The Next Chapter: Kara Robinson Chamberlain

0:01Voices for Justice is a podcast that uses adult language and discusses sensitive and potentially triggering topics including violence, abuse, and murder. This podcast may not be appropriate for younger audiences. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some names have been changed or omitted per their request or for safety purposes. Listener discretion is advised. My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

0:34Today's episode is part of The Next Chapter, a series where I reconnect with people who have joined me before to talk about who they are now, how their work has evolved, and where they're going next. My guest today is Kara Robinson-Chamberlain. When Kara joined me in 2022, we spoke about her experience surviving an abduction at 15, but we also talked about something much larger, the right of survivors to control their own stories, the responsibilities of true crime creators, and why closure is rarely the right word. Since then, Kara's continued her work as a survivor advocate, co-created and hosted Survivor's Guide to True Crime, helped shape a scripted film based on her life, and stepped into a very different role as the host and investigator of Somebody Knows Something.

1:19The eight-part series follows Kara as she works with families, law enforcement witnesses, and the online community to bring renewed attention to unresolved disappearances and homicides. So let's welcome Kara back to Voices for Justice. Well, welcome back to the show. Thanks for having me, as always. Of course. I can't believe it's been four years since we first talked on the show, which is absolutely insane. Where does the time go? That doesn't sound possible. Exactly. Exactly. And of course, since then, you've co-hosted a survivor-led podcast, helped shape a scripted film about your life, which is insane, worked on a documentary about true crime ethics, and became the host of an investigative series.

2:06So I have to ask you, all of this is so life-changing, right? But which experience do you think changed yourself the most? um having kids more than any of those um I think I mean really truly having children and you know that is the thing that has launched everything else into a different stratosphere for me because having children more or less forced me to heal my stuff and I think as I'm healing all of my things, whether that's, you know, my big capital T trauma that everybody knows me for, or other traumas that I've experienced along the way. Having kids brings all of that to the front, because it's like your coping mechanisms are no longer sufficient, right?

2:57And you realize, hey, maybe coping isn't the way to get through life. Maybe I need less things to cope with. so maybe I need to work my stuff out. So I would say that that's been the biggest thing that's been the most impactful and it's allowed me to do all of my other jobs really well and they've all impacted me in different ways, right? Like you can have lots of different impacts that are, you know, make big changes in your life and they all look different. So the documentary was for me, I wanted to have one definitive place that people could go and that I could say, this is the best version.

3:41If you want to know what happened to me, this is the best version to look at, the most authentic. You know, it has the documentation, it has the visuals, it has all of the pieces. I've told my story on your podcast, obviously on my own podcast, lots of different places. And the documentary was basically the thing that I wanted to put into the world so that I didn't have to keep rehashing everything. And then the movie came about organically. Honestly, it was never something that I wanted to do. but I thought if I can do it and I can do it in a way that I'm happy with and I'm proud of and that's ethical then why not and that was something that really I think launched my reach to a different potential it just the the actress that played me Katie Douglas she has a very cult following of younger women, like teens, early 20s.

4:48And so it really broke me into a different world that I really wasn't ready for. But, you know, I'm doing my best. And then that gave me just that reach gave me the ability to do lots of other things, right? So I think, obviously, once you have a large reach on social media, or whatever it is, then that allows you to have more opportunities. And that was the case with me, you know, whether that's meeting different people doing different keynotes and educational events, having the opportunity to co host television shows, you know, I did, I guessed, I don't even know what it was. what do they call it?

5:38I was on America's Most Wanted. Yeah. I was a guest expert, I guess, is the right word. And then I was a co-host of America's Most Wanted Missing Persons. And those things opened the door for this show, for Somebody Knows Something. And the podcast and my previous law enforcement experience and all the times I've been interviewed helped me to prepare for this show. So it's like every single thing is part of who I am and has been impactful in different ways. Yeah. I mean, it's been so amazing to watch you do everything. And you're like one of the busiest people I know, which I know can be like good and bad, right?

6:19But you are too. Yes, we're both incredibly busy. But you do such a good job handling it, right? And I know like we, you know, we talk to each other outside of the true crime world and stuff. And I'm just so proud. And it's so amazing to see you grow and flourish. And you know how I feel about that. I want a million of yous in this space, right? I think it's so important to have that representation from somebody who's experienced this type of thing. And of course, you know, you have this new amazing show, Somebody Knows Something. So please tell us about that. Yeah. So I, as you can imagine, have found myself at the center of this true crime world, which is a word that it's like, I don't know if you personally get like the cringe from true crime.

