Synopsis
The Lets Go To Court podcast brings together two of the greatest legal minds of our time. Just kidding.Were your hosts Brandi Egan and Kristin Pitts. What we lack in legal training we more than make up for in being completely obsessed with lawsuits. Every week, we discuss two juicy legal battles. Each episode is peppered with Brandis booming laugh and Kristins Olympic-level talent for putting the word so into every sentence.The podcast started in 2018, but weve been having these conversations for years. What can we say? Were just a couple of lifelong friends who love the drama of a trial. Our other interests include: liquid eyeliner, Fresca, and begging Noodles and Company to bring back the spicy chicken caesar wrap.
Episodes
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272: The Murder of Imette St. Guillen
11/10/2023 Duration: 01h29minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Imette St. Guillen wanted to have a good time. Her birthday was just a few days away, so she and a friend went out to celebrate. But when the bar closed and her friend wanted to go home, Imette insisted on staying out. The hard-working graduate student went to the next bar alone. She had no idea she was being watched by a predator. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Downtown Disappearance” episode New York Homicide “Imette St. Guillen” chillingcrimes.com “‘The Body Was Ice Cold’: NYC Bar Bouncer Raped, Strangled Grad Student” by Joe Dziemianowicz, oxygen.com “Imette St. Guillen” podcast episode, Women & Crime “The gruesome murder of Imette St. Guillen” by Clint Van Zandt, NBC News “In Bo
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271: 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing
04/10/2023 Duration: 02h01minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! September 15, 1963, should have been a typical Sunday at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In the church basement, children busily prepared for youth Sunday. Five little girls, ranging in age from 11 to 14, were in the women’s bathroom, changing into choir robes and fixing their hair when an explosion rocked the church. Glass shattered. The church’s rear wall crumbled. The girls flew through the air. Upstairs, the adults panicked. They ran for their children. Four little girls died that day. There wasn’t much of a question as to who’d done this. For years, the KKK had bombed Black churches and Black people’s homes. They’d done so with little to no punishment from authorities. But surely they wouldn’t get away with killing children in church. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude
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270: The Kidnapping of George Weyerhaeuser
27/09/2023 Duration: 02h09minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When nine-year-old George Weyerhaeuser went missing, his family panicked. Kidnappings weren’t commonplace, but in 1935, wealthy families were on guard for them. The Great Depression was in full swing, and just a few years earlier, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby captured the nation’s attention. So, when the Weyerhaeuser’s son didn’t make it home for lunch, they feared the worst. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Weyerhaeuser Kidnapping” by Daryl C. McClary, historylink.org “The Kidnapping of George Weyerhaeuser | USA” podcast episode, The Evidence Locker “Deep in the Woods” by Bryan Johnston “1935 kidnapping revealed 9-year-old timber heir’s mettle, led to ‘greatest manhunt in history
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269: The Nose Doctor!
20/09/2023 Duration: 02h03minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Mark Weinberger didn’t ask for much. All he wanted was an 80-foot yacht, a sushi chauffeur, a skinny wife, and a five-story townhome. Luckily, Mark could afford his glitzy lifestyle. He was an ear nose and throat surgeon – and not just *any* ear nose and throat surgeon – he was The Nose Doctor of Merrillville, Indiana. As it turned out, damn near everyone who walked into his clinic needed sinus surgery! And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: “The Runaway Doctor” by Buzz Bissinger for Vanity Fair Vanity Fair Confidential “The Runaway Doctor” “Convicted ‘Runaway Doctor’ starts new life after prison, leaving former patient shocked,” by Rob Stafford and Lisa Capitanini for NBC Chicago YOU’RE STILL READING? My, my, my, you ske
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268: The Disappearance of an Entire Family
13/09/2023 Duration: 01h46minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Alice Anderson was in a state of alarm. Her fifteen year old son, Bruce Brenizer had just called with disturbing information. His father, Rick, was missing. So was his father’s girlfriend, Ruth Berentson. Ruth’s daughters, Mindy and Heidi, along with Bruce’s half-sister, Crystal, had vanished as well. Alice made several phone calls before she determined that it was time to involve the police. Someone needed to find this missing family. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Brenizer/Berentson Family” episode Family Massacre “‘I Did It. I Killed Them All’: 15-Year-Old Shot And Incinerated 5 Family Members” by Joe Dziemianowicz, oxygen.com “The Brenizer Berentson Family” episode Crimelines Pod
