WICKED GAY
WICKED GAY
A Cautionary Tale About Methamphetamine: Joseph Banis, Jeffrey Mundt, and Jamie Carroll (Ep. 57)
Send J. Harvey a text! (Try to be nice, but I get it, everyone's a little cranky sometimes...)
Don't do meth. Don't do meth. You know meth? Don't do it.I don't care if Mackenzie the coolest girl in school who says you can be in one of her incredibly popular Tik-Toks, maybe even one of the makeup tutorial ones, asks you to do it, don't do meth. I don't care if your trainer says it's "actually a great way to stay in shape, bro, but sssshhh!" Nope to meth. Meth is a non-doable. Meth is a deal-breaker. You think those people on meth PSA posters wanted to be there, displayed at the worst time in their life? No, they're thinking - I really shouldn't have done all that meth.
This is the story about a brutal murder that most definitely had a lot to do with methamphetamine.
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June 17, 2010, Old Louisville, Kentucky.
A frantic 911 call brought police to a neighborhood they didn’t usually associate with domestic disputes.
Old Louisville is one of the largest preserved Victorian districts in the country. Tree-lined streets frame Gothic Revival mansions, complete with stained-glass windows, stone lions, and wide wraparound porches that practically summon images of women in flowery hats sipping iced tea from wicker chairs.
One of those mansions—1431 South Fourth Street—is a sprawling 6,000-square-foot brick home built in the late 1800s. Over the years, it had served as a boarding house, a rental, and, some claimed, a haunted house. After what police found there, that last part didn’t seem so far-fetched.
When officers arrived, they discovered homeowner Jeffrey Mundt had locked himself in a room. He claimed his now ex-boyfriend, Joseph Banis, was trying to break in with a hammer to kill him for breaking up with him.
Police arrested Banis as he tried to leave and put him in a squad car to talk to him. And what started as a messy domestic disturbance quickly unraveled into something a little more serious— Banis said 1431 South Fourth St had a body in the basement.
You’re listening to Wicked Gay, a true crime podcast about gay people doing awful things.
Hello. I’m your host J. Harvey. It’s the dog days of summer—Boston hit 100 degrees today, and it’s pretty damn ponderous out. Pride is a memory, Bear Week in Ptown is behind us, and honestly… remember when you were a kid, it was at this point a parent or whatever reminded you that you only had a month left of summer and then it was back to school and then your summer vibe dimmed a little, remember? Cue Lana Del Ray’s Summertime Sadness.
And, in some real summertime sadness, my mom’s partner—who I always called “pretty much my stepdad”—passed away after a long illness and a hell of a fight. You’ve never seen someone tell death to fuck off so many times. He lived with constant pain and incapacitation for years, and the last six months were especially brutal. But he held on. And my mom was right there with him..
Watching someone you love suffer and fade like that—twice, in her case—takes a kind of strength not everyone has. I commend them because they faced probably life’s most difficult situation with humor, grace, and courage.
I was privileged to be there when he passed, and, this sounds like a cliche, but it was a profound experience. I wasn’t there when my Dad did. Being there for this man’s exit, probably to go fishing or play golf in the hereafter, well, it like you were there for the end of someone’s continuum and I kinda see the afterimages of his life from womb to tomb behind him as my mom told stories, and it was heartbreaking but it was very special. And I only knew him for 20-something years. He lived a helluva full life before we knew him, too. But like I said - privileged.
And honestly? I don’t get it. What did they do to deserve that? The answer is nothing. Not to rate that, at least. Meanwhile, the world’s full of absolute demonic hell people just thriving. Flourishing. I know it’s just pretty much biology, and bad luck and these are age old questions that you start asking yourself when grandpa kicks it as a child and I really just answered these questions with the biology and bad luck, but it still feels needlessly cruel. We need a new system. If I were a God person, I’d be having some serious questions right now.
Oh, and fuck cancer by the way. Anyway, it might be a little weird to dedicate a true crime episode to my mom’s partner—but he’d probably laugh at this. J-Man, you were smart, kind, generous, and loving. A pizza-making machine and a damn good Poppa to my nephews. And even though I had my doubts early on, you turned out to be one of the good ones. You’re already missed.
Anyway, murder in Old Lopusiville, Kentucky, Those crazy gays got into the meth, got really dark and paranoid and and started murdering their friends! Stop it, gays! This is episode 57 A Cautionary Tale About Methamphetine: Jeffrey Mundt, Joseph Banis, and Jamie Carroll
My sources for this episode are WLKY St. Louis, The Courier Journal, Channel 5 Chicago, WAVE in Louisville, the Oxygen Network, NBC CHicago, and Law.Justia.com. I know, no wikipedia, what the hell.
