Beers with Queers A True Crime Podcast

He gathered the lost, the lonely, the grieving—and turned their need for kindness into a nightmare. A trusted figure, a secret obsession, and a trail of bodies flushed down London’s drains. Between 1978 and 1983, Dennis Nilsen—known as the Muswell Hill Murderer—lured dozens of vulnerable young men, many of them gay and homeless, into his North London flats. What began as offers of shelter, company...

A secret desire turned fatal obsession. A charming loner in London, his predatory urges hidden beneath polite conversation. Until the night he drags a young man home and everything unravels. In late 1970s London, Dennis Andrew Nilsen was a reserved Scotsman grappling with his queerness and desire lured at least twelve young men and boys into his flat under offers of companionship, shelter, or a dr...

A body hidden beneath a mattress. A confession lost to suicide. And two families refusing to let her be forgotten. Venus Xtravaganza was a rising star in New York’s ballroom scene, immortalized in the landmark documentary Paris Is Burning. But before the film could finish, Venus was found strangled in a Manhattan hotel room in 1988. Her murder went unsolved, her legacy nearly erased. Now, decades...

A Pride event. Armed neo-Nazis. And a police escort that sparked national outrage. In June 2019, Detroit’s Motor City Pride festival was disrupted by members of the National Socialist Movement—a neo-Nazi group—who marched through the event openly carrying firearms, tearing apart Pride flags, and hurling racist and homophobic slurs. Police officers formed a protective barrier around the group, esco...

With the LGBT+ Branch of the 988 Help Line being shut down, if you or someone you know needs help or just someone to talk to, The Trevor Project is available 24/7 year-round. You can reach them by phone at 1 866 488 7386 or through Chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help Remember there are people out there who care and want to help you. They dazzled onstage in feathers and pearls and then vanished u...

She didn’t identify as queer—but she believed in our right to exist. And for that, she was murdered in cold blood. In this episode, we cover the tragic case of Lauri Carleton, a beloved California store owner and ally who was fatally attacked outside her business for displaying a Pride flag. The small mountain town of Cedar Glen was shaken—and the LGBTQ+ community, once again, forced to reckon wit...

They came to dance. To celebrate pride. But by sunrise, it would become the deadliest attack on LGBTQ+ people in American history. Forty-nine lives, stolen in a place built for joy. And a nation left to ask—how did this happen? On June 12, 2016, Pulse nightclub in Orlando was packed with Pride Month energy, Latin music, and queer love. But just after last call, a shooter opened fire inside the clu...

They called it suicide. But the cliffs told a different story. For years, gay men were found dead at the bottom of Sydney’s seaside bluffs—while the police looked the other way. In the 1980s and '90s, Sydney was gripped by a wave of brutal violence against queer men. Bodies turned up at the foot of the cliffs. Cases were closed without investigation. And gangs of young men bragged about hunting in...

She was young, vulnerable, and in search of safety. But instead, Michelle Confait’s life would end in tragedy—and the fallout would shake Britain’s justice system to its core. In this episode, we travel to 1970s London to uncover the deeply disturbing case of Michelle Confait, a mixed-race, queer-presenting sex worker who was brutally murdered in her own home. The police arrested three teenage boy...

He was just walking home. Then came the taunts, the chase—and the river. A summer night turned deadly, and a community’s silence became part of the crime. In 1984, Charlie Howard was a young gay man living openly in Bangor, Maine—a bold act of visibility in a time and place that offered little safety. When he was brutally attacked by a group of local teenagers, the town was left shaken. But what f...

In this episode of Beers with Queers, hosts Jordi and Braddelve into one of the darkest cases in true crime history, exploring the horrific acts of Dean Corll, a prolific serial killer, and his potential connections to the infamous John Wayne Gacy and the Odyssey Foundation, a massive sex abuse ring. The conversation covers the chilling details of Corll's crimes, the operations of the Odyssey Foun...

A candy man. A torture board. A shocking number of victims. Between 1970 and 1973, Houston, Texas became the hunting ground for one of the most depraved serial killers in American history. Dean Corll, with the help of teenage accomplices, lured young boys with candy, parties, and promises—only to subject them to unimaginable horror. In this episode, we examine the sickening crimes, the manipulatio...

