Cops made their own true crime podcast about a murder that hasn't gone to trial yet

Countdown to Capture is a true crime podcast that tells the story of Peter Chadwick, a man the Newport Beach Police Department says killed his wife and hid her body into a dumpster, miles away from their multi-million dollar home.

It’s been listened to all over the world and peaked at no. 24 on the iTunes' overall U.S. podcast chart.

But the successful podcast wasn’t produced by an investigative reporter or a new media upstart. It was produced by the Newport Beach Police Department.

“From the feedback that I've heard, people really connected with the story,” said Jennifer Manzella, who hosted the show, and also works for Newport Beach PD. “We've actually had a couple departments reach out to us and ask for recommendations, because they're interested in starting their own podcast series about their cold cases.”

Not everyone is excited about the new possibilities of police-produced podcasts. “Police are there to investigate crimes,” said Priscilla Ocen, a professor of criminal law at Loyola Law School. “Police don't get to be executioners. They don't get to be the judge and the jury.”

In particular, she sees a problem with the fact that the podcast regularly labels Chadwick as a “murderer,” despite the fact that he has yet to stand trial for his accusations.