True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers

What drove the inconspicuous sociopath to become a ruthless killer? During his nearly fifteen-year reign of terror, Ronald Lloyd Bailey’s depraved obsession with sexual sadism held communities across southeast Michigan in a shroud of fear. From the early 1970’s to the mid-1980’s, the former patient at one of Michigan’s foremost psychiatric hospitals, abducted as many as fifteen teens and over time became a sadistic serial killer. In this shocking, fast-paced account, retired police officer and true crime author Rod Sadler examines law enforcement's dedicated efforts in connecting the dots to stop an unknown killer, and he poignantly chronicles the determination of the victims' families to triumph over tragedy. Sadler also examines Bailey’s insanity defense that centered on the alleged abuse he endured at the hands of his psychiatrist. In doing so, the bestselling author of KILLING WOMEN asks and answers the question: What drove the inconspicuous sociopath to become a ruthless killer? Joining me to discuss, DEPRAVED OBSESSION: The Gripping True Story of Law Enforcement's Hunt for a Sadistic Serial Killer—Rod Sadler

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

L.A. Coroner is a gripping true crime biography of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the controversial “Coroner to the Stars,” who performed the autopsies of Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Natalie Wood, and hundreds of other notable personalities. Choi, an award-winning historian and professor, deftly blends Los Angeles history, death investigation and forensic science, and Asian American history in a feat of exquisite storytelling. L.A. Coroner is the first-ever biography of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the Chief Medical Examiner–Coroner of Los Angeles County from 1967 to 1982. Throughout his illustrious career, Dr. Noguchi conducted the official autopsies of some of the most high-profile figures of his time. His elaborate press conferences, which often generated more controversy than they did answers, catapulted him into the public eye. Noguchi was also the inspiration for the popular 1970s–80s television drama Quincy, M.E., starring Jack Klugman. Featuring never-before-published details about Noguchi’s most controversial cases, L.A. Coroner is a meticulously researched biography of a complex man, set against the backdrop of the social and racial politics of the 1960s and 1970s and Hollywood celebrity culture. Joining me to discuss L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood—Anne Soon Choi

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2025

Irma Grese “The Hyena of Auschwitz” (1923 – 1945) entered Adolph Hitler’s concentration camps at the age of 18 as one of the most feared females in Nazi Germany. Before she was 20 years old, Grese became legendary for her insatiable cruelty and salacious liaisons, an alleged predator and sadist. Even Nazi supervisors were forced to curtail her brutal behavior. Irma Grese hailed from a small farming village. Her life’s goal was to become a nurse. Instead, she was a female guard in the most notorious concentration camps of the Third Reich. As WWII raged, so did Irma Grese’s behavior. When arrested and imprisoned she continued to be defiant to the last seconds of her life at age 22. No media has captured the complete TRUE STORY of Irma Grese. Too many documents contain regurgitated, unreferenced information. Numerous myths and fallacies exist about the fascinating and terrifying Irma Grese—Until now. IRMA GRESE: Becoming "The Hyena of Auschwitz"—Judith A. Yates

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2025

For all Tom Marquardt knew, Capital Gazette just had an unhappy reader. What he didn’t know was that the unhappy reader was about to become a mass murderer. Marquardt, the former editor of Capital Gazette newspapers in Annapolis, MD, was a target of a 38-year-old loner who sought to avenge a 2011 article that reported the reader’s conviction of sexually harassing a former high school classmate. For years the man sued the editor, the reporter and the newspaper for defamation, then took to Twitter (now X) to lash out against the editor and reporter. Representing himself in court, his lawsuit rambled and failed to persuade a judge who easily dismissed it. He spent the next three years silently plotting his attack. On June 28, 2018, he blasted his way through the locked doors of Capital Gazette offices and killed five employees. He called 911 to confess, then hid under a desk while waiting to surrender to approaching police. Marquardt spent two years reviewing police and court files, eyewitness accounts, the killer’s interview with a state psychiatrist and video footage to chronicle in stunning detail what lead up to the crime and how the killer escaped detection. “Pressed to Kill: Inside Newspapers’ Worst Mass Murder” is a chilling account of the worst mass murder at an American newspaper, but more so it is about the lives of those who died, their heroism on that day, and the remarkable response from a community who rushed to its side. PRESSED TO KILL: Inside Newspapers' Worst Mass Murder—Tom Marquardt

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

The true story of how one dedicated forensic scientist restored the long-lost identities of the teenaged victims of the “Candy Man,” one of America’s most prolific serial killers. Houston, Texas, in the early 1970s was an exciting place—the home of NASA, the city of the future. But a string of more than two dozen missing teenage boys hinted at a dark undercurrent that would go ignored for too long. While their siblings and friends wondered where they had gone, the Houston police department dismissed them as runaways, fleeing the Vietnam draft or conservative parents, likely looking to get high and join the counterculture. It was only after their killer, Dean Corll, was murdered by an accomplice that many of those boys’ bodies were discovered in mass graves. Corll, known as the “Candy Man,” was a local sweet-shop owner who had enlisted two teens to lure their friends to parties, where they would be tortured and killed. All of Corll’s victims’ bodies were badly decomposed; some were only skeletal. Known collectively as the Lost Boys, many were never identified and some remained undiscovered. Decades later, when forensic anthropologist Sharon Derrick discovered a box of remains marked “1973 Murders” in the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office, she recalled the horrifying crime from her own childhood, and knew she had to act. It would take prison interviews with Corll’s accomplices, advanced scientific techniques, and years of tireless effort to identify these young men. Investigative journalist Lise Olsen brings to life the teens who were hunted by a killer hiding in plain sight and the extraordinary woman who would finally give his unknown victims back their names and their dignity. With newly uncovered information about the case, The Scientist and the Serial Killer immerses listeners in an astonishing story and reveals why these horrific events remain relevant decades later. Joining me to discuss, THE SCIENTIST AND THE SERIAL KILLER: The Search for Houston's Lost Boys—Lise Olsen

