Sun Crime State Podcast

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Outrageous and real FLORIDA CRIME stories. Join Daytona Beach Journal Crime Reporter Tony Holt each week for true crime stories from the "Sun Crime State" Florida is well know for its "unique" brand of criminal and Tony recounts the latest, craziest and most interesting crime stories. Dive d…

GateHouse Media


    • Oct 28, 2019 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 42m AVG DURATION
    • 77 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Sun Crime State Podcast

    Aileen Wuornos: Eyes That Looked Like They Had Killed - Ep 76

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2019 71:45


    Aileeen Wuornos murdered seven men 30 years ago up and down Central Florida and remains the most recent woman executed in Florida. Guests: Defense attorney and special prosecutor David Damore, , former Volusia County Sheriff Bob Vogel, Ocala Star-Banner reporter Joe Callahan, and former Star-Banner reporter Laura Byrnes.

    A Fatal Escape - Ep 75

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2019 68:44


    Police name a suspect in the 14-year-old Daytona Serial Killer case; the same suspect charged in the 2016 death of a prostitute in Palm Beach County. Susan Perkins died after jumping from a moving car in an effort to escape her kidnapper in Altamonte Springs 15 years ago. The case remains unsolved. Special guests: Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, former Daytona Beach News-Journal reporters Lyda Longa and Seth Robbins, Altamonte Springs Police Detective Bill Nuzzi and Perkins' sister Sara Wakefield.

    A Serial Killer's End - Ep. 74

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2019 74:12


    Gary Ray Bowles goes on a murdering spree 25 years ago up and down the Interstate 95 corridor from Daytona Beach to suburban Maryland. The "I-95 Killer" becomes the 99th death row inmate to be executed in Florida since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Special guests: Jacksonville prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda; retired Daytona Beach police detectives Alison Sylvester and Tom Youngman; retired Savannah, Ga., police captain John Best; true crime author Victoria Redstall; and close friend of Bowles' fourth victim, Lisa Bettini

    The Soviet Spy of Melbourne - Ep 73

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2019 39:49


    George Trofimoff sold secrets to the Soviet Union and became the highest-ranking U.S. military officer ever convicted of espionage. Special guest: Former AP reporter Vickie Chachere

    The Deltona Vanishing - Ep 72

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2019 54:12


    A Winter Park developer is accused of drugging and sexually battering a woman in his Flagler County home, and a look-back at the 2001 disappearance of Lillian Martin and her grandson, Joshua Bryant. The case was solved three years later following a deadly, 600-mile rampage from Lake Helen to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Special guests: Flagler County Sheriff's Cpl. George Hristakopoulos, News-Journal politics editor Mark Harper, Wall Street Journal reporter Alicia Caldwell and Volusia County Sheriff's Sgt. A.J. Pagliari.

    The El Camino Inferno - Ep 71

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2019 33:47


    A man wanted on sex crimes in California is found living near Key West under an alias, and the case of two victims burned to death 38 years ago in Brooksville remains unsolved. Special guests: Victim's sister Kellie Davidson and retired sheriff's deputy Greg Laxton

    Who Killed Laralee Spear? - Ep 70

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2019 46:14


    Daytona Beach police announce the arrest of a suspected serial rapist linked to 7 cases and cold case investigators discuss the unsolved murder of 15-year-old Laralee Spear, who was murdered moments after getting off the bus down the road from her DeLand-area home. The investigation has continued for 25 years. Special guests: Volusia County Sheriff's Sgt. A.J. Pagliari, Detective Steve White, cold case investigator Ralph Henshaw and retired DeLand police captain Pete Moon

    The Murder That Ended Canadian Spring Break - Ep 69

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2019 57:53


    Mark Fyke, 18, of Ontario, was fatally shot at a payphone in Daytona Beach. The slaying caused an uproar in Fyke's hometown of Belleville and had a lasting impact on international tourism. Special guests: Former News-Journal reporter Joe Ditzler, Daytona Beach Welcome Center manager Scott Edwards, News-Journal columnist Mark Lane and Canadian journalist Rob Russo.

    A Woman and a Gun: The Story of Linda Cooney - Ep 68

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2019 57:46


    Linda Cooney shoots her ex-husband in Juno Beach in front of their young sons and gets acquitted. Two decades later, in Las Vegas, Cooney gets convicted of shooting and paralyzing her oldest son ... with the same gun she used on her husband. Special guests: Palm Beach Post investigative reporter Christine Stapleton and Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino.

    Unforeseen Betrayal: Death at Lake Seminole - Ep 67

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2019 62:44


    Mike Williams vanished during a hunting trip in Jackson County. Seventeen years later, authorities dug up his remains in a lake in Leon County and announced that the 31-year-old married father was the victim of a homicide. A year later, his wife was convicted of his murder.Special guests: Tallahassee Democrat News Director Jennifer Portman and FDLE Special Agent in Charge Will Mickler.

