The Sirens Podcast, also known as Sirens | A Southern True Crime Podcast, is an investigative true crime podcast created by Raven Rollins. She discusses cases from her former hometown of Ada, OK, as well as other cases in the southwestern and deep South states. Raven invites expert guests to answer questions that pertain to the case at hand and hosts many victim families on the show to advocate for their loved ones. She also discusses crime fiction, horror, & true crime books with their authors.
​
The Sirens' mission is twofold: to be fierce advocates for those harmed by crime and to empower communities through crucial discussions on safety and situational awareness. This vision was brought to life in 2019, when Raven created the show. The show uniquely blends the rigor of journalism with the crucial lenses of law, psychology, criminal justice, and medicine, all guided by Raven's investigative spirit. Sirens is relentless in their pursuit of overlooked details in cold cases, embarking on foundational investigations to ensure every story is told with unwavering accuracy within Raven's platform. The Sirens Network, led by Raven Rollins and her team, is deeply dedicated to cultivating an ethical, advocacy-driven, and victim-centric landscape for true crime content, prioritizing education and the prevention of future tragedies through Raven's work.
​
With notorious and unknown cases alike, every victim sees the light on the show.
​
Welcome to The Sirens Podcast.
Squad Goals
Show Regulars
Raven Rollins
Creator of The Sirens Podcast
host, Executive Producer,
INvestigative Reporter, Author, audiobook narrator
Raven has worked in the legal and medical fields since 2004 and 2007. She first began as a legal assistant for a family law firm in Ada, OK, where she became an executive assistant to her attorney and a legal researcher. She completed her EMT training in 2007 and worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for 2 years. She also has a wide variety of experience, including, but not limited to: surgical assistant, Home Health Aide, legal assistant and researcher in medical malpractice, civil law, family law, and criminal law, and has attended several conferences and lectures presented by law enforcement, Lawyers, and other experts in their fields on things like DNA Analysis, Human Trafficking, Domestic Assault & Violence, and much more. Find out more about Raven's Credentials Here.
​
In 2019, Raven wanted to further herself in the investigative field. She began coursework to become a Private Investigator, taking courses in the basics of criminology, fingerprinting, DNA, Hair & other evidence collection, blood spatter analysis, stakeouts, and so much more. She completed her course with a 98% in December 2020.
​
Raven has completed courses in Modern Journalism at NYU, and recently, freelances for Media outlets like The Ada News. She also writes articles on this website's blog that covers cases on the show, true crime news, and Raven's Reviews where she reviews true crime, crime fiction, and horror books, movies, shows, and documentaries.
​
She is the author of two horror fiction books, A Dead New World and The Human Condition, both zombie novels, and the true crime books Sins of the South & Allegedly.
Raven narrates the Grady Lake Mystery Series audiobooks by J.L. Hyde, as well as The Bluff, all on Audible and iTunes.
​
She has been married to Rick Rollins for over a decade and has one child with him, two dogs, a cat, and tons of fish.
​
Raven is the Host and is a part of every episode.
​
Raven is also a player/regular on Rick's podcast 'I Crit You Not'. She will be starting a new True Crime podcast in 2023 that will deep dive into one case per season called "Circumstantial."
​
Find her on:
Facebook @theravenrollins
Twitter @theravenrollins
Rick Rollins
Critical care paramedic, author
Rick has been a Nationally Registered Tactical and Critical Care Paramedic in Tulsa, OK, since 2016 and has dealt with all sorts of calls, ranging from trauma to medical. He works in one of the largest services in the OK area, working directly with police, fire, and, of course, the public. He speaks five languages, which helps him provide his patients with the best (and quickest) care possible.
Before moving to Tulsa, he was also a volunteer Firefighter and EMT, as well as a Mechanical Engineer. His special training and experience in paramedicine include Special Operations (SWAT), Critical Care, and ROPES Rescue.
​
Rick has also experienced loss to murder in his family and will bring empathy to the victims to the show.
​
He and Raven Rollins co-author the 11:11 Series.​​​
Simon Vaughn
Emergency Medical Technician
Conspiracy Theorist
host of Cryptids Unscripted
Not a true crime fan but a self-described conspiracy theorist. Art, History, Science, Theology, Guns. These are all things Simon has expertise in. Simon will bring a new perspective to our cases that involve cults, conspiracies, art heists or religion. Simon has a Bachelor's in Fine Arts and works alongside Rick as an Emergency Medical Technician.
Simon has his own Segment on the show, 'Cryptids Unscripted with Simon Vaughn.'
guests co-hosts
Mandy McNeely
PRofessor
Mandy is from Moore, Oklahoma, but she lived and worked in Overland Park, Missouri, for several years. She is an expert in Victimology and Domestic Violence. She has a Bachelor's in Psychology, a Master's in Applied Behavioral Science and counseling, and is finishing her Ph.D. in Psychology.
She is a licensed counselor and an Instructor at Mid-America Christian University in OKC, where she has taught victimology, domestic violence, social problems, introduction to criminal justice, and critical thinking/philosophy for the past five years. She is also the course writer for the Victimology and Domestic Violence classes there. She was a professor of psychology at Rose State College and teaches psychology, ethics, and more at Columbia College.​
​
She now resides in Choctaw, OK, with her husband, dogs, and pet pig.
​
Find her at www.thelynreview.com
Facebook @MandyMcNeely
Holly Archer
phlebotomist
lab tech
Raven and Holly have been friends since childhood, birth, in fact, as their mother's were close friends who have been friends since their own childhoods. Raven & Holly may have differing opinions on lots of things, but always discuss each matter at hand with love and wild abandon.​
​
Holly has been a lab tech & phlebotomist for over a decade working specifically in the fields of serology, hematology, and pathology. Along with this, Holly has been a photographer for half of her life, giving her a keen eye for crime scene photos.
​
Holly was the cohost for seasons 1 & 2, however, Season 3 forward, Holly will only be featured on so many episodes as she had to take a step back to focus on her personal life and small business.
She has her own segment, Holly's Hauntings, where she hosts every year at Halloween.
Bill Shackleford
Studied Mass Media at East Central University, Oklahoma
Bill has studied it all: Photography, videography, photoshop, green screens, editing, and much more.
Probably much more comfortable in the Producer's seat that on the mic, Bill brings a layman's perspective to our cases while helping Raven in the background with the tech of the show.
​
Bill has also experienced loss to murder in his family, and will bring compassion for the victims to the show.
​
Bill is a guest featured on Dr. Death in Season 3 and Season 4's The Cousins Club.
Jean Gray
Creator of The Sirens Podcast
host, Executive Producer,
Legal Researcher,
Private Investigator
An EMT in the Tulsa 911 system and currently attending Paramedic classes. She brings another perspective to the medical side as well as wit and grit.
​
Jean was one of the first on scene during the Tulsa Mass Shooting when a man carrying a rifle and a handgun opened fire in a medical office building in Tulsa, Okla., killing four people and injuring several others before taking his own life. While we were worried sick during the incident, we are so proud of how she conducted herself during this crisis. She has true integrity!
She has also experienced loss to murder in her family several times over, and brings empathy and compassion to the show.
​
She is a guest for Season 3's Mystery at Foss Lake and Season 4's The Cousins Club. She was also in our round table discussion on Ethics in TC podcasting. She will also be a player/regular on Rick's podcast 'I Crit You Not'.
Science, medical, & forensics guests
Kristen Mittelman
Chief development officer
othram labs
Kristen Mittelman is a Baylor chemistry graduate who now serves as chief development officer for Othram, a company that analyzes degraded or lacking DNA samples. Mittelman and her husband, David (Othram’s CEO), started the company in 2018 — and results have come rapidly. Their work has helped identify remains or solve crimes across dozens of states, many of them dating back to the 1970s or earlier.
​
Othram is the world’s only laboratory purpose-built to combine genome sequencing with advanced human identification applications. The laboratory, based in The Woodlands, Texas, is also the only facility in the United States or Canada offering end-to-end, in-house processing from forensic evidence to investigative leads. Over the last three years, this technology has helped law enforcement crack hundreds of cases at the local, state, and federal level, many of which had been unsolved for decades.
​
Othram demonstrated the possibilities of their method by identifying remains from 1881, and helping police solve the 1974 murder of a young woman named Carla Walker in Fort Worth.
