The Cincinnati Enquirer released the first seven episodes the popular true-crime podcast Accused: Season 4, “The Impending Execution of Elwood Jones,” ad-free, exclusively to USA TODAY, the Cincinnati Enquirer and Wondery+ subscribers.
This season focuses on the savage murder of 67-year-old Rhoda Nathan, a New Jersey native who traveled to a small Ohio town for the bar mitzvah of her best friend’s grandson. Nathan was found unconscious on the floor of her hotel room. Elwood Jones, who was an employee at the hotel at the time, was arrested and charged with Nathan’s murder a year later, after police and prosecutors claimed to receive forensic test results.
That was misleading: While forensic tests were being conducted, none of the initial results pointed to Jones as Nathan’s killer. Evidence prosecutors pointed to during trial had been discovered within two weeks of her murder, leading Jones’ supporters to ask: If that evidence against Jones was so strong, why did it take a year to file charges?
Jones, now 69, currently awaits execution on Ohio’s death row, refusing to plead guilty even with the promise of a reduced sentence. He insists he has been railroaded at best or, at worst, outright framed.
Enquirer journalists Amber Hunt and Amanda Rossmann spent two years investigating lingering questions about police behavior in the case and the inequitable practice of sentencing people of color to significantly more severe sentences.
In conjunction with the podcast release, USA TODAY has launched an accompanying Augmented Reality (AR) experience on the USA TODAY mobile app. Fans can experience an in-person account of the hotel room, view the crime scene and learn what police did — and didn’t do — to solve the case. To access this immersive experience, simply download the latest version of the USA TODAY app on your iOS or Android AR-capable device, open the camera app on your mobile device and scan the appropriate QR code below.
The first three seasons of Accused have 50 million downloads to date. Subscribe to USA TODAY to get early, ad-free binge access and experience season 4 now.
Learn more and listen to “Accused” at https://accusedpodcast.com/. For non-subscribers, the podcast episodes will be released weekly, beginning Tuesday, February 8 on Wondery, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.
