True Believer: The Unsolved Murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh

May 13 2024 198

True Believer: The Unsolved Murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh Podcast artwork

Early on the morning of March 26, 1990, Elizabeth Mackintosh was murdered on the campus of Covenant Theological Seminary in Creve Coeur, Missouri. To date it's the only unsolved murder in the city’s history. True Believer examines the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth's murder and speaks to the people affected by it as they, and the men suspected in her death, search for answers.

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

Ep 12: The Secret Admirer

May 13 2024 61 mins

We’ve talked about some of the interesting characters around Covenant Seminary in 1990. But as we enter the final phase of this series, we’ll explore the most interesting, and potentially most important, characters yet.In this episode, Detective Worth will start to lay out his own theory of the case, which differs pretty dramatically from everything the Creve Coeur police had b

Ep 11: Shady Characters

Apr 29 2024 54 mins

We’ve spent this series mostly focusing on Michael, Elizabeth Mackintosh’s supervisor on the Covenant Seminary house cleaning staff. In the eyes of the police, Michael was the prime suspect in Elizabeth’s death, literally from Day One. But he wasn’t the only person they looked at.In any large group of people, even at a seminary, there are going to be some people with checke

Bonus Content: Sandra Interview

Apr 22 2024 33 mins

Sandra was one of the few unmarried, female students at Covenant in 1990. And she had a class *with* Elizabeth, which turned out to be incredibly influential on the rest of her life. She also went to Grace and Peace Church with Egon Middleman, whom we’ve briefly mentioned before in this series. Sandra’s story provides a fascinating look into what it was like to be a female stud

Ep 10: The Forgotten Children

Apr 15 2024 71 mins

Michael and his family left Covenant's campus in May of 1990, but the stigma of Elizabeth Mackintosh's murder followed them the rest of their lives. In this episode we hear from Michael's two oldest children, Karl and Kirsten, as they talk about the effect the murder had on them.Here are some resources if you or someone you know needs help with a domestic violence or child abuse si

Bonus Content: Ryan Davidson Interview

Apr 08 2024 38 mins

For this week’s bonus content we have the rest of our two interviews with lawyer Ryan Davidson, whom you’ve heard in the last couple episodes. Ryan reached out to us in February because he had some critiques of how he thought we were characterizing Covenant Seminary, in terms of how they have or haven’t responded over the years, and the legal advice they might be following ar

Ep 09: What Happened to Michael

Apr 01 2024 59 mins

A couple months after the murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh, Michael left Covenant Seminary (under "duress" as he described it) and moved his family to California. But his contentious relationship with Covenant has continued to this day. Using letters sent back and forth between Michael and Covenant, we examine what went wrong and how there's not much anyone could do about it.Visit ww

Bonus Content: 34 Years

Mar 25 2024 10 mins

Today's bonus content release happened to coincide with the 34th anniversary of the murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh, so we wanted to take a moment to honor and remember her.Read the full text (and a brief history) of "The Sands of Time Are Sinking" here.Visit www.truebelieverpodcast.com to see additional materials related to each episode or to get in touch with us.

Ep 08: The Polygraph

Mar 18 2024 54 mins

After Elizabeth's death, police ask a suspect, Michael, to sit for a polygraph exam. Reluctantly, he agrees, hoping that it will help clear his name. Ruth and TJ examine why that didn't happen.Click here to read a transcript of the polygraph clips heard in this episode.Visit www.truebelieverpodcast.com to see additional materials related to each episode or to get in touch with us.

Bonus Content: Liam Adams Interview

Mar 04 2024 45 mins

In this week's bonus content you'll hear the rest of our interview with Liam Adams, religion reporter for The Tennesseean. Liam talks about some specific cases of abuse and misconduct the PCA has dealt with, his reporting on the Nashville Presbytery, the PCA’s 2022 Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault report, also known as the DASA report, the PCA’s Standing Judicial Commission (w

Ep 07: Let's Talk About It

Feb 26 2024 73 mins

In this episode we zoom out to examine the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the denomination of Covenant Theological Seminary. What does the reaction to Elizabeth's murder tell us about how Christian institutions handle tragedy? And how should they talk about Elizabeth going forward?Visit www.truebelieverpodcast.com to see additional materials related to each episode or to get