Forbes True Crime

The disappearance of Natalee Holloway was one of America’s most high-profile missing-person cases. On Memorial Day weekend in 2005, the 18-year-old was in Aruba with her classmates celebrating their high school graduation. On the final night of the trip, she was last seen leaving a nightclub and getting into a car with three young men, including a local 17-year-old named Joran van der Sloot. The n...

Chris Young was only 22 when he was arrested in a federal drug conspiracy case, and because of federal mandatory minimum laws, he received two life sentences. But Chris didn’t want incarceration to be the end of his story. After he came across an encyclopedia in the prison library, he quickly grasped the power of knowledge. He taught himself about everything from finance to history, and philosophy...

“Flypaper Lyda” and “Lady Bluebeard”—that’s the legacy left by Lyda Trueblood, one of Idaho’s most infamous female murderers. Between 1915 and 1920, Lyda was widowed four times. She was accused of poisoning each of those men, plus her brother-in-law and daughter, all within that five-year window. Although it was suspected she was responsible for all six deaths, she was only convicted of second-deg...

Tausha and Michael Haight, along with their five children, were described as a picture-perfect family in a close-knit community in southwestern Utah. But between 2020 and 2023, there were multiple investigations into the family’s patriarch, Michael Haight, over allegations of abusive behavior. By the end of 2022, Tausha had filed for divorce, and it seemed like she and her children could start ane...

In less than two decades, Elizabeth Holmes went from Stanford dropout and Silicon Valley superstar to convicted fraudster. In 2003, at just 19 years old, she founded the biotech company Theranos. The startup claimed it had developed technology that could revolutionize the health care industry—it said its device could conduct hundreds of tests with just a few drops of blood. Theranos raised more th...

Emmy Award-winning journalist Mariana van Zeller has spent years investigating black markets and trafficking underworlds. Now she’s taking a look at a different type of crime—romance scams. According to the FTC, Americans have reported losing billions of dollars through these schemes in recent years. In her new project, “Super Scam Me,” Mariana went undercover as an empty-nester looking for love t...

On August 23, 1971, Melissa Highsmith was just a toddler when she was taken from her Fort Worth home by someone posing as a babysitter. She vanished seemingly without a trace and was missing for over 50 years. But with the help of DNA testing—and her family’s determination—she was found in 2022 and reunited with loved ones she didn’t even know she had. In the podcast “Baby,” Melissa is telling her...

Cornell announced Tuesday that former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates has been selected to lead an independent review of the university’s response to sexual assault allegations involving multiple former members of a fraternity. A former student known as Jane Doe filed an explosive 101-page lawsuit against the university and others in September, alleging that in October 2024, she was drugg...

New York Times best-selling author Harlan Coben is one of the world’s most prolific thriller writers. He has written dozens of novels, and over 10 of his books have been adapted into hit series and movies. Now, he’s taking on true-crime stories in “Harlan Coben's Final Twist,” and he joined “Forbes True Crime” to discuss what’s in store for the second season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

In the early morning hours of June 5, 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her bedroom, and vanished without a trace from her Utah home in the middle of the night. Her disappearance captivated the nation, and against all odds, Elizabeth was rescued after surviving being held captive for nine months. In the years that followed, she has dedicated her time to advocacy work and has con...

Aileen Wuornos is known as one of America’s most notorious female serial killers—she confessed to killing seven middle-aged men between 1989 and 1990. Authorities said Wuornos would meet the men, eventually fatally shoot them with a .22-caliber pistol, rob them, and in some instances, pawn their belongings. Wuornos initially claimed she killed all the men out of self-defense, but prosecutors argue...

It took the jury just over two hours of deliberations before they found Caleb Flynn guilty of murdering his wife, Ashley Flynn, on February 16, 2026. Prosecutors said the former “American Idol” contestant killed his wife in their Tipp City, Ohio, home and then staged the scene to make it look like she was shot by an intruder. The state called dozens of witnesses, including Caleb’s former mistress,...

Lindsay Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, is now claiming there isn’t enough evidence to prove the former labor and delivery nurse killed her three children—an argument the prosecutor called “laughable.” The major pivot happened during Lindsay Clancy’s first hearing since her triple murder trial ended in a mistrial earlier this month. Clancy was charged with murdering her three kids—5-year-old...

Prosecutors in central New York are reopening an investigation into an alleged sexual assault case after a former Cornell student filed a lawsuit against the university and others claiming that in October 2024, she was drugged and gang raped by then-fraternity members inside the Chi Phi house. Former prosecutor Mark Astor joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss the bombshell lawsuit and the district...

On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found killed in their Fall River, Massachusetts, home. The murders were particularly grisly—both Mr. and Mrs. Borden were struck with a hatchet-like weapon at least 10 times each. Thirty-two-year-old Lizzie Borden was eventually arrested and charged with killing her father and stepmother—crimes she stood trial for the following summer. Lizzie was the...

Former "American Idol" contestant Caleb Flynn is currently on trial for the murder of his wife, Ashley Flynn. He is accused of killing his wife in February 2026 and then staging the scene so it looked like she was shot in a burglary gone wrong. Former prosecutor Margaret McLean joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss the standout moments from the trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...

Andrea Canning, correspondent for “Dateline” and host of the podcast, “Dateline: True Crime Weekly,” joined “Forbes True Crime” to discuss her career telling true crime stories, as well as what to expect from the upcoming 35th season of “Dateline.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The trial of Lindsay Clancy ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict following seven days of deliberations. According to multiple jurors, the jury was deadlocked 11-1, with the majority finding that the Massachusetts mother was not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility. Clancy’s defense team did not dispute that she killed her children, but argued that she should...

Nancy Glass, podcast host and CEO of Glass Entertainment Group, joins “Forbes True Crime” to discuss a story of a contentious custody battle and alleged smear campaign that is featured in Season 3 of "Burden of Guilt." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fate of Lindsay Clancy remains in the hands of a jury that is still deadlocked after over 30 hours of deliberations. Fireworks erupted in the Massachusetts courtroom Thursday after Judge William Sullivan received a note from the jury, read out the definition of reasonable doubt to the courtroom, and sent the jury back to continue deliberating. Shortly after, defense attorney Kevin Reddington r...

Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel had the veneer of a perfect family—until they didn’t. After a contentious divorce and in the middle of an even more bitter custody battle, the 41-year-old law professor was gunned down in the garage of his Tallahassee home in broad daylight on July 18, 2014. As the years crept on, law enforcement began to uncover a twisted contract killing scheme involving hitmen, in-l...

The jury is continuing to deliberate in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the former labor and delivery nurse charged with murdering her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan. Both sides have acknowledged Lindsay was the one who strangled her young children in the basement of her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on the evening of Jan. 24, 2023. The jury must now decide...

Closing arguments are expected this week in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the former labor and delivery nurse who was charged with murdering her three kids—5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan—on the evening of Jan. 24, 2023. Both sides have acknowledged Lindsay was the one who strangled her three kids in the basement of her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home, but the fight in the c...

Law enforcement officials announced they busted a cocaine trafficking ring in State College that allegedly involved former Penn State students and two of the university’s fraternities. Fourteen people were charged—13 were current and former Penn State students, while the other is the father of one of the alleged “main dealers." Law enforcement officials claimed the suppliers would travel to Philad...

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom charged with the murders of her three young children, is sparking a nationwide conversation about postpartum mental health care. The fight in the courtroom isn’t over who strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan on the evening of Jan. 24, 2023–instead, it’s about Lindsay Clancy’s mental state while doing it. The Commonw...