Voices for the Victims
Hosted and executive produced by Attorney and Law&Crime anchor Jesse Weber, Prime Crime puts a spotlight on infamously controversial stories that have shocked investigators and the public alike. Jesse Weber takes a deep dive into the most high-profile and shocking criminal cases that have garnered national attention.
185 most recent episodes
Visit website →A 13-year-old Florida girl seemingly vanished early in the morning on a school day. The boyfriend of Madeline Soto’s mother said he dropped her off near her school, not at the front door, because she was embarrassed by him. Maddie’s mother, Jennifer
In May 2016, a single gunshot ignited a three-week nightmare that left three people dead within a one-mile radius in Kentucky. The initial killing of a 40-year-old man was merely the catalyst for a much darker crime: the murder of two teenage brother
A teenager was at odds with his mom after moving to Florida to live with her in 2024. Collin Griffith previously lived with his father, Charles Robert Griffith, in Oklahoma, before the then-15-year-old shot him in self-defense on Valentine’s Day in 2
A Georgia teen seemingly vanished after hanging out with her friends at an apartment in Gwinnett County. Susana Morales texted her mom when she left the complex but never came home, leaving family and friends terrified. The 16-year-old’s Life360 app
A Florida teen left his Miramar apartment to meet up with a classmate for a romantic encounter on a quiet October night. Dwight “DJ” Grant met up with Christie Parisien, and everything seemed normal, with the 18-year-old carrying the girl on his back
A South Carolina man found his fiancée dead in the living room of her Greer home. Bradley Post said Christina Parcell was surrounded by rose petals, and he noted a chemical odor in the house. It was known that Parcell, a vet tech at a local animal ho
A Florida woman called 911 after checking on her friend, who she hadn’t heard from since Christmas Day. When Vivian James’ friend went to her Cedar Hills home and found her unresponsive, noting her car was missing. Police tracked down the vehicle and
A Maryland mother’s co-workers became concerned when she didn’t show up for work on May 2, 2001. Police searched Leslie Preer’s home, which had traces of blood everywhere, and found her dead in the shower of her upstairs bathroom. Detectives investig
A 16-year-old girl called 911 in a panic after finding her father motionless in the backyard of their California home. First responders rushed to the scene and found Fabio Sementilli dead, suffering from multiple stab wounds. Investigators determined
Sixteen-year-old Iyana Sawyer went missing after she left her Florida high school in 2018. Authorities immediately initiated an all-out for Sawyer, who was pregnant at the time, but never found her body. What investigators uncovered was much more sin
A Florida man frantically called 911 after returning to his Florida home to find his wife bleeding out in their master bathroom. David Tronnes told police the mother of his child, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, was unresponsive in the water-filled tub. When
The mother of Breasia Terrell panicked when her daughter was nowhere to be found after spending the night at her "stepdad's" home in 2021. The 10-year-old went missing in the middle of the night after spending the evening playing video games with her
From a popular YouTube family vlogger to a convicted child abuser, the shocking story of Ruby Franke has captivated the nation. From influencer to inmate, the YouTube mom has hit rock bottom behind bars alongside her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt
Eleven-year-old Gannon Stauch was left at home with his stepmom when his dad left for deployment in the National Guard. Days later, Al Stauch received traumatic news that his son had vanished. Find out what happened to Gannon on this episode of “Prim
Nicole VanderHeyden was a loving mother and devoted teacher — her friends said that her smile would light up any room. But one night, in May 2016, Nicole's wonderful life in Green Bay, Wisconsin was cut short. This episode of "Prime Crime with Jesse
Daniel Brophy was an extraordinary chef who dedicated his life to his craft, teaching at a culinary school in a tranquil suburb of Portland, Oregon. His passion for cooking extended beyond the classroom, as he raised chickens and turkeys in his backy
In January 2019, police in Orlando, Florida were called to a horrific crime scene — the bloody home of Michael Redlick, a University of Central Florida executive. They found Michael's lifeless body covered in blood alongside a grisly kitchen knife us
In May 2021, the affluent community of St. Johns, Florida was rocked by the death of 13-year-old cheerleader Tristyn Bailey. The young teen was reported missing by her family, setting off a frantic search. Tragically, Tristyn's body was found just ho
Violence. Retaliation. Disappearances. The Navajo Nation is 27,000 square miles of remote terrain with just over 200 tribal police officers. This season on Stolen, Connie Walker’s investigation into the cases of two missing women leads her on a searc
Elizabeth Short’s gruesome murder is the LAPD’s most infamous unsolved case. But there’s one person who thinks he’s cracked it — the alleged killer’s own son. Today, we reopen the case against George Hodel, a certified genius and once-celebrated doct
In 1940s Hollywood, a 22-year-old aspiring actress is found mutilated and drained of blood. Her body is posed, and her mouth has been carved into a permanent smile. The investigation takes police into the hidden sides of the city — illicit romances a
After the death of Irene Garza in a small Texas town, a massive cover-up ensued, headed by one of the most powerful institutions in the world.This episode originally aired in March 2022.
