Snapped: Women Who Murder - Irenia Cotner

Episode Date: January 12, 2025

A mother and son are brutally attacked during a home invasion.Season 31, Episode 10Originally aired: Sep 18, 2022 Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Each morning, it's a new opportunity, a chance to start fresh. Up First from NPR makes each morning an opportunity to learn and to understand. Choose to join the world every morning with Up First, a podcast that hands you everything going on across the globe and down the street, all in 15 minutes or less. Start your day informed and anew with Up First by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. The Grinch is back again to ruin your Christmas season with Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast. Listen as his celebrity guests try to persuade the Grinch that there's more to love about the holiday season. Follow Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Grown-ups, enjoy bonus content of Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast exclusively on Wondery Plus. Violence descends upon a small Midwestern community. What she gathered was that someone had been shot, someone had been stabbed. You got so many people laying around that are crying out in pain. As detectives attempt to make sense of the bloodshed, they uncover a group devoted to their mystical beliefs. When I first heard that Witchcraft was alleged in this crime, I was actually in a state of disbelief.

They would have these candle lit ceremonies and they would talk about ridding themselves of hexes. Investigators learned that the leader of this small town coven has led her flock astray As the head figure of this cult she had exercised her authority over the group She tells the other people involved with this they have to kill a woman and her unborn child She was the ringleader. She told him what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and why to do it. August 23rd, 2005. Deputy Robert Blythe with the Richland County, Illinois Sheriff's Department is on patrol. Richland County is a county in southeastern Illinois. We have several small communities in the county. It's mainly farming.

It's a very compact, friendly community. Everybody knows everybody. It's just after 3 a.m. on an otherwise quiet night when a call from dispatch comes across Deputy Blythe's radio. And mission 20, out for one... I was actually preparing to go home. End of shift. I got the call from my dispatcher.

She said there was a lot of screaming on the line. The dispatcher was only able to discern a few alarming details. What she gathered was that someone had been shot, someone had been stabbed. Deputy Blythe rushes to the home in Claremont, where he finds a chaotic scene. When I got there, there was a pregnant woman that screamed at me that somebody had been shot and somebody had been stabbed, and they were in the house. I did not know the lady.

At that point, my focus was get in the house and see what's going on. Blythe approaches the home and once inside the full scope of the violence comes sharply into focus. When I got in the door the first thing I saw was a man that had been injured laying on the floor on on his back, trying to scoot himself towards the door. Then, Deputy Blythe spots a familiar face in the room, 23-year-old Jackie Jackson. I've known him for a long time. He knew me, of course,

and he just yelled out my name and said, "'Robbie, I've shot him.'" Before he gets the full story from Jackie, Blythe immediately ensures paramedics are en route. My first impression was from the amount of blood that I did not see how that person was going to survive. Nearby, there is another male victim, bleeding profusely but also still alive. They observed someone laying on the kitchen floor that was bleeding from the chest and

abdomen. I saw the knife that we assumed had been used in this laying on the floor beside the one victim. The horrific scene continues to unfold in the utility room, where the deputy finds a third victim, a woman clinging to life. She had numerous stab wounds to the stomach area. You walk in, and you've got so many people laying around crying out in pain.

While waiting for EMTs to arrive, Blythe asks Jackie what happened. Jackie explains that the man he shot is an intruder and the two stabbing victims are mother and son. He is able to identify two of the victims, Jacqueline Bennett and Joshua Bennett. As for the intruder, all Jackie can say is that he was the one who stabbed the others. We didn't have a clue who he was or why he was there. Paramedics arrive. Both Jacqueline and the attacker are still alive. But by then, 20-year-old Joshua has lost too much blood.

