Gulf Coast Confidential with Mollye Barrows

Hillary Brown’s cause of death is still pending, but answers are slowly coming out. 

Besides Major Crimes with the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Health is also investigating Dr. Ben Brown, who was performing procedures on his young wife at his Gulf Breeze office when she went into cardiac arrest.  

Although the details of the state’s investigation aren’t being released, it comes as more patients are sharing their experiences with Ben Brown. 

Some say their pleas and complaints about his “shoddy work” were not only discounted, but they were shamed and blamed into believing their suffering was their own fault. 

We’re also learning more about the legal loopholes that some patients say kept them from finding justice, as more reports and information are expected.  

Join us for this third installment of Beauty Buyer Beware in a continuing series on the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast. 

Armed with a steel mallet, a BB gun, a knife and pepper spray, astronaut, and married mother of three, Lisa Nowak, set out on a mission in 2007, to get rid of the new girlfriend her astronaut boyfriend was seeing.

To save time on her cross-country mission, police said Nowak wore a diaper so she wouldn’t have to stop on her way from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida to confront the younger woman at the airport. 

Only this mission didn’t turn out as planned and it cost all three of them.

During this month of love, join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “Diaper wearing astronaut: An out-of-this-world love triangle.”   

School shooter mom, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for missing or ignoring red flags prior to her son, Ethan, opening fire at his high school and killing four teenagers. 

Crumbley faces at least 15 years in prison when she’s scheduled to be sentenced April 9, in a landmark case about parental responsibility. 

It’s part of a push by some prosecutors to hold parents accountable if they’re suspected of enabling their children to commit deadly violence, like neglecting warning signs. 

But is it fair or was she more than just a “bad mom?” We talked about this case before a jury found her guilty.

Join us for this episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast: “Who’s to Blame? School shooter mom charged with manslaughter.”

Murder by yoga instructor took the life of a young, professional cyclist. All Moriah “Mo” Wilson did to make herself a target was date Kaitlyn Armstrong’s boyfriend when the two had taken a break.

Kaitlyn stalked the pro cyclist to a friend’s house, gunned Mo down, and then ran from police when evidence of the crime led them to her door. The yoga instructor went on the lam, even going as far as having plastic surgery to change her appearance, but investigators saw through her disguise. 

Join us for the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast episode: “Plastic surgery loving yoga teacher on the lamb circles back to kill professional lady cyclist.”

Can cannabis make someone a killer? During this month of love on the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, we’re catching up on cases of romance-gone-wrong. 

In this episode, a young woman took two hits of marijuana from her boyfriend’s bong and then took him out. The attack was so vicious, there was a hole in his chest where his heart used to be. 

The victim’s family called it murder. She called it cannabis induced psychosis. When a jury agreed, the young man’s family said justice went up in smoke. 

Join us for “108 Stabs: female kills boyfriend in weed induced psychotic frenzy.” 

Death was Dr. Bill Sybers' business. The Panama City medical examiner was the one who investigated when someone died, especially when it was unexplained. 

When his own wife, Kay, passed suddenly in 1991, Sybers insisted she died of natural causes. He didn’t even order an autopsy and went straight to embalming her body. 

Why wouldn’t people take the expert word of the top doc of death in the Florida Gulf Coast city? 

Many people did until police found several odd injection marks on Kay’s body and discovered Sybers had been having an affair with a woman he soon married. 

Join us for more on how the murderous truth was finally uncovered in this episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast: “Me and the M.E.: Married to Death. The murder of the Panama City Medical Examiner’s wife.”

Dr. Connor and Betty Bowman had a picture-perfect relationship. They both worked for Mayo Clinic, he was a poison specialist, and she was a pharmacist. 

They had an open relationship, but despite a few kinks and concerns, it all seemed to be going smoothly until the day Connor Bowman allegedly poisoned his wife’s smoothie.

It wasn’t long before detectives realized Bowman had a girlfriend, a lot of debt, and a hefty life insurance policy on Betty.

Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, “He Picked Her Poison – Mayo Clinic doctor accused of secretly serving fatal drug to pharmacist wife.”

Physical carnage, emotional shrapnel. Unimaginable information is coming out about Dr. Ben Brown, the Gulf Coast plastic surgeon whose wife died after going under in his office surgical chair for elective, "minor" procedures. 

The untimely death of 33-year-old Hillary Brown is still under investigation, but you can hear first-hand why some former patients and employees say her husband needs to be "stopped."

Join us for the latest on the case involving Dr. Ben Brown in this episode of Gulf Coast Confidential podcast, "Beauty Buyer Beware II." 

The relationship between a 15-year-old boy and his “self-awareness” class teacher took a dark turn in 1990, when the young, married woman took an unhealthy interest in the creative teen. Before long, she seduced him and convinced the boy to not only keep quiet about their illicit affair but also to kill her husband. 

Pamela Smart, whose arrest and trial inspired the movie “To Die For,” wants her lifetime prison sentence reduced for conspiring to commit the murder.

Join us for the latest episode of Gulf Coast Confidential on Pamela “Not so Smart” Smart.     

Secret deals, cash bribes, and a body under a house. Pensacola has a scandalous past when it comes to political corruption. 

Florida's westernmost county, Escambia, made headlines in 2004 when a state investigation revealed multiple county leaders were meeting in secret and making million dollar deals at the taxpayers' expense. One commissioner even accepted a cash bribe in a collard greens pot. He was later found dead under a house from an apparent suicide.

Their corruption was exposed, in part, thanks to Florida's Sunshine Law which gives people access to governmental meetings and proceedings. 

In this episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, “Cash in the Collard Greens Pot,”  join us for a discussion about the scandal that put "scam" in Escambia County and why open government is important to keep history from repeating itself. 

