Carol Costello Presents: Blind Rage

Police continue their search throughout Akron for a blue house with a black eagle, which they hope will lead them to the scene of the crimes. But will Phyllis’ descriptions prove accurate? And detectives dig deep to learn more about their suspect’s past — but how will they link him to the crime scene? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Detectives zero in on their suspect, Samuel Herring, whose rap sheet stretches back to childhood. But how will they confirm he’s their guy when Phyllis cannot see? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calls flood the hotlines as Akron PD conducts a citywide manhunt to find Phyllis’ attacker. Phyllis’ description of the house fuels the search, though police cannot ask her — blinded and still recovering — to point out the location. And a particular tip leads Detective Chris Contos to a group of witnesses and his first compelling suspect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we present a pair of extended interviews with two of the voices in our series: former prosecutor Emily Pelphry, and criminologist Dr. Casey Jordan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovering in her hospital room, Phyllis mines her memory for any details that might help apprehend her attacker. Detective Chris Contos develops theories about what kind of perpetrator the Akron Police Department is dealing with. Carol talks to criminologist Dr. Casey Jordan about the mindset of such a criminal, and discusses the question that’s on everyone’s mind: who would do this? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an emergency room at Akron City Hospital, medical staff tend to Phyllis while detectives attempt to interview her. The biggest question of all isn't whether she'll lose her vision, but whether her memory superpowers will be enough to catch the bastard who did this to her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ninety minutes after her abduction, Phyllis, bound and lying down on the back seat of her car, is brutalized and left for dead.Good samaritans rush to her rescue. And host Carol Costello recounts how, as a 22-year-old reporter at WAKR/TV23, word of something strange in East Akron began to spread through the newsroom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Phyllis’ nightmare has only just begun. Crumpled onto the floorboard of her Buick, she begins to mentally catalog every detail she can about her knife-wielding attacker as he drives toward an unknown destination where she endures horrible consequences. But a request from the assailant and an eye-catching object provide her with the ammo she needs to not only survive, but to “fry the bastard.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 20, 1984 started out as a promising spring day for a single mom from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. It wouldn’t end that way. Phyllis Cottle is assaulted in broad daylight as she leaves work, forced into her car at knifepoint, and left wondering why no one came to her aid. *We recommend you listen to the Prologue prior to this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran journalist Carol Costello introduces the story of Phyllis Cottle, examining the case itself and its unimaginable cruelty, as well as the story of the victim who became a determined, heroic detective in the pursuit of justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices