Murder Book

Mitzi Roberts and others answer questions from listeners to the podcast. (Part 1)

Chapter 10 - Final thoughts and reporting on the Sam Little case. The LAPD went on two ride alongs with Sam Little in an effort to clear the 17 additional murders he said he committed in the area. To date only one has been solidly identified. It leaves one investigator to question whether Little’s numbers are exaggerated. Meanwhile, all three of the partners Detective Mitzi Roberts worked with on the case have retired and Roberts has been promoted to head of the cold case unit where 6,000 unsolved cases await her attention.

Chapter 9 - Jillian Lauren contacts Detective Roberts about the Black Dahlia case but picks up on Sam Little. An obsession begins, a relationship between a writer and killer begins.
Sam Little talks to Jillian and starts confessing. She starts driving around the killing fields of South L.A. – attempting to connect Little’s confessions with locations and victims, confirming murders he has confessed to.

Chapter 8 - A Texas Ranger befriends Sam Little and the man who claimed innocence now starts confessing to murder after murder. Sam starts drawing detailed sketches of his victims. Ranger Jim Holland becomes the gatekeeper to Sam Little. The work of the women who caught and prosecuted him is all but forgotten. Sam Little becomes a celebrity. He gets hundreds of letters, several marriage proposals. He’s a star – to some.

Chapter 7 - A third LA murder case is added and the trial begins, presented to the jury by prosecutor Beth Silverman. Three survivors testify.
The verdict is guilty. At his sentencing Little protests his innocence, calls the proceedings a lynching. Detective Roberts waves goodbye; Sam Little waves right back. But it was not the end of the case.

Chapter 6 - An acquittal in a Florida murder case is followed by dozens and dozens of murders. In San Diego another chance to put this man away for good slips away. Little is literally caught by police officers in the act of strangling a woman. But the case goes sideways, he takes a deal and serves only two years. The officer who caught him laments the case’s outcome and the murders that could have been avoided.

Chapter 5 - Sam Little took a 17 year old boy off the streets and forced him to be his driver. In a textbook interview Roberts leads Danny Beckless down the path from “I don’t remember anything” to an emotional break and “Sam told me he liked to choke them.”
Amazing, exclusive audio that shows Roberts’ character, empathy and relentless drive on the case.

Chapter 4 - Roberts and partner Rick Jackson hit the road to build the case, uncovering a trail of rape and murder and a justice system that didn’t appear to care about high risk victims from the fringe. Survivors tell their harrowing tales of cheating death at the hands of Sam Little.

Chapter 3 - Two LAPD detectives conduct the first interview with Sam Little in a jail in Louisville. Before denying he had killed anyone, he unwittingly provides detectives with a road map of the cities he had spent time in and when he had been there. (Exclusive audio of the interview.)

Chapter 1 - In 2012 LAPD Detective Mitzi Roberts draws a career case when DNA matches two sex murders from 1989 to a man named Sam Little. She has to put together the case and try to find the drifter with a criminal record in 19 states. Her research reveals Little’s record of more than a hundred arrests, including being accused twice before for murder – cases that did not lead to convictions. She goes to prosecutor Beth Silverman but the D.A.’s office refuses to file a case until there is more evidence.

Chapter 2 - Roberts tracks Sam Little to Louisville, Kentucky where he is finally arrested. By now Roberts is convinced Little is a double-digit serial killer. “What a monster this guy is.”

Sam Little, the FBI’s most prolific serial killer roamed free for five decades - how? Killing women at will, he was eventually brought to justice by the women who were out to get him. This opportunistic killer stayed below law enforcement’s radar because of the victims he chose: Women from the fringe — drug users and sex workers were paid little attention to by society. But in 2012 he came to the attention of Detective Mitzi Roberts and everything changed. The Los Angeles Police Department cold case investigator relentlessly hunted Little across the country to capture and convict him with the help of a group of equally fierce women that included a prosecutor, a writer and several women who survived brutal attacks from Little.

Murder Book Season 2 is coming soon, but in the meantime we want to introduce you to another podcast you might like - Tom Brown's Body. Acclaimed true crime writer Skip Hollandsworth digs into a question that’s been plaguing the small Texas town of Canadian for four years: What happened to Tom Brown? The popular high school senior disappeared on Thanksgiving eve of 2016. His whereabouts were unknown until two years later, when his body was found—but what happened to him is still a mystery and everyone is a suspect.

Chapter 14 - A final sentencing. A defense attorney's last attempt to save his client. A possible finale to this never-ending case. After 32 years, Pierre Romain faces his day of reckoning to determine what lies ahead for his future. His attorney Alan Jackson argues against the guilty verdict, poking any holes he can in the court's handling of the case. Although it seems that Romain's fate would be sealed when he was convicted for murdering Jade Clark, justice is never a guarantee.

