Prompt Cast
Investigating a 52-Year-Old Mystery Friendship in Copenhagen
TLDR In this episode of "Heavyweight," Jonathan Goldstein helps his friend Becky investigate a mystery from her past involving a friendship with a woman named Barbara Schutt in Copenhagen. As they dig deeper, they uncover contradictions in Barbara's life story and a shocking murder confession, leaving many unanswered questions.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Jonathan Goldstein introduces his show "Heavyweight" and discusses the themes of regret and revisiting the past in the stories he tells, including one about returning CDs from Moby and another about retrieving a pawned gun.
04:12
Becky's daughter, Emily, informs her husband, Jonathan Goldstein, that Becky has a mystery to solve from 52 years ago involving a friendship with a woman named Barbara Schutt in Copenhagen, and they decide to investigate.
09:14
Becky's mother, a doctor, gave her advice on how to pop a zit with a razor blade, and despite their different backgrounds, Becky and her best friend Barbara had a close friendship in Copenhagen until they lost touch, and when Becky later found Barbara's obituary, it contradicted everything Barbara had told her about her life.
13:43
Becky is shocked to discover that the details in Barbara's obituary contradict everything Barbara had told her about her life, and she is determined to find out the truth about Barbara's life and why she had lied to her.
18:12
Chris, a friend of Barbara's from college, reveals to the interviewer that Barbara was actually an orphan raised in an orphanage in Kentucky, but was later adopted by a wealthy couple named Charles and Jane Schutt, which explains why Barbara had both a fancy childhood and also talked about her adopted parents in Copenhagen.
22:47
Barbara Schutt confessed to killing her adopted mother, Jane, but later recanted her confession, leading to a trial where the prosecution's case was mostly built on Barbara's confession while the defense argued that the confession was given under false pretenses.
27:43
Barbara confessed to the murder in order to protect her father, but later found out he was innocent; she was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, and her old college friend, Chris, who had been cagey with the police and the host, may have information related to the case.
32:37
Chris took the stand in Barbara's murder trial to protect her, even though they had broken off their engagement before the murder, and he believes she was guilty.
36:56
Chris reconnects with Barbara after many years apart and feels a strange force pulling him towards her, but he never hears her express remorse for the murder, and he shares a story of her injuring herself and believing it was punishment for killing her mother, leaving many unanswered questions about her motives and past.
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