Always True Crime

Joseph Scalise, a member of The Mob, in Chicago, was nicknamed 'The Monk' as when he was younger he aspired to be a Priest. Somewhere along the line things went a bit wrong with that goal.... Today, we hear the story of his trip to London with Art 'The Brain' Rachel and how they were suspected of stealing the incredibly valuable Marlborough Diamond from a high-end jeweller in a stunningly simple o...

If you were a youngster back in the 1980's, then compared to today, you'll know just how much of a different world it was back then - when your days were carefree, kids had that much more freedom, and much less supervision. Of course, there has always been that threat there, it's not a new phenomenon, but when you're young, you know nothing but the good in the world. In a horrific tale this time a...

I welcome former undercover cop Danni Brooke to the show in this interview episode.⁣ For over a decade, Danni was one of the most effective female undercover cops in the UK, one of a minimal number of women in the Met’s elite unit. She was so successful at taking down criminals that she was seconded to forces around the country. Whether infiltrating organized crime gangs or disrupting drug supply...

This is Part Five of Ten of The Soho Strangler. May 1936. Three weeks after and two street south of the murder of Marie Cotton, and just two streets east of French Fifi, ‘Dutch Leah’ a third sex-worker would be found strangled in her Soho flat, on the second floor of 66 Old Compton Street. Again, there were no obvious signs of break-in, robbery or sexual assault. Again, the only entry point w...

In this episode, I tell the stories of Christopher Halliwell, Becky Godden-Edwards and Sian O'Callaghan. In March 2011, Halliwell murdered Sian after picking her up in his taxi after she left a Swindon nightclub. He was handed a life sentence with a 25-year minimum for Sian's murder in October 2012. This case is controversial because Halliwell revealed the location of another woman he'd killed, Be...

A shocking story from the south coast of England as a man is abducted in his own car from a busy car park in front of his 9 year old son.  His body is found in the sea off Hurst Castle six days later with stab wounds. Just who would have done this to 43 year old Accountant, Grant Price - and why? Please support my sponsor: Gousto Just head to: gousto.co.uk and us the code TRUECRIME . for 60% off y...

This series' Houses of Blood episode drops this time around, and we are off back just a couple of years, to the West Midlands, to hear a ghastly and tragic tale of an innocent woman, a friend to everyone, and a chance meeting that led to two individuals making their very warped fantasies into a very sick, stark reality.  The episode contains details and descriptions of crimes and events, including...

This is Part Four of Ten of The Soho Strangler. By the morning of Friday 17th April 1936, word had spread around Soho that 43-year-old Jeanne-Marie Cotton had been murdered; strangled in her own flat, using her own scarf, with no suspects or motive. It seemed like a random unprovoked attack on a defenceless woman for no reason. It was a case which would have been forgotten, until it was connected...

I tell the story of Abdalla Yones and Heshu Yones in this episode. In October 2002, Abdalla murdered his 16-year-old daughter, Heshu, by stabbing her multiple times. Pleading guilty to the murder at The Old Bailey, Abdalla became the first person in UK legal history to admit having carried out an "honour killing". Judge Neil Denison handed Abdalla Yones a life sentence in September 2003 with a min...

This week, the UK True Crime podcast is from Cambuslang, about 6 miles southeast of the centre of Glasgow, as I look at a terrifying double murder. The body of 36 year-old taxi driver Cathy McChord was found with her body crammed into the boot of the car, with the meter still running. Cathy’s cigarette lighter, inhaler and car keys placed in a straight-line. Suggesting a ritualistic element to the...

I welcome former police officer Matt Calveley to the show in this interview episode.⁣ With an astonishing career spanning three decades in the Metropolitan Police, Matt arrested over 1,000 criminals, covered a quarter of a million miles on foot and wheels and was injured more than 30 times on duty. He retired in 2016 with over a dozen commendations, a People of Achievement award and the Livia Awar...

This is Part Three of Ten of The Soho Strangler. Five months later, the murder of Soho prostitute ‘French Fifi’ was forgotten. On Thursday 16th April 1936, the body of 43-year-old French national Jeanne-Marie Cotton was found dead in her flat. Initially mistaken for an accident or natural causes, a more in-depth-investigation would prove it to be murder, only no-one had noticed the shocking simila...

