Episode 366: The Kalamazoo Uber Murders

The First Degree

Alexis Linkletter and Jac Vanek

True Crime, Society & Culture, News

4.5 • 10K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It began as an ordinary night in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Families were out, friends gathered, strangers hailed rides to get across town. But beneath the surface of that routine evening, something unthinkable was unfolding. A man who seemed to have everything together, a job, a family, no history of violence, suddenly broke from the life he knew. Over the course of just a few hours, a city was gripped by a series of random, senseless attacks that defied explanation. Between rides for a car service, he struck again and again, leaving investigators and residents searching for answers. On episode 366 of The First Degree, Jac and Lex dive in, exploring the answers of impossible questions. Like, what could drive someone with no warning signs to unleash chaos on total strangers? And how do you stop a threat that blends so seamlessly into the everyday? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The first degree.
0:02.0	First degree.
0:03.0	First degree.
0:04.0	First degree.
0:05.0	First degree.
0:06.0	First degree.
0:07.0	The first degree.
0:08.0	You see it on the news.
0:10.0	You see it on the paper.
0:11.0	You see it on Facebook.
0:13.0	These things are supposed to happen in movies, not in real life.
0:16.0	Coming out, bit by bit, not far along after this that he was blaming the Uber app.
0:26.5	He said it would turn black, take over his body and his brain and he had no control over himself
0:32.5	during these killings.
0:34.4	But doing what I do and working with a lot of people with schizophrenia diagnosis.
0:41.1	Welcome to the first degree, the true crime podcast that you might end up on.
0:45.3	My name is Jack Fannick. I'm sitting here with Alexis Linkletter. It's another week. It's
0:49.3	another Wednesday. Here we are. Once again. Here we are. We never leave. Coming at you, always nonstop since
0:57.9	2018. That's right. Loud and clear. And speaking of, got a shout out before we start our episode.
1:05.2	If you want in on our premium content, we call it the underground. It's where we get to do whatever we want.
1:11.0	We bring you a premium episode every single week of cases that you recommend. Come join us. You can do
1:17.4	that by going to our Apple subscriptions. Just open the podcast app. Click subscribe. It's super easy.
	...

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