My Mother’s Lies | 1. The Hero Housewife Who Solved A Murder

Summary

Podcast Summary: "My Mother’s Lies | 1. The Hero Housewife Who Solved A Murder"

Podcast: The Binge Cases: My Mother's Lies
Host: Beth Karras, Sony Music Entertainment
Release Date: April 1, 2026

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Episode Overview

The episode launches a true crime investigation into the infamous case of Jessica Curran, whose brutal murder in 2000 stained the quiet town of Mayfield, Kentucky. The primary focus is on Susan Galbraith, an ordinary housewife who became an integral player in solving—or perhaps convicting in error—the crime. However, as her son Ray sifts through Susan's files after her death, unsettling questions and suspected lies begin to emerge.

The podcast sets out to re-examine the celebrated narrative of Susan as a "hero housewife" and to peel back the layers of truth and myth in the conviction of Quincy Cross, the man serving a life sentence for Jessica's murder.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Murder of Jessica Curran

• Discovery of the Body:
  • On August 1, 2000, teacher Tina Schlosser discovers Jessica Curran's partially burned and decomposed body behind a local middle school ([01:45]–[03:20]).
  • Jessica, just 18, was a newly independent mother, well-liked and seemingly on the verge of a hopeful future ([04:01]–[11:17]).
• Family’s Anguish:
  • Jessica's parents recount their dread upon her disappearance and their devastated reaction to the news ([04:12] Joe Curran, [13:03] Venetia Stubblefield).

2. Early Investigation: Missteps and Incompetence

• Rookie Detective Assigned:
  • Tim Fortner, new to detective work, leads the initial investigation—expressing doubts about his own ability, which is echoed by community members ([16:32] Joe Curran, [16:53] John Poole).
• Contamination & Poor Chain of Evidence:
  • Evidence is mishandled, mislabeled, or contaminated, gravely weakening the prosecution's eventual case ([18:59] Miranda Hellman).
  • "It was almost like a puzzle that you didn't have a picture of and you were missing half the pieces." – Miranda Hellman, Attorney ([18:59])

3. Susan Galbraith: The Citizen Sleuth

• Immediate Involvement:
  • Susan, a local housewife, is noted for entering the crime scene early on ([06:10] Susan Galbraith).
  • "I knew that it had grabbed me. I knew it because I could not stop thinking about her." – Susan Galbraith ([07:07])
• Motivations Questioned:
  • Her true reasons for involvement—altruism, obsession, or something darker—are scrutinized throughout ([07:19]–[08:28]).
• Unorthodox Influence:
  • Susan’s relationship with authorities raises eyebrows, given her access to case files and discovery motions ([08:00] Alice Arnold, [08:09] John Poole).

4. A Botched Legal Process and a New Suspect

• Case Dismissals:
  • Charges against initial suspects (Jeremy Adams and Carlos Saxton) are dismissed due to a discovery violation ([19:32]–[20:33]).
  • The investigation passes from local to state police, then the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation, after continual missteps and a paucity of evidence ([21:13] Jamie Mills).
• Susan and the Journalist:
  • Susan partners with Tom Mangold, a British journalist. His presence shifts local attitudes toward Susan and rapidly focuses suspicion on Quincy Cross ([24:24]–[27:14]).
  • "The evidence of who was behind the murder of Jessica was actually lying all over Mayfield." – Tom Mangold ([26:57])

5. Building a Case on Flimsy Grounds

• Witnesses, Not Evidence:
  • The case against Quincy Cross lacks direct physical evidence, relying instead on testimony from witnesses including Jessica’s cousin Venetia and Victoria Caldwell ([32:52]–[33:45]).
• Susan’s Acclaim:
  • Susan is celebrated widely, awarded for her citizen sleuthing by the KBI, deemed essential by investigators and the Curran family ([35:16]–[35:52]).
  • "I don't think that we could have broke the case without Susan." — KBI Agent Bob O'Neill ([35:32])

6. Cracks in the Hero Narrative

• Doubts Emerge:
  • Documentary journalist Alice Arnold, initially drawn to Susan’s story for a documentary, identifies significant holes and inconsistencies in the investigation ([37:38]–[38:43]).
  • "There's plenty of evidence, but nothing linking Quincy to that crime scene and no evidence of Jessica being in the car that Quincy was driving." – Alice Arnold ([37:48])
• Re-examination Pledged:
  • The series promises to re-investigate Susan’s true impact: Did she convict an innocent man? Was her intervention justice or misdirection? ([39:30] Ray, [39:44] Narrator).
  • "To know that she possibly covered up a murder for somebody..." – Ray, Susan’s son ([39:30])

