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Crime House 24/7
First Watch: First Watch: Colorado’s “Faith Gym” Predator & Four Moms Solve Cold Case
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Crime House has the perfect new show for spooky season Twisted Tales. Hosted by Heidi Wong, each episode of Twisted Tales is perfect for late night scares and daytime frights, revealing the disturbing real life events that inspired the world's most terrifying blockbusters and the ones too twisted to make it to screen. Twisted Tales is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Listen wherever you get your podcasts New episodes out every Monday. This is Crime House. It is a conviction three years in the making. A personal trainer accused of sexual assault on teenage athletes has been found guilty.
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The concern that he would get right back out in the public the still emboldened with what he did felt like no one cared enough to convict him of that. I think really emboldened sex offenders to believe that what they did wasn't wrong and that it's okay to continue to do things like that.
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Investigators believe there could be more victims and they want anybody with information to call Parker Police. He promised opportunity, security and even a future kids could count on. But what Aaron Corrado delivered instead was betrayal, manipulation and devastation. This is the story of how one man's lies unraveled countless lives. Hi, I'm Katie, a true crime analyst, self defense instructor and fierce advocate for victims. And this is Crime House Daily, your essential true crime companion. Every weekday morning and night here at Crime House Daily, we dig into the true crime stories making headlines right now, where justice is unfolding, arrests are happening and new evidence is emerging. Every morning, First Watch gets you up to speed on the biggest cases. Every night, Night Watch takes you deeper. If you want to follow a case from the first 911 call to the final verdict, this is the place for you. Follow Crime House Daily. Wherever you get your podcasts, leave a Review and for ad free listening, subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. For video, check out our YouTube channel, Rimehouse Daily. 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. Today we're covering two major cases in the news. The first case is the conviction of Colorado fitness trainer Aaron Corrado, who used his position of trust to sexually assault teenage athletes. He now faces a possible life sentence. The second case is the story of the carpool detectives, four suburban moms who cracked a 15 year old double homicide tied to organized crime, which earned them headlines. A book deal and reopened an investigation.
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This episode is brought to you by Netflix. Everyone is telling her she dreamt it, but in the woman in cabin 10, Lo Blacklock is determined to uncover the truth in the gripping new thriller coming to Netflix October 10th. Keira Knightley plays a journalist aboard a luxury yacht who witnesses a crime she can't unsee. Adapted from Ruth Ware's best selling novel, directed by Simon Stone. Watch the woman in Cabin 10 Only on Netflix on October 10th.
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Okay, before we get into today's main cases, we have a new case on our radar. A man in Illinois named Jaquan Timothy was charged in late September for shooting his ex girlfriend. Allegedly, Timothy's current girlfriend told the police something chilling. She said that Timothy told her he was going to shoot his ex because he wanted to prove his love to his new girl. As of this recording, we don't know the condition of Timothy's ex. He allegedly shot at her feet and neighbors called the police when they heard the gunshots at around 1:30 in the morning. The crime happened in mid July and Timothy was arrested in late September. Make sure to check out our social media rimehouse24 7 for updates on this case as they roll in. Today's first case is troubling because it has to do with the misuse of trust and abuse from a person in a position of author. In 2022, 48 year old fitness trainer Aaron Thomas Corrado was arrested for sexually assaulting two teenage girls he was coaching. On August 14, 2025, he was found guilty by a jury in Douglas County, Colorado and convicted of his crimes and is now awaiting his November sentencing. Let's take a closer look at what brought him here. Before his arrest, Aaron was the owner of Strength in Christ Gym in Parker, Colorado which has since closed. It was a faith focused fitness center that advertised itself as the top athletic training facility in the greater Denver area for youth, high school and collegiate sports. Aaron was a former athlete himself, so he was familiar with the demographic. He played three years of college basketball and one year of college football. Afterwards, he briefly signed onto a professional arena football league. He claims he wanted to work with kids because he was an athlete growing up and wanted to foster the next generation of star athletes. In college, Aaron majored in Biblical studies and minored in exercise science and wanted to blend the two to inspire future athletes. Aaron owned and managed the gym, but he was also a trainer which allowed him to spend a lot of time with the kids. And these kids had promising futures. They were all high level athletes, many of which were classified as Olympic level, they looked up to their coach and trusted him to take them to the next level. But Aaron took advantage of that trust and sexually assaulted two girls he was training between 2019 and 2022. At this time, they were just 15 and 16 years old. Aaron got away with this for three years until his now ex wife discovered some horrifying notes and social media messages on his phone and sent them to the police. Thankfully, investigators took these claims seriously and conducted a thorough forensic analysis on Aaron's phone. They also looked through the victim's devices and took DNA samples to confirm their suspicions. But by the time they were ready to make an arrest, Aaron was gone. Luckily, investigators were able to track him, and in September 2022, Aaron was arrested in the state of Montana. He was charged with 12 crimes, including six counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust as part of a pattern of abuse. He pleaded not guilty, but when his trial began in early August 2025, the prosecution had everything they needed. The two victims, who again were only 15 and 16 at the time, testified on the stand that Aaron had sexually assaulted them at his gym and and other locations, too. Their brave testimonies paired with the forensic evidence helped secure a conviction. And on August 14, 2025, Aaron Thomas Corrado was found guilty on all 12 counts against him. His sentencing is scheduled for November 13, and prosecutors say he faces eight years to life in prison. They're seeking a sentence that keeps Aaron behind bars for the rest of his life. In a statement, the Douglas county chief deputy district attorney said, quote, the defendant was entrusted to train Olympic level high school athletes. Instead, he violated and betrayed them. These courageous survivors have shown that no title, no position, and no power can shield predators from justice. She also added that if Aaron is allowed to walk free, it would communicate to him and other sexual predators that the acts he committed weren't wrong and they would feel emboldened to engage in repeat offenses, which is so refreshing to hear from a DA because an unacceptable amount of child predators completely walk free or only serve probation. It's time our kids get justice. For now, Aaron's fate is in the judge's hands until his sentencing in November. But we'll make sure to let you know what happens when he's back in court. In the meantime, investigators believe there may be more victims. If you have any additional information, please contact the Parker Police at 303-805-6561. Our second case today is about four Los Angeles women who have taken the true crime world by Storm. Not for committing a crime, but for solving one. After sending their children off to school for the day, this group of women referred to as the carpool detectives would get together to solve a gruesome 15 year old double homicide. Cold case in California. A book about them has catapulted them back into the news cycle. So let's get into all starts in May 2005 when a 60 something year old suburban business owner disappears with his wife. Their names have never been publicly released so the book calls them Joel and Angela Watkins. The Watkins family business had just shut down and millions of dollars are missing. People think the couple ran off with the money. That is until six weeks later when the Watkins are found dead in a canyon off the highway in Southern California. The Watkins SUV is wrecked, but there's something really strange about it. Their bodies aren't inside. They're lying outside of the vehicle somewhere nearby. And it doesn't seem like they were thrown from it during the crash. This leads police to believe that there had been foul play. But still no leads appear. So the news moves on to the next case. But then a woman named Marissa Pianco came along and changed everything. Marissa had a career in forensic accounting but she left to become a full time moment. But as her daughters got older she had a bit more free time and decided she wanted to spend it challenging herself. So in 2020 she signed up to take a night school journalism class at ucla. And that's where she learned about the Watkins case. Her professor shows news footage of the Watkins bodies being found and also shows their vehicle being airlifted from the bottom of a canyon by a helicopter. She recognizes this area as a place near Santa Monica where she used to hike and play as a kid and is immediately drawn into the case. Outside of night class, Marissa starts digging through newspaper archives and discovers that the Watkins LED lighting business had closed its doors shortly before Joel and Angela disappeared. Following their death, their company, which would be inherited by their children, was going to face lawsuits alleging financial misconduct. Marissa feels like the family was hiding something and she wants to figure out what. At the same time, a friend introduces Marissa to a woman named Jeannie Wilkinson, who is a freelance writer and an entertainment research executive. She is also pursuing a career in journalism. Marissa also meets two women at a bowling night fundraiser for her kids school. The first woman is Nicole Lancet Blank who is a political opposition researcher. The second is Samira Poulos who is a digital advertising project manager. The four women get to talking and find out that they are all true crime fanatics. In her excitement, Marissa tells her three new friends about her fascination with the unsolved Watkins case. The other women are sold and they come together to form the group now known as the Carpool Detectives.
