The FOX True Crime Podcast

A real killer stalking college dorms sparked the idea for Hollywood’s most famous slasher. In 1990, Danny Rolling terrorized Gainesville, Florida, brutally murdering five students and putting an entire city on lockdown. Criminologist Dr. Gary Brucato dissects the real-life campus horrors behind the movie Scream. In this episode, we explore: The 1990 Florida college campus murders that paralyzed a city with fear. How news coverage of Danny Rolling directly inspired screenwriter Kevin Williamson. The sinister mind and motives of the Gainesville Ripper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Florida man accused of murdering and dismembering a woman offered to plead guilty in exchange for a Philly cheesesteak, fries and a Pepsi, but the judge said he couldn't make that deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A charming face concealed one of America's most notorious serial killers. Ted Bundy confessed to 30 murders, using manipulation and deception to lure his victims. His nefarious behavior helped shape the fictional world of The Silence of the Lambs. Former FBI agent, podcaster, and author Jerri Williams examines Bundy's reign of terror, the investigation that brought him down, and how he influenced Hollywood's most terrifying villains. In this episode, we explore: How Ted Bundy's crimes and psychological manipulation helped inspire elements of The Silence of the Lambs. The investigation, escapes, and chilling tactics that made Bundy one of America's most infamous serial killers. How new developments and advances in forensic technology continue to connect Bundy to decades-old cold cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unsuspecting tourists hunted in the Outback became Australia's worst nightmare. The horrific Backpacker Murders committed by Ivan Milat turned the vast wilderness into a killing field. Host of Scandal on Law & Crime, Sierra Gillespie uncovers how predators weaponized isolation to target vulnerable travelers in the true story behind Wolf Creek. In this episode, we explore: The chilling true crime details of Ivan Milat’s Backpacker Murders. The Outback disappearance of Peter Falconio and the hunt for his killer. How real wilderness terror was translated into horror cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A West Virginia couple faces serious charges after authorities uncovered years of physical torture, starvation, and psychological torment inflicted upon their three adopted children inside a Jackson County home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

67 exorcisms led to a tragic death—and a 1976 court verdict that shocked the world. When 23-year-old Anneliese Michel died, two priests and her parents were convicted of negligent homicide. Clinical neurologist Dr. Steven Novella examines where medical science ends and demonic possession claims begin in the case that inspired The Exorcism of Emily Rose. In this episode, we explore: The tragic court case holding exorcists accountable for negligent homicide. Medical realities of severe epilepsy versus claims of demonic possession. Why courtroom drama and supernatural horror intersect so powerfully. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A house of horrors in 1957 Wisconsin gave birth to Hollywood’s deadliest killers. When police raided Ed Gein’s farmhouse, they uncovered gruesome human skin garments that changed cinema forever. True crime historian Harold Schechter reveals the real human nightmare that spawned Psycho and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. In this episode, we explore: How Ed Gein's morbid fixation on his mother created Norman Bates. The macabre house of horrors that inspired Leatherface. How one criminal single-handedly birthed modern horror cinema. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A California man has been arrested and charged with murdering his wife after allegedly telling investigators she was taken by federal immigration authorities. Thirty-year-old Jasmine Gill was reported missing from her Sacramento home before her burned remains were discovered in El Dorado County. Authorities say her husband, Gurinder, initially claimed ICE had detained her, but investigators uncovered inconsistencies in his story amid an ongoing divorce and child custody dispute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A retired NYPD detective is charged with murder after allegedly chasing down and shooting a Con Edison worker during a road rage confrontation on the George Washington Bridge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a naked, dazed man was discovered behind a Georgia Burger King in 2004 with no memory of his past, the nation was captivated by the heartbreaking mystery of "Benjaman Kyle." He went on national television, gained public sympathy, and claimed a medical anomaly had erased his identity, but what if losing his memory is actually a carefully constructed lie to bury a dark history?  Former FBI Special Agent Ken Maxwell joins to discuss the alleged "charade." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Louisiana couple who got engaged earlier this year and planned to marry in 2028 were killed near LSU after an alleged impaired driver struck them and fled the scene, according to police. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2004, a man was found naked, beaten, and barely conscious behind a Georgia Burger King. He had no ID, no wallet, and absolutely no memory of who he was. For more than a decade, the man who came to be known as "Benjaman Kyle" lived as a living ghost...the only known amnesia case of its kind in the United States. Chanley Painter sits down with Shannon and Eric Evangelista, the investigative team and co-executive producers behind Hot Snakes Media. They dive into their groundbreaking documentary, The Many Lives of Benjaman Kyle, to explore the mind-bending twists of a decade-long search for identity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ahead of his murder retrial, Alex Murdaugh is wagering his remaining appeal rights on an all-or-nothing bid to test unknown male DNA found on his wife's body, a high-risk move that will permanently destroy the final physical sample. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Florida man has been charged with second-degree murder in the 2011 disappearance of his ex-fiancée, Michelle Parker, whose final hours included a televised appearance on The People’s Court, as renewed investigative work leads to an arrest more than a decade later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former Massachusetts police officer is on trial for the alleged murder of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore, whose death was initially ruled a suicide. Federal prosecutors accuse Matthew Farwell of strangling Birchmore, who was pregnant at the time, and staging the scene to cover up years of alleged grooming and sexual exploitation. Law & Crime reporter and Scandal host Sierra Gillespie joins to discuss the evidence, conflicting medical findings, allegations of police misconduct, and what could determine the outcome of Farwell's trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lansing police warn of a potential serial killer targeting homeless men along the river trail near Michigan State University. Five men were killed while sleeping overnight, four suffering severe head trauma. A suspect was arrested for one stabbing, but police say they don't fit the overall pattern and urge residents to avoid the trail at night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For decades, Joseph DeAngelo terrorized California while hiding in plain sight as the notorious Golden State Killer. But could his violent crimes have started earlier than investigators originally believed? Former FBI profiler and criminologist Dr. Bryanna Fox joins Chanley to examine DeAngelo's disturbing criminal history, the warning signs that may have been missed, and the psychology behind one of America's most infamous serial killers.  Plus, a closer look at the FOX Nation documentary Golden State Killer: Unmasking a Monster, which raises new questions about the true extent of his crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After becoming the first U.S. death row inmate to survive lethal injection—enduring two doses during her scheduled execution—convicted killer Christa Pike has secured a major legal victory as a judge reopens her challenge against Tennessee's execution protocol. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fourteen years after UNC student Faith Hedgepeth was found brutally murdered in her Chapel Hill apartment, Miguel Salguero Olivares has gone on trial for first-degree murder after genetic genealogy and a routine traffic stop linked his DNA directly to the 2012 crime scene. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over 130 years after Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally killed in their Fall River home, questions still surround America's most famous unsolved double murder. Veteran criminal investigator Mike King joins Chanley in-studio to examine the timeline, key evidence, and critical police mistakes that shaped the infamous trial. Together, they explore Lizzie’s suspicious behavior, barred prosecution evidence, and how an all-male jury brought about one of history’s most shocking acquittals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former American Idol contestant and Ohio music pastor Caleb Flynn has been sentenced to life without parole for murdering his defenseless wife, Ashley, in their home before attempting to cover up the crime with a staged break-in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when the state tries to execute an inmate and fails? Paul Mauro and criminal defense attorney and Host of the Courtroom Confidential podcast, Josh Ritter, examine the legal and medical nightmare surrounding Tennessee inmate Christa Pike after a failed lethal injection attempt. They discuss the Eighth Amendment battles ahead, the bizarre case where a judge allowed an AI video of a murder victim to speak at sentencing, and the ultimate fate of convicted killer Caleb Flynn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A California couple faces murder charges in the fatal shooting of their son-in-law, Jonathan McKinsey, a New York Times Games executive. This comes just one week before a court hearing in a bitter divorce and custody battle over the couple's three grandchildren. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tennessee death row inmate 50-year-old Christa Pike survived an attempted lethal injection, prompting Gov. Bill Lee to pause executions through the end of the year and order a third-party review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chanley Painter and Court TV’s Vinnie Politan unpack major developments in the Lindsay Clancy case and Caleb Flynn trial. Discover why Lindsay Clancy’s defense is attempting a rare motion to dismiss after a mistrial, and how prosecutors used body-cam footage, affair evidence, and an AI-generated song to convict former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn for his wife’s murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Driven by what prosecutors call a motiveless "compulsion to kill," a 28-year-old San Jose man voluntarily surrendered to police and led investigators to the hidden bodies of two murder victims. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eighteen-year-old Anna Kepner set sail on a family vacation, but she never returned home. Found dead inside her cabin, what began as a mysterious death at sea quickly escalated into an active homicide investigation. Now, investigators are using shipboard surveillance, Wi-Fi activity, and digital trails to reconstruct her final hours. Maritime attorney Rod Sullivan joins Chanley to discuss the digital evidence, the unique challenges of cruise ship jurisdiction, and whether justice is on the horizon for Anna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Florida jury has convicted self-proclaimed witch and Chakra Master Shannon Ryan of second-degree murder in the disappearance of 21-year-old Leila Cavett, whose body has never been found. Cavett vanished in July 2020, and her two-year-old son was later found wandering alone. Ryan is set to be sentenced October 23. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The woman who says she had an affair with former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn delivers dramatic testimony in his murder trial, claiming Flynn repeatedly talked about wanting his wife, Ashley, dead. Prosecutors also reveal messages they say Flynn sent before Ashley was fatally shot inside the couple’s Ohio home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seven missing women are now connected to a disturbing investigation centered on a Philadelphia home once owned by photographer and filmmaker Raymond  "R.C." Horsch.  FOX News Correspondent Alexis McAdams joins Chanley to discuss the massive collection of photos and videos recovered by investigators, the search for answers about the missing women, and the difficult task of determining what was staged and what could point to something more sinist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Allen, convicted of killing Indiana teens Abigail Williams and Liberty German, is seeking a new trial, arguing his repeated confessions came while he was suffering severe psychosis in solitary confinement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Part Two of their conversation, Chanley and veteran forensic psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Smalldon discuss the overarching patterns of extreme violence between some of the world's most notorious killers. Drawing from five decades of experience and insights from his memoir, That Beast Was Not Me: One Forensic Psychologist, Five Decades of Conversations with Killers. Dr. Smalldon opens up about the most disturbing case of his career, the origin behind his book's title, and what it was really like to sit down with Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and John Wayne Gacy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A massive police raid on a Philadelphia home uncovered more than a million digital files, images of five missing women and a basement filled with chemicals, raising new questions about a father-son duo and the late father's eerily specific serial-killer memoir. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former American Idol contestant Caleb Flynn is on trial for allegedly killing his wife of nearly 16 years and staging the Ohio crime scene to make it appear she was shot by an intruder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forensic psychologist Dr. Jeffrey Smalldon has spent decades studying the criminal mind, coming face-to-face with some of America’s most notorious killers. In Part One of his conversation with Chanley, Dr. Smalldon reveals how an early fascination with crime led him to correspond with Charles Manson and Ted Bundy and recounts his chilling encounters with John Wayne Gacy and serial killer Donald Harvey. He shares what those interactions taught him about manipulation, violence, and the unsettling reality of the people behind some of the country’s most infamous crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nearly four decades after a newborn baby was found dead in a Texas laundromat, genetic genealogy led investigators to his mother, Tammy Sue Kerns, who has now pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chanley Painter is back with former investigator and cult expert Mike King to discuss Samuel Bateman's psychological warfare. They dissect the stark difference between generational and convert cults, the strategic legal maneuvering behind Bateman’s federal plea deal, and reveal the tragic cycle of young victims who are groomed to become the next generation of predators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann has been disciplined after allegedly trying to smuggle a package into prison and later being caught with unspecified drugs, just months after being sentenced to multiple life terms for killing eight women. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Murdaugh’s murder retrial has been moved to Sumter County, South Carolina, after a judge ruled he could not receive a fair trial in the county where he was originally convicted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does a self-proclaimed prophet convince families to hand over their young daughters? Chanley Painter is joined by former law enforcement officer and "Profiling Evil" creator Mike King to expose the dark reality of Samuel Bateman. Together, they unpack how Bateman exploited a power vacuum within the FLDS empire, coerced entire families into absolute obedience, and hid young victims until a dramatic 2022 traffic stop blew his secret worldwide open. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The family of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez is calling for the death penalty after a Los Angeles judge ordered singer D4vd, whose real name is David Anthony Burke, to stand trial in her killing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

