More than 110 students signed up for language arts teacher Melissa Everett’s Ac Lab on Wednesday, Oct. 2, to attend the first meeting of True Crime Club.
Everett had to cap the meeting at 40 just to fit everyone in her classroom.
“I never would have thought that that many people would even sign up,” Maggie Caskey, junior, said. “It was really exciting and I’m excited to see how it continues to grow.”
Caskey and Landon Lawhorn, junior, formed True Crime Club with Everett as their sponsor after discovering a shared love for true crime podcasts. Caskey and Lawhorn also talked to Activities Director Adam Starling to gain approval because of the sensitive content the club involves.

At the first meeting, Caskey and Lawhorn gave an overview of the club and handed out parent permission forms for students to return.
“We couldn’t really do anything until we told them what it was all about because some people might not want to be part of it,” Caskey said.
Everett became interested in true crime after listening to the first season of the podcast “Serial,” which is believed to have reached 300 million downloads, according to Forbes.
“There’s a joke that women listen to true crime so they can avoid being victims of it, and I’m a mother of three daughters, so I think there is some element of truth there,” Everett said.

Everett said she first noticed true crime gain popularity in the 90s after the murder of Adam Walsh. Adam Walsh’s murder prompted his father, John, to host “America’s Most Wanted.”
“There just wasn’t the market for true crime in the way there is now,” Everett said.

While true crime may be “trendy,” it still covers sensitive topics. Everett is proud of the maturity of students involved in True Crime Club.

“I appreciate how seriously the kids are taking the subject matter because it does involve the loss of someone’s loved one,” Everett said.
Sometimes, students are even able to see similarities between true crime and their own lives, Everett said.

“Our first victim disappeared one day after school her junior year of high school, so that’s really real,” Everett said.
Sammy Gendreau, junior, attended True Crime Club’s first meeting. Gendreau learned about the meeting through a poster in his AP Psychology classroom.
“I went to go check it out,” Gendreau said. “I don’t really like true crime, it’s not really my thing, but the club seems fun.”
True Crime Club’s most recent meeting took place Thursday, Oct. 31 during Mod 2. Students discussed season one of the podcast “Serial,” which centered around the murder of Hae Min Lee.