Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén

A small Connecticut town witnesses its first murder ever. The culprit is an unlikely, quiet teenager who swears he was not in control of his own body. His supporters, however, think they know exactly what drove the young man to kill his victim: a case of demonic possession. Sources for this episode include: The Devil in Connecticut by Ed Brittle, Ed Warren, and Lorraine WarrenLynn Darling’s reporting for The Washington Post Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you smuggle a convicted killer out of a maximum-security prison? Apparently, you just need a cardboard box, some packing tape, and a dog trainer nobody suspects. Sources for this episode include: Living With Conviction by Toby DorrBreakout (Dateline NBC) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave thought he'd met his dream girl in Cari, but after she mysteriously breaks up with him and vanishes, Dave endures years of cruel text messages and emails. Sources for this episode include: A Tangled Web: A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice by Leslie Rule Lover, Stalker, Killer Directed by Sam Hobkinson (Netflix)20/20, “Tangled Web” Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A Chicago respiratory therapist is brutally murdered in her apartment. Did her ghost solve her own case? Sources for this episode include:Teresita: The Voice from the Grave by John O’Brien and Edward Baumann“A Chicago Murder Solved By a Ghost” (Chicago Tribune)“Voice from grave names murderer, begs vengeance” (Boston Globe) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One FBI agent called it the most bizarre kidnapping case ever investigated by the Bureau: In 1968, an escaped convict and his new girlfriend bury their hostage alive in an underground chamber. Sources for this episode include: 83 Hours Till Dawn written by Gene Miller, in collaboration with Barbara Jane Mackle Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A seemingly heartbroken newlywed becomes the face of a shocking murder-for-hire plot—caught on tape before the crime can even happen. But as the trial unfolds, the real mystery isn’t what she planned, it’s how far reality can bend when everyone knows the cameras are watching. Sources for this episode include:Murder for Hire, "Crocodile Tears" (S1, E11 - 2019) Cnapped, "Dalia Dippolito (S8, E10 - 2012)"Murder Plots, Bumbling Cops, and Con Men: When Reality TV Goes Wrong" (VICE)"Florida Woman Dalia Dippolito Uses Reality TV Defense in Murder for Hire Trial" (ABC News)"Wife Accused in Plot to Kill Husband Speaks While on House Arrest" (ABC News, Interview) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Desperate to fit in, a teenage girl targets the most popular student at her school. The way she sees it, they can either be friends – or enemies. Sources for this episode include:“Death of a Cheerleader” by Randall Sullivan, reprinted in Best of Rolling Stone A Killer By Design by Ann Burgess The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade “The Cheerleader Murder” Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a young model vanishes in Italy, the story seems disturbingly familiar—until her sudden reappearance raises more questions than answers. As investigators dig deeper, a case that looked open-and-shut twists into something far stranger.Sources for this episode include:Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping (2025, BBC Three) directed by Stuart Bernard and Miles Bladen-Ryall"Model Says She Was Kidnapped, Auctioned as Sex Slave on Dark Web" (Vice)"Model Chloe Ayling Was Lured to Italy and Held for Ransom for Days” (People)“Drugged and kidnapped model says people still call her a liar years on” (BBC)“Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kindapping — Interview” (STYLE)Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plenty of scam artists have pretended to be psychics. Not many of them secretly employ their daughters to sweep a client off their feet with their own purported psychic gifts. But then again, not every con artist has $15 million at stake. Sources for this episode include:Rachel Lee Sentencing Memorandum & Indictment20/20: "Sweetheart Swindle" (2015, ABC News) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a lonely church volunteer in small-town Pennsylvania becomes obsessed with her new pastor, her festering jealousy toward a kindhearted fellow parishioner twists into delusion. Sources for this episode include: Love Me or Else: The True Story of a Devoted Pastor, a Fatal Jealousy, and the Murder that Rocked a Small Town by Colin McEvoy and Lynn Olanoff Dateline "Deadly Sanctuary" (2009, NBC)Lehigh Valley Live News Coverage Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 76-year-old career criminal leads a crew of pensioner thieves in Britain’s biggest-ever burglary—an “Ocean’s Eleven with bad knees” that nets £14 million in loot.Sources for this episode include:The Last Job: The Bad Grandpas and the Hatton Garden Heist by Dan BilefskyHatton Garden: The Inside Story (2019) Directed by Tim Conrad“One last job: the inside story of the Hatton Garden heist” (The Guardian, 2016) by Duncan Campbell Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world’s most iconic male strip show becomes a battleground of ego, greed, and murder when its visionary founder spirals from fame into paranoia—unleashing a deadly plot that shocks the entertainment industry. Sources for this episode include: A&E’s Secret of the Chippendales Murders The surreal true crimes behind Hulu’s Welcome to Chippendales (Vox) The secret story of the Chippendales (The Independent) Chippendales: The Indian whose US strip club empire ended with a murder Chippendales vs. Strippendales: The battle over a male strip club empire (Los Angeles Times) Keep up with Killer Stories!  Instagram: @killerstoriespod TikTok: @killerstoriespod X: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An online love triangle explodes into deception and murder when a middle-aged factory worker poses as a young Marine to seduce a teenage girl. Sources for this episode include:Talhotblond (2009) Directed by Barbara Schroeder“An IM Infatuation Turned to Romance. Then the Truth Came Out” (WIRED, 2007) by Nadya LabiABC News coverage (2010) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After eight years sharing stories about serial killers, we’re stepping fully into a new chapter of the show. Same meticulous research and sharp storytelling you love, whole new range of gripping crimes to explore. All with the incomparable Harvey Guillén at the helm! Watch the video trailer to see what’s ahead. First episode drops January 19th! Killer Stories is a Spotify Podcast. New video episodes drop on Mondays. Follow along @killerstoriespod! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey listeners, we’re beyond excited to introduce you to your new host, Harvey Guillén! Stay tuned as he ushers in a new era of the podcast you know and love—now with video this season! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today is the last day of Takeover Month, thank you for joining us! We’ll be back in January with brand new episodes and a brand new host. Investigator Slater (Psychopedia) takes us into the minds of criminals and killers with an incredible attention to detail and a pop quiz to keep us on our toes. In this episode she covers the larger questions around the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl inside a hospital chapel.  Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host! Crimehub is the place to go when you can’t get over a case, and you need every single detail. Their storytelling style guides you through the story as if you were there. If you’d like to stay up all night, listen to this episode about the deadliest act of familicide in U.S. history. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host! Sarah Turney (Voices for Justice) inspires us to be better true crime listeners. Her episodes go beyond the headlines to “engage with empathy” and explore the nuances behind criminal acts and those affected by them. In this episode, Sarah looks at the case of the Decker family, and she opens up a broader conversation about mental health, and the lack of support for military veterans in crisis. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host! Alan Cross (Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry) usually hosts the ‘Ongoing History of New Music’ podcast, but on this show he takes a closer look at the crimes and unsolved mysteries of music’s most infamous players. If you like knowing the dark history of the artists that might’ve showed up on your Wrapped this year, check him out. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host! Kaelyn Moore (Heart Starts Pounding) knows how to make our hearts beat faster. If you’re into paranormal crime, her mix of creepy stories and true crime cases will keep you on the edge of your seat every week. In this episode, Kaelyn unpacks the dark side of livestreaming culture, and the abuse that can unfold on these platforms. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi listeners! After this week, we'll be taking a short break for the holiday. We'll be back in December with a special series to close out the year. Until then, here's Ed Gein Pt. 2. After murdering two women, robbing graves, and decorating his home with human body parts, Ed Gein found himself arrested and in the media’s spotlight. We look into his trial, institutionalization, and the public’s fascination with him… a fascination that still lives on today. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We explore the twisted mind of Ed Gein, whose gruesome killings inspired horror movies Pyscho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. Gein was known for years as the local handyman in Plainfield, until it was uncovered in 1957 that he killed two women and robbed the graves of multiple other women. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For Halloween this year we are bringing back one of your favorites, an urban legend about a terrifying Texas child-killer… and discussing how real-life cases echo the legend. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For Halloween this year we are bringing back one of your favorites. In 1996, a new horror movie with an innovative twist would reinvigorate the slasher genre. But behind the fictional Ghostface was an inspiration steeped in reality. A man in a makeshift mask who stalked and tormented teenage girls during a three-day murderous rampage. A man known as the Gainesville Ripper. Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode first aired on November 18, 2024. Across the U.S., college-aged men have been found dead in rivers, lakes, and ponds, and while their deaths have been ruled accidental, a team of retired detectives believes something more nefarious is going on. We’re joined by producer Chelsea Wood and co-hosts Aine Cain and Kevin Greenlee from The Murder Sheet.  Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode first aired on April 14, 2025. The sordid story of Chad and Lori Daybell hit national news in 2020: missing children, suspicious deaths, and a trail of fringe religious beliefs. We’re diving in with author and former criminal defense attorney Lori Hellis, whose book Children of Darkness and Light unpacks the twists of this case.   Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode first aired on August 19, 2024. He’s been called many names: the Boogeyman, the Thrill Vulture, the Moon Maniac, the Werewolf of Wysteria… But in life, he was known as Albert Fish and his gruesome crimes redefined the limits of human depravity.  Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode first aired on January 15, 2018. On the outside, Jane Toppan seemed like a loving nurse who cared deeply for her patients. But for years, she used her nursing skills to experiment with medicines…and kill the people who trusted her the most.  Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She dressed like a grandmother, lied about her age, and acted like a guardian angel… while secretly killing the very people she claimed to help. At her Sacramento boarding house, Dorothea Puente took in elderly, sick and disabled tenants. But once their social security checks arrived, she killed them, then spent all their money. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Biegenwald didn’t have a consistent method or a clear motive. He killed out of impulse—sometimes for attention, sometimes for no reason at all. His crimes were scattered, senseless, and terrifyingly casual. From luring teens to shooting strangers, Biegenwald thrived on chaos and unpredictability. With no victim profile and no emotional trigger, he’s a textbook example of a hedonistic thrill killer—driven not by anger or revenge, but by the rush of the act itself. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeffrey Dahmer seemed quiet, even unassuming. But beneath the surface was a man consumed by violent desire. He didn’t kill out of anger—he killed to satisfy a fantasy. Every detail was deliberate, from the way he lured his victims to the way he posed their bodies. Driven by arousal, obsession, and control, he found pleasure not just in death, but in what came after. With his ritualistic methods and fixation on domination, he’s a textbook example of a hedonistic lust killer. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This Florida cop dedicated his life to fighting crime. But in his mind, the only way to truly clean up the streets, was to become a killer himself. So Manuel “Manny” Pardo killed nine people. And even in jail, he claimed his family would see him as a hero. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The visionary killer blames their crimes on an external force – an apparition who commands them to kill. In Joseph Kallinger’s case, multiple entities urging him to commit arson… and then, to kill everyone on planet Earth. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ted Bundy was calculated, composed, even charming. But behind the polished exterior was a predator obsessed with control. He used manipulation, deceit, and dominance to gain total power over his victims. From his carefully planned attacks to his detailed confessions, Ted Bundy is a textbook case of a power and control killer. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2022, Six weeks after the murders of the Idaho Four, Bryan Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania. Fast forward to July of 2025, when just weeks before his trial was set to begin, he pleaded guilty. Later that month, he was sentenced to life in prison. ABC News Kayna Whitworth joins to talk about who Bryan is, what the evidence is, and what role his criminology background may have played in the crimes. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, four students at the University of Idaho were murdered in their off-campus home. The shocking brutality of the murders garnered media attention while police searched for the killer. But for author and private investigator J. Reuben Appelman, the story was personal: his own daughter was a student at the same college as the victims. And he wanted to know about the people behind the story. Who were Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle in life? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast. J.’s book, While Idaho Slept: The Hunt For Answers in the Murders of Four College Students, is available now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Hook Man is an urban legend dating back to the 1950s. The terrifying story tells of a killer with a hook for a hand who preys on young couples parked in lovers’ lanes. The legend found new life in the 1997 slasher film, I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is being rebooted in 2025. But this story is more than just campfire fuel. The legend was possibly inspired by the Texarkana Moonlight Murders of 1946 – a string of unsolved attacks by a masked assailant known only as The Phantom Killer. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a young boy vanished in 1911, police received mysterious postcards. The horrifying allegations and broad inconsistencies led them to believe the notes were a hoax – until it was too late. With one victim recovered, police faced the question: what other murders could these postcards solve? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May, 1985. Two days before her high school graduation, Shari Faye Smith was abducted from her parents’ driveway in broad daylight. Her kidnapper taunted Shari’s family by phone for days, calling in the middle of the night and revealing bone-chilling details of his crime. With little evidence to go on, South Carolina investigators brought in FBI criminal profiler John Douglas and his colleagues, who used the recorded phone calls to create a profile of their UNSUB. About 2 weeks later, 9-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped in a similar manner. When both girls turned up dead, investigators realized they had a probable serial killer on their hands – and they needed to find him before he could strike again. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ervil LeBaron, the prophet of a Fundamentalist LDS sect in Mexico, has grasped power after being released from prison for orchestrating his brother’s murder. Now, Ervil has a list of names of those who have turned their back against his leadership. By reinstating the religious doctrine of blood atonement, Ervil compels his followers to murder his opponents and family members in his name. This episode features guest host Madison McGhee of Ice Cold Case. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1920s, the LeBaron family settles in Mexico to practice their own sect of Mormonism. They establish a settlement, open a church, and work the farms. But after the family patriarch dies, the settlement becomes a bloody battleground for brothers all claiming to be a prophet. Guest host Madison McGhee of Ice Cold Case joins the podcast to discuss killer prophet Ervil LeBaron. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy solstice, listeners! Join our guest host this week, Sapphire Sandalo, for a summertime tale of betrayal, murder, and the bizarre journey of a criminal corpse. It's 1827, and the Marten family hasn’t seen 25-year-old Maria in five months, ever since she left home with plans to elope with William Corder. Whenever they ask about her, William always has an explanation for why she hasn’t visited or written a letter. So, they haven’t worried too much.Until now. Maria’s stepmother, Ann, is haunted by troubling nightmares in which Maria isn’t living out her “happily ever after” at all. In fact, if Ann’s visions are correct, Maria is dead…and she’s buried down the road, in their village’s Red Barn. Check out Sapphire's shows Stories With Sapphire and Discovery's The Ghost Town Terror. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1970s, at least seven young women and girls go missing around Santa Rosa, California. Seven are found dead, and one remains unidentified. Several killers, including the Zodiac and Ted Bundy, were known to commit crimes in Northern California. Could one of them be responsible for the unsolved Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders, or is there yet another serial killer waiting to be identified? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

