FILE 726 / 14 August 2026 / 73 MIN / express

Dirty Uncle Death Dealer

Brunswick, GeorgiaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
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We're going to Brunswick, Georgia ... this is in Glynn County or Glen County, however they pronounce it, GLYNN about 0:03:54

History, in brief

Town note

The Muscogee were the tribe living in the lands that are now Brunswick.

about 0:05:55

1568

The Spanish came and established missions in the villages beginning in 1568.

about 0:06:05

1738

The first European settler came in 1738, a Scotsman who was a captain in the Oglethorpe Marine Boat Company.

about 0:06:15

Town note

He established a 1,000-acre tobacco plantation which he called Plug Point.

about 0:06:30
All 7 history facts

Town note

The Muscogee were the tribe living in the lands that are now Brunswick.

about 0:05:55

1568

The Spanish came and established missions in the villages beginning in 1568.

about 0:06:05

1738

The first European settler came in 1738, a Scotsman who was a captain in the Oglethorpe Marine Boat Company.

about 0:06:15

Town note

He established a 1,000-acre tobacco plantation which he called Plug Point.

about 0:06:30

Town note

The province of Georgia purchased his fields and laid out the town of Brunswick in a grid like Savannah.

about 0:06:42

1915

In 1915 there was a mass shooting in downtown Brunswick at the old Dunwoody building.

about 0:06:49

Town note

A 58-year-old timber and real estate dealer, Monroe Phillips, opened fire with a shotgun at his creditor over a failed business deal, killing seven people including a police officer and injuring over 30 others before being shot by the cops.

about 0:06:53

The figures, as told

Crime / national average

Violent crime
fourth most violent city in Georgia

about 0:08:45

Money

Median home value$209,600
Median household income$29,362
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2026

Population

"14,774"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:04:59

Median household income

"$29,362"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:04:59

Median home cost

"$209,600"

Comparison: "the rest of the country". No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:05:25

Violent crime ranking

"fourth most violent city in Georgia"

No direction stated.

As told in 2026 about 0:08:45

The reviews

2.3 / 5 · average of 4

5 stars

“Lovely place to live, with the best shrimp in the world; Brunswick is the shrimp capital of the world.”
about 0:07:31

2 stars

“A really small town with not much to do unless you go to St. Simon's Island or Jacksonville, Florida.”
about 0:08:24

1 star

“Fourth most violent city in Georgia; you pretty well have to be in the good old boy network to get anything done; only goes to town when there is no other option; the town is very dirty.”
about 0:08:43

1 star

“Very expensive, the people are rude, finding work is difficult, the reviewer feels stuck and cannot find a decent single guy to go out with.”
about 0:08:58

In Georgia

Closest episodes

  1. My Imaginary Murder FriendRiceboro, Georgia · 16 October 202565 km / 40 miShow on map
  2. The Soft Serial KillerSt. Augustine, Florida · 5 May 2022139 km / 86 miShow on map
  3. A Grinch Of A KillerSanta Claus, Georgia · 2 August 2017141 km / 88 miShow on map
  4. Three Murders & Six Congenital IdiotsStarke, Florida · 7 September 2023146 km / 91 miShow on map
  5. The Coroner's Waiting RoomMcIntosh, Florida · 27 December 2018201 km / 125 miShow on map

The story

Jolene, who was deaf and mute and was sometimes called Mary, was on her third husband, Patrick Russell Kappus, born in 1948 in Wisconsin and a civilian employee at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. Their daughter Emma, born on August 14th, 1973 in Oklahoma, was fifteen and a student at Glynn Academy. The family rented a single-storey brick house off U.S. Highway 341 in the Arco community, north-west of Brunswick.

Patrick had not wanted his brother-in-law to come, and had told him there was no work in the area. She found a handgun in his suitcase; at Patrick's insistence it was locked in the drawer of a china cabinet, with Jolene keeping the key.

