Women Who Talk To The Dead

Women Who Talk To The Dead

Author: Robert Riggs August 5, 2025 Duration: 43:34

The Story of 200 Forgotten Murder Victims

By Robert Riggs

They were daughters. Mothers. Sisters. Strangers. Their lives ended violently—and their names were lost to time.

For more than half a century, Detroit’s forgotten dead lay buried beneath weeds and silence—unidentified murder victims dumped into paupers’ graves, sometimes stacked in vaults three-deep, known only by numbers in crumbling cemetery logs. No names. No justice. No answers.

This is the remarkable five-year journey of a team of relentless female

investigators who pledged to identify more than 200 victims of Detroit’s

outstanding murder cases.

Led by Detroit Police Detective Shannon Jones and FBI Special Agent Leslie Larsen, this group of dedicated women—detectives, agents, forensic anthropologists, and scientists—literally dug through

the past to bring closure to families and justice to the murdered.

Their quest became known as Operation UNITED, the largest coordinated exhumation of cold case murder victims in FBI history.

Katherine Schweit tells the story of this unprecedented, five-year mission in her book, Women Who Talk to the Dead.

Schweit is a former FBI Special Agent Executive, Chicago prosecutor, and journalist.

She wrote the FBI’s seminal report on mass shooters and is a recognized expert in crisis response and workplace violence.


If you or someone you know is searching for a missing loved one, there’s a tool that can help.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs.

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Robert Riggs has spent decades as an investigative reporter, and in True Crime Reporter, he applies that relentless, document-driven approach to the stories that haunt us. This isn't just a retelling of grim headlines; it's a meticulous walk through active case files, historical injustices, and the societal undercurrents that allow crime to flourish. Each episode feels like you're sitting across from Riggs as he lays out his notes, connecting dots between evidence, witness accounts, and the often-overlooked details that change a narrative. You'll hear the tension in the pursuit of truth, the weight of unresolved questions, and the quiet impact on communities and families left in the wake of violence. The podcast moves beyond the sensational to examine the cultural and systemic factors at play, offering a sober, deeply researched perspective. Listen for long-form narratives that build like a detective's board, where every piece of audio, every interview, and every document serves a purpose. It’s for those who want to understand the 'why' and the 'how' as much as the 'who,' presented with the clarity and authority of a seasoned journalist who knows the terrain. This is a journey into real stories, handled with the care they demand, and it naturally becomes an essential listen for anyone fascinated by the intersection of human behavior, justice, and the news.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

True Crime Reporter
Podcast Episodes
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The previous episode showed how homicide detectives solved 50-year-old cold cases. They analyzed old evidence using new DNA extraction technology pioneered by Othram, a forensic genealogy lab in Texas. Othram provided ne…
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In the previous episode, Inside Story Of The Deadliest Attack On Police Officers Since 9/11, the negotiator for the Dallas SWAT team revealed the inside story about the mass killer who ambushed Dallas officers during a B…
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Tales of Murder and Mayhem from Former Prosecutor Bill Johnston. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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The True Crime Reporter® Podcast features stories and interviews from the respective careers of investigative reporter Robert Riggs and former U.S. prosecutor Bill Johnston. Listeners have asked how both of them got invo…