Teen Featured on a Popular Comedy Podcast Shot to Death

A Kentucky teenager who had been featured on a popular comedy podcast was found shot to death.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the Fayette County Coroner’s Office has confirmed that 19-year-old Carl Garner Jr. has become Lexington’s second homicide victim of 2018 after he was found shot to death on Sunday, Feb. 4.

While little has been released regarding his death, authorities have stated that Garner was found inside a south Lexington home suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, where he later died. Authorities also said that damage to the house consistent with gunshots was discovered, though it is not yet known if Garner was shot inside or outside of the house.

The 19-year-old had appeared on the podcast “Judge John Hodgman” in 2016 after writing an essay answering the question, “Is a hotdog a sandwich?”

Garner answered the question in the form of a letter.

“A sandwich is two pieces of bread,” Garner wrote. “In between those pieces of bread might be some mayonnaise, some tomatoes, some lettuce, and some baloney. It’s like someone trying to say that you’re making a baloney sandwich without lettuce and mayo. It would still be a sandwich because that’s what it’s been called for years and years. We can’t change history.”

He went on to discuss hotdogs, writing, “Even the Hotdog and Sausage Council states that a hotdog is not a sandwich. These are experts in the area of hotdogs, and if there is a higher hotdog authority, I don’t know what it is. … Hotdog buns specifically state that they are for hotdogs only.”

His essay caught the eye of his teacher, Eric Little, who had brought the letter to the attention of humorist John Hodgman. With Garner’s permission, Hodgman read the letter on his January 2016 podcast.

“This is very very sad,” Hodgman tweeted after learning of Garner’s death.

Police are still investigating Garner’s death.