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‘Saratoga Living’ to Host Saratoga True Crime Night on June 17 at Putnam Place

By Natalie Moore

June 8, 2021

Do you consider yourself an armchair detective? Have you binge-watched every episode of Dateline or the podcast Crime Junkies? Does a murder mystery get your heart racing like nothing else can? Then you’re in luck. Saratoga Living is hosting a mini True Crime convention of sorts, featuring industry experts and podcasters who will discuss two of the Capital Region’s most perplexing cold cases on Thursday, June 17 from 6-9pm at Putnam Place.

Interested? Great. Get your tickets here. (The first 25 people to purchase a full-price ticket will receive a top secret VIP swag bag!) Still not sold? Well, you haven’t heard what’s in store for the jam-packed evening.

The night will kick off at 6pm sharp with signature “killer” cocktails, snacks and mingling. After everyone’s settled, we’ll get to the first half of the program: a live-streamed (to fans across the country!) discussion between podcasters Tim Pilleri and Lance Reenstierna from Crawlspace and Josh Hallmark from True Crime Bullsh**. The trio will discuss how they research these decades-old cold cases, as well as why their podcasts decided to cover the murder of Sheila Shepherd and disappearance of Suzanne Lyall, two cases that have stumped Capital Region detectives for decades. True Crime fans from around the world will be able to tune in to watch the show live, and we’ll have what they see on the big screen (including chats about us!) at Putnam Place.

After a break for an Italian dinner by Daley’s on Yates and doughnuts from Darling Doughnuts (I mean, we’re basically cops, right?), plus a mug shot–inspired photo op, Tim, Lance and Josh will take the stage again, this time joined by DNA specialist Tobi Kirschmann (who worked on the Golden State Killer case) and Doctors Christina Lane and Christopher Kunkle of the Cold Case Analysis Center at the College of St. Rose. They’ll all participate in a panel discussion about the Lyall and Shepherd cases, moderated by Marcella Hammer, founder of Saratoga’s True Crime Club.

By now, we’re sure you think it’d be a crime to miss Saratoga True Crime Night. But you don’t want to miss being one of the first 25 full-price ticket buyers, so you get the aforementioned VIP swag bag. That’ll include goodies from Crawspace and True Crime Bullsh**, skincare products from Fré, superfood latte additive from Golde, soap from Beekman 1802, True Crime car coasters from Saratoga Custom Engraving, protein balls and $10 gift cards from Whole Harvest and more. Every ticket-holder will also be entered to win an extensive historical/genealogy report by Tobi Kirschmann’s company, DNA Investigations.

So, we’ll see you there? The cases may be cold but Saratoga True Crime Night is sure to be hot, hot, hot!

Natalie Moore

Natalie Moore is the editor of Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living magazines. A native of Ballston Lake, she began her career as an editorial intern at Saratoga Living, and, essentially, never left. In addition to overseeing the creation of the print magazines, she is the main contributor to Saratoga Living After Hours, a Substack newsletter that covers the Spa City’s social scene. In an alternate reality, she is a professional pickleball player.