Debate The News: True Crime

In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime, we examine the chilling case of Robert Zarinsky, a convicted New Jersey murderer whose name became tied to some of the Garden State’s most disturbing cold cases. From the disappearance of 17-year-old Rosemary Calandriello, to the murders of Mary Agnes Klinsky and Jane Durrua, to the long-unsolved killing of Rahway police officer Charles Bernoskie, th...

In this episode, we revisit the Gilgo Beach murders after one of the biggest developments in the Long Island Serial Killer case. Rex Heuermann , the Massapequa Park architect accused in multiple killings, recently pleaded guilty to seven charged murders and admitted responsibility for an eighth killing. This episode traces the case from the 1993 murder of Sandra Costilla through the discovery of t...

In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime , we return to the disturbing case of Celeste Rivas Hernandez and singer D4vd , whose legal name is David Anthony Burke . In Part 1, we covered Celeste’s disappearance, her alleged connection to Burke, the discovery of her remains inside a Tesla registered to him, and the search of his Los Angeles rental home. In Part 2, the case has moved from a susp...

In this episode, the hosts are joined by guest host Angiesworld to break down Kaitlin Armstrong & The Murder of Moriah Wilson — the shocking 2022 Austin, Texas murder case that ended the life of elite cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson. What begins as a story about jealousy and a complicated love triangle quickly turns into a digital-age true crime case filled with hidden text threads, deleted me...

In this episode, we dive into the 2017 murder of Swedish freelance journalist Kim Wall, who boarded Danish inventor Peter Madsen’s homemade submarine, the UC3 Nautilus, near Copenhagen, Denmark, for what should have been a routine interview and never came back. What followed was an international missing-person case, gruesome forensic evidence, shifting lies, and one of the most disturbing murder t...

Tara Baker was a 23-year-old first-year law student at the University of Georgia whose life was cut short in a brutal murder that shocked Athens and remained unsolved for more than two decades. In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime , we break down Tara Baker’s final known movements, the crime scene, the long road to justice, the DNA evidence that revived the case, and the arguments raised...

In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime , we break down the Kouri Richins case , the high-profile Utah murder case centered on the death of Eric Richins . Prosecutors argued that Richins poisoned her husband with fentanyl after a marriage marked by financial strain, secret life insurance policies, estate planning disputes, and a failed earlier attempt involving a Valentine’s Day sandwich. T...

In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime, hosts Adrienne Barker & Joseph Lobosco break down the chilling case of David Parker Ray, the man infamously known as “The Toy Box Killer.” This true crime podcast episode explores the 1999 escape of Cynthia Vigil, the hidden trailer near Elephant Butte, New Mexico, and the survivor accounts that exposed one of the most disturbing criminal investi...

Where is Nancy Guthrie? How does an 84-year-old woman with limited mobility vanish overnight from her Catalina Foothills home outside Tucson, Arizona, leaving behind blood evidence, a disconnected front door camera, a pacemaker app that suddenly went dark, and chilling footage of a masked intruder at her front door? In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime , hosts Adrienne Barker and Joseph...

In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime, Joseph Lobosco and Adrienne Barker are joined by guest host Angie of the Angiesworld Podcast to break down the Susan Lorincz case, the killing of Ajike “A.J.” Owens, and the renewed attention surrounding Netflix’s "The Perfect Neighbor" documentary. The conversation traces the years of tension in an Ocala, Florida apartment community, the deadly neig...

What happens when a murder case becomes less about one night and more about conspiracy, bias, planted evidence, and public trust? Was Karen Read framed in the death of John O’Keefe, or did a chaotic investigation and a fierce defense strategy turn a tragedy into a true crime debate that hardened people into camps? In this standalone episode, hosts Adrienne Barker and Joseph Lobosco dig into the mo...

Did Karen Read back her Lexus SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, and leave him to die in the snow during a Canton, Massachusetts blizzard? Or did something happen inside 34 Fairview Road, followed by a rushed investigation, compromised evidence, and an alleged cover-up that turned the courtroom into a public battleground? In the episode, hosts Adrienne Barker and Joseph Lo...

Why did the 2002 Salt Lake City kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart become one of the most unforgettable abduction cases in modern true crime history? How did a crime that began in the upscale Federal Heights neighborhood turn into a national manhunt, a controversial early focus on the wrong suspect, and a years-long fight for justice after Elizabeth was finally found alive? In this episode, hosts Adrie...

In this episode, host Joseph Lobosco is joined by guest host Vashon to unpack The Case of Anne Boleyn — the rise, fall, and execution of England’s most infamous queen, and the chilling questions at the heart of this Tudor-era true crime story. Along the way, we explore how Henry’s obsession with a male heir helped fuel the English Reformation , expand treason law, and weaponize the courts — and wh...

In this episode, hosts Adrienne Barker and Joseph Lobosco dive into Murder in Mississippi: Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington & Ole Miss Student Jimmie “Jay” Lee — the July 2022 disappearance and murder of University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) student Jimmie “Jay” Lee , and the winding path from a missing-person report to a capital murder case, a mistrial, and a shocking guilty plea. From digital evi...

How did Paul Bernardo—Canada’s infamous “Scarborough Rapist”—and Karla Homolka present themselves as a picture‑perfect young couple while committing some of the most disturbing crimes in Canadian true crime history? And how did a controversial plea deal, a publication ban, and hidden videotape evidence turn the “Ken and Barbie Killers” case into a decades‑long national outrage in Canada? In this e...

How did the International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC)—a globally influential 24/7 prayer ministry—become the center of a sweeping scandal involving allegations of sexual assault, grooming, and spiritual manipulation? What happens when a charismatic evangelical leader is accused of abusing power for decades—yet faces no criminal charges as survivors push for accountability and legal reform...

How did a birthday trip to Cabo San Lucas end with Shanquella Robinson dead in less than 24 hours? Why did her travel companions initially claim “alcohol poisoning” — and how did a viral assault video, conflicting autopsy findings, and a stalled U.S.–Mexico extradition fight turn the Shanquella Robinson case into one of the most haunting true crime mysteries of 2022? In this episode, hosts Adrienn...

What happened to 18-year-old Natalee Holloway after she vanished on a 2005 graduation trip to Aruba —and why did the case remain unresolved for nearly two decades? Did investigators miss critical opportunities in the first hours, and can the public trust anything Joran van der Sloot has ever said after years of shifting stories and alleged lies? In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime , hos...

Did Ana Walshe really leave her Cohasset, Massachusetts home at 4:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day 2023 for a last‑minute “work emergency” — or was that the first lie in a deadly cover‑up? And how does a missing‑person report turn into a “no‑body” murder case built on digital breadcrumbs, blood evidence, and a trail of trash bags across the Boston suburbs? In this episode of Debate The News: True Crime ,...

A Santa suit. A wrapped “gift.” A family Christmas Eve party in Covina, California. So how did the 2008 Covina Christmas Eve massacre—one of the most notorious holiday true crime cases in Los Angeles County—end with nine people dead after a man dressed as Santa opened fire and set a home ablaze? And what do the warning signs of divorce rage, hidden secrets, and careful premeditation reveal about t...

Did Scott Peterson murder his eight‑months‑pregnant wife, Laci Peterson , on Christmas Eve 2002 — or was he falsely convicted on flimsy circumstantial evidence amplified by a nonstop media frenzy? From Modesto, California to the Berkeley Marina and the San Francisco Bay , the Laci Peterson case remains one of America’s most argued true crime stories, raising hard questions about motive, “missing p...

Did Aaron Hernandez’s 2017 prison suicide end the story — or just kick off a whole new mess? After the former New England Patriots tight end was convicted in the  Odin Lloyd murder , what happened to his conviction, his money, and the people left picking up the pieces? And how do  CTE, substance abuse, secrecy, and the NFL spotlight  help explain (without excusing) one of the most i...

In this episode, Joseph and Adrienne break down the chilling Carman family saga: the 2013 shooting death of Connecticut millionaire grandfather John Chakalos, the 2016 disappearance of his daughter Linda on a midnight fishing trip off New England, and the role of her son, Nathan, who is later rescued alone after eight days at sea and eventually indicted for murder on the high seas and fraud before...

What really happened on that June 1994 night in Brentwood when Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were brutally murdered outside her Bundy Drive condo? Did the “trial of the century” reveal the truth about who killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman — or did fame, police misconduct, and reasonable doubt allow justice to slip away? In this episode, hosts Adrienne Barker and Joseph Lobosco rev...