Talking Dateline: After the Halloween Party

Summary

Dateline NBC Podcast Summary

Episode: Talking Dateline: After the Halloween Party
Host: Blaine Alexander
Guest: Keith Morrison, NBC News
Transcript Timestamps: Various points between [01:09] and [27:10]

---

Introduction to the Case

The Talking Dateline episode delves into the perplexing true-crime case from Dyersburg, Tennessee, where Karen Swift, a mother of four, mysteriously disappeared after a Halloween party on October 29, 2011. Despite an intensive six-week search, Karen's body was only discovered weeks later, leading to her husband, David Swift, being charged with her murder over a decade later in 2024. However, during the trial, the jury failed to reach a consensus, leaving the case unresolved and still open.

Small-Town Dynamics and Community Gossip

Keith Morrison remarks on the unique challenges of investigating a crime in a small town:

“It's a very, very unusual story, but it shows what happens when a thing like this occurs in a small town where people talk and whisper a lot.”
(02:19)

Blaine Alexander echoes this sentiment, highlighting how tightly-knit communities like Dyersburg can be rife with rumors and gossip, which can both aid and complicate investigations.

Heather Cohen: The Unofficial Investigator

A significant figure in the episode is Heather Cohen, a self-proclaimed private investigator who took it upon herself to solve Karen's disappearance:

“She portrays herself as a private investigator who does a wide variety of other cases. She claims that she did this case for free.”
(03:24)

Keith notes Heather's relentless pursuit:

“She was the little disruptor that got thrown into this like a hand grenade.”
(03:27)

Despite her dedication, Morrison expresses skepticism about Heather relying heavily on local gossip, which may or may not be accurate.

Investigative Challenges and Unconventional Leads

The investigation faced numerous hurdles, including handling ambiguous leads and sensational rumors about local swingers. Morrison discusses the difficulty in verifying such claims in a community where everyone knows each other's business:

“The official line is there were no such things... it didn't happen at all. Depends on who you listen to.”
(05:21)

One peculiar aspect of the investigation was the search conducted on horseback by Karen's friends, which underscored the community's deep concern and unity:

“They really were kind of worried about it and united about it.”
(06:39)

However, the persistent kudzu vines in the area complicated the search efforts by concealing evidence for an extended period:

“The kudzu vine... almost became their own character. It was hiding her body for so long.”
(07:02)

Memory and Testimonies

A poignant moment in the episode revolves around Ashley, Karen's daughter, who was nine years old at the time of her mother's disappearance. Ashley firmly believes her father was innocent:

“I know who it was that picked me up. A daughter knows when her mother is carrying her out of the bed and putting her somewhere else.”
(12:43)

Keith Morrison reflects on the reliability of childhood memories:

“Memory is a very funny thing... people’s memories are fallible.”
(16:15)

This segment highlights the emotional and psychological complexities involved in prosecuting cases with eyewitness testimonies from young children.

Legal Proceedings and Ongoing Uncertainty

The episode discusses the legal aftermath, where David Swift was acquitted of murder charges but remains incarcerated awaiting a manslaughter trial due to additional stalking charges in Alabama:

“He's in prison awaiting trial on his manslaughter charge. His bond was revoked because of the stalking charge that he's facing in Alabama.”
(24:16)

The prosecution remains determined to secure a conviction, while David and his supporters steadfastly maintain his innocence, leaving the community and listeners in suspense.

Notable Anecdotes and Symbolism

An intriguing moment mentioned is the presence of an F. Lee Bailey book in the courtroom, potentially symbolizing the high-stakes legal battle reminiscent of Bailey's famed defense of O.J. Simpson:

“You've got sharp eyes, I must say.”
(09:29)

This subtle detail serves as a nod to legal drama and the complexities of high-profile defense strategies.

Community Perspectives and Karen's Character

Karen Swift is portrayed as a vibrant and engaged mother whose sudden behavioral changes raised suspicions:

“She was always in a bullion, friendly, one of those sparky people...”
(17:22)

Neighbors Jenna and Gerald Scott provide personal insights, describing Karen as both helpful and unexpectedly rebellious, indicating a possible shift in her personal life that may have contributed to her disappearance.

Interactive Segment: Listener Questions

In the latter part of the episode, associate producer Sam Springer addresses listener inquiries:

1. Anonymous Phone Call Investigation:

   • Question: Why wasn't that anonymous phone call investigated more?
   • Answer: The call provided an inaccurate location, being several miles off, and thus was deemed irrelevant amidst numerous other unreliable tips.
     (23:43)

2. David Swift's Incarceration Status:

   • Question: Why is David Swift still in prison?
   • Answer: He remains incarcerated awaiting trial for manslaughter and a pending stalking charge, with no trial date set yet.
     (24:16)

3. Circuit Clerk's Colorful Suits:

   • Question: Who is the man in the multicolored suit during the trial?
   • Answer: He is TJ Jones, the circuit clerk in Dyersburg, known for his vibrant, American flag-themed suits.
     (24:33)

4. Keith Morrison's Storytelling:

   • Question: Would love Keith Morrison to read stories about mysteries.
   • Answer: “We've got three seasons of our Morrison Mysteries podcast out. ...”
     (25:50)

---

Conclusion and Ongoing Efforts

The episode underscores the enduring mystery surrounding Karen Swift's disappearance and the profound impact it has had on her family and the Dyersburg community. The discussion highlights the intricate interplay between personal biases, community dynamics, and the flaws inherent in human memory, all contributing to the complexity of solving such enduring cold cases.

Listeners are encouraged to share their own cold cases through social media, emphasizing Dateline NBC's commitment to aiding families and potentially resolving long-standing mysteries.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Keith Morrison on Small-Town Gossip:
  “It's a very, very unusual story, but it shows what happens when a thing like this occurs in a small town where people talk and whisper a lot.”
  (02:19)

• Blaine Alexander on Heather Cohen:
  “She was the little disruptor that got thrown into this like a hand grenade.”
  (03:27)

• Keith Morrison on Kudzu Vines:
  “The kudzu vine... almost became their own character. It was hiding her body for so long.”
  (07:02)

• Ashley on Her Father's Innocence:
  “I know who it was that picked me up. A daughter knows when her mother is carrying her out of the bed and putting her somewhere else.”
  (12:43)

• Sam Springer on Anonymous Call:
  “They felt like it wasn't correct. It didn't seem like irrelevant lead.”
  (23:43)

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the critical elements and emotional depth of the Talking Dateline: After the Halloween Party episode, providing listeners with an insightful overview of the case, the community's involvement, and the ongoing quest for justice.

Transcript

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[Keith Morrison]

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[Blaine Alexander]

Hello everyone. I'm Blaine Alexander and we are talking DATELINE today. I'm joined here by the Keith Morrison. Hi Keith.

[Keith Morrison]

Am I the one or a. I'm a Keith Morrison. That's what I am.

[Blaine Alexander]

The you wrote, my friend. Well, this episode is called after the Halloween Party, and if you haven't seen it, it's the episode. That's right, this one on your DATELINE podcast feed. So make sure you go there, listen to it or stream it on Peacock and then come right back here. And for this talking dateline, Keith has an extra clip that didn't make it into the show. Then I'll be talking with DATELINE associate producer Sam Springer, who will join me to answer some of your social media questions about the episode. But just a quick recap. The Dyersburg, Tennessee, community was at a loss when Karen Swift, a local mother of four, went missing after a Halloween party on October 29, 2011. It took in investigators six weeks to find Karen's body, and it took prosecutors 11 years to charge her husband, David Swift, with her murder. At his 2024 trial, the jury was not able to agree that David killed Karen, meaning that this case is still very much open. All right, Keith, let's talk dateline.

[Keith Morrison]

It's a very, very unusual story, but it shows what happens when a thing like this occurs in a small town where people talk and whisper a lot.

