Overview of 543 - Live at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (Portland Early Show)
This live My Favorite Murder episode was recorded in Portland and mixes playful on-stage banter with two major Oregon-set true-crime stories: the long-unsolved disappearance of the Martin family in 1958 and the shocking case of two popular Grant High School students who turned into armed robbers in the late 1990s. The episode closes with a hometown story from Southern Oregon about family tragedy, foster care, and the importance of resource parents.
Opening Banter and Live Show Energy
- Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark joke with the Portland crowd about:
- the city’s loyalty to the show,
- the “noise contest,”
- outfits, pockets, and vintage fashion,
- nicotine pouches as a bizarre form of “party fuel,”
- and Karen’s mom Janet missing a front tooth during a prior live filming event.
- They also explain the premise of My Favorite Murder for any new listeners:
- it’s a comedy/true-crime podcast,
- they process upsetting material through humor,
- and the show has been running for 10 years.
- They also tease the unusual live setup and Portland-specific atmosphere, including references to the naked bike ride and the city’s loyal, rowdy audience.
Main Story 1: The Martin Family Disappearance
The Family Vanishes in 1958
- On December 7, 1958, Ken and Barbara Martin and their three daughters—Barbie, Virginia, and Sue—leave Portland to gather evergreen boughs for holiday decorating.
- The Martins are deeply Christmas-obsessed:
- Ken makes handmade wooden candy canes for the neighborhood,
- dresses as Santa each year,
- and their street is nicknamed Candy Lane.
- They are last seen at:
- Paradise Snack Bar in Hood River,
- and Cascade Locks, where they stop for gas.
- By December 9, Ken doesn’t show up to work and the girls are absent from school. The family is officially reported missing.
Early Clues and Lingering Mystery
- Investigators find:
- the family home untouched, with laundry and dishes left as if life had been interrupted,
- a stolen white Chevrolet nearby,
- a handgun in the bushes with dried blood on it,
- and later tire tracks leading off a cliff into the Columbia River.
- The handgun becomes a strange point of obsession because its serial number matches a gun stolen from a Portland department store, where the Martins’ eldest son had once worked and been accused of stealing it.
- Two ex-convicts are arrested in connection with the stolen car, but no evidence links them to the family.
- The bodies of Virginia and Sue are eventually found in the Columbia River, but the fate of the rest of the family remains uncertain for decades.
Civilian Investigator Solves the Case
- In 2018, diver and artist Archer Mayo becomes obsessed with the case.
- He researches old construction plans for Cascade Locks and develops a theory that the family car is in a deep depression in the river known as the pit.
- After years of work, he begins diving the site repeatedly, removing debris and locating:
- a hubcap matching the Martin car,
- the vehicle itself,
- a camera case with Ken Martin’s name and address,
- shoe remnants belonging to Barbara,
- and human remains.
- The evidence strongly suggests the Martin family died in a tragic accident after driving into the river.
- Archer plans a memorial at the site, and the episode emphasizes how one determined civilian helped bring closure to a decades-old mystery.
Main Story 2: Grant High School Students Turned Armed Robbers
From Popular Kids to Criminals
- The second story is set in Northeast Portland in the late 1990s.
- The culprits are Tom Curtis and Ethan Thrower, two of the most popular boys at Grant High School:
- track stars,
- high-achieving students,
- and campus leaders with strong social status.
- Their backgrounds are stable and middle-class, but their friendship feeds bad behavior.
- A school incident in 1997 foreshadows things:
- Tom steals from a 7-Eleven, punches a clerk, resists arrest, and gets bitten by a police dog.
- He later apologizes, but the behavior marks him as the more aggressive of the pair.
The Robbery Spree
- In November 1996, the two start by stealing cars for joyrides.
- That escalates into a spree of robberies around Portland:
- Howard Johnson’s,
- Baskin Robbins,
- Burger King,
- an ice cream parlor,
- a natural foods store,
- Wendy’s,
- Taco Bell,
- and others.
- They often wear ski masks and use a handgun taken from Ethan’s father.
- Some of the robberies involve other students, and the pair becomes increasingly emboldened because they are not being caught.
- Police fail to connect the robberies at first because the cases are treated separately after a robbery unit is cut.
The Rustica Robbery and Collapse
- In late 1997, Tom and Ethan decide to do “one last big crime.”
- They steal a Chevy Suburban, rob the Rustica Italian Cafe, and flee with about $500.
- During the getaway, Ethan foolishly puts the gun in his waistband and accidentally shoots himself in the groin.
- Tom calls 911; Ethan initially lies about being shot by gang members, then admits the truth.
- The police connect the robbery to the stolen Suburban and recover DNA evidence.
- A larger pattern of 19 robberies around Grant High finally becomes clear.
Arrests, Sentencing, and Aftermath
- Ethan is arrested at school the day before senior prom.
- Tom goes on the run, but his friends take him on a graduation trip to Mexico without turning him in.
- He later hides in Mesa, Arizona, but is eventually exposed by America’s Most Wanted and turns himself in.
- Tom pleads guilty to 19 of 100 counts filed against him.
- Victims describe the pair as terrifying; one clerk reports being threatened with death, and the Baskin Robbins cashier suffers lasting trauma.
Where They Ended Up
- Tom becomes a model prisoner, earns a college degree in prison, and is released in 2009.
- Ethan is released in 2006, attends Portland State University, graduates in 2009, and later works as a youth social worker in Portland.
- Ethan also writes a children’s book, A Kid’s Book About Incarceration, reflecting on harm, accountability, and growth.
- The story ends on a rare note of redemption and change.
Hometown Story: Roseburg, Oregon, and Foster Care
- A listener named Honor from Southern Oregon tells a story about a childhood classmate, “Jennifer,” whose family situation was unclear when they were young.
- Jennifer and her brother lived with their aunt after their mother died and their father was in prison.
- Years later, Honor learns that the mother’s death involved a gunshot wound, not the more sanitized explanation she had heard as a child.
- She later realizes Jennifer was in foster care.
- The story becomes a reflection on:
- how children are shielded from trauma,
- how family stories can be distorted,
- and why becoming a resource parent can matter deeply.
Key Takeaways
- One persistent civilian can make a real difference: Archer Mayo’s dive work helped resolve a 60-year-old missing persons mystery.
- Teenage privilege doesn’t prevent serious harm: Tom and Ethan’s story shows how “popular kids” can still become dangerous repeat offenders.
- Humor is the show’s core coping mechanism: Karen and Georgia consistently use jokes, banter, and audience interaction to balance heavy true-crime material.
- The episode is strongly Portland-centered: both main stories and the hometown all connect back to Oregon communities and memory.