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Susan Galbraith’s Obsession:
  • "I knew it because I could not stop thinking about her." – Susan Galbraith ([07:07])
• Law Enforcement Doubts:
  • "He said... he’d never done this before. He said, so excuse me, because I'm learning on the job. I don't know what I’m doing." – Joe Curran quoting Detective Tim Fortner ([17:22])
• Attorney’s Frustration:
  • "Every piece of evidence had multiple evidence numbers on it. Anything from the state lab didn’t correspond back... It was highly unusual." – Miranda Hellman ([18:59])
• Journalist Tom Mangold on the Case:
  • "The evidence... was actually lying all over Mayfield." – Tom Mangold ([26:57])
• KBI’s Gratitude:
  • "We stopped and took a moment to recognize her for a job well done. I don't think that we could have broke the case without Susan." — Bob O'Neill ([35:32])
• Alice Arnold’s Realization:
  • "Nothing I was finding was leading me to that story." – Alice Arnold ([38:20])
• Ray’s Torment:
  • "To know that she possibly covered up a murder for somebody..." – Ray ([39:30])

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Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:45–03:48 | Discovery of Jessica Curran’s body | | 04:12–11:17 | Portrait of Jessica and her family’s grief | | 16:11–17:40 | Rookie cop mishandles crime scene | | 18:59 | Investigation’s evidence problems outlined by attorney Miranda Hellman | | 19:32–20:33 | Legal blunder leads to case dismissal | | 21:13–21:40 | State Police and KBI take over; case remains unsolved for years | | 24:24–27:14 | Susan’s partnership with Tom Mangold and targeting of Quincy Cross | | 31:33–33:45 | Prosecution’s case against Quincy Cross laid out in court | | 35:16–35:52 | Susan’s public acclaim and KBI award | | 37:20–38:43 | Journalist Alice Arnold starts uncovering holes in Susan’s case | | 39:30–40:14 | Ray and others question Susan’s impact and the case’s outcome |

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Tone and Style

The episode leverages the suspense and drama of a classic true crime podcast, blending emotional interviews, pointed questions, and investigative narrative. Host Beth Karras maintains a tone that is empathetic yet probing, seeking justice for Jessica while casting doubt on the supposed infallibility of the original “hero” narrative.

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Final Thoughts & What’s Next

Episode one establishes three central pillars for the series:

• The botched original police investigation.
• Susan Galbraith’s extraordinary (and potentially damaging) citizen involvement.
• The likelihood that justice may not have been fully served.

As the series continues, the podcast pledges to revisit Susan’s files, re-interview witnesses, and uncover startling truths that question whether Quincy Cross was wrongfully convicted and what role, if any, Susan’s “lies” played in the outcome.

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For listeners new to the case, episode one provides a compelling, detailed foundation—and a promise that the accepted story of crime and justice in Mayfield may not be as simple as it first appeared.

Transcript

[Beth Karras]

Hi Binge Crew when you're finished listening to this true crime story, go see Hunting Matthew Nichols in theaters. This film has all the elements of the true crime stories we a sprawling mystery, intrepid investigators, powerful people who know more than they let on. Two decades after her brother mysteriously disappeared on Vancouver Island, a documentary filmmaker sets out to solve his missing person's case. But when a disturbing piece of evidence is revealed, it's she comes to believe her brother might still be alive. The film is in select theaters now, but you can immerse yourself in the story by going to huntingmatthewnickolls.com right now. That's huntingmatthewnichols.com and welcome to the Hunt.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Listen to every episode of My Mother's Lies ad free right now when you subscribe to the binge, you'll hear the entire series before anyone else, get exclusive bonus episodes and unlock more than 60 other true crime podcasts. Just head to the Binge channel on Apple Podcasts and tap subscribe or visit getthebinge.com to listen wherever you are. The Binge Feed your true crime obsession the Binge. Every murder trial tells a story. What happened? Who did it? How did it happen, even why it happened. When there's strong corroborating evidence, that story is anchored to fact. But when there isn't, when the physical proof is missing, when there's nothing to go on by eyewitness testimony, the story that testimony becomes the case. This series is about a story that was repeated, reinforced, and eventually accepted as truth. A story that may have mattered more than evidence to the contrary. And at the center of it all is the woman who helped write that story. It's August 1st in the year 2000, a balmy Tuesday morning in the small town of Mayfield in western Kentucky. Beyonce and the boy band NSYNC are dominating the airwaves. Gladiator and X Men are playing at the local theater at the local middle school, staff are now preparing for the coming year, though nothing could prepare teacher Tina Schlosser for what was to come. She steps outside to water the plants near the back of the school when she sees something out of the corner of her eye. Something laying just behind the low brick wall. It's an item of clothing strewn on the grass, a single sandal just laying there, she'd later say, as if someone had just run out of it. Walking closer, she peers around the corner and stops in her tracks, standing rigid in horror. Before her lies the brutalized and partially burned body of a young black woman. The Singed grass around her is a strange yellow color. Aside from the damage done by fire, the body is starting to decompose. Only later would they be able to identify the young woman as Jessica Curran. Her murder would shake this quiet town to its core and make headlines across the nation.

