Crime and Motive

A father is gunned down after pulling over to move a tire. Jared Bridegan had just dropped off his twin children at his ex-wife Shanna Gardner's home when he stopped on a quiet Jacksonville Beach road. His two-year-old daughter was still in the back seat when someone opened fire, killing Jared in what looked like a senseless act of violence. But police quickly realized this was no random attack. ...

(00:00:00) The Last Walk Home (00:01:19) Who was Kristin? (00:03:33) The night of May 24, 1996 (00:05:28) Early investigation missteps (00:05:55) Who is Paul Flores? (00:08:47) A family that wouldn’t stop (00:09:52) A podcast changes everything (00:10:45) A new interest (00:11:07) Backyard searches & secret recordings (00:11:55) Flores family secrets (00:12:24) The push for justice (00:16:05) What...

When 18-year-old Katie Autry was found barely alive inside her Western Kentucky University dorm room, it triggered a frantic search for her killers.  Katie had been beaten, assaulted, and set on fire in a crime so vicious it stunned the world. Detectives soon focused on two young men with ties to the area, unraveling a web of shifting stories, surprising alibis, and a trial that left many wonderin...

A single rock, hurled from a passing car, turned an ordinary drive home into a fatal ambush. Nineteen-year-old Alexa Bartell was on the phone with a friend when it happened — the last words anyone would hear from her. What started as a reckless thrill for three teenagers ended in an unthinkable tragedy that shattered a family and shocked the entire community. In this episode of Murder U, we trace...

She thought they were her best friends... until they led her into the woods and pulled out the knives. In this episode of Murder U, we examine the shocking murder of 16-year-old Skylar Neese, an honors student from Star City, West Virginia, who vanished after slipping out of her bedroom window one summer night.  For months, her disappearance remained a mystery—until one of the killers broke down a...

She thought she was dating a fellow college student. He was actually a 37-year-old convicted sex offender using a fake name. In this episode of Murder U, we investigate the heartbreaking case of Lauren McCluskey, a 21-year-old track star at the University of Utah who tried everything she could to stay safe—reporting threats, breaking off the relationship, even calling campus police more than 20 ti...

Two brilliant students at the University of Virginia. One forbidden romance. And a secret so dark, it ended in blood. In 1985, the mutilated bodies of Derek and Nancy Haysom were found in their Virginia home. Their daughter, Elizabeth Haysom, and her boyfriend, Jens Soering, quickly became the focus of a case that would span decades, cross international borders, and spark global controversy. In th...

She was a star athlete, weeks away from graduating from the University of Virginia. He was her ex-boyfriend, a fellow lacrosse player, and increasingly volatile. Then, on May 3, 2010, Yeardley Love was found brutally beaten in her campus apartment. In this episode of Murder U, we examine the violent murder that shocked the collegiate sports world and sparked national conversations about dating vio...

On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the University of Texas tower with a footlocker full of guns. By the time it was over, 16 people were dead, dozens more were wounded, and America had experienced its first modern mass shooting. In this episode of Murder U, we trace Whitman’s life from gifted child and former Marine to the deeply disturbed killer who changed the way police, s...

The mystery gripped the nation—four University of Idaho students murdered in their off-campus home, and for weeks, no suspect in sight. Then, investigators made a stunning discovery: Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old PhD student studying criminology at Washington State University, became the focus of a sweeping multi-state investigation. In this second part of our true crime podcast series, we revisi...

In November 2022, four University of Idaho students were found brutally murdered in their off-campus home — stabbed to death as they slept. Weeks passed with no arrest. Then came Bryan Kohberger, a 28-year-old criminology PhD student no one expected. In Part 1 of this two-part Murder U episode, we trace the night of the killings, the victims’ final hours, and the investigation that led to Kohberge...

She was texting her boyfriend one minute… and gone the next. What happened to Brittanee Drexel would haunt Myrtle Beach for thirteen years—until her killer finally confessed, and his accomplice revealed a disturbing truth. In this episode of Murder U, we examine how 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel vanished while walking alone at night during an unsanctioned spring break trip in South Carolina. As rum...