Seven women dead. A lesbian wrongly imprisoned. And a justice system that refused to listen. In the 1970s, a series of brutal murders struck California’s Bay Area. But instead of catching the killer, police pinned it on Cathy Woods, a queer woman with schizophrenia—and no physical evidence. She spent 35 years behind bars before DNA told a different story. In this episode, we unravel the horrifying...

Five elite students. A secret pact. A betrayal that shook the world. In the heart of Cambridge University during the Cold War, a group of brilliant young men—some queer, some closeted, all conflicted—secretly pledged their loyalty to the Soviet Union. The result? One of the most infamous espionage rings in British history. In this episode, we trace the double lives, dangerous secrets, and lavender...

A thrown coffee cup. A broken window. A police raid that didn’t go as planned. Years before Stonewall, a group of drag queens and trans women of color fought back in a seedy cafeteria in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. What started as routine harassment became a full-scale riot—and a flashpoint for LGBTQ+ resistance. In this episode, we travel back to 1966 to explore the lead-up, chaos, and l...

SWAT burst through the doors. Patrons were shoved to the floor. And Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ community said: enough. In September 2009, a heavily armed police raid targeted the Atlanta Eagle, one of the city’s longest-standing gay bars. No drugs. No weapons. No arrests. So why the violent show of force? This episode uncovers what really happened that night, the civil rights lawsuit that followed, and how...

The list was coded. The victims were nameless. The horror was just beginning. In Part 2, we pick up with the staggering aftermath of Randy Kraft’s arrest. As investigators unearthed dozens of unsolved murders, they also discovered a haunting ledger—detailing victims by nicknames only Kraft could understand. This episode explores the trial, the damning evidence, and how this calculated killer kept...

He was smart, clean-cut—and quietly killing. Randy Kraft lived a double life. By day, he was a computer consultant. By night, he prowled Southern California highways for young men. Part 1 of this twisted tale dives into the early crimes, the chilling clues left behind, and how Kraft operated under the radar for years while racking up a staggering body count. This LGBTQ+ true crime podcast episode...

He thought he was meeting the woman of his dreams. Instead, it was a date with terror. In 2025, Sam Nordquist connected with someone online for what seemed like a promising romantic encounter. But what unfolded next was a descent into sadism, cruelty, and a crime so violent it shocked even seasoned investigators. As the case unraveled, it exposed chilling questions about trust, technology, and the...

A secret tribunal. Expulsions. Lives destroyed. Harvard once tried to erase queerness—and buried the truth for nearly a century. In 1920, after the tragic suicide of student Cyril Wilcox, Harvard University launched a covert investigation into homosexual conduct among its students. Acting Dean Chester Noyes Greenough assembled a five-man tribunal that would come to be known only as the "Secre...

Florida’s Most Sadistic Killers – Steven Lorenzo & Scott Schweickert They met men in gay chat rooms. They promised a good time. Instead, they delivered drug-fueled torture and death. Steven Lorenzo and Scott Schweickert are two of the most sadistic killers to ever target Florida’s queer community. Luring victims online, they used GHB to paralyze their prey—before carrying out unspeakable horro...

A queer student disappeared without a trace. Then investigators turned to his phone—and found the breadcrumb trail that cracked the case. Jimmy “Jae” Lee was a beloved student and activist whose sudden disappearance left a campus reeling. What started as a missing persons case soon escalated into something far darker. With help from Snapchat’s location data, investigators began to piece together J...

Special Case Update 01 In this episode of Beers with Queers, hosts Jordy and Brad discuss the recent resolution of the tragic murders of Julie Williams and Lollie Winans, a case that remained unsolved for nearly 30 years. They reflect on the emotional impact of the case, the details surrounding the murders, and the recent breakthrough in DNA evidence that led to the identification of the killer, W...

He was a poet, provocateur, and filmmaker unafraid of scandal. Then he was found beaten to death on a remote beach. Pier Paolo Pasolini wasn’t just a legendary artist—he was an outspoken gay man who challenged fascism, religion, and sexual repression. Days before his murder, Pasolini completed Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom—a film so disturbing, many believed it sealed his fate. Was his death a ra...

Three bombs. Three communities. One man driven by hate. In the spring of 1999, London was rocked by a series of deadly bombings. The targets? Immigrant neighborhoods, Black Britons, and finally—the LGBTQ+ community. The man responsible wanted to start a race war. What he unleashed was a wave of grief, rage, and reckoning. This queer true crime podcast episode delves into the ideology, investigatio...