There’s Danger Here

The History Of Oregon State Penitentiary

The Oregon State Penitentiary, OSP, started construction in the late 1800's. It has grown into the concrete monster that it is today. Starting on the outskirts of the town, Salem grew around it. The penitentiary was known for it's violence, overcrowding, and corruption for decades. It is the center of a high profile, yet little known hit on an employee within the Oregon Department of Corrections, who meant to shed light on the corruption. Welcome to the only maximum security prison in the state of Oregon. 
 
Sources:
Goeres-Gardner, D and Ritter, J. 2014. Oregon State Penitentiary
Prisoner no 6435. Reprint 2025. Sensational Prison Escaped from the Oregon State Penitentiary
Woodcock, M; Zuckerman, E. 2015. No Truth Barred. A collection of work by nine writers at the Oregon State Penitentiary
Murder in Order. Who killed Michael Francke?
https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-settles-wrongful-murder-conviction-frank-gables-for-nearly-2-million
http://koin.com/news/oregon/oregon-doj-acknowledges-frank-gable-is-innocent/

MMIW- Emily Pike

Emily Pike was just 14 years old when she was murdered. 
Her childhood looked bright, she was a happy child, then one event and her life was never the same. After being moved into a group home, she was isolated from family. Her mental health declined and she attempted suicide on multiple occasions. After absconding from her group home, multiple times, the lack of urgency seemed apparent. Unfortunately, the last time she ran off, the most unfortunate happened.  Leaving a community to grieve. 
 
Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/arizona/2025/04/17/arizona-tribes-struggle-with-foster-care-try-to-prevent-another-tragedy/82417203007/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/death-emily-pike-teen-found-dismembered-arizona-spurs-calls-regulation-rcna197982
https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-emily-pike
https://www.yahoo.com/news/led-emily-pikes-placement-foster-051619930.html
https://hoodline.com/2025/04/tragic-chain-of-unresolved-assaults-linked-to-14-year-old-emily-pike-s-murder-in-phoenix-family-decries-systemic-failures/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/what-happened-to-emily-pike-case-of-murdered-teen-remains-unsolved/ar-AA1D8KEO?ocid=BingNewsSerp
https://tvshowstars.com/san-carlos-apache-tribe-member-emily-pike-passes-away-leaving-behind-her-parents-steff-and-jensen-pike/
https://www.crimeonline.com/2025/04/28/emily-pike-family-of-indigenous-arizona-girl-found-murdered-dismembered-files-lawsuit-against-group-home/
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2025/04/17/emily-pike-case-slain-native-girl-arizona/83108473007/
https://tvshowstars.com/san-carlos-apache-tribe-member-emily-pike-passes-away-leaving-behind-her-parents-steff-and-jensen-pike/

MMIW: The Women of Saskatoon

In 1992, John Martin Crawford targeted indigenous women who were in sex work. He brutalized them and then killed them, dumping them around the same location. But years prior, 19-year-old John had done the same to another woman. Pleading to manslaughter instead of murder. He was able to rejoin society and continue his merciless actions against women. 
He killed Shelley Napope, Eva Taysup, and Calinda Waterhen before being brought to justice. Their names rarely brought up in the news. During trial they were almost forgotten, a fact not lost on the judge. 
Sources: 
Goulding, W. 2001. Just Another Indian. A serial killer and Canada’s indifference
https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/saskatchewan-serial-killer-john-martin-crawford-dies-at-regional-psychiatric-centre
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/saskatoon-serial-killer-john-martin-133847128.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHgikpC-nHx3-4TnlNGq5AatiZVlLBEb29ppUNBINRklFQ1EWXI5OXUvLO_oxEzWdJx8uUEFoeXYLSIzjzFgdqYGtW8JuF74MpxL0WDqsj9Cp3cNKi2lI2ON097X-3Ta4tr05vmRF_NgB2Y9s8aflJYjt4blWzzVcXcl4igjMmuq
https://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Crawford,%20John%20Martin%20_fall,%202007_.pdf
https://iportal.usask.ca/record/1784
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/serial-killer-exploited-racism-1.5845777
https://www.amnesty.org/es/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/amr200032004en.pdf

The Kurim Case

In a small town in the Czech Republic, a new father tests out his baby monitor only to find the shock of his life. A nude child in utter darkness, hands bound is displayed. Police are notified and a case of child abuse unravels into much more. A cult, a fake identity, and master manipulated child torture is uncovered.
 
Sources: 
Green, R. 2016. The Kurim Case. A terrifying true story of child abuse, cults, & cannibalism.
https://english.radio.cz/mother-aunt-mysterious-woman-girl-boy-sentenced-brno-child-abuse-case-8590790
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/czechs-jailed-over-child-abuse-linked-to-cult-1.900853
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dny51yhBQNo
https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-grail-movement-cult/amandasedlakhevener
https://www.cdamm.org/articles/bernhardt-grail-movement

