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Hi, it's Vanessa. If you're drawn to true crime stories about disappearances, there's a new Crime House original you should check out. It's called the Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Sarah's an advocate for missing and murdered victims whose own sister disappeared in 2001. And Courtney is a true crime storyteller who's seen firsthand how crime can change a family forever. Together, they bring lived experience to every case, examining the moments just before a person disappears. The routines, the timelines, the small details that often get overlooked because every disappearance has a moment where everything still feels normal. Until it doesn't. Listen to and follow the final hours on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.
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Foreign. This is Crime House. Good morning everyone. We have multiple breaking true crime cases this morning that you need to know about and we're starting with the biggest one. A former Major League Baseball pitcher has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his father in law and attempting to kill his mother in law inside their Lake Tahoe home. This is crime house 24 7, your non stop source for the biggest crime cases developing right now.
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Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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I'm Vanessa Richardson and we have quite a lineup for you today. Here's what you need to know.
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On Friday, February 27, former major league Baseball pitcher Dan Sarafini was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in a Placer County California courtroom for the 21 murder of his father in law and the attempted murder of his mother in law. 52 year old Dan Seraphini, a first round draft pick in the MLB was convicted in July of 2025. Following a six week trial, a jury found him guilty of first degree murder in the death of 70 year old Robert Gary Spore and attempted murder of Spore's wife 68 year old Wendy Wood in a shooting at the couple's home in the Lake Tahoe area on June 5, 2021. The sentencing hearing was emotional in Adrien Spore, Sarafini's sister in law and the victim's daughter addressed the court directly and did not hold back. She called Seraphini a monster who knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking lives to benefit himself. She asked the judge for the maximum sentence and for a period of solitary confinement, telling the court she feared Seraphini might conspire with other inmates to have her killed. Spore also revealed financial details that painted a picture of the years leading up to the murder. She told the court that Sarafini and her s sister Aaron Spore, Sarafini's then wife, had allegedly taken millions of dollars from their parents over the years, including more than a million dollars for a horse estate and additional installments for nanny services and to pay off credit cards. She said the requests for money continued even after Sarafini shot her mother. Spore told the court that Seraphini showed no remorse and that he, quote, cashed in a $200,000 check made to him from his victim's account just weeks after holding a gun to pulling the trigger. She also revealed that her own sister and Seraphini had fought her efforts to post a reward announcement for her father's killer. And now we know why, she said. Here's what prosecutors laid out at trial. On June 5, 2021, Seraphini broke into the Spore home while the family was out on their boat. He hid inside for hours waiting. After his wife Aaron, their two young sons and his in laws returned and the rest of the family eventually left, Seraphini emerged and fatally shot sp. He also shot Wood in the head twice. Wood survived the initial attack but had life changing injuries and died by suicide in 2023. The motive, according to prosecutors, was a multi million dollar estate. They alleged Serafini wanted his in laws dead so he could share in his now estranged wife's inheritance of a 23 million dollar fortune. Over the course of the six week trial, jurors heard about the heated financial disputes and communications leading up to the murder. One text message Serafin the attack read quote I'm going to kill them one day, end quote. Seraphini's lover, Samantha Scott was also arrested in connection with the case. She testified that she gave Sarafini a ride the day of the shooting believing it was for a drug deal. But he later admitted to her that he had shot his in laws. After his conviction, Seraphini fought to avoid this outcome. He filed two separate motions seeking a new trial. The first claiming jury misconduct was denied in January. The second filed In August of 2025 ARG argued his former attorneys provided ineffective counsel, that they failed to present an alibi, call key witnesses or experts, and did not allow Seraphini to testify in his own defense. He said he paid his previous legal team $300,000. But during hearings on that second motion, things went poorly for Seraphini. Under cross examination, he admitted to running a group of inmates at South Placer County Jail, overseeing a faction described in court as the white guys and doling out physical punishments, including ordering one inmate to do 500 burpees. He also admitted to committing insurance fraud, violating a restraining order filed by his first wife and using illegal drugs. On February 20, Judge Garon Horst denied the second motion. In announcing his ruling, the judge addressed Sarafini directly, calling him a liar, a