Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén

A libertarian idealist known only as “The Dread Pirate Roberts” builds the Silk Road—an anonymous online black market that explodes into a billion-dollar empire—until the digital kingpin is unmasked, revealing how one man’s dream of radical freedom spiraled into crime, paranoia, and downfall. Sources for this episode include: American Kingpin by Nick BiltonJoshuah Bearman’s reporting for Wired mag...

In 1977, candy heiress Helen Brach – one of the richest women in America – vanishes. Detectives consider the many people who might have wanted to get their hands on her money. Ultimately, the primary suspect that emerges is… the Chicago horse mafia. Sources for this episode include: Hot Blood: The True Story of an Heiress, a Gigolo, and a Shocking Murder by Ken Englade“The Puzzle That’s Missing On...

A 19th-century island experiment founded by two nature-loving Germans goes from Gilligan's Island to Lord of the Flies when an entitled and eccentric heiress moves in. Sources for this episode include: Satan Came to Eden: A Survivor's Account of the "Galapagos Affair by Dore StrauchFloreana by Margaret WittmerThe Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (Documentary)“An Unsolvable Mystery: Captain Han...

When a lonely Milwaukee housewife lives a double life, her secret world spirals into a decade of deception — culminating in a deadly confrontation, a staged burglary, and one of the strangest true-crime scandals in American history. Sources for this episode include:“‘Bat Man’ Case: a Lurid Tale of Love and Death” (LA Times)“Old Killing Recalled, Spook Stuff Seen in Queer Case” (The Independent Rec...

Molly Watson had waited seven long years for her happily-ever-after wedding with her boyfriend, Jim. Then, less than 48 hours before they were supposed to walk down the aisle, Molly was murdered. And Jim either had the wildest, unluckiest story ever... or he'd fabricated a strange and demented series of lies. Sources for this episode include:State of Missouri vs. James Addie (Respondent’s Brief)20...

A charismatic leader convinces his devoted followers that salvation awaits aboard an alien spacecraft trailing a comet—leading the Heaven’s Gate cult to a tragic, otherworldly mass suicide that exposed the dangerous power of blind faith and cosmic delusion. Sources for this episode include: Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults (HBO Max)Heaven’s Gate: America’s UFO Religion by Benjamin E. ZellerBounded...

A brilliant con man turns his life into a high-stakes romantic heist, embezzling fortunes and pulling off mind-bending jailbreaks—all to keep the man he loves in the lifestyle he thinks he deserves. Sources for this episode include: I Love You Phillip Morris : A True Story of Life, Love and Prison Breaks by Steve McVicker Reporting from Alex Hannaford in Esquire The Guardian Keep up with Killer St...

26-year-old "trunk murderess" Winnie Ruth Judd killed her two best friends one hot Phoenix night in 1931. Then she stuffed both of them into trunks and loaded them on a train to Los Angeles. What the press assumed was a simple case of jealousy only got messier with each new version of the story Winnie told. Sources for this episode include: The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd by Jana Bommersbach...

When McDonald’s ran its beloved 1990s Monopoly sweepstakes, Jerome "Uncle Jerry" Jacobson had one job: Protect the game pieces. Instead, he used his position as Head of Security to rig the game. For years. To the tune of over $24 million in cash and prizes. Sources for this episode include:"How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and Stole Millions." by Jeff Maysh The Daily Beast, July 29, 2...

When two members of the same family contract a mysterious illness, evidence points toward one lethal commonality: the manipulative matriarch, Audrey Marie Hilley. But once she’s caught, she escapes, evading capture for years by turning her life into a soap opera. Sources for this episode include: Poisoned Blood: A True Story of Murder, Passion, and an Astonishing Hoax by Philip E. GinsburgHilley v...

A boisterous entertainer and wannabe opera singer disappears from her London home. Before detectives find human remains in the basement, her mild-mannered husband flees across the Atlantic with his lover, in disguise. Sources for this episode include: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson Molecules of Murder: Criminal Molecules and Classic Cases by John Emsley Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold“Was Dr C...

In 1980s Los Angeles, a charismatic prep-school hustler builds the Billionaire Boys Club—part investment syndicate, part illusion—until a high-stakes con, a missing mogul, and a pair of brutal murders expose how greed, privilege, and cocaine turned a fantasy of wealth into a deadly spiral. Sources for this episode include: Billionaire Boys Club (HBO) “The True Story of the Billionaire Boys Club” (...

