Crime Story

Debra Newell was ready to give up on love. By the fall of 2014, she’d been married and divorced four times and was reeling from a string of bad dates. But then she met John Meehan, and it seemed like her luck was finally changing. Meehan was a handsome doctor who doted on Newell. She fell in love almost immediately. Two months later, they were married.

But Newell would eventually discover that Meehan wasn’t a charming doctor at all – he was a serial con artist with a violent past. Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard joins Crime Story to take us behind the scenes of Dirty John, one of the most popular true crime podcasts of all time.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

On January 21 2020, Wenbo Jin woke up just after 4 a.m. to the sounds of two men ransacking his apartment. The 24-year-old had left his home in China to study statistics at the University of Toronto. That night, Wenbo lay there, terrified, as his dream of higher education in Canada turned into a nightmare at the hands of criminals with a diabolical scheme. 

This week on Crime Story, journalist Simon Lewsen takes us inside Wenbo Jin’s apartment and reveals the surprising reason kidnappers are targeting international students. 

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

In 2015, the small town of Oxford, Michigan became the scene of a uniquely American nightmare: a school shooting. It was, tragically, like many of the mass shootings that had come before it. A lonely young man with access to guns and a history of mental illness. A number of warning signs that went unnoticed. But then, something happened that had never been done before: the prosecutors charged the shooter's parents, too.

This week on Crime Story, I speak with Jessica Lowther, who unpacks this story in her new podcast Sins of the Child. 

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

Management company 7M represents some of TikTok’s most viral dancers. But beyond the polished choreography and idyllic Hollywood sets, a new documentary alleges these young stars are being controlled by a cult-like leader. When one family comes forward with their story, they learn that allegations of financial, psychological and sexual abuse go back decades. 

Today we’re joined by Derek Doneen, the director of Netflix’s hit documentary Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult.

For ad-free listening and early access to episodes of Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

Pope John Paul I was only 33 days into the job when he was found dead. While the Vatican insists he died of a heart attack, they have never been able to shake rumours of murder and conspiracy. Now, one man with ties to the mafia has come forward alleging that he knows the pope was murdered — because he was there. The question is: do you believe him?

This week on Crime Story, we discuss The Confessions of Anthony Raimondi with host Marc Smerling.

For ad-free listening and early access to episodes of Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

When Pamela Hargan and her youngest daughter Helen were found dead in their home, it was a shock of the highest order. From the outside looking in, Pamela, a millionaire business woman, and her close knit family had it all. But as investigators puzzled over the bizarre crime scene, a very different picture would emerge.

Journalist Peter Van Sant sheds light on this American tragedy in his hit podcast Blood is Thicker: The Hargan Family Killings.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

When Shannon Gilbert went missing in Long Island, her disappearance was largely ignored by the media and police. That is, until months later when the remains of other sex workers were discovered nearby — but none of them were Shannon. What happened to her? Who was targeting these women? And why weren't police doing more? 

Journalist Bob Kolker, author of Lost Girls, investigated Shannon Gilbert's story and the institutional failings that plagued these women's cases. He joins us this week on Crime Story, providing updates on the investigation, including a recent arrest. 

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

Crime Story is back with all-new episodes starting next week. Before then, we’re bringing you episode 1 of The No Good, Terribly Kind, Wonderful Lives and Tragic Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman, a podcast about the mysterious deaths of billionaire Canadian pharma giant Barry Sherman and his philanthropist wife Honey.

Hosted by our very own Kathleen Goldhar, we just found out the final episode was the most downloaded Canadian podcast episode of 2023! If you like what you hear, you can binge the entire series here. 

Sharon Johnson’s family has spent decades coping with her brutal murder. But what if the story they were told is a lie? What if the man imprisoned for her murder is innocent? In season two of Jason Moon’s hit podcast Bear Brook, he investigates the case of convicted killer Jason Carroll. At 19, Carroll confessed to Johnson’s murder, but recanted a few hours later. Carroll has been in prison for 35 years, and still maintains his innocence. In this fascinating conversation, we go behind the scenes with Bear Brook host Jason Moon and explore the growing science of wrongful confessions. Why do they happen and who among us is most vulnerable? 

