True Crime Reality

What if the biggest threat to college sexual assault victims wasn't just their attackers, but the universities that were supposed to protect them? Jennifer Fessler sits down with Emmy Award-winning producer Amy Ziering to revisit The Hunting Ground, the explosive documentary that exposed the disturbing reality of sexual assault on college campuses and the universities that looked the other way. Amy reveals how repeat offenders were able to continue assaulting women, how fraternity culture helped create environments where predators could thrive, and what happened to the survivors who dared to speak out. She also shares the heartbreaking stories that have stayed with her, why some victims never told their own families, and the backlash that followed those who came forward. More than a decade after the film's release, Amy explains why college rape culture is still a major problem, why progress is being rolled back, and whether universities have really changed.
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This week a jury found 77-year-old Robert Kessler guilty of murdering a Florida woman and dumping her severed body parts into McKay Bay back in 2021. Sentencing happened immediately after the verdict, and that’s when Kessler heard from his victim’s family and then the judge himself who said he had never, in his forty year career, seen a crime like this one. He said the murder was horrible enough, but admonished Kessler for going “full Hannibal Lecter” on 47-year-old Stephanie Crone-Overholts, cutting her body up in at least seven different pieces. Kessler was sentenced to life in prison with an additional 15 years for abuse to a dead body.
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Federal authorities arrested the 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan Markle, Thomas Markle Senior, at his Florida senior care facility. The FBI released a statement charging Markle with keeping child sexual abuse material in his two LA storage units . Agents seized 78 items from the units including slides, film negatives, and books, some of which contained images showing Markle with what appeared to be naked, prepubescent girls. Markle has maintained his innocence.
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In what will become the largest mass commutation of death sentences in U.S. history, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced he plans to commute the death sentences of 548 inmates, allowing them to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. The state’s Supreme Court must approve the resentencing for any death row inmate with more than one conviction. If approved, Newsom’s commutations will reduce the number of people on death row in this country by 30%.
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35-year-old Jacob Pearson first threatened a Citibank employee over the phone regarding a $2500 credit card debt, and then drove more than an hour to the bank’s Tampa headquarters and opened fire. Pearson rammed through the complex gate and was armed with 90 rounds of ammunition. Thankfully, his rifle malfunctioned after shooting one victim, but he returned with another gun to kill 41-year-old HR employee Leanne Selman, who was trying to crawl away to safety. An armed security guard was able to shoot Pearson five times before police arrived, saving countless lives. It’s a tragic and bizarre story; Pearson had a wife, a young child and no prior criminal history.
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