This Fourth of July, we’re revisiting four unforgettable Crime Junkie cases that prove real change doesn’t happen on its own, it happens because ordinary people refuse to stop fighting.
From families demanding answers to advocates exposing investigative failures and pushing for accountability, these stories remind us that justice is often driven by the people who refuse to let a victim’s name be forgotten.
In this compilation, Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat revisit:
Amber Spradlin: A 38-year-old woman was found murdered inside a home in Martin, Kentucky, in June 2023. As her family searched for answers, they uncovered troubling questions about the investigation, missing evidence, and a community determined to keep her story alive.
Sandra Birchmore :After 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore was found dead in her apartment in Canton, Massachusetts, in February 2021, her death was initially ruled self-inflicted. Years later, new evidence, a federal investigation, and determined advocates dramatically changed the direction of the case.
Rachel Hansen: In June 2022, 19-year-old Rachel Hansen was shot inside her apartment in Gilbert, Arizona. Her family has spent years pressing for answers, challenging the investigation, and refusing to let her case fade from public attention.
Nick Cordova: On May 27, 2020, 40-year-old Nick Cordova was killed inside his HVAC business in Gilbert, Arizona, while his children were on FaceTime with him. As his wife Alysha pursued the truth, she uncovered financial motives, unanswered questions, and a fight for justice that continues today.
These cases span different states, different circumstances, and different investigations, but they all share one thing in common: people who refused to accept that the story was over. Because every time someone speaks up, every time a family keeps asking questions, every time a community demands accountability…Justice moves one step closer.
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Crime Junkie is created and hosted by Ashley Flowers.
About Ashley Flowers
Ashley Flowers is the top female podcaster in the U.S. and the host of Crime Junkie, the #1 podcast among women and the #1 true crime podcast globally. As the Founder of Audiochuck, she has built a top-tier podcast production company that has garnered over 2.6 billion downloads, captivating audiences with its gripping storytelling through 10+ chart topping podcasts. Ashley and her team are dedicated to creating responsible true crime content that respects victims and their families.
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Check out these other great crime channels:
@annieelise Anonymous Texts, Soundproof Bedrooms & The Affair Next Door | The Gregory Rice Case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bOs07a1VvQ
@kallmekris You Won’t Believe How This Cold Case Was Solved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8frEUNpHTw
@KendallRae A Matching Towel, Missing Gun & Mother’s Testimony: The Case Of Halee Rathgeber https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLjDIVEYOSA
@christinaarandall What She Told Her Mom is Disturbing | Maternal Instinct Taylor Parker Calls Released https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjpCQDlH90U
Watch Crime Junkie true crime podcast dedicated to covering the cases we just can’t get out of our heads. Every Monday, host Ashley Flowers on SloppBoxx.Com.
Is it possible the jar of pickles was just a ruse—something an inexperienced hitman carried to make his presence seem less suspicious if a neighbor saw him? I also wonder if the first break-in was only meant to scope out the apartment and he didn’t realize Rachel was home until she woke up, especially if she had been staying at her fiancé’s house.
What really makes me question the fiancé is his own timeline. He says his father called him around midnight, and he tried to leave twice because Rachel hadn’t locked the deadbolt. He claims he doubled back the first time to wake her and make sure she locked it, but after leaving a second time and still not hearing the deadbolt engage, he left anyway. That’s odd, especially considering he had installed that very deadbolt earlier that day.
I also can’t ignore the dynamic between him and his father. This is just my opinion, but their relationship comes across as emotionally enmeshed—possibly even resembling emotional incest. If that’s true, I could see his father manipulating him into cooperating, even if he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger.
I’m not saying the fiancé committed the murder, but there are too many unanswered questions for me to dismiss. Even his inability to eat afterward could point to guilt just as easily as grief.
For Immediate Release: (Just FYI)
A civil action, a Summons with Notice, has been filed in New York County, New York State Supreme Court, Civil Division and the plaintiff, Cory D. Bober of Tacoma, WA, is now preparing to initiate related proceedings in Federal Civil Court in New York County, NY, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
On July 15, 2026, plaintiff Cory Bober commenced a Defamation with Malice action against Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., d/b/a Investigation Discovery and Ark Media Productions, LLC, the creators and distributors of the 8‑part true‑crime podcast “Who Took Misty Copsey?” which was first released on July 16, 2025.
This case is new, it may not have a Civil Court Index Number assigned to it yet.
Statute of Limitations in this case have been stopped by the plaintiff’s court filing described above.
The plaintiff alleges that the podcast contains false and harmful defaming statements that can be proven to have been made with malice which damaged his reputation – it caused Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress to the plaintiff and caused Tortious Interference to the plaintiff as it interfered with his ability to market and sell the results of more than four decades of his personal and private investigative true-crime research related to an ongoing Washington State serial‑murder case and his own suspect in the many still unsolved cases of murdered and missing females in the Pacific Northwest which are still being investigated today, to include the still unsolved 1992 Puyallup city WA State disappearance of 14 year old Misty Copsey, last seen 09.17.92 who has never been found to this day.
The plaintiff is seeking not less than $10,000,000.00 (ten million dollars) in compensatory damages and is preparing to request the appointment of pro bono counsel in Federal Civil Court in New York County, NY (SDNY). This is necessary in order to bring his case to trial by jury, due to his documented indigent status, his out‑of‑state residence and because of the expected high cost of his litigation.
Unfortunately, the plaintiff has been unable to secure legal representation in this matter in NY after attempting to do so since Dec. 8th, 2025. His filing in Supreme Civil court, in New York County, NY has stopped the one-year statute of limitations from running out in this case until 11.13.26 when all defendants must be served by then or his case will end.
Due to the circumstances beyond his control, the plaintiff now has no other recourse but to ask the Federal Civil Court, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) for Pro Bono appointed counsel in this case, because all corporate lawyers refuse to take clients in cases like this on contingency due to their fear of the NY anti-SLAPP law and because of the deep complexity of litigating against major media corporations.
The plaintiff’s Federal Civil Court filings in this case are expected to be filed in the SDNY New York County, NY by or before 08.15.82
The media is encouraged to follow this very complex and extremely disturbing case filled with so much falsehood. False information published in the Copsey case for over 17 years now must be exposed and corrected. All of the lies told in the Copsey case, by those professionals trusted to be investigating this case to its resolution, will finally be revealed through this case.
Wish y’all would do one on the champion or the dunham case in trigg county ky
I’ve never been a drinker but how come these people have to drink themselves to death just to have fun
The Sandra B & Karen R cases are both in or around Canton, is there an over lap of officers or investigators in these two cases?
First one was predictable.
did you guys do any updates on the amber spradlin trial? it looks like michael mckinney is off his house arrest