Examined: The Backfire Effect

Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee are the hosts of a podcast called Murder Sheet . They have been releasing episodes on the conviction of Temujin Kensu. But they do not believe he is innocent. Josie Duffy Rice tries to find out why. If you are interested in further reading, here are books written by people featured in this series: The Man No One Believed The Untold Story of the Georgia Church Murders by Joshua Sharpe Our Friend, Temujin: The Wrongful Conviction of Temujin Kensu by Joy Marie Mann Shadow of the Bridge: The Delphi Murders and the Dark Side of the American Heartland by Áine Cain Kevin Greenlee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For Temujin Kensu to have a chance at leaving prison, his legal team would have to convince courts that another person killed Scott Macklem. There are theories pointing to at least three suspects. Can any new evidence emerge after so many decades? And what does it do to the criminal legal system when it insists on punishment at any cost? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Note: This episode contains descriptions of rape and sexual assault. With his state and federal appeals almost exhausted, Temujin Kensu turns to the work of private investigators like Herb Welser, who’ve managed to uncover new evidence in his case. But the law still has a problem with Temujin, a problem that concerns not whether he's innocent, but whether he’s good. You can hear the entire season of Examined: The Backfire Effect, ad-free, right now by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the show page on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ or at ⁠Pushkin.fm/plus⁠ . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other true crime podcasts throughout the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The trial of Temujin Kensu had happened quickly, just six months from arrest to verdict. What came next was unbearably slow. And with every year that passed, his odds of getting out of prison would go down. But then, one judge decided to rule in his favor. Was this his chance? You can hear the entire season of Examined: The Backfire Effect, ad-free, right now by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the show page on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ or at ⁠Pushkin.fm/plus⁠ . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other true crime podcasts throughout the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At trial, Temujin Kensu’s defense is simple — he was across the state when the crime occurred. In court, he brings multiple witnesses to testify that they saw him in the Upper Peninsula, more than 400 miles from Port Huron. But then prosecutor Robert Cleland pulls an unusual Hail Mary. You can hear the entire season of Examined: The Backfire Effect, ad-free, right now by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the show page on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ or at ⁠Pushkin.fm/plus⁠ . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other true crime podcasts throughout the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In November 1986, Robert Cleland was the head prosecutor in St. Clair County, Michigan. The morning after Cleland lost a statewide race for Attorney General, Scott Macklem was murdered. Cleland decided to prosecute the case himself, depicting the defendant as a dangerous ninja out for revenge. You can hear the entire season of Examined: The Backfire Effect, ad-free, right now by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the show page on ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ or at ⁠Pushkin.fm/plus⁠ . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other true crime podcasts throughout the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Temujin Kensu spent much of his youth wandering, mainly in his home state of Michigan. In 1986 he and his then-fiancée moved to a cabin outside Port Huron, where he briefly dated someone else. A few weeks later, he and his fiancée moved again, more than 400 miles away, to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He says he was there on November 5, 1986. But that didn’t stop police from accusing him of a murder he said he could never have committed. You can hear the entire season of Examined: The Backfire Effect, ad-free, right now by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other true crime podcasts throughout the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the morning of November 5th, 1986, students at a community college in Port Huron, Michigan, heard the sound of what many thought was a car backfiring. It was a gunshot, and it killed a student named Scott Macklem. The murder would leave the community shocked, and police baffled. Until they found a suspect: a young man who lived across the state. You can hear the entire season of Examined: The Backfire Effect, ad-free, right now by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, and exclusive binges of other true crime podcasts throughout the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1986, a man named Scott Macklem was killed in broad daylight. Eight days later, a suspect was arrested. But now, almost 40 years later, reporter Josie Duffy Rice is re-examining this case. Has the wrong man been in prison this whole time? New episodes drop September 14. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to binge the entire season, ad-free. Find Pushkin+ on the Examined show page in Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lost Hills has been quiet for a bit, so we've decided to do something different: turn this feed into a home for a new kind of story, told fresh each season. Starting this fall, this feed becomes Examined — a show about overlooked cases that never got the real investigation they deserved and need to be unpacked. These are stories about crime, punishment, and the people caught inside the criminal legal system. Every season, a new host will dig into one of these stories with the kind of in-depth reporting you’ve always heard in this feed. First up: Examined: The Backfire Effect, coming September 14, a story of police misconduct and prosecutorial zeal, and about a very complicated man. Don't worry — previous episodes of Lost Hills will still stay on this feed so you can return to them at any time. One last thing: we want to hear from you. What overlooked cases have stuck with you — the ones you think about, the ones nobody's really told right? Email us at info@pushkin.fm . Thanks for staying with us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A reunion between two retired detectives brings new focus to the Aujay investigation, just as Hayley and Betsy find out about another tragedy in the Punchbowl area. When a woman and her father are shot dead in deputy Engels’ home, the fatalities should’ve prompted the sheriff’s department to take a harder look at the alleged dirty deputy. But, instead, the LASD tries to bury the matter and — just like in the Aujay case — the deaths are ruled suicides. Hayley and Betsy press the department for answers about these and other suspicious deaths that occurred in Engels’ jurisdiction. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack here . Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the DEA showers Hager in accolades, the LASD turns against him. But Hager fights back, and drags the department’s dirty secrets out into open court. Betsy and Hayley go through thousands of pages of court documents, including internal LASD memos and recordings, to find out what the department knows about Aujay’s disappearance. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack here . Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brandenburg is taken off the Aujay case, but the LASD can’t stop Hager and the federal task force. With the help of wiretaps, informants, and 18 months of investigation, the team pulls off one of the largest drug stings in Antelope Valley history and nets a key witness in the Aujay case. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack here . Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Decades before Jon Aujay’s disappearance, the Devil’s Punchbowl was infamous for something else: Bigfoot sightings. Sasquatch became a known boogeyman in the area. But beneath the folklore lies something real —- a local deputy, named Rick Engels, whose reputation inspires a different kind of fear. As detectives Brandenburg and Hager look into their colleague, they uncover a surprising connection to the Aujay case. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack here . Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Detective Brandenburg follows leads in the Aujay case, he finds himself with an unlikely ally. A young buck narcotics detective named Darren Hager, who’s trying to dismantle a meth syndicate run by a local biker gang. Hager discovers that his bikers have a disturbing connection to Aujay’s disappearance — and to some of his own LASD colleagues. So he brings in the big guns, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and they launch a covert task force. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack here . Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the time of Jon Aujay’s disappearance, California is under siege by a meth epidemic and the Antelope Valley is the epicenter. So when investigators receive tips that Aujay was killed after stumbling upon a meth lab, it seems like a theory worth looking into. But LASD detectives are quick to dismiss the leads. Questioning why the cops are so dismissive, Betsy and Hayley discover there was one cop, Homicide Detective Larry Brandenburg, who bucked the company line and refused to let the Aujay trail go cold. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack here . Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Find episode 1 of Valley of Shadows on the Valley of Shadows show page. After deputy Jon Aujay disappears, the sheriff’s department claims he was suicidal — pointing to marital troubles and erratic behavior in the weeks before he vanished. But the LASD’s official story doesn’t square with what Aujay’s loved ones and colleagues remember. Then, investigators start to hear rumors that the deputy didn’t take his own life, but was murdered for something he witnessed out in the desert. Hear the full Valley of Shadows soundtrack on Spotify . Binge the entire season of Valley of Shadows, ad-free, by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Valley of Shadows show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin.fm/plus . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department listened to our podcast and now they’re asking us some new questions — and answering some of ours. Are they ready to reopen the investigation into Mitrice’s death? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dana lays out all the evidence, and we await results from forensic testing. We reconnect with Mitrice’s loved ones, as they celebrate what would have been her 39th birthday. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A round of cold calls yields brand new information tying the Person of Interest to Mitrice. We return to the fort in the woods, and make a startling discovery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.