Cup of Coffee and Crime

In 1993, two-year-old James Bulger was abducted from a Liverpool shopping centre by Robert Thompson and Jon Venables; a crime that horrified Britain and remains one of the most infamous true crime cases in UK history. But few remember James Riley, the fourteen-year-old local boy who discovered James Bulger’s body on the railway line in Walton. Decades later, his...

Sativa Transue was 26, on a Thanksgiving trip to Cancún, Mexico, when her boyfriend, Taylor Allen, turned a dream holiday into a scene of horror. Ellie Gould was 17, revising for her exams in Wiltshire, England, when her ex-boyfriend, Thomas Griffiths, arrived at her home and ended her life. Two countries. Two women. One devastating pattern of coercive control and violence that crossed borders and...

In this bitesize episode, I’m sharing the  victim stories  of Nichole Bradshaw and Serenity McKinney — two young girls whose lives were taken by their mothers. Their cases are heartbreaking reminders of how trust can turn to tragedy, and why some stories stay with you long after you’ve told them. A short but important episode in this season’s break, honouring two lives that should never...

I'm back with a season break, bonus bitesize episode. Two stories, both beginning with a single word: no. In Sydney, Australia, Jessica Camilleri was a young woman battling her own struggles, but when her mother Rita refused her demands, Jessica’s rage spiraled into unimaginable violence. And in Wales, 18-year-old Lily Sullivan was out with friends, full of life, when she encountered a man who ref...

"I want Jana killed by Tuesday”. Six words allegedly caught on tape. Six words that saw a man sentenced to life for attempted murder. Six words, though, that a jury never actually heard. So how, and why, was Dimitri Rozenman found guilty? He says he’s innocent, but the courts disagree. In this week’s exclusive episode, and the season 5 finale, I’ll tell his story, and you’ll hear directly from him...

This weeks season 5 finale is not to be missed! ★ To see todays case photos head over to the Cup of Coffee and Crime Facebook Discussion Group ★ To support the show and keep me caffeinated, you are now able to Buy Me a Coffee :) ★ Taking a few minutes to complete a quick survey is such a huge way to help http://bit.ly/cupofcoffeeandcrime-survey Music from #Uppbeat : https://uppbeat.io/t/ak/midnigh...

Four babies. Four unexplained deaths. To the outside world, Kathleen Folbigg looked like a mother cursed with unbearable tragedy. But suspicion crept in, and her private diaries, filled with grief, guilt, and frustration, were read as confessions. Labeled Australia’s worst female serial killer, she spent two decades behind bars. Then science revealed a different story. Genetic mutations in her chi...

Tom and Jackie Hawks had built the life they’d always wanted, trading land for sea, and a house for the open waters. Their boat was more than a vessel; it was freedom, a reward after years of hard work and raising a family. But when they decided it was time to let go of that dream, they never imagined the buyers would come with more than buying a boat in mind. What began as the sale of their belov...

Julie Ann “Jaja” Rodelas was just twenty years old, balancing college, part-time modeling, and dreams of making it in the TV world. Then one night in November 2012, she went out with a friend she trusted, and never came home. Hours later, her body was found in Quezon City, Philippines, sparking a murder case that would expose uncovered secrets, jealousy, and a betrayal close to home, all solved th...

When Jack and Linda Myers were murdered in their Darke County, Ohio, farmhouse, the only witness was their four-year-old great-grandson. His pyjama-clad walk to a nearby church began a case that stretched from a quiet farm to a riverbank, uncovering a truth as devastating as it was deliberate. ★ To see todays case photos head over to the Cup of Coffee and Crime Facebook Discussion Group ★ To suppo...

Daniel Green was a dedicated father, a steady presence in his son’s life, and determined to move forward after a turbulent marriage. But his split from Erika Sandoval hadn’t settled into peace. Even apart, they were caught in a toxic pull; a cycle of jealousy, resentment, and brief reconciliations that neither seemed able to escape. When Daniel was found dead in his home, suspicion quickly turned...

Johnny Altinger wasn’t reckless. He didn’t take chances, didn’t skip plans, didn’t just disappear. So when he vanished after a first date with a woman he’d met online, his friends knew something was wrong. What began with a gut feeling soon spiraled into a case stranger than fiction, one that led police to a rented garage, and the warped imagination of an aspiring filmmaker obsessed with a fiction...