    Ted Bundy, One Depraved Sinner, Part 2 - Ep 66

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2019 70:32


    Ted Bundy escapes from a Colorado jail and winds up in Florida, where he murders two Florida State University coeds and critically injures three more. Then he travels to Lake City, where he abducts a school girl in broad daylight and kills her. Special guests: Former state attorney John Tanner and Ocala-Star Banner reporter Joe Callahan.

    Ted Bundy, One Depraved Sinner: Part 1 - Ep 65

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2019 41:27


    A defendant in a 20-year-old rape case gets convicted; and Ted Bundy, one of the most ruthless serial killers in U.S. history, terrorizes the Northwest before escaping jail to hide in Florida, where his lust for murder gets renewed. Special guest: Former state attorney John Tanner

    Ma Barker's Last Stand - Ep 64

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2019 52:53


    An ex-NFL defensive back sees a man performing a lewd act outside daughter's bedroom and pummels him; and Ma and Freddie Barker were killed 84 years ago during a shootout with the FBI at a lake house in Ocklawaha. Special guests: Marion County Tax Collector George Albright and Ocala Star-Banner reporter Joe Callahan

    The Ninja Killer of Flagler - Ep 63

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2018 32:48


    A South Florida man is executed for the 1992 murder of a court clerk administrator; the suspect in the shooting of a Daytona Beach police officer pleads not guilty; and a Bunnell man is arrested 29 years ago in connection to a pair of shootings in a quiet Palm Coast neighborhood that killed two and injured one. Special guests: Flagler County Sheriff's Senior Commander Mark Carman and retired Flagler County Sheriff's Office detective Warnell Williams.

    Jupiter Thanksgiving Massacre - Ep 62

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2018 35:05


    Man arrested following double murder in Daytona Beach; updates on segments profiled previously on this podcast; Paul Merhige opens fire on family members inside his cousins' home on Thanksgiving Day 2009. Special guest: Palm Beach Post reporter Andrew Marra

    Gerald Stano: The Boardwalk Serial Killer - Ep 61

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2018 56:58


    The story of how Gerald Stano became one of the world's most prolific serial killers - through the eyes of the detective who captured him and the reporter who broke the story. Special guests: Former Daytona Beach Police Chief Paul Crow and former Daytona Beach News-Journal editor/reporter Kathy Kelly

    A Barrier Island Mystery - Ep 60

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2018 34:52


    A South Florida man is in custody on suspicion of mailing up to 13 explosive devices to critics of President Trump; a former Lakeland city commissioner is indicted on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting death of a suspected shoplifter; and a look back at the 2008 murder of a hotel owner on Anna Maria Island, who was killed by her ex-con boyfriend. Special guests: Lakeland Ledger reporter John Chambliss and former Sarasota Herald-Tribune reporter Elizabeth Johnson

    Death of a Deltona Family - Ep 59

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2018 33:39


    A New York man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a British tourist in South Beach in a high-speed car crash and leaving the scene; a Volusia County middle school teacher pleads guilty in a sex case involving an eighth-grade student; and an ex-gang member is serving three life sentences for the murder of his wife and two stepchildren and their bodies still have never been found. Special guests: Volusia County Sheriff's Sgt. A.J. Pagliari and News-Journal justice reporter Frank Fernandez

    The Deltona Dollar General Double Killing - Ep 58

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2018 31:47


    Local substitute teacher and political pundit David Lee Davis is arrested on allegations of committing sex crimes against an underage student; and two employees at a Deltona general store were slain by a manager trainee 16 years ago this month. Special guests: Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter Patricio Balona, victim's sister Kelli Lee

    A Mysterious Murder of a Divorcee - Ep 57

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2018 24:04


    An unruly defendant sentenced to 20 years for threatening judge; a naked suspect arrested outside a Palm Coast Chick-fil-A restaurant; and the unsolved murder of a retired social worker who was found slain inside her home 13 years ago near DeLand. Special guest: Volusia County sheriff's cold case investigator Steve White.