I tell the story of Odessa Carey Snr and Odessa Carey Jnr in this episode. In April 2019, Odessa Jnr murdered her mum, Odessa Snr, after attacking her with a mallet. She then removed her mum's head using scissors and knives before later removing her brain. After the murder, Odessa Jnr carried her mum's decapitated head around in a plastic carrier bag and reportedly kissed it on the forehead in fro...

Surgeon Anthony McGrath had developed a passion for antiques from his surgeon father, growing up in a beautiful Georgian Stately Home in County Meath. He amassed quite a collection for himself as an adult, but then one day, he called Bedfordshire Police to say that thieves had stolen over £180,000 worth of his precious collection. But the investigation wasn't quite as straightforward as Anthony ha...

Dr David Birkett was an unassuming, quiet man, eminent in his fields of both Dermatology and Paleopathology, and well liked and respected by all who knew him. So when he answered a knock at his Middlesbrough door one night in February 1990, he couldn't for a second have considered that the figure stood before him meant him harm. Harm was an understatement. It was the first action of an individual...

On Sunday I watched the excellent live show, The Makings of a Murderer , with ex-detective David Swindle. This show is touring for the next year and will be at a theatre near you soon - I highly recommend buying a ticket and finding out much more about some of the investigations in which David has personally been involved, as well as other high-profile cases. After the show. David kindly agreed to...

This is Part Two of Ten of The Soho Strangler. Having discovered the body of 41-year-old prostitute 'French Fifi' in her bedroom, the police surgeon had determined that that her death was "most probably a suicide" given all the evidence placed before him. But what it a suicide, or was this the first fledgling killing by The Soho Strangler. Date: Monday 4th November 1935 between 2am and 4am Locatio...

I tell the story of Damian Rzeszowski and his family in this episode. On August 14, 2011, Damian and his wife Izabela returned from a couple's trip to their native Poland. Later that day, the family planned on hosting a barbecue. After being berated by Izabela for leaving the kids alone in the house whilst she went to collect her friend, Damian snapped. He grabbed two kitchen knives and, within th...

This week we conclude our story about the repercussions of 22 hours of violence on Teesside that saw one innocent man murdered and others injured. As detectives search for the other gang members, the story this week takes us to Spain, Jamaica and also Lebanon - with shocking consequences. Please support my sponsor www.clivescandles.co.uk and use the code: CRIME for a 10% discount Sources: https://...

I welcome award-winning investigator Oliver Laurence to the show in this interview episode.⁣ Oliver spent over 12 years as a police officer in the Metropolitan Police, South Australia Police and Queensland Police Service. Since retiring from the police, Oliver has achieved great things as a security and intelligence investigator, including receiving the UK Investigator of the Year award in 2019. H...

The concluding part of the Series 8 opening tale drops this time around on The True Crime Enthusiast Podcast - where last part, we heard of the tragic tale of 16 year old Leeds schoolgirl Leanne Tiernan, who disappeared without trace one November afternoon in 2000, and who was sadly found dead almost nine months later, 13 miles away from home. What police couldn't have foreseen that August day tha...

This is Part One of Ten of The Soho Strangler. On Monday 4th November 1935, at roughly noon, the body of 41—year-old Josephine Martin, a Soho prostitute known as ‘French Fifi’ was found by her maid in her own bed, having asphyxiated herself using her own stocking. Wracked with debts and depression, her death was noted as “possibly a suicide”… when in fact, it was the first killing by The Soho Stra...

I tell the story of Kenneth Bill and John Hay in this episode. On March 15, 2012, Kenneth lured John to his unit at Meltham Mills Industrial Estate on the pretence of him pricing up some building work. Once there, Kenneth beat John to death inside the unit, burned his body and disposed of the ashes at a local recycling centre. Kenneth was in love with Carol Hay, John's wife, and wanted him out of...

Husband and father, 41 year old Kalvant Singh had been out for the evening at a pub in Saltburn before arriving back in Middlesbrough by taxi. Although dropped at his house, he wanted to continue the night and so didn't go through the door. A decision that would cost him his life.... In this episode of the UK True Crime we look at a 22 hour campaign of violence that would ruin so many lives foreve...

The first part of a two-part opening tale for Series 8 of The True Crime Enthusiast Podcast drops here, with the opening tale being one I have had part written for a couple of years now, and certainly one that affected me deeply - a tragic case, and a monstrously evil individual indeed.  It's a bit more of a familiar tale to some this one is, but I present my take on it, and if it isn't one you're...