Joshua had been stabbed one time, real deep wounded, the chest area, which he succumbed to those wounds. As paramedics work to stabilize Jacqueline and the attacker, detectives arrive. When I went to the scene, I was informed that the officers had secured the residents and made sure that the first aid was being applied to those that needed it. And the coroner had been contacted for the deceased. There's very few murders in this area where you walk in and you've got so many people that are injured

and trying to figure out who's the bad guys and who's the good guys because nothing could be taken for granted where it may cost someone else their life. Joshua Bennett was born in 1985 in the small town of Mattoon, Illinois. After his parents, Jacqueline and Jerry, divorced in the early 90s, Josh spent most of his childhood with his father. After they got divorced, Josh wanted to stay with his dad, where he had a little more stability.

Josh and his mom grew farther apart as time went on. He lived with Jerry here in Mattoon and went to school. They were two single guys living together in an apartment and doing what two single guys wanted to do. In 2004, after graduating from high school, Josh knew exactly what his next step would be. When Josh was in high school and joined the ROTC, we already knew then what his future was going to be. We had no doubt that when he graduated high school

that he was going to be going into the service. I believe Josh just wanted to kind of get out of the Mattoon area and travel and just see the world. Everybody was rooting for him. You know, we were all proud of him. In July 2005, 20-year-old Josh was stationed in Louisiana. Joshua had just finished basic training of six weeks and he was getting ready to go overseas to Iraq. Just before Josh was deployed, he received devastating news. His father suddenly passed away.

When Jerry passed away, Josh was in the field. There was no means of communication. So, Josh didn't get to hear it from loved ones that his dad had passed away. By the next day, Josh was on leave and back in his hometown of Mattoon. Of course it was difficult for Josh, and he was devastated. Him and his father were really close.

While he was back in town, Josh's friends encouraged the grieving soldier to reconnect with his mother Jacqueline. But Josh was reluctant. To be honest, he didn't want to go. But his father's death gave Josh a new perspective and a change of heart. The loss of his father made him think maybe he needed to reconnect and try to work on that relationship with his mother. We had went to his mom's a couple times before for like cookouts and stuff like that.

That day in particular, I decided not to go. And I had talked to Josh on the phone when they were getting ready to eat dinner, and I was under the impression I would talk to him tomorrow. I never thought that that would be the last time that I spoke to him. Within hours of the call, Josh Bennett is lying dead on the floor of his mother's home from a single, fatal stab wound. Jacqueline and an unidentified assailant are being loaded into separate ambulances for transport to a local hospital.

Still at the scene, Jackie and Lindsay are physically unscathed, although it's clear Lindsay is in distress. Police tried to interview Lindsay, but she was hysterical at the time. And in her condition, they decided it wasn't an issue to be pushed. Jackie, however, is eager to talk. He explains that on August 22, Josh came to stay with his mother, who lives with her boyfriend Lee, Jackie's father.

Jackie and his pregnant girlfriend Lindsay were also living there at the time. Jackie was just beside himself, almost in a panic. He offered up a lot of information there in a short period of time. Jackie reveals that while he managed to shoot one of the attackers with a single load shotgun, the second man was stabbed in the leg during the fight, sending him fleeing. The intruder that got away had been wearing a mask, so Jackie wasn't able to describe what he looked like.

been wearing a mask, so Jackie wasn't able to describe what he looked like. With one suspect on the loose and another on his way to the hospital, investigators have a lot of ground to cover. Knowing that the severe gunshot wound to the abdomen could end the assailant's life, Sergeant Kelly Henby follows the ambulance, hoping to secure information before it's too late. Coming up, a bedside interrogation yields an alarming clue. He said the lady put a hex on us, so we had to kill her. And the manhunt for the second attacker reveals a coven of dark magic. They shared a common interest in the occult.

That's what drew them all together. I worked so many murder cases. I'd never had anyone come up with witchcraft or hex. A brutal stabbing in Mattoon, Illinois, leaves 20-year-old Joshua Bennett dead and his mother Jacqueline clinging to life. A sheriff's deputy waits at a local ER with the hope of interviewing one of the intruders who stabbed them. The suspect that had been shot, nobody had any idea who he was. With a massive manhunt underway for a second suspect, investigators back at the crime scene continue their interview with 23-year-old witness Jackie Jackson.