Why go under a house to die? That’s the question many people in Pensacola, Florida have been asking since Willie Junior, the first Black man elected to the Escambia County Commission in recent history, turned up dead under a house in 2004. 

Murder in the movies is something you only expect to see onscreen. At a Tampa movie theatre in 2014, the real drama was in the audience. 

Retired police SWAT captain Curtis Reeves shot and killed Chad Oulson, a Gulf War veteran and father of a young daughter. In fact, Oulson was texting with the babysitter during the movie previews when Reeves told him to turn off his phone and complained about it to theater staff.

The two men exchanged words and Oulson tossed popcorn in the older man’s face. Reeves pulled his handgun and shot Oulson to death, he claimed in self-defense.

Join us as we talk about the trial and why jurors thought popping off over popcorn was a justifiable killing, in this episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, “Pow, Pow, Popcorn Murder.”  

It's not unusual for friends to cut loose when they visit Pensacola Beach. Whether people come for work or play, it's fun to party in paradise and Oklahoma police chief Lucky Miller and detective Mike Nealey were no different. 

What is unusual is that only one of the men left alive.

In 2019, the lawmen were staying on Pensacola Beach for a conference on death investigations and soon became the focus of one. 

An alcohol fueled fight between the long-time friends was so violent the coroner said the hits Miller took from Nealey had the same impact as a car accident. 

What would drive a man to beat his friend to death with his bare hands? Join us as we explore what happened in a Pensacola Beach hotel room in this episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, "Blue on Blue Crime: No Bro Code!!" 

On Christmas Eve in 2013, on one of the most sacred holidays of the Christian calendar, 17-year-old Brandon Aydelott hacked, beat, and stomped his mother to death in the doorway of her Gulf Breeze, Florida home without warning. He left the popular middle school science teacher in a pool of her own blood with two knife blades embedded in her skull, among other gruesome injuries.   

The teen was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the crime and his mother's family thought he would stay in custody at Florida's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Yet Brandon Aydelott spent the ten year anniversary of killing his mommy  close to home at the Santa Rosa County Jail, because the Department of Children and Families said he "no longer meets the criteria for continued commitment" at Florida State Hospital.

Join me for a conversation with Sharon Aydelott's sister who says the news comes as a painful disappointment, especially when they were told he would likely never get out, because "he killed his mother for heaven's sake!"

Achoo!! Grab a tissue because it turns out "Affluenza" isn't even a real psychiatric illness, but it spread like a virus, when a Texas teenager used it to defend killing four people and injuring nine others while driving drunk. 

Ethan Couch, now 26, claimed he didn't know right from wrong due to his family's wealth and is scheduled to finish probation this month, for the 2013 deadly accident. 

From running to Mexico to making a psuedo-science term mainstream, join us for more on the case in the latest episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, "Achoo!! Affluenza or BS: Ethan Couch."

Parents send their children to school for an education and trust that they are in safe hands with the people who are teaching them.

One young boy caught the eye of his pretty, blonde teacher when he was only in the second grade. Fast forward a few years later, and the married mother of four was convinced she had an "instantaneous bond" with the child, even though he was not quite 13 years old. 

She pursued him like a lover and the special attention she gave the boy turned their relationship from platonic to sexual. When her secret was uncovered, teacher Mary Kay Letourneau called it "love," the law called it rape.

In this episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, we revisit the headline making case that inspired a new movie and highlighted the dangers of being the "Teacher's Pet." 

One would never think a little nip/tuck would kill you. After all, it is just a minor procedure. Or is it? Not so fast, there. Medication and sedation are part of the process. You’re still going under the knife, or laser, or needle, with trained and licensed staff. What could go wrong? 

Not to be tongue in cheek, but it turns out plenty. An investigation is now underway into the death of a Gulf Breeze plastic surgeon’s wife, who according to family and police reports went into cardiac arrest while her husband, Dr. Ben Brown, was performing procedures on her at his office. 

Join us for the latest episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, “Beauty Buyer Beware.”

When retired beautician Lynn Hernan turned up dead in her living room chair, surrounded by her medications, a close friend's story that she likely committed suicide didn't seem impossible. The older woman had been down and her health had been declining. 

Even when tests showed Hernan was poisoned by eyedrops, few people batted an eye because she sometimes put eyedrops in her drink to help with other health issues. 

The murderous betrayal might have gone unnoticed but for another friend, one who knew something was off and refused to turn a blind eye.   

Join us for more on how the truth came to light in this episode of Gulf Coast Confidential: “Don’t Blink! The Eyedrop Murder.”

It’s one thing for a man to cheat on his wife, but one husband and father murdered his whole family rather than give up his girlfriend and their fitness-focused way of life.  

In 2018, pregnant mother and devoted wife, Shanann Watts returned home late from a work trip, ready to say goodnight to her 3 and 4-year-old daughters and enjoy a romantic night with her husband, Chris Watts. 

However, Chris Watts had other plans. When the young mother and their two girls disappeared, friends suspected something bad had happened, but they had no idea just how horrible it was until their bodies were found a couple of days later.

Join us for the latest episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, “Chris Watts Did What?!”

Sometimes lending a helping hand can be deadly. A reporter in Pensacola, Florida with a generous heart and a lucrative hobby put his cards on the table with people who were playing for higher stakes.

The Cormier brothers were down on their luck when they connected with Sean Dugas over a mutual hobby - fantasy trading cards. Sean's collection was the envy of the most avid collector and it turns out, the most avarice ones, as well.   

Known for his wide smile and free spirit, Dugas never suspected the twin Cormier brothers wanted anything other than a place to stay, until one of them chased him down with a hammer and killed him in his own home.

Join us for the latest of episode of Gulf Coast Confidential, Dealt a Deadly Hand, for more on the murder of Sean Dugas.