Almost Fiction

Hello everyone, I fully expected to have the season finale of Almost Fiction ready to go, but sadly that won't be the case. The holidays can be a hectic time of the year and sometimes things happen outside of our control. So, in lieu of releasing a full episode, I will instead make the last episode of Almost Fiction Plus public, so you at least have something. A family event has taken place la...

When 28-year-old Joel Michael Guy Jr. learned his parents were cutting off his financial support after nearly a decade of funding his lifestyle, he devised a horrifying plan. This deep-dive true crime investigation uncovers how an entitled college dropout meticulously plotted to murder his own parents for a $500,000 insurance payout, only to be caught by his own incompetence and the security camer...

Between 1991 and 1995, a seemingly ordinary postal worker living in suburban New York concealed a horrifying secret. Robert Yale Shulman targeted vulnerable sex workers, brutally murdering at least five women before dismembering their bodies and disposing of them in dumpsters across the region. This is the chilling true story of how a shy, introverted mail handler became one of New York's most...

When Officer Charles Bernoskie was gunned down during a routine patrol in 1958, his murder went unsolved for decades, protected by a family's deadly silence. This is the conclusion to the story of Robert Zarinsky, a serial killer who terrorized New Jersey communities throughout the 1960s and 70s, leaving behind a trail of young women who simply seemed to just vanish without a trace. This gripp...

When Officer Charles Bernoskie was gunned down during a routine patrol in 1958, his murder went unsolved for decades, protected by a family's deadly silence. This is the chilling true story of Robert Zarinsky, a serial killer who terrorized New Jersey communities throughout the 1960s and 70s, leaving behind a trail of young women who simply vanished. From the disappearance of 17-year-old Rosem...

In May 1982, two thirteen-year-old boys skipped school in Queensland, Australia, a decision that led one to his brutal death and the other to a nightmare of survival. When Peter Aston and Terry Ryan accepted a ride from two men, they had no idea they were entering a world of sadistic violence, a world of unimaginable pain. What followed became one of Australia's most disturbing crimes: hours o...

Robert R. Reldan had everything. Looks, charm, and money from a wealthy aunt who adored him. But in October 1975, two women named Susan disappeared from Bergen County only eight days apart. What followed exposed a decades-long pattern: assaults dismissed, paroles granted, a system that kept giving second chances to someone who shouldn't have gotten them in the first place. It's a story about privi...

A successful businessman. A perfect suburban address. And a trail of vanished men that led investigators to more than 10,000 human remains. In this episode, we trace Herb Baumeister’s double life—from teenage transgressions to “Brian Smart,” his nights cruising Indianapolis’s gay bars, the discoveries at Fox Hollow Farm, and the investigators who wouldn’t let the case go. We examine what’s known,...

Dive into the chilling true story of George Waterfield Russell Jr., a man whose repeated rejections fueled a deadly rage against women. From his abandoned childhood in Florida to a string of brutal murders in 1990s Washington State, this episode uncovers the twisted path of a serial killer who staged his victims in horrifying poses. Explore the investigations, key evidence, and trial that brought...

Explore the haunting case of Earl Richmond Jr., a former drill sergeant whose life unraveled through addiction, rape, and murder.  From his abusive upbringing in North Carolina to brutal crimes at Fort Dix and beyond, this episode unpacks the evidence, trials, and his execution, while questioning if true redemption is possible after unthinkable evil.

In this episode, we explore the complexities of friendship, focusing on trust and mutual respect. Highlighting the tragic story of Tina Marie Powell and LaFonda Faye Foster, we illustrate how their bond, rooted in shared trauma and addiction, devolved into toxicity and violence. We recount the harrowing events of April 23, 1986, in Lexington, Kentucky, where a night of drinking led to a devastatin...

Dive into the chilling true story of Australia's Truro Murders, where Christopher Robin Worrell and James William Miller's deadly partnership claimed seven young lives in just 52 days. Told through the eyes of accomplice Miller, this episode uncovers a twisted tale of manipulation, obsession, and brutal killings in 1970s Adelaide. Was Miller a reluctant participant or a willing killer? You...

