Small Town Big Crime

05/02/2024

Our first Spa & Order surpassed our dreams! The Spa at Keswick is truly gorgeous and we loved connecting with cool women for an afternoon of relaxation and conversation. Hope you'll join us at the next Spa and Order event! Stay tuned for details on future events and updates on our new projects!

31/01/2024

Super excited for the Spa and Order event Rachel Ryan and I are hosting at the Spa at Keswick on Sunday, 2/4 and we have two spots left! It's a girls-afternoon-out featuring several of MY favorite things: spa treatments and talking true crime with a group of cool women. I'm putting the link to the event in the comments! Come join us if you can!

25/01/2024

A man accused of attacking two women on a popular walking trail in Charlottesville, Virginia says he has video proof he was working and not on the trail the days of the attacks. So why did police charge him?

20/01/2024

So many cases that deserve another look! This bill has previously been rejected but now has support in the House and Senate.

A new bill filed in the Virginia General Assembly would allow convicts serving long prison sentences to as a judge to reevaluate their cases.

20/01/2024

Attorneys with the LA Innocence Project claim that Scott Peterson's state and federal constitutional rights were violated, including a "claim of actual innocence that is supported by newly discovered evidence," according to the court filings.

The investigation into the deaths of Laci Peterson and her unborn son has spanned over 20 years.

19/01/2024

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spa-order-with-stuart-and-ryan-tickets-791195837047?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Get ready to relax and indulge in the ultimate spa experience with true crime reporters Courteney Stuart and Rachel Ryan

19/01/2024

Join us for the first Spa & Order with Stuart and Ryan! We will talk a little true crime and share details about our next project while enjoying an afternoon of relaxation and spa amenities. We are so excited and hope you can join us! Send us a message for more info

18/01/2024

Keith Harward spent 33 years in prison for r**e and murder based on bite mark evidence before DNA exonerated him.

The Innocence Project says Harward is among at least 36 people who have been exonerated after having been wrongfully convicted based on now-debunked bite mark comparisons.

One 2016 study found that self-described experts couldn’t distinguish between human and animal bite marks. Others have documented how marks in human skin change over time through healing or decomposition.

“There are still many people — and we don’t even know how many — still in jails because of bite mark testimony,” an expert said. “It really is horrifying that this still is allowed to be used in courts of law, where these are issues of life and liberty.”

Read more: nbcnews.app.link/mMT0bQvgrGb

12/01/2024

09/01/2024

DNA has linked a suspect to three unsolved homicides from the 1980s including two that are among the infamous Colonial Parkway Murders cases.

The suspect is Alan W. Wilmer and the victims are 20-year-old David L. Knobling and 14-year-old Robin M. Edwards, who were found shot to death on Sept. 23, 1987 along the shore of the Ragged Island Wildlife Management and Refuge Area.

Wilmer, who died in 2017 at age 63, has also been linked to the 1989 murder of Teresa Lynn Spaw Howell, 29 who was last seen alive outside of Hampton nightclub. Her body was discovered later that morning. Authorities say she was sexually assualted and strangled.

Wilmer has not been linked at this time to the deaths of the three other couples who are part of the Colonial Parkway Murders. "Although the similarities in the series of double homicides that spanned a three-year period cannot be ignored, at this time, there is no forensic nor physical evidence to link the Isle of Wight County homicides to those other double homicides," said Corinne Geller, a spokesperson for Virginia State Police.

Wilmer drove a distinctive, blue 1966 Dodge Fargo pickup truck with the Virginia license plate “EM-RAW". He also had a small commercial fishing boat, named the Denni Wade, that he would dock at marinas in the counties of Gloucester and Middlesex, and around the Northern Neck. He worked as a fisherman, farming mainly clams and oysters. He also ran a business called Better Tree Service.

Anyone who may have worked with Wilmer, docked next to him at marinas, or hung out with him is encouraged to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or submitting a tip online at www.tips.fbi.gov.

The FBI is also still looking for tips that can help them solve the Colonial Parkway murders. Anyone with information is asked to email the FBI at [email protected].

08/01/2024

We discuss one of the most heartbreaking cases we’ve ever covered on a new episode of on . Check it out tonight at 9/8 central!

07/01/2024

The night before she was shot to death on July 14, 2012, Pherbia “Faye” Tinsley was playing bingo at the VFW Lodge in Charlottesville and won big. She came to the event with $40 and left with $600. Less than 12 hours later, Tinsley was dead in her car, miles from her home. An Army veteran, a former pageant contender, a doting mother and grandmother, Tinsley had made plans to bake cookies with her granddaughter that weekend. Instead, police searched in vain for answers about who would want her dead. Nearly 13 years later, investigators are still trying to find a suspect and determine if the money she won could have been a motive for murder.

There are other questions in the case that could help lead to answers. Why did she get out of bed and leave the apartment she shared with her fiancé in the middle of the night?

Soon after her death, Tinsley’s daughter said she believed someone called and asked her mother for a ride but if police have information about phone calls Tinsley received, they’re not saying.

Police did release a description of a male suspect but it hasn’t led to an arrest.

At the time, Tinsley’s daughter didn’t believe the bingo money would have been a motive for murder since it had already been deposited at the time she was shot. So who wanted Pherbia Tinsley dead and why?

06/01/2024

Courteney Stuart and Rachel Ryan are investigative journalists and co-creators of podcast and YouTube channel. They are featured on ‘Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs Haysom. Stuart and Ryan are dedicated to shining a light on cold cases and pursuing truth for victims, families and communities.