Blood Ties Podcast

Each week, father and daughter duo Geoffrey and Molly Wansell explore some of the most compelling true crime stories from around the world. Drawing on Geoffrey’s decades of experience as a crime writer and historian , and Molly’s sharp curiosity and insight, the pair unravel the human stories behind notorious cases, forgotten investigations, and crimes that shocked communities across continents. F...

In this episode, with special guest Grace from Redrum, Geoffrey and Molly confront one of the most disturbing crimes in recent British history. The murder of Brianna Ghey. A 16 year old girl who trusted the wrong people and paid with her life. On 11 February 2023, Brianna was lured to a park by someone she believed was a friend. What awaited her was not friendship, but a carefully planned act of e...

Blood Ties bonus with a case that refuses to stay quiet. The murder of Bhim Kohli shocked a community and exposed uncomfortable questions about family loyalty power and silence. In this episode we are joined by Stuart Blues of British Murders to find out more. CREDITS:  Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell Featuring: Stuart Blues https://www.britishmurders.com/ Producer: Peter Shevlin https...

Geoffrey and Molly Wansell confront Britain’s most chilling killer, Robert Maudsley, the man the tabloids dubbed Hannibal the Cannibal . Locked away in a glass cell beneath Wakefield Prison, Maudsley has spent decades in near-total isolation after a string of murders so brutal they shocked even hardened detectives. But who is the man behind the monster? With Geoffrey’s trademark precision and Moll...

Gregory Vincent Greene was a man of contradictions, charming yet cold, generous yet ruthless. Behind the façade of an ordinary life lay secrets that would unravel a family and shock a community. In this gripping new episode of Blood Ties , Geoffrey and Molly Wansell peel back the layers of a complex life and a chilling crime. With their trademark mix of forensic storytelling and psychological insi...

In the heart of Belfast during the height of the Troubles, a brutal gang prowled the night, abducting, torturing, and killing innocent Catholics in a reign of terror that would shock even hardened police officers. Known as The Shankill Butchers , this group of loyalist paramilitaries turned the streets into hunting grounds, leaving a city already divided by politics and religion gripped by fear. I...

Geoffrey Wansell uncovers the shocking story of Lakhvir Singh, a woman whose passion turned to poison. When her lover began a new relationship, jealousy consumed her. In an act as chilling as it was calculated, she laced his curry with a rare poison — aconite — earning her the nickname “The Curry Killer.” Was this a crime of love, rage, or revenge? Geoffrey discusses the case with Molly to unravel...

He was just fourteen when he started killing — a schoolboy with a chemistry set and a deadly obsession. Graham Young, known to history as The Teacup Poisoner , was the embodiment of evil hiding behind a polite English smile. In this episode of Blood Ties , Molly and Geoffrey uncover the chilling story of how a quiet teenager turned into one of Britain’s most sadistic murderers — poisoning friends,...

In this gripping episode of Blood Ties , Geoffrey and Molly Wansell delve into the chilling case of Catherine Wilson — the so-called “Victorian Poisoner.” A trusted nurse who turned her patients’ trust into a death sentence, Wilson used poison to line her pockets, leaving a trail of mysterious deaths behind. The Wansells unravel how a woman meant to heal became Britain’s last woman publicly hanged...

He was the bogeyman of suburban America — a ghost who crept into homes, shattered lives, and vanished into the night. For decades, the Golden State Killer taunted police, leaving behind terrified families and a trail of violence that stretched across California. Rape, murder, stalking — his crimes were monstrous, his arrogance chilling. And yet, he lived quietly among us, a husband, a neighbour, a...

He called himself a “psychopath with a conscience.” But behind the bravado, Mark Brown was a cold, calculating killer. In the quiet seaside town of St Leonards, Brown led a double life — father, partner, builder by day, and murderer by night. When two women vanished months apart, detectives uncovered a web of lies, manipulation, and chilling arrogance that shocked even the most seasoned investigat...

Long before the hit TV series turned them into legends, the real Peaky Blinders ruled the backstreets of Birmingham. With swagger in their step, and blood on their hands — they were the original urban gangsters of Britain’s industrial age. In Blood Ties: The Real Peaky Blinders , we uncover the brutal truth behind the myth — the poverty, the power, and the violence that shaped a generation of men...

