S6 E1 - The Killing Year

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

I'm Carter Roy, the host of Murder True Crime Stories. If you listen to true crime because you want more than just what happened, this show is for you. Each episode takes a deep dive into history's most notorious murders, looking beyond the crime scene to focus on the people and communities impacted the most. Whether a case is solved or unsolved, the goal is simple, to understand why these stories still matter.

New episodes drop every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Follow Murder, True Crime Stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen.

SPEAKER_2 (0:42)

Listen to every episode of American Nightmares, The Canal Murders, ad free right now when you subscribe to The Binge. You'll hear the entire series before anyone else. Get exclusive bonus episodes and unlock more than 70 other true crime podcasts. Just head to the Binge channel on Apple Podcasts and tap subscribe or visit getthebinge.com to listen wherever you are. The Binge, feed your true crime obsession.

SPEAKER_1 (1:16)

Before today's episode, I want to tell you about another true crime show I think you'll enjoy. It's called American Nightmares.

The new season, Canal Murders, takes you to Phoenix, Arizona, where a series of women were found murdered in and around the city's canals. What initially appeared to be separate crimes soon raised a terrifying question. Were these murders connected? And was a killer using the canals to hide his crimes? American Nightmares retraces the investigations, the victim stories, and the clues that could connect these cases.

Follow American Nightmares now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Brian Peter Falk (2:02)

This podcast series contains descriptions of violent assault and murder and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.

When you think of big city crime in America, you're more likely to imagine the dark cobblestone alleys of New York or Mobland, Chicago, or the private eyes and tabloid terrors of Los Angeles. Phoenix, Arizona probably doesn't make your list. It didn't make mine either. At 1.6 million inhabitants, Phoenix is America's fifth largest city. And these days, what it's most famous for is heat.

SPEAKER_4 (2:42)

If you're not already fed up with triple-digit heat in March, it could be sticking around for a bit longer.

SPEAKER_5 (2:48)

It's getting us to around 100 on Tuesday, 102 Wednesday, and around 103 on Thursday.

Brian Peter Falk (2:54)

While today's temperatures break records, it's always been hot and dry here. And that is why, centuries ago, the very first inhabitants, the ancient Hohokam people, dug canals, moving water across the Phoenix Valley to irrigate their crops.

Today, Phoenix still has a canal system, although the word system isn't exactly right. It's more like a haphazard mix of waterways, a few of which connect, others of which don't. Some meander along the paths of long-ago creeks. Some have the straight lines and hard angles of more modern engineering. All of them have paths alongside, which Phoenicians have always used for walking and biking.

In some areas, like wealthy Scottsdale to the east, the paths are manicured and lined with coffee shops and e-bike rental places. But in parts of central Phoenix, the canals have always been magnets for trouble. Brianna Whitney is a local crime reporter.

Brianna Whitney (3:58)

I think the best thing about Phoenix can also be a Catch-22. It's sunny, it's warm, it's active, people want to be out. So I think it's one of those things where running, walking, biking the canal, great activity in Phoenix.

Safest activity? Probably not.

Brian Peter Falk (4:14)

I've walked miles of the canals and can attest that there are spots that are desolate and littered with trash and graffiti.

In the pedestrian tunnels that run underneath the roads, I've seen homeless people and illicit drug use. But in the 1990s, the canal paths were even worse. If you lived in Phoenix in those days, the first thing you probably thought of when someone mentioned the canals wasn't just crime. It was murder.

Jill Slocum (4:40)

Were you planning to do anything with her the next day? Objection relevant.

Joe Krakowicki (4:47)

It was her birthday? So yes.

Brian Peter Falk (4:49)

This is Joe Krakowicki. He's on the witness stand at a trial nearly 30 years after one of the worst days in his life. He's here to talk about that day.

Brianna Whitney (5:00)

Do you remember that day?

Joe Krakowicki (5:02)

It's been many, many years, but it's been with me that many years.

Brian Peter Falk (5:06)

In 1992, Joe is 23 years old, working as a bartender in Phoenix and taking classes at the local campus of DeVry University, a business and technology school. He shares an apartment with his girlfriend, Angela Brosso. He calls her Angie. She's a DeVry graduate. That's how they met. And she now teaches at the school. They are both part of a growing movement to create tech jobs in Phoenix, which has earned the city the nickname Silicon Desert.