Sometimes, news stories echo in our minds for years after they’ve occurred. With each season of Shattered, we select one of those complex, true stories and take an in-depth look. Season 3 tells the story of a string of murders that took place in the mid-1970s in Oakland County, Michigan. Many people know the case as the Oakland County Child Killer. The story is well known in southeast Michigan, but it’s never been told with such depth. Child Killer drills through the surface of the story, all the way down to its core. From millionaire cover-ups to a father’s undying love for his son. Egos, confusion and manipulation take over in a seemingly endless pursuit for answers. Season 2 tells the story of Rick Wershe Jr., also known as White Boy Rick. At 14, Rick became the youngest FBI informant ever and helped bring down some of Detroit’s biggest drug dealers. Then the FBI abandoned him, and he became the dealer. Less than 2 years later, he was busted in connection with eight kilos of cocaine. Wershe has been in prison ever since. Hosted by WDIV investigative reporter Kevin Dietz, Shattered: White Boy Rick chronicles Wershe's improbable life story. In Season 1, host Jeremy Allen investigates the disappearance of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton. The boys’ father, John Skelton, is the main suspect. Almost a decade later, the mystery of what happened to the boys remains open, with their small Michigan hometown wondering - could a father have committed an unimaginable crime?
Sometimes, news stories echo in our minds for years after they’ve occurred. With each season of Shattered, we select one of those complex, true stories and take an in-depth look. Season 3 tells the story of a string of murders that took place in the mid-1970s in Oakland County, Michigan. Many people know the case as the Oakland County Child Killer. The story is well known in southeast Michigan, but it’s never been told with such depth. Child Killer drills through the surface of the story, all the way down to its core. From millionaire cover-ups to a father’s undying love for his son. Egos, confusion and manipulation take over in a seemingly endless pursuit for answers. Season 2 tells the story of Rick Wershe Jr., also known as White Boy Rick. At 14, Rick became the youngest FBI informant ever and helped bring down some of Detroit’s biggest drug dealers. Then the FBI abandoned him, and he became the dealer. Less than 2 years later, he was busted in connection with eight kilos of cocaine. Wershe has been in prison ever since. Hosted by WDIV investigative reporter Kevin Dietz, Shattered: White Boy Rick chronicles Wershe's improbable life story. In Season 1, host Jeremy Allen investigates the disappearance of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton. The boys’ father, John Skelton, is the main suspect. Almost a decade later, the mystery of what happened to the boys remains open, with their small Michigan hometown wondering - could a father have committed an unimaginable crime?
I listened to season 1 and 2 in 2 days! Great podcast! Can’t wait for season 3.
Two stories in one!!! Exciting... Nail bitting.... and Sad!!!! Great podcast
I listened to season 1 and 2 in 2 days! Great podcast! Can’t wait for season 3.
Two stories in one!!! Exciting... Nail bitting.... and Sad!!!! Great podcast
Sometimes, news stories echo in our minds for years after they’ve occurred. With each season of Shattered, we select one of those complex, true stories and take an in-depth look. Season 3 tells the story of a string of murders that took place in the mid-1970s in Oakland County, Michigan. Many people know the case as the Oakland County Child Killer. The story is well known in southeast Michigan, but it’s never been told with such depth. Child Killer drills through the surface of the story, all the way down to its core. From millionaire cover-ups to a father’s undying love for his son. Egos, confusion and manipulation take over in a seemingly endless pursuit for answers. Season 2 tells the story of Rick Wershe Jr., also known as White Boy Rick. At 14, Rick became the youngest FBI informant ever and helped bring down some of Detroit’s biggest drug dealers. Then the FBI abandoned him, and he became the dealer. Less than 2 years later, he was busted in connection with eight kilos of cocaine. Wershe has been in prison ever since. Hosted by WDIV investigative reporter Kevin Dietz, Shattered: White Boy Rick chronicles Wershe's improbable life story. In Season 1, host Jeremy Allen investigates the disappearance of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton. The boys’ father, John Skelton, is the main suspect. Almost a decade later, the mystery of what happened to the boys remains open, with their small Michigan hometown wondering - could a father have committed an unimaginable crime?