Crime Story is taking a quick summer break. We're back in September with all new episodes.

In the early 2000s, Bikram Yoga spread across North America like wildfire. It was a multi-billion dollar business, spurred on by its eccentric founder, Bikram Choudhury. Choudhury was as close to yoga royalty as you could get and was unafraid to hide it. But according to some of his own students, his empire was built upon blood, sweat and tears – as well as a few critical lies.

Reporter Julia Lowrie Henderson practiced Bikram Yoga for nearly a decade and joins Crime Story to discuss the scandal that rocked her yoga community.

Note: This episode contains difficult subject matter, including references to sexual assault.  

Crime Story is taking a quick summer break. We're back in September with all new episodes.

For nearly 50 years, Bill Cosby charmed America. But behind the scenes, there were rumours of something sinister – that Cosby was drugging and assaulting women. Nicole Weisensee Egan was the first reporter to dig into the claims against Cosby, when many journalists were afraid to do so. Her book and podcast, Chasing Cosby, is the definitive take on the rise and fall of Bill Cosby. 

Note: This episode contains difficult subject matter, including details of sexual assault.

Crime Story is taking a quick summer break. We're back in September with all new episodes.

When Carole Fisher met Bob Bierenbaum in 1989, he seemed like a catch. He was a Jewish doctor who spoke five languages, a gourmand who loved skiing, and a New Yorker who could fly planes. He was every Jewish mother’s dream. But there was something off about Bob. He could fly into a sudden rage and be distant and controlling. Carole sensed he was hiding something. More than 30 years after Carole and Bob broke up, she uncovers his dark and sordid past in a podcast called The Girlfriends.

Crime Story is taking a quick summer break. We're back in September with all new episodes.

Bernie Goetz shot four Bronx teenagers on the subway in 1984 — and was celebrated as a national hero. New York was known as a dangerous place at the time. Locals who felt abandoned by police applauded Goetz for "taking the law into his own hands." Leon Neyfakh, host of Fiasco: Vigilante, investigates this era-defining story, exploring the paranoia of 1980s New York, the media culture that supported it, and its unsettling parallels to today.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

In 2018, journalist Scott Johnson received a tip that someone was impersonating high-powered women in Hollywood. Using their identities, the scammer lured artists from across the entertainment industry to Indonesia on the promise of work. People thought it was their big break. Instead, hundreds of victims found themselves in increasingly strange scenarios with a shadowy figure known as the Hollywood Con Queen. 

It sounds like a textbook con: steal someone’s identity, create a fake story and exploit people for cash. But as Scott reveals in this week’s episode of Crime Story, the scammer wasn’t motivated by money. It was about something much deeper.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

For 5 years, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic bomber had been living on the lam in the woods. Locals sold shirts that read “Eric Rudolph: 1998 Hide and Seek champion.” Meanwhile, Eric ate salamanders, shot bears, and racked up the bill for one of the most costly manhunts in U.S. history. How did he do it? What were his motivations? And why was he able to pull off four separate bombings before police finally nabbed him?

Journalist Henry Schuster, author of Hunting Eric Rudolph, was there when that first bomb went off in Atlanta, and he joins us this week on Crime Story.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

In part two of our conversation, The Jinx creators Andrew Jarecki and Zac Stuart-Pontier reflect on what it was like watching Robert Durst take the stand, how his inner circle enabled his strange behaviour, and the impact of documenting a suspected killer for 20 years.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

When director Andrew Jarecki first met the eccentric billionaire Robert Durst, Durst had been dubbed the “unluckiest man in the world,” being linked to not one, but three suspected murders. In this two-part episode, Jarecki and his co-producer Zac Stuart-Pontier, take us behind the scenes of their jaw-dropping documentary, The Jinx, which added yet another "unlucky" chapter to Durst’s strange and sordid life.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

For the Canadian July 1 holiday, we’re interrupting our regularly scheduled programming for something a little lighter, but scandalous nonetheless. Today you’ll hear episode 1 of Broomgate, a podcast about the broom that nearly destroyed Canada’s most charming sport: curling.

