Cold Case MHS: Monsters and Demons · Randy Hubbard

Season 4: Episode 4: Burn the Bridge - Murders of Deanna Perry, Charles Climer, and Brianna Smith

October 1, 2024·27 min·4 clips

The episode opens with Randy Hubbard and Lydia Lisko bringing in Emilio and Ryan and asking them to walk through the case. The fire in question is an arson that killed Dayana Perry, her grandson Charles Clymer Jr., and Breonna Smith. It starts on the front porch of the home around 5 a.m. on October 15, 2010. Police recognize right away that it is arson. The fire spreads fast, and by the time firefighters arrive, it is too late. The victims die of smoke inhalation. Charles is found outside the home. Emilio and Ryan explain that they first gathered articles and then sent FOIA requests. They also tried contacting police departments. The arson department does not give them much to work with. For a few months, they say, they are left with only a few articles and very little new information. That leaves the research feeling like an information drought. The break comes when they go back through the articles they already had. One Facebook post that looked like plagiarism turns out to match an early article exactly. The comments on that post lead them to the family. From there, they focus on who Dayana Perry, Charles Clymer Jr., and Breonna Smith were as people. They ask what the family thought may have happened and who they thought may have done it. The host also presses on the limits of family testimony. Emilio and Ryan say the family's account can be biased. Even so, they note that the facts the family gave them matched the articles they had. The episode closes with thanks for the work they put into the case and a hope that justice will come someday.

As heard by us

A patient student-led arson case built from records, false starts, and family testimony.

Cold Case MHS, Monsters and Demons follows the 2010 arson that killed Dayana Perry, Charles Clymer Jr., and Breonna Smith, and it gives the case a steady, methodical shape as Emilio and Ryan work through early articles, FOIA requests, and conversations with police and the arson…

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Why you'd press play

You get a front-porch arson case, article crumbs, and a family lead that finally opens.

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