LOVE MURDER

When a joyful young Filipino mother searching for a better life in America is killed during a South Dakota pheasant hunt, her fiancé insists it was a tragic accident. But as investigators dig deeper, they uncover a disturbing pattern: a violently jealous ex-cop, a secret vasectomy, a hidden affair, and nearly a million dollars in life insurance taken out on the victim just months before her death. What initially looked like a hunting mishap slowly unravels into a chilling story of greed, betrayal, and a man who believed his badge could help him get away with murder.
Sources:
1. Accident, Suicide or Murder. 2019.
2. “Leonila ‘Nila’ De Valle Stickney (1983-2009) - Find a Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/108733253/leonila-stickney. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
3. “South Dakota Attorney General.” South Dakota Attorney General, https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=1939#gsc.tab=0. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
4. State v. Bertram. 2018, https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/sd-supreme-court/1885713.html.
5. Argus Leader, 2016, https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2016/01/16/money-tangled-relations-center-ex-officers-murder-case/78894440/.
6. People, https://people.com/crime/ex-south-dakota-police-chief-guilty-of-murdering-pregnant-fiancee-for-insurance/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
7. Mitchell Republic, 2016.
8. Mitchell Republic, 2016.
9. The Dickinson Press, 2021.
10. Mitchell Republic, 2021.
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Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2021 murder of his father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law Wendy Wood at their Lake Tahoe home. Prosecutors argued Serafini carried out the attack with help from his secret lover, the family’s former nanny, in a case built largely on circumstantial evidence that ended with a guilty verdict in 2025 and sentencing in February 2026.
Current Affairs is Love Murder’s shorter show about the cases of love gone fatally wrong that are in the news right now.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/b20fc3ab30d435f1d2866d1208f21269
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/daniel-serafini-life-without-parole-21946269.php
https://people.com/dan-serafini-sentenced-life-in-prison-for-shooting-in-laws-11916189
https://nypost.com/2026/02/27/sports/ex-mlb-pitcher-dan-serafini-gets-life-in-prison-for-shooting-in-laws-in-california-home/
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48058116/ex-pitcher-serafini-sentenced-life-prison-2021-murder

Find LOVE MURDER online:
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Credits: Love Murder is hosted by Jessie Pray and Andie Cassette, researched by Sarah Lynn Robinson and researched and written by Jessie Pray, produced by Nathaniel Whittemore and edited by Kyle Barbour-Hoffman
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In this CA, Jesse covers two major Virginia murder cases: first, the sentencing of the Banfield au pair, who received the maximum 10 years for her role in the staged home invasion that killed Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, and then a disturbing new case out of Norfolk, where Lina Maria Guerra was found dead in her apartment freezer after her Navy reservist husband allegedly fled to Hong Kong and fabricated a story about her imprisonment, triggering an international manhunt with potential extradition and national security complications.
Current Affairs is Love Murder’s shorter show about the cases of love gone fatally wrong that are in the news right now.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Christine_Banfield_and_Joseph_Ryan
https://abc7chicago.com/post/lina-guerra-case-us-navy-husband-david-varela-flew-hong-kong-missing-wife-was-found-kitchen-freezer-norfolk-virginia/18616404/
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/navy-reservist-accused-murdering-wife-believed-have-fled-hong-kong
https://www.wtkr.com/investigations/international-manhunt-underway-for-norfolk-man-accused-of-killing-wife-hiding-body-in-freezer
https://gtvnewshd.com/world/2026/02/18/virginia-woman-lina-guerra-found-dead-in-freezer-husband-david-varela-flees-to-hong-kong/
Find LOVE MURDER online:
Website: lovemurder.love
Instagram: @lovemurderpod
Twitter: @lovemurderpod
Facebook: LoveMrdrPod
TikTok: @LoveMurderPod
Patreon: /LoveMurderPod
Credits: Love Murder is hosted by Jessie Pray and Andie Cassette, researched by Sarah Lynn Robinson and researched and written by Jessie Pray, produced by Nathaniel Whittemore and edited by Kyle Barbour-Hoffman
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When a hardworking Chicago property owner discovers someone has stolen his identity and racked up nearly $400,000 in debt, his search for answers leads back to his troubled marriage and his wife’s dangerous new relationship. What begins as financial fraud escalates into anonymous threats, a mysterious package, and a devastating explosion that shatters a South Side neighborhood.
Sources:
1. “4 Life Sentences in Pipe-Bombing – Chicago Tribune.” Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sept. 2003, https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/09/18/4-life-sentences-in-pipe-bombing/.
2. Bergmann, Joy. “Seduced - Chicago Reader.” Chicago Reader, 9 May 2002, https://chicagoreader.com/news/seduced/.
3. Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins. 2022.
4. “Marcus Vittorio Toney (1963-2000) - Find a Grave Memorial.” Find a Grave - Millions of Cemetery Records, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184724080/marcus_vittorio-toney. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
5. Sederstrom, Jill. “Sienky Lallemand, Lisa Toney Convicted in Mark Toney’s Death.” Oxygen, Oxygen, 15 Dec. 2025, https://www.oxygen.com/killer-relationship-with-faith-jenkins/crime-news/sienky-lallemand-lisa-toney-convicted-in-mark.
6. Tribune, Chicago. “Wife’s Expensive Taste Led to Fatal Decision, Jurors Told – Chicago Tribune.” Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2003, https://www.chicagotribune.com/2003/03/07/wifes-expensive-taste-led-to-fatal-decision-jurors-told/.
7. Wicked Attraction. 2008.
8. Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2003.
9. Chicago Tribune, 13 Sept. 2002.
10. Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2003.
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Find LOVE MURDER online:
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Patreon: /LoveMurderPod
Credits: Love Murder is hosted by Jessie Pray and Andie Cassette, researched by Sarah Lynn Robinson and researched and written by Jessie Pray, produced by Nathaniel Whittemore and edited by Kyle Barbour-Hoffman
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When a 33-year-old military wife is found stabbed to death near a U.S. air base in the Philippines, investigators initially suspect political violence. But as rumors of an affair surface and a life insurance policy doubles, suspicion shifts closer to home. What ultimately cracks the case isn’t a confession or eyewitness — it’s a shredded floppy disk pieced back together with tape, marking one of the first major breakthroughs in digital forensics.
Sources:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0581464/
https://veritycreates.medium.com/the-murder-of-julie-snodgrass-defb1d1ec4bf
https://www.osi.af.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/2193802/osi-computer-crime-investigations-setting-the-pace-then-and-now/
https://www.osi.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2002303675/
https://www.stripes.com/news/2013-06-29/recounting-us-militarys-last-days-in-the-philippines-1840951.html
https://www.csoonline.com/article/512727/investigations-forensics-computer-forensics-investigations-body-of-evidence.html
https://militaryjusticeforall.com/2005/08/03/forensic-files-premiered-shear-luck-military-spouse-found-stabbed-to-death-near-clark-air-force-base-in-the-philippines-august-3-2005/
https://militaryjusticeforall.com/1991/02/26/joseph-snodgrass-us-air-force-hired-hitmen-to-murder-wife-julie-at-clark-air-force-base-in-the-philippines-for-the-400000-life-insurance-payout-1991/
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Find LOVE MURDER online:
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Credits: Love Murder is hosted by Jessie Pray and Andie Cassette, researched by Sarah Lynn Robinson and researched and written by Jessie Pray, produced by Nathaniel Whittemore and edited by Kyle Barbour-Hoffman
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.