7:11Like, yeah, right. It's like it's just life, right? It's just something that people experience. So I found myself in this world and wondered, how do I navigate this? How do I change the way people are viewing me? And I don't ever want to be defined by just this one thing that happened to me 24 years ago, right? And so I was approached by one of the owners of Ample Entertainment, Ari Mark, and he said, I have an idea for a show. Somebody knows something. Would you be interested? And I said, you know, at this point of my life, like I'm about to turn 40. I'm like, I am not saying yes to anything unless it's an enthusiastic yes.

8:02Right. Yeah. Good for you. Yeah. And so I'm privileged to be in the position where I can make decisions like that. And I said, I'm willing to do it, but I have certain standards that I want to make sure we're meeting. And he said, yeah, let's have a conversation about it. And I said, I'm not going to do anything unless it's ethical. And along the way, every time I have brought some, I haven't even had to bring it to them, honestly, the production company. You know, it's been, they've been inherently doing things ethically, which I think is unique to see, especially in the television industry, because it's somewhat unheard of.

8:52So I think we see it a lot more. And right. Enthusiastic. Yes, you're correct. Yes. Right. So I think we see more of it in like the creator space, the podcast space, but in the television and the network space, it's just not something that happens. So personally, I've had some really terrible experiences along the way, you know, the last 24 years. and so you know I I approached this with caution right cautiously optimistic right and I said okay we'll try it I just you know there's these certain things that I want to make sure that we're doing first and I had no idea what I was getting into I mean honestly like to host a television show first season it was it was hard for a lot of reasons that I didn't expect it was hard for all the reasons I did expect.

9:44So Somebody Knows Something is a show that it's cold cases. It's eight cases for the first season. Seven of those eight cases are missing persons and one is a homicide. And they all have some level of, I guess there's like some infamy to all of them, but they all have a little bit of movement, like some new information, something new that's happening, someone new to talk to, things like that. And there's a very strong call to action. Let's find answers for these families, similar to what you've been doing for years with Voices for Justice, right? Telling these stories with the hopes that somebody out there knows something that can help get answers for these families.

10:36And so it's, you know, we started filming in January and I did my final ADR, just like voiceover. I did that last week. Wow. Yeah. I mean, episodes are already airing and I was still filming, still recording voiceover. And so it's been, you know, seven, eight months of nonstop work being away from my family, which is the hard part that I didn't expect. I expected foolishly to film this show, be done by May, January to May, done. And I was still filming in August. And so that was difficult. And then sitting with the families, You know, that's never easy. But I feel like I've had a lot of real life in the trenches and a lot of on the job training of how to sit with these people and how to help them tell these stories in a way that gets people emotionally invested.

11:44Because we all know that there are thousands of people that go missing every year. And we can very easily feel overwhelmed with the number of unsolved cases that are out there as consumers. And unfortunately, every single person is important. But not every person gets remembered. So going into this show, knowing that, I thought, how do we help get answers for these families? And I think it's how do we get people as emotionally invested in these cases as possible, right? Because if you feel emotionally invested in this case, you feel involved in this case, you're going to remember these faces. You're going to be sharing.

12:37And that's how we get answers. And so I really was just trying to approach every case and every family and law enforcement like this is my family. And and that meant that, yeah, I mean, I got really emotional with every single family. And, you know, I kind of laugh at the intro because you don't see it. But if you know me, you can tell I'm crying when I say, you know, if I could find answers for just one of these families, You know, it would mean everything. And and that's what that's what the journey's been about for me, because it's it's been difficult. It's been painful. I hated being away from my family.

13:20But I just keep thinking, what if one or two or three or four or five, six, seven, eight of these cases get a resolution? Then it will it will be beyond worth it. I think that's that's the ultimate goal and dream. A hundred percent. Yeah. And I know that your kids are little, right? But as they get older, I'm sure that they'll completely understand, you know, why you were gone and how important your work is. And I did want to ask you, because I know that you've described somebody knows something as, you know, moving past your own trauma and helping others. But of course, I know that, you know, we bring certain elements with us into these projects that I think make these projects better.

14:01And I wanted to ask you, you know, what was that balance like for you leaving that trauma behind, but also bringing, you know, that element of your, I guess, hands-on knowledge, if you will, to this project. I think that I have the ability to, because of the way I dealt with my trauma, access that part of me without it being triggering or without it becoming emotional. So That means that in every single case, in some way, I could see something that I experienced with these families happening. Whether it was Liceo, who was listed as a runaway and clearly wasn't a runaway. I was listed as a runaway.

14:56Um, whether it's, um, I, I just, there's, I guess, okay. So I'm like trying to think, I just remember that almost every episode, there were things that I thought, oh, I understand what they're going through because my situation's very different. but I also experienced this. You know, one person who, it's actually the only homicide, the husband of the woman who was murdered, I sat down and talked to him, which you can only imagine what that was like. And he was not the only one. There were a couple of cases where people who could have been suspects were criticized by their behavior following the trauma.

