Murder Unscripted

Elizabeth "Beth" Lochtefeld was a successful and well-liked businesswoman whose life was tragically cut short in October 2004. Originally from New York, Beth had recently begun dating Thomas E. Toolan III, a former Manhattan financier. However, their whirlwind romance quickly soured due to Toolan’s controlling and erratic behavior. Recognizing the warning signs, Beth ended the relationship after j...

MU is joined by survivor, activist, radio host, and subject of a new Lifetime movie...Laura Cowan! After moving to California for a chance at a better life, Cleveland-native Laura Cowan's dreams quickly become a nightmare.. When her husband is arrested on gun charges, Laura seeks solace from a family friend, who turns out to be a violent polygamist. For four years, Laura and her 3 children endured...

After moving to California for a chance at a better life, Cleveland-native Laura Cowan's dreams quickly become a nightmare. When her husband is arrested on gun charges, Laura seeks solace from a family friend, who turns out to be a violent polygamist. For four years, Laura and her 3 children endured unimaginable abuse...locked away and held captive in a cold dark garage with no heat, food, and wat...

Anna Repkina was a 27-year-old woman from Russia who moved to Oregon for love, only to meet a tragic end. Drawn to the United States by her online romance with William Hargrove, Anna believed she had found her soulmate. But their love triangle, involving Hargrove's other lover, Michelle Chavez, turned deadly. After Anna’s arrival, tensions flared when Hargrove failed to end his relationship with C...

Ed and Melissa sit down for a fascinating deep dive into the extraordinary and often chilling world of criminal psychology as they interview Dr. Jeffrey Smalldon, forensic psychologist and author of That Beast Was Not Me. This groundbreaking book chronicles his 50 years of analyzing and corresponding with some of history’s most notorious criminals, including Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, John Wayne G...

John Wayne Gacy (born March 17, 1942, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died May 10, 1994, Statesville, Illinois) was an American serial killer whose murders of 33 boys and young men in the 1970s received international media attention and shocked his suburban Chicago community, where he was known for his sociability and his performance as a clown at charitable events and childrens’ parties. Gacy was born in...

In this compelling interview, Edna Cowell Martin shares her experiences growing up alongside her cousin, the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. From her family's roots in the Puget Sound region to witnessing Ted's unsettling behavior while under the influence of marijuana, and ultimately discovering his connection to the murders of dozens of young women, Edna's firsthand accounts are both chilling...

Today, the MU team explores the life and times of Ted Bundy - America's more notorious serial killer. Learn what made this monster tick, and how his actions have lasting effects even 50 years later. Next week, hear from Ted's very own cousin, author Edna Cowell Martin, who offers a chilling glimpse into the man whose name is synonymous with murder. Theodore Robert Bundy was born in Burlington, VT...

On October 13, 1995, 16-year-olds Misty Cockerill and Tanya Smith were walking to a party when Driver emerged from a nearby hedge with a baseball bat and forced the girls into the bushes. After leading them into a clearing, Driver ordered both to remove their clothes. While Smith complied, Cockerill resisted, seizing the bat and striking Driver across the back as he prepared to assault Smith. Howe...

On Jan. 29, 1999, a family friend entered the Reed family's Manassas, Virginia home where he killed 16-year-old Stacie Reed and then raped, stabbed, and choked 14-year-old Kristie Reed, leaving her for dead. Clinging to life, Kristie is about to mouth the name of her killer to police...Paul Warner Powell. Powell is arrested just hours later. Powell is eventually found guilty and sentenced to life...

The 1989 murder of Carol Stuart in Boston was a high-profile crime that captivated national attention and exposed deep racial and social tensions in the city. Carol Stuart, a pregnant white woman, was shot and killed on October 23, 1989, as she and her husband, Charles Stuart, drove through the Mission Hill neighborhood after attending a childbirth class. Charles claimed that an African American m...

Ed and Melissa dive into the twisted case of Richard Biegenwald, a man dubbed by the media as "The Jersey Shore Thrill Killer." The serial killer and arsonist murdered six people, four women and two men, in Monmouth County, New Jersey between 1958 and 1983. He is suspected in at least two other murders.

Jami met Steven Sherer in 1986. He had a prior criminal record for abusing and hospitalizing a previous girlfriend at the time. His file included documented threats, harassment complaints and restraining orders from the same woman. Jami's family and friends noticed an obvious change in her behavior after becoming romantically involved with Steven. They stated that she became withdrawn and dyed her...