manipulator, arrogant and someone who has a loose relationship with the truth. At Friday's sentencing, Serafini still maintained his innocence and told the court he was out partying with his wife the night of the shooting. He described himself as a, quote, broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes. End quote. Sarafini was a first round draft pick by the Minnesota Twins in 1992 and spent seven years in the big leagues. And while that legal saga out of California has reached its conclusion, another high profile family murder case is intensifying in Florida where prosecutors have released disturbing text messages from a woman accused of hiring a hitman to kill her ex husband. On March 2, prosecutors in Jacksonville, Florida released a new batch of evidence in the murder case against Shawna Gardner and the text messages are striking. Gardner and her second husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, are charged with hiring a gunman to murder Gardner's ex husband, 33 year old Jared Bride Again, a Microsoft executive and father of four who was shot and killed. On February 16, 2022, Bride Again was ambushed in Jacksonville beach after dropping off the twin children he shared with Gardner at her home. According to investigators, a tire had been deliberately placed in the road to force him to stop. When Bride Again got out of his Volkswagen Atlas to move the tire, he was shot and killed. His two year old daughter, Bexley, was still in the back seat of the vehicle. Some of the bullets passed through the car inches from where was sitting. The investigation eventually led to three suspects. Henry Tenon, then 61 years old and a former tenant of Fernandez Saldana, was arrested first and originally pleaded guilty to second degree murder. He agreed to testify against Gardner and her husband, but Tenon later reversed course, withdrew his plea and claimed his testimony was false. He will now go to trial. Separately, financial records released as evidence showed several handwritten checks from Fernandez Saldana to Tanan totaling thousands of dollars in the weeks after Breide Again's murder. The newly released evidence from the prosecution paints a picture of a woman who allegedly fantasized about violence against her ex husband for years before his death. In one text exchange with her friend Kimberly Jensen, Gardner wrote about the custody arrangements she shared with Bride Again. Allegedly, she said that just when she thought the one week on, one week off arrangement was a good idea, it gave her great pleasure imagining slitting his throat. Prosecutors say Gardner frequently referred to Bride Again as Stupid in conversations with friends. In another exchange, Jensen told Gardner she was trying to send Stupid to prison and that if she couldn't make a casserole, prison was the next best option. Previous testimony revealed that Gardner and Jensen allegedly used code words like funeral potatoes and doing magic to discuss a potential murder for hire. The evidence also includes a text from Jensen to another person in which she wrote that Sha needed a guy, the kind that performs permanent disappearing acts on certain people and asked if they knew any magicians. Jensen has not been charged in connection with the case. Prosecutors also released the contents of a controlled phone call where someone cooperating with law enforcement called Fernandez Saldana and told him that the atf, which stands for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, had forced entry into a residence and seized multiple items in the call. Fernandez Saldana denied having anything in the home. Gardner and Fernandez Saldana no longer face a potential death sentence if convicted. Prosecutors withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty after Tenon began to have doubts about cooperating. The victim's widow, Kristen Bride, again publicly supported the decision, saying the family did not want to prolong the suffering of Jared's oldest two children through years of death penalty appeals. Gardner was arrested in August of 2023 in Washington state where she'd been living with her children. Fernandez Saldano was arrested in March of that year in Orange County, Florida. Both are charged with first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse. Both have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on August 10th. While that case inches toward trial, investigators in Minnesota have made an arrest in a months old case involving a woman found dead in a camper.
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old Minnesota man has been arrested and charged with murder months after a woman was found dead inside a camper at a campground in Wabasha County. Stanley Munsterman was charged on February 26th with two counts of second degree murder and one count of manslaughter in the death of 66 year old Barbara McBride Law. He was booked into the Wabasha County Jail and his arraignment is scheduled for March 2. McBride Law's body was discovered on August 30, 2025 inside a camper near Max Park Place, a bar at a campground in Mazepa, a small city about 70 miles southeast of Minneapolis. When her body was found, investigators noted no obvious signs of external trauma. However, the medical examiner later ruled her death the result of homicidal violence. The manner and cause of death have not been publicly detailed beyond that determination. Investigators quickly learned that Munsterman had been staying with McBride Law at the campground. When police contacted him the following day, he told them he was at his girlfriend's home in Nebraska. He described his relationship with McBride Law as a longtime friendship dating back to their high school days, but said the relationship was not romantic. Surveillance video, however, told a different story of his movements. It showed Munsterman arriving at the campground on August 28 and leaving at 3:47 in the morning on August 30. The hours before the body was found, Munsterman told police he'd been drinking heavily on the night of August 29th and did not remember being inside McBride Law's camper. But it was what Munsterman allegedly said to others that drew investigators attention. According to court documents. Several witnesses told police that after McBride Law's death, Munsterman made alarming comments. He told one person that he thought he may have killed someone, but he could not remember. In a separate phone call with another individual, he allegedly said he believed he may have badly hurt someone but did not know who. Months later, on February 26, Munsterman was formally charged. The case has remained under active investigation by the Wabasha County Sheriff's Office throughout the fall and into 2026. And as Munsterman now sits in the Wabasha County Jail awaiting his first court appearance, we turn to two more cases you need to know about, one involving a former firefighter sentenced for his wife's murder and a mother accused of poisoning her own daughter. On Friday, February 27, a former battalion chief with the Camas Washougal Fire Department in Washington state was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife. Kevin west was convicted of first degree murder in the 2024 killing of his wife, Marcy West. On the day she died, Kevin west called 900 and reported that his wife was having a seizure. But the autopsy told a different story. It determined she had been strangled to death. The sentencing hearing in Clark county exposed a divide within the family. West's son, Ted west, asked the judge for leniency, describing his father as empathetic, kind and loving over the 22 years he had known him. But West's daughter, Megan west, urged the harshest sentence possible. She addressed her father directly, telling him that days after he killed their mother, he brought his mistress into their home. His now fiance, Cynthia Ward testified during the trial that she and Kevin knew each other for 20 years, but reconnected in 2023. At the hearing, Kevin west maintained his innocence but apologized to his family for the affair. He said, quote, I'm truly sorry for having an affair. I know it was wrong and I should have waited for the divorce to be finalized. That was wrong and for that I am truly sorry. But that is my only wrongdoing. End quote. And in North Carolina, a mother accused of poisoning three people at a Thanksgiving gathering, including her own daughter, was back in court ahead of her trial next month. On February 26th, prosecutors in Henderson County, North Carolina, announced they will not seek the death penalty against 52 year old Gudrun Casper Leinenkugel, who's charged with two counts of first degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder, and three counts of distributing a prohibited food or beverage. Authorities allege that on November 30, 2025, during a Thanksgiving gathering at her home, Casper Lenkugle laced a bottle of wine with acetonitrile, a chemical solvent that converts to cyanide inside the human body. Three guests drank from the bottle and became ill. Her 32 year old daughter, Leela Jean Livis, died. She is also being charged for the attempted poisonings of her other adult daughter, Mia Lacy, and Lacy's boyfriend, Richard Peg. But prosecutors say this case may stretch back much further than that Thanksgiving gathering. Investigators also allege that evidence links Casper leinenkugel to the 2007 death of a Henderson county man named Michael Schmidt, whose autopsy revealed the same chemical compound. A death certificate obtained by the Citizen Times showed Schmidt's cause of death as, quote, unquote, acute acetonitrile toxicity. Probably huffing, end quote. If convicted on the murder charges, she still faces life in prison. Her next court date is scheduled for April 30 and will continue to follow the case as it moves forward. Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax and let go of whatever you're carrying today.
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drawn to true crime stories about disappearances, there's a new Crime House show for
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you to check out.
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It's the new Crime House original series, the Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Sarah is an advocate for missing and murdered victims whose own sister disappeared in 2001. And Courtney is a true crime storyteller and investigator who witnessed firsthand how crime can change a family forever. Together, they bring lived experience to every case, looking not only at what happened,
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but what led up to it.
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Each episode examines the moments just before a person disappears. The routines, the timelines, and the small details that often, often get overlooked. Because every disappearance has a moment where everything still feels normal. A text that doesn't raise concern, a routine that goes unchanged, a door that closes just like it always has. Until it doesn't. The final hours puts those moments under a microscope because when it comes to justice, there's no such thing as overanalyzing. Listen to and follow the final hours on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. New episodes every Monday.
