Crossing the Line with M. William Phelps

One body is found along a popular New England highway … then another … and another. Soon, New Bedford, Massachusetts, police believe they have an active serial killer lurking in the streets. This week, Phelps speaks with journalism professor and author of the book Shallow Graves to get the inside scoop on this haunting serial killer case, which has baffled law enforcement for decades.  For more information about the case and buy her book, visit Maureen Boyle's website.  Visit 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 wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books 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 and Hartford Courant. 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.

When a young college student’s car was abandoned on the side of a busy midwest highway in 1992, police figured it was a runaway case. Nine days later, she was found brutally murdered, nearly 500 miles away in another state. What happened to Tammy Jo Zywicki? Hear the story when PAPER GHOSTS returns with a new season on February 1. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Karen Read is desperate and in full-fledge blame-someone-else mode as police zero in on her Lexus, impound the vehicle, and begin to put together a strong case, proving she was drunk and, knowingly or not, with or without intent, struck John O’Keefe with her SUV and killed him. Meanwhile, Turtleboy, under Karen's manipulating direction, continues his campaign to paint lead investigator Michael Proctor and witness Jennifer McCabe as the two people behind some sort of elaborate conspiracy that is becoming harder each day for most to believe.   “34 Fairview Road” is the first limited series, narrative podcast exploring in depth the death of Boston Police officer John O’Keefe in January 2022, the arrest of his girlfriend, 44-year-old Karen Read, her high-profile murder trial, the impact self-published blogger Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney has had on the case, along with Kearney’s exclusive story—from high school teacher to a criminal serving 60 days in jail for witness intimidation so far, still facing 18 felony counts—woven through the story behind the town of Canton, Massachusetts, in utter chaos, division, and at each other's throats. Hosted by veteran podcaster, writer and executive producer M. William Phelps—the #1 Apple hit PAPER GHOSTS, WHITE EAGLE, both from iHeartMedia, and his hit weekly show CROSSING THE LINE WITH M. WILLIAM PHELPS—and New York Times bestselling author of close to 50 books, investigative journalist and tv personality. The series, based on over 100 hours of interviews Phelps has completed, features exclusive audio, documents and insights from Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, including never-before-heard, new information in the case, and Turtleboy's dealings and exclusive conversations with Karen Read. The series offers an original look at the shocking series of events that occurred before and after John O’Keefe lost his life as a blizzard descended upon New England in January, 2022.  The series is executive produced by M. William Phelps and Matthew Valentinas—written and produced by M. William Phelps. In late January 2022, 46-year-old veteran Boston Police officer John O’Keefe’s body is found on the front lawn of a fellow Boston Police officer’s home in Canton, Massachusetts—34 Fairview Road—as a blizzard blankets the Northeast. Within hours, O’Keefe’s otherwise unassuming 44-year-old financial executive girlfriend, Karen Read, is accused of running down O’Keefe with her SUV—and charged with his murder. And yet, some believe Karen Read is a scapegoat, there to shield a conspiracy hiding deep, dark secrets—with corrupt cops and political Canton power brokers, running the town like an organized crime family, at the helm. Soon, the town of Canton is in chaos, residents at each other’s throats. And there in the midst of it all, a blogger and so-called free speech advocate, Aidan Carnie, who goes by the ridiculous name Turtleboy, seemingly pulls back the curtain on this bedroom community, uncovering what he believes is evidence of widespread corruption and collusion, fueling an already volatile situation, and ultimately leading to Turtleboy being arrested and jailed on 18 felony counts of witness intimidation. Phelps plays the middle road, telling the story as it takes place, interviewing dozens of people, reviewing 1000s of pages of documents, collecting hours of exclusive audio, including the exclusive story from self-published blogger Turtleboy himself, which he has not shared with anyone.

Residents in Canton, Massachusetts, speak out about the divide in town after the trial of Karen Read for the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O’Keefe, exposes a hostile community environment, as a blogger, Aidan Kearney, known as Turtleboy, begins to feed the flames of division by reporting that John O’Keefe’s murder is being covered up by a group of law enforcement and Canton elites, who have big secrets to hide. Investigative journalist M. William Phelps digs in and allows townsfolk to speak, supplementing the narrative with trial testimony and exclusive audio, telling the story from the people who lived it. “34 Fairview Road” is the first limited series, narrative podcast exploring in depth the death of Boston Police officer John O’Keefe in January 2022, the arrest of his girlfriend, 44-year-old Karen Read, her high-profile murder trial, the impact self-published blogger Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney has had on the case, along with Kearney’s exclusive story—from high school teacher to a criminal serving 60 days in jail for witness intimidation so far, still facing 18 felony counts—woven through the story behind the town of Canton, Massachusetts, in utter chaos, division, and at each other's throats. Hosted by veteran podcaster, writer and executive producer M. William Phelps—the #1 Apple hit PAPER GHOSTS, WHITE EAGLE, both from iHeartMedia, and his hit weekly show CROSSING THE LINE WITH M. WILLIAM PHELPS—and New York Times bestselling author of close to 50 books, investigative journalist and tv personality. The series, based on over 100 hours of interviews Phelps has completed, features exclusive audio, documents and insights from Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, including never-before-heard, new information in the case, and Turtleboy's dealings and exclusive conversations with Karen Read. The series offers an original look at the shocking series of events that occurred before and after John O’Keefe lost his life as a blizzard descended upon New England in January, 2022.  The series is executive produced by M. William Phelps and Matthew Valentinas—written and produced by M. William Phelps. In late January 2022, 46-year-old veteran Boston Police officer John O’Keefe’s body is found on the front lawn of a fellow Boston Police officer’s home in Canton, Massachusetts—34 Fairview Road—as a blizzard blankets the Northeast. Within hours, O’Keefe’s otherwise unassuming 44-year-old financial executive girlfriend, Karen Read, is accused of running down O’Keefe with her SUV—and charged with his murder. And yet, some believe Karen Read is a scapegoat, there to shield a conspiracy hiding deep, dark secrets—with corrupt cops and political Canton power brokers, running the town like an organized crime family, at the helm. Soon, the town of Canton is in chaos, residents at each other’s throats. And there in the midst of it all, a blogger and so-called free speech advocate, Aidan Carnie, who goes by the ridiculous name Turtleboy, seemingly pulls back the curtain on this bedroom community, uncovering what he believes is evidence of widespread corruption and collusion, fueling an already volatile situation, and ultimately leading to Turtleboy being arrested and jailed on 18 felony counts of witness intimidation. Phelps plays the middle road, telling the story as it takes place, interviewing dozens of people, reviewing 1000s of pages of documents, collecting hours of exclusive audio, including the exclusive story from self-published blogger Turtleboy himself, which he has not shared with anyone.

