KPBS Investigates

Episode 7: What happens next

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:06:00 -0700

We still have no strong leads on who actually killed Bob Dorotik. This episode goes through how DNA evidence led to Jane’s charges finally being dismissed, and why that same DNA evidence can’t lead police to the actual killer. It also looks at what’s next for Jane and how she is devoting all her time to activism, lobbying the government for prison reform. This episode looks at why Jane has changed her life post-prison, but also how her work now makes sense given her personality and how she handled her time behind bars.

Episode 6: Implications for other cases

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:05:00 -0700

The bad science in Jane’s case has implications for many other cases in San Diego County as well. The work of Jane’s lawyers led the District Attorney’s office to send out a Brady letter to defense attorneys warning them that evidence used in other cases could be questionable. But there’s no list of all those cases, and the DA deletes emails after 90 days so tracking them all down is difficult. We do have a few indications at partial lists of cases the same criminologists worked on, and this episode looks at some of those cases and discusses why the people in those cases aren’t alerted to the possibility of bad science being used against them.

Episode 5: How forensic science is used

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:04:00 -0700

Popular culture and the media are obsessed with forensic science. There are TV shows, podcasts and documentaries devoted to it. But much of that science does not always hold up to scrutiny, especially as our technology advances. Things like bite mark analysis, tire track analysis, hair analysis and other techniques are regularly used in courtrooms but do not always produce accurate results.

Episode 4: Bad science

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:03:00 -0700

Jane Dorotik’s luck had finally begun to change. While she was still in prison for her husband’s murder, she was able to get the attention of lawyers with the Innocence Project. They reviewed her case and found much of the evidence and scientific analysis used in court appeared faulty. This episode details how Jane’s lawyers reviewed her case, and how things began to change once they got additional DNA analysis.

Episode 3: Jane’s time in prison

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:02:00 -0700

Jane Dorotik had always believed the justice system worked just fine, and people who were in prison likely deserved to be there. When she was convicted of her husband’s murder, she quickly realized that was not the case. Then when she went to prison, she met more women who had also been treated unfairly. She began to see how broken the system is, even for women who were guilty of their crimes. This episode looks at Jane’s transformation and how her tendency to organize and advocate took hold in a prison context.

Episode 2: Jane’s trial

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:01:00 -0700

Jane Dorotik’s trial began in March 2000 and it was a media circus. While the prosecution focused on scientific evidence — tire tracks, blood pattern analysis, contents of Bob’s stomach — the defense didn’t tackle that evidence and instead took the unusual strategy of blaming Jane’s daughter Claire for the murder. This only added to the circus aspect — a wealthy white woman or her attractive daughter committed a murder, gaining the case national attention. This episode looks at how police conduct homicide investigations, zeroing in on a suspect and then finding evidence to support that suspect’s guilt.

Episode 1: What happened to Jane Dorotik?

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:00:00 -0700

On Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000, Jane Dorotik’s husband Bob went out for a run and never came back. He was found dead by the side of the road early the next morning, and Jane’s life changed forever. Three days later, she was arrested for his murder. This opening episode gives the details on who Jane was and what happened the day Bob was murdered. It also points at what’s to come — the media’s role in Jane’s trial and conviction, the faulty science used at her trial, and how she has transformed from wealthy white woman with no concerns about the criminal justice system into an abolitionist prison activist.

Free Jane Trailer

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 13:56:00 -0700

On Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000, Jane Dorotik’s husband Bob went out for a run and never came back. He was found dead by the side of the road early the next morning, and Jane’s life changed forever. Three days later, she was arrested for his murder. Over the next two decades Jane would become a convict, a martyr, an advocate, and she would play a key role in exposing fatal flaws in the criminal justice system.

Episode 1: San Diego's first freeway

Tue, 09 May 2023 09:00:00 -0700

An architect has a radical idea for San Diego's oldest freeway, SR-163, which cuts through Balboa Park. An environmental justice activist dreams of someday reconnecting her community that was divided by Interstate 5. If San Diego is serious about its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, how will our relationship with freeways have to change?

Episode 2: A feat of (social) engineering

Tue, 09 May 2023 09:00:00 -0700

The American freeway is born in a time of intense optimism around the promise of the automobile. President Eisenhower sees the country's dilapidated road network as a barrier to economic growth and national defense. Jacob Dekema, the father of San Diego's freeway network, sees freeways as lifesavers. How did our optimism blind us to the freeway's dark side? Magic Highway USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo4-rYNGEwE&

Evictions in a Pandemic, Part 2: Forced out, Fighting to Stay

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 09:00:00 -0800

When pandemic-inspired protections for homeowners and renters expired, renters especially have become vulnerable to evictions in San Diego’s hot housing market. In this second part of a two part series on evictions, KPBS Race and Equity reporter follows one family that has been forced out of their apartment and their search for new housing. Like thousands of other low-income renters in San Diego, their best option may be to leave the region all together. But there are groups organizing to fight evictions, and a growing tenants’ rights movement in San Diego.

