This week, we’re sharing a gripping new podcast from KSL Podcasts & Lemonada Media: Uinta Triangle . It tells the story of a solo hiker from Australia named Eric Robinson, who disappeared while on a trek. Eric’d taken steps to make sure he could travel the mountains that he loved safely, like packing a GPS beacon. So it was a real mystery when he vanished without a trace. Turns out, the mountains where Eric disappeared are known for keeping their secrets. Uinta Triangle tells the story of th...
May 20, 2025•1 hr 3 min
After years of dead-ends and rejections, Sy and Ron Snarr finally get the moment they’ve been hoping for - a chance to ask the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to release the man who murdered their son, Zach, from prison. But their desire to ask for mercy for Jorge Benvenuto, whose spent 28 years behind bars, means hurting someone they love - the other victim in the case, Yvette Rodier. The hearing means very different things to each family - and legally, it turns out to be much different than w...
Apr 01, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 9
The team that brought you The Letter has a new show called Unsolved Histories. Season 1 is about a plane crash over the Gulf of Alaska during the Cold War. An airliner carrying 101 people took to the skies near Seattle moving military personnel and their families to their new assignments in Anchorage. One of the pilots radioed air traffic control asking to change altitude. It was the last thing anyone heard from Flight 293. For decades, the families of those who perished have searched for answer...
Oct 01, 2024•13 min
KSL Podcasts, the team that brought you The Letter also had a hand in making Ransom, a story of greif and loss and how those emotions are amplified when the person who caused them is a trusted person. Ransom is the story of the kidnapping of 12 year old McKay Everett for a demand of $500,000. It's also a story of greed and betrayal and how red flags, when ignored, serve no one. Link to the show: https://kslpodcasts.com/podcast/ransom/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 25, 2024•16 min
If you haven’t had the chance to subscribe to our bonus content, we wanted to give you a sample of what we have been doing each week. Children exposed to trauma face challenges that often continue well into adulthood. In this Bonus episode, Amy talks with Jordan Rasmussen’s son, Dave, and a child psychologist, Dr. Matt Woolley, about some of the unresolved emotions that have come up this season. And we get some ideas for how to face the lingering impacts of trauma and how to help those strugglin...
Jun 18, 2024•44 min
In the season finale of The Letter, Michael Moore learns if he will get a parole date. But the families who forgave him and advocated for his release never expected what he did next. They are left to ask themselves if they misjudged him. For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us, please consider subscribing on Apple podcasts for access to...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 8
When Michael Moore murdered Jordan Rasmussen and Buddy Booth, he left five children without fathers. When they were young, the adults in their lives made decisions about whether they would oppose or support Michael’s release from prison. But as Michael approaches his fourth parole hearing those children will be old enough to speak for themselves. Is forgiveness something they inherit, or will they come to their own conclusions? For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, ...
Jun 04, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 7
On this holiday week, we are giving you a sample of one of our premium bonus episodes. Episode 7 will be released next week. Does everyone in our criminal justice system deserve defending? Ed Brass was on Michael Moore’s defense team. Ed is also Amy’s husband (but she didn’t realize the connection until after she started researching the case). Ed and Amy share some remarkable stories from Ed’s career, including even more unlikely tales of forgiveness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...
May 28, 2024•36 min
Feelings of rage and retribution were melting away as Leslie Rasmussen drafted a letter to the man who murdered her brother, Jordan. She wrote the letter without talking to any of the family members, who nearly simultaneously came to their own conclusion. Michael Moore writes back. For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us, please conside...
May 21, 2024•52 min•Season 2Ep. 6
A decade passes since the brutal murders of Buddy Booth and Jordan Rasmussen. As their families wrestle with loss and rage, the man who killed them, Michael Patrick Moore, readies another plea for his parole. But as the Rasmussens prepare for war, they are caught off guard by what Moore does next. For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us...
May 14, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The families of Jordan Rasmussen and Buddy Booth realize the end of a trial doesn’t mean the end of their struggles. And only a year after Michael Moore is handed two life sentences, he makes a case for early release. But is the killer ready to take responsibility for the damage he caused? For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us, please...
May 07, 2024•42 min•Season 2Ep. 4
As lawyers prepare for trial, no one can make sense of Michael Moore’s motives. In the courtroom, the double murder suspect tells a paranoid story of assassins and organized crime. The widows of his victims testify at the trial, which will determine if Moore will face a firing squad. For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us, please consi...
Apr 30, 2024•54 min•Season 2Ep. 3
A delivery man making his rounds finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Buddy Booth discovers the body of Jordan Rasmussen at a stop on his delivery route and is shot in the back, forcing a second young widow to raise children without their father. For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us, please consider subscribing on Appl...
Apr 23, 2024•43 min•Season 2Ep. 2
When The Letter team made the first season, we never dreamed there would be a second season because the story was so unique. Join host Amy Donaldson and producer Andrea Smardon as COLD podcast host Dave Cawley gives us a behind-the-scenes-look at the new season and how it came together. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 21, 2024•29 min
An early morning snowstorm means Jordan Rasmussen, a father of three, has to share a ride with his coworker to a meeting he expects will be tense. Jordan gets in the Jeep riddled with bullet holes. He never comes home. For more on the Letter Season 2: Ripple Effect, including pictures, find us on social @theletterpodcast or visit our website, theletterpodcast.com. If you want to hear more and would like to support us, please consider subscribing on Apple podcasts for access to our bonus episodes...