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On the evening of April 16, 1960, Irene Garza went to church in the peaceful town of McAllen, Texas but never came home. Less than a week later, her body was found in a canal. Residents were terrified. Had a predator come to town to prey on them, or
In 2011, 17-year-old Tyler Hadley threw a wild house party in Port St. Lucie, Florida. What his guests didn’t know was that on the other side of a locked door, dead bodies lay hidden. A jarring confession ignited a race against time to end the revelr
After the massacre of the Clutter Family on November 15th, 1959, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation began an intensive probe into the crime. Their search for the killers would result in one of the greatest true crime stories of all time. This episode
On November 15th, 1959, the small town of Holcomb, Kansas experienced one of the most gruesome crimes imaginable. Four members of the Clutter Family had been gunned down in their own home—but nobody knew why. This episode originally aired in June 201
Like many serial killers, Maury Travis became over-confident. In the summer of 2002, after reading a story in the newspaper about one of his victims, he mailed a letter to the local newspaper offering them information on the location of another. He w
There was no evidence in Maury Travis’ childhood of arson or animal abuse, often seen as early warning signs for serial killers. And he didn’t appear to have been a victim of abuse from either of his parents. So what made this seemingly normal kid tu
By the 1980s, Ted Kaczynski had set off several bombs, causing only minor injuries — but for him, it wasn’t enough. What had started as a plot for revenge grew into an unrelenting need to change the world. To do that, he needed to kill. The reign of
Spotting his genius at a young age, Ted Kaczynski’s parents pushed their son to academic excellence — but Ted never found a true home in the hallowed halls of academia. Instead, by 1969, he was a former math professor with a festering hatred for the
In the mid 1980s a nightmarish story swept the nation. One man’s disappearance in Sacramento, California, led officials to investigate a boarding house with a sinister past…and horrifying secrets buried beneath its garden.
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When two young girls are found dead in Brighton, England, a local man does everything he can to avoid suspicion. Four years later, a young girl stumbles naked out of the woods north of Brighton, and police have to ask: Is history repeating itself? An
23-year-old Jack Graham unravels as the FBI uncovers his deadly vendetta against Daisie King, who was a passenger on Flight 629—and Jack’s own mother.
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In the mid-1950s, a plane bound for Seattle from Denver exploded mid-flight. 44 people were killed. When investigators began analyzing the wreckage, they couldn’t help noticing a distinctive smell: gunpowder.
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Around Christmas 1989, a series of pipe bombs sent through the mail killed two of its intended targets: Judge Robert Vance and attorney Robbie Robinson. Federal investigators set out to capture a serial bomber.
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The last time Telisa Coggins sees her brother alive, he’s walking out of a nightclub in Griffin, Georgia. Tim’s body is later found under an oak tree, mutilated almost beyond recognition. But just as police begin uncovering solid leads, the investiga
On a December evening in 2016, a man called 911 when he spotted an abandoned car on a bridge. Police discovered that 19-year-old Sarah Stern of Neptune City, New Jersey, usually drove the vehicle. She was now missing, and police needed to determine i
In September 1999, 36-year-old Girly Chew Hossencofft was supposed to report to work at a local Bank of America branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Due to recent threats made by her husband, Girly’s co-workers were worried. When a colleague went to he
It was May of 1996 when college freshman Kristin Smart went to a party and never returned to her dorm. More than 20 years later, a stranger started a podcast that ignited interest in the case and brought a killer to justice.
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When his family realized that the Canton police would not conduct an honest investigation into the murder of journalist Don Mellett, they hired a PI named Ora Slater to look into the case. He quickly narrowed his suspect list down to three people. Bu
He had recently led a crusade against the city's corrupt police force as the editor of the Canton Daily News. After exposing crooked officials and getting some officers fired, Don Mellett was shot dead outside his home by an unknown assailant. His fa
In the mid-1980s Los Angeles is in the midst of a serial killer boom. But that’s not all. A serial arsonist has been setting blazes across the area, leading to millions of dollars in damage and the deaths of four people. Most of the fires started in
On the evening of March 2nd, 2016, indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres was murdered in her home by armed intruders. Due to widespread corruption in Honduras, police weren't motivated to solve the case. Her family knew she was killed for t
He dedicated most of his life to protecting rubber trees in the Amazonian town of Xapuri, where he lived. During that time, Chico Mendes received countless death threats. But on the night of December 22nd, 1988, somebody made good on their promise.
