Fyre Festival II, the 13th Step harassment case, and more new true crime to know
the true crime that's worth your time
It’s been a while since Sarah and I cleaned out the doc on which we keep links to interesting true crime stories and coverage of the genre’s landscape. That said, while some of these items are approaching, er, vintage status, we maintain that they’re all still worth your time. So settle in!
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Unraveling The 50-year Mystery Of The Body In The Basement [Rolling Stone]
BE pal Sarah Weinman takes a deep dive into The Scene, a booming 1960s era New York nightclub where the remains of so-called "Midtown Jane Doe" were discovered three decades after her death. A meaty longread with loads of music biz texture.
This is the secret system that covers up police misconduct — and ensures problem officers can get hired again [SF Chronicle—gift link]
A rich-media walkthrough explainer on California's clean-record agreements for law enforcement, a system of police department seperation settlements that intentionally cover up evidence of misconduct. “It happens in almost every agency, at every level,” says one expert. It's a shocking, eye-opening report.
Officer who ignored NYPD’s ‘courtesy cards’ receives $175K settlement [Washington Post—gift link]
It seems like an urban legend, but it's not: the New York Police Department’s biggest union hands out get-out-of-citation-free cards to cronies. When Mathew Bianchi wrote up one such cardholder for a traffic violation anyway, the retaliation was so severe he ended up suing the city.
Fyre Festival II Is Happening. The Only Question Is Where. And When. And How. [Wall Street Journal—gift link]
Billy McFarland is "a little over a year into planning Fyre Festival II," Ashley Wong reports, "a revamped festival based on a 50-page plan he says he produced while in solitary." It's a long and unsparing look at the gullibility of humanity in the face of a white man with a certain level of confidence. "He says the first 100 presale VIP tickets sold out last August," Wong writes, "providing a spreadsheet as proof, and that the money from those sales remains in escrow."
Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Harassing Journalists [New York Times-gift link]
The New Hampshire Public Radio journalists behind the reporting that led to podcast The 13th Step have faced harassment, intimidation, and vandalism of their homes. The issue? Their investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against rehab magnate Eric Spofford.
A true crime show featured police catching a 'trained killer.' It didn't tell the whole story. [Indianapolis Star]
The slaying of Erick Espinoza was "solved" on A+E, part of an investigation featured on police-shadowing series Crime 360. Fifteen years later, the man convicted in the case was released, under a cloud of "allegations of potential police misconduct and constitutional violations." This longread would be worth reading for the reporting alone, but the additional element of the TV crews following the arrest make this especially provocative.
California prisons will bar lie-detector test compared to ‘Ouija board’ [SF Chronicle—gift link]
Debunked as "no better than a coin flip" for years, the Computer Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA) remained in use by the state's prison system until journalists started asking questions. A brief piece included here as a feel-good reminder that the press still has power to right wrongs. Now, more than ever, we need to remember and bolster that.
A Prominent Accessibility Advocate Worked With Studios and Inspired Change. But She Never Actually Existed. [IGN]
A genuinely jaw-dropping identity fraud story about gamecentric internet personality Susan Banks, who "was not the person she claimed to be. In fact, some are convinced that Banks may never have existed at all." Let's redirect some of the resources doubtlessly being devoted to yet another samey-samey romantic catfishing adaptation and put them toward this story, which is wild.
Inside the Texas Crime Lab That’s Cracked Hundreds of Cold Cases [Texas Monthly]
A look at DNA startup Othram, the innovations from which are helping identify long-mysterious remains and are used to convict in extremely cold cases.
Alleged Long Island Serial Killer's Lifelong Home Hitting the Market [Vanity Fair]
Hey, it's me! I indulged my true crime real estate obsession at my weekend gig, but am also wondering why a Peacock docuseries on the LISK case paid the suspect's wife a million bucks (reportedly)...and why her attorney says she still believes in her husband's innocence.
Flat-capped thieves still at large following 2022 Dutch jewel heist [The Guardian]
A quartet of jewel thieves raided a Dutch fine art fair in June 2022, getting away with tens of millions of euros worth of goods in a mid-day smash-and-grab. Now police are saying “As it stands now, the investigation will be completed next year and there is good hope that the suspects can be arrested.” Because of their caps, they're getting Peaky Blinders comparisons, but the non-violent scenario feels way less grim.
Before Reality Became Debatable, There Was ‘The Blair Witch Project’ [New York Times—gift link]
Maya Salam's "woah" level look back at how folks fell for Blair Witch's marketing as a true crime doc suggests that it paved the way for a large portion of our nation's inability to separate truth from fiction.
Beyond Varsity Blues: In pursuit of donations, USC admitted affluent kids as walk-on athletes [LA Times—gift link]
This investigation from Harriet Ryan and Matt Hamilton further reveals how the oldest private research university in California offers incredible boosts to children of wealthy, well-known, or connected families. This excellent story is worth reading simply for the part where USC administrators stumble over themselves to kiss up to the founder of third-tier (if that) sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s, including a conversation on "how the athletic department could help the stepson bypass the regular admissions process, where his 3.3 grade-point average might prove an obstacle." Lolololol.