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267: The Coca-Cola Poisonings
06/09/2023 Duration: 02h16minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Peggy Carr didn’t feel well. She was nauseous. She could barely speak. Her feet felt as though they were burning from the inside out. Her family rushed her to the hospital, but the doctors were stumped. They wondered if Peggy had the flu. They also wondered if it was all in her head. It wasn’t. Over the next few days, her condition improved. Peggy was sent back home, only to become more ill than she’d been before. This time, a neurologist took a look at Peggy’s symptoms and posited that she might have thallium poisoning. The doctor’s hunch was correct. Nearly every member of the Carr household tested positive for thallium. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: American Justice episode, “Kill thy neighbor” “Murder geniu
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266: The Murder of Martre Coles
30/08/2023 Duration: 01h33minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Martre Coles was no stranger to tragedy. When he was just 16 years old, his mother died suddenly. A month later, Martre’s father invited his new girlfriend, Denise Gay, to live with them. Martre struggled with the loss of his mother and the many changes to his life. But he was excited about his future. He had dreams of becoming an artist, and it looked like he was about to fulfill them. Then he disappeared. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Art of Death” episode Killer Motive “Denise Gay” podcast episode, Sistas Who Kill “Woman Forges Art School Email To Lure Boyfriend's Teen Son To His Death” by Joe Dziemianowicz, oxygen.com “‘It was betrayal’: Charges upgraded against women suspected
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265: SENSA!
23/08/2023 Duration: 01h39minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! BREAKING NEWS! We just discovered the biggest weight loss breakthrough of the 21st century!! It’s definitely not a scam!!!!!!!!!1 You don’t need to diet! You don’t need to exercise! Simply sprinkle Sensa on your food, then watch the weight fall off! IT’S THAT EASY! …Please don’t ask any questions about how the product works. Definitely don’t ask about the clinical trials. Just hand over your credit card and check those critical thinking skills at the door. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: “The healthy skeptic: Sensa promises to curb eating,” by Chris Woolston for the Los Angeles Times “Chicago doctor’s claims fail FTC smell test,” by Julie Deardorff and Karisa King for the Chicago Tribune “Feds crack down on 4 bo
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264: The Fager Family Murders
16/08/2023 Duration: 01h47minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Bill Butterworth claimed he had no idea what happened. He awoke in a haze, hundreds of miles from home. He’d driven from Kansas to Florida in a car that wasn’t his. The vehicle belonged to a family whose house he’d been working on. But how had he come into possession of their car? Then, Bill says he heard a horrifying story on the radio. Phil Fager had been shot dead in his home. His daughters, Kelli and Sherri, had been killed as well. Their killer had not been found. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Kansas Trails: Sedgwick County” genealogytrails.com “Wichita murder suspect in custody” by AP, The Salina Journal “Suspect charged in family slayings” upi.com “Methods described by police” by
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263: Strongman Duo Chop and Steele
09/08/2023 Duration: 01h59minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Are you ready to get buff? Boy, have you come to the right place! In this episode, we learn from the VERY REAL strongman duo, Chop and Steele. They’ll lead you through workouts you’ve probably never heard of… like chopping twigs in half! Wanna work those legs? Try stomping on an Easter basket! When you’re really ready to get your pump on, fill a jug with some leftover turbo gravy. Do a few reps. You’ll definitely feel the burn! (What’s turbo gravy, you ask? What a weird question! You’ve obviously never heard of Chef Keith Guerke.) … are you starting to think that these guys aren’t the real deal? Well, that probably means you’re smarter than the morning news anchors who invited Chop and Steele on air. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kr
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262: The Murder of Michelle Martinko