His modus operandi is shocking: years before he strangled his victims, Henry Louis Wallace befriended them. By and large, they were his coworkers at Bojangles and Taco Bell. But under interrogation, he’d admit an even darker motive. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A missing woman in Florida leads police to a fugitive who’s been on the run for 17 years. But that’s just the beginning. Franklin Delano Floyd not only becomes a suspect in that case, but he’s then tied to several unsolved murders, disappearances, and kidnappings dating back to the 1970s. For police, it will take decades to fully uncover the crimes of Franklin Delano Floyd. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a boneless torso possibly belonging to a woman named Cora Turner is found in the cellar of a London home, the culprit seems almost obvious. Her husband, Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, seems to have disappeared with his mistress. But the true answer isn’t that easy. Nearly a hundred years later, some people are still wondering whether the police caught the right person. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“...catch me if you can!” Police find those words written on a note left in a jacket draped over a murder victim’s body. They believe the message comes from a serial killer targeting young women in the Washington, D.C. area, nicknamed the Freeway Phantom. But the handwriting? Belongs to someone else. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The eighty miles surrounding Dublin, Ireland, hold a chilling mystery. Between 1993 and 1998, at least six women disappeared in the area, and their cases remain unsolved. Police investigations have targeted at least one suspect, but still no one has been charged. The question remains: is a serial killer responsible for these disappearances? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After getting away with murder in LA, retirees Helen and Olga scheme to kill again. But when an unlikely party sniffs out their crimes, the friends turn on each other. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No one batted an eye at the two women who became fast friends at an LA gym in the 1990s – until years later, when it came out that they’d teamed up for a plot to kill men down on their luck. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In early 2020, the story of Lori Daybell and her new husband, Chad Daybell, hit national news. They’d seemingly fled to Hawaii while two of Lori’s children were missing, leaving a wake of mysterious deaths and attacks behind. The public and authorities pressed for answers, hoping Lori’s children would come home safely, while allegations of fringe, neo-fundamentalist Mormon beliefs became a key element of the story. Lori is representing herself at trial this Spring in Arizona. With three convictions and a life sentence to her name already, she has pleaded not guilty in the conspiracy to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow. In today’s episode, we welcome author and former criminal defense attorney Lori Hellis, who spent years researching the case for her book Children of Darkness and Light – Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell: A Story of Murderous Faith, out now. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Children-of-Darkness-and-Light/Lori-Hellis/9781639367108 Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Struggling with gambling and spiraling into debt, William Palmer turned to murder. This week, we continue analyzing the deaths Palmer was accused of, and how the scheming doctor was finally caught. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1855, Dr. William Palmer became one of the Victorian era’s most famous villains – a man who poisoned his own friends and family. But with limited evidence and only one conviction, was Palmer really a serial killer? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Texas, convicted murderer Ed Bell claimed he killed 11 girls between Houston and Galveston back in the 1970s. Reporter Lise Olsen and detective Fred Paige investigated those claims and uncovered eerie ties between Bell and several unresolved murders. In particular, they focused on three cases: all of them, double homicides of teenage best friends. Did Ed Bell really kill Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson, Sharon Shaw and Renee Johnson, and Brooks Bracewell and Georgia Geer? Why did investigators dismiss his confessions so quickly? And what about Ed’s claim of a massive brainwashing conspiracy called “The Program”? You can watch Lise and Fred’s investigation unfold in the docuseries The Eleven. And check out Lise’s nonfiction book, The Scientist and the Serial Killer, debuting in April 2025: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720488/the-scientist-and-the-serial-killer-by-lise-olsen/ Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edward Harold Bell was serving a 70-year prison sentence for murdering a man when he sent a letter to Houston reporter Lise Olsen. He told her he’d also killed 11 girls in and around the Interstate-45 corridor between Houston and Galveston back in the 1970s. He named some of these victims and described others with initials, locations, and years. And he included a poem that he titled “The Eleven Who Went To Heaven.” Lise joined the efforts of Detective Fred Paige to investigate Bell’s links to the unresolved cases he alluded to… and together, they uncovered a long list of eerie coincidences and compelling circumstantial evidence. You can watch Lise and Fred’s investigation unfold in the docuseries The Eleven. And check out Lise’s nonfiction book, The Scientist and the Serial Killer, debuting in April 2025: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/720488/the-scientist-and-the-serial-killer-by-lise-olsen/ Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a series of double-homicides struck Virginia in the late 1980s, authorities immediately suspected a serial killer. But it took 35 years – and random chance – to find the missing link. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five missing people in five years. And that’s far from the only fact that aroused suspicion of a serial killer operating along the Idaho-Washington border in the early 1980s. While some victims have been found, the hunt for the killer is still on. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fall of 1994, a 13-year-old boy found a human skull in his backyard. Detectives later discovered thousands more bones scattered about his family's estate, a property known as Fox Hollow Farm. The remains belonged to the presumed victims of Herb Baumeister, an alleged serial killer active thought to be active in Indiana for more than a decade. The investigation closed in the late-‘90s without an arrest. 11 unique DNA samples were catalogued and 8 victims identified at the time, but officials suspect the remains belong to as many as 25 people. In 2022, Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison set out on a brand new investigation to put them to rest. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1960, Sharon Kinne is a typical housewife raising two children in Kansas City. By 1964, she’s the subject of an investigation into the deaths of three people… and an international fugitive. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For Valentine’s Day we’re going back into the archives to bring you some of the most infamous couples in true crime history. All Wanda Barzee wanted in life was for someone to take care of her, and in return she promised complete devotion. So when her paramour, self-styled prophet Brian David Mitchell, demanded she help him find a child bride, Wanda aided and abetted the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For Valentine’s Day we’re going back into the archives to bring you some of the most infamous couples in true crime history. Kathryn Kelly was running schemes long before she ever met her notorious husband. She hungered to live a life of luxury and decadence. And she’d never apologize for those desires… Or for the things she did to make her dreams come true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1907, George Soper located the cause of a typhoid outbreak in New York City: a cook named Mary Mallon. Mary didn’t know it, but each and every meal she cooked carried a small chance for her clients to come down with the disease. Finding out the truth could cost Mary her job…and her freedom. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late 1800s, Mary Mallon was a cook for wealthy families in New York City. She thought her job was going well; her clients seemed pleased and she had a reputation as an exceptional chef. But then, the family members started getting sick, and Mary had no idea that she was the cause. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Bateman had been playing people for fools for years. The problem was, too many of her dissatisfied customers stuck around to complain about her trickery. Her solution? Murder. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mary Bateman was an accomplished liar from a young age, and when she grew up, she started using that talent as a way of making money. Passing herself off as a witch, she tricked paranoid and gullible customers into handing over their hard-earned money in exchange for predictions and potions. But unfortunately, not every one of the Yorkshire Witch's customers lived to tell the tale. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As our Best of 2024 selection, we're featuring our three-part series on notorious serial killer Israel Keyes. Israel Keyes died having only confessed to a handful of murders and crimes. Researchers and investigators are left piecing together evidence to solve cold cases. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As our Best of 2024 selection, we're featuring our three-part series on notorious serial killer Israel Keyes. Over the course of six months in 2012, Israel Keyes sits down with the FBI for a series of interviews. In between toying with investigators and bargaining for what he wants, he confesses to a handful of other crimes — while alluding to a whole lot more. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As our Best of 2024 selection, we're featuring our three-part series on notorious serial killer Israel Keyes. In 2012, Israel Keyes is arrested and charged with kidnapping and killing an 18-year-old barista. Prior to that, he’d had just one blemish on his criminal record: a DUI. He’s since been called “the most terrifying serial killer you’ve probably never heard of.” Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're continuing our holiday break, but you won't want to miss the episode we're highlighting this week. In this episode, our friends at Murder in America sit down and for an interview with a man who claims to have killed 30 people. This two-part series digs deep into the life of Nate "Boone" Craft, one of Detroit's most notorious hit men. You can listen to part two now, on the Murder in America feed. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy holidays, listeners! We're starting off our winter break by bringing you an episode from our colleagues at Science Vs about how a notorious murder case was solved with help from an unlikely source: a nuclear weapons lab. It’s the 1990s at a medical center in California, and patients are dying. At first, this doesn’t seem strange — it’s a hospital, and deaths happen. But then rumors start to circulate about a particular health care worker: difficult or needy patients in his care are ending up dead. The cops get involved, but there’s a huge problem: there’s no hard evidence. Until the so-called “Lab of Last Resort” steps in. Crime Junkie host Ashley Flowers joins us as we speak to analytical chemist Armando Alcaraz, former Detective Sergeant John McKillop, and Dr. Ian Musgrave. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may have seen the movie and heard the musical, but do you know the secrets? As we take a break from our regular programming for the holidays, we’re revisiting one of the most influential films of all time. Walk with us as Carter follows the yellow brick road to the dark side. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Three decades. Eleven states. Over 600 bodies. Across the United States, college-aged men have ended up dead in rivers, lakes, and ponds. The deaths have been ruled accidental drownings, but a team of retired detectives believes a small, smiley-face shaped clue points to something more nefarious: a gang of serial killers. To help dissect the Smiley face Killers theory, Vanessa is joined by producer Chelsea Wood and hosts of the podcast The Murder Sheet, Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In May 1999, Hong Kong police found the scattered remains of a young mother in a flat in the city’s Kowloon district. The crime scene was like nothing anyone had seen before: unimaginable brutality set against a backdrop of Hello Kitty memorabilia. Investigators eventually pieced together a harrowing tale of abduction, torture, and immense suffering. But one question remained at trial: did a murder occur? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nancy Santomero and Vicki Durian hitchhiked from Arizona to West Virginia in the summer of 1980. They planned to attend the Rainbow Gathering, an annual event where like-minded, free spirits could peacefully gather and celebrate. Just before they arrived, someone killed them. The murder remains unsolved, and the question remains: Were the women killed by West Virginian locals, as law enforcement believed? Or were they victims of serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Say Candyman’s name five times in a mirror and you’ll summon his vengeful spirit, then he’ll slaughter you with his hook. That’s how the urban legend goes anyway. It was directly inspired by a short story, a series of Hollywood films, and some suspect…a real-life crime. Don’t believe a killer can come through your bathroom mirror? Tell that to Ruthie Mae McCoy. Ashley Flowers — creator of hit podcasts like Crime Junkie and The Deck Investigates, and author of #1 New York Times bestseller All Good People Here — takes over as guest host for this Halloween special. For more gripping true crime stories, listen to Crime Junkie, and follow Crime Junkie on Instagram @crimejunkiepodcast for even more exclusive content. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you’ve babysat, you’ve heard this tale: While her charges sleep, a babysitter receives harassing phone calls telling her to “check the children”. But this urban legend has disturbing real-life parallels, including the case of 14-year-old Karen Slattery. The major difference between truth and fiction? Who dies. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a remote area of York County, Pennsylvania, a two-story clapboard house stands in Rehmeyer’s Hollow, aka “Hex Hollow” – where some say the spirit of Nelson Rehmeyer still resides. Perhaps that’s because his home was also the site of a real-life terror: the 1928 Hex Hollow Murder, which claimed Nelson’s life. The crime made headlines, but it wasn’t just the brutal act itself that shocked the nation…it was the fact that the killers believed Nelson Rehmeyer was a malicious witch whose hexes could only be broken in death. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

According to the urban legends, Highway 666 is a paranormal hotspot in the remote American Southwest. The “Devil’s Highway” is cursed by ghostly hitchhikers, UFOs, and the homicidal “demon trucker” who stalks his prey along the highway. Highway 666 has since been renamed. And while the demon trucker has never been confirmed, the stories about him pale in comparison to the true case of Robert Ben Rhoades, the “Truck Stop Killer” who abducted victims and tortured them in his sleeper cab as they crossed the U.S. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In August of 1989, 21-year-old Lyle and 18-year-old Erik Menendez murdered their parents in Beverly Hills after years of abuse. Afterward, they attempted to cover it up, but their stories quickly unravelled. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jose Menendez pursued wealth at the expense of everything else in his life, including his relationship with his family. He abused his wife Kitty, and his sons, Lyle and Erik, until tension in the household finally boiled over in 1989. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On September 13th, 1978, an episode of The Dating Game aired on network television featuring a man named Rodney Alcala as “Bachelor Number One.” The announcer introduced him as a “successful photographer” – but at the time, Rodney had a secret. He’d already killed at least four victims…and he wasn’t done yet. Be sure to watch Woman of the Hour on Netflix, starting October 18th. Directed by and starring Anna Kendrick, Woman of the Hour tells the story of a woman whose life intersects with Rodney Alcala’s in a surprising way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ted Kaczynski, the man better known to the world as the Unabomber, died in 2023. But his manifesto and the ideas he presented as justifications for his killings have become more mainstream. We sat down with Candice DeLong, one of the FBI agents who helped capture Kaczynski in 1996, as well as Gary Wright, who survived a bombing in 1987. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Check out Candice’s new podcast Natural Selection: Scott v. Wild Bill. All episodes out now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There was no debate over whether Betty Lou Beets killed two of her husbands. But there was great concern over her motivation. Did she do it out of fear or for money? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All she really wanted in life was freedom. But Betty Lou Beets wound up trapped in abusive marriage after abusive marriage. It was only a matter of time before she would strike back. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re celebrating 500 episodes over at @serialkillerspodcast - come share your favorite episodes and memories from the show, and enjoy some special behind-the-scenes bonus content! He’s been called many names: the Boogeyman, the Thrill Vulture, the Moon Maniac, the Ogre of Murder Lodge, the Grey Man, the Brooklyn Vampire, and the Werewolf of Wysteria. But in life, he was known as Albert Fish and his gruesome crimes redefined the limits of human depravity. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 13 years as a Mafia hit man, he found himself in the crosshairs of the New Jersey Police. There was only one thing left to do: slaughter every last one of his friends before they got the chance to turn on him. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He killed over a hundred people before the police had even heard his name. So when the Mafia needed a body to drop without getting their hands dirty, there was only one man to call. Richard Kuklinski was quick, vicious, and utterly invisible. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In August of 2018, Chris and Shanann Watts’ marriage ended in violent tragedy. The trauma left a family broken and a Colorado community reeling, as the public struggled to understand the shocking crime. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris and Shanann Watts seemed to have the picture-perfect life. But in reality, an extramarital affair, financial struggles, and conflicts with extended family were tearing the couple apart, all leading to a shocking, brutal crime that would shock the nation. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1978, Ann Wolbert Burgess was a psychiatric nurse, researcher, and professor at Boston College’s Connell School of Nursing. She and her colleague, Lynda Holmstrom, had recently published their findings on the emotional and psychological effects of sexual assault on survivors. That fall, her work was interrupted by a phone call. The FBI wanted to speak with her. They needed her help. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Honolulu, on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu, is a quintessential paradise. In 1986, it was also the hunting grounds of a serial killer who was never caught: The Honolulu Strangler. Investigators believe he claimed as many as five victims before seemingly disappearing into thin air. Now, cold case detectives believe they may have some answers in the as-yet-unsolved case. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

George Joseph Smith, the “London Bluebeard,” was said to have hypnotizing eyes that lured women into marriage – and on to their untimely deaths. But it was his strange method of killing them that would eventually lead to his downfall…after his third wife died in the bathtub during their honeymoon. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a Missouri real estate tycoon fell sick in 1909, he promised his family a large inheritance. But one in-law was after far more than a piece of the pie. Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde wanted the whole fortune, even if it meant using his medical knowledge for murder. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1938, Philadelphia’s Bolber-Petrillo Murder Ring had collected an estimated $100,000 in insurance payouts. But like many criminals on a lucky streak, they got sloppy. As investigators unraveled the threads of the ring’s vast conspiracy, Dr. Morris Bolber put on one last show. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1930s Philadelphia, self-styled “doctor” Morris Bolber claimed he could fix any ailment – even a broken marriage. His poisonous prescriptions for unhappy housewives killed dozens of men. When the prescriptions didn’t work, Bolber called a pair of conman brothers who were guaranteed to get the job done – as long as they got a chunk of the life insurance money. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Italian woman living in Rome during the 17th century sold black-market poison to women who wanted to escape their marriages. She packaged the liquid in glass vials and used labels that claimed it was a healing ointment. It was said to be slow-acting, tasteless, odorless, and completely undetectable. Warnings claimed just four to six drops were “sufficient enough to destroy a man.” But with the right dosage, aspiring widows could prolong their husband’s suffering — long enough for them to, say, get their affairs in order. Is Giulia Tofana history’s most prolific killer? Vanessa is joined by the hosts of the podcast Women & Crime, Doctors Meghan Sacks and Amy Shlosberg. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serial killer or serial liar? Kelly Cochran is guilty of two homicides, which she blames on a pact she made with her husband, Jason. But Kelly’s history of lies and manipulation may have concealed up to thirty-two murders and at least one case of cannibalism. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1974, 17-year-old Carla Walker was abducted from a car in Fort Worth, Texas. Days later, her body was discovered in a remote culvert a few miles away. 46 years later, an arrest was made. But was she Glen McCurley’s only victim? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At 11, Mary Bell was on trial for not one, but two murders – during which she was often considered a “bad seed” by those who couldn’t comprehend how such a young girl could commit these acts. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s 2004, and Sheila LaBarre has inherited wealth, a massive farm, and animals she adores. She has everything she ever wanted…almost. What Sheila really wants is to find men who sexually abuse children, and kill them. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sheila LaBarre’s childhood dreams weren’t out of the ordinary: get out of her small town, become famous, marry a wealthy man. But after a near-death experience, Sheila’s perspective shifts and she sets her sights on revenge. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

April 25 marks National DNA Day in the US, and if you’ve been following true crime stories for a while you know how important DNA can be for solving even the most complicated of cases. In this episode, we’re exploring the first murder case ever solved using DNA analysis, and how it changed a small English town, and forensic science, forever. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1989, Kristen Gilbert started her nursing career at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northampton, Massachusetts. She impressed medical staff for her quick and skilled reactions to emergencies on her ward and in the ICU. But over the following seven years, so much death occurred during her shifts that she gained the moniker “The Angel of Death.” Was it a coincidence, or was Kristen Gilbert killing her patients? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1975, two young girls, Kate and Sheila Lyon, disappeared from the Wheaton Plaza Mall in Montgomery County, Maryland. Investigators assumed the worst: that they were abducted by a stranger with sexual motivations. But the case went cold without answers — and all these years later, the truth is still complicated. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All Anthony Garcia ever wanted to be was a successful doctor.  When anyone got in his way, he attacked – resulting in four violent murders. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israel Keyes died having only confessed to a handful of murders and crimes. Researchers and investigators are left piecing together evidence to solve cold cases. Special thanks to Josh Hallmark for lending his expertise to today’s episode. Check out True Crime B******t, Josh’s investigation into Israel Keyes, as well as his other Studio BOTH/AND podcasts on Spotify or wherever else you listen. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the course of six months in 2012, Israel Keyes sits down with the FBI for a series of interviews. In between toying with investigators and bargaining for what he wants, he confesses to a handful of other crimes — while alluding to a whole lot more. Special thanks to Josh Hallmark for lending his expertise to today’s episode. Check out True Crime B******t, Josh’s investigation into Israel Keyes, as well as his other Studio BOTH/AND podcasts on Spotify or wherever else you listen. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2012, Israel Keyes is arrested and charged with kidnapping and killing an 18-year-old barista. Prior to that, he’d had just one blemish on his criminal record: a DUI. He’s since been called “the most terrifying serial killer you’ve probably never heard of.” Special thanks to Josh Hallmark for lending his expertise to today’s episode. Check out True Crime B******t, Josh’s investigation into Israel Keyes, as well as his other Studio BOTH/AND podcasts on Spotify or wherever else you listen. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On September 29, 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman took one Extra Strength Tylenol capsule to ease her sore throat and mysteriously died less than four hours later. The same day, three members of the Janus family ingested Tylenol. Brothers Adam and Stanley died hours later. Theresa, Stanley’s wife, experienced chest pain and was rushed to the hospital, where she passed away two days later. In that span of time, two more victims – Mary Reiner and Mary McFarland – met similar fates. Shortly after, Paula Prince was discovered dead in her apartment All seven victims were living in the Chicago area; all seven had taken Extra-Strength Tylenol. Authorities determined the capsules had been laced with deadly potassium cyanide; a task force was promptly assembled; and Tylenol’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson, swiftly removed products from shelves amid growing concern around the country. Soon, they introduced tamper-proof packaging that became ubiquitous for medications and other products. And yet, the crime remains unsolved to this day. One name loomed large in the field of suspects connected to the unsolved 1982 Chicago Tylenol Murders: James Lewis. Investigators could never prove he did it, but Lewis held a certain fascination anyway. Why? Who was this man – and could he really have committed such an evil crime? CBS Chicago investigative reporter Brad Edwards decided to trace Lewis’s past to answer those questions for the docuseries PainKiller: The Tylenol Murders, on Paramount Plus. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In July 2023, Rex Heuermann was arrested and charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello. Additional charges came in January 2024 for the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Robert Kolker, author of Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery joins the show to talk about the 16-year investigation, the apathy toward sex workers, and the lives and families of the Gilgo Four. The audiobook edition of Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker is available for Spotify Premium Subscribers in our Audiobook catalog, where you can check it out after listening to this episode. To buy the hard copy, you can visit: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/lost-girls-robert-kolker Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Olivia Hope and Ben Smart were partying with their friends on New Year’s Eve in the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand. As the party was dying down they accepted an offer from a stranger to come aboard his yacht. They were never heard from again. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In October 1983, police found Gertrude McCabe dead inside her San Jose home: Who would murder an 88-year-old woman in such a violent fashion? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] — This episode is sponsored by ABC’s Will Trent, last season’s most talked-about new crime series. Special agent Will Trent has an eye for the crucial clues that close even the toughest cases. He uses his amazing gift for reading crime scenes to catch kidnappers, murderers – even a serial killer. Watch Season 2 of Will Trent, at its new time, Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and stream on Hulu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During a 1972 snowstorm, musical prodigy Lee Morgan and his band played a set at Slug’s Saloon in New York City. One minute, he was entertaining the crowd, his trumpet blaring with solo after solo. The next, he was dead. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sometimes violence comes from the people you least expect. ​Annie Elise, host of SERIALously and 10 to Life, joins Vanessa to discuss two shocking murders, overlooked warning signs, and how all of us can prevent future tragedies. The case of Brenda Delgado and Ricky Paniagua begins at (2:53), and the case of Morgan McCaffery and Gilbert Newton III begins at (17:17). Annie and Vanessa share their final thoughts and the resources available to all of us starting at (28:11). Visit https://impact.byspotify.com/serialkillers to learn more, get support, and take action on the specific types of abuse in this episode. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence in any form, help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline provides free, confidential support 24/7. Call 1-800-799-SAFE, or visit TheHotline.org. If you need support for a teen or young person experiencing dating abuse, visit the Love is Respect website at https://www.loveisrespect.org/. For mental health resources and global domestic violence resources, you can visit https://resources.byspotify.com/ Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leading up to the Grammys, we’re covering one of history’s most infamous musicians: Charles Manson. Vanessa explores the music references Manson’s followers left at the crime scenes, how the crimes reverberated through the music business, and why Charles Manson blamed the murders on The Beatles. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leading up to the Grammys, we’re covering one of history’s most infamous musicians: Charles Manson. Vanessa explores how Manson’s failed music career morphed into a murder cult. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

50 years ago to this day, Dennis Rader, aka BTK, killed four members of the Otero family. These murders were his first of ten, and he would play cat-and-mouse games with media and law enforcement for the next 30 years before his own ego got him captured. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A fire in the beautiful LaLaurie mansion reveals some ugly secrets. In this episode we recount the events of the night in 1834 when Delphine went from being the queen of Creole society to one of its most reviled citizens. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Her New Orleans mansion is said to be haunted, but the truth behind the legend of Delphine LaLaurie is much scarier than a ghost lurking in the corner. Join Vanessa as she recounts the life and horror of the infamous mistress. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy holidays from all of us at Serial Killers! We will be back with a new episode in January. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy one of our best episodes of the year. After Robert Garrow committed his first murder, he retreated to Adirondack Park to hide in the wilderness. But the peaceful atmosphere of the woods only agitated him more, leading him to go on a gruesome murder spree in the Adirondack Mountains. And even after being caught, he still planned to continue killing. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy holidays from all of us at Serial Killers! We will be back with a new episode in January. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy one of our best episodes of the year. He grew up without any friends and suffered severe head injuries due to abuse from his parents. As Robert Garrow got older, he turned to crimes like larceny and burglary. But eventually, he gave way to darker and more twisted impulses. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the fallout at the PNC Bank, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Bill Rothstein scrambled to cover their tracks. But the FBI was already closing in, working to reveal the mastermind behind the entire plan. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In order to deactivate the bomb, Brian’s co-conspirators set up an elaborate scavenger hunt around Erie, Pennsylvania. But as police started to follow the clues, tragedy struck. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In August 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Wells strapped a collar bomb to his neck and chest and entered a PNC Bank demanding $250,000 in cash. He thought it was the perfect bank robbery, and that the bomb on his chest was fake. He was wrong on both counts. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After her sentencing, investigators and the American public thought the case of ‘Bloody Babs’ was finally over. But as Barbara revealed new details about her version of events, her guilt was once again put into question. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The case of Barbara Graham has mystified people for generations. She was convicted for the murder of Mabel Monahan in 1953, but was she actually guilty? Or just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adolfo Constanzo may be known as the leader of The Narco Satanists cult, but equally deserving of the title was his right-hand woman, Sara Aldrete. Following Adolfo’s recruitment, Sara accompanied him everywhere – from ritual magic to murder. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For Halloween, we’re presenting an urban legend about a terrifying Texas child-killer… and discussing how real-life cases echo the legend. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Hayward, California, in 1988, the unthinkable happened – 9-year-old Michaela Garecht was abducted by a stranger, witnessed only by her best friend. Her mother endures decades of stalled-out investigations and false leads, until the abduction is linked to a possible serial killer. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The true story behind Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon: Members of Osage Nation are being targeted for their high-priced oil headrights. There’s so many murders that the small local police department can’t investigate thoroughly, so the tribe turns to the newly-formed FBI to get the job done. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and @theconspiracypod! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The true story behind Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon: In the early twentieth century, Oklahoma’s Osage Reservation was rich in oil and spread the wealth across the tribe. But in the 1920s, it became clear that someone was killing members of the tribe. Was it a serial killer? A ploy to grab rights to the oil money? Or was it both? Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and @theconspiracypod! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early 2000s, a serial killer attacked at least six young women around Jacksonville, Florida. Though we’re still awaiting official justice, authorities have strong suspicion around convicted murderer Paul Durousseau. Today, Vanessa analyzes how well the Strangler’s crimes line up with Durousseau’s MO. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You may have heard of ‘boy moms’, but we promise you’ve never heard of one like Sante Kimes. In the final part of our story you’ll hear about how Kimes’ grifts grew in scale and complexity, and how the only person she trusted to carry out her deadly plans was her own son, Kenny Jr. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would you steal if you knew you could get away with it? After years of robbery and fraud Sante Kimes moved on to steal something much more sinister than coats and cash: people’s freedom. Specifically, the freedom of service workers and undocumented immigrants who she enslaved in her homeusing terrifying threats and physical violence. Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sante Kimes grew up with very little, so after she moved in with millionaire real-estate investor Kenneth Kimes, she took advantage of all that his wealth had to offer. Enough was never enough: and once she got what she wanted, she couldn’t stop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rudy Bladel claimed he murdered his coworkers in an act of revenge — but most of his victims were complete strangers. Vanessa examines his life and crimes to understand Bladel’s twisted logic.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harvey Miguel Robinson committed his first murder when he was just 17. As the son of a convicted murderer and violent abuser, did he ever have a chance?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1969, a 23-year-old law student at the University of Michigan was found murdered in a cemetery outside of Ann Arbor. Jane Mixer’s death was considered part of a string of violent killings known as the Michigan murders, thought to be the work of a serial killer. That changed when new evidence came to light. But more than 50 years later, doubt remains. Was the right person sent to prison? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eliot Ness went to the grave in 1957 without ever convicting the Cleveland Torso Murderer. Decades later, his family would reveal a secret suspect hidden within his notes, that was too well-connected to be accused publicly. This episode originally aired in April 2019.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When a torso washed up on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in 1937, the police initially assumed a crime of passion. But when the next torso was found, they knew they had a serial murderer on their hands. Nicknamed the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, a notorious killer stalked the slums of Cleveland, killing vagrants he thought no one would miss. This episode originally aired in April 2019.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1980s, after decades of snowballing violent impulses, Dayton Leroy Rogers began murdering women and leaving their bodies in the Molalla forest in Oregon.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a repressive religious upbringing filled with abuse from his fundamentalist father, Dayton Leroy Rogers grew into a rage-filled young man.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a 7-month hiatus between 1918 and 1919, the Axeman jumped back into his killing spree. City officials tried to track down the mysterious killer, but their hunt led to nothing but dead ends and wrongful convictions. To this day, the Axeman's true identity remains unknown. This episode originally aired April 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While the U.S. was wrapped up in the final days of World War I, New Orleans was facing an enemy right in their own backyard. In the early 20th century, a wave of fear rolled through Crescent City as a mysterious man began axing people in the dead of night while they were fast asleep. This episode originally aired March 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1985, the Monster of Florence had claimed 16 lives—but authorities were no closer to catching the killer than when they'd started their investigation, and the trail was getting colder every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of Italy’s most notorious serial killers has never (definitively) been identified. The mysterious Monster of Florence murdered couples in their cars, beginning in 1974. The crimes were so horrific that all of Florence was on edge, and the hunt for the killer was vast. This episode originally aired February 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the so-called murder capital of the world, Terry Childs grew up in the shadows of infamous serial killers. Until he became one himself.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following a string of brutal murders throughout the 1960s, the Zodiac Killer continues to write letters taunting the press and police. This episode originally aired in February 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the summer of 1969, newspapers in San Francisco began receiving coded letters from a man who would come to identify himself as "the Zodiac." The killer confessed to a string of brutal murders and would go on to terrorize the Bay area into the early 1970s. This episode originally aired in February 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some hitmen must walk the line between being a family man at home and a killer at work. But Greg Scarpa wasn't your ordinary hitman. He was paid by the FBI as a Criminal Informant and was instrumental in helping them solve crimes. But some think his close relationship with his handler gave him a license to kill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starting in the 1950s, Greg Scarpa killed his way up the ladder to become the Colombo family's main hitman. By the mid-1980s, his children were in on the family secret. And the only thing more surprising than the number of kills he racked up was who else was paying him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1982, while Richard Biegenwald was on a killing spree along the Jersey Shore, he also groomed a young woman he lived with to be his protégé. But when she ultimately wasn't up to the task, it meant Biegenwald's secret was out. And it would lead to his downfall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before he was even five years old, Richard Biegenwald was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After more than a decade in institutions and reform schools, he finally got the freedom he longed for. But once out in the world, he reverted to old habits and destructive behavior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During his twenties, he spent his free time reading books about how to kill a human being. Naturally, a job as a mafia hitman was perfect for Thomas Pitera. But when he went from a cold, calculated killer to slowly torturing his targets, it became harder for him to evade authorities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While many know his son, Oscar-nominated actor Woody Harrelson, Charles Harrelson spent most of his adult life on the wrong side of the law. As a contract killer, he successfully killed his first two targets but went to trial for both. Years later, he was back on the streets, ready to make a big payday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Robert Garrow committed his first murder, he retreated to Adirondack Park to hide in the wilderness. But the peaceful atmosphere of the woods only agitated him more, leading him to go on a gruesome murder spree in the Adirondack Mountains. And even after being caught, he still planned to continue killing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He grew up without any friends and suffered severe head injuries due to abuse from his parents. As Robert Garrow got older, he turned to crimes like larceny and burglary. But eventually, he gave way to darker and more twisted impulses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hitmen need a certain level of detachment to do their job. They typically think of their victims as targets, not people. So when brothers Steve and Robert Homick were hired to kill Gerald and Vera Woodman, their inability to be cool, calm, and collected led to a series of mistakes and, ultimately, their capture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is an old saying that blood is thicker than water. But on Sept. 25, 1985, Gerald and Vera Woodman were gunned down in the parking garage of their condo — victims of a hit put on them by two of their adult sons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the end of 1993, seven decomposed bodies had been pulled from Australia's Belanglo State Forest. The nation was terrified, and the police force was put on notice: There was a serial killer on the loose. This episode became a Parcast Instant Classic when it initially aired in November, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The bodies of two missing backpackers were recovered from Australia’s Belanglo State Forest in 1992. They weren’t the last. This episode became a Parcast Instant Classic when it initially aired in November, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Being outside with nature is where he felt most comfortable. That’s why Gary Michael Hilton targeted avid hikers in peaceful, wooded areas. But while he chose his victims carefully, he didn't give the same type of thought to getting away with his crimes. If you’d like to take action on the climate or learn more about the topics covered in “Dark Green: Earth Crimes and Conspiracies,” visit www.spotify.com/darkgreenresources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Out in nature, alone with only the trees for company, Gary Michael Hilton found a peace that always eluded him in day-to-day life. Numerous run-ins with landlords, spouses, and law enforcement complicated things in the city. And in October of 2007, he went from petty thief to murderer. If you’d like to take action on the climate or learn more about the topics covered in “Dark Green: Earth Crimes and Conspiracies,” visit www.spotify.com/darkgreenresources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Philadelphia’s first Earth Day celebration made him a minor celebrity. When he met 25-year-old Holly Maddux, he knew he had to be with her. They lived together for a few years before Holly started to see the real Ira Einhorn. Just days after she told others she was leaving him, she disappeared. If you’d like to take action on the climate or learn more about the topics covered in “Dark Green: Earth Crimes and Conspiracies,” visit www.spotify.com/darkgreenresources.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you were in Philadelphia during the 1960s and interested in the counterculture movement, you probably saw Ira Einhorn storm the stage at the city’s very first Earth Day. While peace and love were the mainstays of his belief system, Ira didn't always practice what he preached.  If you’d like to take action on the climate or learn more about the topics covered in “Dark Green: Earth Crimes and Conspiracies,” visit www.spotify.com/darkgreenresources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By early July 1988, he had already tortured, mutilated, and killed two women. Police were stumped until they sent in one of their own undercover. And while his wife and children slept, 30-year-old Steven Brian Pennell took the bait. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With fear of confrontation and anxiety about disappointing loved ones, Steven Brian Pennell pent up his rage. He'd often drive along Highway 40 in Delaware to clear his head. After killing his first hitchhiker, he realized there was only one way to satisfy his desires. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While she was a pediatric nurse at Bexar County Hospital, Genene Jones' colleagues were alarmed by how many babies were dying during her shift. When evidence was presented to the hospital's medical director, an investigation was launched. But during that time, Jones stayed on the job, and her patients were still in danger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She had experienced her share of tragedy, losing her father and a brother to cancer. That's why Genene Jones went into nursing. She wanted to make a difference. And while she was very devoted to her job in the pediatric ICU, it seemed far more babies were dying during Genene's shifts than any other nurse's. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

