.png)
Suitcase Divas: Travel Agent Tips, Tricks & Travel Tales
Join co-hosts Denise and Cheryl as they chat about the journey of life and how travel plays an intricate role in navigating its twists and turns. Whether it's sharing travel tips, swapping stories over a glass of wine or mimosa, or welcoming special guests, there's always something new to explore! Grab your suitcase, pour a drink, and let’s dive into the adventure of life together—because travel makes everything better!
Suitcase Divas: Travel Agent Tips, Tricks & Travel Tales
Travel Tales Turned Tragic: True Crime and Vacation Nightmares with Kim from Slaycation Part 2
We’re back with Part 2 of our chilling conversation with Kim from the Slaycation podcast! 🎙️ Last time, we explored the dark side of travel, but now we’re diving even deeper. We pick up right where we left off, asking Kim the big question: How does she handle the emotional weight of covering such heavy, real-life tragedies?
From there, we unravel more haunting cases she’s covered, including:
🕵️ Episode 47: Welcome to the Coast of Crime – A deep dive into some of the most dangerous and mysterious crimes that have taken place along coastal destinations. 🌊
🌲 Episode 57 & 58: On the Trail of Murder in Shenandoah (Parts 1 & 2) – A tragic case set against the backdrop of one of America’s most beautiful national parks, revealing the chilling reality that even the most serene places aren’t always safe.
Kim shares her approach to balancing respect for the victims while keeping listeners engaged, how she processes the darkness without letting it consume her, and why the Slaycation team is so passionate about telling these stories.
To hear the full stories mentioned, find Slaycation wherever you listen to podcasts. And as always, follow Suitcase Divas to keep up with our latest episodes!
🎧 Listen now!
#SuitcaseDivas #SlaycationPodcast #TrueCrime #Travel #LifeIsAJourney #PodcastCollab
Leave us a message!
Visit Our Website!
Follow Us!
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
TikTok
Hey guys, so welcome back travelers. If you joined us last week, you know that we had an amazing chilling conversation with Kim, the host of Slaycation, and we dove into some of the most fascinating crazy crime true travel, true crime I should say Let me not get tongue twisted here, but there were some pretty crazy stories and it got us to asking the bigger question how does Kim handle the emotional weight of the levity of these true crime stories? Like cause, a lot of that shit happens and that's hard to cover such dark topics. You know on the daily, you see what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Right, and so today we're actually picking up where we left off with Kim, and she is back to share how she processes that, that heavy side of true crime storytelling. So if you've ever wondered how someone who's reporting on this, who's telling these stories, handles that, kim's going to answer that question for us in today's episode. We're also going to dive into a few more of the stories that she's covered. So make sure you grab your passport and maybe a flashlight and let's jump right into part two with Kim. From Slaycation and a lot of these episodes bring up a lot of emotions the anger, the sadness, the frustration, the what would I do? Like, what if that were me? How would I handle that? What if that?
Speaker 3:were my feeling.
Speaker 2:How do you balance that emotion for yourself, like as you're doing this, and keeping from getting overwhelmed or bogged down by those emotions?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, I think a lot of it is just sort of again kind of role keeping in the back of my head, like what is the message in this episode? What is the overall message? The overall message, I think, like even the McGreevy case, the message is there before the grace of God go, I we never know until we are there. There's not one parent that has been worn down by their kid to a stub and just gave in. We've all been. Yep, sure have, um, and if you say that you haven't and that you would never good for you, but that's because they haven't been tested yet.
Speaker 2:Never say never Cause, that's just saying hold my cup.
Speaker 3:Exactly, exactly, exactly, um, exactly, exactly, exactly, you know. So I think that it's it's kind of like it sort of keeps me centered, that you know, I always feel like you know. There was another case, the Amy Fitzpatrick case where she went to a friend's for New Year's. Her family had moved to Spain, they were expats from Ireland and that case haunts me because that child was so severely neglected that this case pissed me the fuck off, because when I was hearing her mom in interviews and yes, I'm going to say it, I was judging her. I was judging her because I'm of the belief nobody is forcing you to have kids. Don't have kids.