He booked a U-Haul truck and claimed to have rented a house there. On Saturday, April 29th, 1989, the family began loading the truck, helped by a friend, David Berry, who found the gun on top of the china cabinet rather than inside it. The departure was delayed by a day, and the plan was to drive down in the truck and the family car on the morning of May 1st, 1989.

Shortly before seven that morning neighbours heard a gunshot, Patrick shouting, and then three more shots. She noticed a new lock on the shed and was told Patrick had put it there because the family was leaving.

She got enough money for petrol and drove back to Brunswick, and on May 4th, 1989, she reported her husband and daughter missing.

On May 5th, 1989, Glynn County officers searched the house and then broke the lock on the shed. Under a mattress they found the bodies of Patrick and Emma, each shot in the head and both shot several times with a .32-calibre weapon. The truck was found empty a few days later at Ormond Beach, Florida.

Jolene received $230,000 in insurance money. He said Patrick had woken him to ask where Emma was, that he then saw Jolene and Patrick pulling Emma between them in the yard, that Patrick accidentally shot Emma while helping her up, and that Jolene then shot Patrick three times. He said he hid the bodies because he was on probation in Texas for receiving stolen property and feared losing his son.

Patrick and Emma are buried at Palmetto Cemetery in Brunswick.

The case

Murder of Patrick and Emma Kappus

Victims

Patrick Russell Kappus. Jolene's third husband, born in 1948 in Wisconsin, a civilian employee at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base
Emma Kappus (15). Patrick and Jolene's daughter, born August 14th, 1973 in Oklahoma, a student at Glynn Academy

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 14 August 2026.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Darlene Morris. Jolene's sister, who testified the day after Jolene
David Lee Barry Jr.. family friend who helped load the U-Haul and testified about the gun
Dale Larke Sr.. deaf man who said Jolene asked him to kill her husband Johnny Serak for $50,000
Johnny Serak. Jolene's fourth husband, married 1992
Harry Jennings. Jolene's live-in boyfriend while separated from Serak
Richard Geise. acquaintance who testified that Jolene told him she had her husband killed for the money
Emma's friend. high school friend who testified she saw touch Emma sexually and enter her bedroom naked

The timeline

  1. 1948 Patrick Russell Kappus is born in Wisconsinabout 0:13:27
  2. August 14th, 1973 Emma Kappus is born in Oklahomaabout 0:13:50
  3. late summer 1988 or February 1989 moves from Del Rio, Texas, into the Kappus home in Brunswick with his seven-year-old son Jason (Kappus home)about 0:15:30
  4. April 1989 The family decides to move to Jacksonville, Florida, at urging (Kappus home)about 0:18:15
  5. April 29th, 1989 The family rents a U-Haul and begins loading their possessions; David Berry finds the gun on top of the china cabinet (Kappus home)about 0:19:17
  6. the night of April 30th, 1989 Patrick and stay up late talking after Jolene and the children go to bed (Kappus home)about 0:22:02
  7. shortly before 7 a.m. on May 1st, 1989 Neighbours hear a gunshot, Patrick yelling, and then three more gunshots (Kappus home)about 0:20:52
  8. minutes later, May 1st, 1989 A neighbour sees standing alone near the shed behind the house (Shed behind the Kappus house)about 0:21:24
  9. May 1st, 1989 Jolene and Jason drive to Jacksonville, Florida; follows later alone in the truck (Jacksonville house)about 0:28:34
  10. the night of May 2nd, 1989 Jolene sleeps in the car in Jacksonville (Jacksonville house)about 0:31:05
  11. May 3rd, 1989 Jolene spends the night in a homeless shelter (Jacksonville house)about 0:31:10
  12. May 4th, 1989 Jolene reports Patrick and Emma missing at the county police departmentabout 0:32:14
  13. around 8 p.m., May 5th, 1989 Glynn County officers break the lock on the shed and find the bodies of Patrick and Emma under a mattress (Shed behind the Kappus house)about 0:32:36

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode