True Crime Campfire

When we last left off, Willie Pickton was just starting his reign of terror over the women of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Nancy Clark was missing, along with several other women, whose disappearances would never be solved. The Pickton farm was quickly becoming a criminal headquarters, thanks to Dave Pickton’s infatuation with the Hell’s Angels gang. The Vancouver Police didn’t care. The missing women were sex workers and addicts, and therefore, less worthy of effort. The horror of this story is not only the monstrous actions of Willie Pickton, but also the apathy of the same people that were supposed to protect and serve. Join us for part 2 of this chilling story.

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Sources:
Cameron, Stevie. On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women. Knopf Canada. Kindle Edition. 
https://www.nativehope.org/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-mmiw?utm_term=mmiw%20statistics&utm_campaign=MMIW+-+Search&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_tgt=kwd-1652454857508&hsa_grp=144380966783&hsa_src=g&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=b&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=646853914079&hsa_acc=3651624507&hsa_kw=mmiw%20statistics&hsa_cam=19633980915&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwlbu2BhA3EiwA3yXyu8y0N86jvR6NFomqQUWY1AD3h0y48ITuUopInfNw6Tb_MBFkRKbaRhoC0ikQAvD_BwE
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/05/features11.g2

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In his book, Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime, Eric Hickey wrote about a type of victim that he called, “the Less Dead”. These are people that are seen by the media or law enforcement as having less value than others. Usually sex workers, drug addicts, houseless people, and sexual or racial minorities. The case we’re discussing today is about dozens of these types of victims. Women whose disappearances were ignored or were straight up covered up because they happened to be addicts or sex workers. One police officer told a woman’s terrified family that the series of missing women were “just junkies and hookers. Don’t waste our time.” These were human beings. With friends and families, hopes, dreams, stories, lives. The fact that the authorities ignored their disappearances for so long is one of the worst miscarriages of justice that we’ve seen in our decades of true crime study. This killer roamed the streets of Vancouver, like a shark swimming among a school of fish, unchecked and under the radar, taking almost 50 lives before anyone stopped him. 

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Sources:
Cameron, Stevie. On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women. Knopf Canada. Kindle Edition. 
https://www.nativehope.org/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-mmiw?utm_term=mmiw%20statistics&utm_campaign=MMIW+-+Search&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_tgt=kwd-1652454857508&hsa_grp=144380966783&hsa_src=g&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=b&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=646853914079&hsa_acc=3651624507&hsa_kw=mmiw%20statistics&hsa_cam=19633980915&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwlbu2BhA3EiwA3yXyu8y0N86jvR6NFomqQUWY1AD3h0y48ITuUopInfNw6Tb_MBFkRKbaRhoC0ikQAvD_BwE
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/05/features11.g2

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Adults like to think of kids as the embodiment of innocence—and in a lot of ways, they are. But…remember what it was like to actually be a kid? Did other kids seem innocent to us then? Not so much. The playground could be a battle zone. Gym class could be Lord of the Flies. Kids have strong, complicated emotions just like we do, but without the impulse control that comes with a fully-developed prefrontal cortex. Most of the time, the worst thing that comes from that is a tantrum in the middle of Costco, or a loud, teary breakup in the middle school cafeteria that ends up going viral on TikTok. But for some kids, just like some adults, the outcome is much, much darker. Case 1: The story of a 14 year old aspiring serial killer who murdered his unsuspecting best friend. Case 2: A greedy young man took the lives of his entire family just to inherit some cash.

Sources:
A&E's "American Justice," episode “Millions of Reasons to Kill”
Court papers: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-caed-1_06-cv-00186/pdf/USCOURTS-caed-1_06-cv-00186-7.pdf
LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-may-13-mn-49271-story.html
Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/05/19/2-cops-work-5-years-to-prove-son-had-family-killed/
Investigation Discovery's "Signs of a Psychopath," episode "I'm Not the Monster I Was"
Medium, Rivy Lyon: https://medium.com/the-crime-center/14-year-old-lures-friend-to-a-gruesome-death-in-middle-school-bathroom-b5ee8df8e915
The Ledger: https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2004/03/20/state-releases-teen-slaying-suspects-journal/26105617007/

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In Part One last week, we introduced you to the strange world of Marcel Petiot, doctor, failed politician, and serial killer in wartime Paris. The horrific discovery of dismembered bodies at Dr. Petiot’s mansion had triggered a massive manhunt, and we’re going to pick up the police investigation now in Part Two of “The People’s Monster.” Note: Katie was sick this week, so Whitney had to take this one solo! Katie will be back next episode. 

Sources:
Death In the City of Light by David King

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There aren’t many darker places to be than in a city occupied by an enemy during a brutal war, living without freedom, in constant fear, and with little or no recourse to justice. For a crime to be able to shock even people living under those conditions, it has to be something truly terrifying, and that is what the people in Paris during World War II experienced when a series of gruesome murders were uncovered. Join us for part 1 of the disturbing story of serial killer Dr. Marcel Petiot. 

Sources:
Death In the City of Light by David King

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Sometimes, danger comes in hot, with blazing red flags and alarm bells so loud they drown out everything else. Plenty of warning signs to activate the fight or flight instinct, put us on guard. But that’s not always the way it happens. Sometimes, danger slinks in silently, coiling itself around us without us even noticing, until it’s already around our throat—and any chance for escape is long past. Today, we have one of those stories, where a talented young woman didn’t realize she was in a killer’s sights until it was far too late.

Sources:
Daily Mail: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20120726/282063389094525
Cosmopolitan: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a30199/time-to-ban-racist-porn/
Borehamwood Times: https://www.borehamwoodtimes.co.uk/news/9839685.catherine-wynters-family-in-exclusive-interview-after-tony-bushby-sentenced-for-her-murder/
Watford Observer: https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/9836873.family-pay-tribute-to-catherine-wynter-as-murderer-tony-bushby-is-jailed-for-life/
"Nightmare in Suburbia," episode "The Babysitter and the Cyber-Killer"
"When Kids Kill," episode "Catfish Killer"

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It’s kind of hard to pin down what the first slasher movie was. Do you start with “Psycho” in 1960? Go even further back? But there’s no real doubt when the genre blossomed—the 1970s. And that makes sense, because the 1970s was also when the shocking crimes of serial killers really permeated the national consciousness. You ask someone to name a serial killer, there’s a good chance they’ll name someone who was mostly or exclusively active in the ‘70s—Bundy, Gacy, BTK, Son of Sam. The slasher movies tapped into a growing awareness that there really were terrifyingly dangerous people out there, killers who didn’t even have to know you to want you dead. This is the story of the horrible murders of two young hitchhikers, at a time when such cases were startlingly common. 

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Sources:
Ann Rule—Last Dance, Last Chance—"The Beach”
Court papers:,https://casetext.com/case/state-v-batten-3
https://www.thedailyworld.com/news/gone-girl-the-disappearance-of-laura-flink/ https://charleyproject.org/case/laura-lee-asynithe-flink

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Like most American Millennials, I was subjected to Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE. It was the typical kind of “Drugs Are Bad, mmmkay?” sort of thing. Police officers would come to school and show 2nd graders pictures of smoker lungs and suggest that everyone and their mom would be peer pressuring you to smoke weed and/or crack, which was not as big of an issue as some of us might have hoped. During one such class, we were being taught about the danger of gang violence and we were told to draw what we thought a gang member would look like. Yes, it does sound like a potentially extremely racist arts and crafts session, but yours truly decided to get creative. I drew a woman wearing a crop top and JNCO jeans. The DARE officer looked at my drawing and told me that women weren’t ever members of gangs, but were usually girlfriends, which made my tiny feminist hackles raise. What do you MEAN there weren’t any lady gang members? Whatever men could do, women could do, right? EQUALITY, RIGHT? If she had been prepared for nuance beyond her vaguely racist lesson, she might have talked about the culture of toxic masculinity that pervades most gangs as we think about them today and often, women have to carve out their own niche when it comes to organized crime. Officer Silva, this one’s for you.

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Sources:
Heritage of Endurance: Family Patterns and Delinquency Formation in Urban Japan By Hiroshi Wagatsuma, George A. De Vos
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2023/the-queens-of-the-forties-1683/ https://www.dannydutch.com/post/meet-the-forty-elephants-the-all-girl-gang-from-london https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QZEnyZyYo4 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220094211018490
https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/ww2/Pages/life-juveniles.aspx#:~:text=(Image%20source%3A%203%20)%20Wartime,year%20of%20World%20War%20II.  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001112875500100210?journalCode=cada https://apnews.com/article/japan-gangsters-yakuza-crime-fdb57ffd2325fb3aba8c211a30b6c861 https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a60938449/under-the-bridge-manjit-suman-reena-virk-parents/ https://web.archive.org/web/20090801004713/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060719/virk_killer_060719?s_name=&no_ads= https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/reena-virk-kelly-ellard-sim-1.7185366 https://www.vice.com/en/article/qvpqa7/the-unforgettable-story-of-a-bc-teen-murdered-by-her-peers https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/13803/1/MQ49780.pdf https://www.vicnews.com/news/kelly-ellard-declines-chance-for-full-parole-says-shes-not-ready-

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Obsession can be a good thing. An obsessed athlete can spend hours practicing to be the best they can be, an obsessed collector can find joy and community in the thrill of the hunt, or obsession can drive an artist to explore the human condition in a way that moves everyone that sees their art. But obsession can veer into something darker if the object of it is a person. That’s how you get a stalker. Someone who is so consumed with the life of another almost always pushes the boundaries of appropriate behavior. If you’ve seen the show Baby Reindeer, you’ll know that being the target of a stalker’s attention can have serious consequences. Today, we have two stalker stories for you. The first is about how a stalker can project their own feelings of love and affection onto their victim, to a violent outcome. In the second, we’ll tell you a story about how one of the largest companies in the world harassed a couple for the crime of blogging. This is One Step Behind: A Stalkers Grab Bag.

Sources: 

• Journal of Homicide and Major Incident Investigation, V6I2 Autumn 2010, “Operation Hydration” https://library.college.police.uk/docs/J_Homicide_MII/J_Homicide_6.2.pdf
• Nightmare in Suburbia, S2E5, “The Internet Stalker”
• World’s Most Evil Killers, S3E15, David Heiss
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/technology/ebay-cockroaches-stalking-scandal.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/technology/ebay-cyberstalking-crimes.html
• https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/ex-ebay-manager-prison-harassing-natick-couple-stephanie-popp/
• https://www.svvoice.com/former-cop-discussed-using-scpd-contacts-to-obstruct-cyberstalking-investigation/
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/ebay-inc-pay-3-million-connection-corporate-cyberstalking-campaign-targeting
• https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/couples-case-over-ebay-stalking-campaign-can-move-forward-us-judge-rules-2023-12-13/
• https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/gdpzwzqykvw/12122023ebay.pdf

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When it comes to stuff, I really feel like counterfeit can be just as good as the real thing. Give me a lab-created diamond any day; I can show off some sparkle without robbing a bank. Same goes for shoes and bags and perfume dupes—I’m happy to sport a convincing knockoff. Fake isn’t always bad. But when it comes to people, it’s a whole different story. Especially when we’re talking fake doctor, or fake financial advisor…or as we’ll see in today’s story, fake assassin. Join us for a story of counterfeit clout, astounding gullibility, and greed, that when mixed all together, led to a deadly conclusion.

This is a wild one, folks. 

Sources:
Kill or be Killed by Robert Scott
Oxygen's "Mastermind of Murder," S2E10, “Under Covers”
The Investigators, S1E8, “Toy Soldier”
Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-supreme-court/1891091.html

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I'm not going to try and do his voice because it'd tear my throat up, but Hollywood legend Jack Palance once said, "The only two things you can truly depend upon are gravity and greed." Greed has been a motivation in more true crime cases than I can count, and it's astonishing how a grasping desire for dollars and cents can twist the human heart. It can drive someone to acts of both chilling cruelty and jaw-dropping stupidity, and in this week's case we get both. Join us for a bizarre true story of a heartless murder for hire that took 11 long years to solve. 

Sources:
Court papers: https://casetext.com/case/cooke-v-gang
Court papers: https://www.mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/unreported-opinions/0815s23.pdf
Interrogation footage from the interrogations of Alexander Bennett and Grant Lewis
NBC's Dateline, episode "Indiscretion"
Investigation Discovery's True Crime with Aphrodite Jones, episode "Discreet House Cleaning"

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Almost everyone who walks into a casino feeling confident that they’re gonna walk out richer is what is technically known as “a sucker.” Every game you play at a casino gives the house an edge. Not much of one—otherwise, why would people play? Players have to win a decent portion of the time, that’s why they keep putting their money down on the table. But behind the glitz and glamour, casinos run on cold mathematical certainty. Over the long term, over hundreds of hands of cards and rolls of the dice and spins of the wheel, the house ultimately always wins.  But what if they didn’t? What if people, through brainpower and daring, managed to beat the odds and come out on top? It’s a tantalizing thought—and for the people in these three stories, it was too tempting to pass up.

Sources: 
https://www.888casino.com/blog/famous-mit-team-members
BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27519748
Esquire: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a37016468/heather-tallchief-roberto-solis-heist-netflix-now/
NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9766179
Boston Magazine: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2019/06/21/mit-blackjack-team/
NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/us/fugitive-in-armored-car-theft-gives-up-after-12-years.html
New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428644-500-roulette-beater-spills-physics-behind-victory/
Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-physicist-has-built-a-machine-that-can-beat-the-odds-at-roulette
Justice.gov: https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nv/news/2006/03302006.html
http://www.richardmunchkin.com/2011/08/my-interview-with-john-laurie-c-mit.html
Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/heist-netflix-heather-tallchief-roberto-solis-true-story-facts-documentary-1610361

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Our homes are meant to be where we feel the safest, so it makes sense that there’s an entire horror movie subgenre dedicated to home invasions. The Strangers, Panic Room, Funny Games, When a Stranger Calls, even Jordan Peele’s Us. All those movies play on the innate fear we have that our most peaceful area would be disturbed by those that would do us harm. Unfortunately, there are people out there that would do us harm just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today, we’re finishing one of those stories. Join us for part 2 of the story of the Dartmouth Murders.

Sources:
Judgment Ridge by Lehr and Zuckoff

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Schopenhauer wrote, “Fate shuffles the cards, and we play.” Every day, every decision we make sparks a chain reaction of others, leading us down a particular path. And with every choice, a universe of other un-choices spins away behind us, forgotten. We all like to think we’re the master of our own destiny, but sometimes…we fall to the whims of chance instead. This is one of those stories—of two boys whose monster egos sent them down a path of destruction, and two innocent victims whose only crime was being there.

Sources:
Judgment Ridge by Lehr and Zuckoff

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We tend to think of doctors as leading pretty cushy, privileged lives—lots of money, social status, and respect. But a dark trend has been developing in recent years, and it’s only getting worse. Increasingly, doctors are experiencing violence at the hands of their patients. Sometimes it’s a verbal threat, a push or a shove. Sometimes it’s stalking. And sometimes, it’s murder. This is one of those stories, about a woman whose obsession with physical perfection led her to an unimaginable act. 

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"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2015/03/08/dr-michael-davidson-died-as-he-lived-saving-others/?sh=176e90165e12
Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Theresa Ramirez"
Dr. Joni Johnston: https://medium.com/crimebeat/the-ugly-truth-behind-the-murder-of-dr-paul-tavis-e5ad525c88ba
SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/disgruntled-patients-hazardous-to-health-3069418.php 
MDLinx: https://www.mdlinx.com/exclusive/unsafe-haven-the-rise-of-violence-against-physicians-in-the-workplace/LyJwbDwQgHps1wJ00QYYn

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It’s not unusual or unhealthy to go a little wild when you’re young—to just go looking for a good time with little thought for the consequences. It’s just how human beings are made. But if you’re like that your whole life, relentlessly looking out for your own pleasures and barely aware of the damage you cause along the way, you’re likely to land yourself and everyone around you in a whole mess of trouble.

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
“Deadly Seduction” by Wensley Clarkson
Court papers: https://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/supreme-court/1996/52s00-9408-cr-00725-4.html

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There’s an old saying: A gilded cage is still a cage. Meaning, you can be in what looks like an enviable situation—all your needs met, plenty of pretty toys to entertain you—and still feel like you’re in prison. The human soul doesn’t take well to being kept in a box, no matter how nice the box may be. There’s a pull toward freedom, even if you have to risk everything to answer it. This is the story of one of the strangest murder cases in American history—a 1920s true Hollywood story about what can happen when a pretty pet gets restless and starts looking for a way to stretch its wings. 

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
"The Man in the Attic" by Denise Noe, CrimeLibrary.com
LAist: "The Murderous Lover Who Lived In A Silver Lake Attic. A True Story" by John Rabe 
Investigation Discovery's "A Crime to Remember," episode "Guess Who"

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Romantic jealousy is, for the most part, fundamental to the human experience, one of the uglier strands in the tangled mess that makes up a heart. Some people manage to overcome it completely, most of us will be familiar with the occasional hot stab of possessiveness. And some people will let jealousy consume them like a wildfire. If that person is also broken in a hundred other ways, then chances are, somebody’s gonna get hurt. Join us for a story of stalking, rage, betrayal and double murder. 

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
Paula May, “First Degree Rage”
Paula May, “Raging On”
Investigation Discovery's "Dead of Winter," episode “Cold Blue”
https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/convicted-felon-former-officer-dies-while-serving-sentence-for-25-year-old-murder/article_122572e8-7598-58ce-b4ee-8d36d0f5f428.html
Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/nc-court-of-appeals/1435151.html

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In Dostoevsky’s book Crime and Punishment, the character Raskolnikov says, “All people seem to be divided into 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary'. The ordinary people must lead a life of strict obedience and have no right to transgress the law because they are ordinary. Whereas the extraordinary people have the right to commit any crime they like…just because they happen to be extraordinary.” Spoken like a true psychopath, my dude. It probably won’t surprise you to hear that Raskolnikov murders an old woman in that book—not just for the money, but to prove to himself how “extraordinary” he is. That the rules most of us abide by aren’t for him. Today’s case is about a modern-day Raskolnikov—a self-proclaimed intellectual whose grandiose narcissism hid a deep well of rage and insecurity, and led him to not only commit a brutal murder, but to tell us all about it on his blog. 