His family says that a traumatic brain injury when he was 13 changed Peter Kudzinowski's behavior. But alcohol always made him aggressive. When he was 25 years old, he was found intoxicated on the street in Detroit and put in the drunk tank. He hinted at committing horrible crimes — and the police wanted to know more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine knowing who a serial killer is for years but not having enough evidence to prove it. This is what happened to police in Sydney, Australia. During the 1980s, Leonard Warwick was angry when he lost custody of his daughter after his divorce, so he targeted employees of the family court system. And the only way to stop the violence was for his ex-wife to surrender custody. Today, Vanessa joins Carter Roy for a special crossover episode with Cold Cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Mir Aimal Kansi safely back in Pakistan, the FBI had to try to find him and bring him home. After a raid on Kansi's family home yielded nothing, authorities realized they were in over their heads, until a raise in the reward money for Kansi's capture led to new tips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the morning of January 25th, 1993, Mir Aimal Kansi carried out an assault on members of the CIA without ever stepping onto the grounds. After killing two and injuring three others, Kansi left the scene and waited to be apprehended at a nearby park. When the FBI didn't come for him, he fled the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before he earned his nickname in prison, Manuel Pardo Jr was a corrupt cop in Florida during the 1980s. But when law enforcement didn’t let him get the justice he wanted, he took the law into his own hands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Holed up in a cabin in Big Bear, California, Christopher Dorner was trapped. A perimeter of 40 officers with guns drawn was waiting in the snowy forest. Police wanted the standoff to end sooner than later. But the method they would use would be controversial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In February 2013, a former police officer fired by the LAPD, had a score to settle. His name was Christopher Dorner and his manifesto included a list of people he wanted to kill, many of them cops. But before authorities could stop him, they needed to find him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He found a way to fit into his new surroundings everywhere he moved. Terry Rasmussen would change his name, marry someone new, then brutally murder them – only to move somewhere else and do it all over again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2001 Robert Durst was posing as a woman, hiding from authorities in Galveston, Texas. He befriends a neighbor, Morris Black, who he later kills and dismembers. Though he avoids conviction, over a decade later, he seemingly makes a confession admitting guilt for not only Morris’s fate, but Kathie’s and Susan’s too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before he was the subject of HBO’s “The Jinx,” he was the son of a wealthy real estate developer who had everything at his disposal. As he grows up he finds a best friend in Susan Berman and marries his first wife Kathie. Within decades, they’d both be gone — one vanished, one murdered.  This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Today Vanessa is joined by Haesue Jo, Licensed Therapist & Head of Clinical Operations at BetterHelp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was bullied at school and abused by his mother. As an adult, he had violent fantasies of raping and strangling women. But Carroll Cole's first murder was actually as a child. And once he did it, he couldn't stop fantasizing about doing it again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the time he aged out of the foster system, Vincent Johnson had already shown signs of being violent. As an adult, he became increasingly unstable while living on the streets of Brooklyn. Then as his rage grew, he targeted women in his neighborhood, some of whom knew each other.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No matter where Bill Suff lived, he was seen mainly by neighbors and co-workers as a helpful and happy man. It was a massive shock to them, and especially his wife, when he was indicted on 14 murder counts and one count of attempted murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was the late 1960s when Bill Suff, the oldest of five children, was forced into a co-parenting role after his dad walked out on the family. His lack of control over the world around him made him angry. And one day, he would let out all that anger in a violent fashion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the weeks after their third murder, Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky disappear into the woods of northern Manitoba, over a thousand miles away from where their killing spree began. The RCMP throws their resources into the investigation, but the biggest headway comes from a local man named Billy Beardy — an expert hunter and Cree Nation trapper who knows the land better than anyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the start of a new special series on Serial Killers, we’re delving into the minds of killers on the run — cracking open some of the largest manhunts ever undertaken. Our first episode takes us into the vast wilderness of Northern Canada, where the discovery of three bodies along remote highways begins an unprecedented search for a pair of killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1980s, Richard Angelo was a Long Island native working as a nurse in the ICU. He’d found his passion — emergency medicine — in college. But somewhere along the way, his drive to be a hero took an ugly detour. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Today Vanessa is joined by Haesue Jo, Licensed Therapist & Head of Clinical Operations at BetterHelp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While the Stocking Strangler terrorized a Georgia suburb, another killer stalked military bases in the state. William Henry Hance was an army officer with an eruptive temper who was charged with the murders of three women. Police caught onto his crimes in part because Hance wrote them letters blaming the attacks on an evil cabal named the Forces of Evil. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a confession leads police down the wrong path, they establish the Strangling Task Force and redouble their efforts. 27-year-old Carlton Gary keeps up appearances, until he’s arrested for the last time. For police, it’s an open-and-shut case. Yet Carlton maintains his innocence until the very end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For several terrifying months in the 1970s, elderly women in a Georgia suburb were turning up dead or brutally injured in their homes. The murders set the community on edge as police reckoned with a serial strangler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1946, the mysterious Phantom Killer who had terrorized the town of Texarkana for months disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. With little evidence to go on, the police home in on one suspect. But justice proves harder to come by than they'd hoped. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1946, the city of Texarkana was plagued by a series of attacks and murders on couples parked in their cars. Police, however, failed to act quickly enough, potentially giving the murderer enough time to get away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The spree continues into Christmas Day and beyond, during which the teen gang murders their third, fourth, fifth and sixth victims. After a tip, police catch the group wearing victims’ clothing, driving a victim’s stolen car, and in possession of the guns they used in their murders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early hours of Christmas Eve 1992, a senseless murder in Dayton, Ohio, marks the beginning of a rampage. What started as a desire for Christmas cash turns into a three-day killing spree that leaves six people dead. Even more shocking was that the brazen killers were just teens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eddie’s crimes escalated in the ‘90s as he continued to dodge police. By 1996, he had attacked eight people, killing three of them. But unlike the original Zodiac Killer, Eddie didn’t stay anonymous for long.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twenty years after the notorious Zodiac Killer terrorized San Francisco, someone else picked up their mantle. Heriberto “Eddie” Seda was a Brooklyn native and one-time street preacher who began targeting victims and taunting police with cryptic letters. His plan: kill twelve people — one of each Zodiac sign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once back in the U.S., Maust serves time for manslaughter before regaining his freedom. He continues befriending teenage boys who fill his need for companionship. But time and again, Maust caves to his violent urges. Despite his guilt, and his spontaneous ability to stop himself mid-murder attempt, he takes four more lives by 2004. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A volatile childhood and stints in a hospital psych ward set the stage for a violent killer who murdered teenage boys in Germany and the U.S. from the 1970s to the early aughts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the ages, arsenic has had many lives — beauty fad, household product, medical prescription… and weapon of choice wielded by killers everywhere from Alabama to ancient Rome. Brine your turkey, knead your dough, and listen to our Thanksgiving Special on the regime-changing, assassination-aiding King of Poisons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With his caked-on makeup and pathological lies, Charles “Smitty” Schmid cut a distinctive figure among Tucson’s youth. The 22-year-old wanted to draw misfit teens to himself like moths to a flame, before holding a cultish sway over them. Schmid was a corrupting force. And by the summer of 1965, he had killed at least three young women, burying their bodies in the Arizona desert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When The Texas Chain Saw Massacre debuted in 1974, audiences had a visceral experience so frightening, many believed what they witnessed was real. Its main villain, Leatherface, slaughtered innocent youths and wore their skin for pleasure. This depiction of violence seemed surreal, but echoed the real-life crimes of a man who inspired some of Hollywood’s most infamous characters: Ed Gein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices