Crime Writers On...

A punk rocker is shot in 1982, then his body disappears. A journalist explores whether their mother’s claims of a cover-up are true. We’ll go back to our April 15, 2019 review of the classic podcast series “The Ballad of Billy Balls.” OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE BALLAD OF BILLY BALLS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL SIX MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up...

When teenage Abbi finds herself pregnant, her parents pressure her to go to a maternity home run by Liberty University. There, she’s promised free medical care, college tuition, and counseling on whether to keep her baby or give it up for adoption to a Christian family. But once at the facility, Abbi feels controlled and cut off from her boyfriend - and starts reconsidering her adoption plans. She...

Investigative reporters journey into the darkest part of the dark web in pursuit of a child pornographer. We’ll go back to our November 25, 2019 review of “Hunting Warhead” from CBC Podcasts and Norwegian newspaper VG. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "HUNTING WARHEAD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL FIVE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon . Sign up for our newsletter at cri...

The 1991 trans culture documentary “Paris is Burning” featured Venus Xtravaganza, a vogue performer who was murdered before the film premiered. Decades later, the Pellagatti family embark on a journey to solve her death while learning more about the way she lived her life.  Her brothers take up the unfinished business of legally changing Venus’s name and closing her cold case. But are they ready t...

Who’s ready for a “number two”? America’s favorite true crime teenagers return to investigate who is the Turd Burglar? We’ll go back to October 7, 2018 for a classic rewind to our review of season two to the Peabody Award-winning comedy series “American Vandal.” OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "AMERICAN VANDAL" SEASON TWO BEGIN IN THE FINAL FIVE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more,...

Max travels from the Philippines to Thailand to take a high-paying job at a casino. But when he arrives, he’s instead taken to a camp in the jungles of Myanmar and put to work in a call center running phone scams across the globe. His sister Charlie learns the only way to get him home is also to work for the syndicate.  In order to meet Max’s quota, his brother joins the labor camp while Charlie t...

In 1989, Canadian serial killer Clifford Olson initiated contact with two journalists, sparking a series of recorded phone calls. Peter Worthington and Arlene Bynon aimed to unravel the psychology of a man who not only murdered eleven children but also persuaded the government to pay him $100,000 in exchange for the locations of their bodies. Suspecting there may be more unidentified victims in th...

In the 80s and 90s, athletes on the Ohio State wrestling team said Doctor Richard Strauss fondled them during physical exams and insinuated himself into their showers. His behavior seemed common knowledge among players and coaches, and the few complaints that were made were brushed aside by the school. Decades later, former athletes from different sports came forward with allegations of Strauss’s...

When Ty’Rique Riley died after a brief stay in the Dauphin County Prison, his family blamed guards who beat and pepper sprayed him with a bag over his head. But the county coroner, best known for his embellished true crime TV show, declared the 29-year-old's death a routine medical incident. It was just the latest in a string of inmate deaths at the jail for which neither guards nor medical staff...

Crusading magazine publisher Chloe Taylor discovers her husband Adam murdered on the floor of their Hamptons beach house. As suspicion turns to their teenage son Ethan, Chloe is reunited with her troubled sister Nicky, who has spent years battling addiction. But their family secret is revealed: before Chloe married Adam, he was married to Nicky and Ethan is her biological son. Is the murder relate...

Returning to the Edinburgh police after surviving a shooting, detective Carl Morck reluctantly takes a new assignment: re-investigate cold cases. He takes up the search for a homicide prosecutor who four years earlier disappeared from a ferry while traveling with her non-verbal brother. With the help of other misfit investigators, Morck digs into Merritt Lingard’s family, her enemies, her connecti...

In the 1980s, David Sconce took over the family funeral home business and expanded it to offer crematory services. But questions were raised among industry rivals over how Sconce was able to cremate the amount of remains he did. Authorities learned Sconce was not only commingling bodies in the chamber, but also robbed families of their loved one’s valuables - and worse. As the revelations came to...

Three older women fell in love online with the same handsome man who popped up in their feeds. Using different names and cover stories, the Romeo scammed them for thousands of dollars, then disappeared. With broken hearts and empty pockets, the women scoured the internet looking for the man who ripped them off. But when they find him in Los Angeles they learn he’s a victim of the scam too. From AB...

In 2000, a series of luxury homes built on the edge of a Phoenix mountain preserve were set ablaze. Graffiti left at the scene hinted that the fires were the work of eco-terrorists taking a stand against new construction and residential development. After a bombshell newspaper interview with the arsonist shook the investigation, police lured a potential suspect into a trap. He was known as an upst...

Jerry Springer and his titular TV show became synonymous with trash entertainment, serving up daily episodes of sensational confrontations and bad behavior. But the host began his public life as a progressive local politician whose career was nearly derailed by a sex scandal. After a stint as a Cincinnati anchorman, Springer became one among a crowded field of new daytime talk shows. His program r...

At a maximum security prison in Licking, MO, a select group of inmates take part in a restorative justice program in which they make quilts for foster children. The incarcerated men work in a special sewing room, using donated material to make the intricate, customized blankets. In this quiet setting, the men support each other as they craft quilts of surprising artistry. Several say the project i...

Seven years after his release, former juvenile lifer David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez is thriving as an inmate advocate and emerging podcaster. But despite his successes, he struggles with his new reality of supervised freedom and time lost in prison.  Journalist Maria Hinojosa also attempts to balance her often-fraught relationship with a longtime friend who’s also her interview subject.  Meanwhile, a...

Jason Corbett was the widowed father of two young children when he began a relationship with his American au pair, Molly Martens. They moved from Ireland to North Carolina to start a new life. But it came to a violent end after Molly and her father killed Jason with a baseball bat and a brick, claiming self-defense. As authorities charged the pair with murder, the Corbett family said the attack wa...

In 2000, a group of career criminals known for their audacious heists gets recruited for what would be the biggest robbery in history. Lee Wenham and his crew draw up a plan to steal the world’s largest diamond on display for the public at London’s Millennium Dome.   As the thieves work out how to thwart guards, vaults, and impregnable glass, an elite police unit has been monitoring their plans. W...

While writing his latest #MeToo-related story, Ronan Farrow reaches out to a wealthy and histrionic aging beauty queen who’s made allegations against a powerful politician. As he tries to decide whether CeCe Doane is a credible source, he learns the woman is connected to a jewel heist, an arson, and murder attempts on two husbands. Intrigued by the colorful figure, Farrow switches his focus to CeC...

When Jeremy Scott confessed that he - and not Leo Schofield - murdered Michelle Schofield in 1987, the state of Florida refused to believe him. Journalist Gilbert King’s quest to exonerate Leo drew him closer into Jeremy’s background and the family who drifted away from him. Convinced the key to clearing Leo’s name included proving Jeremy’s involvement in a separate unsolved murder, King doubled d...

TV make-up artist Melissa Reed is trying to keep a family secret: her father is the infamous Happy Face Killer. But Keith Hunter Jesperson lures her back into his life with a startling confession: a man in Texas is about to be executed for a murder he committed.  Melissa and a TV producer look for evidence Jesperson killed Heather Richmond to exonerate her boyfriend, Elijah. While those around the...

When he was 14, “Gareth” began a sexual relationship with his attractive science teacher at his North London school. Students spread rumors and adults minimized the gravity of the relationship, saying Gareth had lived out every teen’s fantasy of sleeping with an older woman. After struggling with his emotions and mental health for thirty-five years, Gareth came to realize Sally-Anne Bowen wasn’t h...

The Barnett family agrees to a hasty adoption of a seven-year-old girl from Ukraine who has dwarfism and other disabilities. But her paperwork is suspiciously incomplete, and Kristine and Michael grow worried about Natalia Grace’s menacing behavior. They come to a shocking conclusion: she’s really an adult impersonating a child. After a court “re-ages” her, the Barnett’s move Natalia into her own...

The celebrity event of the year was the White Party, where stars would gather at the East Hampton mansion of hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. But when most of the crowd went home, others would stay for what Combs called the “freak-off,” a drug-fueled sex party secretly filmed for the musician’s benefit. When his longtime girlfriend, the singer Cassie, sued him for rape, Diddy quickly settled the...