This podcast details true crime cases.

It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence.

It is not intended for children.

Listener discretion is advised.

Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime.

Some of the most baffling cases in crime history

have included strange, threatening, or taunting communications

from the alleged perpetrators to investigators who are working to catch these killers.

Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, and the Son of Sam all left notes are mailed letters

meant to taunt and confound law enforcement officers and the public.

Even with written clues offered up by these serial killers, only the Son of Sam was eventually caught.

There have been others who have left messages sprawled at crime scenes.

The lipstick killer and the Manson family both left chilling messages for those who were

unlucky enough to first discover their victims.

But there are also lesser known criminals who use messages to taunt and terrorize the families

of their victims. This is the theme of this month's series, Taunting Terror's.

First up, a young girl goes missing and within hours, her abductor begins communicating with her

family in a series of bizarre phone calls. This is the case of Sherry Faes Smith.

It was almost the end of the school year for 17-year-old Sharon Sherry Faes Smith.

She would soon be graduating from her Lexington, South Carolina high school,

and the end of the year festivities had already begun.

The last week of May 1985 was a particularly busy one for Sherry.

...