The Casual Criminalist

In 2007, Ellen Pakkies strangled her drug-addicted son after six years of abuse, theft, and violence. Her trial revealed a childhood of neglect, institutional failures, and a community ravaged by tik. The judge gave her a suspended sentence. Today, she campaigns for Cape Town mayor, fighting addiction and demanding accountability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1880s Austin, Texas, a serial killer stalked domestic servants, brutally murdering eight people with axes before vanishing into history. The police failed spectacularly, private detectives proved useless, and two husbands faced murder trials. Was the killer a local man named Nathan Elgin, or did he become Jack the Ripper? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1991, four teenage girls were brutally murdered at an Austin yogurt shop. For decades, the case was plagued by wrongful arrests, coerced confessions, and constitutional violations. Finally, in 2025, advanced DNA testing identified serial killer Robert Brashers as the true perpetrator. Four wrongly accused men were declared factually innocent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...

William Bonin became one of Southern California’s most notorious serial killers. Explore his disturbing crimes, accomplices, victims, failed releases, investigation, confessions, and eventual death-row fate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Debra Newell was a successful interior designer who fell for charming doctor John Meehan online. Her daughters sensed something was wrong immediately. What they uncovered was terrifying: a convicted felon, drug addict, and serial con artist who stalked women. When Debra finally tried to escape, John came for her family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife Michele seemed to have a life defined by love, family, and activism—until their shocking murders exposed a devastating familial tragedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natalie Wood’s death remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries. Explore the conflicting accounts, unanswered questions, and investigation that continue to cast doubt over what happened that night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FBI has a history of shocking investigative failures. Explore four controversial cases involving botched investigations, unreliable evidence, corruption, and devastating consequences for victims and their families. Edit description Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a rising music icon whose life ended in a shocking betrayal. Explore her extraordinary journey, tragic murder, Yolanda Saldívar’s trial, and enduring legacy. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your free trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marta del Castillo vanished in Seville, sparking Spain’s most haunting murder mystery. Explore the investigation, shifting confessions, missing body, disputed evidence, and unanswered questions that continue to haunt the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was Michael Peterson a cold-blooded killer or the victim of a flawed investigation? Explore the staircase death, shocking evidence, disputed theories, courtroom battles, and the twists that changed everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meredith Kercher’s murder became one of the world’s most controversial criminal cases. Explore the investigation, Amanda Knox trial, Rudy Guede, disputed evidence, shocking twists, and unanswered questions. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your free trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode, Simon dives into one of Oklahoma’s most baffling mysteries. In 2009, the Jamison family vanished during a trip to the remote San Bois Mountains, leaving behind their truck, personal belongings, thousands of dollars in cash, and their beloved dog. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your free trial today Sponsor: ⁠shopify.com/casual⁠ - sign up for your free trial to...

A chilling true crime story of Daniel LaPlante, the infamous “Boy in the Walls.” Discover the terrifying home invasion, brutal murders, shocking investigation, and disturbing psychology behind one of America’s most haunting criminal cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A toxic romance, shocking betrayal, and a deadly crash—uncover the chilling Mackenzie Shirilla case, where disturbing digital evidence transformed a tragic accident into one of America’s most haunting murder convictions. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your free trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beneath Melvin Rees Jr.'s charming musician persona lurked a ruthless predator. Discover the shocking crimes, chilling investigation, and haunting trail of violence that terrorized America during the 1950s and 1960s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A mysterious rooftop death, impossible physics, secretive notes, and endless theories. Was Rey Rivera murdered, driven to suicide, or caught in a tragic delusion? Explore one of America’s strangest unsolved cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The shocking true story of Laci Peterson’s disappearance, Scott Peterson’s lies, the investigation, explosive trial, and lasting legacy. Discover the evidence, controversy, and heartbreaking case that captivated America. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A family tragedy. A notorious kidnapping. A jealous brother consumed by darkness. Explore the shocking true story of Cary Stayner, the Yosemite Park Killer, whose twisted obsession with fame and resentment led to a series of brutal murders that terrorized one of America’s most famous national parks. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices....

Explore the forgotten terror: Atlanta’s elusive Ripper. Uncover brutal murders, racial injustice, bungled investigations, chilling suspects, and the century-old mystery behind one of America’s most overlooked true crime killing sprees. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode, what happens when you catch a shark that swallowed another shark that swallowed a human arm? You get the most bizarre unsolved murder in Australian history. We’ll even throw in a second unsolved murder for free. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual⁠ - sign up for a $1 per month trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chilling story of Rex Heuermann: how the alleged Gilgo Beach Killer evaded capture for years, leaving a trail of victims, corruption, secrets, and unanswered questions across Long Island's shoreline. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual ⁠- sign up for your $1 per month trial  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode, the disappearance of two sisters in Cebu leads to one of the most controversial murder cases in Philippine history. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual ⁠- sign up for your $1 per month trial  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five friends vanished after a basketball game, leaving behind an abandoned car, a frozen mountain mystery, and one missing man never found. Explore the baffling case of the Yuba County Five. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tragic story of Kouri Richins shocked America. From grief and suspicion to a children’s book and murder allegations, uncover the disturbing case that blurred love, loss, and betrayal. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices