Podcast Summary

The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance — Episode 7: "The Psychic"

Host: Orbit Media / Maggie Freeling
Date: December 16, 2025

Overview

In this gripping episode, Maggie Freeling takes listeners deep into a shocking and unusual element of the Yvonne Layne murder investigation: the police’s desperate decision to seek help from a psychic. What follows is a chaotic unraveling of police incompetence, potential corruption, and ignored leads. Maggie uncovers, with the support of investigative reporter Dwayne Pullman, a web of connections between Yvonne Layne, local drug dealers, and multiple Alliance, Ohio police officers—a web largely ignored or covered up by investigators. This episode turns the true crime genre on its head, confronting listeners with tough questions about flawed champions and institutional malfeasance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Police Turn to a Psychic

• [03:01] Maggie Freeling: The detectives, frustrated by dead ends, visit a psychic for leads on Yvonne's murder.
• Revealed via 22-year-old cassette tapes, the session at first sounds like generic “woo woo stuff,” but quickly becomes pointedly investigative.

"Within a few minutes, it seems like the psychic is a detective and she's asking all the right questions." — Maggie Freeling [06:15]

2. Ignored Suspects and Leads

• The psychic draws out details the police seem to have ignored:
  • Yvonne’s connection to "Tommy," a local drug dealer never interviewed by police.
  • Police acknowledgment that Tommy got drugs from an Alliance cop, yet nothing in the case files tracks this lead.
  • Discussion of Yvonne engaging in exotic dancing or sex work—a detail never followed up in official records.

"Yet there's no record of any investigation into that part of her life, even though the police say they're aware of it." — Maggie Freeling [10:59]

3. Possible Police Involvement or Corruption

• Multiple sources—and the psychic session—point to Yvonne's sexual and possibly parental ties to local police officers, notably one suspected to be her youngest son's father.
• Detective Mucklow and the psychic discuss Yvonne's atypical number of police acquaintances, suggesting possible coverups or at least deep conflicts of interest in the investigation.

“Why did she have so many cops? I want to know why. I'm curious. Why does she know so many cops? ...You never asked about that or wondered about it. Why? You just assume nothing.” — The Psychic [16:27]

4. Potential Cover Up

• Maggie and Pullman develop the theory that the crime scene was cleaned not just of drugs, but to erase any connections between Yvonne and the police force.
• The implication is that convicting David Thorne, with no connections to local corruption, conveniently prevented closer scrutiny of police officers' involvement.

"My suspicion was always that there were so many illegal and troubling connections between police and the criminal element that it almost felt like let's clean it up kind of thing. No matter who did it, let's clean this up so none of us get drawn in." — Dwayne Pullman [19:43]

5. Investigative Frustration and Systemic Failure

• Dwayne Pullman expresses exhaustion and futility after years of reporting on the case, frustrated that police narratives are tightly controlled and nearly impossible to breach.

"The case is so troubling because any number of people could have been a suspect in this case. Everyone in this town seems to have some kind of secret or interest in this victim, whether it be drugs, sex, or both. I mean, look who's the suspect? Everybody. So why'd you land on these two? That's the question." — Dwayne Pullman [21:18]

• Pullman also insists there was no due process for David Thorne, who was “railroaded into prison.”
• Numerous plausible suspects identified by the psychic—including Jeremy, the boyfriend of Yvonne's former mother-in-law, who fits the psychic’s description—were never properly investigated.

6. The Psychic’s Vision and Details

• The psychic describes a possible killer: a man with dark features, a mustache, cross tattoo, ex-military background, and known to Yvonne—traits matching Jeremy, whose record indeed shows a cross tattoo.

“I described the guy to a teeth. Didn't I?" — The Psychic [25:47]

7. Haunted Investigators and Endless Questions

• The emotional toll of the case becomes clear as Pullman and Maggie reflect on the overwhelming quantity of ignored evidence, corruption, and red herrings.

"This case has absolutely consumed just about everyone who has touched it. And it's, it's, it's haunting. The case is haunting." — Dwayne Pullman [27:42]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the failed investigation:
  “I don't know where you are in life. I know where I am. This case has absolutely consumed just about everyone who has touched it.” — Dwayne Pullman [27:42]

• On possible cover-up:
  “Well, maybe to sell. Or maybe it was to cover up some kind of connection between the alliance police and drug dealers. A connection that went through Yvonne.” — Maggie Freeling [18:47]

• Psychic’s challenge to police detachment:
  "What is wrong with you guys? He didn't ever question that. Why would a girl know so many police officers?" — The Psychic [17:20]

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:02]: Recap of stalled investigation and police frustration
• [03:01]: Revelation that police solicited psychic help
• [06:15]: Psychic’s probing into Yvonne's lifestyle and associates
• [07:24]: Discussion of “Tommy,” narcotics, and ignored leads
• [11:45]: Suspicions Yvonne was involved with (and had a child by) a married police officer
• [16:06]: Psychic directly questions police about their detachment and the number of involved officers
• [19:43]: Dwayne Pullman on total criminal-police entanglement and cleanup
• [25:15]: Psychic’s physical description of potential killer (matching Jeremy)
• [27:42]: Pullman describes personal obsession and futility
• [30:03]: Preview for next episode and lingering questions about the case

Flow & Tone

The episode is investigative, uncompromising, and at times, confessional. Maggie’s narration is both analytical and emotionally candid, as she wrestles with the darkness uncovered not only in the suspect pool, but in the justice system itself. Pullman’s contributions lend a seasoned journalism gravitas and a cautionary note about the personal toll of such cases. The psychic session, rather than coming off as comic relief or farce, instead sharpens the episode’s themes of ignored truth and systemic rot.

Takeaways for Listeners

• The reality of police investigations in small towns can be far messier and more conflicted than TV dramas suggest.
• "The Psychic" episode highlights the dangers of tunnel vision, unchecked police discretion, and the dire consequences for those caught in the crossfire—both victims and the wrongfully convicted.
• With new suspects, ignored leads, and stonewalled records, justice for Yvonne Layne appears as elusive as ever.
• Listeners are left questioning not just who killed Yvonne, but whether anyone in Alliance truly wanted the answer.

Next Episode Preview:
More legal commentary on the slim evidence against David Thorne, issues with key witnesses, and the continuing hunt for the truth in a tangled, conflicted case.