Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield

Matthew Farwell’s defense says he went to Sandra Birchmore’s apartment to end their affair. Federal prosecutors say he went there to kill her. On February 4, 2021, 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her Canton, Massachusetts, apartment with a duffel bag strap around her neck. She was pregnant. Prosecutors allege that Matthew Farwell, a former Stoughton police detective, strangled her three days earlier and staged the scene. Matthew Farwell pleaded not guilty to federal charges of killing a witness or victim and causing the death of an unborn child. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by WBZ-TV reporter Kristina Rex, who covered the trial from inside the courtroom, to break down the November 6 closing arguments.

Sandra Birchmore Case Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPAgz_QEcbRs

Five months after Brooke Hanlon was found stabbed to death in her own home, a source tells Daily Mail reporter Dana Kennedy there’s a DNA clue the public hasn’t heard about. On June 6, 2026, Conor Hanlon called 911 and said he’d come home to find his wife unresponsive inside their house on Pottersville Road in Chester Township, New Jersey. Brooke was a 35-year-old psychotherapist and mother to an 11-month-old daughter. The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide, but it took more than three weeks for authorities to publicly confirm her name. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield sits down with Dana Kennedy to talk about what her source told her, why investigators were seen back at the Hanlon home five months after the murder, and what it would take to find out whose DNA it is.

Brooke Hanlon Case Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIfNaSd_Ibys

A married Massachusetts police detective is accused of killing 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore and her unborn baby to conceal a secret that stretched back to when she was fifteen. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by WBZ-TV reporter Kristina Rex, who was inside the courtroom when Matthew Farwell's twin brother, Billy Farwell testified. They get into what Billy says his brother told him about wiping his phones, what the medical examiner was never shown before ruling Sandra’s death a suicide, and why a broken bone in her neck and a mark on her chest became points of contention at trial.

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At a November 2, 2026, hearing, Lindsay Clancy's attorneys challenged the mistrial that followed an 11–1 jury split and demanded answers about alleged misconduct by the lone holdout juror. Could double jeopardy stop a second murder trial over the deaths of Cora, Dawson, and Callan Clancy? In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the courtroom clash, the allegations involving the holdout juror’s phone use and jury selection answers, and the prosecution’s push to restrict public statements by attorneys. Plus, Patrick Clancy’s lawsuit against Lindsay’s medical providers, conflicting statements about whether she will testify, and the fight over releasing her mental health treatment records as a possible retrial looms.

Lindsay Clancy Case Playlist: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL1Mz5h10zAc

She said she was dying of cancer, her family raised thousands to save her, and her little nephew even emptied his piggy bank... But according to the journalists behind “The Lexi Con,” Alexandra “Lexi” Thomas, who goes by Lexi Hannon, built her story on years of lies. Investigative producers Nancy Moscatiello and Scott Eldridge say they traced $220,000 in donations, contacted a doctor who said he had never treated her, and found cancer survivors who were very much alive despite Lexi posting tributes announcing their deaths. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield sits down with Scamanda producer and journalist Nancy Moscatiello and her fellow producer and co-host Scott Eldridge to unpack their three-year investigation for The Slippery’s “The LexiCon.” 

Listen to LexiCon on The Slippery
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-slippery/id1891413273

Watch LexiCon on The Slippery
https://www.youtube.com/@TheSlippery

The Slippery Website:
https://www.theslippery.com/

I went into “You Can See Everything” thinking I had Elizabeth Holmes figured out. Then I watched her boyfriend, Billy Evans, strip naked on camera, negotiate a cut of the documentary, and shut down interviews when he didn’t like the questions. And somehow, the movie left me questioning whether I’d gotten Elizabeth wrong. We need to talk about that shower scene, Billy posting as Elizabeth on her social media, and the fact that after the entire Theranos fraud scandal, these two are planning another blood-testing venture. Would you give them your money? 