[News Reporter]

Someone had murdered 18 year old Jessica Curran, a local fire captain's daughter. A single mother. Her smile lit up her friends.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Jessica was last seen by her parents, Joe and Jean Curran, on the afternoon of Saturday, July 29th. They were taking care of her seven month old baby, Zion, for the evening.

[Joe Curran]

We got up Sunday morning and, you know, my wife said she already knew something was wrong because Jesse normally calls and checks on Zion pretty often and she hadn't called at night. We got up that morning and went by her house, knocked on the door. We didn't get an answer.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

They didn't have to wait long to discover the awful truth. Less than 48 hours later, the Mayfield Police Department. The local cops were scrambling, trying to make sense of a chaotic crime scene. The police footage shows the half clothed, partially burned body of Jessica Curran. Her dress is torn, underwear discarded. The sandal lying nearby suggests she might have been attempting to flee her attacker. Plenty of theories about what happened and who did this would emerge, but for the police, it was too soon to say.

[Police Reporter]

Police say 18 year old Jessica Melissa Curran died from multiple blows to the body. Investigators say she was assaulted and her body set on fire. So far, police say there are no motives.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

In the archived footage of the crime scene, you can clearly see the yellow police tape blocking off the area. Tape is supposed to be a barrier between the crime scene and onlookers to protect the evidence from contamination. But it doesn't stop one curious Mayfield resident from getting closer than she should. Susan Galbraith. She's 40, white, slightly overlooked within the community, a little overweight, with bleach blonde hair and a rough and ready charm. Brazen even. She's not a journalist or a cop. She's a housewife. Exactly how she came to be at the crime scene is a matter of some debate. But here she is, giving one version of events to a journalist. Some years later, a friend and I

[Susan Galbraith]

are sitting in a restaurant and our waitress walked over and asked us if we had heard that there was a body that had been found at the middle school. As I'm heading towards home, I saw a crime scene tape and I started walking through this grass. As I come through the clearing of it, I just look up and there I see the body of a black woman.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

People get Fixated with true crime stories. And sometimes citizen sleuths will jump in and try to solve or help the police. But they're doing it from afar. Susan lived in the same town where Jessica Curran was murdered. And Susan didn't know Jessica personally. In fact, she had no connection to her at all. And yet she felt so compelled as to physically step into the crime scene. Her name is there in black and white on the official police log.

[Susan Galbraith]

I knew that it had grabbed me. I knew it because I could not stop thinking about her.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Susan's motivations will be a matter of debate for years. No one could know how this case would come to haunt Mayfield for the next two decades, making Susan Galbraith a hero to some and a villain to others.

[Joe Curran]

If you get somebody like that on the wrong track, they could take the ball and go the wrong direction.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

What were Susan's real motives for trying to solve the Jessica Curran murder?

[Venetia Stubblefield]

She wasn't in it to help them find the killer that killed their daughter.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

How did the authorities come to trust this middle aged housewife and her evidence?

[Alice Arnold]

Is that normal for citizens to be walking around with case files, motions of discovery?

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

It didn't.

[John Poole]

Very unusual.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

It's a question that has left many perturbed, including her son.

[Ray (Susan Galbraith's son)]

It was just the lies. There are so many lies. So the narrative that's in front of us can't be the truth.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Did Susan ultimately do more harm than good?

[John Poole]

Why in world would you allow them to get this close, Especially somebody that would have a motive?

[Miranda Hellman]

I remember somebody calling me saying, man, you need to go to my space and look at this. I'm just like, what do I do?

[Fandango Ad Voice]

Oh my God.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

And perhaps the biggest question of all, did she help convict an innocent man?

[Joe Curran]

I do feel like that they got the wrong people.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

From Sony Music Entertainment and Message Heard. You're listening to my mother's lies. I'm Beth Karras, a journalist and legal analyst who's been covering stories at the heart of our criminal justice system for decades. This is episode one, the hero housewife who solved a murder. The stories I've covered include some of America's most high profile trials. And as a legal analyst and podcast host, I try to provide listeners with deep legal insight and my perspective on these complex true crime stories. But I can tell you there are aspects of this story that are unlike anything I've ever reported on. You know, we know there's a large and passionate audience for true crime stories, especially for the victims. But the action of one person in this story takes that passion to A whole other level. An incredibly dangerous level. Jessica Curran was from a well respected Mayfield family. The daughter of a lieutenant at the local fire department. And in the summer of 2000 she was finishing her high school diploma with big plans to go to college in nearby Paducah. She'd also just become a new mom to her son Zion.

