Left Where God Could Find Him: Amish Serial Killer Eli Stutzman Pt 1

Comedian Simon Amstell said, “If you are somebody who is going to at some point be revealed as not like everyone else, then to be in an insular community is a problem.” Here Amstell was discussing how it felt growing up gay and going to a religious school. Insular religious communities shut themselves off from the world in order to keep their views unchanged by the outside. It’s extremely effective. The Amish are one such community. Most of their followers aren’t allowed to use electricity or have indoor plumbing. They view modern conveniences as threatening to their religious beliefs, which are at the center of their lives. Today’s case is about an Amish man who never quite fit in with his brethren. His sexuality, his disposition, and his work ethic all flew in the face of what his community believed. And maybe that’s why he fought so hard to prevent anyone from finding out who he really was, even resorting to murder.

NOTE: We had some microphone issues on Katie's end this week--we apologize if the sound isn't as good as usual.

Sources:
Gregg Olsen, Abandoned Prayers: An Incredible True Story of Murder, Obsession, and Amish Secrets
https://amishamerica.com/do-amish-believe-taking-a-photo-captures-their-souls/ https://www.ohiosamishcountry.com/articles/photography-and-the-amish https://www.ohiosamishcountry.com/articles/the-traditional-amish-youth-period-of-rumspringa https://language.mki.wisc.edu/essays/pennsylvania-dutch/#:~:text=While%20most%20Amish%20and%20Old,Lutheran%20or%20German%20Reformed%20affiliation.
Investigation Discovery's "Murder in Amish Country," episode "Amish Serial Killer"

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Narrative sound not great

I’m not sure who’s who but one of the narrators sounds like they are talking into a tin can. Hope the quality improves soon because I do enjoy the story telling but the switch from nice Audio to unclear is distracting

I did not like how the Amish community was mocked and laughed at .

I have family members who are very good friends with an Amish community and they are actually wonderful people ! They would constantly laugh and make fun of Amish people and thier beliefs . These girls seem like mean girls . I could only listen to them for a short time before I had to stop because they were annoying and mean .