Bestselling author, co-host of the hit podcast and Discovery + docuseries Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer, and true-crime investigative journalist Billy Jensen goes to Columbus, Ohio, where he examines the unsolved cases of eighteen dead and missing women, whom he suspects were the victims of serial killers on the loose and operating under cover of the opioid epidemic in America's heartland. Jensen: From talking to them, I dont think theyre close. spoke with say they have begun to re-examine their relationships with Jensen. He was telling me about how good he was at going down on women. They never got a room, however. Newell says the first alleged inappropriate incident followed a signing for Jensens book Chase Darkness With Me on Aug. 13, 2019, in Los Angeles. All Rights reserved. s requests for an interview and her attorney, reached for comment, declined to discuss the matter. Its my understanding that Billy sort of framed it as Id been scorned, she says. Jensen: I think with this case, citizen detectives are really only going to be as good as the information that is delivered. Did Police Corruption Derail the Long Island Serial Killer Investigation? Jensen: Also just explaining to listeners that the police dont always have the victims best interests at heart. 3. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. According to Jensen, a lawyer from Exactly Right contacted him not long after the party and connected him with an investigator, who said they received complaints from three people saying that my hugs and embraces had been over the line, he says. Soon true-crime social media was in convulsions over the allegations and people were choosing sides. Newell claims Jensen kissed her right before she got into her Uber. At the time, he was also struggling with inner turmoil over revelations about his late friend's drug use. To be honest, I was friends with Billy for a while until this stuff started coming out, she says. He also said something about how he would go down on [his co-worker], she says. Billy Jensen and Alexis Linkletter's new investigative podcast 'Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer' looks at the case of disgraced police chief James Burke and asks what the S Editors picks Meet a gumshoe for the digital age: the Facebook detective. Billy Jensen is a true crime journalist focused squarely on unsolved murders and missing persons. One person had said I hugged them for too long and talked too closely to them; one said I put my arm around them multiple times; and one said I touched their behind during an embrace., After the investigation was concluded, Jensen says he was told he had acted inappropriately and the podcast was then discontinued. It was very obvious and pronounced, this sort of petting, stroking her hair. While I understand some might be cynical of my seeking treatment, I needed to not only address my alcohol use, but my mental health as well, he says. McNamaras work on the case has been credited for helping to catch the killer, who pleaded guilty to the decade-spanningcriminal campaignlast month. Exactly Right, the podcasting company founded by hosts of the mega-popular, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, offered only the end of an era tweet as the public statement about the decision and did not respond to. Billy Bush thinks T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach should keep working together after their firing from ABC, and gives a few ways how they can bounce back. Jensen began acting aggressively flirtatious with her and talking about his open marriage, an arrangement well known among his friends and acquaintances. Billy Jensen speaking as part of Death Become Us' The Murder Squad Live Show on November 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. "Everyone [in the news, following her death] kept referring to her as Patton Oswalt's wife and I was like, no, she was her own person," Jensen . Calderon-Olsen says she had expected better from Jensen. I dont know.. In 2017, Jensen was on the . I will post the summary of the Rolling Stone article in this thread, however subsequent updates will be done comment form. And how did people connected to the police department react when you started asking questions? During this time a lot of people saw this and then it became a rumor that he may have had a relationship with me., At the time of these interactions, Newell says she dismissed Jensens behavior but reassessed it after the Exactly Right employee allegations came out. But after 17 years of writing hundreds of stories without endings, he was fed up--and decided to solve the murders and find the missing himself. OBrien confirmed Newells account to Rolling Stone and says she left the gathering because she was uncomfortable with the way Jensen was acting toward Newell. What a fantastic night, reads Caileans). It worked, to an extent the hosts claim to have helped crack at least one cold case so it was a