In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh’s husband, Chris Haynor, joins Drop Dead Serious for a very different take. They watched the same movie, sitting right next to each other, and came away with very different opinions about Elizabeth, Billy, filmmaker Nathan Fielder, and what the cameras actually captured. Spoiler warning: This episode discusses scenes throughout “You Can See Everything.”

A bitter engagement-ring fight aired on “The People’s Court,” and that same day, Michelle Parker vanished. Nearly 15 years later, her ex-fiancé, Dale Smith Jr., is charged with second-degree murder. Michelle Parker disappeared on November 17, 2011, after dropping off their 3-year-old twins at his Orlando home. Her Hummer was found abandoned with its business decals removed, her iPhone was recovered from a lake, and her body has never been found. What happened after Michelle dropped off her children, and what evidence finally moved this case forward? Smith has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.

Note: This episode was recorded before the 46-page arrest affidavit for Dale Smith Jr. was unsealed. We’ll break down the newly released evidence in an upcoming episode.

Dirty cat litter dumped in their beds, dog poop on their belongings, and forced to run barefoot on a gravel driveway. That’s what three kids say they endured inside their West Virginia home, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Erica Lynn Sayre, 45, and her husband, Clifford “Gale” Sayre, 46, are now facing a combined 12 felony charges after the children described years of alleged abuse. One child told investigators, “I can’t go back to that home.” Another said she “just wants a normal life.”

Matthew Farwell’s wife gave birth to their third child on February 2, 2021, the day after prosecutors say he killed 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, and he was texting colleagues from the hospital asking what was happening at the police station. Sandra’s body hadn’t even been found. Now the former Stoughton police detective’s federal trial is exposing three other affairs, vile texts about sexual punishment, and sex games involving an alter ego named “Joey.” In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh is joined by WBZ-TV Trial Reporter Kristina Rex, who has been inside the courtroom hearing the testimony and watching Farwell as his secrets are read aloud. Matthew Farwell has pleaded not guilty to killing Sandra and her unborn child, and his lawyers maintain she took her own life.

Previous Episode: https://youtu.be/Kv-Cq3_tvi4

From beauty pageants and college cheerleading to a ten-year prison sentence for killing her newborn son, Laken Snelling is facing a VERY different future. The former University of Kentucky cheerleader pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter after her baby, McCoy Cade Hall, was found dead inside a trash bag in her bedroom closet. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Holli Coulman of Pink Lady Prison Consultants joins Ashleigh to explain what life behind bars could look like for a 22-year-old with no prior criminal record. 

Previous Episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxEAbh-aNbMImS1SzzUl8aZo3V5xf2bsF

Disturbing new details in the case of a mother accused of cutting her own daughter’s baby from her womb: Rebecca Park’s fiancé testified that before he dated Rebecca, he was sleeping with her biological mother. Rebecca was just 22 and nearly full-term when she disappeared in Michigan. She was later found dead in the woods, and her baby was missing. Her biological mother, Cortney Bartholomew, and Cortney’s husband, Bradly Bartholomew, are charged with murder, torture, and a slew of other crimes.

Do Jane Doe’s own words undermine her allegations—or should investigators have dug deeper before closing the door? In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by former Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Jill Konviser for a fiery debate over the Cornell 7 rape allegations, Jane Doe’s conflicting accounts, and the district attorney’s decision that no crime occurred. Judge Konviser calls his handling of the case a “dereliction” of his duties, and explains why she believes the investigation fell short. 

Previous Episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD0nJNrz1biE

Lynette Hooker is still missing. Her husband Brian Hooker is making weed runs in California and hanging out in his mom’s garage. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani examine Brian Hooker’s pot-store outing, his behavior amid the federal investigation, and the potential legal consequences if investigators can disprove his story. Could evidence aboard Soulmate become the key to the Lynette Hooker case? Brian has not been charged in connection with his wife’s disappearance.

