Unheard: True Crime in Their Own Words

Jason Abarca was 19 years old when he disappeared in December 2023 after a series of events that ended with him running into the woods near Winchester, Virginia.Months later, his remains were found.But for Jason’s parents, Jennifer and Benito Soto, finding their son did not bring the answers they had desperately been searching for. Instead, it left them with even more questions about what happened to Jason after he disappeared and whether his death was properly investigated.Jennifer and Benito believe their son was murdered.In this episode of Unheard, they tell Jason’s story in their own words, from the devastating loss their family had already endured, to Jason’s disappearance, the discovery of his remains, and the evidence and circumstances that led them to question the investigation into his death.This is the story of a family that found their son but is still fighting to find out what happened to him.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seven men have been accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually assaulting a young woman at Cornell University’s Chi Phi fraternity house. Nearly two years later, questions remain about what happened that night and how the university responded.For this bonus episode of Unheard, I’m sharing a conversation from my YouTube live with my friend Dan Catullo, an Emmy Award winning filmmaker whose work includes 4000 Days, Protect the House, Breathe, Nolan, Breathe, and Death of a Pledge. We walk through the Cornell allegations and the latest developments, then talk about the fraternity culture surrounding them: secrecy, loyalty, and the fight for accountability when students and families speak up.This Cornell case is not a hazing case. But Dan and I were both in fraternities, and we’ve both spent time with families who lost children to hazing. Those conversations have shown us how much can stay hidden inside these organizations, and why people outside them so rarely hear about it. The accusations made in the case we're talking about, point to a bigger issue surrounding toxic fraternity culture.If this is your first time hearing about the Cornell case, I’ll point you toward my full breakdown as well. And if you’d like more bonus conversations when major stories break, let me know. Follow Unheard wherever you listen, and leave a five-star rating if the show has earned it. Our regular Wednesday episode is still coming tomorrow.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and other potentially disturbing subjects.Former Miss Switzerland and international model Beatrice Keul sits down with Unheard: True Crime in Their Own Words for an extensive conversation about events she says began more than three decades ago and ultimately connected her story to Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.Keul recounts her experience in New York in the early 1990s, including her allegation that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her at the Plaza Hotel, and discusses Jeffrey Epstein's connection to her story.But this conversation goes far beyond a single encounter.Beatrice discusses the documentation she has preserved, the threats she says she received after coming forward, the other women who have spoken publicly, the legal avenues now being explored, and why she sees what happened as part of a much larger story involving power, influence and international ramifications.Beatrice has never lived in the United States and has never been an American citizen. Her story began decades before today's political environment, and in this interview, we're giving her the time and space to tell it from the beginning, in her own words.This is not a sound bite. This is her story.Unheard: True Crime in Their Own Words features long-form conversations with the people who lived the stories behind the headlines.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who holds the prosecutor accountable?Prosecutors are some of the most powerful people in our criminal justice system. They decide what charges to bring, what plea deals to offer and what evidence to put before a jury. But what happens when a prosecutor breaks the rules — or when the pursuit of a conviction comes at the expense of a defendant's constitutional rights?On this episode of UNHEARD, I sit down with Iris Eytan, a former Deputy State Public Defender and criminal defense attorney who spent nearly 30 years inside the criminal justice system.Iris has represented thousands of defendants and was part of Barry Morphew's defense team in a murder prosecution that became a national story and raised serious questions about prosecutorial conduct.Today, Iris is the Founder and CEO of Protect Ethical Prosecutors (PEP), a nonpartisan watchdog organization advocating for ethical prosecution and accountability when prosecutors engage in misconduct.We get into just how much power prosecutors actually have, why holding them accountable can be so difficult, prosecutorial immunity, wrongful convictions, the Morphew case, and what Iris believes needs to change.This isn't a conversation about being anti-prosecutor. It's a conversation about what accountability should look like when the people entrusted with enforcing the law are accused of breaking the rules themselves.🎙️ UNHEARD: True Crime in Their Own WordsGuest: Iris EytanABOUT PROTECT ETHICAL PROSECUTORS:PEP is working to document prosecutorial misconduct and advocate for greater accountability within the criminal justice system.Learn more, support their work, or find their social channels at:protectethicalprosecutors.orgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Jessica Vestal's son Dax started coming home with bruises and injuries, she knew something wasn't right.The problem was that Dax is nonverbal. He couldn't tell her what was happening.What Jessica eventually uncovered led to criminal charges, national attention, and difficult questions about how vulnerable children are protected when they can't speak for themselves.In this episode of Unheard: True Crime In Their Own Words, Jessica shares Dax's story, the warning signs she saw, the fight for answers, and what happened after the truth finally came to light.Follow Unheard: True Crime In Their Own Words, for more conversations with the people at the center of the stories making headlines.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.