The Escape Pod

Competency, Culpability, and an ‘Insane’ Criminal Case - EscapeBite ep.1

When a common person uses the term “insane” or “incompetent” to describe someone, they’re rarely using the same standard as that of a lawyer or judge in a court of law. The Escape Pod’s own former news reporter-turned-podcast co-host can testify to this, using the example of a South Dakota kidnapping/murder case she first covered 20+ years ago. 
 
Resources & Links 
 
State vs. Tiegen (2008 appeal) 
https://rapidcityjournal.com/article_aa584242-94b1-5ffb-aa4c-7460348af576.html 
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/more-kidnapping-charges-filed-in-troy-klug-case/article_781f7e59-4ead-5cc1-bf91-2e3c72dfb690.html 
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/top-stories/kindall-faces-victim-s-mother-at-sentencing/article_7277899f-383f-5072-844a-2a1d0d827c19.html 
 
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Blind Faith, Pt. 1 (Mica Miller’s Story) – Ep. 67

Call it love. Call it blind faith. Call it the result of a predator getting the best of his prey. 
A young woman who appeared happily married claims to be trapped in a controlling, manipulative relationship. She begs for help, but no one listens. Instead, she's publicly shamed – painted as crazy and unhinged. Her pastor husband couldn’t be the bad guy, right? This isn’t a classic case of a respected position covering up a true crime, is it? Step into The Escape Pod for the first in a four-part series about a woman who escaped a predatory and manipulative husband but did so in the worst possible way. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1       1:03 Meet (and SEE) the co-hosts  (video version of podcast is now on YouTube, Episode 67+
Topic #2       6:20 Meet the main characters in this tale of true crime 
Topic #3     14:25 Divorce and remarriage 
Topic #4     27:08 Escapism, co-host-style 
 
Resources & Links 
   
Alison Miller (Solid Rock Church) 
Mica Miller: Mica Miller Obituary 
'Raped by Demons:' Myrtle Beach Pastors Accused of Sexual, Psychological Abuse 
John-Paul Miller ‘Felt Like He Owned’ Mica, Father Says  
John Paul Miller Says He is Not to Blame in Wife’s Death 
Everything We Know About the Mica Miller Case 
Fisherman Who Found Mica Miller’s Belongings Reportedly Killed in Car Wreck 
VIDEO: New Lawsuit Alleges Pastor John Paul Miller Attacked Underage Girls 
Major Update in Mica Miller Case Three Months After Her Death 
Mica Miller 911 Call Shortly Before Her Death 
Mica Miller’s Pastor Husband Arrested on Assault Charge Days After FBI Searched His Home 
Alison Miller Court Filing 
Alison Miller Affidavit 
Mica Miller Case: Strangulation Allegations Surface 
Officials Release New Details Surrounding Mica Miller’s Death 
Mica Miller’s Family Pleads for More Investigation 
Court Documents Filed with Horry County 
JPM Posts Private Pic of Wife in Retaliation  
Mica’s Husband Groomed Her for Years 
Domestic Abuse Incident Report 
Family Of Mica Miller Seeks Domestic Violence Reform 
Mica Miller Timeline of Events: Sirens Podcast 
Mica Miller’s death ‘doesn’t add up’: Family 
Mica’s Obituary 
Crazy Video of John Paul Demonstrating Possible Mental Illness 
Friends Grieve Mica Miller's Death 
Teen's Rape Claim Against John Paul Miller 
“No Man is Without Sin” 
 
 
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Murders in the Middle of Nowhere – Ep. 66

A nature reserve and popular party place in the middle-of-nowhere becomes the scene of mass murder in the fall of 1973: four teens are killed; a fifth escapes death but is victimized in other ways – by her friends’ killers and, later, by small-town conspiracy theorists who suspect she was in on the crime. In time, though, this survivor gets to tell her own story of escape and finds healing in doing so. The co-hosts travel back more than 50 years – to the place where the “Gitchie Girl” got her name – for this edition of The Escape Pod. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1        8:27 An escape artist with South Dakota ties 
Topic #2     15:20 Setting the scene 
Topic #3     23:03 Bodies found 
Topic #4     32:55 Sandra tells her story 
Topic #5     44:10 Escapism, co-host-style! 
 
Resources & Links 
The Fryer Brothers 
The Gitchie Manitou Murders | 4 Teens Murdered in Iowa 50 Years Ago 
What We Know About the 1973 Gitchie Manitou Mass Murder 
Sole Survivor of Brutal 1973 Slayings Finds Strength to Tell Her Story 
3 Brothers Armed With Shotguns Killed 4 South Dakota Teens In A ‘Mind-Blowing’ Mass Murder 
The Fryer Brothers 
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A Very Matter-of-Fact Murder – Ep. 65

A familiar face on the streets of Grand Junction, Colorado, goes missing in February 2021. Known as “The Reading Man,” Warren Barnes is described as kind and helpful by those who saw him daily at his favorite place to read. Just days after the man's disappearance, a mom makes a gruesome discovery while cleaning her 19-year-old son’s bedroom. But it makes no sense: her son, diagnosed with autism as a child, had never been violent towards anyone and had no connection to The Reading Man. Is there a plausible explanation for what she finds? Or is this a clear case of murder committed by a very matter-of-fact murderer? The co-hosts explore the possibilities in this edition of The Escape Pod. 
  
BE ADVISED: You can’t escape the grizzly details of this truly heinous true crime. This episode contains content that listeners may find extremely disturbing. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1        4:30 Secret Service contacts The Escape Pod? (True story!) 
Topic #2     10:18 A mom’s disturbing discovery 
Topic #3     19:52 Confession 
Topic #4     30:37 The Reading Man 
Topic #5     40:42 Escapism, co-host-style! 
 
Resources & Links 
Warren Barnes 
US Teen Hid Head of Homeless Man He Murdered in Closet To Satisfy "Fascination With Morbid" 
Brian Cohee’s Mom Takes Stand 
Killer of Warren Barnes, Grand Junction’s “reading man,” sentenced to life in prison 
Mom Finds Severed Head in Her Son's Room 
Chilling Moment Killer Confessed to Storing Victim’s Severed Head in His Closet 
Grand Junction resident Warren Barnes, aka “the reading man” sits alone reading a book in an alley off Main Street in downtown Grand Junction on June 24, 2018. (William Woody, Special to The Colorado Sun) 
The teen accused of murdering Warren Barnes, known as the reading man of Grand Junction, told investigators he targeted a homeless person because he thought no one would miss. But people did, indeed, miss him. Friends commissioned a tribute to Barnes that was installed Nov. 20, 2021, by artist and ironworker Tim Navin. (Nancy Lofholm, Special to The Colorado Sun) 
Brian Cohee, Jr., Mesa County Jail Photo 
 
 
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Protecting Our Kids, Pt. 2 – Ep. 64

“You can trust your kid all you want, but do you trust the world with your kid?” 
Back by popular demand, Hollie Strand of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force returns to The Escape Pod to help us help our kids escape – or at least better navigate – the very real dangers of the digital world. Hollie offers tips to start these tough conversations with kids of all ages (FYI – if you’re waiting until they’re teens to talk about it, you’re waiting WAY too long), as well as insight into the depth and breadth of our digital footprints. For example, did you know digital “exhaust” is a thing? Neither did the co-hosts, until now! 
This is a must-listen follow-up to our first meeting with Hollie. If you missed Episode 57, check it out at the link below. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1        1:40 A podcast that has one co-host all fired up! 
Topic #2     11:00 (Re)introducing podcast guest Hollie Strand 
Topic #3     20:20 Digital “exhaust” explained 
Topic #4     30:56 “Technology is a tool, not a lifestyle” 
Topic #5    45:18 Co-host gets a high-five from Hollie 
Topic #6     52:08 Hollie’s Rule of Fives 
 
Resources & Links 
Escape Pod Episode 57 with Hollie Strand: https://escapepodtraumedy.podbean.com/e/protecting-our-kids-the-real-dangers-of-their-digital-world-%e2%80%93-ep-57/ 
Children’s Home Society “What If” Cards: https://chssd.org/prevention/what-if-cards 
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The Wrong Kind of TLC – Ep. 63

In the spring of 2023, police in the U.K. found the most unlikely of overdose victims: a well-liked, well-respected couple in their 60s. Initially, investigators considered that the deaths might be the result of suicide or an accident, but then – as one co-host likes to say – their “Spidey senses” kicked in, turning their attention toward a caregiver who may have been providing the wrong kind of TLC. This week, The Escape Pod goes back more than a decade before the Baxters’ untimely deaths for a cautionary tale about who we choose to trust. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1         :30 MIL saga continues – with a funny twist 
Topic #2     12:28 Meet the Baxters 
Topic #3     19:08 Investigation turns up treasure trove of interesting tidbits 
Topic #4     29:53 Escaping children who mock their mothers 
 
Resources & Links 
Man posed as doctor to befriend couple before 'poisoning them' 
Luke D'Wit: Sinister double murderer jailed 
Luke D’Wit: How a double killer plotted the deaths of his trusting ... 
Fears 'fentanyl murderer' who poisoned married couple may also ... - LBC 
Luke D’Wit-Baxter Murders 
Fentanyl Killer Luke D’Wit 
Carol and Stephen Baxter Murders: Where is Luke D’Wit Now? 
 
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Spiritual Enlightenment, My A$$ – Ep. 62

In 2022, the “self-help” industry in the U.S. alone raked in more than $13B. (That’s BILLION, with a capital B.) There is no shame in wanting to better oneself – personally, professionally, or both. What is shameful is taking advantage of those people who seek self-improvement. Adherents of such programs often expect (and pay big money) to be challenged physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But self-help gurus operate in a largely unregulated space, and that can – and has – had fatal consequences. The Escape Pod takes an interesting turn this week, as one co-host shares her own experiences with an ungodly guru whose brazen actions pushed his followers much, much too far. 
BE ADVISED: This episode contains mature language and disturbing descriptions of victims in their final moments of a “retreat” gone wrong. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1       7:50 Escaping false gurus 
Topic #2     20:21 What makes a guru a guru? 
Topic #3     34:02 Main event at JAR’s October 2009 retreat ends in tragedy 
Topic #4     42:41 July 2009: Woman dies during different JAR retreat 
Topic #5  1:06:08 Red flags to watch for with self-help gurus/programs 
 
Resources & Links 
 
 
 
 Kirby Brown  Credit: AP 
 
 Liz Neuman Credit: AP 
 
 James Shore Credit: AP:Associated Press 
Self-Improvement Market Statistics 1 
Self-Improvement Market Statistics 2 
James Arthur Ray, Disgraced Self-Help Guru, Still Hopes To 'Enlighten Us' 
Self-help Guru at Center of Park Rapids Woman's Suicide 
Dozens Injured After Walking on Hot Coals at Tony Robbins Event 
Disgraced Self-Help Guru Still Hopes to ‘Enlighten Us’ 
A Good Day to Die 
 
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Delicious Deception: How ‘Big Food’ keeps us hungry for more – Ep. 61

It’s not exactly “breaking news.” America has an obesity problem, and we all know it.  But, historically speaking, it is a relatively new problem that dates back only about 50 years. That’s when some of the biggest food companies in the world got very smart about how to keep customers coming back for more ... and more ... and more. How? By using incredibly effective formulas to create “hyper-palatable” foods. Hop into The Escape Pod for an episode that is heavy on food for thought, but also on belly laughs – courtesy of those who failed to escape the lure of some “sugar free” foods and lived to tell about their not-so-savory side effects. 
 
Bullet Points of Key Topics and Markers: 
Topic #1     9:30 Trying to escape Big Food’s tactics 
Topic #2   24:03 The truth about sugar 
Topic #3   36:37 "Sugar free” food reviews 
Topic #4   47:25 The push for more transparency 
 
Resources & Links 
“Why can't we stop eating certain foods?” - BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_03EXyhYS8 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Data on the average increase in food prices in 2023 
Center for Science in the Public Interest:  Insights into the prevalence of added sugars in products labeled as “natural.” 
National Institutes of Health: Brain responses triggered by hyper-palatable foods 
Cornucopia Institute: Ownership of organic brands by major food corporations. 
FDA: Information on food labeling regulations and the Fair and Accurate Ingredient Representation on Labels Act of 2024 
National Agricultural Law Center: Details on the compliance date for new food labeling regulations 
European Food Safety Authority: Banning of certain food additives in the EU that are still allowed in the U.S. 
Sentient Media: Misleading nature of terms like “natural” and “sugar-free.” 
Consumer Reports: Examples of misleading labels and their implications 
New York Post: Highlighted consumer perceptions of misleading food labels 
How Tobacco Companies Made Foods Hyper-Palatable 
Misleading Food Labels 
Dr. Phil: The Conspiracy of Food - How Big Companies Manipulate Your Brain 
Other Names for Sugar 
Philip Morris Tobacco Company History 
“Big Food” Is Making America Sick 
USDA Recommended Daily Sugar Intake 
About Altria 
Food Additives Banned in Europe 
Amazon Gummy Bear Review 
 
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Do you have a story that you want to share with EscapePod? Or do you just want to reach out to us with your comments and thoughts?  
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