Apr 16, 2024•41 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Two fathers are found murdered in a van parked outside an upscale Utah restaurant in 1982. The killer confessed, but his violent choice left five children to grow up with ghosts and grief. The families were forced to wrestle with impossible questions: Who is forgiveness for? Does everyone deserve a second chance? And what if a personal decision can ripple through generations, even reaching strangers? Season 2 of The Letter: Ripple Effect premieres on April 16th. Follow us on theletterpodcast.com...
Apr 02, 2024•3 min
The impact of the Snarr family’s decision to forgive their son’s killer continues to reverberate. Since The Letter published, Sy Snarr says she’s blown away by the responses of strangers. We talk to Sy’s grandsons about the generational impacts still rippling through the family. As for Yvette Rodier, she declines an interview, but sends an email. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 06, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 9
The Letter host Amy Donaldson works closely with Dave Cawley, the host of the COLD podcast. Amy has listened to every episode of COLD and calls herself not only a co-worker, but a fan of Dave’s investigative and thoughtful approach to true crime journalism. Here’s a little more about Season 3: The Search For Sheree. When Sheree Warren left her job in Salt Lake City in 1985 she told a coworker she was headed to meet her estranged husband at a car dealership. But she never made it. Sheree vanished...
Feb 20, 2023•10 min
Grief is often misunderstood, even by those experiencing it. Why do we think grief is something that will end or something that can be left in the past? Is closure a myth? And why does guilt often play a role in grieving? And how can our own fear cause even more pain and isolation for those we care about most? The Letter host Amy Donaldson discusses these questions with grief therapist Claire Bidwell Smith ( New Day ) in a wide-ranging discussion about one of society’s most misunderstood topics....
Dec 13, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 9
When Jorge Benvenuto sat down to write a letter to the family of the boy he’d shot to death as a teenager, he had no idea the chain of events that would follow. When he penned his apology alone in a prison cell, he never imagined that it would lead to him hugging the mother of that young man. Nor did he have any inkling about the many ways the letter would reverberate through his own life - and the lives of his family members. The Letter opened a pathway for the parents of Zachary Snarr to push ...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This episode is a reminder that we’re all more connected than we realize. A woman named Lianne Bell agrees to do a favor for her mother and it ends up tying her to the Snarrs and Yvette in ways she never expected. Lianne delivers letters. Sy comes to Liane’s house. And in a room where the mother of the shooter once prayed for peace, Sy Snarr will find the miracle she’s been searching for since she lost her son. Get more information and photos on our website, theletterpodcast.com. Researched and ...
Oct 11, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Surviving a barrage of bullets is just the start of what Yvette Rodier will have to do to reclaim her life. The emotional damage will take far longer to heal than the physical bullet wounds. She gets married, has a child and chooses a career that allows her to use her past to help others. Despite the looming shadow of the shooting, her life is one of beauty and generosity; of resilience and hope. Get more information and photos on our website, theletterpodcast.com. Researched and reported by Amy...
Oct 04, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Life after Zach’s murder is painful and complicated, but the Snarrs find a way forward through their grief. Sy and Ron try to be the parents their other children need while his siblings build lives in which he only exists as a memory. Another tragedy strikes. Get more information and photos on our website, theletterpodcast.com. Researched and reported by Amy Donaldson Written by Amy Donaldson and Andrea Smardon Production and sound design by Andrea Smardon Mixing by Trent Sell Special thanks to ...
Sep 27, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 5
At age 19 and just a few months older than the teens he shot, Jorge Benvenuto faces the possibility of a death sentence. As his court-appointed attorneys fight to save his life, the families of the victims struggle with what justice might look like. Get more information and photos on our website, theletterpodcast.com. Researched and reported by Amy Donaldson Written by Amy Donaldson and Andrea Smardon Production and sound design by Andrea Smardon Mixing by Trent Sell Special thanks to Nina Earne...
Sep 20, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Due to popular demand, Episode 3 was dropped early for your binging pleasure. Before we return to our regular weekly episode releases next Tuesday, this week, host Amy Donaldson explains why she pursued this case in the first place, and what can be learned by looking at the last day of an 18-year-old murder victim’s life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 13, 2022•21 min
Police begin to put the pieces together and capture the 19 year old man who shot Zach and Yvette. Detectives make discoveries about what happened in the life of Jorge Benvenuto in the weeks before he bought a gun. Friends and family tell of a depressed, angry young man who’d been a victim of crime himself. Police track him down, in part because he calls and confesses what happened to a friend. Get more information and photos on our website, theletterpodcast.com. Researched and reported by Amy Do...
Sep 09, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Yvette Rodier was shot several times by a stranger as she and her good friend Zach set up a camera to take pictures of the moon. She describes how she survived, including dragging herself several hundred feet over rough terrain to get to a road and flag down help. That night was devastating. But even after such a terrifying experience, Yvette holds out hope for how she can reclaim her life. Get more information and photos on our website, theletterpodcast.com. Researched and reported by Amy Donal...
Sep 06, 2022•38 min•Season 1Ep. 2
On Zach Snarr’s last day alive, he got up early to help his father at work, he cleaned the kitchen for his mother and he made his sister laugh. But on August 28, 1996, the 18-year-old never came home from his date with Yvette Rodier at a reservoir outside of Salt Lake City. Instead, two police officers and a chaplain came to ring the bell. It was every parent’s nightmare, a devastating loss that rocked a community and shattered lives. But Zach’s mother, Sy Snarr, finds hope from a most unlikely ...
Sep 06, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 1
A random shooting takes one life but dramatically changes the lives of many more. This is where most stories end. This is just the beginning. Coming soon, from KSL Podcasts - the same team that brought you COLD - and Lemonada and Work House Media, The Letter. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 12, 2022•3 min
