Laci Peterson was living the classic middle class American dream. She’d married her college sweetheart, Scott Peterson. She and Scott opened a bar and sold it after college, then moved back to Modesto, Ca where Laci was from to begin a family. Laci worked as a part-time substitute teacher while her husband worked full time for a fertilizer company. In December of 2002, life seemed even more perfect for the young couple as Laci was eight months pregnant with the couple’s son Conner. Her idyllic life was soon to take a turn; however, as the last anyone saw Laci was December 23, 2002 when the couple went to visit her half-sister, Amy for Scott’s monthly haircut. Her husband Scott would report her missing later that night and her body, along with the body of Conner, and the family dog wouldn’t be found until mid-April of the following year. The investigation and the trial that followed after captured a nation, and was nothing short of harrowing with each new revelation uncovered. &nbsp; Sources:

E43 The Murder of Lacy Peterson

The cult we’re talking about of course is Synanon, the drug rehab program turned cult founded by Charles Dederich, in 1958. Dederich was an alcoholic who had successfully completed AA where he saw that those addicted to drugs weren’t welcome into AA meetings due to the thought that drug addiction was so different than alcohol addiction. Because of this, Dederich decided to form his own group that would cater to the specific needs of those addicted to drugs. While it started as a 2 year residential program for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, by the 1960s it had essentially become a commune where people were looking for self-actualization. By the 70s it was known as the Church of Synanon and by 1991 it had completely disbanded after legal issues that ranged from losing their tax free status, to terrorism, to some of the members being charged with attempted murder. Sources:

E44 Charles Dederich and Synanon Part 1

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