461 - Heed This Advice

Summary

Podcast Summary: My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Episode 461: "Heed This Advice"
Release Date: January 2, 2025
Network: Exactly Right Media

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Introduction to the Episode

In Episode 461 titled "Heed This Advice," hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark delve into the mysterious disappearance of Jody Hussentrut, a young TV news anchor from Mason City, Iowa, who vanished in the early hours of June 27, 1995. This episode stands out as it focuses solely on a single, intricate cold case, providing listeners with a comprehensive overview of the events, evidence, and ongoing investigations surrounding Jody's disappearance.

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Case Overview

[09:06] Kara Kilgariff:
Karen introduces the case of Jody Hussentrut, a 27-year-old morning show anchor at KIMT TV in Mason City, Iowa. On the morning of June 27, 1995, at 4:00 AM, Jody failed to report to work, sparking immediate concern among her colleagues and prompting a police investigation.

[10:03] Karen Kilgariff:
Jody was known for her vibrant personality—bubbly, social, and outgoing. Despite living in Mason City for only a short time, she became a beloved figure in the community, making her disappearance all the more perplexing.

---

Timeline of Events

1. Early Morning Disappearance:

   • [10:03]
     At 4:00 AM, Jody's producer, Amy Coons, calls her apartment to confirm her presence at work. Jody answers but seems disoriented, assuring Amy she'll arrive shortly.
   • [10:21]
     By 4:30 AM, Jody is still absent, leading Amy to attempt contact again, this time reaching an answering machine.
   • [10:51]
     A third call at 5:00 AM remains unanswered, escalating concerns about Jody's whereabouts.

2. Police Investigation:

   • [16:15]
     Upon Jody's failure to appear at work, the news director contacts the police. Officers arrive at her apartment to find no immediate signs of foul play inside.
   • [16:30]
     Outside, Jody's red Mazda Miata shows signs of a struggle: a bent driver's side mirror, scattered belongings, and drag marks near the vehicle. Investigators also discover a partial handprint on the car.

---

Key Evidence and Clues

• Physical Evidence:

  • [16:30]
    The bent mirror and scattered items (red pumps, earrings, hairspray can, hair dryer) suggest a violent encounter.
  • [18:02]
    Drag marks near the car indicate possible forcible movement or abduction.
  • [18:46]
    Two wine glasses near the sink and an upturned toilet seat in Jody's bathroom hint at a male presence in her apartment.

• Witness Statements:

  • [18:56]
    Three neighbors report hearing a woman scream "leave me alone" around 4:30 AM, though it's unclear if they connected it to Jody's disappearance.
  • [22:06]
    A witness claims to have seen a man banging on Jody's door the night before her disappearance, further adding to the pool of potential suspects.

---

Suspects and Theories

1. John (Unnamed Friend):

   • [29:06]
     John, a 49-year-old friend who had recently celebrated Jody's birthday with her, claims she visited his home to watch a birthday video the night before she vanished.
   • [29:22]
     Discrepancies arise as Jody reportedly made a phone call at 8:24 PM from her apartment, making John's timeline of her visiting him suspect.
   • [35:43]
     John had named his boat after Jody and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, maintaining his innocence. Despite being a person of interest, he has never been charged.

2. Serial Rapist from Minnesota:

   • [31:28]
     A Minnesota man with a long history of sexual assaults, who owned a white van similar to one seen near Jody's apartment, became a suspect. However, after fingerprint and palm print analysis, he was cleared of involvement.

3. Stalker Theory:

   • [30:01]
     Given Jody's role as a public figure, some believe she may have been targeted by a stalker, especially considering previous reports of being followed and receiving threatening calls.

4. Opportunity Crime:

   • [35:45]
     Another theory suggests it was a crime of opportunity—a random act by someone in the vicinity who decided to abduct Jody when she was vulnerable.

---

Ongoing Investigation and Community Involvement

[37:03] Kara Kilgariff:
Years after her disappearance, Jody's family remains active in seeking answers. In 2003, a dedicated group of journalists and community members launched findjody.com, which continues to collect tips and maintain billboards to keep the case in the public eye.

[36:10] Georgia Hardstark:
Despite numerous leads and theories, the case remains unsolved. Recent tips, such as the October report of alleged human remains on a farm in Winstead, Minnesota, proved to be false alarms, as the remains were identified as farm animal bones.

[38:17]
The hosts emphasize the importance of community involvement in cold cases. They advocate for re-interviewing witnesses and re-examining evidence with modern technology to finally solve the mystery of Jody's disappearance.

---

Notable Quotes

• [09:29] Kara Kilgariff:
  "Did you do them?"
  (Expressing frustration over unsolved cases and the lingering questions they raise.)

• [37:23] Kara Kilgariff:
  "That's just one of the ones that, like, holds space in my mind at all times."
  (Highlighting the lasting impact of cold cases on those who study them.)

• [44:47] Karen Kilgariff:
  "Stay sexy and don't get murdered."
  (Their signature sign-off, blending dark humor with genuine concern.)

---

Conclusion

Episode 461 of "My Favorite Murder" offers an in-depth exploration of Jody Hussentrut's disappearance, meticulously outlining the timeline, evidence, and various theories surrounding the case. Karen and Georgia thoughtfully engage with the complexities of cold cases, emphasizing the necessity of community vigilance and the persistent hope for closure. Their compassionate yet investigative approach serves both to honor Jody's memory and to encourage listeners to remain engaged in unresolved mysteries.

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Additional Resources

Listeners intrigued by Jody Hussentrut's case can visit findjody.com and participate in community discussions to aid in the ongoing search for answers.

---

This summary was crafted to provide a comprehensive overview of Episode 461 for those who have not yet listened, highlighting key discussions and insights shared by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark.

