The Prosecutors — Episode 341: "The Tiede Family — Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: Brett & Alice

Overview: A True Crime Christmas Horror

Brett and Alice dive into a devastating true-crime case that transformed a family’s Christmas holiday into a nightmarish ordeal. Unlike their usual uplifting seasonal episodes, this year’s Christmas story explores the 1990 Tiede family murders in Utah—one of the most harrowing and senseless attacks the hosts have ever dissected.

"You’re gonna wish for those stupid bloopers after this." — Alice (03:11)

Case Background & Setting

[04:00–06:42]

• Victims: The Tiede family (K Tidwell Teed, Rolf Teed, their children Linnae, Sean, Tricia, and matriarch Beth Potts), original residents of Utah, now living in Humble, Texas, but closely attached to their isolated Utah mountain cabin, "Tiede’s Tranquility."
• Timeline: December 1990, the family gathers at their remote snowy cabin for Christmas.
• Atmosphere: The cabin is depicted as a winter haven, accessible only by snowmobile during heavy snow.

The Killers: Von Lester Taylor & Edward Stephen Deli

[06:42–07:33]

• Both recently released felons from a halfway house.
  • Taylor: 25, convicted of aggravated battery (Brett later clarifies possibly burglary)
  • Deli: 21, arson
• After leaving the halfway house on the 14th, they stayed at Taylor's father's cabin.

The Attack: Timeline & Crime Details

Break-in and Murders

[07:33–13:00]

• Precursor: Taylor calls a former inmate and announces his plan ("waiting for the owners to get back so he could kill them and steal their car"). The report goes ignored by authorities.

• The Day of the Murders:

  • Dec 22, 1990: Kay, her mother Beth Potts, and daughter Linnae (20) arrive. Linnae, first inside, mistakes movement for a cousin. Taylor emerges, gun-drawn.
  • Taylor shoots Kay three times. Beth is shot three times as well. Both die almost instantly.

• Quote:

  "They shot them to kill them, which I think is important and I think actually comes in later with something that irritates me about this case." — Brett (10:00)

• Linnae is tied up and hears Taylor ordering Deli to help move the bodies.

Kidnapping & Further Violence

[13:00–18:20]

• Rolf and Tricia (16) arrive and are ambushed as they enter. Rolf gives up his cash; Taylor tells Deli to shoot Rolf, but when Deli hesitates, Taylor shoots Rolf twice in the head—miraculously, he survives.
• Gasoline is spread: The killers intend to set the cabin ablaze.
• Linnae and Tricia are taken hostage, forced to accompany the men as they attempt their escape on snowmobiles toward the family’s car.

The Escape & Rescue

[14:19–18:20]

• Family Uncle Randy passes the girls (not realizing their distress), but their composure and refusal to acknowledge him save his life.
• Rolf’s legendary survival: Despite two gunshot wounds to the head, he escapes, finds Randy, and the two give chase after the abductors and call 911.
• Police chase: The suspects crash their vehicle after a pursuit and confront police at gunpoint. Shots are fired; ultimately, Taylor and Deli surrender.

"At this point...the story goes from Christmas horror to the greatest Christmas movie of all time, Die Hard...Rolf has survived being shot, he's bleeding from the head, he pulls up to Randy...he tells him all this, and the girls have been kidnapped. And so now Randy realizes what's going on..." — Brett (16:05)

Aftermath: Crime Scene, Charges & Sentencing

Crime Scene Description

[18:20–19:57]

• Investigators describe heavy blood, bullet holes, blood smears, and fire damage.
• The two female bodies are found hidden with a blanket on the deck.

"The living room carpet was so blood-soaked that it actually pooled on the wooden planks underneath and oozed blood outside. It formed these crimson colored icicles where it leaked through the cabin floorboards." — Brett (19:57)

Legal Proceedings

[19:57–38:47]

1. Charges Filed (Christmas Eve):

   • Capital homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated arson, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery.
   • Taylor also charged with failure to respond to an officer's signal.