FYI - this episode concerns drug use and addiction in a big way as well as some gruesome violence. So trigger warning here. Also, I’d like to say that, despite Wicked Gay’s flippant tone, I realize that murder and substance abuse disorders are the most serious of topics. And that a man’s life was taken. I approach this podcast in that way because I’ve always been a laugh or cry guy. It was how I was raised, trying to find the humor in everything to hold the heartbreak at bay. So please proceed with that in mind.
Louisville, Kentucky is best known for the Derby, bourbon, bluegrass, big old houses, and that southern charm thingy. But it’s also got a queer scene—and back in the day, one of its minor drag queens (so minor I couldn’t even find his stage name) was a guy named Jamie Carroll. I hope his drag name was Barbara Please. If you get that reference, you’re definitely a man who’s been with a man. Here’s a hint: BARBARA, PLEASE! Yes, you’re right, my celebrity impressions still need work.
Jamie performed at clubs like The Connection and Tryangles—both now closed, because gay bars are sadly becoming a dying art form. (Side note: Tryangles with a “Y”? I see what you did there.)
Jamie was a well-liked performer, but also known for being a bit chaotic. He struggled—with money, mental health, and substance use. And honestly, in 2025, who hasn’t? We see you, Jamie. You didn’t deserve what happened to you.
In the final months of his life, 37-year-old Jamie was unhoused, couch surfing, picking up work when he could, and trying to get clean. He was battling a meth addiction—a drug that’s done serious damage to the gay community. Why? Because it makes you feel invincible: no appetite, endless energy, and, well, lots of sex. But it’s brutal. I lost a friend to it, and I’ll say this: no one comes out the other side saying, “Wow, I’m so glad I did all that meth.” Stay away from it, people. I’m not even gonna bring up moderation on that one. Fuck moderation on heroin, meth and oxy-stuff. Just don’t do it. Please.
Jamie was trying to stay clean, but unfortunately, he got tangled up with the wrong couple—Jeffrey Mundt and Joseph Banis. On paper, they looked respectable: Jeffrey was a finance bro who owned one of those gorgeous Old Louisville mansions. But underneath the surface, they were bad news. And let’s be real—never trust a finance bro. (I kid, but I don’t.)
Joseph Banis was 37 — the same age as Jamie — and he was a rough one.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, he had a very troubled life, with a long history of drug use, petty crime, and violent behavior, starting in his late teens. He was described by those who knew him as charismatic but unstable, with multiple arrests for domestic violence against past partners — both men and women. He had done some prison time just prior to meeting his not quite better half.
People who knew Banis describe him as charming one moment, terrifying the next. You know that certain type of person who gives off a WHOA vibe that radiates out of them? I remember a cousin of mine once brought the guy she was dating to a family party, and he had that vibe like, oh, he’d probably kill one of us if necessary. That, nice to meet you, I’m going far away now, vibe? That was Joseph Banis.
Banis drifted from city to city, running small-time cons, stealing credit cards, and writing bad checks. He ended up in Louisville, where he met a man who seemed to have everything Banis didn’t — a house, a career, stability. The investigation would eventually turn up conflicting portraits of Jeffrey Mundt, whom Banis reportedly met online in the fall of 2009.
Was he an upstanding citizen who got too into drugs and became Banis’ latest victim, or a meth-addicted sociopath who had met the Mallory for his Mickey in Banis, The jury’s still kind of out on this. Mundt came from Wisconsin, had a degree in business, a clean-cut appearance, and a high-paying job in banking but he also worked on some IT consulting project for Northwestern University. He lived in a beautiful mansion in Old Louisville — 1431 South Fourth Street — a Victorian home built in the late 1800s, with stained-glass windows, mahogany doors, and marble fireplaces. He was the kind of guy you’d trust with your finances, but also the perfect example of not really knowing someone because, after the market closed and out of the office, Jeffrey Mundt was a little shady. Multiple people — including his own family — described him as calculating, private, and emotionally detached. I mean, yeah, me too, but Jeffrey was also into fucking around with unsavory types and deep into chem sex, and chem sex parties…I’ve mentioned this unsavory practice before, PnP party and play in someone’s profile. I probably went into it in the Ed Buck episode. It’s meth-fueled sex, and big meth-fueled orgies. Mundt had money, and he spent some of it on big drug parties in his big historic house. And Banis egged him on.
