In a world where some stories go untold, A Heavy Weight is a true crime podcast series that aims to give voice to the voiceless and shed light on forgotten or overlooked cases.
Each season takes you on a gripping journey through the depths of unsolved mysteries, cold cases, and wrongful convictions.
For more information and to see our source materials visit: www.aheavyweight.com
A Heavy Weight is intended for mature audiences. It discusses topics that may be triggering for some listeners including drug use and suicide.
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In 1974, a young woman was found shot and hidden beneath a mattress off a rural road in South Bend. It took six months before anyone knew her name: Victoria Lynne McDonough. No arrests were ever made. This episode revisits Victoria’s life, the investigation that failed her, and the questions that still haven’t been answered.https://www.in.gov/isp/crime-reporting/cold-case-investigations/cold-cases-by-county/bremen-district-investigations/vickie-mcdonough-11271974/
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Ten: Where Do We Go From Here? (00:24:49)
Episode 10 brings together the most unsettling pieces of Joseph Smedley’s case — the late-night messages, the odd cell phone pings, the missing belongings — and confronts the gaps that remain. This episode is a call for truth, transparency, and for anyone holding a piece of the story to finally come forward.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Nine: Coverage (00:29:39)
For Joseph’s family, this is year ten. Ten years of rereading the same note. Ten years of asking for his case files. Ten years of watching other IU students’ cases become national stories while his slips out of view.Coverage sits inside that imbalance. We talk about media bias and what it means to keep showing up for a family long after everyone else has moved on.Thank you for listening, sharing, and saying his name with us. Episode 9 is out now.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Eight: Less than 1% (00:34:37)
In this episode we return to the death of Indiana University student Joseph Smedley, whose body was found in Griffy Lake with a backpack weighed down with rocks. Drawing on a twenty year study of suicide by drowning and the insight of forensic pathologist Dr Darin Wolfe and forensic aquatic death investigator Andrea Zaferes, we ask how likely it really is that Joseph died by suicide in the way his case was closed. We unpack the challenges of determining cause and manner of death in bodies recovered from water, revisit the original autopsy and the attempted second autopsy, and explore the confusing trail of cell phone pings that suggest Joseph was not alone in his final hours. Along the way, we raise larger questions about how death determinations are made, what it means when a case is labeled suicide instead of undetermined, and why some missing students receive wall to wall coverage while others are met with silence.Content note This episode includes discussion of suicide, death, and possible foul play.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Seven: Extremely Unusual (00:43:23)
Joseph Smedley’s death was ruled a suicide by drowning, with alcohol and cannabinoids listed as contributing factors. In this episode, we slow down and examine that conclusion through the lens of Joseph’s autopsy and toxicology reports.Forensic pathologist Dr. Darrin Wolfe and drowning expert Andrea Zaferes walk us through what those reports can and can’t tell us in a decomposed body recovered from water. We talk about the rare nature of suicide by drowning, the backpack filled with rocks, conflicting details about how Joseph was found, and the critical questions his family still doesn’t have answers to, about his phone, the handwritten note, and missing scene photos.This is not about solving Joseph’s case in one episode. It’s about understanding why so many people, including experts, see his death as extremely unusual.Content note: This episode includes discussion of a death that was ruled a suicide. If you’re thinking about suicide, worried about someone, or need support, please reach out. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 or chat via 988lifeline.org for 24/7 free, confidential help. If you’re outside the U.S., please contact your local crisis line or emergency services.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Six: Confidential Informant (00:34:27)
Joseph Smedley vanished from Indiana University on September 27, 2015. Five days later, he was found in shallow water at Griffy Lake with a backpack full of rocks strapped to his chest. Police pointed to suicide. His family, and many friends, do not agree.In this episode, we revisit the early investigation handoff from IUPD to BPD, the decision to route updates through Joseph’s father, the autopsy overview, and the contested narrative around a possible confidential-informant angle. We also introduce experts who will help unpack what the evidence can, and can’t, tell us.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Five: Does This Make Sense to Anyone in the Room? (00:39:38)
