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First Watch: Danny Masterson Fights Conviction & Munchausen Mom Faces Justice
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- [00:03]
Katie Ring
Hi Crime House community. It's Katie looking for another Crime House original podcast to add to your rotation. You will love Clues with Morgan Abshur and Kaylin Moore. Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kaylin dig into the world's most notorious crimes, clue by clue. From serial killers to shocking murders. They follow the trail of clues, break down the evidence and debate the theories. It's like hanging out with your smart and true crime obsessed friends. Listen to clues on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts. This is Crime House. Today we've got two stories dominating local and national headlines. First, a well known actor and higher up in the Church of Scientology landed 30 years in prison. Now he's attempting to overturn his essay related convictions. Then a small town mom has big ideas for how to strike it rich until those closest to her realize she's putting her own daughter in grave danger.
- [01:14]
Ad Voice Male
Danny Masterson is appealing his L A rape conviction. The actor claims there were fundamental flaws in the case of that prevented him from receiving a fair trial.
- [01:23]
Katie Ring
Okay. Rolling Stone reports Danny Masterson attacks rape victims in new oversized appeal brief. Danny Masterson is seeking to overturn his conviction with claims that his two rape victims had evolving stories and a financial.
- [01:35]
Ad Voice Male
Interest in his criminal prosecution.
- [01:43]
Katie Ring
Hi, welcome to Crime House Daily. I'm your host Katie Ring. Here we follow the cases making headlines now where justice is still unfolding. Follow us wherever you're listening and if you want ad free episodes, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. This episode discusses active criminal cases and breaking news. The information we share is based on what's publicly available at the time of recording and may change as new evidence comes to light. We aim to inform, not to decide guilt or innocence. So everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Foreign.
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- [02:55]
Katie Ring
In today's first case, the actor Danny Masterson, who played Stephen Hyde on the popular television series that 70s show, used his power and status within the Church of Scientology to commit heinous crimes against women. You may have first seen the story in the news in 2017, when the women first went to the police. But it made headlines again in 2023, when 47 year old Masterson was convicted and sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. But he wasn't going to go away quietly. As of November 2025, Masterson has filed a petition to overturn the conviction. And to do that, he's shifting the blame. Surprise, surprise, let's get into it. In 1998, at the age of 22 years old, Fox's television branch introduced Danny Masterson to the world in that 70s show as the character Stephen Hyde. Hyde was a fan favorite bad boy who went on to have a central love story with the popular girl Jackie Burkhart, portrayed by the then rising star Mila Kunis. During the show's eight year run from 1998 to 2006, Masterson was at the height of his fame alongside Mila and Ashton Kutcher. He was also popular off air and hosted regular hangouts at his house near Hollywood with a backyard pool and jacuzzi. In addition to gaining status in the entertainment industry, Masterson was a lifelong member of the Church of Scientology, which many people, including former members, believe is a cult. Whether or not Masterson believes that, we don't know. But one thing's for certain, Scientology helped him meet women, particularly vulnerable women, who he went on to do terrible things to. The woman at the center of this case have remained largely anonymous in the media for their protection. So we'll do the same. But they were all members of the Church of Scientology. The first woman Masterson met through the church was a model and actress. She was his girlfriend from 1996 to 2002, and during their time together, Masterson became increasingly abusive, both physically and sexually. One morning in late 2001, when she was 23 and he was 25, his sinister side really came out. When he essayed her, the woman woke up to Masterson saing her, and in a desperate attempt to get him off of her, she screamed and yanked on his hair. Knowing he didn't like having his hair touched, he hit her, spit on her, called her derogatory names, but eventually let up. They broke up after that, and Masterson seemed to lay low for a couple of years. But then when he was 27 years old, he targeted his second victim. This woman was friends with his assistant, and one day In April of 2003, she stopped by Masterson's house to pick up a set of keys. While she was there, he offered her a drink, and she took it, thinking nothing of it. But suddenly she started feeling sick and out of it. She passed out, and when she came to, Masterson was saing her. She too tried to pull Masterson off of her, using his hair, but he started smothering her with a pillow. She tried to push him away, this time by his throat, but then he started strangling her so badly, she thought she was going to die. He eventually let up, and she said that he pulled a gun from a drawer in his bedside table and ordered her to be quiet when there was a commotion and voices at the door. She said that throughout the night, she passed in and out of consciousness despite only drinking about half of a fruity vodka drink Masterson had handed her. Fortunately, she survived and made it out okay. But Masterson still wasn't done hurting innocent women. The third victim was someone he was texting with in 2003, but when he invited her over, she felt like his tone was weirdly aggressive. She gave him the benefit of the doubt, though, and thought that maybe that was just how he flirted. So she agreed to come over to hang out for a bit and maybe have a glass of wine. But she made it clear she wouldn't get into his pool or hot tub. When she got there, Masterson gave her a glass of wine and then almost immediately ordered her to take her clothes off and get into the hot tub. He said if she didn't take them off herself, he would do it. She was afraid of things getting violent, so she did as he said. But as she got into the hot tub, things started to get foggy. Masterson then carried her upstairs, where he essayed her in the shower and then once more on his bed. After the assaults, the women turned to a group of people they thought they could trust, the Church of Scientology. But as an outsider, it comes as no surprise that when they reported what Masterson had done, church officials told them point blank that none of it happened. From there, the women were placed in, quote, ethics programs within the church and warned against going to law enforcement. Masterson was a high ranking member himself, so of course he faced zero consequences contrary to the church's instructions. In 2004, one woman, the friend of Masterson's assistant, filed a police report, but it was met with silence and went nowhere. Meanwhile, Masterson's life continued. In 2011, he married actor and model Bijou Phillips, and in 2014, they had a daughter. He also reunited with Ashton Kutcher in 2016 on a Netflix comedy series called the Ranch. But in that decade and a half after the assaults, while Masterson lived his best life. The women he victimized were left traumatized and unable to move on like nothing happened. They all suffered severe, inescapable trauma and were haunted by the memories of what Masterson had done to them. And now he was back on their TV screens. And that's how each realized they had to do something. Masterson couldn't just get away with what he'd done. So between 2016 and 2017, all three women went to the police. And in March 2017, the LAPD was finally investigating. At first, nothing really changed in Masterson's life. But then in June 2020, when the MeToo movement took off, he was written off the show. And after three years of investigation, Masterson was finally arrested and charged with three counts of rape. But there was a long way to go before he'd actually be held accountable for his crimes. From clothes to bedding to jewelry, Quint has the highest quality fabrics, materials and pieces that are timeless and will actually last. And the best part is that they work with ethical, trusted factories that allow them to offer prices far below what other luxury brands charge. Last time I promised you an update on the linen duvet I bought and I can now confirm that after a few washes, the linen fabric is super comfy and looks amazing. I I will definitely be gifting some items from Quince for Christmas and I might have to sneak in another item for myself. 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- [11:54]
Ryan Reynolds
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- [12:15]
Katie Ring
Upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 GB if network's busy. Taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com While Danny Masterson was charged with three counts of rape in June of 2020, the case continued to move at a snail's pace. But the next year, in 2021, a judge found the evidence strong enough to try Masterson in court five years after the investigation had started and two years after the charges. The case finally went to trial in October of 2022, but two years later, a mistrial was declared when the jury was unable to reach a verdict on any of the charges. So the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office decided to try again. And in 2023, Masterson was back in court. He didn't testify, but all three of his accusers did. The defense spent a lot of time trying to poke holes in their stories and even accused them of coordinating their stories to make them sound more believable. But the prosecution fired back and said every single account the jury had heard was completely genuine. After seven days of deliberation, the Los Angeles jury of seven women and five men reached a conclusion. On May 31, 2023. They found Masterson guilty of two of the three rape counts, but couldn't reach a verdict on the third count, the one alleging Masterson essayed his girlfriend in 2001. Which isn't surprising given the fact that some people don't understand that no means no, no matter your relationship status or whether you have consented in the past. Well, at least four of them didn't, because on that count their final vote remained 8 to 4 in favor of conviction, resulting in a deadlock. But he would still be sentenced for the 2003 rapes, and for now, that would be good enough. Masterson's