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Before you go, let me tell you what else is happening at Crime House today on Crimes of We're examining one of the strangest media spectacles of the modern era, the Balloon boy hoax. In October 2009, millions of Americans watched live footage of a silver saucer shaped balloon drifting across the Colorado sky. Authorities believed a six year old boy was trapped inside. News helicopters followed the object in real time. National anchors narrated every shift in altitude. Viewers held their breath. The balloon eventually descended. The boy was not inside. What unfolded next was not a rescue, but an unraveling. The event had mobilized law enforcement, aviation authorities, and non stop news coverage was revealed to be staged. It was not an accident. It was not a tragedy narrowly avoided. It was a hoax. There is something uniquely unsettling about a deception that captures national attention. Hoaxes expose how quickly fear spreads, how institutions respond under pressure, and how easily speculation hardens into assumed truth. They reveal how urgency can override skepticism. They show how authority, whether scientific, governmental or journalistic, can amplify A falsehood faster than facts can catch up. Balloon Boy was not the first time the public was misled on a massive scale. History contains numerous examples of hoaxes that triggered panic, reshaped policy, damaged reputations, or altered cultural conversations before the truth emerged. Here are five hoaxes that fooled the public and ignited waves of fear or fascination before reality intervened. Number one. The War of the Worlds. Broadcast on October 30, 1938, a radio dramatization of H.G. wells's the War of the Worlds aired on CBS. Directed and narrated by Orson Welles, the program was presented as a fictional adaptation, but it was structured to resemble a live news broadcast. The show interrupted simulated music programming with urgent reports describing strange explosions on Mars and a cylindrical object crashing into a field in New Jersey. Actors portrayed officials and reporters describing towering machines and deadly gas spreading across towns. The format mimicked the tone of authentic breaking news. Although disclaimers were included at the beginning and during the broadcast, many listeners tuned in after the program had begun. Some believed they were hearing real emergency bulletins. Phone lines lit up. People contacted police stations and newspapers. In certain areas, individuals reportedly left their homes or attempted to confirm whether an invasion was underway. Historians have debated the scale of the panic, suggesting that later accounts may have exaggerated its reach. However, there is no dispute that confusion occurred and that the broadcast became a landmark moment in media history. The War of the Worlds incident revealed the power of authoritative tone. It demonstrated how emerging communication technologies could blur the boundary between fiction and fact. The panic was not solely about aliens. It was about trust in the structure of news delivery. For the first time on a national scale, Americans experienced how convincingly media could simulate catastrophe. Number two, the Piltdown Man. In 1912, fragments of what appeared to be an ancient human skull were presented to the scientific community in England. The discovery, known as the Piltdown man, was announced as a revolutionary find, evidence of a transitional fossil between apes and modern humans. The fossil fragments were exhibited, analyzed and accepted by many prominent scientists. The find convenient aligned with expectations that early human evolution would have occurred in Europe. For decades, the Piltdown specimen influenced academic debate and shaped evolutionary theory. It was not until 1953, more than 40 years later, that advanced testing techniques revealed the truth. The skull fragments were a deliberate forgery. They combined parts of a medieval human skull with the jaw of an orangutan. The teeth had been artificially filed down to resemble human wear patterns. The hoax misled the scientific establishment for a generation. Piltdown succeeded not because of mass hysteria, but because of confirmation bias. The fossil fit Prevailing assumptions. It offered prestige. It validated national pride in British scientific discovery. Skepticism existed, but it was overshadowed by the authority of institutions that endorsed the find. The Piltdown man case illustrates how deception can flourish when it reinforces what people expect or hope to see. Panic is not always loud. Sometimes it's quiet acceptance built on flawed evidence. Number three, the satanic panic. Preschool cases. During the 1980s and early 1990s, allegations of ritual abuse in daycare centers spread across the United States and parts of Europe. The claims often involved accusations that children had been subjected to elaborate ceremonies, underground tunnels and coordinated networks of hidden abusers. High profile prosecutions followed. In several cases, children were interviewed repeatedly by adults who believed abuse had occurred. Over time, some children described increasingly elaborate scenarios. Media coverage amplified the narrative. Television segments and newspaper articles treated the accusations as evidence of a broader hidden conspiracy. Families were torn apart. Individuals were arrested and imprisoned. Communities became divided between believers and skeptics. Years later, appeals courts overturned several convictions. Investigations revealed that interviewing techniques had been suggestive and in some cases, coercive. There was often a lack of physical evidence supporting the extraordinary allegations. Experts began reevaluating the methods used to question children and the assumptions that shaped early investigations. The so called Satanic panic did not originate from a single fabricated story. It emerged from a convergence of of fear, rumor and cultural anxiety. Concerns about changing social norms, women entering the workforce and children spending more time in daycare contributed to the atmosphere. The panic demonstrated how narratives can spread when institutions respond aggressively to allegations without fully scrutinizing evidence. Once the idea of hidden evil became embedded in public discourse, skepticism was interpreted as denial. The damage endured long after the claims were discredited. Number four, the Cardiff Giant. In 1869, workers digging a well on a farm in upstate New York uncovered what appeared to be the petrified remains of a 10 foot tall human figure buried underground. The discovery attracted immediate attention. Some observers believed it was evidence of biblical giants described in religious texts. Others speculated about lost civilizations. Crowds gathered. Admission fees were charged. The figure was displayed as a marvel. In reality, the Cardiff Giant was a carved gypsum statue intentionally buried as part of a scheme to generate profit and spectacle. The hoax was designed to exploit fascination with antiquity and religious mystery. Despite skepticism from some scientists, thousands of people paid to see the artifact. Debates raged in newspapers and public forums. The Cardiff Giant illustrates how physical spectacle can overpower critical thinking. The object existed. It could be touched and examined. Its tangible presence lent credibility to an extraordinary claim. The hoax did not rely on fear of immediate danger. It relied on curiosity and Belief in the extraordinary. It shows that panic can take many forms, including the rush to witness something supposedly historic before others do. Number five. The great moon hoax. In 1835, a series of articles published in a New York newspaper claimed that an astronomer had discovered life on the moon. The reports described bat like humanoids, strange animals, forests and architectural structures observed through a powerful telescope. The articles were written in scientific language and attributed to respected authorities.
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Readers were captivated.
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Circulation surged. The public debated the implications of lunar civilization. Eventually, it became clear that the stories were entirely fictional. The Great Moon Hoax demonstrates the long standing power of sensational journalism. Even in the 19th century, before radio or television printed, words presented with authority could captivate and mislead. The deception did not cause mass flight or emergency mobilization, however. It reshaped public understanding of science and media credibility. It revealed how easily extraordinary claims could be accepted when framed with technical detail and institutional backing. Why hoaxes trigger panic Hoaxes succeed because they exploit urgency and trust. They present information in a form that demands immediate response. They tap into pre existing fears or desires. They use the structure of authority, official language, scientific terminology, news formatting to bypass skepticism. In moments of uncertainty, institutions often act quickly. Law enforcement mobilizes. Media outlets interrupt programming. Public officials respond. Each response reinforces the perception that the threat is real. Once that machinery begins moving, it becomes difficult to slow down and reassess. Hoaxes also reveal something fundamental about human psychology. People seek clarity during crises. They want narratives that explain ambiguous events. When a story emerges that offers explanation, even a false one, it can spread faster than careful verification. The fear does not arise solely from the deception itself. It arises from the realization that belief can be manufactured. The Balloon Boy incident captured that dynamic in real time. A drifting object in the sky became a national emergency within minutes. Helicopters followed it. Anchors narrated it. Viewers experienced collective suspense. When the story collapsed, it exposed vulnerabilities not only in one family's judgment, but in the broader media ecosystem. For the full breakdown of how the Balloon Boy hoax unfolded, how it gripped the nation, and what it revealed about spectacle, credibility and public reaction, listen to today's episode of Crimes of Deception. Because sometimes the most revealing stories are not about what happened. They're about how quickly people believe it did. You've been listening to crime house 247 bringing you breaking crime news. I'm Vanessa Richardson. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more developing stories. Stay safe and thanks for listening.
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Hi, it's Vanessa. If you're drawn to true crime stories about disappearances, check out the new Crime House original the Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Listen to and follow the Final Hours on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or
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wherever you get your podcasts.
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New episodes drop every Monday.
Crime House 24/7
Host: Vanessa Richardson
Episode: Ex-MLB Pitcher Dan Serafini Gets Life Sentence for Tahoe In-Law Murder
Date: March 3, 2026
This gripping episode of Crime House 24/7, hosted by Vanessa Richardson, provides breaking coverage of the life sentencing of ex-MLB pitcher Dan Serafini for the 2021 murder of his father-in-law and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law in Lake Tahoe. The episode also quickly recaps several other high-profile true crime stories, featuring emotional courtroom testimony, unsettling family dynamics, and cases that highlight deeply disturbing motives. Richardson’s delivery is direct and urgent, spotlighting the facts, the evidence, and the ongoing impact on victims’ families.
[02:14 – 09:45]
Case Recap:
Dan Serafini, a former first-round MLB draft pick, was sentenced to life without parole on February 27 in Placer County, CA for murdering his father-in-law, Robert Gary Spore, and attempting to kill his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, on June 5, 2021.
Emotional Testimony:
Financial Motive:
The Crime Details:
Trial Evidence:
Co-Conspirator:
Post-Conviction Motions:
Courtroom Revelations:
Serafini’s Statement:
[09:45 – 12:28]
Case Details:
Investigation Highlights:
Text Messages as Evidence:
Prosecution Strategy:
Status:
[13:24 – 14:50]
Arrest:
Evidence:
[14:50 – 16:35]
Case Recap:
Family Divide:
Quote:
[16:35 – 19:16]
Case Details:
Legal Proceedings:
The reporting is concise, fact-driven, and urgent, reflecting the podcast’s commitment to breaking news. Vanessa Richardson’s narration is clear and compassionate but unflinching, particularly when presenting the raw courtroom moments and the pain of victims’ families. The episode keeps the listener anchored in the gravity of each story while steadily moving from case to case.
This episode offers an up-to-the-minute report on several ongoing criminal cases, led by the dramatic sentencing of Dan Serafini. It sharply captures the interplay of motive, method, and aftermath in each crime, spotlights the devastation wrought on families, and reminds listeners that justice—while served—often comes at a high emotional price.