70: Dr. Kevorkian & IHOP

Dr. Jack Kevorkian is a polarizing figure. Some call him a murderer. They think he earned the nickname “Dr. Death.” But to others, Dr. Kevorkian was a compassionate man who performed a necessary service. Over his lifetime, Kevorkian assisted in the suicides of more than 100 terminally ill patients. He was a champion of the right to die movement. But Kevorkian’s detractors were loud and powerful, and took him to court several times. Next, put that syrup away. Brandi’s talking about the other IHOP — the International House of Prayer. In the winter of 2012, a young nurse named Bethany Deaton was discovered dead in her car. Police discovered a suicide note, along with a few bottles of pills. But did Bethany really take her own life? She had so much to live for. She’d just gotten married, she was at the start of a promising career, and she was part of IHOP’s tight-knit church. In fact, she and her charismatic husband, Tyler, were part of an even more tight-knit religious group, known as “the community.” Days after Bethany’s body was discovered, Micah Moore came forward. He said that he’d killed Bethany — under the instruction of her husband, Tyler. But as Micah’s trial grew closer, he recounted those statements. And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases. In this episode, Kristin pulled from: “The Trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian,” famous-trials.com “Jack Kevorkian,” wikipedia “He breaks his own rules,” by Kirk Cheyfitz for the Detroit Free Press “An end to pain,” by Julia Prodis for the Associated Press “Kevorkian proves a lively witness,” by David Zeman and Janet Wilson for the Detroit Free Press “Two faces of Kevorkian painted,” by David Zeman and Janet Wilson for the Detroit Free Press “‘There is no law’, Kevorkian shouts,” by Jeff Martin for the Detroit Free Press| “Kevorkian: Intent was not to murder,” by Justin Hyde for the Associated Press In this episode, Brandi pulled from: “Love and Death in the House of Prayer” by Jeff Tietz, Rolling Stone “Fall From Grace” episode 48 Hours “The Bizarre Christian Sex Cult Death of Bethany Leidlein Deaton” by John Nova Lomax, The Houston Press “Bethany Deaton Suicide Now Considered A Murder; Police Arrest Micah Moore” by David Lohr, The Huffington Post “Prosecutor drops murder charge against Micah Moore in the death of Bethany Deaton”by Donald Bradley, The Kansas City Star