← All Cases / Episode #244
The Case of Kevin Cooper
📻 Episode #244
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Nov 05, 2024
About This Episode
On Saturday, June 4, 1983, three members of the Ryen family, as well as their neighbor’s son, Christopher Hughes, were brutally murdered in the Ryen home. 8 year old Joshua Ryen survived horrifying injuries, including a hatchet wound to the head and a slashed throat. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office immediately targeted Kevin Cooper…
Case status as carried in this site's original 2026 profiles. Independent record verification is rolling out episode by episode — statuses are being re-checked against court and registry sources and date-stamped as verified.
The Case
On Saturday, June 4, 1983, three members of the Ryen family, as well as their neighbor’s son, Christopher Hughes, were brutally murdered in the Ryen home. 8 year old Joshua Ryen survived horrifying injuries, including a hatchet wound to the head and a slashed throat. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office immediately targeted Kevin Cooper because he had recently fled from the California Institution for Men (CIM), a medium security facility just a few miles from the Ryen home. A botched crime scene left little to go on, so many believe they fixed evidence to make the charges stick while ignoring compelling alternative suspects. Kevin has been defending his innocence from death row for almost 40 years. California Governor Newsom recently ordered a full Innocence Investigation into the case. Kevin and his team are confident that this investigation will finally clear his name.
https://freekevincooper.com/
https://kevincooper.org/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kevin-cooper-case-death-row-inmate-san-quentin-murder-new-developments-48-hours/
https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/
We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.
In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:05:25“Speaker 2: didn't know better. And for a child to teach yourself, Speaker 2: what what do you need parents for? My parents didn't Speaker 2: teach me. So the people on the street topey how Speaker 2: to steal cars, how to get out of the rain, Speaker 2: how to get out of the cold. You know, I”
00:21:29“Speaker 3: and had changed his notes to make the blood type Speaker 3: match Kevin, and that was shown to the jury. Meanwhile, Speaker 3: that blood spot had been subjected to testing only by Speaker 3: the prosecution, and it had been tested so much that Speaker 3: it was exhausted, there was none left of it.”
00:36:35“Speaker 3: Sue Kits, while the Clarence rey Allen ultimately was convicted Speaker 3: and sentenced to death. So Farah has a pretty nefarious Speaker 3: background which links him to the type of crime that Speaker 3: was perpetrated on the Ryan family in nineteen eighty three. Speaker 1: Now, even with the multiple confessions by Lee Furrow, were”
Listen to the Episode
🎧 Listen on Omny / the podcast's platforms
Resources & links from the episode:
Share this case, follow the organisations working on it, and support the podcast's fight for the innocent at lavaforgood.com.
← #243 Jacques Rivera #245 Jason Flom on Nelson Serrano →
Also on the podcast: #157 Kevin Dykes · #217 Kevin Dykes · #328 Keith Cooper