Lucid Lab Podcast

On today's episode, Kendra covers one of the most haunting and heartbreaking  cases of recent years: the story of Chris Watts. In August 2018, the seemingly picture-perfect Watts family of Frederick, Colorado, was torn apart by an unthinkable crime. Shanann Watts, a devoted wife and mother, along with her two young daughters, Bella and Celeste, vanished without a trace. As friends and neighbors rallied to find them, Chris Watts appeared on camera pleading for their safe return. But behind his calm demeanor was a cold-blooded killer. 
In the first episode of our 2 part series on the Watts family murders, we will discuss background of Chris and Shanann, how they came to marry and have children together, what might have been going on in the household, Chris' affair with a co-worker and all the events that lead up to the fateful night of Aug 13, 2018. 
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Send any suggestions, lab report stories or comments to us at LucidLabPodcast@gmail.com
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Sources:
Sources
Chris Watts says he's 'forgiven' by God for murdering wife, daughters
Glatt, John. The Perfect Father: The True Story of Chris Watts. July 2020. St Martin’s Press. 
Netflix. American Murder: The Family Next Door. Sept 2020. 
Derhally, Lena. My Daddy is a Hero: How Chris Watts went from Family Man to Family Killer. Sept 2019. Self Published
 

Hey Lab Rats! We’re back just in time for Lab Reports! We share a listener's story of a haunted doll and a cautionary tale about stranger danger and escaping a potential serial killer.
For our first Mini-Episode, we discuss a 67-year-old mystery. On November 8, 1957, Pan Am Flight 7 departed San Francisco for Honolulu on what was supposed to be a routine trans-Pacific crossing. Instead, it vanished. Wreckage was later discovered scattered across the ocean, along with the bodies of some passengers, but no clear answers ever surfaced. Was it mechanical failure, sabotage, or something more sinister? 
For Jessica’s Mini-Episode, we cover a Colorado nightmare. In October 2023, authorities uncovered 191 decomposing bodies inside Colorado’s Return to Nature Funeral Home, exposing a web of fraud and betrayal by owners Jon and Carie Hallford. We unravel how their eco-friendly façade collapsed into one of the most disturbing scandals in U.S. funeral industry history, from the grisly discovery to the Hallfords’ charges, sentencing, and ongoing trials. And to top it off - yet another Colorado funeral home has been caught in August 2025 doing some very similar things - Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, CO.
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Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and anywhere else you listen to podcasts!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Follow Lucid Lab Podcast on social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube) @lucidlabpodcast
Send your questions and episode suggestions to lucidlabpodcast@gmail.com 
Have a special experience or story you want to share? Send us anything! True crime, paranormal, alien encounters, spiritual experiences, dreams, etc. We might read it in our Lab Reports episode!
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Sources:
Pan Am Flight 7 - Wikipedia
What Happened to Pan Am Flight 7?
The Mystery of the Lost Clipper
Aviation Mysteries: The Disappearance of Pan Am Flight 7 - Aviation Oil Outlet
Associated Press. (2024, August 5). Owners of Colorado funeral home where 190 bodies found ordered to pay $950m. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/05/colorado-funeral-home-ruling
Associated Press. (2024, October 24). Funeral home owner who sent families fake ashes pleads guilty to fraud. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/197c57fcec16b681ed0639e1f4389ab7
CBS News Colorado. (2024, November 1). Jon Hallford pleads guilty in Penrose funeral home case involving nearly 200 decomposing bodies. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/jon-hallford-penrose-colorado-funeral-home-bodies-discovered-sentenced-guilty-plea
Colorado Public Radio. (2025, August 22). Judge rejects plea deal for Return to Nature funeral director after emotional victim testimony. CPR News. https://www.cpr.org/2025/08/22/plea-deal-rejected-return-to-nature-funeral-director
Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Colorado. (2025, June 27). Colorado Springs funeral home operator sentenced in gruesome fraud scheme. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/colorado-springs-funeral-home-operator-sentenced-gruesome-fraud-scheme
Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Colorado. (2024, October 19). Return to Nature funeral home owners plead guilty in federal court. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/return-nature-funeral-home-owners-plead-guilty-federal-court
KRDO. (2024, February 23). Who are Jon and Carie Hallford, owners of Penrose funeral home Return to Nature? KRDO. https://krdo.com/news/2024/02/23/who-are-jon-and-carie-hallford-owners-of-penrose-funeral-home-return-to-nature

We don't like it and neither do you, but sometimes one of us gets sick. Boo. We will be back next week! Love you guys!