Transcript

[Georgia Hartstark]

This is exactly right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Liza Traeger]

Listen up. I'm Liza Traeger. And I'm Kara Klenk. And we're the hosts of the true crime comedy podcast that's Messed Up, An SVU podcast. Every Tuesday, we break down an episode of Law and svu, the true crime it's based on, and we chat with an actor from the episode. Over the past few years, we've chatted with series icons like Beatty Wong, Kelly Giddish, Danny Pino, and guest stars like Paget Brewster and Matthew Lillard. And just like an SVU marathon, you can jump in anywhere. Don't miss new episodes every Tuesday. Follow that's Messed up and SVU Podcast wherever you get your podcasts done. Done.

[Kara Klenk]

My favor and welcome to my favorite murder.

[Georgia Hartstark]

2025.

[Kara Klenk]

It's 2025.

[Georgia Hartstark]

That's Georgia Hart's heart.

[Kara Klenk]

That's Karen Kilgariff. 2025. It's 2025. Is that a good number? Is that a lucky number? How do we feel about that? Okay.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Oh, oh, the numerologists love 2025.

[Kara Klenk]

Do they?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Uh huh.

[Kara Klenk]

Okay.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yes. Because if you add all of that up, it goes to nine. And nine is the power number. For girls that wear black nail polish, for girls that wear glasses, for girls that like books.

[Kara Klenk]

Crystals. Do we have a lot of crystals going on?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Lot of crys is the number of crystals.

[Kara Klenk]

Okay.

[Georgia Hartstark]

And you, you should have nine crystals on your windowsill.

[Kara Klenk]

Oh, okay, I'll get on that. We're recording this before the New Year, so I can get on that and do it.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, that was all. That was all acting, all that Happy New Year stuff.

[Kara Klenk]

It's just. We're tricking you. We're here to trick you.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Show biz, baby. Yeah, get used to it.

[Kara Klenk]

Drink your tiny Coke.

[Georgia Hartstark]

And can't I have a tiny sip every time we're supposed to be talking?

[Kara Klenk]

Well, I've had a drink that hasn't.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Hit me yet, so you better chug that thing. Is it a Celsius?

[Kara Klenk]

No, no, it's Just like one of those shots.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Please put your finger up like this when it hits.

[Kara Klenk]

Not the, like, good kind of like, medicinal, fuck you up, takes years off your life kind. And I love those. It's like one of the, like, juice. Juices with caffeine.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Oh. I mean, I just immediately. When you're like the kind that you up, it just reminds me of buying those big black pills on the counter at 7:11. Remember? Like, last minute impulse buys.

[Kara Klenk]

They call them trucker speed, right?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, trucker speed. But like, who knows? It looked like it was made of ashes, like old charcoal briquettes. And they're like, yeah, you'll totally get a bunch of energy from this.

[Kara Klenk]

And no dos. Remember crushing up. Don't. Don't do that. Everyone, listen. We're from the 90s. We're allowed to crush pills up and snort them. We. We've done that. We did it for you. It burns. Don't do it.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah. If you're a youngster that has a real problem with millennials and Gen Xers, then heed this advice.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Stay away from that shit. Just stick to your yerba mate.

[Kara Klenk]

That's right.

[Georgia Hartstark]

You're doing it right. Just. It's fine.

[Kara Klenk]

You're fine.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Oh, my God.

[Kara Klenk]

I can't believe we survived the 90s.

[Georgia Hartstark]

God damn it. I used to eat those fucking. Swallow those gigantic horse pills that were black to somehow think that it was going to speed me up and do what to do. Exciting. I think I was trying to do some sort of dumb diet thing always where it's like, if I eat these, I won't eat spaghetti. It's just like, you know what? Just eat the spaghetti.

[Kara Klenk]

Eat the spaghetti.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Spaghetti especially. Now more than ever, eat the spaghetti.

[Kara Klenk]

Especially if it's that kind that's got. That's made from lentils.

[Georgia Hartstark]

What?

[Kara Klenk]

No. Yeah, there's. So, yeah, yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

No, no.

[Kara Klenk]

You refuse.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I. I will not.

[Kara Klenk]

It's my brand. I made it. You didn't know that I started a lentil.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I'm so sorry. I love the Hardstock lentil noodle company.

[Kara Klenk]

Try them today.

[Georgia Hartstark]

George is going to be a vegan in 2025.

[Kara Klenk]

That's correct.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It's her new thing.

[Kara Klenk]

Yep. All things vegan. Is it working yet? Am I awake? It's weird to go from nap to energy drink to podcasting.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, I think it's cool. It's kind of like. It's the dark triad. Put your finger up like this. When you start to feel it, okay.

[Kara Klenk]

Okay. You'll know it'll be me. It'll be like the real me. There she is. There she is. There's the reason she needs social breaks.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Because she just gives it all into that microphone.

[Kara Klenk]

So we're still on break this episode, which means only one story today, but I'll make it powerful, I promise.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, Georgia loves acting and she loves storytelling. She's kind of a folklorist, but in.

[Kara Klenk]

Her free time, kind of like the epitome of the number nine.

[Georgia Hartstark]

You're such a nine.

[Kara Klenk]

Hi, it's me. I'm nine.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It's me. Hi, I'm the nine. It's me.

[Kara Klenk]

I'm the nine.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It's me.

[Kara Klenk]

So we hope everyone had a good holiday and a good new year. New Year's Eve.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Oh, my God, I hope you had the worst New Year's Eve. I hope you drank so many wine coolers around 10, and then around 11, you're like, I fucking gotta throw up. I have to. My little gold dress is gonna be ruined.

[Kara Klenk]

All that spaghetti I ate for dinner, it's gone. The girls told me to eat the spaghetti and it's gone.

[Georgia Hartstark]

They made me eat the lentil spaghetti and now it's back.

[Kara Klenk]

Hard strike brand lentil spaghetti sure is. Sure comes up. Gross.

[Georgia Hartstark]

There's a tiny picture of your face on the package making a face like, I don't like this. Be eating this if I was you. Seriously, I have had to eat a lot of gluten free stuff with Nora. Right? And yeah, there's some that's like, shockingly delicious. And then there's some that you're like, I need. I need a washcloth to get this out of my mouth because it's so gross. Crazy.