Speaker 3:It's that simple you don't want to parent, because here's the thing. You don't get to go yeah you know what?
Speaker 3:I'm had no clue that her kid was missing and Was just, you know, was more centered on the boyfriend. Mm, hmm, Even though her daughter did not, like the boyfriend, had issues with the boyfriend, it was still about the boyfriend, Right, and I was just. So the message in that was you know, I was. You know, center your kids. You know, this kid was 13 years old. 14 years old Maybe. Yeah, I think she was actually 15. Sorry, but the thing is it's like that's the time when you need to really be centering your kids, Like, yeah, I get it. You know, I'm not saying you shouldn't have a man or a partner. Good for you, I think that's healthy to do that. But I think that the message is you know, you have a responsibility.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you don't abandon your kids to be with some dude.
Speaker 3:Exactly, it's your responsibility to be present. And look, I almost didn't have kids because I was like, yeah, I don't know if I can do that.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:You know. But so I really feel like that's a very important you know again, and I always think like this child would not be missing if her mom, mom was born Right. You know, do you find?
Speaker 2:yourself. Oh sorry, Go ahead.
Speaker 3:No, no, no. I but I was just saying, yeah, you know, like her mom just up and took them to Spain to live with her and her boyfriend and, you know, took her away from her family and her father and I, you know it's. It was just like seriously, yeah, I was pissed.
Speaker 2:As you were going through that. I was curious, cause do you find yourself like when you're doing your research and or you're reading, or you're seeing those interviews, knowing ahead of time, before you even get to the results or get to the next step? You can start to read and get a feel for the bigger picture, and not necessarily the whodunit, but you can see kind of like I don't want to say right out, like, oh, I can see that video, I saw that interview. This is suspect. This is number one for me. This is who I think is responsible. Do you find yourself doing that before you get to the results of the case?
Speaker 3:I you know there are yeah, I mean there. There are certainly those times when you come across information that makes it like, oh, that seems to shine the make, sharpen the lens and the focus on that person. But I think also the other thing is is that I've come to really have this sort of openness like don't be surprised. You know, there are many cases where we would that we have looked at and was like you know, in a court of law this would not fly, but they did that shit.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean. They did that shit Like, if you know, following the letter of the law, would we be able to convict?
Speaker 3:no, but I really feel like he did that shit right, you know, yeah exactly interesting and then there are cases where you know, like we had covered a case, um, it was the sh Shenandoah murders of two women, lolly Winans and Julie Williams, and they were a couple, they were camping and they were murdered and this had happened in 96. So over the course of the years, you know, they had somebody that they had even arrested for the crime and they had, you know him. They was locked in on this person and it wasn't like this person, you know, was a good dude, but there were, there was like oh, but you know he may not have, like maybe we need to, and it was just. It was just interesting that as I researched and looked at what was going on, that so many people could have been capable, if not responsible for their murders, like suspects out of the wazoo, I was like so many shitty people and the common denominator, of course, is they're all men and I was like men. It's men, men, that's the problem.
Speaker 1:Well, we have conversations about that on the daily, but that's a different topic for another exactly, um, but going back, so so I listen, I do believe that you were some kind of a detective or investigator in your past life. So if you could go on to any location episode and try to solve the mystery where, or you know if you had the opportunity, which one would you go to? And you feel like you could solve that murder, either whether it was unresolved or whether it was resolved. You were like I could have done this so much quicker or I would have been able to solve this because you guys dropped the ball.
Speaker 3:That's interesting, cause there's a few cases, cases and I guess, since we're talking about it, I guess the Max McGreevy case I would have thought, I don't know that I necessarily would have solved it per se, but I would have carried out a different. I would unsatisfied with the results. They wouldn't do the.
Speaker 1:DNA. They wouldn't do this Like, so we. I listened to that one and Natalie Holloway was the very next year and voila, she's missing too. So Aruba has some problem with if somebody goes missing.
Speaker 3:I love.
