Bailey Sarian

Anthony Todt was a respected physical therapist, a devoted husband, and a father of three. When he was arrested in January 2020, police found his family dead in their Florida home. Investigators believe Todt killed his wife and children before attempting to take his own life. He had been facing mounting financial pressure from a fraud investigation, which may have pushed him over the edge. He confessed to the murders and was sentenced to life in prison.

A handsome photographer who charmed his way onto a 1970s TV dating show while quietly murdering women across California and New York. Rodney Alcala was a convicted serial killer who appeared on "The Dating Game" in 1978, winning a date with bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw—who later turned him down because she found him "creepy" . He was convicted of seven murders between 1971 and 1979, including 12-year-old Robin Samsoe, but authorities suspect he may have killed up to 130 people . He died on death row in 2021 at age 77

Close your eyes and step into the quiet suburbs of 1970s Sydney, where a teenage babysitter offered comfort to young families—and became one of Australia's most prolific female serial killers. Helen Patricia Moore was just 17 when she began smothering infants and toddlers in her care. She killed her baby stepbrother Andrew, then her 16-month-old cousin Susan, and went on to murder at least three more children, leaving others with permanent brain damage. She even attended the funerals of her victims, placing flowers on their coffins. When police finally arrested her, she confessed without remorse, saying she killed out of boredom. Let this chilling story of the babysitter killer carry you into a deep and restless sleep.

A Thanksgiving feast like no other. A model who boiled her husband's head and mixed his remains with turkey. A case that shocked California in 1991. Omaima Nelson, a 23-year-old Egyptian-born model, married 56-year-old Bill Nelson after just days. One month later, she stabbed him, bludgeoned him with an iron, and spent 12 hours dismembering his body. She fried his hands in oil, boiled his head, and mixed his flesh with leftover Thanksgiving turkey to hide the evidence . She claimed self-defense after years of sexual abuse, castrating him in revenge. Her chilling response? "I'm sorry I dismembered him

Wade Wilson was a 25‑year‑old Florida man with a history of violence and a chilling confession to his biological father: "I'm a killer, and I kill with my bare hands." On October 7, 2019, he strangled Kristine Melton as she slept, stole her car, and later lured Diane Ruiz into the vehicle. He beat and strangled her, then ran her over until her body was unrecognizable . Wilson, who shares a name with the Marvel character, smirked through his trial and was sentenced to death in 2024 . He had attempted to escape from jail by tampering with his cell window

She was the charming owner of a popular Macon, Georgia diner in the 1950s—a place where everyone felt welcome and she hugged every customer at the door. But beneath the warm smile and red lipstick lurked a cold-blooded killer. Between 1952 and 1958, Anjette Lyles poisoned four family members with arsenic: her first husband, her second husband, her mother-in-law, and finally, her own nine-year-old daughter, Marcia. Her motive was pure greed—she used life insurance payouts to buy a new white Cadillac and a house. She even tried to pin the poisoning on her surviving daughter. Convicted and sentenced to death, she was later declared insane and died in a mental institution in 1977.

A quiet, unassuming man in the UK who looked like any other PhD student was hiding a terrifying secret as a serial killer. Stephen Griffiths, known as the "Crossbow Cannibal," murdered three women in 2010, using a crossbow and a hammer. He dismembered his victims and ate parts of their bodies, keeping body parts in his flat. He was caught after being identified on CCTV, and his chilling confession revealed a man who had been hiding in plain sight. The title "Crossbow Cannibal" reflects both his weapon of choice and his brutal method, a stark reminder that evil can lurk behind the most ordinary facades

For over 40 years, the Golden State Killer evaded capture, terrorizing California with a string of rapes and murders. Then, in 2018, the case took a revolutionary turn. Investigators used a cutting-edge technique called investigative genetic genealogy . They uploaded DNA from an old crime scene to a public genealogy database, GEDmatch, and found a match to a distant relative of the killer . After months of building a family tree, they narrowed their search to one man: 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer . He was arrested, pleaded guilty, and is now serving life in prison

A quiet New Orleans apartment became the site of a macabre murder-suicide in October 2006, a tragedy steeped in the trauma of Hurricane Katrina. Troubled Iraq War veteran Zach Bowen strangled his girlfriend Addie Hall after a fight and dismembered her body, cooking some remains on the stove while keeping others in the refrigerator . He painted the walls with messages reading "I'm a total failure" and "Please help me stop the pain" before jumping to his death from a French Quarter hotel . The apartment, located above a voodoo priestess's shop, has since been the subject of controversy, with friends calling its inclusion in haunted tours "despicable and exploitative" , while the owner insists the story honors the couple's troubled legacy.

Bailey Sarian explores the forgotten case of Patrick Mackay, a British serial killer whose early life was marked by animal cruelty and a chilling indifference to suffering . His childhood in Guyana was shaped by abuse and neglect, and his murder of Father Crean in a 17th-century cottage led investigators to a trail of bodies and a confession that still haunts the case . This is the story of a psychopath whose mask of normalcy finally slipped

Robert Berdella wasn't a monster who lurked in shadows—he was a quiet neighbor who sold antiques and served on the local crime prevention committee. From 1984 to 1988, he held at least six young men captive inside his Charlotte Street home, torturing them for weeks before dismembering their bodies . When a naked, beaten victim named Chris Bryson stumbled into the street, police finally entered the house—and discovered a torture chamber, detailed notebooks, and the horrifying truth about the unassuming man they called "Bob" . This is the case of the Kansas City Butcher, who hid in plain sight, documenting every atrocity with chilling precision .

A young heir's privileged life spiraled into a nightmare of greed, deception, and cold-blooded murder when he realized his inheritance was at risk. Christopher Porco, a University of Rochester student, viewed his parents' strict rules as obstacles to his lavish spending on luxury cars and vacations. After forging checks to fund his lifestyle, he feared his mother would reveal his crimes to his father. Driven by his desire to keep the money flowing, he took a fire axe to his parents as they slept in their suburban New York home. This is the case of a spoiled son who decided that his family's life was a small price to pay for his own comfort.

He was a grandfatherly figure who preyed on the most innocent among us. A sadist, a cannibal, and a monster who hid in plain sight. Albert Fish was one of America's most depraved serial killers, a man who confessed to at least three child murders but is believed to have killed many more. He lured 10-year-old Grace Budd to an abandoned house, strangled her, dismembered her body, and ate her remains over nine days. In a chilling letter to Grace's mother, he described the horrific act in gruesome detail. His other nicknames—the Gray Man, the Brooklyn Vampire, and the Boogey Man—only hint at the depths of his depravity. Was he a horrible man or a monster? The answer is both.

After decades of dead ends and over 2,500 suspects, one theory finally connects the pieces of the Zodiac puzzle without forcing the evidence to fit a predetermined narrative. The answer may not be a single mastermind, but a collaboration born from shared trauma. Using an AI program to generate millions of possible names, investigators whittled the list down to Marvin Margolis, a WWII Navy veteran who was a person of interest in the 1947 Black Dahlia murder. His son revealed a deathbed sketch of a woman named "Elizabeth" with injuries consistent with Short's. The theory resolves the central problem of the Zodiac case: the forensic contradictions. It explains why the DNA, fingerprints, and eyewitness descriptions never aligned with a single suspect because the Zodiac was a constructed identity

In 1940s Chicago, a series of brutal murders terrorized the city, leaving a chilling message written in lipstick on a wall: "For heaven’s sake, catch me before I kill more. I cannot control myself" . The case captivated the public and led to the controversial arrest of 17-year-old William Heirens, a college student caught in a burglary. Under extreme pressure, including beatings, isolation, and a "truth serum" interrogation, Heirens confessed to the murders in exchange for a life sentence . The evidence was circumstantial, the police had been desperate, and decades later, Heirens still maintained his innocence, claiming he was a scapegoat

She baked cookies for the church, volunteered at the shelter, and kissed her grandchildren goodnight. Nobody suspected that behind the warm smile lurked a cold-blooded killer. In this chilling true crime story, we explore the case of a grandmother who led a double life as a remorseless murderer. For years, she evaded suspicion, hiding her crimes behind a mask of maternal care. But when investigators finally dug deeper, they uncovered a trail of bodies and a dark secret no one ever expected. This is the story of the killer granny no one suspected.

Lonnie Franklin Jr., known as the "Grim Sleeper," was a doting father and grandfather who hid a dark secret in his South LA garage. Inside, police found over 1,000 photos of women—some alive, some unconscious or dead—creating a chilling collection that helped identify victims and led to his conviction for 10 murders . He eluded capture for decades, earning his nickname from a 14‑year gap between his known murders . The photos, many in a yellowed envelope, were a horrific diary of his crimes and helped police link him to the deaths of women across Los Angeles .

