Crime Culture

Our episode today covers the series of abductions and murders of young boys in California between 1926-1928. Resident scumbag, Gordon Northcott, kidnapped, sexually abused, and murdered at least three (some say the number could be around 20) young boys around his farm in Wineville, California. We discuss the facts of the case along with its place in pop culture including a famous Clint Eastwood mo...

It's Hayley's hometown favorite this week: The Jersey Devil! This creature has been lurking in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey since the year 1735. It has been spotted dozens of times since the legend began and it holds a special place in the hearts of New Jerseyans everywhere. We cover the legend itself as well as some sightings, how the story relates back to a United States founding fath...

The sun is shining, lots of people have off from work and school, the alcohol is flowing, it's the perfect time to talk about crime! The 4th of July is widely considered the most deadly holiday by many law enforcement officials. Today, we're talking about some of the deadliest crimes and also some of the weirdest ones that have happened on Independence Day. Please take this as a reminder to stay s...

We're celebrating our thirteenth episode by exploring superstitions and phobias, starting with what makes the number 13 so unlucky. From black cats to the thirteenth floor of hotels, we talk about where this fear comes from and even a few celebrities that suffer from it. We only scratched the surface for references to the number thirteen in pop culture so for more information, visit our website! E...

This one is for you, Australian listeners! We're covering the Backpacker Murders that happened in New South Wales between 1989 and 1993. Seven backpackers went missing during this time and their bodies were discovered in horrific fashion in the Belanglo State Forest. We discuss the franchise based on the case as well as an interesting copycat and a tourist attraction that seems in poor taste, to s...

This week, we're covering the Guinness World Records most prolific female serial killer in history. Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a noblewoman in the Kingdom of Hungary and was alleged to have killed up to 650 young women between 1585 and 1609. "The Blood Countess" was said to have bathed in the blood of virgins to retain her youth and some even say that she may have partly inspired the...

There's no case this week! Instead, we're going to talk about the four classifications of serial killers. In 1988, Ronald Holmes created the Holmes typology which gave us the names to describe how different serial killers operate: Hedonistic killers, Mission-Oriented killers, Visionary killers, and Power-Control Killers. In this episode, we break down the four primary classifications and get into...

We're taking you to 1933 France for the case this week to talk about Christine and Léa Papin. These two sisters were working as maids for the Lancelin family in Le Mans, France when one night, Madame Lancelin failed to show up for dinner, Monsieur found her and their daughter beaten to death so savagely, they were unrecognizable. Where were the Papin sisters? Sitting quietly in their room, naked,...

This week's episode is honestly a huge bummer. We're talking about the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by her caretaker, Gertrude Baniszewski. In the summer of 1965, Sylvia and her sister were staying with Gertrude Baniszewski and her seven children in Indianapolis, Indiana. When payment for the girl's care failed to arrive on time, Gertrude took out her frustrations on the girls. Her abuse wa...

This week we're talking about Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, the two women who inspired the play/musical/movie "Chicago"! They met in prison after shooting each of their lovers and their stories gained wide-spread attention as they played the part of weak, pretty, and innocent women. We cover each of their cases and trials, their relationships, how the media viewed them, our love for musical the...

On a clear warm night, a couple is parked on a secluded 'lover's lane' to hook up. The next morning, they are found shot to death in their car. For four months in 1946, the tiny border town of Texarkana was terrorized by reports of these gruesome murders that seemed to have no motive or suspects. The case of the Phantom Killer of Texarkana is still unsolved today, but the legend lives on in the to...

This week we cover the killer mortician, Bernie Tiede! Famously portrayed by Jack Black in the film "Bernie", the real-life case is not as comedic as it seems on screen. After befriending an elderly widow, Tiede slowly began to cut her off from friends and family until he became the sole beneficiary of her multi-million dollar estate. After killing her and putting her body in the freezer, he conti...

Instead of a true crime event influencing pop culture, today's episode is about a pop culture phenomenon inciting a true crime event. The Slenderman was originally posted to a creepypasta forum as an entry to a Photoshop contest in 2009 and has grown in popularity ever since. The character spawned multiple video games, fan art, various backstories, and even a movie. It was also the impetus for two...

No one exemplified peace and free love more than Beatles co-founder, John Lennon. At the height of 'Beatlemania', he seemed to be loved by all. All except one. On the night of December 8th 1980, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon four times, then sat down to read J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" until police arrived. Why would someone want to kill a man as peaceful as John Lennon? Why didn't a...

In this episode, we find out why medicine bottles are so hard to open. In 1982, seven people died by ingesting Tylenol laced with potassium cyanide. Who would poison pain reliever medicine? Was it a disgruntled ex-Tylenol employee? Was it a crazy blackmailer out for revenge? Was it the UNABOMBER?? Unfortunately we still don't know because the case remains unsolved to this day. Meaning whoever did...

Our first episode! We're kicking it off with the very famous case of Scott and Laci Peterson! Laci was 8 months pregnant when she went missing on Christmas Eve in 2002, her husband Scott was the main (and seemingly ONLY) suspect for much of the case. We discuss the details of the case, the possibility that Scott Peterson is actually Guy Feiri, and the parallels with the David Fincher movie "Gone G...