It was 1991 when four teenage girls were brutally killed inside a yogurt store in Austin, Texas. With no witnesses to the crime, police had very little to go on. But soon, there was a confession. Then another. And another. It was up to investigators
Prosecutors Walter Hill and James P. Tuttle were faced with a difficult task. They had to convince a jury that Frederick Small could burn down a cottage from a hundred miles away. They would get their chance with the help of an electrician who was re
Late one night in September 1916, a cottage in New Hampshire burst into flames. Florence Small’s body was eventually found in the cellar — but it was clear she’d suffered more than just burns. Less than 24 hours later, police had a suspect. There was
As a firestorm of racial violence rages through the territory, Bass Reeves learns of his next arrest: his own son. Soon after, statehood and Jim Crow laws force Bass into retirement, while whitewashing covers up his accomplishments as Oklahoma's Lone
Accused of murdering his cook in cold blood, Bass stands up for his own innocence - breaking himself financially. Not long after he frees himself, the Marshals become embroiled in a bloody war with a legendary Cherokee leader.
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Eager to protect his growing family, Bass becomes one of the first Black Deputy U.S. Marshals West of the Mississippi. The face of the law in a lawless land, Bass outwits and outshoots countless criminals.
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As an enslaved man, Bass Reeves fights hand-to-hand with his enslaver. Victorious, Bass escapes, becoming a fugitive in America’s most dangerous, lawless territory just before the Civil War.
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Prosecuting attorney George Yeaton was certain who committed the gruesome murders on Smuttynose Island. To him, the evidence pointed to a robbery gone wrong. But what motivated the suspect to kill the only friends he had? A follow-up conversation wit
In 1873, two women were brutally murdered on Smuttynose Island just off the coast of Maine. A woman who escaped the attack reported her story to the police. Though she didn't see him, she claimed to know who the killer was.
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Based on witness testimony, authorities believed that Scott Watson killed Olivia Hope and Ben Smart. The jury agreed and took less than 24 hours to convict him. But since his incarceration, several witnesses have recanted their testimony, saying they
It was New Year's Eve 1997 in the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand when 17-year-old Olivia Hope and 21-year-old Ben Smart enjoyed a long night of partying. When friends couldn't locate the pair the following day, they assumed the two may have gone o
It was May of 1919 in Barre, Vermont, when the body of Lucina Broadwell was found naked on her stomach, hands tied behind her back. To solve the crime, investigators must uncover a dark secret that the entire town is hiding.
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It was the most extensive manhunt since John Dillinger. Authorities believed they’d found the identity of the man who’d kidnapped and murdered Ad Coors. But when they finally tracked him down in Canada, he refused to talk.
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Adolph “Ad” Coors was a father of four and an heir to the Coors brewing dynasty when he was kidnapped in 1960. Breakthroughs in the case put the FBI hot on the trail of Ad’s kidnapper, until leads ran dry. Seven months after he disappeared, Ad’s body
When reporter John McCormack went looking for missing celebrity pundit Madalyn Murray O’Hair, he thought it might be more than a simple case of tax evasion. Sure enough, he found a trail of stolen gold, disgruntled employees, and a disembodied torso.
She was a popular atheist speaker who challenged American evangelicals wherever she went. She was also called "the most hated woman in America" and had no shortage of enemies. So when Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her family went missing in 1995, no one
The spree continues into Christmas Day and beyond, during which the teen gang murders their third, fourth, fifth and sixth victims. After a tip, police catch the group wearing victims’ clothing, driving a victim’s stolen car, and in possession of the
In the early hours of Christmas Eve 1992, a senseless murder in Dayton, Ohio, marks the beginning of a rampage. What started as a desire for Christmas cash turns into a three-day killing spree that leaves six people dead. Even more shocking was that
It’s August in Alton, a small farm town in the English countryside. Eight-year-old Fanny Adams goes out to play with her friends, but never returns home. When she’s finally found, it’s a gruesome scene. In their tight knit community, there’s one man
The deaths at Greystone mansion were far from straightforward — at least as far as Detective Leslie White was concerned. But shortly after the DA announced they’d be launching a full investigation, they closed the case. The official narrative was tha
Ned Doheny found himself embroiled in a huge bribery scandal. On behalf of his father, oil baron Edward Doheny, Ned illegally obtained drilling leases from the US government. His close friend and personal secretary, Hugh Plunkett, was present for the
Over the ages, arsenic has had many lives — beauty fad, household product, medical prescription… and weapon of choice wielded by killers everywhere from Alabama to ancient Rome. Brine your turkey, knead your dough, and listen to our Thanksgiving Spec
By the early ‘90s, the case of Helen Brach was heating up. But to get answers, police needed to go deeper into Chicago’s cutthroat Horse Mafia. As agents worked their informants, the pieces of two cases, decades apart, finally came together.