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

In this timely and deeply personal true crime memoir, acclaimed journalist, author, creator of the True Crime This Week podcast, and former Boy Scout James Renner, explores the dark side of an American institution, its pervasive culture of sexual abuse, and the traumatic—even deadly—repercussions of its long-buried secrets. In the summer of 1995, at the largest Boy Scout camp in Ohio, a night of sexual violence ended with one counselor dead and another hospitalized. The death was ruled “accidental.” It wouldn’t be the last death associated with Seven Ranges Reservation. James Renner, too, was a counselor at Seven Ranges that year. He was always sure there must be more to the story of Mike Klingler’s death, because Renner also knew firsthand that the 900-acre camp was not the safe getaway it was portrayed to be. On Friday nights the boys were ushered into the woods for a frightening ceremony in which they learned the rules for becoming good young men—and, above all, that keeping secrets was a scout’s duty. No matter how dark the secrets were. Determined to face his demons, Renner embarks on a journey back to that tumultuous summer and exposes a clandestine society that left indelible scars on the scouts and the staff who were there. For Renner himself, it meant opening up about his twisted upbringing, his issues with trust and sexuality, and a lifetime of self-medication. The result is a deeply personal, no-holds-barred, and vitally important true crime memoir. Joining me to discuss, SCOUT CAMP: Sex, Death, and Secret Societies Inside The Boy Scouts of America-James Renner

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

THE CRACK CITY STRANGLER: The Homicides of Serial Killer Benjamin Atkins offers a chilling, in-depth account of the horrifying crimes committed by one of America’s most notorious serial killers. Award-winning journalist B.R. Bates delves into the twisted life of Benjamin “Tony” Atkins, whose reign of terror in Detroit spanned less than a year in the early 1990s. Known for targeting vulnerable women in Detroit’s most dangerous neighborhoods, Atkins attacked at least 12 women, killing 11 along a mile-and-a-half stretch of Woodward Avenue, one of the city’s most iconic streets. Atkins' crimes were brutal and relentless, leaving victims abandoned in the dark corners of the Cass Corridor and Highland Park. Only when the lone survivor of his horrific spree came forward did law enforcement begin to connect the dots and ultimately capture the monster behind the killings. Through meticulous research in this second book in her Murders In The Motor City series, Bates uncovers the complex web of motivation, abuse, and desperation that led Atkins to target sex workers, while also exploring the societal pressures and systemic neglect that shaped his dark path. A poignant look at a killer’s psychology, Bates explains how this troubled life could give rise to such monstrous behavior. THE CRACK CITY STRANGLER: The Homicides of Serial Killer Benjamin Atkins-B.R. Bates

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

Smitty: My Marriage to Serial Killer Charles Schmid, the Pied Piper of Tucson unveils an unforgettable tale of love, betrayal, and survival. Diane Schmid thought she had found her Prince Charming when she met Charles Schmid, a charismatic and mysterious man who swept her off her feet as a teenager in the mid-1960s. But her fairytale quickly unraveled when her husband was arrested for multiple shocking murders that captured national attention. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing America, this deeply personal memoir recounts Diane’s journey from a young girl in love to a woman facing unimaginable revelations of murder. Through vivid memories and unflinching honesty, Diane reveals how she navigated a life overshadowed by her husband’s heinous crimes while striving to protect her family and find peace. Written with co-author Marshall Terrill, this book offers a unique perspective on one of the most infamous cases in American history, shedding light on the devastating human cost of living with such a dark secret. Blending gripping storytelling with heartfelt reflection, Smitty captures the strength of a survivor who chose to share her voice after decades of silence. Smitty is a compelling and haunting story for those who seek a deeper understanding of resilience in the face of unthinkable events. SMITTY: My Marriage to Serial Killer Charles Schmid, the Pied Piper of Tucson—Marshall Terrill

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

Detective Rick Jackson, a decorated LAPD detective and a key inspiration in the development of Harry Bosch, delivers a shocking and immersive look into the one case he could never let go. In June 1990, Ronald Baker, a straight-A UCLA student, was found repeatedly stabbed to death in a tunnel near Spahn Ranch, where Charles Manson and his followers once lived. Shortly thereafter, Detective Rick Jackson and his partner, Frank Garcia, were assigned the case. Yet the facts made no sense. Who would have a motive to kill Ron Baker in such a grisly manner? Was the proximity to the Manson ranch related to the murder? And what about the pentagram pendant Ron wore around his neck? Jackson and Garcia soon focused their investigation on Baker’s two male roommates, one black, and one white. What emerges is at once a story of confounding betrayal and cold-hearted intentions, as well as a larger portrait of an embattled Los Angeles, a city in the grip of the Satanic Panic and grappling with questions of racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of Rodney King. Rick Jackson, the now-retired police detective who helped inspire Michael Connelly’s beloved Harry Bosch, along with co-writer, Matthew McGough, take us through the events as he and his partner experienced them, piecing together the truth with each emerging clue. Black Tunnel White Magic is the true story of a murder in cold blood, deception and betrayal, and a city at the brink, set forth by the only man who could tell it. BLACK TUNNEL, WHITE MAGIC: A Murder, a Detective's Obsession, and 90's Los Angeles on the Brink-Rick Jackson and Matthew McGoughFollow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510 Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2025

When Wayne Adam Ford walked into the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in November 1998 with a woman's body part in his jacket pocket, the 36-year-old truck driver wasn’t a suspect in any crime. After a lengthy investigation spanning four California counties and a sensational trial, he was convicted of the torture and murder of four women. His first victim, whom he dismembered, would remain unidentified for 25 years. While serving honorably in the Marine Corps, Ford had learned life-saving techniques that gave him structure and purpose. But a severe head injury worsened pre-existing emotional problems, rendering him unable to suppress his dark sexual impulses. Knowing he would kill again, he enlisted his brother’s help to turn himself in. Award-winning investigative journalist Caitlin Rother drew on previously sealed testimony and interviewed key players in the case, including Ford's brother and father, to write this intimate and psychologically resonant narrative. Extensively updated with the inside details of how Ford’s first victim, Kerry Anne Cummings was recently identified through DNA testing and forensic genealogy, this classic true crime story continues to haunt us. Joining me to discuss the updated edition of her book, BODY PARTS: A Serial Killer's Deadly Compulsions-—Caitlin Rother Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510 Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Transcribed - Published: 24 February 2025

At just 21 years of age, friends Todd Wilson and Scott McCarthy were virtually inseparable. The pair reported for duty at United Bank of Denver at 6:00 a.m. on Father's Day 1991-McCarthy's first day on the job. They joined two more experienced guards and began making their rounds. By 9:30 a.m., all four were dead. The killer then descended upon the cash vault where he held six petrified tellers at gunpoint before absconding with nearly $200,000. Eighteen days later, the Denver Police Department arrested one of its own. Not only had retired sergeant James W. King served on the force for 25 years, he'd recently been a guard at United Bank-often complaining about the abysmal security, including a decision to disarm its guards. But would he slaughter four of his unarmed successors to prove his point and risk a date with the execution chamber? DEADLY HEIST is the captivating story of one of Colorado's most notorious crimes and of a courtroom slugfest that would take a jury nine grueling days to resolve. Its verdict-delivered a year and a day after the bloody massacre-reverberates across the Rocky Mountains to this day. DEADLY HEIST: The True Story of the Mile High Bank Massacre—Steven B. Epstein

