Voices for the Victims
L.A. Times reporter Christopher Goffard of “Dirty John” is back with another riveting podcast from L.A. Times Studios. In “Crimes of the Times,” Goffard goes deep behind the scenes of a new story each week, cutting through common myths and misconceptions to uncover what really happened in the most compelling cases from L.A. and beyond.
54 most recent episodes
Visit website →In the final episode of this four part series, we’ll talk to historian William J. Mann about his new book on the Dahlia case, which points to the same long-forgotten suspect whose name has been linked to a Zodiac cipher.
Were the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders the work of the same man? A new theory argues a disturbed World War II veteran was responsible. In this episode, a former FBI profiler explores the psychology behind both cases, examining where they overlap an
Marvin Margolis was a promising early suspect in the Black Dahlia murder, but he managed to slip through the cracks. So who was this man of many pseudonyms? In this episode, we’ll explore what Margolis did during and after the Dahlia investigation, a
The identity of the Zodiac Killer has remained a mystery for decades, but new developments may finally point to an answer. At the center is the infamous Z13 cipher, a 13-character code sent to the San Francisco Chronicle that has long defied experts.
Attorney Frank Carson spent decades defending the accused in California's Central Valley. He made powerful enemies among law enforcement. When they put him on trial for murder, he insisted he was being framed. He was acquitted after a lengthy trial,
In 1986, 29-year-old Sherri Rasmussen was just starting her married life when she was brutally murdered in her Van Nuys home. The LAPD called it a “burglary gone bad,” ignoring red flags pointing to one of their own for years. Detective Stephanie Laz
When a helicopter crash killed actor Vic Morrow and two children on the set of Twilight Zone: The Movie, the filmmakers called it an unforeseeable accident. An LA County Sheriff’s detective saw something else: broken laws, reckless risks, and an A-li
On the summer solstice in 1990, a UCLA student with an interest in the occult was stabbed to death in a railway tunnel in the San Fernando Valley. Rumors of ritual violence swirled in the era of the so-called Satanic Panic. Police investigating the m
When 21-year old college dropout Christopher Boyce got a job as a clerk at the TRW Defense and Space Systems complex in Redondo Beach, he was given access to some of the country’s biggest government secrets. And under a Robin Hood-like ethos, he and
When comic John Belushi died of a speedball overdose at Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont, it wasn’t clear there had been a crime—until the National Enquirer got involved. This episode follows the tabloid reporter who hunted down Belushi’s dealer, coaxed a
James Sexton endures weeks of solitary confinement in federal prison, as prosecutors finally gear up to take Lee Baca to trial. Baca’s lawyers claim he has Alzheimer’s Disease. It’s late 2016, and the recent presidential race has made the FBI unpopul
The feds interview Baca’s flinty #2 man and heir apparent, Paul Tanaka, who professes ignorance about who gave the order to hide Anthony Brown. In 2013, as the FBI probe enters its fifth year, feds finally get a chance to grill Baca. He touts his ach
James Sexton thinks Operation Pandora’s Box is behind him. When he reports a superior officer for misconduct, he is branded a snitch and treated as a pariah. Ostracized and scared, he does what he once thought unthinkable: he begins feeding informati
When Lee Baca took over the LA County Sheriff’s Department in 1998, he inherited a scandal-plagued agency. He built a reputation as a progressive reformer, and his jail-education programs were celebrated. But the feds notice that investigations into
After an inmate sucker-punches James Sexton, he defies the jail’s unwritten rules by failing to exact violent retribution, and finds himself ostracized by his peers. But he becomes an expert in the antiquated jail computer system and eventually wins
A young FBI agent named Leah Marx arrives in Los Angeles and receives a tip in 2010 about brutal conditions at Men’s Central Jail downtown. Such complaints have gone nowhere for years, since they pit the allegations of inmates against the word of jai
In this special feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow to discuss the aftermath of the case.
In this featured episode, The fates of Frank Carson and his co-defendants are decided, and jurors explain their reasoning. An interview with the state’s star witness, now out of lockup, raises troubling questions about the state’s handling of the cas
In this special feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to examine the evidence against Carson and his co-defendants as the longest California criminal trial in decades staggers to its conclusion.
In this specially featured episode, defense attorneys offer alternate theories to explain Korey Kauffman’s death, and the trial becomes an endurance test. As Frank Carson’s health deteriorates, he wonders whether he will live to see a verdict.
In this specially featured bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the implications of Frank Carson's trial on the criminal-justice system.
In this special-feature episode, Frank Carson hits rock bottom, and offers his co-defendants a way out. During the marathon preliminary hearing, the prosecution belatedly reveals a cache of undisclosed evidence — with major consequences.
In this special-feature bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss how detectives zeroed in on Frank Carson’s wife and stepdaughter.
In this specially featured episode, a series of wiretaps lead to criminal charges against Frank Carson’s wife and stepdaughter, an art student.
In this special-feature bonus episode, our editor Steve Clow and our host Christopher Goffard discuss how three California Highway Patrol officers fell into the District Attorney’s crosshairs.
In this special-feature episode, Frank Carson and his co-defendants are accused of a complicated murder conspiracy after a three-year investigation. Among the accused: three cops.
In this special-release bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard talks with false-confession expert Richard Leo, who questions the credibility of the government’s star witness.
In this special featured episode, the discovery of Korey Kauffman’s remains gives the investigation new impetus, and a man named Robert Woody offers a methamphetamine-fueled “confession.” But his story changes again and again.
In this special-released bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to talk about how authorities linked the disappearance of Korey Kauffman to Frank Carson.
In this special-release bonus episode, our host Christopher Goffard is joined by his editor, Steve Clow, to discuss the origins of The Trials of Frank Carson.
In this special-release episode, investigators confront a defiant Frank Carson about the disappearance of a scrap-metal thief with a reputation for making enemies.
In Season 2 of Crimes of the Times, host Christopher Goffard revisits one of the longest and most bizarre murder trials in U.S. history.
This special podcast rerelease will include fresh insights, bonus content and a new episode with the latest news
John Orr was a renowned fire investigator who was also a prolific arsonist, and whose thinly veiled novel helped to convict him. In this episode we hear from the fire captain who first suspected him—and from Orr himself.
New episodes every Tuesday.
The case of Barbara Graham, known in the 1950s as “Bloody Babs” after the murder of a Burbank widow. Former prosecutor Marcia Clark joins us to reexamine the questionable tactics that sent Graham to death row.
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read mo
The story of Synanon, the drug rehabilitation group once known as “the miracle on the beach,” and the rattlesnake attack on the crusading Los Angeles lawyer who made an enemy of the group’s leader.
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read more about the
Former Manson prosecutor Stephen Kay recounts the strange story of Ronald Hughes, the “hippie lawyer” who enraged the cult leader and vanished mysteriously in the middle of trial.
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read more about these cases, visit Cr
The last living prosecutor of Charles Manson gives an inside account of the trial and the cult leader’s deadly vision. Stephen Kay recalls the case that still haunts America.
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read more about these cases, visit Crimes
The Black Dahlia mystery: Wild theories, enduring myths and a long-overlooked suspect.
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com
Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.
The kidnapped heiress who became an “urban guerrilla” and embraced her captors.
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com
Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.
Smuggled out of a Santa Monica safe, the top-secret documents that changed American history.
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com
Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtub
A childhood memory sent her father to prison for murder. Was it real?
New episodes every Tuesday.
To read more about these cases, visit Crimes of the Times at latimes.com
Video episodes will be available on Spotify and Youtube.
Wild claims of mass child molestation rocked an L.A. beach town. Truth was the first casualty.
A maverick from Detroit, John DeLorean built the “car of the future.” Then came the briefcase full of cocaine.
A young actress, an obsessed stalker and a Hollywood murder that changed America.
In the last of three special episodes, Alexandra Cunningham, showrunner of the new Bravo series "Dirty John," offers insight into how she approached the writing of the show and its titular psychopath. Jeffrey Reiner, who directed all eight episodes,
In the second of three special episodes, Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights,” “Nashville”) talks about playing Debra Newell in the new Bravo series, and why the story feels timely. Julia Garner and Juno Temple, who play Newell’s daughters, discuss
In the first of three special episodes about the making of the Bravo limited series "Dirty John," Christopher Goffard talks with actor Eric Bana about his portrayal of John Meehan, and the parallels between actors and con-men.
“Dirty John” premieres
In the months since “Dirty John” was released, more of John Meehan’s victims have told their stories. Carolina Miranda from the LA Times interviews Christopher Goffard, Debra and Terra Newell, and John Meehan’s first wife. Plus, a panel on coercive c
Jacquelyn and Terra Newell suspect that John has been watching them. When Jacquelyn tells her mother that he is in town, her mother believes she is mistaken. Jacquelyn warns Terra to carry her pocket knife. But Terra is preoccupied by a country-music
Episode 5: John finds a lawyer and plots to unleash a blizzard of lawsuits against his enemies, with the aim of proving to Debra that he is the victim, in case after case. The lawyer believes her life is in danger. As her painful isolation from her f
Debra is in hiding, living out of hotels and disguising herself with a wig. Debra fears she will meet the fate of her sister Cindi, who was killed by her husband as she tried to escape a bad marriage. John has explanations for the accusations against
Debra grapples with the question, “Who did I marry?” The story of John’s mysterious past unfolds through the eyes of his sisters, his law-school housemate, his ex-wife, and an Ohio cop who hunted him. The origins of John’s nickname are revealed. Bed-
After an intruder appears in John and Debra’s livingroom, John insists that they install security cameras. Debra begins to wonder whether he is spying on her. Her nephew, Shad, looks into John’s background and confronts him with what he finds. Debra’
Debra Newell, an interior designer in Southern California, meets John Meehan on an over-50 dating site. His profile looks exciting: Anesthesiologist, divorced, Christian. She falls in love fast. But her children dislike him and warn her that his stor