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In February 1977, 65-year-old candy heiress Helen Brach disappeared, and her case went cold almost immediately. Over a decade later, investigators searching for her killer stumbled upon a vital clue that might not only solve her case, but the case of
In 1955, the quiet community of Jefferson Park in Chicago was known as a peaceful suburb. But its innocence was stripped away when three local boys went to a movie and never came home. Days later, their bodies were found. The case went cold for years
Eric Tombe’s parents had last heard from him in mid-April 1922 when he sent them a letter about an upcoming trip to Paris. Shortly after, Eric’s mother began having nightmares about her son. By mid-summer, she was convinced he was dead. By 1923, Scot
Two felons who met in prison decided to stay friends on the outside. They spent the summer and fall of 1979 kidnapping and murdering teenage girls in southern California. Police didn't even have them as suspects. Until an unlikely source came forward
Aaron Burr is most infamous for killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel. But Burr was also a father — one whose daughter, Theodosia, vanished one night at sea. No one can say for sure what happened to her ship, The Patriot, or its passengers... though a
The estranged adult children of Geraldine Kelley long suspected foul play in their father’s death. Though she had told them that John Kelley had died in a road accident, Geri revealed on her deathbed in 2004 that she’d shot him in the head and kept h
There is no debate about who killed Alexander Hamilton. His infamous duel with Aaron Burr was held according to the standards at the time. But many, including the states of New York and New Jersey, concluded that Burr was a cold-blooded killer who go
On an August night in 1952, a blue Chrysler raced down a hill, hit a barrier, and flipped onto its side. Nearby police officers rushed to help the driver, 33-year-old Dorothy May Grammer, but it was too late. A few days later, the autopsy revealed it
Four men received a guilty verdict for the murder of a person whose identity was unknown. Charges against one of the men would eventually be dropped, but the remaining three men were sentenced to die the next day. Then one of them made a startling co
In November of 1831, four men tried to sell a fresh body to the anatomist at King’s College in London. But a quick look at the body revealed it to be a little too fresh. Had these bodysnatchers robbed a new grave or murdered an innocent human to keep
When Reporter John McCormack went looking for missing celebrity pundit Madalyn Murray O’Hair, he thought it might be more than a simple case of tax evasion. Sure enough, he found a trail of stolen gold, disgruntled employees, and a disembodied torso.
She was a popular atheist speaker who challenged American evangelical thought wherever she went. She was also called "the most hated woman in America" and had no shortage of enemies. So when Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her family went missing in 1995,
44-year-old Cordelia Botkin was the sole suspect in a murder-by-mail case that killed two sisters and involved two jurisdictions on two different coasts. Authorities knew she had an affair with the husband of one of the victims, but could they find e
In the summer of 1898, two sisters died after eating chocolates they received in the mail. Their suffering was inexplicable — until their father discovered a sinister clue.
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Jim Williams had the money to hire the best attorneys around. After a fourth trial for the same crime, he was finally found not guilty. Was the law truly upheld that day or did a rich man buy his freedom? This is a crossover series with Unsolved Murd
In May of 1981, shots rang out at a mansion known as the Mercer House. When officers arrived, a young man was dead. The estate’s lone resident, a 50-year-old antique dealer, claimed self-defense. But to investigators, the crime scene told a different
The people of Waco wanted justice to be served. Four suspects emerged, but would that be enough to close the case? This is a crossover series with Unsolved Murders, looking at two complicated cases where the conclusions are far from forgone.
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In 1982, three teenagers were found murdered along Lake Waco. There was very little evidence, but Sergeant Truman Simons had a hunch. And he knew it would pay off. He just needed more time.
