Every scandal begins with a lie. But the truth will come out. And then comes the fallout and the outrage.
Scandals have shaped America since its founding. From business and politics to sports and society, we look on aghast as corruption, deceit and ambition bring down heroes and celebrities, politicians and moguls. And when the dust finally settles, we’re left to wonder: how did this happen? Where did they trip up, and who is to blame? From the creators of American History Tellers, Business Wars and Tides of History comes American Scandal, where we take you deep into the heart of America’s dark side to look at what drives someone to break the rules and what happens when they’re caught. Hosted by Lindsay Graham.
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Mon, 14 Nov 2022 09:00
Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City on a mild October evening in 1985. She told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband, Charles Warren, at a car dealership. But she never made it, Sheree vanished.
When a young mother disappears under unexplained circumstances, police always turn suspicious eyes towards the husband. And although there was distrust around Charles Warren, he wasn’t the only suspect when Sheree went missing. She also had a boyfriend, a former cop named Cary Hartmann, who lived a sinister double life.
Season three follows two suspects– men who both raised suspicion for investigators. But with two strong persons of interest with competing facts and evidence, it muddied the murder investigation. This season, host Dave Cawley, digs into the lives of these two men, the details of the case and examines the intersections between domestic abuse and sexual violence. The COLD team seeks to answer the question: what really happened to Sheree Warren?
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If you're into true crime, then you need to know about the hit podcast cold. This season, host Dave Cully investigates the disappearance of Sheree Warren, a young mother looking for a fresh start. Recently divorced, Sheree had moved back in with her family, found a great new job, and even a new boyfriend. Her life was turning around, and she was happy for the first time in a long while. But on a crisp October evening, after work, Sheree said goodbye to her co-workers, left the office, and was never heard from again. All eyes quickly turned toward her ex-husband. He had a history of violence, and had previously learned another woman into the woods and be her with a tire iron. But there was also another man that peaked the interest of investigators. Sheree's new boyfriend, a former reserve police officer, who also had a dark history of sexual violence. The two men closest to Sheree swore they loved her and promised to protect her, but did one of them murder her instead. You're about to hear a clip from the show. While you're listening, make sure to follow the Amazon Music Exclusive Podcast called in the Amazon Music App, download the app today. Rain drizzled over the canyon of the South Fork of the Ogden River. It patterned on the canvas top of Heidi Paznines' Jeep, as she drove up Utah State Highway 39 on the morning of Friday, June 4, 1971. She was on her way to meet the strange man who had for weeks been calling her, demanding they go on a date. I can't see it, but I'm doing air quotes. She turned right off the highway at the entrance to the Meadows Campground, crossed a short bridge over the river, barely more than a creek, really, and stopped next to a camper trailer on the far side. A pair of sheriff's deputies dressed as fishermen stepped out to greet her. I said, what should I do? As Heidi's describing this to me decades later, she's using her hands to show the positions of her Jeep and the trailer, how the deputies told her to park next to them, but to reverse out after the caller arrived and passed by her position to block him from getting back across the bridge to the road. She was the cheese on the mouse trap. They said, make sure when he comes up, identify, make sure that he's the right person. Two miles down the can, back in the direction of Huntsville, her husband, John Posney, waited at another campground called Magpie. The sheriff was with him, along with the deputy Halver Bailey. They all watched the highway, as the clock ticked toward the time for Heidi's date to arrive. A little after 10am, a red and white half-tun pickup truck passed Magpie going up the canyon toward Meadows. John Posney saw a logo printed on the truck's door. And the dummy he was driving his dad's business truck, said Hartman plumbing and when they drove past Magpie, John says he immediately knew who it was. Hartman plumbing and heating belonged to a man named Bill Hartman. John knew Bill, they had golfed together at the Ogden Golf and Country Club. Bill was also a fellow member of the Weber Club. The caller had told Heidi he'd seen her at the Weber Club. It clicked for John. He recognized the man at the wheel of the pickup as Bill Hartman's oldest son, Carrie Hartman. The sheriff tried to radio the two undercover deputies who were with Heidi at Meadows to let them know the caller would soon reach them. But the radio didn't work in the narrow canyon. Heidi had no idea who the young man in the pickup truck was when he turned off the highway, drove across the bridge and stopped next to her gene. No, because I never paid any attention to him before I didn't notice him before. The young man rolled down his window. Heidi saw he had brown hair, green eyes, and appeared clean cut like a cop or military man. Kind of forgettable. He says, hi, I can't remember exactly. And then I said, why would you pick on an old lady like me? And he made some remark that I was a sexier, a prettier, something, you know. You're not an old lady at this point, though. No, gosh, no. But I was way older than he was. I already had kids, you know, teenagers. So yeah, I was an old lady. Carrie Hartman was 22 to Heidi's 36. He kept looking at that trailer and was getting a little nervous. And he said, I'm going to just pull up there. Why don't you follow me up there? By up there, Carrie meant farther into the campground, behind a line of trees out of side of the road. He drove past her up around a bend. Heidi put her Jeep in reverse, pulled out and blocked the narrow road just as the deputies had instructed. She then leapt from the Jeep and rushed into the safety of their trailer. The deputies told her to stay put, then went to stand next to the Jeep. Heidi poured herself a cup of coffee with shaking hands. She listened for the sound of the pickup. It returned after a few minutes. Heidi peaked out the window as the deputies pulled Carrie out of the truck and placed him under arrest. They frisked him, finding a small knife in his pocket. Then they tried to call their backup down at the Magpie campground, only to discover their radios didn't work in the canyon either. So the deputies piled into Carrie's truck and drove it and him down the canyon to meet with the sheriff. I stayed a while because I was all nervous, I guess, whatever. I had my coffee and then I got in the Jeep and I drove down and they were already gone. Only later did Heidi learn from her husband, John, what had happened when Carrie arrived in handcuffs at Magpie. John she told me had turned to the sheriff. He says, boy, I'd sure like to smack him in the mouth. He says, well, we look the other way. So they had him already out and John punched him and he was embarrassed. He looked down and he says, I wish you had a gun and shoot me. Really? Yeah, he said that because he was embarrassed. He was ashamed. John Poznan had punched Carrie Hartman in the face while the sheriff and his deputies looked the other way. Needless to say, this wasn't legal. The deputies had then taken Carrie to the Weber County jail in Ogden where they had booked him on suspicion of making threatening phone calls. A minor misdemeanor charge that didn't quite match the gravity of the whole situation. Carrie provided a handwritten statement admitting to what had happened. I called the lady and said, would you meet me at a time and place? If not, some harm would come to your husband's car and possibly him. It's not Carrie's voice, but they are his words read by a voice actor. Even today, Heidi downplays this seriousness of what happened. Well, because he really hadn't done anything other than met me. But I'm here to tell you, there was something much more ominous behind those phone calls, something that makes Heidi's mouth go dry and her hands fidget when she really stops to think about it. This season isn't about Heidi Poznan. As I said earlier, it's about the disappearance of Sheree Warren, but there's a reason we're starting with Heidi instead of Sheree. It's because Carrie Hartman, the man who tried to lure Heidi up that canyon, would years later meet, befriend, and woo, Sheree Warren. So now we're going to follow Carrie's path to see how he and Sheree first came together. Hold on, because from here, everything escalates. Our story begins with a phone call. Voice on the phone said, oh, sexy. He had made literally thousands of those types of calls. He follows the women, gets to know them, and then hits them. Don't report to a body that I found. Everything. There are a lot of missing girls. Escalates. Sheree Warren stabbed until the night broke and then shot twice in the head. Sheree Warren disappeared in the fall of 1985. Her friends and family say she's not the type to just run away. She wouldn't leave her child. No one can say just what happened to Sheree. No one's faced charges for her disappearance. Not her ex-husband, Chuck Warren. Money was a big issue, Chuck. He told her, if I can't have you, nobody's going to. And not Sheree's boyfriend, Carrie Hartman. I remember her staying. Be careful with him. He had two dispositions. Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, he could be the nicest guy you ever wanted me. But he also had that sinister side. That was a clip from the Amazon Music Exclusive Podcast called, Prime Members Can Listen to it now in the Amazon Music Cap, download the app today.