Death and Taxes: A True Crime Podcast

It’s the morning of February 24 2023, and emergency services in Herndon (Fairfax County, Virginia) have just received an abandoned call for help from within a quiet suburban house occupied by the Banfield family. The call is brief - only eight-seconds long - but within it, quiet groans can be heard. When dispatchers phone the Banfield residence back, the family’s au pair answers. From here, police...

It’s Monday December 4th, 1972, in a city called Merced, California. Seven-year-old Steven Stayner has spent an ordinary Monday in elementary school. When his mother arrives at school to collect him, there is no sign of Steven, and it soon becomes clear that Steven has not made it home on foot either. Theme music by MVM Productions.

In the early hours of the 14th February 2013, world record holding athlete Oscar Pistorius phoned emergency services to report that he had fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Steenkamp, a 29 year old paralegal, model and TV presenter had allegedly been mistaken for an intruder within the bathroom of Oscar's own home.  Theme music by MVM Productions.

On the evening of December 9th, 2001, beloved wife and mother Kathleen Peterson is found at the bottom of a staircase in a pool of blood. Accusations are quickly levelled against her husband, Michael Peterson, whose defence claims it was just a tragic accident and that Kathleen had slipped and fallen. This is a case that is still fiercely dissected and debated 25 years later, and is the subject of...

During the 1990s, a Hungarian ice hockey player named Attila Ambrus would become notorious not for his goalkeeping abilities but for committing a string of high-stakes robberies in and around Budapest. Clare presents the fascinating story  of a man who would become known as 'The Whiskey Robber of Hungary'.  Theme music by MVM Productions.

In 1969, the son of a wealthy shoe manufacturer in Brantford, New Hampshire would go missing. Twenty-six years later there would be a major break. Clare recounts this mysterious case, and the questions that haunt the community of Brandtford over half a century later. #jumanji #robinwilliams Theme music by MVM Productions.

On the 25th of February, 2016, academy award winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow was skiing at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, when she claims she was struck from behind by fellow skier, retired optometrist Terry Sanderson. This incident would result in lengthy and highly publicised legal proceedings.  Carrie takes us through a summary of Gwyneth's controversies and scandals, culminating i...

In July of 2011, two mysterious deaths will take place only days apart from one another. Both occur within a renowned and historic beachside mansion (the ’Spreckels Mansion’) in the resort city of Coronado, California.  The incidents are separate, however also seemingly related. This case is considered closed by the local County Sheriff’s Office, however it still intrigues and divides true-crime e...

On the 2nd February 1986, nurse and former pageant queen Anita Cobby finished work at Sydney Hospital at 3pm and met friends for dinner in nearby Redfern. She then boarded a train from Central Railway station heading home. Arriving at Blacktown, she would usually ring her father who would pick her up, however on this day she found all the phones out-of-operation and decided to walk the small dista...

On the 24th October 1997 a dinner party is held in Canberra, Australia. Rumour has it that the young couple hosting this dinner (25-year-old Anu Singh and her 26-year-old boyfriend Joe Cinque) have together chosen to end their lives, and this dinner is to be their unspoken "farewell". Nobody mentions the rumour, and nobody warns Joe. Sources: - Joe Cinque's Consolation, by Helen Gar...

Laci Peterson, the pregnant 27-year-old wife of Scott Peterson, disappeared from her home of Modesto, California, in December 2002. Scott Peterson became a suspect from the outset. Within days, a woman came forward saying that she was having a romantic relationship with Scott Peterson, and that he had claimed he was a widower preparing to spend his first Christmas alone... several weeks before his...

On August 2nd 2006, thirty-two year old Robert Wone was finishing up work late. It was 10:24pm when he cabbed to the residence of a friend whose house he planned on staying at overnight. At 11:49pm, emergency services received a call for help, saying that someone in the residence had been stabbed by an intruder. Sources: The Prosecutors Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-prosecutor...

On the 22nd of November 2024, a group of eleven Lithuanians were attempting a multi-day rafting expedition down Tasmania's Franklin River when disaster struck. Theme music by MVM Productions.

On Sunday March 23 1997, emergency services received a call from 16-year-old Mark Duke, crying uncontrollably and saying "they killed my family". Investigators would find symbols associated with local gangs had been carved into the walls of the family home. Warning: this case contains graphic details and involves crimes against children.  Theme music by MVM Productions.

Benny presents the mysterious and disastrous story about a Broadway musical back in 2012, which will be plagued with problems beyond the usual missed cues, technical glitches, and poor ticket sales. We’re talking about multi-million lawsuits, shadowy figures who will do anything to make sure the production goes ahead, anonymous threats, FBI raids, and the revelation that somebody within its produc...

It’s the very early morning hours of September 23rd 2007, and 20-year-old Matthew Leveson is in Arq nightclub, on Sydney’s Oxford Street. At around 3am, one of Matty's friends realises that he hasn’t seen Matty for a while, and they exchange  a few short text messages. This will be the last communication anybody has with him, and he’ll never be seen alive again. Theme music by MVM Productions...

On a chilly Autumn morning on the 9th October 2009, the Jamison family journeyed into Oklahoma’s San Bois Mountains, where Bobby and Sherilynn were considering buying a 40-acre plot. Nine days later, their truck was found on a remote mud road, with their dog Maisie still inside but alive. Also discovered were the family's ID cards, wallets, mobile phones, GPS system and about US$32,000 in cas...

On the 18th August 1992, Australian schoolgirl Ebony Simpson came home and told her mother that students had received a talk during a school assembly about stranger danger. Ebony's mother recalls "I said to her, if anything ever comes up in your life, if anything ever happens, come home any tell me. Then I read her a story and she went to bed. And the next day, when she went to school, s...

In 1993, three eight-year-old boys (Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers) are reported missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. Their bodies are found the following day.  This case will go on to generate decades of widespread controversy, and will be subject of several documentaries beginning with HBO's 'Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills'. It will be known...

In 1993, three eight-year-old boys (Steve Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers) are reported missing in West Memphis, Arkansas. Their bodies are found the following day.  This case will go on to generate decades of widespread controversy, and will be subject of several documentaries beginning with HBO's 'Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills'. It will be known...

On July 15 2008, Cindy Anthony phoned Orlando police to report that her car had been stolen, and that she wished to bring somebody in to have them placed in police custody. Over the course of multiple calls, it is revealed that the person is her own daughter, 22-year-old Casey Anthony. Furthermore, Casey's 2-year-old daughter Caylee is missing, and has not been seen for 31 days. Clare present...

On July 15 2008, Cindy Anthony phoned Orlando police to report that her car had been stolen, and that she wished to bring somebody in to have them placed in police custody. Over the course of multiple calls, it is revealed that the person is her own daughter, 22-year-old Casey Anthony. Furthermore, Casey's 2-year-old daughter Caylee is missing, and has not been seen for 31 days. Clare present...

It's April 1935 in Sydney, Australia. In Coogee, a beachside suburb in the east, there's a new attraction called the 'Coogee Aquarium Baths'. The owner and his son head out on the harbour determined to bring in Sydney's next must-see attraction: a one-tonne tiger shark. A series of unexpected events will soon occur, leading police to investigate multiple suspected homicide...

Joss Stone is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions. But what does this artist have to do with two men, a map, and a samurai sword? Lizzie covers this fascinating case. Theme music by MVM Productions.

In this bonus episode, Benny covers the 1986 abduction of a toddler by his 16 year old babysitter and half-sister, Sarah Williams. #Labyrinth #DavidBowie #JimHenson #JenniferConnelly Theme music by MVM Productions.