S20 Ep132: The Las Vegas Massacre Connections: Finding Strength Through Tragedy w/Mark Gray
Darkness Radio
Darkness Radio
4.8 • 3.2K Ratings
🗓️ 4 November 2025
⏱️ 158 minutes
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Summary
On October 1, 2017, Mary Jo von Tillow's world changed forever.
Her husband, Kurt, was killed in the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas, the deadliest in U.S. history. In just eleven minutes, her life-and the lives of thousands of others-were shattered.
But what followed was more than grief. Out of devastation came unexpected bonds with other survivors, advocates, and families who knew the same kind of loss. From a 9/11 firefighter who turned his pain into kindness, to a victims' rights attorney who changed national law, to fellow widows and survivors who refused to give up, Mary Jo discovered what it means to carry tragedy together.
THE LAS VEGAS MASSACRE CONNECTIONS is both a deeply personal account and a collective portrait of resilience. Through Mark Gray's in-depth reporting and Mary Jo's courage to share her story, this book captures the enduring impact of Route 91 and the human strength that rises after unimaginable loss.
On today's TCT, we discuss what happened to Mark on the fateful last night of the Route 91 Harvest Festival, why he revisited that night five years later, how Mary Jo Von Tillow came into his life, and how life brought all the people in this book together and turned trauma and death into new life and new opportunities!
Get your copy of "The Las Vegas Connections..." here: https://bit.ly/47ImWMh
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome into the Bastian true crime podcast. Welcome in to the Best in True Crime Podcasting. |
| 0:25.2 | This is True Crime Tuesday. |
| 0:26.2 | I'm your host Tim Dennis. |
| 0:27.4 | Got a good show for you, folks. |
| 0:29.5 | You know, we always say that we do this show for the victims, right? |
| 0:35.3 | That we're really doing these true crime shows for the victims. Today we're truly doing this show for the victims. And I have a book that I had the |
| 0:42.8 | privilege of reading this weekend that if this book doesn't make you shed a tear, you are not a human |
| 0:49.0 | being. I'll tell you that right now. I'm going to tell our author, Mark, darn you, Mark, you made me cry at a book |
| 0:58.1 | for the first time in three years. I'm going to write a review later for him that will say as |
| 1:03.8 | much. It may include some foul language. I don't like crying at books. I really don't. I'm not a |
| 1:08.9 | crier. But I'm getting to be an old softy at my age. I'm realizing this now. Name of the book is a good one. The Las Vegas Massacre Connections. I do have a personal tie to this. Mark does as well. Mark was involved in this Route 91 shooting in Las Vegas. We'll talk about that here in just a moment. name of the book, let me get through it. The Las Vegas Massacre Connections, |
| 1:29.3 | Finding Strength Through Tragedy after America's Deadliest Mass Shooting. |
| 1:33.5 | It is put out by Wild Blue Press, our friends over there. |
| 1:37.2 | And Mark has got many, many credits, writing credits to, |
| 1:48.9 | and massive writing credits to his resume, |
| 1:50.9 | including Rolling Stone people. |
| 1:53.2 | And I'll bring him in. |
| 1:54.1 | We'll talk about it here. |
| 1:58.1 | Ladies and gentlemen, let's bow in his general direction. |
| 1:59.6 | He's gone through so much in his life. |
| 2:18.4 | And we'll get his credits when we bring him in here. Mark Gray, Mark, thank you so much, my friend, for coming onto the program today. It was quite an introduction. I don't think I deserve all that. Oh, no, no, no, you do. You do. First of all, let's get the resume here. Rolling Stone people, you've written for some huge publications. I have, yeah. |
| 2:19.1 | I started, so I was a journalism graduate in college, and I did work for a local |
... |
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