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Jac Vanek

Alexis Linkletter

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be friends with a murderer? Or escape a kidnapping? Or have a father who was a serial killer? Join Jac Vanek and Alexis Linkletter on a chilling ride into the darkest corners of your worst nightmares. Murders, cults, kidnappings, and conspiracies—all told through the eyes of a guest who is one degree of separation from the story itself. From infamous serial killers to the unbelievable unknown murder in your own backyard, The First Degree delivers a new perspective to the already fascinating true crime landscape. And who knows... you may be our next guest. (Plus, join them every Thursday for Killing Time, the light-hearted, true crime-adjacent aftershow!)

The First Degree

Even with a young mother and her toddler missing, investigators don’t seem to push for answers. Instead, they accept her boyfriend’s version of events and ignore glaring red flags. For years, Jennifer Wix’s family is left to fight for the truth on their own, chasing leads and conducting their own investigation. Then, nearly two decades later, the boyfriend’s story changes and their worst fears are confirmed. In episode 363, Jac and Alexis break down the investigation, the devastating admission that Jennifer and Adrianna are dead, and the painful reality that despite everything, they’re still missing, and no one has been charged.

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Episode 363: Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, Part 2

You asked, we delivered! Killing Time is back (for a limited time only) and our very own Jared is back to guest host with us. Things got weird pretty fast. We’re talking Katy Perry & Justin Trudeau going on a first date, Orlando Bloom punching Justin Bieber, Cheesecake Factory vs P.F. Chang’s, an alien invasion coming in October, and how exactly does an eel get stuck in one’s intestine??

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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KILLING TIME: EEL OSMOSIS

On March 25, 2004, a 21-year-old mother and her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter vanish without a trace from rural Robertson County, Tennessee. Their family is devastated…and immediately suspicious. In the months leading up to their disappearance, Jennifer Wix had become increasingly isolated, with no car, no job, and no way out. Her relationship with her boyfriend and his parents was volatile, and her final phone calls made one thing clear: she was scared, and she was trying to leave with her daughter Adrianna. In episode 362, Jac and Alexis trace the emotional and increasingly dangerous path that led to Jennifer and Adrianna’s disappearance and the moment her family knew something was terribly wrong.

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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Episode 362: Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, Part 1

Have you ever heard of the Trisha Paytas Reincarnation Theory??? Well now you have. This week we’re discussing the Amy Bradley documentary (and her brothers new theory), Jeffrey Epstein updates, Bohemian Grove lawsuits, a biting lawyer, and a 38 year old woman who is living her best life in a retirement home.

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree
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DEEP DIVE: WELCOME BACK OZZY OSBOURNE

In the spring of 2006, 27-year-old Ohio State medical student Brian Shaffer walked into a popular Columbus bar called the Ugly Tuna Saloona, and was never seen again. Surveillance footage captured him entering the bar around 1:55 a.m., but he never appeared on camera leaving. No signs of a struggle. No phone activity. No trace. Nearly two decades later, Brian’s disappearance remains one of the most haunting and confounding cold cases in modern true crime history. In episode 361, Jac and Lex unravel the night Brian disappeared, the theories that won’t die, and the question that haunts everyone who’s ever heard his story: how does someone vanish into thin air?

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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Episode 361: Brian Schaffer

This week we literally cannot get over the gaslighting that’s happening with Jeffrey Epstein. Tin foil hats are staying on until further notice. We also dive into the Annabelle doll haunting (and…murder??), a man begging to be cursed by satanists and witches, a Christmas present that ended up being a severed toe, and a TikTok cult growing in real time. Like we said…tin foil hats ON. 

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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DEEP DIVE: RELEASE THE LIST

On June 6, 1986, a single mom of three awakes to find her 4-year-old daughter has been abducted from her bed near Lexington, South Carolina. The family is desperate to find her. The girl’s sister tells law enforcement she saw a man in a ‘magic hat’ carry her sister out the window. However, there is no sign of the youngster. The days, weeks, months, and years pass without answers as the missing girl’s mother battles racism, corruption, and a bungled police investigation that ignores key evidence. Finally, decades after the abduction, and with the involvement of a private investigator, an arrest is made. The young girl’s family is entirely unsurprised at the perpetrator’s identity - it was someone they suspected all along. In episode 360, Jac and Alexis detail the heartbreaking abduction and murder of Jessica Gutierrez at the hands of Thomas Eric McDowell, and the importance of law enforcement listening to families, instead of stonewalling them.

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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Episode 360: Jessica Gutierrez

This week we’re diving into the absolute joke of the justice department declaring that “Jeffree Epstein DID in fact kill himself in prison and there is no ‘client list’” Yeah, sure Jan. We also chat about inmate immaculate conception, toothbrushes getting stuck in small intestines, fake Disneyland weddings, smuggling hundreds of tortillas on airplanes, and who the hell is Jacky Jhaj???

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree
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DEEP DIVE: JEFFREY EPSTEIN DIDN’T KILL HIMSELF

In February 2025, a college freshman is reported missing from her dorm at CU Boulder. Days later, her body is discovered in a canyon miles from campus, an area her family says she never would have gone alone. She is bruised and battered, missing one shoe, and both her phone and purse are gone. When those belongings later turn up in the possession of strangers, Megan’s family braces for answers. But what they get instead is a ruling of suicide, leaving them reeling and desperate for answers. In episode 359, Jac and Alexis examine the mysterious death of Megan Trussell, and the relentless fight her parents are waging to get her case reopened.

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree
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Episode 359: Megan Trussell

It’s been a terrible, horrible, no good very bad week, and we’re here to talk through all of the BS: Diddy being found not guilty of his most serious crimes (literally…HOW???), Bryan Kohberger pleads guilty to escape the death penalty, and we absolutely shit on the tacky and hypocritical mess that was Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sanchez’s wedding (and what’s realllyyy happening behind the scenes).

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
patreon.com/thefirstdegree
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree
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DEEP DIVE: RULES FOR THEE, NOT FOR ME

An extended Killin' Time episode where Jac, Alexis & Billy reflect and wax hopeful about 2021

Please support the show by checking out our sponsors!

Chil Wellness: Visit Chilwellness.com and enter 25OFF at checkout for 25% off your order.

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TheRealReal:Download the RealReal app today to shop and sell your favorite luxury brands and get 20% off select items with code REAL. Plus, new shoppers get $25 off their first purchase.

🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon:
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📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree
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Episode 125: 2020 Is Almost Over

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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