17-year-old Michelle “Missy” Avila thought she was heading into the California mountains with friends. Instead, she was brutally murdered by the very people she trusted most. New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury joins the FOX True Crime Podcast to revisit the case she first covered as a young reporter, including her jailhouse interview with the killer and the chilling lack of remorse she witnessed firsthand. Kingsbury also shares how the case inspired her first book, Missy’s Murder, launching a writing career that would eventually take her from true crime to bestselling fiction and film Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mexican musician Jonathan Meléndez, the keyboardist for the indie rock band Camilo Séptimo, his pregnant wife, their three-year-old daughter and nanny were found murdered inside their Mexico City home, with two suspects arrested in connection with the killings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Florida woman dubbed the “Black Widow” by police is accused of targeting men she met on dating apps for money and allegedly drugging a 69-year-old man, who later told investigators he believes she may have tried to poison him on multiple occasions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial remains deadlocked after five days of deliberations, twice telling the judge they cannot reach a unanimous verdict. Now, after Judge William Sullivan delivered a formal instruction urging jurors to keep trying, could the next note from the jury bring the trial to an end? Veteran true-crime journalist Ted Rowlands joins Chanley to discuss how close the case may be to a hung jury, what happens if a mistrial is declared, and whether prosecutors could try Clancy again. Plus, they examine the growing tension outside the courthouse after a woman was accused of filming jurors, and whether outside influences could become an issue for the defense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been convicted in the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, nearly 30 years after the rapper was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does a prosecutor turn real-life courtroom tragedy into bestselling crime fiction?  Trey Gowdy, former federal prosecutor and host of The Trey Gowdy Podcast, joins Chanley to recount the investigation of Dana Satterfield, a South Carolina mother whose cold case was solved ten years later through a twist of fate and DNA evidence.  Plus, Trey opens up about the weight of seeking justice for victims and how his decades in the courtroom shaped his latest novel, The Sound of Regret. Get your copy of The Sound of Regret available now.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Authorities have identified the final unknown victim of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the Happy Face Killer, more than three decades after her body was found along a California highway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former television news anchor has pleaded guilty to murdering her 80-year-old mother inside their Wichita, Kansas home on Halloween. Angeline Mock admitted to fatally stabbing Anita Avers after telling investigators she believed her mother was the devil and that she killed her to “save herself.” Mock now faces life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Lindsay Clancy trial has put postpartum mental health at the center of a difficult legal question: What was happening in her mind when she killed her three children? As jurors weigh testimony about Clancy’s mental health, psychosis and the medications she was prescribed in the months before the killings, board-certified psychiatrist and a leading expert in psychiatric drug side effects and withdrawal Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring joins Chanley to examine what those treatments may have meant for her mental state.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thirty-four years after college student Tammy Zywicki was murdered, Illinois State Police are seeking information about a deceased hitchhiker who may have been with a key semi-truck driver near the crime scene. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Day 19 of the Lindsay Clancy trial is in the books, and Paul Mauro is joined by FOX News contributor and Courtroom Confidential podcast host Josh Ritter to discuss where this case actually stands. While the internet debates about postpartum psychosis and medication, Paul and Josh tackle the latest developments inside the Massachusetts courtroom. Plus, Josh steps into the shoes of both defense counsel and prosecution to deliver preview closing arguments.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Massachusetts teenager is accused of killing his mother and younger brother after prosecutors say he used ChatGPT and the internet to create fictional scenarios detailing the murders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Erin Patterson is fighting her triple murder convictions over the deadly death cap mushroom meal as prosecutors appeal her 33-year minimum sentence and argue she should spend the rest of her life behind bars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reporting from outside the courthouse, host Chanley Painter is joined by legal analyst Josh Ritter and host of Courtroom Confidential podcast to analyze what may be the most crucial day yet in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. On day 16 of the trial, they examine the pivotal testimony of defense expert Dr. Zeizel on postpartum mental health and criminal responsibility, evaluate key jury reactions, and discuss the prosecution cross-examination tactics.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fourteen people, including current and former Penn State students, are facing charges in an alleged cocaine trafficking operation that authorities say used fraternity houses to package and distribute drugs to students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can postpartum psychosis compel a loving mother to commit the unthinkable? Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy stands accused of murdering her three young children, but her defense argues that severe mental illness and a complex regimen of psychiatric medications rendered her legally insane. Chanley sits down with forensic psychologist Dr. John DeLaTorre to break down the highly publicized trial. They discuss the critical distinctions between common postpartum depression and the sudden, dangerous onset of postpartum psychosis.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Florida woman accused in the murder of a 43-year-old father found buried in a shallow grave beneath concrete has been captured after seven weeks on the run, as authorities say more arrests could follow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty after a Los Angeles grand jury indicted him on two counts of murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents, director and actor Rob Reiner and Michele Singer-Reiner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chanley Painter speaks with author Christopher Morris about the controversial conviction of nurse Lucy Letby. As the public debate intensifies, Morris discusses his extensive research into the trial, pointing to what he describes as flawed medical evidence, misinterpreted statistics, and systemic failures at the Countess of Chester Hospital. From disputed insulin readings and air embolism theories, as well as the role of expert testimony and the ongoing review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Police are searching internationally for 27-year-old Matthew Flores, who is suspected in the deaths of his parents after their decomposing bodies were discovered buried in the backyard of their Litchfield Park, Arizona, home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Was Lucy Letby a calculating serial killer, or the scapegoat of a failing hospital system? The conviction of neonatal nurse Lucy Letby shocked the United Kingdom and dominated international headlines. Handed the stiffest sentence given to a woman in modern British legal history, Letby was condemned to die in prison with no possibility of parole. But years after the trial, the debate about her innocence continues. In Part One, Chanley Painter sits down with researcher and author Christopher Morris ‘Reasonable Doubt: Examining the Case of Lucy Letby’, to discuss Letby’s conviction.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A federal judge dismissed Alex Murdaugh’s $600,000 lawsuit against former court clerk Becky Hill, ruling he cannot recover legal fees tied to the murder trial that was overturned over Hill’s jury interference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Suffolk County prosecutors collected 23 voluntary DNA samples in Manhattan’s Chinatown as part of a new effort to identify “Asian Doe,” an unidentified murder victim whose remains were discovered near the Gilgo Beach killings in 2011 and whose death has not been charged to Rex Heuermann. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy continues, jurors are hearing emotional testimony and conflicting evidence about her mental state before the deaths of her three children. Chanley Painter is joined by legal analyst and host of "Lawyer Lee" on YouTube, Lee Wallace, to examine the latest testimony, the defense's postpartum psychosis argument, and the key questions jurors must answer before reaching a verdict. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a deadly kidnapping and execution-style shooting rooted in an ongoing business dispute shocked Chino Hills, the sole surviving suspect faces capital murder charges under special circumstances that could carry the death penalty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the emotional start of the Lindsay Clancy trial and Bryan Kohberger’s controversial post-conviction play to the precedent-setting 15-year sentence of a school shooter’s father, Chanley Painter and defense attorney Joshua Ritter tackle the biggest true crime cases in the news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Decades after police initially ruled her death accidental, Oregon authorities have reclassified Astrid Bridges' 1993 death as a homicide, launching a new investigation into her 86-year-old husband, whose first wife's death was also previously re-examined and ruled a murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 27-year-old Long Island music teacher has pleaded not guilty to murder and rape charges after prosecutors allege he lured his sister-in-law to his home under the guise of moving a piano before sexually assaulting and strangling her while his wife was out of town. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The murder of Elizabeth Short has remained one of America's most infamous cold cases for nearly 80 years.  Now, investigators Kimberly Lupini and Jeff Thomas say years of research, newly uncovered witnesses, and previously overlooked evidence have brought them closer than ever to identifying the person they believe was responsible. www.change.org/justiceforelizabeth Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now representing himself while serving four life sentences, Bryan Kohberger has filed a petition to withdraw his guilty plea in the 2022 University of Idaho murders, claiming his defense team misled him and coerced a false confession. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who was Elizabeth Short before she became known as the "Black Dahlia"? In Part One of this conversation, Chanley Painter is joined by the investigative team behind Deconstructing Dahlia, Jeff Thomas and Kimberly Lupini. They unpack the five-year journey that led them from a long-hidden police secret to a standing L.A. motel where forensic experts uncovered evidence of a major bloodshed event from 1947. TAKE ACTION: Help Bring Closure to Elizabeth Short’s Family: The team has identified key physical evidence and a primary suspect but needs the LAPD to release the long-withheld 1947 autopsy report to corroborate the murder motive.  