As a person who lived through the East Area Rapist era in Sacramento I've long been fascinated by the case, and related cases, such as that of the Visalia Ransacker, which is what brought me here. At first I was impressed that the podcasters had done extensive research and had access to police files ... HOWEVER, as the series went on, it became clear that they were presenting no new evidence, and based their argument that Clifton was innocent on an unsupported hypothesis that Donna's family and the police had colluded to 'frame' Clifton. The podcasters present no evidence that any conspiracy like this ever happened. Their whole 'case' for Clifton's innocence is built on questioning minor details, without ever demonstrating that the basic crux of the case (evidence found at the scene of the crime that directly linked Clifton) was incorrect. Any reasonable reading of the facts in the case points directly to Clifton. In fact, Donna's family are (understandably) angry at the podcast for the implication that they were involved in this cover up, since they were the ones who were first in the scene and would have had to have planted the evidence, or lied about it being there when police arrived. Clearly, the podcasters hoped to tie this killing to Joseph DeAngelo, the Visalia Ransacker/East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker, but there was never any evidence connecting him to this crime, and it doesn't match the MO for any of his other murders or rapes. DNA tests performed after his capture eliminated him as a suspect in the case. Clifton was a convicted sex offender who exposed himself to a woman a half hour before Donna's kidnapping, one mile away from the scene. one of his notebooks was found at the scene of the kidnapping, and his DNA was consistent with that of the killer. The podcasters present a tremendous amount of detail, but this is a real case of not seeing the forest because the trees are in the way. My biggest takeaway from this podcast was the pain it must have caused Donna's family, for no reason whatsoever. Really felt expoitive.

There are times sound quality could be better, but the thoroughness of the reporting is unparalleled.

Great podcast, can’t recommend enough! The hits keep coming, backed by documentary evidence. If only the police would have put in this much effort. Think of all the rapes, burglaries and murders that would have been avoided by convicting the right man? To those who are bored or complain about the reading of court transcripts, maybe a simple coloring book is more your speed? Best true crime story ever, and we still don’t know all the answers.

Great podcast! Love all the details!

This podcast starts off with two people reading court transcripts describing the events, locations and times surrounding this case. It doesn’t make sense to the listener if we don’t know the background of all the people being discussed and how they all fit into the story. It’s very strange. It’s like choosing a page in the middle of a book and starting from there. I just can’t waste anymore time with this one

You need to redrop part 1 of the 12/7/20 episode- it’s blank from minute 11 on. Thanks for all the tremendous work on this podcast. So much info - I often have to relisten to catch everything

I don’t get to ask questions, yet I get questions answered.

This just goes to show you that when the system wants to put you in prison and keep you there, unless you are rich, there is precious little that you can do about it. Even when you are dead, and all the original players are also long dead or retired, the corrupt system lives on.

The greatest crime story never told in California. The very dry walk through in early episodes is necessary for the horror to be revealed. Most of this story might never be told. Spoiler alert - I am shocked at the injustice of imprisonment of an innocent man for his entire life. Perhaps not for everyone but perfect for the one person with enough moxie to make a movie.

It has the potential to be soo good. The constant reading from statements and transcripts just doesn’t tell a good story.

Award winning work. Priceless job about TSO convicting in innocent man. Plus, one of the first to connect VR to EAR. Even when others were doubting.

I gave it a shot. I gave it 5 episodes to draw me in, but it fell flat and I can't give it anymore of my time. I like listening to podcasts that cover the cases surrounding the Visalia Ransacker/East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker/Golden State Killer and the link between him and Oscar Clifton, but this one just doesn't have any power to the story. It's like a car with a couple of misfiring cylinders, there's just no horsepower to the story. It putters along getting you down the road of this story, but it does it so slowly that it becomes monotonous and boring and not worth the time to make the journey. There is nothing intriguing or interesting about someone reading court transcripts and police reports verbatim for close to an hour. It's tedious, boring, and extremely exhausting to listen to words like "alright" and "yes/no sir" in the same monotoned voices over and over again every episode. It's like asking iPhone's Siri to read a story to you. The story behind this podcast is one that people should hear if they haven't already, but this podcast does a poor job of delivering it.

