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A Simpler Time True Crime

A Simpler Time True Crime

Written by: Megan Storm
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About this listen

 I’m Megan, your host, and each week I revisit unsolved cases from decades past—stories that have too often been forgotten or overlooked. Together, we examine the facts, question the myths of “the good old days,” and ask whether a simpler time was ever really a safer one.
This podcast honors the people at the heart of each case—focusing not on sensationalism, but on the lives affected and the justice still waiting to be served.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-simpler-time-true-crime--6665681/support.Copyright Megan Storm True Crime
Episodes
  • The Answers Died With Him: The Unsolved Murder of Cynthia and Heather Johnson

    The Answers Died With Him: The Unsolved Murder of Cynthia and Heather Johnson
    Jan 12 2026
    I want to be transparent about this case from the start. While it is technically unsolved, there is a strong and consistent understanding of who is responsible. This is less a whodunit and more an opportunity to walk through our criminal justice system and examine how, over the course of decades, one man was able to manipulate outcomes in his favor. Shorter sentencing, public sympathy, and ultimately a lack of meaningful consequences. It is also a reminder that even when answers seem to form almost immediately, accountability and justice can remain painfully out of reach. One reality that is not always discussed in the true crime space is that families often know, deep down, who is responsible. They are left to live with that certainty while watching that person remain free. Today I am sharing a case like that. Because even when a case is positioned to never be officially solved, the identities of the victims are not erased. Their lives mattered, and their story still deserves to be told.

    TIPS: Richmond VA Police at (804) 646-6741
    Case suggestions: simplertimecrimepod@gmail.com
    IG: @simplertimecrimepod
    Youtube: https://youtube.com/@simplertimecrimepod?si=OlCWQ2Ky8qFaof02
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simplertimecrimep?_t=8s31x9iCrNv&_r=1
    Music By Universfield: https://pixabay.com/music/mystery-dramatic-atmosphere-with-piano-and-violin-143149/
    Thumbmail art: Lauren Kelty, host of True Crime BFF Podcast

    Source Material:
    Source material:
    https://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/barker-glenn-photos.htm
    https://www.styleweekly.com/no-one-has-anything-to-fear-about-me/
    https://charleyproject.org/case/katherine-sybil-worsky
    https://coldcase.vsp.virginia.gov/richmond-police-department/case/cynthia-heather-johnson-double-homicide/
    https://www.styleweekly.com/serial-killer-or-scapegoat/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-mother-child-fou/188466698/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-mother-daughter/188466991/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-cause-of-death-s/188467357/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-johnsons-family/188467704/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-family-mourns-w/188471071/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-both-obituaries/188606349/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-police-identify/188681869/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-police-identify/188689518/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-normal-procedure/188690306/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-ymca-league/188693130/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-nj-parents-upset/188693431/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-fliers-warn-of-p/188693654/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-obit-for-cynthia/188710100/
    https://c-ville.com/law-enforcement-worsky-family-react-convicted-killer-glenn-barkers-death/
    https://medium.com/write-a-catalyst/the-man-we-trusted-b6c8713239b8https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19380087/cynthia_darlene-johnson
    https://charleyproject.org/case/kelly-bergh-dove

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-simpler-time-true-crime--6665681/support.
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    47 mins
  • The Day It Was To Finalize: The Unsolved Abduction of Deborah McKneely

    The Day It Was To Finalize: The Unsolved Abduction of Deborah McKneely
    Jan 5 2026
    A fifth grader comes home from school in 1991 expecting to see his mother but instead is greeted by an empty home and a terrifying scene. Everything from the home pointed to foul play for the mother. Other clues made it seem like aspects had been staged to make the scene look like something that it wasn’t. On the day of Deborah’s disappearance, she was supposed to be meeting with her husband to finalize their divorce. And while that may seem like suspicious timing, he has always maintained his innocence and nobody has ever been charged in her case and her body has never been found. In the years after her disappearance, her mother would tell the papers that she would hear the voice of her daughter telling her not to give up. And with her mothers passing, that quest has been passed down to her brothers. Answers in Deborah’s case are long overdue, so that a family and community can heal.

