I doubt we will ever know , but it demonstrates how critical a thorough investigation of the scene can save everyone further heartbreak in that those who are left would know what happened and have a chance make peace with it. When everything is left questioning no one moves on.

Overall I would say this podcast is really well done, the story is well crafted and moves at a nice pace, keeping listener wanting more . Likewise the reporter comes across as dogged, curious, thoughtful and fair minded, all the things you want with a story let alone a 30 year old one. That said, i do have a couple of suggestions. Shorten the opening montage and story review segments, they drag. Also, while it’s important to be unbiased and neutral it can sound monotonous and programmatic over time, showing a bit more personality and color will lend the authenticity and intimacy that you need to keep the listener engaged for a show of this length.

The failures of the system are CLEAR! The ignorance of the dept. KW worked for and the protection and help his fellow deputies gave to him, enabled him to continue to inflict not only physical, but worse mental and emotional abuse and trauma on Joshua, that is also clear. But his ex wife Bobbi? I found her to be, not only complicit, but shameless. It was nauseating to hear her claim she had blocked out Joshua’s death and apparently life, and say that the child’s mother needed to stop asking questions, because she (Bobbi) couldn’t keep doing this. It wasn’t healthy for her. For her? She said she spent years in therapy. I suspect to assuage her own guilt. She was as much to blame as her husband for the mental state of that child. I do feel that Joshua could have committed suicide and I also find it equally possible his father staged it. But directly or indirectly they are both responsible. A child who molested other children, violently attacked another child with a bat and broke bones, who stated in writing, in a school project which he knew would be read, that he wanted to die, was obviously deeply disturbed. Not because of the conflict that had arisen, but from the years of torment he spent being raised by his father and his subsequent replacement mother’s. The first of which did try to help Joshua, the second of which (Bobbi) has chosen to play the part of the victim and states she cannot say anything that would ever hurt her children. That statement alone shows that Joshua does not merit a place of important equal to that of her own children, in her life and never did. She deprived him of his mother and of psychiatric help, choosing to support the abuser and allow Joshuas deep wounds to go untreated. I hope it haunts her to her grave and beyond.

Great podcast. I can’t find a Facebook group where I can vent but people who say things like Bobby did about Kathy needing to let it go usually have something to hide. From experience: as a person who lost a brother to a suspicious hanging death with a police department who did noticeably lazy work... when people want it to rest, you should probably keep picking that scab.

Story is interesting, but the background music and noise are distracting. Wasn’t able to put up with it.

Stumbled onto this podcast by chance and really enjoyed it! I liked how the chapters were broken up so the story was easy to follow. The reporter did a thorough job with each interview.

Love the pod, hate the music, good job. The interview in episode 3 with Bobby makes me so irritated talking about how her private life is private and ‘I can’t remember’ when questioned about her past around the hanging and her thoughts about KW if he was abusive or capable of murder. BOBBY you selfish person, a child is dead so you better start remembering and you don’t have the right to be forgetting at this point.

Respectfully done.

Excellent presentation. I’m haunted by this poor mama and shame on those who feel that she should just “move on.” The pain this mother lives with is unlike any other. Podcaster did an awesome job!

A well written podcast about a suspicious death of a child that’s ruled a suicide. And ends focusing on the grief that comes when an innocent child is taken from this world too soon

Typical the way a serial abuser like KW gets repeatedly whitewashed by a misogynistic, authoritarian system. The reporter doesn’t seem to notice KW’s attempts to intimidate her during their interview? I hated the way the reporter ended this podcast series, with Josh’s mother describing her sensation of Josh rising to heaven. Why not end it with the truth, that it almost doesn’t matter if Josh hanged himself or not. KW’s systematic abuse of the boy ultimately killed him and the justice system is still covering for him because he was a police officer.

If you have ever been through a custody battle this will especially break your heart. What a tough piece to do. With that said...excellently done. Julia Sulek does an amazing job, she works hard to cover both sides of this story and tries to stay impartial—which at times can be difficult. I prefer podcasts like this one that tell one story and go in depth. Highly recommend

The typing is so annoying, I mean if you’re recording audio why on earth do you need to type at the same time. This is a dead end, no conclusion so it’s pretty unsatisfying.

Doesn’t unravel anything.