15:45Right. And I thought, OK, how many times does that happen to me? I tell my story. It's not emotional the way I'm telling it. And people think, oh, you must not be impacted. Right. Like I told myself that story for a very long time or, oh, she must just be hiding it or there must be something wrong. Right. So I think that I can't help but relate in a lot of ways. But I also think that that's something that I have found to be incredibly healing for me is feeling seen. So having someone that can sit with these people in the worst moments of their life and see them because they've experienced something similar to me.

16:31I think that that's something that was important. And I mean, it's always important. I always try to do that in everything that I do. Like, how can I see these people and where they are? And that means, yeah, bringing my experiences into it. And I'm okay with that. Yeah, I mean, I think it adds so much value, obviously, right? You know, I'm a big proponent of having people like you in this space, should they choose to be and it's not triggering. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by HERS. If you've tried everything to lose weight and still feel stuck, this summer can be different.

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18:04And of course, you know, we've talked a lot about ethics online and offline. So I wanted to ask you, you know, I know that part of the show is really appealing to the online community to get involved, right? So how do you guys balance inviting them in while still keeping it ethical and responsible? That's such a good question. Gosh. I, so for me personally, I think I initially was a little hesitant to access that online community because it can be incredibly helpful, but it can also be incredibly misleading, full of red herrings and incredibly toxic. And so I was a little uneasy about it, but ultimately trusted the team to do things in a way that made sense.

19:01But I was intentional about every single one of the cases. I didn't really want to know anything about the case before I went in and talked to the family members. easy for me because I don't consume true crime, right? I wasn't really familiar with any of these cases before. You know, when you've lived it, you've worked it, you very often don't consume it. The only time I consume stuff is if it's, you know, a friend telling their story, basically, that they have consented to, and I know is ethically done. So I think that that is one of the things that I was really intentional about because I know how much little things can be misconstrued in the retelling of stories or people can hang on to certain things that maybe aren't 100 % true and it can really lead the investigation astray.

19:58So I didn't really want to know much about the cases before I went and sat down and talked to the families, before I went and sat and talked down before I went and talked to the investigators. I didn't really want to see what was online. As things moved forward, I did look at what was online, but it was more as a vehicle to find more information. It is really tricky to do. And part of this is actually having a YouTube that's kind of like an after action, like extra conversations. And that's the Ample Originals channel on YouTube that I'm talking to family members, things like that. And it's, I don't know, like, how do you do it?

20:47It is hard, but it's possible to say, hey, I want to have these conversations, you know, making videos myself of what do I think happened? Because there's, you know, when you're dealing with a network and television, there's a lot more legal that goes into things. There's certain things that you can and can't say, right? And so for me doing a video, even on my personal page saying, Hey, in this case, what do I think happened? Even that, I just want to be really careful because I think it's very easy for people to get tunnel vision. It's about what they think happened and then ignore everything else.

21:28And so, you know, I want people to engage and tell me what happened, but also like, be respectful, right? And balancing that with the fact that all of these cases are open cases and law enforcement and every single one seems to be actively working, pursuing leads. And even that, like, how do I balance looking at, you know, I grew up in law enforcement, basically. I worked in law enforcement. So how do I balance my inherent loyalty to law enforcement with the fact that in a lot of cold cases, they're cold because law enforcement screwed up? Yeah. I mean, good on you for calling that out. Yeah. Right.

22:13And so like, how do I, and also if we want to tell these stories, we have to talk to law enforcement. So how do I, you know, I don't want to hold their feet over. I'm not, I'm not a like, hold your feet over the fire kind of girl. Right. Like I'm a little, a little more gentle than that. Not in my professional life anyway. Don't ask my kids and my husband, but they would tell you something different. But in a professional aspect, like I'm not going to call them to the mat. I'm not, I don't, you know, so how do I balance all of these things? And it's tricky, but I think that is why I'm uniquely positioned to tell these stories, right?

22:53Because I can approach it with the loyalty of law enforcement, but the mentality of a victim and a survivor who's been through this process and who has talked to and become friends with many people who have not had the best experience with law enforcement. Right. Right. And and so I can I can balance the needs of the family with an open case. And and I'm always trying to balance, you know, the the social media aspect and the true crime community. They have helpful information. Right. Like it's just it's all a balancing act. And I think that's really where the ethics come into this. Right. Is it's not black and white.

23:36You have to approach every situation with some nuance. Right. And and so it's just I feel like I've gone really on like a tangent, but I don't know. It's just it it was really tricky. But in the end, especially like when you're in the process and you're like, it's like you're in the whirlwind and you don't know what the final product is going to be. Right. Yeah. And then you come out and you just have to trust the process. us. And then it comes out and I see the episodes and I'm like, Oh my God, they did it. Yeah. They've done it. It's ethical. You know, the family, every single family has been like, thank you so much.