    TIPS: Rockdale Sheriff’s office at770-918-6700 or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-597-8477
    Case suggestions: simplertimecrimepod@gmail.com
    IG: @simplertimecrimepod
    Youtube: https://youtube.com/@simplertimecrimepod?si=OlCWQ2Ky8qFaof02
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simplertimecrimep?_t=8s31x9iCrNv&_r=1
    Music By Universfield: https://pixabay.com/music/mystery-dramatic-atmosphere-with-piano-and-violin-143149/
    Thumbmail art: Lauren Kelty, host of True Crime BFF Podcast


    Source Material:
    https://gbi.georgia.gov/cases/missing-persons/deborah-jean-mckneely
    https://www.truecrimepi.com/part-3-unsolved-the-disappearance-of-deborah-mckneely/
    https://www.truecrimepi.com/unsolved-the-disappearance-of-deborah-mckneely/
    https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/479dfga.html
    https://charleyproject.org/case/deborah-jean-mckneely
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-rockdale-woman-missi/188017569/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-kids-sit-and-wa/188018062/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-kids-sit-and-wait/188018984/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-a-year-later-no/188020777/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-reward-notice/188020866/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-family-left-with-pai/188021248/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-family-left-without/188021492/
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-3-year-anniversary-1/188084684/

    Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/a-simpler-time-true-crime--6665681/support.
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    30 mins
  • Terror After Sundown: The Murder of Carol Jenkins-Davis

    Terror After Sundown: The Murder of Carol Jenkins-Davis
    Dec 29 2025
    In September of 1968, a young saleswoman named Carol was traveling through Indiana, selling encyclopedias for a company based in Indianapolis. She was part of a small crew made up of another black woman and two white men. That day, their route brought them to Martinsville, Indiana, a town that was already known among Black travelers as a dangerous place to be. As the term was better adopted over the years, it would be known as a sundown town. That evening, Carol began facing harassment. As the evening wore on, she tried to seek help, reaching out to locals and even to police. But by the time night was over, Carol would be dead, brutally attacked at one of the town’s main intersections. Two men were sought as suspects in her murder. And through the years many would be questioned as pressure mounted. Eventually one suspect would be captured. The other was never identified. And some wonder if they got it right. Her story is a stark reminder of the very real dangers Black Americans faced while doing ordinary, everyday things during the civil rights era. It is also a sobering reminder that the echoes of those dangers have not disappeared. And even now, decades later, there are people who know exactly what happened to Carol that night. People who still have the opportunity to come forward and give her loved ones the truth they have been denied for far too long.TIPS: 1- 800-453-4756 or contact the FBI at 1-800-225-5324. You can also submit tips online at tips.fbi.govCase suggestions: simplertimecrimepod@gmail.comIG: @simplertimecrimepodYoutube: https://youtube.com/@simplertimecrimepod?si=OlCWQ2Ky8qFaof02TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simplertimecrimep?_t=8s31x9iCrNv&_r=1Music By Universfield: https://pixabay.com/music/mystery-dramatic-atmosphere-with-piano-and-violin-143149/Source Materialhttps://www.reporter-times.com/story/news/local/2014/02/25/local-couple-featured-in-sundown-town-show-say-they-were-deceived-about-programs-inte/47562105/https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2014/02/24/1968-killing-of-black-woman-in-martinsville-featured-in-documentary-airing-monday/47455303/https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/harlems-victor-hugo-greens-the-green-book/https://www.pbs.org/video/the-girl-in-the-yellow-scarf-jk9x7a/https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/martinsville-dedicates-memory-stone-to-remember-victim-of-race-murder/531-27532654-3bbc-4378-8666-6a34abd208aehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Carol_Jenkinshttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125584151/carol_marie-jenkins_-_davishttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-carol-jenkins-death/187537057/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-times-brutal-murder-in-martin/187537838/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-times-brutal-in-martinsville/187538310/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-rushville-woman-fa/187538510/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-rushville-book-sel/187538864/https://www.newspapers.com/article/rushville-republican-rushville-woman-kil/187539409/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-2-men-sought-in-sl/187551951/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-2-men-sought-in-sl/187551951/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-citizens-asked-to-hel/187555310/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-tribune-stabbing-shocks/187555597/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-mvs-dad-here/187556070/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-clues-motives-sca/187556228/https://www.newspapers.com/article/rushville-republican-police-seek-aid/187556452/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-police-without-lea/187556587/https://www.newspapers.com/article/palladium-item-ive-been-enough-trouble/187557336/https://www.newspapers.com/article/muncie-evening-press-2-youths-cleared/187594878/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-tribune-seek-stabbing-cl/187633506/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-tribune-seek-stabbing-cl/187646039/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-put-a-lid-on-case/187646575/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-rumors-may-wreck/187647506/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-thought-it-was-saf/187647762/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-times-motive-a-mystery/187647955/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-anderson-herald-race-motive-ruled-ou/187653542/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-journal-potentially-valuable-i/187653846/https://www.newspapers.com/article/rushville-republican-letter-to-the-edito/187654069/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-locate-of-another/187655103/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-journal-any-drivers/187655829/https://www.newspapers.com/article/rushville-republican-naacp/187656448/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-times-editorials/187656709/https://www.newspapers.com/article/...
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    55 mins
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