Chapter 13 - A juror's side of the story. A hearing further delayed. Jade Clark's murderer Pierre Romain continues to sit in the LA County Jail, awaiting his sentence. Meanwhile, a juror shares his take on the trial, including the defense's unexpected third party culpability argument, the revealing wiretaps, the DNA on the tell-tale bullet, and the perplexing character of Pierre Romain.

Chapter 12 - The anonymous tip. Alibis. Unaired hours of wiretaps. The other suspect, Dwayne Dixon. In this roundtable discussion, the creators of Murder Book, along with Detectives Tim Marcia, Mitzi Roberts, and Rick Jackson answer your questions about the seemingly never-ending case of Pierre Romain.

Chapter 11 - A new defense lawyer. A prison sentence put off. Although he was found guilty of murder, Pierre Romain is not done playing the system. He hires a more prominent attorney, causing further delays in this "never-ending" case. As the new defense attempts to resurrect one of the trial attorney's failed arguments, it becomes increasingly unclear if justice for Jade Clark will ever be served.

Chapter 10 - "We the jury find the defendant Pierre Alphonse Romain..." After a month of trial and two days of deliberation, a verdict is declared. Detectives Rick Jackson and Tim Marcia, as well as attorneys Tannaz Mokayef and Winston McKesson share their reactions to the jury's decision. But even though it appears the case has come to an end, the story of Pierre Romain isn't over just yet.

Chapter 9 - Salem witch trials. A victim talking from the grave. A murderer walking among us. Prosecutor Tannaz Mokayef and defense attorney Winston McKesson throw all their raw emotions and unmasked accusations into the open, hoping to seal Pierre Romain's fate in their favor.

Chapter 8 - An ice pick stabbing. Gang rehabilitation. A young child trapped in the neighborhoods of the Rollin 60's Crips. Pierre Romain finally takes the stand to explain the wounds on his arm, his history with LA gangs, and his language on the wiretaps. But will his stories draw enough sympathy from the jury to successfully defend his innocence and release him from any culpability in the killing of Jade Clark?

Chapter 7 - Mystery blood drops. Wearer DNA. A case for reasonable doubt. The defense of Pierre Romain begins, and defense attorney Winston McKesson has some surprising strategies up his sleeve. Manipulations are detected, accusations are made, hearings are delayed, and civilities are lost between the lawyers as the drama of justice hits a new peak that will only continue to grow.

Chapter 6 - The ex-sister-in-law. The childhood friend. A bullet wound at an LAPD family day picnic. As the prosecution continues their case against Pierre Romain, they encounter unforeseen challenges from witnesses with divided loyalties, testimonies with seemingly faded memories, and new speculation that would bring the LAPD's investigation tactics under question.

Chapter 5 - A white, sporty vehicle. Witness testimonies. Possible DNA contaminants. A new prosecutor and a defense attorney go head to head as they take a closer examination of the players and evidence involved in the Jade Clark case. Will the prosecution be able to build a convincing case against Pierre Romain? Or will his defense team create enough speculation to poke holes in their argument and point the finger away from the gangster turned cop?

Chapter 4 - A master hypnotist. A hard-nosed prosecutor. Delays, delays...and more delays. Detective Rick Jackson brings on new recruitments in hopes of pushing the case forward and finally taking Pierre Romain to trial for murder. But first, Jackson would have to resurrect his key witness, or Romain might enter court with an argument that could allow him to walk away free.

Chapter 3 - Police Sergeant. Rollin 60's gang member. Father. Murderer. Who is Pierre Romain? How did a gangster accused of killing an innocent man become a cop? As the investigation peers into Romain's rise to a badged uniform, LAPD Detective Rick Jackson and the District Attorney’s Office continue to build the case, awaiting DNA results and examining wiretaps of conversations between Romain and his associates. But even with all their efforts, they aren't prepared for the unexpected turn that takes them even further away from justice for Jade Clark.

Chapter 2 - Hypnosis. Cold case DNA. Freed suspects. When Detective Rick Jackson receives shocking news from key witness Clifford Phillips, justice for Jade Clark appears to be a lost cause. But 16 years after that fateful summer, Jackson receives an unexpected phone call and an old name resurfaces, breathing new hope into the long-dormant case.

Chapter 1 - True Crime: Carjacking, Gunshots, and Murder. Hollywood, 1987. LAPD Detective Rick Jackson is called to a crime scene outside a popular Hollywood nightclub. There's a gun, a fingerprint, and a bullet on the ground that will hold the key to unlocking a case that would last 32 years, the longest and most challenging homicide investigation of Jackson's career.

A Hollywood killing tests the limits of the American justice system. Murder Book Season One: The Tell-Tale Bullet launches January 2019. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts for new episodes.