The Mark

The Mark

Author: Audio 99 April 17, 2026 Duration: 54:36

In 1994, wealthy Newport Beach businessman Bill McLaughlin is shot and killed in his own kitchen. His girlfriend Nanette Johnston and her secret boyfriend, ex-NFL player Eric Naposki, are immediately suspicious…but the stories don't hold and prosecutors can't make charges stick. The case goes cold, leaving Bill's family without justice for over a decade. Fifteen years later, Orange County DA Matt Murphy picks it up, determined to finally prove what really happened and who arranged it.

Matt Murphy is a legal analyst for ABC News and an attorney in private practice in Southern California.  He was a Senior Deputy District Attorney in Orange County California. Matt Murphy spent 21 years assigned to the sexual assault and homicide units where he prosecuted some of the most notorious murder cases in the state of California.  He completed 132 jury trials in his career as a prosecutor, including 52 while he was assigned to the homicide unit.  He worked as an adjunct professor of law for 7 years. 
 
In addition to his work for ABC news, Mr. Murphy is in private practice representing victims of sexual abuse and some select criminal defense cases. He's also been regularly appearing on NewsNation with Elizabeth Vargas, Chris Cuomo and Ashleigh Banfield providing analysis on Criminal cases in the news. He also one of the co-hosts on MK True Crime with Megyn Kelly and is kicking off a brand-new podcast In the Well with his longtime friend and colleague Mark Geragos. Matt published his first book, The Book of Murder - A Prosecutor's Journey Through Love and Death, in 2024, which was an instant Best Seller, and he is currently drafting his second book.


There’s a certain texture to crime stories that unfold in close-knit communities, where everyone knows each other and the shock of a crime reverberates through every street and diner. Small Town Dicks, produced by Audio 99, explores exactly that terrain. This isn't a sensationalized look at crime; instead, it delves into the intricate, often overlooked investigations that happen in smaller municipalities. Each episode feels like sitting down with the detectives and officers who were there, hearing them walk through the details of a case from the first call to the final resolution. You’ll get a raw, ground-level view of police work, far from the glossy procedural dramas. The conversations naturally weave in elements of society and local history, showing how a community's culture and relationships can both complicate and aid an investigation. By focusing on true crime from a small-town perspective, the podcast reveals universal truths about human nature and justice. It’s a compelling listen for anyone curious about the real stories behind the headlines and the dedicated people who work to solve them. The depth of these firsthand accounts makes for a uniquely authentic and gripping experience every time you tune in.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Small Town Dicks
Podcast Episodes
House on the Hill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:50
Detective Dan talks about a case that has haunted him for years. A young woman is attacked while in the home of a well-to-do couple. She breaks free and scrambles to a neighbor's house to call for help. Dan is the first…
Season 12 is coming April 21! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:48
Small Town Dicks, Season 12 launches on April 21. Be sure you're subscribed! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hot Wheels [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:45
Detective Dan takes us on an epic small-town manhunt as he tracks down a notorious car thief who makes the mistake of stealing the rims off a teenager's prized possession: his first car. This one has it all: burner phone…
Deep Cover [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:15
Detective Matt returns to share his more than year-long undercover investigation into a fringe environmental group with dangerous designs on an upcoming political convention. This is the kind of story we never get to hea…
The Devil's in the Details [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:14
Crime scene investigations are rarely as dramatic - and definitive - as what you see on TV shows like CSI. That does not make them any less crucial to solving the case. Host Paul Holes takes us through a case he worked o…
Moving Target [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:25
A gunshot rings out in the middle of the night in a small town in rural Australia. Detective Graeme is quickly on the case and soon learns not one but two additional drive-by shootings have occurred this early morning. S…
Living the Dream [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:41
So glad to have you with us on this day after Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday). Here's something special from the Dream Team to our Small Town Family: Detectives Dan and Dave, Investigator Paul, and Citizen Yeardley talk…
One Dark Night Pt. 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:08
In the conclusion of One Dark Night, Detective Justin has identified his suspect in the senseless murder of Larry, who provided security for a community garden in Justin's small town. As Justin closes in on the suspect,…
One Dark Night Pt. 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:25
In Pt. 1, Detective Justin gets an early morning call to respond to a community garden where a man's body is found slumped over at the base of a tree. The first assumption is this is a tragic, but all too common suicide.…

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