A 33-year-old Indiana woman pleaded guilty to killing two men and is suspected of up to nine more deaths. Kelly Cochran lured her husband to a murder scene where they killed a man, and she later shot her husband and disposed of his body . Her family described her as a "cold, calculating psychopath" who was "determined to self-destruct and bring as many people down with her as possible" . She described the murder of her lover to police with shocking detail, saying she had wanted a thrill and needed to "feel the life drain out of someone" . She is now serving two life sentences .

In November 1976, 18-year-old Citadel cadet Harry De La Roche Jr. returned to his New Jersey home for Thanksgiving and murdered his parents and two younger brothers with a .22-caliber pistol . He shot his mother and father in the head, killed his 12-year-old brother Eric, and shot his 15-year-old brother Ronald, whose body was stuffed in an attic trunk . After confessing, he later recanted, claiming Ronald killed the rest of the family . Sentenced to life, he was paroled in 2023 after 45 years, denying responsibility and showing no emotion

A quiet pig farm in British Columbia became the site of one of Canada's most horrific crimes. Between 1983 and 2002, Robert Pickton killed at least 49 women, many from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and fed their remains to his pigs . He had boasted to an undercover police officer that he had killed 49 women . The case shocked the nation, revealing deep systemic failures in how police handled missing person cases, particularly involving Indigenous women. Pickton was sentenced to life in prison and died in 2024 after a prison assault 

The brothers are now a step closer to release after a judge reduced their sentences to 50 years to life, making them eligible for parole . However, they were denied parole in August 2025 . Their path forward is complicated by L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who opposes their resentencing, arguing they have not taken "full responsibility" . Meanwhile, Erik's wife Tammi called his parole hearing "a complete setup," and the family believes they will eventually be released

A California lumber mill worker, Cameron Hooker, turned his darkest fantasy into a seven‑year nightmare. In 1977, he and his wife Janice picked up 20‑year‑old hitchhiker Colleen Stan, then drove her to their Red Bluff home and kept her as a sex slave [citation:5]. Hooker, who had always dreamed of "practicing bondage on a girl who couldn't say no," locked Stan in a coffin‑sized box under the couple's bed for up to 23 hours a day [citation:5]. He beat, whipped, and electrocuted her, forced her to sign a "slave contract," and convinced her that a powerful group called "The Company" would kill her if she escaped [citation:5]. Stan eventually fled in 1984 and Hooker was convicted on multiple charges, receiving a 104‑year sentence [citation:5]. A judge called him "the most dangerous psychopath I have ever dealt with." In 2026, Hooker was deemed a sexually violent predator and committed to a state mental hospital [citation:5].

There's a different kind of true crime story that lingers in the shadows—cases where the official ruling never quite fits the evidence. This collection explores deaths that deserve a second look, from families poisoned in their beds to cold cases that have haunted communities for decades. A Wisconsin mother and her two children were found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning, but detectives have always believed someone deliberately caused their deaths . A Philadelphia teacher with twenty stab wounds, many to the back of her head, had her death ruled a suicide . And a family in Mumbai died after eating a watermelon laced with rat poison, but investigators still don't know who put it there . These are the stories that keep true crime lovers awake at night—not solved, just suspended in uncertainty.

From the cannibal who ate his victim's penis while he was still alive to the man who kept severed heads in his freezer, these are the most horrifying cannibals in history. Armin Meiwes found a willing victim online and consumed over 40 pounds of human flesh before police caught him [citation:1]. Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys, keeping body parts as trophies [citation:1]. The "Butcher of Rostov" killed 52 people and ate their remains [citation:1]. Levi Boone Helm, the "Kentucky Cannibal," confessed to eating fellow travelers on the frontier [citation:1]. Their crimes are a descent into the darkest corners of the human mind.

A teenage babysitter who killed children because they cried. A quiet girl who attended the funerals of her victims. A monster hiding in plain sight. In 1980s Florida, Christine Falling was a shy teenager whose disturbing behavior escalated from destroying dolls as a child to becoming a serial killer. She suffocated at least five children with pillows and blankets, saying it was "simple and easy — no one could hear them scream" [citation:6]. She calmly confessed: "I just choked him, no apparent reason. I just picked him off his pallet and choked him to death and laid him back down" [citation:8]. After serving 25 years, she was denied parole and remains behind bars [citation:4].

The Snowtown murders are one of Australia's most horrific true crime cases, a story of torture, greed, and a killer who believed he was doing good. Between 1992 and 1999, John Bunting and his followers murdered at least 11 people, often torturing victims they suspected of being pedophiles or homosexuals. They hid the dismembered remains of eight victims in acid-filled barrels inside a disused bank vault in the small town of Snowtown. Four men were convicted, with ringleader Bunting receiving multiple life sentences without parole. The case shocked the nation and remains the country's worst serial killing in history.

A devoted wife and mother, Clara Harris lived in a million-dollar home, raised her twin boys, and loved her husband deeply. She was known to many as the "perfect wife." But the "perfect wife" wasn't perfect enough for him. Her husband, David, was having an affair with his young receptionist, Gail Bridges. On July 24, 2002, Clara tracked them to a Houston hotel, confronted the two, and begged her husband to choose her. When he chose his mistress, she got into her silver Mercedes and ran him over. She hit him several times, killing him. Her 17-year-old stepdaughter was in the car, screaming for her to stop.

Close your eyes and travel back to Chicago, 1893, where the World's Fair dazzled millions and a handsome doctor built a house of horrors. A story of ambition, fraud, and a castle of murder that may have been more myth than reality. Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes, constructed a three-story building with hidden passages, trapdoors, and a basement with a kiln and acid vats [citation:3]. During the fair, he lured victims—often women he had seduced and swindled—to their deaths [citation:13]. But historians now say the "Murder Castle" was largely a creation of yellow journalism, and Holmes likely killed only nine people, not the 200 he claimed [citation:6]. Let this quiet, unsettling mystery carry you gently into a deep and restful sleep.

Close your eyes and travel back to May 2005, when an 18-year-old honor student vanished during a graduation trip to Aruba. A story of a paradise lost, a family's relentless search, and a confession that came too late. Joran van der Sloot was the last person seen with Natalee Holloway, and for 18 years, he lied about what happened that night . He finally confessed in 2023, admitting he kicked her in the face and crushed her skull with a cinder block before dumping her body in the sea . Despite his confession, her remains have never been found, leaving a family with a devastating truth but no final goodbye .

A teenage misfit named Rod Ferrell convinced his friends he was a 500-year-old vampire named Vesago, leading them in blood-drinking rituals and branding them with symbols. Their dark fantasy turned deadly when they brutally murdered the parents of a fellow clan member with a crowbar. The couple's bodies were discovered marked with the clan's "V" symbol. Ferrell became the youngest person on Florida's death row at 16 before his sentence was commuted to life.

van Milat, Australia's most notorious serial killer, showed no remorse for the murders of seven young backpackers in the Belanglo State Forest between 1989 and 1992 . He described killing as "normal" and told a survivor he "didn't give a damn" about his victims . He died in prison in 2019, refusing to confess or reveal if there were more bodies , with his chilling words leaving a nation to wonder at the true depth of his depravity 

Close your eyes and journey to wartime Italy, where a mother's desperate love curdled into something unthinkable. A story of tragedy, superstition, and a kitchen that became a house of horrors. Leonarda Cianciulli lost 13 of her 17 children to miscarriage and early death, and when her eldest son Giuseppe was called to fight in WWII, she believed only human sacrifice could save him . She lured three middle-aged women to her home, killed them with an axe, and dissolved their bodies in caustic soda to make soap . She mixed their blood with flour and sugar to bake teacakes, which she served to her family and neighbors . Was she a cold-blooded killer, or a broken mother driven mad by grief? .

Close your eyes and unravel the strange and mysterious death of a 24-year-old Australian woman. A story of a fall that may not have been an accident. Phoebe Handsjuk was found dead at the bottom of a 12-storey garbage chute in her Melbourne apartment building in 2010. The coroner ruled her death a "freak accident" caused by a combination of sleeping pills and alcohol. But her family has never accepted this verdict, pointing to a lack of forensic evidence, a boyfriend from a powerful legal family, and a history of controlling behavior. This is a case where the official story doesn't add up, and the truth remains buried beneath layers of doubt.

A mother of two blamed her 2-year-old daughter for her husband's death, claiming the child shot him by accident. She collected his life insurance, bought a car, and began an affair with the salesman. Months later, his wife was found shot to death. In 1961, the woman was acquitted of the second murder but convicted of her husband's killing. After the conviction was overturned, she fled to Mexico, killed a man, and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. In 1969, she escaped and vanished, living under new identities for decades. In 2022, she died of natural causes in Canada.

A Florida woman's idea of a drunken game of hide-and-seek turned into a murder when she zipped her boyfriend into a suitcase and filmed him gasping for air. Sarah Boone initially told police her boyfriend died after being trapped inside a suitcase accidentally. But the video she recorded on her phone told a different story—one where she taunted and laughed at Jorge Torres Jr. as he begged for his life, saying "I can't f***ing breathe" and calling out for his mother. Boone went to bed and left him in the suitcase to die of asphyxiation. A jury found her guilty of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison.