Season 1, Chapter 1: The Skeltons, a family of 5, once whole and together has been shattered. John, the father, begins acting erratically and eventually pushes mom, Tanya, too far. But he's not done there. His anger toward Tanya leads to the eventual disappearance of 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton. But how and why? Shattered: Black Friday is the story of true life events from Morenci, Michigan. A small town with a big problem. If you have any information about the whereabouts of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton, please call the Morenci Police Department at 517-458-7104.
Chapter 2 – Summer Job: To get inside information on the local drug trade, Rick has to do more than watch from the outside. But it’s not as simple as just heading up to the local crack house with cash in hand. He needs to be known as someone who can be trusted both to buy drugs and to never snitch to police if he gets caught. He needs someone to vouch for him and he knows exactly who it should be, the first family of cocaine on Detroit’s east side, the Curry's.
Season 1, Chapter 2: Andrew, Alexander and Tanner are missing. But before their dad, John, made them vanish, a storm was brewing between him and his wife, Tanya. Tanya gives us a glimpse into life with John before Black Friday 2010.
Chapter 3 – Fight Night in Vegas: When the police keep raiding drug houses rife with cash and cocaine, the Currys don’t think it’s simply bad luck for them or great work by the police. They suspect there is a rat in the organization and they want it exterminated.
Season 1, Chapter 3: John Skelton sits alone in a cell, with all the answers locked away deep inside his mind. Chief Larry Weeks and Detective Lt. Jeremy Brewer are the past and present lead investigators on the case. Is there any way to find the answers, find the boys, without John's cooperation?
Season 1, Chapter 4: We’re welcomed into the home of Tanya Skelton. We get into the alleged abuse of her own sons and John's family’s take on what he did or didn’t do. Tanya also reveals what built her back up after an emotional breakdown.
Season 1, Chapter 5: With his three sons missing, John sits inside a Michigan prison cell. He doesn't seem worried, but he also doesn't seem to feel guilty. Hear John tell his story, for the first time, in his own words.
Chapter 8 – Just Call Me Rick With Hollywood making a movie about his life and some positive signs coming from the new Wayne County Prosecutor, Rick thinks he might have a shot at parole. As that’s happening - before he was sent to prison, before he sold drugs, before he became an informant, Rick was young and in love with Michelle. All these years later, they’ve reconnected.
Season 1, Chapter 7: Early morning, Black Friday, 2010, John Skelton's cell phone registers to cell phone towers between Morenci, Michigan and Holiday City, Ohio. Somewhere along this route is where police believe he made his children disappear. Lead Investigator Jeremy Brewer takes us on a ride, following that very route.
Chapter 4 – I’m No Cocaine Kingpin: Rick has given the feds enough information for them to start prosecuting the Curry’s. Out of a job, Rick charts a new path with the skills he's accumulated from the government.
Season 1, Chapter 6: John Skelton's stories change every time he tells them. One that has been told, more than once, is that he gave his children to the Amish. Because they are such a private people, there's no record of their thoughts on this possibility. WDIV's Sandra Ali and Jeremy Allen hit the road to get a firsthand account from the Amish.
Season 1, Chapter 8: John Skelton’s family in Morenci stays tight-lipped about the case. His mother, father and sister live a thousand miles away in Florida. Jeremy Allen heads to Jacksonville, seeking a perspective we haven’t yet heard.
Season 1: Chapter 9: As investigators work the Skelton case in Michigan, something pops up, but way off their radar. Human remains are found in Missoula, Montana – the remains of 3 kids. Lead Investigator Jeremy Brewer and Tanya try to figure out a connection to Montana. Tanya also struggles with what John Skelton’s family is saying about the case, her boys and her role in all of it.
Season 1, Chapter 10: John Skelton has been silent for the better part of a decade. WDIV’s Sandra Ali and Jeremy Allen do their best to get him to speak. In the meantime, police bring someone with Amish ties to confront John.
Chapter 5 – Operation Backbone: From behind bars, Rick is asked to inform again as part of Operation Backbone, an FBI sting that aims to catch dirty Detroit cops.
Chapter 7 – Kid Rock and White Boy Rick: Rick is granted his first parole hearing in 15 years. Kid Rock shows up to testify on his behalf. Rick thinks he has a chance at parole. But a letter from then Wayne County Prosecutor (and current Mayor of Detroit), Mike Duggan, throws a wrench into Rick’s dream of freedom.
Welcome to Shattered, a new true-crime podcast from WDIV in Detroit. Season 1 chronicles the young Skelton brothers’ disappearance on Black Friday, 2010. The mystery of what happened to the boys remains open, with their small Michigan hometown wondering - could a father have committed an unimaginable crime?
