Red Flags

Today's newest class of celebrity has emerged in the form of social influencers. But what separates fame from predatory behavior? In this episode, we tackle the case of controversial YouTuber Onision (aka Greg Jackson). Karina speaks to Alicia Kozakiewicz, an internet safety expert and abduction survivor, about how these internet celebrities avoid accountability, and how to keep yourself and your children safe online. Plus, some progress in the case of the Sumter County Does, and a true crime podcast and Zoom trivia show that should be on your radar.LINKS: Crime Junkie- “UNIDENTIFIED: Sumter County Does”https://open.spotify.com/episode/4jlN7YYn76LoJvZtiidTPR?si=S4cA27DbTJijDlXZl_9S1wDIE-ALOGUE: a true crime conversationhttps://open.spotify.com/show/64IHCryN2jFaswrVIzMV8w?si=kg8CmIzkQ1uBP8lo8fmMTQ“Onision in Real Life” - streaming now on discovery+The Alicia Project - http://www.aliciaproject.org/“Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer” - https://open.spotify.com/show/4SdmeHZafnsVo2OhLtvT4K?si=CxbUaR1pT2SY4S7SrYtRVAHotline: 1-888-9 RED FLA / (188)-973-3352Stream over 5,000 hours of true crime on discovery+• https://www.discoveryplus.com/?syc=podcast_id_redflags&utm_source=id&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=redflags• discoveryplus.com/redflags

If you’re a true crime fan, you’ve heard all about the lone-wolf killer John Wayne Gacy, the ‘killer clown’ who assaulted and murdered 33 boys and young men. But did you know he might have had accomplices? Tori investigates a rumor about the Gacy case brought to her attention by a Red Flags listener, Damon, who called in to the Red Flags hotline. In an interview with Chicago lawyer Steven Becker, Tori finds out there might be much more to the Gacy case than any of us thought. We also touch on the new Richard Ramirez documentary on Netflix that lots of folks are watching.LINKS:“Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer” - Streaming now on Netflix“The Clown and the Candyman” Podcast - Listen now wherever you get your podcasts“The Clown and the Candyman” Special - Streaming now on Discovery+1992 CBS2 Interview with John Wayne Gacy - https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/01/20/cbs-2-vault-john-wayne-gacy-speaks/29 Below by Jeff Rignall - https://www.amazon.com/29-Below-Jeff-Rignall/dp/B0006XG56Y“Post-Conviction DNA Testing, Actual Innocence, and Cold Cases” by Steven Becker in The Global Community Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence 2016 - https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190848194.001.0001/oso-9780190848194-chapter-2Hotline: 1-888-9 RED FLA / (188)-973-3352Stream over 5,000 hours of true crime on discovery+https://www.discoveryplus.com/?syc=podcast_id_redflags&utm_source=id&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=redflagsdiscoveryplus.com/redflags

Dustin Higgs has been on federal death row for two decades for the murder of three young women, but the man who shot all three is serving a life sentence. Higgs is scheduled to be executed on January 15th. On January 12th, a federal judge halted his execution due to his COVID-19 diagnoses, but experts say he's not out of the woods yet. The Trump administration has carried out 11 executions of federal death row inmates in its final months - three during its lame duck period, which hasn’t happened in over 130 years. Dustin Higgs and Cory Johnson are scheduled for execution before President-Elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20th. Karina speaks to Higgs’ lawyer, Shawn Nolan, before and after the stay was issued, and we hear about the mad dash for clemency in the final days before Friday, January 15th. We also hear from Robert Dunham, the Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center, who notes, “you can’t take race out of the death penalty.”Links:AP: US inmate Scheduled to be Executed Tests Positive for VirusDeath Penalty Info Center 2020 ReportDeath Penalty Info Center Sept. 2020 Report: Enduring Injustice: The Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty“Killing Richard Glossip” - watch now on discovery+Hotline: 1-888-9 RED FLA / (188)-973-3352