www.change.org/justiceforelizabeth  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A major discrepancy comes to light in the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. A newly revealed version of the ransom note includes a final warning omitted from earlier reporting: "Her life is in your hands." As local authorities and the FBI continue searching for answers, mystery surrounds the $4 million Bitcoin demand and the unauthenticated notes claiming Guthrie died shortly after her abduction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pamela Smart—convicted in 1990 for masterminding the murder of her husband with her 15-year-old student—is petitioning a New Hampshire judge for a new trial. Her legal team argues that media frenzy, faulty jury instructions, and transcript errors tainted the original verdict, while state prosecutors insist the issues were already settled decades ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listener Discretion Advised: This episode discusses severe postpartum mental illness, violence against children, and suicide. Jury selection is underway in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. Prosecutors say Lindsay Clancy intentionally killed her three young children, while the defense argues she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and the effects of prescribed medications. Veteran trial attorney and Vinnie Politan Investigates host Vinnie Politan discusses the legal strategies, jury selection, and the key issues that could shape the outcome of this highly anticipated trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chanley Painter is back with former investigator and cult expert Mike King to dissect the chilling psychological warfare of Samuel Bateman. They discuss the stark difference between generational and convert cults, dissect the strategic legal maneuvering behind Bateman’s federal plea deal, and reveal the tragic cycle of young victims who are groomed to become the next generation's predators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A timeline of dark secrets unfolds following the jailhouse suicide of a disgraced pastor who sent his teenage mistress to confront his wife before pushing her off a 1,200-foot cliff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 16-year-old Gabbriana Boyster was fatally shot in her Missouri home, three of her friends allegedly fled the scene. They abandoned her body, leaving her mother to make the tragic discovery the following afternoon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does a self-proclaimed prophet brainwash families into giving up their young daughters as wives? Chanley Painter is joined by former law enforcement officer and "Profiling Evil" creator Mike King to expose the dark reality of Samuel Bateman. Together, they unpack how Bateman exploited a power vacuum within the FLDS empire, coerced complete families into absolute obedience, and hid young victims until a dramatic 2022 traffic stop blew his secret worldwide open. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The FBI has joined Michigan State Police in investigating the death of a newborn baby found in a portable toilet at the Electric Forest Music Festival, offering a $15,000 reward after preliminary autopsy findings confirmed the infant was born alive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The preliminary hearing may be over, but the Tyler Robinson case is only getting started. Prosecutors spent nearly a week laying out their case against the man accused of assassinating Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. From surveillance video and DNA evidence to multiple alleged confessions, prosecutors unveiled what they say is a mountain of evidence against the defendant. Former prosecutor Joshua Ritter, host of Courtroom Confidential and a weekly panelist on Fox Nation's The Weekly Wrap Sheet, joins to break down the most powerful testimony, the legal battles that dominated the courtroom, why this preliminary hearing looked more like a full-blown trial, and what comes next as the case moves toward a possible death penalty trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nearly four decades after 20-year-old Melissa Ellison was tragically murdered in her Jacksonville, FL home, a suspect was finally arrested after unexpectedly calling the sheriff's office to provide information on the cold case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weeks after 35-year-old psychotherapist and new mother Brooke Hanlon was found stabbed to death inside her home, authorities say her missing husband has retained an attorney and is communicating with investigators. Police have made no arrests as the homicide investigation continues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Months after the five friends disappeared, investigators made a haunting discovery: one man was found inside a remote Forest Service trailer stocked with food, fuel, warm clothing, and supplies that could have kept someone alive for months. So why wasn't it enough? Why was the heat never turned on? And what happened to the fifth man, whose body has never been found?Author and archival researcher Tony Wright returns to examine the evidence, overlooked investigative mistakes, and the theories that continue to fuel one of America's most shocking mysteries nearly 50 years later. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forty-one years after a traveling salesman was murdered in an Ohio Holiday Inn, forensic evidence discarded behind a Georgia Cracker Barrel has finally led detectives to his alleged killer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What drove five dependable friends into a freezing forest? In 1978, the "Yuba County Five" vanished after a basketball game, abandoning their working car 75 miles off course in the remote Sierra Nevada mountains. Nearly five decades later, it remains one of America’s most chilling unsolved mysteries. Archival expert and author of Things Aren't Right, Tony Wright investigates who these men were, the harsh conditions they faced, and why their final steps completely defied logic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DNA from a soda bottle has linked Diane Curry Peck to the 1985 murder of her newborn son, "Baby Boy Doe". The infant was found dead in the woods by hunters decades ago. Reopened in 2022 using genetic genealogy, the investigation led to Peck, who allegedly admitted to giving birth in a car. She has pleaded not guilty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A wellness check takes a deadly turn after a former college football player barricades himself inside a home. 41-year-old Sierra Campbell is facing murder and aggravated assault charges in Fulton County after a tense standoff. Relatives grew worried about a 71-year-old family member, leading police to the residence. Officials had previously responded to a mental health crisis at the home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Part Two, Dr. John D. Van Dyke joins Chanley Painter to examine how the Lindbergh kidnapping became one of America's first viral conspiracy theories. They discuss the decades of claims that sought to clear Bruno Richard Hauptmann, why some people believed Charles Lindbergh was somehow involved in his own son's death, and how public distrust, celebrity, and sensational storytelling fueled those theories.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh returned to court for a status hearing ahead of his tentative April 2027 murder retrial. Defense lawyers are already clashing with prosecutors over courtroom shackles and new DNA requests, following the state Supreme Court's decision to overturn Murdaugh's original 2023 conviction due to juror tampering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author Dr. John D. Van Dyke joins Chanley Painter to revisit the 1932 kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of America's most famous aviator.  From the homemade ladder and ransom notes to the massive investigation and the arrest of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, they examine the evidence, the groundbreaking forensic techniques, and the trial that became known as the "Crime of the Century." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A former youth pastor accused of pushing his wife to her death at Zion National Park in 2006 has died by suicide in jail, just three days after a chilling tip regarding an underage affair led to his long-delayed murder charge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than three years after a Pennsylvania couple was found murdered in their suburban Philadelphia home, investigators have charged their daughter, Michelle Zajko, with orchestrating the killings. Authorities say the case is connected to the so-called "Zizians," a cult-like group linked to multiple violent crimes across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1927, a disgruntled farmer detonated explosives beneath a Michigan elementary school, killing dozens in the deadliest school massacre in U.S. history. Nearly a century later, why has the Bath School disaster been forgotten? True crime historian and author of 'Maniac: The Bath School Disaster and the Birth of the Modern Mass Killer,'  Harold Schechter joins to unpack this dark, overlooked chapter of American history and the birth of the modern mass killer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An emotional plea from NBC Today Show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie comes amid new developments in her mother's abduction.  A newly revealed second ransom note claims that 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie died shortly after she was abducted, stating she was "buried with nature." A shift from the initial note demanding cryptocurrency for her safe return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Netflix's The Crash has reignited national obsession with the case of Mackenzie Shirilla, the Ohio teenager convicted of murder after intentionally driving into a brick wall at 100 mph, killing her boyfriend and friend. But beyond the shocking headlines, what does this tragedy reveal about the dark intersection of toxic teenage relationships, social media performance, and modern parenting? Licensed therapist Denise Brady joins Chanley Painter to examine the case through a clinical lens, breaking down the ignored warning signs, volatile family dynamics, and the critical psychological lessons that still spark intense debate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Just one day after signaling a mental health defense, Luigi Mangione's legal team abruptly pulled the filing as he continues to fight state and federal charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A judge delivered a blistering condemnation of Rex Heuermann before sentencing the admitted Gilgo Beach serial killer to multiple life terms, bringing a dramatic end to a case that remained unsolved for decades before DNA evidence led to his arrest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2021, Gabby Petito's disappearance during a cross-country road trip with fiancé Brian Laundrie captured the nation's attention. From viral body-camera footage to a nationwide search and the discovery of Gabby's remains, the case unfolded in real time before millions. Veteran journalist Ted Rowlands joins Chanley Painter to discuss the investigation, the key moments in the case, and how a missing person's case became a national obsession. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices