As many Covenant students know, we used to share a campus with Covenant Theological Seminary in the early years of this institution. Since both establishments are agencies of the PCA, the two academic institutions have remained closely related. Many graduates of Covenant College move on to Covenant Seminary to continue their robust theological education. But why share all this history with you? In the last month, I found out about a murder case at our older sister institution, Covenant Theological Seminary.
Covenant Seminary. Courtesy of Covenant Theological Seminary's website.
Recently an accepted student at Covenant Seminary, a friend shared with me the news of a true crime podcast called “True Believer: The Unsolved Murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh.” This podcast is currently releasing episodes biweekly and can be found on most streaming sites. It was shocking to hear that there was a murder at an institution that I hope to attend, not to mention that it was an unsolved murder of a female student and that I learned about it from a podcast. I understand why an institution would not publicize this—Covenant College doesn’t publish that Mark David Chapman (the guy who assassinated John Lennon) went to Covenant for a semester. However, the murder of a student on campus seems different. There is no memorial, scholarship or day of lament or remembrance for Elizabeth. Additionally, many seminary grads have never heard about the murder or only know about it as a whispered legend.
After listening to the podcast, here is a little more information regarding the murder. Elizabeth Mackintosh was a single 50-year-old female Scottish counseling student who was brutally murdered in the men’s bathroom in the basement of the chapel. The story goes that police had multiple suspects but primarily focused on one man, her direct facilities supervisor. It is believed that the case is unsolved because the police botched the investigation and could never officially charge anyone.
The podcast is produced by TJ Ingrassia and Ruth Serven Smith, who both have personal ties to the seminary. It’s important to note that the primary goal of the podcast is not to solve the murder of Elizabeth, although that would be nice, but rather to collect more information, hear all sides of the story, and do justice on Elizabeth's behalf. While the seminary administration has declined to participate in the podcast, that does not mean that all seminary-affiliated people have not participated. Most notably, Jerram Barrs, who was a professor of Elizabeth’s and knew her personally, and Mark Belz, a St. Louis lawyer (and one-time Moderator of the PCA) who ran Covenant’s internal investigation of Elizabeth’s murder, are both interviewed. The podcast also interviewed Dennis Spoerry and George Hodak, retired Creve Coeur police detectives who worked on Elizabeth’s case in 1990 and subsequent decades.
Before listening to the podcast, I found in my research a statement released by Covenant Seminary on December 5, 2023. The statement was in response to the release of the podcast trailer. The second to last paragraph of the statement reads,
“Some current Covenant Seminary staff and faculty were approached about the podcast and have chosen to not participate, leaving the investigative work of this open case to law enforcement professionals. That decision has been interpreted by some as suspicious, suggesting that the Seminary has complicity or knowledge that it wishes to hide. This speculation is categorically untrue. The Seminary grieves the death of Elizabeth, has cooperated fully with law enforcement, and longs for justice. We believe that speculation and innuendo about the facts surrounding Elizabeth’s death and any suspects is unwise, potentially damaging to them, and we cannot condone it.”
The statement is diplomatic and slightly defensive. (You can read the complete statement on the Covenant Seminary website) Because the seminary deemed it unwise to participate, I concluded that the podcast was most likely exploitative and anti-religion. However, one should not judge too quickly without all the information.
There are mixed reviews on whether the seminary was as cooperative as they said. Because Elizabeth was an international student, she could only work for the seminary, although she was professionally trained as a nurse. Therefore, she cleaned the chapel, and it was during her routine cleaning of the chapel that she was murdered. Due to the nature of the crime, the police believe that it was a heat-of-the-moment murder by someone she knew. According to the police, it is unlikely that someone from outside the seminary murdered her. She was described as a strong-minded, kind and serious student, well-loved, but not afraid to speak her mind.
The podcast is not exploitative and does excellent ethical investigative journalism. I highly recommend listening to the “True Believer: The Unsolved Murder of Elizabeth Mackintosh” podcast. It remains striking that the seminary has no memorial for Elizabeth, but just because the seminary is silent does not mean they are withholding information. I support the podcast and agree that we should find room to honor Elizabeth and mourn the tragedy of this fellow believing woman.