[Blaine Alexander]

You know what, I want to start right there actually, because I was just fascinated by the town itself, by Dyersburg. I mean, this was a small town. We're talking about a lot of people who knew each other and a lot of people who seem to have opinions about how other folks were kind of living their lives, right?

[Keith Morrison]

Yes. Very gossipy place. And I got that impression from everybody I talked to. And one of the ways you can tell, of course, is that people in positions of officialdom in Dyersburg would sort of try to tamp that talk down. You know, things are really pretty normal here. But clearly from the discussions with other people, it wasn't necessarily so quiet behind the scenes as one of the characters Heather Cohen discovered when she came to town and got an earful from everybody.

[Blaine Alexander]

You know what? Heather was fascinating to me. There is a laundry list of fascinating characters, but I think Heather's probably at the top of my list.

[Keith Morrison]

She was the little disruptor that got thrown into this like a hand grenade.

[Blaine Alexander]

Disruptor with a capital D. I'm, you know, I'm curious though, because when we do episodes every now and then, you'll come across kind of like a Heather, somebody who really doesn't have anything to do with the story, but comes in and starts investigating or gets interested or really kind of attaches themselves to it. I'm curious, as you spoke to her, what was it that really drove her and motivated her throughout this?

[Keith Morrison]

Well, it's, you know, she. She portrays herself as a private investigator who does a wide variety of other cases. She claims that she did this case for free. She wasn't hired by anybody. She just was very interested in it and she wanted to solve it enough that she devoted years to this effort. But I found that when I was talking to Heather, I felt like, though she's a very bright woman, perhaps she was giving too much credence to some of the gossip that went around town. Gossip which might have been true, might not have been true, but in a town like Dyersburg, there's a lot of it.

[Blaine Alexander]

I'm curious, what was it like, Keith, for you and the team to try and get to the bottom of these swingers rumors? Right. Like, it's not easy reporting on secrets, but especially when you're talking about a small town like this.

[Keith Morrison]

That's right. You know, the official line is there were no such things. Pink poodle, I think, was one of the phrases that supposedly described them. And there may or may not have been, I don't know. But I will say this. You know, you can tell by my wrinkles have been around for a while and I've encountered lots and lots of small towns where the things that go on would curl your hair and swinging is kind of tame compared to some other stuff that would happen in a small town. I think they Happen everywhere. They happen in cities too. It's just that it's a little harder to identify. And in a small town, everybody knows everybody else's business. And so the word goes around.

[Blaine Alexander]

Yeah, it was like an unspoken secret, but an unspoken. The worst kept secret kind of. Or.

[Keith Morrison]

Or it didn't happen at all. Depends on who you listen to.

[Blaine Alexander]

Mm. Let's talk about the investigation because there were so many pieces here to this, of course, as well. One thing that stood out when that kind of first call came in and they said, we seem to have misplaced her, about a missing person. I've certainly never heard anybody described as that way. Talk to me a little bit more about that. What do we think was behind that phrase?

[Keith Morrison]

You can only speculate. Right. According to the family, it was not uncommon for Karen to vanish in the middle of the night. She'd get up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and go out somewhere. Sometimes to meet someone, sometimes not. But, you know, it's a way of saying maybe she's not lost. Maybe she just went out of her own accord or maybe she is lost. We don't know.

[Blaine Alexander]

Sure. Let's talk about that horse search. The fact that a dozen, more than a dozen of Karen's friends went out on horseback to search for her. It was so interesting to me because it really in many ways told me a lot about that, about that town and about that community. One that they're. There's a prevalence of horses to jump on, but the fact that all of them came together, they all went out on searches. Of course, we've done stories where people kind of go out and search by foot, but talk a little bit more about that scene and that kind of community coming together to find her.

[Keith Morrison]

Yes. They really were kind of worried about it and united about it. And I was a little surprised by the horses too. What hit me was I grew up in a different part of the world where kudzu vines are just not part of the topography. So the idea that, you know, vines growing seasonally enough to hide a body for that long.

[Blaine Alexander]

Yeah.