Jackie says that he and his pregnant girlfriend, Lindsay Kaysinger, were asleep when just after 3 a.m., he was awakened. He was down in the basement and he heard a commotion and heard Joshua Bennett calling for help. Jackie explains that he woke Lindsay and told her to run to the neighbor's house. He loaded the 12-gauge shotgun and ran up the stairs. He saw two men in black clothing, the ski mask, stabbing Mr. Bennett in the chest and abdomen. He moved in and struck one individual

at the butt of the shotgun and knocked him away from Mr. Bennett. And the second man grabbed the barrel of the gun and as he pulled the gun toward him, Mr. Jackson pulled the trigger, hitting the gun in a panic, the second assailant attacked with a knife. The other person had made a move towards him and he had grabbed a knife and stabbed the suspect's right leg. Wounded, the second assailant ran off. As the chaos unfolded, Lindsay summoned help from a neighbor's home. Lindsay, fearing for her own life and for the life of her unborn child, manages somehow to get out of the house and she runs to a neighbor's house to ask for help.

And that's when 911 is called. To investigators, the seemingly random and vicious attack is unlike anything they've seen before. Catching the second suspect becomes their top priority. The individuals in charge of the manhunt notified the residents at a local radio station, you know, locked their doors that there's an armed suspect in the area and canines were brought in. I was concerned mostly about where's the other guy.

We were just in search mode. We were trying to find that other suspect. As the manhunt continues, at nearby Richland Memorial Hospital, with physician's permission, authorities speak with the injured suspect. Because of the severity of his injuries, we knew that he wasn't going anywhere. He was technically under arrest.

So we had police there at the hospital guarding him. I knew right then that if he didn't survive, these statements he would make to me would be very important. So I went over and removed the oxygen mask from his face. He was in pretty bad shape. He was pretty weak. But he was able to tell them that his name was David Lindner. As far as his accomplice goes, 29-year-old David

can only give a first name, Ricky. Sergeant Henby continues to press David for information. I asked him, why'd this happen? What's going on? And he said, the lady put a hex on us, so we had to kill her. And I said, who put a hex on you? He said, the lady did that lives there. She put a hex on us. That's very unusual. Seeing as I worked so many death investigations and murder cases,

I'd never had anyone come up with witchcraft or hex. When I first heard that witchcraft was alleged in this crime, I was actually in a state of disbelief. The thought of it being involved in this community is shocking, to say the least. While the interview raises a lot of questions, it does yield important clues. Police knew they were looking for someone named Ricky and they knew that they were looking for someone with a stab wound in their leg.

They were able to put out an APB to be on the lookout at all local hospitals and the surrounding area. Eager to ask Jaclyn Bennett about David's bizarre hex claims, investigators find her in serious but stable condition. When they inform her of Josh's death, she is devastated. When she shares her version of the attack, it's all too clear her son Josh died trying to save her. She woke up and went into the kitchen.

She was approached by two intruders who just started stabbing her. Jacqueline Bennett received three substantial knife wounds to the abdomen. When Joshua hears his mother in distress, he charges up to come to her protection. Josh managed to come in between his mother and the attackers, but he paid the price when he was fatally stabbed once in the chest. fatally stabbed once in the chest.

He heard his mother need help, and he went. No questions. He was a hero. Detectives ask Jacqueline if she has ever met David Lindner. She didn't know who this person was either. She is just as puzzled when detectives ask her if she has any knowledge of a hex or witchcraft in connection to the case. Upon being given the news from the investigators about this hex, Jacqueline actually had no clue what they were talking about.

She said that her boyfriend Lee Jackson was at work. He was there all night and that early morning when the attack occurred. So he was never looked at as a suspect. Just hours after the brutal scene unfolded at the rural Illinois home, investigators have few answers. They arrive back at the station to research possible leads. While there, they learn their APBs at area hospitals might pay off. Sometime after 8 a.m. that morning,

police received a call from the Lawrence County Memorial Hospital letting them know that they have a patient with a stab wound. He wouldn't tell the hospital how he received the stab wound. The hospital says the man's name is Oscar Eck. I was advised by my dispatch to go to the Lawrence County Hospital and that I was to interview him. Sergeant John Waggle arrives and is surprised to see a man limping out of the hospital.

