Beyond the Ferns

This week, we are headed to Indiana!

Belle Gunness didn’t just chase a better life—she seemed to study where money followed misfortune, and then quietly position herself in its path.

Born as Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth in rural Norway in 1859, she grew up in poverty, where survival meant hard work and very little security. But when she immigrated to the United States in the 1880s, something shifted. In Chicago, she moved from domestic labor into a life that, on the surface, looked ordinary—marriage, children, a modest home. Underneath it, though, patterns began to form.

Fires. Insurance policies. Sudden deaths that came with payouts.

Her first husband, Mads Sorenson, died under circumstances that raised concern and all pointed back to Belle. But it wouldn't end or even begin with Mads. Each time, the money came through. And each time, Belle moved forward—never collapsing under grief for long, but instead using those moments to rebuild, often bigger than before.

By the time she relocated to a farm in La Porte, Indiana, her methods seemed more deliberate. She placed personal ads, attracting men—often immigrants like herself—who arrived with cash, property, or the promise of both. Many were never seen again. Neighbors noticed the steady flow of visitors, and the silence that followed.

Belle wasn’t impulsive. If anything, she appeared calculated—someone who understood systems like insurance, property ownership, and trust, and found ways to exploit them. Whether through arson, suspected poisoning, or manipulation, money was often at the center of what followed.

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In this week's episode, we are headed to Tennessee!

On the surface, Janet March seemed to have built a beautiful life. She was an artist, a mother of two, and living in an affluent area of Nashville with her husband, successful attorney Perry March. Perry was intelligent, ambitious, and by many accounts, difficult to be around. He had built a reputation as a sharp attorney, but behind the scenes, cracks had already started to form in both his career and his marriage.

By the summer of 1996, Janet and Perry’s relationship was unraveling. The couple fought often, there were rumors of infidelity, and Janet had begun talking seriously about divorce. Then, in August, Janet suddenly vanished. Days passed before she was officially reported missing, and by the time investigators began looking into what happened, precious time had already been lost.

What followed was a case filled with strange behavior, mounting suspicions, years of legal battles, and a man who seemed more focused on controlling the story than finding his missing wife. In this episode, we look at who Janet was before she became a headline, the warning signs in her marriage, and the long road investigators took to uncover the truth.

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In this week's episode, we are headed to Arkansas!

In 2005, in the quiet college town of Russellville, AR, 19-year-old Nona Dirksmeyer was found brutally murdered inside her off-campus apartment. A student at Arkansas Tech University, Nona was known for her easygoing nature and close relationships— a talented woman who was crowned beauty pageant queen at Miss Jean Petit.

In the earliest moments of the investigation, attention turned quickly to someone close to her—her boyfriend, Kevin Jones. He had been one of the last known people to see her, and his account of what happened raised questions for investigators. After discovering Nona, Kevin’s behavior—emotional, frantic, and, at times, inconsistent—drew intense scrutiny.

He was brought in for questioning and interrogated for hours, as investigators worked to reconcile his version of events with the physical scene they were trying to understand. Early on, it seemed as though the case might center around him.

But as the investigation continued, what initially appeared straightforward began to fracture. Evidence didn’t align as cleanly as expected. Certain assumptions were challenged. And questions started to surface—not just about what happened inside that apartment, but about whether the investigation itself was heading in the right direction. Kevin may have literal blood on his hand from rushing to Nona's side, but did he really do it?

Over time, the case would shift in unexpected ways—introducing new angles, new individuals, and growing controversy over how key pieces of evidence were handled.

Years later, the story of Nona Dirksmeyer remains one that lingers—not just because of the violence of that day, but because of everything that followed—and everything that still doesn’t quite fit. And there may be a person currently walking free, that many expect did this, but they can't quite prove it.
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In this week's episode, we are headed to North Dakota!

Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind was a 22-year-old woman from Fargo who was eight months pregnant and preparing for a new chapter in her life. In August 2017, she vanished from her apartment complex after briefly going upstairs to help a neighbor with a simple request. When she didn’t return, concern quickly escalated into a desperate search led by her family and local authorities.

As investigators worked to piece together her last known movements, the case began to unfold in unexpected ways, drawing in the surrounding community and capturing national attention. What initially seemed like a missing persons case soon revealed deeper, more troubling layers—raising questions about trust, vulnerability, and the hidden dangers that can exist in the most ordinary places.

Savanna’s story is not only about the mystery of her disappearance, but also about the lasting impact her life and legacy have had—helping bring awareness to violence against Indigenous women and sparking conversations that continue today.

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