Greer Lawrance was just 20 years old; kind,thoughtful, full of life, and deeply loved by those who knew her. She knew her worth, and had walked away from a relationship that had turned toxic, choosing peace over chaos and control. But when a man refuses to accept the word "no," even the safest places can become the most dangerous. In this shorter episode, I explore not only Greer's case, but what...

Valerie Jackson didn’t have an easy life, but she kept trying to make the best of it; for herself and for her children. Caught between two volatile men, she moved back and forth, hoping each time for peace, for change, for a fresh start. It wasn’t simple. The choices she made weren’t always safe, but they were human, shaped by pressure, control, and fear that rarely showed on the surface. When eve...

She was 94 years old, a strong, determined grandmother battling dementia. Yet despite her diagnosis, Mary Gregory’s independent spirit meant she continued living alone in her modest bungalow in Lancashire, England. When a house fire tragically claimed her life in May 2018, it was written off as nothing more than a heartbreaking accident—a sad end to a long and well-loved life. But just one year la...

She was kind, dependable, and loved by those who knew her, a devoted mother whose world revolved around her family; especially her youngest son. But just days before Christmas, 54-year-old Carol-Anne Taggart vanished from her home in Dunfermline, Scotland. The house was quiet, her phone unanswered… and her car was gone. As concern grew, so did suspicion. Her son reported her missing, but his story...

She was vibrant, and full of potential. A little girl who dreamed of becoming a doctor, who wrote about love, hope, and perseverance in the pages of her pink diary. But behind the words and her radiant smile, 8-year-old Gizzell Ford was fighting to survive in a world no child should ever know. When authorities finally opened the door to her grandmother’s apartment, what they uncovered was devastat...

She worked in a slaughterhouse, was known for her violent streak—and yet, somehow, people kept giving Katherine Knight another chance. In a small town in New South Wales, Australia, one man thought he could handle her. But behind the smiles and second chances was a rage that had been allowed to continue for years… but when it exploded this time, it did so in a way no one could have imagined. In th...

They were young, in love, and barely a year into marriage when someone walked in and took their future. Rick and Gail Brink were settling into the rhythms of newlywed life in rural Michigan when they were suddenly found murdered, execution-style, in their home. No signs of a break-in. No forced entry. Just silence, and two lives cut short. The investigation stretched decades, through dead ends, re...

Life had never come easy for 27 year old Kenny Bunn.. He didn't fit the mould in his conservative Southern town. He craved connection, a second chance at happiness, maybe even love. And that desperation? It was noticed. And it was used. When his ex-girlfriend called one March night, Kenny answered. What he didn’t know was that the past wasn’t reaching out for closure, or reconciliation—it was sett...

Two young women. Two disappearances. Years apart, but eerily connected. Rori Hache was vibrant, full of life, and just 18 when she vanished in 2017 in Oshawa, Canada. Kandis Fitzpatrick disappeared nearly a decade earlier—but her name wouldn’t resurface until much later. What do these two girls have in common? And why did it take so long for one of their stories to be truly heard? In this episode...

She appeared to be a typical grandmother. He was her husband, David Jackson—a retired Army veteran. So how did bubble and squeak end in murder? What unfolded one quiet February evening in 2021 shocked their sleepy Somerset, England community—and soon, the entire country. A 999 call no one expected. A calm confession. And a question that lingered long after the trial ended: was she pushed too far,...

In this episode of  Cup of Coffee and Crime , I delve into the haunting true story of identical twins Sunny and Jeena Han—two sisters bound by blood but torn apart by jealousy, control, and betrayal. Known as the “Han twins murder plot,” this real-life case gripped the nation in the 1990s and has since become one of the most shocking examples of sibling rivalry turned criminal. Raised in Sout...

At just 16, Suzanne Capper was a girl with her whole life ahead of her. But in December 1992, she became the victim of a horrifying crime that would shock a nation. Held and tortured for days by people she once trusted, Suzanne’s story is one of unimaginable cruelty and twisted motives. In this episode, I uncover the dark and disturbing events behind her final days—and the chilling "reasons" behin...

The Real-Life Dexter? Pedro Filho, Brazil’s Most Notorious Vigilante Killer, claimed to only kill the bad guys—drug dealers, rapists, abusers. By the time he was a teenager, he'd already taken his first life. By the time he was captured, that number had skyrocketed. In a world where justice sometimes feels out of reach, Pedro Rodrigues Filho—better known as Pedro Filho or “Pedrinho Matador”—took m...