[Kara Klenk]

Some of the desserts are like, incredible. You'd never know.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, you could never tell the difference.

[Kara Klenk]

I'd only accidentally eat it or buy it. I wouldn't do it on purpose.

[Georgia Hartstark]

You wouldn't seek it out?

[Kara Klenk]

No. Okay, we have a couple Exactly Right Media highlights. This is our podcast network, exactly right Media. And here are some highlights.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Okay, so don't tell your dad we said this, but we think you should join our fan cult so you can get access to all of these crazy new videos that we're making. You get a $20 credit to our store and much, much more. So go over and visit fancult.supercast.com and get in on the action, because there's a lot of action.

[Kara Klenk]

There is a lot of action. And if you have a moment, please go follow us on social media. Our handle is exactly right on all platforms and you can get updates on all of our podcasts, including I said no Gifts and Ghosted by Roz Hernandez.

[Georgia Hartstark]

And if you would like to prove you love our podcasts, make it your New Year's resolution to rate, review, and follow us and them and everything. Exactly. Right. Wherever you like to listen.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. Next time you're, like, in a waiting room and you're like, I don't. I'm so sick of Instagram or whatever, just go to your podcast app and give that little heart a tap on your favorite podcast, because it really does make a difference.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It makes a huge difference. And then just go through and kind of like, you might want to delete some pics in your phone. It just. Let's clean that phone up.

[Kara Klenk]

I guess rate reviewing and subscribing is kind of like our, like, semiannual report or what's it called when you get.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Like, that's right at work, like a performance review.

[Kara Klenk]

That's it. Thank you. Yes. Think of it as a performance review. And like, it doesn't really matter, but also it does matter. They can use it to fire even in the future if it's not good. So, like, we need. Need a positive performance review in the form of rate, review and subscribe.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, that's right. You can really. You can really push the needle in the positive direction. Sure.

[Kara Klenk]

Or the negative. I mean, listen, we might have pissed you off. You might be vegan.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Listen, free will, baby. It's your life. Do what you want. You know, we don't boss in that in that way, but we do suggest strongly with a kind of mean looking eye.

[Kara Klenk]

That's right. With a fist. Raised.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Rate, review and subscribe. Okay, this is one of those episodes where there's just one story. And this is one of those episodes where it's just your just story.

[Kara Klenk]

How happy about that are you?

[Georgia Hartstark]

I love it so much.

[Kara Klenk]

I know. Isn't it weird when you're like, I gotta record today. I don't have to do Jack today.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I don't. You know what I have to do? Say a bunch of about the 90s at the top. I continually divert the conversation into a weird direction and boom. That's podcasting podcast. Five stars.

[Kara Klenk]

It's a great hobby if you can get it. So, okay, so I am doing a classic cold case. You know, that's my obsession, your passion. And this one specifically is a cold case that many people are obsessed with. And it's still being actively investigated. Up until recently, there was even a little break. And this is one of Iowa's biggest unsolved mysteries. This is the story about a young TV news anchor who disappeared in 1995. This is the story of Jody Hussentrut. You know what I'm talking about?

[Georgia Hartstark]

No, I've never heard this.

[Kara Klenk]

You'll know when I start to tell you. Because it's like one of those ones that are like, how has this not been solved? But also, how is there such a small amount of evidence? And so everyone's able to like put their own theories on it. There's groups of people who have certain theories. There's like people fighting each other about whose theory is right. So I have mine. I want to hear yours at the end of this.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I'll fight everybody.

[Kara Klenk]

I know you will. And so I'm ready for that. So the main source I used for the story is an episode of 2020 called Gone at Dawn. And the rest of the sources can be found in the show notes. And if you've watched any of these true crime shows, you've seen this case probably. Okay, so this is the weird part of the story. It's 4 in the morning on June 27, 1995, and we're in Mason City, Iowa. Mason City is a small city of about 29,000 people. It's up by Iowa's northern border with Minnesota, about halfway between Minneapolis and Des Moines. So it's like a smaller town outside of the big cities.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Every once in a while when we talk about a state and then you say something like that where it's like, it's up by Minnesota. And then I'm like, I absolutely thought those two states were nowhere near each other.

[Kara Klenk]

And I wrote this. This is like an alley. This is fucking my researcher, Ali Elkin giving me details. I didn't fucking know that. I went on a map and I.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Was like, wow, you know what I'm gonna get you and me for Christmas in Christmas past, Christmas future, I'm gonna get us the United States map placemats. And then we are going to know these states by heart in one year.

[Kara Klenk]

Okay, perfect. So here we are. For most people in Mason City, it's the middle of the night, it's 4:00am like, who is up that early? But for 27 year old Jody, who's in Truitt, it's time to wake up and get for work. Because she is an anchor for the morning show on the local TV network, kimt tv. She's a newscaster and she's supposed to be getting into the office at this point to prepare for the show, do her hair and makeup, get ready to go on at 6am, so. Ouch. Oh my God. Who chooses that life? I would just be fired immediately.

[Georgia Hartstark]

So difficult also because, like, then you have to go to bed at 9:30, probably. And you have to make sure no one wakes you up.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

So that you can get your phone. Night's sleep.

[Kara Klenk]

Sure. There's no insomnia. You're not allowed to have insomnia, which causes my worst insomnia when I can't. I'm not allowed to have insomnia, you know.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah. The pressure's on.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Like, go to sleep right now.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. You have to be a very disciplined, like, reliable, obviously person.

[Georgia Hartstark]

The one thing I do love about that, though, of getting up and being that kind of morning person. First of all, it's badass. So they're, you know, you're really doing it and you're in it.

[Kara Klenk]

You have a dream and you're like, doing all these. Yeah. It's this incredible.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Living your dream.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

But then you're also out with like, people who deliver newspapers.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

The guy that works at the donut shop.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally.

