Down & Away Podcast

11/12/2024

Here are a few more articles on Ed Blume, related to the David Ricketson case, as well as the news clip about a more recent offense.

09/12/2024

Here's that 1990 article published a month after David Ricketson was killed that featured Ed Blume, the hydroponic farmer that allegedly ran off with about 20k of David's building fund money.

09/12/2024

Season 24: Who Killed David Ricketson? Here’s the link for Apple podcast listeners. All 10 episodes are available now.

Podcast Episode · Down & Away · S24 E1 · 53m

05/12/2024

UPDATE: I have scheduled SEASON 24: Who Killed David Ricketson? to be released on Monday December 9th. There will be 10 episodes available that day. Thank you all for your patience!

To report any information you have about the murder of David Ricketson, please call the Lake County Sheriff’s Cold Case team at 352-343-9529 or call Crimeline at 800-423-8477 (TIPS) to report any crime tips anonymously.

To email tips: [email protected]

Contact me directly at: [email protected]

(Image courtesy: Lake County Sheriff's Office records.)

19/11/2024

UPDATE: I have 7 of the 10 episodes ready to go for Season 24 - “Who Killed David Ricketson?” David’s birthday is at the end of December, so I figure that’s a good time to release the series.

📷 courtesy of David’s daughter

04/11/2024

This is David Ricketson and his daughter a few years before he was killed in 1990. I’ve spent the better part of a few days listening to the voices of people who knew David talk about him and the events leading up to his murder. The police interview recordings are very interesting and I still have a bunch more to get through. You will hear all of those voices next season.

20/10/2024

I was asked for an update recently by a listener, so I did a quick Tik Tok video going over what I’m working on, and a brief synopsis of one of the two cases I am currently researching. David Ricketson was killed in his home in Florida in 1990, almost certainly by someone he knew. I have been reviewing audio files this week of police interviewing witnesses and family, which you will hear on next season’s podcast.

Check out Fiftysomethings’s video.

17/10/2024

Now, why would a judge seal records in a financial crimes case (all adults involved) where a conman pretending to be a building contractor screwed a business out of 30k, where it was immediately settled and restitution made?

I finally got the first set of documents on the David Ricketson homicide case and as I expected, the con man that had floated to the surface in my preliminary research is named almost immediately.

02/10/2024

23andMe is in dire shape. If the company is sold to a third party, 15 million people’s DNA might be up for sale too, Kristen V. Brown writes. https://theatln.tc/jRIXfczx

23andMe’s trove of genetic data might be its most valuable asset, but the company is floundering in part because it hasn’t managed to prove the value of collecting it. Although human-genome analysis has allowed people to find long-lost relatives, discover family secrets, and learn more about what’s making them sick, for most customers, 23andMe’s tests don’t offer much beyond a look at ancestors’ roots. “There are only so many people who want to know about their Swedish ancestry,” Brown writes.

“Potential buyers may have very different ideas about how to use the company’s DNA data to raise the company’s bottom line,” Brown continues. “23andMe promises to ask its customers’ permission before using their data for research or targeted advertising, but that doesn’t mean the next boss will do the same.”

Certain parties might be very interested in knowing what’s in your DNA. Insurers would probably like to know about any genetic predispositions that might make you more expensive to them. Law-enforcement agencies rely on DNA data to solve difficult cases. “You don’t have to commit a crime to be affected: Because we share large chunks of our genome with relatives, your DNA could be used to implicate a close family member or even a third cousin whom you’ve never met,” Brown writes. “Spelling out all the potential consequences of an unknown party accessing your DNA is impossible, because scientists’ understanding of the genome is still evolving. Imagine drugmakers trolling your genome to find out what ailments you’re at risk for and then targeting you with ads for drugs to treat them.”

Although CEO Anne Wojcicki said this week she would not sell the company, its precarious position could force her hand. “For nearly two decades, the company had an incentive to keep its customers’ data private: 23andMe is a consumer-facing business, and to sell kits, it also needed to win trust,” Brown continues. “Whoever buys the company’s data may not operate under the same constraints.”

🎨: Aksh*ta Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

30/09/2024

25/09/2024

I spoke with Patricia Smith’s only living sibling this week and he was grateful that someone cared enough to look into his sister’s murder, as it has been years since anyone in law enforcement contacted the family. He had some thoughts about her murder and you will hear his interview at some point. I would love to speak to former employees of the State Bank of Apopka who worked with Patty. There was one theory that she may have uncovered some wrongdoing during the course of her employment that could have played into motive in this case.

23/09/2024

23/08/2024

Nicholas Downey - MISSING
Liberty County Sheriff's Department
850-643-2235

https://cljnews.com/driver-missing-after-tesla-abandoned/

20/08/2024

This is a really unsettling case. I have had the opportunity to review reports related to this double-homicide and I believe this case is solvable. I believe there are people out there who have information. Now is the time to come forward.