Hall of Shame Inductee #1

Man who killed, dismembered body of woman he trafficked watched crime shows for cover-up tips

In a real-life plot twist fit for a poorly written crime show, Cory Martin — a New York City resident — found himself at the center of a grisly murder trial that even Netflix might pass on. Martin, now 36, was recently convicted of strangling Brandy Odom, a woman he had trafficked, in a chilling murder-for-hire scheme. But the real kicker? He allegedly relied on crime shows like Dexter and The First 48 for tips on how to pull off his gruesome act without getting caught. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work.

The story begins with Martin’s dark, twisted idea to cash in on two life insurance policies fraudulently taken out in Odom’s name. Authorities say he strangled her in April 2018 and, in a scene right out of a midnight thriller, dismembered her body to make disposal easier. His partner-in-crime, Adelle Anderson, was also in on the plan but later took the witness stand to spill the beans, detailing how Martin’s obsession with crime shows supposedly guided their strategy.

The TV-inspired criminal apparently thought that watching Dexter, the show about a “moral” serial killer who dismembered his victims, would make him an expert in forensics. Anderson claims the pair used these shows to decide on the “dos and don’ts” of cover-ups. Step one: don’t learn actual forensic science; instead, binge crime dramas. Step two: attempt to hide a dismemberment with, you guessed it, heavy-duty garbage bags. But as any true-crime enthusiast knows, poorly executed plans, much like spoilers, always seem to come back to haunt you.

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