Speaker 1:Aruba. It's very ambient, but maybe don't send your teenager there. So, I mean, I feel like maybe if you had more money or maybe if you had like I don't know what it takes to fly in, they did fly in a PI for Natalie's case, For Max's case. I don't think they did. She just kind of conceded and went home. But maybe she didn't have the means to fly in a.
Speaker 3:PI. Well, look, that's always something that we have to look at, Like there's. You know, a lot of people don't have the means. She did consult a detective who did look at the case.
Speaker 1:And that was when she came back to the States, correct?
Speaker 3:Yes, now you know, the thing is is that he was actually instrumental in helping get the FBI involved, but then the FBI after 9-11, it all just kind of fell to the wayside. And I think the important thing is it's like they always talk about, which I get it makes sense to me Investigators always talk about the first 48. So you need that first 48 is crucial and I will always believe that, had those men been sequestered and separated, and Because their stories weren't adding up at all Right.
Speaker 3:Right, because if you separate the two of them and you ask them questions, ok, you could see whether those stories align. And when those stories are not aligning, you could start to chip away at those lies and get closer and closer to what the actual story is. I mean, you're never going to know what exactly happened, right, but you'll get sort of you know, a closer, you know understanding to what occurred, and I think that that was a missed opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Agreed Opportunity, you know, and with the time that has passed it is, it's it, it was just, and then it got completely swallowed up by the natalie holloway case oh, and that didn't help bring like, hey, you would think sometimes that those would be.
Speaker 2:Let's think about this. Is a pattern, right?
Speaker 1:perhaps because it was pretty, that was pretty obvious that that vander sloot guy did it, but they didn't. They didn't charge him, oh no, right away at all. It was like a year or two later.
Speaker 3:It was crazy like that wasn't until he actually killed someone somebody else.
Speaker 2:So have you found, and in looking at cases, especially outside the states, and stuff the differences in the the way they handle law and the way that they handle crimes, the way they handle suspects, victims, like, is there a frustration, is there similarities between the way they do it outside of the states? And or how did how do you navigate that part of like well, balancing what you know, how we handle things in the states versus how they're handling it?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, it's interesting because I think, at the end of the day, a lot of it really just comes down to what is good, solid investigative skills and what is not. And I think, like you can have, you know, two different systems, but the execution if you have a good execution, it could be, you know, it could yield results. You know, like in Aruba or in like a lot of these countries, they do what is called like a um reconstruction, like they reconstruct the crime scene.
Speaker 3:They have the person sort of act out or play out you know the, the crime I mean, and I don't know how useful that is, but I would imagine that there is a psychology behind that yeah yeah, you know, um, but I do you know think that, uh, if you know that, if certain things are done, especially right out the gate gate could help with getting these kinds with getting answers, yeah you find consistency in like, as we can say, just bringing up the aruba case, for instance that that's how they consistently handle.
Speaker 2:One of the things I liked that you guys talk about and have mentioned, and especially like your show notes and stuff, is you don't when, when you're doing a location, you don't generalize. Locations is a bad area, you give information about. This is the what to expect of in that area, because there's there, unfortunately, there's crime everywhere. There's negative.
Speaker 2:And I think you do a really good job of not making it sound like don't go here, right, are you finding consistency in the repeat locations that you've seen, not necessarily just in your podcast, but in your true crime journey all over, you know?
Speaker 3:Right, yeah, well, I will say that you know it's. You know there's consistency in that there's always going to, no matter what, no matter where, there's always going to be some brand of crazy.
Speaker 3:Like you just there's not. You know there's no getting around that. You know there's always going to be some danger that lurks, just because of the nature of human beings, and where there's human beings there's going to be some freaky shit going. Yes, we're not getting around that, we're just not. So. A lot of it really isn't the place in as much as the people in that place. Right, and you have to look at the people that you are around, right, you know it's like you would think that you know the McCreevy family would be safe in a nice resort and that why should they be alarmed, why should they have their guard up when they're just making friendly chit chat with a fellow guest?