[Georgia Hartstark]

A very select group of people are up in the morning when it's still dark and it's a cool. It's cool to like, dip into that.

[Kara Klenk]

But then, see this. This story reminds me that it's still nighttime and the creeps are still out. Like, I guess this time night is a really. Is like when people break into cars a lot. Like there's still nefarious shit going on and you think, well, it's my morning, so everything's fine, but it's like, still dark out and it's deceiving, you know?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah. Middle of the night in a lot of ways.

[Kara Klenk]

Like, I don't think you're as alert because it's your morning, but it's really dark out still, so. Jody's originally from Long Prairie, Minnesota. She's been working as an anchor at the TV network for two years, though she's only lived in Mason City for a relatively short time. Jody has lots of friends. She's bubbly, she's social, she's outgoing, as I think you kind of have to be to be a fe. Male newscaster, it seems like.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, I think that would be part of your makeup.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. It's like you and the head of the sales team, like, you guys are all like, yeah, they have this personality that I've always been like, how do you do that? You know?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah. The outward facing kind of like, good morning, Mason City.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah, I made cupcakes. When did you make cupcakes I know. She's pretty much exactly what you'd imagine a young TV news anchor to be. She's got this, like, kind of blonde bob. She looks to me like a cross between Belinda Carlisle because she's also got the, like, 90s, you know, Bob, kind of big teased bob. Cut. She looks a little bit like Britney Spears as well. So cute. Dimples, like really beautiful. Exactly what you'd think of. And so the problem right now at 4am is that jodi isn't at work yet, as she should be. So the show's producer, a woman named Amy Coons, calls Jody at her apartment. The two women both have to be at the studio well before fucking crack of dawn. So they have an agreement to call each other by 4am if one of them isn't at work to kind of watch each other's back and make sure no one's overslept.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Nice.

[Kara Klenk]

So here's where our story differs from every other story we tell that begins this way. Jodi actually picks up the phone. Oh, and Amy's call has woken her up when she's supposed to be at work. So Jodi asks what time it is. Amy tells her. And Jodi, you know, scrambles. She says, I'll be right there, and hangs up. And it should take Jodi about 10 minutes to get to the studio. She has, like, a bag that she brings. She'll do her hair and makeup while she prepares for the show. So she's running late, but she still has time to scramble and get there.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Okay.

[Kara Klenk]

But at 4:30, Jody still isn't at work. Amy calls again, and this time she gets Jody's answering machine. And at 5am Amy calls one more time. Still gets no answer. And at this point, Amy is scrambling to put together a show without Jody. But it's like, not on her mind that something is wrong. She just figures she fell back to sleep. She had woken her up the first time. Amy winds up going on for Jody when the morning show starts at 6am and when the news director gets into the office at 7am and the staff tells him Jody never showed up, he immediately calls the police and asks to go check on her. So when the police get to Jody's apartment, they first check inside. Nothing seems amiss. But when they go back outside to look at her car, which is a red Mazda Miata, which is so cute for a young working woman to have, you know, it's still in its parking spot, but there are signs of a struggle. And there are some photos from this. And it's just like, like chilling, you.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Know, it's chilling to me too. When you said that the news director immediately called the police because the news director has been in the news for, I'm sure, a long career. So anybody else that's just kind of paying attention to other things, that news director is like, I know these stories. We're calling the police.

[Kara Klenk]

I've seen some. Totally. Oh, and like, even if she had like fallen back to sleep when Amy called her by 7am she'd probably have been awake by then and freaking out.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, because you have that kind of early morning internal alarm clock.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally. So here's what's going on with the scene. The driver's side mirror on the car is bent backwards. Jody's belongings are scattered on the ground. Like there's a pair of red pumps that have essentially fallen off her feet, a pair of earrings, a can of hairspray and her hair dryer. Remember, she probably had her like go bag with her to get ready at work. So she was probably on her way to her car to go to work to finish getting ready and something happened outside of her car. On the ground, investigators also find the key to Jody's car. It appears to be slightly bent. And on the ground near the car, investigators find what looks like drag marks, like these little indentations that look like someone's being dragged. And investigators also find one partial handprint on the outside of the car. And I mean, so there's a lot of scenes that you hear about that that don't give any clues as to what happened, which really delays someone getting searched for. And I think that all this evidence there is almost this lucky thing because they know immediately something's wrong. Like I've been reading about J.C. dugard's abduction and it's just gone without a trace, nothing left behind. And that's just almost worse because you have nothing to go on, but here you have evidence to go on and.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Like a little window of time where it's like, oh, I had talked to her here and then I knew she was running to her car.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally. It had to be between this time and this time. Yeah, totally.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

And I think everyone who's obsessed with this case is like, for me personally, it's like the answer is somewhere in here, in this little area and window of time. But so the apartment complex where she lives, we know where the parking lot is, is a group of two story mid century type buildings. Three neighbors from the complex said that they heard a scream at about 4:30am of course, no one Called the police. One witness reports that they specifically heard a woman scream, leave me alone. Do you like. Do you have what I have where it's like, I thought I heard one gunshot, but I don't know. And so you don't call the police. Right. And it's like, I don't. It doesn't sound. I mean, this is la, so some people are like, what are you talking about?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

Every once in a while you hear a gunshot in la.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yes.

[Kara Klenk]

In your neighborhood, for sure.

[Georgia Hartstark]

That's definitely happened. But you wouldn't. You. What would you say to the police when you called? You would be like, I heard at what I think is a gunshot. And they'd be like, okay, anything else? And they would hang up on you because they literally don't help you a lot of the time.

[Kara Klenk]

If I heard a woman scream in the middle of the night, though, I.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Think then I would and say, leave me alone. And you would. At least. I would love it if there were more dudes that were like, I gotta go out there and at least go.

[Kara Klenk]

At least look totally like that hometown we read recently where the dad, like, caught her and ran inside and caught. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that Vince and I, if we were woken up at four in the morning by a woman screaming, would take care of and take some action. Take some action and also call the police. Yeah, yeah. You know, don't mind your own business. That's like rule number one.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Mind your own business up until a point.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

And then when business gets scary and dangerous.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Go ahead and don't mind your own business.

[Kara Klenk]

Right. A scream is a cry for you to butt in to my business.

[Georgia Hartstark]

You know, and as a woman, you can stay in your apartment and start calling the police.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally. You don't have to go outside. Okay. Psa. Now we have that out.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I mean, PSA that we're making up based on something we wish very badly didn't happen.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. So curiously, another witness who lives across the hall from Jody says she heard a commotion outside Jody's apartment the night before. She says she heard a man banging on Jody's door, saying, open the door. I know you're in there. But that said, this person tells this story, like, weeks or months later, not immediately after Jodi's disappearance. So it's hard to, like, really pin down exactly what happened. So while police are still at Jody's building, a friend of Jody's comes over and says that he believes he was the last person to have seen her. This man's name is John. I'M not gonna say his last name, but it's, you know, all over the Internet. And he's older than Jody. He's 49, so like 20 years older than her. But the two really seem to be close friends. He had recently thrown a surprise party for her 27th birthday. And the night before she disappeared, he said she had gone to his house to watch a home video from that party. There's actually a problem, though, with this sequence of events, and here's another camp that believes that this guy fucking totally didn't. So the day before Jody disappeared, she had played at a charity golf tournament. That tournament was followed by dinner at the country club. And Jody had been at that dinner. Multiple people report that she had Left dinner at 8pm But John maintains that she came over after the dinner to watch the video. The video is about 15 minutes long, but investigators know that Jody made a long distance phone call from her apartment at 8:24pm so this timeline doesn't add up. Right. Jody wouldn't have had time to get to John's from the dinner, watch the video, and then drive home in time to place the call. So. So it's just this weird discrepancy and.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Sorry, it was his story that that's, that was the timeline.

[Kara Klenk]

No, it was his story that she came over and that is the actual timeline. So it's like, I don't know if they confronted him or not, but they're like, you know, this doesn't add up. Which to me is like super suspicious. Right, but why would he offer that info if it wasn't true? That's the question. Because he's trying to hide something.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Right?

[Kara Klenk]

But John makes himself available to the police. He's generally very cooperative. And other friends of theirs confirm that they were just friends. There was not weird going on. But of course the relationship raises eyebrows. And John goes on multiple local news segments in the wake of Jody's disappearance. You know, talking about her, saying he had nothing to do with it. He tells police and local news media that he had been asleep when Jody was abducted, which is understandable. It's four in the morning and a friend of his says that she went on a walk with him that morning from 6:30 to 8:30am Is it weird that I'm like, well, I could see them being friends if they were both in aa because that's like, that's the only time you meet like older people, people. I feel like aa, it's so specific.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It is. You might as well say that's the only time I've ever met anyone, honestly, like, yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

Oh, you've been in the program for a long time. Like, let's hang out. Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Cool. Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

In another TV interview, John mentions that he named his boat after Jody. It's unclear whether he did this before or after her disappearance.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It's not after. It's not after. That would be insane.

[Kara Klenk]

But why before that? To me, that's insane, too. Like, you're naming your boat after a friend of yours.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Well, I don't know is which one. I'm just saying which one's weirder. I think after your friend disappeared and you're like, great, I'm gonna go name a boat after her.

[Kara Klenk]

After, to me is like a tribute. Before to me is an obsession.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I hear you and I raise you. After is making it about you, where it's like, I name. Because all you're doing is pointing out to other people that you named your boat after her.

[Kara Klenk]

But someone who would kill someone and doesn't understand how things look would think that it's like a way to be like, see, I'm honoring her memory. Like, look how normal this is.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

I don't think they'd understand how. And I agree. It's fucking creepy.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I feel like either way, it's creepy. What are you doing? When's the last time you heard someone unless it was their child or their grandchild?

[Kara Klenk]

Totally.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I don't know.

[Kara Klenk]

No, it's. It's odd. It raises flags.

[Georgia Hartstark]

You know what it is? I don't like if he did do it. I don't like if he didn't do it. That's how I feel about this story right now.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. Yeah. He's, of course, treated as a person of interest for years. He's taken two polygraphs, and police will not discuss whether or not he passed. He says that he did and Jody actually kept a journal, and she mentions him in it often. And she writes about having fun with him on a recent water skiing trip and has nothing negative to say about him. But I don't fucking tell the truth in my journal. Do you?

[Georgia Hartstark]

I don't have a fucking journal.

[Kara Klenk]

I have a once in a while journal. When I feel like it, I want.

[Georgia Hartstark]

To go find it and read it.

[Kara Klenk]

Exactly. That's why I don't fucking tell them the truth. Anything.

[Georgia Hartstark]

No, but you take the time to lie.

[Kara Klenk]

I'll write, like, thoughts that I have at the moment, but I won't write, like, deep details and secrets, you know?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Okay. You're just more, like, recording stuff that.

[Kara Klenk]

Happened, not recording stuff that Happened. Just getting whatever thought is in my head out, but no details.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Got it.

[Kara Klenk]

So if you read it, it might not make any sense to you.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I always felt like you were beholden to tell, like, deep feelings and secrets in a journal. That's why I'd always be like, I should start doing this for my mental health. And then literally, two days later, I'd, like, throw it over my shoulder for me.

[Kara Klenk]

And I'm betting for you, too. Growing up with a sibling means that you don't write jack shit in a fucking diary or they're gonna read it and make fun of you and hold it over your head for the rest of your life.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Absolutely. Do you know that my sister. One time I wrote a letter. A boy that I went to camp with wrote me a letter. When we got home, I had a huge crush on him, and I wrote a letter back to him, and my sister went and took it out of the mailbox.

[Kara Klenk]

Oh, wow.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Because she knew was, like, the wrong move. And actually, did she start.

[Kara Klenk]

Oh, she. That was n. I know.