A police officer's sinister story began when his third wife was found dead in a dry bathtub in 2004—a death ruled an accident. But when his fourth wife vanished in 2007, the investigation shifted to a possible serial killer. The former Bolingbrook police sergeant, who once bragged he could make a murder look like an accident, was convicted of Savio's murder in 2012 and sentenced to 38 years in prison. Stacy Peterson's body has never been found, and her fate remains one of true crime's most haunting mysteries.

Close your eyes and step into the fog-choked streets of London's East End in 1888, where a shadowy figure terrorized the world's greatest city. A story of blood, mystery, and a killer who vanished into history. Over ten weeks, at least five women were brutally murdered and mutilated, their bodies found in alleys and doorways, their killer's identity never discovered . The case became a media sensation, spawning thousands of hoax letters, including the infamous "Dear Boss" letter that gave the killer his iconic name . Despite one of the largest manhunts in history and over a century of obsession, Jack the Ripper was never caught. Some believe the killer was interrupted during one attack, while others point to conspiracy theories involving the royal family or the Freemasons. This is part one of the Ripper story—a legend that refuses to die.

Szilveszter Matuska was a respected family man and successful businessman. He was also a mass murderer who derailed trains for the thrill of watching people die. In 1931, he dynamited the Vienna Express, killing 22 people and injuring 120 more. He confessed to the crime and was convicted, but his motive remained unclear. Was it political? A ghost named "Leo" who commanded him? Or did he simply derive sexual gratification from the explosions? Forensic evidence found semen stains on his trousers the night of the fatal crash. He disappeared in 1945, his fate unknown.

Teenage angst curdled into something far more sinister in three cases where killers documented their violence with chilling detachment. Alyssa Bustamante, 15, lured her 9-year-old neighbor into the woods and strangled her, later writing in her diary: "I just f*****g killed someone... It was amazing. As soon as you get over the 'ohmygawd I can't do this' feeling, it's pretty enjoyable." A 14-year-old Ontario boy obsessed with serial killers stabbed an 83-year-old stranger outside her home, while a 17-year-old Australian killer wrote a rap song about hacking down 14-year-old Ethan Hoac. Each case is a reminder that youth does not always mean innocence.

The Snowtown murders are one of Australia's most horrific true crime cases. Between 1992 and 1999, John Bunting and his followers murdered at least 11 people, often torturing victims they suspected of being pedophiles or homosexuals. They hid the dismembered remains of eight victims in acid-filled barrels inside a disused bank vault in the small town of Snowtown. Four men were convicted, with ringleader Bunting receiving multiple life sentences without parole. The case shocked the nation and remains the country's worst serial killing in history.

Close your eyes and step into the fog-choked streets of London's East End in 1888, where a shadowy figure terrorized the world's greatest city. A story of blood, mystery, and a killer who vanished into history. Over ten weeks, at least five women were brutally murdered and mutilated, their bodies found in alleys and doorways, their killer's identity never discovered. The case became a media sensation, spawning thousands of hoax letters, including the infamous "Dear Boss" letter that gave the killer his iconic name. Despite one of the largest manhunts in history and over a century of obsession, Jack the Ripper was never caught. Some believe the killer was interrupted during one attack, while others point to conspiracy theories involving the royal family or the Freemasons. This is the story of a legend that refuses to die.

A mother of five attends a football moms' slumber party in a quiet Georgia suburb. She never makes it home. Tamla Horsford was found dead in the backyard the next morning, her death quickly ruled an accident. But her family and a growing number of skeptics have never accepted that conclusion. With a history of racial tension in Forsyth County and a witness who improperly accessed the case file, the official narrative continues to raise troubling questions. [citation:3][citation:6][citation:11]

When a superfan takes his obsession with TV's favorite serial killer too far, he builds his own real-life kill room and becomes a murderer. Mark Twitchell, an aspiring filmmaker from Canada, was so inspired by the show "Dexter" that he constructed a kill room in his garage and posed as a woman online to lure his victims. After he was convicted of first-degree murder, police discovered a diary on his computer titled "SK Confessions" detailing his fantasy of becoming a prolific serial killer. He also cut off his victim's head and played with it like a hand puppet. Another man, James Desborough, told police he "particularly enjoyed the dismemberment scenes" in Dexter after he was caught killing and dismembering victims in a Cornish homeless shelter. This is a story of art imitating death.

She wanted to be a victim. Instead, she became one of the internet's first catfish killers. A story of manipulation, online obsession, and a brutal murder that unfolded across state lines. Sharee Miller used AOL chat rooms to lure men into a deadly trap, convincing them she was in danger so they would kill her husband, Bruce[citation:1][citation:2]. But when the scheme spiraled out of control, one of her pawns turned on another, leading to a shocking and complex case that would expose the darkest side of early internet culture. 

In the summer of 1974, a 62-year-old white jailer was found stabbed to death in the women's cell of a rural North Carolina jail. The prime suspect was 20-year-old Joan Little, who had fled the scene. Little, who was poor and Black, had been serving time for breaking and entering. She surrendered a week later and claimed self-defense against sexual assault. Her trial became an international cause célèbre, uniting civil rights activists, feminists, and death penalty opponents. In 1975, a jury of six whites and six African Americans acquitted her after 85 minutes of deliberation. Her case made legal history, establishing a woman's right to use deadly force to resist rape.

In the quiet English town of Hyde, a trusted family doctor was a monster hiding in plain sight. A story of betrayal, trust, and the bodies that finally gave him away. Harold Shipman was one of history's most prolific serial killers, murdering an estimated 215 to 250 of his own patients over 23 years [citation:1][citation:4][citation:15]. He targeted vulnerable elderly women, often living alone, injecting them with lethal doses of diamorphine on home visits [citation:4][citation:9]. For years, the deaths went unnoticed, dismissed as natural causes by the very system that should have stopped him. It was a clumsy attempt to forge the will of his final victim that finally brought him down [citation:4][citation:15].

Alexander Pichushkin, known as the "Chessboard Killer," was a Russian serial killer who murdered at least 48 people between 1992 and 2006. He aimed to kill 64 people, one for each square on a chessboard, and was caught when a relative of his final victim traced his phone number. He lured his victims, often homeless or elderly, to Moscow's Bitsevsky Park, where he would get them drunk and bludgeon them to death with a hammer. He showed no remorse, describing the first killing as "like your first love."

Dennis Rader was the BTK killer, a family man who led a double life as a sadistic serial murderer. He terrorized Wichita, Kansas, for decades, evading capture while taunting police with his self-given nickname that described his method: "Bind, Torture, Kill" [citation:1][citation:6]. For over 30 years, Rader appeared to be an ordinary member of his community. He was a married father of two, a Cub Scout leader, a church council president, and worked as a compliance officer [citation:2][citation:6]. He was finally arrested in 2005 after a computer diskette he sent was traced to his church [citation:6]. He confessed to 10 murders and is now serving 10 consecutive life sentences [citation:7].

From the most difficult cases to cover to the fan theories that won't die, Bailey Sarian opens up in this vulnerable Q&A. She reveals the cases that challenged her most—Menendez Brothers, Charles Manson, Jodi Arias, and the emotionally draining Terri Schiavo . She shares how she got into true crime at age nine, listening to 911 calls through her mom's headset, and why she's drawn to figures like Ed Gein and the Zodiac . Bailey also addresses fan theories, from the Scott Peterson inheritance plot to the Zodiac copycat idea, explaining why she finds them compelling . And she reflects on how her own work, from the gripping research to the personal toll it takes, has shaped her life and career .

Over three hours of chilling true crime stories about women who kill. A specially compiled episode for deep sleep. Bailey Sarian's "Women Who Kill" explores the dark motivations and deadly actions of female perpetrators, from Carla Homolka's collaboration with Paul Bernardo to Tracy Wigginton's descent into violence, Candace Mossler's manipulative murder plot, and Louise's spree of deceit and killing [citation:1][citation:3]. Each story reveals the darkness that can hide behind a glamorous exterior, questioning our preconceived notions about criminality [citation:3]. Settle in and let these haunting tales of female killers carry you into a deep and uneasy sleep.

Close your eyes and step back to 1986, when a teenage girl escaped from a suburban Perth house and exposed Australia's most terrifying couple. David and Catherine Birnie abducted, raped, and murdered four women—Mary Neilson, Susanna Candy, Noelene Patterson, and Denise Brown—before burying their bodies in shallow forest graves . They nearly killed a fifth victim, a 17-year-old who fled and led police directly to the couple . Both pleaded guilty to all charges, receiving life sentences . David hanged himself in prison in 2005 after his medication was withheld and his computer confiscated . Catherine, deemed a "parasite" and "the most evil couple in Australia," has been denied parole multiple times, remaining behind bars .

