Murder in the Heartland
ID channel show featuring a true murder story in the heartland (midwest USA). Includes interviews with the victim's family, friends, and investigators, as well as reenactments.
Genre: Documentary, Crime
Cast:Joel Searls , Natalie De Vincentiis , Jerry Rector , Lawrence Moran , Charly Cofield , Stuart Todd Martin , Fabian Jaime , R Scott Hoffman , Bri Ana Wagner , CC Mckenna , Dillon Schohr , Allan Wayne Anderson , Phillip-Charlie Daniell , David Eby , Regan D. Floria , Brent Picha , Andrew Scott Miller , Rebecca Niamtu
S5.E1 ∙ Who Killed Angie Lee?
July 30, 2003: 22-year-old Angela Lee, also known as Angie Lee, from East Gillespie, Illinois, was a single mother who was discovered beaten and strangled in her own home with her four-year-old son present. The investigation quickly uproots the neighborhood. Angie's boyfriend Jason is ruled out as a suspect. Investigators then focus on the unknown male DNA collected from the crime scene, which leads them to Anthony A. Ashby, whose DNA matched the DNA at the crime scene. In the end, Anthony Ashby pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2008.
S5.E2 ∙ Hunting a Killer
November 2000, Festus, Jefferson County, Missouri: In rural Missouri, deer hunter Larry Holman, age 45, was found dead in his car near the popular deer trails. Was this murder a hunting accident gone horribly wrong? Or was this murder something far more sinister? Investigators must get to work to try to solve this homicide, which they are able to do. In the end, it was Larry's cheating wife, Tammy Holman, who was the "mastermind" behind the murder. The actual killer was her boyfriend Charlie Miller. Tammy mistakenly believed that she would receive a million dollars from a "life insurance policy" on Larry -- a document she found that was not an actual life insurance policy on Larry. Tammy was eventually sentenced to 7 years in prison and Charlie was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison.
S5.E3 ∙ Toddlers Terrible Tale
January 20, 1992, Twinsburg, Ohio: Charlene Puffenbarger, age 26, was found beaten, strangled and suffocated. Her son, Dustin Redmond, age 3, was the only witness to her brutal murder. As investigators continue to follow every tip that comes in, an unexpected source leads them to the killer. One suspect they look at is Willard McCarley, but the case goes cold for decades. Charlene's mother, Phyllis, does all she can to keep the case alive. Finally, in 2017, thanks to advances in DNA matching, Willard McCarley is convicted of Charlene's murder. He is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 2037.
S5.E4 ∙ Irreplaceable Gems
Greenfield Township, Ohio, March 13, 2006: When an Ohio man and wife, James 'Jim' Divelbliss and Karen Divelbliss, are found dead in their ransacked home, detectives turn to the community for help in solving the mysterious crime. Investigators piece together the events of a horrific night to uncover the truth of what occurred to these beloved local business owners who ran a 'Mom and Pop' variety store named "D and D Sales." They sold items such as tools, electronics, toys, gift items and bicycles. Tony Littrell gave the hard-working detectives a tip which helped close the case. In the end, Jim and Karen Divelbliss were murdered by Eric M. Hockman and Heidi L. Kidwell. The motive was the theft of both money and jewelry. On April 6, 2007, Eric pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms with no chance of parole. However, Eric Hockman committed suicide on December 3, 2019 by hanging himself in jail. Also on April 6, 2007, Heidi Kidwell pleaded guilty to one count of 'complicity to murder' and was sentenced to 16 years in jail. She served 15 years and was released.
S5.E5 ∙ Orders of Protection
A tip comes in from an unexpected Willard, Missouri resident that leads to the final resting ground of missing newlyweds Russell 'Rusty' Porter, age 34, and Rebecca 'Becky' Porter, age 46. The couple was described as being very much in love and had been married for about a year. The Porters disappeared in April 2011. Their skeletal remains were found in remote Taney County in late July 2011. The coroner said each died of gunshot wounds to the head. In the end, their deaths were a murder-for-hire. Rusty's uncle, Robert Campbell, was the mastermind. Campbell hired his brother-in-law, Tony Friend, to carry out the murder for $100K. The hired hitman, Tony Friend, then enlisted the assistance of his wife Wendy Dawn Friend, his son Phillip and his cousin Dusty Hicks. All five perpetrators were convicted, found guilty and sentenced to varying amounts of time in jail.