[Keith Morrison]

Was kind of a surprise to me that they didn't find her for that long when she was actually not that far away from civilization. It was also a surprise, I guess. You know, horses are not trained. Cadaver beasts search.

[Blaine Alexander]

Right, exactly. Search animals, you know, the kudzu. But the kudzu vines almost kind of had a sort of. They almost kind of became.

[Keith Morrison]

Yeah, I always. I didn't even know how to pronounce it properly. Kudzu I kept saying kudzu, kudzu, but.

[Blaine Alexander]

They almost became their own character. The fact that they were, in a strange sort of sense, kind of concealing this body and it wasn't until the season changed that they could find her. That was striking to me.

[Keith Morrison]

It was. And you know, would we even have a story with all these twists and turns had the kudzu vine not hidden her body for so long? Her body may have given the police all kinds of evidence, but it didn't because they didn't find it.

[Blaine Alexander]

That is very true. When we talk about this investigation, of course we talk about the fact that this is kind of just hanging there, right, that nobody has been convicted of this yet. When you do a story like this and somebody is acquitted but there's another charge pending, what is that like talking to the people afterwards? I mean, the attorneys put so much into this case.

[Keith Morrison]

There's a certain kind of deflation, but they haven't lost. So they try to give themselves that sort of compensating feeling. The DA and the prosecutor are determined that they're going to make the best of it and try to get a conviction on manslaughter. But you know, David and his supporters are absolutely insisted it wasn't manslaughter either. He had nothing to do with it. So we'll see.

[Blaine Alexander]

As I was watching this and I watched this episode a couple of times just to, you know, make sure that I got all the nuance. I did, I did. It was a fascinating. In the final act, as we call them, you know, Each episode is 12 parts. Final act is you're introducing the prosecution team for the final time and you do these establishing shots, right? When you say, oh, you know, here are the people and show them kind of sitting. It starts with a shot of an F. Lee Bailey book and then goes to the prosecution. And this is before you talk about the fact that David's acquitted on these murder charges. But I wondered if that was intentional. Is that kind of an Easter egg for our very sharp eyed Dateline viewers to have F. Lee Bailey there before this? This man is acquitted of a murder charge.

[Keith Morrison]

I will never say.

[Blaine Alexander]

That. Gives me the answer I need.

[Keith Morrison]

You've got sharp eyes, I must say. Blaine Alexander.

[Blaine Alexander]

I said F. Lee Bailey. That can't be a coincidence.

[Keith Morrison]

Well, you know, he had it on his desk.

[Blaine Alexander]

Just for our viewers, I want to say, in case they're driving, I don't want them to have to start googling who this is that we're talking about. He. Some people would say that he was the greatest, one of the greatest attorneys of the 20th century. But he was, at least for me.

[Keith Morrison]

In his mind anyway.

[Blaine Alexander]

In his mind, right. He was well known because he was part of the dream team for the O.J. simpson trial. Got him acquitted on murder back in the early 90s.

[Keith Morrison]

Certainly one of the most famous defense attorneys of the 20th century.

[Blaine Alexander]

Good way to put it.

[Keith Morrison]

Yes. And you know, often successful, but sometimes just more famous than successful.

[Blaine Alexander]

There you go. When we get back, Keith is going to share a podcast exclusive clip from an interview with Jenna and Gerald Scott. Yes, those were Karen's neighbors when she was growing up.

[Ashley Flowers]

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[Blaine Alexander]

You know, let's talk about Ashley. Of all the many people that you talked to that we heard from in this story, Ashley absolutely stayed with me. And I'm sure that was the case for so many of our viewers because you can't help but just feel so terrible for her.

[Keith Morrison]

Oh, you do. And she was very brave. I thought she was brave to testify in support of her father. She was brave to come and talk to us at great length. And, you know, she didn't shy away from anything, but she absolutely believes in her bones that her dad is innocent, that he did not do this.

[Blaine Alexander]

When I heard her say that, and you asked her, you said, is there even an inkling, even a little bit? And she said absolutely not, No. I almost wondered if that was a sort of method of self protection for her, that she couldn't bring herself to believe that her dad had anything to do with it.

[Keith Morrison]

I think that is sometimes the case in a situation like this with Ashley. I didn't get that impression. I thought it was stronger than that, her opinion. But one of the moments in that interview with her that I still think about in terms of her certainty was when her mother brought her home in the middle of the night and put her into bed. She was moved from one bed to another, which would have made it possible for something to happen to her mother. Either Karen left of her own accord or she was, you know, removed forcibly from bed. But before that could happen, Ashley had to be taken out of the bed that she was sharing with her mother. Somebody picked her up and she was at the time, nine years old. Nine. So not kind of before memories get formed. Memories are pretty good at nine. Not perfect, but pretty good. So somebody picked her up and the authorities alleged that had to be David. An assumption, frankly. She is completely convinced and repeated this several times. I know who it was that picked me up. A daughter knows when her mother is carrying her out of the bed and putting her somewhere else. I knew and I know it was her who carried me to a different bed, which really takes the heat off David.

[Blaine Alexander]

There was something about that that gave me chills because she was so convinced. I, you know, as you know, I've got two of these Dateline episodes under my belt at this point. And the second one that I've done had an interview that was very similar. There's something about interviewing an adult who was a child when they lost their parent, because the memory is formed as a child. So even though they're speaking to you as an adult, they've lived their lives. When they talk about that moment, it's almost like you're talking to that nine year old, right?

[Keith Morrison]

Yes, yes, In a way that was true. I'll never forget doing a story some years ago involving a cold case that was apparently solved when a person who was, I think around that same age had been at a slumber party with her girlfriends and came down, sneaked down to the kitchen in the middle of the night and remembers seeing a person who wound up being convicted of the crime sitting at a dining room table, lighting candles and apologizing to the person who had been murdered, as if that woman committed the murder that she said was an absolutely clear memory that she had when she was whatever, nine, 10 years old. And she revealed this to the police when she was in her 30s. An established professional woman, very bright, very interesting, very nice person. But the question of whether that memory was accurate has bothered the heck out of me because you look back on something that happened in your life back then, a thing you think you remember, compare it to somebody else's memory of that thing that you think you remember, and find you both have very, very strong views about that memory, and they're diametrically opposed because memory is a very funny thing. That's not to say that Ashley was wrong. It's just that, you know, you always keep in the back of your mind that people's memories are fallible.

[Blaine Alexander]

That's very true. That's very true. Especially when it's input. Such a young age, possibly the one.

[Keith Morrison]

Thing about which there was no question was that Karen had changed, that she wanted out of the marriage. And her friends, not just her family but her friends, described choices that just were not what they were used to seeing. She was always in a bullion, friendly, one of those sparky people who could, you know, be the center of attention and a delightful person. But then she started making decisions that, you know, certainly did not make her husband happy. And so that's, you know, the crux of the question. Did that anger, if it was anger, contribute to what happened, concern, Call it what you will, but, you know, that was, I guess that was her searching for a way to be. And unfortunately for her, she never found it.

[Blaine Alexander]

Certainly we've talked a lot about Karen and I was fascinated to hear so much about her, though. We have an extra clip from an interview with Jenna and Gerald Scott. They were Karen's name when she was growing up and kind of gave us more of a look into who Karen was. Let's listen.

[Jenna Scott]

She was just a, you know, a good helper in the church. She was a good kid. She was a little bit rebellious and I wasn't expecting it. A lot of times my wife would say, well, Karen, I can't believe you said to my husband, you know, I mean, little things like, you know, I tell her, can you get that chair and bring it across the room? Well, why don't you just get up and get it yourself? I mean, little things like that. And we Just laughed at it. It was really, really funny. But she was really, down deep, very, very good person. Her mother, she texted us on Facebook and got ahold of us and told us that she was missing. When she went missing, you know, and they couldn't find her. And it just seemed like, you know, it died down. I contacted a few different places, Dateline, Nancy Grace, but I emailed them and just told them about the story and what was going on.

[Grand Canyon University]

Sure.

[Keith Morrison]

Neighbors who saw her grow up, who understood her, understood the little girl, and I'm so curious to know. She's gone. She's been gone with us from us for a dozen years. But Karen Swift sounded, if you speak to her friends and her husband for that matter, smart, fun, loving, interesting, always there for the children, always up for, you know, some fun with her friends, but fun with her friends and the kids. She was a very engaged mother, a person with a happy personality. And then something changed. Was it marriage related? Must have had something to do with it. Was it related to something else? I don't know. But when, you know, when a person in her stage of life suddenly takes up drinking, something's caused it.

[Blaine Alexander]

Especially a mother. Right. A mother of four. I remember at some point in the episode, Ashley says we would beg her not to go out at night. Stay with us, stay with us.

[Keith Morrison]

Yeah.

[Blaine Alexander]

And she would go anyway. Right?

[Keith Morrison]

Yeah.

[Blaine Alexander]

There's something driving that change.

[Keith Morrison]

Something was happening, and it's still unclear exactly what it was.

[Blaine Alexander]

Now, I should say this about the clip that we just played. Dateline actually first heard about Karen's case through Jenna, the person that you just heard from, who submitted it years ago as part of our Cold Case Spotlight series. Of course, that's our online article series where we highlight unsolved cold cases around the country. But I think that it just really speaks to how, you know, when our viewers send us things, we listen to them, we look into these types of things.

[Keith Morrison]

We do. And I think that's one of the most useful parts of our program actually missing in America. And these kinds of cases that finally get some new attention because potentially, at least partly because of attention from media, from us.

[Blaine Alexander]

Sure.

[Keith Morrison]

That's a very, very happy feeling when you can be somewhat helpful in the resolution of a case or to give a family a chance to tell the world what's been going on and describe their hopes and their frustrations and their grief, for that matter, if somebody has been killed or missing. So these are, I think, important contributions that we're happy to make.

[Blaine Alexander]

And to that point, I want to give this plug. If you have a cold case, if you're listening, you have a cold case that you'd like to be featured, please submit it to us. You can submit it to us on social media. Aatelinenbc. Well, Keith, it has been a true joy talking DATELINE with you. I appreciate it.

[Keith Morrison]

Oh, thank you. I'm delighted to talk to you. And you know, not only you're a very engaging interlocutor, but you're not Josh Mankiewicz. Yay.

[Blaine Alexander]

Two wins in my column.

[Keith Morrison]

Absolutely.

[Blaine Alexander]

I will take it as a newbie. I will absolutely take it. Thank you, Keith.

[Keith Morrison]

And welcome, welcome.

[Blaine Alexander]

Thank you. Thank you, my friend. I'm so glad to be here. And after the break, I'm going to be joined by DATELINE associate producer Sam Springer, who will help answer some viewer and listener questions about the show from social media.

[Ashley Flowers]

True crime podcasts. There is no shortage to consume. And if you're like me, you've consumed them all. I'm Ashley Flowers, creator and host of the number one true crime podcast, Crime Junkie. Every Monday, we cover a case in a way that's not like you've heard before because I have built a one of a kind team of investigative journalists dedicated to conducting original reporting, making sure that you get the inside scoop. Listen to hundreds of Crime Junkie episodes. Now, wherever you get your podcasts, everywhere.

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[Blaine Alexander]

Well, guys, I'm here now joined by DATELINE associate producer Sam Springer, who worked very hard on this episode. And we are here to answer some of your social Media questions. Hi, Sam. Hi.

[Sam Springer]

How are you?

[Blaine Alexander]

I'm good. So glad to be here with you. And also just for our Eagle eared listeners who may hear a difference in sound, I'm recording this portion from my car because I'm getting ready to jump into election coverage for the next few days. So if it sounds a little different, that's why. Okay, Sam, we have a lot of people who had a lot of thoughts about this episode, so let's just jump right in. This one is from Susie Mack on Facebook, who writes, why wasn't that anonymous phone call investigated more? And Susie, I have to say I had kind of the same question. That's the phone call that came in for a possible location for Karen's remains. And that was something that was certainly talked about a lot. But what, what do we know about that one?

