CrimeCon 2024 Review: Day One

I’ve just completed Day One of CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. This is my first year attending this con, but CrimeCon began in Indianapolis in 2017 and has been an annual event since. And this year the con is welcoming thousands of true-crime fans to the Gaylord Opryland Resort for three days of speakers, creators, and community who are all here to talk crime. But make no mistake, this con is not about celebrating serial killers or murder porn. CrimeCon works to ensure that “respect for victims, families, and law enforcement is always at the forefront of everything.” And just in my first day I have seen that respect is truly evident at every level.

The panels started just after 12 pm today and to start off my day I sat in on a live podcast taping of Crime Analyst with Laura Richards. Her guest on this episode was former Orange County Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy. And for my true-crime fans out there, you know Matt Murphy from his appearances on shows like Dateline and 20/20. It was an engaging and lively conversation around past and current true-crime cases and Crime Analyst is definitely a podcast I will be checking out. You can find Crime Analyst with Laura Richards on all podcast platforms.

Next up was “Leading the Charge: Exploring the Future of Forensics with Othram.” This panel featured the Dave and Kristen Mittelman, the husband-and-wife team behind Othram, a lab that is leading the way in solving cold cases through their incredible work with DNA that is removing many of the “reasons” that people get told that DNA cannot be used to solve a case. Reasons like the DNA being too old, too degraded, or too small a sample.

I had plans to pop into their panel and then pop out to check out the Chris Hansen panel with John Douglas, “The Mindhunter,” but the information that Kristen and Dave were sharing was so engrossing, I could not tear myself away. I later went and found Othram in the exhibit hall and met their Chief Genetic Genealogist, Carla, who was kind enough to join me on an Instagram Live while I submitted my own DNA to Othram’s law enforcement database to hopefully help other cases be solved. And for those who have already done a commercial DNA test through places like Ancestry, they can offer their results to Othram as well by sharing their results. Their work is truly changing the landscape of cold cases. You can learn more about the work of Othram by visiting their website.

After the Othram panel, I had to head to see Josh “The Mayor of CrimeCon” Mankiewicz talk with Madison McGhee about her podcast Ice Cold Case. This podcast is a true labor of love as Madison began it to solve the murder of her father John Cornelius (J.C.) McGhee.

Her father’s case falls into the category of “less dead” which are those victims who are deemed by society as less important and often belong to marginalized groups. J.C. McGhee was not only a man of color, but also a former drug dealer turned informant. So Madison has faced and continues to face an uphill battle not only with law enforcement, but with her own family as well. But listening to she and Josh in conversation today, it is very apparent that she is not giving up.

Ice Cold Case is now onto Season Two and there are there are five episodes left. Madison is hopeful that she will get to close out the podcast sooner than later with the answers she has been searching for. You can find out more about Madison’s journey to justice for J.C. by visiting the website or listening to the podcast on any podcast platform.

The rest of my Day One was spent in the Exhibit Hall and along Creator Row which is housing the podcast creators who are part of CrimeCon this year. I met organizations and creators from all over doing a lot of good work. For a full list of the creators and exhibitors, check out CrimeCon.com. You can also find the full list of speakers there as well.

I am really enjoying this con so far and it is delivering the goods. And outside the taking in what CrimeCon has to offer, I have also met a bunch of wonderful folks so far, and I expect that to continue. But for now, I am going to rest up and I will report back tomorrow. And of you want to come along for the ride, you can follow along with my CrimeCon activities by following me @darcystaniforth on Instagram and on X (Twitter). Read Day Two coverage.