    Who Killed Carol Lynne Sullivan? - Ep. 56

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2018 34:02


    One South Florida lawman admits to framing innocent black males to maintain a 100-percent clearance rate for property crimes while another gets arrested on allegations he molested an underage girl for two years; Two women are raped eight days apart in the area of Daytona Beach and law enforcement isn't sure whether the attacks are related; 40 years ago, 12-year-old Carol Lynne Sullivan was abducted from her bus stop in Osteen and beheaded. Her skull was later found in a paint can near a pond in Deltona. Special guests: Volusia County sheriff's cold case detective Steve White, DeBary business owner Bob Gorman

    Abusive Father, Powerless Mother Killed by Bitter Son - Ep 55

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2018 35:32


    Detectives say a good Samaritan killed near his Deltona home was actually the target of a planned execution, and a son gets convicted of killing his father and mother, both of whom went missing on the same date 15 years apart. Special guest: Author and former journalist Lisa Bonnice

    Fatal Fire at Stormy's - Ep. 54

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2018 38:20


    A Port Orange mother found dead inside someone's kitchen leads to a manhunt that ends after the suspect's corpse is found in the woods; and a ravaging fire that destroys a New Smyrna Beach restaurant results in the deaths of two firefighters and a 25-year federal prison sentence for the convicted arsonist. Special guests: Former journalist Chase Squires, New Smyrna Beach Mayor Jim Hathaway, New Smyrna Beach native Michelle Utter.

    The Gainesville Student Murders - Ep 53

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2018 87:51


    Man charged for threatening judge decides to verbally abuse the judge who presides over his trial, and we revisit the horror of the slayings of five college students 28 years ago in Gainesville. Special guests: Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter Frank Fernandez, former Orlando Sentinel reporter Jim Leusner, University of Florida alumnus John Athanason and Gainesville native Sarah Hopper.

    'A Sheriff Got Killed, Then a Posse Got the Killer' - Ep 52

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2018 41:11


    A Clearwater man originally cleared in the fatal shooting outside a convenience store gets charged with manslaughter after the State Attorney's Office takes a closer look, and Flagler County Sheriff Perry Hall was slain 91 years ago after attempting to arrest a bootlegger. Special guests: Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and Florida Southern College history professor James M. Denham.

    On the Trail of the Granny Killer - Ep 51

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2018 70:25


    A suspected drug dealer gets indicted for murder after his client dies from an overdose, and serial killer Mike Kaprat terrorizes a Tampa suburb by raping and killing elderly women from Brookridge to Spring Hill. Special guests: Chief Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway, Hernando County Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Kraft, retired Hernando County sheriff's detectives Carlos Douglas and Craig Baxley, former Tampa Bay Times reporter and columnist Dan DeWitt.

    The Deltona Massacre - Ep 50

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2018 65:35


    Two men are arrested after gaming officials investigate a viral video of someone running into a Jacksonville convenience store with a live alligator, and a look back at the Aug. 6, 2004 slayings of six victims who were sleeping inside a home on Telford Lane in Deltona. Special guests: Former Volusia County sheriff Ben Johnson, former Volusia County sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson, former state attorney John Tanner and News-Journal reporters Patricio Balona and Frank Fernandez

    The Killing Cousins of Vero Beach - Ep 49

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2018 56:58


    Jurors recommend death for a man who killed his wife and her friend during a shooting rampage in 2015 in St. Johns County, and the story of serial killer David Alan Gore and his cousin, Fred Waterfield, who raped and murdered several females during the 1970s and 1980s in rural Vero Beach. Special guests: St. Augustine Record crime and justice reporter Jared Keever, TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers legal affairs reporter Melissa Holsman and former Treasure Coast Newspapers columnist Russ Lemmon

    Mark Asay, Murderous Racist - Ep 48

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2018 47:35


    Police arrest a man accused of kidnapping his girlfriend and shooting three men outside a Daytona Beach motel; a man is found guilty of murdering his estranged wife and her friend inside a home near St. Augustine; and Mark Asay is convicted, sentenced and executed for the deaths of two men in downtown Jacksonville and prosecutors say he was motivated by racial hatred. Special guests: St. Augustine Record crime and justice reporter Jared Keever, Florida Times-Union investigative reporter Eileen Kelley, retired prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda, defense attorney Martin McClain

    40-Year Wait For Justice - Ep 47

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2018 34:13


    Authorities say a suspect admits to committing murder in Orange City while in jail in Southwest Virginia; a disabled man in a Minion suit gets attacked in Daytona Beach, and Thomas Knight sits on death row for nearly four decades after committing a highly publicized double murder in South Florida. Special guest: Miami Herald reporter David Ovalle.

