SURVIVED: Chrystul Kizer and Cyntoia Brown from Nashville
When 17-year-old Chrystul Kizer is arrested for first-degree murder in Milwaukee, the investigation uncovers a connection between her and her victim that can’t be ignored. And it mirrors an eerily similar story — that of Cyntoia Brown — that played out over a 15-year span in Tennessee.
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Episode Source Material
- The Journal Times (Racine, Wisconsin): Teen in custody after fatal fire, by Daneen Smith
- Washington Post: He was sexually abusing underage girls. Then, police said, one of them killed him, by Jessica Contrera
- Refinery 29: Why Is Chrystul Kizer Facing Life In Prison For Killing Her Trafficker, by Leah Carroll
- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee teen, charged with killing Kenosha man, bragged about it on Facebook, prosecutors say, by Ashley Luthern
- Kenosha News: Judge Oks evidence use for teen, by Daneeen Smith
- Huffington Post: 4 Things To Know About The Case Of Chrystul Kizer, by Zahara Hill
- Kenosha News: Volar under scrutiny before murder, by Daneen Smith
- Kenosha News: Do better, by Daniel Thompson
- Fox6 News Milwaukee: ‘She pulled the trigger:’ Chrystul Kizer charged in death of Kenosha man found shot in burning home
- Kenosha News: Kizer released on bond, by Daneen Smith
- State v. Brown: Opinion of appeal (2009). Filed April 20, 2009
- Cyntoia Denise Brown v. State of Tennessee: Decision on appeal. Filed November 6, 2014
- Free Cyntoia: My search for redemption in the American prison system (Kindle edition book), by Cyntoia Brown
- The Guardian: Cyntoia Brown: trafficked, enslaved, jailed for life at 16 – and fighting back, by Kate Hodal
- The Tennessean: Who was Cyntoia Brown convicted of killing? A look at Johnny Allen, by Jon Garcia
- Murder to Mercy: the Cyntoia Brown Story (documentary) – Netflix
- ABC News: Cyntoia Brown’s case back in the spotlight after Rihanna, Kim Kardashian West speak out, by Kaelyn Forde
- The Tennesseean: #FREECYNTOIABROWN goes viral following Rihanna’s Instagram post, by Natalie Neysa Alund
- Refinery29: How the US justice system failed Cyntoia Brown, by Leah Carroll
Suggested Episodes
WANTED: Justice for Rhys Pocan & MMIW Part 2
In 2021, we set out to cover the case of Rhys Pocan, a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered in Wisconsin in the ‘80s. In Part 2, we look into cases of two other female dismemberment victims in Wisconsin with striking similarities to Rhys Pocan’s.
WANTED: Justice for Rhys Pocan & MMIW Part 1
In 2021, we set out to cover the case of Rhys Pocan, a 35-year-old Indigenous woman who was murdered in Wisconsin in the ‘80s. But while we were in the field, we uncovered a disturbing pattern of murders with similarities to Rhys’ that were just too blatant to ignore. So, we spent the next three years working with local and federal law enforcement to try and get to the bottom of it.
WANTED: The Keddie Cabin Killer
A family’s brutal murder rocks a tiny California town and leaves behind too many unanswered questions.
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