162. Smells Like: Who Would Do This To Big Tom Biedenharn?

This episode takes us back to the Tri-State area (the Cincinnati Metro Area), where Episode 147 took us in an overview of the Bill and Peggy Stephenson murder investigation out of Kenton County Kentucky.  The Stephensons were murdered in their townhome on a quiet suburban street over Memorial Day weekend in 2011 under strange circumstances.  Across the other side of the Ohio River, to the northwest and about half an hour’s drive from the Stephenson residence, sits Hidden Valley Indiana, where in 2018, 73 year-old Tom Biedenharn (known to friends and neighbors as “Big Tom” because of his imposing physical size at 6-feet-7-inches and his oversized, smiling, gregarious personality) was living in happy, active retirement.  A former basketball star in his high school and college playing days, Big Tom was spending his golden years in service to his community.  Ever on the move, Tom not only his money donating to help those in need – even more impressively, he spent hours and hours of his time volunteering, and counseling ex-convicts and other forgotten souls through life coaching and personal interaction.  By all accounts, Tom Biedenharn was beloved.  Which is what makes what happened on Memorial Day weekend 2018 – exactly seven years after the Stephenson murders – so puzzling.  After speaking with a family member on the morning of the Saturday before Memorial Day, Tom was not heard from again.  But this was not unusual, as he was often out of contact due to his busy schedule – and he had another place in the country where he and his girlfriend often got away.  The neighbor next door had voluntarily closed Tom’s open garage door on that Saturday, seeing it had been open and figuring Tom had left without closing it.  But when Memorial Day itself came around with no sign of Tom, the neighbor called a family member to report his concern.  And when the family member arrived, it was noted that the door from the garage to the house was completely locked – something Tom never did – making it impossible to get inside without breaking in.  Then when the family member walked around and looked through the back sliding glass door, Tom could be seen, lying on his back, on the floor inside the home.  Since Tom had recently undergone minor surgery, the family member assumed Tom had passed out and needed medical attention – and called 911.  But when the door from the garage was finally broken down, it became clear that Tom was no longer alive.  Evidence soon indicated that he had been murdered, and that more than one person had been involved.  Melissa is joined on this episode by Detective Sgt. Tom Baxter and Detective Brian Earls of the Indiana State Police’s District 42, both of whom have been involved with Big Tom’s case from the very beginning.  Listen in as Melissa and Dets. Baxter and Earls go over the facts of the case, as well as the puzzling questions…does the Memorial Day coincidental date (as well as several other similarities) somehow tie Big Tom’s murder to the Stephenson murders seven years previous?  Could Tom have known his attacker(s)?  Did Tom’s work with former convicts somehow bring unwanted trouble into his world?  And how could ANYONE want to harm such a loving, caring soul, whose only mission in life was to help others?  If you have any information on the Biedenharn case, you can call (877) 477-1847; the Indiana State Police at (812) 689-5000; or CrimeStoppers at (513) 352-3040.