[Sam Springer]

The investigators told us that they looked into it. They got a lot of tips, a lot of call ins. But the exact distance that they gave in that phone call, whoever called in wasn't exactly accurate. It was a few miles off. And so they felt like it wasn't correct. It didn't seem like irrelevant lead.

[Blaine Alexander]

So it didn't even seem like something that was worth necessarily chasing down because they got so many just kind of off the wall calls.

[Sam Springer]

Right?

[Blaine Alexander]

Exactly. Interesting. Okay, here's one from Twitter or X. This is from RT1 Vegan. Why is David Swift still in prison?

[Sam Springer]

Yeah, that's a good question. He's in prison awaiting trial on his manslaughter charge. His bond was revoked because of the stalking charge that he's facing in Alabama. So he's pleaded not guilty to both the manslaughter charge and the stalking charge, but he's not out on bond.

[Blaine Alexander]

Okay. So he has to stay incarcerated until they get this manslaughter trial underway. And that could be some time.

[Sam Springer]

Yes. There's no date been set for that yet. So he's waiting in a Tennessee prison right now.

[Blaine Alexander]

Okay. Okay. Let's go to Chris Ham on Facebook who writes, who is the man in the multicolored suit sitting behind whoever is speaking at the lectern during the trial? We got a lot of comments about this man, and my eyes went to him as well. When I watched, I said, okay, he's there. You notice him?

[Sam Springer]

Yes. Twitter was a flurry with comments about tj. That's TJ Jones. He's the circuit clerk in Dyersburg, and he wore a colorful suit almost every day of the trial. We started court the day after Memorial Day, and his entire suit was American flags.

[Blaine Alexander]

Oh, well, question. Was it the same colorful suit every day or did he have, like a new colorful suit for each day of the trial?

[Sam Springer]

He had a new colorful suit. I'm sure that man's closet is very bright.

[Blaine Alexander]

That's talent. That's dedication to your craft right there. Well, there we go. Question answered. Okay, there was plenty of Keith love in these comments. This question from Rachel Wellington. Rachel writes, would love Keith Morrison to read stories about mysteries. He is the best storyteller ever. Well, Rachel, you are in luck.

[Sam Springer]

Yes, of course. We've got three seasons of our Morrison Mysteries podcast out. Wherever you get your podcast, you can hear Keith read a different story every season. The most recent one was the classic mystery the Dead Alive. He's also read A Christmas Carol and the Story of Sleepy Hollow.

[Blaine Alexander]

I love it. You did that very well. The Dead Alive. You almost channeled a little Keith there yourself when you said that title.

[Sam Springer]

That's why I was just thinking, thinking of him reading it.

[Blaine Alexander]

I love it. Well, this was a lot of fun. Definitely an episode that got a lot of people talking. So DATELINE associate producer Samantha Springer, so good to have you here with us today. Thank you.

[Sam Springer]

Thank you.

[Blaine Alexander]

And that's it for talking DATELINE for this week. Remember, if you have any questions for us about stories or about Dateline, you can reach us 24. 7 on social media aatelinenbc. And be sure to check out Keith's newest Dateline Original podcast, the man in the Black Mask. All six episodes are available now. Wherever you get your podcasts, DATELINE Premium subscribers can binge the entire series ad free. And of course, we'll see you Fridays on Dateline on NBC. Thanks for listening.

[Ashley Flowers]

True crime podcasts, there is no shortage to consume. And if you're like me, you've consumed them all. I'm Ashley Flowers, creator and host of the number one true crime podcast, Crime Junkie. Every Monday, we cover a case in a way that's not like you've heard before because I have built a one of a kind team of investigative journalists dedicated to conducting original reporting, making sure that you get the inside scoop. Listen to hundreds of Crime Junkie episodes now, wherever you get your podcasts.