When asked for ID, the man complies. He is 38-year-old Oscar R. Eck, R for Richard. He said everybody called him Ricky. Sergeant Waggle asks why he's there, and Oscar explains he wanted some fresh air, but plans to go back inside to get treatment for his leg injury. He raised up his right pant leg, and there but plans to go back inside to get treatment for his leg injury. He raised up his right pant leg, and there

was a fresh blood-soaked wound with blood running down onto his sock on that right leg. It appeared to be a stab wound. I asked him how he had received that. He explained those injuries away as being drywall work-related. I knew what Oscar was telling me was not the truth. ?

Coming up, detectives uncover the self-appointed leader of a small-town coven. She liked being looked up to by the people she surrounded herself with. And the investigation reveals a twisted plot driven by jealousy. They were going to have a baby that may have very well been the moment when she snapped.

I'm Jake Warren, and in our first season of Finding, I set out on a very personal quest to find the woman who saved my mum's life. You can listen to Finding Natasha right now exclusively on Wondery+. In season 2, I found myself caught up in a new journey to help someone I've never even met. But a couple of years ago, I came across a social media post by a person named Loti. It read in part

three years ago today that I attempted to jump off this bridge but this wasn't my time to go. A gentleman named Andy saved my life. I still haven't found him. This is a story that I came across purely by chance but it instantly moved me and it's taken me to a place where I've had to consider some deeper issues around mental health. This is season two of Finding, and this time, if all goes to plan, we'll be finding Andy. You can listen to Finding Andy and Finding Natasha exclusively and ad free on Wondery Plus.

Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Hello, ladies and germs, boys and girls. The Grinch is back again to ruin your Christmas season with his The Grinch holiday podcast. After last year, he's learned a thing or two about hosting and he's ready to rant against Christmas cheer and roast his celebrity guests like chestnuts on an open fire. You can listen with the whole family as guest stars like Jon Hamm, Brittany Broski, and Danny DeVito try to persuade the mean old Grinch that there's a lot to love about the insufferable holiday season.

But that's not all. Somebody stole all the Children of Whoville's letters to Santa and everybody thinks the Grinch is responsible. It's a real Whoville whodunit. Can Cindy, Lou, and Max help clear the Grinch's name? Grab your hot cocoa and cozy slippers to find out. Follow Tis the Grinch Holiday Podcast on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. Unlock weekly Christmas mystery bonus content and listen to every episode ad free by joining

Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Spotify or Apple podcasts. Just hours after 20-year-old soldier Joshua Bennett dies defending his mother, police believe they've found one of the suspects, Oscar Eck. But they are soon joined by Oscar's friends. While Oscar was being questioned by police in the parking lot, two women walked up, Jenny Wolf and Irenea Kottner. The two had apparently been waiting to pick up Oscar Eck, and their behavior immediately gets the attention of investigators, especially Irenea's. Irenea was very, very nervous.

To me, she was visibly shaking, eyes downcast. Oscar re-enters the hospital under police watch and receives treatment for his leg wound. Investigators ask 34-year-old Irina and 20-year-old Jenny to come to the station for questioning. They agree. Irina Kotner asked no questions why the police were there, what was going on, which to me a normal person would ask those questions.

Neither Jenny nor Irina claimed to know anything about the murder, although Ireneia's behavior continues to raise red flags. When I entered the interview room, I saw a very disheveled young woman. She had her head down, very nervous, and would not cooperate, and she was just stonewalling. With nothing more than a hunch, investigators have no choice but to let Irinya and Jenny

go. With Oscar still at the hospital, detectives run a background check. While no prior offenses come up, they obtain Oscar's last known address and pay a visit. A woman identified herself as Oscar X roommate Misty Gangloff. She allowed officers to come in. Investigators asked 23-year-old Misty if she knows anything about the bloodshed that took place earlier that day. She told them that she didn't know what was going on with Oscar or why they were there. But as Misty talks, investigators

spot something unusual. They did notice that there was a book about witchcraft. It actually took the investigators back to what David had told them at the hospital in regards to a hex. Upon seeing witchcraft literature in the residence, it would confirm suspicions I had that this was witchcraft related.

Police ask Misty to come to the station. Once there, she readily admits that she knows both Jenny and Irinya. Misty had been friends with Irinya and Jenny for at least four years. They were employed by the same retail outlet store. The three had become fast friends after discovering they had a lot in common,

including a shared fascination with the occult. Their involvement or interest in witchcraft at the beginning was pretty light, some good luck charms, some, you know, cleansing their house with sage. They would have these candle-lit ceremonies, and they would talk about ridding themselves of hexes. Misty says, Irinya made herself the leader of their little coven.

Irinya was just kind of known for getting involved with people that were younger than her. It seemed like she went for people that could be easily manipulated. Irinya was particularly close to Jenny Wolf, a woman 14 years younger than her. Ireneia Cotner unofficially adopted Jenny Wolf to remove her from a bad home situation, and the two of them lived together. Jenny looked up to her as a mother figure and would have followed her off a cliff.

She was Jenny's hero. But after a couple of years of innocent seances, Misty says their ceremonies took on a more ominous tone. Misty said sometime in spring of 2005, Irinya first started just constantly complaining about a hex that had been put on her. Part of the reason she began to believe Irinya when she said that a hex had been placed on them was the fact that a number of Irinya's dogs

began to die as if someone was poisoning them. Misty recalls how other dark omens started to befall Irena's coven. Another way that Irena Kottner convinces Misty that a hex has been placed on her is by drawing a connection between the hex and the bouts of depression and migraine headaches that Misty has suffered from. While there was no proof the ailments were caused by a hex, Irenia was very convincing. Irenia Cotner just had a very controlling personality

and the group was somewhat Iriniya Cotner just had a very controlling personality, and the group was somewhat passive. Iriniya told Misty that the hex had been placed on them by a woman Iriniya claimed was a witch, Lindsay Kaysinger, who police know as the pregnant woman from the crime scene. woman from the crime scene. Misty shares another detail that connects Lindsay and Ireneia, Jackie Jackson, the father of Lindsay's unborn child. In 2000, Ireneia met Jackie Jackson and they fell

head over heels and were in a passionate relationship for the next four years until it ended in November 2004. Irinea was understandably heartbroken and devastated. When Irinea met Jackie Jackson, she was actually 10 years his senior. So he was in his early 20s, and she was in her early 30s. Misty says that when Jackie broke up with Ireneia to be with a younger woman, Ireneia couldn't handle it.

Ireneia knew that Jackie was with Lindsay and they were going to have a baby. That may have very well been the moment when she snapped. Irinya also brought Misty's roommate Oscar into the group. She soon convinced him that Lindsay had also hexed him. Irene O'Cottner, as the head figure of this cult, had exercised her authority over the group and she was basically the leader of the group. They all shared a common interest in the occult. That's what drew them all together. She was an influential woman in the respect that she could convince all these people

that Lindsay Kaysinger had placed a hex on them. Misty claims, Ireneia told them there was only one solution to free the coven of Lindsay's dark influence. Ireneia Kotner tells the other people involved with this that they have to kill Lindsay and her unborn child. From that point on, Misty says she had nothing to do with Oscar, Jenny, or Irina. While Misty's story answers many of investigators' questions, it does leave one unanswered. If all of this was about Irinya's beef with Lindsay,

then why would Lindsay be the one to walk away unharmed in this case? And why would Jacqueline and Joshua be the victims in this attack? Coming up, Oscar Eck comes clean. She was looking for people that she could rely upon. He became a gun for hire. And Ireneia's plan goes off the rails.

They've reached a point where everything has gone so wrong, they don't quite know what to do. On August 23, 2005, Illinois investigators interrogate 38-year-old Oscar Ricky Eck, one of two suspected killers in the murder of 20-year-old soldier Joshua Bennett. Oscar was very willing to talk and answer any questions I asked of him. Oscar admits that as crazy as it sounds, Irene also made him believe Lindsay had hexed him. He said she was able to convince them that not only they were in danger by the Hex, but their loved ones, their family and friends were in danger.

And the only way to break the Hex would be to kill Lindsay and her unborn baby. It seems Irinya had a strange hold over the younger lost souls she surrounded herself with. The people involved in this, they needed a place to belong. I believe that they were all followers and Irinya was the person that was the leader. And she set down the rules and this is what we do and she made all the decisions. When Misty bowed out, Oscar says he agreed to work with Irene and Jenny to kill Lindsay. They go to Lindsay's house with a gun and a knife, but Jenny can't get even to the front door because she's too scared.

Irania decided they needed to bring in another person for backup. So Oscar offered to reach out to an associate from the occult community named David Lindner. David had just newly arrived in Olney, Illinois. And he proclaims himself to be a warlock. Irania Kutner decides to involve him in this murder plot. She was looking for people that she could rely upon to commit the crime that she wanted to commit.

David became a gun for hire. that she wanted to commit. David became a gun for hire. On the night of August 22nd, Irinea conferred with David and Oscar. Oscar and David went to Irinea's house and the three of them had one final seance. They would ask yes or no questions and she told them that she could interpret

the flickering of the flame as a yes or no answer. After a few minutes, Ireneia announced that the message was clear. During this seance, the candle told Ireneia that tonight was the night. That was the night that they had to go and kill Lindsay. According to Oscar, Irinea presented them with a carefully laid out plan.

They were to stab Lindsay and her unborn child in a ritual sacrifice. And the plan had to be carried out within a finite window of time. Irinea also told them that if they didn't complete the task by the time that candle burnt out, that their entire family would be at jeopardy and die. While Irinea herself would not go with them, she assured them they wouldn't be alone. Irinea told them that they would be accompanied by five sub-demons to help protect them

and make sure that nothing went wrong with the plan. It gave David and Oscar the courage that they needed. Oscar tells investigators that Irina's hold on them was so strong, he and David quickly jumped into action. This was a tight group. They were just, you know, amateurs. But they were dangerous. Just after 3 AM, they arrived at the home

where Lindsay was living with Irinias ex, Jackie Jackson. We were told later that they actually crawled in through a kitchen window. It's not unusual for windows and doors to be unlocked, especially in this small community. Oscar tells them that the plan went awry almost immediately. As I stood in the hallway, Jacqueline Bennett woke up, came down the hall, and encountered Oscar Eck and David Linder. They stabbed Jaclyn thinking she was Lindsay because it was dark in there.

Moments later, 20-year-old Josh appeared. Joshua Bennett came to his mother's aid, and he was subsequently stabbed and killed. The plan continued to go sideways when Jackie came upstairs, leaving David and Oscar wounded. Oscar was stabbed, and then he subsequently escaped the house and went back to Irina's house. At the point that they decide to take Oscar to the hospital, they've really reached a point where everything has gone so wrong with this crime that now they don't quite know what to do. Following his stunning confession,

Oscar is placed under arrest and charged with first degree murder. Josh and his mother weren't the target. They had nothing to do with it. They were innocent bystanders. Later that same day, investigators secure warrants to bring Jenny and Ireneia back in for questioning. It's clear that Jenny is struggling with her current predicament.

Jenny Wolf never gave me any indication that there was an evil bone in her body. She was very polite. She was chatty. Jenny confirms Oscar and Misty's accounts and admits that while none of them besides Irenea knew Lindsay, Irenea was so persuasive, she basically brainwashed them. Irenea was able to convince them that all of the bad things

that happened to them in their life were not their fault. They were this one person's fault. And if they could just get rid of this one person, all of their problems would go away. Eager to hear Irene's story, investigators confront her in the next interrogation room. Even at the point that the authorities have sufficient evidence to suspect Irene Kotner is the mastermind of this crime, she continues to proclaim her innocence. That's when I went at it real hard, saying that we were very tired. Everybody knows that you're involved.