2. Rolf’s Survival: Released from hospital amazingly quickly (12/24/90).

3. Funerals: Kay and Beth are remembered as loving, generous women.

4. Plea & Trials:

   • Taylor pleads guilty to first-degree murder in May 1991; prosecutors still seek the death penalty.
   • Deli goes to trial, argues he only participated in the burglary, not the killings. The jury, stymied by one holdout, convicts on second-degree murder after long deliberation.

"After more than 13 hours of deliberations...one dumbass held out...the rest agreed to convict him of the lesser charge." — Brett (29:49)

5. Sentences:

   • Taylor: Death (chose lethal injection over firing squad)
   • Deli: Sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, no parole

6. Appeals:

   • Taylor's death penalty appeal process drags for decades—Utah Supreme Court, U.S. Supreme Court, multiple habeas appeals.
   • In 2020, Federal Judge Tina Campbell controversially overturns conviction (claiming ineffective counsel); the Tenth Circuit reverses this in 2021, reinstating the death sentence.

Lingering Injustice & Systemic Issues

Judicial Frustration

[34:41–44:53]

• Hosts are exasperated by the time, cost, and pain imposed on victims’ families by protracted appeals.
• They criticize both the one holdout juror and Judge Campbell's decision, arguing the system enables technicalities to overturn clear convictions decades later.

"The problem is judges like this do not understand the standard at all. They're like these people who...are under the misimpression that you're guaranteed a perfect trial and that if anything goes wrong, you have to get a new trial..." — Brett (44:53)

• Calls for limitations on appeals to only "actual innocence" claims.

The Most Disturbing Detail: The Christmas Tape

[38:47–40:50]

• Police found a videotape of Taylor and Deli giddily opening and mocking the Tiede family’s Christmas gifts before committing the murders.
• Hosts find this the most ghoulish evidence of the killers’ lack of humanity.

"The glee. It's as if they were just joking around...except unlike in Home Alone, you know what's about to follow." — Alice (40:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You're going to wish for those stupid bloopers after this." — Alice (03:11)
• "This one's awful. It really is." — Brett (03:14)
• "He tells him all this, and the girl's been kidnapped. And so now Randy realizes what's going on...Randy and Rolf are going." — Brett (16:05)
• "There is no way...in a case like this that you should be having substantive appeals 30 years after the crime...Nothing was discovered. This is not an actual innocence case." — Brett (35:31)
• "The problem is when you have...an old record, so you’re not seeing the facts. You shouldn’t do that. But I think that’s what happens when you are looking at something 30 years ago." — Alice (43:43)
• "Justice delayed is justice denied. This guy needs to get justice. So he has exhausted his appeals. It's been 35 years. If you're going to execute anybody, it should be him. If not, you might as well get rid of that building." — Brett (38:47)

Timestamps by Key Segment

• Case setup and Tiede family background: 03:33–06:42
• Crime and initial break-in: 06:42–13:00
• Kidnapping and escape: 14:19–18:20
• Police pursuit and arrest: 16:05–18:20
• Crime scene description: 18:20–19:57
• Legal aftermath and sentencing: 19:57–38:47
• Appeals, judicial critique: 34:41–44:53
• Killer’s disturbing videotape: 38:47–40:50
• Systemic problems with appeals: 43:26–44:53

Host Tone & Final Thoughts

• The tone is alternately somber, angry, darkly comic, and conversational. Alice and Brett balance detailed forensic recounting with passionate legal commentary, expressing both professional frustration at the justice system's failings and deep empathy for the victims’ families.
• They end with a call for judicial reforms and a plea for closure for the victims.

Epilogue: Christmas Traditions and Levity

[53:10–56:57]

• To lighten the episode’s heaviness, the hosts share holiday favorites (Christmas piano music, gingerbread houses, loving the snow and decorations), closing on a personal, warm note after the case’s darkness.

If you have thoughts on the case, the death penalty, or the justice system, the hosts invite discussion by email and social channels.