291. Snapped: The Kastanis Family Murders

Our True Crime Podcast

Sam and Margaret Kastanis met while playing in a band and were married in 1987. When the children came along, they quit the band to focus on family. Margaret said that even after a decade of marriage, she still often had butterflies in her stomach when she looked at her husband. The couple had three beautiful children: Melissa, 11, Clinton, 9, and Christine, 6. The neighbors described the family as idyllic.
Margaret became severely ill with the Epstein-Barr virus and had been out of commission for more than a month. Sam eventually had to take time off from work to stay home with her and the children because she had no energy to care for them. By November 17th, 1991, Sam had been off work for several weeks, and Margaret was frustrated she wasn't getting better.
The couple recently put their house up for sale and received a bid. Now, it looked like they would be moving and buying a bigger and better house during the holiday season, yet Margaret was still not fully recovered. Add to this the fact that Margaret had made friends with a mentally unstable woman in the neighborhood and that she, too, had recently shown signs of paranoia. It became evident to some that the Kastanis family was beginning to unravel.
But nobody who knew the couple could have known that four of the five members of the Kastanis family would never make it to Thanksgiving. A tragedy of epic proportions was about to unfold in the upscale suburb of Salt Lake City.

Join Jen and Cam as they discuss "Snapped: The Kastanis Family Murders."
Cam and Jen will be in London at CrimeCon UK! Come see us! You can use our discount code OTCP10 for 10% off ticket price!
A HUGE shoutout to Newspapers.com! They have been our resource and we've relied on them since we started in 2018.
Thank you to our team:
Written and researched by Lauretta Allen
Listener Discretion by Edward October from Octoberpod AM
Executive Producer Nico Vetesse of The Inky Pawprint
Producer Jesse Fyffe-Vetesse of The Inky Pawprint
Sources:
https://murderpedia.org/female.K/k/kastanismargaret.htm
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613665361/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613664961/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613664417/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613664128/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613666265/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/469680036/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613665851/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613665851/?match=1&terms=Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/470771883/?match=1&terms=Sam%20Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613679275/?match=1&terms=Sam%20Kastanis
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130815084404.htm
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=honorscollege_cj (page 26)
https://www.deseret.com/1993/6/17/19052136/questioning-failed-to-alter-kastanis-story/
https://www.jurispro.com/files/documents/doc-1066204696-resume.pdf
https://www.newspapers.com/image/470757772/match=1&terms=Rod%20Englert%20Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/470755669/?match=1&terms=Rod%20Englert%20Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613678190/match=1&terms=Rod%20Englert%20Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613678194/?terms=Rod%20Englert%20Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/470769718/match=1&terms=Rod%20Englert%20Kastanis
https://www.newspapers.com/image/613678006/match=1&terms=Rod%20Englert%20Kastanis
https://www.deseret.com/1991/11/20/18952786/deaths-margaret-jenkins-kastanis-melissa-missy-kastanis-clinton-clint-kastanis-christine-chrissy-kas/
https://www.criminallegalnews.org/news/2022/may/1/pseudoscientific-practice-blood-spatter-analysis-how-desire-convictions-drives-flawed-prosecutions/