[Joe Curran]

She wanted to name it something holy, which is Mount Zion.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

This is Jessica's father, Joe. Today he's still a pillar of the community. The former firefighter once played defense for the Mayfield Cardinals high school football team and he's a dedicated churchgoer. It's been more than 25 years since Joe has lain eyes on his daughter. But warm memories of her are never far from his mind.

[Joe Curran]

She liked calling people and talking to them relatives and friends. And she'd help with the pastries and she made a chocolate chest pecan.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

He's talking pie here. Apparently it's just heavenly and a real southern treat.

[Joe Curran]

And I still ain't had one like that since. It was the best.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

By all accounts, Jessica was a compassionate soul, a natural caregiver. And Joe thinks that his daughter would have gone on looking after people for the rest of her life.

[Joe Curran]

She was signed up to go to college in Paducah. She had already signed up. I assumed she was going to go, most likely in the nursing. That's kind of what I figured. But she really liked helping people.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Jessyca and her son had also recently moved out of her parents home to their own apartment. Jessyca was beginning to stand on her own feet and make a life for herself. Charlotte Chaberas managed Jessica's apartment back in the summer of 2000.

[Charlotte Chaberas]

She was respectful, she was very sweet, her neighbors said. She was very kind. She wasn't loud. Some girls, when they first get out, you know, remember how you were young, they wanted to, you know, maybe fill their oats a little bit and have little parties or something. She did not do that. When she was out there talking to her neighbors. Her baby would be right there in his little carrier.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Her son Zion came from a fleeting one off encounter with a local man, 20 year old Jeremy Adams. But this was a fact Jeremy contested at the time. He was just a peripheral figure in Jessica's life. A friend of a friend or more specifically a friend of her new boyfriend, Carlos Saxton. Carlos and Jeremy were both involved in local drug circles. According to her then 16 year old cousin Beneasha, Jessyca was kept on a pretty tight leash by her parents.

[Venetia Stubblefield]

Jessica stayed in the house all the time. It was like when she wanted to go to hang out with her friends or go see certain family members. A lot of the time she couldn't do that. She had to stay at home.

[Joe Curran]

Why?

[Venetia Stubblefield]

Because mommy dearest didn't want her out there like that. Cooped up in the house all day, every day, going to school, church, school, church, school, church.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Venecia says her cousin was at an age where she wanted more freedom.

[Venetia Stubblefield]

Jessica wanted to live her life. She didn't want to be living a life standing under her parents rules all the time 24 7. And she didn't.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Then again, from Joe's point of view, Phynesha's relationship with Jessyca was not exactly straightforward.

[Joe Curran]

Venetia always seemed like she needed help or somewhere to stay or some food or some money to get something to eat. And she felt sorry for her.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Jessica felt sorry for her cousin. That is.

[Joe Curran]

And here's the other part of it. Venetia was not a friend. Venetia couldn't stand her. She was one of the ones that felt like Jessica was trying to be acting like she's better than them. But she wasn't. She was just being herself.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

What is clear is that Jessica's cousin Venetia would be one of the last people to see her alive. Joe recalls that day vividly. On the late afternoon of Saturday July 29, Joe dropped by Jessica's apartment to pick up his grandson. He thought he'd just be taking care of baby Zion for one night, not a lifetime.

[Joe Curran]

Jesse told us that when she to come by Sunday morning, she might go to church with us. But while I was there there was Venetia and a few other girls that I didn't know and they were talking about grand going somewhere and she was talking about going to Venetia's house to play cards.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

According to Venetia's early police statements, after drinking and playing cards, Venetia called around hoping to find a ride home for Jessica. But eventually Jessica decided to walk the mile and a half home herself.

[Police Reporter]

She had a little bit, a little less to drink.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Now that old police tape is hard to hear, but Venetia described her evening with Jessica at her aunt's house. After they left, Venetia waved Jessica goodbye on the corner of South 14th and Walnut Streets sometime after 1:00am by mid morning Joe and Jean Curran, who are babysitting Zion, are already worried. They've heard nothing from their daughter. Over the course of Sunday afternoon and into Monday the Currans drive all over town asking friends if they've seen Jessica.

[Joe Curran]

She's 18, lived on her own in her own house. You can't really turn them in as missing until so much time passed by. We started checking around town, and everybody. We thought that she might know or might have some information, and we didn't find her.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Which brings us back to that Tuesday morning behind Mayfield Middle School.

