Death By Champagne Podcast

17/07/2022

Someone reading this post knows what happened to Sage Smith and wants to come forward.

Is it you? Do you have information?

If so, this is a good time to come forward. Not only will you be doing the right thing but you may be eligible for a $20,000 reward if the information you provide helps solve the case.

Here are the details:

On November 20, 2012, Sage Smith went missing and has not been heard from since. Sage was last seen on the 500 block of West Main Street in Charlottesville, VA.

The last person known to have had contact with Sage was Erik McFadden, who was living on 14th Street NW at the time.

The Charlottesville Police Department knows McFadden left the area later that week. His current whereabouts are unknown, but police say McFadden remains a person of interest in this case.

Sage’s disappearance was reclassified as a homicide in 2017, but police are continuing to investigate it. Our hope is that Sage is still alive but have no information to go on.

Police ask anyone in the community who may know anything about this case to call a special tip line at (434) 970-3381.

A $20,000 reward has been established for information that may lead to the location of Sage or an arrest in the case.

You can also contact us directly if you do not want to go to the police

29/03/2022

Hope for Sage Smith

Someone out there knows something.

Her mother, father and siblings deserve answers. Will you help?

Do you have information about Sage? Do you know where Erik Tyquan McFadden, a person of interest in the case, is hiding? Are there others who you believe are involved in Sage's disappearance?
If you know something about this case, please come forward. Not only will you be doing the right thing but you may be eligible for a $20,000 reward if the information you provide helps solve the case.

Here are the details:

On November 20, 2012, Sage Smith went missing and has not been heard from since. Sage was last seen on the 500 block of West Main Street in Charlottesville, VA.

The last person known to have had contact with Sage was Erik McFadden, who was living on 14th Street NW at the time.
The Charlottesville Police Department knows McFadden left the area later that week. His current whereabouts are unknown, but police say McFadden remains a person of interest in this case.

Sage’s disappearance was reclassified as a homicide in 2017, but police are continuing to investigate it. Our hope is that Sage is still alive but have no information to go on.

Police ask anyone in the community who may know anything about this case to call a special tip line at (434) 970-3381.

A $20,000 reward has been established for information that may lead to the location of Sage or an arrest in the case.
You can also contact us directly if you do not want to go to the police.

26/03/2022

Investigator Gary Stansill speaks with A&E True Crime about a community's persistent hunt for answers about the disappearance, and presumed murders, of Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible in 1999.

30/12/2021

22 years ago, Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman disappeared from Welch, Oklahoma. Families and investigators are still working hard to find the girls. Despite making an arrest in 2018, their loved ones need to know where they are. PLEASE, if you have information about these young ladies, contact Find Lauria Bible-BBI or the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation - Authorized Page.

I was fortunate enough to help families tell these girls' story, and six years later, they're still in my daily thoughts and prayers. I know they made such a big impact on a lot of you, too. Please keep their faces out there until Lauria and Ashley can finally return home.

24/09/2021

This South Carolinian young man is still missing in Arizona. His Columbia dad will stop at nothing to find his son.

24-year-old Daniel Robinson was last seen driving away from his job site in the Arizona desert June 23.

Then July 19, Daniel’s Jeep Renegade was found flipped on its side in the desert.

The driver’s side window was busted out, the front windshield was cracked, and the airbags were deployed.

Police found Daniel’s clothes three feet from the vehicle, including his boots and safety vest.

Police searched the area for 12 hours, using cadaver dogs and tracking K-9′s, but did not find Daniel.

His father, David Robinson, is organizing his own third search to find him. The search, scheduled for this Saturday, already has up to 75 volunteers from both Arizona and South Carolina.

David is very grateful for everyone’s support and he urges citizens to share Daniel’s picture on social media to get the word out.

A $10,000 reward is being offered to anyone with information that could lead to Daniel’s discovery.

For more information, visit www.pleasehelpfinddaniel.com.

16/09/2021

https://www.wral.com/man-charged-with-first-degree-murder-in-death-of-faith-hedgepeth/19879688/?fbclid=IwAR1N8DnJzNaO_A0h63ZDYBHMXqyeoxrZY7s2UUleGEymCDNnTh4S17FLDZY

Chapel Hill police will be sharing new developments in the murder investigation of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill student Faith Hedgepeth on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

14/08/2021

The Pinkerton Agency was founded in 1850 by Allan PInkerton, a cooper who moved from Scotland to America in the 1840s. He fashioned himself a detective after success in helping "track down miscreants". His private agency flourished in protecting railroads and the companies that shipped on them. In one of the Patreon episode uploaded in June 2021, we covered one of his detectives, Kate Warne. She was instrumental in many of his operations, including a bid to save President-Elect Abraham Lincoln from a threatened assassination attempt during the onset of the Civil War. Outside of the fun exploits we talked about, the Pinkerton Agency has a history of strike-breaking, working against unions, and in recent times, has moved into the era of tech.