Previous Videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxEAbh-aNbMJM9aXDZC-jSEPRZCcbEALS

Christa Pike kept a piece of her teenage victim’s skull as a trophy, but after surviving Tennessee’s botched execution, her lawyers are demanding mercy. Convicted of torturing and murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995, Christa Pike survived two doses of lethal injection drugs and has now regained consciousness. But can Tennessee take her back to the death chamber? In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by criminal defense attorney and former homicide prosecutor Paul Callan, who helped prosecute “Son of Sam” killer David Berkowitz, to break down the latest updates on Pike’s condition, whether she can be executed again, and the fight over her death sentence.

For a limited time, get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping and free treats for life, when you head to https://Smalls.com/DDS

One of the men accused in the Cornell rape case says Jane Doe sexually assaulted HIM while he was incapacitated, and that Cornell University failed to tell him about his rights as a sexual assault survivor. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Megyn Kelly joins Ashleigh to challenge the discrepancies between Jane Doe’s original police statement and her civil lawsuit, question the media’s coverage, and discuss whether the accuser should remain anonymous while the accused men are publicly named.

For a limited time, get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping and free treats for life, when you head to https://Smalls.com/DDS

Case Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD0nJNrz1biE

Crybaby pastor Caleb Flynn had the nerve to quote scripture and deny murdering his wife while his own daughters tore into him for taking their mother’s life and destroying the family he claimed to love. At his sentencing for Ashley Flynn’s murder, the former American Idol contestant wept as his parents pleaded for mercy and insisted he was remorseful, even as he refused to admit what a jury had convicted him of doing. One daughter asked him to finally confess and made clear she had no plans to visit him in prison, where he will spend the rest of his life without parole. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down Caleb Flynn’s sentencing, including his daughters’ blistering statements and Ashley’s father offering forgiveness to the man who murdered her. 

Previous Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQk4x4082JeQ

Apparently, nine guilty verdicts still aren’t enough for Caleb Flynn’s mom, who insists her son is innocent and blames the media. The “worship pastor” and American Idol reject was convicted on all nine counts, including aggravated murder, for killing his wife, Ashley Flynn. So why is the murder weapon still missing, and could someone else know where it went? In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield sits down with Law&Crime’s Angenette Levy, host of Crime Fix, who was inside the courtroom, to unpack the mother’s finger-pointing, the lingering questions about mistress Alleigha Botner, investigative gaps, and what the cameras didn’t catch as Ashley’s family endured those vile texts. 

Crime Fix with Angenette Levy:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoW1SIeAWaWaucjKyz7lAmqMxO86PVzZi

Follow Angenette: 
X: https://x.com/Angenette5
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCjGYUJTk4k1Hplezhg2Pc-g 

Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer wants her acquitted of killing her three children, claiming prosecutors never proved she did it. After the first murder trial ended in a mistrial, Kevin Reddington trashed the police investigation and demanded a not guilty ruling. Prosecutors fired back, calling his argument “laughable.” 

In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the courtroom clash and holdout juror Michael Desronvil’s statement after conflicting accounts of what happened inside the jury room. With prosecutors pushing for a gag order and the defense fighting to dismiss the case, will Lindsay Clancy face another trial in the deaths of Cora, Dawson, and Callan? The next court date is November 2.

Caleb Flynn cried in court while watching himself cry during a police interrogation about his wife’s murder. But as detectives pressed the former American Idol contestant and worship pastor about his missing gun, his marriage, and the intruder he claimed killed Ashley Flynn, the questions got a lot harder. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down Caleb’s recorded police interviews, the explosive messages with his mistress, Alleigha Botner, and the digital evidence presented at his Ohio murder trial. 

A Cornell student says seven fraternity brothers sexually assaulted her after one allegedly posted a Snapchat message inviting other men upstairs, but the district attorney says the statement she signed for police tells a very different story. Her lawsuit has sparked fury over why no one was criminally charged, and now the DA has released excerpts describing what Jane Doe told investigators in 2024. 

