Voices for Justice
Criminally Obsessed goes deeper — inside the investigations, the courtroom drama, and the human stories at the center of the country’s biggest true crime cases. We track breaking developments, uncover overlooked details, and bring clarity to the chaos — always with compassion for victims and the people whose lives are forever changed. Host Anne Emerson brings more than 30 years of award-winning investigative reporting to every episode. She’s covered the nation’s most high-profile trials firsthan
78 most recent episodes
Visit website →“YOU’RE A COWARD!” Rex Heuermann has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Suffolk County Court Judge Timothy Mazzei didn’t hold back during his sentencing on Wednesday, June 17th.
But the day wasn’t about Rex. It was about justice for h
We’re bringing our biggest Nancy Guthrie questions to an expert in digital investigations. Four months after Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother vanished from her Tucson, Arizona home, new theories and online speculation continue to swirl aroun
An anonymous tip spurred a ground search for Nancy Guthrie in Mexico. But this private investigator thinks they're looking in the wrong place… and says that authorities have their eyes on a subject in the kidnapping.
Four months after Today show hos
Real-life couple in "Gone Girl" kidnapping case speaking out:
Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn became the faces of a twisted true crime story in 2015 after Denise was kidnapped from their Vallejo, California home. Instead of being treated like victim
Alex Murdaugh has a new judge for his double murder retrial. And we want to know everything. Who is Judge Debra McCaslin?
The South Carolina Circuit Court Judge has been assigned to oversee Alex Murdaugh’s upcoming murder retrial in the deaths of hi
INSIDE THE MOMENT KARMELO ANTHONY WAS FOUND GUILTY IN TRACK MEET MURDER: There were no cameras in the courtroom. The public never got to hear the witnesses testify, watch the families react, or see the moment Anthony broke down as the verdict was rea
SHOULD MACKENZIE SHIRILLA HAVE WALKED FREE? And is her personality the reason she didn’t?
The Ohio teen was convicted of intentionally crashing her car at 100 miles per hour and killing her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend, Davion Flanagan in 20
HAWAII’S MISSING PERSON MYSTERY: WHY ARE PEOPLE VANISHING ON THE BIG ISLAND?
And is a new arrest taking us one step closer to uncovering the secrets hiding in paradise?
Nearly 100 people have disappeared from Hawaii’s Big Island in just the last f
The Netflix documentary The Crash has reignited debate around one of the most shocking true crime cases in recent memory: the conviction of Mackenzie Shirilla. In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, Anne Emerson talks with forensic psychologist Dr.
“HE BUILT THIS STATION AND HE WAS MURDERED”
This observation led CBS Austin news anchor Walt Maciborski down a rabbit hole. He was fascinated by the murder of his station’s founder, multimillionaire Texas media mogul Steven Beard. Beard was shot by
Did this mom poison her family at Thanksgiving dinner? And even worse, could she be a serial killer? North Carolina investigators are asking if Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel could be the rare female serial killer. Authorities say Gudrun poisoned wine ser
A Thanksgiving dinner. A bottle of wine. One daughter dead. And a question investigators are now asking: could this be the work of a female serial killer?
Authorities say North Carolina mother Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel poisoned members of her own fa
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson calls Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial ‘more than a trial. It's a saga.” The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Alex Murdaugh's double murder convictions of ihis wife Maggie Murdaugh and son Paul Murdaugh
When the Roxanne Sharp murder case went cold, Louisiana State Police tried something unusual to help solve the 1982 killing: they partnered with a trusted local radio host in a small Louisiana town to launch a true crime podcast.
In this episode of
A murdered teenage girl. A cold case that went unsolved for more than four decades. After years without answers, Louisiana State Police tried something different: they helped launch a true crime podcast to generate new leads.
Now, four men have been
More than 100 days into the search for Nancy Guthrie, could a breakthrough be sitting in an FBI lab as we speak? WHAT is taking so long?
The disappearance of Today show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother from her Tucson, Arizona home has gripped us sinc
WHO IS 'COUSIN' EDDIE? As Alex Murdaugh prepares for a murder retrial, why hasn't this alleged Murdaugh co-conspirator gone to trial in the first place?
