Beyond the Monsters

Jacqueline Jamason shares her story of losing her two-year-old daughter, Elliana, at the hands of the woman she had spent 20 years of her life with. After years of navigating a complicated relationship marked by manipulation, dishonesty, and her wife’s struggles with addiction, Jacqueline made the decision to leave and begin a new chapter with her two children. Just three months after their separation, on Memorial Day in 2014, Jacqueline’s estranged wife drugged her 10-year-old son, Ethan, and drowned Elliana in the bathtub before attempting to take her own life. After regaining consciousness, Ethan discovered his little sister and desp...

Dr. Jeremy Heffner spent nearly two decades as a trauma surgeon, treating patients with devastating injuries from shootings, car accidents, violent attacks, and other life-threatening emergencies. Throughout his career, he witnessed countless deaths, including children whose lives he fought desperately to save. As the years went on, the emotional weight of these experiences began affecting him in ways he struggled to recognize or understand. What he had spent years pushing aside eventually caught up with him, leading to a diagnosis of severe PTSD and a period of residential trauma treatment.

Jeremy opens up about the psychological...

Amy shares her story of enduring nearly three decades of sexual abuse that began when she was just four years old. After her mother married her stepfather, the family moved overseas, where Amy says he began sexually abusing her and trafficking her to other men. As the abuse continued throughout her childhood, Amy struggled to understand what was happening, especially when the adults she depended on repeatedly failed to protect her. Despite telling her mother about the abuse on multiple occasions, Amy was met with denial, threats, and accusations of lying. At 32 years old, now a mother to three...

Morgan Berry shares her story of becoming a mother to identical twin girls, Bailey Grace and Ally, whose lives would be shaped by an incredibly rare genetic disorder. What began as a seemingly normal pregnancy and the challenges of caring for newborn twins quickly turned into years of unanswered questions as Morgan noticed developmental delays and unusual seizure activity in both daughters. After countless appointments, extensive genetic testing, and a search for answers that eventually led them to the National Institutes of Health, the girls were diagnosed with HECW2, a disorder so rare that very little was known about...

Alicia shares her story of growing up in a close-knit Christian family, building a successful career in real estate, and entering a marriage that eventually left her feeling more like a roommate than a wife. After losing two of her closest friends and becoming estranged from the church community she had been part of for years, Alicia developed a friendship with an older, married man through their shared involvement in the horse racing industry. What began as a business partnership eventually turned into a four-year affair that left her struggling with secrecy, emotional dependence, and thoughts of suicide. Despite...

Matt Griffin shares his story of spending more than two decades in the U.S. Navy and law enforcement and the experiences that would eventually change the course of his life. Early in his career as a police officer, Matt responded to the accidental death of his friend’s two-year-old son and was left carrying guilt over the belief that he should have gotten there sooner. As he continued his career, he became an undercover officer during the height of the opioid epidemic, immersing himself in a world that became increasingly difficult to separate from his life at home. Ye...

Sarah Hayes shares her story of growing up in a family where sexual abuse began at an incredibly young age and continued for years at the hands of her older brother. With the adults around her repeatedly failing to intervene, Sarah was left to grow up alongside abuse while also taking on a caregiving role with her youngest sister, Dani, who she describes as being like her own baby. Years later, Sarah would become Dani’s legal guardian while still trying to navigate the effects of her own childhood. What followed would leave Sarah carrying a devastating loss alongside th...

Sonny Von Cleveland shares his story of being trafficked by his mother from the time he was three until he was twelve, surviving years of abuse, and growing up without the intervention or support he needed. As a child, getting into trouble became an unexpected form of safety, eventually leading him into the juvenile justice system and then prison at sixteen, where he was SAed during his first week. In the years that followed, Sonny became involved in gangs and violence, returned to prison with fifteen additional felonies, and eventually found himself facing years in solitary confinement.

For our 100th episode and Suicide Prevention & Awareness Month, Chell shares one of the most difficult and personal stories she has ever told: losing her friend David to suicide. David was a successful businessman and philanthropist who was known for his generosity, but behind the life people saw, he was struggling with drugs, alcohol, and his mental health. When David reached out to Chell during a crisis in November 2017, she spent hours trying to keep him talking and convince him that what he was feeling was temporary. What happened over the course of that night would leave Chell carrying...

LaRon shares his story of growing up in extreme poverty surrounded by addiction, violence, neglect, and abuse before entering the foster care system. After being placed in a foster home where he was starved, tortured, threatened with weapons, and made to eat from dog bowls, LaRon reached a point where he no longer wanted to live. In one of his darkest moments, music interrupted a suicide attempt and became something he could hold onto until he eventually returned to a foster mother who gave him the safety and unconditional love he had never known.

LaRon opens...

Ariel shares her story of surviving childhood SA, addiction, and years of struggling with her mental health before reaching a point where she attempted to take her own life. After six months of sobriety from alcohol, a difficult night became a breaking point, and Ariel survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, an experience she describes as being followed almost immediately by regret and the realization that she wanted to live.

In the years since, Ariel has had to confront not only the trauma that contributed to her attempt, but the physical and emotional aftermath...

Rhiannon Thoreson was 19 years old and washing her car in broad daylight when a stranger came up behind her, held a knife to her throat, and kidnapped her. He drove her to a remote area, where she was held for hours, repeatedly sexually assaulted, physically assaulted, and threatened with death. What followed was a years-long struggle with severe PTSD, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, hypervigilance, shame, and the pressure to appear successful on the outside while privately struggling with what had happened to her.

Rhiannon opens up about returning to college shortly after the attack, hiding how...

Fausto Castellanos shares his story of surviving childhood SA, grooming, addiction, and years of shame that left him questioning himself and searching for acceptance in relationships, substances, and the people around him. After being abused at 7 years old and again by an adult man while struggling with meth addiction at 14, Fausto spent years trying to outrun what happened to him, eventually reaching a point where his substance use, seizures, and suicidal thoughts left him believing he might not survive.

Fausto opens up about finally asking for help, finding sobriety, and experiencing unconditional acceptance from a sponsor...

Suzzette grew up in a family where addiction, mental illness, violence, and instability existed alongside a lot of love. Her father struggled with heroin addiction, her mother battled cancer and dissociative identity disorder, and much of what was happening inside their home became normal to her simply because it was all she knew. As a teenager, things reached a breaking point when her father and older brother were arrested, her mother disappeared, and Suzzette and her younger brother were left behind in a home that had been taken over by strangers.

Years later, after losing her...

Shavon was just 11 years old when she woke up to find her mother and her mother’s ex-boyfriend dead after a murder-suicide that unfolded while she slept in the next room. She shares the trauma of discovering the scene, the warning signs she now recognizes as an adult, and how losing her mother shaped every stage of her life. 

Shavon and Chell discuss domestic violence, intimate partner homicide, childhood trauma, grief, PTSD, healing, family support, and the lifelong impact of losing a parent to violence. Shavon reflects on carrying her mother’s memory through adulthood, navigating profo...

Angela Harger Thompson moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting dreams, but soon after arriving, she was drugged, SAed, and strangled by a Hollywood producer who had offered her a job. Although she immediately reported the assault, underwent a forensic exam, and fully cooperated with law enforcement, prosecutors declined to file charges, leaving her to navigate the aftermath of SA, trauma, and a criminal justice system that offered no accountability.

Hoping for a fresh start, Angela joined a sailing expedition across the Pacific Ocean just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill...

Brandi Morey-Pols shares the story of her six-year-old son, Rowan, who was murdered by his biological father just days before a custody hearing that she hoped would finally bring him to safety. She recounts years of coercive control, stalking, emotional abuse, repeated warnings that went unheard, and the devastating failures of multiple systems that left Rowan unprotected despite mounting evidence and escalating concerns.

Brandi and Chell explore what happens when coercive control is dismissed, warning signs are overlooked, and systems fail to recognize the danger children can face during custody disputes. Brandi also shares how honoring...

Marta Barreto shares her story of surviving childhood sexual abuse, sex trafficking, addiction, incarceration, and years of being blamed, disbelieved, and left without the protection she needed. She opens up about being harmed by family members beginning at nine years old, turning to methamphetamine to cope, serving in the United States Navy, losing her military career after becoming addicted to cocaine, and later being trafficked again while trapped in an abusive relationship. Marta also recounts losing her parental rights, facing a potential sentence of 40 years to life, and the moment her family finally learned that she had been telling...

Greg Kelley was a standout high school football player with a full scholarship, dreams of playing in the NFL, and what appeared to be a bright future ahead of him. At just 18 years old, everything changed when he was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting a child, despite the absence of physical evidence. Greg shares the devastating reality of losing his freedom, spending years in a Texas maximum-security prison, and the emotional toll of being labeled one of society's most hated offenders while knowing he was innocent.

Greg and Chell discuss wrongful convictions, false...

Dasan "DJ" Jones was just 15 years old when he was murdered inside his own home by the man he had called dad for nearly a decade. His mother, Latrice, shares the devastating story of trying to escape an emotionally abusive marriage marked by stalking, surveillance, coercive control, and repeated failures by the courts to provide protection. In the aftermath of DJ's death, Latrice was left to navigate overwhelming grief while raising her two younger sons and seeking justice for the child she lost. 

Latrice and Chell explore how coercive control, stalking, and emotional abuse can escalate b...

Former Avalon members Michael Passons and Melissa Greene alongside country music artist Ty Herndon share the story behind their powerful re-recording of Testify to Love and the deeply personal journey that led them back to a song that now carries an entirely new meaning. Michael opens up about being removed from Avalon because he was gay, the years of silence and healing that followed, and what it meant to finally reclaim his voice nearly two decades later alongside longtime friends Melissa and Ty.

Together, they discuss the lasting impact rejection from faith communities can have on...

Dawn Simmons and her daughter Katie DeRouen share the unimaginable story of losing Dawn's three children, Lindy, Christopher, and Kamryn, in a head-on crash caused by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the interstate just days before Christmas. Dawn survived the collision with life-threatening injuries, while Lindy, Christopher, and Kamryn were killed, forever changing the lives of everyone who loved them. Together, they recount the devastating hours that followed, the trauma of identifying their loved ones, and the reality of navigating grief after losing multiple children in a single night.

Dawn and Katie talk...

Chloe spent years carrying the trauma of a SA she never spoke about, burying the experience for nearly five years before PTSD, flashbacks, and overwhelming anxiety forced her to confront what happened. As she worked through therapy, marriage struggles, and the lasting impact of trauma, she found herself raising her husband’s young niece, Olivia, after the child was removed from her biological parents' care. What began as a temporary arrangement turned into a life-changing bond that would ultimately redefine Chloe’s future.

While Chloe was dealing with the breakdown of her marriage, she learned her husb...

JaHana Holloway spent much of her life searching for love while carrying deep wounds from childhood trauma, abandonment, SA, and years of believing her worth depended on what she could give to other people. Those experiences shaped the relationships she chose and eventually led her into a marriage marked by infidelity, manipulation, emotional abuse, gaslighting, and the devastating reality of narcissistic abuse. She shares how growing up without consistent support left her vulnerable to predators, unhealthy relationships, and a lifelong struggle with self-worth.

JaHana opens up about discovering her husband's affairs, surviving the chaos that followed, navigating...

Attorney JoDee Neil spent years prosecuting crimes against children while carrying the truth about what she had survived herself. After hearing thousands of outcries from survivors throughout her career, she finally shared her own story and began writing Outcry Witness, a book focused on trauma, sexual violence, and the process of becoming “unfrozen” after years of silence. She opens up about working child abuse cases, what she has witnessed inside the criminal and family court systems, and how trauma reshapes the brain, nervous system, and sense of self over time.

JoDee and Chell talk about childhood trau...

Summer grew up in a severe hoarder home (level 5) where rooms became inaccessible, utilities stopped working, and over 30 animals lived in extreme neglect inside the house. Behind the scenes, she was dealing with chronic bullying, isolation, domestic violence, emotional abuse, and the impossible pressure of protecting her family while trying to survive her own childhood. She opens up about what it was really like going to school embarrassed by the conditions she was living in, being removed by CPS, couch surfing as a teenager, and realizing in college that the life she grew up in was never normal.

In this follow-up to episode 18, Sarah is joined by her stepdaughter Avery more than 20 years after Avery’s mother was murdered when she was just five months old. After spending most of their lives carrying the weight of the case, they received the call that the execution date had finally been set for the man responsible. Sarah and Avery share what it was like preparing for the execution, traveling to Texas together, and walking into a situation neither of them truly knew how to process until they were living it in real time.

Avery opens up ab...

Darlene Lekowski was sexually abused by two of her older brothers beginning at just 7 years old, carrying the trauma in silence for more than five decades while building a life that looked perfect from the outside. She shares the long-term reality of sibling sexual abuse, PTSD, perfectionism, fear of abandonment, and what happens when trauma is buried instead of healed. After finally confronting one of her brothers, he responded by suing her for defamation, forcing her into a two year legal battle where she was made to relive the abuse publicly in court.

Darlene breaks down...

Hope’s estranged husband murdered their two young children in an act of filicide after being granted unsupervised custody, despite clear warning signs of instability, prior abuse, and escalating mental health concerns. Just before their deaths, he made suicidal and homicidal statements, was hospitalized, and still walked out of court with 50/50 custody. Hope’s story exposes the reality of how quickly systems can fail, how mental health is misunderstood in legal settings, and how lethal risk is often missed until it’s too late.

Hope shares what led up to that moment, including years of coercive contro...

Jess Patz was 18 when she entered an abusive relationship that quickly escalated from love bombing into domestic violence, coercive control, and manipulation. The first physical assault happened during her first pregnancy, followed by years of emotional abuse, gaslighting, sexual assault, and financial control that caused her to question her own reality. She breaks down what intimate partner violence actually looks like behind closed doors, including how someone can be conditioned to stay, how abuse escalates over time, and how early warning signs are often missed or dismissed.

After leaving, she was pulled into a 10 year custody...

Sean Tobias Ambriz joined the Army at 18 and was deployed to Afghanistan early in his military career, where he was unexpectedly assigned as a combat medic in an active war zone. With accelerated training, he was responsible for treating wounded soldiers during intense firefights, navigating Taliban ambushes, sniper fire, and life-or-death decisions in the mountains.

He describes being surrounded during combat, running toward gunfire to reach injured soldiers, and working through mass casualties with limited medical supplies. He also speaks on how experiences like his are often overlooked, as attention is typically focused on special operations...

Jori lost her fiancé to an overdose after trying to save him from a hidden addiction to pills that began before they met. Kyle came into her life on New Year’s Eve and quickly became someone she saw a future with, outgoing, magnetic, and deeply loved by everyone around him. As their relationship grew, so did the life they were building together, but behind it, he was quietly battling a pill addiction. It quickly turned into the reality of loving someone struggling with substance abuse, relapse, and the cycle of recovery attempts that didn’t last. Jori found herse...

Tressa was 21 years old when she attended a company party expecting a normal night with coworkers. Within minutes of taking a shot, she began to lose control of her body. She was drugged, taken out of the bar, carried to an apartment, and left alone with a man she had never met. What followed was hours of rape and violent assault that resulted in severe, permanent physical injuries and long-term medical complications that still impact her life today.

In the aftermath, Tressa was forced to repeatedly recount what happened to law enforcement, medical staff, and investigators...

Ember grew up surrounded by manipulation, addiction, and instability that shaped her life long before she had the ability to understand or escape it. With a father in and out of prison for organized crime and a mother struggling with severe alcoholism, she was forced into survival mode early. By her teenage years, she was already raising her younger sister while navigating emotional abuse, financial exploitation, and constant instability. The environment she was raised in shaped how she viewed love, trust, and safety, making her vulnerable to repeated patterns of manipulation in adulthood. 

As an adult, t...

Tony was once a talented BMX athlete with a promising future before addiction took over his life in his early twenties. What followed was a rapid descent into homelessness, drug addiction, and eventually prison. But prison became the turning point that forced him to confront everything he had been running from and rebuild his life from the inside out.

After his release, Tony returned to BMX racing, competing professionally and eventually coaching at the Olympic level. He went on to become a nationally recognized speaker and the founder of multiple addiction treatment centers dedicated to helping...

A birthday celebration with friends, music, THC, and psychedelic mushroom tea quickly turned into something terrifying. Within days, Shannon began experiencing drug-induced psychosis. Music felt like it was speaking directly to her, television shows appeared filled with hidden messages, and everyday sights like billboards and street signs started to feel like coded signals guiding her through a test she believed she had to pass. As severe sleep deprivation set in, paranoia intensified and reality blurred. Friends became threats, strangers felt dangerous, and the streets of Orlando became a maze of symbols she believed would determine whether she lived or...

At 24 years old, Martin made a decision that would change multiple families forever. After a day of heavy drinking, he got behind the wheel on New Year’s Eve and caused a fatal DUI crash that left two women dead and another man seriously injured. He was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison, day for day. What followed was not a story about excuses. It was a story about accountability, addiction, guilt, shame, and what happens when you are forced to confront the irreversible consequences of drunk driving.

While incarcerated, Martin earned his GED, co...

A former tennis pro turned forensic psychic medium, Nichole Duncan, shares how a remote viewing session cracked open an entirely new reality. What began with scientific curiosity about telepathy and intuition led to verified details in missing persons cases, homicide investigations, and human trafficking work. From describing evidence later confirmed by law enforcement to navigating strict ethical boundaries around spiritual consent, she explains how mediumship intersects with criminal cases without replacing investigative process. She breaks down what remote viewing actually is, how intuitive impressions form, and why evidence should be a byproduct of connection rather than the goal.

Lori was finishing a work project in her mother’s quiet home when a violent home invasion began with men kicking in the front door. Within seconds she was running upstairs toward her firearm, calculating escape routes in real time, and opening fire as armed intruders stormed the hallway. When her gun malfunctioned and one of the intruders returned fire, everything shifted in an instant. One bullet tore through her body, ruptured her intestine, destroyed blood vessels, and ultimately led to a below the knee amputation. She was resuscitated three times, airlifted to a trauma center, and placed on li...

Chris spent 23 years in law enforcement, 18 of them in K9, but nothing prepared him for bonding with the dog no one else wanted. Tambo had cycled through handlers, labeled aloof and difficult, until the two recognized something familiar in each other. What followed was an explosive detection career, a devastating cancer diagnosis, emergency surgery costing over $10,000, and a prognosis of just weeks to live. Instead of accepting an expiration date, Chris chose to fight, documenting Tambo’s chemotherapy journey, partnering with Project K9 Hero, and turning a silent working dog into a symbol of resilience for families facing cancer.