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2025

On a Sunday morning in the spring of 1921, a small boy made a grim discovery as he played on a riverbank in the cotton country of rural Georgia: the bodies of two drowned men, bound together with wire and chain and weighted with a hundred-pound sack of rocks. Within days a third body turned up in another nearby river, and in the weeks that followed, eight others. And with them a deeper horror: all eleven had been kept in virtual slavery before their deaths. In fact, as America was shocked to learn, the dead were among thousands of Black men enslaved throughout the South in conditions nearly as dire as those before the Civil War. Hell Put to Shame tells the forgotten story of that mass killing and of the revelations about peonage, or debt slavery, that it placed before a public self-satisfied that involuntary servitude had ended at Appomattox more than fifty years before. By turns police procedural, courtroom drama, and political exposé, Hell Put to Shame also reintroduces three Americans who spearheaded the prosecution of John S. Williams, the wealthy plantation owner behind the murders, at a time when white people rarely faced punishment for violence against their Black neighbors. The remarkable polymath James Weldon Johnson, newly appointed the first Black leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, marshaled the organization into a full-on war against peonage. Johnson’s lieutenant, Walter F. White, a light-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed Black man, conducted undercover work at the scene of lynchings and other Jim Crow atrocities, helping to throw a light on such violence and to hasten its end. And Georgia governor Hugh M. Dorsey won the statehouse as a hero of white supremacists—then redeemed himself in spectacular fashion with the “Murder Farm” affair. This is a story that remains fresh and relevant a century later, as the nation continues to wrestle with seemingly intractable challenges in matters of race and justice. And the 1921 case at its heart argues that the forces that so roil society today have been with us for generations.  Joining me to discuss his book, HELL PUT TO SHAME: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America's Second Slavery—Earl Swift.

Transcribed - Published: 10 February 2025

For the first time in forty years, former New York Times editor Michael Cannell has unearthed the full story behind two ruthless New York cops who acted as double agents for the Mafia. No episode in NYPD history surpasses the depravities of Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, two decorated detectives who covertly acted as mafia informants and paid assassins in the Scorsese world of 1980s Brooklyn.For more than ten years, Eppolito and Caracappa moonlighted as the mob’s early warning alert system, leaking names of mobsters secretly cooperating with the government and crippling investigations by sharing details of surveillance, phone taps and impending arrests. The Lucchese boss called the two detectives his crystal ball: Whatever detectives knew, the mafia soon learned. Most grievously, Eppolito and Caracappa earned bonuses by staging eight mob hits, pulling the trigger themselves at least once.Incredibly, when evidence of their wrongdoing arose in 1994, FBI officials failed to muster an indictment. The allegations lay dormant for a decade and were only revisited due to relentless follow up by Tommy Dades, a cop determined to break the cold case before his retirement. Eppolito and Caracappa were finally tried and then sentenced to life in prison in 2009, nearly thirty years after their crimes took place. Cannell’s Blood and the Badge is based on entirely new research and never-before-released interviews with mobsters themselves, including Sammy “the Bull” Gravano. Joining me to discuss his new book, BLOOD AND THE BADGE: The Mafia, Two Killer Cops, and a Scandal that shocked the Nation—N.Y. Times editor and author Michael Cannell

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2025

On April 15, 1973, two high school students discovered Virginia Marie Olson’s body near the campus of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Olson’s murder was horrifically violent—she had been bound, raped, and stabbed to death, leaving the Asheville community in shock. The cold case that followed would span over 50 years, involving three generations of detectives and the Asheville Police Department and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation as they worked tirelessly to uncover the truth. Authors Brian and Cameron Santana and I discuss law enforcement’s dramatic efforts to find Olson’s killer, facing numerous obstacles along the way, from the abduction of another UNCA student in 1974 to a rape and murder victim's body discovered near Olson’s crime scene in 1978. Whispers about the killer's identity have circulated for decades, with theories ranging from an escaped mental health patient to one of North Carolina’s most notorious serial killers—until now. Their book, A MURDER ON CAMPUS is the first to tell the gripping story of this unsolved crime and the surprising twists that led to the authors' startling revelation of the killer’s identity. Written by two brothers, one a cop and the other a professor, they offer a unique and fascinating perspective on a case that has haunted Buncombe County for generations. This is the fascinating story of how two brothers—Brian, an English professor, the other a cop—tag team as authors to solve North Carolina’s most notorious cold case ....A MURDER ON CAMPUS: The Professor, The Cop, and North Carolina's Most Notorious Cold Case-Brian and Cameron Santana

Transcribed - Published: 27 January 2025

An eight part miniseries, The John Wayne Gacy Murders: Life and Death in Chicago (2024) is the first ever historical, comprehensive and chronological miniseries to study the life and crimes of the infamous serial killer. From his birth to the ongoing investigation of identifying unknown victims, this is the groundbreaking documentary project that filmmaker John Borowski has dedicatedly worked on for five years—uncovering extraordinary new facts and dispelling certain myths about the case. Borowski features important and exclusive interviews he conducted with leading psychologists, childhood friends, arresting officers, prosecutors, Gacy's death row attorney, employees, and victim's family members—in order to create the definitive documentary regarding John Wayne Gacy. THE JOHN WAYNE GACY MURDERS: Life and Death in Chicago-John Borowski

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2025

In the tranquil towns of New England during the 1970s, a sinister mystery unfolded when several boys vanished without a trace and the community’s peace was shattered. With law enforcement stymied in its search for answers, whispers of a possible serial killer surfaced, especially after one boy’s body was found years after his disappearance. But what happened to the others remained a heart-wrenching puzzle.In 2013, author David McGrath, a former host on the Law Enforcement Today Network and an investigator with a relentless drive for justice, watched a documentary about the cold case investigation regarding the missing boys. Himself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and active in his local community with a sex abuse therapy group, McGrath was struck by the number of unanswered questions in the documentary.What followed, beginning in January 2014, was a five-year quest to find the answers to this child abduction and murder mystery. Traveling all over the United States, he uncovered a labyrinth of dark secrets just beneath the surface and unknown to most residents of the bucolic communities from which the boys disappeared. Haunted by his own past, he had to navigate these dark waters if he wanted to bring truth and justice to the victims and their families. OBSESSED: A Survivor's Quest To Find The Lost Boys of New England-David McGrath

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2025

Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson tells the true story of the scandalous murder investigation that became the inspiration for both Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the first true-crime book published in America. On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, more questions emerged. Was Sarah’s death a suicide...or something much darker? Determined to uncover the real story, Victorian writer Catharine Read Arnold Williams threw herself into the investigation as the trial was unfolding and wrote what many claim to be the first American true-crime narrative, Fall River. The murder divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—but the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell’s death. Until now. In The Sinners All Bow, acclaimed true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to nineteenth-century small-town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before. Using modern investigative advancements—including “forensic knot analysis” and criminal profiling (which was invented fifty-five years later with Jack the Ripper)—Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams’s research to find the truth and bring justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given. THE SINNERS ALL BOW: Two Authors, One Murder and the Real Hester Prynne-Kate Winkler Dawson

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2025

M'Linda Kula is very familiar with this SECRET SANTA and the many links that tie him to JonBenet Ramsey. Each link is carefully explained within this book, to lead from one connection to the next between JonBenet and the SECRET SANTA. Find out who this SECRET SANTA is and how this chameleon was able to evade the authorities. This same individual also used a term of endearment common to the Ramsey family for JonBenet, in front of his peers and classmates at a karate school. When asked if he was "related to that girl found in a basement" he responded with "I don't know no Johnny B!" No one knew this term of endearment until it was used in the book The Death of Innocence by John Ramsey. The planned murder indicates that the killer knew the victim's schedule. Overkill is usually a message intended for someone else, other than the victim. Who was the overkill message intended for and why? The true name of this SECRET SANTA is listed on Detective Lou Smit's suspect list. JONBENET RAMSEY'S SECRET SANTA-M'Linda Kula

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 2024

On Christmas Night 1996, six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado. A ransom note was found in the home, but it was hours before her father, John, found her body in the basement. She had been strangled with a garrote and her skull was fractured. The media sensationalized the tragic death of the “child beauty queen” and public speculation and rumors ran rampant. What followed was one of the most notorious unsolved murder investigations in American history. Boulder police fixated on JonBenet’s parents as suspects. Needing investigative help, the Boulder DA brought in legendary homicide detective Lou Smit. However, he was soon disenchanted with law enforcement’s obsession with the Ramsey family as the primary suspects, excluding other possibilities. Smit resigned but continued to work on his own time, and at his own expense, determined to find justice for JonBenet. He determined the Ramsey family was not involved in her death but died in 2010 before he could identify the killer. Thousands of people attended his funeral service, including John Ramsey, and the detective’s lifelong friend and colleague, John Anderson. Along with a handful of retired detectives, Anderson and Smit’s family continue to pursue justice based on Smit’s work. Now, for the first time in LOU AND JONBENET, Anderson tells the story of Smit’s investigation and why the Smit family team now believes that the killer can be identified. LOU AND JONBENET: A Legendary Lawman's Quest To Solve A Beauty Queen's Murder-John Wesley Anderson

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2024

On a December night in 1978, Courtney Lund O’Neil’s mother, teenaged Kim Byers, saw her friend Rob Piest alive for the last time. At the end of his shift at the pharmacy where they both worked, fifteen-year-old Rob went outside to speak to a contractor named John Wayne Gacy about a possible job.That night Rob became Gacy’s final victim; his body was later found in the Des Plaines River. Kim’s testimony, along with a receipt belonging to her found in Gacy’s house, proving that Rob had been there, would be pivotal in convicting the serial killer who assaulted and killed over thirty young men and boys.Though she grew up far from Des Plaines, Courtney has lived in the shadow of that nightmare, keenly aware of its impact on her mother. In search of deeper understanding and closure, Courtney and Kim travel back to Illinois. Postmortem transforms their personal journey into a powerful exploration of the ever-widening ripples generated by Gacy’s crimes. From the 1970s to the present day, his shadow extends beyond the victims’ families and friends—it encompasses the Des Plaines neighborhood forever marked by his horrific murders, generations of the victims’ families and friends, those who helped arrest and convict him, fandom communities, and many others.Layered and thought-provoking, Postmortem is a complex story of loss and violence, grief and guilt, and the legacy that remains long after a killer is caught. POSTMORTEM: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders-Courtney Lund O'Neil

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2024

The untold story behind the hit true crime podcast The Clearing, this unforgettable memoir traces one daughter’s moving quest to understand her larger-than-life childhood as she searches for the truth about her father, the serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards.One evening in 2009, April Balascio was searching online, as she had been every night, for unsolved murders in the towns her family had lived growing up, when she stumbled across the latest investigations into the “Sweetheart Murders” cold case. All at once, the buried memories of her father’s dark history were awakened, and she knew she had to take action. She picked up the phone to call a detective and the rest is infamous true crime history.Balascio bravely reveals an astonishing tale of a lifetime of manipulation, unexplained upheavals, and silent fear. Some part of her had always known what her father was capable of, but the full truth of how she came to these revelations is as riveting as it is quietly terrifying. RAISED BY A SERIAL KILLER : Discovering the Truth About My Father-April Balascio

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2024

In this dramatic true account about the power of sensationalized crime, one woman’s case is exposed for its sexism, flagrant disregard for the truth, and, ultimately, the dangers posed by an unbridled prosecution. Unwanted and neglected from birth, Barbara Graham had to overcome the odds just to survive. Her beauty was both a blessing and a curse―offering her too many options of all the wrong kind. Her innate sensitivity left her vulnerable to the harsh realities of the street, where she was left to fend for herself before she reached double digits. Her record of petty crimes spoke to a life that constantly teetered on the brink of disaster.But in 1953, a catastrophic twist of fate would catapult her out of obscurity and into the headlines.When a robbery spiraled out of control and escalated into a brutal murder, Barbara became the centerpiece of a media circus. Her beauty enraptured the press, and they were quick to portray her as a villainous femme fatale despite abundant evidence to the contrary―a fiction the prosecution eagerly promoted.The frenzy of public interest and willful distortion paved a treacherous path for Barbara Graham. In Trial by Ambush, author and criminal lawyer Marcia Clark investigates the case exposing the fallacies in the demonizing picture they painted and the critical evidence that was never revealed. TRIAL BY AMBUSH: Murder, Injustice, and the Truth about the Case of Barbara Graham-Marcia Clark

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2024

Long before Brooklyn was known as the world’s hippest neighborhood, it was the deadliest - the seedy, dangerous underbelly of New York City, where mobsters and gangs could commit murder and dump dead bodies without getting caught. For more than a hundred years, the Red Hook section of Brooklyn was Ground Zero for organized crime. Whoever controlled the piers controlled everything. From the infamous Irish gang known as The White Hand at the turn of the century, to the notorious Italian Gallo brothers who ran President Street—and everything else—generations later, the blood-soaked history of Red Hook is the story of American crime at its most powerful, corrupt, and coldly efficient. It's all here: the brutal mob hits, bullet storms, and backstabbings of the most colorful cutthroats to ever terrorize the streets. A rogue’s gallery of killers with nicknames like “The Mad Hatter,” “The Executioner,” “Wild Bill,” and “Peg Leg.” The Brooklyn bar fight that gave Al “Scarface” Capone his legendary scars. The godfather of America’s first Sicilian crime family whose gruesomely mangled hand could scare men half to death. And, to bring it all home, the author’s own eyewitness account of multiple shootings growing up as the son of a Mafia bodyguard. Filled with jaw-dropping stories of public violence and personal vengeance, vivid insights into the Mafia’s way of life, and shocking portraits of America’s most wanted crime families. RED HOOK: Brooklyn Mafia, Ground Zero-Frank Dimatteo and Michael Benson.

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2024

After three years in Europe, former journalist Carla Conti just wanted to settle her family into the suburbs of Philadelphia. But her high school friend Scott Powell, a lawyer handling a brutal prison stabbing case, needed a favor. Before she knew it, Carla became part of the defense team and mired in the terrifying world of federal prison gangs, penal abuse, and corruption. Then, when she agreed to write a tell-all book on the violent machinations behind the court case — with Scott’s client as an inside source — the stakes turned deadly. Two different prison gangs issued “hit orders” against the prisoner she and Scott now considered a friend, and the journalist and defense attorney were imperiled by association. CHAINED BIRDS is a true crime memoir of Carla’s 10-year journey to advocate for federal inmate Kevin Sanders and help him re-enter society after prison. But the mission came at a cost as Carla struggled to balance her own, Scott’s, and Kevin’s safety while writing an exposé on the horrific conditions that led to the shutdown of an experimental prison program in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. CHAINED BIRDS: A True Crime Memoir-Carla Conti

Transcribed - Published: 18 November 2024

He was unassuming, sweet, and friendly. “Saved” in church as a teen, he never caused trouble. In the Navy, they called him Opie. Though he was a big guy, he had a soft, boyish demeanor. “The boy next door,” said those who worked with and knew him. But John Eric Armstrong had a dark secret—hidden even from those closest to him. Prowling Detroit's well-known pocket of prostitution on historic Michigan Ave, this young husband and father picked up unsuspecting women who thought they were simply meeting a john. He seemed innocent, even driving a Jeep with a front plate reading "Baby Doll." But they soon discovered, he could turn on a dime and fly into a rage. Some of his victims survived to tell the tale of their near death encounter, and when police finally elicited the serial killer's confession —details emerged regarding necrophilia. In THE 'BABY DOLL’ SERIAL KILLER: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides, journalist B.R. Bates lays out the gripping story of this chameleon of a serial killer—through his horrific crimes, with a compassionate look at the life of each one of his victims – and the heroic efforts of law enforcement to catch him. THE 'BABY DOLL’ SERIAL KILLER: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides-B.R. Bates and Jerry Cliff.

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2024

Including never-before-seen photos and handwritten letters from Ted Bundy, Dark Tide’s message is as gut-wrenching as it is clear, asking the question: how well do we know those we trust most? Edna’s world turned upside down when her close cousin, Ted Bundy, was linked to the gruesome murders that had plagued her hometown of Seattle. Both devastating and dangerous, she reveals her journey of discovering the truth about her cousin who was more like a sibling, a man she loved, admired, and thought she knew so well. Edna delves into the unbelievable and chilling episodes she experienced, from confronting Ted and discovering a side of him she never suspected to waking to the FBI at her door after he escaped jail. Whether searching memories for signs she’d missed or detailing scenes of life under the radar in a world still fixated on her cousin, Edna’s account tells the Ted Bundy story from a critical, new perspective: someone who called him family. DARK TIDE: Growing Up With Ted Bundy-Edna Cowell Martin and Megan Atkinson

Transcribed - Published: 4 November 2024

Murder! Molly And The Mob: A (1950's) Shocking True Crime Story by Rod Kackley delves into one of the most chilling unsolved mysteries from the heart of 1950's America. Set against the gritty backdrop of Joliet, Illinois—a suburban outpost of Chicago’s criminal underworld—this true crime narrative follows the life and sudden disappearance of Molly Zelko, a fearless journalist whose scathing pen became her weapon against corruption, organized crime, and the rampant gambling that threatened to poison her community. Molly Zelko was no ordinary woman. As the editor and publisher of The Spectator, a small but fiercely independent weekly newspaper, she made it her mission to expose the sinister ties between local politicians and the Chicago mobsters who were bringing gambling dens and criminal enterprises into Joliet. Her editorials were hard-hitting, unflinching, and deeply personal—so much so that they earned her powerful enemies. In an era when women were expected to remain silent, Molly’s boldness stood out, and her voice became a rallying cry for those who shared her vision of a safer, more just community. But crusading against the mob came with a price. On the night of September 25, 1957, Molly Zelko left the offices of The Spectator, telling her colleagues, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” But that tomorrow never came. Molly vanished without a trace. At its core, this is a story about courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Molly Zelko knew the risks of standing up to the mob, but she never wavered in her commitment to her community and her principles.Murder! Molly And The Mob is a gripping, suspenseful journey through one of America’s most enduring unsolved mysteries, shining a spotlight on a woman whose legacy remains as powerful as the questions surrounding her disappearance. Was she a victim of her own relentless pursuit of justice? Or did she know too much, becoming a target in a game she couldn’t win? MURDER! MOLLY AND THE MOB: A (1950's) Shocking True Crime Story-Rod Kackley

