Burden Podcast

31/01/2024

What an honor! We’re currently ranked #2 on Goodpods for podcasts on domestic violence. Billie Jean’s story continues to make a difference. ❤️

26/07/2023

We’ve been on the road over the past few days working on Season 2. Stay tuned. It’s a story that needs to be told.

22/04/2023

If you haven’t gotten tickets to True Crime Fest NWA yet, we hope you will. It’s going to be a great event!

We are so excited that Burden Podcast will be at True Crime Fest NWA!

18/04/2023

Do you know someone who has been struggling to get justice for a loved one? If so, please email [email protected] to let us know as we work on future seasons of Burden Podcast.

05/04/2023

Thank you for this kind review on Apple Podcasts!

23/03/2023

Thank you Podsauce for featuring Burden in a recent article!

If you've already binged "Devil Town," we've selected true crime podcasts you might also enjoy covering murder investigations & more.

18/03/2023

We’re so excited to announce that we will be at True Crime Fest NWA in May! Get your tickets today!

Don't miss True Crime Fest NWA! May 20, 2023 at the Rogers Convention Center.

19/02/2023

We want to share with you a true crime podcast we’ve been listening to. Did Jon Feeney get away with murdering his entire family, or are those who are convinced of his guilt being unfair to a man who suffered a terrible tragedy?

‎Show Burden, Ep Introducing Ozarks True Crime - Feb 13, 2023

30/01/2023

More than 200,000 downloads worldwide! 🥳

23/01/2023

Have you listened to the Season 1 finale yet? Lawyer Erin Cassinelli, an experienced criminal defense attorney, reviews the ins and outs of a case against Michael Letterman. “I think you could probably get to second degree murder,” she points out, noting the multiple theories of murder that could have been pursued.

05/01/2023

05/01/2023

The new podcast Undetermined features a case similar to Billie Jean’s when it comes to classifying a death as undetermined (rather than su***de, homicide, accident, natural). Like Billie Jean’s case, the death of Jessica Easterly Durning highlights the frustrating reality that can exist when it comes to the relationship between a coroner/medical examiner's office and the police department.

When a body is sent to the medical examiner/coroner and the manner of death is classified as undetermined, police effectively stop investigating the case rather than looking into it further in hopes of changing that classification and finding answers. This can devastate victims’ families.

From the team that brought you Culpable and To Live and Die in LA comes a new true crime podcast: Undetermined. Undetermined explores a New Orleans mystery - the death of Jessica Easterly Durning. When her cause and manner of death were both classified as undetermined, many questions were left unanswered. Investigative journalist Jessica Noll and former Detective Todd McComas dig deep into the unsolved case which sits in limbo until that word, Undetermined, is changed.
Listen to the trailer here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/undetermined/id1655420340

30/11/2022

*Milestone!* Humbled and amazed by the response to Burden, which launched just two months ago. More than 100,000 downloads!!

17/11/2022

On the season finale, a legal expert weighs in on what charges could have been filed against Michael Letterman for the role he played in the shooting death of Billie Jean. Then, a conversation with Billie Jean’s daughter Ashly about the impact telling her mom’s story has had on her and her family.

On the season finale, a legal expert weighs in on what charges could have been filed against Michael Letterman for the role he played in the shooting dea…

10/11/2022

Episode 7 just dropped! With all the physical evidence lost and little investigation into Billie’s case, we look to Billie’s body for clues about what happened the night she was shot.

With all the physical evidence lost and little investigation into Billie’s case, we look to Billie’s body for clues about what happened the night she was…

03/11/2022

On Episode 6: After Billie Jean died, Michael Letterman married for a third time to a young woman named Ginna. This is Ginna’s story about her 15-year marriage to Michael, the man she calls a monster. We hear how she eventually got away from him and the lingering questions she has about the death of his second wife.

Michael Letterman badly abused his first two wives, Gaye and Billie Jean. He beat them, choked them, and held guns to their heads. Gaye got away, but Bil…

31/10/2022

A month ago we started a little podcast called Burden to tell the story of the suspicious death of Billie Jean (Morrison) Letterman. Today, that podcast is not so little, with more than 41,000 downloads!! We appreciate everyone who has listened to her story.

