Our True Crime Podcast

Altona, Manitoba, is a small town sitting in the middle of a windswept prairie about a fifteen-minute drive north of North Dakota. In the winter, the days are short, the snow falls frequently, and there’s very little to do except play hockey or other indoor activities. The town was founded by Mennonites, who, like the Amish, are known for their pacifist and peaceful ways. However, that did not mean the town was exempt from its fair share of tragedies.  However, nothing would stun the Altona residents more than what happened on a November night in 1990. What started as a typical evening for two teenage boys ended in a horrific home invasion that left one dead and the other critically injured. The attack was violent and merciless, shaking the entire community to its core. Join Jen and Cam as they discuss "Out of the Fire: Murder in Altona." Thank you to our team Listener Discretion by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward October ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.octoberpodvhs.com/home] Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of The Inky Pawprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theinkypawprint.com⁠ [https://theinkypawprint.com/] Sources: https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008967/?match=1 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008967/?match=1] https://www.newspapers.com/image/948646262/?match=1 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/948646262/?match=1] https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008599/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008599/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22] https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008599/?match=1 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008599/?match=1] https://www.newspapers.com/image/735474324/?match=1 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/735474324/?match=1] https://www.newspapers.com/image/735472254/?match=1 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/735472254/?match=1] https://www.iaedjournal.org/the-road-of-resilience [https://www.iaedjournal.org/the-road-of-resilience] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/altona-manitoba-documentary-world-premiere-1.7049171 [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/altona-manitoba-documentary-world-premiere-1.7049171] https://www.steinbachonline.com/articles/documentary-altona-uses-30-year-old-crime-to-explore-forgiveness [https://www.steinbachonline.com/articles/documentary-altona-uses-30-year-old-crime-to-explore-forgiveness] https://www.firefightingincanada.com/a-story-of-resilience-26441/ [https://www.firefightingincanada.com/a-story-of-resilience-26441/] https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008967/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/737008967/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22] https://www.newspapers.com/image/1011921809/?match=1&clipping_id=178356248 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1011921809/?match=1&clipping_id=178356248] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altona_murder#:~:text=The%20Altona%20murder%20occurred%20in,bodily%20injuries%20and%20alerted%20authorities.&text=Giesbrecht%20was%20arrested%20shortly%20after%2C%20and%20confessed%20to%20the%20murder [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altona_murder#:~:text=The%20Altona%20murder%20occurred%20in,bodily%20injuries%20and%20alerted%20authorities.&text=Giesbrecht%20was%20arrested%20shortly%20after%2C%20and%20confessed%20to%20the%20murder]. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2010/06/18/killer-to-get-taste-of-freedom [https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2010/06/18/killer-to-get-taste-of-freedom] https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.5551761 [https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.5551761] (this interview with Klassen's dad is just pitiful) https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/43-survivors-tyler-pelke-and-the-nova-scotia-boy/id1483801903?i=1000516794821 [https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/43-survivors-tyler-pelke-and-the-nova-scotia-boy/id1483801903?i=1000516794821] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altona_murder [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altona_murder] https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.5553431 [https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.5553431] https://www.brandonsun.com/local/2013/06/18/bible-belts-bogeyman-still-haunts-town [https://www.brandonsun.com/local/2013/06/18/bible-belts-bogeyman-still-haunts-town] https://winnipegsun.com/2014/03/02/rising-out-of-the-fire [https://winnipegsun.com/2014/03/02/rising-out-of-the-fire] https://www.newspapers.com/image/734980397/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/734980397/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22] https://www.newspapers.com/image/734980254/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/734980254/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22] https://www.newspapers.com/image/735009940/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/735009940/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22] https://www.newspapers.com/image/735843197/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/735843197/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22] https://www.newspapers.com/image/1022422054/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1022422054/?match=1&terms=%22Curtis%20Klassen%22] I survived Season 7 episode 10, A&E Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Do you want to know what it is like to be one of  'Our True Crime Podcast' Patreons?  