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2024

After retiring from twenty-five years on the bench, former chief judge, Belvin Perry Jr., reveals a rare and disturbingly vivid first-hand perspective of the most gruesome death penalty cases in which he played a key role, including the infamous Casey Marie Anthony, who was dubbed “America’s Most Hated Mom” after her shocking acquittal. The Velvet Hammer is the gripping, true crime memoir of former Chief Judge Belvin Perry Jr., who sentenced some of Florida’s most evil and notorious murderers to death, fulfilling his oath to uphold justice. Perry provides a clear, accurate description of America’s criminal justice system and explains why the death penalty can, and should, work and how it was applied to certain capital murder cases he either prosecuted or presided over. Perry discusses his journey as an African American growing up in the segregated South, his life as a prosecutor and chief judge, and how he ended up presiding over one of the world’s most intriguing capital murder trials of the century: State of Florida v. Casey Marie Anthony. From the widow who slowly poisoned her lovers; to the lust murderer who mutilated his victim while she was still alive; to the serial killer who slayed a family of four, including his own child; as well as several other violent and frightening murders, Perry spares none of the gory details when bringing each case back to life in his debut, true crime memoir. THE VELVET HAMMER: Judge Belvin Perry Jr,'s Capital Murder Cases-Amy Mitchell and Judge Belvin Perry Jr.

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2024

In the depths of the dark net, tech journalist Carl Miller makes a disturbing discovery: a secret Kill List targeting hundreds of innocent people on a murder for hire website. When the police decide not to investigate, Carl is thrown into a race against time to warn those in danger and uncover the truth about the people who want them dead. From Wondery and Novel, comes a true story about obsession, control and the price of life and death. Listen to Kill List on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fmKillList_TM You can listen to Kill List and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery App for all your true crime listening.

Transcribed - Published: 21 October 2024

Listen to Robert Rand, the investigative journalist the definitive book on the Menendez case—and the disquieting true story behind Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.A successful entertainment executive making $2 million a year. His former beauty queen wife. Their two sons on the fast track to success. But it was all a façade.The Menendez saga has captivated the American public since 1989. The killing of José and Kitty Menendez on a quiet Sunday evening in Beverly Hills didn’t make the cover of People magazine until the arrest of their sons seven months later, when the case developed an intense cult following. By the time the first Menendez trial began in July 1993, the public was convinced that Lyle and Erik were a pair of greedy rich kids who had killed loving, devoted parents.The real story remained buried beneath years of dark secrets.A culmination of more than 30 years of journalist Robert Rand’s relentless reporting, this updated edition of The Menendez Murders shares these intimate, breakthrough findings, including a deeply disturbing history of child abuse and sexual molestation in the Menendez family going back generations, as well as exclusive new revelations linking the 1980s boy band Menudo and the Menendez family, a first-hand account of the emotional reunion between Erik and Lyle Menendez, and surprising insights into how the Menendez brothers remain resilient and live with purpose despite a life sentence without parole.Journalist and author Robert Rand has followed the Menendez murders from the beginning and is the only reporter who covered the original investigation as well as both trials. With a unique vantage and unparalleled access to the Menendez family and their history, including interviews with both brothers before and after their arrest, and to this day. In 2023, Rand uncovered extraordinary material evidence that would certainly have changed the fate of the brothers’ first-degree murder conviction in 1996. He and the Menendez family hoped his discoveries would give the brothers new hope for reopening the case.The Netflix film series MONSTERS was released September 19th-with over 20 million viewers, and much controversy-with Netflix also releasing their documentary The Menendez Brothers, featuring Robert Rand, to be released October 7. On October 3rd, Los Angeles D.A. George Gascon made an announcement that his office is reviewing the convictions of the Menendez brothers to determine whether they should be resentenced and potentially released. A hearing has been scheduled for November 26th. Robert Rand joins me to discuss The Menendez Murders Updated Edition, Netflix's Monster and The Menedez Brothers documentary—and his incredible role in the latest developments in the historic Menendez murder case. THE MENENDEZ MURDERS UPDATED EDITION-Robert Rand.

Transcribed - Published: 14 October 2024

At the height of the Great Depression, Los Angeles oil mogul George Allan Hancock and his crew of Smithsonian scientists came upon a gruesome scene: two bodies, mummified by the searing heat, on the shore of a remote Galápagos island. For the past four years Hancock and other American elites had traveled the South Seas to collect specimens for scientific research. On one trip to the Galápagos, Hancock was surprised to discover an equally exotic group of humans: European exiles who had fled political and economic unrest, hoping to create a utopian paradise. One was so devoted to a life of isolation that he’d had his teeth extracted and replaced with a set of steel dentures.As Hancock and his fellow American explorers would witness, paradise had turned into chaos. The three sets of exiles—a Berlin doctor and his lover, a traumatized World War I veteran and his young family, and an Austrian baroness with two adoring paramours—were riven by conflict. Petty slights led to angry confrontations. The baroness, wielding a riding crop and pearl-handled revolver, staged physical fights between her two lovers and unabashedly seduced American tourists. The conclusion was deadly: with two exiles missing and two others dead, the survivors hurled accusations of murder.Using never-before-published archives, Abbott Kahler weaves a chilling, stranger-than-fiction tale worthy of Agatha Christie. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the march to World War II, with a mystery as alluring and curious as the Galápagos itself, Eden Undone explores the universal and timeless desire to seek utopia—and lays bare the human fallibility that, inevitably, renders such a quest doomed. EDEN UNDONE: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of Word War ll-Abbott Kahler

Transcribed - Published: 7 October 2024

In Obsessed: My Relentless Pursuit of the Zodiac Killer, Dr. Mark Hewitt invites readers into his gripping journey of unraveling one of America's most enduring mysteries. Dr. Hewitt, an expert on the Zodiac case, and author of the acclaimed Zodiac Serial Killer Trilogy, shares his transformation from a pastor to a dedicated true crime investigator.This memoir details Dr. Hewitt's meticulous research, personal encounters, and the profound impact of the Zodiac case on his life. Moving to California reignited his passion, leading him to explore crime scenes and connect with other enthusiasts. His relentless pursuit is not only about the Zodiac but also about understanding the complexities of human nature and the quest for truth.Obsessed: My Relentless Pursuit of the Zodiac Killer provides a unique blend of personal narrative and investigative insight, offering readers a compelling look at the determination and challenges faced by those who seek to solve cold cases. Join Dr. Hewitt as he navigates the twists and turns of this enigmatic case, shedding light on his life's work and his unwavering commitment to uncovering the truth. OBSESSED: My Relentless Pursuit of the Zodiac Killer-Mark Hewitt

