Sword and Scale
Sword and Scale is a weekly true crime podcast covering the dark underworld of crime and the criminal justice system’s response to it. The first episode launched January 1st, 2014 and feature stories of murder, abduction, rape, and even more bizarre forms of crime. It’s the purest form of true-crime where the raw uncensored audio tells the story. Everything from 911 calls to court testimony, interviews with victims and sometimes with perpetrators give listeners a 360 degree look at the seedy underbelly of human nature and so-called civilized society. Sword and scale proves that the worst monsters are real.
Episode 356
In 2008, University of Wisconsin–Madison student Brittany Zimmermann was murdered in her apartment in the middle of the day, and then the trail went cold. An unlikely informant leads the police to search for two mystery men, a theory that would steer the investigation for years. As time passed and leads fell apart, the case slowly faded from view. Twelve years later, detectives discovered the truth wasn’t buried; it had been right in front of them all along. Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com
1 hour 10 mins
28 June Finished
Episode 355
When Virgil and Shirley Best were found dead in their home, investigators expected a familiar explanation. What followed instead was an investigation defined by uncertainty and a motive that challenged the idea that violence always comes from clear intent. Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com
58 mins
17 June Finished
Episode 354
In 2022, when 57-year-old Harold Allen was found dead in his Indiana home, the case was ruled natural. Nearly a year later, a brazen burglary and a string of buried messages bring detectives back to the same address and to Marsha Allen, the woman who said she loved him. What starts as a property crime becomes a chilling reexamination of Harold’s final days, as small-town routines, late-night deliveries, and a quiet house of secrets point to something far darker. No one is ready for where the evidence leads or what it costs. Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com
1 hour 13 mins
7 June Finished
Episode 352
Beloved father and prominent attorney, Gary Farris, should have been safe on his own land. But in July 2018, he vanished from his family’s rural dream property, and a smoldering burn pile would unravel everything they thought they knew about their home, their marriage, and each other. Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com
1 hour 14 mins
12 May Finished
Episode 350
In 2016, 22-year-old Cati Blauvelt was found stabbed to death in the basement of an abandoned house. The search for her killer would uncover a story of control, deception, and betrayal — and reveal how one man turned trust into a weapon. Get instant access to all episodes, including premium unreleased episodes, commercial-free at swordandscale.com
1 hour 23 mins
29 April Finished