shock when the podcast was unceremoniously discontinued. Each season features a deep dive investigation into a case or issue that true crime fans will be obsessed with, culminating in a special streaming on discovery+. BEFORE COMMENTING IN THIS THREAD PLEASE READ THE STICKIED COMMENT AT THE TOP. Ask for some sort of statement/acknowledgement? s requests for comment. One person had said I hugged them for too long and talked too closely to them; one said I put my arm around them multiple times; and one said I touched their behind during an embrace., Pointing out those are *three* allegations from this one party ^, When I was informed of the complaints, I was shocked, embarrassed, and hated to hear that I had made others feel uncomfortable, Jensen tells Rolling Stone. (He has also posted publicly about it on his website in response to recent allegations.) It was very obvious and pronounced, this sort of petting, stroking her hair. The FBIs Persecution of Sidney Poitier Send us a tip using our anonymous form. he wrote of McNamaras dogged nature, her apt ability to get grizzled investigators to open up, and her dedication to tracking down the serial killer responsible for 13 murders and close to 50 rapes. He is well known for his role in the Golden State Killer case; in which a serial killer had committed more than 50 rapes, at least 13 murders, and more than 100 burglaries in California. Newell says she was intoxicated so some of the details are hazy, but claims that, after his co-hosts left, Jensen began acting aggressively flirtatious with her and talking about his open marriage, an arrangement well known among his friends and acquaintances. The only thing I can do now is keep working the program to be and stay accountable, make direct amends where appropriate, and treat my underlying issues so that I stay on the forward path.. The podcast feed that contained The Murder Squad has now been updated with a new Paul Holes podcast, Buried Bones. Linkletter: I just think accountability. OBrien, watching the alleged touching, asked her friend if she was OK, then excused herself. [She] told me Billy grabbed her after he came up behind her, and that she felt extremely violated by this, Williams said in the sworn statement. 1:29 An event at Gramercy Books featuring true-crime podcast host and author Billy Jensen has been canceled after the publication of Jensen's latest book has been indefinitely postponed.. BJ gave an interview to Rolling stone and the article includes some of his quotes. Ive seen a lot of chatter about Billy Jensen on Reddit and in FB groups since Jensen and Holes was cancelled. that Jensen acted inappropriately toward her on more than one occasion after she was a guest on a, . Hes appeared on Discovery ID shows, co-hosted the true crime podcast The First Degree, written books, started the Murder Squad with Holes, and has been greeted by screaming fans at increasingly popular true-crime conventions. The 100 Best Albums of 2022, The series also probes Burkes close ties with former District Attorney Thomas Spota, who was convicted in 2019 for participating in the coverup of the Loeb assault. You know, the chief of police is engaging in nefarious activities and kicking the FBI the most sophisticated crime solving unit in the history of the world out of the investigation of the Long Island serial killer case. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. I remember walking in and Billy immediately grabbed me and started hugging me to the point where it was a little too long, she says. I never had romantic feelings for Billy. Tisdale says that she decided to speak about the alleged slap on her podcast after she heard about allegations following a 2021 party that ultimately led to Jensens removal from his podcast. Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad is going off the air. The tweet set off dismayed speculation among the true crime community, and rightly so: The podcast, which launched in 2019, was a popular powerhouse of the genre, featuring Paul Holes, the now-retired detective who helped crack the Golden State Killer case, and Billy Jensen, who helped finish the 2018 bestseller, Ill Be Gone in the Dark, that detailed the hunt for the serial killer, after author Michelle McNamara died in 2016. So again, to have somebody who is supposed to be well-versed in survivors and victim sensitivity, those boundaries were crossed. Jensen, for his part, claims Calderon-Olsen is part of the organized effort to spread negative stories about him, a claim she denies and calls irresponsible, saying she only came out in support of his accuser at Exactly Right. [He was] grabbing the back of my neck. Billy has solved or helped solve ten homicides. You just have to. Following McNamara's death, Oswalt connected Jensen to citizen detective. Terra is an incredibly smart girl and very sweet, she says. (He has also posted publicly about it on his website in response to recent allegations.) Billy Bush, who was fired from the "Today" show over lewd Donald Trump video, believes T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach should start their own show after being ousted from ABC. And if law enforcement would have been really clear about the days those people went missing and put that out there on the front page of the paper who was acting weird on those days? When I was informed of the complaints, I was shocked, embarrassed, and hated to hear that I had made others feel uncomfortable, Jensen tells Rolling Stone. OBrien, watching the alleged touching, asked her friend if she was OK, then excused herself. I felt [Jensens] hand just grab and smack, basically, the back of my head, Calderon-Olsen says. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! And it worked. DNA evidence that McNamara was researching as well as her notes. This was no coordinated smear campaign., Jensen further claims that Tisdale only made allegations against him because he rejected her advances (this is what BJ already shared on his website so I am not going to summarize it again), Tisdale, however, denies this. So if you kick out the feds, its not like a fed is going to come wandering in there unless theyre really called in there. And the release of his upcoming book, Killers Amidst Killers: Hunting Serial Killers Operating Under the Cloak of Americas Opioid Epidemic, , which had been scheduled for publication this summer, has been indefinitely delayed. (Thank you for a lovely time looking forward to when we are all in one city again!, reads Calderon-Olsens tweet. SEATTLE For seventeen years, true crime journalist Billy Jensen wrote about unsolved murders and missing persons, before turning his focus to trying to actually solve these mysteries himself. In 2019, CBCs investigative podcast, Finding Cleo, uncovered what happened to a missing indigenous girl, Cleopatra Semaganis Nicotine, highlighting the plight of her community. Because it has really been traumatic., A True-Crime Star Lost His Podcast Over Misconduct Allegations. It was just kind of jarring because I actually had [seen] him an hour or two prior to this, and he didnt have that same interaction. Billy Jensen was booted from his hit podcast. Its a tarnishing that needs to be fixed. Four, including a toddler and a person with male anatomy remain unidentified. [She] told me Billy grabbed her after he came up behind her, and that she felt extremely violated by this, Williams said in the sworn statement. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Then I will link them here with a brief summary. During this time, he decided to pursue a career in professional roller hockey. Crime Solving & Story Telling. We were told when we were conducting the interviews, District Attorney Tim Sini is leaning pretty heavily on the cell phone data dumps that theyre doing, and theyre using this new technology to analyze various cell phone data from the area. A new podcast looks at why. So again, to have somebody who is supposed to be well-versed in survivors and victim sensitivity, those boundaries were crossed. Jensen, for his part, claims Calderon-Olsen is part of the organized effort to spread negative stories about him, a claim she denies and calls irresponsible, saying she only came out in support of his accuser at Exactly Right. Her face was every bit as shocked and embarrassed as mine was.. This corruption has been going on since the 1970s, there have been several internal reports that have been made public. There was no time to grieve because there was work to be done, Jensen told, Our relationship was entirely based on crime, he told, Jensen who has decades of writing and editing experience was one of several who devoted themselves to finishing McNamaras book, : One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer,, was published in 2018, just two months before the killer, now identified as former police officer Joseph DeAngelo, McNamaras work on the case has been credited for helping to catch the killer, who pleaded guilty to the decade-spanning, Jensen continues to work on trying to crack cases like the Golden State Killer mystery. This week we're joined by investigative journalist Billy Jensen and retired cold case investigator Paul Holes to talk about why we're obsessed with true crime, their experiences solving cold cases like the Golden State Killer, and how to keep ourselves safe. THE BOOK. Michelle McNamara died from a sudden accidental overdose in 2016, her friend and fellow true crime enthusiast Billy Jensen was devastated. He recalls that Jensen appeared drunk and that, at one point during the party, his friend approached him and told him that Jensen had just grabbed her buttocks. He was grabbing me all over the place, Newell claims. Stop listening until its addressed? Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. I remember walking in and Billy immediately grabbed me and started hugging me to the point where it was a little too long, she says. Billy Jensen, co-host of the Murder Squad and contributor to various books and podcasts, has been accused of sexual harassment from multiple co-workers and fellow pod-casters. There was no time to grieve because there was work to be done, Jensen told Oxygen.com. The true crime podcasts Subreddit exploded with a so-called mega thread to discuss Jensen. "Chase Darkness With Me" is described as a memoir about "Jensen's life and career investigating unsolved crimes, and the shocking homicide caught on camera in Chicago that compelled him to . This whole Billy thing coaxed me into one hundred percent not drinking anymore, she says. Terra Newell claims to Rolling Stone that Jensen acted inappropriately toward her on more than one occasion after she was a guest on a June 5, 2019 episode of The First Degree. No, I did not. The number of stories of which I was aware increased significantly as women I didnt know began reaching out to me to share their own experiences with [Jensen], and as other women posted their stories anonymously on Reddit and Facebook groups. I don't know what is going to happen to the book, but if asked, I would do my damnedest to help get it out there, he promised. If you ever wanted to have a place where you would be able to set up a little fiefdom, it would be in Suffolk County because its rich, its the 11th biggest police department in the country, and Long Island is a dead end. Linkletter: I do think geography plays a role, too. In various communities, there are people who are missing stairs. In June, two podcasters released episodes going public with allegations of sexual misconduct against Jensen. He was running Suffolk County Police Department like he was the prince of Suffolk County. I think thats what made me most disgusted by him, is that he knows shes a victim of trauma to the scariest degree. She says he then took hold of her head in his hand. If you are familiar with Billy Jensen's work, you will know he is a dogged investigative . Newell is perhaps the most well-known survivor in modern true crime. This was no coordinated smear campaign.. veryone [in the news, following her death] kept referring to her as Patton Oswalts wife and I was like, no, she was her own person, Jensen reflected to, Jensen and McNamara would meet every month for lunch, where she would update the true crime journaliston her hunt for the, How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders. Jensen, his, co-hosts, Newell, and Newells friend Rachael OBrien went to a bar after the event. NYT bestseller Chase Darkness with Me: How One True Crime Writer Started Solving Murders, Discovery+: Unraveled, Killers Amidst Killers coming 2023. Hes well aware that Im a survivor, she says. Kristina . Billy Jensen. For over fifteen years, Billy Jensen worked as a true crime writer, fighting for victims' families as he examined unsolved murders and disappearances across the country. The company limited replies to the tweet, but that didnt stop the networks fans from demanding answers. ", "I dont think I could have. I really thought it was this idyllic, beautiful place. The true crime podcasts Subreddit exploded with a so-called mega thread to discuss Jensen. to collect negative stories and criticisms about me to share to the public wholesale., Both Haynes and Tisdale strongly dispute this characterization. and says she left the gathering because she was uncomfortable with the way Jensen was acting toward Newell. Many of the key players have been posting on social media making statements, and many podcasts that collaborated with Jensen at one point or another have also made statements and/or distanced themselves from BJ. Jensen who has decades of writing and editing experience was one of several who devoted themselves to finishing McNamaras book following her tragic death in 2016. Hes very familiar that Ive been outspoken about my rape. Trending Hes very familiar that Ive been outspoken about my rape. However, when these moments are presented inaccurately, all together, and without context, the result is to not only mischaracterize each of the individual events, but also fundamentally misrepresent who I am and have been as a person., that Jenn Tisdale, the podcaster who claimed he slapped her, has enlisted her friends including Haynes, who Jensen claims harbors a professional grudge as part of an organized effort. Its the end of an era, podcast network Exactly Right tweeted in May 2022. Again, all these signs pointing to, he was a good guy. She also says she reached out to him with a professional request on behalf of a production company she worked for, and acknowledges she tagged him in some social media posts. Im actually dating someone at this time so any flirty behavior with him is absolutely not OK, Newell recalls. Jensen continues to work on trying to crack cases like the Golden State Killer mystery. But if you have this man in charge of a police department, its just a recipe for total chaos as far as enforcing the law