I’m very picky about podcasts. This one has excellent investigative work, compelling storytelling, but lack professional production value. Throughout the podcast one can hear note taking—the scribbling of pen on paper during an interview is distracting. You can even tell that the person being interviewed is distracted by her writing, they often pause to allow her to write and lose their train of thought. Otherwise, this podcast is worth a listen! B+

Wow, not good. Goes nowhere. The story ends where it began. SPOILER ALERT: A 10-year-old commits suicide under suspicious circumstances, but no one investigates at the time because his dad is a deputy sheriff. Trying to investigate 30 years later is impossible because there is no evidence. The story just meanders around for six episodes, concluding nothing. The next "Serial" it ain't.

Such a sad story. I don’t know that it should be a podcast for entertainment... I guess the mom wants justice and the dad wants to prove he’s innocent. Just feels wrong when a 10 year is dead 😢 That being said. I listened to it all...

Sad story not told well cold be a one hour show.

Narrator is not very good...shallow delivery and not interesting

I thought this was an outstanding podcast. It was very thorough and raises issue about child abuse and custody issues which continue to exist in our court system today

Thank you for such a thorough podcast and investigation.

So well done, beautifully written, wonderfully put together, this podcast really made me feel.

Such a well done podcast. Julia was intuitive and intelligent, respectful and kind. My heart is broken for Kathy. I wish her peace. It is so deeply unfortunate that Kathy is so deep in despair and guilt. Josh would want her to live in the light and remember him every time with a smile. Looking forward to more by julia

Great reporting. It really sounded like she was out to find the truth and not out to prove a specific outcome. Very non biased.

Story is interesting but narrator talks too fast with little pause.

Very nicely done ! Very interesting and easy to follow. Nice, slow speaking that is easy to understand

Child abuse subject matter.

The last two episodes it became very obvious that the producers were going to ignore everything the new coroner said except what helped her theory. They were not going to listen to anyone who had anything to say good about the father. Two different neighbors said they thought there was NO way he was involved based on his reactions and screams immediately afterwards. His youngest daughter basically says she was sticking up for her mom in a divorce and that her dad never touched her. But that is glossed over in one line. She twisted the new coroners report from saying ‘there’s a history of abuse(one incident listed as that history was the Mom)’to ‘the coroner concluded that abuse was part of his suicide.’ After age 6 there were NO other accusations of child abuse. The kicked down the stairs was disputed by the step mom (we have no stairs and no outside trash cans) but she glossed over that. She made a big deal of the coroner recreating the scene but then acted like it meant nothing when it didn’t fit her narrative. The mother has been unstable since even before the boy was born. She was deceptive in not even telling the father she was pregnant for 7 months. Then dips out on a drug bender. Then goes into a custody dispute where it seems both sides were lying on the other. Then she goes into 25 years of PTSD where she can’t even go outside (mind you she isn’t the parent set that found, cut down, and tried to perform cpr) Yet all the producer gives this woman is sympathy. The stepmom is in tears and counseling because she was there and helped to give cpr. It has been ruled a suicide multiple times. I am not saying the man never took a belt to his kids, or slapped them across the face. Key is it was in discipline (a fact, not condoning). There is a GIANT difference between giving your kid the belt and stringing him up in the barn. Imagine this: if the producers would have found out that the FATHER had to restrain the child by laying on top of him for long periods of time to calm him down, she would have called that abuse and had a field day with it. When she finds out that the mother and step dad did that regularly, she didn’t even bat an eye like this is regular child rearing. The father answers any question she asked and was pretty calm and fairly nice when talking about his ex wife and how she won’t let it go and try and move on. Much nicer than I would have been if some reporter who obviously isnt going to believe me anyways has the guts to suggest I murdered my kid. There would have been people holding me back and she would have had a lot for her podcast. Basically my summary is this. It was well done and interesting, but she is using a flat earther (some one who refuses to believe the truth) as her main source and angle she came from.

I listened in one afternoon. Heart-breaking.

I won’t provide spoilers in my review but this is a tragic story that deserved to be told. The reporter presented it beautifully and with great research but should have taken the same route as those who produced S Town. She realized the actual story at the end of it but did not allow herself to reorganize the show to have it revolve around the deeper meaning, the more honest narrative. Josh deserved that. All children forced to go through the trauma of family court because they have petty and bitter parents do.