In September 1972, a dog returned home carrying a decomposed human forearm, leading police to a steep cliff in Springfield, New Jersey, ominously known as “Devil’s Teeth.” There, they discovered the nearly skeletal remains of 16‑year‑old Jeannette DePalma, who had been missing for six weeks. What followed became one of New Jersey’s strangest unsolved cases—an investigation clouded by rumors of witchcraft, missing evidence, and conflicting theories that still divide the community today.
More than fifty years later, Jeannette’s death remains a mystery despite many theories and possible suspects. Was she the victim of occult violence, a local predator, a serial killer, or something else entirely? Join us as we dive deep into the facts, the folklore, and the frustrating gaps in this enduring cold case. We also discuss other victims possibly connected to Jeannette’s killer: Joan Kramer, Carol Ann Farino, Mary Ann Pryor, and Lorraine Marie Kelley.
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Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and anywhere else you listen to podcasts!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Follow Lucid Lab Podcast on social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube) @lucidlabpodcast
Send your questions and episode suggestions to lucidlabpodcast@gmail.com 
Have a special experience or story you want to share? Send us anything! True crime, paranormal, alien encounters, spiritual experiences, dreams, etc. We might read it in our Lab Reports episode!
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Sources:
1974 Double Murder of North Bergen Teenagers Solved
Daughter of Jersey Executive Found Strangled
Death of Jeannette DePalma. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved August 2025, from Wikipedia entry summarizing the case details and developments.
Pollack, J. P. (2022). Death on the Devil’s Teeth: The Strange Murder That Shocked Suburban New Jersey. The History Press.
Pollack, J. P., & Moran, M. (2015). Death on the Devil’s Teeth: The Strange Murder That Shocked Suburban New Jersey. The History Press
‘Torso Killer’ Pleads Guilty in 1974 New Jersey Cold Case Murders
Weird NJ magazine issues. Coverage on DePalma’s case, including debunking of occult rumors.

We are covering 2 cases this week on our special Under the Microscope episode. First, Kendra brings us The Hello Kitty Murder case, a brutal killing of a poor woman in Hong Kong with a macabre twist that involves a Hello Kitty doll. Fan Man-Yee was subjected to the kinds of torture that no human being should ever have to face, with the only reason being that she stole $500 USD. 
Jessica covers the death of Francis Braum. What begins as a night of drinking between two longtime friends ends in one of the most horrifying and surreal tragedies you’ve likely never heard of. In 2004, 21-year-old John Hutcherson drove home with the headless body of his friend, Francis Brohm, still strapped into the passenger seat beside him — and claimed he didn’t remember anything. Listen and let us know your thoughts — Was it denial, dissociation…or something more?__________
Please subscribe and rate 5 stars wherever you listen to your podcasts as you continue to enjoy Lucid Lab Podcast. Send any suggestions, listener stories or comments to us at LucidLabPodcast@gmail.com
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Sources:
Inside The Hello Kitty Murder Case's Unimaginable Horrors
Hello Kitty murder case - Wikipedia
CBS News. (2004, August 30). DUI decapitation horror. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dui-decapitation-horror/
CBS News. (2004, September 7). Headless man's family offers mercy. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/headless-mans-family-offers-mercy/
AccessWDUN. (2004, August 30). Man decapitated in freak accident in Cobb County. https://accesswdun.com/article/2004/8/161932
Wired. (2004, August 30). Headless body in topless car. https://www.wired.com/2004/08/headless-body-in-topless-car/
WAVE 3 News. (2004, September 7). Louisville man decapitated in freak accident; charges filed. https://www.wave3.com/story/2240836/louisville-man-decapitated-in-freak-accident-charges-filed/
Reddit. (2023). I think I found the accident that inspired that scene in Hereditary [Online forum post]. r/horror. https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/1fy2ppe/i_think_i_found_the_accident_that_inspired_that/
Reddit. (2020). Hereditary death based in real life? [Online forum post]. r/horror. https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/gnspsf/hereditary_death_based_in_real_life/
 

In this week's episode, Kendra takes a look at the Turpin Family tragedy, one that shocked the world when a brave 17 year-old Jordan Turpin escaped from her home in California to call 911. What was uncovered after that call was straight out of a horror movie. 13 children, some of them well into adulthood, being held captive in literal shackles by their own parents and subjected to some of the worst abuse you can imagine. We will examine the family background and what led to this disturbing discovery in 2018. __________
Please rate, subscribe and leave a nice comment about Lucid Lab Podcast on your favorite platform!Send any comments, suggestions or personal stories to us at lucidlabpodcast@gmail.com 
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Sources:
S44E720/20 'Escape from a House of Horror' - A Diane Sawyer Special Event
The Twisted Psychology Behind the Turpin Family Case | TIME
After surviving abuse from their biological parents for years, 6 Turpin children were placed in a foster home ‘of horrors,’ attorney says | CNN

