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Anya Cain
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Kevin Greenlee
These two episodes contain discussion of the murder of two girls. They also contain Discussion about sexual crimes against children as well as drugs.
Anya Cain
On a summer's day in Evansdale, Iowa, two young cousins went out to spend time riding their bicycles. Eight year old Elizabeth Collins and ten year old Lyric Cook Morrissey vanished that day on July 13, 2012. Despite an intensive search and the discovery of their bikes, they were not found until December 5, 2012. That is when hunters found their bodies in a remote spot in Bremer county. They were discovered 25 miles from where they were last spotted.
Kevin Greenlee
Their case has remained unsolved to this day. As we discussed in our last episode, we recently got the opportunity to speak with the team behind a docuseries that covered this horrible crime.
Anya Cain
You can watch that series on Max. In this episode, we will finish our conversation with Dylan, Christian and Ned, the documentarians. This is the second of two episodes in which we conclude this interview, but keep in mind we'll release both of them on the same day. My name is Anya Cain. I'm a journalist.
Kevin Greenlee
And I'm Kevin Greenlee. I'm an attorney.
Anya Cain
And this is the Murder Sheet.
Kevin Greenlee
We're a true crime podcast focused on original reporting, interviews and deep dives into murder cases. We're the Murder Sheet.
Anya Cain
And this is the Evansdale Murders. A conversation with the documentarians behind Taken Together Part two.
Dylan
I guess, you know, the, the docu series gets into a number of different sort of strands of this story and, and theories that have come up and, and Dylan, you've, you've parsed through so many of these. I want to save most of that for the docu series. I really encourage our listeners to, to watch that and sort of get the full experience. But can you just give any sort of indicator or overview of some of the main theories that came up about this case over time that the docu series covers?
Christian
Yeah, so, you know, in the doc we basically, it's like the overarching story is, you know, the 10 years from when the girls were abducted to where we're at in 2022. And during that period, a number of different things happened. First being In May of 2013, Michael Plunder abducts two girls from Dayton, Iowa. One escapes Desi Hughes and he murders Kathleen Shepherd. And it's, you know, relevant to the case because it's very similar with two girls being abducted at once. The next occurrences we have, you know, Jeffrey Altmeyer was a person who was driving around Iowa enticing children to get into his car with hundred dollar bills, which is absolutely terrifying to think about someone doing that. His job was to drive around Iowa to do sales of some sort. And here he is trying to entice children into his car with a hundred dollar bill. And they found, like when he got caught, they found drugs on him, Xanax, things like that. Then you have Teresa Grman Element where a woman in Bell Plain, Iowa, does a murder suicide, but before, with her son Henry. But before she commits suicide, she talks to one of her, I think a counselor at Horizon is the name, I believe it's been a minute, but saying that she has a written confession from the two people who killed Eric and Elizabeth. So that was another kind of crazy thing when it happened. And then you have deli, which is, you know, for me, like when I looked at, you know, looking at the case, like the number one thing that stood out to me when I was talking to investigators, when I was reading through articles from the Courier, the Des Moines Register, or was just the rarity of double abductions and how few there are and how much of a statistical anomaly they are. And to know that Iowa had three of them. Right. Like you can't. We had reached out to try to get, you know, some more statistics from the FBI on just abductions, but they don't release those to the public. So you're basically going off of what police tell you how rare they are because you don't know their data set with how they determine what is a dual abduction and what is not. Right. So that was the first thing that stuck out to me is like, here's this crime. It's insanely rare, a dual abduction of two children. There's only been like at the time 17 when I started the DOC, and Iowa has a population of 3 million, but they have 3 to 17 double abductions. So they're overrepresented in statistically in dual abductions. And then, you know, two of those were Clunder who had done the Dayton dual abduction. And when you can't know everything, basically, you know, because it's just me, Ned and Christian kind of doing a documentary where it. For us, it's a labor of love. So it's like on weekends or we would plan three or four days at a time to go shoot. We don't have a lot of resources. So there we had to be clever in other ways. And so it was like diving into statistics that we could know that we could find out. At one point we actually drove down and talked to a woman named Catherine Brown, who was a co author of what has been deemed as the Washington Report. But what it is, is it's a child abduction Research study report that was done out of Washington state. And she wasn't included in the doc, but, you know, she just stressed. We just talked about dual abductions and their rarity and just how insane they are that two kids are taken at. At the same time. Because if you're. You're an abductor, you know, to take two at once is a much higher risk than just taking one. You know, your chances of something going wrong at you getting caught are much higher. So, you know, whoever did take two at once, they. I mean, you can think of. It might be just a crime of opportunity, but, you know, you. You inherit so much more risk when you take two children at once, because one can. Just like what happened in Dayton, you know, it's.
