Murder In Oregon · Amanda Knox
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A new podcast is investigating the death of Oregon’s Department of Corrections head. Michael Francke was stabbed to death just outside his Salem, Oregon office on January 17, 1989. The weapon was never found, but 14 months later, police arrested a low-level criminal named Frank Gable. He was convicted of the slaying, but was released this past June after a federal judge ruled that “the trial court erred in excluding evidence of third-party guilt and that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to assert Gable's federal due process rights.”
The Statesman Journal reports that Murder in Oregon, a pod that dropped its first episode last week, will take a fresh look at the case, with interviews of “people close to the case — including both of Francke's brothers.” The 12-part show is hosted by Happy Face podcaster and “Dr. Oz” (uh oh) producer Lauren Bright Pacheco and veteran Oregonian reporter Phil Stanford. You can listen to the first episode of Murder in Oregon here. -- EB
Marilyn Stasio, the NYT book review’s crime columnist, has an especially good roundup of books this week. Stasio typically covers crime fiction, but this week she went for the real stuff. That’s because, she says, as “crime fiction is my reality…whenever I want some escapist entertainment, I pick up a book about an actual crime.” So, she kills off the non-work aspect of her true crime pastime by writing a roundup of her latest reads, including Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief , a book from last month that details Doris Payne’s escape from a violent and poor childhood to become a professional jewel thief. She’s got lots of other great recommendations, which you can check out here. -- EB
Amanda Knox walked back her snipe at Lady Gaga. What a weird sentence to write! But it’s true. After the actress and musician tweeted her complaint about fame -- something, tbh, it seems like she was in desperate pursuit of until she had it -- Knox responded with the above “prison is prison” remark, which is hard to dispute! A day later, however, Knox seemed to soften on the issue, saying, “The psychological pain of living under obsessive scrutiny is real AF.” She then proposed that the two “sing a duet called ‘#SmashTheFishbowl.’ And we're both wearing fabulous goldfish costumes,” which seems exactly like what someone who does not want to be famous would say. -- EB
The mortgage broker for Zak Bagans must be getting a lot of calls this week. The Ghost Adventurer and Serial Killer Spirits star (The Blotter Presents’ take on that latter property is here) has recently made a habit of purchasing the sites of infamous crimes, recently buying the home in which Manson followers killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, among other properties. It’s been rumored that he’s expressed interest in the Kansas farmhouse at which the murders immortalized in In Cold Blood took place (it is headed to the market soon), and I can only assume that he’s looked into this unassuming listing at 8215 W Summerdale Avenue in Norwood Park, IL.
The house, which is on offer for $459K, was built over the residence once occupied by John Wayne Gacy. Gacy’s house was demolished in 1979, and this house was constructed a couple years later -- but for folks interested in Gacy and his crimes, the spot still has relevance, as it’s also where 29 of his victims were buried. Actually, I’m surprised that the Serial Killer Spirits crew didn’t get access to the house for the show: It looks like for their Gacy episode, they had to settle for the Old Joliet Prison, which held him briefly, many years before his execution in 1994. -- EB
Tuesday on Best Evidence: We’ve got a couple more cold case podcasts rolling out this week!
What is this thing? This should help.
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