Speaker 3:Right, I wouldn't think, like you know, this person could have a deep seated history of some major shady shit. Like you're not thinking like that, you know Right. So it's almost like it almost doesn't really matter where you are, you know, yeah, like it almost doesn't really matter where you are, you know. Um, yeah, it just sort of drives home the point that no matter where you are, no matter how you you perceive the safety of that particular place, you still have to have your guard up yeah, right, and trust your gut.
Speaker 1:like for that farm mama that was worn down, like she, like if she had it's doubtful that anybody at that point you know what they've been through and she was just trying to throw the kid a bone, you know, and let him have a good time. But also she did have that gut instinct Like I don't think I should let him go. I really don't think I should let him go. Like for me. My takeaway from that is trust your gut.
Speaker 1:Be the fucking bitchy mom, denise, and I feel, like if you feel like something is wrong, then you should trust that instinct Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Exactly, but we do get there as moms and like, okay, you, we've been here for a few days. I felt so sad about that.
Speaker 1:For me, that's that one. I haven't listened to all of them, but for me that was the hardest one to take away because she didn't do anything wrong. She was just trying to have a good time on vacation and she was totally. They were totally poached they. They found them and they knew they had a plan of action and they had a history that shoot show that they were capable of this and and that's just so unfortunate for that family.
Speaker 3:Exactly, exactly.
Speaker 1:So just taking a little bit of a different spin, so you so you work with your husband, adam, and you work with Jerry Do you guys ever have any challenges of like, well, you know, working with your husband or with your bestie, like is there any episodes that have come up where you're really not on the same page, or one thinks he could have done it or you think he couldn't have, or how does that work with spending so much time with your significant other and and working on the podcast?
Speaker 2:That's a lot of time, denise, and I've learned that it's a lot of time that goes into recording a podcast, so we feel like we're a married couple, we call it.
Speaker 3:That's what it does, you know, I think, you know, I, I'm I feel very fortunate in that we are very much in sync and just by being in sync and just by being in sync, we're sensitive to each other. And I think that is instrumental, because you're not going to agree on everything. You're going to have different ideas, you're going to have different thoughts, you're going to have, you know, you know, adam is sort of the audience proxy, so he's listening to me tell the story. So, yeah, there have been times when he's like, oh, I, you know, I'm not getting it, or I, you know, and I'm like, fuck you, you're not listening.
Speaker 3:Yes, but you know, as somebody that I recognize, you know, like somebody that I recognize, you know, like, as as the audience proxy, you know, I always, and I think we both kind of take the attitude of, ok, let's take a step back and let me just try to understand where you're coming from. And I think that has been helpful for us because, at the end of the day, what we want to do is we want to make a great show, we want our show to resonate with our audience, we want, um, our takeaways to be, you know, helpful. And, given that. That's all of our primary goal. We center that and try not to let our own little bitchiness, because that can happen, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:So you have to kind of like all right, let me just take a step back. All right, where you know. And so I think that we've kind of done really well with that. I think Adam too, you know, are you know, us being in a relationship, having, you know, raised a kid, which you know I always joke like he and I have completely different parenting styles. And you know, given that it was like never, like we was not that couple, it was like, oh my God, we're going to like, oh my god, we're gonna have babies and we're gonna. We never really discussed like well, what are we going to do? And come to find out completely different, yes, completely different. That was like on the job training, like yeah, so I think like having been able to navigate those challenges has really helped us in sort of looking at the big picture.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And sort of you know, recognizing that whatever is going on within us personally and you know like, yes, maybe we will, that needs to be dealt with. But right now, let's just what is the big picture, how do we address that? And if I didn't like his attitude, we'll have a conversation about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because we know who wears the pants in this relationship exactly, did you guys have the same vision for the podcast when you sat down to start recording, or did it grow? Denise and I had one vision where we were sort of professional and then it slowly turned into this is not us, we're more chill, we're more laid back. Let's break out the moment and I love, we love your vibe, we love you guys.
Speaker 1:And we like that. You're a little bit sweary like me.