Ned
And Klunder, he was in jail because he had abducted two kids from a. A daycare, like, in the front lawn. He had stolen them. God knows what he did. And then he dumped him in a literal dumpster, and that's how he was caught. So he had already had a prior for this. And then he was sentenced 40 years and got out in 20 because of that, that prison program that he went through. And they deemed him fit to release, I guess, at that point. But yeah, he. He's done this twice with two girls, and I guess he did not. He knew he was going to get caught that second time when he made that mistake. Like, he did not want to go back into jail. And then he killed himself. And that was another tragedy in the sense that you now, you can't question him and you can't get information out of him and to try to see if he did the Evansdale case as well.
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Dylan
Yeah, Klunder, his M.O. the escalation we saw from just the kidnapping, and which is certainly horrific enough, but then killing one of his victims, and he really is of interest to me in particular, having watched your series. And one thing I was struck by was that law enforcement have in the past at least indicated that they ruled him out. Can you speak to that and I guess what your opinions are on that.
Christian
Yeah. So when I started the documentary I started in 2015, what he did in Dayton was in 2013. But, like, my first thing was, like, I'm not here to make a doc that, like, proves Michael Klunder did this, right? I started with the inverse. So it's like, if I'm going to look into Michael Kunder on my own, I'm going to try to do the opposite. I'm going to try to prove he didn't do it. Right? And so, you know, after, you know, I don't get a hundred percent participation when I reach out to someone if I'm looking for information. It's like, hey, I'm a documentary filmmaker. Let me talk about the worst thing that's ever happened to you, because you knew this guy Michael Klunder, and the whole world collapsed around you. So I didn't get all the information that I would have hoped to write when investigating him. But the way I look at it is the cops don't start investigating or the investigators don't start looking into Michael Klunder until nine or ten months after the Evansdale case, right? So right there, you're going to have a lot of data lost, right? Camera footage, you know, if gas stations, they recycle, right. And it's just hard to, you know, it's like, it's hard to solve a crime when you Start investigating immediately afterwards. Right. It can be really hard. So if you're talking nine or 10 months out, you start looking into someone for a previous case, it can be tough to try to prove that when Kent Smock had come out in 2014, a year later, after they had been investigating Klunder for a year, and when he had said that he wasn't the guy anymore and that they used cell phone data in tests and they believed he was at home or at work, you know, to me, that just wasn't satisfying. Never was. Because it's not a definitive answer of, like, to. First off, cops never rule anyone out in a case. They just don't do it. Right. So for them to come out and do it to me is like, okay, what play are they making? You know, they're making some sort of gamble, roll of the dice to come out and say this. To me, it seemed like everyone had thought Klunder had done it. And then I had talked to DCI agent Mike Ricase. It's in the film. But, you know, he alluded to this idea of, like, because everyone thought it was Klunder in the Evansdale case, the amount of tips went down dramatically. And, you know, investigations run on tips. Right. The definition of a cold case is. Is you have no more tips to go pursue. You have no leads to follow. So by reminding the public or telling the public, like, hey, Klunder didn't do this, you know, they're generating more tips in the case because they need more information to keep going. And, like, it's tough, though. I mean, if you think about it. Cell phone data. Right. You know, is what they said. They ran tests, so I just could never find, like, any definitive piece of information that put him at X and Y, place and time, you know?
Dylan
Yeah. Yeah. I would be really curious to see, you know, and is there a way to manipulate your cell phone so it looks like you're using it in one place when you're not?
Christian
Or I just leave it at home.
Dylan
Right, Right. Yeah. I think there's a huge difference between, oh, this guy was texting a bunch of people and FaceTiming with somebody while at home versus their phone is just literally in their house.