This is a podcast dedicated to exposing all the crimes of the Visalia Ransacker aka Golden State Killer back in the 1970's-80's. The VR killed Donna Richmond to frame Oscar Clifton angle had been called a "conspiracy theory" by some, but if a police agency criminally destroys evidence for a case still in appeal, that makes me wonder why. There's lots more - but warning, you'll need to take a deep dive. I'd like to hear the other side's deep dive in response (from the people who are sure Oscar Clifton killed Donna Richmond) if anyone has the courage and knowledge of the case. The companion site, the 12-26-75.com (and Facebook page) has a lot of reference & map material for the Tulare County crimes - as well as the entire Golden State Killer spree.

this podcast is really good, however the women’s voice for a man and vice versa is very distracting and you have to constantly think about if the person talking is a man or a woman. you should assume if a woman is talking it’s likely a man and vice versa

These two are doing some astoundingly good work on this subject. Their thorough review of facts and case reports points strongly towards an innocent man dying in prison for crimes committed by the golden state killer and a small town police department willfully trying to obscure what amounts to a painfully unjust conviction. I check my feed every morning hoping to wake up and see that these guys dropped another episode for me to consume. Keep it up guys! This is the true crime story of the century in my opinion.

I think it's pretty good. I like how they get right to it and don't ask each other about their week or try to tell lame jokes. At times it can seem to drag on a bit but that's because they are being so thorough, so I can't fault them for that. What's interesting is how much of this really does seem like it was done by the east area rapist.

Quality podcast, best resource for vr/Ear/ons out there.

The best podcast out there — bar none! And while it “reads” like the best murder mystery ever written, what makes it even better is that **it’s all real.** These gruesome murders actually happened, and justice has yet to be served. The husband and wife team that run the podcast are smart. They’ve done amazing research and present it in a fact-based fashion. You are left to draw your own conclusions... Enjoy!

I grew up in Visalia and was a classmate of both Beth Snelling and Jennifer Armour. Many of the things discussed in this podcast I didn’t know but it all rang true based on what I did know. Yes it’s a bit dry, but I prefer that to actors attempting to recreate a scene.

As a librarian with a fascination for true crime, I find this podcast exceptional. The hosts synthesize information from a rational and speculative perspective. 12-26-75 is a fascinating archive about a mysterious cold case turned closed case. Keep listening!

I never write reviews for podcasts but have been listening to them quite often for years, especially true crime podcasts. Of course the first season. Of Serial was legendary, but this podcasts is hands down one of the best ever. I decided to give this feedback because there are a surprising number of critical reviews of this podcast based on superficial reasons. The podcasters did amazing research here. They point out how their work wasn’t taken seriously because it’s actually alarming how certain people, including Paul Holes, said they were wrong when it turns out they were in the right track the whole time. This is especially bad because Oscar Clifton died in jail an innocent man. People who complain of this podcast being boring don’t appreciate that all of the mundane details are important to a full understanding of the case. The narration is natural and certain understandable and I am confused with criticisms that people can’t understand the speakers. Perhaps these critical reviewers are just used to the polished voices of professional voice actors.

I cannot get through the first episode. This podcast has good intent but the unfolding of this story is a train wreck. It’s told out of sequence with different narrators. Reading a police interview verbatim is not appealing to the listener. Next!

Dry, but excellent. Those already well-steeped in the life and crimes of Joseph James DeAngelo will find this a rewarding listen (especially since the focus here is skewed toward his time in Exeter and deals largely with crimes for which JJD has not been credited by authorities). Anyone looking for a simple overview of the man of a million acronyms would be better off with the Casefile series.