​
“We’re often the last hope,” Kristen said on TODAY. “Every time they give you that last bit of DNA or that last bit of evidence, that is someone’s last chance of being identified, and someone’s last chance to get justice for what happened to the person they lost… I think this could be a deterrent for crime. If you left DNA at a crime scene, it’s a matter of time before someone like us processes it.”
​
Othram’s opportunities to do just that are expanding. Congress recently voted to fund this type of work, and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System recently partnered with Othram to apply and advance their tools to reconnect missing or unidentified individuals with their families. Othram was even recently chosen by Australian Federal Police as their partner in solving their unidentified & missing, so they are making an impact world wide.
​
Kristen is a guest for Season 4's Carla Walker episode where she will explain Othram's Technology and how it's used today in crime solving. Other than our show, you can catch Kristen at CrimeCon or in an S3 ep5 of Forensic Files II on HLN, which also covers the case of Carla Walker.
​
See more of her bio here.
Find more about her and Othram here.
David Mittelman
Founder/CEO
Othram labs
David Mittelman is the founder and CEO of Othram Inc. Mittelman has studied and developed DNA testing methods his entire career. He participated in the Human Genome Project while at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and later received his PhD in Molecular Biophysics from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his postdoctoral training at Baylor’s Human Genome Sequencing Center, and started his own NIH-funded research program as an associate professor at Virginia Tech.
He later spent several years developing technology for DNA testing for medical and consumer genomics applications.
​
David is a guest for Season 4's Carla Walker episode where he will explain genetic genealogy and how it's used today in crime solving. Other than our show, you can find David at CrimeCon or consulting on the 500th episode of Law & Order: SVU, which was inspired by the work he and Kristen are doing at Othram Labs.
​
Follow Othram on Twitter @OthramTech or visit the website to learn more about how DNA testing could help with your case.
Debra Campbell
SANE Nurse / Forensic Nurse
Debra has been a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurse in Oklahoma for many years. She is also a domestic violence & strangulation expert whom lectures to law enforcement and other agencies on prevention and other tactics.
She is featured in Season 3's RJ Thompson case, where she will explain what a Forensic Nurse does, what role they play in the legal system when it comes to rape cases, and why they are an integral part of law enforcement.
legal/law enforcement guests
Carrie White
Lawyer in Criminal & Family Law,
former Prosecutor,
Strangulation Expert,
Domestic Abuse Expert, Judge,
former Law Professor
Carrie brings a unique perspective to our show as she was a paramedic before becoming a lawyer.
Carrie attended OU Law School and eventually left the small Family and Civil Firm she worked at and has spent the last 15 years as a prosecutor with extensive expertise in Tribal Law. She is also a Judge, a former Law Professor at East Central University in Ada, OK, and has been expertly trained in Domestic Violence, Strangulation, and gives lectures across Oklahoma for Law Enforcement in such.
​
Carrie is featured in Season 3's Jimcy McGirt, and RJ Thompson. She will also be featured on Season 4's Carla Walker. Carrie contributed heavily to the McGirt chapter in the book Allegedly by Raven Rollins.
Gary Perkinson
Retired OSBI Special Agent in Charge - Cold Case Division,
previous ada, ok detective
A 1987 graduate of Pauls Valley High School in OK, Gary was in Law Enforcement for 27 years before his retirement. Perkinson began his law enforcement career in 1990 with the Pauls Valley Police Department. Two years later he became a patrol officer for the Ada Police Department, where he was later promoted to the rank of detective.
​
In 1999, Perkinson was assigned full-time to the District 22 Drug Task force serving Pontotoc, Seminole and Hughes counties. A year later he began his employment with the OSBI as a special agent, where he primarily worked in those same three counties. In 2007, Perkinson received the honor of being named OSBI Agent of the Year. Two years later Perkinson was promoted to the rank of assistant special agent in charge over the OSBI’s Special Investigations Unit.
​
He graduated from the 264th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va, FBI Training for law enforcement leadership, which information released on the training indicates only 1 percent of all law enforcement officers in the United States attend this prestigious academy. During his training Perkinson spent 10 consecutive weeks with 214 other law enforcement leaders from 22 countries, including the U.S. While attending the academy, Perkinson extensively studied topics such as executive leadership, change management, forensics, current law enforcement issues and physical fitness.
​
In December 2006, he was given the Exemplary Service Award for his actions in locating and safely returning a 4-year-old boy, Dylan Clark, to his home who had been kidnapped.
​
In 2009, The National Institute of Justice granted OSBI about $500,000 to form a Cold Case unit.
OSBI Agent in Charge Gary Perkinson and three other bureau employees were charged with full time work on cold cases and investigating crimes for which DNA evidence could be found.
​
Gary has worked cases that we have previous episodes on, so you have definitely heard his name before right here on The Sirens Podcast. He has worked cases such as: Judy Hanson/William Boudrie, The Jamison Family, Effie Goodson, Kelly Seeberg/Rocky Ward, Kevin Carrethers, and many more.
​
Check out this article about him in the Pauls Valley Democrat here.
Other Guests on the show
Jeremy DeJournett
OWNER/TEAM LEAD at
Dejournett property group
Tulsa, Oklahoma
After beginning his real estate career in 2015, Jeremy quickly established himself in the Tulsa real estate market, winning Rookie of the Year in 2016 at the #1 real estate firm in the city, KW Realty Advantage. Since then, Jeremy has continued to serve the public by making sure his clients always come first. Expanding into Commercial and Land services in 2018, Jeremy and DeJournett Property Group have aggressive plans to occupy a considerable amount of Tulsa and Northeastern Oklahoma market share.
​
The Rollins Family met Jeremy and his family randomly at Target and hit it off. Rick and Raven would eventually use his services to purchase their first home. He even later helped Jean Gray purchase her first home as well. He's dope AF.​
​
Jeremy will join us to talk realtor safety and true crime on our Realtor Safety episode in season 4.
​
Find Jeremy here:
Website: dejournettgroup.com
email: jeremy@dejournettgroup.com
Shanna Jennings
Realtor at
chamerlain realty
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Shanna is from Buffalo, Oklahoma and is a graduate of Buffalo High School. She then attended The University of Central Oklahoma where she studied Criminal Justice and Forensic Science. She has been a Realtor since 2020 and is the cohost of You're Doing Fine Oklahoma - A True Crime Podcast. She currently works and resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with her family.
​
Shanna is joining us to talk Realtor Safety and true crime on our Realtor Safety episode in season 4.
​
Find Shanna's Podcast Facebook Page here.
Supernatural Ep guests
Vickie Reifsnider
THEATER PROFESSOR
Vickie Reifsnider is an instructor in the Department of Performing Arts for East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. She is the director of the ECU Showtime which is the on-call show choir that is a tool for recruiting purposes for the university. Ms. Reifsnider has a bachelors of Music education, masters of Education, bachelors in Art, and a masters of Musical Theatre. She is currently the president of the Ada Community Theatre and was given the Adan in Arts award for her contribution in the arts for the community. She is the founder and director of the ACT II Youth Drama Camp for 21 years and has written and produced 14 original plays, musicals, and one acts.
​
Vickie is a guest featured in Season 3's Holly's Hauntings: Theaters of Ada.
Kimberly Wren
MASS COMMUNICATIONS
Kimberly Wren is a professional writer, actor, and musician from Ada, Oklahoma. She graduated in 2013 from East Central University where she did performance studies and mass communications. She currently lives in Ada and performs in Ada and the surrounding area as a musician and actress.
​
Kim is a guest featured on Holly's Hauntings: Theaters of Ada in Season 3.
featured music
"They call themselves garage-folk, but that's the Madisons underestimating themselves. After two releases featuring a rotating cast of characters, they've settled into a septet of fiddles, trumpets, guitars, and percussion that's ramshackle in all the right places. No One's Ever Gonna Know Your Name purports the tale of a young Mexican named Sal, whose childhood can best be described as poor, and who then enlists in the Army, battles alcoholism, and endures a pair of divorces before finding love and happiness. All in the span of 10 songs. The breadth of sound conveying this evokes Alejandro Escovedo, the songs filled with Southwestern imagery rooted in a wide swath of Texas rock, country, and none of the above. The swaggering alt.country of "Bar Stool" and the heartrending acoustic ramble "Melissa" are among the high points of a collection best appreciated whole." - Jim Caligiuri, The Austin Chronicle
We had permission from the band to use their song Elisa Lam from their No Man's Land album on our Episode of Raven's Reviews: Cecil Hotel.
​
Stream the full song where ever you get your music.