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The Case of Rodney Lincoln
📻 Episode #250
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Mar 23, 2022
About This Episode
In the early morning hours of April 27, 1982, 35 year old JoAnn Tate was stabbed in the chest and sexually assaulted while in her apartment in St. Louis, MO. Her 7 year old daughter, Melissa, was stabbed several times, and her 4 year old daughter, Renee, had her throat cut. The girls survived the…
The Case
In the early morning hours of April 27, 1982, 35 year old JoAnn Tate was stabbed in the chest and sexually assaulted while in her apartment in St. Louis, MO. Her 7 year old daughter, Melissa, was stabbed several times, and her 4 year old daughter, Renee, had her throat cut. The girls survived the attack, but their mother did not. For a while, Melissa had said that a man named Bill was the attacker, and she gave details of his car and house. Eventually, police showed Melissa a picture of Rodney Lincoln who had a previous murder conviction from a decade's old bar fight and who also had dated her mother. Soon after, she was shown a highly suggestive four-person live lineup, resulting in Lincoln's arrest, charges, and conviction. She had maintained that identification through trial and nearly 4 decades until she saw photos of an admitted serial killer whose MO matched the attack on her family.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/9d49b-rodney-lincoln-free-after-36-years
https://www.gofundme.com/f/2nu2f-help-melissa-find-housing
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-real-killer/id1596167670
https://investigatinginnocence.org/bill-clutter
https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/
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.
00:05:29“Speaker 2: was the first time we met outside of the boy Speaker 2: And when I say we dated, it wasn't like a Speaker 2: mad love affair. Our relationship was purely sexual, okay. Speaker 1: And then how long after that does this horrible crime happen? Speaker 2: It was just about a year. I think, maybe a”
00:21:29“Speaker 1: And meanwhile, you're enduring these archaic and barbaric prison conditions Speaker 1: while being handed one devastating disappointment after another from the courts. Speaker 1: And by that I mean that in nineteen eighty six, Speaker 1: your wrongful conviction was upheld on direct appeal, and then Speaker 1: the motion for post conviction relief was denied two years”
00:37:09“Speaker 2: really describe how I felt. It was a moment that Speaker 2: I would cherish the rest of my life. Speaker 1: I'm always at a loss for words when I hear Speaker 1: these stories. What I read is that what you said Speaker 1: to her when she begged for your forgiveness was I”
Listen to the Episode
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Resources & links from the episode:
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Also on the podcast: #54 Rodney Roberts · #102 Rodney Reed · #561 Rodney Roberts