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
The New Yorker, David Grann: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/02/11/true-crime
Taipei Times: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/09/23/2003380130
The Guardian, Elizabeth Day: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/16/crimebooks.features
Sky TV's "Killers: Behind the Myth," episode "Bala: The Novel Killer"

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We've talked about a lot of notorious criminals here on True Crime Campfire, but do you think any of today's villains will still be widely known in three-hundred years? Will their names be known to almost everyone, and conjure up vivid if not exactly accurate images of a time long past? The subject of this week's story is a man whose brief but spectacular criminal career wrote him a place in history—not to mention on the hit TV show “Our Flag Means Death.” Time for some true crime on the high seas!

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
Stephan Talty, Empire of Blue Water 
Captain Charles Johnson, A General History of the Pyrates
Angus Konstam, Blackbeard

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Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley follows a young man named Tom, whose deep-seated jealousy and ambition leads him down a very dark path. He wants the jet-set lifestyle his trust-fund friends are living, and he sets out to get it using his intelligence and skill at deception. Tom Ripley is a pretty realistic depiction of a psychopath. To get close to the wealthy people he envies, he puts on a convincing mask of helpful friendliness. But underneath, he’s scheming with every breath—biding his time. And no one is safe around him. Join us for the story of a real-life Mr. Ripley, a man who was good at being charming, but bad at being good. A man who left one person dead, one heartbroken and defrauded, and a pretty little town in shock. Join us for the true story behind the BBC drama The Sixth Commandment--the tale of an aspiring vicar whose pious exterior hid a heart of darkness. 

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
A Plot to Kill by David Wilson
ITV News: https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2019-08-09/sadistic-killer-admitted-interest-in-the-extremes-of-death
Daily Beast, Nico Hines: https://www.thedailybeast.com/gaslight-killer-ben-field-who-conned-his-elderly-lovers-is-convicted-of-murdering-peter-farquhar
Bucks Herald, Sam Dean: https://www.bucksherald.co.uk/must-read/ben-field-the-baptist-ministers-son-who-became-a-calculated-and-manipulative-murderer-in-maids-moreton-821818
UK Daily Mail, Rory Tingle and Josh White: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6984549/Church-warden-callously-videoed-hallucinating-lecturer-trying-murder.html

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When we left you at the end of part 1, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo had begun a killing spree that took them from Tacoma, Washington, through Arizona, Louisiana, and Maryland. By October 2002, they had killed or wounded 10 people, with Muhammad pointing his finger and Malvo pointing his gun. Malvo believed himself to be a soldier in the fight to free the marginalized people of the world. Muhammad made him his acolyte, traveling across the country, playing him anti-American propaganda through headphones as he slept, putting him through a grueling physical regimen, as well as making him eat a sparse vegetarian diet. Muhammad told him that white people were “devils” and that they had to prepare for the oncoming race war. For 30 days, they would kill 6 white people a day, until the US government agreed to their terms and paid them off to go away. Join us now for part 2 of this chilling true story.

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
Vice documentary "I, Sniper"
The History Channel's "Crime of the Century," episode "The Beltway Snipers"
King 5 News:https://www.king5.com/article/news/dc-snipers-first-intended-victim-speaks-out/281-332833536
Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/opening-shot-146761
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/lee-boyd-malvo-10-years-after-dc-area-sniper-shootings-i-was-a-monster/2012/09/29/a1ef1b42-04d8-11e2-8102-ebee9c66e190_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/10/01/timeline-dc-sniper-attacks/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/01/gun-store-cant-account-for-weapon-tied-to-sniper-case/ee54a3d2-a53c-44e8-9423-50ce4115c28b/
WUSA 9 News: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/20-years-later-paul-laruffa-survivor-of-dc-snipers-malvo-muhammad-is-not-obsessing-but-hell-never-forget-either/65-055e1e42-c72e-4bab-b393-286eefe88037
NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/us/polite-but-dogged-sniper-suspect-offers-defense.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss https://wtop.com/supreme-court/2019/10/beltway-sniper-victim-hopes-lee-boyd-malvo-gets-chance-at-rehabilitation-before-scotus/
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/us/polite-but-dogged-sniper-suspect-offers-defense.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/us/dc-area-sniper-fast-facts/index.html
Tucson News: https://tucson.com/news/local/crime/d-c-snipers-allegedly-targeted-tucsonan-in-02/article_64f562f8-5b2d-529a-b567-c28d822c48bd.html 
Psych News: https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/pn.39.23.00390013
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/10/sprj.dcsp.sniper.beaten/index.html ​​
SCOTUS Blog: https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Muhammad-stay-application-11-3-091.pdf
History.com: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-d-c-sniper-john-muhammad-convicted

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Do you remember Snow White, campers? You know, the princess whose step mother was so jealous of her beauty that she cursed her with a poison apple? Today’s case is like that. Someone whose wrath and anger was so terrible that it harmed everyone it touched. To him, not getting his way was a fate worse than death and in order to right the wrongs, he’d commit crimes that would change American lives forever. With the gift of a single pastry, he would ensure a child’s loyalty so completely that the child would kill for him. He was a manipulator, a magician, and along with the naive fool that accompanied him, he would kill dozens of people. Join us for Part 1 of this chilling true crime story.

Sources:
Vice documentary "I, Sniper"
The History Channel's "Crime of the Century," episode "The Beltway Snipers"
King 5 News:https://www.king5.com/article/news/dc-snipers-first-intended-victim-speaks-out/281-332833536
Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/opening-shot-146761
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/lee-boyd-malvo-10-years-after-dc-area-sniper-shootings-i-was-a-monster/2012/09/29/a1ef1b42-04d8-11e2-8102-ebee9c66e190_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/10/01/timeline-dc-sniper-attacks/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/11/01/gun-store-cant-account-for-weapon-tied-to-sniper-case/ee54a3d2-a53c-44e8-9423-50ce4115c28b/
WUSA 9 News: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/20-years-later-paul-laruffa-survivor-of-dc-snipers-malvo-muhammad-is-not-obsessing-but-hell-never-forget-either/65-055e1e42-c72e-4bab-b393-286eefe88037
NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/us/polite-but-dogged-sniper-suspect-offers-defense.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss https://wtop.com/supreme-court/2019/10/beltway-sniper-victim-hopes-lee-boyd-malvo-gets-chance-at-rehabilitation-before-scotus/
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/us/polite-but-dogged-sniper-suspect-offers-defense.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/us/dc-area-sniper-fast-facts/index.html
Tucson News: https://tucson.com/news/local/crime/d-c-snipers-allegedly-targeted-tucsonan-in-02/article_64f562f8-5b2d-529a-b567-c28d822c48bd.html 
Psych News: https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/pn.39.23.00390013
CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/02/10/sprj.dcsp.sniper.beaten/index.html ​​
SCOTUS Blog: https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Muhammad-stay-application-11-3-091.pdf
History.com: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-d-c-sniper-john-muhammad-convicted

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When we left you last week, attorney Larry McNabney’s attempt to become the biggest personal-injury attorney in Nevada had just crashed and burned like the Hindenberg, thanks in no small part to his new wife, Elisa. Elisa was a small-time thief and fraudster from Florida who had thrown the state and her whole life in the rear-view mirror to avoid the possibility of some brief jail time. She’d struck gold when she was hired as an office manager by high-flying attorney Larry in Las Vegas, and rapidly climbed the emotional ranks from employee to mistress to girlfriend to wife. But she had trouble keeping her itchy fingers out of the law firm’s cash register, which led to the state bar banning her from working there and reprimanding Larry. Looking for a new start, the couple moved to Sacramento to try and set the whole business rolling again, and at the start of 2000 Elisa hired 19-year-old Sarah Dutra to help her out with the business. But “helping” was not exactly what she did. Join us for part 2 of this chilling true crime story.

Sources:
Cold Blooded by Carlton Smith
Marked for Death by Brian J. Karem
ABC's 20/20, episode "Hell in Heels”
Investigation Discovery's "Evil Stepmothers," episode “She Can’t Hide”
Seattle Met: https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2022/11/jz-knight-ramtha-yelm-washington-school-of-enlightenment
Herald-Tribune: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2002/03/15/woman-sought-in-california-murder-has-ties-to-florida/28711016007/

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There aren’t many stories older or more widespread than “bad decisions made for a pretty face or a hot body.” Those throbbing biological urges can kick reason and good sense right to the curb. For most of us, this is more likely to happen when we’re young and, y’know, dumb. But there are some people who will always be willing to put their hands in the fire, to risk everything they have for desire. It’s a trait that often goes hand-in-hand with a self-destructive recklessness that’s so fundamental to your nature that it might as well be in your bones. Join us for the story of California's "Marlboro Man murder" and the pair of devious, greedy killers who almost got away with it.

Sources:
Cold Blooded by Carlton Smith
Marked for Death by Brian J. Karem
ABC's 20/20, episode "Hell in Heels”
Investigation Discovery's "Evil Stepmothers," episode “She Can’t Hide”
Seattle Met: https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2022/11/jz-knight-ramtha-yelm-washington-school-of-enlightenment
Herald-Tribune: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2002/03/15/woman-sought-in-california-murder-has-ties-to-florida/28711016007/

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There is freedom in being a narcissist. If you don’t see anyone else in the world as fully real and important, you can do whatever you want, follow your every urge and impulse. And if someone happens to get hurt along the way, well, you probably barely even noticed. A lot of the criminals in our cases fit this mould, grandiose types swinging through the lives of those around them like a flaming wrecking ball. If you’re the only person in the world who matters, it’s easy to lie and cheat and steal. And kill. Join us for the story of a hedonistic doctor and his glamorous model wife, whose opulent life and power-couple marriage spiraled down into chaos, lies and murder.

Sources:
Investigation Discovery's "Diabolical," episode "Mistress Roulette"
Oxygen's "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered," episode "At the Bottom of the Pool"
Tallahassee.com: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2015/02/21/frasch-murder-investigation-reveals-couples-torrid-existence/23792489/
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2014/04/11/frasch-got-1-million-plus/7582855/
WTXL News: https://www.wtxl.com/frasch/day-two-of-adam-frasch-trial/article_09c900e2-e248-11e6-89c2-67bd6a5372fb.html https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/01/25/jurors-see-possible-murder-weapon-frasch-case/97031238/
Tallahassee.com: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/01/26/defense-medical-expert-says-samira-frach-died-after-husband-left/97079960/ https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/01/23/jury-selection-underway-frasch-murder-trial/96941344/

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It's not that unusual for people to bend the truth a little to show themselves in a good light, especially when they're young. Maybe you want to impress a crush, maybe you just want to add a bit of glamor to an otherwise normal life. It's mostly harmless...unless the lies get out of control. If someone lies with every beat of their heart, builds an entire alternate reality around themselves, then what happens when that alternate reality is threatened by the truth can get pretty ugly. Join us for the story of a golden-boy son turned double murderer.

Sources:
CBS's "48 Hours," episode “The Snapchat Clue”
Trial footage, People v Halderson
WMTV15 News: https://www.wmtv15news.com/2021/12/22/halderson-trial/ https://www.wkow.com/news/prosecutor-haldersons-father-about-to-expose-sons-lifestyle-lies-before-homicide/article_4385f8b0-6d96-11ec-bcd0-6b683767931a.html
Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/fake-spacex-job-murder-dismemberment-lies-1278750/
Channel 3000 News: https://www.channel3000.com/news/crime/analysts-say-phone-of-chandler-halderson-was-tracked-in-areas-where-parents-remains-found/article_4779b795-67a1-53ba-81d0-3b0261ce3688.html
WKOW News: https://www.wkow.com/news/crime/chandler-halderson-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-without-parole-for-the-murder-of-his-parents/article_1ec0c0b4-a626-11ec-b6d8-a303892e68f7.html

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When you were a kid, were you ever scared to go in the swimming pool in case you might get eaten by a shark? Or just get in the bathtub? Hell, one time I even managed to freak myself out just from laying on a waterbed. This is mainly thanks to Steven Spielberg and a 25-foot mechanical shark called Bruce, but “Jaws” wasn’t made in a vacuum. Shark attacks are, thankfully, very rare, but over a century ago there were a series of attacks so shocking and so close together that they cemented the shark as a figure of sharp-toothed horror in the American psyche. The serial killer of the sea, you might say. Basically what we’re sayin’ here folks, is it’s SHARK WEEK on True Crime Campfire. Join us for the terrifying true story of the deadly 1916 shark attacks that inspired the movie "Jaws." This one's not for the faint of heart!

Sources:
Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo
NY Times Archives: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/07/07/100214613.pdf
National Geographic Archives: https://web.archive.org/web/20150703224631/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150702-shark-attack-jersey-shore-1916-great-white/
Pittsburgh Press: https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press/106419794/
Matawan Historical Society: https://matawanhistoricalsociety.org/1916-shark-attack/
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/07/25/us-shark-mania-began-with-this-attack-more-than-century-ago/
https://www.medievalists.net/2014/09/ten-strange-medieval-ideas-animals/

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Leonard Cohen sang, “All I ever learned from love / Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya,” which should certainly strike a chord with followers of true crime. We’ve seen time and again how, after a bitter break-up, a person can go to extraordinary lengths to get their own back, whether the wrongs they’ve suffered are real or exist entirely in their own heads. Join us for a true crime story of greed, revenge, and toxic self-absorption.

Sources:
Die, My Love by Kathryn Casey
48 Hours, S17E29, “Two Wigs, a Gun and a Murder”
https://richmond.com/from-the-archives/from-the-archives-piper-rountree-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-killing-ex-husband-in/article_b5a5b3be-017c-5a34-a053-e255a947f36b.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7037898
https://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/court-of-appeals-unpublished/2007/0155062.html
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/lawyer-gets-life-in-ex-husband-s-death-1916001.php

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Natural conservation is something that most people can get behind. I mean, you see a baby duckling covered in oil and you can’t help but shake your fist at the oil companies that created the mess while you reach for the dish soap, right? When wildfires break out, firefighters from all over the country pack their bags and get on planes to go help. We generally want to keep our communities clean. But sometimes, there are people to whom nature is just a playground. People who will do anything to capture and keep the world’s beauty all for their own selfish gain...and they’ll keep doing it too, unless someone stops them. As the Lorax says, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” Join us for the true crime story of one of the weirdest heists in history--a tale of obsession and "main character syndrome" run wild. If you think this one's gonna be boring, trust us. It ain't.

Sources:
The Feather Thief by Kirk W. Johnson
NPR's "This American Life" with Ira Glass

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In geometry, the triangle is the strongest shape there is—any weight you put on one gets shared out equally among the three sides. A perfect 3-way harmony. But in romance, for most of us anyway, three’s a crowd. Resentments start to smolder. Secrets start to slip. Things can get dangerous. Especially when everyone involved is living a double life they want desperately to protect. Join us for a true crime story where nobody is exactly who they seem to be.

Sources:
Court papers: https://casetext.com/case/state-v-reaves-41
ShadowProof, Pam Spaulding: https://shadowproof.com/2009/10/04/durham-jealous-antigay-pastors-closet-door-kicked-open-during-murder-trial/
WRAL coverage: https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6106346/
TV One's "Fatal Attraction," episode "A Lethal Love Affair"
Investigation Discovery's "Where Murder Lies," episode "Obstacle to Affection"

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To paraphrase the great American hero George Costanza, “You’ve been living a lie? I’m living, like, 20.” If you’re up to no good in one way or another, there are a lot of ways you can get found out. You might get ratted out, you might unknowingly leave behind evidence of your bad deeds, or you might just get flat-out caught in the act. And if you’ve built multiple lives, multiple relationships, all on their own structures of falsehood, the chances of each of those goes up dramatically. You can only juggle so many chainsaws before one cuts off your damn hand. Join us for a true crime story about a man who built too many counterfeit lives--a man whose lies ensnared not only him, but the women who loved him.

Note: Katie had a bad cold this week, so Whitney had to do more talking than usual in this episode.

Sources:
Investigation Discovery's "Desperate Measures," episode “Blood in Barstow”
CBS' "48 Hours Mystery," episode “Body of Lies”
https://www.bakersfield.com/news/inmate-sentenced-to-16-more-years-for-soliciting-murders/article_dcb56b98-aa4b-5e82-bcf1-c6c3cbe044c2.html
https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/crime/2009/10/09/accused-killer-leads-police-to/37058923007/

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Some of the scariest people we’ve covered on this show were cursed with a grandiose sense of entitlement—the sense that if they see something they want, they should be allowed to just take it, whether that something is a new watch or a fellow human being. The self-centeredness is bad enough, but when you couple it with rage…especially the kind brought on by copious amounts of steroids…you’ve got the setting for a perfect storm. The problem is, the grandiose people can sometimes be the shiniest, sparkliest, most engaging ones in the room. They’re skilled at wearin’ that good-guy mask. And sometimes, by the time they rip it off, you’re already in the hole too deep to find your way back to daylight. Join us for a story of bullying, rage, blind love and bravery in the face of terror.

Sources:
Kill For Me by M. William Phelps
CBS's "48 Hours," episode Dangerous Liaisons
Investigation Discovery's "On the Case with Paula Zahn," episode "Honeymoon Hit"

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In 2012 and 2013, two women disappeared. They didn’t have a whole lot in common: One was a teenager on the west coast, the other a midwestern mom of seven. But both would fall under the spell of a poisonous man who had become a master at manipulating the vulnerable for his own twisted ends.

Sources:
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-wisconsin-cop-charged-in-suitcase-murders/
USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/03/police-murder-women-suitcases/12158085/
JSOnline: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2017/02/03/ex-cop-pleads-guilty-2nd-murder-suitcase-bodies-killings/97459438/
JSOnline: https://archive.jsonline.com/news/crime/ex-cop-in-suitcases-bodies-case-had-history-of-infractions-b99307892z1-266461201.html
Justia: https://law.justia.com/cases/wisconsin/court-of-appeals/2020/2019ap001655-cr.html
Investigation Discovery's "Web of Lies," episode "In Dark Corners"
Investigation Discovery's "Sex & Murder," episode "Code Name Mr. Handcuffs"

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Two of the closest bonds a person can have are with a spouse and with a child. Ideally, in the first you're a loving partner, and in the second, a guide and a caregiver. Of course, real life doesn't always match the ideal, and both of those relationships can get twisted and strange. Sometimes your spouse and your child can even become the deadliest enemies. Join us for a bizarre story of lust, greed and motherhood turned dark.

Sources:
Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/woman-sentenced-to-22-years-in-prison-for-plotting-slaying-of-her-husband/
Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/des-moines-murder-for-hire-brings-25-year-prison-terms/
Murderpedia, various articles: https://murderpedia.org/female.O/o/ogden-whitehead.htm#google_vignette
Investigation Discovery's "Mother May I Murder," episode "Mommy's Little Sex Dungeon"
Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Velma Ogden-Whitehead"

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Imagine growing up in a spectacular mansion, with access to the kind of wealth and connections most of us can only dream of. But although you’re surrounded by material riches, you’re in a social vacuum—eating alone in your bedroom every night, wandering the grounds of your family estate with only the wildlife as company. This was the life of John Du Pont, the youngest heir to the famously wealthy family who founded the DuPont chemical company. He grew up cut off from the kind of social warmth most of us take for granted. His solution to that was to immerse himself in the sport of Olympic style wrestling—and to gather some of the world’s greatest athletes in a little utopian community he named Foxcatcher Farms. His dream was to create the best team of wrestlers in the world. They lived on the property, trained on the property, became like family to each other…all under the watchful eye of their wealthy benefactor, John. To the athletes, it sounded like a dream come true. But they didn’t realize that John DuPont was already on a paranoid downward spiral that would leave everything he’d built in ruins—and take the life of one of wrestling’s most beloved champions.

Sources:
Time Magazine, 1996: "Blood on the Mat" by John Greenwald: https://time.com/3586290/blood-on-the-mat/
Documentary "Team Foxcatcher," 2016. Directed by John Greenhalgh
All That's Interesting, Mark Oliver: "John DuPont, Dave Schultz, and the True Story of 'Foxcatcher'": https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-du-pont-dave-schultz
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_du_Pont#:~:text=John%20Eleuth%C3%A8re%20du%20Pont%20(November,the%20murder%20of%20Dave%20Schultz.

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The Rolling Stones told us “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” but some people DO get what they want…just not necessarily what they need. This week’s story is about a woman with a tempestuous life who got just what she wanted—wealth, stability, and love—and then took a wrecking ball and smashed it all into pieces.

This one has some strange twists and turns!

Sources:
CNN's Vengeance: Killer Millionaires, episode “Murder in the Mansion”
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-michele-williams-trial-temptation-in-texas/
Court Papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/tx-court-of-appeals/1762304.html
Investigation Discovery's Deadly Women, episode “Making a Killing”
Lifetime's Meet, Marry, Murder, episode “Michele Williams”
Oxygen's Snapped, episode “Michele Williams”

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We all live our daily lives in our own little spheres. We have our work, our families, our friends, all the million little things that keep us moving from one day to the next. We sometimes think about the world beyond that stuff—like, haven’t we all walked down a crowded street and wondered about the strangers we passed? About their inner lives, their secrets? Whether we’ve ever unknowingly walked past a murderer. But for the most part, we’re all in our own worlds. We meet new people every day—touch lives for a few minutes, then separate forever. It doesn’t usually occur to us that one of those strangers might latch on to us—develop an obsession, a grudge, a rage that would smolder for years in secret, and then burst into flame, taking us with it. But it happens. Join us for a story of dark obsession, one that might make you wonder: Who might be thinking of you tonight?

Sources:
Crime Library, David Lohr: https://www.crimelibrary.org/notorious_murders/classics/david_cornbleet/1_index.html
Chicago Magazine, Kevin Guilfoile: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-09-12-0709110582-story.html
Chicago Magazine, Kevin Guilfoile: https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/december-2007/bloodlines/
ABC News: https://abc7chicago.com/archive/8448717/
NBC's Dateline, Episode Appointment for Murder: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23592456
Investigation Discovery's Relentless with Kate Snow, Episode Murder on MIchigan Avenue
Investigation Discovery's See No Evil, Episode The Doctor Will See You
American Academy of Dermatology Association: https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/acne/derm-treat/isotretinoin/side-effects

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People will do crazy things for desire. From the earliest human tales and histories to stories you can read in your newspaper today, there have been a never-ending number of crimes and betrayals committed because someone started getting hot under the collar. People will risk their relationships, their happiness, their lives for desire. Sometimes they’ll even risk the safety of their nation. And that is the theory behind everybody’s favorite spy tactic: The Honey Trap. A trap that ended up biting back against one government in the 60s. This is a spicy one, y'all: Spies, sex parties, knife fights in nightclubs...the whole shebang.

Sources:
The Secret Worlds of Stephen Ward by Anthony Summer and Stephen Dorrill
Secrets and Lies by Christine Keeler with Douglas Thompson
https://spartacus-educational.com/SPYlewisJ.htm

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As most of you probably know, this week is the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S., and Katie and I both have family stuff to do—people to see, pies to bake. So we took the week off from our regularly scheduled programming. But because we love you and we didn’t want you to miss out on a new episode, we decided to pick out one of our old Patreon-exclusive episodes from 2022. You’ll get a fun episode, and you’ll get a taste of the kind of red-hot content you’re missin’ out on if you’re not on our Patreon yet. These episodes tend to be less formal and more hilarious, and we’ve picked a gem for you—a true crime-adjacent Reddit saga that has to be heard to be believed. Hope you’ll enjoy it.

Sources:
Reddit

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How many times have we seen it—a rich and/or powerful person gets in some kind of hot water, and all it takes is a quick “Do you know who I AM?” to fix it? I don’t really get why people are so dazzled by money and pedigree, but it seems to be a constant theme throughout history—and it’s as alive today as it’s ever been. So it’s not a big surprise that some people who lack money and connections decide to fake them, and do so with great success. Learn the right way to dress, the right names to drop, the right places to go, and you might just sneak your way into the club. A skilled con artist can rise pretty high if they know what they’re doing. And some of them are so determined to run with the cool kids that they’re willing to murder anybody who gets in their way. Join us for the story of one of the strangest cons in American history—a tale of fraud, murder, kidnapping, and fake identities that spanned more than thirty years.

Sources:
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal
Investigation Discovery's "Vanity Fair Confidential," episode "The Sinister Mr. Rockefeller"
Investigation Discovery's "Deadly Rich," episode "I Am Clark Rockefeller"
Unsolved Mysteries, season 7, episode 11
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Gerhartsreiter

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For most of us, it’s kinda hard to grasp the life of a professional criminal. Only a tiny percentage of it is turf wars and whackin’ dudes. Most people who make a living from crime live just like the rest of us do: They go to the grocery store, they take their kids to school, they worry about money being tight. But, unlike most of us, when things get REALLY tight, there’s always the chance of a big, dangerous score that will change their lives forever. That is, if they don’t get caught. Join us for a story of ambitious greed on an epic scale, in which every single person involved--cops and criminals alike--is an absolute goober.

Sources:
Kriss Hollington, “Diamond Geezers”
Kent Online:
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/the-old-style-kent-crooks-who-tried-to-raid-the-dome-236957/ https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/millennium-dome-diamond-heist-raider-20222/

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Some of y’all may be too young to remember, but in the days before email, getting a handwritten letter in the mail was fun. Somebody had taken the time to write out a message just for you and sent it through time and space. It could be from an old friend, a lost love, or a secret admirer. You couldn’t wait to get inside and discover what was so important that it needed to be personally drafted for your eyes only. But when school bus driver Mary Gillispie opened an envelope addressed to her in 1976, she had no idea that it would mark the beginning of a bizarre campaign of terror that would dominate her life for decades. One that would include blackmail, obscenity, harassment, threats against her family, attempted murder, and letter after letter, drafted to disturb in the most intimate ways imaginable. And it wouldn’t stop with Mary. The hysteria spread through the sleepy town of Circleville, Ohio like a plague. Secrets were exposed. Threats were made. Sometimes there were toxic powders in the envelopes, too. When the TV show Unsolved Mysteries got involved, they got their very own threatening letter—don’t air the episode, or else. Join us for one of the most twisted tales we’ve ever covered.

Sources:
Paul Freshour’s WordPress: https://circlevilleletters.wordpress.com/
Whatever Remains Podcast: Welcome to Circleville:
https://www.whateverremainspodcast.com/circleville
Invisible Ships Podcast: https://invisibleshipspodcast.wordpress.com/episodes/
Unsolved Mysteries, Season 7, Epiosde 6
ABC6 News: https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/circleville-police-looking-for-tips-in-unsolved-1980-homicide-of-25-year-old-teacher
Mental Floss, Jake Rossen:
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awrii5iBXTBlBYgFqTFEDN04;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzUEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1697697282/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fm.imdb.com%2ftitle%2ftt0737542%2f/RK=2/RS=74RxpCcEm_B1s56K9cWTjMtY0n8-
CBS News: The Circleville Letter Writer: You’ve got Hate Mail:
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/pictures/circleville-letters-mail-gallery/

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It’s Halloween again, time to scare you all into submission. And this year, we’ve decided to bring in some reinforcements to do that. An expert in the art of the scare, with one of the best horror podcasts out there: Nina Jones from Twisted Mirror. We’ve chosen two true stories that will have you sleeping with one eye open, wondering what dark secrets might be lurking in your seemingly friendly neighborhood. Case One: The Watcher. Case Two: The Strange Ritual Murder of LeRoy Carter, Jr.

Sources:
The Cut, Reeves Wiedeman: https://www.thecut.com/2022/10/the-watcher-657-boulevard-update.html
Medium, The Mystique: https://medium.com/the-mystery-reporter/the-haunting-mystery-of-the-watcher-and-a-dream-house-8eead59a0aef
SF Weekly: https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/yesterdays-crimes-chicken-wings-and-bloody-stumps-in-golden-gate-park/article_148021db-d730-5237-9cca-60d05fed31f4.html
Santa Ana Orange County Register:
https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-feb-28-1988-p-211/ https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-feb-09-1981-4123551/ https://newspaperarchive.com/other-articles-clipping-feb-09-1981-4123553/
Wikipedia: Santeria and Palo Mayombe:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palo_(religion) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santer%C3%ADa https://newspaperarchive.com/search/location/us/pa/indiana/indiana-gazette/

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Tristan Redman is a journalist who doesn’t believe in ghosts. But weird things happened in his teenage bedroom – weirder than normal. When, years later, he discovers subsequent occupants of his family home say they have been visited by the ghost of a faceless woman, he’s curious. It just so happens that the house Tristan grew up in is right next door to the house where his wife’s great grandmother, Naomi Dancy, was murdered – killed by two gunshots to the face. Could there be a connection? Tristan decides to investigate and soon finds himself where no son-in-law should ever be: delving deep into his wife’s family history asking questions no-one wants answered. Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios present Ghost Story — a seven-part podcast series about family secrets, overwhelming coincidence, and the things that come back to haunt us. Follow Ghost Story on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of Ghost Story ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Listen now: Wondery.fm/GS_TCC

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In the 1820s, the city of Edinburgh was shaken to its core by a series of callous murders. Behind the killings was a story of death, greed, and willful blindness that provided the coldest possible answer to the question, “What is a human life worth?” Join us for the story of Scotland's most infamous serial killers.

Sources:
Alanna Knight, Burke & Hare: Scotland’s Serial KillersR. Michael Gordon, The Infamous Burke and Hare


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Follow MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge the first 8 episodes, early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. The human body is a miracle. But when it’s not working, it can be the stuff of nightmares. On this new series from master storyteller MrBallen, we’re sharing medical horror stories and diagnostic mysteries that are surgically calibrated to make your blood run cold. From bizarre, unheard-of diseases and miraculous recoveries to strange medical mishaps and unexplainable deaths — you’ll never hear the phrase “heart-stopping” in the same way again. MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries is a first of its kind collaboration between MrBallen and Wondery, the award-winning company behind Dr. Death. Listen Now: Wondery.FM/MBMM_TCC

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In July of 1990, the headless, handless body of a young woman named Beverly McGowan was found in a canal near St. Lucie, Florida. As they began their investigation, detectives had no way of knowing that they were embarking on one of the strangest cases of their careers—the twisting, turning story of a consummate con woman, killer, and master of disguise…a criminal so skilled at deception that she would manage to stay one step ahead of the agencies hunting her for more than a decade, even after being named the Most Wanted Woman in the World. And even after they found her, she would still leave a long trail of mysteries behind her.

Sources:
The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1391705/Chameleon-Killer-cheats-the-Florida-police-by-ending-her-many-faced-life.html
Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/a-killer-s-many-faces-1.165231
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1996/12/11/90-murder-trail-leads-to-woman/
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/mar/11/features11.g22
TV show "Unsolved Mysteries" with Robert Stack
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Parent
Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/female.P/p/parent-elaine.htm

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It’s October, folks. The season of mystery. So this week, to kick off our favorite month of the year, we’ve picked two of the most iconic unsolved cases in American history: both cases where the basic fabric of everyday life was threatened. Where the things we take for granted as safe—over the counter medicine and air travel—suddenly couldn’t be trusted. Both of these cases rocked the country to its core. And both of them remain unsolved to this day. Case 1: The Tylenol Poisonings. Case 2: D.B. Cooper.

Sources:
Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/db-cooper-tina-mucklow-untold-story-1111944/
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/13/db-cooper-fbi-closes-case-plane-hijacking-washington-oregon
https://www.opb.org/article/2021/11/24/d-b-cooper-50th-anniversary/
The FBI: https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/db-cooper-hijacking
Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
The Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/tylenolmurders/ct-tylenol-murders-investigation-listicle-20220922-kndriges6zgdpf5pvrxdjatah4-list.html
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/10/1186906874/james-lewis-suspect-tylenol-poisonings-dies#:~:text=In%20a%20span%20of%20three,over%2Dthe%2Dcounter%20medications.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tylenol_murders

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We’ve had a pretty heavy summer on TCC, haven’t we? Nazis and Norwegian black metal murders, and those last two cases were gnarly. So we thought maybe this week, you’d appreciate something a little lighter—something just for fun. So we decided to talk about hoaxes. Sometimes hoaxes are hilarious, like the time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pranked five of his friends by sending them all an anonymous letter saying “We are discovered. Flee at once,” and then watched in amazement as one of ‘em up and left town the next day. Sometimes they’re kind of a public service, reminding us that we can’t believe everything we see on TV or the internet. Sometimes they’re sick burns—humiliating revenge against a stuck-up snob who deserved it. But whatever the motive, and whether anybody ends up in jail or not, pranking the crap out of our fellow humans is almost always entertaining. Join us for a grab bag of hoaxes through history--from Mary Toft and her miraculous "rabbit births" to the infamous "War of the Worlds" broadcast that terrified America, to a Canadian woman who faked a pregnancy and abducted a real baby, and more.

Sources:
Toronto Star: https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/i-m-not-a-bad-person-says-gta-baby-snatcher-with-guilty-plea/article_928babfb-b457-5942-bbee-7daf500d3eb6.html
CBS's "The Dr. Phil Show," episode "I Abducted a Baby/I am a Psychopath"
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-war-on-paper-operation-mincemeat
Time Magazine: https://time.com/6174289/operation-mincemeat-netflix-true-story/
The Smithsonian Mag: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/infamous-war-worlds-radio-broadcast-was-magnificent-fluke-180955180/
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2014/03/14/290119435/society-for-indecency-to-naked-animals
The Ringer: https://www.theringer.com/music/2017/11/8/16615842/grunge-new-york-times-slang
Paris Review: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/07/05/an-extraordinary-delivery-of-rabbits/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/05/21/sneaky-teen-texting-codes-what-they-mean-when-worry/101844248/

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When we left you at the end of Part 1, former Mormon golden boy Taylor Helzer had decided on two disciples who would aid him in his weird scheme to bring about a planet-wide spiritual awakening through a network of self-help groups fueled by sex and drugs, a plan he called Transform America. These disciples were his quiet younger brother Justin, and Dawn Godman, a vulnerable young woman convinced that Taylor was divinely inspired. But Transform America needed a lot of money to get off the ground, and there were no limits to what Taylor, Justin, and Dawn were willing to do to reach their goal. Join us now for part two of “Until the End of the World,” the cult of the Children of Thunder.

Sources:
Unholy Sacrifice by Robert Scott
Investigation Discovery's "True Crime With Aphrodite Jones," episode "The Children of Thunder"

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For fifteen years you could call a private number in Manhattan and anonymously apologize for anything. It was called The Apology Line. This is the story of the phone line and the man at the other end who became consumed by his own creation. He was known as “Mr. Apology.” As thousands of callers flooded the line, confessing to everything from shoplifting to adultery, drug dealing, to murder, Mr. Apology realized he couldn’t just listen. He had to do something, even if it meant risking everything. Prime Members, you can binge all seven episodes of The Apology line exclusively on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today: www.amazon.com/AL_TCC

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Being part of a society means that for the most part you follow its rules, often without thinking about it at all. And those rules, those strictures of what is right and wrong, good or bad, are frequently dumb and sometimes awful—human societies are not utopias, after all, they’re messy and loud and full of argument. But some shared consensus on the boundaries of behavior is necessary if people are going to live together in something approximating peace. So what happens when a group of people give up on the idea of right and wrong entirely, and surrender all their free will and moral judgment into the hands of madman who thinks he was born to save the world? Nothing good, that’s what. Join us for part 1 of the story of Taylor Helzer, a narcissistic man who was raised to think he had the "gift of revelation" and was destined to be a prophet--and the impressionable people he gathered around him to do his deadly bidding.

Sources:
Unholy Sacrifice by Robert Scott
Investigation Discovery's "True Crime With Aphrodite Jones," episode "The Children of Thunder"

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When we left you at the end of part 1, married couple BJ and Erika Sifrit had decided to take a break from their demanding schedule of selling scrapbook supplies and burgling local businesses and drive down to Ocean City, Maryland for a little vacation…join us now for part 2 of this chilling true story.