02/08/2023 Duration: 01h34minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Plenty of people saw Michelle Martinko at the Westdale Mall on December 19, 1979. She spoke to a few friends, tried on a winter coat, and grabbed a bite to eat at Orange Julius. By the time she was ready to leave, Michelle was a little apprehensive about walking through the parking lot alone. Nevertheless, she walked out to her family’s car. No one witnessed what happened next. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “And Then There Were Three” episode Dateline “Murder at the Mall: The Michelle Martinko Case” episode 48 Hours “Michelle Martinko” chilling crimes.com “Michelle Martinko’s murder ‘haunted’ the Cedar Rapids community for 40 years. Now, her suspected killer is set to go on trial.” By Je
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261: The Six Flags Haunted Castle Disaster
26/07/2023 Duration: 01h42minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! The Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure always drew a big crowd. People often waited for more than an hour to get into the spooky, dimly-lit corridors of the castle. But the Haunted Castle was scarier than the crowds at Six Flags would have ever imagined. The attraction was filled with flammable decor. It had very few emergency exits. There were no smoke detectors. Six Flags’ management was well aware of the Haunted Castles’ defects, but they refused to take basic safety precautions. Afterall, those efforts would have cost money. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Kristin read a bunch of articles, then spat them back out in her very limited vocabulary. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: Storybook Amusement channel on YouTube, “The disaster that changed theme parks forever: Haunted Castle at Six Flags Great Adventure” The Documentary
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260: The Multiple Attacks on Donna Palomba
19/07/2023 Duration: 02h13minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Donna Palomba desperately needed the police’s help. She’d just been attacked in her home by a masked gunman. He’d raped her and threatened her life. Donna was shaken to her core. The attacker had taken pains to disguise himself, but Donna had an unsettling feeling that she knew the man. After all, what were the chances that she’d be attacked the *one* time her husband was out of town? Police needed to act quickly if they wanted to get this predator off the streets. Spoiler alert: They didn’t. And now for a note about our process. For this episode, Brandi copy and pasted from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “The Man Behind the Mask” episode Dateline “Evil Paid a Visit” episode Dateline “Donna’s Story” janedoenomore.org “Victim ‘Angry And Afraid' as Attacker to Be Release
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259: The Kidnapping of Ginny Piper
12/07/2023 Duration: 02h09minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! We’ve got big news to share… and boy are we nervous to share it. In this episode, we announce a change to the show’s format that will hopefully give us better work/life balance. From this point forward, we’ll present one case per week instead of two. This week, Kristin will share a case. Next week, it’ll be Brandi’s turn, and so on and so forth. This isn’t a change we’re taking lightly. As you probably know, we are anxiety-ridden people pleasers. We’re pretty damn apprehensive about messing with something that we’ve worked so hard to build. Unfortunately, the truth is that we’ve hit a breaking point. The time that it takes both of us to research, write, record and review an episode means that we have a lot less time for the other things that matter to us. For Kristin, that means that the novel she’s working on is on track to be finished in a quarter to never. For Brandi, it means not spending much time with the little family she wanted for
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258: The Massie Affair & a Disappearance
05/07/2023 Duration: 02h46minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! One thing is certain: *Something* happened to Thalia Massie on the night of September 12, 1931. She’d stormed out of a party at the Ala Wai Inn alone, annoyed with her husband and his Navy friends. Later, when a car stopped to pick her up, Thalia had injuries to her face. She said she’d been assaulted and robbed. When her husband came home that night, she told him that she’d been beaten and raped by a group of Hawaiian men. Police quickly rounded up five young men. Then Brandi tells us about the disappearance of Katherine Heckel. When Katherine never returned from her lunch break on July 15, 1991, her friends and family were concerned. She had two young children at home – she wouldn’t leave them voluntarily. Naturally, investigators looked into her husband, John. He had an airtight alibi. So, suspicions turned on other men in Katherine’s life. Police discovered a good suspect, but the case stalled out. And now for a note about our process.