[Georgia Hartstark]

But of course I was like, I didn't know until. And then she told me, like, two years later. She's like, you never. Because I was like, oh, my God. I sent in the most embarrassing letter. She goes, no, you didn't.

[Kara Klenk]

But what if it had been, like, heartfelt and real?

[Georgia Hartstark]

She was at camp. She knew how not real it was.

[Kara Klenk]

Okay. Wow, that's actually really touching.

[Georgia Hartstark]

She was. Laura. Was she looking out the meanest, most loving older sister of all time? Which is like, please stop. Stop acting like this. And I'd be like, I'm not going to. And then she'd be like, okay, you're.

[Kara Klenk]

Gonna have to keep following me and picking up my trash along the way.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Everything's a show. Come and fix it.

[Kara Klenk]

Okay, we're back in. So they call the state troopers. The police call the state troopers in to come help the Mason City Police to look for Jody, which we always like. They bring in dogs and search a nearby river. There's also also, like, park grounds across the street from her apartment building. It seems like maybe campers hang out there. Maybe also people party there. Like, it's. And also, like, if she has a stalker, it's a good vantage point to, like, watch from. You know what I mean? No sign of Jody is found, though, in that park area. And inside Jody's apartment, police notice two things. There are two wine glasses by the sink, and the toilet seat is up in Jody's bathroom, which would suggest a male guest. Right? This leads of Course, people to wonder if a man had been in her apartment the night before she disappeared. I've also read somewhere that there were beer bottles, like, by the dumpster outside, as if someone was hanging out, waiting around. But I, you know, can't find anything further on that. And no further evidence is found. And it sounds like the glasses aren't tested for DNA. Or if they are, there's no unaccounted for male DNA. Like, you know, they haven't. It's an open case, so they haven't really said, but you'd think that they would let us know if that was the case. So people point out that Jody is a local celebrity, and so that might have been a factor in her disappearance. It is a small town, and I think the newscaster is, like, a big deal there, right?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, it would be a huge deal.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. There's no online influencers. There's no online. It's like, this is.

[Georgia Hartstark]

These are the celebrities, and, like, it's a person. You turn on your tv, you're seeing them all the time. I feel like somebody like a newscaster would be especially prone to a stalker in that way.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally. So Mason City is very small. In other parts of the country, we would call it a town. It's not, you know, a city. And Jodi lived life like a regular person, even though people started their mornings with her every single day. So it's not unheard of for TV news personalities to have stalkers. In fact, obviously, it's very common. And Jody was a young woman who lived by herself in a small apartment complex without any kind of special security. She was listed in the phone book, and so it probably wouldn't be hard for someone to figure out where she lived.

[Georgia Hartstark]

No security.

[Kara Klenk]

You go to the news station, you wait till she comes out, you follow her home. I mean, it's. Yeah. Kind of terrifying.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

So the current lead investigator on the case says that the stalker angle doesn't add up for him. And remember, Jody was late for work the day she disappeared. So on a normal day, she would have walked out the door at three in the morning. So a stalker waiting for her would have had to stay outside her apartment building for a whole extra hour to grab her on the day she disappeared. And the investigator doesn't think that that's likely. And I hate to contradict him, but, yeah, he's wrong. If he knew she had to be at work, he could have just waited.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I'm sorry, you're trying to say that stalkers wouldn't wait an extra hour? I Feel like that is what they do.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. It's like, today's the day I'm gonna do it.

[Georgia Hartstark]

They wait all the time. It's stalking.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. And then the other. Other thing people think about is that if she did have someone over the night before and she was being stalked, that might have upset the stalker enough to wait for her and attack her.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yep, that makes sense.

[Kara Klenk]

So that kind of is an angle I really think is strong. So nine months before she went missing in October of 1994, Jody made a police report saying that she had been out jogging. She was being followed by someone driving away. White truck. And the night before Jody disappeared, a neighbor reported seeing an unfamiliar white van in her building's parking lot.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Don't like that.

[Kara Klenk]

Some people also say that she was going to change her phone number because she was getting nasty calls from someone. And there's one other angle that people always wonder about. I mean, this is kind of loose for me, but Jody had been covering the growing issue of drug use in the Midwest. Some people think that she was possibly killed by people, people who didn't want her to keep reporting on it. But, I mean, she was not an investigative journalist. I can't imagine she was, like, breaking any crazy news that, like, gangs were worried about her sharing. You know what I mean?

[Georgia Hartstark]

It's all after the fact kind of stuff that already happened. Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

Right. So that. That seems unlikely to me. So two years after Jody's disappears in 1997, a serial rapist is arrested and ultimately convicted. And this man lived in Mason City, about a block or two away from the TV studio where Jody worked. Oh, yeah. Police look into him in connection with Jody based on an account from a jailhouse informant. But they ultimately rule him out, which I'm like. Based on what? Cause it must have been. It had to be, like, he was out of town that day or something to rule him out, you know?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Right.

[Kara Klenk]

It's pretty crazy. There's another man from nearby Minnesota who has a record of sexual assaults going back to the 1970s. He was known to spend time in Mason City. He owned a white van, not unlike the one that the witness had seen, and Jody's apartment building's parking lot. And this man's ex wife actually says that he had a special interest in Jody. Yeah. And two witnesses who have had conversations with this man say that he bragged to them about being involved in her disappearance. So I just want to know how close they were looked at. And, like, can we do it again, please? There are private investigators. There's there's, you know, regular investigators on this. You'd have to think that they looked as. As much as they could into these people.

[Georgia Hartstark]

If anyone came and said, hey, this guy bragged to me that he was involved, you know, that they looked into that person.

[Kara Klenk]

Right, right. And that does happen all the time.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

And it's. And they had nothing to do with it.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Right.

[Kara Klenk]

In 2004, police served this guy with a search warrant for his finger and palm prints. And the officer who executed this warrant says that this man became ironically great when presented with the search warrant.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Oh.

[Kara Klenk]

But he had to comply. He was never charged. Police say they've cleared him. In June of 2001, Jody's family makes the awful decision to declare her legally dead. But no one has given up on finding out what happened to her. In 2003, a group of journalists form a website called findjody.com and this group is still extremely active. So for journalists, this case hits home because it's a big community made up of some people who knew Jody personally, but also other journalists who didn't know her. And this just hit them? It seems. So.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

It's one of their own.

[Georgia Hartstark]

One of their own. Yeah.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. So this is another crazy little, like, breadcrumb to throw in there. In early June 2008, 84 photocopied pages of Jody's personal journal were anonymously mailed to a local newspaper. The original journal had been in the possession of the former Mason City police chief. So who sent this? Well, it turns out the sender was identified as the wife of the former Mason City police chief.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Oh.

[Kara Klenk]

He had taken, you know, copies of this home or the journal, I don't know which. And she sent them maybe in a bid to, like, try to get this solved. You know, it's just weird. It's just a weird violation. Maybe she was hoping that someone would glean some information off of it. You know, it's been. It had been 13 years.

[Georgia Hartstark]

So is there anything in it that, like, helps people or it furthers anything?

[Kara Klenk]

It doesn't seem like a no. I mean, maybe. Yeah. Who knows? It is that thing where, like, they keep stuff secret so that only the killer knows. But eventually, if there's no leads at all, you've got to put some information out there.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Right.

[Kara Klenk]

To try to get some leads.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Right.

[Kara Klenk]

So in 2017, John, the older friend guy who named his boat after Jody, is subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury for a second time. Like, they're on this guy. He gives finger and palm prints and A DNA sample. The results of that grand jury proceeding is sealed, but I feel like it happened in 2017. If they had anything on him, he would have been indicted by now, right?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, it seems like it.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. John recently gave a statement saying he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and he has reiterated that he had nothing to do with Jody's disappearance.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Sorry. So ultimately, the reason they went to him first was just because they were close.

[Kara Klenk]

I think he showed up that day when they were searching, when they, like, went to the crime scene. Oh. He kind of inserted himself, you know, which we always. In true crime. That's a red flag. But he does. He did think he was the last person to see her the night before.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah. And if he heard, if someone told him she might be missing, he might run over there to see what's going on. Sure.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. Where he's driving by and it's his friend's apartment building and something's going on in there. Yeah. Right. So it could be totally innocent. That's why I'm not saying his last name. Because who the knows? Right, Right. And, like, if we find out what happened and this whole time this guy's been hounded and had nothing to do.

[Georgia Hartstark]

With it, which happens a lot.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

When they're like, they just. The police decide this one person is guilty and they're going to. They're going to bend it all around to fit that.

[Kara Klenk]

That it just like this sudden violent act. To me, it either seems like a stalker or a crime of opportunity. Like some. A guy, someone. Some nefarious person was there, maybe breaking into cars or like Peeping Tom. And at 4am she happens to come out.

[Georgia Hartstark]

And when you first said that, she screamed, leave me alone.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

To me, I interpreted that as. That she had dealt with this person before.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally. Like, I know you. I know I've seen you. Leave me alone. Because you won't leave me alone. Alone.

[Georgia Hartstark]

You won't leave me alone.

[Kara Klenk]

Tips still come in all the time on this case. Most recently just this past October that we just had, investigators got an anonymous tip about possible human remains on a farm in Winstead, Minnesota. And it was known that, like, it was about Jody. So people were, like, excited that something was finally going to happen. In this case, it turns out that the bones were just farm animal remains. But, you know, it did once again stir up interest in the case case. The Fine Jody group still maintains billboards around Mason City asking for people to come forward with tips about this case. They get tips regularly and they run down all of Them hoping to finally solve this almost 30 year mystery.

[Georgia Hartstark]

God.

[Kara Klenk]

I know. Jody's sister Joanne says, quote, I don't like the word closure. You're not going to close something. We're always going to think about Jody. We're always going to miss her. Her. End quote. And that is the story of the disappearance of Jody Husentrute.

[Georgia Hartstark]

That is so crazy.

[Kara Klenk]

That's just one of the ones that, like, holds space in my mind at all times, you know?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah. The drag marks.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

The clarity that it was something potentially violent, dangerous. Scary.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. Shoes. The shoes left behind.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Bent key.

[Kara Klenk]

I know, know. I know. You know, whenever there's a crime in the immediate area or even larger, it's like, does this match? It kind of reminds me of the Springfield three who just disappeared out of nowhere as well.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It's just so like, did you do them?

[Kara Klenk]

I did that one. Alondra just told me. Episode 95. Good to know.

[Georgia Hartstark]

But that was 200 years ago.

[Kara Klenk]

So that was in 1999 that I did that. It's 2025 now.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Good to know. Yeah. Good update. I think it's that thing of, like, it's a. It doesn't surprise me that there are all kinds of theories camps and people discussing it and fighting about it.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Because it's all to the good of. Let us figure this out.

[Kara Klenk]

Right.

[Georgia Hartstark]

So, you know, again, theorizing about why people like true crime, but it's like, if we all put our brains together here on Reddit or anywhere else, can you please just get this going one step forward?

[Kara Klenk]

Right. Because the investigators haven't been able to find anything. So like, why not have more people. People put their eyes on it 30.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Years later, it's like, and I think you're right about when you're like, re interview some of those people or just like, is there anything that, like, you know, that much later could. Could change or break or oh, this alibi actually isn't solid or any of those things.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. Like, her phone records. Was there some. Was there someone calling her and saying weird things like. Yeah, it sucks that, like, you know, we have GPS tracking now, which is so great. But back then there's just like, nothing to go on.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Wow.

[Kara Klenk]

That's my story. We'll go back to two stories very soon.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I mean, here's the thing that I think about all the time and my frustration with your cold cases, because we all want a button ending, which is not how life works. And how many, many, many crimes. The majority of crimes do not work that way. But then there is that potential of like. And here is the break that, you know, 30 years later, here's the headline we've been looking for.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally. And it does fuck happen. It happens all the time, you know it does.

