Tag: Mega Episode

Episode 154: Averylee Hobbs (Mega Episode)

In episodes 47 and 48, I told you the story of 4-year-old Averylee Hobbs. Avery was not even a month old when her mother, Britney Roll Mayes, fractured Avery’s skull and spent time in prison. After Britney was released, she was awarded visitation with Avery, who began returning to her paternal grandparents covered in bruises, burns, bite marks, and other inflicted injuries. Even though multiple family members reported the obvious abuse, Avery’s caseworker and guardian ad litem took Britney’s side and even convinced a judge to give Britney custody of her daughter. On July 29, 2016, Avery arrived at the hospital, unresponsive, and she died three days later.

In this mega episode, you’ll hear all of my previous coverage of Avery’s case, including episodes 47, 48, and a snippet from a case update special I released in December of 2021. Then, you’ll hear several more recent updates in Avery’s case, including her mother’s attempt to appeal, the ways her family has kept her memory alive, and the tireless advocacy Avery’s grandma, Tammy Risen, continues to pursue in the name of her little Cupcake.

This is the tragic, infuriating, preventable story of Averylee Hobbs.

Tammy’s petition: https://www.change.org/p/modernization-of-children-s-rights-under-the-care-of-child-protection-services

D.E.A.R. Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1159854537727295

Center for Judicial Excellence: https://centerforjudicialexcellence.org/

“That Old Table” by Tammy Risen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJVbsT76mTw&ab_channel=TammyRisen

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/STLC, and get on your way to being your best self.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $5 per month can listen to my weekly episodes ad free, while $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 149: Thomas Valva (Mega Episode)

In episodes 5 and 6 of this podcast, I told you the story of 8-year-old Thomas Valva. Thomas and his two brothers were unjustly taken from their mother’s custody in 2017 and spent the next three years living with their father and his girlfriend, both of whom abused, starved, and tortured the boys. On January 17, 2020, Thomas and his 10-year-old brother, Anthony, both of whom were on the autism spectrum, were forced to sleep in the family’s unheated garage in their Long Island home. The following morning, Thomas became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead with a core temperature of 76 degrees. Michael Valva and Angela Pollina were arrested and charged with Thomas’s murder.

In this mega-episode, you’ll first hear episodes 5 and 6, followed by information I gave in subsequent update episodes. 

Finally, I will provide all-new, in-depth coverage of the trials of Michael Valva and Angela Pollina, including the horrific details of the way they treated these  innocent boys who never should have been ripped from their loving mother’s arms in the first place.

This is the infuriating story of Thomas Valva.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/STLC, and get on your way to being your best self.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

You can also support the podcast at Ko-Fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 127: Alissa Guernsey (Mega Episode)

In episode 8, I covered the story of 16-month old Alissa Guernsey, who died in 2009 while in the care of her mother’s cousin, Christy Shaffer. Alissa’s death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma. The police had only one suspect: Christy. However, Prosecutor Jeff Wible charged her with nothing more than neglect, and the judge let her out of jail after a mere 77 days. In the first segment of this episode, you’ll hear episode 8 as it originally aired, in which I tell Alissa’s tragic story.

In the second segment, you’ll hear episode 25, in which you’ll hear the unprecedented telephone interview Jeff Wible granted me in August of 2020.

This is a story in which small-town politics, corruption in the justice system, grassroots activism, and the utter miscarriage of justice intertwine. This is Episode 127: Alissa Guernsey (Mega Episode).

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook (in the albums for episodes 8 and 25): https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.

Episode 123: AJ Freund (Mega Episode)

On April 18, 2019, JoAnn Cunningham and Drew Freund called 911 to report their 5-year-old son, AJ, missing from the family’s home in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Days later, police discovered AJ’s battered body in a shallow grave, and both JoAnn and Drew were charged with the murder of their little boy.

I’ve told AJ’s story in parts over the course of two regular episodes, a few update episodes, and multiple posts on Suffer the Little Children Blog. AJ was the first child I ever featured on both the blog and the podcast, and he holds a special place in my heart. Because I covered his story over two years ago and in such a fragmented way, in this episode, I’m pulling it all together into one “mega episode” comprising all of my previous coverage about AJ as well as any updates I’ve found that I haven’t yet covered. Some of it is newly recorded, but most of it is compiled from past episodes, making it easier to get the full picture of AJ’s story all in one place.

This is the tragic story of AJ Freund.

Photos related to today’s episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and TikTok.

My Linktree is available here.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you’ll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes (starting with episode #88). Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes!

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit Suffer the Little Children Blog.

Music for this episode is from Audio Jungle.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spreaker, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite podcast listening platform.