Kyle Clifford turned up at their quiet Hertfordshire home like any other ex returning a few belongings — calm, deliberate, utterly convincing. Kyle Clifford wasn’t some impulsive man in a rage; he was calculated, chillingly controlled. He moved with purpose, carrying out his grim mission with military precision, showing no flicker of hesitation. This wasn’t chaos — it was cold, rehearsed determina...

In Blood Ties , Geoffrey and Molly Wansell confront one of Britain’s darkest and most divisive crimes — the White House Farm murders. Six members of one family gunned down in cold blood, a nation horrified, and a son accused of orchestrating it all. Jeremy Bamber — charming, intelligent, and now serving a whole life sentence — maintains his innocence to this day. But is he a cold-blooded killer or...

After 1994, something in Nicholas Burton’s mind began to unravel. Once seen as bright and promising, he started shouting at himself and became obsessed with religion. Friends noticed the change — but no one imagined how dark things would become. His fixation soon turned toward Rachel McGraa, a woman whose kindness would ultimately cost her everything. In this episode of Blood Ties , we trace Burto...

It was every parent’s worst nightmare. In the summer of 2002, two bright, happy ten-year-old girls — Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman — vanished without a trace from the quiet village of Soham. Overnight, their faces were on every front page, every television screen, as a frantic nation prayed for their safe return. But behind the search and the heartbreak lay a chilling betrayal. Ian Huntley, the...

Two women, two different worlds — but both hiding lethal secrets. Jane Toppan, the nurse known as “Jolly Jane,” poisoned more than 30 patients in the late 1800s, later admitting she killed simply for pleasure. And Polly Bartlett, dubbed Wyoming’s first female serial killer, ran a boarding house with her father where unsuspecting travelers met their end for money and greed. In this episode of Blood...

This is one of Britain’s most harrowing true crime stories – a crime so savage it shocked the nation to its core. In this gripping episode of Blood Ties , Geoffrey and Molly Wansell dissect the chilling case of Lin and Megan Russell, a mother and daughter brutally murdered in a frenzied hammer attack while walking home from school in a quiet Kent village. Their family dog was killed, their daughte...

In this gripping episode of Blood Ties , Geoffrey and Molly Wansell unravel the chilling case of Lyle and Erik Menendez — the brothers whose brutal murder of their wealthy parents shocked America in 1989. Was it an act of cold-blooded greed, or the desperate response of two young men pushed beyond endurance? The Wansells explore the background of the family, the sensational trial that captivated t...

Two little girls vanished in Brighton—and for decades, their killer almost got away with it. CREDITS:  Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/ Artwork: George Leigh Music: Dan Wansell CONTACT:  Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod Instagram: bloodties_pod Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast Support: patr...

She was Ireland’s most glamorous killer – the so-called Black Widow who spun a web of lies, murder, and betrayal that stunned a nation. CREDITS:  Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/ Artwork: George Leigh Music: Dan Wansell CONTACT:  Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod Instagram: bloodties_pod Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com  YouTube: https://www....

On 26th April 1999, BBC Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando was shot dead on her doorstep with a single bullet. Twenty years on, her shocking murder remains unsolved — and continues to haunt Britain. Who killed Jill Dando? Was it a professional hit, a stalker, or a case of mistaken identity? Despite one of the biggest police investigations in UK history, no one has ever been brought to justice. In thi...

This is the shocking true crime story of Richard Cottingham: The Torso Killer . One of America’s most sadistic serial killers, he brutally murdered women across New York and New Jersey, earning the nickname The Times Square Ripper . While Bundy, Dahmer, and Gacy became infamous, Cottingham stayed in the shadows. A husband, father, and insurance worker by day — a sadistic murderer by night. He drug...

In May 2010, Stephen Griffiths stunned a courtroom by giving his name as the Crossbow Cannibal. By December that year, he was convicted of three brutal murders. But who was Stephen Griffiths before that chilling moment? And what drove him to commit such horrific crimes? Join us as we dig deep into the life, psychology, and crimes of Stephen Griffiths — a case that shocked Britain and left a lastin...

Daniel Gonzalez wanted fame — but not on stage or screen. Obsessed with horror films like Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street , Gonzalez spiralled into drug abuse, mental illness, and violent fantasies that turned him into one of Britain’s most notorious killers. In this episode of Blood Ties , Geoffrey and Molly Wansell explore the troubled childhood, psychiatric struggles, and chilling...