[Joe Curran]

We had heard a story from the neighbor down the street that they had found a body behind the middle school in Mayfield. And that's when we, you know, we went over there. But they. They wouldn't let us into the scene.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

The man in charge of this crime scene was Mayfield Police Department's Tim Fortner, one of the first law enforcement officers to arrive at the time. He was a newly made detective with zero experience in handling homicide cases, let alone a murder that would become as high profile as this.

[John Poole]

They put somebody in charge. I can't even imagine why that had never investigated. Barely been a police officer, been a deputy jailer when they had other people that could have done that, or even.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

That's John Poole, an ex cop and private investigator who'd come to know this case inside out. Curiously, according to Jessica's parents, Detective Fortner openly expressed doubts to them about his own capabilities.

[Joe Curran]

They appointed Tim Fortner, who came to our house and told us he'd never done this before. He said that to us. He said, so excuse me, because I'm learning on the job. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why they made me a detective.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

We reached out to Tim Fortner, who doesn't recall this conversation, but he did confirm that it was effectively his first day on the job as a detective. In fact, he was told to go home and get changed out of his uniform. Are you kidding me? He literally went from his uniform to a suit as a detective. The first hours of a murder investigation are critical. Sadly, as it turns out, putting a rookie detective in charge of a major homicide investigation was only the beginning of the problems with this case. The crime scene was next. The Mayfield police seemed to make one mistake after another. Now, it's important to know that the chain of custody of evidence items collected at the scene, for example, must be clearly established in order for it to be admissible at trial. When there's a problem with that chain, the risk is that the evidence can't be used. And that's exactly what happened here. Evidence wasn't collected properly, if at all, or labeled correctly. That meant much of the evidence that was in police possession was contaminated or unusable. Here's Miranda Hellman She's a Kentucky based attorney who knows this case well because she would later represent one of the suspects accused of killing Jessica.

[Miranda Hellman]

It was almost like a puzzle that you didn't have a picture of and you were missing half the pieces. Every piece of evidence had multiple evidence numbers on it. Anything from the state lab didn't correspond back, you know, to our original Mayfield Police Department file. Having the local police department handle the crime scene in a place that is not Louisville or Lexington. You know, we're talking a very small local police department handling a massive sort of, from the beginning, high profile murder investigation was, to me, highly unusual.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

It took years, but the Mayfield Police Department would eventually manage to build a case bringing charges against two suspects. Now, it's well known that in more than half of female murder cases, the perpetrator is aborted. Boyfriend, husband, or an ex. In the case of this Mayfield Police investigation, they charge both a current boyfriend and an ex. But on February 12, 2003, at a pretrial hearing against Jeremy Adams and Carlos Saxton, Detective Fortner made a fatal error when he failed to hand over some key documents to the defense. And since this discovery violation was was on the eve of trial, the judge, in an unusual and frankly shocking move, dismissed the whole case against Jeremy and Carlos.

[News Reporter]

A grand jury indicted Curran's boyfriend, Jeremy Adams. But when a judge learned Mayfield Police withheld information from prosecutors and the defense, he tossed out the indictment.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Just to correct the news reporting you just heard, Jeremy Adams was not Jessica's boyfriend boyfriend. He was actually the father of her son. Jessica's boyfriend was Jeremy's co defendant, Carlos Lolo Saxton. Anyway, after the public embarrassment of having the case thrown out, Tim Fortner was removed from the case and he resigned. Shortly after that, the Mayfield police turned the entire investigation over to the Kentucky State Police. When Jamie Mills, the new lead detective, saw the original case file, he was stunned. Even he could not understand why the case was so poorly handled. A fact he later told news reporters.

[Jamie Mills]

My first reaction when I read through the case was, is this really a murder case? You know, when I think of a murder case and when you're reading a murder case, you're thinking hundreds of pages of documents. And I would venture to say that the case report itself probably contained less than I can't recall for sure, but less than 10 pages. I mean, just the actual narrative, the investigative part of the report,

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

whether through incompetence, negligence, or whatever else. After four years, the murder of Jessica Curran was still an open case. Enter the citizen sleuth, Susan Galbraith ready to take matters into her own hands.

[Susan Galbraith]

Somebody had to do something, and if somebody was me, so be it.

[Podcast Host (Infamous)]

Infamous is the gossip show that's smart. We talk about Tyra Banks and bringing down Top Model. We talk about Jenna Jameson and how she dominated the 90s.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

You know, she's horny and she's in charge. She just was very smart about marketing herself.

[Podcast Host (Infamous)]

We talk about celebrities who maybe shouldn't be celebrities, like the Beckham guy.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Brooklyn is their first kid. He's had a little bit of the Nepo baby curse.