Episode 5 rebuilds Joseph Smedley’s final hours: 11:30 p.m. last seen, 4:15 a.m. text to his sister, a note found later, and a phone path toward Old State Hwy 37.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Four: 66 Pounds of Rock (00:30:15)
A recovered group chat, a shifting timeline, and a discovery at Griffy Lake reframe Joseph Smedley’s final week.In Episode 4, we examine digital evidence recovered from Joseph’s laptop: a fraternity group chat from the days he was missing. The conversation’s tone and priorities raise hard questions about what people knew—and when. We then trace the search to Griffy Lake, where Joseph was found with a backpack holding over 60 pounds of rocks strapped to his body.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Three: Rumors (00:33:44)
In this episode, we step deeper into the growing confusion surrounding Joseph’s disappearance, the conflicting stories, the strange notes, and the data that didn’t add up.Detectives traced Joseph’s last cell-phone pings to two vastly different locations: one in the center of Bloomington’s busy nightlife district at 7th and Walnut, and another miles away on Old State Road 37, near the woods surrounding Griffy Lake. The distance between them was too far to walk in the time frame the phone suggested, leaving Vivianne convinced that her brother wasn’t alone that night.As rumors spread through campus, new details emerged, including mentions of a cryptic note found weeks before Joseph disappeared and another discovered in place of a bottle of scotch he’d been saving for his wedding. Meanwhile, messages uncovered from Joseph’s Sigma Pi fraternity group chat hinted at a scramble to control the narrative, rather than to find him.This episode traces Vivianne’s search for clarity through the haze of half-truths, unanswered texts, and institutional indifference. As she pieces together what little evidence she has, the story takes a darker turn, one that will lead her to the woods outside Bloomington and a discovery that changes everything.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode Two: Someone Knows Something (00:31:18)
The morning after Joseph Smedley vanished, his sister received a text message from his phone: “Viv, I’m sorry. I have to leave the country…” Hours later, police discovered a handwritten note in his room, signed Smedley and dated a day after he disappeared.In this episode, we follow the first week of the investigation: the confusion, the missteps, and the rumors that began inside Joseph’s fraternity. What did his brothers mean when they said he was hiding things? And what did Vivianne find on Joseph’s laptop that made her question everything they told her?Ten years later, these details still raise more questions than answers, about Joseph’s last hours, and about how far institutions will go to protect themselves.
What Happened to Joseph Smedley? Episode One: Blood Moon (00:39:23)
On the tenth anniversary of Joseph Smedley’s disappearance, we return to Bloomington, Indiana, to re-examine the night it all began. Under the eerie glow of a rare Blood Moon, Joseph left his off-campus house and vanished. Five days later, his body was discovered in Griffy Lake, weighed down by rocks.In this first episode, we hear a never-before-released 911 call, revisit Joseph’s last known hours, and introduce the questions that have haunted his family for a decade: Did Joseph walk to Griffy Lake that night? Could he have carried the weight that pulled him under? And if not — then who brought him there?With new evidence and reflections ten years later, this series asks not just what happened to Joseph, but what it means when stories like his are left unsolved.
Who Killed Delmar Wilson? (00:28:20)
On June 12, 1994, twenty-year-old Delmar Wilson was found shot in his car on Radcliff Road in Washington County, Indiana. The engine was still running. The headlights still on. His foot still pressed on the brake.Police believe Delmar knew his killer. But in the three decades since, the case has passed from detective to detective, with no arrests and no answers.
What Happened to Michelle Asher? (00:20:39)
On December 27, 2004, 37-year-old Michelle Asher was last seen walking along Route 33 out of Russellville, Illinois, heading toward Vincennes, Indiana. Two weeks passed before she was reported missing. By then, police and volunteers searched the countryside, but no clues turned up.Five months later, fishermen on the Wabash River made a discovery: Michelle’s body tangled along the riverbank.The official story said no foul play was found. But Michelle’s sister never believed it.
Truck Stops and Cold Cases (00:28:29)
July 2007. A Nashville truck stop. Police approach a mustard-yellow cab and arrest a long-haul trucker suspected in murders across multiple states.But this isn’t a story about him. It’s about the women.We investigate the unsolved 1997 murder of Andrea Michelle Hendrix-Steinert in Gibson County, Indiana, and ask: when predators use the highway, who is left behind?
The Ditch on Country Road 350: The Murder of Andrea Hendrix-Steinertt (00:27:56)
On a cold morning in October 1997, the body of 28-year-old Andrea Michelle Hendrix-Steinert was found in a ditch along County Road 350 in Gibson County, Indiana.Andrea was a mother, a daughter, and a pharmacy clerk who was just turning her life around. Years later, a prison inmate confessed to her killing, but no charges were ever filed.This episode of A Heavy Weight tells Andrea’s story in full: her life, her death, and the silence that followed. We confront the systemic bias that leaves women like Andrea overlooked, forgotten, and buried twice.Because every victim deserves justice. And every life deserves to be remembered.
The Name of the Tape: The Unsolved Murder of Bennett Brown (00:23:15)
In May 1976, the body of 18-year-old Bennett Brown was found in rural Lawrence County, Indiana. He had no identification — only a set of keys, $1.05 in coins, and a name stitched into his clothes.Who was Bennett Brown? How did a college freshman from Evanston, Illinois, end up murdered and left in a wooded ravine nearly 300 miles from home?This episode of A Heavy Weight dives into Bennett’s story — his life at Northern Illinois University, the discovery of his body, the search for answers, and the enduring silence around his death. Nearly five decades later, his case remains unsolved.
The Trunk on Forrester Road (00:22:26)
In February 1981, 31-year-old Juanita Boyd vanished after a night at Snyder’s Corner Tavern in LaPorte, Indiana. A week later, she was found strangled and stabbed in the trunk of her green Pontiac Catalina, abandoned off a muddy rural road. Her killing remains unsolved more than forty years later. In this episode, we retrace the timeline from her last sighting to the 2013 cold-case re-examination, exploring the details, forensic possibilities, and what might still bring answers. Juanita’s story is a reminder that this could happen to any one of us — and that justice can still come, even decades later.Contact information for the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office:Phone (Toll Free): 800.548.5374Phone (La Porte): 219.326.7700 Phone (Michigan City): 219.879.3530
The Girl in the Barrel: The Murder of Mary Ann Higginbotham (00:33:11)
In the summer of 1979, a rusted barrel bobbing in a shallow Indiana creek revealed a secret the town had almost forgotten: the skeletal remains of 21-year-old Mary Ann Higginbotham. She had vanished without a trace a year earlier. No missing persons report. No search parties. No headlines.As police began unraveling the threads of her disappearance, they uncovered a web of stolen cars, criminal informants, and a second victim—her boyfriend, Timothy Willoughby—who also vanished without a trace.This is a story of betrayal, silence, and justice that slipped away. And it still hasn’t been solved.
What Happened to Rayna? (00:30:11)
In 1993, 16-year-old Rayna Rison walked out of her after-school job and vanished.Thirty-three days later, her body was found in a pond. No signs of trauma. No suspect in custody.For decades, the case haunted LaPorte, Indiana—tainted by rumors of sexual abuse, cover-ups, and silence.Then in 2014, prosecutors convicted Jason Tibbs, Rayna’s former middle school boyfriend. Case closed. Or so it seemed.But now, a new investigation raises disturbing questions: Was Tibbs the wrong man? Did the real killer slip through the cracks?
The End of the Driveway: Who Killed Linda Weldy? (00:20:41)
In 1987, 10-year-old Linda Weldy got off her school bus in rural Indiana and vanished. Her body was found just a few miles from her home. Her murder remains unsolved nearly four decades later.But Linda’s story is more than a cold case—it’s a reflection of the cracks in small-town systems, where children fall through and justice stalls. In this episode, we revisit Linda’s case and examine how communities respond to the disappearance and death of a child.Content note: This episode discusses the murder of a child and may not be suitable for all listeners.