Sources:
Cruel Death by M. William Phelps
A&E's "American Justice," episode "Thrill Kill Couple"
Investigation Discovery's "People Magazine Investigates"
Cape Cod Times: https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2005/02/25/life-sentence-ordered-in-beheading/50917379007/

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In May of 2002, a couple on vacation went missing from the beach town of Ocean City Maryland…and what began as a missing persons investigation soon morphed into one of the most bizarre, most disturbing double murder cases in the area’s history. The killers’ names weren’t a mystery for long. They were a young married couple with their whole lives ahead of them. The puzzle was their motivation to brutally kill two total strangers, while on a beach vacation. Before they met and married, these two seemed to have their lives on track. He was a rising star in the Navy. She was a straitlaced, high-achieving former college basketball queen with dreams of becoming a lawyer. But when they got together, it was like ammonia and bleach—a toxic cloud that would envelop everyone around them. Including two innocent people who didn’t yet know they existed. Join us for part 1 of this horror movie come to life.

Sources:
Cruel Death by M. William Phelps
A&E's "American Justice," episode "Thrill Kill Couple"

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In Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge’s nephew says of his uncle, “His wealth is of no use to him. He don’t do any good with it. He don’t make himself comfortable with it.” Those of us who aren’t staggeringly wealthy might have happy daydreams about how much fun we’d have if we won the lottery, but a lot of the people who devote their lives to making as much cash as possible seem incapable of finding any joy in their success. For them, it’s not about taking care of their loved ones, pursuing their dreams, having the time to travel or learn new passions. It’s just about…making—more—money. It’s the journey AND the destination. And that kind of greed? It can rot you from the inside out, and destroy everything good in your life. Join us for a true story of murder for hire in one of the richest neighborhoods in the country.

Sources:
Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege and Justice, episode "What Price Murder?"
The Reporter: https://www.thereporteronline.com/2003/03/06/millionaire-sentenced-for-hiring-hit-man-to-kill-wife/
Steeple Times: https://www.thesteepletimes.com/the-roll-call/linda-sandler/

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When Mike Williams vanishes on a hunting trip, the authorities suspect he was eaten by alligators but the true predators who took Mike may lurk much closer to home. The mystery of Mike’s disappearance might have faded from memory, if it wasn’t for one woman’s tireless crusade. From Wondery, comes a new season of Over My Dead Body; a story about an obsessive love affair, a scandalous secret and a mother’s battle for the truth.Follow Over My Dead Body: Gone Hunting on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app. Listen to Over My Dead Body: Wondery.fm/OMDB4_TCC

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On the song “Freezing Moon,” lead singer of Mayhem howls,“Diabolic shapes float by/Out from the dark/I remember it was here I died”. It’s an oddly prophetic line, considering two members of the band would be dead by 1994, the year the album was finally released. Mayhem was central to the Norwegian black metal scene and most of the members were a part of the Black Circle. The Black Circle was a loosely organized group of black metal musicians who set about burning down churches and committing petty crimes across Norway. Stoked by two demagogues, the group told the public that their motive was to antagonize the Christian church and to do as much evil as possible. Last week, we set the stage. Join us now for its bloody end.

Sources:
Lords of Chaos by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind
Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult by Dayal Patterson
https://www.musicgenreslist.com/metal-music-genre/
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mayhem-mn0000335302/biography
https://metalinjection.net/black-metal-chronicles/black-metal-history-month/an-illustrated-history-of-corpse-paint
https://www.last.fm/music/Mayhem/+wiki
https://www.villagevoice.com/until-the-light-takes-us-a-norwegian-black-metal-documentary/
https://www.macrotrends.net/states/minnesota/murder-homicide-rate-statistics
https://knoema.com/atlas/Norway/Homicide-rate#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20homicide%20rate%20for,per%20100%2C000%20population%20in%202021.

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Robert Johnson was a Blues singer in the 1930s who was said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his talent. He died, inexplicably, at the age of 27, right at the peak of his fame. No one has been able to confirm the cause of his death, so the rumor of his Luciferian trade lives on. Musicians are often accused of worshiping the devil by conspiracy theorists and moral purists alike. Whether it’s true, is usually left up to the listener. Today, though, we’ll be discussing a group of musicians who admitted to their evil intentions from the moment they picked up a guitar and the impact of their actions would be felt by the community for decades to come. Join us now for part one of this diabolical true story.

Sources:
Lords of Chaos by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind
Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult by Dayal Patterson
https://www.musicgenreslist.com/metal-music-genre/
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mayhem-mn0000335302/biography
https://metalinjection.net/black-metal-chronicles/black-metal-history-month/an-illustrated-history-of-corpse-paint
https://www.last.fm/music/Mayhem/+wiki
https://www.villagevoice.com/until-the-light-takes-us-a-norwegian-black-metal-documentary/
https://www.macrotrends.net/states/minnesota/murder-homicide-rate-statistics
https://knoema.com/atlas/Norway/Homicide-rate#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20homicide%20rate%20for,per%20100%2C000%20population%20in%202021.

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Punk rock legend Patti Smith once sang, “You gotta lose control before you take control.” It’s a romantic idea—especially because so many of us spend our lives chasing an illusion of control, when really, life’s kind of a crapshoot. But you gotta find a happy medium somewhere. If you’re too loosey goosey, your life is gonna be a mess. And if you’re wound too tight, well—then the first thing that threatens that perfect order might snap some crucial thread and send you spinning into the void. This is the story of a man’s quest for a life under perfect control, and what happened when he lost it.

Sources:
Court paperwork: State v. Mockovak: https://casetext.com/case/state-v-mockovak-2
Mockovak v. Haynes: https://casetext.com/case/mockovak-v-haynes-4
Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/clearly-lasik-co-founder-gets-20-year-sentence-for-murder-for-hire-plot/
Seattle Weekly: https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/clearly-lasiks-michael-mockovak-has-lost-the-right-to-practice-in-washington-last/
Oxygen's "Murder for Hire," s1, episode 8

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In The Godfather, Mario Puzo wrote “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.” Family loyalty can be like armor in our most troubled times—when we’re at our weakest, our loved ones can lend us their strength. But loyalty can be a double-edged sword sometimes, making us choose family over reason—over sanity—over right. Join us for a Shakespearean tragedy of a story about a dirty little secret that led to murder, and a choice that took two proud families down in flames.

Sources:
Book, Never Seen Again by Jeanne King
Book, Love, Lies, and Murder by Gary C. King
CBS' 48 Hours, episodes "Love, Lies and Murder" and "Endgame"
Nashville Scene, Willy Stern, "A Good Thing Gone Bad": https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/a-good-thing-gone-bad/article_9524cd0e-a771-5c13-a508-6890b8c34959.html

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G.K. Chesterton wrote, "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." It speaks to an important struggle--how to hold onto your humanity when you're caught up in terrible violence. And it's a struggle that only gets more complicated when both friend and foe are not behind or in front of you, but all around, and it gets hard to tell one from the other. This is "The Good Fight," the story of three young women in the Dutch resistance to the Nazis in World War 2.

Sources:
“Seducing and Killing Nazis: Hannie, Truus and Freddie: Dutch Resistance Heroines of WWII,” by Sophie Poldermans
Meet the Dutch girls who seduced Nazis — and lured them to their deaths by Isabel Vincent

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Leon Benson spent 24 years in an Indiana state prison for the 1998 murder of a young man named Kasey Schoen. His conviction hinged on the testimony of two eyewitnesses – but what if their memories turned out to be wrong? And what if the people who knew what really happened had never been allowed to speak? Suspect Season 3: Five Shots in the Dark is the story of two victims: one murdered, one sentenced to life. Follow host Matt Shaer and attorney Lara Bazelon as they investigate how the justice system failed both Leon and Kasey, and who the real killer might be. Join this unprecedented look inside the attempt to overturn a wrongful conviction and find out if justice will finally be served. Listen to Suspect wherever you get your podcasts.

You can binge Suspect ad-free on Wondery Plus. Find Wondery Plus in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts: https://wondery.com/links/suspect/

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You know that old saying—I think it was Ben Franklin again—that guests, like fish, begin to stank after three days? I feel like that’s being pretty generous, actually, I’ve thought about buying one of those party banners that says PLEASE LEAVE BY 9 PM. And that’s if the guests are INVITED. What happens when they’re not? Imagine having your home taken over by people who just decide they live there now, and they’re not going anywhere. That this is THEIR home now, no matter what they have to do to keep it. Join us for the story of Jess Sacco, a young woman who met her dream guy online--or so she thought. When he moved into her place, she thought their fairy tale life together was just beginning. Instead, Dream Guy moved a posse of his friends into her house without asking her, and as the weeks passed, the atmosphere got more and more hostile...and more and more dangerous.

Sources:
Investigation Discovery, "Web of Lies," S2, E4
Columbus Dispatch: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2012/04/04/urbana-landlord-found-woman-s/24039438007/
Columbus Dispatch: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2012/04/01/woman-killed-five-are-charged/23828326007/
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jessica-rae-saccos-last-words-were-i-forgive-you-says-boyfriend-accused-of-her-murder/

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David Bowie once described aging as “an extraordinary process by which you become the person you have always been.” We want to think of this as a nice sentiment, right? Like, aww, I’m gonna come into my full flower as the best possible version of myself. But what if the “person you’ve always been” is a nightmare? What if the monster’s just been biding its time? Join us for two stories of killer old ladies: Olga Rutterschmidt and Helen Golay, a pair of serial killers who preyed on the most vulnerable members of society; and South Korea's Madame Yoon, a woman who let delusion and obsession take over her life, and the lives of everyone around her.

Sources:
Court papers, PEOPLE v. RUTTERSCHMIDT (2009)
LA Magazine, "What Can I Tell You?" by Paul Brownfield (2015)
CNBC's "American Greed," episode "The Black Widows" (2010)
Investigation Discovery's "Wicked Attraction," episode "Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt"
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Widow_Murders
YouTuber Grazy TV: https://www.youtube.com/@GRAZYTV/videos
Medium, "Madame, Are You Still Laughing?" by Magda Szymanska: https://medium.com/@szymanskamagda11/madame-are-you-still-laughing-10ab19d72ad1

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Benjamin Franklin once warned us that whatever is begun in anger will end in shame. Probably true for most of us, but the thing is, Benji—some people have no shame. You cross them, it’s gonna be their mission to make you regret it, whatever the consequences. Join us for two bizarre stories of ladies who decided they were NOT gonna let it go. They were gonna set the world on fire.

Case 1: Frenemies, the Story of Courtenay Savage--a former cop turned lingerie model who fell out with her bestie-slash-business partner and DID NOT TAKE IT WELL.

Case 2: I Will Ruin You, the story of Tawny Blazejowski--a well-respected supermom who took stalking and harassment to the next level when her fiance decided to end the relationship.

Sources:
Florida Times-Union: https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2013/08/15/year-lies-harassment-lands-st-augustine-woman-jail/15819643007/
ABC news: https://abcnews.go.com/US/obsessive-exs-cyberstalking-man-fired-arrested/story?id=26256346
St. Augustine Record: https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/2018/03/09/blazejowski-back-to-county-for-new-charges/13135060007/
ABC's "20/20," episode "Be Careful Who You Break Up With"

Oxygen's "Snapped," episode “Courtenay Savage”
Investigation Discovery's "I (Almost) Got Away With It,"episode “I Got Plastic Surgery”
Investigation Discovery's "Women Behind Bars," episode “Courtenay Savage and Lorri Worley”
Tampa Bay Times: https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/06/07/county-has-tough-time-gaining-evidence-in-sex-sting/ https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2008/09/24/most-wanted-fugitive-is-arrested/

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The Bible says, “Be sure: Your sin will find you out.” It’s certainly not a universal truth, as the long, long list of unsolved crimes out there proves. But even for those criminals who get away with it, surely there’s a little voice in their head wondering, is today the day they catch me? Is it tomorrow? And sometimes, that little voice is right. Join us for a story of lust, betrayal, and toxic family loyalty: The murders of Joseph Tarricone and Vicky Notaro.

Sources:
“Don’t Look Behind You” by Ann Rule
“A Death on Canyon Road” by Gary Leon Zimmer
Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/wa-court-of-appeals/1566822.html https://cases.justia.com/washington/court-of-appeals-division-ii/39106.6.11.doc.pdf

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There’s a proverb that says, “Love thy neighbor, but don’t pull down your hedge.” Basically, be kind to the people around you, but don’t get too involved in their lives because you never know who they really are. I think we all have crazy neighbor stories and we’re probably someone else’s crazy neighbor. I think maybe that proverb wasn’t talking about torrid love affairs and murder plots conducted between two scheming neighbors, but we are. Today, join us for a story about lust, betrayal, and murder.

Sources:
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2003/06/10/witness-tells-tale-of-lust-murder/ https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2003/05/04/prosecutors-blame-death-on-affair-2/
Investigation Discovery's "Diabolical," episode "Lying for Love"
Oxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples," episode "Catherine Stanek-Cousins & Timothy Koile"
Various court documents

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In 1992, the area around Toronto, Canada was terrorized by a strange series of crimes. A burglar nicknamed the House Hermit was breaking into empty summer cottages whose owners were away, stealing what he could and leaving bizarre, creepy calling cards behind. Then, a woman went missing from Toronto—her car was found soon after, run into a ditch and covered in blood. Next, two bodies, bound, beaten and stuffed into the trunk of their own car. Then a series of violent abductions. Who was responsible for all this? Was there a sudden crime wave, or were all these the work of one person—a monster whose fantasy life was spinning out of control, sending him to the depths of depravity and putting everyone around him in danger? Join us for the story of one of Canada's cruellest serial killers, the extent of whose crimes we may never know for sure.

Sources:
Lee Mellor, book Cold North Killers
Kate Lines, book Crime Seen
Robert Keller, book Canadian Monsters
CBC's "The Case That Haunts Me," episode "The House Hermit"
Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/male.S/s/snow-david-alexander.htm
Toronto Sun: https://torontosun.com/news/provincial/killer-david-snow-just-beginning-to-understand-sick-crimes

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According to the newspaper The Guardian, there are at least 125 million twins and triplets living today. Twins come into the world together, and they can have an almost supernatural bond. Most of the time it’s a beautiful thing, but it can go sideways, too. Take, for example, the Eriksson twins, Sabina and Ursula, who in the spring of 2008, shocked the United Kingdom by dashing out into traffic, and fighting off anybody who tried to stop them. Ursula was badly hurt and needed a hospital stay, but Sabina was released after a short police interview. The next morning, in the grip of paranoia, she stabbed a man to death. The Eriksson twins are one of the only recorded examples of folie a deux, or “the madness of two,” a fascinating psychological phenomenon where two close people share the same delusion. And that’s just one of the many ways in which the twin bond can go wrong. We’re about to show you a couple others. Case 1: Scammers Charlene Corley and Darlene Wooten. Case 2: The Han Sisters, Sunny and Jeena.

Sources:
Evil Twins by John Glatt
Investigation Discovery's "Evil Twins," episode "Green-Eyed Monsters"
CNBC's "American Greed," episode "Dr. Stokes/C&D Distributors"
ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5197739&page=1
Medium: https://medium.com/truly-adventurous/the-han-twins-cb293ac0f554
Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-court-of-appeal/1299900.html
Orange County Register: https://www.ocregister.com/2018/06/20/evil-twin-who-plotted-to-kill-sister-in-irvine-is-released-on-parole-after-20-years-in-prison/

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Technology is amazing. It’s allowed humans to instantaneously transmit information over thousands of miles. Sometimes it’s a phone call to a sick relative in a different country, sometimes it’s a funny cat video sent to your friend at 4 am when you’re supposed to be asleep, and sometimes it connects two true crime nerds who live in different areas of the country who decide that they want to deglorify the monsters that live amongst us. It’s truly a marvel of human ingenuity and for most of us, it’s an integral part of our social lives. For some types of predator though, it’s a new kind of hunting ground. A way for them to gather information, to monitor and stalk their prey. Today, we’ll be telling you about one such predator--a devious manipulator who went to the most horrific lengths to keep her lies from seeing daylight. Join us for this chilling story of trickery, abduction and murder.

Sources:
Sky News: https://news.sky.com/story/woman-who-faked-pregnancy-guilty-of-killing-mother-and-stealing-her-baby-11396100
NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mom-daughter-accused-killing-woman-cutting-baby-womb-face-new-n1031566
NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chilling-new-details-emerge-murder-chicago-woman-whose-baby-was-n1007066
Kansas.com: https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article116344433.html
Investigation Discovery's "Diabolical," episode "The Mother of All Lies"
Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Geraldine Jones"

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Security expert Gavin de Becker wrote, “If we’re looking for some specific, expected danger, we’re less likely to see the unexpected danger.” It’s a trap we can easily fall into, especially the anxious ones among us—trying to plan and protect ourselves from every possible harm, only to find that the real danger comes when we least expect it, and from the last place we’d think to look. Join us for a classic whodunnit, a story of secrets, lies, and obsession--all leading to an explosive end.

Sources:
Willamette Week, Nick Budnick: https://www.wweek.com/portland/article-2343-pipe-nightmare.html
NBC: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/love-triangle-leads-to-bombing/
LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-09-mn-49483-story.html
Investigation Discovery's "Web of Lies," episode "Pipe Nightmare"

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It’s all a lighthearted nightmare on the MORBID podcast. Hosted by Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley, Morbid is a full dose of true crime with a splash of comedy. Join us all month long as we celebrate 5 years of MORBID with a special anniversary series, a festive edition of listener tales, and more surprises to come.

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The great poet and painter William Blake wrote that, “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” And I think that makes sense to all of us. Few things cut so deep as betrayal from someone you trust and care for—the shock of it makes the treachery all the more painful, and makes you question whether your supposed friend ever gave a damn about you in the first place. And you’ll rarely see a betrayal as deep as the one in this week’s story -- a tale of friendship, redemption, reinvention and gruesome murder.

