Fact and Suspicion

Diddy: Record producer, Musician, Executive, Fashion Mogul, Entrepreneur, Billionaire. Sean Combs has almost as many titles as he has names, but can we add "criminal" to that list?

In the early morning hours of June 7, 1992, the quiet town of Springfield Missouri became home to one of the most baffling mysteries in American history. Sometime between 3 and 7am, 47-year-old Sherrill Levitt, her 19-year-old daughter Suzie Streeter, and Suzie’s friend 18-year-old Stacy McCall disappeared without a trace from Levitt’s home on Delmar Street. There were no signs of forced entry or...

On April 30th, 2011 Gail Polmgren dropped off her kids with her husband Matthew and drove off in her red Jeep Rubicon, never to be seen alive again. Her marriage was failing and she had asked friends to hide documents and money because she was afraid of her husband. And as the facts of the case began to surface, the shock and outrage of the community grew to a fever pitch.

Marshal Iwaasa was a 26-year-old college student from Calgary Alberta. A shy, hard-working man according to those who knew him best, his family was shocked when his truck was found burned deep in the wilderness of British Columbia with his belongings scattered around it. Marshal Iwaasa has not been seen since.

November 16th, 1999. Cherica Adams called 911 to report that she had been shot.  Cherica was eight months pregnant and losing blood rapidly, but she managed to survive long enough for her son to be born by emergency caesarian section. She also implicated her boyfriend in her murder: it was NFL start Rae Carruth.

May 6, 2014: Peggy Winn enters the home of 88-year-old Russell Dermond and his 87-year-old wife Shirley. She had been trying to reach the couple for the last three days. After searching through the home, Peggy and her husband found Russell's body in a pool of blood in the garage.   To this day, Russell's head has never been found.

Bobbie Jo Stinnett was 23-years-old and 8 months pregnant on December 16, 2004: the day she lost her life. She was found by her mother, Becky Harper, who described the scene as looking like her daughter's stomach had exploded. The truth of Bobbie Jo's death was tragic and beyond disturbing.

On August 10th, 2017, Freelance Journalist Kim wall joined Danish inventor Peter Madsen on his Submarine, the UC3 Nautilus, with the intent of interviewing him. Several hours after they were expected to return, Kim's boyfriend reported her missing. A search ensued for Kim, Peter, and the missing submarine. The next day, Madsen was rescued from the sinking sub, but Kim was nowhere to be found. What...

The American Stonehenge, that was the name given by many to the Georgia Guidestones, a 19ft tall granite monument weighing over 230,000 lbs with advanced astronomical features and cryptic engravings. In 2022, the Guidestones were damaged by a bomber and were suspiciously dismantled by local authorities later that same day. Today, we will discuss the mysteries of who built the Guidestones and why t...

Most cold cases will never be solved. Occasionally, though, new information or advancements in technology will give investigators the edge they need for a major breakthrough. This happened to be the case in the disappearance of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel, who vanished during her spring break while walking down Ocean Blvd., the busy main thoroughfare in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

On February 24, 1978, five men from Marysville California drove to a basketball game in Chico. The last time they were seen alive was shortly after the game ended at a convenience store just off the Chico State campus. Their car was later found in a remote area of the Plumas County forest. Months later, four of their bodies were found miles from the car. To this day, the fifth man, Gary Matthias h...

On August 29, 1995 Mark Winger of Springfield Illinois made a frantic 911 call. He reported that his wife Donnah had been attacked by an intruder, who Mark had then shot in the head. Donnah would die at the hospital, and investigators would find that her attacker had a disturbing history.

In February of 2013, guests of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angelas began to complain that the water in their rooms had a strange sickly taste. This led to a maintenance man making a gruesome discovery in the water reservoir on top of the hotel. The body of 21-year-old Elisa Lam was found floating in the tank. The question still remains: how did she get there?

On November 26, 2003 the town of Chesnee South Carolina saw its largest mass murder ever. Four people were shot to death at Superbike Motorsports, a local motorcycle dealer and service center. After committing these grisly murders, the killer went back and shot each victim in the head and and chest just to be sure. A self-proclaimed serial killer and rapist has confessed to these crimes, but many...

Brandon Swanson Disappeared on May 14th, 2008. After celebrating the end of the spring semester with friends, Brandon began the 30-mile drive back to his home in Marshall Minnesota. He would never arrive.   Around 2 a.m. Brandon called his father claiming to have ran his car into a ditch near Lynd, a small town just outside of Marshall. His parents left immediately but failed to located Brandon or...

Ben and Dan take a look at HBO's new mini-series The Staircase and discuss what it gets right and what it gets wrong.

In the autumn of 1888, a killer terrorized the East End of London. Over a three-month period, Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of White Chapel, brutally murdering at least 5 women before vanishing as abruptly as he appeared. More than a century later, Jack the Ripper remains unidentified, but his horrific legacy lives on.

Ben and Dan discuss 12 Tribes, the cult that runs a chain of sandwich shops.

In this episode of Fact and Suspicion, Ben and Dan discuss three prolific conmen: Billy McFarland, Kyle Sandler, and Barry Minkow.

In 2012, 16 Japanese students were trapped on an Island and forced to murder each other by an evil robotic bear named Monokuma. Join Ben and Dan as we discuss perhaps the most horrific case we've ever examined. #April Fools

An Update on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

A wolf in Sheep's clothing, you've probably heard that saying all your life. It's become cliche in books and film. But is this a trope, or a grim reality of our world? The Duggar family was seen as Wholesome, hard working, an interesting caracture of family life for some, heroes for others. Millions of people watched their show on TLC. But beyond the cameras there was dark secrets and a monster in...

On Friday, June 4 2010, Skyline Elementary School in Portland Oregon was having a Science Fair and Talent Show. There were many extra people in the school that day. That morning 7 year old Kyron Horman toured the science fair with his step mother Terri. Kyron, however, never made it to class. Was he abducted from school? Was he targeted by a stranger, or did someone close to him mean him harm?

Kent Heithold was murdered in the early morning hours of November 1st, 2001 in the parking lot of the Columbia Daily Tribune. Police struggled to find leads in the case foryears until 19-year-old Chuck Erickson confessed based on some dreams he had. Chuck also implicated his friend Ryan Ferguson who went on to be convicted of murder, based solely on the testimony of Chuck.

Jaliek Rainwalker was born a victim of abuse. At birth he was addicted to alcohol and cocaine and was given up for adoption and two days old. Due to the circumstances of his birth, he faced severe developmental and behavioral issues. Jaliek went through six different foster families before finally, at seven years of age, being placed with the family that would adopt him. Five years later on Novemb...