Crime Writers On...

Teenager Tina Resch made news in the 1980s with stories of supernatural disturbances in her Ohio home. The so-called “Poltergeist Girl” was the focus of academics who wanted to research her powers and skeptics who believed the whole thing was an act. As an adult now going by Christina Boyer, the young mother returned from work to find her three year old Amber fatally injured while in the care of h...

On this CWO Classic, we revisit our October 20, 2017 split-decision review of Accused season 2.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com. This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio . Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of per...

After Susan Woods’s killer died from cancer, his diary about the 1987 case was discovered. The 30 year old woman was murdered in her Stephenville, Texas home. Family and friends were convinced the killer was her estranged husband, Michael. Had Stephenville police taken the story of a teenage rape victim more seriously, they might have spotted a big clue to the killer’s identity. But it would take...

On this CWO Classic, we revisit the panel's December 16, 2019 review of Ronan Farrow's "Catch and Kill." For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com. This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio . Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and us...

In 1992, authorities were slow to make connections between separate murders. A pair of affluent, but closeted men disappeared after leaving New York City gay bars, their dismembered bodies later discovered in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. As more men were killed, gay activists tried to sound the alarm that someone was stalking club-goers. But New York police were indifferent to the crimes and hosti...

On this CWO Classic, we revisit our February 24, 2017 review of "Missing Richard Simmons," the first of six episodes dedicated to the groundbreaking podcast series. The panel heralded the arrival of Dan Taberski as a fresh, new voice  in the industry. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com. This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers...

No one has seen Gabriel Johnson since 2009, when his mother took the eight month old from her home in Arizona to Texas. In the middle of a custody dispute with her ex, Elizabeth Johnson told him she smothered the baby and threw his body in the garbage. When she returned home, Elizabeth had a different story. She said she gave Gabriel up in a black market adoption in San Antonio - a transaction fac...

On this CWO Classic, we revisit of February 3, 2017 review of the scary, provocative HBO documentary, "Beware the Slenderman." It looks at the case of two young girls who stabbed their friend to appease a modern-day internet boogeyman. The panel is split but agrees on one thing: don't watch this one in the dark. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at cr...

Patients at a Yale fertility clinic complained of severe pain during common egg retrieval procedures. Despite nurses’ insistence they’ve received the maximum dosage of fentanyl, the women continued to suffer, unaware they were actually receiving a simple saline solution. After a tampered vial was discovered, authorities arrested an addicted nurse who’d been swapping out the opioid. But the many pa...

On this CWO Classic, we look back at our December 9, 2016 review of "Crimetown." Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier take us to Providence, Rhode Island, a city where organized crime corrupted every aspect of public life. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com. This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio . Click to fi...

Leon Benson says he’s innocent of the 1998 murder of Kasey Schoen, who was shot in his truck in Indianapolis. Despite his alibi, no motive, and a lack of physical evidence, Leon was convicted based on a cross-racial identification from 150 feet at night. Attorney Lara Bazelon looks for clues to winning Leon’s exoneration. Was evidence about alternative suspects withheld? And should Bazelon’s team...

Fresh off the news of an arrest in the Long Island serial killer case, we go back to March 23, 2020 for the panel's review of Netflix's film adaptation of "Lost Girls" staring Amy Ryan. Does this two-hour dramatization of Bob Kolker's excellent book live up to the expansive source material? For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com. This...

In 1988, twenty-two year old Jane Boroski was attacked at a soda vending machine. The seven-month-pregnant New Hampshire woman was stabbed 27 times and left for dead. Boroski is believed to be the last victim and only survivor of the Connecticut River Valley Killer, a suspect who murdered at least seven women between 1978 and ‘88. Decades later, the question remains why did he kill and where did h...

America was fascinated with the lives of the Duggars, a devout Christian family with 19 children and their own reality TV show. While they projected an image of wholesomeness on screen, off screen the Duggars tried to cover up allegations their son Josh had molested his sisters. The Duggars’ views on marriage, education, and childrearing were formed by the Institute of Basic Life Principles, a rad...

Jared Fogle became the pitchman for Subway after his unconventional sandwich diet helped him lose 245 pounds. While on a promotional tour, Fogle shocked a local radio host with a sexual comment about children. Rochelle Herman began taping their phone calls, hoping to record the celebrity’s fascination with pedophilia.   While Herman helped an FBI investigation, Fogle’s business associate Russell T...

When a Texas Ranger asked Larry Driskill if he could help solve a cold case, he agreed to talk to him. But Ranger James Holland accused him of killing Bobbie Sue Hill in 2005. After two days of intense interrogation, Driskill wondered if maybe he did do it and walked into a confession. Holland is revered for his talent at getting confessions, even though he uses questionable techniques like decept...

While touring a building that had been a defunct swingers club, Margie Cantrell’s foster children said they’d been there before. As Margie helped police with questioning, the children said adults made them dance and have sex with each other. Seven people were charged with grooming and exploiting them for money. But there was no evidence nor adult witnesses who could corroborate the claims. Did the...

After Sue Knight’s body was found in her home, a past acquaintance was stunned she named him executor of her estate. While Steve Barksdale was settling her affairs, the Texas man received a mysterious phone call from the CIA. The Barksdales tried to set aside suspicions that the unassuming British ex-pat and pistol marksman was a spy. But a warning from a local sheriff made him think he should sto...

Michael and Kristine Barnett thought they were adopting a six-year-old little person with a disability from Ukraine. But Natalia had the physical traits of an adult, including pubic hair and a period. Soon the family lived in fear as the girl was threatening to harm them. The Barnetts petitioned a court to declare her an adult and they moved Natalia to her own apartment to live on her own. But pol...

In 2017, Deven Grey claimed self-defense when she shot and killed her abusive partner in a remote trailer in rural Alabama. Instead of freedom, she was handed a “blind plea” – an option to take an unknown sentence in exchange for pleading guilty. Deven’s 15-year sentence became the final link in a chain of generational trauma, coercive control, and a broken justice system. How did this academic st...

In 1987, Jennifer Pandos vanished from her Virginia home after a quarrel with her father. Her mother discovered a suspicious note from someone claiming Jennifer had willingly left with her, though she never returned. After odd behavior, flunked polygraphs, and accusatory handwriting analysis, Stephen Pandos believed his parents were involved in her disappearance and had covered up the crime for ye...

Amanda Riley was known as a loving stepmother, devoted church member and an inspiration to an online community that followed her cancer journey. Her upbeat attitude in the face of a terminal diagnosis won her emotional and financial support from admirers far and wide. But despite her intricate medical details and convincing photos, a reporter became suspicious of Amanda’s back and forth stories of...

On June 3, 2017, two FBI agents arrived at the home of Reality Winner, an Arabic language translator with a top secret security clearance. While a team executed a search warrant, the pair gently quizzed the 25-year-old about documents she viewed and whether she may have mishandled classified material. The agents asked Reality whether she sent secret military documents to online journalists who pub...

Emma Mannion told police she was raped in a car by a fellow University of Alabama student. When investigators said her story wasn’t credible, she reluctantly recanted her claim. That’s when cops arrested and prosecuted her for filing a false report. Journalist Rachel De Leon discovered a nationwide pattern of law enforcement using deceptive interview techniques to break the victim’s resolve, then...

Teenage Shauna and her stranded soccer teammates face death during the brutal winter after their plane crash in the wilderness. As the birth of Shauna’s baby approaches, the Yellowjackets are desperate for food. Meanwhile, Lottie emerges as a spiritual leader, getting the team to connect to the supernatural powers of the forest.   Back in present day, the police home in on Shauna and her family fo...