Evictions in a Pandemic, Part 1: As Protections End, Who Stays Housed

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 09:00:00 -0800

The pandemic inspired a slate of local, state and national eviction bans, and other protections for homeowners and renters to keep people housed. But those protections are going away, leaving renters especially vulnerable to eviction as the San Diego rental market heats up. In Part 1 of a 2 part series, KPBS Race and Equity reporter Cristina Kim looks at the efforts to keep people housed here in San Diego County. We talk about what worked, and who fell through the cracks, and what’s next for the region’s renters and landlords as housing becomes increasingly more expensive and protections evaporate. We also learn about the toll that the threat of evictions places on families and children.

‘At The Expense Of My Life’

Tue, 27 Jul 2021 06:00:00 -0700

Today on KPBS Investigates, Aaron Harvey’s journey from wrongful gang charges to UC Berkeley graduation. In the summer of 2014, a swarm of police arrested Aaron Harvey near where he was living outside Las Vegas. Harvey is from San Diego, and was charged as a test case by San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis using a law that had never been used before. It said someone could be charged for conspiracy for gang shootings, even if that person had nothing to do with the shootings at all. That was the case for Harvey. He was charged because he was in social media pictures wearing gang colors and making gang signs. A judge dismissed the charges against him, but not before he spent seven months in jail. Now, Harvey has done something that when he was in jail seemed like an impossible dream: graduating from UC Berkeley. This KPBS Investigates episode was reported and written by Claire Trageser. Emily Jankowski is the director of sound design. Kinsee Morlan is Podcast Coordinator. This episode was edited by Megan Burke. Lisa Morissette is operations manager and John Decker is the interim associate general manager of content. Stay tuned for more episodes of KPBS Investigates right here in your podcast feed.

Asylum Seekers: ‘Here We Are’

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 12:00:00 -0700

Increasing numbers of asylum seekers are being allowed to enter the United States. But with the asylum system still severely curtailed, thousands remain stuck in dangerous conditions in Tijuana. KPBS reporter Max Rivlin-Nadler has been following the story for months. His reporting is featured in a new special report for the “KPBS Investigates” and “Port of Entry” podcasts. In the episode, Rivlin-Nadler follows the painfully long wait many asylum seekers have had to endure, simply for a chance at finding refuge in the U.S. It outlines America's critically damaged asylum system at the U.S. Mexico border by introducing you to the people on the ground, both the migrants living in the dangerous refugee camps in Tijuana and the activists and lawyers trying to help them.

When The World Stopped

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 09:31:20 -0700

The KPBS Investigates podcast is where our news team is able to dive more deeply into the stories we cover. Today, investigative reporter Claire Trageser brings us the story of one woman and her struggle to keep her massage business afloat during the past turbulent year. Her story is emblematic of what has happened to many small businesses all across San Diego county because of the economic fallout of the pandemic. This episode explores the difficulties San Diego businesses faced accessing the loans and resources aimed at helping them survive the brutal cycles of shutdowns and reopenings. Many businesses were forced to close but, it turns out, some parts of the county fared far better than others.

Should San Diego Be Its Own Power Company?

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 17:08:02 -0700

As San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer gets close to signing a new deal with a private company, activists push for “municipalization,” which means the city takes over the power grid. You're listening to "KPBS Investigates," a podcast from the KPBS newsroom bringing you in-depth stories that help us better understand our region. Support our work: www.kpbs.org/donate

Dr. J's Part 6: What's Next For The Community 16 Years After The Shooting

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 12:16:00 -0700

More than 15 years after the Dr J's shooting, a lot of people are thinking about what's next. Southeast San Diego residents want the government and police to change, and they want their communities to change for the better.

Dr. J's Part 5: The Use Of Informants In The Shooting At Dr J's Liquor

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 12:12:52 -0700

After the shooting at Dr J's, police and prosecutors looked for informants who would trade information for reduced sentences and money to move away from San Diego. One informant in particular shows what a difficult decision that can be.

Dr. J's Part 4: The Gang Stigma When A Case Goes To Trial

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 12:07:52 -0700

In the case against James Carter, the prosecutor used a common tactic when trying people from Southeast San Diego, especially young black men. He established a link between Carter and a gang, and then used that link to establish a motive.

Dr. J's Part 3: The Families Of The Victims And The Man Convicted

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 11:53:20 -0700

The shooting at Dr J's has had ripple effects throughout the community and the rest of the city. But it also impacted the people directly involved—the families of the women who were killed, and the family of the man who was eventually convicted of their murder.

Dr. J's Part 2: How Policing Changed After The Dr J’s Liquor Store Shooting

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 10:31:16 -0700

A gang shooting in Lincoln Park killed two women on their way home from church. After the shooting, some people said the police department flooded the streets with officers arresting everybody. Others became more willing to work with police.

Dr. J's Part 1: What Happened On New Year’s Eve At Dr J’s Liquor

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 09:59:28 -0700

The crime was so perfectly horrific — two women on their way home from church, two kids in the back seat — that it made people pay more attention to Southeast San Diego, a lower income and predominantly African-American pocket of the city.