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In 2020, Marissa Pianco, Jeannie Wilkinson, Nicole Lancet Blank and Samira Poulos start investigating a 15 year old cold case. The victims in this case were found dead in a canyon outside of Los Angeles, but haven't been publicly identified. So they're referred to as Joel and Angela Watkins. Working as a team, the four women divide and conquer, each taking on a different task and bringing the results back to the group. They cold call the victim's family members, request police records and interview the detective who had been assigned to the case at the time. The officer can't offer much help other than encouraging the women, so they're mostly on their own. But with their investigation starting at the beginning of the COVID lockdown, people seem mostly available and willing to talk. They find out that the Watkins neighbors had apparently heard a blood curdling scream one night and that just days before the couple disappeared, they heard the husband Joel, pleading with a man to buy his company. The deeper they dig into the case, the more Marissa's suspicion of foul play continues to grow. The women eventually discover that Joel and Angela's own son had shut down their company and he'd done it within a week of his parents disappearance. And shortly after, the bank filed a lawsuit alleging fraudulent activity. While looking into the company's bank documents, the women find that the vendors had submitted falsified invoices and the payments were traced to Joel's account. When the couple died, it also erased their $1 million debt, allowing both the estate and properties to be left in full to their son and a son in law. And the Watkins daughter seems to be the only relative concerned with her parents deaths. By the time the carpool detectives approach her, she has already suspected her brother and or brother in law had something to do with her parents dying. Which makes her even more determined to find out what happened to them. She's happy to help the carpool detectives with their investigation and even hands over her deceased parents cell phones to help. Marissa and her friends dedicate all of their free time to this case. And eventually they make a chilling connection. They discover that this case has ties to organized crime. The reason all of the accounting around the Watkins company was so shady was because it had been taken over by the mob who had decided they didn't want Joel and Angela around anymore. Their suspicions were confirmed. That fatal car crash wasn't an accident after all. It was a targeted hit. And now the suspects were onto the carpool detectives too. Marissa said, quote, our main suspect called my cell phone when I was making a PB&J sandwich for my kid, and the caller asked me why I was digging into him. I felt the blood drain out of my body at that moment. I felt that we had gotten into something too dangerous for us. But even with their safety potentially at risk, the carpool detectives kept going. And eventually, they feel so confident in their findings that they bring all of this information to the now retired district attorney who had originally been on the case. He's convinced that Marissa and her friends have cracked the case. And with his help, the investigation is officially reopened, with the identities of everyone involved being changed in the book. It's not clear where this investigation currently stands, but after an official review of the carpool detective's files, the authorities were able to discover the identities of the mobsters who had ties to the Watkins company. And now they are taking the case over. So for the carpool detectives, it's case closed. But that wouldn't be the end of their story. When they first started their investigation at the beginning of COVID they would have drinks with their friend in the driveway. One day. That friend suggested their investigation could make for a great story. She just so happened to work at a management and production company called 3 Arts Entertainment and actually had the connections to get the ball rolling. So she brought the pitch to her boss. Once the investigation was over, they discussed a podcast and then a book deal. But first they had to find an author who could execute the storytelling while staying true to the real series of events. They knew it would be a challenge because they wanted to keep the crime solving narrative intact, but they also wanted to tweak some details like names and locations for security and privacy. And eventually they decided to work with an author named Chuck Hogan. Hogan first heard about the Carpool Detectives at a cocktail party before the 2023 Edgar Awards, which are given by the Mystery Writers of America. He was celebrating his nomination for his then most recent novel Gangland. Hogan Also Co created FX's the Strain with Guillermo del Toro and wrote the novel the Town, which Ben Affleck adapted into a film. He meets with the Carpool Detectives and immediately identifies his angle. The story isn't just about the crime, it's about the women who solved it. On July 29, 2025, Random House published his book the Carpool A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies and One Mysterious Cold Case. Chuck said that the detectives ability as women to get people to trust and confide in them was their superpower. He also said, quote, motherhood no longer defined them. It was one of many hats they wore. Taking on the original case gave Marissa's life new meaning and set her on a new path. And Nicole said that they went through a lot more than just solving the case. With the Watkins case now in the hands of the police, the Carpool Detectives have moved on to another it's about a serial killer in the 70s and 80s who allegedly killed about 20 women. And once again, the women are closing in on a suspect. I'm curious to see if they can crack this case too, so we'll be sure to bring you all of the major updates as they come in. What did you think of today's case? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments. See you tonight. If you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel Rimehouse Daily and follow us on social media Rimehouse24.7 for real time updates. Because the pursuit of justice never stops.