Here is a sneak peek. This episode was released in January on our Patreon platform. Due to circumstances, we were unable to produce an episode this week, so we thought it was a perfect time to revisit an episode that originally aired on Patreon. Join us! The Petit family lived in an idyllic, quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of Cheshire, Connecticut. Dr. William Petit, a respected endocrinologist, his wife Jennifer, a beloved nurse, and their two daughters—17-year-old Hayley, a bright and driven high school senior, and 11-year-old Michaela, a sweet and creative child—made their home at 300 Sorghum Mill Drive. By all accounts, the Petits were a picture of suburban success. But on the evening of July 22, 2007, an unassuming trip to the local Stop & Shop set in motion a chain of events that would shatter their world. Join Cam and Jen on this episode of Our True Crime Podcast entitled “The Cheshire Murders: The Petit Family.” LD by @octoberpodVHS Music by @theinkypawprint Sources: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/27/justice/connecticut-home-invasion-sentencing/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 [http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/27/justice/connecticut-home-invasion-sentencing/index.html?hpt=hp_t1] https://abcnews.go.com/US/petit-trial-coroner-describes-teen-daughters-death/story?id=14607151 https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/local/charges-against-steven-hayes/2059089/?amp=1 https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Komisarjevsky-complete-list-of-charges-12058464.php The Cheshire Murders [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29DPtCgRVUo&t=] (Television production). HBO https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/connecticuts-top-court-overturns-death-penalty-state-n409256 [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/connecticuts-top-court-overturns-death-penalty-state-n409256] https://web.archive.org/web/20190910201036/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20706697/ns/dateline_nbc-crime_reports/t/desperate-hours#.Xo9cXYhKiUk [https://web.archive.org/web/20190910201036/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20706697/ns/dateline_nbc-crime_reports/t/desperate-hours#.Xo9cXYhKiUk] https://medium.com/the-true-crime-times/the-cheshire-murders-innocence-lost-1e4bec712e09 [https://medium.com/the-true-crime-times/the-cheshire-murders-innocence-lost-1e4bec712e09] https://web.archive.org/web/20100926195121/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/twisted_texts_of_killer_G8iLnVxkF0WgpcTcOeC4QM [https://web.archive.org/web/20100926195121/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/twisted_texts_of_killer_G8iLnVxkF0WgpcTcOeC4QM] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/petit-family-murder-trial-new-evidence-testimony-paints-graphic-picture-of-conn-home-invasion/ https://archive.today/20120723165500/http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-fair-trial-1110-20101109,0,2009741.story [https://archive.today/20120723165500/http://www.courant.com/community/cheshire/cheshire-home-invasion/hc-komisarjevsky-fair-trial-1110-20101109,0,2009741.story] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/17/cheshire-connecticut-home-invasion-murders-10-years-later/483863001/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Thank you to Amy M for requesting this episode! A rich and powerful man who thought he was above the law and a brave sheriff who refused to back down. This is the story of how one murder brought a corrupt "king" and his reign of terror crashing down. Join Jen & Cam as we explore the 1948 case that made history in the American South, "Fall of a Kingdom: Coweta County Murder" Thank you to our team Listener Discretion by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward October ⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.octoberpodvhs.com/home] Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of The Inky Pawprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theinkypawprint.com⁠ [https://theinkypawprint.com/] Please go to www.ourtruecrimepodcast.com for a complete list of sources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

It was the evening of July 6, 2007, when the call came in to the Russell County Sheriff’s Department. A truck driver had spotted what he believed to be a body lying along a lonely stretch of road outside Phenix City, Alabama. At first, the deputies dismissed it as unlikely. This was a tight-knit community, a place where neighbors grew up together and tragedies of that magnitude felt unthinkable. But on that humid Southern night, something unspeakable had happened. Lieutenant Heath Taylor and Sergeant Grover Goodrich were dispatched to the scene. The road was rural, unlit, and shrouded in silence, save for the hum of insects. Their flashlights cut through the dark landing on what could no longer be mistaken: the body of a young woman, late teens or early twenties, crumpled in the gravel. Who would kill this young woman and why? Both answers would be shocking. Join Cam and Jen of Our True Crime Podcast as we discuss ‘The Killer Next to Her: Stephanie ‘Shea’ Graham.’ Listener discretion if from @octoberpodVHS Music is by our editor @theinkypawprint Hey! You want to go to Italy with us in June 2026, make sure to check out the details on our webpage. ourtruecrimepodcast.com [http://ourtruecrimepodcast.com] or reach out and email ourtruecrimepodcast@gmail.com [ourtruecrimepodcast@gmail.com]. Sources: https://www.alabamaag.gov/attorney-general-steve-marshall-announces-court-of-criminal-appeals-upholds-capital-murder-conviction-in-russell-county/ [https://www.alabamaag.gov/attorney-general-steve-marshall-announces-court-of-criminal-appeals-upholds-capital-murder-conviction-in-russell-county/] https://www.wtvm.com/2019/07/20/capital-murder-conviction-upheld-phenix-city-woman-accused-contract-killing-her-daughter/ [https://www.wtvm.com/2019/07/20/capital-murder-conviction-upheld-phenix-city-woman-accused-contract-killing-her-daughter/] https://ftp.analyticowl.com/trendzone/stephanie-graham-murder-where-are-lisa-graham-and-kenneth-walton%C2%A0now [https://ftp.analyticowl.com/trendzone/stephanie-graham-murder-where-are-lisa-graham-and-kenneth-walton%C2%A0now] https://www.cbs42.com/news/crime/the-5-women-on-alabamas-death-row/ https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-8782/150960/20200821153708727_BIO.pdf [https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-8782/150960/20200821153708727_BIO.pdf] https://www.wtvm.com/story/28220610/fmr-investigator-testifies-in-day-3-of-lisa-graham-retrial/ [https://www.wtvm.com/story/28220610/fmr-investigator-testifies-in-day-3-of-lisa-graham-retrial/] https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrimeDiscussion/comments/193bl0u/was_death_row_inmate_lisa_grahams_husband_kevin_a/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrimeDiscussion/comments/193bl0u/was_death_row_inmate_lisa_grahams_husband_kevin_a/] https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/season-20/lisa-graham [https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/season-20/lisa-graham] https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/2008870.html [https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/2008870.html] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28668824/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28668824/] https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/crime/article29403523.html [https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/crime/article29403523.html] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