Christian
I was told the only definitive alibi a cop will take is, is if someone is in jail. That's like, the only. Like, then they know with 100% certainty that this person was at this place at this time is if they're in jail or they're in prison. Other than that, it's tough. You can have people can vouch for you being in one place or another, and they're lying.
Dylan
So jumping back to the Delphi angle, the sort of double abduction, double homicide of children. A few years ago, Kevin and I compiled a big non scientific, non mathematical list because we were in the same boat as you guys, where it's like, it's very hard to get this data and assess it. And like, how do you define an abduction? Like in Delphi, the girls were walked seemingly to a location nearby that's still in a legal sense and abduction, but it's not the same as necessarily transporting via a vehicle miles away. So it's, it's just interesting. We found a lot of more than you would think in terms of double homicides of underage children, meaning 18 and under in public places like parks and whatnot. But it's so all over the place because we were looking, you know, from the 1960s onwards and, and all different ages. And so it, it certainly seems like a rarity, but it's definitely not, I think, as unheard of as some people say, because it does occasionally happen. But it definitely means that it's a more. It's. It's an offender who's more okay with risk. As you mentioned, where do you come off on the deli connection? Do you, do you feel like there's something there? Do you kind of tend to say that it's a weird resemblance, but they probably looked into it pretty extensively?
Christian
Yeah, I don't, I don't think they're connected. But because we talk about dual abduction so much in the film, to not include it seemed to be kind of.
Ned
Like a misstep at that time when we were filming that stuff, they still not made the arrest in the case. So it was just, you know, what was it like 400 miles from. Was it Dayton or was it from Evansdale to Delphi? You know, that's just one day trip. So it's, it was in the realm of possibility. And there was something that immediately they. When that Delphi case happened, they also, the similarities were so close. They also went down that same road. Could this be connected? But now we know. Well, in a way we could say it's not.
Dylan
Yeah, yeah, yeah. From what we've heard also, there's nothing connecting Richard Allen, the suspect in the deli case, to Evansdale or anything like that. So. But it certainly makes sense to look at it and scrutinize it.
Christian
How many did you guys find, by the way, when you guys looked into it?
Dylan
Let me pull up. I have my little doc Here, double homicide. I mean, this isn't good data because it's like all ages, all people. We ended up profiling six different cases. These were all in park settings. Two kids are out and about. I mean, I say park, but, like, kind of could be just rural trees and boys and girls. That was the other thing. And they were homicides. All of them. Homicides. Not all of them necessarily abductions. In some situations, the kids were killed right where they were.
Christian
You did strangers and not like a family member.
Dylan
Yeah, these were. Now when I'm looking at it, all of these. So it was two kids killed by a gang in Texas, in Houston. This was a case out of California.
Christian
Where I tried to find all of the other dual abductions. Like, it was. It was hard. I couldn't find.
Dylan
It's really difficult because it's like. Like, I wish the FBI would be a little more forthcoming with some of this because it would be like. I think it would be helpful for the public to see and analyze. So I don't. I don't know why there's that reluctance. But, yeah, in this case, a lot of these were just straight up homicides. I think a lot of these resembled Delphi more than Evansdale, because in Delphi, they. They were walked a distance away, but they're still in the park. And it was, you know, like, they didn't go that far. They didn't.
Christian
And did they consider that. Do they consider it an abduction in Delphi or.
Dylan
Yes, but, yeah, we. We did. We profiled six. I think we found considerably more than that, but some of them were just straight up murders. I can send you a list that we have.
Christian
Do it.
Dylan
Yeah, no, just to. Just to kind of compare.
Christian
I think I found seven because the. The data set's so particular. So it's gotta be a stranger. It's gotta be an abduction. And I can only find like five or seven that actually fit the profile. And when I was talking with Dr. Catherine Brown, it's, you know, in some ways they'll. If you have survivors, you're right. In your data set, does that count as a dual abduction? Right. And it just depends on. But as far as, like, what the cops say about dual abductions, being 15, like, they obviously had a data set that they'd use from Evansdale that fit, you know, a bunch of other cases or 14 other cases, rare cases. So it's just hard to know what that data set is.
