Crime at Bedtime

In December 1978, a crew of mobsters slipped into JFK Airport and pulled off the largest cash robbery in American history. They stole nearly $6 million in unmarked bills and jewels from a Lufthansa vault — and vanished before sunrise. Behind the job was Jimmy Burke , the real-life inspiration for Goodfellas’ Jimmy Conway. But what should have been the perfect score quickly turned into a bloodbath...

Between 1971 and 1972, six young girls vanished from Washington, D.C. Their bodies were found along the highways leading out of the city — discarded like they didn’t matter. The press called him The Freeway Phantom : a predator who hunted the streets of Anacostia and Prince George’s County, targeting children and leaving behind a single, taunting note. This episode unravels the terrifying sixteen-...

In 2009, a woman walking her dog in Albuquerque stumbled across a human bone in the desert. What followed would become one of the largest crime scenes in U.S. history. Eleven women and one unborn child were recovered from shallow graves on the city’s West Mesa — victims of a serial killer who, to this day, has never been caught. This is the chilling story of a community blindsided, of victims who...

In the late 1990s, a Scottish teenager named Elliot Castro discovered just how easy it was to cheat the system. What began with a stolen credit card quickly escalated into an international crime spree. By his late teens, Castro was living a double life — conning banks, jetting off on first-class flights, staying in luxury hotels, and moving through high-society circles. But behind the glamour, he...

On the night of 11 June 1962 , three inmates carried out the most daring prison break in American history — and vanished without a trace. Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin spent months chiselling through cell walls, fashioning a raft from raincoats and creating lifelike dummy heads to fool the guards. Their target: the inescapable Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary , the infamous islan...

Australia’s most infamous serial killer left a trail of terror that changed the country forever. In the early 1990s, Ivan Milat , later dubbed The Backpacker Killer , stalked young travellers hitchhiking along quiet highways in New South Wales. What began as mysterious disappearances soon unravelled into one of the most chilling murder investigations in Australian history. In this episode of Crime...

In 1941, a quiet Denver street became the centre of one of the strangest murder cases in American history. A killer hid for months in a cramped crawlspace above his victim’s home — listening, waiting, and moving only when no one was watching. This is the unnerving true story of Theodore Edward Coneys. Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a...

When police opened the door of Robert Ben Rhoades’ semi-truck, they uncovered a nightmare. Chains. Handcuffs. A woman pleading for her life. What investigators discovered would reveal years of unimaginable cruelty along America’s highways and a man who thought he’d never be caught. Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the detai...

In 1930s Italy, amid war and superstition, Leonarda Cianciulli was known as a kind neighbour, a devoted mother, and a talented soap-maker. But behind her tidy kitchen walls, she was hiding something unimaginable. Driven by fear and belief in a deadly curse, Leonarda convinced herself that human sacrifice was the only way to save her son’s life. Over two years, three women vanished — their bodies n...

In March 2023, 78-year-old Lesley Trotter disappeared from her Toowong home in Brisbane. Her phone, wallet, and car were left untouched — and police would soon uncover a mystery unlike anything they’d seen before. As detectives pieced together her final hours, attention turned to her meticulous recycling habits and the theory that shocked the nation. From a quiet suburban street to the depths of a...

In 1999, 15-year-old Melbourne dancer Rachel Barber vanished after boarding a city tram. Her disappearance gripped Australia — but the truth lay chillingly close to home. Betrayed by a neighbour she once trusted, Rachel’s story became one of the country’s most infamous cases. This episode explores her life, the investigation, and the trial that revealed the deadly consequences of obsession. Become...

In April 2008, 21-year-old University of Wisconsin student Brittany Zimmermann was found murdered in her Madison apartment. For years, her case remained one of the city’s most haunting mysteries — until breakthroughs in DNA technology exposed her killer. This episode examines Brittany’s life, the failures of the initial investigation, and how justice was finally delivered more than a decade later....

He promised fame, fortune, and guaranteed returns. Instead, Lou Pearlman left behind lawsuits, ruined lives, and one of the largest financial scandals in U.S. history. Learn how the man who gave us boy band mania also gave America its biggest con. Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here Subscribe to Crime at Bedti...