Transcribed - Published: 30 September 2024

Examining murder from an insider’s perspective, Matt Murphy—a former senior deputy district attorney and current ABC News Legal Analyst—discusses cases from his career, how they strained his personal life, and how he found peace seeking justice for victims and their families. Part taxonomy of murder, part prosecutor’s handbook, and part personal memoir, The Book of Murder goes through a dozen cases and his recollections of his twenty-six years in the Orange County DA’s office (seventeen in the Homicide Unit). Refreshingly honest about the toll such work takes on one’s private life, Murphy weaves his personal narrative throughout his casework in a way that humanizes the people entrusted with the duty of seeking justice on behalf of the public. As he does so, he lays bare the decision-making a prosecutor goes through in building a case to ensure justice is met while telling captivating tale after captivating tale of the world’s worst crime.See how a prosecutor looks at—and lives with—the very worst crime. The insider’s perspective that Murphy gives on the notorious cases of Skylar Deleon, Rodney Alcala, “Dirty John” Meehan, and many others is a vital read for true-crime fans everywhere. THE BOOK OF MURDER-A Prosecutor's Journey Through Love and Death-Matt Murphy

Transcribed - Published: 23 September 2024

October 25, 2023 was just an ordinary night in Lewiston, a small, working class city of 37,000 in central Maine. Friends and families had gathered to do what they loved to do with the people they wanted to be with at a bowling alley called Just-in-Time Recreation Center and Schemengees, a popular sports bar and restaurant. They felt immune from the violent crime that seemed to wrack the rest of the country in a state that the FBI had just named the safest in America. Then Robert Card II, a deeply paranoid Army Reserve soldier, walked into both places with a high-powered rifle and opened fire, killing 18 people and wounding 13 more. He then fled to a third location, where according to the evidence and the testimony of his best friend, he likely planned to lay in wait and kill his ex-co-workers when they came to work the next morning. The tragedy is that the numerous red flags he had raised in the months before weren't enough to stop him before he carried out his terrible plan. A combination of watered-down gun control laws and law enforcement and military negligence made sure of that. In THE LEWISTON SHOOTINGS - An All-American Tragedy, author and award-winning journalist Robert Conlin traces the shootings that deeply scarred a community that thought it was the last place on earth where a mass shooting would take place. THE LEWISTON SHOOTINGS: An All American Tragedy-Robert Conlin.

Transcribed - Published: 16 September 2024

In September 1943, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, prominent citizen and attorney John Noxon Jr. was arrested for the murder of his 6-month-old Down Syndrome baby Lawrence. Baby Lawrence, according to Noxon, was accidentally electrocuted. Authorities initially accepted Noxon's account but grew suspicious when they discovered he had burned evidence before police could examine it. District Attorney Charles Alberti and Police Chief Sullivan brought a small army of scientists and medical experts to court to prove the death was a premeditated murder—with the sentence for first-degree murder being death by electric chair. The case drew in newspaper readers from across America, and Lawrence’s death was often characterized as a “mercy killing,” at a time when euthanasia societies were publicly advocating for the selection out of mental defectives from American society. Despite the efforts of his talented defense team at the sensational trial, John Noxon Jr. was sentenced to death. Afterwards his dedicated attorneys continued fighting for a new trial, then a commutation of his sentence. The Electrocution of Baby Lawrence is also a story of how society once considered those afflicted with Down Syndrome, and how John Noxon Jr. managed to get off death row and gain his freedom. THE ELECTROCUTION OF BABY LAWRENCE: A Murder That Shook A New England Town-James E. Overmyer

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2024

In 1975, after Manson Family member Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme’s attempt to kill President Gerald Ford, the FBI found a cache of letters in the would-be assassin’s Sacramento apartment. The return address belonged to future forensic psychologist Jeffrey Smalldon, then a young undergraduate. A decade later, after the shocking murders of two co-workers, Smalldon’s quest to understand the twisted minds and motivations of killers became personal in a way it never had been before. THAT BEAST WAS NOT ME documents five decades of conversations with murderers like John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, serial sniper Thomas Lee Dillon, and Donald Harvey—then thought to be the most prolific serial killer in American history. Through letters, prison visits, and interviews, Smalldon gives readers a terrifying look into the darkest recesses of the human psyche. THAT BEAST WAS NOT ME: One Forensic Psychologist, Five Decades of Conversations With Killers-Jeffrey L. Smalldon

Transcribed - Published: 2 September 2024

Power, privilege, and blood—this is the definitive and thrilling true story of Alex Murdaugh’s violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case. Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator—the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers’ association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family’s law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect—and fear—for a hundred miles. When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex’s world could no longer hold. His forefathers had covered up a midnight suicide at a remote railroad crossing, a bootlegging ring run from a courthouse, and the attempted murder of a pregnant lover. Alex, too, almost walked away from his unspeakable crimes with his reputation intact, but his downfall was secured by a twist of fate, some stray mistakes, and a fateful decision by an old friend who’d finally seen enough. Why would a man who had everything kill his wife and grown son? To unwind the roots of Alex’s ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. When the jurors made their pilgrimage to the crime scene, trying to envision Maggie and Paul’s last moments, she walked right behind them, sensing the ghosts that haunt the Murdaughs’ now-shattered legacy. Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex’s life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told. THE DEVIL AT HIS ELBOW: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty-with my special guest, National Affairs reporter for the Wall St. Journal, and author Valerie Bauerlein

Transcribed - Published: 26 August 2024

The true story of a trailblazing detective’s search for a beautiful college coed who vanished without a trace. In 1981, detective Kay Schucker was the lead investigator in the high-profile missing persons case of Old Dominion University student Janice Starr. The beautiful co-ed disappeared without a trace from ODU’s Norfolk, Virginia campus. Among the only leads was Janice’s diary, which included detailed journal entries about her daily activities. As Kay studied the diary—going several years back—she learned that Janice, a US Army veteran, had faced the same challenges in the military that Kay did in law enforcement. They were both women trying to succeed in a man’s world. Feeling a kinship toward Janice, Kay became consumed with unraveling the mystery of Janice’s disappearance and possible death. As the investigation unfolded, Kay began to suspect that Janice had an affair with her ROTC professor at ODU, Army captain Dwight Beddingfield—a well-respected family man married with three kids. Kay was warned by superiors to tread lightly in her investigation of Beddingfield and cautioned not to dig too deeply. But she soon uncovered a life insurance scheme and discovered that Janice had been assigned a series of dangerous tasks by Captain Beddingfield. Did these circumstances play a role in Janice’s demise? Was the highly regarded Beddingfield actually a killer? If so, what did he do with Janice’s remains? IN THE WIND: The Disappearance of Janice Starr-Ron Peterson Jr.