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Known locally as "The Sausage King," Adolph Luetgert found himself in hot water after police found evidence of his wife Louise's murder. Shards of bone and a ring inscribed with the initials "L.L." were found in a vat at his factory. But Adolph was a
Adolph Luetgert came from Germany to chase the American dream. He started a successful sausage factory and even married a woman from his home country. But one morning in 1897, he woke up for breakfast and his wife Louise was gone. Days later, when au
Detectives identified 25-year-old James Hanratty as their primary suspect. While in custody, he even admitted to his crime. But some of the public believed that the wrong man was executed. Decades after his execution, DNA testing would determine if t
Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storie were kidnapped, shot, and left on the side of the A6 at Deadman's Hill. The gunman then took off in Michael's car. When Scotland Yard released a composite drawing of the suspect, the tips came flowing in. But would
Authorities tracked down Albert Fish to a boarding house in New York. From the outside, he appeared to be a harmless old man. But inside, he was a cold-blooded child murderer. And detectives were sure there had to be more victims. This is the final e
After the kidnapping of 10-year-old Grace Budd, authorities sifted through countless tips to locate the man who took her: Frank Howard. But after years of investigating, they realized that Frank Howard was actually Albert Fish. And time was running o
The murder at Breakheart Hill Farm led reporters into the violent past of John Best, a farmhand who had worked under George Bailey. As the trial against him made headway, John maintained his innocence. The evidence at the farm told a different story.
His dismembered body was found in a series of burlap bags at Floating Bridge Pond in Massachusetts. Farm caretaker George Bailey had made quite a few enemies during his lifetime, so it's no surprise that somebody had killed him. The surprise was who
Franz Müller was arrested in New York and extradited back to England for a criminal trial. The case against him was far from cut and dry, but that didn’t stop a jury from convicting him. In 1964, the 24-year-old was led to the gallows, and all of Eng
On July 9th, 1864, a driver of a locomotive noticed the broken and bloodied body of banker Thomas Briggs. With the help of some key witnesses, authorities identified a suspect. But when they arrived at his home, Franz Müller was already aboard a ship
Anybody investigating the mysterious death of Anna Brown, or any of the other suspicious deaths in the Osage Nation, had either been threatened or killed. But with new FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in charge, solving these murders became a priority. T
In the 1920s, the people of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma were the wealthiest people per capita in the entire world because their land sat on one of the largest oil reserves ever discovered. But even with all this money, they were powerless. So when A
By the time NYPD detectives learned the identity of the "Easter Sunday Killer," Robert Irwin had long since left the city. But a tip from a pantry maid in Cleveland and an unexpected headline in a Chicago newspaper led authorities straight to their s
In the early hours of Easter Sunday in 1937, model Ronnie Gedeon, her mother Mary, and their boarder Frank Byrnes were brutally murdered inside their apartment. After many leads fell through, authorities found the best clue came from Ronnie's diary a
After the death of Irene Garza in a small Texas town, a massive cover-up ensued, headed by one of the most powerful institutions in the world.
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On the evening of April 16, 1960, Irene Garza went to church in the peaceful town of McAllen, Texas but never came home. Less than a week later, her body was found in a canal. Residents were terrified. Had a predator come to town to prey on them, or
Captain Schaack was dismissed for withholding that his partner, Dan Coughlin, was connected to the murder of Patrick Cronin. New detectives on the case uncovered an elaborate scheme involving a secret group of Irish revolutionaries.
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In May of 1889, in the Lake View area of Chicago, well-known and respected doctor Patrick Henry Cronin disappeared. Police Captain Michael Schaack investigated a variety of leads. Unfortunately, one of them pointed directly to a suspect Schaack saw a
When human remains washed up on Palmyra Island, authorities confirmed they belonged to Muff Graham who had disappeared along with her husband seven years earlier. Immediately, the FBI had suspects in mind. But when they went to serve indictments, the
After a couple goes missing from a tiny, uninhabited ring of islands in the Pacific, their yacht is discovered in Hawaii with the last people who ever saw them alive.
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On September 25th, 1937, 72-year-old businessman Charles Sherman Ross was kidnapped. His wife wanted to pay the ransom, so the FBI took down the serial numbers of every bill she used. Weeks later, a single 20 dollar bill on the other side of the coun
After LAPD officer Ian Campbell was shot at close range, officer Karl Hettinger ran into the onion field to try to escape. He heard more shots go off, but had no idea which of the two kidnappers was firing. And the ensuing murder case would depend on
In March of 1963, two LAPD officers were kidnapped at gunpoint by two men. They were forced to drive two hours north of Los Angeles to an onion field. After being ordered out of the car, shots rang out. And chaos ensued.
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In January 2012, the body of 56-year-old Jane Bashara was found in the back of her SUV. Almost immediately, police start zeroing in on her husband – known as “Big Bob” around the neighborhood, and “Master Bob” in his underground sex dungeon. As the d
When an aging yacht is shipwrecked in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the crew will do anything to survive.
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When Dean Corll’s crimes finally came to light in 1973, grief and outrage flooded the community. The trials of his two teenage accomplices would paint a picture of one of the most gruesome serial killers in American history.
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When teen boys start disappearing in Houston in the 1970s, they’re mostly written off as runaways by local police. Their true fate is only revealed after Dean Corll, known around town as “the Candyman,” is shot and killed.
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When a plane crashed in Canada in 1949, investigators uncovered a conspiracy that had 29-year-old Rita Morel at its center. The full plot became clear only after they tracked down a woman known around town as “The Raven.”
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In late 1946, police zeroed in on the primary suspect in Dagmar Petrzywalski's murder. He said his name was Sidney Sinclair — but officers soon realized he was living under a secret identity.
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In 1940s England, an unlucky passerby found a woman's body on the side of a busy roadway. With a knitted bag as their primary clue, local police teamed up with Scotland Yard to solve the case.
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Every Halloween, an urban legend makes the rounds about a child dying after eating poisoned candy. The reality is that it rarely happens. But in 1974, 8-year old Timothy O'Bryan died after eating a tainted Pixie stick. It's where he got it that makes
About a month after her disappearance, two fishermen found Nell Cropsey's body in a nearby river. With Jim Wilcox the last to see her alive, he was already convicted in the court of public opinion. While he maintained his innocence, the townspeople v
Within two hours of 19-year-old Nell Cropsey’s disappearance on November 20th, 1901, the town of Elizabeth City began the search for her. Her 25-year-old boyfriend, Jim Wilcox, was the last to be seen with her and insisted she was alive when they par
The only chance John George Haigh stood to avoid hanging for the murder of Olive Durand-Deacon was to plead insanity. While he claimed to drink the blood of his murder victims, would it be enough to convince the jury?
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69-year-old Olive Durand-Deacon disappeared from a London hotel in 1949. The investigation led police to one of the most infamous serial killers in British history.
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By August of 1933, everyone in Paris knew 18-year-old Violette Nozière was a murderer. But the real question wasn't if she killed her father — it was why.
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Who would want to poison an engine driver in Paris? The 1933 murder of Jean-Baptiste Nozière set police on the trail of a surprising killer, with a devastating motive.
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In 1860, two Scotland Yard detectives raced to find evidence that would confirm a hunch… But Saville Kent’s killer was shrewd and calculating, and the case went cold. Five years later, a startling confession changed everything.
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In the middle of the night, 3-year-old Francis "Saville" Kent disappeared from the room he slept in with his baby sister. His body was found hours later. The murder investigation by the Wiltshire police was incompetent at best. So when Detective Insp
In 1977, a couple built a Satanically-inspired mansion in rural Georgia. They called their abode Corpsewood Manor. Five years later, a gruesome double-murder made the home true to its name.
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In August 1969, eight-and-a-half-months-pregnant actress Sharon Tate was on top of the world, living the Hollywood dream. That is, until it turned into the bloodiest kind of Hollywood nightmare.
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In 2011, 17-year-old Tyler Hadley threw a wild house party in Port St. Lucie, Florida. What his guests didn’t know was that on the other side of a locked door, dead bodies lay hidden. A jarring confession ignited a race against time to end the revelr
In the 1990s, the Club Kids ruled the New York City party scene. They represented fun, freedom, and self-expression — until a grisly murder rocked their tight-knit community.
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With Marion’s killer in custody, a trial was set for January 1928. 19-year-old William Hickman immediately began laying the ground for his defense. But no matter how outrageous his tactics, Hickman eventually had to face the punishment for his grisly
Ten days before Christmas 1927, a smooth-talking man walked into a school in Los Angeles and convinced the office to let him take 12-year-old Marion Parker. Despite her desperate father’s attempts to get her back, she was murdered in a manner so ghas
Dr. James Snook was a respected veterinarian, family man, and former Olympian. But by the time his trial was over, he was a condemned murderer. Revealing details about his affair with Theora that were too salacious to print, Snook confessed to the gr
In the summer of 1929, the body of 24-year-old Theora Hix was found on a shooting range in Columbus, Ohio. The investigation into her murder surfaced two suspects: a jilted ex, and a secret lover.
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There was no doubt who committed the brutal assaults, or why. As another victim succumbed to his wounds, a search party hunted for Nicholas Behan — who, long after his trial and execution, remained a ghoulish figure in Long Island.
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In the spring of 1854, a failed courtship exploded into violence at a farm in Long Island.
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Using little more than witness reports and a beer bottle, officers tracked down the kidnappers haunting Vancouver, Washington. In 1953, authorities finally put an end to the pair's reign of terror.