And take two people who already had some dubious interpersonal quirks on their own and then add a drug that makes you highly excitable and real paranoid and have them do a lot of it. You’re listening to a true crime podcast so you can probably guess how that turned out.
Joseph Banis moved in with Mundt only a few weeks after meeting him. That really only works for lesbians. And I say that as someone who moved in with someone only a couple of months after meeting him. Granted we’ve been together for 20-something years, but it probably wasn’t the brightest move on our parts at the time. Get to know a bitch first. And the bitch in our own personal equation is me, I am not easy to live with.
So the partying began and they were methy and got methier. Which means they were also messy and got messier. Seedy types were often hanging about their beautiful Victorian mansion.
And, as can often happen when both of you are into heavy drug use, things begin to fall off for Joseph and Jeffrey. They began to have violent arguments. Banis also began resuming his criminal ways, and it’s thought that this led to him buying drugs from Jamie Carroll, which, as we’ll see, was a grave error on Jamie’s part
And an indicator of how bad things got was in April of 2010. While staying at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Banis passed an odd piece of currency to the doorman. The doorman showed it to the front desk clerk because the bill was wet. And not the I forgot I had cash on me when I jumped into the pool wet. This was a just came off the press wet. The doornab also should also have been suspicious because what average citizen tips a doorman $100? Unless I’m an undertipper? Am I? Oh god, am I seen as cheap?
And this reason 1,456, not to do heavy druga because when you do drugs you forget the details, like let the counterfeit $100 bills dry BEFORE you start spending them.
The hotel called the cops and the cops ended up in Mundt and Banis’ room, where they found $45–55K in largely counterfeit cash, several firearms and knives, fake IDs bearing their photos under other names, and what was believed to be GHB, the date-rape drug. Shady stuff. They must have already taken the meth.
They were charged with possession of counterfeit currency, possession of GHB (a controlled substance), and possession of weapons and fake identification documents. Banis also had a firearm in his possession that was later tied to the murder investigation in Kentucky
After posting bail (Mundt at $50,000, Banis at $200,000), they were released and returned to Louisville, where their on-going messy shady antics got the police involved. They were already in a heap of trouble and they were about to throw more on the pile.
So the domestic disturbance on June 17, 2010. Banis is sitting in the back of the patrol car and he’s high as fuck and maybe real mad at his Jeffrey Mundt for breaking up their totally stable relationship. I’m assuming these are the reasons why he gave it up so easily. So he lets the cop know there’s a guy in the basement, in the wine cellar, actually, which has a dirt floor. Hmmm classy wine cellar. The cops are like ok, tweaker but Banis insisted, and said Jeffrey was the one who killed him. The accepted knowledge is usually don’t trust anything a drug addict says, and from personal experience, I can say that’s normally a safe bet, but then Banis dropped the name Jamie Carroll. Type type type, whoa, he’s missing.. So they returned with a search warrant and some excavation equipment. Banis had even drawn them a map. Banis did everything but give them photos of himself posing with Jamie post-murder.
Sure enough, they found a freshly disturbed patch of ground. Digging there, police uncovered a Rubbermaid container holding the body of 37-year-old Jamie Carroll, who had been missing since the previous December. He’d failed to show up for a sentencing hearing on drug charges, prompting an arrest warrant. Given his meth addiction and unstable housing, many assumed he’d skipped town. His family initially thought he might’ve been in jail but eventually filed a missing person’s report—though it led nowhere. That is, until the night at Jeffrey Mundt’s place, a home with its own strange history: once an apartment building, then a sanitarium, and allegedly even a cult house. Now? The Old Louisville Murder House.
Banis and Mundt’s rap sheets kept growing. Banis was charged with murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, illegal possession of a handgun, and being a persistent felony offender—a charge basically saying the system’s had enough of you. Mundt faced charges of murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse.
Jamie Carroll’s death was ruled a homicide—he was shot in the neck with a small-caliber handgun, then stabbed multiple times in the chest, indicating a brutal and violent killing.
So, as you heard from the recording I played in the beginning, shady characters did the shady thing and tried to completely blame the murder on each other. Both of them agreed to testify against the other as a way to get the death penalty off the table. They had separate trials, Banis went first in March of 2013, with his ex as the star witness. Banis and Jeffrey told similar stories that differed greatly at their endings.
It’s not known exactly when they met but speculation is that Banis and Carroll first met online in September of 2009 when he first got out of prison. They reportedly had mutual acquaintances in the same meth circle, and some articles speculate that Caroll might have been Banis’ dealer at some point. Banis and Carroll were definitely sexual partners.
And then, on a weekend in December 2009, oh god, i looked it up, Christmas fell on Friday that year, please say this shit didnt go down on Christmas, Jesus would shit, Banis brought Carroll over for some of that party and playing nonsense.
Banis’s version was that both he and Geoffrey planned and participated in Jamie Carroll’s murder from the beginning. According to Banis, it wasn’t a spontaneous act of violence—it was a setup.
They both agreed that Jamie had come over for what was supposed to be a fun, drug-fueled threesome weekend. They partied, did meth, and eventually ran out of it Jamie went out to get more.
Banis testified that Mundt wanted Carroll dead—jealous that he was with Banis, and eager to steal his drugs and money. Banis quoted Mundt as saying, “Do you think anyone would miss Jamie? We could just take his drugs.” If that’s true, What a sweetheart. I told you—finance bros.
Banis said Mundt stabbed and shot Jamie Carroll after he returned while in the middle of a sex act, there wasn’t any details on the exact configuration and its probably a good thing.
After the murder, Banis said they worked together to dismember the body with a sledgehammer, placed it in a Rubbermaid container, and buried it in the basement. He described Mundt not as a hostage or a victim, but as a crazy murderer and ultimately he helped hide the body because Mundt threatened him.
Mundt testified that Joseph Banis was solely responsible for the murder of Jamie Carroll. According to Mundt, One of the reason for the murder, according to the Great Golden Child, because they couldn't pay for the drugs Carroll was bringing back with him. Or at least Mundt had the money and was sick of constantlky footing the bill so he closed the first national methmouth bank on Banis maybe. He might have offhandedly told Banis that he was going to have to steal them.
In addition, in regards to why Jamie Carroll had to die, was that Banis allegedly became paranoid and violent because Carroll had either flirted or fcheated on him with Jeffrey or maybe someone not there.It wasnt entirely clear, these are messy people.
Mundt said that Banis stabbed and shot Carroll while Mundt was elsewhere in the house. He claimed he only helped dispose of the body because Banis threatened his life and forced him to participate. He also said he didn’t report the crime because Banis was unstable and dangerous.
Got it. So, what did Banis say?
After the murder, Banis said they worked together to dismember the body with a sledgehammer, placed it in a Rubbermaid container, and buried it in the basement. He described Mundt not as a hostage or a victim, but as an eager and willing accomplice. They continued living in the house for months afterward, with Jamie’s body buried beneath them.
No remorse. At least not from Mundt, according to Banis—who claimed he only went along with the whole thing because Mundt threatened to kill his family if he didn’t.
One thing they did agree on? They bought the Rubbermaid container together, plus the lime to help dissolve the body, and the foam sealant to make sure the terrifying tupperware stayed shut. Oh—and they both helped dig the hole.
In March of 2013, Banis was convicted of complicity to murder, robbery, tampering with evidence, and related charges. After about nine to ten hours of jury deliberation, he received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years
And in May of 2013. After approximately eight hours of deliberation, jurors acquitted him of murder, but convicted him of facilitating robbery and tampering with evidence. Mundt was sentenced to eight years in prison (though he became eligible for parole sooner).
According to the Kentucky Department of Corrections, Banis is housed at the Lee Adjustment Center, a maximum-security facility. His DOC number is 261780 / 106976. He will not be eligible for parole until June 2, 2030, and then only under the terms of his life sentence .
At his sentencing he emphatically said “Make no mistake, it was Jeff Mundt who stabbed Jamie. It was Jeff who shot Jamie. It was Jeff who proposed, then carried out, burying Jamie in the dirt basement of his house — his house, not mine.””
As for Jeffrey Mundt? He’s a free man! He was released on parole in August 2014 and has since completed. Ok, I feel like there’s a 50% chance he was using the gun and the knife right?. Then again, you gotta be pretty convincing and/or intelligent for a high finance job. He might be a helluva actress. Plus, as he had said in his alleged threat, Banis was the convict, Mundt was the finance bro. It’s not shocking the convict took the brunt of it. But man, Jeffrey Mundt lived with a dead body in the basement of his fancy meth house, which he put there himself and he’s already running around. Jeffrey Mundt, if youre listening im just speculating. Dont come kill me. Enjoy the meth?
That’s the Jeff Mundt, Joseph Banis, Jamie Carroll story. Thank you for listening to Wicked Gay. If you like Wicked Gay, and I mean, who doesn’t? Go to patreon.com/wickedgay and sign up for Wicked Gay’s Patreon for exclusive episodes and bonus content. Keep cool and goodnight!
