Loved the lens of a reporter going home, excellent use of historic primary source materials and empathetic interviewing to show how loose ends don’t always tie up how we wish, condolences to Shelly’s family on their loss
I think the reporter leaned too heavily into finding doubt and raising dubious questions in a quest to make this case seem more complicated than it is. The blood evidence and Fred’s confession point overwhelmingly to one highly probable conclusion and yet Kim seemed determined to make his guilt look improbable. I found myself yelling at her in my car - “why on earth are you helping a guilty man go free?”
I’m a pro-vaxxer, pro-masker, pro-believe-science, etc. etc. but my god, why am I only 3 episodes into this story and I’ve already heard mention of the pandemic 4 times now. if the story were about the pandemic, then yes of course I can understand why that topic is being repeatedly brought to life in this series. but it’s not, and each mention kind of just weighs it down. we all lived (and lost!) during that period of time, and it doesn’t need to be mentioned upon staging every scene. it takes away from what is an otherwise riveting story. deducting two stars for overwhelming and unnecessary mention of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Based on the evidence presented I’m in agreement with Officer Terry and I think they had their man. The crime lab tech who said the blood spray evidence didn’t match Fred’s story. Fred admitting to parking on the street where they found the bloody card. Too much to ignore.
What a sad story this is! It’s a story that should be told. Listening to how everyone talked in the 80’s was crazy. They do a good job showing racial tendencies by the police but that’s where they also do a disservice to the victim. Non-stop racial attacks on thousands and thousands of hours of evidence is clearly bias on their part. The narrator clearly wanted Jake to say something negative about the detectives but he wouldn’t and she tried to mislead him. She should write the family a letter apologizing for making this about race and not the death of Shelly. What losers!
Narrator commits the cardinal sin of journalism and makes the entire first episode about themself and their experiences with the town rather than telling the story itself. Long-winded generalizations and exaggerations abound to the point that I personally could not make it through the first episode. If a podcast is only as good as the host telling its story then this one fails on all fronts.
i think there's plenty more that could of been done, i feel it was bare minimum done for the podcast. i truly think that the card was sent and switched out, why is that not an option....i think there's so much more that could of been done to figure out answers.
I enjoyed the story overall, but found Kim’s overall sleuthing, interviewing, and analysis to be lacking. Who cut the phone lines? What was Fred’s relationship to Shelly? Why was he always spending time away from his wife? Why did he lie (including to his wife) that he was a Navy Seal? That interrogation was hardly browbeating, his confession sounded odd, but why dismiss it so out of hand? Just because things aren’t in the police file, doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, this is lazy and irresponsible journalism. Some things may have been innocently left out, misplaced, who knows it’s been so many years. It seems Kim just wanted to be done and tie this up with a neat bow that Fred didn’t do it. I’m not so sure. I did enjoy most of it, but it left me empty with the conclusion at the end that I thought was rushed and lazy.
This whole podcast wants to be something it’s not. There’s no story there! There’s no police corruption there’s no wrongful conviction. There’s no suspect still out there there’s no link to another case. All this podcast has is the author or the host is from this community and she’s able to talk to some people that are polite. That’s it. That’s the show.
To be honest her storytelling is actually pretty dull and non linear, I’m sorry to say I’m not even too sure what happened to the poor victim. I can’t tell if the host did or didn’t go to school with her or was this girl older?
Oh also another huge complain is sometimes in the recordings, people say racist things and there’s been no trigger warnings about that. I wasn’t expecting to hear slurs for people of mixed ethnicity and or Hispanic people. The producers should think about that.
Wanted to get into this, but Ms. Barker seemed to carry too much baggage from her youth in Laramie.
It sounds like she had a horrid time growing up there, but painting the whole place as completely backwards, saying that it’s “improbable” that it has a vegetarian restaurant just read as reverse snobbery.
It’s rotten to hear country people denigrate our great cities as modern Gomorrahs; it’s equally dreary for city folk to denigrate rural areas for flaccid reasons.
I look forward to following more of Barker’s non-Laramie based work though, as she sounds like a diligent reporter.
Wish the cases was solved at the end but it was still a good listen and shows the reality of this type of case. Kim’s theory on that creepy child molester doing it seems plausible.
This is not news, Serial was never able to reclaim the magic of Adnan and season 1.
Having said that, the production value for this series was terrible. Some episodes started with ads, others didn’t. No clear transition into ads. Narrator would be talking and then BOOM an ad just cuts them off entirely. Episodes would just end without any indication that the episode was over. No ending credits. BORING story and zero conclusions by the final episode. Don’t waste your time.
