The Best of True Crime Garage 2025 ////// 896 | Forensic Files

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>> From building timelines to assigning the right people and even spotting risks
across dozens of projects, Monday Sidekick knows your business, thinks ahead, [music] and takes action. One
click on the star and consider it done. >> And I owe it all to you. >> Try Monday Sidekick. AI you'll [music]
love to use on monday.com. [music] >> [music] >> Welcome to True Crime Garage. Wherever
you are, whatever you are doing, thanks for listening. I'm your host Nick [music] and with me as always is a man
who is once, twice, three times a captain. Here he is, the captain. And don't you ever forget it's good be seen
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Weedman's has been brewing beer since 1870. [music] It was George Weedman way back then. So,
this is a beer brewing tradition for over 150 years, and we are featuring one of
their beers called Wake Me Up. It's just another great offering from the fine folks at [music] Weedman's Brewing
Company. First in Newport, Kentucky, now in Cincinnati, Ohio. It's a delicious hazelnut coffee milk stout. The milk and
hazelnut mask the bitterness of the stout and coffee, but both of those provide the roasted flavor that I like
so much. Garage grade three and 3/4 bottle caps out of five. And let's raise a glass and give some cheers to our good
garage friends. First up, a shout out to Michelle Hargus in Austin, Texas. >> And a big tall hands in there goes to
Sea Dog in Longmont, Colorado. Next, we have a cheers to Carrie in [music] parts
unknown. And last, but certainly not least, we have a cheers to Hannah and Anish Teague, Ireland. Everyone we just
mentioned, [music] they went to true crimegar.com and helped us out with this week's beer fund for the beer run. And
for that, we say thank you. Yeah, we're roasty and we're toasty. BWER beer [music] run. Make sure you check
out trueg.com. Sign up on the mailing list. And Colonel, that's enough of the B, isn't
[music] he? >> All right, everybody, gather around, grab a chair, grab a beer. Let's talk
some true crime. [music] >> [music] >> It was another great year in the garage. In fact, it was the year 2025 was the
year when we celebrated 10 years of garage goodness. And thank you all for listening, both new listeners and ones
that have been with us for the entirety of the ride thus far. And we say thus far because I don't think that this
flying garage ship is going to slow down anytime soon. So, please gather around,
grab a chair, grab some more beers, and let's continue talking about some true crime together for many years to come.
But today, let's take a peek at the rear view mirror, right? Let's see what is in
the rear view. >> Let's stick up our stick our heads up our asses and check out what's
happening. >> We've done this most years. I won't say every year. We probably should have done
it every year. We would have been smarter to have done so, but did not. Sometimes when we hit that turn of the
year going into early January where it would be most appropriate to do this type of show, we find ourselves really
enthralled in a particular case and excited to get to that one and it kind of clouds our judgment. So this year
we've sifted through the fog and the clouds and we are back at it again. We are going to talk about our favorite.
>> Yeah. the colonel and the captain's favorite true crime garage episodes of 2025. So, if you missed some episodes,
we don't hold it against you, but here's your opportunity to >> let us tickle your earballs a little bit
and maybe you go back and dial these up on your garage radio dial and tune in to
what you may have missed. Or if you agree with us, go back and listen again. The thing I love about this here,
Captain, this is the perfect time for us to ask the listeners, hit us up on Instagram, on X, let us
know your favorite True Crime Garage episodes of 2025. >> Yeah, give us your top three when we
decided, hey, we should we should do this again. It's fun. I I can't remember if last year we did our top five or what
we did, but top three is fun. I think Top Three is the way to go. But I was actually surprised because I was like,
"Okay, I got to open up my podcast app, click on True Crime Garage. I got to scroll through the episodes and see
which ones I I even remember." But I was actually shocked how many I was like, "Oh, that's a good one. Oh, and that one
was a good one, too." I thought this list would be a lot easier. And not just because like I actually thought like
okay well maybe it was just like it felt like a good year but like going back I was like man you could make an argument
that the these were some of the best episodes we've ever done. >> Yeah I agree 100%. So when we first
talked about doing this there were four right we said we'll do a top three. There were four immediately that I was
like, "Oh, my three live within this four here." >> Then when I went back, cuz what I wanted
to do was I wanted to figure out when those episodes were released. And I'm looking through the 2025 catalog and
there were like several others that I think make a strong argument to be in that top three, maybe hold that third
spot. So, the waters got a little murky. little murky once I started sifting through. I was really impressed with our
2025 catalog here. And you're right, it ended up being a little more difficult than I
had originally anticipated. If you're fine with it, Captain, I'll go ahead and kick things off with my number
three. >> Yeah, kick it off. >> This one might feel like cheating a little bit. >> Um, but you know, most weeks we are
doing two episodes. Most cases we cover, there are two episodes on that case. So,
I guess in that regard, there would be no cheating. But with my number three, it was actually a six-part series that
we did all the way back in April of 2025, and the title of that six-part series was Hate American Made. M
>> I should maybe I shouldn't lead out the gate with this because it's kind of [laughter]
>> Well, I feel like this one might have been met with some mixed reviews. >> I think that's fair to say. But I have
to put together my top three based off of my experience, right? Not >> off of the listeners experience,
>> right? >> And and the thing here with this one for me, it was much like in the movie
Christmas Story, right? where Ralphie has to write a paper about what he wants for Christmas. Remember, he's so
impressed with this paper and he thinks that the the teacher is just going to she's going to to love and do on him
because she because he did such a fantastic job on this on this paper. It's the best thing he's ever written.