[Podcast Host (Infamous)]

We investigate orgasm cults.

[Miranda Hellman]

A woman's erotic power can unlock many

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

other powers in her life.

[Podcast Host (Infamous)]

And of course, we discuss people who have gotten into lots of trouble.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

My name is Molly McLaughlin. I am one of Jen Shaw's many victims.

[Susan Galbraith]

She was defrauding the elderly and her

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

tagline was, the only thing I'm guilty of is being sha mazing.

[Podcast Host (Infamous)]

Listen to Infamous, the gossip show. That's smart. The show's called Infamous.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Welcome to Crime Scene, the new weekly show from the Binge where we tell you the stories behind the world's most unforgettable crimes. I'm Jonathan Hirsch. You may know me as the host of My Fugitive dad or Dear Franklin Jones watching you. I'm an executive producer of the Binge, the true crime podcast network where we bring you a new on the 1st of every month for Crime Scene, I'm joined by my producer and co host, Cooper Maul, the reporter and voice behind Fatal Beauty and the crimes of Margo Freshwater. We know there are a lot of true crime podcasts out there. I think what makes Crime Scene different is that Cooper and I have boots on the ground. We're investigative storytellers and so many of the stories that come across our desk we haven't been able to share with you until now.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

So.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

So if you're one of the millions of people who have flocked to the binge for riveting storytelling, deeply investigated true crime series. Think of this as all the things that you love about those shows in a single episode. Join us every week in the Crime Scene office wherever you listen to or watch your shows. This is Crime Scene, available now.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

In the spring of 2004, Susan K. Galbraith was 44 years old and her life was drifting. Fate hadn't always dealt her a fair hand. She was unemployed, collecting disability, and coming out of a bad relationship. Susan, by all accounts as a bit of a character but otherwise unexceptional. Remember, she's the one who stepped into the crime scene when Jessica Curran was first found. She's not a cop, a private investigator or a journalist. And yet, apparently she felt so passionately about the murder of Jessica Curran, she decided to take matters into her own hands. If the cops couldn't solve the case, maybe she could. Susan wasted no time in looking for support. She wrote to Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey, even appealing to celebrities Jay Z and Julia Roberts, perhaps hoping for an Erin Brockovich style intervention. If that sounds fanciful, I can tell you I get letters and emails like these all the time. Sometimes I respond and though I wish I could, I just can't take up their causes. I don't have the bandwidth. But in the case of Susan Galbraith, someone did exactly that. Tom Mangold, award winning British investigative journalist and broadcaster.

[Susan Galbraith]

I am writing you in hope you can help see that this young woman's murder is solved and that all those involved in the events that followed will be brought to justice. I have nothing to gain from writing you except knowing that the.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Miraculously, Tom not only replies, he flies out to Mayfield on his own dime to aid her investigation. They form an unlikely friendship. Tom is the first to look past Susan's lack of formal education or investigative experience and recognize her potential. He takes Susan under his wing. Together, they conduct interviews and chase down leads. Suddenly, with Tom by her side, phone calls are returned and doors are unlocked. People are taking Susan seriously in just one week, with Tom's clout and Susan's local knowledge, they quickly identify a new prime suspect. Reflecting on it some years later, by Tom's own admission, it wasn't even that tough of a case to crack.

[Tom Mangold]

And I'd love to say we were great investigators who solved the case in days. But the truth is, the evidence of who was behind the murder of Jessica was actually lying all over Mayfield. A seriously nasty drug dealer called Quincy Cross.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Quincy Omar Cross, a small, softly spoken 24 year old black man from Tiptonville, Tennessee who was just passing through Mayfield for the night. He had a criminal record, repeat low level felonies, including an assault conviction and a couple of drug charges. But in the early hours of July 30, he was found on a rural roadside, high on cocaine, driving someone else's car and smelling of gasoline. Just two days before Jessica Curran's burned body was discovered. In a town desperate for answers and with few other leads to go on, newly appointed state police investigator Jamie Mills was open to Susan's ideas.

[Jamie Mills]

I mean, she was a nice person, she could get information. I took the information and put it together with all of the other stuff. And I tried to find where it might fit and then I would try to find who's the next person to go talk to in relation to that. So she was a good investigator. I think she just loved it.