Anne spoke with Curtis “Eddie” Smith, the man prosecutors say helped Alex stage a roadside shoo
ATTORNEY VS. ATTORNEY: It hasn't even been a week since the news came down that Alex Murdaugh is getting a murder retrial in South Carolina, and so much news around this case has already broke — from a six-figure lawsuit to, now, the fact that the de
ALEX MURDAUGH'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY OPENS UP: Anne Emerson sits down with Murdaugh defense attorney Dick Harpootlian, who says he’s never stopped believing Alex Murdaugh is innocent of the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. Harpootlian shares w
When Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson learned that Alex Murdaugh's convictions for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, were overturned, she immediately went to Maggie’s gravesite. She needed to sit in silence at the resting place for one of her
Alex Murdaugh is getting a new murder trial.
On May 13, the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex's double murder convictions in the June 2021 killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
How did this happen? How did we wind up a
A 16-year-old girl is accused of murdering her mother, father, and grandmother in the North Carolina home they shared. The girl's 28-year-old boyfriend has also been charged. The family had been trying to keep this older man away from their daughter
Serial killer Rex Heuermann will be sentenced in June for killing and dismembering eight women on Long Island, New York. Now, we’re venturing into the dark psyche of a human being capable of such brutality, to ask the question… Why? In this episode o
What would you do if your ex-husband, the father of your child, confessed to being a serial killer? That’s the reality Asa Ellerup faces after Rex Heuermann, the Gilgo Beach serial killer, admitted to murdering and dismembering multiple women in the
The details of Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s murder just keep getting darker. We’re now confronted with disturbing facts uncovered in the preliminary hearing evidence brief for the accused killer, David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd. They’re things you ca
His brother was murdered, and he thinks he knows why.
27-year-old Zamil Limon and his girlfriend, 27-year-old Nahida Bristy - both University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh - were brutally murdered and left in garbage bags. Zami
One month later, where is Lynette Hooker? She disappeared in the Bahamas on April 4th after her husband, Brian Hooker, said she fell from their dinghy near Elbow Cay, but let's face it, does anyone REALLY believe him? In this episode of Criminally Ob
A couple vanishes and a week later, they’re found dead in the most disturbing way. In Tampa, 27-year-old Zamil Limon and his girlfriend, 27-year-old Nahida Bristy - both University of South Florida doctoral students - were discovered in black garbage
Nick Reiner is accused of stabbing his parents to death… but did he know what he was doing? In this episode, investigative reporter Anne Emerson is joined by Dr. Joni Johnston, a forensic psychologist and expert witness on insanity pleas, to discuss
What kind of person kills a 14-year-old girl, dismembers her, and hides her remains inside a Tesla? That’s the disturbing question at the center of the case against singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, who is accused of murdering Celeste Rivas
What happened to 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez? As new details emerge, this case only gets more disturbing. Months after her body was discovered in Los Angeles inside a Tesla linked to singer David Anthony Burke (known as D4vd), the newly-relea
Nearly three weeks after Lynette Hooker went missing, the questions are only growing. She fell off a dinghy in the Bahamas on the evening of April 4, 2026 according to her husband, Brian Hooker. We’ve been following this case closely - speaking with
It’s a case that’s been occupying so many of our minds, and a situation that’s nearly unimaginable. When Lynette Hooker vanished after allegedly going overboard while sailing in the Bahamas with her husband Brian Hooker on April 4, 2026, her daughter
The case of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez is unraveling before our eyes like a real-life horror movie. The teenager was last seen in April 2025, and then found dismembered in the trunk of a Tesla in Los Angeles in September 2025. That Tesla bel
How do you investigate a disappearance when it happens in the open water? Lynette Hooker has now been missing for more than two weeks after reportedly going overboard from a dinghy. She was sailing with her husband, Brian Hooker, near Elbow Cay in th
What really happened to Lynette Hooker? The woman who reportedly went overboard near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas has still not been found, and questions and suspicions are only growing. Her husband, Brian Hooker, says strong winds and rough water separa
“There’s not a lot of room for escape.” Anna Kepner was asphyxiated in her cruise ship cabin back on November 7, 2025—a cabin she was sharing with her 16-year-old step-brother while on a family vacation. The 18-year-old cheerleader's body was found u
Where is Lynette Hooker… and what REALLY happened? Ten days after she allegedly went overboard a dinghy in the Bahamas, there’s still no sign of her - no body, no witnesses, no clear answers. Rumors, suspicions, and accusations continue to spiral aga
Serial Killer Ted Bundy is back in the headlines - but this time, it’s bringing long-awaited answers in a 51-year-old cold case. 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime was found beaten, bound, and left on the side of a highway after disappearing in Utah in 1974.
Yesterday, on April 8th 2026, the world watched as Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to the killings of eight women on Long Island, New York. Investigative reporter Kristin Thorne watched in real time, in court with the man we can now call the Gilgo Beach
We now know what many of us have long suspected - Rex Heuermann IS the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer.
Today, Wednesday April 8th, 2026, Heuermann pleaded guilty to strangling eight women on Long Island, New York. We anticipated a guilty plea to the mur
Newly released jailhouse bodycam video is raising questions - and eyebrows - about the mental state and belief system of “doomsday mom” Lori Vallow Daybell. The footage from July 2025 shows her being cited for contraband in prison, including M&Ms, gu
If South Carolina's Supreme Court Justices decide to overturn Alex Murdaugh's double murder conviction, what happens next? And who called Alex in the days after those oral arguments?
Investigative Reporter, Anne Emerson filed a FOIA request and will
On the night of April 1, 2006, the 27-year-old Ohio State medical student Brian Shaffer went out with friends to the Ugly Tuna Saloona. Surveillance cameras captured him inside, laughing and socializing. But when the night ended, something chilling b
Marla Waldman-Conn was 7-years-old when her mom was murdered in their Long Island home. For years, she wasn’t really allowed to talk about it. Her dad remarried. The years went by. Her mom’s case went cold. She was told to forget about it. But
Rex Heuermann was arrested in 2023 in connection to the Gilgo Beach murders. The case dates back more than a decade, when the disappearance of a woman in Long Island, New York led to the discovery of multiple bodies along the South Shore, bringing th
The Long Island Serial Killer case - also known as the Gilgo Beach murders - is back in the spotlight. We’ve learned that Rex Heuermann, accused of seven murders, is expected to plead guilty to these grisly crimes on April 8th, 2026. What began 16 ye
What comes to mind when you hear the name ‘Murdaugh’? A legal dynasty spanning generations? A boat crash? An unsolved homicide? A double murder on a South Carolina property twice the size of Central Park? Stolen money? A dead housekeeper?
How about
If the crimes of the Murdaugh family are a knot, there’s one thread we’ll never let go of here at Criminally Obsessed – the unsolved homicide of Stephen Smith. He was found dead on a rural South Carolina road in 2015, and we’ve followed the case thro
Who is the real Alex Murdaugh?
Before the guilty verdict… before the appeal… there were secrets no one saw coming.
Even the prosecutors who helped convict him for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul say the full picture is more complicated
Three years after Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul, his case is once again at a critical turning point. The South Carolina Supreme Court is now weighing whether his conviction could be overturned — and a possib
This episode is hard to watch, but impossible to forget. We mean it when we say you’ll need tissues for this conversation. Lucia Iris Seifried was a giggly 9-month-old with bright blue eyes and a big personality. Her parents, Matthew and Rebecca Seif
“Methodical.” “Cold.” “Premeditated.” These are words West Virginia State Police Sergeant Ronnie Gaskins uses to describe 16-year-old Skylar Neese’s killers, fellow 16 year olds Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. But these girls weren’t just teens; they w
Dave Neese’s daughter, Skylar Neese, was stabbed in the back by her two best friends in 2012. They attacked her with kitchen knives and left her in the middle of the woods. For six months, no one knew what happened to Skylar Neese. Meanwhile, Rach
“I would be devastated!” Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson has a lot of opinions about Alex Murdaugh’s appeal to overturn his double murder conviction. She was one of the family’s housekeepers for years. The South Carolina State Supreme Court heard oral ar
“I spoke the truth.” Murdaugh housekeeper and confidant of Maggie, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson says she’s faced some backlash for using her voice. In previous interviews with Investigative Reporter Anne Emerson, Blanca opened up about the kind of per
David Robinson wants everyone to know his son's case is anything but cold.
Daniel Robinson went missing in the desert of Buckeye, Arizona in June 2021. The 23-year-old geologist’s jeep was found overturned in a ravine, but he remains missing. What s
The star witness in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial is independently investigating the Stephen Smith cold case — and he says they “got a good idea who committed this.”
Stephen was a blonde haired, blue-eyed 19-year-old left dead on a rural South Ca
It's been more than 3 weeks since 16-year-old Madison Fields was last seen by her parents, or by anyone. What started as a search for a missing teen in Colerain Township, Ohio has shifted to an FBI investigation into the dark corners of the internet
Watch the Criminally Obsessed original documentary "Dead Silence: The Casey Pitzer Investigation" out now on our YouTube channel.
“She's got her hand on my shoulder guiding me slowly. But she's there. She's there with me all the time."
Nearly t
Michelle Newton was found 42 years after police say her mom kidnapped her and she’s now revealing more of her mother’s lies.
When Anne Emerson first spoke with her back in December after the viral video of her mother’s arrest in Marion County, Flor
For many of us, the case of Michelle Newton started with a viral video of a woman being arrested in Florida. But for Joe Newton, this case started decades ago, when his wife and 3-year-old daughter up and vanished from their life in rural Kentucky. W
All eyes are on the trial of Kouri Richins, the Utah mom accused of murdering her husband by poisoning his cocktail with a lethal dose of fentanyl in 2022. Following her husband’s death, Kouri wrote a children’s book about grief and healing for her k
When Savannah Guthrie announced her family’s $1 million for information for the recovery of her missing mother, Nancy, she also acknowledged the many cases that don’t get a spotlight. In a generous act to help other families, Savannah donated $500,00
What can a reward really do for an investigation? For all of us following the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie from her Tucson, Arizona home, it’s the million dollar question we’re all wondering about after Savannah Guthrie made the announcement. The G
Kouri Richins murder trial began this week in Utah. Her husband’s sudden death led her to write a children’s book about grief and healing for her three young sons at least. Now, Kouri is on trial, accused of poisoning her husband in 2022. Eric Richi
We're now into the fourth week of the search for Nancy Guthrie. The question on everyone’s mind is: what happens next? ‘Today’ show anchor Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother was last seen on the night of January 31st, before being taken against he
When a barefoot and bloody woman rushed into a Butler, PA convenience store - the clerk, Tori, didn’t hesitate to help. Viral surveillance footage shows Tori springing into action to protect the woman, and it’s nothing short of incredible. Police say
Three weeks in and everyone is tired of waiting for the next big break in the Guthrie case. But just imagine what the family is feeling, with no sleep and nonstop stress and worry. Dawn Conley says finding a missing person is like finding a needle in
Now that we know the black glove did not come back with a DNA hit, what's next in the Guthrie Investigation? Investigators are working on leads from the Nest doorbell cam, finding out who purchased the intruder's clothes and backpack from Walmart, an
In 2007, British student Meredith Kercher was brutally murdered in Perugia, Italy—a crime that sparked an international media circus, a sensationalized trial, and the wrongful conviction of her American roommate, Amanda Knox. So why did Amanda choose
Wayne’s world has been turned upside down. He just learned that his 10 year marriage to Sharon Brookover was a scam. She wasn’t who she said she was — a single mom just trying to raise her daughter and lead a private life.
She was wanted for taking
What if you found out that you aren’t who you think you are... and you’ve been missing for 42 years?! That’s what happened to Michelle Newton. She’d always felt like there was something not quite right about her life and in fact, at one point, a rela
“It’s okay to grieve the life you feel like was lost to you.” Elizabeth Smart speaks from experience, and she believes telling stories helps people understand.
You probably remember her name and face. She’s been an advocate for people who’ve been vi
“YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOUR NEIGHBOR IS.” Wise words from 24-year-old Justin Anderson of Anson, Texas. He came home the Saturday night before Thanksgiving and heard screaming and banging from his neighbor’s yard. When he went to investigate, he could no
What kind of person was Maggie Murdaugh? We’ve seen the pictures, maybe watched the Hulu series and made assumptions. But we don’t KNOW Maggie. Not like Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson did.
She spent a lot of time inside the Murdaugh home, helping Maggie
"God Bless Bubba" That 3 word quote from Murdaugh Prosecutor John Meadors may have been one of the most repeated lines from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial.
That's because of a video Paul Murdaugh recorded minutes before he and his mother, Maggie, we
WHO WERE THE CLEANERS? In this three-part interview with the woman who knew everything about the Murdaughs, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson details all the clues she picked up on after the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. We counted more than 10! To an