28/10/2022

Here's a page from the r**e case against current judge and former Miller County prosecutor Brent Haltom. The rest of the cases and documents, including divorce filings from his victim, are on Burden's Patreon page. They were only married two months.

Do not try to find the woman or her family. We have intentionally not mentioned their names. If they choose to come forward, we'll be happy to let them.

In a comment on the Episode 5 post, someone tells a story of prosecutor Haltom dragging a woman out of a bar by her hair. No one did anything because he was the elected prosecutor. That happened within a couple of years of Billie being shot.

27/10/2022

On this episode, stories of growing up in the Letterman household. We hear from Billie's family and friends about times they were afraid of Michael Letterman and efforts to call police. Ashly’s cousin comes forward with information he’s never revealed about the night Billie was shot.

And, a reflection on the violence of a man elected prosecuting attorney in Miller County around the time that Billie died, Brent Haltom.

On this episode, stories of growing up in the Letterman household. We also hear from Billie's family and friends about times they were scared of Michael …

23/10/2022

Lead investigator Sgt. Don Nix and Sheriff H.L. Phillips both thought Billie Jean’s case was a homicide. But they said there just wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute Michael. What do you think?

22/10/2022

Burden co-host Stephanie Harris and Billie Jean’s daughter Ashly were on KARK Channel 4’s Arkansas Style program on Friday to talk about the podcast and raising awareness of domestic violence.

Nichole discusses the story of Billie Jean Letterman’s mysterious death in 1991 with Stephanie Harris, host of the globally popular, true-crime podcast: Burden.

21/10/2022

Billie's story continues to have such an impact. We appreciate everyone who has taken the time to listen and to care. Wow - we are now up to 21,500+ all-time downloads just three weeks in!

21/10/2022

Wound and trajectory diagrams from the medical examiner's report.

21/10/2022

We're back on track and Episode 4 is out! On this episode: Michael’s first wife tells police about the horrible things Michael did to her when they were married. Hospital records reveal the final moments of Billie’s life. The crime lab sends its findings to lead investigator Sgt. Don Nix. And, five years after she died, the investigation into Billie’s death is reopened.

Michael’s first wife tells police about the horrible things Michael did to her when they were married. Hospital records reveal the final moments of Billi…

20/10/2022

We are so sorry! Our editing software (surely not US) basically corrupted the episode file, so we’re having to reproduce it. In the meantime, Ashly and Stephanie are about to be live on KARK Channel 4 ArStyle!

20/10/2022

WE ARE HAVING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!!!

Please be patient while we cuss our computers and try to figure out what the problem is.

Episode 4: The Investigation, Part 2 coming soon.

18/10/2022

We're glad that Billie Jean's story continues to be shared. In the two and a half weeks since we launched, Burden episodes have been downloaded 14,400 times! Thank you listeners!

13/10/2022

Episode 3 has just been released! In this episode, we hear what police officers reported seeing at the scene the night Billie Jean was shot. We also hear from lead investigator Don Nix, who spoke about the case many years later and said he believes it was a homicide.

Police officers report what they saw at the scene the night Billie Jean was shot. Lead investigator Sgt. Don Nix has trouble remembering details of the c…

13/10/2022

We created this trailer when this project started as a documentary. I (Stephanie) founded Women Lead Arkansas, a nonpartisan nonprofit, and Billie's story was originally a project of WLA. The organization isn't sponsoring or hosting this show, but it's still a great resource for women in Arkansas!

As you'll hear in the episode, this trailer really angered then-retired Sgt. Don NIx.

Learn how you can help Women Lead Arkansas investigate the 1991 death of Billie Jean (Morrison) Letterman in Texarkana, Arkansas. www.justiceforbillie.org

06/10/2022

What would Billie Jean have become had she lived? Would she have left her abuser? Gone to nursing school as she dreamed?