She loved doing it.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

As Tom heads back to England, Detective Mills works closely with Susan. But with a lack of any physical evidence, there just wasn't enough to charge Quincy. Weeks turned into months. Months turned into years. Susan continued her sleuthing, but by 2006, the state's case wasn't any closer to a resolution. That's when Jessica's father, Joe, made an emotional appeal to the Attorney General's office. And in response, the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation steps in the third law enforcement agency to investigate Jessica's murder. When agents finally arrive in Mayfield, Susan Galbraith is standing by. She greets them armed with a thick case file assembled over the past two years. And by this time, she also has witnesses ready to testify to her theory. As one KBI agent later reflected, Susan's assistance was invaluable.

[KBI Agent Bob O'Neill]

A fantastic lady by the name of Susan Galbraith that we came to know. She was a person that was out front that took this case single handedly and decided that she was going to try to do everything in her power to help find out what had happened to to Jessica Curran.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Within six months, the new investigators arrest Quincy Cross along with four accomplices. All of them initially denied any role in the murder. Quincy's case was finally set for trial in 2008.

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[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

The air in Hickman County Circuit Court in western Kentucky is heavy and humid. Despite the AC humming overhead, the 12 jurors shift uneasily in their box. This is a major case for a rural courtroom. The clerks and bailiffs survey the crowded public gallery. The Currans are front and center. They've waited a long time to see justice for Jessica. Finally, the judge takes the bench and the trial begins. Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Quincy Omar Cross.

[Prosecutor Barbara Whaley]

On or about 7-30-2000, in Graves County, Kentucky, club named defendant Lucy Omar Cross, acting alone or implicitly with Tamara C. Caldwell and or Jeffrey Allen Burton, committed the offense of capital Kit Matthew when he unlawfully restrained Jessica Curran with intent.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

That is prosecutor Barbara Whaley. She's outlining the charges against Quincy Cross and his co defendants. These include Tamara Caldwell, Jeffrey Burton and Austin Leitch. There are others too, who were charged in relation to the murder. Those who wouldn't stand trial at this point. Others because they took a deal, pleading guilty to lesser charges. One of them was Jessica's cousin, Venetia Stubblefield. The same cousin you heard at the beginning, just 16 at the time, who had been with Jessica the night she disappeared. The same cousin who claimed to have waved goodbye to her as she walked off into the night. And that Venetia. As the prosecution continues, the full horror of the defendant's alleged crimes is revealed. This may be difficult to hear.

[Prosecutor Barbara Whaley]

Committed the offense of sodomy in the first degree, rape in the first degree. Committed the offense of abuse of corpse by performing sexual acts or aiding.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

The story that is laid out for the jury is one of unimaginable violence and deprivation. According to the prosecution, in the early hours of July 30, 2000, Jessica was picked up in a car, beaten, raped by the defendants before being strangled to death with a belt by Quincy Cross. They believe her body was stored in a shed for two days. And then early in the morning of August 1st, Jessica's body was transported, discarded and burned. Burned outside Mayfield Middle School. Although there is a distinct lack of physical evidence connecting him. Quincy is convicted as charged primarily on the strength of eyewitness testimony. The prosecution's two star witnesses are Victoria Caldwell, another young black teenager in Mayfield, and Venetia Stubblefield, Jessica's cousin. We'll come back to Victoria and Venetia later. Their names will come up again and again in this series. Quincy Cross is sentenced to three life terms without any chance of parole. Following Quincy's conviction, Jeff Burton and Tamara Caldwell both take plea deals. The final defendant, Austin Leech, stands trial and is found not guilty. So after eight long years, the currents finally have some closure. Although in my experience, there really is no closure. For families, there may be a measure of justice, but these wounds never heal. At the time, Jessica's father, Joe, lauded the efforts of amateur investigator Susan and journalist Tom Mangold for identifying Quincy and his accomplices after they had been missed by law enforcement.

[TikTok Ad Voice]

This gentleman had come over here and investigated about a week or 10 days on this case. He had found several pieces of information that hadn't been discovered and hadn't been checked out when the Maysville police had the case.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Susan is celebrated for her three year investigation which provided officers with the crucial information and the witnesses to finally secure a conviction. She was even given an Outstanding Citizen Award by the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation. Here's a newscast of her at the time.

[News Reporter]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

It's a feeling warmly shared by KBI agent Bob o', Neill, who even years later maintained Susan's value in solving the case.

[KBI Agent Bob O'Neill]

Here was a situation where her involvement was so great and so appreciated that in the middle of this case we stopped and took a moment to recognize her for a job well done. I don't think that we could have broke the case without Susan.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Over the following years, Susan's incredible story continued to gain attention. The hero housewife who solved a murder. The tale of an ordinary woman pursuing the great American dream. The idea that if you work hard enough, want it badly enough, you can achieve greatness. Susan appeared on various networks and even gave an interview on Japanese tv along with press articles and a BBC radio documentary. Tom Mangold had big plans to help turn the Susan and Tom story into a movie. He even traveled back to Mayfield with a big time Hollywood producer to discuss a screenplay. But before that dream could come to fruition, Susan Galbraith suddenly died of a stroke in 2018. Following her death, Tom continued pushing for the film deal memorializing Susan's story. In the early 2000s, a British production company, Blink Films, agreed to produce a documentary series. This has all the makings of a true crime classic. The Odd Couple who Cracked A Cold Case. The Veteran and the Citizen Sleuth. But that's where the hero story ends and our story really begins. So it's nice to see you again, Alice.