In November 2011, 20-year-old Jaleayah Davis was found dead on the side of Interstate 77, her body severed in a car crash officially ruled an accident. The case was quickly closed, but the official story never added up. A podcast named Mile Marker 181 emerged, arguing the crash was a cover-up, pointing to police corruption and lies from her friends [citation:2][citation:3]. Yet the podcast's host, Emily Nestor, struggled with the truth. The documentary Citizen Sleuth reveals that many of the accusations were false, turning the spotlight from the mystery to the damage done by amateur sleuthing [citation:3][citation:4]. The question of what really happened to Jaleayah remains as unclear as when it began.

Even though both his legs were amputated as a child, Oscar Pistorius overcame all odds and went on to become both a Paralympic AND Olympic sensation. He had the entire world in the palm of his hands. That is until one day, when it all came crashing down. In the early morning hours of Valentine's Day 2013, Oscar's gorgeous girlfriend, Reeva, was shot and killed. And Oscar was the one who fired the gun. But the question became, did he do it in cold blood or was it all a horrible mistake?

A relationship that began with passion quickly curdled into a fatal obsession. A story of a woman whose inability to accept rejection led to cold-blooded murder. She couldn't let go. She stalked, harassed, and terrorized her ex-boyfriend until she finally snapped. The brutal act of violence left a family shattered and a community in shock. This is a chilling reminder that sometimes love can be the deadliest obsession of all. Bailey Sarian explores the dark side of love and the terrifying consequences of a one-sided devotion.

The new evidence in the Menendez brothers' case has opened the door to a potential second chance, but it has not guaranteed their freedom. In 2023, their lawyers filed a petition citing a 1988 letter Erik wrote to his cousin describing the alleged sexual abuse, and a declaration from former Menudo member Roy Rossello claiming he was raped by Jose Menendez. In September 2025, a judge rejected this petition, ruling the evidence would not have changed the outcome of their original trial. However, a separate resentencing in May 2025 reduced their sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life. The brothers were ultimately denied release by the state parole board, but their family remains hopeful.

On June 7, 1992, three women vanished from a Springfield, Missouri home. Suzie Streeter, 19, her mother Sherrill Levitt, 47, and Suzie's friend Stacy McCall, 18, were last seen after graduation parties. The next morning, their purses, cars, and keys were left behind, the front door open, with no signs of a struggle or a reason for them to leave. Over 34 years and thousands of leads later, their disappearance remains one of Missouri's most haunting unsolved mysteries.

On October 20, 1989, 24-year-old Tracey Wigginton and three friends offered a ride to Edward Baldock, a drunk father of four, before driving him to a Brisbane park where she stabbed him 27 times [citation:1][citation:4]. Wigginton, who claimed to be a vampire and had been drinking animal blood, nearly severed his head before drinking his blood [citation:1][citation:7]. When police found her bank card in his shoe, they quickly arrested her [citation:4][citation:14]. She pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison, later becoming known as the "Lesbian Vampire Killer" [citation:1][citation:6]. After serving over 20 years, she was released on parole in 2012 [citation:1][citation:6].

In a quiet Austrian town, a father's unspeakable crime remained hidden for over two decades. Josef Fritzl lured his 18-year-old daughter Elisabeth into the basement in 1984, where he imprisoned, drugged, and handcuffed her. For 24 years, he subjected her to repeated abuse, fathering seven children in a windowless dungeon accessible only through an electronically locked concrete door. Three of those children never saw daylight, knowing nothing of the outside world. When his eldest daughter Kerstin fell critically ill, the horrific secret was finally exposed.

A three-hour journey into the darkest corners of human nature, where passion, competition, and betrayal collide. From a high school football star's promising future ending in a double murder, to a beloved restaurant owner's secret sauce hiding a deadly obsession, and a family's Sunday dinner becoming a crime scene of shocking betrayal. These chilling true crime stories reveal how the pursuit of sports glory, the comfort of food, and the bonds of family became the backdrop for unimaginable violence.

On a cold January afternoon in 1892, a 19-year-old woman chased her former lover down a Memphis street and slashed her throat from ear to ear in front of horrified witnesses. Alice Mitchell and Freda Ward had been secretly engaged, planning to elope and live as husband and wife. But when their love letters were discovered, their families forced them apart. Freda moved on while Alice's desperation grew, leading her to pocket her father's razor and commit murder. The crime made national headlines, but the real shock was Alice's motive: a same-sex love deemed insane by Victorian society. She was declared insane, institutionalized, and died six years later under mysterious circumstances.

A Harvard-educated mother of four and neuroscience prodigy with a genius IQ of 180 was denied tenure. Then she snapped and killed three colleagues and wounded three others . The faculty meeting erupted with thirteen shots from a 9mm handgun in less than ninety seconds . Her journey from academic prodigy to mass murderer revealed a chilling pattern of violence, as investigators uncovered a web of suspicious deaths and failed investigations stretching back decades . How did a promising scientist with so much potential become one of the most shocking mass killers in modern memory?

A former hotel worker in her late 60s appeared to be a harmless grandmother, but behind the unassuming facade lurked a predator who would become known as one of Russia's most brutal killers. Dubbed the "Granny Ripper" and "Baba Yaga" after the witch of Slavic folklore, Tamara Samsonova was suspected of killing up to 14 people, documenting her horrific crimes in a chilling diary. In 2015, she laced her elderly neighbor's salad with sleeping pills, decapitated her, and boiled the head in a pot before dismembering the body and scattering the remains around St. Petersburg. When police discovered a diary entry reading "I killed my tenant Volodya, cut him to pieces in the bathroom with a knife," the true extent of her savagery began to surface, leading investigators to suspect she had been killing for over a decade.

On April 22, 1974, an Ogden, Utah electronics store became a scene of unimaginable horror. A simple robbery spiraled into a nightmare when two U.S. Air Force airmen tortured five hostages for hours, forcing them to drink liquid Drano—a method they had copied from the film Magnum Force [citation:1][citation:3]. When the drain cleaner failed to kill quickly enough, they shot their victims in the head [citation:3][citation:12]. Three people died, including a mother who had come looking for her son, while two survivors were left with life-altering injuries [citation:7]. The killers were caught, convicted, and executed.

During the 2019 Tet festival in Vietnam, an unusually large chicken order lured a young woman to her death. Student Cao was brutally killed in a case that unraveled into a shocking conspiracy driven by a mother's drug debts [citation:2]. The investigation revealed how a simple request for food was used as a trap, implicating multiple culprits in a horrifying murder plot. Bailey Sarian explores this disturbing case of betrayal and violence, diving deep into the events that led to the heinous assault and murder of a 22-year-old woman [citation:2]. Discover the dark truth behind what seemed like just another chicken order.

Taylor Schabusiness, a 25-year-old from Green Bay, Wisconsin, was convicted in 2023 for the brutal murder and dismemberment of her former boyfriend, Shad Thyrion . She strangled him in the home he shared with his mother, before mutilating his body and scattering his remains throughout the house, including placing his head in a bucket . During the investigation, she admitted to a disturbing obsession with Jeffrey Dahmer . A jury rejected her insanity defense and found her criminally responsible for the homicide and mutilation charges.

In the late 1960s, Oregon's Willamette Valley was terrorized by a family man whose obsession with women's shoes escalated into a nightmare. Jerry Brudos, a husband and father, abducted, tortured, and murdered at least four women, keeping their shoes and feet as trophies. The case against him was built on a trail of disturbing evidence, including photographs he took of his victims. His wife, Ralphene, was tried as an accessory, but her complicity remains a haunting question.

Stacey Castor was a mother who murdered her husbands with antifreeze and then tried to kill her own daughter to frame her for the crimes. After her second husband David's death was ruled a suicide, investigators grew suspicious and exhumed her first husband Michael, finding both had died from antifreeze poisoning. When police closed in, Castor drugged her daughter Ashley, wrote a fake suicide note confessing to both murders, and left her to die. Ashley survived. The note's misspelling of "antifree" matched Castor's own slip of the tongue during interrogation. She was convicted of murder and attempted murder, earning the nickname "The Black Widow."

A woman of God with a thirst for power. A fatal attraction that ended in murder. A case that questions faith itself. In 1965, a traveling preacher became entangled in a forbidden affair that would spiral into tragedy. When his wife discovered the betrayal, a toxic love triangle exploded into violence, leaving one woman dead and another's faith shattered. The investigation exposed a web of manipulation, lust, and abuse of spiritual authority. Was it a crime of passion or a calculated act of evil? This is a story where faith became a weapon.

A private family tragedy turned into a public war when a dispute over end-of-life care collided with politics, religion, and the media. In 1990, 26-year-old Terri Schiavo collapsed from cardiac arrest, leaving her severely brain-damaged and reliant on a feeding tube. Her husband Michael argued she would not want to be kept alive artificially, while her parents fought to keep her alive. The case escalated through the courts, drew in Governor Jeb Bush and Congress, and became a national symbol of the divide over life, death, and who gets to decide. Terri died in 2005, but the debate she sparked never ended.

Paul Dennis Reid Jr. was a Texas drifter who came to Nashville chasing a country music dream but ended up becoming one of Tennessee's most notorious serial killers. Over three months in 1997, he murdered seven fast-food workers in execution-style robberies after being fired from his dishwasher job for throwing a plate . His victims included a 16-year-old aspiring journalist, a 17-year-old who had just bought her first car, and two women whose throats were slashed . Reid survived on death row for 14 years before dying of natural causes in 2013—robbing the victims' families of the justice they had waited for .

A Santa suit, a homemade flamethrower, and a Christmas Eve massacre. On December 24, 2008, Bruce Pardo dressed as Santa and opened fire at his ex‑wife's family gathering in Covina, California, killing nine people and wounding three before burning the house down . He had hidden a pressurized flamethrower inside a gift-wrapped package and used it to ignite the home after the shootings . His own Santa suit melted onto his skin as he fled, and he later died by suicide at his brother's house . This case remains one of the most horrifying holiday tragedies in American history .

Today, we're discussing one of the most highly-requested, prolific serial killers from the U.K.—Dennis Nilsen. A story of isolation, suppressed desire, and a smell that no one could ignore. From an isolated childhood to a young adulthood full of sexual suppression, Dennis had the makings of a murderer...but what exactly set him off? This story seriously gets extreme (and probably very smelly) FAST. There is something deeply unsettling about a killer who lives among his victims, and the secrets he hid under the floorboards would shock the nation. This is a chilling tale of a quiet man who was hiding a horrifying reality in plain sight.

Close your eyes and journey through the darkest minds in history, from cannibals to serial killers and cult leaders. A gripping compilation of true crime's most notorious cases, told through the lens of Bailey Sarian's Murder, Mystery & Makeup. This episode brings together iconic killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy, exploring their psychological profiles and the impacts of their crimes. From the "Granny Ripper" to the BTK Killer, this collection dives deep into the twisted motives and chilling legacies that haunt us. Let these stories of humanity's darkest corners carry you into a deep, uneasy sleep.

When 8-year-old Maddie Clifton vanished in 1998, her killer was hiding in plain sight. He sat on his waterbed, petting his dog, while police searched the neighborhood for the missing girl. He spoke to officers without emotion. He was "cool as a cucumber." Days later, Maddie's body was found beneath his bed. Joshua Phillips had beaten her with a baseball bat, slit her throat, and hidden her inside his waterbed frame [citation:1][citation:4]. He was 14 years old and sentenced to life in prison, a sentence that has kept him behind bars for over 25 years.

In 1965, 5-year-old Eddie Jr. and 4-year-old Missy vanished from their Queens apartment. Missy's body was found the same day, strangled. Eddie Jr.'s body was found five days later. The prosecution had no fingerprints, no weapon, and no witnesses linking Alice Crimmins to the crime. She was convicted based on her lifestyle—a divorced cocktail waitress with red hair and heavy makeup—and a perceived lack of grief. Supporters argue she was a victim of a misogynistic justice system. She was eventually convicted of manslaughter for her daughter's death and served time. The question of her guilt remains fiercely debated.

From Super Bowl star to convicted murderer, Aaron Hernandez's spectacular fall shocked the sports world. The young Patriots tight end with a $40 million contract was convicted of first-degree murder in 2015 for the shooting death of Odin Lloyd, a landscaper dating his fiancée's sister. Prosecutors presented extensive evidence, including surveillance video, cellphone records, and DNA on a marijuana joint found near the body. During closing arguments, his defense acknowledged Hernandez was present at the killing but blamed two friends. He was sentenced to life without parole, and days after being acquitted of a separate double murder, he hanged himself in his prison cell at age 27.

From the Zodiac to Scott Peterson, fan theories often reshape how we see unsolved cases. Bailey Sarian breaks down the most popular ones, weighing evidence against speculation. She questions the logistics of the Scott Peterson inheritance plot, entertains the Zodiac copycat theory, and explores the messy Jaleayah Davis case where a witness failed a polygraph. While some theories offer compelling angles, Bailey concludes that the truth needs more than internet speculation. This Q&A explores where fan theories help, where they fall short, and why even the most convincing theory can't replace hard evidence.

A 22-year-old man believed voices told him he would die if he didn't eat human flesh. Marc Sappington, known as the "Kansas City Vampire," murdered four acquaintances in a 2001 spree, partially consuming one victim. His crime spree began with the murder of his friend Terry Green, whom he stabbed to death and lapped up his blood before disposing of the body. Days later, he stabbed another victim, shot a teenager, dismembered his body, and ate a small piece of his leg. His defense blamed a history of schizophrenia and daily PCP use. He was convicted of first-degree murder and received multiple life sentences.

Dr. Butcher Brown was a New Jersey physician who performed surgical procedures in his office, claiming to be helping the mentally ill and addicts out of the shadows. But beneath the veil of benevolence, a disturbing pattern of violence began to surface. Former patients reported that these procedures often escalated into acts of extreme cruelty. When several patients were found dead, investigators unearthed a horrific dungeon of blood and butchery, leaving the terrifying question: was this a healer driven by divine purpose, or a complete psycho who used God as a mask for his murderous compulsion?

Melvin Rees was a charming jazz musician who played saxophone in D.C. jazz clubs, but beneath the surface lurked a sadistic predator dubbed the "Sex Beast." In 1957, he forced a couple off a Maryland road, shot Margaret Harold in the face, and sexually assaulted her body. He confessed to two other murders and is suspected of several more. Inside a building near the crime scene, police found violent pornography and autopsy photos of murdered women. Rees died in prison in 1995[citation:4][citation:7][citation:9].

Melvin Rees was a charming jazz musician who played saxophone in D.C. jazz clubs, but beneath the surface lurked a sadistic predator dubbed the "Sex Beast." In 1957, he forced a couple off a Maryland road, shot Margaret Harold in the face, and sexually assaulted her body. He confessed to two other murders and is suspected of several more. Inside a building near the crime scene, police found violent pornography and autopsy photos of murdered women. Rees died in prison in 1995[citation:4][citation:7][citation:9].

In 1987, a 52-year-old Chicago woman named Ruthie Mae McCoy called 911 to report that someone was trying to enter her apartment through her bathroom medicine cabinet. Police dismissed her plea as paranoia due to her mental health history. Neighbors reported gunshots, yet officers knocked and left without entering, citing building regulations. Two days later, police found her body—she had been shot four times. The killer had entered through the medicine cabinet, as her bathroom mirror was backed by an unlocked crawl space connecting units. This tragic case, covered by journalist Steve Bogira, later inspired the 1992 horror film Candyman. It is a chilling reminder of how systemic neglect and racial bias can silence voices that need to be heard.

A jealous love triangle, a secret BDSM lifestyle, and a deadly dinner cruise invitation. Dorothy May knew that Brittany Kilgore had been flirting with her "main daddy," Louis. When Louis showed up at Brittany's apartment with tickets for the Hornblower Dinner Cruise, he claimed he had asked around for her address. She hesitated. He insisted. She never came back. Three days later, her body was found in a desert ravine. She had been strangled to death. A true crime case from Bailey Sarian's Murder, Mystery & Makeup series.

He performed at children's parties as Pogo the Clown. He shook hands with politicians. He was also a rapist and a murderer who buried 29 bodies in his crawl space [citation:1]. Between 1972 and 1978, John Wayne Gacy lured at least 33 young men and boys to his Chicago home [citation:3]. He offered them work, drugged them, then used a "handcuff trick" to restrain them before raping and strangling them to death [citation:8][citation:13]. Gacy's killing spree ended when 15-year-old Robert Piest disappeared [citation:9], leading police to search his house, where they uncovered the most shocking discovery in American history. 

The story of Ottis Toole (and his literal partner in crime Henry Lee Lucas) involves cannibalism, a cult and even a cameo by Ted Bundy. The horrific actions of Ottis even went on to help inspire the man who created of a TV show we all remember from our youth... America's Most Wanted. The story of Ottis Toole is one you will not forget for a long time to come.

The old saying goes "Happy Wife, Happy Life," but for one suburban family, the pursuit of happiness turned into a nightmare of deadly secrets [citation:1][citation:3]. Behind the manicured lawns and friendly neighborhood barbecues, a wife's carefully constructed facade began to crumble, revealing a web of lies, manipulation, and murder. Bailey Sarian explores the dark underbelly of suburbia, where the pressure to maintain the perfect image can lead to the most shocking crimes. From suspicious neighbors to damning evidence, this case proves that even the happiest homes can hide the darkest secrets.

In the early 1900s, the village of Nagyrév, Hungary, became the epicenter of one of the deadliest poisoning epidemics of the 20th century. Women from a 1,500-person community turned to a desperate solution to escape violent husbands. A midwife known as "Auntie Zsuzsi" offered them a simple, deadly solution: boil flypaper in water to extract tasteless, odorless arsenic. They slipped this poison into their husbands' stews, porridge, and brandy. Over the next twenty years, up to 300 men in the region were murdered. The poisonings escalated beyond abusive husbands to include any inconvenient relatives. The community's isolation and complicity allowed the killings to continue for decades, until an investigation finally exposed them.

