Margaret “Peg” Cuttino was born and raised in Sumter County, South Carolina. She was the daughter of South Carolina state senator James Cuttino, a democrat. Peg was 13 years old and an eighth grader at Alice Drive Junior High School. She played on the school’s varsity basketball team. Peg had grown up campaigning for her father and sang in her church’s youth choir. On December 18, 1970, she left her home to walk to the nearby...
If the name Dick Harpootlian sounds familiar to you, it's probably because he was involved in one of the most high-profile murder cases in the past 20 years. He was one of Alex Murdaugh's defense attorneys in South Carolina, and represented Alex during his trial in 2023. One of the most notorious criminals Harpootlian ever crossed paths with was a man named Pee Wee Gaskins, a South Carolina man who was known to have murdered over a dozen...
51-year-old Dr. Joe Smith was a fixture around the Lancaster, South Carolina community for many years. He had a practice as a general practitioner, worked as the jail physician for Chester County and the city, and the assistant coroner for Lancaster County. He’d grown up in Anderson, where his father was employed by Swift and Company. After graduating from high school, he joined the military. After a tour of duty, he entered medical school....
Renee discusses origin stories from Carolina folklore, whether or not places can hold onto spiritual energy, and why so many universities seem to be haunted. Episodes Mentioned: Ep. 16-Ghostly Tales from the Carolinas Ep. 22-Two True Tales from the Carolinas Ep. 31-Where Are the Children?
Today I want to discuss the case of a young woman who was murdered as she was trying to leave an abusive partner and the toxic environment he had created in their home. Like Mary Ann Willis’s story, it also involves a partner with ties to the U.S. Army at the time of the crime. Cati Boyter had just turned 20 when she met 26-year-old John Blauvelt, who had a recruiting office for the U.S. Army close to where Cati worked at a local sub sandwich...
Episode 151 pulls stories from the following episodes: Ep. 42: Missing, Murdered, and Mistaken Identity in the Carolinas Ep. 97: Chapel Hill/Carrboro Crimes from the 1980s Ep. 63: Hania Aguilar, Victoria Paredes, Maria Diaz, and Scott Johnson Ep. 29: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in N.C., Part 1 Ep. 16: Ghostly Tales from the Carolinas
In the fall of 2021, a 41-year-old veterinary technician and mom was found murdered at her residence in Greer, South Carolina, the crime scene covered in rose petals. As investigators learned more about the victim, they found a history of relationships with controlling, older men and shocking evidence on USB drives in the home, along with a perpetrator who appeared to be on what he believed was a mission from God. We’ll also discuss the...
When I attended MurderCon, a conference designed for writers interested in crime, I began developing the concept for this podcast. I’m passionate about covering stories that are often left out of the media, cold cases, and teaching people the importance of situational self-awareness. I used my curiosity to start up this podcast about missing people in North and South Carolina. At first, I envisioned writing about unsolved cases. Then, the...
In episode 32, “Missing Teen Girls in North Carolina,” I shared the story a young woman named Sherri Lee Truesdale. Sherri’s story is another one of those cases that doesn’t have a lot of background information because she went missing such a long time ago, but family members have not given up on the idea of resolution. On June 13, 1970, 14-year-old Sherri left her home in Winston-Salem around 11:30 a.m. and took the bus to a local...
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 people experience mental illness each year. Their website states: A mental health condition isn’t the result of one event. Research suggests multiple, linking causes. Genetics, environment, and lifestyle influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events. Biochemical processes and...