(Semi-spoiler?) Though I thoroughly enjoyed each episode leading up to the end and appreciate the investigative work and documenting of each personality and background, I was ultimately disappointed the series almost entirely focused on one potential outcome. Unless a sequel series came to do further investigation into what’s presented at the end, the hard-hit focus on one suspect and sudden curiosity to mention another in the final episode felt like a bait-and-switch that led to nowhere.
The type of person that would lie about being a Navy seal for that long wants friends and admiration. His response to his interrogation to the point of complimenting the detective is as much of an indication of that need for friendship/admiration than guilt to me. Interrogations can be interpreted a million different ways. There’s not really such a thing as a “normal” reaction. That’s why you need evidence in the apartment. Our justice system is designed to keep innocent people from going to prison even if that means a guilty person goes free…
The story is dull and anticlimactic. It seems the writers/producers spent a lot of time and energy trying to come up with something but in the end could not. Rather than acknowledge this and move on they decided to release this dud of a story anyway. My advice: Don’t listen.
Excellent podcast. Thoroughly researched. Very well done.
But who cut the phone landlines?!?! And when? Coincidence that disabled same time as fire is raging???
NB: I spent my teens and many years of adulthood before cell phones. Lots of landline experience but would have zero idea where located and how to disable.
THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY BECAUSE, UNLESS IT WAS A COINCIDENCE, IT COULD BE VERY IMPORTANT TO DETERMINE WHODUNIT! Forensic awareness. Superior ability to compartmentalize if cut to delay calls to fire department. Etc.
Thanks!!!
Really liked this podcast. Kim’s reporting style is clean & tells it like she sees it. Only complaint, would like more. & want to know more about the 18 cats :)
A story of incompetence on all parts. The so called confession does nothing but help a good defense attorney prove police incompetence. A prosecutor’s office and PD that released so much information it made a trial a defense attorney’s dream. This podcast giving out of the facts that should never be out just makes a prosecution case even harder. Fred probably did it but he played with an inept interviewer and set himself up to say he was brow beaten till he gave in. I feel sorry for the prosecutor that has to take this case based on the facts in this podcast.
This is an important piece of reporting, and in my opinion, a MUST listen and helpful recalibration for those of us who consume too much true crime. **potential spoilers ahead** This piece really underscored for me the power a story teller wields - whether that person is a reporter, police officer, podcaster, etc - and our responsibility as listeners and community members to be critical and open minded about the information we are presented with. As our highly capable reporter, Kim Barker, uncovers in this case, things aren’t always as straightforward as they seem. I will take this reminder with me as I listen to future accounts of true crime, especially those that aren’t handled with the same rigor and ethics that was applied to this investigation. In addition, I was humbled by the couple of well meaning people in this story who turned out to be wildly unreliable narrators. Their experiences have really made me wonder about memories of my own that I’m sure are true. My take away is not one of cynicism, but rather a renewed commitment to question the stories we are presented, so as not to potentially wrongly accuse folks in the court of public opinion.
Having lived in Wyoming, this story was both interesting to me, and consistent with my experience of Wyoming. Relationships are everything, racism is pervasive, and connected people aren’t held accountable. I really enjoyed this podcast.
Couldn’t get past the whining from the narrator because he go bullied. Most people got bullied clown, we just didn’t let it ruin our lives or turn us into sad adult who couldn’t get past kids being mean. Saying Wyoming is worse then Kabul is just exaggerated left wing propaganda
I found the narrator’s voice to be pleasant and easy to listen to. It was interesting to hear to the current interviews, and compare them to the interviews from the same people at the time of the crime, when they were younger. I plan to see if the author has other podcasts or books.
Very insightful and I really enjoyed how much evidence Kim shared. If anything, I learned more about how these cases are solved. The ending isn’t particularly satisfying, but it feels realistic. Overall well produced
It feels like you went around convincing people who were there, they were wrong. Considering it seems clear Laramie police messed with the case from the beginning, it was an odd choice. Won’t even finish the last episode.
Interesting premise but ultimately it is sad and not satisfying at the end, only needed to be a few episodes, some interviews and information did not seem necessary
I’ve listened to countless true crime podcasts and this one is truly unique. I love how the interviews and conversations drive the narrative. Kim, your narration is poetic and beautiful! The way that this case explores the paradox of our memories is so interesting, and it brought up mixed emotions for me. It’s hard to trust others and yourself, and sometimes things aren’t straightforward. Thank you for your dedication to the Wiley family and all those involved.