S5.E6 ∙ Killer Casino
October 1, 2019, Laurel Montana: Lori Bray, age 57, a good-natured casino employee at the Cedar Ridge Casino, is found dead in the woods in the small town of Laurel, MT. Investigators determined that she had been strangled. Captured on surveillance video from the casino, Bray is seen opening the passenger door of her car, a 2003 Chrysler, for a man to get inside. Investigation determined that she was giving Diego Hernandez, age 22, a ride home after her shift at the casino. In the end, Hernandez was found guilty of deliberate homicide for the 2019 death of Lori Bray. The DNA of Hernandez taken from underneath Lori's fingernails tied him to the crime, along with other blood evidence. In 2021, Yellowstone District Court Judge Michael Moses sentenced Diego Hernandez, now age 24, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 35 years.
S5.E7 ∙ Killer on the Res
Cloquet, MN: Native American Trina Langenbrunner was stabbed to death in 2000. Detectives and her Fond du Lac Reservation community worked together until 2012 when Joseph Couture was arrested. He was convicted and sentenced to 40 years.
S5.E8 ∙ The Killing Kind
After James Skinner turns up dead in his own bedroom, the agricultural community of Brownstown, Ill., enters into a paranoid spiral, unsure who would want to kill this beloved local rodeo rider and cattle rancher.
S5.E9 ∙ Last Shift at Pirate's Cove
Twenty-year-old Kenyon College junior Emily Murray, a popular religious studies major, went missing late one night on November 3, 2000 after quitting her waitressing job at the Pirates' Cove restaurant and bar. A month later on December 9, 2000, her body was found in rural Vinton County, inside a trailer owned by Gregory McKnight, age 25, who worked in the kitchen at the Pirates' Cove. Detectives also located the body of Gregory Julious, whose charred remains were found elsewhere on Gregory McKnight's property. In the end, Gregory McKnight was convicted of all of the charges against him. Vinton County Judge Jeffrey Simmons sentenced Gregory McKnight to death by lethal injection for the murder of Emily Murray. He also received ten years in prison for kidnapping Emily Murray, ten years in prison for stealing Emily Murray's car, and fifteen years to life in prison for the murder of Gregory Julious. All of the sentences will run consecutively.
S5.E10 ∙ The Gravel Pit Murders
October 6, 2008, Howard City, Michigan: Detectives investigate a night of horror that ends with the abduction of beloved couple Robert and Norma Bean, who are 66-year-old grandparents and business owners of 'R. Bean and Sons Transportation'. They had been forced from their Howard City, MI bed to a rural gravel pit in northern Kent County, where they met a violent shooting end to their lives. Local tips provide detectives clues, revealing the shocking timeline of their final hours. In the end, the culprits who were arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison were Bobby Fisk, age 26, and Timothy Stephan. Jr., age 28. Their motive had been robbery.
S5.E11 ∙ An Unfaithful Truth
Lake Crystal, Minnesota, August 31, 2010: Jennifer Gilman Nibbe, a nurse, calls 911 to report that an intruder killed her husband, James Mervin Nibbe, age 26. He was a local electrician, and he was six years younger than his wife. During the murder investigation, law enforcement authorities thought that Jennifer's story was not credible. The evidence at the scene did not match her account of the events. In the end, the culprit was Jennifer herself. She was arrested and convicted. In July 2012, Jennifer Nibbe was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison.
S5.E12 ∙ Field of Bad Dreams
The grotesque murder of a beloved citizen, Betsy Ball, age 67, shatters the quiet rural farm community of Vinton, Ohio. Her body was found on March 1, 2012. She had been strangled and her body had been abused. In the end, the culprit was Lee A. Hawkins, who had been an employee of Betsy Ball, and had worked for the Ball family on their farm. Hawkins was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
S5.E13 ∙ The Outsider
Hartford, Kentucky, August 2, 2016: Driving over Short Creek Bridge, Doug McKenna spots a large pickup-truck toolbox in Short Creek and alerts the police. Inside the toolbox is the body of 29-year-old military veteran Tromain Mackall, who is originally from Prince Frederick, Maryland, and had only been in Kentucky for a few months. Tromain had met a transgender woman on the Internet and had moved to Hartford to be with her. Law enforcement detectives determine that Tromain was last seen alive at the home of William and Melanie Howard. Using interrogations and cell phone data, they are able to determine who the killer and his associates were. Arrested and convicted of First Degree Murder was William Howard, Jr. who was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Arrested and convicted of Facilitation of Murder were Melanie Howard, Marcus Boyken, Jacob Tobias Miller, and Christopher Hill, who all were all sentenced to 15 years in prison. No trial was held, the perpetrators all pleaded guilty to their crimes. Relatives of Tromain, including his mother, appeared on this show, speaking about the heartache and grief they have suffered due to Tromain's death.