In November of 1970, a hiker and his daughters stumbled upon a charred body in Norway’s remote Isdalen Valley. What followed was one of the most puzzling investigations in modern history. The woman had no ID, traveled under at least nine aliases, spoke multiple languages, and carried a suitcase full of wigs, forged documents, and coded notes. Was she a spy? A smuggler? Or simply someone trying to disappear? In this episode, we dive deep into the facts, the forensics, and the theories that still surround the case of the Isdal Woman.
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Please rate and subscribe on iTunes and anywhere else you listen to podcasts!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Follow Lucid Lab Podcast on social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube) @lucidlabpodcast
Send your questions and episode suggestions to lucidlabpodcast@gmail.com 
Have a special experience or story you want to share? Send us anything! True crime, paranormal, alien encounters, spiritual experiences, dreams, etc. We might read it in our Lab Reports episode!
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Sources:
A&E. (2021). The Isdal Woman Cold Case: Mystery Over Her Identity Endures. Retrieved from https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/isdal-woman
Criminal (Vocal Media). (2022). Autopsy and burial details including coffin and preservation.
Ferro, S. (2016, April 1). New evidence emerges in Norway’s most famous unsolved murder case. Mental Floss. Retrieved from https://www.mentalfloss.com/501142/new-evidence-emerges-isdal-woman-case-norway%E2%80%99s-most-famous-unsolved-murder-mystery Wikipedia+8heartstartspounding.com+8Reddit+8Mental Floss
Futility Closet. (2014, January 3). The Isdal Woman. Retrieved from https://www.futilitycloset.com/2014/01/03/the-isdal-woman/ Futility Closet
Gyr, M., & Lemcke, A. (2023, June 12). New leads in unsolved 1970 death point to Nazi‑allied Swiss banker. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. https://www.nzz.ch/english/new-leads-in-unsolved-1970-death-lead-to-nazi-allied-swiss-banker-ld.1741613
Isdal Woman. (2024, May). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isdal_Woman A&E+9Wikipedia+9Mental Floss+9
Mental Floss. (2016). First isotopic analysis placing her origins near Nuremberg.
Mental Floss. (2016). Genoud connection highlighted in new leads.
Reddit thread. (2023, June 12). New info: Isdal Woman … r/UnresolvedMysteries. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1iordb3/new_info_isdal_woman/
Scarlet & Black. (2021). Quick Cold Cases: The Isdal Woman. https://thesandb.com/36839/article/quick-cold-cases-the-isdal-woman/
Vocal Media. (2022). Mentions of espionage, smuggling, and sex work theories.
Vocal Media. (2022). The Isdal Woman of Norway. Retrieved from https://vocal.media/criminal/the-isdal-woman-of-norway Futility Closet+4J.A. Hernandez+4Medium+4
Vocal Media. (2022). Witness accounts related to Stavanger missile testing.
Wikipedia. (2024). “Penguin missile,” and Cold War testing relevance.
Wikipedia. (2024). DNA haplogroup H24 and forensic reopening via Death in Ice Valley.

In October 2018, the small town of Barron, WI was shocked by the double murder of James and Denise Closs. Not only did someone break in and murder this quiet couple but they also took off with their 13 year old daughter, Jayme Closs. Jayme was kept in an isolated cabin in the woods for 88 days until she was able to escape to safety and make her parent's murderer and her abductor pay for his crimes. Listen now for all the details of this tragic tale with a somewhat happy ending. _________
Subscribe, comment and leave reviews for us on your favorite podcast platform. Every 5 star and kind comment helps Lucid Lab Podcast receive more exposure!Send episode ideas, comments or your personal stories for us to share on the special Lab Reports episode to lucidlabpodcast@gmail.com
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Sources:
Jayme Closs case: Documents reveal startling details
How Jayme Closs Escaped From Her Kidnapper Jake Patterson
The Disappearance of Jayme Closs – Stories of the Unsolved
Kidnapping of Jayme Closs - Wikipedia
Kackley, Rob. 88 Days: The Abduction of Jayme Closs: A Shocking True Crime Story. Jan 2020. Independent.