True Crime Brewery

We hope you enjoy this re-release from a members-only show in 2024. It’s one of Jill’s favorites! Jill and Dick rewatch and recap the HBO 2-part docuseries I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders. This is a shocking case of a mother and grandmother who kills her husband, then goes on the run and commits another cold-blooded murder in Florida. We discuss the unexpected twists, the mental health history of Lois and her family, and the unsatisfying interview where Lois fails to take any real accountability for her crimes. Join us!

One day in January 2009, 91-year-old Selma “Sally” Hill was not answering her phone calls, which was very unusual for her. Sally’s life partner, Lester, had a daily habit of speaking with Sally at 4:00 pm each day. When Sally didn’t answer Lester’s calls on January 7, 2009, Lester became concerned. He called Sally’s grandson Eric, who later showed up at Sally’s house to find Lester’s family waiting and worrying outside. While they waited, Eric went inside the house to search for his grandmother, but he could not find her. As Sally did not drive, it made no sense for her not to be at home. Join us at the quiet end for Operation Custody. Eric and his young daughter had been living with Sally since Eric and his wife separated. A heated custody battle for their young daughter had gone on for some time, but what happened that January day would shock everyone involved and end in unforeseeable violence. Subscribe for ad-free, early, and bonus episodes [https://tiegrabber.com/subscribe/] Record a voicemail for a future show [https://www.speakpipe.com/truecrimebrewery] Contact Us [https://tiegrabber.com/contact-us/] Shop TCB Merch [https://tiegrabber.com/shop/] Join our True Crime Brewery Fan Discussion Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1910436809204400] Sources Defendant Seeks Separate Trial from Wife, Daughter in Dublin Murder Case, Patch.com, 3-7-2011, https://patch.com/california/dublin/defendant-seeks-separate-trial-from-wife-daughter-in-1ac34c3606, retrieved 4-8-2025. Killing for Custody, Worst Ex Ever, E3, retrieved 4-8-2025. People v. Hill, California Court of Appeals, Decision date 4-16-2025, retrieved 4-9-2025.

Raised in Riverside, California, twenty-year-old college student Jason Bautista and his fifteen-year-old brother Matthew were living roller coaster lives with their mentally ill and abusive mother, Jane. Jane Bautista’s mood swings and unpredictable behavior effected the two young men in ways not understood at the time. Then, one January night, the family’s dysfunction led to unfathomable decisions and a shocking crime. Join us at the quiet end for A Tale of Two Brothers. On January 15, 2003, Jason returned to his college courses at Cal State Bernardino. Explaining that their mother had run off with yet another boyfriend, the two brothers tried to carry on with their lives as before. But when Jane did not return home, the truth of what had happened with the family of three would forever change them. Subscribe for ad-free, early, and bonus episodes [https://tiegrabber.com/subscribe/] Record a voicemail for a future show [https://www.speakpipe.com/truecrimebrewery] Contact Us [https://tiegrabber.com/contact-us/] Shop TCB Merch [https://tiegrabber.com/shop/] Join our True Crime Brewery Fan Discussion Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1910436809204400] Sources Los Angeles Times Archives Man who dismembered mom cites ‘Sopranos’, Associated Press, 4/9/2005 Murder, Mafia-Style, A “Sopranos”-style murder shocks the world, Psychology Today, 1/1/2003 Son sentenced to 25 years for mother’s murder, North County Times, 4/9/2005 Such Good Boys: The True Story of a Mother, Two Sons, and a Horrifying Murder by Tina Dirmann

When Ernest Brendel, his wife Alice, and their 8-year-old daughter Emily disappeared from their Barrington Rhode Island home, the FBI and state police suspected that they were victims of foul play. The family of three had just moved to Barrington from Providence about three years earlier, believing they had found a safe and happy place for Emily to grow up. Join us at the quiet end for Trading in Murder. When Ernest Brendel filed a complaint against commodity trader Chris Hightower, Hightower’s life was in a tailspin. The deadline for responding to the complaint came and went, Hightower’s wife asked for a divorce, and he was served with a court order barring him from contact with his children. Exposed as a conman and a thief, Hightower stalked the Brendels and plotted to kidnap young Emily. Watch the Holland trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJm3LHoqdA4] Subscribe for ad-free, early, and bonus episodes [https://tiegrabber.com/subscribe/] Record a voicemail for a future show [https://www.speakpipe.com/truecrimebrewery] Contact Us [https://tiegrabber.com/contact-us/] Shop TCB Merch [https://tiegrabber.com/shop/] Join our True Crime Brewery Fan Discussion Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1910436809204400] Sources Death of an Angel by Don Davis Family of 3 Slain by Arrow, Strangling : Murder: Rhode Island family had been missing since Sept. 20. Autopsies on the mother and child point to asphyxiation, LA Times Archives, 11/17/1991 State v. Hightower, STATE v. Christopher J. HIGHTOWER, Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 8/1/1995. World’s Most Evil Killers – Season 4, Episode 3 – Christopher Hightower, FilmRise, 8/12/2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hfk2XagJzE

We hope you enjoy this re-release of a members-only episode from 2023! It was the 1970s, a time of freedom and adventure for 16-year-old Jim Boucher and 19-year-old Daryl Barber, when they headed out from their Michigan homes to Daytona Beach Florida for a week of fun and sunshine. The two young men had saved for this trip, their first trip to Florida, having no idea that it would be their last. Join us at the quiet end for Road Trip. When James and Daryl failed to check in daily as agreed, their parents were concerned. But maybe the two were having so much fun that they’d forgotten. After all, they were young and on vacation.  But when James and Daryl didn’t come home from their trip on their planned return date, their parents began to panic. The Daytona Beach police didn’t have the resources to look for them—there were so many young people who disappeared from Daytona Beach. It was left to their families to find out what happened to them. Sources Orlando Sentinal Archives 1978-1990 The Snake & the Spider by Karen Kingsbury