On the eve of New Year’s 2000, the Miyazawa family was found murdered in their Setagaya home. Despite thousands of leads, police have never named the killer. Explore the evidence, theories, and unanswered questions behind one of Japan’s darkest crimes. Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here Subscribe to Crime at...

In April 2013, Raleigh, North Carolina, was shaken by a brutal act of betrayal. Jamie Kirk Hahn was a rising star in politics — a strategist, fundraiser, and mentor known for her dedication to public service. At her side was her husband, Nation Hahn, equally devoted to their shared mission of building community. And at the centre of their circle was a man they trusted like family: Jonathan Wayne B...

For the past three years, Jack Laurence has gone behind the bars of America’s toughest prisons, hearing the stories of robbery, arson, murder, and everything in between. He thought he’d heard it all… until he met one prisoner with a story unlike any other. A man who wasn’t just fighting for his freedom, but was on the verge of becoming one of the richest prisoners in the world, by suing Sean “P. D...

In 2001, a quiet man from Germany’s countryside carried out one of the most disturbing crimes in modern history. Armin Meiwes, later known as the “Rotenburg Cannibal,” lured a willing volunteer into his half-timbered home and recorded everything that followed. In this episode, we trace Meiwes’ lonely childhood, his descent into online cannibal forums, the chilling pact he made with Bernd Jürgen Br...

In 2006, respected Pennsylvania dentist Dr. John Yelenic was found brutally murdered in his home. His throat was slashed, his house drenched in blood but under his fingernails lay the clue that would reveal his killer. This is the story of a bitter divorce, a state trooper consumed by rage, and the chilling prophecy of a man who knew his life was in danger. Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber n...

In 2008, nine-year-old Shannon Matthews vanished on her way home from school, sparking one of Britain’s largest ever missing child hunts. For 24 days the nation searched, prayed, and donated. But when Shannon was found alive less than a mile from home, the truth was more shocking than anyone imagined. This is the story of betrayal, manipulation, and the mother who staged her daughter’s disappearan...

On a cold night in January 1993, seven people were brutally murdered inside a Brown’s Chicken & Pasta in Palatine, Illinois. Their bodies were discovered locked in the restaurant’s freezer and cooler, sending shockwaves through the quiet suburb and sparking one of the largest manhunts in state history. For nearly a decade the case went unsolved, until a half-eaten piece of chicken and a confes...

In 2008, Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout travelled to Somalia in search of untold stories. Just days after arriving, she was kidnapped on a dusty road outside Mogadishu and held hostage for 460 harrowing days. Subjected to brutal conditions, Amanda fought to survive while her mother negotiated desperately for her release. This episode takes you inside one of the most gripping modern hostage ca...

For years, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard convinced doctors, charities, and neighbours that her daughter Gypsy Rose was gravely ill. Wheelchair-bound, tube-fed, and said to have cancer and muscular dystrophy, Gypsy appeared to be the perfect symbol of courage. But behind closed doors was a world of control and abuse—medical lies fueled by Munchausen by proxy. In 2015, the façade ended in murder. Gy...

In 1966, middleweight boxing contender Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was arrested for a triple murder he swore he didn’t commit. Convicted on shaky eyewitness testimony, Carter’s career and freedom were stolen at the height of his rise. For nearly two decades, he fought the system from behind bars—writing a powerful memoir, gaining support from activists, and eventually winning his release when courts...

In 1999, visitors to Yosemite National Park were horrified by the brutal murders of four women — Carole Sund, her daughter Juli, their family friend Silvina Pelosso, and naturalist Joie Armstrong. When the killer was unmasked, the revelation shocked the world: Cary Stayner, brother of kidnapping survivor Steven Stayner, had confessed. This Crime at Bedtime episode explores the chilling story of Ca...

In 1972, seven-year-old Steven Stayner was walking home from school in Merced, California when he was abducted by a child predator posing as a church worker. For the next seven years, Steven lived under a false name, raised by his captor, and forced to endure a stolen childhood. But in 1980, when his abductor took another boy, Steven made a courageous choice that changed everything. This Crime at...