24:19We love it. And for me, I'm like, good. That's, that's my gold star. Like, that's, that's the biggest thing I need. There's a strong call to action on every single one, right? Somebody knows something, get that information to law enforcement. it. So like, for me, those are my like, my two highest benchmarks, right? Like, I'm not going to do a show without those two things. And so in the process, it's just changing things every day, you know, like, whether it's certain things that come down from from way above where I, I say, I don't know if we have, I don't know if we're able to say that based on what we have.

25:04And, you know, adapting on the fly and having a great crew that is happy to do those things. Yeah, no, I mean, the show's fantastic. I think it's a great balance. And to your point, it's like, if you speak about one case, and you talk to the family, you talk to law enforcement, you look online, you're going to get like three different narratives about what this case is really like. So you do have to really go to each category, if you will, and try to figure out what the real story is. So I think that you have a great approach with this show. I think it's really, really fantastic. Yeah, of course.

25:38I mean, I love everything that you do, but it is truly a fantastic production. And I wanted to ask you, is there like one standout moment? I'm not going to ask you a favorite case, right? Because I feel like that's like an evil question. I hate that question so much. It's like all of them. I like I love it. Exactly. Like, don't make me pick. It's so me. But I wanted to ask if there's like a standout moment from this season that really, really sticks with you. There are a few moments that I had some revelations myself. And those are the things that stick out to me the most in advance. Obviously, every time I sat down with the family, I, I just fell in love with the families, right?

26:22Like, they're, they're all such warm, amazing families. Like, and I think you can tell, like, Lacheya's family, for instance, like, when I watched it back, and I saw I walk in the room, and the brother's holding a baby, and I'm, I like walk in, and I go, there's a baby here. Like, but, but I think, you know, there's a moment when I was sitting down with the Nellie family. And so that is the parents of Liz Barraza. And I remember sitting there and looking at my list of questions and thinking, we have like an hour left and I've gotten through none of my questions and just kind of like spinning internally, right?

27:11Like, how am I going to recover from this? And then I remember just having a very clear revelation of your job is not to get these questions answered. Your job is to sit with this family. This is what you're uniquely positioned to do. Yeah. And I remember sitting down with Desiree and Tony, the parents of Kyron Horman. And we were in Oregon. We did not start until late. that is three hours behind my time zone. And I was just so tired. And I thought, I am not going to be my best self for this interview. And I was really struggling. I was kicking rocks a little bit internally, right? I was like, man, I wish we could have done this sooner in the day.

27:58Right. And then having a revelation of, oh, you're uncomfortable. You don't think you're going to be your best self. You're unhappy with the way this is going. think, how do they feel? Right. And I think that all of those moments for me are what stand out the most in terms of my experience, but really with every single case is just sitting with those family members and honestly crying with them, crying with these family members and watching them have revelations and breakthroughs. You know, Amy Bechtel, watching her siblings sit there and talk about this broke our family. Yeah. And we're healing now.

28:44And watching them navigate the long term impacts of trauma on a family. In like, real time watching them basically have a therapy session and figure things out and how Amy's disappearance has impacted their family. I think those are the things that stick out. It's all of these experiences with the families where they just really got my heart. And I hope that that heart comes across in every single episode. I think it does because I was there, I know. And I hope that it It does the other thing that I have intended to happen, which is that I want to desensationalize all of these cases. Right. I think it's it's really easy to tell these particular stories in a very sensationalized way.

29:43And they don't deserve that. Right. You don't need to sensationalize it to tell the story and to make it compelling. Um, and, and so I think that part of doing that is having those moments, having those revelations, having those connections, having that emotional impact and realizing that these are people who have been through something difficult. It's very easy to forget that when you're consuming all of the true crime that's available and, um, just trying to get people to slow down a little bit and think about what they're consuming and what they can do with it. Yeah, 100%. And I know how we both feel about the word closure.

30:24So I'll say that, you know, I'm sure that you and everybody listening hopes that this show gets them more answers in these cases. And of course, you know, I do want to ask you, I know that if the earlier chapter of your public life was really reclaiming your own story, what is this next chapter about now? I really feel like I always use air quotes. I dealt with my trauma well because I would be able to help other people. And for me, that's what it's about. I think, you know, it goes without saying that I'm going to bring an audience to this show. my story reclaiming my story accessing my story throughout the show is going to bring people to the show but I really hope that I'm able to now do something with that that helps other people so come for me that's fine come watch the show because you want to see me do I'm okay with that But stay, stay for Sabrina and Lacheya and Steven and Kevin and Kyron and Amy and Liz and Brandy.