Broomgate is hosted by comedian John Cullen, and produced by our very own Kathleen Goldhar. If you like what you hear, be sure to find and follow Broomgate: A Curling Scandal here! 

Crime Story will be back with a new episode next week. (Hint: BEVERLEY)

When a woman connected to one of Belize’s most powerful families is found next to a dead cop, rumours swirl. Will she be arrested? Will she walk away scot free? Podcaster Josh Dean takes us behind the scenes of his new podcast, White Devil, where nothing is ever as it seems.

For ad-free listening to Crime Story, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

From Hollywood hacks to billion-dollar heists, North Korea is rewriting the rules of cyber warfare. Learn all about the regime's elite hackers with Jean Lee, the first American to open a foreign newsroom in PyongYang.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

When reporter Kim Bolan received a dead rat in the mail, she wasn’t surprised. Kim was in the midst of covering a shocking gangland murder in B.C., involving the execution-style killing of six men — including two innocent bystanders. Kim takes us behind the scenes of this spectacular case and gives us a peek into her life as a gang reporter.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

In 1995, a disgruntled army veteran named Timothy McVeigh set off a bomb in downtown Oklahoma City. It damaged 50 apartment blocks and killed more than one hundred people. Journalist Jeffrey Toobin covered McVeigh’s trial and wishes he saw the bigger picture– that McVeigh’s story contained warning signs for the future. 

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

You can find this episode's transcript here.

Maurizio Gucci was killed in 1995 outside his Milan office. Police scrambled until a tipster came forward with a shocking claim: it was an inside job. Journalist Sara Gay Forden takes us inside this epic family drama.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on Apple Podcasts.

Feedback for us? You can email us directly at [email protected].

This episode's transcript can be found here.

In 1997, members of a cult named Heaven's Gate took their lives in a mass suicide. Glynn Washington grew up in a cult and remembers thinking, could that have been me? Washington is now host of the podcast, Heaven’s Gate, and joins Crime Story to help us understand how 39 people were driven to death.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel here.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

In the new season of her Pulitzer Prize winning podcast Stolen, Connie Walker investigates the disappearance of two women on the Navajo Nation, a place where people say you can get away with murder.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel here.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

Dive into the gripping tale of Malcolm Macarthur, Dublin's charming socialite turned bank robber, whose desperate bid to maintain his lavish lifestyle spiraled into tragedy and scandal.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel here.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

Tristan Redman didn’t believe in ghosts ... until he was all but forced to consider the possibility. His new podcast, Ghost Story, investigates a murder in his own family and the stories we tell ourselves about the past.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel here.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

Go deep inside one of America’s most pernicious lies with New York Times reporter, Elizabeth Williamson, who spent years uncovering the origins of the myth that Sandy Hook was a hoax.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel here.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

The women in this story came to a fertility clinic at Yale hoping to become pregnant. They arrived expecting the utmost in care. But when a surgical procedure caused them excruciating pain, their doctors dismissed it.

Susan Burton is the host of The Retrievals, a podcast that exposes what was actually going on behind the scenes. In this episode, we discuss the shocking source of the patients’ pain and ask why we still tolerate and misinterpret women’s pain.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel here.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

Margie Ratliff wishes she could be scrubbed from the documentary that made her famous. 

In 2004, she appeared in The Staircase, a groundbreaking documentary series about the murder trial of her father, Michael Peterson. Margie was 22- years-old when it aired and has never escaped the documentary’s notoriety. 

In this special episode of Crime Story, Margie joins us alongside directors of the new film, Subject, Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla Hall. Subject explores the ethics of ‘docu-tainment’ and asks, in the golden age of documentaries, who benefits? 

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel here.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

In 2018, former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher was accused of committing war crimes. In The Line, Dan Taberski, creator of hit podcasts, Missing Richard Simmons and Running from COPS, unpacks his story and explores the increasingly blurry line between right and wrong in America’s forever wars.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

For nearly ten years, Amanda C. Riley relied on her community as she struggled through multiple relapses of cancer. Family, friends, and a group of online strangers supported Amanda emotionally, and made financial donations. There was just one problem: Amanda never had cancer. It was all an elaborate lie. 

Charlie Webster, host of the hit podcast Scamanda, details the extremes Amanda went to in carrying out her con — and why she believes Amanda was not only able to lie about having cancer, but steal from those closest to her.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

In 1989, the city of Boston was gripped by the murder of Carol Stuart. Stuart was seven months pregnant when her husband Chuck told police a Black man shot and killed her. The police tore through Boston’s predominantly Black community Mission Hill neighbourhood, searching for a culprit. But by the time the real killer came to light, the damage was already done. 

In this episode, Boston Globe editor, Adrian Walker joins us to talk about his podcast, Murder in Boston, which revisits this sensational case and the shocking twist that upended the narrative too many were quick to believe.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

Lana Clarkson was a budding comedian when her life took a tragic turn. On a shift at The House of Blues, she met the troubled “pop genius", Phil Spector. Spector worked with everyone from The Beatles to Tina Turner, but by 2003, he was an eccentric recluse. Spector begged Clarkson to come home with him and she reluctantly agreed. Hours later, she was found dead in Spector’s California mansion from a gunshot wound to the head. 

In this episode, we speak to the final journalist to interview Spector before his arrest. Mick Brown wrote all about it in his fascinating book, Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

Why would an Ivy League institution protect a serial predator? In this episode, medical journalist Laura Beil, behind the award-winning podcast, “Dr. Death,” joins Crime Story to discuss her explosive investigation into New York’s most prolific sexual predator and the university that covered up his crimes.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here.

When a mysterious letter arrived on Eliza Robertson's doorstep, she didn't know what to think. It spoke of a young woman who had been murdered 30 years prior – and the culprit never found. Robertson was a fiction writer, but felt drawn to the story. Her powerful book, I Got A Name, takes readers on a cross-country investigation to understand Krystal Senyk and find her missing killer. 

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-crime-story-episode-20-1.7120355

In 1969, Charles Manson unleashed his cult of murderous hippies onto the LA Hills. Decades later, it’s a saga that continues to inspire books, movies and memes. But how well do we really know the story that led to seven infamous murders? 

In Helter Skelter: An American Myth, documentarians Leslie Chilcott and Eli Frankel, deliver the most comprehensive account of the Manson family cult to date. They reveal what really motivated Charles Manson and bring this larger-than-life story back to reality.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-crime-story-episode-19-1.7113272

How should we deal with women who kill their abusers? In the Globe and Mail’s first longform podcast In Her Defence, reporter Jana Pruden tells the story of Helen Naslund, who shot and killed her husband after enduring 30 years of abuse. It’s a story about a long fight for freedom and a justice system stuck in the past.

For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts.

This episode's transcript can be found here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-crime-story-episode-18-1.7103980

Why would children risk their lives to run away from school? In the heart-wrenching podcast, Kuper Island, journalist Duncan McCue investigates the suspicious death of Richard Thomas, a student at Kuper Island Residential School. McCue uncovers stifled police investigations, confronts perpetrators of abusers and witnesses a community trying to rebuild. He joins Crime Story to talk about a story close to his heart. For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts. This episode's transcript can be found here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-crime-story-episode-17-1.7096841

Sharon Johnson’s family has spent decades coping with her brutal murder. But what if the story they were told is a lie? What if the man imprisoned for her murder is innocent? In season two of Jason Moon’s hit podcast Bear Brook, he investigates the case of convicted killer Jason Carroll. At 19, Carroll confessed to Johnson’s murder, but recanted a few hours later. Carroll has been in prison for 35 years, and still maintains his innocence. In this fascinating conversation, we go behind the scenes with Bear Brook host Jason Moon and explore the growing science of wrongful confessions. Why do they happen and who among us is most vulnerable? For early access to Crime Story episodes and to listen ad-free, subscribe to CBC's True Crime channel on our show page in Apple Podcasts. This episode's transcript can be found here: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-crime-story-episode-16-1.7089757