime article, published by ID Discovery’s Crimefeed. It’s a deep-dive into the story of Colleen Fitzpatrick and Margaret Press, the two women who figured out a new way to use DNA to catch bad guys.
They called the dead man Joseph Newton Chandler but that wasn’t his name. He lived alone in an efficiency in a nondescript apartment complex in Eastlake, Ohio, a workaday suburb of Cleveland. He rarely ventured far from home and the closest thing he had to a friend was a former coworker at a chemical factory he once listed as an emergency contact on his employment forms.
One day in July, 2002, Chandler purchased a handgun, a 38 caliber Charter Arms revolver. The old man returned home. He locked his door and windows, turned off the AC. Then he stepped into to his bathroom, faced the mirror, and put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. The last thing to enter his mind, other than that bullet, may have been the dark secret he was leaving behind.
Check out the Crimefeed post here.
Join journalist James Renner as he travels to Delphi, Indiana, in search of a killer.
On Valentine’s Day, 2017, the bodies of Abby Williams and Libby German were found off a popular trail in the woods of Delphi. Libby had the piece of mind to photograph her attacker and capture his voice on her Snapchat app. However, he has yet to be identified.
Virtually a Detective is a new experience in true crime – not a podcast, not really a documentary, it’s a fully-immersive 3-D experience that allows the viewer to travel with James as he speaks to the friends and family of the girls, as well as detectives, culminating in a journey to the sight of the abduction.
A new episode will be released every day on Renner’s YouTube Channel.
Here are the links to the first videos you can watch, today:
Tune in!
Are killers born or are they made? Does everyone have the capacity to commit murder? Why is true crime so popular today?
The Philosophy of Crime tackles the biggest questions about unsolved mysteries by looking to classical philosophy for answers.
CLICK HERE to listen to The Philosophy of Crime on any format!
My latest mystery novella – LARKEY – is now available – in its entirety – for free on the Bound storytelling app.
Larkey was the FBI agent from The Man from Primrose Lane. This mystery takes him to Middle Bass Island, where he must find the killer of a young woman before the ice thaws on Lake Erie.
Hey readers and irregulars! I’ve got some readings, signings, and appearances coming up this Spring. Drop by if you’re in the neighborhood.
Thursday, April 12 – Reading from True Crime Addict and The Serial Killer’s Apprentice at the Steubenville Library (Schiappa branch) at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, April 19 – Speaking about several of Cleveland’s unsolved mysteries at the Music Box Dinner Club. Reserve your spot for dinner here.
May 4 – 6 2018 CRIMECON! Come meet your favorite podcasters and true crime celebs in Nashville!
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