Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes,

listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of murder and assault

that some people may find offensive.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

In the summer of 2014,

Katrina McGaugh settled down for a quiet evening in her Ferguson, Missouri home.

She had decided to watch a documentary on serial killers

that a family member had recommended for her.

She likely tuned in for the same reasons many of our own listeners do.

But instead of unwinding with a grisly tail, she was shocked to see her own house on the television.

The Ranch style home she had moved into four months earlier had a sinister past.

She was living in the home of serial killer Maury Travis, the St Louis video strangler, who murdered as many as 20 women.

Morrie Travis tied up, tortured, and killed his victims in Katrina's basement, where her two-year-old relative often played.

In the investigation, police found plans indicating Travis intended to build a torture chamber

in the basement to extend the length of his killings and the pain of his victims.

The documentary showed crime scene photos of blood-stained walls and carpets in Katrina's house.

She even recognized the very dining table and chairs

that she had eaten at many times.

The landlord had actually thrown in the killer's own furniture as a deal.

Understandably spooked, Katrina called her landlord and immediately begged to be let out of the lease.

Unfortunately, the landlord was unsympathetic and unyielding.

...