In November of 1985, two 27-year-old friends, David Tyll and Brian Ognjan disappeared without a trace while on a hunting trip to the remote Michigan town of Mio. For 18 years, rumors swirled around Mio's most feared family - the Duvalls - namely, brothers Donald and Raymond. The duo had been linked to several unexplained deaths in the area, and even took credit for the hunters' murders. Unfortunat...

In 1990, high schooler Jennifer McWhorter Taylor's life turned upside down when she learned her "Aunt Bet" (Betty Jones) had been brutally murdered in Starkville, Mississippi while visiting a friend. For nearly 30 years, her aunt's killer remained a mystery, until cold case investigator Bill Lott (fmr. Starkville Police Department) made it his mission to find the person responsible. Leaning on adv...

After covering the case for a soon-to-air spinoff of A&E's Cold Case Files, producer Ed Hydock tells the very personal tale of the murder of Betty Jones and sexual assault of Kathryn Crigler. Labor Day evening, 1990, Starkville, Mississippi-native, Betty Jones, heard a knock at the door. She'd been staying with her friend, 81-year-old amputee, Kathryn Crigler, to help her through some health i...

In episode 24 (BLOCK: "Friends Til the End"), the MU team dives into a tragic local case which rocked the close-knit community of Fishtown - a blue collar Philadelphia neighborhood. No one should have to die the way Jason did...especially in an area like that. Our hearts go out to his friends, family, and loved ones. R.I.P. Jason Keel Sweeney 1986 - 2003 In 2003, 16-year-old Jason Sweeney was work...

MU closes out October, and their block entitled, "Hollywood Horrors," in a conversation with the great Dr. Buzz Von Ornsteiner. Dr. Buzz has offered expert commentary on hundreds of high-profile cases for CNN, Fox News, E! Entertainment, MSNBC, WNYW, Court TV News, Tru TV, WPIX, Investigation Discovery and many more! But perhaps he's best known for his role as the recurring psychologist on Reelz N...

The Lizzie Borden murders of 1892 and the Queen Anne axe murder by James Cushing in 1990 represent two strikingly different yet similarly sensational cases of violent crime that captured public attention in their respective eras. Lizzie Borden Murders (1892): In Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie Borden was accused of the brutal murders of her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby Borden, usi...

The attempted murder of Payton Leutner, often referred to as the "Slenderman Stabbing," occurred in May of 2014 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. 12-year-old Payton was brutally attacked by her two friends, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, who believed they needed to commit a murder to become proxies for a fictional internet character known as Slenderman. The attack took place during a sleepover when the gir...

In episode 2 of MU's block on "Hollywood Horrors," Ed and Melissa go down under to analyze the tragic disappearance/murder of Peter Falconio, as well as the 2005 feature film Peter's case inspired - "Wolf Creek." On the night of July 14th, 2001, 28-year-old British tourist, Peter Falconio and his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, were ambushed while on a backpacking trip through Australia's Northern Territ...

On November 9, 1971, John Emil List brutally murdered his wife, mother, and three children inside their Westfield, New Jersey home, before vanishing and starting a new life. Nearly a month passed before anyone suspected that anything was amiss. After moving across country, List assumed his new identity as "Bob Clark," remarrying and eluded police for nearly 18 years. Finally, in 1989, after the st...

Denise Sam-Cali was nearly a victim of one of America's youngest serial killers. In 1993, Harvey Miguel Robinson broke into Sam-Cali's home, raped and choked her, and left her for dead, but she managed to break free of Robinson's grip and run outside. Robinson attempted to attack Sam-Cali again but she fled. Police later used Sam-Cali as bait to lure Robinson in order to capture him. Tune in every...

In 2001, Teri Jendusa Nicolai survived the unthinkable. Her ex-husband, David Larsen, tried murdering her with a baseball bat, stuffing her bloody body into a garbage can, driving her across state lines and placing her in a storage locker - all in sub-zero weather. Less than an hour from death, Teri was miraculously rescued by paramedics - ending her grueling 26-hour fight for survival. Tune in ev...

In 1988, Shannon Myers Barrientos suffered a series of vicious attacks at the hands of Joseph Scott Hatley - the same man who murdered 30-year-old Susan Woods in cold blood just months earlier. Thanks to Shannon's story, and a dedicated cold case detective, Susan's case was finally solved in 2006, bringing to an end a monster's reign of terror. Today, Shannon joins Ed and Melissa for an empowering...