Valerie McDaniel

Ep 312: A young woman takes a deal to downgrade a drug sentence, but instead of freeing her, it cost her everything This is the Rachel Morningstar Hoffman story. Sources for Today's Episode: ABC News Medium.com Naples Daily News The New Yorker The Tampa Tribune Tallahassee Democr ...  Show more

Ep 309: Reconsidered: 44 - Sandy Melgar Women & Crime: Reconsidered is where we revisit our episode catalog and bring new insights, behind the scenes or updates. Original Airdate: 03/23/21 A few days before Christmas in 2012, Jim & Sandy Melgar were celebrating their 32nd wedding ...  Show more

At 61 years old, Wendy DiRodio’s life was just getting started. An accomplished author, therapist and dance instructor, she was ready to excel in the only part of life where success had escaped her: love. She’d begun dating a handsome younger man; there was even talk of marriage. ...  Show more

Kelsey Turner was the kind of woman who drew people in without trying. Her bleach-blonde hair and hourglass figure made her a natural model. In a sea of beautiful California women, though, modeling gigs weren’t plentiful enough to support her expensive tastes. Like many young wom ...  Show more

When a family’s financial situation drastically improves, temptation can lurk around every corner. And sometimes, outward appearances completely obscure a less glamorous reality. Chris Foster of Lancashire, England had known a working-class lifestyle for most of his adulthood. In ...  Show more

When Karen Bethea-Shields was in college, she heard a judge say, “No way in the world a Black woman can get raped.” A few years later, in 1975, she helped successfully defend Joan Little—a Black woman—who became the first woman in the U.S. to be found not guilty of murder using t ...  Show more