A small Connecticut town witnesses its first murder ever. The culprit is an unlikely, quiet teenager who swears he was not in control of his own body. His supporters, however, think they know exactly what drove the young man to kill his victim: a case of demonic possession. Sources for this episode include: The Devil in Connecticut by Ed Brittle, Ed Warren, and Lorraine WarrenLynn Darling’s report...

How do you smuggle a convicted killer out of a maximum-security prison? Apparently, you just need a cardboard box, some packing tape, and a dog trainer nobody suspects. Sources for this episode include: Living With Conviction by Toby DorrBreakout (Dateline NBC) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @killerstorieshq Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Dave thought he'd met his dream girl in Cari, but after she mysteriously breaks up with him and vanishes, Dave endures years of cruel text messages and emails. Sources for this episode include: A Tangled Web: A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and the Twisting Path to Justice by Leslie Rule Lover, Stalker, Killer Directed by Sam Hobkinson (Netflix)20/20, “Tangled Web” Keep up with Killer Stories!...

A Chicago respiratory therapist is brutally murdered in her apartment. Did her ghost solve her own case? Sources for this episode include:Teresita: The Voice from the Grave by John O’Brien and Edward Baumann“A Chicago Murder Solved By a Ghost” (Chicago Tribune)“Voice from grave names murderer, begs vengeance” (Boston Globe) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerst...

One FBI agent called it the most bizarre kidnapping case ever investigated by the Bureau: In 1968, an escaped convict and his new girlfriend bury their hostage alive in an underground chamber. Sources for this episode include: 83 Hours Till Dawn written by Gene Miller, in collaboration with Barbara Jane Mackle Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikTok: @killerstoriespodX: @ki...

A seemingly heartbroken newlywed becomes the face of a shocking murder-for-hire plot—caught on tape before the crime can even happen. But as the trial unfolds, the real mystery isn’t what she planned, it’s how far reality can bend when everyone knows the cameras are watching. Sources for this episode include:Murder for Hire, "Crocodile Tears" (S1, E11 - 2019) Cnapped, "Dalia Dippolito (S8, E10 - 2...

Desperate to fit in, a teenage girl targets the most popular student at her school. The way she sees it, they can either be friends – or enemies. Sources for this episode include:“Death of a Cheerleader” by Randall Sullivan, reprinted in Best of Rolling Stone A Killer By Design by Ann Burgess The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade “The Cheerleader Murder” Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerst...

When a young model vanishes in Italy, the story seems disturbingly familiar—until her sudden reappearance raises more questions than answers. As investigators dig deeper, a case that looked open-and-shut twists into something far stranger. Sources for this episode include:Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping (2025, BBC Three) directed by Stuart Bernard and Miles Bladen-Ryall"Model Says She Was...

Plenty of scam artists have pretended to be psychics. Not many of them secretly employ their daughters to sweep a client off their feet with their own purported psychic gifts. But then again, not every con artist has $15 million at stake. Sources for this episode include:Rachel Lee Sentencing Memorandum & Indictment20/20: "Sweetheart Swindle" (2015, ABC News) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram...

When a lonely church volunteer in small-town Pennsylvania becomes obsessed with her new pastor, her festering jealousy toward a kindhearted fellow parishioner twists into delusion. Sources for this episode include: Love Me or Else: The True Story of a Devoted Pastor, a Fatal Jealousy, and the Murder that Rocked a Small Town by Colin McEvoy and Lynn Olanoff Dateline "Deadly Sanctuary" (2009, NBC)Le...

A 76-year-old career criminal leads a crew of pensioner thieves in Britain’s biggest-ever burglary—an “Ocean’s Eleven with bad knees” that nets £14 million in loot. Sources for this episode include:The Last Job: The Bad Grandpas and the Hatton Garden Heist by Dan BilefskyHatton Garden: The Inside Story (2019) Directed by Tim Conrad“One last job: the inside story of the Hatton Garden heist” (The Gu...

The world’s most iconic male strip show becomes a battleground of ego, greed, and murder when its visionary founder spirals from fame into paranoia—unleashing a deadly plot that shocks the entertainment industry. Sources for this episode include: A&E’s Secret of the Chippendales Murders The surreal true crimes behind Hulu’s Welcome to Chippendales (Vox) The secret story of the Chippendales (The In...

An online love triangle explodes into deception and murder when a middle-aged factory worker poses as a young Marine to seduce a teenage girl. Sources for this episode include:Talhotblond (2009) Directed by Barbara Schroeder“An IM Infatuation Turned to Romance. Then the Truth Came Out” (WIRED, 2007) by Nadya LabiABC News coverage (2010) Keep up with Killer Stories! Instagram: @killerstoriespodTikT...