He turns it in and then when he gets it back, reality sets in, he got a C+ or C minus
maybe. I can't remember. [laughter] But but you know, he was expecting an A+ plus plus plus plus.
>> I shouldn't say that that's what I was expecting here, but I feel like I kind
of felt like Ralphie in the moment once these episodes were coming out. And I think the reason why it was mixed, it
had mixed emotions is that I think that we're living in a day and age where for us anyway as
adults, for the listeners, when I say us, I mean all of us collectively, it feels like we are just bombarded with so
much politics and political rhetoric and all that all that [ __ ] because that's really what it is at the end of
the day, [ __ ] I mean, I people can have their strong opinions and their strong feelings, but let's clear our
heads because at the end of the day, none of them really care about any of us. And I don't want to go down that
road too far, but I think that it's an opportunity if we can see it for what it is to realize we don't need to battle
with each other because they they won't they won't battle for us, so we shouldn't battle for them. That's just
my opinion. And I can see why this would be met with, hey, there's too much politics in this world right now. The
other thing we need to pump the brakes on too is the too much politics thing. I keep hearing that, keep hearing that,
keep hearing that. If you go back, I'm I'm a person who enjoys learning about history and continuing that learning for
the rest of my life. This is something that's happened regularly throughout the history of our country and many, many
other countries. This isn't anything new. This is not the worst it's ever been. It it just is what it is. People
argue and bicker about politics. >> Yeah. >> We weren't trying to join in those arguments with these episodes.
>> Yeah. >> The reason why I liked doing these episodes, this six-part series, is
rarely do we do a six-part series. one. And I not going to lie, I'm a little jealous of some of the shows out there
that can dedicate an entire season to a single case or dedicate uh an entire season or 10 episodes, 12 episodes, 12
weeks of listening pleasure to one story line. It's rare for us to be able to live in that case, in that story for
weeks. And here doing the research for this, while each episode was about a different story, we found in our
research that a lot of these stories they were somewhat tied together or have reason to be suspicious that they all
could be tied together. As dark as a subject as it is, I hate to say it's fun. It was fun to live in that world
for like three, four weeks where where all I had to do for the that three and a half weeks was examine these stories.
So, I'll I'll break it down best I can here for you. The six-part series, it ran in April of 2025. It was titled Hate
AmericanMade. The purpose of that title was not to any slight at our country. you it you will it will be hard for you
to find garage guys more patriotic than than us. >> Yeah. >> Yes. I love America and I love the
people and sometimes the sometimes us as a society we act a little strange or we
we forget that uh we're all in this together and we need to be kind to each other. And like you said, I think they I
think not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it's like I think the people in power like it when you pick
the red team or you pick the blue team when it's like you should pick team people
>> you know always pick team people and and if you are kind to each other uh don't
let people distract you and separate you >> well. And you know my joke, I've said it
probably five times throughout our 10 years here together, but >> pull my finger.
>> John Wayne Gasey was a Democrat. Ted Bundy was a Republican. That's why I'm an independent. That is those are
perfect examples to be an independent. And look, when we put this together and when we put together other episodes, you
know, there's a an American flag that flies proudly outside of this garage, right in front of the garage here. Flies
every day. Now, I will take it down if it like we have like a windstorm or something because I'm not going to let
I'm not going to let old Glory get beat up. But when we when we put these together, none of this is ever for the
right or the left or the red or the blue or even the middle. This is a show for the people,
>> right? >> And and that's it. And we don't care where you stand, what side you're on.
>> Well, also to be clear, when we sat down initially, well, one, we didn't think it
I don't think we even thought it would last a year, let alone 10 years. But one of the reasons why people listen to
podcasts is uh to fill a part of the conversation and we don't want to talk about politics because that again that
can be uh something that divides us and we want people to feel like they're coming into the garage and drinking a
cold beer just like that's what we used to do. We'd sit in your garage, drink beer, and we'd be talking about Ted
Bundy. And it's just like we just want people to feel welcome no matter what your views are uh politically because
why are we here? We're not here to talk about politics. We're here to talk about
crime. >> Well, in hate Americanmade, again, not against the country. What the that that title is for is at the center
of each one of these stories that are all loosely tied together, there is a very hateful individual or
group of individuals that caused a lot of harm, a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, death, murder,
and what have you. And at the center of that is always an Americanborn individual that you would think if if if
>> if I could tell you these stories and and we didn't have to live them or see them on the news, read about them in the
newspaper, know somebody that that experienced them directly. If we didn't have to have that in our lives, if I
told you these stories and removed all the names, I bet you most people would go, "Yeah, that had to be committed by
somebody that wasn't born and raised in that that hates America, right? That just hates Americans." And that wasn't
the case. And so for those that are not familiar and and look, I get the mixed opinions and views on these episodes
because when I when I sit back and had a chance to look at it two weeks afterwards, I was like, damn, every part
of this is uncomfortable. Every part of the story is uncomfortable. You have white supremacy. You have uh gun
control. You have religious freedoms. You have domestic terrorism. >> Beliefs more so than freedoms, but
religious beliefs. Yeah. >> Beliefs. Yeah. Well, and government shutting down a religious group. You
have the ATF who acted irresponsibly at times. You have again domestic terrorism. So, there was no way that
this was not going to be met with that. And you know what? I'm glad that it was.
Now, in hindsight, I'm glad that it was because it was appropriate and it's and it's it's good to get riled up over
these things. It would be abnormal not to. So, it was six episodes. The first episode was titled The White
Supremacist, which starts with Richard Wayne Snell, and he just had a hatred. He was a white supremist who had hatred
in his heart. And he did not believe that we were all created equal, that we're all created equal, and we deserve
to live a life of equality. And he murdered other individuals. His hate fueled more than hate. It it turned
violent, and it turned deadly. Now, his episode wasn't just the first one because his hate crimes took place
before these other stories. He has ties to all of these groups that we talked about throughout the telling
of this story. So, episode two was Ruby Ridge when Randy Weaver and his family had fought it out with the FBI with
federal agents over Randy Weaver breaking some gun laws and really turned into a a tragedy that I think and that I
I hope we did a good job of explaining. episode that we believe could have been completely avoided was to totally
unnecessary. In fact, we referred to it as a series of errors created unnecessary bloodshed for the Weaver
family and for federal agents at Ruby Ridge. And then the third episode was The Prophet, which was about David
Caresh and his rise within the branch devidians. Episode four was the Waco siege, the ATF
raiding Mount Carmel. Episode five was The Soldier, which was about Timothy James McVey, who was a decorated
American soldier during Operation Desert Storm, who through other influences, plus the Waco
tragedy, he said inspired him to carry out what is episode 6, the Oklahoma City bombing. Oddly enough, the bombing took
place on the same day that the state of Arkansas was executing Richard Snell. It
is said that he had asked to watch the news that day, shortly before the bombs went off and killed so many people April
19th, 1995 in Oklahoma City. Coincidence? Maybe. Difficult to say. I liked doing those episodes because
sometimes I think powerful shows can be uncomfortable. As said, I enjoyed having
the opportunity to examine each one of these cases, have the opportunity to do them back to back
to back >> because they're all connected. Not just because they're connected, but
it gave me the chance to analyze them, keeping that in mind while putting together the research and not tailoring
any of our storytelling to present that, but to live in that, try to put ourselves in those moments and see this
is the dark side of history. This is the dark side of of our American history. We
can't shy away from it. Just like we don't shy away from the cold cases and we don't shy away from telling you this
murder has not been solved. It's the same. We we all must must recognize and attempt to understand the mistakes and
errors that others have made so that we do not repeat them. >> Yeah. One of the things on our 10-year
journey journey that have been interesting for me is when we first started and there wasn't a ton of true
crime shows out there, we get a lot of requests for cases that have been discussed a lot or maybe there's
documentaries or books about those cases. And then the requests started becoming, hey, what about this case that
nobody's really talked about? This hasn't got a lot of attention. But I've but as that turned, it seemed like there
was a good couple years of a lot of suggestions for cases I've never heard of, I've never heard other people talk
about. And then after a couple years of those types of suggestions, we started getting suggestions of like again like a
Waco or a Ruby Ridge or Oklahoma City bombing. you get these requests and because the listeners are like, "Hey,
uh, I've heard other people talk about these major crimes. What are your thoughts?" Or maybe they just like the
way that you're presenting the case. I thought it was a very good series. I guess I can't say I wasn't surprised.