is concerned, because, like Billy said, his whole reason for kicking the feds out was so he could protect his wrongdoings, and whether thats as extreme as murder or just roughing up sex workers, it plays into why the case hasnt been solved. Chase Darkness With Me by Billy Jensen is a fascinating real-life journey of Bill Jensen; from being a crime reporter to helping authorities in solving real-life cold cases. Wall Street . I did not smack or grab the back of her head. Saying that Calderon-Olsen never voiced any objection to him, Jensen says that he only found out about this allegation when he received a request for comment from. As one social media user put it: Time to step up and be honest because the rumors going around are about to get ahead of this. And they did. It was this weird moment, almost being sandwiched between the two [men]., Former police officer and criminal behaviorist Sarah Cailean, a friend of Calderon-Olsens who was also in attendance, recalls seeing Jensen touching Calderon-Olsens hair. She had seen rumors circulating online about his behavior at the Halloween party, which made her rethink her interactions with him in the past, which she says she hadnt quite yet processed. (Rolling Stone reached out to Burkes lawyer but did not immediately hear back.) Theycontained about 3,500 files on the Golden State Killer. I had never seen anything like this before. Yet every case he investigated reached the same conclusion: the missing stayed missing, the murderer got away. As soon as Burke went down and now that Spota, the D.A., is awaiting sentencing, a lot of people have become a lot more emboldened to speak their truth about what they experienced under that law enforcement regime, she says. hes no longer part of the podcast. Jensen further claims that Tisdale made allegations against him because he rejected her advances; , he has shared flirtatious texts she sent before and after their alleged encounter. In late 2011, authorities announced they were looking for one murderer responsible for all of the deaths. Unraveled is hosted by journalists Billy Jensen and Alexis Linkletter. Are other people going to continue to listen? Now, it all seems to be crashing down. We want to hear it. Billy Jensen The tattoo of Russian teen Olesya Krivtsova, who faces 7 years in prison over an Instagram story criticizing the war in Ukraine. He was grabbing me all over the place, Newell claims. Hes very familiar that Ive been outspoken about my rape. I was probably about 11 or 12 and it was about Nostradamus and how heit was narrated by Orson Welles about all these things he predicted. A former friend of Jensens, who says she had a falling out with him over reporting decisions he made in one of his podcasts, says that Jensen has long been known as a missing stair as in, something you warn newcomers about so they dont trip. OBrien, watching the alleged touching, asked her friend if she was OK, then excused herself. BJ appears to now be out of rehab according to a tweet showing him in attendance of an event. I felt [Jensens] hand just grab and smack, basically, the back of my head, Calderon-Olsen says. It wasdecided it had to bethe ending of the book. BJ has made his own statements via his website. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. (He has also posted publicly about it on his website in response to recent allegations.) Williams, the second podcaster to go public, first shared his account of that evenings events on his show, He recalls that Jensen appeared drunk and that, at one point during the party, his friend approached him and told him that Jensen had just grabbed her buttocks. And if it wasnt for podcasts like this and for people making movies about it, keeping this story in the mainstream, I dont think they would put the resources behind it. The same year Burke became police chief, Loeb, who was then using heroin, was arrested for stealing a duffel bag from Burkes car. As the pandemic descended in 2020, they lost touch. Jensen said that the success of the New York Times best-selling book along with the HBO docuseries pales in comparison to what would have mattered most to McNamara. Terra Newell claims to Rolling Stone that Jensen acted inappropriately toward her on more than one occasion after she was a guest on a June 5, 2019 episode of The First Degree. It was just kind of jarring because I actually had [seen] him an hour or two prior to this, and he didnt have that same interaction. A recent article talks about modern-day sleuthing and mentions BJ with no apparent knowledge of all this happening. Does anyone think the rumors will be addressed by either team? Guns, Grift, and Gore: The Life and Times of an Arms-Dealing Hustler, In response to a detailed list of questions from Rolling Stone, Jensen apologized for some of his alleged behavior, denied other parts of it, and told the magazine he has a drinking problem, coupled with mental health issues, and has entered rehab to address them both.