What happens when a close family member commits a horrific crime? What, if any, resources are available for the family members of incarcerated people? This week, Tori speaks to Issac Bailey, veteran journalist and author of the book “My Brother Moochie,” which details what Issac and his family have endured after his older brother killed a man and was sentenced to life in prison. Karina and Tori also ponder the recent death of the deadliest serial killer in U.S. history, Samuel Little, and what it means for the families of his victims still seeking justice.LINKS: Washington Post: “Indifferent Justice”Pt.1Pt.2Pt.3“The 93 Victims of Samuel Little” - Watch now on discovery+ discoveryplus.com/redflags60 Minutes- Samuel LittleIssac Bailey’s Book: “My Brother Moochie: Regaining Dignity in the Face of Crime, Poverty, and Racism in the American South”Info on Families of Incarcerated PeopleChildren and Youth Services Review- “Health effects of family member incarceration in the United States: A meta-analysis and cost study”The Atlantic- “When a Sibling Goes to Prison”Bianca’s Law:Change.org PetitionContact your Representative in support of Bianca’s Law: U.S. Congress Switchboard 202-224-3121Press 2 to reach the House of Representatives, then enter your zip code.You may be connected to a real person; if not you can leave a message. Either way, just follow this script:“Hello, my name is _____ and I am a constituent from the state of ______. I am calling to voice my support for House Bill 8323, otherwise known as Bianca’s Law. After the tragic murder of Bianca Devins in 2019 and the subsequent harassment of her family by internet users sending them graphic content depicting her death, it became clear that legislation is needed to prevent graphic social media content and future online abuse. This bill would require social media companies to establish an office dedicated to identifying and removing violent and gory content that violates their moderation standards. Social media companies must be held accountable for violent content on their platforms, and because of this I urge you to vote in support of Bianca’s Law, H.R. 8323. Thank you for your time.

The show kicks off with breaking news about the Zodiac Killer case and the infamous “Con Queen of Hollywood” before diving into the story of Victoria Roland, a human trafficking survivor who now leads her own podcast on the topic, “Unseen: The Trafficked Truth.” Her honest recounting of her experiences highlights the ways in which the truth about human trafficking and sexual slavery is clouded in myths and misinformation.  “Unseen: The Trafficked Truth” Podcast by Victoria Rowlandhttp://www.unseentttpodcast.com/ NYT: “51 Years Later, Coded Message Attributed to Zodiac Killer Has Been Solved, F.B.I. Says”https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/zodiac-killer-code-broken.htmlHollywood Reporter: ‘Hollywood "Con Queen" Victims React to Arrest, Hope for "Closure"’https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywood-con-queen-victims-react-to-arrest-hope-for-closure#:~:text=Early%20on%20Nov.%2026%2C%20police,July%202018%20Hollywood%20Reporter%20investigation.Polaris Project: “Human Trafficking” definitionhttps://polarisproject.org/how-human-trafficking-happens/Polaris Project: “Polaris Statement on Wayfair Sex Trafficking Claims”

Pop culture’s obsession with serial killers is only growing -- what does this say about us as a society? Tori and Karina do a deep dive into Hollywood’s obsession with serial killers and their stories. Featuring insight from David Schmid, Ph.D., author of “Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture” and Kathy Kleiner, a survivor of Ted Bundy.TO READ:Natural Born Celebrities by David Schmidhttps://www.amazon.com/Natural-Born-Celebrities-Killers-American/dp/0226738698“The Guys Who Shoot to Thrill: Serial Killers and the American Popular Unconscious” by Robert ConrathRevue Française D'études Américaines, no. 60, 1994, pp. 143–152.“The compulsion of real/reel serial killers and vampires: Toward a gothic criminology” by Caroline Joan S. Picart and Cecil Greekhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/254801503_The_compulsion_of_realreel_serial_killers_and_vampires_Toward_a_gothic_criminology“Why is Ted Bundy Suddenly Everywhere?” by Tori Telferhttp://www.vulture.com/2018/07/ted-bundy-is-suddenly-everywhere.html TO LISTEN:“For the Defense”: David Oscar Markushttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-defense-with-david-oscar-markus/id1536699806“Crime Salad”www.crimesaladpodcast.com“Fruit Loops”: