Episodes
Sunday Jul 05, 2020
Murder in South Park -- Part 1: Teresa Butz & Jennifer Hopper (S1.E5)
Sunday Jul 05, 2020
Sunday Jul 05, 2020
PART 1 of a 2 PART EPISODE
Teresa Butz and Jennifer Hopper were deeply in love and looking forward to their upcoming wedding that was to take place in September 2009. Though Washington State, where they lived, did not legally recognize same-sex marriages at the time, the two were determined to have a ceremony that commemorated their commitment to one another for themselves and in front of their tight circle of friends. They spent a carefree day together on July 18, 2009 filled with fun and the chores one has to do when preparing for a wedding. They went to Weight Watchers in the morning, took a double-decker bus microbrew tour of the South Park Seattle neighborhood where they lived, went for a dress fitting for Jennifer’s gown. In the evening, they grilled steaks and watched a movie before climbing into bed where Jennifer told Teresa how much she loved her before they drifted off to sleep. What happened next, in the early hours of the morning of Saturday, July 19, is beyond nightmarish. This is the story of 90 minutes of brutality that ends in murder and shattered dreams. It is also the story of the failures of a broken mental health care system both in Washington State and around the US. But most importantly, this is a story of love and resilience in the face of unimaginable tragedy.
Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.
Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur
Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp
Darklands is a FridaPants production.
Episode Sources:
Sanders, Eli. (2016). While the City Slept: A love Lost to Violence and a Wake-Up Call for Mental Health Care in America. Penguin Books.
Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
UPDATE - Jeremy Christian Sentencing (S1.E2 Murder on the Light Rail)
Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
Wednesday Jun 24, 2020
This is an update on the sentencing Jeremy Christian, the man convicted of killing Talisen Namkai-Meche and Ricky Best on a Portland Max train in May of 2017. Darklands covered this incident in episode 2.
The two men were killed and a third, Micah Fletcher, was critically injured when they intervened while Christian was hurtling racial slurs and harassing two young Black women on public transit. He had also assaulted and racially harassed another woman, Demetria Hester, the night before attacks on the light rail.
Darklands is bi-weekly podcast. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.
Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur
Episode Music: Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp
Darklands is a FridaPants production.
Feel free to contact me with feedback or story ideas about Pacific Northwest true crime at darklandspodcast@gmail.com
Sources:
Monday Jun 22, 2020
The Legacy of Mulugeta Seraw (S1.E4
Monday Jun 22, 2020
Monday Jun 22, 2020
This episode will focus on the legacy of Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant attending school in Portland, Oregon who was brutally murdered by white supremacists in the winter of 1988. His death would force Portland to reckon with its perception of itself as a tolerant, progressive place for people of color and would result in marches and rallies against prejudice throughout the city. More importantly the tenacity of the Southern Poverty Law Center and his family to take down not only the men that perpetrated the crime, but also the Neo-Nazi organization they belonged to would lead to a landmark lawsuit against the White Aryan Resistance or WAR that would bankrupt their founder and seriously curtail their operations in Oregon and throughout the country.
Darklands is bi-weekly podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podbean. A starred review would be greatly appreciated.
Darklands logo: Jeffrey Francoeur
Episode Music: Xylo-Ziko, “Phase 2” from Minimal, Highway 17, "Cockroach Headed Boy" from It's Sharp
Darklands is a FridaPants production.
Email: darklandspodcast@gmail.com