Dylan
Yeah, absolutely. And it's so hard. And we. We literally just use newspapers.com, where we went back and Searched like double homicide children, double murder children, you know, like. And so it was by far not a scientific process whatsoever. And I'm sure there's a lot we missed. Can you speak to the drug angle in this case? This is something that's come up I know a lot in online discussion with people speculating and I want to be sensitive because it involves the families of one of the victims. And if you could just sort of speak to that and sort of how you covered that aspect of it.
Christian
Well, I mean, Misty and Dan were very open about it. You know, as you can in the doc, you'll see they had drug problems before the girls went missing. You know, I think a reasonable person can assume when something that tragic happens in your life, you're going to keep doing what you're doing to cope. Right. It did seem at the time when I was with the news and covering it that Dan and Misty weren't necessarily getting a fair shake. Right. Because when you look at the elements of the crime, it seemed pretty sophisticated and smart. Where the bikes were found, it's like in this little corridor of a bike trail where you can't see from Highway 20 and at the time you couldn't see from across the lake in Evansdale. So it seemed pretty smart. And you know, you know, people who do math, they do commit murders but you know, they tend not to get away with it. Right. But one of the things like Misty and Dan talked about is, you know, saying that something from their past could have come back and might have caused this. But based on what I know and all the people I talk to and over the years and the research, it just, it just did not seem likely, seemed very unlikely. And when you think about them, one being the victims of losing their child and their niece, then on top of it, everyone thinks you did it had to be a pretty, pretty hard ordeal for them.
Jessica Sebastian
You know, it's very. The way the media focused on the parents who had the background and met and just, it's very easy to point the finger on that. Especially you're like, oh, they must have something to do with it because of this, of this whole situation. But you know, I feel like now in this world that we're in, because someone's a self medicates or has any type of drug problem does not necessarily mean that they could be tied into anything else like this. A lot of people do self medicate and especially we don't know anything about their personal lives or what they go through. So too quickly how, how the media and how the Public really kind of turned on them, I thought was extremely unfair. That's the one thing I will comment on in regards to how that was laid out as I do feel like there was some unfair treatment through the media because that. That background and, and you know, that that same time Dan, you know, was about to go to prison and so all this was happening simultaneously. I mean, I. To. To be going through what he was going through legally, plus what was happening. My hope is, if anything, you know, to not use that as. As a way to focus on someone for. For, you know, drugs should. Does not necessarily mean that there are. It does not make someone a murderer. It does not make someone have the ability to harm someone else. So that's all I really want to say about that because that was something throughout this process watching that I thought was extremely unfair to them.
Dylan
Absolutely. And well said, Christian. I. Being taking meth, you know, dealing levels, you know, certain meth does not mean that someone is a drug kingpin that is going to attract the ire of, you know, a cartel or something. I mean, I think there's. People need to acknowledge that like that sort of thing is. There are different levels to it. And you know, just like someone being a, you know, drinking too much in the 1920s doesn't make them Al Capone or at the level of attracting the ire of Al Capone. It's like I think people sometimes just hear drugs and they just make all sorts of assumptions like this must have been revenge or, you know, it's like without knowing about the specifics of any of that, I think that seems.
Jessica Sebastian
I had worked on an episode of Intervention years ago, and it's like the way they, they talked about it was like. It's like a. It's like someone who can't afford coke, but they can afford meth. You know, obviously we've seen what meth does long term to somebody physically. I mean, coke too does the different things. Coke will drain your bank account. It's. It's definitely coming from a lower economic social class. Not necess. Very rarely, you know, does it involve like this giant cartel. I mean, it's there, but it, you know, being a tweaker doesn't necessarily make you a potential murderer. I'll just say that absolutely.
Dylan
I wanted to sort of close out by asking you all where you think the case stands today and what do you think needs to happen for this to get closed and there to be answers for this family, for these two families.
Christian
You know, it's obviously not a cold case. Right? DCI is still investigating it. And, you know, to me, it sounds like they're just one piece away. You know, they're just one piece away. They. There's just one little piece they need to make the puzzle, you know, fit. Or like, they. They could have an idea of who did this, too. And it's, you know, in journalism or in, you know, documentary film, like, you're not held to the same standard as, like, a cop has to, you know, bring enough evidence to prosecute it beyond a reasonable doubt in a courtroom. Right. So they could know exactly who did this or have an idea. And they just need a. A piece of information that allows them to bring a case forward. That's what I hope where the case is at, the police or the DCI don't reveal to me. You know, we had very limited contact. Like, I didn't talk with the DCI maybe twice during the whole filming of the doc. So my hope is that, you know, they're just right there. They just need one little more piece and then they can catch whoever did this.
