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Ozarks True Crime

The Sandra Hemme Story Ep. 3: Two Years Earlier - The Wrongful Conviction of Melvin Lee Reynolds

Ozarks True Crime

editaudio, Anne Roderique-Jones

Society & Culture, Edit Audio Inc, The Ozarks, Editaudio, Investigative Journalism, Anne Roderique-jones, The Springfield Three, Springfield Missouri, Missing Women, True Crime

4.4813 Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2024

⏱️ 24 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Two years before Sandy is convicted, another patient at the St. Joseph State Hospital is charged and sentenced to life in prison for murder. Melvin Lee Reynolds spent the next four years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. In this episode, Anne looks into the factors that led to Melvin Lee Reynolds’ wrongful imprisonment and how these cases are closely linked.


Innocent Blood

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Edit audio.

0:04.0

This episode discusses violence and sexual assault of children.

0:08.1

Please take care while listening.

0:11.9

In the last episode of the Sandra Hemmy story,

0:15.0

I told you about the police officer Michael Holman

0:17.2

and is likely involvement in Sandy's case.

0:20.0

We're going to the evidentiary hearing for our next episode.

0:23.1

We'll be learning a lot more about him, so stay tuned for that.

0:28.7

In May of 1978, downtown St. Joseph, Missouri was a bustling business hub.

0:34.2

It was lined with shops like Einbenders, D, dueling optical, and the little children's shop.

0:39.1

It's where one would go to their office for the day, then later perhaps pick up a prescription or

0:44.0

even a pair of shoes. Edwin and Vicky Christian were a pillar of the community. They owned

0:51.1

Walnut Products Company, and one of their most valued employees was Karen Carter.

0:55.5

And Karen would often babysit the owner's four-year-old son Eric.

0:59.3

On Friday, May 26, 1978, Karen took the little boy to lunch at Long John Silver's, and to run a few errands.

1:07.0

Shortly after, they headed to a local downtown supply store.

1:11.0

Memorial Day was approaching, and Eric's dad asked Karen to pick up an American flag.

1:15.8

After Karen parked the car, Eric spotted a small outdoor playground and wanted to go down the slide.

1:21.5

It's not far from the supply shop, so Karen let Eric play while she went into the store,

1:26.7

quickly chose a flag, and paid for it.

1:29.2

When she walked back outside, Eric was gone.

1:32.5

This is a transcript from the 911 call, read by our producers.

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