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S5 Ep12: Christopher Hightower

45m · What Makes a Killer · 19 Oct 08:00

September 22nd, 1991. Guilford, Connecticut. Early that evening, a mysterious man visited the home of Christine Brendel and delivered some shocking news – her brother Ernest and his family had been kidnapped, and were being held for ransom by the Mafia. It turned out the man at the door, 42-year-old Christopher Hightower, was a pathological liar and a killer. He claimed he needed $75,000 to release the family, but in reality, they had already met their fate. Most shocking of all was Hightower's methods. He killed Ernest – who was a friend of his – with a crossbow, strangled his wife Alice, and then drugged their eight-year-old daughter Emily, and dumped her in a shallow grave. But in court he continued his lies, claiming he saw the mob carry out the killings.
What Makes a Killer is sponsored by BetterHelp & Sinisterhood.
Original music by Ben Krejci, Lee Rosevere, Kai Engel, and Daniel Birch. Additional music provided by Epidemic Sound.
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

The episode S5 Ep12: Christopher Hightower from the podcast What Makes a Killer has a duration of 45:38. It was first published 19 Oct 08:00. The cover art and the content belong to their respective owners.

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Original music by Kai Engel, Ben Krejci, and Kevin MacLeod. Additional music and sound effects provided by Epidemic Sound.
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

S5 Ep12: Christopher Hightower

September 22nd, 1991. Guilford, Connecticut. Early that evening, a mysterious man visited the home of Christine Brendel and delivered some shocking news – her brother Ernest and his family had been kidnapped, and were being held for ransom by the Mafia. It turned out the man at the door, 42-year-old Christopher Hightower, was a pathological liar and a killer. He claimed he needed $75,000 to release the family, but in reality, they had already met their fate. Most shocking of all was Hightower's methods. He killed Ernest – who was a friend of his – with a crossbow, strangled his wife Alice, and then drugged their eight-year-old daughter Emily, and dumped her in a shallow grave. But in court he continued his lies, claiming he saw the mob carry out the killings.
What Makes a Killer is sponsored by BetterHelp & Sinisterhood.
Original music by Ben Krejci, Lee Rosevere, Kai Engel, and Daniel Birch. Additional music provided by Epidemic Sound.
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

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