Ned
Yeah. And to go to what you said earlier, like, they have to have proof beyond, you know, shadow of a doubt. So there is that air of, like, they're just waiting for that person to make a mistake and they want to catch that little piece of evidence and then they could go forward. But it definitely just seems like it's going to take maybe more time for somebody to just change their mind and decide to. I can't live with this anymore. I'm going to say something. I'm going to do something. And from when we started, that was like, always the idea was like, we. We want this, to push this, even if it's just a little nudge forward, and to hope that, like I was saying earlier, that piece of luck will just float into this case and give the investigators what they need to finish the puzzle. So to speak, before.
Jessica Sebastian
Early on when this doc. Before this doc, before we partnered with Jessica Sebastian and Maven Entertainment, I was.
Christian
Just about to do that.
Jessica Sebastian
I was like, I'm doing this.
Christian
I'm rolling it in. Gotta shout out the LA peeps.
Jessica Sebastian
Yeah, I'm rolling it in. So before we partnered with Jessica Sebastian, Made In Entertainment, and Donnie Iker, who was our. Our showrunner, the project was called Turn yourself In, and it was called Turn yourself in for a reason, because that's basically where at the time when we were putting this together, that's what the investigation needed, is they needed a true confession. And even though there have been confessions over the years, I Mean, there were, like I mentioned earlier, sociopaths who just wanted the attention, which I don't know why you would want the attention of kidnapping and murdering two children, but you will have those in this world. So, you know, we hope with the release of the show, getting it out there and we're getting, you know, there, it sparks that interest because that mean the news media, I will say every, like five years, every 10 years, whatever they do have an OR on the anniversary of the when the girls went missing, there's always a news broadcast around the state. Now that's just around the state. The rest of the world now has this to basically remember. This did happen and this has not been solved yet. So, you know, my hope is this does renew interest and this does hopefully lead to closing this case and finding out, you know, just selling, at the very least, the family can have closure, whatever that answer might be.
Dylan
And yeah, I wanted.
Christian
I do, I do. I have to shout out the LA peeps too. When we brought on Jessica Sebastian Day from Maven, you know, actually we got turned down from a lot of people because the case wasn't solved about doing a doc, Right. Jessica Sebastian Day became a champion for the project and really beat the bushes to, to help get this made, along with Ned and Christian and I. And then we got Donnie Eicher, who's a New York Times bestselling author, right. Did a book called Dead Mountain about the Dialatov Pass. I don't know if you've heard about that case. It's a pretty famous case, right? And, you know, I learned a lot from him. I learned a lot from Jessica. We all had, like the same. We had synthetico goals. Same goals to make something with integrity. And, you know, hopefully that translated right. And I gotta shout out my. My buddy Doug, Doug Banker. So you got the whole family.
Ned
Now, don't forget Paul and Thomas. They were the cinematographers that came in with Donnie and they did a bunch of shooting and I assisted them during that second phase of shooting. When we brought in the LA crew, they were fantastic as well.
Dylan
Yeah, I think I commend you and your team, all of you and your team, for doing such a great job with this. And I just, I hope it underscores to some of the big players that, you know, I understand sometimes there's a reluctance to make stuff around unsolved cases. But those are the things where there's a real public interest in doing something like this. Raising awareness, sort of getting the public even more informed about a case, because once it's Solved. It's solved. But when it's unsolved, there's still work that can be done and pressure that can be put on people who might know something and may not be talking. So these kinds of projects are really important, in my view, and should be celebrated. And, you know, hopefully we can kind of push that. But, yeah, great job. I wanted to open it back up to all of you just to conclude, is there anything I didn't ask you about or anything that you wanted to say in closing?