I cried like a baby. This was a great podcast.

I listened to all episodes in one day. It's a riveting story, but so heartbreaking. I have a 9 year old and I just cannot imagine a 10 year old being capable of this. Just a sad story no matter what actually happened.

This was excellent, intriguing, heartfelt, and much much more.

Amazing storytelling.

I’m a serial listener to podcasts. Especially those in this genre. This one doesn’t fit - at all. I have never written a critique before, but felt compelled to in this case. This lady, the “journalist”, is clearly unwilling to entertain even the slightest notion that KW (the repeatedly accused murderer) is nothing but a tragic father who lost his son to suicide. Repeatedly, she shows a disgusting propensity to substitute her own interpretation of gut instincts for evidence. She is all too eager and happy to reinterpret the words of others, even going as far as to say that what people “didn’t say” is evidence of what they somehow must know. She wants this man, who suffered a tragedy, to be indicted for murder - along with all his friends and fellow deputies, on nothing but her own absurd opinion of what must have happened. What a grotesque example of journalism. You - the author - should be half as disgusted with yourself as I am. Maybe you might live up to the ethics of your chosen profession one day, but you have a long ways to go!

Very interesting listening. The host delivers the story in a very insightful way.

Its a well done true crime / true tragedy. Well produced, well documented and I do enjoy the host. Its bite size and easy to follow. I understand this is dumb, but I one thing that drives me sort of nuts is how the host says "Hanging." And she says it the same way every time, I always cringe.

I really enjoyed her story-telling style, voice, narration - the story just didn't go anywhere for me and I didn't ever hit a story arc. It also felt uncomfortable intruding on people's lives only to cause them more pain and ripping open old wounds better left closed in this casse - and nothing else. However, I hope she comes out with another podcast, different story - I'll listen!.

Audio not good but the reporting is excellent and professional. Sad, sad story.

I can’t wait to hear more.

This podcast is polished and well-produced. I’m three episodes in and I’m very impressed with what I’ve heard. The eloquent storytelling is accentuated by thoughtful interviews with those directly affected by this tragedy. Despite the inflammatory nature of this story, Julia handles the subject matter professionally. I look forward to finishing this series.

I watch a LOT of true crime. I recently got a job that has me commuting at least 3 hrs/day so I’ve been checking out podcasts. I enjoyed this one a lot. I started the podcast yesterday and finished it today! Julie’s great at packaging this tragedy into a non-biased and very thorough assessment of the incident. I appreciated her closing thoughts and observations about the case and the overall subjects of child mental health and suicide, parental responsibility, and social, institutional and systemic failure. Thanks for your work, Julie and crew! I definitely want more podcasts like this!

I thought this podcast was really well reported, but there were a few things that really distracted me. First of all, I can’t stand the dramatic way the host says the word “hanging.” Her voice takes on a weird affect several times through the series, and it seems unnatural and like she’s reading from a script. I also didn’t like the way she took on a manlier voice while reading what KW said. Also, the theme music is totally wrong for the subject matter and tone - it sounds like something out of a drama about Wild West outlaws, not exactly appropriate for a tragic story about the death of a little boy. Overall I thought the reporter was fair and did a good job getting all sides of the story. She also told it in a compelling way. Just wish they could change those few things.

Very well done. Hope to hear more from the host!

This podcast completely sounds like an audiobook. With true crime podcasts, I dont see why you wouldnt include interviews. Also, the narrators speak patterns are very irritating. She goes up in the middle of a sentence and down at the end. Every. Single. Time. This story sounds really interesting...but I couldnt get through it because of the treatment of the piece.

Love the journalistic integrity of this story. The nuance and detail a reporter finds and shares really lend itself well to this format of storytelling. Excited to hear more from the Merc

This might have been moderately interesting as one episode but is just painful as six. Nothing happens. There are no insights or twists. I finished it through sheer OCD determination to not leave it unfinished. It’s a logline stretched into 5 seemingly endless hours.

The voice of an angel, please keep recording. Heart wrenching topic, elegantly presented. An incredible presentation that honors the memory of Josh, thank you.

Very well written and produced. Please make another.

Fantastic podcast. The reporting is so well done - so unbiased. I would love Julia Prodis Sulek to do more podcasts - she is excellent.