[Georgia Hartstark]

So I just saw one on TikTok by a huge person on there. Her name's True Crime Mama. And she tells the story of this couple. It's the 44 year old missing person's case of Charles and Catherine Romer. And. Yeah, and they just. And the guy with the sonar.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah, what's his, what's. What's their name?

[Georgia Hartstark]

It's a man named Jason Serrata who has his own sonar equipment. He searched the pond directly. It's like behind this old hotel. And then you can see where the driveway basically goes down. So if they drove and like, for whatever reason just drove and drove into that in this big old Cadillac and it sank, like you can just kind of see of like, oh my God. If it was like the middle of the night.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah, no lights.

[Georgia Hartstark]

See what happened? They were drunk or something. And then just like. And that's that. If no one witnessed it, they wouldn't know.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally, totally. Yeah. Those cases just give me the chills. And I think there's probably so many missing person cases that can be attributed to that. And there are like a lot more companies and people now who are taking that seriously. You know, the town doesn't have the money to use that equipment on the lakes, but these individuals are. And I think that's amazing.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, well, amazing job. I mean, it feels very trite to say. I hope, I hope there's some breaking news. The way there. There can be breaking news sometime. I really hope there is.

[Kara Klenk]

Totally. Should we go back to. What do we do now? Fucking hooray. Do we do. What are you even doing right now? Should we do a new one for 2025?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yes, we should start a new one.

[Kara Klenk]

What's your. What does nine mean again?

[Georgia Hartstark]

Say it again. Oh, I made all that up. Did you think? I. I swear to God, I swear.

[Kara Klenk]

I've heard that the number nine means.

[Georgia Hartstark]

I mean that was. It was an amalgamation of all this stuff that I just look at on my phone and see and it was great. Whatever.

[Kara Klenk]

I believe it.

[Georgia Hartstark]

It is true that 2025 adds up to nine.

[Kara Klenk]

Sure. But that doesn't mean anything though. Turns out.

[Georgia Hartstark]

No, it doesn't. All the things about nine. I just wanted people to feel good. I want people to like, let's start interpreting numbers exactly, exactly the way we want to. To tell ourselves that we are going to be powerful and strong and exactly what we want to be.

[Kara Klenk]

It's chronic positivity.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Let's. Let's go into toxic positivity.

[Kara Klenk]

Toxic positivity. I love it.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Chronic, toxic, delusional positivity for 2025. Why not?

[Kara Klenk]

So what should we have people tell us? Like, what. What are you. What are you excited about this year? Maybe me.

[Georgia Hartstark]

What's your power number?

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah, tell us what your power number is, and then you have to get a tattoo of it.

[Georgia Hartstark]

4. Hashtag 22.

[Kara Klenk]

Let's do. What do you. What are you excited. What are you even excited about this year? What are you even excited about in 2025? That's. That can be our, like, new, like, question. Why don't. Why don't we answer it, since we obviously don't have any emails from it yet.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, that's true. We can't, because it's not the future.

[Kara Klenk]

We truly can. I can't.

[Georgia Hartstark]

What I'm excited about for 2025.

[Kara Klenk]

And you can manifest something, too. Make something up that, like, that's going to be the year that I get another dog or whatever.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Can you imagine the dream coming true of getting another dog? I think I would like to do some more serious actually writing. Like, write a script. I think that's going to be my thing because I talk about it all the time. There's like, seven I've actually said on this podcast, so. Poor man's copyright. But by talking about it too much, I now need to just actually do it. And I think that I'm going to make the time, find the time, and actually do it.

[Kara Klenk]

Fuck, yeah, you should. I love that.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Thank you. What's yours gonna be?

[Kara Klenk]

What's mine gonna be?

[Georgia Hartstark]

It has to be far enough away that it's hard, right? Still, like, what? You ruminate on a thing that comes back to you a lot.

[Kara Klenk]

Let's see. In 2025, I'm gonna become proficient in gardening.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Ooh.

[Kara Klenk]

That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna, like, read Gardening for Dummies. I'm gonna not stop watering plants.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Okay. No joke. I have a gift for you because I accidentally bought two of this book. It's a book called Plantopedia.

[Kara Klenk]

Yes.

[Georgia Hartstark]

And Bradford Brolowski, who works in our legal department in the Great Lakes office, told me to get it because he is a total green thumb. And he was like, I actually just got this book and it tells you, like, water this plant. Water this plant type of thing. And wherever I bought it, I accidentally bought two.

[Kara Klenk]

Okay.

[Georgia Hartstark]

So I will wrap it up as if I meant for you to have it. And you can have it.

[Kara Klenk]

Thank you. Thank you. I'm excited for that. Yeah. I'm going to do that this year. I'm going to be a responsible adult who doesn't kill plants.

[Georgia Hartstark]

That's good.

[Kara Klenk]

And who cultivates a beautiful garden that I'm proud of.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Great.

[Kara Klenk]

What are you even going to do in 2025? Let us know. Know.

[Georgia Hartstark]

What do you plan to do? Or you're trying to make it sound like the other one.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

What are you even planning to do in 2025?

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah. Let us know in the comments of all our. All our places.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Yeah, we'll just like, we'll power number this into existence.

[Kara Klenk]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hartstark]

And until then, stay sexy and don't get murdered.

[Kara Klenk]

Come on, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?

[Georgia Hartstark]

This has been an exactly right production.

[Kara Klenk]

Our senior producer is Alejandra Keck.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Our managing producer is Hannah Kyle Creighton.

[Kara Klenk]

Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[Georgia Hartstark]

This episode was mixed by Liana Squillace.

[Kara Klenk]

Our Researchers are Maren McLachen and Ali Elkin.

[Georgia Hartstark]

Email your hometowns to my favorite murdermail.com.

[Kara Klenk]

Follow the show on Instagram and Facebook at My favorite murder. Goodbye.