Christian
Just to, you know, always thank the people of Evansdale and the community for, you know, all the people who talk to us over the years and gave us information and trusted us to represent them accurately. Right. That's a big thing when you're doing a documentary, especially if you're doing true crime, is people are rightfully so worried that whatever they say is going to be misconstrued and they're going to be portrayed differently than who they are. And it's. It's tough because, you know, when you make a doc, you're taking hundreds of hours of footage and your stuff thing into, you know, our film in total is 2 hours and 40 minutes. Right. So we work very hard and very diligently to make sure everyone is portrayed is accurately as possible, and everything's done with as much integrity as we can humanly muster, you know, throughout the whole process. And so when people do trust you with their story, Right. It's very. It's very inspiring. And it's also a responsibility to. To then turn around and portray them in an accurate way, because it's tough when you're cutting stuff down. You know, context can change just by taking out a single word in someone's sentence. And so devil's in the details. So you got to really get in there and make sure that you're giving the, quote, the proper context that the person who said it was giving that, you know, when they said it. So. And there's like this. There's this, like. I don't know if you've noticed this, but in the industry as a whole, you know, at least my approach, my philosophy when I'm filming is by someone sitting down and talking to me about, you know, in the Evansdale case, they're doing me a favor, right? There's, like this attitude in other parts of the industry where it's like, no, I'm doing you a favor by listening to your story, and I'm going to, you know, put it out in the world, and, you know, you're going to be seen in this film. So I'm doing you a favor. And I, I do the absolute opposite by them sitting down and trusting me to their story. Like, I, I don't take that lightly. Yeah, it's, it's, it's just an incredible honor that people would trust you with their story.
Jessica Sebastian
If anything, you know, the reason why I took part of the benefit to us that it took so long is I feel like, and again, I said earlier, we walked the line with the families and our relationships with them, but I feel like that line was walked so well that there was a lot of care. And then when we partnered with Maven Entertainment and we got in Donnie and the whole crew that came out to work with us, that same care was handled and extended through them. You know, as someone who's worked in this industry for a very, very long time, and I've worked with all sorts of creatives. The Midwest is often looked at with a microscope from the coasts and can sometimes be, you know, what Dylan said we didn't do, which is misconstrued, construed. And I feel like in this, the way this whole thing came together is like we very proudly did not do that. I mean, I'm very proud of what we accomplished. I mean, there were times that I had no idea this was ever going to be done. I think all of us felt that. I mean, I remember being on those early calls when we were trying to sell it and we would get the no's, the rejections, over and over again because we needed those resources to elevate the project. And just. It felt like there was times that we're just like, I don't know, I don't know if this is going to ever see the light of day, but here we are. So, you know, I'm very proud of everything we accomplished with this.
Ned
As you guys are finishing up there, one thing I was thinking about was that in the film there's a letter that the family members had written to whoever it might have done it to be the hero and to do the right thing and turn yourself in and confess you still have this opportunity. I guess that's kind of what if this reaches anybody's ears that knows this person or knows anything like this. It's just think about the fact that there is still this chance for you to make the right choice and say, you know, something or you. Or if you did it or, you know, it's. There's still that invitation open, opening here for you to do that. And I just hope I, I know this is going to be a slow burn type of documentary. Like, I know it's got a lot of attention right now, but I think over the years, like as more people see this and as it makes it more out into different people's lives and the facts and the, the family story, I just, I just, I'm hoping that it softens that whatever wall they've built up that erodes that wall over the years and that it's probably, you know, time for somebody to say and do something.
Dylan
Absolutely. Well, thank you all for coming on the show. It was really wonderful to speak with all of you. I think this is an excellent documentary. Where can people watch it?
Christian
Streaming on max.
Dylan
So I want all our listeners to go stream it on MAX right now, kind of get informed about this case and spread the word about it.
Christian
Thank you.
Ned
Thank you so much.
Anya Cain
Thank you so much to Dylan, Ned and Christian for taking the time to speak with us and for the care they put into taken together.
Kevin Greenlee
Thanks so much for listening to the Murder Sheet. If you have a tip concerning one of the cases we cover, please email us@murdersheetmail.com. if you have actionable information about an unsolved crime, please report it to the appropriate authorities.
Anya Cain
If you're interested in joining our Patreon, that's available at www.patreon.com murdersheet. If you want to tip us a bit of money for records requests, you can do so at www.buymeacoffee.com murdersheet. We very much appreciate any support.
