Criminal Discourse Podcast

 Two couples were murdered four months apart in Washington state, the women were both sexually assaulted, with tube socks tied around their necks. Could it be a serial killer? Other cases in the area bearing similarities have since been closed, but these two remain connected and unsolved. Is the Tube Sock Killer already in prison? Is he dead? Or is he still out there, waiting to be discovered? 

In this episode, we delve into the chilling case of Helle Crafts, a wealthy Connecticut woman who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1986.  Her husband, Richard Crafts, claimed that she had gone to visit her sick mother in Denmark.  But as investigators dug deeper, they uncovered a twisted web of lies, deceit, and betrayal that would lead to the infamous "wood chipper murder"...

In 1998, Patricia Rorrer was convicted of murdering her ex-boyfriend’s new wife, Joann Katrniak, and her infant son, Alex, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case against her was solid but also largely circumstantial. Today, Patricia and her advocates argue that the single piece of forensic evidence used against her was junk science and accuse law enforcement of conspiring to conv...

In May 1996, two Navy petty officers were murdered in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Investigators had to figure out if one of the murder victim's allegations against the Navy was the reason behind their murder or if there was something more nefarious going on.  Was the murder scene staged?  Was the intruder truly an intruder or were they invited in?  Listen to this twisty tale of deception and g...

“Ireland’s Vanishing Triangle” refers to a geographic area surrounding Dublin, in eastern Ireland, where a number of women have been abducted, raped, and murdered. Many of these are missing person cases that remain unsolved thirty or so years later. Who are they, how are they connected, and who might be responsible? 

Listen to the story of La Pistolera Sharon Kinne who in December 1969, escaped a Mexican prison.  How did she end up there?  Not for the murder of her dead husband or the murder of her lover's wife.  No, there was another victim who unfortunately ran into Kinne while she was out on bond having left the United States for Mexico with her newest male paramour.  This unbelievable tale resulted in...

When you think of a stereotypical school shooter, you probably don’t picture Dr. Amy Bishop, a middle-aged mother and biology professor. In 2010, she executed three of her colleagues at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), where she had recently been denied tenure. Initially, many thought Amy had just “snapped,” but investigators discovered that she had a history of workplace problems, a...

In October 1992, a young woman was in an examination room at Kipling Memorial Hospital.  She is upset so the doctor suggests a sedative to help her calm down.  The young woman agrees not knowing that for the next seven years, she will have to fight for authorities to not only believe her but to bring her perpetrator to justice.  Will she succeed in time or will others suffer due to a manipulative...

We’ve covered many cases where prosecutors make a so-called “deal with the devil” – giving the accomplice to a crime a lighter charge in exchange for information against a “bigger fish.”  Even though Mel Ignatow admitted to the sexual torture and murder of Brenda Schaefer, he never served a day in prison for it. This episode is about a case of getting away with murder and how Mel Ignatow became “t...

In 1975, in the midlands of the United Kingdom, the elusive Black Panther struck again.  Only this time it was a kidnapping of a young heiress.  In this week's episode, we cover the crimes of Donald Neilson who went from a home invader to a kidnapper murderer in a short period of time.

After Robert Rowlingson discovered his teenage brother Anthony’s connections to the Ku Klux Klan, he threatened to report Anthony to the police.  On July 15, 2007, Anthony executed his brother to protect his secret. His teacher, the Klan leader who mentored him, helped dispose of the body.  This is the Queensland, Australia case of the Rowlingson brothers and the deadly consequences of extreme ide...

Pets don't just make good companions they also can play a vital role in convicting killers.  This episode highlights two such cases with a cat named Snowball and a dog named Chief who were the first to provide evidence in criminal cases in Canada and the United States.  

On November 7, 2022, James Krauseneck Jr. was sentenced to 25 years to life for the second-degree murder of his wife, Cathleen Krauseneck, in 1982. James and Cathleen’s only child was just three years old and home with her mother when she was axed to death.  But could a convicted rapist be the real murderer?  In 2012, convicted rapist Ed Laraby confessed to Cathleen’s murder.  Listen to the Bright...

You've heard of the Scream movies, but did you know that in 2006 two teenagers tried to emulate one of their favorite movies?  Listen to the case of how two boys wanted to become more famous than the movies and killers they idolized and how one innocent victim paid the ultimate price.

You might not remember the name of serial killer Michael Gargiulo – also known as the ‘Hollywood Ripper,’ for his California knifings, ‘The Boy Next Door Killer,’ because he lived so close to his victims, and the ‘Chiller Killer,’ for using his job as an air conditioning repair man to gain his victims’ trust – but I bet you remember that case where actor Ashton Kutcher’s date was murdered or recal...

On March 3, 1993,  a sister would discover a horrible scene no family member should come upon.  It would take two and a half years for Lawrence Horn and the hit man he hired to be brought to justice.  During that time, investigators had to unravel a complicated trail of conspiracy and how one book aided the shooter in trying to get away with murder.

When our listeners hear “August 1969,” they probably think of The Manson Family murders. Today we’ll examine another chilling crime spree from that era on the other side of the United States: the Dreamland Park murders. In August 1969, outlaw bikers murdered a young couple at their abandoned amusement park-turned-clubhouse, and those same bikers may be responsible for the unsolved murders of two s...

November 1992, an unsuspecting mother and her two small children return home late at night only to be met by an intruder with a gun.  What did he want?  Why was he there?  Listen to the story of how greed and a thirst for power brought ruin and murder to one young family in Georgia.   

What happens to victims who aren’t killed or visibly injured, but who are left in the wake of a crime to pick up the broken pieces and carry on with life? What happened to Columbine student and school shooting survivor Brandi Jo Malonson, who was last seen around Christmas 2006? Who killed her friends and classmates Nick Kunselman and Stephanie Hart-Grizzell less than a year after Columbine?  In t...

Listen to the story featured on the first episode of Snapped.  Celeste Beard Johnson was tried for the murder of her husband in Texas.  Did she do it or was she set up by her twin daughters and lover?  Listen and decide for yourself.  

Google “Dominique Dunne” and you’ll see references to the movie Poltergeist and her tragic death.  Some results include her murder as evidence of a curse associated with the Poltergeist film series.  Beneath this clickbait is an all too familiar story about domestic violence escalating to murder.   As is also far too common in these cases, it doesn’t seem like the victim and her family received th...

Michelle Jones contacted her aunt and uncle as Hurricane Ivan was bearing down on Florida in September 2004. Since they lived in the Florida Keys Michelle invited them to stay with her in Orlando until the danger passed. Little did she know that she had just summoned pure evil into her home. Listen to the story of her uncle Charlie Brandt who authorities would come to suspect was involved in a num...

In 2021, detectives in Florida announced that DNA connected Brazilian national Roberto Fernandes to the murders of three Miami-area sex workers in 2000 and 2001.  During this investigation, authorities discovered Fernandes had also been charged with his wife’s 1996 murder and was suspected in numerous unsolved assault and homicide cases in both countries. Today, we’ll take a deep dive into Fernand...

Two separate mysteries all tied to one man who went by many names.  Listen to the story of serial killer Terry Rasmussen who died under the name Curtis Kimball.  This is a twisted tale of false identities, a living Jane Doe and the Bear Brook Four with one victim yet to be identified and one still missing.  

Losing a child to murder is unthinkable – a parent’s worst nightmare. A child being murdered by their friends is even more shocking. Kimberly Dotts’s so-called friends ended her life on Mother’s Day 24 years ago, and while two of the people who were involved are behind bars, their community is still processing the tragedy and an important question: how do we punish kids who kill?