Cup of Coffee and Crime

Some questions never have answers. In this Season Break Bitesize episode, we're looking at two heartbreaking cases involving children who committed unimaginable crimes against members of their own family. First, we explore the tragic deaths of Ethan and Kaitlin Austin, a case that left investigators unable to find a clear motive and a family searching for answers they'll likely never have. Then we...

Darlene Gentry looked like she had it all. A loving husband, three young children, and the kind of life that seemed picture-perfect from the outside. But when Keith Gentry was found shot in the head inside their Texas home, investigators quickly realised the danger hadn't come from a stranger. It had been living under the same roof all along. Omaima Nelson's marriage lasted just three weeks. What...

Liam Smith was 38, a father of two, living a quiet life in Wigan, England. When he stepped outside his front door on a cold November evening and never made it back inside, nothing about it made sense. What followed revealed a brief connection that traced back years, to a single date that should have meant nothing. But somewhere along the line, the story changed. And so did the person telling it. A...

Mark van Dongen was twenty-nine, living in Bristol, England, and building a life he’d worked hard for. When his relationship with Berlinah Wallace began to break down, it was complicated. Drawn out. Difficult to leave. Until one night, everything changed. Mark survived what followed. But survival came at a cost that would reshape every part of his life, and raise questions that don’t have easy ans...

Devonte Hart was twelve when a photo of him hugging a police officer went viral. A Black child and a white police officer. A moment of connection in a time of tension. But behind that image was a very different reality. A family that appeared devoted, vocal about justice, and committed to raising six children they had adopted from the foster care system. Inside the home, there were warning signs....

Mee Kuen "Deborah" Chong had spent decades building a quiet life in London. She was independent, deeply faithful, and known for her generosity. So when she formed a close friendship with someone from her church, there was no reason to question it. At first, it looked like support. Then guidance. Then something more. Behind closed doors, conversations about faith slowly became conversations about m...

Sarah Ludemann was eighteen. Close with her family, focused on her future, and not someone who chased drama, until she met someone who brought it with him. The relationship was complicated. Then messy. Then deadly. Behind the scenes, there was someone else. Another girl who thought she was the only one. At first, it looked like typical teenage drama. Arguments. Jealousy. Messages sent in anger. Th...

Hatton Garden, London’s jewellery district, is a place where, behind unmarked doors and beneath the street, millions of pounds’ worth of diamonds, gold, and cash sit locked away in safety deposit boxes. So when one of the area’s most secure vaults was breached over the Easter holiday weekend in 2015… it didn’t make sense. There were no alarms that stopped them. No immediate suspects. And no sign o...

Helen Bailey, a successful children’s author, had rebuilt her life after the loss of her husband. She’d even found love again. But then she abruptly disappeared from her home in Hertfordshire, England. Along with her dog, Boris. According to her partner, she’d gone away for a few days. Needed space. Time to herself. But the more time passed, the less that story made sense. Helen hadn’t told anyone...

When twelve-year-old Ashley Pond disappeared on her way to school in Oregon City, it was first believed she might have run away. But when her friend Miranda Gaddis vanished just weeks later under nearly identical circumstances, that explanation no longer held. Both girls lived in the same apartment complex. Both were last seen heading to the bus stop. And neither ever made it there. What began as...

Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were nine years old and best friends, living just three doors apart. One afternoon, they went out to play...but they never came home. When they were found the next day, police quickly focused on a man who had been seen nearby. He was arrested, charged, and brought to trial. But… he was found not guilty . Three years later, he would attack another child. It would ta...

Megan Barroso was 20 years old, living in a quiet California community, and spending the Fourth of July with friends at the beach. Hours later, she set off on the short drive home. She never made it. Her car was found abandoned beneath a highway overpass, engine still running, her belongings left behind. Inside, there were signs of violence that immediately told investigators something was very wr...

Sixteen-year-old Claire Tiltman left home one evening in Greenhithe to visit a friend just minutes away. It was a short walk along streets she had known her whole life. Except,she never arrived. What followed was a huge investigation, witnesses who reported hearing screams, and a case that would haunt the community for more than two decades… until detectives uncovered the distu...

Twenty-three-year-old Marine Todd Sommer was young, healthy, and just living life with his wife and their children in San Diego, California. So when he suddenly became violently ill and died in the early hours of the morning, the explanation seemed tragic but simple. A sudden cardiac event. A devastating loss for a young family. But months later, new testing would raise a chilling possibility: Poi...

Holly Bramley was 26 when she disappeared from the flat she shared with her husband in Lincoln, England. He said she had walked out after an argument. But inside their home, police found evidence that told a very different story. What followed was an investigation that uncovered coercive control, calculated deception, and a pattern of behaviour far darker than anyone around them had realised. ★ If...

Brittany Stykes was 22 years old, pregnant, and driving along a familiar stretch of road in Brown County, Ohio, with her young daughter in the car beside her. She was heading to see her family. Except she never arrived. Somewhere along U.S. Route 68, someone opened fire on her vehicle in what investigators later described as a targeted attack. Brittany was killed. Her unborn child died. And her 14...

Amber Gibson had survived a childhood shaped by instability, trauma, and years in care. Despite that, she was a kind, creative teenager who was still trying to build a “normal” life. So when, aged sixteen, she went out one evening in Hamilton, Scotland, to meet someone she trusted, there was no reason to believe she wouldn’t come home. But she never did. What followed would uncover a devastating b...

Mary Stauffer was a schoolteacher and mother living a quiet life in Saint Paul, Minnesota. So when she and her eight-year-old daughter Beth disappeared in May 1980, it made no sense. What followed was a fifty-three-day ordeal of captivity at the hands of a man whose obsession had been building for years. But why? As police searched for answers, another family was facing an unthinkable loss, unawar...

Helen McCourt was twenty-two years old, known for her routines and her reliability. Living at home in Merseyside, England, she worked full time, stayed close to her family, and was looking forward to a night out with a new boyfriend. When Helen stepped off a bus just a few hundred yards from her front door and never made it home, panic set in quickly. This wasn’t a disappearance that made sense. T...

Ben Renick was known for breeding snakes, something most people are terrified of. From a farm in rural Missouri, he built a successful reptile business and a life with his family. When Ben was found dead inside his own reptile facility, the assumption seemed obvious. But it was wrong. Ben had been shot eight times. The investigation that followed exposed a case far more complicated than it first a...

Nine-year-old  Daniel Handley  was last seen riding his bike on a quiet East London estate. Friendly, trusting, and well known in the neighbourhood, there was no reason to think he was in danger. Then he didn’t come home. Months later, the truth emerged far from London, revealing a crime shaped by fantasy, planning, and devastating cruelty. ★ To see todays case photos head over to the Cu...

Rick and Susie Wamsley appeared to have everything; a stable marriage, a comfortable life, and a quiet home in suburban Texas. In December 2003, they were found brutally murdered inside that home. There was no forced entry. Nothing stolen. And it quickly became clear this wasn’t a random crime. As investigators dug deeper, a killer's resentment and entitlement was exposed, along with a plan that h...

Jenny Nicholl was nineteen. On a warm summer evening in June 2005, she kissed her mother goodbye, picked up her camping gear, and promised she would be home the next day. She never was. Her disappearance left behind more questions than answers. Her car was found abandoned. Personal belongings were hidden in woodland. And days later, text messages arrived claiming she had run away and started a new...

Motherhood is often seen as a guarantee of safety. A bond that protects without question. But in rare and devastating cases, that "guarantee" falls apart completely. This episode of a Cup of Coffee and Crime examines two troubling cases, both involving mothers, but unfolding in very different ways. In Utah, a garage exposes years of secrecy, addiction, and violence at the hands of Megan Huntsman,...

A high school teacher in Massachusetts. A first-grade teacher in Virginia. Two educators who dedicated their lives to their students, and two acts of violence that shattered the sense of safety inside the classroom. In this episode of  Cup of Coffee and Crime , we look at the murder of 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer in 2013, and the 2023 shooting of 25-year old teacher Abby Zwerner. Through both...