Kevin Greenlee
Special thanks to Kevin Tyler Greenlee, who composed the music for the Murder Sheet and who you can find on the web@kevintg.com if you're looking to talk with.
Anya Cain
Other listeners about a case we've covered, you can join the Murder Sheet discussion group on Facebook. We mostly focus our time on research and reporting, so we're not on social media much. We do try to check our email account, but we ask for patience as we often receive a lot of messages. Thanks again for listening.
Kevin Greenlee
So, Anya, before we let people go, I wanted to talk again about the Silver Linings Handbook and more specifically, I want to talk about Jason Blair because certainly there have been times when something happens, we don't know what to do. We're just out here rubbing two sticks together and we need to turn to somebody for advice. I'm sure everybody's had that experience. We need to turn to somebody for advice. And one of the people we turn to most often is Jason Blair and he's always been there for us. He's always willing to give you time. He's always willing to give. Give you great advice. And so now what's wonderful is that everybody within the sound of my voice has access to his insights and his compassion and his advice, because you can find all of that on his podcast.
Anya Cain
Yeah, this podcast is a bit like being able to sort of sit down and sort of hear some interesting insights. I always feel inspired by it. He's had on some really incredible guests recently, and they've had just such like, heartbreaking real conversations with people like Jim Schmidt, who his daughter Gabby Petito was murdered. Jim just came across just as such a real and empathetic and wonderful human being. He was even given one of Jason's friends kind of told him recently about some abuse she had suffered. Jim was giving advice. I mean, it was really incredible. I'm thinking of Kimberly Loring. Her sister went missing in Montana. It's another case involving a native woman. So raising awareness about that, talking to the woman who lost her father, who was a Los Angeles Police department detective. He was murdered so he couldn't testify at a robbery trial. Just like awful stuff. But ultimately really focusing on the compassion and allowing people the space to tell their stories. I think Jason shines as an interviewer because he has that natural empathy and curiosity too. Whenever I'm thinking of a question like, oh, I hope they get into this, like he's asking it two seconds later. So it's a really enjoyable listening experience. And I feel like whenever we listen to it, you and I end up like, discussing some deep stuff like religion or, you know, what we. What kind of like positivity we want to share with the world. So I think if you're, if you're looking for that and you're looking to have those kind of thought provoking conversations in your life, this is the show for you 100%. So I would just say that if you're interested, subscribe to the Silver Linings Handbook wherever you listen to podcasts.
Kevin Greenlee
Before we go, we just wanted to say another few words about Via. This is really a wonderful product. I think it's really helped both of us get a lot better rest.
Anya Cain
Via is pretty much, I guess you'd say, the only lifestyle hemp brand out there. So what does that mean? It means that they're all about crafting different products to elicit different moods. Kevin and I really like their non THC CBD products. Specifically Zen really helps me fall asleep some. Zen can really just kind of help me get more into that state where I can relax and fall asleep pretty easily. And they're just, they've been such a wonderful support to us. They're a longtime sponsor. We really love working with them and they really make the show possible. I'm going to say this like, you may not realize this, but when you support our sponsors, you're supporting us and it kind of makes us. It possible for us to do the show. So if you or one of your loved ones is interested in trying some of this stuff, you're going to get a great deal. It's very high, high quality, high value.
Kevin Greenlee
Anya, if I wanted to get this discount you speak of, what do I do?
Anya Cain
Okay, if you're 21 and older, head to viahemp.com and use the code msheet to receive 15% off. And if you're new to Via, get a free gift of your choice. That's v I I a hemp.com and use code msheet at checkout. Spell the code M S H E E T. And after you purchase, they're going to ask you, hey, where'd you hear about us? Say the murder sheet. Because then it lets them know that our ads are effective and it really helps us out.
Podcast Summary: Murder Sheet - "The Evansdale Murders: A Conversation with the Documentarians Behind 'Taken Together': Part Two"
Release Date: March 4, 2025
Hosts: Áine Cain (Journalist) and Kevin Greenlee (Attorney)
Episode Title: The Evansdale Murders: A Conversation with the Documentarians Behind "Taken Together": Part Two
In this episode, hosts Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee delve deep into the tragic and unresolved case of the Evansdale Murders. On July 13, 2012, in Evansdale, Iowa, two young cousins, eight-year-old Elizabeth Collins and ten-year-old Lyric Cook Morrissey, vanished while riding their bicycles. Despite an intensive search and the discovery of their bikes, their bodies were not found until December 5, 2012, when hunters unearthed them in a remote location 25 miles from their last known whereabouts.