[Alice Arnold]

Good to see you, Beth.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Why don't you introduce yourself to our listeners and tell them who you are, how you're connected to this story.

[Alice Arnold]

So my name is Alice Arnold. I'm a documentary journalist and podcaster and I've been working on the Jessica Curran story for about four years now.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Alice was originally brought on as a producer for the TV documentary and she was one of the first to realize Susan's investigation had a lot of holes in it.

[Alice Arnold]

There's plenty of evidence, but nothing linking Quincy to that crime scene and no evidence of Jessica being in the car that Quincy was driving. So, sure, you can prosecute without forensics, but then why was Quincy prosecuted? Which led me to the witnesses Venetia

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Stubblefield and Victoria Caldwell. Let's just say things didn't quite add up. We'll get to those details later. Meanwhile, Alice and her colleagues kept digging.

[Alice Arnold]

It blew my mind. I've been been brought on to tell this story of Susan's successful investigation and the prosecution of Quincy Cross. But nothing I was finding was leading me to that story.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

For the past three years, Alice has continued her digging and her results will be featured throughout this series. We're going back through Susan's investigation, through 25 years of documents, interviews and rumors, to understand exactly what impact Susan had on the conviction of Quincy Cross. How does a private citizen become so involved with an official investigation? Was altruism truly at the heart of Susan's involvement? Did Susan just end up way over her head or did she have ulterior motives from the start? She died years ago, so we can't ask her. But in this series, we'll speak to those who knew her best, like her only child, Ray.

[Ray (Susan Galbraith's son)]

The mother son. Stuff that I've dealt with my whole life that I can deal with, I've learned to deal with that. But to know that she possibly covered up a murder for somebody, as Ray

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

says, did Susan's actions allow the real killer to go free? We'll talk to people who investigated the case themselves.

[Miranda Hellman]

There were red flags having to do with the police department, red flags having to do with the evidence. But by far the biggest stack of red flags all came back to Susan

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

Galbraith, people whose lives she had a hand in destroyed, destroying wittingly or not.

[Miranda Hellman]

What's so crazy is, I mean, I told the people I might do. This is a made up fucking story, man.

[John Poole]

It is.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

At time of release, we have not received a response from the Kentucky State Police, Carlo Saxton, or Jeremy Adams regarding allegations reported in this episode. The Mayfield Police Department responded saying none of the investigators that were coming on the current case 26 years ago remain employed by the department. And the police department was, quote, not in a position to respond to the allegations.

[Podcast Host (Blink)]

I want to tell you guys about a podcast that is near and dear to my heart and I cannot believe it already came out a year ago. And you can all go listen to it ad free by subscribing to the binge podcast channel.

[Podcast Co-host (Blink)]

What podcast, Corinne? Tell us.

[Podcast Host (Blink)]

Oh, it's called Blink Jake Handle story. I created it about a man named Jake who I met, who is the only survivor of a terminal brain illness brought on by heroin use. But there is a lot of mystery and medical malpractice and true crime elements that are very shocking and surprising and even some supernatural elements.

[Podcast Co-host (Blink)]

So this is definitely an amazing story and very unique. Did such an incredible job telling the story and sharing it with the world. So if you have not listened to it yet, my goodness, where have you been? Because Blink is so frickin good.

[Podcast Host (Blink)]

Thank you. Search for Blink wherever you listen and subscribers to the binge will get the entire season ad free. Plus you'll get exclusive access to the over 60 other true crime stories on the Binge podcast channel. Hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts or head to getthebinge.com.

[Narrator/Host (Beth Karras)]

This Is My Mother's Lies, an original production of Sony Music Entertainment and Message Heard, hosted by me, Beth Karras from Message Heard. Alice Arnold is our investigator producer Robin Simon our producer McAllister Bexson our series producer Thiago Diaz Our assistant producer Alan Lear is our supervising sound editor, supported by sound editors Lizzie Andrews and Ivan Easley with original composition by Mike Mains from Sony Music Entertainment. Our executive producers are Catherine St. Louis and Jonathan Hirsch from Blink Films. Our executive producer is Justine Kershaw and a big thanks to the whole Sony Music Entertainment team.