I don’t know why so many true crime podcasts do the volley narrative, where one person says a few lines and then the other person does. I find it very distracting. Especially as one voice is sharp and the other quieter. It is also hard to take seriously when the female narrator says, “samwich” instead of sandwich (I admit, it’s a personal pet peeve) and you hear the paper of their scripts rustling. She also appears to be needing to clear her throat at times and I found myself wanting to cough and give her a lozenge. Narration needs to be more neutral so that you focus on what’s being said rather than the person saying it. And the acting out of the scene instead of objective reporting is not my cup of tea, but if you like that sort of thing, you may find this interesting.

Anyone who is really interested in DeAngelo’s early crimes, as well as the true facts behind the Visalia Ransacker (ER, EAR, ONS, etc) crimes should love this. Anyone who just wants to come up with their own theories or troll the Reddit/Pro boards, don’t waste your time. The information in this podcast is about as “no nonsense” and straight to the point as it could be. If you enjoy it, spread the word and give this podcast a 5 star rating so more people can learn about the true facts in this case, not just what the media does or does not tell us.

The best podcast and possibly the best investigation into the VR, EAR, ONS, and GSK that exists. It’s not the best produced, with poor audio recordings at times, but in terms of actual information and evidence, no one else comes close.

This podcast is the product of thorough research, which I can only imagine was painstakingly time consuming. This is a must listen for anyone interested in the EARONS/Golden State Killer case. It examines potential early crimes of this serial killer, including the framing of an innocent man for murder.

This is not really a podcast for the general true crime enthusiast. This podcast is for the folks who are waist deep into the Golden State Killer case, of if you want to be hipster about it “VR-EAR-ONS”. If you don’t know what those letters mean, skip it.

The hosts sound too much like they are reading. The male voice is hard to listen too. They need to do their research on the topic and get background details.

These hosts think that they have all the answers and that they had them all along, in recent episodes they brag about how they knew the offender was a cop in Tulare county. Then, why didn’t they solve the case? Seems like they want to pat themselves on the back and accuse law enforcement and prosecutors of misconduct without proof. The only reason I gave two stars Is because of the effort in using police reports. Early episodes were sloppy. Just not well done

Great podcast for info on the Visalia Ransacker. They even theorised that Exeter PD should have been looked into long before DeAngelo was caught. Straight to the point and just the facts.

Lots of great detail, but poorly presented in the early episodes (which is as far as I got). Particularly when you’re doing a podcast where it’s not easy for a listener to flip back and remind themselves of what an acronym stood for or who a person was, you have to do some signposting. Introduce your materials and make it clear to your listener what they should be paying attention to and why they should care about the evidence you’re presenting. Remind your listener of who witnesses are. There was very little upfront signposting here. The podcast went right into an information dump about a case that hadn’t been thoroughly introduced, which made the interviews needlessly complicated to follow. Also, this really would have been improved by some editing for clarity and conciseness when it came to the interview transcripts. We don’t need to hear every single “alright” at the beginning of a question (a particularly annoying verbal quirk) or every time someone asks for something to be repeated because they didn’t hear. It doesn’t add anything.

It is a lot of info but SO informative.

Their recent episodes post-arrest of Joseph James Deangelo have been excellent. The earlier episodes, particularly the first few are indeed very dry and at times put me to sleep. However, given the recent developments regarding the identification of the VR/EAR/ONS/GSK, the hosts have put much work into uncovering long forgotten police reports and newspaper articles to flesh out just who is Deangelo and how he developed as a criminal; incredibly insightful and also frightening, given that it appears he may have been a one-man crimewave. This is a must listen for true crime fans.

For those true crime fans wanting a real time back story on the origins of the Golden State Killer, this podcast is for you. Since both before and after the Killer’s identity was revealed in April, the 12-26-1975 podcasters have been tirelessly researching his origins in the tiny town of Exeter, and later Visalia. It is now common knowledge that Joe DeAngelo was a police officer in Exeter from 1973 and 1976. What is less commonly known is his possible connection to a wave of vandalism, burglaries, arson, deliberate false alarms, prowling, and eventually murder in both of these small communities that began in the late 1960s. The Exeter/Visalia crimes have received scant media attention, but in my mind they’re by far the most intriguing crimes. Here we see the development of both the Killer’s m.o. and so-called “signature.” We see the escalation into violence and assault. The details of Joe DeAngelo’s time in Exeter, where his sister and brother-in-law had lived since 1965, gives terrific context to his later crimes. While some reviewers have dismissed this as a boring podcast, I must wholeheartedly disagree. Yes, the reading of dozens upon dozens of newspaper articles, trial transcripts and actual police reports grows tedious at times. However, this oral recitation remains one of the few opportunities we citizen sleuths have to source documents connected to this series of crimes. The volume of information brought to this one podcast is staggering. There is no slick production to this podcast. There is little color commentary. But in return for listening, we sleuths receive the ungarnished facts delivered without bias. The podcasters are clear that they consider Joe DeAngelo responsible for the killings of two young teenage girls, Jennifer Armour (age 15) and Donna Richmond (age 14) in Exeter in 1974 and 1975. After listening to the entire podcast, I don’t see how anyone could reach a different conclusion. Were these crimes two of his earliest sexually-related homicides? If so, then far more attention should be brought to bear on their cases. I urge you to stick with this podcast as all of these ideas are explored in great detail.

Stop, stop, STOP with the acronyms! It takes one second longer to say the full name or term! No context at all. And your latest podcast and all of your sanctimonious jabber in your latest episode is off-putting. Oy, I can’t take another minute of this dreck.

I'm drowning in your acronyms. Don't use that kind of offhand shorthand in a podcast, especially when you fail to enunciate clearly the first time you identify the acronym. I'm constantly dragging the timeline playhead backwards to look for the origin of the acronyms that you marblemouth excessively. WHAT, FOR THE LOVE OF GAWD, IS "TCSO"? Why do you mumbleslur "VPD" so often, when it doesn't take much more time or effort to spell out the name of the police department? Arrrggggh!!!

Terrible amateur production and lots of arrogant armchair quarterback speculation on what the police did and didn’t do. Now that the golden state killer has been arrested, it makes this podcast even more ridiculous.

Pick one narrator. Also pick a narrator with a better “radio voice.” But really, it’s super annoying having two people with boring voices reading stuff off of a script back and forth.

Please don’t stop here,there are tons of more material to cover.Keep up the great work and I’ll keep listening

The production isn't the greatest, but it is cool to hear an unvarnished reading of interrogations and court transcripts. Possible connection to EAR/ONS is intriguing.

This series had so many details bout the Ransacker that I never found anywhere else. If you follow the Ransacker and EARONS cases, this series I'd for you.

Same complaints as other one and two star reviewers.

Not for everyone but will be enjoyed by anyone, like me, who is obsessed with the EARONS case. Only recommendation is that the hosts adjust the search specs. I'm constantly searching for material on EARONS but only came across this show by pure accident.

It's a great, in depth analysis of the Visalia Ransacker and the similarities with EARONS... an angle that doesn't get a lot of attention in this case. Love it!

The hosts don't give any background information. They just read trail transcripts, and police interviews. Also, the sound quality was lacking in the episodes I listened to.

Loving this podcast. Exactly what I have been searching for. No side conversations- just facts. It also helps that their voices are not annoying! Great job guys. I'm a fan. Niki

I Know some people will not like the detail, but I am very interested in the East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker case. Its obvious that the Vasalia Ransacker is the same person. The details in the VR episodes are amazing and it allows you to see the obvious similarities and MO's. Keep this information coming.

The hosts just read police reports and trial transcripts. They provide no background for the case. It's way too much detail without any background. I cannot follow what is going on.