Chapter 6 – Inspector Todd: Rick says the reason he’s been languishing in prison for so long has a lot to do with one man, Gil Hill. Hill was the head the Detroit Police Department’s Homicide Unit and he also played the part of a cop in the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy.
We're hard at work on our next season of Shattered. In the meantime, though, we think you'll like this episode of another show we're fans of. Welcome to Crimetown. Each season they investigate the culture of crime in a different city. In Season 2, Crimetown heads to the heart of the Rust Belt: Detroit, Michigan. "From its heyday as Motor City to its rebirth as the Brooklyn of the Midwest, Detroit’s history reflects a series of issues that strike at the heart of American identity: race, poverty, policing, loss of industry, the war on drugs, and our universal desire for a savior. Detroit’s a tough town, and its residents are even tougher. They’ve weathered riots, a drug epidemic, political scandal, and innumerable other hardships, but they’re still here—and they have stories to tell. New episodes out Mondays, exclusively on Spotify."
As we prepare for the release of Shattered’s Season 3, we’re excited to share one of our favorite stories from the new season of our another podcast from Graham Media, Mismatch.Hosted by veteran reporter Roger Weber, Mismatch features stories about the incompatible, the unsuitable, and the out-of-step.In this episode:Theodore Roosevelt lived through a bullet in the chest and the carriage accident that killed his bodyguard. He’d beaten the chronic illness that left him gasping for air, dodged a charging rhinoceros, made his own charge up San Juan Hill and gotten through the day on which both his wife and mother died. But now, feverish and emaciated, he was ready for his life to end on The River of Doubt.For more Mismatch, visit mismatchpodcast.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
© 2019 OwlTail All rights reserved. OwlTail only owns the podcast episode rankings. Copyright of underlying podcast content is owned by the publisher, not OwlTail. Audio is streamed directly from WDIV Local 4 and Graham Media Group servers. Downloads goes directly to publisher.
Season 1, Chapter 1: The Skeltons, a family of 5, once whole and together has been shattered. John, the father, begins acting erratically and eventually pushes mom, Tanya, too far. But he's not done there. His anger toward Tanya leads to the eventual disappearance of 9-year-old Andrew, 7-year-old Alexander and 5-year-old Tanner Skelton. But how and why? Shattered: Black Friday is the story of true life events from Morenci, Michigan. A small town with a big problem. If you have any information about the whereabouts of Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton, please call the Morenci Police Department at 517-458-7104.
Chapter 2 – Summer Job: To get inside information on the local drug trade, Rick has to do more than watch from the outside. But it’s not as simple as just heading up to the local crack house with cash in hand. He needs to be known as someone who can be trusted both to buy drugs and to never snitch to police if he gets caught. He needs someone to vouch for him and he knows exactly who it should be, the first family of cocaine on Detroit’s east side, the Curry's.
Season 1, Chapter 2: Andrew, Alexander and Tanner are missing. But before their dad, John, made them vanish, a storm was brewing between him and his wife, Tanya. Tanya gives us a glimpse into life with John before Black Friday 2010.
Chapter 3 – Fight Night in Vegas: When the police keep raiding drug houses rife with cash and cocaine, the Currys don’t think it’s simply bad luck for them or great work by the police. They suspect there is a rat in the organization and they want it exterminated.
Season 1, Chapter 3: John Skelton sits alone in a cell, with all the answers locked away deep inside his mind. Chief Larry Weeks and Detective Lt. Jeremy Brewer are the past and present lead investigators on the case. Is there any way to find the answers, find the boys, without John's cooperation?
Season 1, Chapter 4: We’re welcomed into the home of Tanya Skelton. We get into the alleged abuse of her own sons and John's family’s take on what he did or didn’t do. Tanya also reveals what built her back up after an emotional breakdown.
Season 1, Chapter 5: With his three sons missing, John sits inside a Michigan prison cell. He doesn't seem worried, but he also doesn't seem to feel guilty. Hear John tell his story, for the first time, in his own words.
Chapter 8 – Just Call Me Rick With Hollywood making a movie about his life and some positive signs coming from the new Wayne County Prosecutor, Rick thinks he might have a shot at parole. As that’s happening - before he was sent to prison, before he sold drugs, before he became an informant, Rick was young and in love with Michelle. All these years later, they’ve reconnected.