The internet is a vast playground of connection, but it's also a hunting ground for some of the most terrifying predators. This compilation delves into cases where the digital world crossed into chilling reality. A 12-year-old girl is nearly killed by her friends in the name of a creepy internet legend. A respected NYPD detective secretly lives a double life with violent fantasies of kidnap and cannibalism. And a master manipulator uses online chat rooms to lure victims into his web of murder. This is a journey through the dark side of the world wide web, where a screen can become the mask of a monster.

A sugar baby on the run. A string of "strange" coincidences. And a very deadly woman whose past finally caught up with her. In this episode of Bailey Sarian's Murder, Mystery & Makeup, we dive into a case that will leave you questioning everything. Bailey's unique approach combines detailed true crime storytelling with makeup application, creating a casual yet respectful space to explore these dark tales[citation:1]. As she works through her glam routine, she unravels the twisted story of a woman who blurred the lines between coincidence and cold-blooded murder, proving that some pasts are impossible to outrun.

New York City police officer Gilberto Valle, dubbed the "Cannibal Cop," was convicted in 2013 of plotting to kidnap, cook, and eat women—including his wife Kathleen Mangan [citation:7]. The case began when Mangan discovered disturbing emails on her laptop detailing his plans to truss her up like a turkey, slit her throat, and watch the blood drain from her body [citation:7]. She fled with their infant daughter and contacted the FBI [citation:1]. Prosecutors presented evidence of Valle researching chloroform, rope, and torture devices [citation:8]. Yet in a stunning reversal, a federal judge overturned the guilty verdict, ruling his internet communications were "fantasy role-play" with no concrete steps taken toward actual crime [citation:3]. After spending 21 months in prison, Valle was released and maintained he was guilty of nothing more than "unconventional thoughts" [citation:5].

A 23-year-old Wisconsin man invented an elaborate fantasy life. He told his family he had a degree and a job at SpaceX. When they discovered the truth, he shot his mother, beat his father with a sledgehammer, and dismembered their bodies. He scattered their remains across two counties before being caught when his girlfriend's Snapchat location led police to the river where part of his mother's body was found. He was convicted of killing his parents after a five-week trial and sentenced to life without parole.

A respected church organist and cross-bearer in Münsterberg, Silesia, was known for his charity to the poor and homeless. For over twenty years, from 1903 to 1924, Karl Denke lured vagrants and travelers into his home with promises of work or food, then bludgeoned them to death. He meticulously recorded at least 30 victims in a ledger. Inside his home, police later discovered jars of pickled human flesh, hundreds of bones, and belts and shoelaces made from human skin. After a potential victim escaped an axe attack, Denke was arrested and hanged himself in his cell before he could be brought to trial.

A quiet family lunch turned into a scene of calculated murder. Erin Patterson invited her estranged husband's family to her home on July 29, 2023, and served them Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms. Three guests died from multiple organ failure, and a fourth survived only after a liver transplant. Patterson had lied about having cancer to lure them there and later disposed of a food dehydrator used to grind the mushrooms. Her estranged husband had previously suspected her of trying to poison him. In 2025, she was found guilty and received three concurrent life sentences.

A social media app's location-sharing feature exposed a 23-year-old Wisconsin man's lies and helped solve a gruesome double murder. Chandler Halderson killed his parents after they discovered he had flunked out of college and fabricated a job at SpaceX. His girlfriend's Snapchat Map showed his location at the Wisconsin River, where investigators found his mother's remains. He was convicted and sentenced to life without parole.

A woman fleeing a controlling husband discovered the horrifying truth of who he really was. Kathleen found spyware on her devices and uncovered her husband Gilberto's dark secret. He had been active in fetish websites, discussing the kidnap, torture, and cannibalization of over 100 women, including Kathleen herself. After she fled to her parents, she found photos of 80 women and disturbing messages. He was arrested by the FBI, and his own words would seal his fate. This case reveals how a "best friend's" betrayal can be a mask for a truly monstrous obsession.

Canadian millionaire heir Blake Leibel used his own graphic novel as a blueprint for murder. In May 2016, he tortured and killed his fiancée Iana Kasian, scalping her and draining her blood, just weeks after she gave birth to their child . His 2010 graphic novel "Syndrome" depicted a serial killer hanging a couple by their ankles and slitting their throats—a crime prosecutors said the slaying "followed a script" from . The coroner called the murder "unprecedented outside of wartime" . He was convicted of first-degree murder, torture, and aggravated mayhem, receiving a life sentence without parole .

In 1980s Philadelphia, a disturbing serial killer known as "The Corpse Collector" murdered multiple victims in his rundown apartment and hid their bodies inside his home. Harrison Frank Graham, a mentally unstable man who carried around a Cookie Monster puppet, kept his victims' bodies decomposing in his apartment. When finally caught, Graham claimed his hands committed the murders, but insisted a violent alternate personality was the true killer. He pled guilty to two murders and died in prison in 1999, leaving behind unanswered questions.

Robert Lyons was a 39-year-old Chicago man who murdered his mother, Linda Bolek, in 2008 after she refused to call a friend for tickets to an Avril Lavigne concert [citation:3][citation:14]. In a fit of rage, he beat her with a champagne bottle and stabbed her nine times in the back, then doused her body in insecticide and drain cleaner [citation:3][citation:14]. He left to a Hooters restaurant while her body lay in their home [citation:14]. His life is now defined by a brutal act of violence that shattered a family.

A lonely housewife's sewing machine broke in 1913, and the shy repairman who came to fix it became a secret that would last a decade [citation:1]. Dolly Oesterreich seduced 17-year-old Otto Sanhuber and convinced him to quit his job and live in her attic, coming down only when her husband was away [citation:2][citation:10]. For years, he wrote science fiction stories in silence while Fred remained unaware of the "ghost" above [citation:4][citation:6]. When an argument turned violent, Otto emerged with a pistol and shot Fred three times [citation:1][citation:14]. They staged a robbery, locked Dolly in a closet, and Otto retreated to his hidden room [citation:2]. The killer lived in the attic for another eight years—until a jealous lawyer exposed the entire affair [citation:10].

Honor roll students and Girl Scouts who stabbed their mother 80 times, nearly severing her spinal cord. Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah Whitehead were 16 when they killed 34-year-old Nikki in a fit of rage after a morning argument. They dragged her body to the bathtub, watched her drown, and went to school. They lied to police for four years before confessing, each sentencing the other to 30 years in prison. The case remains one of the most shocking crimes committed by teenage twins in U.S. history.

Christine Falling was the babysitter no one saw coming. A quiet, soft-spoken teenager who seemed gentle and harmless. Between 1980 and 1982, she killed at least five children in her care by smothering them while they slept . She admitted to detectives that she used pillows to silence her victims, saying it was "simple and easy — no one could hear them scream" . She even attended the funerals of the children she murdered . When asked why she did it, she replied: "I don't know why I did none of this" .

A Nova Scotia couple promised desperate women a new life for their unwanted babies. Instead, they ran a gruesome baby farm where children died of neglect and were buried in butter boxes. In the 1920s, William and Lila Young turned the Ideal Maternity Home into a house of horrors. They advertised adoptions but withheld proper care to save money. At least 12 babies died, their bodies found in butter boxes in the woods. When authorities finally investigated, the couple fled to the U.S., living out their lives under new names, never facing full justice.

Sharon Kinne's life was a trail of death and deception spanning decades. In 1960, she shot her husband James while he napped, then blamed their two-year-old daughter for the "accident" [citation:9][citation:11]. Weeks later, she lured her lover's wife Patricia Jones to a remote spot and shot her four times [citation:9]. After a hung jury and an overturned conviction, she fled to Mexico, where she killed a man in a hotel room and was sentenced to 13 years in prison [citation:9][citation:10]. In 1969, she escaped through an unguarded window and vanished—living under a new identity until her death in 2022 [citation:5][citation:9].

In July 2008, a frantic 911 call shattered the quiet of a Florida suburb. Two-year-old Caylee Anthony had been missing for 31 days, and her mother, Casey, had never reported it. What followed was a case that would grip the nation and reveal a web of lies, deception, and a shocking verdict. Casey was acquitted of murder, but convicted of lying to police. The mystery of what happened to little Caylee remains one of America's most haunting true crime stories.

A teenage misfit named Rod Ferrell convinced his friends he was a 500-year-old vampire named Vesago, leading them in blood-drinking rituals and branding them with symbols. Their dark fantasy turned deadly when they brutally murdered the parents of a fellow clan member with a crowbar. The couple's bodies were discovered marked with the clan's "V" symbol. Ferrell became the youngest person on Florida's death row at 16 before his sentence was commuted to life.