A popular cheerleader. A desperate classmate. And a lie that would turn deadly. When 15-year-old Kirsten Costas answered an invitation to a secret club dinner, she had no idea it was a trap. Hours later, she was bleeding to death on a neighbor’s porch, and the hunt for her killer would expose a world of jealousy, obsession, and betrayal lurking beneath the surface of suburban Orinda, California. I...

When 17-year-old Alissa Turney vanished from her Phoenix high school in 2001, her stepfather claimed she ran away to California. But her abandoned phone, untouched paycheck, and sudden silence told a darker story. Two decades later, a shocking arrest turned this cold case into a courtroom cliffhanger. Was this a teenage runaway—or a carefully staged cover-up of an unsolved disappearance? In this e...

On May 4, 1970, a student protest against the Vietnam War at Kent State University ended in unimaginable violence when members of the Ohio National Guard opened fire on a crowd of unarmed demonstrators. In just 13 seconds, four students were killed and nine others wounded—some of them bystanders simply walking to class. What led to such a deadly confrontation on an American college campus? Who gav...

When 21-year-old Samantha Josephson called for an Uber after a night out, she thought she was heading home safely. Instead, she stepped into a car driven by a predator. Nathaniel Rowland saw an opportunity — and Samantha never made it out alive. In this episode, we unpack the chilling case that shocked the nation, examine the hunt for a killer, and explore the safety changes sparked by Samantha’s...

In 1979, 16-year-old Brenda Spencer became the first juvenile mass school shooter when she killed two staff members and wounded eight children at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego. She took careful aim at the young students and fired from her house across the street. When asked why she did it, she cooly replied that she “Didn’t like Mondays.” Become a supporter of this podcast: https...

December 16, 2024. Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. A quiet study hall turns into a war zone when 15-year-old Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow opens fire—killing a student, a teacher, and ultimately herself. In this chilling episode of Murder U, we unpack the first juvenile female mass school shooting in 45 years. Who was Samantha Rupnow, and how did her obsession with violence go un...

On February 14, 2008, Northern Illinois University became the site of a devastating mass shooting when a former student walked into a packed lecture hall and opened fire. Within minutes, six people were dead, including the gunman, and nearly two dozen others were injured. Who was the shooter, and what led him to carry out such a brutal attack? What warning signs were missed? In this episode of Mur...

In April 1993, 20-year-old Sophie Sergie was found brutally murdered in a dorm bathroom at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The crime sent shockwaves through the campus, but despite an intense investigation, the case went cold for nearly three decades. Who could have committed such a heinous act? And why did it take so long to uncover the truth? In this episode, we unravel the chilling details...

In July 2021, Chandler Halderson reported his parents, Bart and Krista, missing from their Wisconsin home. What began as a search for a missing couple quickly turned into a chilling murder investigation when dismembered remains were discovered. As detectives uncovered Chandler's web of lies about his education and career, a dark motive emerged. In this episode, we unravel the shocking details of t...

On October 30th, 2019, Clark Atlanta University senior Alexis Crawford was heard laughing and in good spirits during her last conversation with her mother, Tammy Crawford. Yet, in the days that followed, silence replaced that joyful exchange. On Friday, November 1st, around 10:45 p.m., the Crawford family filed a missing person report, their growing dread hinting at an unspeakable tragedy. Exactly...

When 21-year-old Jennifer Cave went out with her friend Colton Pitonyak in Austin, Texas, she never made it home. The next morning, her body was found in Colton’s apartment. She was brutally murdered and dismembered. As police closed in, he fled to Mexico with his accomplice, Laura Hall, setting off a shocking case of crime, cover-up, and betrayal. What led a promising college student to such brut...

Jennifer Pan’s parents had her life mapped out—straight A’s, top universities, and a future they approved of. But behind their proud smiles, Jennifer was drowning in lies, fabricating degrees and achievements to meet impossible expectations. When the truth threatened to unravel, she made a chilling choice: to eliminate the source of her pressure once and for all. Was she a victim of extreme parent...

Laken Hope Riley, a vibrant University of Georgia student, was tragically killed while jogging on a popular campus running path. Her shocking murder sent ripples of fear through the college community. As investigators scrambled for leads, security camera footage became the crucial puzzle piece that revealed the identity of her killer. Join us as we delve into the details of Laken's life, the inves...