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In 1950, countless locals watched two men force JoAnn Dewey into a dark sedan — but nobody tried to intervene. Police in Vancouver, Washington used what little evidence they had to track down the kidnappers.
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In 1895, Bridget Cleary vanished from her home after weeks of a protracted illness. Many in the area suspected she had been abducted by fairies, but investigators would discover that something much darker explained her strange disappearance.
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In 1800s Ireland, County Tipperary was steeped in superstitions and folk traditions. Many who lived there believed in the existence of fairies. Those beliefs would result in one of the most brutal and vicious murders in Irish history: the killing of
After his abduction on July 7th, 1960, Graeme Thorne's body was discovered in a vacant lot in Sydney, Australia. The entire country longed to see his killer brought to justice, and the identity of his killer would surprise everyone who followed the c
On July 7th, 1960, eight-year-old Graeme Thorne vanished from the convenience store he often visited before walking to school. His disappearance would turn into the first child abduction and ransoming Australia had ever experienced, and would shake h
The atmosphere was tense as the trial against Alma Rattenbury and her 18-year-old lover began. After five days of testimony, the jury returned their verdict. But the fates of Alma and the young George Stoner would not follow any ruling from the court
Late one evening in March 1935, Alma Rattenbury found her husband barely alive in the drawing room of their Bournemouth, England home. As Francis Rattenbury’s life hung in the balance, police began to investigate, and two shocking confessions complic
By February 1969, Patricia Walsh and Mary Anne Wysocki had been missing for weeks, and things were looking grim. What began as a search for two missing women exploded into a hunt for a serial killer.
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On January 23, 1969, two college students went on a weekend trip to Provincetown, Massachusetts. They never returned.
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The 1840 trial for the calculated murder of Lord William Russell had one defendant and multiple witnesses — but everyone seemed suspect: the housemaid who discovered his body, the valet who had been pilfering his money, even the police investigating
In May 1840, a well-known English aristocrat was found dead in his London home after what appeared to be a botched robbery.
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After the slaying of Wilson Turner, the all-powerful bootlegger who killed him seemed untouchable. But dramatic turns in the investigation would change one county in Georgia forever.
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On April 20, 1948, residents of rural Coweta County, Georgia, saw a man named Wilson Turner get chased down and beaten in the middle of a campground parking lot. As his attacker hauled him away, witnesses were sure they recognized the man who beat hi
Just over a week after Bobby Franks’ body was found, his teenaged killers confessed, revealing a motive too callous to believe.
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In the early 1920s, some of Chicago’s wealthiest families became horribly intertwined after the murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks.
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The death of young Oceana Snead was dubbed a “bathtub tragedy” — but as investigators tracked her mysterious, veiled caretakers, they uncovered evidence of a callous crime.
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In 1909, 24-year-old Oceana Snead died of an apparent suicide — but the case was far less clear-cut than the woman’s aunt, Virginia Wardlaw, would have police believe.
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After Jane Britton's death in 1969, police suspected that one of her instructors may have been responsible for her gruesome murder. But the ensuing investigation would reveal the real culprit in a way nobody could have predicted.
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In January 1969, anthropology student Jane Britton was brutally murdered in her own apartment. The case gained national attention when evidence at the scene seemed to implicate certain members of Harvard's faculty.
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It didn’t take long to find the perpetrator of the Taliesin massacre: 30-year-old Julian Carlton. But though they had the “who,” police still needed to uncover the “why” — and as Julian himself approached his deathbed, time was running out.
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In 1911, Frank Lloyd Wright built a mansion in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The sprawling estate was a haven for him and his mistress, “Mamah” Cheney. But in 1914, it became the scene of a massacre that would claim seven lives.
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As police zeroed in on a local contractor named John Wayne Gacy, they began to suspect they weren’t investigating the disappearance of one missing teenager — but the murders of several.
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After ending his shift at Nisson Pharmacy in Des Plaines, Illinois, fifteen-year-old Robert Piest asked his mother to wait while he spoke to a man about a construction job. It was December 11, 1978 — the last time Elizabeth Piest saw her son alive.
The brutal murder of one of the wealthiest ship owners in the world shocked the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1830.
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After Ruth Ellis murdered her lover in April 1955, people throughout London thought she was guaranteed the death penalty. But as investigators began looking into her past, they found new information that cast her case in new light.
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In 1955, wealthy racecar driver David Blakely was gunned down outside a bar in London. Passersby were shocked to see a petite, picturesque woman standing over his corpse with the smoking gun.
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Following a lead, police zeroed in on the home of one local man. It was eventually dubbed a “House of Horrors” after news of its contents spread, with its owner inspiring a string of movies and books that drew on his heinous crimes.
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In 1954, a 55-year-old tavern owner in central Wisconsin went missing, leaving behind a disturbing crime scene. Police caught a break in her case when a similar abduction occurred nearly three years later.
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When Carol Thompson’s murderer confessed to his crime, he implicated another person in the ordeal — and a shocking murder-for-hire plot began to unravel.
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In March 1963, a Minnesota housewife named Carol Thompson was attacked in her home, later dying from her wounds. Months later, two men were indicted for her murder — but the case was far from resolved.
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Marguerite Alibert was found holding the gun she used to kill her husband, but her trial was far from an open-and-shut case. The courtroom proved as dramatic and explosive as the relationship that resulted in Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey's death.
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In 1922, Egyptian millionaire Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey became smitten with French socialite Marguerite Alibert. She was charming, and accustomed to keeping the company of rich and powerful men — including England’s Prince Edward VIII. But while their roma
Months after the 17-year-old went missing, an investigation into the underground sewage tunnels in Bathpool Park turned up a torrent of clues—and Lesley Whittle’s body. But it wasn’t until nearly a year after her kidnapping that detectives would find
After a young heiress went missing in 1975, her family found a ransom note demanding £50,000. The police coordinated a plan to secure her safe return, but a series of missteps and mistakes meant time was running out for Lesley Whittle.
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By March of 1891, the coroner’s office failed to find evidence of foul play, and investigators moved on from Helen Potts’ case. Even so, reporter Dilworth Choate felt the story deserved a closer look…
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It became one of the most sensationalized cases of the late 19th century: The young wife of a playboy medical student died not long after a botched abortion. But it wasn’t the dangerous procedure that killed her.
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In the chaotic search for Benjamin Pitezel's murderer, investigators enlisted authorities from multiple states, and even crossed the border into Canada. Meanwhile, the remaining members of the Pitezel family fell one by one at the hands of a ruthless
In September 1894, conman Benjamin Pitezel met a mysterious, violent end in Philadelphia. For years, he'd been committing petty crimes across America, fleeing the authorities across multiple states. And the deeper authorities dug into Pitezel's backg
The search for John List spanned two decades and all 50 states. But it took a supermarket tabloid and a TV crime show to finally break the case—and unravel the full story of what drove a man like List to murder.
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In 1971, a middle-aged accountant woke up, put on a tie, and shot his entire family to death in their home. Then he disappeared, leaving behind two glaring questions: What drove this religious family man to murder—and, more importantly, where did he
In 1983, police closed in on the murderers of Jerry Dean and Deborah Thornton, thanks to a well-placed informant. Their capture led one killer to have a dramatic change of heart, sparking a world-wide debate about capital punishment.
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They were two strangers, crossing paths at a pool party in Houston, Texas in the summer of 1983. Jerry Dean and Deborah Thornton spent the night together—and by morning, they were both dead.
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In 1897, the discovery of a severed torso led to an explosion of investigative activity in the media. The identification of the body and the arrest of the dead man’s murderers would prove to be one of the most incredible true crime stories ever told.
On June 26, 1897, four boys discovered a package wrapped in red oilcloth floating in New York City’s East River. It contained the upper torso of an unknown man, launching one of the largest media murder mysteries ever, and igniting newspaper wars tha
In October of 1931, two bloody trunks arrived at the Los Angeles train station containing the bodies of Anne LeRoi and Hedvig “Sammy” Samuelson. What followed was one of most scandalous murder cases of the Roaring Twenties… One that has left detectiv
In 1931, the friendship between three women living in Phoenix, Arizona was torn apart when they all fell for the same man: 44-year-old “Happy” Jack Halloran. Slowly, their rift began to heal, and they planned a gathering one night in October—but the
After Sal Mineo was murdered in February of 1976, the LAPD did their best to track down every lead they could find. They searched for over a year in vain, until they received a tip that forced them to reconsider every assumption they'd made about the
On February 12th, 1976, actor Sal Mineo, best known for his role in Rebel Without a Cause, was stabbed outside his apartment building in Los Angeles. Authorities desperately searched for evidence, but hit dead ends everywhere they turned.
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After the massacre of the Clutter Family on November 15th, 1959, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation began an intensive probe into the crime. Their search for the killers would result in one of the greatest true crime stories of all time.
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On November 15th, 1959, the small town of Holcomb, Kansas experienced one of the most gruesome crimes imaginable. Four members of the Clutter Family had been gunned down in their own home—but nobody knew why.
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