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257: A Drowning & a Shipwreck
31/05/2023 Duration: 02h09minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brandi starts us off with the mysterious death of Dee Dee Jackson. Dee Dee was at her boyfriend’s house late one night in 1994 when she passed away. Her boyfriend, Don Bohana, told police that she’d drowned in his pool after a night of heavy drinking. But that explanation sounded fishy to Dee Dee’s family. They said that Dee Dee had never learned to swim. She was terrified of water. There was no way that she’d willingly gotten in the pool that night. Then Kristin tells a dark, old time-y tale that made a big impact on the justice system. The crew of the Mignonette was probably doomed from the start. The yacht wasn’t built for long, arduous voyages, but the crew had been paid to sail it nearly 15,000 miles. So they tried. When a wave did irreparable damage to the ship, it sank in less than five minutes. The crew of four managed to get on a lifeboat, but with no fresh water and just two tins of turnips, they knew they couldn’t last long. After
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256: The Sweetheart Swindler & a Cold Case
24/05/2023 Duration: 02h25minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Desiree Boltos (literally) bumped into Dick Olmstead in Office Depot, Dick felt a spark. It didn’t matter that he was 75 and she was 32. As the two of them talked, they discovered that they had something in common – they were both single. The two quickly started dating. Dick spent lavishly on Desiree. In just two years, he estimates he spent $380k on her. But as soon as the money ran out, so did she. Then Brandi tells us about two pre-teen girls who were both raped and murdered in the same area of Tacoma Washington, just five months apart. Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian had both been riding their bikes when they were attacked and murdered. Unfortunately, both of their cases went cold. For years, investigators held the logical assumption that the two cases were linked. After all, the girls had died in such close proximity, in such a horrific and similar manner. Surely only one person could be responsible for the two crimes. And no
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255: A Trip to the Movies & the eBay Stalking Scandal
17/05/2023 Duration: 02h17minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Chad just wanted to see a movie. He sat next to his wife, Nicole, as the previews rolled. When Chad pulled out his cell phone to check on his toddler, another moviegoer angrily told him to put his phone away. What happened next is the subject of some debate. One thing is for sure: Chad threw popcorn at the man who scolded him, and in response, that man – Curtis Reeves Jr – shot Chad in the chest. Then Kristin tells us about a couple in Natick, Massachusetts, who found themselves the victims of intense harassment and stalking. Ina and David Steiner weren’t entirely sure who sent them cockroaches in the mail, or who tailed them when they left the house. But they knew that their harassers were angry with Ina’s reporting on the couple’s website, EcommerceBytes. They never would have guessed just how powerful their attackers were. And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out
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254: An A*shole & a Psychic Vision
10/05/2023 Duration: 02h21minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! Brian Eftenoff was a bit of a douche. He was arrogant. Self centered. Controlling. But when he met a young Judi Harding at a bar in Phoenix, he laid on the charm. Judi was smitten. Soon, Brian and Judi moved in together. They got married. They had two children. Judi confided in her friends and family that Brian was abusive. So, when Brian discovered her dead one morning, he became a prime suspect. Then Brandi tells us about a woman whose psychic vision helped solve a crime. Etta Smith didn’t know Melanie Uribe, but when she heard about the young mother’s disappearance, Etta had an unexpected vision. She saw that Melanie was in a canyon, surrounded by shrubbery. Etta worried that police wouldn’t take her seriously, but she went to the police station anyway. She couldn’t shake the possibility that perhaps Melanie was still alive, and in desperate need of help. And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of ar
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253: A Black Guy & a Disappearance
03/05/2023 Duration: 02h25minHate ads? The entire LGTC catalog is available ad-free on Patreon! When Mike Golub’s ex-girlfriend, Shannon Floyd, asked him to pick up their son from her home, Mike had to be a little taken aback. In the years since they’d broken up, Mike had only ever been to Shannon’s home one time. Typically, Mike and Shannon did pick ups and drop offs at a neutral location. But that evening, Mike complied with Shannon’s request. He headed toward the home she shared with her husband, Chad Floyd, and was never seen or heard from again. Then Kristin tells us a story that had first responders scratching their heads. It was April 4, 1989 when Kim Hallock told police that she and her ex-boyfriend, Chip Flynn, had been robbed and kidnapped by a Black man. She said that she and Chip had been hanging out at a park when a stranger threatened them with a gun. He ordered the two of them into Chip’s truck, then got in with them, shifting gears, steering the truck and holding a gun on them as he made his way to a citrus grove. When