Phelps speaks with Lauren Fields’ mother, Shantell, about the surprising cause and manner of death in Lauren’s case. He also digs into the Brenda Rawls death - another woman found dead after a date - the very same night, just down the road from where Lauren died - whose family was also never informed of her death by the police.

You might have heard about this case: A woman, Lauren Smith-Fields, TikTok influencer, model and college student studying physical therapy, invites a Bumble date over to her apartment in December 2021 and winds up dead … police say accidental, family says suspicious … and yet the manner of death is only half the story. What happened inside Lauren’s apartment on the night she died, and the next day, will have your jaw on the floor, wondering what is going on in the world of law enforcement investigation in some of the country’s largest cities. In the first of this two-part Crossing the Line, Phelps digs in deep and talks to Lauren’s family.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A beloved woman in a posh Connecticut town goes out for a jog, same as she does every day. Along that route is an immense estate owned by the puppeteer, Caroll Spinney, who played the iconic “Big Bird” and “Oscar the Grouch” characters on Sesame Street. After failing to return, police searching for the woman find a literal blood trail leading directly to Big Bird’s estate … and an immaculate Chinese pagoda on the property. Soon, all eyes are following that bird—and yet neither he - nor the woman - are anywhere to be found.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When problems between a wealthy woman, her son and his wife begin to get ugly, people turned a blind eye. But when Rebecca Cornell catches fire one night and dies, the case is re-opened after a ghostly appearance convinces local lawmakers it wasn't just an accident.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Conrad Roy died by suicide on a hot July night in 2014. But what is the true story behind “the girl from Plainville”, who faced a judge on manslaughter charges after texts reveal she might have had urged him to take his own life? Phelps digs into the social and legal aspects of this high-profile case, featured in a special Hulu series.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a tipster starts calling in to a California tip line saying he knows where bodies are buried, eyebrows are raised. But after cash payouts for info on several missing women, suspicions arise that an actual serial killer might just be phoning in his own murders. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the late 1980s in the Frankford section of Philadelphia, women were murdered one after the other, with the brutality of a serial killer so exceptionally grotesque, he is compared to Jack the Ripper. Phelps goes deep into his psychology, in an episode surely not for kiddos. Buckle up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

43-year-old Liz Romero of Waco, Texas goes missing in early April 2022. Her family and friends are concerned almost immediately. The case cools before a tip comes in. And the horror of what transpired becomes everyone’s worst reality.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mother loses custody of her kids to her violent and abusive ex. Did the government go one step further and effectively sanction her murder? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Portland, Oregon, a beloved culinary teacher is found murdered inside his school's kitchen. Could his wife, a budding romance novelist, be guilty of his murder?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cruise ship can be a blissful, relaxing vacation for a family … or, as true crime fans know all-too-well, a dreaded nightmare. We’ve all heard the horror stories from cruise ships. This week, Phelps digs into the missing person investigation of Amy Lynn Bradley — and trust us, you’ll think twice about taking that cruise after hearing this episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A man leaves his Long Island home with one goal in mind: To kill the next person he runs into. Phelps digs into the death of a 16-year-old boy: a murder that sets off an incredible story rarely looked at in the true crime boom. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s one of the only murder cases in Connecticut history that was tried without a body. And not because the body was buried and never found—but because there was very little left to find. A horrifying murder that shocked the world and inspired an Oscar-winning film. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All murder stories are important. I want to bring special attention to this case by reposting it for this week of Thanksgiving because Kim Wall, the victim in this episode, gave so much of herself to everyone around her, her community, and the public. I want to honor her. I’ll be back next week with a brand new case—one you will not want to miss. A renowned journalist is last seen boarding a homemade submarine with an eccentric inventor ... but only one of them returns home alive.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

45-year-old Danielle Redlick seemed to have it all: a wealthy husband, a posh home, one of three luxury vehicles to drive. Money to do whatever she wanted. In 2019, however, all of that comes crashing down as her husband, 65-year-old Michael Redlick, is found stabbed and dead in the foyer of the couple's Florida home. **If you are a victim of domestic abuse, please call 1-800-799-SAFE. Visit thehotline.org and chat anonymously with someone or text "start" to 88788 and seek help. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just six days after our episode aired, the Lady of the Dunes is identified as Ruth Marie Terry after the case went cold almost five decades ago. Now her husband, Guy Rockwell Muldavin, a possible serial killer, is connected to Ruth’s murder as well as several more unsolved cases. Phelps gives you the latest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.