It's Dead Sleep's 100th episode. Please join Nancy as she revisits the true crime story that changed the course of her career: a notorious saga of a wealthy and successful restauranteur who shocked Los Angeles - and the world - with two murders - and three senseless deaths. But there's another side to the story that's often overlooked: the original story was penned by a writer named Mark Arax who reported this story while grappling with a murder mystery of his own.

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Dead Sleep: True Crime for Bedtime is an independent, ad-free, listener supported true crime show made for nighttime listening. It's created and narrated by award-winning editor and writer Nancy Miller (host of HBO Max's "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" "The Staircase" and "Love & Death" podcasts).

*Dead Sleep is a 2025 Clue Award finalist for Best Episodic True Crime Podcast*

Subscription issues? Questions? Email Nancy deadsleeppodcast@gmail.com

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Want to know more about this story?

The Zankou Chicken Murders by Mark Arax in L.A. Mag:

https://lamag.com/crimeinla/the-zankou-chicken-murders/

West of the West by Mark Arax

https://mark-arax.com/west-of-the-west/

Music Cue Sheet for YouTube:
RB3GPGWCIRSPHSFM

Hey Everybody! Nancy here. Please enjoy this free teaser of the November bonus episode as we reach the stunning conclusion to "Mystery at Manly Cove."

If you enjoy this segment and would like to hear the full episode, please feel free to subscribe to Dead Sleep via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Patreon: www.patreon.com/DeadSleep

Questions / Issues? Email Nancy directly: deadsleeppodcast@gmail.com

Dead Sleep is always ad-free and listener supported. Your subscription keeps this podcast going.

Want to know more? This is part two a two-part series drawn from Steve Johnson's recent memoir "A Thousand Miles to Care" and an October 13, 2025 New Yorker feature by writer Eren Orbey "Letters from Australia."

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Dead Sleep: True Crime for Bedtime is an independent, ad-free, listener supported true crime show made for nighttime listening. It's created and narrated by award-winning editor and writer Nancy Miller (host of HBO Max's "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" "The Staircase" and "Love & Death" podcasts).

*Dead Sleep is a 2025 Clue Award finalist for Best Episodic True Crime Podcast*

[PART 1 of 2] When a 27-year old man named Scott Johnson was found amongst the rocks along a beach called Manly Cove, authorities believed Scott jumped from some nearby cliffs and ruled his death a suicide. But his older brother Steve refused to believe it. Scott was a brilliant and admired math genius with everything to live for. Steve soon grows suspicious of those closest to Scott and becomes determined to prove Scott might've been a victim of foul play. But how to prove a murder that police say never happened?

This is part 1 of a two-part series drawn from Steve Johnson's recent memoir "A Thousand Miles from Care: A Thirty-Year True-Crime Quest for Justice" and an October 13, 2025 New Yorker feature by writer Eren Arbey "Letters from Australia."

Court TV personality Nancy Grace's impassioned treatise on the Ellen Greenberg case: What Happened to Ellen? A Miscarriage of Justice

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Dead Sleep: True Crime for Bedtime is an independent, ad-free, listener supported true crime show made for sleeping. It's created and narrated by award-winning editor and writer Nancy Miller (host of HBO Max's "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" "The Staircase" and "Love & Death" podcasts).

Subscription issues? Questions? Email Nancy ⁠deadsleeppodcast@gmail.com⁠

Music Cue Sheet for YouTube: VVWWGQN57JDTECKW, EUBETM6MJGNNCJBZ, HLLHCNCUTFJBOZVEby