The 13th Step: Feds Arrest Eric Spofford

Bear Brook

NHPR

True Crime

4.8 • 15.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Big news on another podcast from the team behind Bear Brook: The 13th Step. That series investigates allegations of sexual misconduct against Eric Spofford, the founder of a major addiction treatment provider in New England, allegations Spofford denies. Now, federal prosecutors say Spofford organized violent acts of vandalism against Lauren, her parents and her editor, all in hopes of shutting that reporting down.Bear Brook has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential. Bear Brook, hosted by Jason Moon, is the critically-acclaimed true crime podcast from New Hampshire Public Radio. Season 1 - Two barrels. Four Bodies. And a cold case that’s changing how murders will be investigated forever. Season 2: A True Crime Story - Jason Carroll is serving life in prison for a murder he says he didn’t commit. The only evidence against him? His own taped confession. More than 30 years later, is it possible to get to the truth – and who gets to tell it? Stephen King called both seasons “the best true crime podcasts I've ever heard. Brilliant, involving, hypnotic.” The New Yorker said season one “stands out for its ambition, complexity, and thoughtful tone.” Photos, transcripts and more at bearbrookpodcast.com. Do you have information about the Bear Brook murders or the Sharon Johnson murder case? Email us.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Todd Bookman, a reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio.
0:03.1	For the last six months, I've been thinking a lot about a cat named Sergeant Tibbs,
0:07.6	who goes missing, who's then found, and who would land at the center of so much human pain,
0:13.5	anger, and confusion.
0:15.1	It's not about the cat anymore. It's just about everything else.
0:19.2	The final days of Sergeant Tibbs, a new podcast from NHPR about what we owe our pets and each other.
0:27.2	Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:30.2	Hey, it's Jason Moon.
0:31.6	There's big news on another podcast I work on called The 13th Step.
0:35.8	If you haven't listened, the 13th Step investigates
0:38.6	claims of sexual misconduct against the founder and former CEO of a major addiction
0:44.2	treatment provider in New England. It's hosted by my colleague Lauren Chulgin. Last year,
0:49.0	the series was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The former CEO at the center of this story, a guy named
0:55.6	Eric Spofford, denied the allegations of sexual misconduct. He sued us for defamation and lost.
1:02.5	But that wasn't all. About a month after we published, people's homes started getting attacked.
1:09.6	Lauren's house, her parents' house, our editor's house,
1:13.2	a house Lauren used to live in, five separate attacks, bricks through windows, the sea word
1:19.2	spray painted in red on doors. At Lauren's house, someone smashed a huge window and wrote
1:25.3	just the beginning underneath it. At the time, Eric Spofford denied
1:31.2	any involvement in these attacks. And then, several days ago, he was arrested by the FBI.
1:39.1	If you want to know what happens next, just keep listening. We're putting the latest episode of the 13th step
1:45.3	right here in the Bear Brook Feed. When you're finished, if you haven't already, I'd highly
	...

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