Criminal, Interrupted

In this emotionally charged episode, we explore the heartbreaking case of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, whose life was stolen by someone she trusted, 15-year-old neighbour Alyssa Bustamante. Through detailed research and careful storytelling, we trace Elizabeth’s background, the day she disappeared, the search efforts, and the chilling confession that followed. We examine Alyssa’s troubled upbringin...

In this episode, we explore one of Russia’s most haunting criminal cases, not of murder, but of grave desecration. Anatoly Moskvin, a respected linguist and historian, exhumed the bodies of 29 girls and young women, preserving them in his apartment as life-sized dolls. Content Warning: This episode contains sensitive content involving child victims and grave desecration. Listener discretion is adv...

In this episode, we examine the chilling case of Christopher Coleman, a man who murdered his wife Sheri and their two young sons, Garett and Gavin, in a calculated attempt to protect an extramarital affair and preserve his public image.  Content Warning This episode includes in-depth discussion of homicide, including the deaths of children. Listener discretion is strongly advised. References YEN N...

Between 1971 and 1972, six young Black girls were abducted and murdered in Washington, D.C. Their bodies were found along or near the Anacostia Freeway. The press called the killer the “Freeway Phantom.” More than fifty years later, the case remains unsolved. This podcast revisits the investigation, the lives of the victims, and the questions that still haunt their families and community. Content...

In 2014, two twelve-year-old girls from Waukesha, Wisconsin, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, lured their friend Payton Leutner into the woods and stabbed her nineteen times. Their motive? To appease Slenderman, a fictional internet entity they believed was real.  This episode explores the psychological descent of Morgan and Anissa, the dynamics between the three girls, the planning and execution o...

Episode Description:   On October 1984, 20‑year‑old Southern Methodist University student Angela Samota was known for her bright smile, fearless spirit, and boundless energy. That all ended in the early hours of October 13, when she was found brutally murdered in her Dallas home. For over two decades, her case sat cold, until the persistence of her best friend, Sheila Wysocki, and the power of DNA...

Episode Description:  Kathy Augustine was a trailblazer in Nevada politics, sharp, ambitious, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. But in July 2006, her life came to a sudden and suspicious end. Found unconscious in her Reno home, Kathy’s death was initially ruled a cardiac event. Yet beneath the surface lay a chilling truth: her husband, Chaz Higgs, a critical care nurse, had used his medica...

In this episode, we delve into the chilling case of Sean Vincent Gillis, a serial killer who operated in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, between 1994 and 2004. Unlike the more publicly known offenders of the region, Gillis lurked in the shadows, his crimes marked by a disturbing blend of calculated violence and obsessive documentation. We explore the psychological underpinnings of his behaviour, the inves...

On Australia Day 1966, three siblings, Jane, Arnna, and Grant Beaumont, eft their home in Somerton Park for a short trip to Glenelg Beach. They never returned. What followed was the largest missing persons investigation in Australian history, a case that shattered the nation’s sense of safety and remains unsolved nearly six decades later. This episode contains discussions of child abduction and se...

Amelia Dyer, the woman history remembers as the Reading Baby Farmer, preyed on society’s most vulnerable under the guise of care. In Victorian Britain, she turned the desperation of unwed mothers into profit, leaving a trail of innocent lives lost. This episode unravels the crimes, the trial, and the legacy of one of history’s most prolific killers.

In this episode we explore the extraordinary survival story of Alison Botha. In 1994, Alison was abducted, brutally attacked, and left for dead, but against all odds, she lived to tell her story. This episode walks through the events of that night, the unimaginable violence she endured, and the strength that carried her through recovery. Alison’s courage has inspired countless people around the wo...

In this first episode of  sophieimogene , we look into the heartbreaking case of Elizabeth Reiser and Brandi Hicks—two friends whose night took a terrifying turn in 2000. Elizabeth was tragically murdered, while Brandi managed to survive and later share her story. Told with care and clarity, this episode explores the events leading up to the crime, the chilling details of their abduction, and Bran...