Like you you'd read some of the comments on social media or some of the emails we
got. like one email would be um accusing you of being a Republican and the next email would be accusing you of being a
Democrat and you're [laughter] like we we didn't talk anything about uh politics or our politics on on those
episodes. But uh but yeah, it was a good series. >> Those are there's no way to tell those
stories without talking about some of the politics or the sides involved in >> Yeah. or the beliefs of the individuals.
Yeah. >> Yeah. And that's that's why unfortunately that hate was driven to the point where it was where where it
where it killed people, where people died, where people it was unnecessary suffering um because of the hate in the
hearts of some of these individuals. >> Yeah. The hate and the beliefs. Well, my
number three I really enjoyed. It's just a two-part series. Uh, episode 880 and 881, A Killer Halloween.
And I guess I'm going to turn it over to you on what was your idea about a killer
Halloween. >> That was a conversation that I had with um the author of the book that I had
recommended that week and a friend of mine. He had put out a book where the your he picked several cities and talked
about some of the serial killers. Well, a serial killer from each city. And I enjoyed the book because it was a like a
dark road map if you were to just say, you know what, I'm going to hop in my car and cross the country. And if if if
one were to want to do this, as much as I'm into true crime, I would have no desire to stop off in each city and try
to live through or or relive some of these crimes. I I can't say that I'm I'm not guilty of that on some like I did do
a bunch of Jack the Ripper stuff when I was over in for Crime Con UK in London. It was only the second time I've had the
opportunity to go to the great city of London. And and of course, the first time I was there, it was just work
non-stop. I was there for in my past life for a work trip. This time it was Crime Con. I was lucky enough to be able
to get there a day in advance, stay a day too long. I got to do some of the Jack the Ripper stuff. So, that was
fantastic. And Boulder did a little bit of the Boulder stuff. We won't go into into that into any
great [laughter] but >> get off my lawn. >> I thought to me I always enjoyed the
slasher films growing up and and you and I have talked Halloween. That's one of our favorite franchises.
We've talked about slasher films quite a bit on Off the Record, especially around
Halloween time. And to me, the the serial killer, unfortunately, is the real life slasher film. I always
believe that truth is stranger than fiction. Real life is scarier than fiction. And so, as somebody who likes to be
scared, especially at Halloween time, I thought, you know what? Let's highlight some of these cities and some of the
serial killers. It also gave us an opportunity to discuss some killers that we've not covered yet. We've not learned
much about yet. And we recently just one of one of the killers that we covered in
a killer Halloween. There was a recent update with him. They just linked him to another murder uh
many many decades after the fact. So, I with the permission of the listeners and
with you, that's something I think we could revisit in the future because I enjoyed the research part of it and I
enjoyed hanging out with you in the garage and it and I I know the listeners enjoyed it as well.
>> Well, and as um [laughter] as the guy that does the episode artwork, >> the artwork was cool. It was very cool.
I thought, >> yeah, it always cracks me up when another podcaster goes, "Hey, I just saw
your recent episode. That's cool artwork. Who who do you have do that?" I'm like, "Well, I do." Or they don't
know I do the music. And they'll go, "Hey, Captain, who does the music for your show?" "Well, I do." And and
they'll go, "Well, who who's doing your research for the show?" "Well, we do." You know, [laughter]
like it's basically a twoman operation. And that's how it that's how it rolls. So yeah, that's my number three. And
we'll get back to our list after this quick beer break. [music] A new year, colder days. This is the
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All right, happy [music] New Year's you filthy animals. Onward and upward. Cheers mates. And
let's get back to the best of true crime garage 2025. >> True Crime Garage best of 2025 according
to the captain and the extra [laughter] crispy colonel. >> It's just a show of us patting oursel on
the back. [laughter] We did a really great job, guys. That's the other part of this too is I had
mentioned Ralphie turning in his paper earlier and that happens frequently, right? Like we
when we put together an episode, we've we've lived in it for a week, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on what
the schedule is. But when when somebody will comment and say, "Yeah, not your best episode." It
the problem for the way that we have to do things and and other podcasters live in this world, too. So, we're not we're
not alone. And I'm sure it works the same for television. But once you've done all the prep work
and the research and the writing for an episode, that's the episode, right? You can't you can't be I think maybe only
once or twice in our 10 years together did we go about halfway through the recording and go, "Nope, nope right.
that one can't come out. You throw it out there and you are always kind of hoping for the best
because you never know will they the large crowd of folks that we are so lucky to have listening feel the same
way we felt about it and you never know and and that's why we love having the conversation and we we look if you don't
like the episode we encourage you to tell us we we we want >> we're fine with that. Yeah, because we
want to every week my only goal is to do >> a better job than last week. And every
week the same goal is to put together the best true crime podcast episode that we possibly can in the amount of time
that we have allotted for that. >> Yeah. But it's a it's a combination of many things. So you get a case that's
suggested to you. Well, how interesting is that case? Are there twists and turns? Are there things that are things
and cases or details in cases you've seen before? Are there bizarre things? Does the information make you question
anything whether it's a solved case or an unsolved case? But then you have to gather that information up and figure
out what timeline of the story and how do you want to tell the story. So it becomes well is the case interesting or
not? How well did you research it? How well did you deliver the information? How cool was the artwork? Was the music
uh did the music enhance the episode or did it hinder the episode? Was it embarrassing? You know what I mean?
There's there's a lot of components and but what's nice and and we've we've had it happen uh many times where
you feel like the case is fascinating. You feel like we researched it well. We feel like we laid it out the best way we
could and it felt good when we recorded it. And sometimes when I'm editing those
episodes, I'm like, "Man, this one's this one's pretty good." And and then when you put it out, uh, you get the
crowd goes wild. And sometimes you can feel great about an episode and put it out and it's just crickets. But, uh,
that's the life. And like you said, all we can do is to do the best we can and move forward. Number two.
>> My number two is from September 2025 and it's our yogurt shop murders update case. It was from September 29th of last
year. And part of that was this was a case for me for many, many years that was a head scratcher. The
kind of case that keeps you up at night. The the case the type of story that has
you constantly analyzing and then reanalyzing the same information over and over again
and trying to figure out what does it mean? What does it tell us about the suspect or suspects? And this case is so
complicated because you had false confessions. You had false you had wrongful convictions. You had four
victims. You had four men who were once teenagers at teenagers at the time of the crime that police went Austin PD
went after very very hard. In fact, landed two of those guys behind prison bars.
>> Right. >> Those guys end up getting their release from prison. And then it wasn't until
September of this year that we get the answers to back up h how much this case wrapped me up got its hooks in me is we
covered the yogurt shop murders in episodes 81 and 82. Then we covered the yogurt shop murders again. It was titled
Yogurt Shop Murders 30 years later in episodes 539 and 540. And then the documentary came out
last year, the Yogurt Shop Murders documentary, and that gave us the opportunity to revisit the case again.
>> Yeah. Because the documentary gave us more insight and more details. Those were interesting episodes because it's
also when you see some of the stuff visually and you get to hear new details and hear stuff from the source. Does it
change the way you view a case that you have covered so many times? So that was episodes
866 and 867 in August of 2025. Now, when we did every time we revisited this case, of course, we were hoping that
they would solve it, that they would finally figure this thing out. By the time we did those episodes after the
documentary had come out, I had pretty much lost all hope that the case would ever be solved. But that it was
September of this year that after more than 33 years, we finally got some closure in the infamous yogurt shop
murders case that haunted Austin, Texas. since that sad and tragic night when four teenage girls were brutally
murdered. And the statement we got from the Austin Police Department and we went
into to as much depth as we could with the information out at the time regarding the answers and them finally
solving this. But from the Austin Police Department, they said, "We've made a significant break through breakthrough
in the 1991. I can't believe it's yogurt murder case with new information. They never quit working this case.
That's that's obvious. You have the four victims, Jennifer Harbison, her sister Sarah Harbison,
and their friends Eliza Thomas and Amy Heirs. All four innocent lives taken senselessly and far too soon. Via DNA
testing, they identified a suspect. his name. He's deceased, horrible, evil man, serial killer,
Robert Eugene Brashers, who committed suicide in 1999. While I've had some difficulties with
the outcome, I was so overjoyed that they finally had had figured out who was responsible. This guy, as we discussed
in that episode, he was a monster before he killed those girls at the yogurt shop. He was a
monster afterwards. This is one of those guys. We talked about him recently on and off the record as well. He's one of
these guys that none of us would be surprised. None of us should be shocked when they find out months from now or
even years from now when they link him to another murder. And that other murder that they link him to could be in
another part of this country. But uh yeah, it was >> it was cause for a small celebration
>> and I'm thankful for the work that Austin PD has done on the case and I I applaud them for seeing it through.
