Interview with Investigative Journalist Stephanie Tinsley

·39 min·3 clips

A man's pacemaker revealed he was murdered two months before police found his body, but detectives closed the case in just two days.

The episode begins with host Natalie introducing Stephanie Tinsley, an investigative journalist working with the Tennessee Innocence Project on the Danny Harris murder case. Tinsley describes Harris as a 55-year-old father of four from Memphis, found dead two months after his murder, with his pacemaker pinpointing the time of death. She outlines the initial investigation's failures, including untested DNA evidence and ignored ATM footage. Tinsley explains how Andrew Hayes, a man with a 62 IQ, gave a false confession after 27 hours of unrecorded interrogation. She discusses her background, including her family's involvement in the Alex Murdaugh case, which inspired her to start the podcast Everything They Missed. Tinsley delves into police interrogation techniques, noting the shift from physical 'third degree' beatings to psychological manipulation. She mentions interviewing Amanda Knox about similar experiences. The conversation covers the Memphis DA's Justice Review Unit and the challenges of overworked detectives in a city with over 300 murders annually. Tinsley shares emotional moments, such as interviewing Andrew's mother and grappling with the victim's family's reluctance to participate. She reveals receiving threats during her investigation but remains determined to pursue the truth. The episode concludes with Tinsley teasing a dramatic turn in episode seven of her podcast and inviting listeners to follow her work.

As heard by us

A case discussion finds its sharpest questions in the routines of a 1,000-unit apartment complex.

The episode centers on a 1,000-unit apartment complex and the hard-to-shake question of how a smell could go unnoticed for two months with neighbors on both sides.

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Why you'd press play

You get a huge apartment-complex question: 1,000 units, two months without anyone smelling anything, neighbors on both sides, and a maintenance angle that keeps asking to be looked at.

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