wife, Bijou, who could be seen in videos and photographs by Masterson's side throughout the six years of investigation and trial, gasped as the verdict was read and sobbed as her husband was handcuffed, walked off and ordered to remain in custody until his sentencing. On September 7, 2023, the defense made a motion for a new trial, but the judge rejected it. That day, 47 year old Masterson was sentenced to 3030 years to life in prison. The horrific crimes he committed 20 years ago had finally caught up with him. Two weeks later, after almost 12 years of marriage, Bijou filed for divorce. Two years after that, in October of 2025, Bijou filed to change their 11 year old daughter's last name for Masterson to Phillips. That same day, a judge changed both Bijou and Masterson's legal marriage statuses to single. But the name change is still being decided on. At the same time, Masterson was cooking up plans of his own. On November 17th of this year, after being in prison for almost two and a half years, he filed a habeas petition to overturn his conviction. In the filing, Masterson blamed his trial lawyer, Philip Cohen for the two guilty verdicts. His new lawyers say Cohen only talked to two of the 20 potential witnesses his co counsel recommended and claimed that some of the people who were missed could have exonerated Masterson. They claimed that they could get some people to testify that one of the victims had shared positive stories about her sexual relationship with Masterson immediately following the event. They even went so far as to claim that guests in Masterson's house the night of one of the essays could have testified that they heard enthusiastic consensual sexual activity coming from his bedroom. Furthermore, the new defense argued that Philip didn't present new evidence as defense in this case that would look like an attempt to prove the victim's consent instead of just poking holes in the consistency of their stories. The petition also claimed that Philip didn't push back when the prosecution focused on the Church of Scientology. It claimed that because Masterson met the woman through the Church of Scientology, his membership took central focus in the closing arguments. By the way, the organization denied discouraging the women from reporting Masterson to law enforcement. If Masterson's convictions are upheld, he still has a tentative date to consult with a board of parole set for May of 2038, and in 2042 he'll be eligible for parole. In the meantime, the woman who survived his sick attacks will hopefully be able to find peace and move forward. We'll be keeping a close eye on all of the major updates, so be sure to check back in today's next case, an Indiana mother made dramatic claims about her young daughter's health, but when other people started to question those claims, a complete and total scandal got revealed. Now that mother is facing the consequences of her selfish actions. Since the victim of the story is still only 3 years old, keep her name private. Instead, we'll call her by her initials, FH. Let's get into it. FH was born around 2022 and ever since she was only three months old, her mother, 32 year old Alana Lynn Brown, claimed she had health problems and said that her daughter had trouble breathing and eating. At the time, FH was underweight, so the doctor took Alana's word for it and diagnosed the baby with more moderate malnutrition. However, things didn't improve and when FH was six months old, Alana had her complete swallow studies. She told doctors that her daughter was aspirating or choking on her food and insisted her daughter needed a feeding tube. She seemed like a caring mother, so doctors approved the use of the tube. Helping anyone eat through a tube is a big responsibility, especially such a young child. So Alana needed all the help she could get. She contacted a local organization called Lifestream Services which mainly provided support for the elderly and people with disabilities so they can maintain their independence. But they also supported caregivers who need help providing a happy, healthy life for their loved ones. Based on her daughter's malnourishment diagnosis and her feeding tube, Alana met this criteria and she started receiving financial aid from Lifestream so she could dedicate all of her time to watching over and caring for her daughter. But someone close to Alana started to become suspicious and called her bluff. You open the fridge, there's nothing there. So what's it going to be? 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- [20:19]
Katie Ring
As I'm sure some of you can assume, or may even know firsthand, having a feeding tube inserted is not a fun experience. A procedure is required to place the tube, which comes with recovery time. This can be especially tough on children, and any parent would have a hard time watching their child go through that. At the same time, though, most of those parents would probably agree that it's worth it to make sure their child is getting all of the nutrition and sustenance they need. Alana Brown, however, had much different feelings towards her young daughter using a feeding tube. On August 18, 2023, Alana was at her best friend's house with her daughter when her friend tried to feed the little girl without the feeding tube. But when Alana noticed that happening, she absolutely lost it. She told her friend to stop. Her daughter was only allowed