    Daylight Stabbing in Gainesville - Ep. 46

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2018 37:29


    A Boca Raton murder suspect remains jailed near Belfast as extradition efforts continue; a man who served a 20-year prison sentence for murder in Puerto Rico gets charged for the 2016 slaying of a woman in Deltona; and 13 years ago, Brian Sweat was stabbed by an unknown assailant in the front yard of his Gainesville home and police are still looking for his killer. Special guests: Palm Beach Post features writer and "Weird Florida" author Eliot Kleinberg, Volusia County Sheriff's Sgt. A.J. Pagliari and Detective Seth Amrhine, Gainesville Police Capt. Mike Schentrup and Detective Martin Honeycutt, victim's sister Brenda Sigmon

    Convicted Rapist Charged in 1990 Murder - Ep 45

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2018 28:47


    A DeLand city commissioner was accused of dealing drugs, and a grand jury indicts a sexual predator for the 1990 murder of an elderly woman in New Smyrna Beach. Special guests: New Smyrna Beach Police Sgt. Chris Kirk, New Smyrna Beach Mayor Jim Hathaway

    Murder of a Daytona Civic Servant - Ep 44

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2018 29:25


    A man who killed a teen with a knife in 1979 is seeking a reduced sentence, and a Daytona Beach Planning Board member is killed in his home by two men who had a history of violence. Special guests: Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter Frank Fernandez, former Daytona Beach mayor Larry Kelly

    Love Triangle Ends in Murder - Ep 43

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2018 27:16


    Remains found under Clermont fire pit confirmed to be missing Disney employee, and a Flagler County man is slain by a jealous boyfriend and his burned car and corpse are found near a logging road in St. Johns. Special guests: Former prosecutor Jackie Roys, St. Johns sheriff's Sgts. Gene Tolbert and Jeremy Russell.

    Bloody Day in Okaloosa - Ep 42

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2018 46:17


    A South Carolina woman who snatched a newborn baby from a teen mother inside a Jacksonville hospital 20 years ago gets sentenced to 18 years in prison, and Edward Zakrzewski murders his wife and kids with a machete inside their home in Okaloosa County then flees to Hawaii.Special guests: Florida Times-Union investigative reporter Eileen Kelley, former prosecutor Bobby Elmore, former WEAR TV News reporter Michele Nicholson, Northwest Florida Daily News investigator reporter Tom McLaughlin, former U.S. Air Force Sgt. Jo Barker

    The Sadistic Skipper - Ep 41

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2018 44:55


    A pizza shop employee shoots and kills an attempted robber in Holly Hill and a Ohio mother and her two teenage daughters are murdered by a stranger on a boat and dumped overboard in Tampa Bay. Special guest: Tampa Bay Times columnist and author Craig Pittman

    Killing to Gain a Fortune - Ep 40

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2018 59:46


    A South Daytona man is convicted of murder and aggravated child abuse in 2013 death of 4-year-old boy; and the real-life story behind "Pain and Gain," how a group of gym rats turned to kidnapping and murder to get rich quick Special guests: Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter Frank Fernandez, Miami Herald reporter David Ovalle

    Tampa's Bloodiest Rampage - Ep 39

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2018 71:26


    A Bunnell woman is sentenced to life in prison for killing her blind husband and burying him in the backyard, and Hank Earl Carr kills a 4-year-old boy and three law enforcement officers during a shooting spree that stretched across three counties 20 years ago. Special guests: Former Hernando County Sheriff's crisis negotiator Marisabel Kelly, retired Tampa police detective Dan Grossi, former Tampa Tribune reporter Sarah Huntley, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Gaskins

    Ex-cop Still Sits on Death Row - Ep 38

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2018 60:02


    Highlands County sheriff's deputy slain after responding to a call about a cat shot by a neighbor; Wife of Tallahassee man who went missing 17 years ago gets indicted on murder charges; Former small town police officer convicted of killing 11-year-old girl and dumping her in a lake remains on death row after 30 years., Special guests: Tallahassee Democrat News Director Jennifer Portman; former Lake County sheriff's detective Rocky Harris, former prosecutor Steve Hurm

    Fatal Robbery at Taco Bell - Ep 37

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2018 37:34


    Jacksonville sex offender gets sentenced to death for the 2013 slaying of an 8-year-old girl he kidnapped from a Walmart; and revisiting the 1992 robbery at a Daytona Beach Taco Bell where employees were shot and another stabbed by a pair of teenage robbers. Special guests: Former state attorney John Tanner and Daytona Beach News-Journal reporter Frank Fernandez

    Chaos Killed the Band Teacher - Ep 36

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2018 51:40


    Two elected officials - a west central Florida county commissioner and a South Florida mayor - have been charged with felonies, and 22 years ago, a gang of misfits called the Lords of Chaos kills a high school band teacher on his front doorstep in Fort Myers. Special guests: retired prosecutor Randy McGruther, former Fort Myers News-Press reporter Peter Franceschina, retired News-Press columnist Sam Cook

    Death of a Boat Salesman - Ep 35

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2018 34:31


    A pair of Gilchrist County sheriff's deputies are killed in Trenton; an update on the killer clown case in Palm Beach County; and a look back at the 1981 slaying of DeLand salesman Robert Clemente by Chicago hit man Peter Ventura. Special guest: Dede Jorgensen

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