True Crimecast

While millions of people across the globe spent the late 1980s and 1990s fitting falling blocks together in Tetris, one of the key figures behind its rise was living a very different reality. In September 1998, Vladimir Pokhilko, his wife Elena, and their 12-year-old son Peter were found dead inside their Palo Alto home in what officials officially ruled a brutal murder-suicide. But the crime scen...

On the night of June 9, 1979, thirty-five people boarded the Ghost Train at Sydney’s historic Luna Park for a routine two-and-a-half-minute ride into the dark. Seven of them never came out. While authorities initially blamed a tragic electrical accident or a discarded cigarette, decades of suspicion, ignored fire safety warnings, and explosive claims from former police have pointed toward arson an...

When Tennessee goes up against Alabama, the real battle is getting in the doors. Or getting away with your Pokemon cards. Either way, it's a battle.  -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The worst game of hide and seek ever leads to an arrest for obstruction, and a getaway car doesn't do a great job of getting away. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In January 1984, a brutal intruder armed with a hammer struck four separate households across Denver in a twelve-day span. The attacks left three adults severely injured and four people dead, including a seven-year-old girl, while a three-year-old survivor was left to be found in a scene investigators would never forget. With no apparent connection between the victims and virtually no physical lea...

A copper thief gets desperate and orders off menu. And a burglar uses the ever-popular sandwich alibi to get away with his crime.  -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why would you drive a riding lawnmower into a Target? Or take a leaf blower into a Culvers? Or repeatedly use the same mask to commit robberies? The world may never know. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In March 1950, 25-year-old Timothy Evans was executed for a brutal crime inside his London home. The prosecution's star witness was his soft-spoken downstairs neighbor—a former police constable named John Christie, whose quiet authority seemed above suspicion. But three years later, a terrifying discovery hidden behind the wallpaper at 10 Rillington Place forced the nation to confront a horrific p...

A murder is solved by digging into a furnace and an indoor outhouse. Yes, you read that right. Also, John cries because a brass dog was assaulted. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A man loses his mind when he emerges from the sewer (or before he goes in?), and another tries to burn down his house and his roommates. Which one is insane? And John has a hot take on the insanity defense.  -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection a...

On January 16, 2018, Brittany Smith shot and killed 38-year-old Todd Smith inside her Stevenson, Alabama home. What followed was a complex legal battle that brought national attention to the intersection of sexual violence and "Stand Your Ground" laws. Though a sexual assault exam documented 33 injuries and Brittany had left a frantic note warning a gas station clerk hours before the shooting, a j...

We have to talk about the failed executions of Christa Pike (and others) in Tennessee. And to lighten things up, we talk about one of the dumbest criminals of all time.  -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertisin...

It's a scandal when sriracha producers gets greedy and sue the pepper-growers. And stealing trade secrets is apparently a lot easier than I expected. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On May 11, 2022, 25-year-old Moriah "Mo" Wilson, one of America's brightest rising stars in off-road cycling, was shot to death inside an Austin, Texas home just days before a major race. What began as a tragic loss quickly uncovered a web of jealousy, love triangles, and a calculated plot involving fellow cyclist. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreo...

A cold case is FINALLY solved, and a live is potentially saved by confusing traffic patterns. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On a freezing December morning in 2003, the body of Federal Prosecutor Jonathan Luna was discovered face down in a shallow stream in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania—90 miles away from his Baltimore office. His running Honda Accord sat nearby, stained with blood. Why did a dedicated prosecutor leave his glasses and cell phone behind at 11:30 PM for a midnight trek across state lines? In this episode...

Genuinely maybe the most disturbing story we have ever told. And we may have found a secret agent man. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

To millions scrolling social media in the summer of 2021, Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie were living the American dream by converting a Ford Transit van to travel across national parks. But beneath the curated Instagram posts lay a toxic and escalating dynamic. When Brian returned home to Florida alone in Gabby’s van, a frantic nationwide search captured the world's attention. -- For early, ad fr...

Kentucky uses 12 agencies to track down and indict five chicken fighters, and a crew steals a toilet made of solid gold. -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A former NFL player consults ChatGPT when trying to cover up a murder, and a recent machete ban in Australia leads to the most dangerous geocaching event ever.  -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In April 2025, Karen Read returned to Norfolk Superior Court facing a second murder trial for the death of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe. With lead investigator Michael Proctor officially fired and a complete roadmap from the first trial, both sides delivered an explosive replay of contested digital evidence, accident reconstruction, and claims of corruption. Also, who and what is a Turtleboy...

Amber Kaset is a criminal defense investigator and mitigation specialist with more than 20 years of experience and over 1,000 cases. She spent seven years as an investigator with the Public Defender's Office in Nashville before founding AK Investigations in 2010. Today she leads a team of investigators and mitigation specialists working with defense attorneys nationwide on serious felonies, drug c...

A (Florida, of course) man is caught at a construction site hiding a weapon in his unmentionables, and a would-be robber in Scotland gets himself in a pickle.  -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can one person give consent to another person to shoot them? If not, what would justify throwing a bucket of feces on another human? -- For early, ad free episodes and monthly exclusive bonus content, join our Patreon ! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Did Karen Read strike her boyfriend with her vehicle, or was she framed by a tight-knit circle of local law enforcement? The death of John O'Keefe sparked one of the most divisive criminal cases in modern New England history. In Part One of our two-part series on True Crimecast , we examine O'Keefe's legacy as a dedicated officer and guardian, the timeline of the night at the Waterfall Bar, the co...