to use her feeding tube to eat. Otherwise, if she gained weight, Alana would lose the payments she'd been getting. The aid money was from a local group, Lifestream Services, and was approved based on her daughter's need for the feeding tube. So if she gained weight and was no longer considered malnourished, Alana would stop getting checks. Alana told her friend that if she lost that money, she'd have to figure out a whole new way to make income. Apparently, over the last 222 months, Alana had accepted about $96,000 from LifeStream. Alana even went so far as to say that losing the money wasn't worth her daughter being able to eat enough. Alana's friend was immediately alarmed and suspicious. First of all, she had never seen Alana use the feeding tube. In fact, she'd only ever seen her eat solid foods, including frequent McDonald's meals, without any problems. She knew she had to do something. So once Alana was gone, she grabbed her ring security footage that had captured the entire encounter and showed it to FH's father, Dustin. Alana and Dustin weren't together as a couple, and Alana often denied him his custody rights, including overnights. And she wouldn't let him join them on doctor's visits either. However, Dustin was a preschool teacher and already knew a lot about childcare. So when he learned that FH was on a feeding tube, he got suspicious. That's when he went to a provider named Dr. Courtney Demetris, the medical director and a founding member of the child Abuse pediatrics team at Peyton Manning Children's hospital in Indianapolis. Dr. Demetrius seemed like the perfect person to help Dustin get to the bottom of whether Alana was up to no good. Dustin told her that when FH was in his care, she had no problem eating normally without the feeding tube. Concerned, Dr. Demetrius reached out to FH's daycare provider and preschool teacher. They both agreed that FH ate fine without the tube. From there, Dr. Demetrius medical abuse team wanted to observe FH's eating habits themselves. It took a little while, but they had her brought in for observation from March 10 to March 15, 2025. Alana was with FH during that inpatient stay, and she, of course, realized that the medical team was onto her. But she wanted to make sure FH's weight stayed down. So when no doctors or staff members were around, she refused to give her daughter anything to eat or drink while they were there. FH kept asking for her sippy cup of milk, but Alana wouldn't give it to her. She also wouldn't use the thickening agent that she'd been given to help FH drink after she told doctors that her daughter choked on thin liquids more easily. What Alana didn't realize, though, was that while There may not have been anyone else in the room with them. There were cameras. And after FH's inpatient stay was over, Dr. Demetrius reviewed all of the footage and saw what happened. Now she and her team felt certain that Alana was medically abusing fh. That same month, she met with the Department of Child Services to let them know. Since the two parents were reporting different things, DCS asked to observe the father's feedings. FH was put in his care for 10 days and the entire time she ate easily without a feeding tube and gained the much needed weight. After that, DCS got in touch with the local authorities about the case. And on May 23, 2025, Dr. Demetris reached out to the Department of Child Services for an emergency meeting. She did not want FH to remain under Alana's care. Her weight was so low, she was dangerously close to fitting the criteria for being severely malnourished. Everyone decided that she'd stay with her father for the next two weeks and the judge approved a request for an emergency removal from Alana's home. Then doctors diagnosed FH with child physical abuse and prescribed a high calorie diet. A couple weeks later, doctors checked FH's weight again and she had gained just over a pound, which was good. She stayed with her dad and a few months later she'd gained a couple more pounds. At this point, Alana was suspected of having Munchausen syndrome by proxy and she'd likely faked her child's illness for her own gain. She was arrested on November 16, 2025 and released on a two thousand dollar bail. The same day she was charged with fraud and neglect of a dependent causing bodily injury. As the case against her proceeds, the state has requested a no contact order for FH against Alana. We hope that in her father's care she continues to live a happy, healthy life. As always, we'll be sure to bring you all of the updates on this case as they come in. What did you think of today's cases? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments. See you next time. If you haven't already. Follow us wherever you're listening Rimehouse daily. And make sure to follow us on social media rimehouse24.7 for real time updates because the pursuit of justice never stops. And Doug, here we have the Limu.
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- [27:01]
Katie Ring
Massachusetts Looking for your next crime house? Listen, don't miss Clues with Morgan Abshur and Kaylin Moore. Every Wednesday, Morgan and Kaylin take you deep into the world of the most notorious crimes ever. Clue by clue. It's like hanging out with your smart true crime obsessed friends. Listen to Clues on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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