Speaker 2:Yes, we really tried not to swear in the beginning and bleep it out or cut it out, and we're like this is so not us, not us.
Speaker 1:So we're just decided to embrace us and us, not us.
Speaker 3:So we just decided to embrace us, and if people don't like swear and then don't fucking listen to us. That's yeah, no, but I think that that's the best advice really be who you are. Yeah, and you know, it's actually funny my daughter went to um, uh, she went to cath Catholic school and the patron saint of the school was Francis DeSales and and this, there was this saying that was all over the school. It was you know, be yourself. It sort of is be yourself and be it well, which you know, I, I think you know is is a good thing to live by.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, unless you're a shitty person and then they get to be an episode, exactly.
Speaker 3:But I think that, like, I take it as a call to really work, to being our best selves. You know, and I think, like you know, doing the podcast is a journey and it's a personal journey, because you're each having the journey together but separately, and you're kind of coming together to go, yeah, this isn't working. This works better for us. We enjoy being authentically ourselves and this is a place where I believe we can do that. And I agree because I feel like.
Speaker 1:We came to that as well.
Speaker 3:Like we're not journalists and there are plenty of true crime podcasts that will give you that journal deep dive, researched from that investigative, you know, forensic, you know dry, you know, and just recognizing like we're not for everybody, but we don't have to be just like you guys. Yes, and that's okay, there's something out there for everyone.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. That's what makes it takes all kinds to make the world.
Speaker 2:Yes, so do you have any upcoming projects or exciting things that we should tell our listeners to be on the lookout for?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, I think I would just say just give our podcast a listen. You know, I just give our podcast a listen. I do some bonus content where I talk about different things. A lot of it is maybe information that didn't make it into the original episode, or updates. Sometimes, you know, like I have a case of a Valentine's Day case that I'm going to talk about. So I would just you know, if you feel like you want to laugh, if you feel like you want to learn, if you feel like you want to, just, you know, journey through the dark psyches of our crazy fellow human beings, you know, come, come, one and all. Yeah, we, you know it's hard topics, but we have a good time and I think that we put out something that is useful and important because feel, in a sense, there's something special about the people in the story not being forgotten. Right, absolutely yep. So where?
Speaker 1:can our listeners find Slaycation on your um and go ahead and follow you like? What formats? What are you on?
Speaker 3:well, we are on facebook, which is kind of where most of our um slay caters go, so it's a slay caters only. Um, we have that page and please come. And we have uh slaycation, which is also another facebook, it's more broad. We have Slaycation WTF on Instagram, right On Instagram, and I actually have a you know cause. I'm a rabid knitter, crocheter, crafter, like I have to have my hands be busy at all time. It's like the perfect way to channel my ADHD and OCD and that is that Girl Knits. So if you want some ideas for what to make or what new hobby to start up, you can find me on Instagram at that Girl Knits Nice.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 3:We have had a blast chatting with you and getting to know you guys and to slaycations. Yes, thank you guys. It's been a blast. I had such a great time just hearing your story and talking a little bit about what we do.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, hey guys. So we covered everything from chilling true crime stories and the emotional tool of storytelling for this particular type of content, and Kim gave us an amazing, fascinating behind the scenes. Look at the Slaycation podcast. In this particular episode we did talk about a few different Slaycation episodes, so number 47, welcome to the Coast of Crime, as well as episode 57, on the Trail of Murder, shannon Doerr part one, and then 58 was part two. So if you're interested in listening to any of those episodes in detail, you can go for the full episodes on Slaycation podcast.
Speaker 2:Yes, and if you love a mix of travel and true crime, make sure you subscribe to Slaycation wherever you listen to your podcast. Yeah, big thanks to Kim for joining us. We absolutely loved having her, had a great time chatting with her. She was so much fun and, as always, don't forget to follow Suitcase Divas, so you never miss an episode. So thanks, chatting with you. She was so much fun and, as always, don't forget to follow suitcase divas, so you never miss an episode. So thanks for joining us this week, guys.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we'll see you next time.