Part Three: Larry Dewayne Hall (00:17:33)
Jessica. Holly. Linda. Rayna.These girls never met.But they may all be connected by the same man.In this episode, we examine Larry Dewayne Hall: a man suspected in over 40 abductions, but convicted in just one. His words led to search warrants, graveyard digs, and hope for families desperate for answers. But when it came time to testify… he claimed it was all a dream.
Part Two: The Girl by the Road, Jessica’s Ride & Larry Dewayne Hall (00:29:42)
A grave digger. A Civil War re-enactor. A man with a van full of rope, duct tape, and maps marked with X’s.In this episode of A Heavy Weight, we reveal the man who may have haunted the Midwest for over a decade—Larry Dewayne Hall. Though convicted of kidnapping Jessica Roach, he’s suspected in the disappearances of more than 40 young women, including Holly Ann Anderson, who was found murdered just three miles from Jessica.Hall confessed to many of the crimes—then recanted them all.We go inside the cell where he spilled secrets to a confidential informant, explore the van that may have served as his mobile crime scene, and read from the notebooks where he documented what might be the deadliest lies in recent U.S. history.Why couldn’t investigators convict him of even a single murder?Why do so many families still wait for answers?And what do we owe the girls whose names he tried to bury?
The Girl by the Road & Jessica’s Ride (00:22:48)
On a cold January morning in 1992, 18-year-old Holly Ann Anderson was found stabbed to death on the side of an empty rural road in Vermillion County, Indiana. Her case went cold almost immediately. No suspect. No motive. Just silence.Nearly two years later and just three miles away, 15-year-old Jessica Roach disappeared while riding her bike home from school. Her body, discovered weeks later in a cornfield, reawakened a horrifying question: Was this the work of a serial killer?In this episode of A Heavy Weight, we investigate the chilling parallels between two unsolved murders, and the emerging shadow of a man who would come to haunt law enforcement for decades—Larry Dewayne Hall.What links a On a cold January morning in 1992, 18-year-old Holly Ann Anderson was found stabbed to death on the side of an empty rural road in Vermillion County, Indiana. Her case went cold almost immediately. No suspect. No motive. Just silence.Nearly two years later and just three miles away, 15-year-old Jessica Roach disappeared while riding her bike home from school. Her body, discovered weeks later in a cornfield, reawakened a horrifying question: Was this the work of a serial killer?In this premiere episode of A Heavy Weight, we investigate the chilling parallels between two unsolved murders, the hidden history of overlooked victims, and the emerging shadow of a man who would come to haunt law enforcement for decades—Larry Dewayne Hall.Hall, a Civil War re-enactor would be linked to the disappearance of dozens of young girls across the MidwestThis is where the story begins.
Who Killed Pixie Grismore? (00:22:47)
In 1978, Mary Beth “Pixie” Grismore — a 26-year-old mother and former pageant star — vanished from her Indiana farmhouse, just hours before she was set to start a new life. Seventy-one days later, her body was found 180 miles away, strangled and abandoned in the trunk of her car at a motel in Ohio.This is more than a cold case. It's a haunting portrait of how women’s voices were ignored, how justice stalled, and how silence still protects the guilty.In this immersive episode, we trace Pixie’s final days, examine the systemic failures that followed, and explore why her story still matters in the era of the Violence Against Women Act.
The Girl in the Ditch: The Wilma June Nissen Story: Episode 3 (00:26:58)
For nearly 30 years, Wilma June Nissen’s name was lost —buried in a ditch in rural Iowa, remembered only as Jane Doe.In this episode of The Girl in the Ditch, we revisit the decades-long mystery through the voice of her daughter, Krissi—who has fought for justice every step of the way. We explore the latest breakthroughs in DNA technology that could finally unlock the truth behind Wilma’s murder, and we examine how stigma, silence, and systemic neglect have long prevented women like her from being seen as victims.