The Night Caller

Eric Edgar Cooke was born and raised in Perth, Australia. His family despised him from birth due to his cleft lip. He became a quiet boy and awkward teen. He did things to fit in, but that often including illegal activities. He was known as a petty thief early on. 
He got married and had numerous children, while he worked, he also continued his life of crime. Something that his wife accepted. But then his small crimes escalated to rape and assault. Even continuing to escalate until he murdered multiple people.  He was caught after attempting to retrieve a rifle he'd hidden in bushes. After his arrested he was easily persuaded to confess to his crime. For which he ended up as the last man in Western Australia to be hanged. 
Sources:
Rosewood, Jack. 2015. Eric Edgar Cooke: The true story of the Night Caller
https://allthatsinteresting.com/eric-edgar-cooke
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-02/letting-go-of-the-sins-of-a-father/5785692
https://www.crimetraveller.org/2016/08/eric-edgar-cooke-night-caller/
https://www.unilad.com/news/eric-edgar-cooke-night-caller-serial-killer-australia-20220620
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-14/eric-edgar-cooke-serial-killer-voice-heard-53-years-later/9122724
https://serialkillercalendar.com/THE-NIGHT-CALLER-ERIC-EDGAR-COOKE.php

Adopt An Inmate-Interview

The wonderful Rick and Melissa, founders of adoptaninmate, allowed me to have a conversation with them. The pair discuss how the vision came forward after their family came to an abrupt realization of what the judicial system can be for both those incarcerated and those who love the incarcerated. Now they work to change the minds of the masses, one letter at a time. https://adoptaninmate.org/v
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XShqCISYk4&authuser=0
Social Media
⁠https://www.facebook.com/Adoptaninmat#⁠
https://www.instagram.com/adoptaninmate/
⁠https://x.com/adoptaninmate⁠
⁠https://www.youtube.com/@adoptaninmate5605⁠
https://www.tiktok.com/@adoptaninmate
 

John Christie

John Christie, a hysterical hypochondriac. Hated women and used his knowledge of gas to lure multiple women in and end their lives. He couldn't perform in the bedroom without violence, resulting in his need to pick up prostitutes to feed his appetite. After bodies were found in his apartment, he didn't deny killing them. He did attempt to make himself the victim for each woman involved. After his confessions, he found the noose. 
Sources:
Rosewood, J. Lo, R. 2016. John Christie. The true story of the Rillington Place strangler
https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/john-christie/m066_tr?hl=en
https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-christie
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jun/26/archive-john-christie-death-sentence
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/62499428
https://londondarktourist.com/john-reginald-christie/

MMIW: Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind

Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind had her whole life ahead of her. She was pregnant with her first child, getting ready to move in with her long-time partner. Always willing to lend a helping hand. Instead her life was snuffed out by others. She was killed so that her neighbor, Brooke could live in a fantasy world, acting as though this new child was her own. After having seven children taken away by the state and her tubes tied, Brooke viciously attacked Savanna stealing her baby and her life in the process. Brookes boyfriend became an accomplice, going along with the plan until his coworker tells police the pair have a new baby at home. Something missed in the three searches of their apartment in the time of Savannas disappearance. The only possible positive to come of this tragedy was the addition of Savanna's Act.
 
Sources:
Gable, Mona. 2023. Searching for Savanna. The murder of one Native American woman and the violence against the many
https://people.com/crime/william-hoehn-not-guilty-savanna-greywind-murder-baby/
https://www.niwrc.org/policy-center/mmiw?hsa_acc=8095999829&hsa_cam=17872253711&hsa_grp=143072057247&hsa_ad=612866041329&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-302037116350&hsa_kw=missing%20indigenous%20women&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA8NKtBhBtEiwAq5aX2Lt04rTAc8hDSOwFcX0d1o5VEHF0zWrq1zT68fYlS_JIFKn4PYTfeRoCEVAQAvD_BwE&utm_term=missing%20indigenous%20women&utm_campaign=*Awareness+-+Policy+-+MC&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc
https://thecinemaholic.com/savanna-greywind/
https://people.com/crime/fargo-woman-brooke-crews-sentenced-killing-pregnant-savanna-greywind/
https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/03/savanna-greywind-wasnt-dead-when-baby-cut-from-womb-prosecutors-say-at-abductors-sentencing/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gruesome-details-in-case-of-pregnant-woman-killed-for-baby-as-neighbor-is-sentenced/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/savanna-greywind-case-woman-admits-conspiring-to-kill-pregnant-neighbor-to-keep-baby/
https://www.foxnews.com/us/pregnant-womans-bloody-death-detailed-at-killers-sentencing
http://cbsnews.com/news/preliminary-autopsy-results-released-in-savanna-greywinds-death/
https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Hoehn-life-sentence-thrown-out-by-ND-Supreme-Court--557883121.html

Auburn Prison and W. Freeman

Auburn prison became the first "prison for profit" . Through use of inmate labor and local contracts. The inmates made no money from this labor, it all went to the prison and those who ran it. The striped uniform and solitary confinement were created here as well. This silent prison, was a havoc on the mental health of those who found themselves living in it. William Freeman proclaimed his innocence and demanded compensation. When he was left unheard or rebuffed he turned to violence.
 
 
Sources:
McHugh, Eileen. 2010. Auburn Correctional Facility
Bernstein, Robin. 2024. Freeman’s Challenge. The murder that shook America’s original prison for profit
⁠https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/william-freeman-imprisoned⁠
⁠https://history.nycourts.gov/case/people-v-freeman/⁠
⁠https://history.nycourts.gov/case/people-v-freeman/⁠
⁠https://www.unsunghistorypodcast.com/Auburn/⁠
⁠https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/people_v._william_freeman_(1847)⁠
⁠https://www.c-span.org/clip/public-affairs-event/william-freeman-and-the-auburn-state-prison/5132141#⁠!
 

Christopher Lambert: AIC to Mentor

Christopher Lambert is the second success story. He was behind bars for decades. It took a while to shift his perspective, but once he did everything changed. He hasn't forgotten his roots, continuing to help those within his community. Through work and outreach programs.