Casefile Confidential - Real Crime Podcast

Alone on a busy road in Adelaide, Maya Yakage had no idea she was facing one of South Australia's most reviled men: Mark Erin Rust. Rust began his life as a sex pest, who sought the "revulsion thrill" from shocking women. But his violence was untreated and constantly escalating to much more intimidating acts. He was always on the lookout for a woman on her own. When Rust encountered Maya, rejectio...

When a husband vanishes and is found dead in the woods of Lunigiana, investigators uncover a life balanced between public appearance and private violence1.... This is the story of a dramatic love that curdled, an obsession confused for affection, and how a brotherly friend chose to betray everything, firing a fatal shot fueled not by hate, but by a manipulated, lethal sense of hope... An unmissabl...

It was a breezy Sunday in January 2013. Beloved librarian Patrick Mullins went out on his boat and never returned. As hours turned to days, his unmanned vessel was discovered far away. The horrific discovery came nine days later: Patrick's body, secured to a 25-pound anchor, killed by a shotgun blast to the head. Authorities suggested suicide, but Patrick owned no shotgun, and the boat bore no tra...

To his friends, Andrea Pizzocolo was an “adorable” and good-natured man. To his family, he was a caring partner and a devoted father to a five-year-old daughter. At his job, he was a respected accountant, an impeccable professional at a multinational company. But behind this mask of an ordinary life, Pizzocolo harbored an abyss of obsession and brutality. On a September morning in 2013, the body o...

Emma Faulds and her West Highland Terrier, Maverick, were inseparable. To her, the dog wasn't just a pet; he was like her son. She was a 39-year-old care worker known for her kind heart, and her phone was described as an extension of her arm—she was always in touch with loved ones. On the night of April 28th, 2019, she texted a friend that she was at the home of a man she’d known for 18 years, pla...

A custody battle is often the final, bitter war of a failed marriage. But for Frank Parker and Kim Baldwin, it was just the beginning. Frank was a devoted father who lived for his children; he was willing to sacrifice everything just to be in their lives. Kim was his charismatic ex-wife, a woman with a difficult past who craved control over every aspect of her world, especially her kids. Their div...

When Jessica and Daniel Groves fought to regain custody of their newborn son, Dylan, they promised to keep him safe. Born prematurely and with a mix of methamphetamines, fentanyl, and opiates in his tiny body, Dylan was already battling withdrawal, his arms shaking and legs twitching. For a brief time, he found a safe haven with a foster mother, a sober school teacher whose community rallied to cr...

In the small, quiet community of Hoffman, Oklahoma, Arthur Bernie was known by everyone as a kind, sociable, and hardworking mechanic. After a 20-year marriage ended, he feared he was destined for a life of loneliness, terrified of the time that was passing him by. But then, in the most unexpected way, he met Patricia Meeks. She was his opposite in every way—vivacious, wild, and exciting—and Arthu...

It was a routine walk home for Sarah Everard on March 3, 2021, a two-and-a-half-mile journey she had taken many times before from her friend's house in London. She called her boyfriend, made plans, and was captured on well-lit CCTV. Then, silence. Her phone switched off, her work meeting missed, Sarah's disappearance was alarming and utterly out of character. The city erupted in an 'enormous and i...

A crumbling marriage, a jealous husband, and a family caught in the middle. It’s November 1996 in southern Italy, and what should have been a quiet evening in a small Calabrian village will instead turn into a nightmare. Alfredo Valente, a carabiniere tormented by the idea of losing his wife Genny forever, sets out on a rain-soaked drive across hundreds of kilometers. In his mind, the separation i...

In the quiet, free-spirited mountain community of Jamestown, Colorado, peace shattered one Saturday morning. A frantic 911 call described a harrowing scene: 30-year-old Solange Haikkala, a beloved mother, discovered cold and unresponsive on a couch in her artist's studio, her face smeared with blood. The studio itself was described as "completely ransacked," hinting at a violent struggle, leaving...

John was a medical student in Chicago, Tracey a brilliant and ambitious radiologist. They met and, after just eighteen days, decided to marry. The suddenness of their decision surprised many, but to them it all seemed natural. Tracey had a special talent: she could read people's minds, sense what they wanted to hear, and adapt accordingly. No one then could have imagined that from that relationshi...