Bailey Sarian explores a shocking case where an incestuous love affair turned deadly when greed took over. This episode of Murder, Mystery & Makeup delves into a story of family secrets, betrayal, and murder, all while she applies a full face of glamorous makeup. The case reveals how a toxic relationship spiraled into a fatal crime.

Between 1989 and 1990, seven men were shot dead along Florida's highways. The killer was a hitchhiking prostitute named Aileen Wuornos, whose arrest would make her America's most notorious female serial killer. Abandoned by her mother at age four, she was raised by an abusive grandfather and, at 14, was raped and forced to give up her baby. She turned to sex work to survive. Wuornos claimed self-defense, saying she killed after being violently assaulted. But her letters from death row also reveal a woman filled with rage who confessed to a "hatred of human life." A monster, or a monster created by circumstance?

The Mothman is one of America's most famous cryptids, a creature of shadow and prophecy that haunts the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. In November 1966, two young couples reported a terrifying encounter with a towering winged humanoid with glowing red eyes, a being that chased their car at over 100 mph. Sightings continued for over a year until a tragedy struck: the collapse of the Silver Bridge killed 46 people, and the Mothman vanished. This is the true story of the creature that terrorized West Virginia.

A discarded cellphone found by road workers in Krasnodar, Russia, revealed horrifying photos of a man with a severed hand in his mouth. The phone led police to Dmitry Baksheev and his wife Natalia, who confessed to killing and eating up to 30 people over 18 years. They worked at a military academy and allegedly slipped "canned human meat" into soldiers' food. Their home contained jars of pickled human remains, frozen body parts, and photos of a human head served as "Christmas dinner" in 1999.

A 16-year-old girl accused of a brutal murder raises a haunting question: was this a crime of rage or a symptom of mental illness? In this episode, Bailey Sarian explores the case of a teen killer, weaving through the victim's story, the evidence, and the disturbing psychology behind the act. Was it premeditated or a moment of madness? Let the quiet horror of this case carry you into a restless sleep.

A relationship built on passion and lies, fueled by obsession and a jealous rage that ended in a brutal murder. A love triangle that was anything but simple. Travis Alexander was found dead in his shower in 2008, stabbed 29 times, his throat slashed, and shot in the head. Jodi Arias, his ex-girlfriend, quickly became the prime suspect in a case that captivated the nation. Over five years, the story shifted from masked intruders to self-defense, but prosecutors painted a picture of cold-blooded premeditation. Her 18 days on the witness stand and the shocking revelations of their toxic dynamic turned a murder trial into a cultural phenomenon. From a dead woman's smirk to a convicted killer's life sentence, this is the story of what really happened when love became a fatal obsession.

A mother and son duo who murdered for money and lived a life of fraud. Sante Kimes was a "master manipulator" and grifter who dragged her son Kenny into a deadly scheme. They murdered a man in Utah, then a woman in New York, stuffing her body in a closet. A stray cat, the noise of a garbage truck, and a fit of anger led to their downfall.

Belle Gunness, a Norwegian immigrant living on a farm in Indiana, lured lonely bachelors with newspaper ads. She promised companionship and a new life, but the men who visited her were never heard from again. She poisoned, dismembered, and buried them across her property. When a fire destroyed her farmhouse in 1908, investigators uncovered a horror of dismembered remains in the yard and hog pen. Belle's body, headless, was found in the fire, and her final fate remains a mystery to this day.

She was England's first queen to rule in her own right, but her name became a byword for tyranny. Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, endured a childhood of humiliation after her father's divorce. She was declared illegitimate and forced to serve as a lady-in-waiting to her infant half-sister, Elizabeth. When she took the throne in 1553, she was determined to return England to Catholicism. Over 280 Protestants were burned at the stake during her five-year reign, earning her the nickname "Bloody Mary."

They bought the bunk beds from a secondhand store. Within nights, their home became a nightmare. A teenage babysitter watched a fire with red eyes. The father heard a voice whisper "You're dead." The children saw a woman standing in flames. Objects flew through the air. The bunk bed shook on its own. The family fled their home, never to return. To this day, the 1988 Unsolved Mysteries episode that aired about them is so terrifying it rarely re-airs. This is the case of the Tallman house and the haunted bunk beds.

A Thanksgiving turkey isn't the only thing getting carved in this stomach-churning case. Omaima Nelson, a former model from Egypt, was the epitome of the "sugar baby" lifestyle before her marriage to the elderly William "Bill" Nelson was shattered by a gruesome murder. In 1991, Omaima dismembered, cooked, and partially consumed her husband, creating a Thanksgiving horror that experts would later describe as a chilling blend of Ed Gein and a deadly domestic dispute. But was this a cold-blooded act of cannibalism, or a brutal act of self-defense? Watch as we dive deep into the evidence, shocking details, and disturbing psychology of this case.

A Victorian nurse who advertised as a "respectable" woman offering a loving home for unwanted babies. Instead, she strangled them with white tape and dumped their bodies in the Thames. Amelia Dyer is believed to have murdered as many as 400 infants over 30 years, making her one of the most prolific serial killers in British history. But was she a cold-blooded monster or a victim of a system that left desperate mothers with no choice? This is the chilling story of the baby snatcher who hid behind a mask of kindness.

A story of twisted love and bloody betrayal, where a bond between two women turned deadly. A pair of servants who crossed a line no one expected. When two maids began a forbidden relationship, their secret love spiraled into a nightmare of murder. Jealousy and obsession drove them to commit an unspeakable crime, leaving a trail of blood and a mystery that stunned their employers. This is a chilling tale of passion, betrayal, and a deadly partnership that ended in tragedy.

They were the picture‑perfect couple, but behind closed doors, they were monsters. Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, dubbed the "Ken and Barbie Killers," terrorized Ontario in the early 1990s. They kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered schoolgirls Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, even drugging and raping Homolka's own sister, Tammy, who died as a result. In a controversial "deal with the devil," Homolka testified against Bernardo in exchange for a 12-year manslaughter sentence. Her smirk haunts Canadians to this day.

John Wayne Gacy was one of America's most prolific serial killers, convicted of murdering 33 young men and boys between 1972 and 1978 [citation:2][citation:4]. He buried 26 of his victims in the crawl space beneath his Norwood Park Township home [citation:2][citation:4]. Despite the legend of the "Killer Clown," Gacy did not use his Pogo the Clown persona to lure victims or kill while in costume—his clowning was just one of many masks he wore to appear harmless to society, making the reality far more sinister than the myth [citation:1]. The Peacock series Devil in Disguise focuses on the victims rather than the killer, aiming to correct misinformation about the case [citation:1].

Honor students and Girl Scouts who stabbed their mother 80 times, nearly severing her spinal cord. Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah Whitehead were 16 when they killed 34-year-old Nikki in a fit of rage after a morning argument. They dragged her body to the bathtub, watched her drown, and went to school. They lied to police for four years before confessing, each sentencing the other to 30 years in prison. 

A Hungarian countess accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young women in the 16th and 17th centuries, Elizabeth Báthory is often called the most prolific female serial killer in history [citation:1][citation:2]. Legend says she bathed in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth, though scholars debate the true scale of her crimes [citation:1][citation:2]. Her accomplices were tried and executed, but she was never convicted. Instead, she was imprisoned in Čachtice Castle, bricked into a set of rooms where she died four years later [citation:2].

Jane Toppan was the "Jolly Jane" of 19th-century New England, a private nurse who poisoned her patients for pleasure. She experimented with fatal drug cocktails, finding "sexual satisfaction" in their slow, agonizing deaths. Toppan killed over 30 people, including her own adoptive sister, and confessed to murdering at least 31 people. She died in a mental hospital in 1938. This chilling case reveals a monster hiding behind a mask of kindness.

When the Wyrick family moved into their Georgia home in 1989, their three-year-old daughter Heidi began speaking to a friendly old man named Mr. Gordy who played with her on the property[citation:2][citation:5]. The family eventually discovered that Mr. Gordy was a former homeowner who had died in 1974, and another spirit Heidi described matched a photograph of a man who had died decades earlier[citation:5]. But the hauntings soon turned darker: a faceless dark figure began terrorizing Heidi, leaving her with deep claw marks on her face and her father with scratches on his side[citation:5][citation:9]. Parapsychologist Dr. William Roll investigated and confirmed the family's experiences were genuine paranormal phenomena[citation:5][citation:8].

Teenage angst curdled into something far more sinister in three cases where killers documented their violence with chilling detachment. Alyssa Bustamante, 15, lured her 9-year-old neighbor into the woods and strangled her, later writing in her diary: "I just f*****g killed someone... It was amazing. As soon as you get over the 'ohmygawd I can't do this' feeling, it's pretty enjoyable." A 14-year-old Ontario boy obsessed with serial killers stabbed an 83-year-old stranger outside her home, while a 17-year-old Australian killer wrote a rap song about hacking down 14-year-old Ethan Hoac. Each case is a reminder that youth does not always mean innocence.

Dee Dee Blanchard appeared to be a devoted mother caring for a terminally ill child. The reality was far darker—she had subjected her daughter Gypsy Rose to years of horrific medical abuse, forcing her to use a wheelchair and feeding tube, shaving her head, and subjecting her to surgeries she never needed. Gypsy was trapped in a prison of fabricated illness and isolation. Desperate for escape, she met Nicholas Godejohn online and convinced him to murder her mother. Gypsy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and served seven years in prison, while Godejohn received a life sentence. Victim or perpetrator? The question still haunts this case.

A woman of God with a thirst for power. A fatal attraction that ended in murder. A case that questions faith itself. In 1965, a traveling preacher became entangled in a forbidden affair that would spiral into tragedy. When his wife discovered the betrayal, a toxic love triangle exploded into violence, leaving one woman dead and another's faith shattered. The investigation exposed a web of manipulation, lust, and abuse of spiritual authority. Was it a crime of passion or a calculated act of evil? This is a story where faith became a weapon.

She was the charming owner of a popular Macon, Georgia diner in the 1950s—a place where everyone felt welcome and she hugged every customer at the door. But beneath the warm smile and red lipstick lurked a cold-blooded killer. Between 1952 and 1958, Anjette Lyles poisoned four family members with arsenic: her first husband, her second husband, her mother-in-law, and finally, her own nine-year-old daughter, Marcia. Her motive was pure greed—she used life insurance payouts to buy a new white Cadillac and a house. She even tried to pin the poisoning on her surviving daughter. Convicted and sentenced to death, she was later declared insane and died in a mental institution in 1977.

In 1986, the Snedeker family moved into a former funeral home in Connecticut for their son's cancer treatment, only to discover mortuary equipment and a dark history. What followed were terrifying reports: demonic apparitions, blood-red water, and claims that both parents were sexually assaulted by supernatural entities [citation:3][citation:10]. The Warrens investigated and declared the house possessed [citation:5]. But skeptics uncovered inconsistencies in the family's accounts, and the author hired to write their story admitted he was told by Ed Warren to "use what works and make the rest up" [citation:3]. 

In 17th-century Italy, a cosmetics maker named Giulia Tofana created a deadly poison disguised as face cream. She called it Aqua Tofana, a mixture of arsenic, lead, and belladonna that was colorless, odorless, and tasteless[citation:1][citation:2]. It produced flu-like symptoms before killing the victim days later, leaving no trace[citation:2][citation:7]. She sold it to women trapped in violent marriages. Between 1630 and 1655, over 600 men were killed by her poison before a client confessed under pressure[citation:3][citation:7]. Historians now believe Tofana died of natural causes in 1651, but her legend lives on[citation:9].

A teenage babysitter who smothered babies out of boredom. A quiet girl who attended her victims' funerals. A monster hiding in plain sight. In 1970s Australia, Helen Patricia Moore was a shy teenager whose disturbing behavior escalated from destroying dolls as a child to becoming a serial killer. Her mother knew something was wrong, but doctors called her a "perfect angel" [citation:3]. She smothered at least three infants, attempted to kill two more, and calmly watched television while they died. After serving just 14 years, she was released and is reportedly living near a daycare center, still babysitting [citation:1][citation:6].

A Halloween night of passion and betrayal turned deadly. Bailey Sarian's 2019 Halloween special tells a chilling story set in 1957, where a fatal shooting on Halloween night unravels the mysterious relationship between a salon owner, their spouse, and an employee . The case took an unexpected twist when investigators uncovered a complex web of love and secrets that would lead to a shocking conclusion . It's a classic tale of jealousy, obsession, and a murder that happened on the spookiest night of the year.

The result of a perfect storm of factors that culminated in a great moral catastrophe, the Salem witch trials of 1692 took a breathtaking toll on the young English colony of Massachusetts. Over 150 people were imprisoned, and nineteen men and women, including a minister, were executed by hanging. The colonial government, which was responsible for initiating the trials, eventually repudiated the entire affair as a great "delusion of the Devil." Behind the hysteria lay a dark web of religious fanaticism, personal vendettas, and a legal system predisposed to believe the outlandish accusations of a core group of adolescent girls.

A sugar baby on the run. A string of strange coincidences. And a very deadly woman whose past finally caught up with her [citation:1]. In this episode of Bailey Sarian's Murder, Mystery & Makeup, we dive into a case that will leave you questioning everything [citation:1]. Bailey's unique approach combines detailed true crime storytelling with makeup application, creating a casual yet respectful space to explore these dark tales [citation:1][citation:7]. As she works through her glam routine, she unravels the twisted story of a woman who blurred the lines between coincidence and cold-blooded murder, proving that some pasts are impossible to outrun [citation:1].

Ronald O'Bryan wasn't a monster hiding in the shadows—he was a father. On Halloween night 1974, he handed his 8-year-old son Timmy a poisoned Pixy Stik, laced with enough cyanide to kill three adults. The boy collapsed within minutes, seizing and vomiting before dying in the bathroom. O'Bryan was drowning in $100,000 of debt and had taken out life insurance policies on his children just months earlier. He called the agency the day after his son's death asking how to collect. This is the story of the man who killed Halloween.

A woman fleeing a controlling husband discovered the horrifying truth of who he really was. Kathleen found spyware on her devices and uncovered her husband Gilberto's dark secret. He had been active in fetish websites, discussing the kidnap, torture, and cannibalization of over 100 women, including Kathleen herself [citation:3]. After she fled to her parents, she found photos of 80 women and disturbing messages. He was arrested by the FBI, and his own words would seal his fate.

She baked cookies for the church, volunteered at the shelter, and kissed her grandchildren goodnight. Nobody suspected that behind the warm smile lurked a cold-blooded killer. In this chilling true crime story, we explore the case of a grandmother who led a double life as a remorseless murderer. For years, she evaded suspicion, hiding her crimes behind a mask of maternal care. But when investigators finally dug deeper, they uncovered a trail of bodies and a dark secret no one ever expected. This is the story of the killer granny no one suspected.

A Baltimore serial killer who served human flesh to unsuspecting customers in his open-air hamburger stand. Joe Metheny was not just a murderer—he was a monster who claimed to have killed at least nine people and turned some of their remains into barbecue sandwiches. He was sentenced to two life terms but died in prison in 2017. This is one of the most disturbing cases in true crime history.

On a hot summer night in 1965, five-year-old Eddie Jr. and four-year-old Missy vanished from their Queens apartment. The police investigation quickly focused on their mother, Alice Crimmins, a recently divorced waitress with red hair and a "loose" reputation, who did not fit the era's maternal ideal. When Missy's body was found strangled days later, the case became a media sensation, and Alice was sentenced to prison for manslaughter. But a closer look reveals a biased investigation, no physical evidence linking her to the murders, and an ignored alternate suspect [citation:2][citation:4][citation:6].

When a mother of four and abattoir worker turned on her partner, the crime that followed was one of the most gruesome in Australian history [citation:11]. Katherine Knight stabbed John Price 37 times, skinned his body, hung his skin from a meat hook, and cooked his head in a pot on the stove [citation:1][citation:11]. She prepared slices of his flesh with vegetables and placed them on plates labeled with his children's names [citation:5][citation:9]. Police arrived before the children came home from school [citation:1][citation:5]. She was the first Australian woman sentenced to life without parole [citation:1][citation:5].

When single mother Gertrude Baniszewski offered to board two teenage girls for $20 a week, she became the architect of a nightmare. A gruesome case of torture and murder that shocked the world. She led her own children and neighborhood kids in a campaign of unimaginable cruelty against 16-year-old Sylvia Likens [citation:1][citation:4]. Locked in a basement, Sylvia endured beatings, burns, starvation, and the carving of the words "I'm a prostitute and proud of it" into her abdomen [citation:1][citation:8]. She died on October 26, 1965, with over 150 wounds on her body [citation:5].

The old saying goes "Happy Wife, Happy Life," but for one suburban family, the pursuit of happiness turned into a nightmare of deadly secrets. Behind the manicured lawns and friendly neighborhood barbecues, a wife's carefully constructed facade began to crumble, revealing a web of lies, manipulation, and murder. Bailey Sarian explores the dark underbelly of suburbia, where the pressure to maintain the perfect image can lead to the most shocking crimes. From suspicious neighbors to damning evidence, this case proves that even the happiest homes can hide the darkest secrets.

A wealthy socialite who married into the Bakelite fortune, Barbara Baekeland was obsessed with "curing" her gay son, Tony. When hiring prostitutes failed, she allegedly initiated an incestuous relationship with him. Her erratic behavior, possessiveness, and Tony's worsening schizophrenia created a volatile environment. On November 17, 1972, Tony stabbed her to death in their London home. He was found guilty of manslaughter and institutionalized. After his release, he stabbed his grandmother, was sent to Rikers Island, and died in 1981 under mysterious circumstances.