Sources:
For I Have Sinned by John Glatt
Investigation Discovery's "Grave Secrets," episode "Baptism by Fire"
https://casetext.com/case/state-v-terry-74
https://casetext.com/case/terry-v-state-295

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In March of 1996, a cat named Scarlett made national news when she ran into a burning building five separate times to rescue her kittens. She sustained severe burns to her paws, she was blinded by the heat and smoke, and her whiskers had burned, but that didn’t stop her. Again and again, she faced danger to save her babies and after her task was completed, she touched each kitten with her nose, counting them all, making sure they were all safe. Scarlett is probably the platonic ideal of motherhood. Despite immense pain and immense danger, she sacrificed herself to save her babies. Last week, we began to tell you the story of a mother who was not so ideal. Who at the same time that Scarlett was saving her kittens, would be under investigation for arson and the murder of her children. Join us for part 2 of the chilling story of Dr. Debora Green, a brilliant but troubled doctor who ultimately chose her own desire for revenge over the lives of her family.

Sources:
Bitter Harvest by Ann Rule
Murderpedia, various articles: https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/green-debora.htm
Forensic Files, episode "Tennis and Madness"

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In his play Medea, Euripides wrote the story of a mother scorned. Her husband, Jason left her for another woman and in her fury, Medea murders their children in revenge. As she prepared to poison her sons, she was asked if she was sure, and she said, “Yes, for this is the best way to wound my husband.” A mother, so overtaken with jealousy and hatred that she took the lives of the children that she claimed to love so dearly. Today’s story is about a mother like Medea. Someone who was so overcome with rage and jealousy that she used her innocent children as pawns in a sick game to get revenge on someone else. Join us for the story of an unthinkable multiple murder that shocked Kansas City to the core.

Sources:
Bitter Harvest by Ann Rule
Murderpedia, various articles: https://murderpedia.org/female.G/g/green-debora.htm
Forensic Files, episode "Tennis and Madness"

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In case you haven’t noticed already, we tend to seek out the kind of stories that make your brain hurt. The kind of stuff you wouldn’t believe was real if you didn’t have our solemn word for it. This will be our fourth volume so far of “Stranger than Fiction” stories, cases that are probably gonna wreck your head for the rest of the week, and for this one we’ve chosen a theme: Romance. Love is kind of a big deal for us humans. You can’t turn on the TV for more than five minutes without a love story poppin’ up. Poetry and literature are lousy with the stuff. And music—forget about it. Name me ten songs that aren’t about love or sex or romantic obsession. You’ll do it, but it’s gonna take you a while. So today we’re diving into the wild world of obsessive love—and the bananapants things it can make people do.

Case One: The Lonely Hearts Killers, Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck
Case Two: Nightmare Walkabout, Carolynne Watson and Julian Buchwald

Sources:
Court papers: https://jade.io/article/259257
Australian press: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/nailed-bailed-jailed-then-derailed-the-bush-plot-that-cost-a-man-his-country-20160427-gofuxd.html
https://www.smh.com.au/national/judge-dismisses-kidnap-appeal-as-implausible-20111220-1ugpd.html
All That's Interesting: https://allthatsinteresting.com/lonely-hearts-killers
Various articles, Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/beck-martha.htm

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The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Now, in a special, 4-part series, The Generation Why podcast unravels the story of Kalief Browder. A young boy who was falsely accused of stealing a backpack and held without bail at Rikers Island for 3 years. He endured consistent abuse by prison staff and inmates, and was held in solitary confinement for more than seven hundred consecutive days. This is a story about a young life unfairly caught in the middle of the (in)justice system. Listen to this 4-part series on Kalief’s story by following Generation Why wherever you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/GenWhy-AUDIO?sid=Audio-True_Crime_Campfire-Gen_Why_Mini_-_Kalief_Browder

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I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, the movie “Jaws” scared me silly. Now part of that, obviously, is that it’s about a giant shark eating people, but the shark itself isn’t actually in the movie all that much. What makes it unsettling is the setting, a bright, sunny, all-American town, with a predator lurking unseen just below the surface. Our story this week might take place in the land-locked cornfields of Indiana but it still has a similar theme, a sunny suburban life haunted by an unseen monster. Join us for a chilling story of abduction, misdirection, and murder.

Sources:
Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/in-supreme-court/1287228.html
Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2005-10-16-0510160225-story.html
Associated Press: https://apnews.com/article/852e6f5069180448f7a319cf87e110aa
Investigation Discovery's "Murder in the Heartland," episode "Serial Killer in the Making"

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Nurses often take what they call the Florence Nightingale Pledge at graduation. It goes, in part, like this: “I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug….With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.” A solemn promise, from caregiver to patient, to protect the lives in their care—and above all, to do no harm. Most nurses work hard to stick to that promise. But a few, often managing to slither under the radar for years before they’re caught, do just the opposite. They chose nursing not because they wanted to heal, but because it’s a target-rich environment for them to hunt for prey. This is the story of one of those nurses: Kristen Gilbert.

Sources:
The Boston Globe, multi-part series: https://cache.boston.com/globe/metro/packages/nurse/part1.htm
The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/23/us/former-nurse-on-trial-in-patients-deaths.html
https://sites.google.com/site/shelbymillerkristengilbert/the-victims
All That's Interesting: https://allthatsinteresting.com/kristen-gilbert
Oxygen's "Snapped: Notorious, Kristen Gilbert"

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In his novel “1984,” George Orwell wrote, “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.” The man at the center of this week’s case didn’t manage that—his secrets and troubles gnawed at him constantly—but he did manage to act like he had nothing at all to worry about, sailing serenely downstream while knowing full-well that just around the next bend there was a waterfall that would smash the boat of his life into pieces. Join us for a story of secrets, greed, and personal betrayal on a breathtaking scale.

Sources:

The Hamilton Spectator, 4-part series by Susan Clairmont: https://www.thespec.com/news/crime/2022/11/16/the-teacher-had-scandalous-secrets-when-a-trip-to-greece-threatened-to-expose-his-lies-he-did-the-unthinkable.html

Toronto Star, Susan Clairmont: https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2022/11/16/fake-bank-statements-maxed-credit-cards-piles-of-lies-after-the-fire-a-killers-shocking-secrets-are-revealed.html

Toronto Sun, Jane Stevenson: https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/judge-sentences-monster-to-life-in-prison-for-killing-mom-stepdad

Global News: https://globalnews.ca/news/8929229/richard-taylor-guilty-murder-mother-stepfather/

YouTube, Hamilton Spectator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZlOjBu06hU&ab_channel=TheSpec

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There’s a lot about high-school life that is retrospectively ridiculous. Miss, nobody noticed that microscopic zit on the side of your nose. Sir, that’s not a mustache yet and you should stop trying to pretend it is. But the truth is, when you’re that young you really do feel things deeply, and a lot of things matter far more than they really should. Especially where love is concerned. Looking back, you know perfectly well that that 17-year-old romance was never going anywhere, but when you’re right there and living it, it can be all that matters in the world. You might do anything to protect it. Join us for a story of teenage obsession gone horribly wrong.

Sources:

East Bay Express, "Little Miss Murder" by Susan Goldsmith: https://eastbayexpress.com/little-miss-murder-1/

SF Gate: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/LIVERMORE-Wife-killer-gets-life-sentence-2590335.php

Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1180568.html

Investigation Discovery's "Wicked Attraction," episode "Deadly Rival"

Oxygen's "Killer Couples," episode "Katie Belflower and Mike Simons"

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When we left you at the end of Part 1, angry man-child Elliot Rodger had dropped out of college to avoid contact with all the unattainable blondes on campus, and his plan to win the Mega Millions jackpot and lord it over everyone had failed. In his mind, he’d exhausted all possibilities for revenge against his “enemies,” except for the bloody ones. So he began planning what he called his “Day of Retribution”—a violent showdown with the sexy men and women who had made him feel so inferior all his life, by…I guess, not having sex with him instead of each other. Elliot was coming apart a little more each day, and he was determined to take as many people with him as he could. Join us for part 2 of this sad and infuriating story.

Sources:
BBC - https://tinyurl.com/yc6hewk5
Daily News - https://tinyurl.com/3ey6xkhf
Elliot Rodger manifesto - https://tinyurl.com/2p8wmz4d
BBC - https://tinyurl.com/3jk58y8c
People - https://tinyurl.com/2s468t4j
Daily Mail - https://tinyurl.com/mryvarm2
Time - https://time.com/2798623/elliot-rodger-roommate/
ABC's "20/20," episode "The Secret Life of Elliot Rodger"

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On May 23rd, 2014, the city of Isla Vista California was shocked by a vicious murder spree—six people dead, more than a dozen others injured. The killer was a 22 year old man named Elliot Rodger, whose on-paper resume would never have hinted at anything like this. Born into a well-to-do family with Hollywood connections, blessed with good looks and intelligence and parents who adored him—allowed into exclusive events like movie premieres and fancy industry parties, given every opportunity you could possibly hope for. Dude could have been sailing through life. But for whatever reason, he’d been plagued since childhood with a hyperactive sense of entitlement, a raging narcissism that sent him into a rage at any perceived slight. As he got older, his rage began to focus on one singular obsession: Beautiful women, and the fact that he couldn’t seem to get them to like him. Never mind the fact that he spoke to them like a Roman emperor barking orders at a servant, in his mind hot women should be flocking to him, offering him their bodies as tribute to his magnificence. He was, after all, a “Supreme Gentleman.” And when they showed interest in other guys instead, it was war. Now, plenty of us have experienced sexual rejection. Most of us, in fact. But for Elliot, it became the sole focus of his life, fueling a rage that would consume him, and take innocent people with him. Join us for Part 1 of this frustrating story.

Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-44053828 https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/02/us/elliot-rodger-killings-in-california-followed-years-of-withdrawal.html https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/maniac-writes-manifesto-prior-deadly-rampage-article-1.1805474 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sheriff-calif-shooter-rodger-flew-under-the-radar-when-deputies-visited-him-in-april/2014/05/25/88123026-e3b4-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html https://www.kron4.com/news/elliot-rodger-rehearsed-killing-roommates-before-ucsb-rampage/ https://www.cnn.com/2014/05/26/justice/california-elliot-rodger-timeline https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1173808-elliot-rodger-manifesto https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-27593514 https://people.com/crime/5-years-later-remembering-the-6-student-victims-of-the-isla-vista-killings/ https://www.kxan.com/stop-mass-shootings/data-mass-shooter-profiles-weapons-and-warning-signs/ Mass Shootings by Schildkraut and Elsass https://www.theviolenceproject.org GUNS AND CONTROL BY GUY SMITH The Violence Project by Peterson and Densley
ABC's "20/20," episode "The Secret Life of Elliot Rodger"

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The Rolling Stones released “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” in 1965, when I’m pretty sure Mick Jagger could get all the satisfaction he wanted, but that’s neither here nor there. The song has been striking a chord with countless listeners for going on 60 years since because people recognize what it’s about either in themselves or others, that relentless unquenchable appetite for SOMETHING, whether it be money, attention, whatever. It’s a part of human nature that can get someone into a whole lot of trouble. Join us for the story of a woman who couldn't get enough, and the good man who had to suffer for her greed.

Sources:
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cory-voss-killing-how-ncis-investigators-unraveled-a-navy-officers-atm-homicide/ https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-4th-circuit/1622926.html
Stripes.com: https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2021-11-29/army-veteran-hitman-naval-officer-death-row-new-sentencing-3796190.html
https://militaryjusticeforall.com/tag/cory-voss/
Oxygen's "Snapped," episode “Catherina Voss”
Investigation Discovery's "Wicked Attraction," episode “Sex, Lies and Bloody Goodbyes”

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When we left you at the end of part 1, con man Christopher Hightower was coming unglued. His wife was threatening to leave him. His landlords were threatening to kick him out of his office. Creditors were swarming. And his old friend Ernie Brendel was pursuing a formal complaint against him with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Can you imagine? All he did was commit a little light financial fraud! In Chris’s mind, the whole world was out to get him. And he was about to strike back in a way that would bring the small town of Barrington Rhode Island to its knees. Join us for part 2 of this unbelievable and tragic story.

Sources:
Death of an Angel: A True Story of a Vicious Triple Murder That Broke the Heart of a Town, by Don Davis
Court papers: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/state-v-hightower-895304220
The Providence Journal: https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2021/01/26/rhode-island-murderer-christopher-hightower-killed-brendel-ernest-alice-emily/4264836001/
LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-10-mn-1885-story.html
British true crime series "World's Most Evil Killers," episode "Christopher Hightower"

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In the late summer of 1991, the tranquil little town of Barrington, Rhode Island was stunned by the disappearance of an entire family: Ernie and Alice Brendel and their 8 year old daughter Emily. As the story unfolded, it just got weirder and weirder. Mafia hit squads, bizarre murder weapons, a mysterious figure called “The Lynx?” And the town was left to unravel a mystery that was truly stranger than fiction: A tale of greed, arrogance, and elaborate deception. Join us for Part 1--and Part 2 next week!

Sources:
Death of an Angel: A True Story of a Vicious Triple Murder That Broke the Heart of a Town, by Don Davis
Court papers: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/state-v-hightower-895304220
The Providence Journal: https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2021/01/26/rhode-island-murderer-christopher-hightower-killed-brendel-ernest-alice-emily/4264836001/
LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-10-mn-1885-story.html
British true crime series "World's Most Evil Killers," episode "Christopher Hightower"

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There’s a famous, if frequently misquoted, line from the 17th century play, The Mourning Bride: “Heaven has no rage, like love to hatred turned—Nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned.” It’s famous because people recognize the truth in it, that betrayal in love can create in a person an obsessive rage that can lead to some very dark places. It’s a tale as old as crime. A murder plot forged out of fury and hurt, and a whole series of bizarre events leading up to it.

Sources:
http://www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us/Documents/Case_updates/Htm/066600.html https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/content/download/339899/file/08-1813_response.pdf https://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-supreme-court/1496855.html https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/blood-relatives/4-women-and-a-funeral
A&E's "American Justice," Season 13, Episode 28, “The Wrath of Mrs. Jones”

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If there’s one group of folks we identify with here at True Crime Campfire, it’s nerds. Between Katie and me, we cover about six or seven different subspecies of nerd over here, from Dungeons and Dragons nerd to anime nerd. True crime nerd goes without saying. And as we’ve said before, most of the time our people are harmless, peaceful types. Just give us a special edition Blu-Ray box set of the Lord of the Rings and a pantry full of snacks, and we’ll cause nobody any trouble. But sometimes, for a certain type of personality, a preoccupation with fantasy can be…not such a good thing. Pair that with narcissism and a lack of empathy for other humans, and you’ve got a recipe for some real megalomaniac wackiness. The kind that’s so convinced of its capital-D Destiny that it starts to think it’s entitled to take whatever it wants. No matter what kind of damage it does to anybody else. Join us for the story of Seth Mazzaglia and Kat McDonough, a mismatched pair of theatre geeks who believed they shared a cosmic destiny, but whose selfish desires ended in the death of an innocent young woman.

Sources:
Dark Heart: A True Story of Sex, Manipulation, and Murder by Kevin Flynn and Rebecca Lavoie
CBS' 48 Hours, episode "Dangerous Games"
https://www.fosters.com/story/news/crime/2016/09/21/murder-victim-lizzi-marriotts-sexual-privacy-case-hits-supreme-court/25404495007/
Trial footage

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The fable of the wolf in sheep’s clothing has always been one of my favorites. You know the one—A hungry wolf can’t get close enough to grab a sheep for dinner because the shepherd is so vigilant. But one day he finds a sheepskin, and slips it on. Now he just looks like one of the flock. He can slip right in among ‘em. And when the shepherd’s back is turned, bam. Dinnertime. Now that is a perfect murder metaphor. How many cases have we seen where a predator manages to hide in plain sight, cloaked by his ability to seem like a super nice guy? More than I can count. And here’s another one. Join us for the story of Tim Wicks, a kindhearted musician with a close circle of friends, who set off for a new adventure in Canada, only to disappear without a trace. When Tim's name later popped up in North Dakota as an accountant under investigation for embezzlement, his friends were baffled. Was Tim living a double life? Or was something more sinister at work?

Sources:
Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nd-supreme-court/1106318.html https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14082874
Journal Sentinel, "Fatal Identity: A Five-Part Series" by Gina Barton: https://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/Fatal-Identity-364036301.html/
NBC News, "The Tale of Two Timothy Wicks": https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14082874
Oxygen's A Lie to Die For, Episode “A Stolen Life”
Investigation Discovery's To Catch a Killer, Episode “The Real Tim Wicks”

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Hosted by Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart from the hit show Morbid.When 90-year-old Laurence Pilgeram drops dead on the sidewalk outside his condo, you might think that’s the end of his story. But, really, it’s just the beginning. Because Laurence and others like him have signed up to be frozen and brought back to life in the future. And that belief will pull multiple generations of the Pilgeram family into a cryonics soap opera filled with dead pets, gold coins, grenades, fist fights, mysterious packages, family feuds, Hall of Fame baseball legends, and frozen heads — lots of frozen heads. From Wondery, comes a story about life, death, and what comes next.Follow Frozen Head on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App. Listen to Frozen Head: Wondery.fm/FH_TCCamp





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Remember those Magic Eye posters from the 90s? The technical name is stereogram, an optical illusion where if you kinda unfocus your eyes and stare at it long enough, a colorful kaleidoscope-looking abstract will turn into something else. A rocket ship, maybe, or a tropical landscape. They’re fun, and everybody had one in their dorm room for a while. We’re always fascinated by illusion. It’s why magicians are so popular. In the right context, we love to watch something transform into something totally different. But when that something is a person we’ve come to care about and trust? Not so fun anymore.

Sources:
https://www.grunge.com/926587/larene-austins-motive-for-murdering-lanell-barsock-explained/
https://truecrimedaily.com/2016/05/31/woman-leaves-false-clues-in-lovers-murder-caught-after-escape-to-belize/
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/dateline-the-last-day-larene-austin-convicted-killing-lanell-barsock
Investigation Discovery's "In Plain Sight," episode "Red Hot Murder"
NBC's "Dateline: The Last Day," episode "The Case of LaNell Barsock"

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In 1991, the small town of Derry, New Hampshire suddenly found itself the center of a media event: The trial of Pamela Smart, the pretty blond media services director at the local high school. From the outside looking in, Pam had seemed to be firmly on track for the American Dream. She and her handsome husband Greg were just about to celebrate their first anniversary, and Pam had aspirations to be a TV reporter. But behind the scenes, their marriage was crumbling—and Pam was becoming much too closely involved with one of her students at the high school. When Greg turned up murdered, it looked at first glance like a burglary gone bad…and that’s just how Pam wanted it to look. But the problem with murder conspiracies is, people tend to talk. Especially when some of those people are fifteen years old. And when the truth finally came to the surface, the little town of Derry would never be the same again.

Sources:
Teach Me to Kill by Stephen Sawicki
https://www.crimelibrary.org/notorious_murders/family/smart/1.html https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/pamela-smart-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-smart-marriage/ https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/show/pamela-smart-an-american-murder-mystery-investigation-discovery-atve-us

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In game theory, there’s this thing called the Hawk-Dove game, better known to most of us as “chicken.” It’s when two players get themselves into a sort of standoff—a situation where it would be better for everybody if somebody would back down, but nobody wants to be the first to give up. So they both just keep going, with no regard for their personal safety, until finally—hopefully—somebody’ll say uncle at the last possible second. It happens on the road sometimes—often with bloody results. And sometimes, it happens in business. Join us for a story of pure greed and ego, set against the unlikely backdrop of the horse-drawn carriage business in 90s Kansas City, Missouri.

Sources:
Court papers: https://casetext.com/case/us-v-ldonna
Kansas City Star: https://account.kansascity.com/paywall/subscriber-only?resume=217844680&intcid=ab_archive
Kansas City Pitch: https://www.thepitchkc.com/carriage-lady-returns/
CBS' "Pink Collar Crimes," Episode "Clash of the Carriages"

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Lao Tzu wrote: If you wish to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you wish to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation. This inspirational quote was posted on April 30th, 2013 on the Facebook page of Diane Staudte, a woman who many in her community may have considered an inspiration herself. A talented musician, a trained cardiac nurse, a mother of four and an essential member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church. And she was an even greater inspiration if you considered that in the past year, she had lost not only her husband, but her 26 year old son to sudden death. It makes sense, then, that Diane would be thinking about self-transformation right then. Making a new life out of the ashes of the old one. But no one could have realized how drastically she wanted to transform her life, and how far she would go to do it.

Sources:
20/20 - A Family Plot
https://abcnews.go.com/US/missouri-woman-recalls-moment-suspected-mom-kill/story?id=38036627 https://abcnews.go.com/US/mother-convicted-poisoning-family-maintains-innocence/story?id=82780856 https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2016/08/02/citing-fear-men-staudte-daughter-wants-do-over-antifreeze-murder-case/87966600/

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Linda Ronstadt sang "Love is a rose, but you better not pick it--only grows when it's on the vine." It's a song about how love only flourishes when tended to, when you don't pick and choose which parts of the whole to love. When you love the roots and thorns and leaves as much as the flower. For some, though, love is less like a rose and more like a burdock. Y'know? Those thorny little buggers that stick to your clothes? They stick to you and never let you go, even when you've picked them off the fabric and tried to throw them out. For them, love isn't something that you give up easily. For them, it can be deadly. Join us for the story of Ryan Poston, whose on-again/off-again romance with a beautiful grad student named Shayna Hubers turned into a nightmare of stalking, harassment, and murder. This case has striking similarities to the Jodi Arias story, and interestingly enough, the killer herself was obsessed with the Arias trial.

Sources:
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/ryan-poston-murder-part-1-breaking-point-1/
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/ryan-poston-murder-part-2-obsessed-1/
ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/US/shayna-hubers-granted-trial-juror-helped-convict-revealed/story?id=41661246
CBS's "48 Hours," episode "Breaking Point"
CBS's "48 Hours," episode "Obsessed"
Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Shayna Hubers"
Lifetime's "Cellmate Secrets" episode "Shayna Hubers"

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In the early 90s, north Texas was hit with a rash of bank robberies, all featuring a quirky-looking, mustached bandit the feds called Cowboy Bob. Bob was prolific, and his MO was smoother than silk—no muss, no fuss, in and out in 60 seconds with a satchel full of cash. The FBI figured they were dealing with a pro, a man with years of heists under his belt and nerves of chilled steel. They couldn’t have been more wrong…and in more ways than one. Join us for the tale of one of America’s strangest serial bank robbers, whose criminal career wasn’t so much about the money as it was about the thrill.

Sources:
Texas Monthly, Skip Hollandsworth: https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/the-last-ride-of-cowboy-bob/
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/forbidden/cowgirl-bob
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna10367955
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/may/06/bank-robber-shot-dead-in-texas/

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Whitney has been sick this week, so we're giving everyone a little taste of what our Patreon-exclusive episodes are like. This one is from March 2021--the story of Grace Dillman and Robert Best, a couple of lovestruck teenagers who met in an online roleplaying game and ended up plotting bloody murder.

Want more exclusive extra episodes? Subscribe to our Patreon, at Patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire

Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ohio-teen-boyfriend-charged-in-alleged-plot-to-kill-her-parents/
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2013/06/22/stabbing-girlfriend-s-father-nets/23766718007/
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2013/08/08/teen-gets-probation-for-plot/23977977007/
Investigation Discovery's "Web of Lies," episode "One Way Out"

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Thanksgiving weekend is supposed to be a time to reflect on the blessings in our lives—especially the people we care about. Sure, you might end up in an argument or two around the dinner table, but hopefully by the time dessert comes out everybody’s over it and feelin’ lucky to be there. You wouldn’t expect, sitting around the table with the people closest to you, that one of them was biding his time, planning out your murder, step by step. Hiding death behind the smile. But that’s exactly what happened in this story. Join us for a story of lies, lust, greed, and a series of murder attempts disguised as "accidents."

Sources:
The Sweater Letter by Dave and Lynn Distel
A&E's "American Justice," episode "The Deer Hunter Murder"

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Joseph Campbell wrote, “It is only when a man tames his own demons that he becomes the king of himself, if not the world.” Problem is, sometimes there’s a thin line between “hero” and “hero complex.” Adoration and attention aren’t always good for people. After a while, they can start to believe so strongly in their own PR that they lose all sense of reality. And protecting the image can become the most important thing in their lives, crowding out everybody, and everything. I’d say this is the story of a fallen hero. But the fact is, he was never really a hero in the first place. He was just wearing the mask.

Join us for the story of Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, or as his admirers called him, G.I. Joe--a former paratrooper and 30 year veteran of the Fox Lake, Illinois police. A local celebrity and family man who devoted his time to the Boy Scout "Police Explorers" club and maintained an impeccable reputation...until his shocking death in 2015. What initially looked like a murder--an officer cut down in the line of duty--soon revealed itself as something very different, and revealed Joe Gliniewicz to be a villain in disguise.

Sources:
https://www.fox29.com/news/disturbing-new-details-emerge-in-probe-of-disgraced-fox-lake-cop
Michael Martinez, CNN special report "The Secret Life of GI Joe"
https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/us/fox-lake-police-lt-joe-gliniewicz
ABC: https://abc7chicago.com/melodie-gliniewicz-joe-fox-lake-police-guilty/11577785/
NBC, Joe Schuppe: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officer-joe-gliniewiczs-dark-double-life-leaves-village-shock-n458821
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/bad-fox-lake-town-official-killed-article-1.2424992
CNBC's "American Greed," Episode "Badge of Dishonor"
Investigation Discovery's "Married With Secrets," episode "A Darker Shade of Blue"

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Sometimes, there’s no easy way out of the dark place you find yourself in, especially if that dark place puts you under the control of someone stronger than you, someone dangerous and unpredictable. And as much as you might fantasize about action-movie struggles and daring escapes, there are other ways to fight back. You can use your smarts and your courage to decide on a course of action that’ll give you the best chance of survival, and stick to it no matter what. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is just keep going. Join us for an amazing story of stalking, obsession, rage...and incredible courage.

Sources:
Investigation Discovery's "House of Horrors," episode "Terror By the Letter"
Investigation Discovery's "Escaped," episode "Obsessed Kidnapper"
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/house-of-horrors-kidnapped/terror-by-the-letter
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/escaped/obsessed-kidnapper
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/fl-district-court-of-appeal/1142978.html
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2007-11-21-cfbriefs21-3-story.html
https://www.naag.org/attorney-general-journal/an-update-on-the-legal-landscape-of-revenge-porn/#:~:text=In%202017%2C%20the%20number%20of,an%20increase%20of%20over%20100%25.&text=In%202019%2C%20a%20larger%20study,number%20of%20victims%20from%202016.

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A hiker terrorized for days by two unknown figures… A man stalked through the woods while camping, who barely escaped with his life… two cops who quit their job at a local theater because of unexplained encounters with an alleged demon…

These are just some of the unbelievable cases you’ll hear on the MrBallen Podcast on Amazon Music. Each week you’ll get new inexplicable encounters, shocking disappearances and other strange, dark and mysterious stories.

Hey Prime Members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast, MRBALLEN PODCAST: STRANGE, DARK & MYSTERIOUS STORIES, in the Amazon Music App. Download the app today: www.amazon.com/BALL_us_pfd_AA_110122

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Y’know, between Hollywood, books and TV, humans have got some pretty weird ideas about romantic love. If she turns you down, keep at her—make a grand romantic gesture to let her know you’re not goin’ away! If he’s jealous, it just means he really loves you. If he doesn’t want you dressing sexy, it’s just because he’s protective. Okay, we might fight all the time, but that’s just because we’re passionate. REAL love is like that, you know. Sure it's a little suffocating sometimes when she wants me to spend every spare minute with her—sure I’m losing touch with some of my friends, but I mean…I’m the only good thing in her life! I can’t leave her like everybody else in her life always has. Any of this sound familiar? Yeah, I figured. This stuff can play out in a lot of different ways, of course. Not every story like this is gonna end in murder. But this one does.

Join us for the story of Brittney Brashers, a beautiful young Iraq War veteran and athlete who had her whole life ahead of her--until she met Robbie Walters, whose charming and funny exterior hid a heart full of poison.

Sources:
CBS "48 Hours," Episode "Collision Course"
https://www.westword.com/news/a-veteran-charged-with-killing-his-girlfriend-robert-walters-also-put-a-hit-on-his-wife-say-police-5113439?showFullText=true
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/investigating-the-death-of-brittney-brashers/17/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/was-young-airmans-death-a-tragic-accident-or-murder/

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For more than three and a half decades, the disappearance of 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews was a mystery – a riddle neither authorities nor her family members could solve. The residents of her cloistered Colorado hometown had scoured every inch of prairie. Jonelle’s face had been on milk cartons nationwide. Even the President of the United States had appealed to the public for help. Still, every lead had fizzled. Every person of interest had turned out to be a dead end.

Then, in 2019, Jonelle’s remains were unearthed near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. With the discovery came a troubling new question: Had the truth been hiding in plain sight the entire time? Was the man who couldn’t stop obsessing over Jonelle’s disappearance also the person who took her? From Campside Media and Wondery comes season two of SUSPECT. Former CNN reporter Ashley Fantz and executive producers Matthew Shaer and Eric Benson (Suspect, Over My Dead Body) dig into one of the most mind-bending cold cases in modern history, in an attempt to separate fact and fiction, compulsion from guilt, and true-crime fandom from a motive for murder.

Hey Prime Members, listen to the Amazon Music exclusive podcast, SUSPECT: Vanished in the Snow, in the Amazon Music App. Download the app today. http://www.amazon.com/SUS_us_pfd_AA_110122.

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If you’re a parent, then you’ve probably spent a lot of time imagining nightmare scenarios for your kids. Y’know, you lose sight of them in Target for a couple of minutes, your mind starts to go in all kinds of awful directions. You’re careful about who they spend time with, you watch what they’re up to online. You make sure they know they can talk to you about anything. But the raw fact is, you can’t keep your kids in a bubble. You can wall off all the obvious angles of attack, but sometimes the danger comes completely out of nowhere. Sometimes, the threat is something nobody could have ever seen coming. Join us for the story of one of California's most startling crimes--the abduction of an entire bus full of children, and their driver.

Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/18/frederick-woods-kidnapped-school-bus-children-parole/10356066002/
https://www.discoveryplus.com/video/house-of-horrors-kidnapped/buried-alive
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/48-hours-live-to-tell-the-chowchilla-kidnapping-2020/#x
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/us/ed-ray-bus-driver-who-helped-save-kidnapped-children-dies-at-91.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/23/archives/quarry-owners-son-called-a-loner-fond-of-old-cars.html
https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/05/archives/a-puzzling-portrait-of-key-coast-kidnapping-suspect.html
https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Buried-Memories-Twenty-years-after-three-men-3773683.php
https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/30/archives/new-jersey-pages-2-fugitives-seized-in-the-abduction-of-26-children.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/chowchilla-kidnapping-parole.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/11/12/healthtalk-children-and-the-aftermath-of-trauma/409ebd0c-10bf-46e7-af42-4a2dff32d3e6/

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There’s a phenomenon in psychology called decentering. Basically, it means understanding that you’re viewing the world through your own little perceptual filters, and beginning to wrap your head around the fact that you are not, in fact, the center of the universe—the main character in the movie of the world. This is important stuff. Without it, people tend to be, at best, selfish a-holes, and at worst—well, we’re about to find out. Join us for the story of one of Arizona’s most disturbing murder mysteries—a tale of greed, glamour, and a woman, Marjorie Orbin, who was incapable of seeing herself as anything else but a star.

Sources:
Book, "Dancing With Death” by Shanna Hogan
CBS's 48 Hours: Hard Evidence, Episode “Diary of a Showgirl”
Oxygen's Snapped, Season 12 Episode 10, “Marjorie Orbin”
Investigation Discovery's Scorned: Love Kills, Season 1 Episode 6, “The Showgirl and The Salesman”

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The Generation Why Podcast released its first episode in 2012 and pioneered the true crime genre in the podcasting world. Two friends, Aaron & Justin, break down theories and give their opinions on unsolved murders, controversies, mysteries and conspiracies. One of the longest running true crime podcasts out there, Generation Why has a little something for every true crime listener. Follow The Generation Why Podcast on Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or you can listen ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. wondery.fm/TCC_GenWhy

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In the original Bram Stoker novel, vampire Count Dracula uses mysterious mind-control powers to feed his insatiable need for blood. He doesn’t always hunt alone—he prefers to use hapless humans as tools to get what he wants. For such an old story, it sure does match up with the kind of manipulation we tend to see in the real-life cases we cover. And in Brisbane, Australia in 1989, life would imitate art in an almost literal way, as an obsessed young woman drew three others into her murderous web.

Sources:
Daily Telegraph: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/crime-week-dark-secrets-of-australias-lesbian-vampire-murderer/news-story/83ed596770511fa459c4a7feab36ce1c
Moving Targets: Women, Murder and Representation, 1993, chapter "Biting the Hand That Breeds: The Trials of Tracey Wigginton" by Deb Verhoeven
Murderpedia, various articles: https://murderpedia.org/female.W/w/wigginton-tracey.htm
BBC's "Great Crimes and Trials," episode "The Lesbian Vampire Killers"

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It’s spooky season, campers, and what’s a better way to celebrate than to dig into some urban legends? You know the ones we’re talking about—the razor blades in the Halloween candy, the call coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE, Bloody Mary in the mirror. That kinda stuff. We all have our favorites. But what happens when the legend comes true? Do some of these stories have roots in real crimes? Well, we’re gonna find out—and who better to help us than Joshua Zeman, award-winning director of our *favorite* true crime documentaries, "Killer Legends" and "Cropsey?" This is “Legend Has It,” a Halloween Special Event.

Legend: Poisoned Halloween Candy

True Case: The Man Who Ruined Halloween, Ronald O'Bryan

Legend: The Bunny Man

True Case: The Murder of Doreen Erbert

Legend: A Corpse in the Haunted House

True Case: Outlaw Elmer McCurdy

Sources:
"Killer Legends," 2014 documentary film by Joshua Zeman for Chiller
https://medium.com/@crimewaffles/william-michael-dennis-the-murderer-in-the-wolf-mask-4ec6ebeb8f59
https://research.fairfaxcounty.gov/local-history/bunnyman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Man
https://research.fairfaxcounty.gov/local-history/bunnyman
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/26/books/where-s-elmer.html

https://www.npr.org/2015/01/09/376097471/the-long-strange-60-year-trip-of-elmer-mccurdy
https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/elmer-mccurdy/
https://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2014/04/11/the_corpse_of_elmer_mccurdy_and_how_it_ended_up_in_a_long_beach_fun_park.html
Joshua Zeman: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0954722/

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Marcus Aurelius once wrote, “A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” Most of us want to aim high in our lives, chase our sparkliest dreams. Today’s story focuses on a man who had big ambitions—and unlike most of us, he was born into the kind of wealth that could have opened just about any door in the world for him. From the time he could talk, his parents made sure he knew he was their little golden princeling, a chosen one entitled to take the world by storm—shoot through life like a comet. He could have become anything he wanted. But what he wanted to be was a killer. Join us for the story of one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers, Dellen Millard, and his partner in crime Mark Smich.

Sources:
Anne Brocklehurst, Deadly Ambition
CBC's "The Fifth Estate," episode "The Murders of Dellen Millard"
Dr. Joni Johnston, Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-equation/201901/the-case-serial-killer-dellen-millard#:~:text=Dellen%20was%20an%20only%20child,of%20roofs%20at%20pool%20parties.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42375159
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5194930/dellen-millard-murder-laura-babcock-tim-bosma-mark-smich-christina-noudga-letters/
https://globalnews.ca/news/4480285/decision-trial-dellen-millard-father/
https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/parole-revoked-for-man-who-sold-guns-to-triple-killer-dellen-millard
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/dellen-millard-2
https://www.truecrimeedition.com/post/dellen-millard
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-dellen-millard-1.4988378#:~:text=Millard%20was%20found%20guilty%20in,able%20to%20apply%20for%20parole.
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/11/18/the-israeli-army-vet-who-escaped-tim-bosmas-fate.html?rf
https://globalnews.ca/news/560553/tim-bosma-a-timeline-of-the-police-investigation/
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/06/17/man-who-went-for-test-drive-before-tim-bosma-considers-himself-lucky.html
https://annrbrocklehurst.wordpress.com/2017/12/12/my-sweet-serial-killer-wrote-dellen-millards-girlfriend/
https://annrbrocklehurst.wordpress.com/2016/11/23/farewell-christina-noudga-whos-taken-a-plea-deal-will-work-for-human-rights/

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Life imitates art sometimes, or so the saying goes. And it’s true, no doubt about it. But you’re not always gonna get a masterwork. Sometimes, life imitates trashy art instead. With this story, we get the real-life equivalent of, like, a velvet Elvis—or more accurately, a season of “Days of Our Lives.” Join us for the story of one of Florida’s most scandalous murder cases—the “trial of the century” of the mid-60s. It’s basically a soap opera come to life, starring a glamorous socialite who could charm the paint off the walls, her rich but ruthless husband, and her dashing young lover—who had a secret that would knock genteel Key Biscayne sideways.

Sources:
Texas Monthly, Skip Hollandsworth: The Notorious Mrs. Mossler: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-notorious-mrs-mossler/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Mossler
https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/jacques-mossler-his-wife-and-nephew-murdered-him-to-inherit-200-million-4d6209fec435
Investigation Discovery's "A Crime to Remember," episode "Candyland"

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Literature is full of snakes in the grass masquerading as friends. Shakespeare’s evil bastard Iago is disgruntled about his boss Othello passing him over for a promotion and giving it to Cassio instead. So he manipulates Othello into thinking his wife is having an affair with the guy. A pretty clever way to drive a wedge between the boss and his favorite employee—and to position himself as Othello’s most trusted adviser, while secretly tearing him down. There are lots more examples: Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings, The Talented Mr. Ripley…It’s seductive to have a trusted adviser, someone who seems to admire you and have only your best interests at heart. But sometimes those indispensable sidekicks can have their own hidden agendas. Sometimes they’re not so much weaving a safety net, as they are building a web. And if you’re not careful, you can walk right into it and never come out again. Join us for the story of Anne Trovato, whose friendship with a self-proclaimed "psychic" and her daughter led to the brutal murder of her mother.

Sources:
Telegram: https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/north/2007/09/27/dna-points-to-accused-in/52784450007/
The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/08/nyregion/08teacher.html
Court documents: https://casetext.com/case/people-v-trovato-4
Oxygen's "Snapped," Episode "Anne Trovato"
Investigation Discovery's "Death By Gossip," Episode "Mother's Day Murder"
Investigation Discovery's "True Conviction," Episode "Mother's Day Murder"

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People are always intrigued by intelligent criminals. We say stuff like “If she’d only put that genius and energy into something good, she’d have been a huge success.” And it’s true, it really is. But the thing is, some people just live for the con. It’s in their blood—they can’t imagine doing anything else. In every situation, they’re looking for the angle, the way to turn everything to their advantage and put one over on everybody else in the process. Join us for the story of a born con artist whose quest for thrills turned deadly—the only case we’ve ever heard of with both a fake kidnapping and a real one.

Sources:
Court paperwork: https://law.justia.com/cases/ohio/eighth-district-court-of-appeals/2004/2004-ohio-136.html
Scene Magazine, Andrew Putz: https://www.clevescene.com/news/mastermind-or-moron-1481119
CNN/Court TV: http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/02/11/ctv.jenkins.trial/
Cleveland Magazine, Eric Trickey: https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/politics/articles/aaron-phillips'-deal-with-the-devil
Investigation Discovery's "Murder By the Book," episode "Faye Kellerman"

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A beautiful bride, married only 8 days before drowning in the river under mysterious circumstances. A young woman on a sunny walk, accepting a ride from a friendly stranger and ending up in a real-life nightmare. A strange fire. A new groom with a gash on the head. A NASA engineer who blends in perfectly until it’s time to let the monster out. Murder or suicide? Abductor or serial killer? Man, or vampire? Join us for a grab bag of bizarre stories: The mystery of "Eight-Day Bride" Christina Kettlewell, whose 1947 death baffled Canada, and the horrifying true story of John Crutchley, a real life "vampire" who may have been one of America's most prolific serial killers.

Sources:
https://thetruecrimefiles.com/christina-kettlewell-murder/
https://the-mystique.medium.com/murder-or-suicide-mystery-of-the-8-day-bride-5b1121f7451c
https://buzzfeed-unsolved.fandom.com/wiki/The_Mysterious_Death_Of_The_Eight_Day_Bride
https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/objects/262810/barries-friend-and-husband-of-the-dead-bride-jack-kettlewe
https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/crutchley-john.htm
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1996-10-13-9610120412-story.html

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From our earliest days, some people know exactly who they are. They’re just…comfortable in their own skin. They know who and what they want to be, and they go after it, and shine. Air Force Captain Marty Theer was one of those people. His plans for his life were pretty simple: He wanted to fly, and he wanted to be a husband and a dad. For a while, it seemed like everything was clicking into place perfectly to give him the life he always wanted. Married his high school sweetheart, rose fast in the ranks of the Air Force, and spent most of his days way up in the clear blue sky. But he didn’t bargain for the storm clouds that were brewing in the heart of the woman he loved.

Sources:
The Officer’s Wife by Michael Fleeman
Dateline NBC S19 E10, “Deadly Ambush”
https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/asset/tv/snapped-killer-couples/7751525996455149112
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-court-of-appeals/1201672.html
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=125624&page=1
https://www.osi.af.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/2311497/the-murder-of-capt-marty-theer/

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Here are some facts about identical twins: They start to bond with each other before they’re even born. As they grow up, they often develop their own secret languages, comprehensible only to them. Many report a deep psychic bond, so strong that if one twin gets into a car crash on the other side of the country, the other twin will somehow know. The bond between twins is one of the strongest, most unbreakable, most mysterious connections in the human experience. They even share the same DNA. In most cases, the twin bond is a rare, even enviable blessing. But there can be such a thing as too much closeness, where the thread between twins becomes more like a strangling vine, binding them together so tightly that neither one can escape.

Sources:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00RXLA3QA/ref=atv_dp_season_select_s3
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/heather-dewild-will-her-killer-get-away-with-murder/
https://kdvr.com/news/daniel-dewild-sentenced-to-75-years-in-killing-of-estranged-wife/
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/judge-sentences-daniel-dewild-to-74-years-behind-bars/
https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/i/cbslocal/wp-content/uploads/sites/15909806/2011/12/final-dewild-indictment.pdf

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When Emily Gellis hears rumors of people suffering horrible side effects from a trendy diet she springs into action. Armed with over a hundred thousand Instagram followers, Emily launches a social media crusade to expose F-Factor and its founder, Tanya Zuckerbrot. It’s the start of a feud that will attract trolls, lawyers, and, eventually, national media all because of fiber. From Wondery, this is a story about wealth, wellness, and influence hosted by Casey Wilson.

Listen to Fed Up: wondery.fm/TCC_FedUp

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I read a book once about the inner workings of Wall Street. I don’t really like to talk about it—I still get a little nauseous when I think about it. Yechh. One of the most memorable bits, though, was an interview with an investment banker who said, with a total lack of irony, “What good does it do me to make ten million if the guy down the hall is making twenty?” When the author said, “Well…okay, but when is it enough?” the guy looked at him like he’d just grown a second head. “Enough? It’s never enough.” That right there, campers, is the engine that drives some of the worst stuff in the world. And there’s no shortage of assholes in the clown car—some of whom are more than willing to resort to fraud to get there. Join us for the story of Dawn Bennett, a woman who rose to fame as one of the "best" financial advisors in the country, then crashed and burned spectacularly, despite her efforts to put curses on the SEC agents coming after her for fraud. Yeah, you read that right: Curses.

Sources:
CNBC's "American Greed," episode "The Luxury Curse Scam"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dawn-bennett-ponzi-scheme-suspect-paid-720k-for-prayers-by-hindu-priests-in-india/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2019/10/04/when-a-financial-advisor-turned-to-hoodoo-spells/?sh=514afa3146bb
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/dj-bennett-brings-luxury-to-sporting-goods/2012/12/23/3c9a365e-43cc-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html
https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/former-financial-advisor-sentenced-20-years-federal-prison-her-conviction-17-federal
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-cr-maryland-investment-adviser-sentenced-0801-20190801-ueewer72wnglvdpwimudumebje-story.html
https://www.sec.gov/alj/aljdec/2016/id1033jeg.pdf
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2017/comp23922.pdf
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/how-to-find-a-financial-advisor-who-wont-make-your-money-disappear.html

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We’ve seen it a hundred times by now—evil comes in many different forms. Sometimes, you can see it coming a mile away. But sometimes it’ll look like a million dollars, dressed to the nines and fluttering its eyelashes at you, making you feel like you’re the only guy in the room. Stay frosty out there, fellas. Evil comes in many shapes, and sometimes they’re extra pleasing. Join us for the story of one of America's scariest female serial killers, a woman whose sophisticated exterior hid a heart of blackest darkness.

Sources:
Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-11-14-8503180695-story.html
Michael Newton, An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers: Hunting Humans
Investigation Discovery's "Diabolical," Episode "The Devil Wears False Eyelashes"
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/state/2019/08/23/last-meals-of-gary-ray-bowles-danny-rolling-and-others-executed-by-state-of-florida/4395061007/
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1998-03-31-9803310252-story.html
http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/buenoano450.htm
https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/buenoano-judy.htm
https://law.justia.com/cases/florida/supreme-court/1988/68091-0.html
https://casetext.com/case/buenoano-v-state-1
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1671479/state-v-buenoano/?

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It’s become a cliché in the telling of murder stories that someone will always say “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen here.” Somehow, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, we’re good at convincing ourselves that there are safe zones…places that are immune to the darker shades of the human soul. Most of us—at least, the ones who make a study of darkness—know better by now. But even for us, there are some communities that do seem unlikely to wind up on a true crime podcast. Unlikely, maybe. But nevertheless, here we are. Join us for a story of devotion, deception, lust and betrayal, against the unexpected backdrop of the Amish country.

Sources:
Investigation Discovery, A Murder in Amish Country, ep. A Twisted Confession
Inmate profile and criminal complaint against Samuel Borntreger: https://www.insideprison.com/state-inmate-search.asp?lnam=Borntreger&fnam=Samuel%20H&county=&st_abb=MO&id=2025969725
Horror History: https://horrorhistory.net/2020/12/04/man-kills-his-wife-with-antifreeze-and-battery-acid/
https://www.scribd.com/doc/295500611/Samuel-Borntreger-Criminal-Complaint?irclickid=35FTDSWZszbEW4P3jgQVdWKAUkD3r7z1sxfsw40&irpid=10078&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=affiliate_pdm_acquisition_Skimbit%20Ltd.&sharedid=huffpost.com&irgwc=1
KTTN news: https://www.kttn.com/samuel-borntreger-could-face-additional-charges-of-child-abuse-and-sexual-misconduct/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amish-minister-confesses-to-killing-wife-9-years-ago-cops_n_5697cf0de4b0b4eb759d6db3

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David Foster Wallace once wrote that the truth will set you free, but not until it’s finished with you. Every time we tell a lie, we put it on our tab. That may work out for a while, but eventually the bill is gonna come due. And when that time comes, you better make sure you’ve got the money in the bank. Otherwise, your whole life’s gonna get repo’ed, and you’ll be there just standing in the wreckage. Especially if, like the guy in this week’s story, you’ve built your whole life on a lie.

Sources:
CBS' 48 Hours, Episode The Murder of Anna Repkina
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anna-repkina-murder-william-hargrove-love-triangle-ultimatum-48-hours/
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/04/william-chase-hargrove-anna-repkina-oregon-murder/
Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8898317/Man-serving-life-sentence-killing-Russian-bride-researched-time-travel-death.html
Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/man-convicted-murder-fiancee-william-hargrove-anna-repkina-alsea-oregon-time-travel-b1454490.html
https://nypost.com/2019/11/24/man-found-guilty-in-fiancees-murder-after-kfc-receipt-links-him-to-slaying/

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It takes a special kind of narcissism to feel entitled to murder somebody. Especially when the motive is just to get them out of your way, because they’re inconveniencing you. And it takes an even bigger ego to decide that you’re not gonna do your dirty work yourself—you’re gonna outsource it instead. We’ve seen plenty of murder for hire schemes before on this show, and as you’ve probably noticed, they don’t tend to go real well. And you usually find, at their center, a person so self-involved that they view the world as their own personal chessboard to manipulate as they choose. What’s unusual about this week’s story is that it involves not one of these narcissistic little gremlins—but two. It offers us a tantalizing peek at what happens when two people get together to bring out each other’s darkest desires. Join us for the bizarre story of Drs. Leon Jacob and Valerie McDaniel, who conspired together to murder their exes. Although the plan was to eliminate two people, only one life was ultimately lost, and it's probably not the one you're expecting.

CWs: Suicide, domestic violence

Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/operation-murder-1/#x
https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/playback/vod/GMO_00000000375791_01/e01627d5-a717-34b3-8a7e-f64ffb972d60?paused=true
https://abcnews.go.com/US/happened-bizarre-murder-hire-plot-led-veterinarians-suicide/story?id=54092867
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Failed-Houston-doctor-Leon-Jacob-sentenced-to-12781963.php
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/leon-jacob-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-murder-for-hire-case
https://abc13.com/murder-for-hire-trial-case-plot-leon-jacob/3263581/
https://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Youngstown%20Hospital%201_9189482_ver1.0.pdf
https://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Ohio%20Burglary%203_9189481_ver1.0.pdf
https://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Divorce%204_9189477_ver1.0.pdf
https://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Harris%20County%20Assault%20Case%207_9189478_ver1.0.pdf

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We all wish we could win the lottery. I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of a life-changing financial windfall? The chance to pursue your real passions, get all your loved ones out of debt, travel, just…not have to worry anymore? But for the tiny percentage of people who actually do win the lottery, against almost impossible odds, the reality often ends up a lot more complicated than they expect. According to the NY Daily News, about 70 percent of lottery winners end up flat broke within 7 years. Worse than that, some believe there’s a curse attached to winning. Take the case of Jeffery Dampier, who won a 20 million dollar jackpot in the 90s, started a popcorn business, and ended up brutally murdered by his sister in law and her boyfriend. And we all remember Abraham Shakespeare from an earlier season of TCC, a man who used his lottery winnings to revitalize his community—until he was manipulated into signing over his fortune, then murdered by a scam artist named DeeDee Moore. These are just two examples of many. It’s one of those “careful what you wish for” things—a lesson the people in this week’s story had to learn the hard way. Join us for a true whodunnit, a twisting, turning story of ambition, deception, secrets and betrayal.

Sources:
https://www.the-sun.com/news/3890533/lotto-winner-fatally-injected-husband-squandered-cash/#:~:text=Joseph%20Roncaioli%2C%2072%2C%20was%20found,she%20split%20with%20her%20friend.&text=Prosecutors%20told%20his%20trial%20he,retirement%2C%20the%20Toronto%20Star%20reported.
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/16/md_convicted_of_poisoning_wife_loses_appeal.html
https://www.lottoanalyst.com/lottery-winner-ibi-roncaioli
http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2017/09/legends-of-team-canada-stelio-zupancich.html
Investigation Discovery's "Your Number's Up," episode "Cruel Hand of Fate"

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Some people are born for a certain vocation. Mozart, for music. Shakespeare, for drama. Steven Hawking, for physics, and...let's say...Machine Gun Kelly? for rap music. Vjeran Tomic was born for the steal—as comfortable scaling the side of a tightly-guarded museum as a leopard is, stalking through the jungle. He says he’s in it for the love of art—a modern-day Robin Hood. But we seem to remember something about Robin Hood giving the money away…hmm.

Sources:
The New Yorker, Jake Halpern: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/14/the-french-burglar-who-pulled-off-his-generations-biggest-art-heist
The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/arts/design/vjeran-tomic-paris-spiderman-sentenced-to-8-years-for-art-heist.html
The Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-spiderman-art-heist-and-the-five-missing-masterpieces

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Everybody has a skeleton or two in the closet, and most of us are able to leave it right where it is, cover it up with old coats and mothballs and forget all about it. But some skeletons are bigger and meaner than others, and for the man at the center of this story, it would be hard to imagine one worse. And he was living in fear that it was about to come busting out of there and trample all over his life. He thought he was doing everything he needed to do to prepare for it. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t his past he had to worry about. It was a threat he never saw coming. Join us for a twisting story of greed and betrayal, and a missing persons case that turned into a truly heartbreaking murder.

Sources:
Court paperwork, State v. Tocker: https://www.leagle.com/decision/inazco20121002008
https://mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/william-mcgrath-murder-august-2009-phoenix-az-bradley-tocker-convicted-of-his-murder/
https://disappearedblog.com/william-mcgrath/
Investigation Discovery's "Disappeared," episode "Murder by Design"
Oxygen's "Buried in the Backyard," episode "Living in Fear"

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On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she’d scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando.

Not since the O.J. Simpson case had the eyes of the nation been so fixated on a homicide. The search for Bonny’s killer took detectives on an eleven-month odyssey across the country and through Hollywood's underbelly of hustlers, drug addicts, and would-be hitmen. It would be the most expensive murder investigation in LAPD history to date.
This is the story of Robert and Bonny’s toxic relationship, her shocking murder, and his chaotic trial. Did actor Robert Blake kill his wife? Or was the murder someone else's vendetta?

From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood & Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders, Death of Starlet) comes a six-part series about love, obsession and fame gone wrong. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas.

Listen at wondery.fm/TCC_TEOBLB

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No matter how many apples you eat in a day, you’re gonna eventually have to go see the doctor. It’s an unfortunate but necessary part of the human experience to go into that cold little room, put on a gown with no back, try not to gag on the tongue depressor, and hold your breath while they stick a needle in your arm. It’s not fun. And it’s bad enough without having to worry about whether the doctor who’s doing it to you is qualified to be there. We put a lot of faith in our healthcare providers. Sometimes we put our actual lives in their hands. It’s high-stakes stuff. But as stories like “Dr. Death” have taught us, our faith isn’t always well-placed. Join us for one of the most audacious cases of medical malpractice we’ve ever heard of, and forgive us in advance if it haunts your nightmares.

