*Content Warning: sexual assault, false reporting, rape, religious abuse, cultic abuse, harassment, gun violence, driving under the influence, upsetting themes, false personation, fraud, scams, death of a child (false claim).Sources: MyCase Indiana: https://public.courts.in.gov/Whitfield Analysis Video Interview: Megan Stoner. (2014, February 18). [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/live/oYry8JRhtP4Whitfield Analysis Video Interview Part 2: Megan Stoner. (2014, February 18). [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C-NrBKuapoThe Jeff and Alan Show: Interview with Megan Stoner! (2014, March 4). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWGY9S-IlSgForensic Foreplay. (2023, May 5). [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/ForensicForeplay/videos/939338244180665Elwood woman faces multiple felonies in connection with ongoing rental scheme, by Logan Gay, WTHR.com staff, WTHR News: https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/elwood-woman-arrested-for-ongoing-rental-scheme-megan-stoner-fishers-indiana/531-2d3b11fa-5c70-4f05-8ea4-0be0c37cf852 Fishers woman charged in rental fraud; 3 scammed in signing lease for same Home by: Izzy Karpinski, Fox59: https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/fishers-woman-charged-in-rental-fraud-3-scammed-in-signing-lease-for-same-home/ Hamilton County Inmate Records - Stoner, Megan Elizabeth: https://secure2.hamiltoncounty.in.gov/inmates2/Jail/Inmate/Detail/-1282383 Protect the community from ongoing criminal activity by revoking the bond of Megan Stoner, Change.Org Petition: https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-community-from-ongoing-criminal-activity-by-revoking-the-bond-of-megan-stoner Megan Stoner Chronicles, X @ChroniclesMegan: https://x.com/ChroniclesMegan Mike Neal’s Tweet regarding Stoner: https://x.com/MikeNealIN/status/1652408476314812423 Chloe Anagnos on X: @ChloeAnagnos https://x.com/ChloeAnagnos/status/1651260809362784261 Elwood teen's involvement in politics spans nearly half her life, by Matt McCutcheon for 13WTHR (Published: April 28, 2016 - Updated: July 21, 2016): https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/elwood-teens-involvement-in-politics-spans-nearly-half-her-life/531-afe62aa1-e251-41ef-9a2b-6119658cbd9b Lawmaker wants to lower the age to run for the General Assembly, By Brandon Barger for TheStatehouseFile.com (Nov 14, 2019 - Updated Oct 1, 2021): https://www.thestatehousefile.com/politics/elections/lawmaker-wants-to-lower-the-age-to-run-for-the-general-assembly/article_31eb550e-9e20-546e-a83d-e3d4f8d3a135.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share Indiana legislator wants to lower age requirement for lawmakers to 18, by Kayla Sullivan for Fox59 (2019): https://fox59.com/news/politics/indiana-legislator-wants-to-lower-age-requirement-for-lawmakers-to-18/amp/ High school student focuses on way to change Indiana constitution, by Christpher Stephens for The Herald-Bulletin (April 6, 2016): https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/local/2016/04/06/high-school-student-focuses-on-way-to-change-indiana-constitutio/46629093/ Alleged sexual encounter between Brian Bosma and an intern: What we know, by Ryan Martin, Kaitlin Lange and Tony Cook for the IndyStar (October 10, 2018): https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/10/10/brian-bosma-alleged-sexual-encounter-intern-kandy-green-what-we-know/1537453002/ Resources:Free + Confidential Resources + Safety Tips: somethingwaswrong.com/resources Theme Song & Artwork: Thank you to NeonHoney and GIBBANEZ for covering our theme song, Glad Rags’s original song U Think U this season. NeonHoney’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/neonhoneymusic/ NeonHoney’s Website: https://neonhoneymusic.comGibbanez IG: https://www.instagram.com/@gibbanezmusic/ Gibbanez Linktree: https://linktr.ee/gibbanezmusicGlad Rags: https://www.gladragsmusic.com/ The S22 cover art is by the Amazing Sara StewartFollow Something Was Wrong:Website: somethingwaswrong.com IG: instagram.com/somethingwaswrongpodcastTikTok: tiktok.com/@somethingwaswrongpodcast Follow Tiffany Reese:Website: tiffanyreese.me IG: instagram.com/lookieboo
Chapter 1: What is the content warning for this episode?
Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Something Was Wrong early and ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. This podcast is intended for mature audiences and discusses topics that may be upsetting. For a full content warning, sources, and resources, please visit the episode notes.
Opinions shared by the guests of the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of myself, Broken Cycle Media, or Wondery. The podcast and any linked materials should not be misconstrued as a substitution for legal or medical advice. Megan Stoner's responses to these allegations are addressed within this season. I'm Tiffany Reese, and this is Something Was Wrong.
Today is Saturday, November 9th, 2024. I just returned home last night from Indiana. Last week, I met with the Indiana State Police to present the evidence and testimony we've collected thus far this season. It all went really well. That's really all I can share for now.
But I wanted to say thank you so much to the community members, both in Indiana and beyond, who have been instrumental in this effort, helping to catalog evidence, collect and document her crimes and the harm caused over the past years and decades for some that they've been following Megan Stoner's crimes.
At the time of recording this, Megan Stoner is set to be released from the Hamilton County Jail this Friday, November 15th, 2024. And we haven't even gotten through all of the crimes and harm that Megan Stoner has perpetuated. Since the season 22 trailer dropped, I have learned of many other victims of stoners, all across the United States and Canada.
Maybe elsewhere too, who knows what we'll discover by the end. I've spoken to many survivors and allies involved with this case, both on and off the record. I'm thankful to all of them. Not all feel comfortable being on the podcast, but still want to help with our investigation.
But before we get into the next chapter of this story, how a group of citizens came together to help bring a second wave of justice for Megan Stoner's victims, I think now would be a really great time to recap what we know about Stoner's crimes leading up to the community stings of 2023. Here's what we know.
Megan Elizabeth Stoner was born February 28, 1998, to Gail Ann Updegraff and Dennis Lee Stoner. The two never married, though they were together for a long time. Stoner's aunt's name is Linda Sue Updegraff, and Stoner would later in 2017 steal over $20,000 from her aunt Linda on credit cards that she took out in her aunt's name without her consent.
This matter went to civil court, and Megan and her aunt Linda didn't speak for several years. Because of this, I'm told. Megan has a half-sister named Elena J. Stoner. She's approximately 48 years old, and since Megan Stoner is only 26 years old, I'm told that they grew up very separately for the most part. I'm also told they don't get along.
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Chapter 2: Who is Megan Stoner and what are the allegations against her?
I've been told that when Stoner was around 14 or 15, her parents hired a man named Dustin Beth, who was essentially a political consultant for her. They would meet and he would help and coach Megan in the political sphere on everything from outfits to interviews.
Eventually, Stoner's parents stopped making payments to Dustin, and I'm told that Dustin Beth later learned that Stoner was being investigated because of the financial theft against her Aunt Linda. Eventually, he cut off contact from her, and I believe she still owed him money at the end of that relationship.
We're told that when Stoner was 15 to 16 years old, she and her parents were spoken to by police for falsely accusing two of her church pastors. She had texted a member of their congregation saying that the pastors had texted Stoner and invited her to come over to their house and watch him and his wife engage in sexual activity.
The pastors immediately went to police, and according to one of the pastors who gave an interview on a Facebook live show called Forensic Foreplay, Pastor Michael Anderson stated that the officer that interviewed Stoner said that she displayed behavior of a sociopath as she showed a lack of remorse and empathy.
The chief of police called her parents immediately and said, listen, you need to come down to the police station immediately. with Megan and we need to address an issue. Megan denied it. She said, no, I never said that. None of those things ever happened. I never said that. And we said, here's the proof that you said it. It's right here. You said this.