A big Thank You to Belinda for requesting this episode! On a remote stretch of highway in the Australian Outback, a young couple's road trip turned into a nightmare. Peter Falconio, a British backpacker, vanished without a trace, and his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, was found battered and distraught, having escaped a terrifying ordeal. But as police began to unravel the events of that night, people started to doubt Joanne's story. Was she a brave survivor, or was she hiding a dark secret? Join Jen & Cam as they discuss 'Into the Never-Never: Peter Falconio & Joanne Lees' Come to Italy with us in 2026! Call to speak to an agent ⁠1-800-438-7672 ⁠ [tel:18004387672] ⁠https://groups.goaheadtours.com/tours/zvrg-true-crime⁠ [https://groups.goaheadtours.com/tours/zvrg-true-crime] If you have any questions, RSVP with the link below for our Zoom meeting on August 19th at 6 PM CST. Can't wait to meet you! https://tinyurl.com/3sbzz7cz Thank you to our team Listener Discretion by ⁠⁠⁠Edward October ⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.octoberpodvhs.com/home] Research & Writing by Lauretta Allen Executive Producers Nico & Jesse of The Inky Pawprint ⁠⁠⁠https://theinkypawprint.com⁠ [https://theinkypawprint.com/] Sources: https://youtu.be/1ecev-s1S3Y?si=RzWiYo9FiD7XzqcH [https://youtu.be/1ecev-s1S3Y?si=RzWiYo9FiD7XzqcH] https://youtu.be/EOI6HiMayK4?si=ip07xi1aaONpVjoK [https://youtu.be/EOI6HiMayK4?si=ip07xi1aaONpVjoK] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Territory [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Territory] https://www.newspapers.com/image/259639810/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/259639810/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/727358980/?match=1 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/727358980/?match=1] https://www.newspapers.com/image/720094814/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/720094814/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/752702312/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/752702312/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/121437746/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/121437746/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/121591385/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/121591385/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/257729313/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/257729313/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/1052210791/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1052210791/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/1140309498/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1140309498/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/1179747398/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1179747398/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/1049290141/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/1049290141/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/752436797/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/752436797/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/726001238/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/726001238/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/752434849/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/752434849/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://www.newspapers.com/image/753330238/?match=1 [https://www.newspapers.com/image/753330238/?match=1] https://www.newspapers.com/image/723422920/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees [https://www.newspapers.com/image/723422920/?match=1&terms=Joanne%20Lees] https://time.com/archive/6952425/terror-australis/ [https://time.com/archive/6952425/terror-australis/] https://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/the-unanswered-questions-about-peter-falconios-murder-as-outback-killer-dies-aged-67/news-story/9e85d77b4d33e26fbceb00d7b22defe0 [https://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/the-unanswered-questions-about-peter-falconios-murder-as-outback-killer-dies-aged-67/news-story/9e85d77b4d33e26fbceb00d7b22defe0] https://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/outback-murder-mystery-of-peter-falconio-remains/news-story/c24596ba385b0b0751e616cf75235139 [https://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/outback-murder-mystery-of-peter-falconio-remains/news-story/c24596ba385b0b0751e616cf75235139]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Peter_Falconio [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Peter_Falconio] https://www.theage.com.au/national/doubt-over-dna-test-in-falconio-case-20071224-ge6ji5.html [https://www.theage.com.au/national/doubt-over-dna-test-in-falconio-case-20071224-ge6ji5.html] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/02/australia.uk [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/nov/02/australia.uk] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja-Y3vw0WDQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja-Y3vw0WDQ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihObH8e3jvQ&t=1128s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihObH8e3jvQ&t=1128s] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ov-S8ZoLgE [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ov-S8ZoLgE] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]