In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield goes through the Cornell Chi Phi lawsuit and the DA’s statement side by side, zeroing in on the accounts of ketamine use, consent, and what happened inside that fraternity house. The investigation is open again, and the case is being prepared for a grand jury.

Patrick Clancy breaks his silence after Lindsay Clancy’s mistrial, opening up about losing Cora, Dawson, and Callan, forgiving Lindsay, and rebuilding his life with his new wife, Dr. Rachel Danis, who is now pregnant with their first child. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down Patrick's appearance on 60 Minutes, and also examines the lone holdout juror’s explosive new claims, the alleged death threats against him, and Kevin Reddington’s push to obtain his cell phone records.

Brian Hooker won’t answer police questions about his missing wife, but when our reporter started asking them, suddenly Brian couldn’t call the cops fast enough. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh talks to freelance photographer Kevin Perkins about his explosive confrontation with Brian and the questions he tried to ask about Lynette Hooker’s disappearance. 

Lynette Hooker disappeared in the Bahamas on April 4, 2026, after her husband, Brian Hooker, claimed she fell from their dinghy as they headed back to their sailboat, Soulmate. GPS data and other evidence have raised serious questions about that account, and her disappearance is now being investigated as a possible murder. Brian Hooker has not been charged with any crime.

One holdout juror, one accusation of lying under oath, and one murder trial that went completely off the rails...? After seven days and roughly 36 hours of deliberations, the Lindsay Clancy trial has ended in a mistrial, but not before defense attorney Kevin Reddington argued that the jury was effectively split 11–1 in favor of acquittal. Was one juror refusing to follow the law on reasonable doubt, or was this simply a jury that could not agree? 

In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by Karen Read's defense attorney, David Yannetti, who knows firsthand what it means to face a mistrial, a deadlocked jury, and the possibility of doing it all over again in Massachusetts. 

Prosecutors argued that Lindsay deliberately killed her three children and left them “like broken toys,” while the defense blamed powerful medications, failed psychiatric care, and a psychotic break that left her unable to understand or control what she was doing.

In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield is joined by Boston 25 investigative reporter Bob Ward, who has been inside the courtroom throughout the trial, and trial lawyer Sara Azari to break down the closing arguments, the strongest and weakest moments from each side, and the verdict options now facing the jury. Was this first-degree murder, manslaughter, or a case of legal insanity? And after weeks of emotional and conflicting testimony, did prosecutors actually prove that Lindsay Clancy was criminally responsible beyond a reasonable doubt?

The Lindsay Clancy murder trial is nearing its final and most consequential stage after explosive rebuttal testimony, conflicting mental health diagnoses and a dramatic defense demand for a mistrial. Prosecutors argue that Clancy was severely depressed and suicidal, but not psychotic, when she strangled her three children, Cora, Dawson and Callan. Her defense maintains that postpartum psychosis left her unable to understand or control her actions. In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield breaks down the prosecution’s final push against Lindsay Clancy’s insanity defense, the questions surrounding her alleged command hallucination, the inconsistencies raised in court and the religious testimony the judge ordered jurors to disregard. With closing arguments and deliberations approaching, the jury must decide whether Clancy was legally insane or fully criminally responsible for the deaths of her children.

Six months after Nancy Guthrie vanished from her Tucson-area home, investigators still have not identified the masked person captured on her doorbell camera, determined who sent the alleged ransom notes or revealed what happened to the mother of TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie. Now, FBI agents have returned to the area behind Nancy’s home as a stunning mistake by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department exposes a previously secret message apparently sent through the ransom note’s Bitcoin address: “We are ready to pay. Contact us.” In this episode of Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield speaks with former Pima County Chief Deputy Rick Kastigar, who supervised Sheriff Chris Nanos for decades, about what may be going wrong inside the Nancy Guthrie investigation.