Criminally Obsessed

ALEX MURDAUGH'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY OPENS UP: Anne Emerson sits down with Murdaugh defense attorney Dick Harpootlian, who says he’s never stopped believing Alex Murdaugh is innocent of the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. Harpootlian shares what he claims former Clerk of Court Becky Hill told jurors during the original 2023 trial, and reveals the defense already has what he calls “great st...

When Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson learned that Alex Murdaugh's convictions for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, were overturned, she immediately went to Maggie’s gravesite.  She needed to sit in silence at the resting place for one of her closest friends.  Our Criminally Obsessed host, investigative reporter Anne Emerson, spent six weeks reporting on the original murder trial back in 20...

Alex Murdaugh is getting a new murder trial. On May 13, the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex's double murder convictions in the June 2021 killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. How did this happen? How did we wind up at this stunning update? The justices ruled that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced jurors during the 2023 trial, cal...

A 16-year-old girl is accused of murdering her mother, father, and grandmother in the North Carolina home they shared. The girl's 28-year-old boyfriend has also been charged. The family had been trying to keep this older man away from their daughter and was about to get the police involved.  Travis Grant, Kimberly Grant, and Sharon Grant were found shot to death inside their Fairview, North Caroli...

Serial killer Rex Heuermann will be sentenced in June for killing and dismembering eight women on Long Island, New York. Now, we’re venturing into the dark psyche of a human being capable of such brutality, to ask the question… Why? In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, we sit down with forensic psychologist Dr. John Delatorre to break down the mindset of a serial killer, from what drives their...

What would you do if your ex-husband, the father of your child, confessed to being a serial killer? That’s the reality Asa Ellerup faces after Rex Heuermann, the Gilgo Beach serial killer, admitted to murdering and dismembering multiple women in the home they shared. In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, we take a closer look at Asa’s account revealed in the Peacock documentary The Gilgo Beach K...

The details of Celeste Rivas Hernandez’s murder just keep getting darker. We’re now confronted with disturbing facts uncovered in the preliminary hearing evidence brief for the accused killer, David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd. They’re things you can’t unhear… the court document reveals he purchased an inflatable kiddie pool to contain her blood, stood by while she bled to death, and returned to...

His brother was murdered, and he thinks he knows why.  27-year-old Zamil Limon and his girlfriend, 27-year-old Nahida Bristy - both University of South Florida doctoral students from Bangladesh - were brutally murdered and left in garbage bags. Zamil's roommate, Hisham Abugharbieh, has been arrested and charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder. The question on the minds of their...

One month later, where is Lynette Hooker? She disappeared in the Bahamas on April 4th after her husband, Brian Hooker, said she fell from their dinghy near Elbow Cay, but let's face it, does anyone REALLY believe him? In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, we explore new theories about where her body could have been hidden and how evidence may have been destroyed, but what could still be left beh...

A couple vanishes and a week later, they’re found dead in the most disturbing way. In Tampa, 27-year-old Zamil Limon and his girlfriend, 27-year-old Nahida Bristy - both University of South Florida doctoral students - were discovered in black garbage bags, one on a bridge and the other in the water. Their families are left devastated and begging to know why this happened. Police say a trail of evi...

Nick Reiner is accused of stabbing his parents to death… but did he know what he was doing? In this episode, investigative reporter Anne Emerson is joined by Dr. Joni Johnston, a forensic psychologist and expert witness on insanity pleas, to discuss the psychological side of the shocking killings of Rob and Michele Reiner in Los Angeles in December 2025.  As Nick appeared in court today - quiet, e...

What kind of person kills a 14-year-old girl, dismembers her, and hides her remains inside a Tesla? That’s the disturbing question at the center of the case against singer David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd, who is accused of murdering Celeste Rivas Hernandez after she was last seen outside his Los Angeles home.  In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, we explore the disturbing psychology of the a...

What happened to 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez? As new details emerge, this case only gets more disturbing. Months after her body was discovered in Los Angeles inside a Tesla linked to singer David Anthony Burke (known as D4vd), the newly-released medical examiner’s report reveals the horrific way this child was murdered. What we’re learning is hard to process, adding to the outrage as we aw...

Nearly three weeks after Lynette Hooker went missing, the questions are only growing. She fell off a dinghy in the Bahamas on the evening of April 4, 2026 according to her husband, Brian Hooker. We’ve been following this case closely - speaking with people who know and love Lynette like her daughter, Karli, learning from a forensic diver about the complications of water investigations, hearing fro...

It’s a case that’s been occupying so many of our minds, and a situation that’s nearly unimaginable. When Lynette Hooker vanished after allegedly going overboard while sailing in the Bahamas with her husband Brian Hooker on April 4, 2026, her daughter was left without answers.  When we cover these stories, we want to speak to the real people involved, to learn what’s really happening beyond the hea...

The case of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez is unraveling before our eyes like a real-life horror movie. The teenager was last seen in April 2025, and then found dismembered in the trunk of a Tesla in Los Angeles in September 2025. That Tesla belonged to rising music artist, David Anthony Burke, known as D4vd. Now, he faces first-degree murder charges with shocking special circumstances. In th...

How do you investigate a disappearance when it happens in the open water? Lynette Hooker has now been missing for more than two weeks after reportedly going overboard from a dinghy. She was sailing with her husband, Brian Hooker, near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas - despite media attention and investigation efforts, there are still no answers. With no body recovered and few clues, law enforcement is fa...

What really happened to Lynette Hooker? The woman who reportedly went overboard near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas has still not been found, and questions and suspicions are only growing. Her husband, Brian Hooker, says strong winds and rough water separated them on April 4th, but his version of events isn’t sitting right with Lynette’s daughter, his friends, or experts looking at the case.  In this ep...

“There’s not a lot of room for escape.” Anna Kepner was asphyxiated in her cruise ship cabin back on November 7, 2025—a cabin she was sharing with her 16-year-old step-brother while on a family vacation. The 18-year-old cheerleader's body was found under the mattress. The step-brother, who is yet to be officially identified, has now been indicted as an adult by a federal grand jury for murder and...

Where is Lynette Hooker… and what REALLY happened? Ten days after she allegedly went overboard a dinghy in the Bahamas, there’s still no sign of her - no body, no witnesses, no clear answers. Rumors, suspicions, and accusations continue to spiral against Lynette’s husband who was with her, Brian Hooker. He’s now been released by police without charges, but his story has raised serious questions. I...

Serial Killer Ted Bundy is back in the headlines - but this time, it’s bringing long-awaited answers in a 51-year-old cold case. 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime was found beaten, bound, and left on the side of a highway after disappearing in Utah in 1974. DNA has now confirmed what investigators and her family long suspected: Bundy was responsible for killing this beloved daughter, sister, and friend. ...

Yesterday, on April 8th 2026, the world watched as Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to the killings of eight women on Long Island, New York. Investigative reporter Kristin Thorne watched in real time, in court with the man we can now call the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer.  She takes us into that room and explains what it was like - Rex Heuermann’s “overly confident” demeanor as he confirms his killings,...

We now know what many of us have long suspected - Rex Heuermann IS the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer.  Today, Wednesday April 8th, 2026, Heuermann pleaded guilty to strangling eight women on Long Island, New York. We anticipated a guilty plea to the murders of seven women, but he also pleaded guilty to intentionally causing the death of an eighth victim, Karen Vergata. He will be sentenced on June 17t...

Newly released jailhouse bodycam video is raising questions - and eyebrows - about the mental state and belief system of “doomsday mom” Lori Vallow Daybell. The footage from July 2025 shows her being cited for contraband in prison, including M&Ms, gum, and self-proclaimed “miracle” toothpaste that appeared after she prayed for it. Vallow Daybell is serving time for murdering her two children, Tyle...

If South Carolina's Supreme Court Justices decide to overturn Alex Murdaugh's double murder conviction, what happens next? And who called Alex in the days after those oral arguments? Investigative Reporter, Anne Emerson filed a FOIA request and will tell you who he spoke with in this episode of Criminally Obsessed. But, as we anxiously await the state Supreme Court's decision, Anne spoke with atto...