There's a handful of cases that I can mention that I don't think have been worked. Look, and they were wrong. They
were wrong a handful of times in this case, >> right? Um, but they stuck to it and there's
other departments out there that could learn from this is a case that leveled that city that broke the hearts of
everyone in that city. And I think that is what led to this became personal >> for [clears throat]
Austin PD. And when it becomes personal, there are going to be mistakes that are
made. But I you know what? I'm not and I will not hold it against a department for taking a case and making it
personal. Sometimes that's what you got to do. That's what you have to do. So anyway,
yogurt shop murders update case that we did uh episode we did in September of 2025 and also all the other coverage on
the yogurt shop murders case uh that we did over the years. I came up with this analogy the other day which I I actually
thought was brilliant. Sometimes I surprised myself. I was also told on YouTube that I'm as dumb as wood, which
is probably correct, but I I said I if I'm going to be as dumb as wood, I want to be as dumb as pinewood. But I came up
with the analogy of you have these, let's say you're watching like um a documentary on the NFL
and you have a team that was amazing that got to the Super Bowl and they just didn't play well, but it's something
they lost the game and it's something that lives with those players for the rest of their lives. But in these crime
cases with these detectives, they live with these cases for their whole lives. Whether they're still working the case
or not, it just sticks on them. And the fact that they can keep going over it and keep working it and finally get
answers for the victim's families. Like that it's a it's amazing cuz like if you
ask any of these players, would you want to replay that game? They'd say hell yes. You know, give me the chance again.
Unlike sports, that's something uh these detectives can do. they can keep working
and fighting for answers. So, my number two, >> shout out to shout out to Phil Rivers.
[laughter] >> Yeah. Um, >> he's getting a chance he's got a chance to go back every
>> Yeah. And so, so correct me if I'm wrong, but I want to say this was like a a couple years ago. I said something to
you of Oh, it'd be cuz I wasn't clear when I was watching the Mine Hunter series, which was on Netflix.
I I knew that it was basically a a biopic or a docu drama of them creating the behavior science unit at Quantico.
And so some of the big people, like when you see scenes of the BTK or them interviewing different serial killers,
I was like, "Okay, well that's probably all pretty factual, but what about these
small cases that they're solving when they're doing their uh what do they call it? It was like road road school or
something like that." >> Yeah, the road school. >> But I didn't know if those cases were
real or if they were just made up or if they were based off on whatever. So, I believe it was like a few years ago. I
suggested something to you and then you get case suggestions. I get them. We kind of write them down on this master
list. And as we're talking and scheduling some cases out, you were like, "Hey, I got this idea for this
Mine Hunter series." And I was like, "Okay, that's cool." But other than me being able to rewatch it,
I had no clue of how you were going to present it, what you're going to do, how good it would be, and it was almost like
a yes, I was in the garage, but it was like a treat to listen to the the details. I'm I I remember like talking
to friends and other podcaster friends and going, "Man, Nick is just knocking this series out of the park." So yeah,
it was just an absolute joy and and it and I had no clue what was coming. That's what she said.
>> Captain, we park our cars in the same garage. We have sharing opinions here because the Mine Hunter series that we
did in 2025, episodes 868 to 871, a four-part series, was my favorite of 2025. Part of it was that I got the
opportunity to go back and watch the first season again. The other part of it too
that I really enjoyed was some of our accomplishments as well because when you think about Mine Hunter, the series, the
TV show, and really the the true story of it, there were three people at the center of that story. John Douglas,
Robert Wrestler, and Anne Burgess. when the two of us sat down in the garage the
first couple of times and hit record and one we didn't even know we were going to
have a show to release to anybody and then when we did release it we didn't know anybody would listen and then we
didn't think we would be doing this as you said earlier for all of these years it's not always diff it's not always
easy to do the show or put the shows together but when you get the opportunity to do a show with John
Douglas do a show with Anne Burgess. God bless it. I Robert Wrestler, I wish he was
around. We probably would have got the opportunity to do a show with him as well. I think we've we've had John
Douglas, the Mine Hunter, on our show, I think, three times. Dr. Anne Burgess, probably my favorite interview and
conversation, true crime conversation ever. Really, absolutely. I she's such a gem, such a
joy. So, >> well, here's what's funny, too, though, is um John Douglas is very hard to edit
and Anne Burgess is very easy to edit. [laughter] So, it's a polar spectrum, but uh it's
uh both of them are fascinating listens. >> Well, Douglas is the genius that's going
to track down the unknown killer based off of the crime scene. And so his mind is just racing like 10,000 miles a
minute where Anne Burgess is more of the brilliant academic who knows how to lay
things out in a textbook style. And she was so while she was never a real true sworn in FBI officer agent,
she was a consultant and hired and paid by the FBI for many many years. and and we originally had Anne Burgess,
that episode was off the record. It was an off thereord episode. As brilliant as
I always believed her to be, and as much as I always enjoyed her work, I didn't know the conversation would go as well
as I thought that it did. And so when we did this Mine Hunter series, which was an examination of the dramatization
of the Minehunter story put out on Netflix, I sat down, pen to paper, watching every episode and going, "All
right, is that killer real? Is that part of this story? Is this something that was true? Did it even down to the point
of a a Time magazine cover that was in a scene on sitting on an end table or coffee
table? Like is was that really a Time magazine cover at any time or was that just something planted there? And we one
of the scenes that I had never picked up on before until I'm looking at it with a
magnifying glass is the scene where the Anne Burgess character is talking to the
Robert Wrestler and John Douglas character in her office and she's got her bookshelf behind her and I was
looking at the spines of every one of those books on that shelf and one of them in fact was a John Douglas book
that was released in the '9s. And we know people that have watched the show know that uh Mine Hunter, the series
starts off and takes place in the the late '7s. So that book wasn't even out yet. That was just something that that
the the director and the smart folks that worked on that show kind of planted in the background as something something
>> Easter egg. Yeah. >> And so I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to go back and watch it
again. And it was also a good excuse for us to within that series right before we
kicked off our series and this was um >> well the Mine Hunter series was episodes
868, 869, 870 and 871. Four-part series for your earballs, >> which all took place in the middle of
September. What we did was we bookended those with a refill of two of our John Douglas
episodes, which I think he's been on for five. I know he's been on three different times. I can't recall if they
were all two-parters. That was when we had the opportunity to talk with John Douglas about the some of the older
cases, more infamous cases that the folks out there know, the Zodiac case, the West Memphis 3, John Bené Ramsay,
things of that nature. And then at the other end of that, we released our what was originally the off thereord episode
with Dr. Anne Burgess. Again, she's a first generation mine hunter along with the other two gents that we mentioned.
and her level of understanding and expertise when it comes to victimology and postoffense behavior of your suspect
is so genius and so valuable to their investigations and their their manhunt for the criminal, the unknown criminal
at the time. So, love talking with her, love talking with John Douglas, of course, and I really enjoyed putting
together this series. I'm hoping we can find time in 2026, maybe we do season two as well. Yeah. So, when we did our
best true crime documentaries of 2025, we had nothing that over overlapped. But on this list of the best of true crime
garage 2025, we have two that are overlapping cuz my number one is the yogurt shop murders update episode,
which was episode 874. And it's simply because we've talked about that case. We've looked at that
case a a bunch. Again, you you want to be hopeful, but I just wasn't. And anytime anything came out about it, I
just wasn't. And then there was that documentary that came out, which I thought was very well put together,
great production. It It reminded me of true crime documentaries of old. But when it was all said and done, that
didn't leave me with a lot of hope. And then I still remember where I was at. I was laying down on my bed and my phone
went off and then it went off again. And then it went off again and I went, "Who
the hell's texting me so late?" And there was three or four texts. Did you see that they solved the yogurt shop
murders? And I I couldn't believe it. I was like I I got up, ran to my computer,
and I remember finding a news clip about it and posting it. Um because I like to
do that. If you follow us on Facebook or you follow us on Instagram, I'm I'm constantly posting little clips of
whether they're cases that we've covered or we're going to cover or cases that we
haven't got to yet. I try to just post stuff. So, if you're into true crime and what's going on in the true crime world,
that's what I do. I I also do stuff when I hear about a new documentary coming out, I'll post, hey, I heard this new
documentary is coming out in a month, so follow us on Instagram and Facebook. But
was it our best episode? I don't know. But I never thought the case would get solved. It was a joyous uh episode
because you go, here's this case that's so old that it's a case that there's so much stacked up against you. You have a
lot of victims. You don't have that many eyewitnesses. It's a small town. Then we
have, you know, teenagers that are accused. You have a fire that that destroys evidence. You have the
firefighters coming in to put out the fire that destroys evidence. And you just wondered whatever they had, was it
solid information? Was it solid evidence? Were they ever going to solve it? And out of all the cases that you'd want
solved. I mean, of course, you want them all solved, but we all have like a handful of cases that we were were
hoping for one day. Like I tell people all the time if they ever solve the John Benet Ramsay case that will break the
internet for a good week. So it was a case I never thought would get solved and then here we are and
hopefully in 2026 a bunch of cases a bunch of unsolved and cold cases get solved in 2026.
>> Thank you Captain. I love looking back and checking in on our work for 2025 and
it's an inspiration for 2026. My top three, my favorite projects, episodes [snorts] that we did for 2025.
Number three was Hate American Made, a six-part series that kicked off in April of 2025.
Also number two, the yogurt shop murders update. Our continued coverage of the yogurt shop murders from Austin, Texas.
We did those episodes in September of 2025. And then our Mind Hunter series, four parts, episodes 868 to 871
is my top choice for 2025. >> And my list is number three, A Killer Halloween. Number two, the Mine Hunter
series. Number one, the yogurt shop murders update. But man, looking back on all the episodes we did, I some of the
cases that it's weird cuz some of them you you see the artwork and you go, "Oh, that doesn't seem like it was that long
ago." And other ones you're like, "Wait, we did that this year? I thought that was like two years ago." But man, some
wild cases like God's Misfits or David Glenn Lewis, Ellen Greenberg killing for chaos. And I
mean the missing solder children. Like I was like, am I allowed to put that on my
list? We just we just covered it. But I I thought that case was fascinating and um and I think we did a good job. But
who who freaking knows? >> I had a bunch of honorable mentions. Killing was purposeful, uh, five-part
series back in May. Stolen, the Angie Houseman story, a three-part series. The park bench murders, a case that we've
continued, a case here from Northeast Ohio that we continue to revisit. The Santa Rosa murders, the hitchhiking
murders. Uh, we did a four-part series on that. Killing for Chaos was a a bizarre story.
>> Yeah. >> It always seems to surprise and fascinate me when we sit down and we
look at a case. It's not every week, but it is most weeks where I'm like, when am
I going to stop being shocked and surprised >> by the details of these true crime
stories? >> Do you have a favorite off thereord episode of last year? >> That's a great question. Not one that I
anticipated. I will say though, um, it doesn't really answer your question. I'm going to go throw this out there. I know
I've already referenced it, but of course the Ann Burgess interview was my favorite off the record of all time of
of >> right >> what we've been doing off the record eight of the 10 years that we've been
doing True Crime Garage. I >> Yeah, nobody stop. >> It's a mystery to us. That's somebody
should do an episode on that. Off the record with Anne Burgess, my favorite one of all time. Yeah, we just put out
an episode last week called Life Savers. And going back and editing the episode,
it was actually cracking me up, which normally doesn't happen. Uh cuz I'm focused, you know, I got to be extra
focused when I'm editing. So you or the Brian Schaefer update one, even though it was like bogus [ __ ] information,
it was still fun to talk about because that's something uh we're going to dive back into that case again this year and
I think people are going to be shocked about what we're learning. If you're not subscribed to Off the Record, it's the
best way to support the show. It's us and the listeners and that's it. And we appreciate everybody that supports True
Crime Garage and supports Off the Record. And we want to thank everybody for joining us here in the garage each
and every week. Thanks for telling your mother. Thanks for telling your brother.
>> And for the longtime listeners, thanks for joining us back here for a whole another year of True Crime Garage.
>> So yeah, onward and upward in 2026. Colonel, do we have a recommended reading for the beautiful listeners?
>> Yes. Uh this week we are recommending Below the Surface, a new true crime podcast, and we have a preview here for
you for Below the Surface. It's from Abjack Entertainment and hosted by Olivia McKenzie. And every episode
you'll hear about a different fascinating, sometimes bizarre case. Some of these
cases are solved, some still remain unsolved. And there's always one common theme. Water. The first two episodes are
out now, and you can find below the surface everywhere you listen to podcasts. A missing person, [music] a strange
death, a vanished vehicle, a series of unanswerable questions. [music] In so many true crime mysteries, the answers
remain elusive. But in many instances, the clues lead right to the water's edge. [music] And sometimes the truth
lies below the surface. Hi listeners, my name is Olivia and I'm the host of the true crime podcast below the surface
from Abjack Entertainment. [music] the podcast that features bizarre cases with a common theme, water. You can listen to
Below the Surface on every major podcast platform or app. Be sure to subscribe [music] today so that you don't miss an
episode. [music] For everything true crime, check out true crimegar.com. And until next week,
be good, be kind, and don't litter. Heat. Heat. [music] [music] [music] >> [music]

The Best of True Crime Garage 2025 ////// 896

Part 1 of 1

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Happy New Year! True Crime Garage is wishing the very best in health, happiness, and prosperity for you, yours, and everyone in 2026! We are kicking the year off in a traditional fashion by discussing some of the highlights of last year. In this episode Nic and the Captain discuss their favorite True Crime Garage episodes of 2025. We hope that you didn’t miss these gems. Tune in for the very best (according to the Garage guys) of True Crime Garage 2025. Thank you all for another great year, cheers!

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Brief Summary

Nick and the Captain recap their favorite True Crime Garage episodes from 2025, discussing key cases and listener feedback.

Key points

Mint Mobile Holiday Offer. Get half off unlimited wireless as an early present for next year!
True Crime Garage Celebrates 10 Years. Reflecting on a decade of true crime storytelling and listener engagement.
Hate American Made Series. A six-part series exploring dark themes in American history and crime.
A Killer Halloween. Exploring the connection between Halloween and serial killers, highlighting real-life horrors.
Yogurt Shop Murders Update. After 33 years, a breakthrough in the infamous yogurt shop murders case.
Mine Hunter Series. A deep dive into the behind-the-scenes details of the Mine Hunter series.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Let's talk some true crime.

Inviting listeners to engage in discussion.

3:37WatchJan 7, 2026

Tension

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