Episode 375: Sarah & Kayla Anderson

The First Degree

Alexis Linkletter and Jac Vanek

True Crime, Society & Culture, News

4.5 • 10K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On August 5, 2022, the peacefulness of a close-knit neighborhood is shattered in Butler Township, Ohio. A 39-year-old man goes on an armed rampage, killing a 41-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter before shooting dead an older couple. The most terrifying part of the senseless quadruple murder is that the victims were all shot somewhere they should have felt safe - in their own homes. The killer is not only swiftly apprehended, but confesses to the crimes. Everyone hopes for a speedy trial given the overwhelming evidence against him. Perhaps he’ll even plead guilty. But it’s not to be. In episode 375, Jac and Alexis detail the heartbreaking murders of Sarah and Kayla Anderson, and Clyde and Sally Knox, in a case that demands an answer to the deeply troubling question: how does society deal with someone so self-serving that they persist in hiding behind the system in refusing to face the consequences of their actions? Visit: https://www.sarahandkayla.org/ 🎟 Catch up to FOUR bonus episodes per month plus full video episodes over on Patreon: patreon.com/thefirstdegree 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thefirstdegree 🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@thefirstdegreee 👤 Facebook: facebook.com/thefirstdegree 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.
0:25.0	I know everyone says this about their friends, or especially if they lost somebody, but I'm telling you, Sarah, I just had a heart of gold.
0:28.7	So I had pulled over at a fast food restaurant, and Sarah had called me back because I'd
0:34.2	called her earlier that day.
0:36.1	I heard loud bangs, and then I just heard nothing
0:40.0	and I just kept saying, you know, Sarah, what's up? Are you okay? And I just look at my phone like,
0:44.3	did we get disconnected? And then I heard gunshots. I just want justice for this family. I love them
0:51.6	so much. It killed me to think about the rage they must have to endure
0:59.6	every day. I just, if it makes me angry, I just can't imagine how they feel. These people deserve
1:06.5	some speck of justice.
1:16.4	Welcome to the first degree, the true crime podcast that you might end up on. My name is Jack Fannick. I'm sitting here with Alexis Linkletter. Happy Wednesday. Happy hump day.
1:21.5	Happy spooky season, as they say. Happy spooky season. We're nearing the end of it. We're
	...

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