Crossing the Line with M. William Phelps

A young, pregnant Amish woman in upstate Pennsylvania, Rebekah Byler, is home one morning alone with her two toddlers. When her husband returns to the house near noon, he walks into a brutal scene—yet his two young boys are left unharmed. Is he telling the truth? Or is it a ruse to throw off investigators?   Sign up for your free Patreon account here [http://www.patreon.com/mwilliamphelps], where I’ll be streaming “live,” sending out newsletters, dropping an exclusive limited series podcast later in 2025, and posting other content you won’t get anywhere else.  Visit www.crossingtheline.biz [https://www.crossingtheline.biz/] to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 hit podcast PAPER GHOSTS [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paper-ghosts-the-ozarks/id1526682330], now in its fourth season, wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps [http://mwilliamphelps.com/] is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books [https://www.amazon.com/M.-William-Phelps/e/B001IR1K9Y%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share] and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine [http://www.connecticutmag.com/Connecticut-Magazine/March-2013/Blonde-Blue-Eyed-and-Gone/] and Hartford Courant [http://articles.courant.com/2014-08-18/news/hc-op-phelps-addiction-not-suicide-got-robin-willi-20140818_1_dave-second-time-addiction]. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer [https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Ground-Friendship-Serial-Killer/dp/1496709527]. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Health NAMI [https://www.nami.org/support-education/nami-helpline/] website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email helpline@nami.org**

Everything in your life seems to be on a perfect pace. Successful career. Long term marriage. Two beautiful daughters. So why would Susan Winters, without any warning or indication, kill herself with a poison not generally associated with suicide? Law enforcement wondered the same thing—and reopened a closed death investigation, revealing the dark secrets behind a seemingly idyllic life. Sign up for your free Patreon account here [http://www.patreon.com/mwilliamphelps], where I’ll be streaming “live,” sending out newsletters, dropping an exclusive limited series podcast later in 2025, and posting other content you won’t get anywhere else.  Visit www.crossingtheline.biz [https://www.crossingtheline.biz/] to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 hit podcast PAPER GHOSTS [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paper-ghosts-the-ozarks/id1526682330], now in its fourth season, wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps [http://mwilliamphelps.com/] is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books [https://www.amazon.com/M.-William-Phelps/e/B001IR1K9Y%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share] and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine [http://www.connecticutmag.com/Connecticut-Magazine/March-2013/Blonde-Blue-Eyed-and-Gone/] and Hartford Courant [http://articles.courant.com/2014-08-18/news/hc-op-phelps-addiction-not-suicide-got-robin-willi-20140818_1_dave-second-time-addiction]. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer [https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Ground-Friendship-Serial-Killer/dp/1496709527]. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Health NAMI [https://www.nami.org/support-education/nami-helpline/] website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email helpline@nami.org**

A family is on vacation, snapping photos at the Colorado National Monument when they stumble across the remains of a middle-age woman. Meanwhile, a woman 15 miles away is reported missing by her live-in boyfriend. Are the two cases connected? And how does Walmart and a package of hot dogs play into this case?  Sign up for your free Patreon account here [http://www.patreon.com/mwilliamphelps], where I’ll be streaming “live,” sending out newsletters, dropping an exclusive limited series podcast later in 2025, and posting other content you won’t get anywhere else.  Visit www.crossingtheline.biz [https://www.crossingtheline.biz/] to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 hit podcast PAPER GHOSTS [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paper-ghosts-the-ozarks/id1526682330], now in its fourth season, wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps [http://mwilliamphelps.com/] is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books [https://www.amazon.com/M.-William-Phelps/e/B001IR1K9Y%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share] and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine [http://www.connecticutmag.com/Connecticut-Magazine/March-2013/Blonde-Blue-Eyed-and-Gone/] and Hartford Courant [http://articles.courant.com/2014-08-18/news/hc-op-phelps-addiction-not-suicide-got-robin-willi-20140818_1_dave-second-time-addiction]. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer [https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Ground-Friendship-Serial-Killer/dp/1496709527]. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Health NAMI [https://www.nami.org/support-education/nami-helpline/] website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email helpline@nami.org**

Susan Marable fell into hard times during the late 1980's. After a series of life-changing, tragic events, she moves from Aberdeen to Yakima, Washington, where her life spirals—and soon, Susan's family stops hearing from her. Robyn Peery, Susan’s sister, has spent her entire adult life searching for answers in her sister's disappearance--with no help from Yakima law enforcement.  Sign up for your free Patreon account here [http://www.patreon.com/mwilliamphelps], where I’ll be streaming “live,” posting exclusive content you won't get anywhere else, and dropping an exclusive limited series podcast later in 2025.  Visit www.crossingtheline.biz [https://www.crossingtheline.biz/] to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 hit podcast PAPER GHOSTS [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paper-ghosts-the-ozarks/id1526682330], now in its fourth season, wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps [http://mwilliamphelps.com/] is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books [https://www.amazon.com/M.-William-Phelps/e/B001IR1K9Y%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share] and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine [http://www.connecticutmag.com/Connecticut-Magazine/March-2013/Blonde-Blue-Eyed-and-Gone/] and Hartford Courant [http://articles.courant.com/2014-08-18/news/hc-op-phelps-addiction-not-suicide-got-robin-willi-20140818_1_dave-second-time-addiction]. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer [https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Ground-Friendship-Serial-Killer/dp/1496709527]. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Health NAMI [https://www.nami.org/support-education/nami-helpline/] website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email helpline@nami.org**

A young expecting mother, Ashley Bush, meets a new friend, Lucy Barrows, on Facebook. Lucy promises Ashley a job interview. After dropping her off, Ashley's fiancé, Joshua Willis, claims he never hears from her again.  Welcome to a bonus feature here on the Crossing the Line feed. I come across all sorts of stories while researching books, TV series, and my iHeartMedia podcast, Paper Ghosts, in addition to the ideas you send me. A lot of them grab hold of me emotionally—especially the victims' stories and the ordeal their families go through. A good number of the cases, for myriad reasons, don’t fit into the model for a more complete CTL episode. So I wanted to create a sub platform to showcase some of those stories, as well. Thank you for supporting Crossing the Line, which has allowed me to produce this new expansion of the brand … Once or twice per month, maybe more, I’ll present a 15 to 20 minute episode, covering murder and missing person cases, and other interesting crimes I think you’ll want to hear about—but maybe more importantly, cases that give us a deeper understanding of the crimes and scumbags who commit them. Sign up for your free Patreon account here [http://www.patreon.com/mwilliamphelps], where I’ll be streaming “live,” dropping an exclusive limited series podcast later in 2025, and posting other content you cannot find anywhere else. Visit www.crossingtheline.biz [https://www.crossingtheline.biz/] to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 hit podcast PAPER GHOSTS [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-paper-ghosts-the-ozarks-70977237/], now in its fourth season, wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps [http://mwilliamphelps.com/] is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books [https://www.amazon.com/M.-William-Phelps/e/B001IR1K9Y%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share] and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine [http://www.connecticutmag.com/Connecticut-Magazine/March-2013/Blonde-Blue-Eyed-and-Gone/] and Hartford Courant [http://articles.courant.com/2014-08-18/news/hc-op-phelps-addiction-not-suicide-got-robin-willi-20140818_1_dave-second-time-addiction]. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer [https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Ground-Friendship-Serial-Killer/dp/1496709527]. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Health NAMI [https://www.nami.org/support-education/nami-helpline/] website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email helpline@nami.org**