In 2012, 12-year-old Autumn Pasquale left home in Clayton, New Jersey, to ride her new BMX—and never came back. This episode unpacks the facts of her killing by 15-year-old Justin Robinson, the frantic two-day search, the plea deal and sentencing, and the painful aftermath that split a small town. We also examine the harder question this case raises: how much parental supervision is enough—and wha...

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Dive into the chilling true crime story of Edgar Herbert Smith, the manipulative killer who charmed his way off death row only to strike again. From the brutal 1957 murder of 15-year-old cheerleader Victoria Zielinski in New Jersey to Smith's bestselling books, celebrity endorsements, and shocking 1976 attack on another victim, this episode uncovers a tale of deception, false redemption, and j...

Description: Dive into the chilling true crime saga of Michelle Lyn Michaud and James Anthony Daveggio, the infamous killer couple who terrorized California and Nevada in the 1990s. From abductions in a modified "torture van" to brutal rapes, tortures, and the murder of Vanessa Samson, this episode uncovers their meth-fueled rampage, twisted fantasies inspired by other killers, and the s...

Description: In this episode, we investigate the case of Paul Frederick Runge, an Illinois predator whose crimes spanned rape, murder, dismemberment, and even arson. From the disappearance of Stacey Frobel to the murders of sisters Džanet and Amila Pagenbegović, and the mother-daughter killings of Yolanda Gutierrez and 10-year-old Jessica Muñiz, we trace how patterns, DNA, and a rare immunity deal...

Dive into one of America's most brutal true crime stories: the 1984 Geronimo Bank Murders.  In this gripping episode of Almost Fiction, uncover how two debt-ridden lovers, Jay Wesley Neill and Robert Grady Johnson, turned desperation into a deadly Oklahoma bank robbery, stabbing and shooting innocent victims, including a pregnant woman, in a small-town heist gone horrifically wrong.  Explore c...

Description:  In 1967, Frank Athen Walls was born blue, a medical condition that would mark the beginning of a troubled life.  By 19, he became one of America's youngest serial killers, leaving a trail of victims across Florida's beaches and neighborhoods.  This episode explores his descent from a struggling teen to death row inmate, through the heartbreaking stories of Tommie Lou Whiddon,...

In this gripping true crime episode, we unravel the story of George Kent Wallace, a man infamously known as "The Mad Paddler", whose decades-long trail of violence haunted communities across North Carolina, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.  Explore how Wallace, hiding in plain sight and exploiting law enforcement failures, preyed on young victims in a chilling pattern of kidnapping, assault, and...

Description: Exploring one of Connecticut's most infamous true crime cases, this episode delves deep into the chilling story of Todd Rizzo, aka "The Sledgehammer Killer." Discover how an 18-year-old former Marine lured a 13-year-old boy to his death "just to see what it felt like," and unravel the complex web of psychological, social, and legal issues raised by the case. Wi...

Step into the chilling true story of Dixie Lynn Shanahan-Duty, a case that shocked Defiance, Iowa… and the nation. This episode uncovers the turbulent life of Dixie, marked by years of domestic abuse at the hands of Scott Shanahan, and the tragic events that led her to take a life and stand trial for murder. Was it self-defense or something more complex? Explore the blurred lines of victim and per...

The chilling saga of Charles Chitat Ng and Leonard Lake comes to a dramatic close in Part 4 of our Almost Fiction series. Follow the relentless pursuit of justice across borders, from a failed shoplifting attempt to a years-long international extradition battle, as we unravel the web of lies, confessions, betrayals, and courtroom drama that defined one of North America's most shocking murder cases...

The walls begin to close in on Charles Ng and Leonard Lake as a simple theft spirals into something much darker.  Part 3 of our case delves into the moment their carefully constructed facade starts to crumble.  The pair is scrambling now, trying to run from the impending consequences to their horrific actions.  Welcome back to Almost Fiction. Sources: https://casetext.com/case/people-v-charles-chi...

Discover the chilling story of Charles Ng and Leonard Lake, two ex-Marines whose paths crossed in California, leading to one of America's most disturbing criminal cases. Part 2 delves into their escalating crimes from 1984-1985, including disappearances, sexual assaults, and murders. From Lake's disturbing "Operation Miranda" to the vanishing of multiple victims, this episode exa...