On a quiet October morning in 2011, the lives of a Dyersburg, Tennessee family were irrevocably altered when 44-year-old Karen Swift, a beloved mother of four, simply vanished. She was last seen tucking her 9-year-old daughter into bed the night before, only to be gone by dawn. Her white Nissan Murano was later discovered abandoned on a rural highway, a single rusty screw puncturing its tire, but...

On October 28, 1999, shortly before 9:00 PM, several gunshots shattered the evening silence in the parking lot of a Methodist church. A woman was found lying in a pool of blood next to her Jeep as a light-colored car sped away. Thus begins a murky story of sex, betrayal, corruption, and murder. A case where nothing is as it seems, an investigation worth following to the end. We are about 100 kilom...

Kevin Powell, a talented interior designer, and his partner Steven Adams, a registered nurse, had built a "rock-solid" life together over three decades, eventually settling into the welcoming queer community of Wilton Manors, Florida. Kevin, still recovering from a recent double organ transplant for severe diabetes, was looking forward to spending Christmas in Ohio with Steve's family. However, th...

They were the perfect couple, the envy of every neighbor in the quiet Baltimore suburb. Carla and Ray Porter were united in a bond that, at least on the surface, knew no break. But behind the facade of an idyllic existence, an abyss of dark secrets and a deadly betrayal waited to swallow everything Ray Porter had painstakingly built. What macabre truth lay behind that "dream marriage"? And to what...

This story begins among the shelves of a California supermarket, an ordinary place and a seemingly casual encounter. But behind that normality lies a spiral of passion, lies, and obsession that will overwhelm all the protagonists of this tragic case.  This isn't just a story of betrayal. It's a tale of emotional dependence, dangerous illusions, and what happens when a relationship spirals into an...

Kirkland, Washington. 27-year-old Elaina Busousakos had just one heartfelt wish for New Year's Eve 1998: to meet her soulmate. Just weeks later, she believed she found him in the handsome and charismatic Sion Louie, a man she was "completely enamored" with. Their lives seemed destined for a traditional family and happiness. But then, just weeks before their Valentine's Day wedding in 2001, Elaina...

She went to Africa to save lives — but vanished without a trace. Sophia Koetsier was a bright, compassionate medical student chasing her dream in the wild beauty of Uganda. On the surface, it looked like a tragic accident — an animal attack in a remote national park. But the clues left behind tell a different story. A water bottle by the river. Clothes torn and scattered high in the trees. Persona...

writerImagine the quiet, multi-million dollar waterfront community of Admiral's Cove in Palm Beach, Florida. A place where luxury homes provide stunning views, and life seems idyllic. But on an early autumn morning in 2011, that peace was violently shattered. A security alarm drew a guard to one of these opulent residences, where he discovered the patriarch of the family, 66-year-old Lanny Horwitz...

In a quiet Australian suburb, the dreams of a young couple, Craig and Kathleen Folbigg, for a happy family turned into an unfolding nightmare . Beginning in 1989, their lives were shattered by an unthinkable series of events:  the sudden, inexplicable deaths of their four infant children—Caleb, Patrick, Sarah, and Laura—over a decade 1.... As each baby passed, often in their sleep and always in th...

In today's episode we recount the tragic story of Matthew Restelli, a man lured to his death under the guise of reconciling with his estranged wife, Kathryn. Driven by her obsession with gaining sole custody of their children, Kathryn, along with her mother and brother, orchestrated a meticulous plan to murder Matthew in July 2024. The deceptive invitation, the pre-planned ambush, and the family's...

On July 29th, Fabrizio was supposed to leave for vacation with his family. Tickets and suitcases packed, everything planned. But first, he had another plan. A plan that didn't include the beach, or beach umbrellas, or children. There was one last thing to settle: a woman who loved him, who wanted to share her life with him, who was asking too much. And that weekend, convinced she was spending two...

Eligia Ardita was 35, a hardworking nurse, and just weeks away from giving birth to her first child. One January night in 2015, everything changed. The emergency call, the ambulance, the rushed attempts to save her — all too late. At first, it looked like medical negligence. But something didn’t add up. And one man refused to let the truth be buried. In this episode, we unravel a chilling case tha...

The unsolved murder of Francesca Moretti, a young woman living in Rome who died from cyanide poisoning in 2000. It details the initial chaotic moments leading to her hospitalization, where doctors eventually suspected cyanide after her rapid deterioration. The investigation was hampered by a poorly preserved crime scene and initially considered suicide due to a lack of clear evidence. As the case...