And at that point, she still denied it, that she had ever said it. And I even said, you could really hurt someone's reputation, their integrity. You know, this could be something terrible for someone. You have to be very careful what you say. I don't know what kind of fantasy world you live in, but you cannot say things like this.
She tried to convince her longtime friend, Faith Burnside, whom we heard from in episode two, that she was a victim involved in an Indiana-based sex trafficking ring similar to the Pizzagate conspiracy. Stoner claimed that attorney generals, senators, and the governor of Indiana were all sexually assaulting her daily.
Stoner told Faith that she gave some of these men her phone number, and they began texting Megan violent and sexually explicit messages that she showed to Faith Burnside. Faith Burnside then herself began getting texts from these, quote, politicians, ranging from Donald Trump to Mike Pence to Brian Bosma. We're told that Stoner was a mentee of a local House representative, Kurt Knisley.
He took her under his wing when she was in high school, trying to encourage her as she was a young person interested in politics, and sometimes that can feel like a rare thing. Within a few months of meeting with Knisley, Stoner allegedly began telling him about sexual assault allegations against then-Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma.
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Chapter 3: What crimes has Megan Stoner been accused of?
May the 9th, 2.33 in the afternoon, I say, so apparently you're free. Hey, can Curtis refund me, please? Is it possible that he can pay me back? And Megan's air quote mom texts me saying, hey, this is Megan's mom. She's still in lockup. I told her, hey, so I sent the money to her friend, Venmo Curtis. I just heard from the bondsman that apparently the charges could be dropped.
Her mom, again, air quotes, says, hi, the charges have not been dropped. Enterprise has to be paid first. So that's the moving company, Enterprise, and that the bondsman has been paid, Enterprise hasn't. I'm thinking to myself, so how much does Enterprise want? And she gives me another amount and then she'll be cleared. And the bondsman can just have Enterprise run the card directly.
So you won't have to mess with anything. So I'm saying, all right, now I'm confused. You've just upped it even more than we had before. And I say, all right, can they run the card again? It's May 10th, and it's the next day. I didn't say anything at this point. I'm still processing the previous night. So I'm thinking, should I do it again? I mean, this is a close friend.
She then gives me Harry Friedman. I'm just thinking, oh, there's another friend, but why is she not giving me Curtis's info again? Since Curtis did it before. So her mom says, just put for Megan S. And once again, I send yet another amount, same amount as before. And her mom says, thank you. I'll let you know when Megan is out of jail today. I said, perfect.
So the next night, we're on May 11th now. Her mom says, hey, Megan's dealing with a health crisis. She'll be in touch as soon as she can. And I'm like, oh, wow. Okay. Has she been freed? Not yet. She had a medical crisis in lockup. Nothing further is said. I decide to leave the situation alone for a little bit, allow her mom to get over this, allow Megan to get over it.
So on the 15th of May, I say, oh, hey, how's Megan? Still waiting. May 22nd, Megan out yet? I don't get a reply until May the 29th at 2.35 in the morning. I'm under the impression that this is Megan's mom and she has Megan's phone. And Megan's mom says, hey, she's been in the hospital. I'm not getting a lot of texts from Megan. I'm not getting a lot of texts from her mom.
And I'm thinking at this time, oh, well, they're probably very busy. They're recuperating from what's a really shocking event. I don't text again until around June 8th.
and i say i really need her to pay me back and her mom says three days later no less no sorry she's still in a mental health facility and i say well the problem is that the bond agent isn't processing my card and i know her situation is really precarious right now but it's still important that she pays me back i do hope she feels better Megan's mom, hey there, totally understand.
I'll see what I can do to get this taken care of. Please know Megan values you as a friend. This has been a hard season for her. For sure, and I know she does. I want the best for her. And she parts the message. And she says, I'm sorry about the stupid bond office. So I said, yeah, they're not very reliable. She says, hey, let me get the funds from them and I'll circle back with you.
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