Pulpit and the Pyre: The Murder of Dawn Hacheney - The Finale

Episode 124

In the finale of Pulpit and the Pyre: The Murder of Dawn Hacheney, the carefully constructed world around Pastor Nick Hacheney finally begins to collapse.

For years, Nick maintained control through secrecy, manipulation, spiritual authority, and a web of relationships with women who each knew only pieces of the truth. But when those women began comparing notes—and finding support outside the closed system of the church—the stories Nick had told them started falling apart. Eventually, Sandy Glass went to police with an explosive allegation: Dawn Hacheney's death had not been an accident. Nick had murdered his wife.

Investigators reopened a case that had been closed for nearly five years and took another look at the physical evidence. The extraordinarily high level of diphenhydramine in Dawn's blood. The wrapping paper found in bed around her body. The propane cylinders that were supposed to explain the flash fire—but weren't empty. And a fire timeline that didn't behave the way the original propane-leak theory said it should. Piece by piece, the explanation that had allowed Dawn's death to be ruled accidental began to collapse.
We follow the investigation through Nick's arrest, conviction, successful appeal of the aggravated portion of his murder conviction, resentencing, and his currently scheduled 2027 release from prison.

Finally, we look beyond the murder itself at the coercive control that allowed Nick to manipulate so many people around him—and why intelligence, charisma, compassion, religious knowledge, and even genuine acts of kindness are not proof that someone is trustworthy. Sometimes the most dangerous people wear incredibly convincing masks.

If anything discussed in this series feels familiar—particularly coercion, undue influence, or control within a religious group, organization, or personal relationship—resources are available through the Freedom of Mind Resource Center. You don't have to decide whether what you're experiencing deserves a particular label before you're allowed to ask for help.

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Inner Sanctum Acknowledgments:
Eternal gratitude to our Inner Sanctum patrons, Melanie Curtis, Beth Charis-Molling, Laura Pisciotta, and Jason Wolfe for helping us bring light to the stories others would rather leave in the ashes.

Listener discretion is advised.

Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated 

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SOURCES:

• Mankiewicz, J. (Host). (2023). Mortal Sin [Audio podcast]. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline
• Olsen, G. (2005). A twisted faith: A minister's obsession and the murder that destroyed a church. St. Martin's Griffin.
• In re Personal Restraint of Hacheney, 169 Wash. App. 1, 288 P.3d 619 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).