The core of the episode centers around an in-depth conversation with Dylan, Christian, and Ned—the documentarians behind the acclaimed docuseries "Taken Together." This documentary meticulously explores the complexities of the Evansdale case, offering new insights and unearthing previously overlooked details.
Christian elaborates on the rarity of dual abductions, emphasizing their statistical improbability. "Dual abductions are an absolute rarity," he states (05:04). He highlights that Iowa, with a population of three million, has experienced three to seventeen such cases, making it significantly overrepresented compared to national statistics. The documentary underscores the increased risk and complexity an offender faces when abducting two children simultaneously, thereby questioning the likelihood of random dual abductions.
A pivotal figure discussed is Michael Klunder, who had a history of abducting children. Ned recounts Klunder's prior offenses: "Klunder abducted two kids from a daycare... he was sentenced to 40 years and got out in 20 because of that prison program" (09:33). Klunder's subsequent suicide complicates the case, leaving investigators without the opportunity to interrogate him regarding the Evansdale murders.
The conversation transitions to comparisons with the Delphi murders, another high-profile double homicide of children. Dylan reflects on the difficulty of categorizing and connecting such cases: "In Delphi, they were walked a distance away, but they're still in the park... it's not necessarily the same as transporting via a vehicle miles away" (16:24). While similarities exist, especially in the pattern of dual abductions, there is no concrete evidence linking the two cases.
A significant portion of the discussion focuses on the role of cell phone data in investigations. Christian expresses skepticism about its conclusiveness: "I was told the only definitive alibi a cop will take is, is if someone is in jail" (16:48). The reliability of cell phone evidence remains contentious, as manipulable factors like leaving a phone at home can create false alibis.
The episode addresses speculative connections between the victims' families and drug use. Christian and Jessica Sebastian critique the media's tendency to unfairly associate drug problems with the potential for committing heinous crimes. Christian remarks, "When you have someone with drug problems, it does not make someone a murderer" (24:24). Jessica adds, "The media... it's extremely unfair" (22:49). They emphasize the importance of not stigmatizing individuals based on substance use, highlighting the lack of evidence linking Misty and Dan (presumably family members) to the murders.
As the conversation wraps up, the documentarians express hope that their documentary will renew public interest and pressure authorities to uncover the truth. Christian states, "They just need one little more piece and then they can catch whoever did this" (27:46). Ned highlights the documentary's role in keeping the case alive: "We want this to push forward and hope that piece of luck will float into this case" (28:29). Both emphasize the documentary's commitment to integrity and accurately portraying the community's sentiments and the families' struggles.
The episode concludes with acknowledgments and encouragement for listeners to watch the documentary on Max, fostering greater awareness and involvement in solving the Evansdale Murders. The hosts also reiterate their support for sponsors and express gratitude to the interviewees for their invaluable contributions.
Notable Quotes:
Christian on Dual Abductions:
"Dual abductions are an absolute rarity... Iowa has three to seventeen double abductions, significantly overrepresented compared to national statistics." (05:04)
Ned on Michael Klunder:
"Klunder abducted two kids from a daycare... he was sentenced to 40 years and got out in 20 because of that prison program." (09:33)
Christian on Cell Phone Alibis:
"The only definitive alibi a cop will take is if someone is in jail." (16:48)
Jessica Sebastian on Media Bias:
"The media... it's extremely unfair to the families because of their backgrounds and struggles." (22:49)
Christian on Hope for the Case:
"They just need one little more piece and then they can catch whoever did this." (27:46)
Conclusion
This episode of Murder Sheet provides a profound exploration of the Evansdale Murders through the lens of "Taken Together." By dissecting the intricacies of dual abductions, scrutinizing investigative evidence, and challenging media prejudices, the podcast offers listeners a comprehensive understanding of one of Iowa's most haunting unsolved cases. The conversation underscores the importance of persistent investigative efforts and the role of documentary storytelling in seeking justice and closure for affected families.