Crime Beat

28 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 350 ratings

The Crime Beat podcast digs deep into fascinating true crime stories, exploring new twists along the way with award-winning Southern California News Group reporter Keith Sharon’s fresh interviews of criminal masterminds, some of their victims and the detectives trying to piece together what really happened. Each season explores a different crime, beginning with the biggest bank heist in American history.

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Episodes

Bonus Episode: Loud in the Silence

September 06, 2020 10:00 - 47 minutes - 87.7 MB

In this special episode of Crime Beat, you will meet Janine Madera, a fierce advocate for justice who works as a homicide prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney's Office. She has tried 72 trials and won 57 convictions without hearing a word of testimony. Madera is deaf and operates in the courtroom with strategically placed sign language interpreters. But her deafness isn't the most important part of her story. Janine Madera was raped as a child, and she decided as a pre-teen that...

S2, Ep. 14: Questions and Answers

January 16, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 56.6 MB

The "Crime Beat" team offers insight into Season 2 at a Coast Conversation event, and we wrap the season with updates on what is going on with key people you met along the way.

S2, Ep. 13: Xavier's Final Guilty Plea

January 09, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MB

Xavier Lopez gave a final statement that proved truth still wasn't part of his defense strategy.

S2, Ep. 12: Sam's Interview

January 02, 2020 11:00 - 1 hour - 64.1 MB

You will hear the entire interview with Sam Lopez from the day Cathy Torrez's body was found.

S2, Ep. 11: The Murder Tour

December 26, 2019 11:00 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MB

Detective Daron Wyatt takes us on a tour of Placentia to show where and how Cathy's murder took place.

S2, Ep. 10: Bombshells

December 19, 2019 11:00 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MB

Was Cathy Torrez pregnant? One of the witnesses makes an incredible revelation.

S2, Ep. 9: Surprise: Four Arrests

December 12, 2019 11:00 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MB

After 13 years, police arrest four suspects in the murder of Cathy Torrez.

S2, Ep.8: Cold as Ice

December 05, 2019 11:00 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MB

The Cathy Torrez murder investigation is dead. No one is investigating. Mary Bennett and Daron Wyatt can't seem to find anyone who cares.

Bonus episode: True Crime discussion with Rebecca Lavoie

November 27, 2019 16:19 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MB

Rebecca Lavoie, host of "Crime Writers On," talks with Crime Beat host Keith Sharon about podcasting, journalism and some of the best true crime podcasts of all time.

S2, Ep. 7: Keeping the Case Alive

November 21, 2019 11:00 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MB

Police finally find a fingerprint and some DNA evidence, but neither belongs to Sam Lopez.

S2, Ep. 6: Probable Cause

November 14, 2019 11:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MB

WARNING: This episode includes details from Cathy Torrez's autopsy report that might disturb some listeners. Skip to 9:40 to avoid those details. Police believe Sam Lopez is lying about his movements on the night Cathy disappeared. But they can't arrest him because they don't have probable cause.

S2, Ep. 5: Find the Car

November 07, 2019 11:00 - 33 minutes - 30.3 MB

Cathy doesn't come home after working a shift at Sav-On. People from her family and the community send out search parties trying to find her.

S2, Ep. 4: What Happened to Albert

October 31, 2019 10:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MB

In the months before she died, Cathy was dating Albert Rangel, who wanted more from the relationship than Cathy could give him.

S2, Ep. 3: Cathy Can't Remember

October 24, 2019 10:00 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MB

Sam Lopez takes Cathy on a date, and she comes home drugged with slashed tires and no panties.

S2, Ep. 2: Letters of Intent

October 17, 2019 10:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MB

We reveal the content of 18 letters between Cathy and Sam. The letters were discovered after Cathy died.

S2, Ep. 1: Across the Street

October 10, 2019 10:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MB

We meet Cathy Torrez, Mary Bennett and the people in their neighborhood. The last person we meet is Sam Lopez, who lives across the street. About Season 2: On Feb. 12, 1994, Cal State Fullerton honor student Cathy Torrez didn't come home after working the evening shift in the photo department at Sav-On. A week later, her body was discovered stabbed to death in the trunk of her own car. “Crime Beat,” Season 2 focuses on Cathy's mother, Mary Bennett, and her extraordinary quest for justi...

Season 2, Mom vs. Murderer, has a launch date

October 03, 2019 19:38 - 2 minutes - 2.68 MB

After Cathy Torrez was murdered in 1994, Girl Scouts planted a tree to honor her. To Cathy's mother, Mary Bennett, that tree only served one purpose.

Crime Beat, Season 2: Mom vs. Murderer

September 18, 2019 10:00 - 1 minute - 559 KB

The body of 20-year-old honor student Cathy Torrez was found in the trunk of her car. For more than 20 years, her mother fought for justice. And for most of that time, the suspected murderer lived across the street. Would justice ever be served?

8: Opening and Closing

March 21, 2019 14:35 - 54 minutes - 25 MB

A former getaway driver and the writer who captured his story have a big week. And find out what a master thief thinks of the movie about the biggest bank heist in U.S. history.

7: Glory Days

March 14, 2019 10:00 - 53 minutes - 24.7 MB

Master thief Amil Dinsio loses his edge late in his career ... and his freedom. One of the stars of the movie based on the heist, Rachael Taylor, chokes up about the real story. And “Crime Beat” becomes the podcast the Nixon people don’t want you to hear.

6: Hollywood Comes Calling

March 07, 2019 11:00 - 34 minutes - 16.1 MB

The story appears in 2003, and producers from film companies begin to call. You’ll hear the ups and downs of writing a screenplay, and how it took more than 15 years for the movie “Finding Steve McQueen” to get made.

5: It Can’t Last Forever

February 28, 2019 11:00 - 33 minutes - 15.5 MB

Getaway driver Harry Barber starts a new life and tries to live without attracting attention to himself. Everywhere he goes, he is surrounded by cops.

Bonus Episode 1: The Girl Who Wouldn't Be Forgotten

February 26, 2019 11:00 - 18 minutes - 17.2 MB

On Feb. 19, 2019, police made an arrest in the cold-case killing of 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe, who was strangled in Orange County in 1973. Southern California News Group reporter Keith Sharon tells the true crime story of the pursuit of her killer. Our regular podcast, "Crime Beat," Season One: "Stealing Nixon's Millions" will continue as scheduled with Episode 5.