Sources:
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1096465.html
CNBC's "American Greed," Episode "The Impostor"
Investigation Discovery's "Who the BLEEP," episode "Bad Medicine"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Barnbaum
New York Times, Kenneth B. Noble: https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/17/us/doctor-s-specialty-turns-out-to-be-masquerade.html
San Francisco Chronicle, Elizabeth Fernandez: https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Bizarre-Medical-Masquerade-Determined-con-man-2950633.php

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Prey animals sometimes use camouflage to protect themselves from predators. But over millions of years of evolution, some predators have learned to do the same. Take the ghost mantis, a crafty little bug who masquerades as a leaf to get close to unsuspecting crickets. If you want to move in for a kill, there’s real value in blending in—whether you’re a leopard stalking a hare, or a cute pediatric nurse and former cheerleader who’s getting tired of her middle-class life and dreaming of bigger things. Michelle Michael: a woman whose perky personality and magazine-perfect lifestyle hid a heart as black as midnight. Join us for the true story of one of the cruelest, most brutal murders we've ever covered.

Sources:
John Glatt, Playing With Fire (St. Martin's True Crime)
CBS' 48 Hours Mystery: Episode "Death Without Mercy"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/death-without-mercy/
https://writingdeadlyaffairs.blogspot.com/2019/12/sudden-death-michelle-michael-james.html

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Introducing the true crime podcast Persona: The French Deception— the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? Host and award-winning journalist, Evan Ratliff, investigates how Chikli successfully duped some of the world’s most powerful people into handing over their fortunes. He explores how Chikli evaded the law for years and became a Robin Hood-like hero. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we’re living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the fantasy we’ve been lured into finally crumbles away? For all that and more, follow “Persona: The French Deception” wherever you get your podcasts. Or you can listen early on Amazon Music or early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app: wondery.fm/TCC_Persona

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When we left you at the end of part 1, the brawny-yet-dimwitted Sun Gym gang, led by smooth-talker Danny Lugo and his bestie Adrian Doorbal were trying to figure out whether to kill their captive, Marc Schiller. They’d already drained most of his assets, set up shop in his house, stolen his cars, and sent his family fleeing in terror to Colombia. So now it was time to wrap up the plan and ride off into the sunset. But as you can probably anticipate, based on the general incompetence of these guys, that it might not go according to plan. Join us now for part 2 of this bizarre true story.

Sources:
Miami New Times, Pete Collins: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/pain-and-gain-6396870
CBS' "48 Hours," episode "Pain and Gain"
Various articles, Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lugo-daniel.htm

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Teamwork makes the dream work. But what if your dream is a get-rich-quick scheme involving kidnapping and murder? And what if your team is a ragtag squad of steroid-swollen gym rats sharing about sixteen brain cells between them? This is the story of what happens when ego meets incompetence, with a generous handful of evil thrown in. Plus: Abs. Lots and lots of abs. Join us for the story of the Sun Gym gang--a case so strange, Hollywood turned it into the movie "Pain & Gain."

Sources:
Pete Collins, Pain and Gain (3-part longform article) https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/pain-and-gain-6396870
Murderpedia, various articles: https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lugo-daniel.htm
CBS' "48 Hours," episode "Pain and Gain"

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It was a cold one out there the day she walked into his life—gray, like the color of her eyes. She showed up like a shiny silver dollar in the path of a starving man—exactly what he needed, at exactly the right time. Blonde. Young. Full of big ideas. She was a small-town dame in the big city, ready to take the place by storm. She was a perfect pearl. And he knew she’d believe whatever he told her. He was about to teach the girl a hard lesson: That in the big city, you can’t trust anyone. Sometimes, not even yourself.

Join us for a true story that could have come straight out of the pages of a Raymond Chandler novel, a fascinating vintage story about a young woman who inadvertently became a tool in the hands of a clever kidnapper-killer. We bet you've never heard of this one!

Sources:
St. Clair McKelway, The New Yorker, 1953: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1953/08/08/the-perils-of-pearl-and-olga
https://uselessinformation.org/pearl-lusk-x-ray-camera/

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In the story of Pinocchio, a wooden puppet dreams of becoming a real boy—a real son to his maker, Geppetto. He’s a bit of a mess—always getting into mischief, lying and hanging around with the wrong crowd. But when he learns how to really care about people, the good fairy finally grants his wish, making him fully human. It’s a pretty powerful lesson: That what makes us whole, a lot of the time, is learning how to care for other people. Protect the people we love. Sacrifice our own comfort for theirs. It’s a noble impulse. But in the hands of a manipulator with ulterior motives, it can get twisted in all kinds of terrible ways. And the puppet can end up not a full-fledged human being, but a tangled mess of wood and string. Join us for the disturbing story of Dr. Pamela Buchbinder, a prominent New York psychiatrist who manipulated her troubled young cousin, Jake Nolan, into the attempted murder of her ex.

Sources:
Various articles, NY Post: https://nypost.com/tag/pamela-buchbinder/
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-pamela-buchbinder-jacob-nolan-did-psychiatrist-brainwash-cousin-to-kill-ex-lover/
https://demo.socastcms.com/2021/05/08/new-development-in-case-of-a-man-who-claims-psychiatrist-convinced-him-to-kill/
CBS's "48 Hours Mystery," Episode "The Psychiatrist and the Selfie"
Court documents: https://casetext.com/case/buchbinder-v-hochul-2
Court documents: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-first-department/2018/30222-17-30207-17-3160-17-101651-17-101532-17.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/jacob-nolan-michael-weiss-crime-scene-photos-nyc-sledgehammer-attack/11/
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/nyregion/jurors-reject-brainwashing-defense-in-attempted-murder-trial.html

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Elle Newmark wrote, “Unrequited love does not die; it’s only beaten down to a secret place where it hides, curled and wounded.” Most of us have felt that special kind of pain that comes from pining after somebody who’s not pining after you. Most of us manage to take the hit and move on. But a few take…another path. This is the story of Jonna Henningsson, a bright, outgoing young woman who loved animals and caring for others. Jonna seemed to have everything going for her. Most people knew nothing about the darkness coiled up inside her, a darkness that lay sleeping most of the time. But when she fell obsessively in love with a man who couldn’t seem to choose between her and his other girlfriend, that darkness opened its eyes and stretched.

Sources:
A BIG thank you to our patron, who chooses to remain anonymous, for translating these Swedish-language sources for us!
Swedish podcast "Rättegångspodden," episode "Styckmordet i Askersund:" https://aca.st/a8d2fb
A stack of Swedish-language court documents
YouTube channel "The Fear Files," Episode "The Case of Jonna Henningsson:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUm3eYL5nQ

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John Adams once wrote that genius is sorrow’s child. A couple years ago, The Economist published an article called “The Curse of Genius” about the tumultuous lives of child prodigies. And how many times has Mensa come up on this show by now? About half a dozen, at least? Genius, it seems, is a double-edged sword. Some people are able to harness it to make spectacular leaps forward in art or science or technology. But for some, the expectations that come with that scary-high IQ can be like an anvil around their necks. Insecurity starts to fight with arrogance in those sharp-as-diamond minds, and resentment starts to brew. Combine a brilliant mind with a grudge against the world and you start to open some really dangerous doors. Join us for the story of Dinh Bowman, a guy with the potential to do anything he set his mind to, but chose to study murder instead.

Sources:
CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-yancy-noll-death-dinh-bowman-student-of-murder/
48 Hours Mystery: Episode "Student of Murder"
The Sun: https://www.the-sun.com/news/4555033/who-yancy-noll-what-happened-to-him/
Court papers: https://casetext.com/case/in-re-pers-restraint-of-bowman-1
"Bunny and Snuggles" phone calls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSLZMMK4Nd0
ABC News, Bryan Robinson: https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96770&page=1

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In the Bible, First Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” It’s actually a pretty good definition of love—the kind most of us hope to have in our lives someday. And it's a definition you’d expect a man of God to live by. A pastor is called to be an example to his congregation. Not to be perfect, but at least transparent—sincere—and a soft place to fall for anyone who’s struggling. But for one congregation in Florida, their leader’s charm and charisma was nothing more than a trap. Join us for the story of Pastor James Flanders, the dynamic head of the Calvary Emerald Coast church in Fort Walton Beach--and Marie Carlson, the lovely young mother he lured into a web of lust, lies and murder.

Sources:
https://thecinemaholic.com/marie-carlson-murder-where-is-james-flanders-now/
https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/entertainment/local/2018/03/03/dateline-nbc-to-feature-local-murder-mystery-photos/13769313007/
NBC's "Dateline," Episode “Secrets on the Emerald Coast”
https://www.sheriff-okaloosa.org/former-fwb-pastor-arrested-in-connection-with-disappearance-and-murder-of-marie-carlson/
https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/news/2015/12/02/pastor-charged-with-murder-granted/32912916007/
https://2paragraphs.com/2018/03/dateline-marie-carlsons-daughter-6-in-custody-of-james-flanders-wife/
https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/willcox/mom-murdered-by-dad-custody-granted-to-murderers-cochise-county-family/article_440eb8a0-d936-5f04-b1b3-eca75ca6cccf.html
https://www.destinchamber.com/news/details/eccac-board-welcomes-lt-nesli-suhi-moore
TV show "Cold Justice," Episode “Devoted”

*Thanks to patron and friend Megan for her help with this episode

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There’s an old saying that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get ya. For one brilliant yet troubled mind, living in fear was pretty much the norm for most of his adult life. His friends had come to take his worries with a grain of salt. Some of them seemed like the kind of bizarre fantasies you’d find in an episode of the X-Files. Nobody really took them seriously. That is, until their paranoid friend went missing. Join us for one of the strangest cases we’ve ever covered—a twisting, turning story of greed and secrets: both government and personal.

Sources:
Cincinnati Magazine: https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/features/death-and-the-maid/
https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/blanc-willa.htm
Investigation Discovery's "Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen," episode "Death of a Genius"

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So, this might seem like a weird question, but hear me out. Does authenticity matter? Let me be more specific. Does art need to be authentic? What if you found out, for example, that your favorite writer—somebody whose traumatic life story you related to, somebody whose identity was a living, breathing part of the power of the stories they told—was a fake? Not the person they presented themselves to be at all? Would you be fine with it, or would you feel kind of…betrayed? And how would you feel about the stories? Would they hit a little different if you knew the person who wrote them was a big, stinky fraud? Join us for the story of an audacious literary con, a scam that made its mastermind a pile of money and a whole entourage of celebrity fans—and rocked the early 2000s literary scene to its core.

Sources:
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/20/jt-leroy-story-modern-literary-hoax-
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/23/my-life-as-jt-leroy-savannah-knoop-on-playing-the-great-literary-hoaxer
New York Magazine: https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/14718/
Vanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/08/jt-leroy-documentary-interview
Documentary "The Cult of J.T. LeRoy"
Investigation Discovery's "Impostors," episode "The Heart Is Deceitful"


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The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed—only transferred from one form to another. For example, dynamite explodes when chemical energy is converted to kinetic energy. It’s an interesting metaphor for a kind of killer we see a lot on True Crime Campfire: the smart, dynamic charmer with everything going for them, who throws it all away by putting their energy into all the wrong stuff: Revenge, or greed, or a lust for power. And like a stick of dynamite, when these people go off, they tend to take innocent people with them. Monserrate Shirley was a bright, attractive ICU nurse with a loving daughter and a beautiful home. She had the potential to do anything she wanted to do. What she did instead was hook up with a guy named Mark Leonard, a con artist with a faux tan and a whole lot of bad ideas about how to get rich quick. Join us for the bizarre true story of a plan gone horribly wrong.

Sources:
CNBC's "American Greed," episode "Neighborhood Inferno"
Oxygen's "Killer Couples," episode "Monserrate Shirley and Mark Leonard"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Hill_explosion
https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/monserrate-shirley-sentencing-starts-monday/531-c1efed7f-5eff-4f1f-b989-d88067ee5a51
https://www.wrtv.com/longform/but-for-monserrate-shirley-she-was-a-neighbor-a-friend-a-nurse-she-betrayed-it-all
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiYqL-BnKD2AhU0JEQIHVx5AcQQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indystar.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2016%2F12%2F20%2Frichmond-hill-suspect-monserrate-shirley-gets-50-years%2F95657520%2F&usg=AOvVaw3jMrZL-YLV1R88znU7pUaj
https://fox59.com/news/richmond-hill-explosion-culprit-mark-leonard-dies-at-indy-hospital/
https://fox59.com/news/cause-of-death-of-richmond-hill-conspirator-mark-leonard-determined/
https://www.in.gov/apps/indcorrection/ofs/ofs?lname=Shirley&fname=Monserrate&search1.x=40&search1.y=12

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Becky Sears and Kay Parsons were not only next door neighbors, but best friends, too. Their sons were in Little League together, and their husbands liked to join them both for dinner, drinks, and games of mixed doubles tennis. But secrets and lies would soon rip their friendship apart, and the consequences would reverberate throughout their small Georgia community for years to come. Join us for one of the twisty-turniest murder cases we've ever covered, a story of sex, lies, and stunning personal betrayal of the very deadliest kind.

Sources:
NBC's "Dateline," episode "Murder on Hot Springs Drive"
ABC's "20/20"
Investigation Discovery's "Evil Kin," episode "For Sale by Owner"
https://www.monstersandcritics.com/tv/becky-sears-had-her-son-christopher-bowers-beat-neighbor-kay-parsons-to-death-with-a-hammer/
https://murderpedia.org/female.S/s/sears-rebecca.htm

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Lying is an essential human activity—everybody does it sometimes. And there are a few different reasons people do it. Sometimes it’s an innocent attempt to spare somebody’s feelings: Y’know, “It’s not you, it’s me,” or “Oh no, Gramma, I loved that sweater you made me! It’s just um…it was stolen. Yeah, stolen!” Sometimes it’s to avoid accountability. “I didn’t kill that guy,” or “That vase was shattered when I got here.” Sometimes it’s to cause somebody else pain. “I never loved you.” And sometimes, it’s about creating a fantasy version of ourselves, because we don’t like who we see in the mirror. For a small percentage of these people, the big lie they build around themselves becomes their greatest treasure—something to guard with everything they have. And anyone who threatens it might not make it out alive. Join us for the story of "perfect son" Brian Blackwell, who built an elaborate web of lies to impress his girlfriend--that he was an up and coming professional tennis player, that he'd just closed on a 450,000 pound flat in the same complex as a famous footballer, that he could afford to give her anything and everything she wanted. When his parents threatened to put a stop to his fraud, he committed one of the most shocking crimes in British history.

Sources:
The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1493035/Psychological-time-bomb-that-turned-teenage-son-into-frenzied-killer.html
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/30/ukcrime.helencarter
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/4634401.stm
BBC's "Real Crime," episode "A Perfect Son"
BBC's "Killing Mum and Dad," episode "Brian Blackwell"

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T.S. Eliot ends his poem “The Hollow Men” with the line “This is the way the world ends…not with a bang, but a whimper.” Spree criminals are always after the bang. Many see themselves going out in a blaze of glory, taking as many people with them as they can. Going down in history as some kind of dark antihero, shaking up the way we think, making us question our most basic values—leaving a big, smoking crater in the earth on their way out of it. These guys are legends in their own minds. Funnily enough, though, as hard as they try for the big bang, they often end up with the whimper. And there’s no better example of that than Peter Braunstein, a former playwright and fashion writer who--after being fired from his job at Women's Wear Daily--embarked on an outrageous crime spree. His ultimate goal? Kill Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. Join us for the bizarre story of a grudge that spun out of control.

Sources:
"Friend of the Devil" by Aaron Gell: https://humanparts.medium.com/friend-of-the-devil-3726bd1ddc1c
Investigation Discovery, "I Almost Got Away With It," Episode "I Got to Pose as a Firefighter"
Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/peter-braunstein-endures-fellow-prisoners-teasing-you-didnt-even-rape-her
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Braunstein

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In the series premiere, radio DJ Fred Heckman (Jon Hamm) receives an unexpected call from a listener that turns his life upside down.

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In the old Hans Christian Anderson tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes, the emperor was the kind of clothes horse who’d make Anna Wintour look like a frump in a burlap sack. This guy was all about the fashion, and the more extravagant the better. So one day, a couple of con men came blazin’ into town, pretending to be the best tailors in the biz. They swept into the emperor’s castle, bragging about the spectacular wardrobe they could make for him…for the right price. And it got even better than that. These tailors had magic powers. They could create a fabric that could only be seen by those who are good enough, smart enough, and powerful enough. Well of course our boy and his ego couldn’t resist, and he set the two “tailors” to work, creating the kind of threads that would blow the roof off of any room he strutted into. Of course the tailors weren’t tailors at all, and they had no magic powers. They just wanted the cash…and the cache. So when the day of the big reveal came along, they finessed it. Rolled in a fancy garment rack full of empty hangers, and presented them as the finest wardrobe in the land. When the emperor saw the empty rack, of course, his first thought was…oh no…oh God…I can’t see it! I’m not good enough! Presumably everybody else was thinking the same thing—oh no, why can’t I see it? There was a moment of panicky silence. And then, the emperor gasped the fakest gasp he’d ever gasped, and said “I LOVE IT!” And later that day, the whole kingdom was treated to the sight of their ruler, catwalking down the main street in the buff. And everybody clapped, and everybody had something to say about how beautiful the clothes were. Better that than admit ya got got. This is one of those stories that never goes stale. We see it every day, that essential human urge to save face, even at great personal expense. Today we’ll tell you about a fraudster who knew this all too well, and decided to try his hand at faking out one of the wealthiest, most discerning crowds in the world: the wine snobs.

Sources:
2016 Documentary "Sour Grapes" by Jerry Rothwell, Reuben Atlas
CNBC's "American Greed," episode "Vintage Wine Fraud"
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/11/the-great-wine-fraud-a-vintage-swindle

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Email: [email protected]

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