True Crime DEADLINE

True Crime DEADLINE is a true crime podcast from Matt Johnson that stays close to specific cases, to the courtrooms where they are tried and to the families left behind. The Lori Vallow Daybell case, labeled CULT in its episode titles, comes up in more than one episode. Johnson says he was at the Ada County Courthouse every day of the trial. He describes a fourth-floor courtroom that was almost standing room only, and cheers erupting in front of the building. Testimony, as he sums it up, took in spells, prophets, gods and goddesses and portals, though he argues that at its root the case was about sex, greed and power. Lori Vallow Daybell was found guilty of killing her children, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, and of conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell. JJ's grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, speak after the verdict. His grandfather's memories are the emotional center: the night he calmed a crying, agitated JJ, the bond that followed, and a child who was reading, writing and doing math in his head by three. It is difficult listening. In '43 - CULT: Lori Vallow-Daybell Trial: Lori's Cousin Speaks Out', a family member explains following the trial mostly through the raw courtroom audio rather than other people's commentary, and calls the testimony heartbreaking. The episodes labeled SERIAL take a different angle. Johnson describes Rex Heuermann, charged in the Gilgo Four murders, turning to glance at the media in the front rows, Johnson among them. He puts the open questions plainly: whether Heuermann is guilty, whether he acted alone, and whether more than one killer is involved. Johnson also spoke with Heuermann's wife while covering the case. She filed for divorce after the arrest and is described as working on a documentary project. The Samuel Little episode uses interview recordings the FBI shared from its vault to help close cold cases. An FBI crime analyst explains how Little read a crowd and picked out people whose absence might go unnoticed for days, and Johnson calls the killer's calm, remorseless manner chilling. On the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the discussion covers Savannah Guthrie's emotional interview with Hoda Kotb, the ransom notes and the blood on the porch, and one participant says they thought the notes were bogus from day one. 'EP 3: THIS week in TRUE CRIME with Matt Johnson' works as a roundup: week ten of the Guthrie investigation, a trial date for a former American Idol hopeful accused of killing his wife, and a Hawaii doctor accused of trying to throw his wife off a cliff taking the stand. It also stops on procedure, including a judge's concern that sending a jury home for too long invites outside exposure and a mistrial. Johnson greets listeners as 'Investigators' or as the 'True Crime Fam', asks them in the comments whether they believed the testimony, and presents the show as an independent podcast up against networks, studios and TV channels. One episode signs off in honor of Mr. Gatsby, a crime-fighting canine. More than one ends by telling listeners that tips go to the police.