Season 1, Chapter 7: Early morning, Black Friday, 2010, John Skelton's cell phone registers to cell phone towers between Morenci, Michigan and Holiday City, Ohio. Somewhere along this route is where police believe he made his children disappear. Lead Investigator Jeremy Brewer takes us on a ride, following that very route.
Chapter 4 – I’m No Cocaine Kingpin: Rick has given the feds enough information for them to start prosecuting the Curry’s. Out of a job, Rick charts a new path with the skills he's accumulated from the government.
Season 1, Chapter 6: John Skelton's stories change every time he tells them. One that has been told, more than once, is that he gave his children to the Amish. Because they are such a private people, there's no record of their thoughts on this possibility. WDIV's Sandra Ali and Jeremy Allen hit the road to get a firsthand account from the Amish.
Season 1, Chapter 8: John Skelton’s family in Morenci stays tight-lipped about the case. His mother, father and sister live a thousand miles away in Florida. Jeremy Allen heads to Jacksonville, seeking a perspective we haven’t yet heard.
Season 1: Chapter 9: As investigators work the Skelton case in Michigan, something pops up, but way off their radar. Human remains are found in Missoula, Montana – the remains of 3 kids. Lead Investigator Jeremy Brewer and Tanya try to figure out a connection to Montana. Tanya also struggles with what John Skelton’s family is saying about the case, her boys and her role in all of it.
Season 1, Chapter 10: John Skelton has been silent for the better part of a decade. WDIV’s Sandra Ali and Jeremy Allen do their best to get him to speak. In the meantime, police bring someone with Amish ties to confront John.
Chapter 5 – Operation Backbone: From behind bars, Rick is asked to inform again as part of Operation Backbone, an FBI sting that aims to catch dirty Detroit cops.
Chapter 7 – Kid Rock and White Boy Rick: Rick is granted his first parole hearing in 15 years. Kid Rock shows up to testify on his behalf. Rick thinks he has a chance at parole. But a letter from then Wayne County Prosecutor (and current Mayor of Detroit), Mike Duggan, throws a wrench into Rick’s dream of freedom.
Welcome to Shattered, a new true-crime podcast from WDIV in Detroit. Season 1 chronicles the young Skelton brothers’ disappearance on Black Friday, 2010. The mystery of what happened to the boys remains open, with their small Michigan hometown wondering - could a father have committed an unimaginable crime?
Chapter 6 – Inspector Todd: Rick says the reason he’s been languishing in prison for so long has a lot to do with one man, Gil Hill. Hill was the head the Detroit Police Department’s Homicide Unit and he also played the part of a cop in the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy.
We're hard at work on our next season of Shattered. In the meantime, though, we think you'll like this episode of another show we're fans of. Welcome to Crimetown. Each season they investigate the culture of crime in a different city. In Season 2, Crimetown heads to the heart of the Rust Belt: Detroit, Michigan. "From its heyday as Motor City to its rebirth as the Brooklyn of the Midwest, Detroit’s history reflects a series of issues that strike at the heart of American identity: race, poverty, policing, loss of industry, the war on drugs, and our universal desire for a savior. Detroit’s a tough town, and its residents are even tougher. They’ve weathered riots, a drug epidemic, political scandal, and innumerable other hardships, but they’re still here—and they have stories to tell. New episodes out Mondays, exclusively on Spotify."
As we prepare for the release of Shattered’s Season 3, we’re excited to share one of our favorite stories from the new season of our another podcast from Graham Media, Mismatch.Hosted by veteran reporter Roger Weber, Mismatch features stories about the incompatible, the unsuitable, and the out-of-step.In this episode:Theodore Roosevelt lived through a bullet in the chest and the carriage accident that killed his bodyguard. He’d beaten the chronic illness that left him gasping for air, dodged a charging rhinoceros, made his own charge up San Juan Hill and gotten through the day on which both his wife and mother died. But now, feverish and emaciated, he was ready for his life to end on The River of Doubt.For more Mismatch, visit mismatchpodcast.com or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
© 2019 OwlTail All rights reserved. OwlTail only owns the podcast episode rankings. Copyright of underlying podcast content is owned by the publisher, not OwlTail. Audio is streamed directly from WDIV Local 4 and Graham Media Group servers. Downloads goes directly to publisher.