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2024

The shocking true-crime story of a U.S. Border Patrol agent turned serial killer, the four sex workers whom he mercilessly killed, and the upended border town of Laredo where his heinous crimes occurred. THE DEVIL BEHIND THE BADGE: The Horrifying Twelve Days of the Border Patrol Serial Killer-Rick Jervis

Transcribed - Published: 5 August 2024

The bestselling author of Norco ’80 returns to True Murder with a riveting story of mid-1980s San Diego that placed one young Black man at the center of a whirlwind of crime and punishment that profoundly altered Southern California.March 31, 1985. Two white patrol officers in search of a gang member followed a pickup truck carrying seven young Black men up a dirt driveway in the Encanto neighborhood of Southeastern San Diego. Minutes later, gunshots rang out, and the truck’s driver, Sagon Penn, fled the scene in an officer’s patrol car. The incident stunned the city. What followed would change it forever. REAP THE WHIRLWIND: Violence, Race, Justice, And The Story Of Sagon Penn-Peter Houlahan

Transcribed - Published: 29 July 2024

December 16, 2000, Denise William's husband Mike disappeared while duck hunting on Lake Seminole. After no body was found, everyone assumed that Mike had drowned in a tragic accident, his body eaten by alligators. It took another twelve years for the truth to come out—and when it did, it was unimaginable. Now, the full, shocking story is revealed by Mikita Brottman, acclaimed true crime writer. Through tenacious research and clear-eyed prose, she probes the psychology of a couple who killed and explores how it feels to live for eighteen years with murder on the soul. GUILTY CREATURES: Sex, God and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida-Mikita Brottman

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2024

Driven by conversations with Richardson’s grieving friends and family and undeterred by the scant clues that have been picked through by dozens of previous investigations, LOST HILLS: Dark Canyon probes where others have not, including Richardson’s never-before-seen personal journals, new eyewitness interviews, and new potential forensic evidence. In 12 gripping episodes, Goodyear painstakingly builds a case that Mitrice’s death involved foul play—and she identifies a potential suspect. LOST HILLS: Dark Canyon-Season 4-Dana Goodyear.

Transcribed - Published: 15 July 2024

Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony—before even Lizzie Borden—there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in America’s debut media circus. The Witch of New York is the first narrative history about the dueling trial lawyers, ruthless newsmen, and shameless hucksters who turned the Polly Bodine case into America’s formative tabloid trial. An origin story of how America became addicted to sensationalized reporting of criminal trials, The Witch of New York vividly reconstructs an epic mystery from Old New York—and uses the Bodine case to challenge our system of tabloid justice of today. THE WITCH OF NEW YORK-The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice-Alex Hortis

Transcribed - Published: 1 July 2024

A Harvest of Innocence is Dan Stidham's story, until now untold, about his quest for justice for the West Memphis 3, young men who spent nearly two decades in prison for heinous crimes they did not commit. This is the true story of those events. A HARVEST OF INNOCENCE: The Untold Story of the West Memphis Three Murder Case-Dan Stidham

Transcribed - Published: 24 June 2024

Award-winning author and journalist Ivor Davis, author of Manson Exposed: A reporter's 50-year journey into Madness and Murder discusses he and his wife Sally's investigation into their longtime friend and neighbor when he is arrested for the murder of his wife and stepson. Ivor and Sally Davis were horrified when their Malibu neighbors, Verna Roehler and her son, Doug died in a terrible boating accident. The nightmare only continued when her husband, their friend, Fred Roehler, was arrested and then convicted for their murder. As investigative writers they set out hoping to find Roehler innocent—instead they found a viper’s nest of deceit and murder. THE DEVIL IN MY FRIEND: The Inside Story of a Malibu Murder-Ivor Davis

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2024

Step back in time to the winter of 1929, where the magic of Christmas in Brooklyn, New York, was shattered by a heinous act that reverberated through the ages. In "The Murder of Mary Falzone: A Shocking True Crime Story,” Rod Kackley unravels the chilling tale of a family torn apart by an explosion that claimed the lives of Mary, Philip, and Rose Falzone, innocent children whose lives were extinguished by a bomb disguised as a holiday gift.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024

Step back in time to the winter of 1929, where the magic of Christmas in Brooklyn, New York, was shattered by a heinous act that reverberated through the ages. In "The Murder of Mary Falzone: A Shocking True Crime Story,” Rod Kackley unravels the chilling tale of a family torn apart by an explosion that claimed the lives of Mary, Philip, and Rose Falzone, innocent children whose lives were extinguished by a bomb disguised as a holiday gift.

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024

No Hollywood script can compare to the terror of the 37 true tales in OF MOBSTERS AND MOVIE STARS: The Bloody "Golden Age" of Hollywood! Renner brings to life stories that are more thrilling than fiction, including harrowing LAPD showdowns, dark dealings behind the studio gates, and tragic fates of luminaries whose off-screen lives were as dramatic as their on-screen personas. The most shocking murder stories from this collection that Joan and I discuss are: Bluebeard Watson; The Attic Love Slave; The Adventures of Tiger Girl; and Torso Murder.

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2024

In 2004, the FBI was tipped off to a gruesome pattern of unsolved murders along American roadways. Today at least 850 homicides have been linked to a solitary breed of predators: long-haul truck drivers. The crisis was such that the FBI opened a special unit, the Highway Serial Killings Initiative. Based on his own on-the-ground research and drawing on his twenty-five-year career as an FBI special agent, Frank Figliuzzi investigates the most terrifying cases. Long Haul is a gripping exploration of a violent, disordered world hiding in plain sight, and the heroes racing to end the horror. LONG HAUL: Hunting The Highway Serial Killers-Frank Figliuzzi

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2024

Reggie Reed Jr, was six-years-old when his mother Selonia was found brutally raped and murdered. Police investigated but the case went cold. Reggie Reed Sr. raised his son himself, sent him to private school and Reggie Jr. overcame trauma, became a business success, got married and had a family. Then in 2019, through new DNA testing of evidence from 1987—an ex-con was arrested and named Reggie Reed Sr. as the killer of Selonia Reed. Listen to Reggie Reed Jr. discuss his memoir The Day My Mother Never Came Home.

Transcribed - Published: 20 May 2024