Wielding brains rather than braun, they've allegedly been monitoring Amazon facilities in Poland to "figure out a possibility of employees tinkering with the application interview process." In a report broken by Lauren Kaori Gurley of NPR, she states she discovered the possible surveillance through obtained documents. Amazon responded to NPR that the Pinkerton company is use to secure shipments, and they do not use their partners to gather intelligence on warehouse workers". To read more about this update, we suggest checking out the NPR article, "Amazon Reportedly Has Pinkerton Agents Surveil Workers Who Try To Form Unions", and/or the Teen Vogue article, "The Pinkertons Have a Long, Dark History of Targeting Workers".

I'm looking forward to bringing you more history about Pinkerton Agency, and people and crimes connected to it! I also have a list of female detectives to research - any other requests from this historic era, or current events?•
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13/08/2021

Patreon Episode from October 2020:

Clinton, Missouri, 1991. Angela Hammond was 20 years old, and 4 months pregnant in April of that year. The day she disappeared, she was hanging out with friends. At 11:23pm, Angela called her fiance Rob Schafer from a payphone to tell him she was getting ready to drive home. While on the phone, she told him a man in a green truck was circling the block. Moments later that truck pulled into the parking lot where the pay phone was located. Angela told Rob that the man looked dirty, was wearing overalls, and had a beard and mustache. He approached the payphones, and Angela further described his truck: A decal of a fish jumping out of water covered the entire back window. Their conversation is then cut off by a scream. The line was disconnected, and Rob immediately left his house to go to the payphone.

He saw the truck Angela described and raced to catch it, but the transmission in his car went out, and he was left stranded, unable to continue the chase. Angela Hammond has never been seen again. In April of 2021, the 30th anniversary of Angela’s disappearance, local police released a possible lead in hopes of learning new information. A police informant involved in a separate case had received a threatening note that mentioned his daughter. Her name was also Angela. Clinton police captain Paul Abbott who has worked the case since 2006 said the two young women looked “strikingly similar” in an interview with KCTV5, and the department is open to the possibility that Angela Hammond’s kidnapping was a case of mistaken identity.

Police have stated that they are hopeful one previous tipster will contact them again. The caller left a message with information consistent with the theory of mistaken identity, and listed information on one person that was previously looked at in the case. If you know anything about the vanishing of Angela Hammond, or information about the suspect or the green truck with the fish decal, contact the Clinton Missouri Police Department at 660-885-2679 or send an email to [email protected]. You can remain anonymous.

13/08/2021

In ep 3 of our series covering Yellow Bird by Sierra Crane Murdoch, we're led to an emotional conclusion after a winding tangle of characters fall for their crimes and lies. After the murders of KC Clarke and Doug Carlile, James Henrikson, Robert Delao, and Timothy Suckow were tried and convicted for the solicitation, conspiracy, and murder of both men. Sarah Creveling received probation for her role in embezzlement and defrauding investors. She has never been charged with any crimes related to the deaths of KC Clarke or Doug Carlile. ⁠
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KC Clarke has never been found. One day when Sierra was with Lissa, she told her a story about a day when he son fell while searching for KC. When he slid to the bottom of an embankment, he told his mom "You’re not going to believe how beautiful it looks from here," and Lissa replied, "That’s what I’m thinking. He’s buried in a beautiful place.” ⁠
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From the end of our series, "What I take away from Yellow Bird is how whole the story is. Everyone is complicated. Everyone is a hero to someone. Everyone has the capability to f**k up, and the right to hold their ground or apologize when they do. While we have a whole book built on over 150 years of crimes, most of the people you learn about are not so easily categorized. The element of humanity, and the immense concept of right and wrong are present in every person, and through Lissa and Sierra Murdoch, we’re allowed to experience it right alongside them."⁠
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We hope you enjoyed this series! If you did, be sure to buy a copy of Yellow Bird from your favorite local shop, and subscribe to our show for the next series. We always appreciate ratings on iTunes, or wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠

09/08/2021

Hey friends. A long-ish update about where we’ve been, originally posted to our Patreon page. We’re slowly but surely getting back to it. Thanks for still being here 🧡💕but now I have to leave because telling you all this makes me wildly uncomfortable. •
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08/07/2021

🚨 Interview Alert! 🚨 EP 106: We spent, dare I say a rapturous hour talking to Rachel Monroe, author of Savage Appetites! We talked about the process of research, CrimeCon, and who she would have included in another section of the book! 🔍

The cumulative experience of reading Savage Appetites and talking to Rachel about it was truly one of the highlights of our podcast's life. It's a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered, "Why am I obsessed with true crime?" Other highlights: multiple references to , and as always, discussion of Frances Glessner Lee!

Listen: tinyurl.com/rm106dbc

07/07/2021

Continuing our backlog of posts: this cool, steadfast woman is Kate Warne. In 1856, she became the first woman ever hired by Allan Pinkerton. Initially he thought she wanted a job as a secretary, and she quickly corrected him, saying, "I have come to inquire as to whether you would not employ me as a detective...I can go and worm out secrets in many places in which it is impossible for male detectives to gain access.”

In her time as a Pinkerton operative, Kate investigated fraud and ran up against men who questioned her, both allies and enemies. Our May Patreon Exclusive episode is all about Kate and how she became part of the plan to save President-Elect Abraham Lincoln from an assassination attempt! Main source for this episode is The Hour of Peril by Daniel Stashower.

Listen by visiting https://www.patreon.com/DeathbyChampagne

07/07/2021

Here I come, back to flood instagram with the posts lost to summer sun, over work, and reading YA books for fun! During our series, we learned A TON about the forensic maven and police captain Frances Glessner Lee. In addition to everything we learned from Rachel Monroe, I read 18 Tiny Deaths () by Bruce Goldfarb. ⁠
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He is the modern keeper of the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, and was kind enough to talk to us about his work with them! The Nutshells are currently housed in the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office, where Bruce gets to see every microscopic detail. No one sees them closer than Bruce does, so check out episode 105 to hear about his book on FGL and the evolution of death investigation. ⁠

https://tinyurl.com/bgfgl

04/06/2021

29/05/2021

Good evening friends of Stray Dog Theatre...

St. Louis actor Andy Neiman has gone missing, and we would really like to help spread the word so that his family can find him and make sure that he is safe.

Please be on the lookout, especially if you live in or know of anyone who lives in the Poughkeepsie, NY area. That is where Andy was last seen one week ago.

If you’re not in the NY area, please consider sharing this post to your personal FB page. Let’s harness the power of social media to help find Andy.

Sending love to Andy, Andy’s family, friends and everyone In the St. Louis theatre community.

Thank you!

27/05/2021

Our recently released series covering Yellowbird by Sierra Crane Murdoch is available now on all platforms. Yellowbird is definitely going to be one of our favorite reads of 2021 - it is everything we should allow humans - and demand the true crime genre - to be. Empathetic, fiercely truthful, messy, and full of hope and new perspective. If you've already listened to the series, what did you think? ⁠
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If you haven't listened, all three episodes are waiting for you on your favorite podcast app. This series covers crimes driven by greed in the oil fields of North Dakota. More than just tunnel vision into details of murder, Sierra Crane Murdoch writes a full and beautiful picture of context with the history of the land and oil fields, the Arikara, Mandan, Hidatsa communities, and the life of Lissa Yellowbird.⁠
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27/05/2021

27/05/2021

Heeeyyy, hello friends! I did a disappear on social media in the midst of actually getting the last series out, and moving again. Happy to be back to announce our next series - the life of Robert Irwin via The Mad Sculptor written by Harold Schecter. ⁠
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Born Fenelon Arroyo Seco Irwin, his life began in the midst of intense "religious fanaticism" from both of his parents. From early childhood he was a troublemaker, no doubt in part due to his mother's strict rules surrounding the teaching and learning of her religion. As he got older, he became obsessed with the concept of visualization, committing images to memory so he could capture them in perfect sculpture. ⁠
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As he garnered attention for his talent, even working for notable Chicago artist Lorado Taft, Robert struggled to regulate his moods and temper. After attacking multiple people in wild rounds of tested emotion, Robert descended further into violence. After a spiritual reckoning where he contemplated taking his own life, he decided instead to sacrifice the object of his affections, Ethel Gedeon. ⁠
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The Mad Sculptor series coming soon!⁠
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Image as seen in the New York Times & The NY Daily News⁠
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26/05/2021

Glad to see Lauria and Ashley’s story continue to grow in the public eye!

Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, both 16, have been missing for more than two decades

06/05/2021

Ida Beard, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribes, has been missing since June 30th, 2015. She was on her way home and has not been heard from since.

Ida was 29 at the time she disappeared. She has brown hair and eyes. She is 5'6 and 120 lbs. Ida lived in El Reno, Oklahoma at the time.

In April of 2021 Governor Stitt signed into law "Ida's Law", which will create a local Office of Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.

Studies have shown that Native American women and girls are 10 times more likely to disappear than that of their peer groups. It is paramount that funding for this taskforce is fulfilled as soon as possible.

Please call the El Reno Police Department at 405.262.2121 with any information on Ida's whereabouts.

06/05/2021

Edwina Michelle Bull, 21, has been missing from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma since August 27th, 1991. Her mother dropped her off at a south OKC bar and never saw Michelle again. Michelle returned home the next day, driven by an unknown male, to pick up some clothing. That's where the trail goes cold.

She preferred to be called Michelle, or Miki. She was 5'1 and 110 lbs. She is Cheyenne Arapaho and has brown hair and eyes. She has facial tattoos, a cross between her eyes and a teardrop. She has burn scars over 80% of her body. A lighter exploded and caught her dress on fire some time before she disappeared. Her mother, Diana Cassio, says Michelle barely survived the accident. She was finally coming out of her shell again and wearing short sleeves and going out.

Please call the OKC Police Department with any tips on Michelle's whereabouts at 405.297.1129.

27/04/2021

Hoping for answers today ❤️ please follow Find Lauria Bible-BBI for updates.

24/04/2021

06/04/2021

Please help out the Bible family if you’re able. Movement in Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible’s case has never ceased because of Lorene’s dedication 🖤

Lorene Bible, mother of missing Lauria Bible has been in stage 4 liver failure.… Lisa Bible Brodrick needs your support for Lorene’s Liver Transplant Recovery

03/04/2021

If you’re able, please consider supporting Lorene Bible! https://www.gofundme.com/f/lorenes-liver-transplant-recovery?utm_source=fb_copy_link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet

Lorene Bible, mother of missing Lauria Bible has been in stage 4 liver failure.… Lisa Bible Brodrick needs your support for Lorene’s Liver Transplant Recovery

03/04/2021

March 9th of this year marks two years since twenty-five year old Aubrey Dameron was last seen.

Aubrey, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation, was last seen in the driveway of her home in Grove, around 3 am. At the time of her disappearance, she lived with her mother and step-father. That particular night, she had messaged several Facebook friends, looking for a ride from her mother’s home. Where she was wanting to go is unknown, and her social media accounts have been dormant since her disappearance.What is known is that none of the friends Aubrey messaged that night responded, and she was last seen walking out of the driveway of her residence. It is possible she was picked up, however, if she was it is unknown by whom she received a ride. Aubrey left the home without her cell phone, her purse or any prescription medications.

Approximately six months before she went missing, Aubrey had moved back to Oklahoma from New Mexico where she had been living with her boyfriend. She had come home seeking help for a substance abuse issue. Three days after she went missing, a former friend contacted Aubrey’s ex-boyfriend saying that Aubrey was being held against her will because she owed drug dealers money. Allegedly she was being held in Ketchum, and her captors were threatening to kill her if they didn’t get the funds they wanted. The friend asked the ex-boyfriend for money, however she later admitted to authorities that the whole story was made up in an attempt to receive money from Aubrey’s ex-boyfriend.

In the intervening years, dozens of tips have come in on Aubrey’s disappearance, however authorities have said that tracking these tips has gone nowhere. Authorities have not named any persons of interest in Aubrey’s disappearance, however it is important to know she might have been a victim of a hate crime due to her being a transgender woman. Her aunt has since worked to introduce into Oklahoma law a bill called the Aubrey Alert that would require any critically missing adult cases to be investigated immediately.

Aubrey is one of a multitude of Native American women who have either gone missing or have been murdered within recent years whose cases are ice cold. These families deserve to be heard, and they deserve to have their loved one back- even if its just their remains.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Aubrey Dameron, please contact the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office at 918-253-4531

26/03/2021

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19/03/2021

In episode 2 of our series, “The Victim”, we talk about Sage Smith. shared her story in SA, and we contemplated the differences in community and police mobilization when a trans person of color goes missing. To add to our conversation about Sage, I wanted to post a quote from a wonderful and painful article from in 2017:

“Sage was memorable, and stories about her abound. Like how she ended up doing a Vogue-style shoot with a UVA student on the Route 7 bus. Like how she once helped carry an old man’s groceries to his car while wearing a mini-skirt and three-inch heels. Like how every clubgoer leaned closer when Sage spoke, as if they were campers pulled to a fire, according to Jason Elliott, Mr. Pride of America. But Sage’s family and friends say, unlike those afforded to missing white girls, the investigation into her disappearance was slow, slapdash, and followed a zigzagging logic that makes little sense to anyone. And they’re in search of a better story.”

Sage has never been found. She was last seen around 6:30pm near an Amtrak station on West Main St. in Charlottesville, VA on November 20, 2012. The man she was reportedly meeting that night, Erik McFadden, allegedly left town after being contacted by police, and as of 2019, is also considered a missing person. Anyone with information about Sage or Erik can call Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.

Image one is credited to the Lavender Sink Collective via Southerners on New Ground. Image 2 via News Radio WINA. Sources used for this post: “'I Am a Girl Now,' Sage Smith Wrote. Then She Went Missing.” From Emma Eisenberg for Splinter News, and “Investigation Into Disappearance of Sage Smith Enters 8th Year” for nbc12.com.
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