Other people are cooperating, and I was being very firm with her. Irania finally breaks. Within 10, 12 minutes, she confessed she actually wanted to kill the young lady that was pregnant. The interviews were enough to contact the state's attorney and showing that they were a danger to the community. We placed the three women under arrest after the state's attorney okayed it and they were put in custody. Coming up, as her once loyal followers turn on her, Irinea's true colors are fully exposed. She jazzed up this whole hex devil worship thing

to try to get the rest of these people involved. She was jealous. Irinya threw a tantrum in the courtroom and told the judge to kiss her ass. MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC Prosecutors in Richland County, Illinois, are preparing to hold a 34 year old Irini a cottoner responsible for masterminding the bloody attack that left

20 year old soldier Josh Bennett dead and his mother Jacqueline severely wounded. Jacqueline survived her injuries and was released from the hospital two weeks after the incident. The man was killed in the incident. and his mother, Jacqueline, severely wounded. Jacqueline survived her injuries and was released from the hospital two weeks after the incident. In February 2006, over six months after the murder, David Lindner, Irene's co-conspirator, dies from the gunshot wound he received during the attack.

He never left the hospital. He went into a coma and succumbed to his injuries. Iriniya's trial begins in October of 2006. In their opening statements, prosecutors allege Iriniya's true desire to kill Lindsay had nothing to do with the hex. Irinea was upset because Jackson had moved on to a new girlfriend and Irinea was plotting on how to kill this girl to get the rest of these people involved.

She was jealous. After finally seeing the writing on the wall, Misty, Jenny, and Oscar all take the stand against Ireneia. When it came time for them to cooperate, they did. And even testified against her in court that she was the ringleader. She was the person responsible for this entire event. No one acted on their own. She told them what to do, when to do it, where to do it, and why to do it.

Jenny Wolf and Misty Gangloff and Oscar Eck and David Linder wanted to believe that they mattered. And this little community they formed in their worship of the occult gave them that sense of belonging. On October 25, 2006, the jury announces their decision. The jury returns a guilty verdict against Irina Kottner on three counts. Conspiracy of first degree murder, firstdegree attempted murder, and home invasion. After the guilty verdict was rendered, Irinea caught her through a tantrum in the courtroom and told the judge to kiss her ass.

That's why she said her last words to the judge as she left the courtroom. No remorse. At her sentencing hearing, Irenea receives 57 years in prison, what is essentially a life sentence. He told her that with her age and adding those 50 years, she would probably never get out. She would probably die in prison and I was kind of happy about that because she shouldn't be out. Irina is a pure sociopath that should not ever be able to contact people. She should

have been in a padded room years ago and maybe Josh would still be alive. In 2006, Mr. Gangloff accepted a plea deal for the conspiracy of first-degree murder. In 2007, Oscar Eck pleads guilty to first-degree murder and receives a 20-year sentence. Jenny takes a gamble and goes to trial. In 2008, she is found guilty of murder and sentenced to 32 years. My personal opinion is on some of the sentencing's they were a little bit light because people lost their life here. Any one of those individuals could have stopped this at any time, but nobody stepped forward.

any time, but nobody stepped forward. As for those who loved Josh Bennett, his loss is a wound that endures. God tells me I have to forgive them, and I have forgiven them for what they did, but I'll never forget. They lost, that they put in my heart. I'll never forget. They lost, that they put in my heart. I'll never forget. Oscar is scheduled for release in 2025.

He will be 58. Jenny is scheduled for release in 2033. She will be 48. Misty was released from prison in 2013 after serving seven years. Irineo will be eligible for release in 2055 at the age of 85. They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Raden was found dead in a canyon near LA in 1983,

there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Lainey Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together, they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing. From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder

on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus.