Love and Murder: Heartbreak to Homicide

When a mother left for work one May morning in Ocala, FL she thought her two-year-old daughter was in safe hands. Just 25 minutes later, she got a call from her ex, Travis Thompson, that would unravel everything she thought she knew. Jacklyn Schwingel was unresponsive—barely breathing—and nothing about the story added up. Doctors suspected abuse. The timeline didn’t make sense. And what came next...

Jacob Williamson thought it was a first date. Instead, it turned out to be the last night of his life. The 18-year-old had been chatting online with a man named Joshua Newton for weeks. On June 30, 2023, he left a Waffle House parking lot in South Carolina and got into Joshua’s car. He never came home. Days later, his body was found dumped on the side of a rural road just past the state line. The...

Claire Chick had done everything right. She ended the relationship. She filed police reports. She told friends she was scared. Just days before her death, she even warned that she believed her estranged husband might kill her. On the night of January 22, 2025, in a quiet neighborhood in Plymouth, her worst fears came true. As she stepped out to meet someone new, the man she’d been trying to escape...

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“She didn’t have social media. She didn’t even take her phone. One minute she was watching TV, the next—vanished.” Twelve-year-old Lori Paige disappeared from her home in Tallahassee, Florida in the early morning hours of June 3, 2023. Her father claimed he left for work and came home to find her gone. But investigators quickly realized… something didn’t add up. In this episode, we dig into the se...

Just weeks before graduating, U.K. student, Tamilore Odunsi called her mom from her Houston apartment. Her last words were a scream—then the line went dead. When police arrived, the door was open, and Tamilore was gone. Her roommate, a man with a violent past, had vanished too. What happened behind that door… and why was she ever placed there? ************************************** Do you have tho...

A quiet Georgia farm. A glowing burn pile. A 911 call. And then—skeletal remains. What happened to 58-year-old Gary Farris on July 3, 2018? Who moved his phone after he was already dead? And why did his own wife point the finger at their son? This wasn’t just a murder. It was a fire that burned through an entire family. ******************************** Past Cases Mentioned in this Episode: “World’...

It happened in seconds. A white Jeep. A masked gunman. A child taken from his bike. His father? Ran and hid while all this went down. By the time the Amber Alert went out, The 7-year-old was gone. No phone. No witnesses. Just his neon backpack left behind. What followed was a race against time— This is the abduction of Jamal White. ****************************** Past Cases Mentioned in this Episod...

A small Florida town. A trailer in the woods. And a man on the phone with 911— Calm, clear… and confessing. “I just shot my daughter. And shot all my grandkids.” What happened inside that home still haunts Bell, Florida. This is a case you won’t forget. ************************************** Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific true crime case you’d like to hear about?  Let...

A beloved principal. A quiet morning. A strange 911 call. By nightfall, a man was running through downtown Rome with no clothes on. And inside a house on Birch Circle… something wasn’t right. Who killed Elizabeth Gerling? ************************************** Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific true crime case you’d like to hear about?  Let me know with an email or a voic...

She left the fair early. Four days later, she was reported missing. The rumors never stopped. Nearly 40 years later, a discovery in the marsh raised more questions than answers. What happened to Paula Boudreaux? ************************************************************************************************ Podcast Promo: Castles & Cryptids *****************************************************...

“She tried to kill our son.” That’s what Christopher Prisby told 911 when he found 3-year-old Henry unresponsive in a locked bedroom. His mother, Amy Oliver, was inside—with blood on her hands. What led to this moment wasn’t sudden—it was planned. And the text Amy sent before she locked the door made one thing clear: this wasn’t just about custody. This is the case of Amy Oliver. *****************...

Sheila von Wiese-Mack traveled to Bali in 2014 with her daughter, Heather Mack, hoping a luxury trip might help repair a relationship that had already been breaking down for years. Instead, that trip ended in one of the most disturbing true crime cases in recent memory. Heather Mack and Tommy Schaefer were arrested, tried, and convicted in Indonesia. But the case doesn't even end there. This episo...

They hadn’t been to school since 2020. Neighbors didn’t even know kids lived there. And when police finally entered the house… they found three children hiding in filth. In this shocking 2025 case out of Pontiac, Michigan, three siblings were found living alone in a house described as unfit for animals—let alone children. But where was their mother? And how had they survived for years? This is the...

The door was unlocked, the TV was on, and Karissa Fretwell’s glasses were still inside—but she and her 3-year-old son, Billy, were nowhere to be found. In this 2019 case out of Salem, Oregon, a young mother and her toddler vanish just days after a final child support order is signed. The father? Michael Wolfe, a married steelworker with secrets—and a motive. Listen to the full episode to uncover w...

Three homeless men. Two stabbed, one shot. All attacked at night, while sleeping on the streets of Miami. Police had no suspect—until a black Dodge Charger showed up in every case. What they uncovered next led them to a real estate broker with a gun… and a secret. ************************************** Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific true crime case you’d like to hear...

A father of two, Lee Gilley, calls 911 and claims his pregnant wife overdosed. But what doctors found… didn’t match his story. In this 2024 case out of Houston, Texas, we follow the investigation into the deaths of Christa Bauer Gilley and her unborn child. ************************************** Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific true crime case you’d like to hear about? ...

A National Guard soldier vanishes without a trace. His wife, Jennifer Gledhill, waits days to report him missing—and when she does, her story keeps changing. What really happened to Matthew Johnson—and why haven’t they found his body? ************************************************************************************************ Podcast Promo: Tragedy with a View *********************************...

A couple goes fishing in Eastpoint, Florida—only to find a body dumped near a cul-de-sac. This 2018 case starts in the woods and leads to a blood-soaked motel room, a missing shower curtain, and a twisted love triangle turned deadly. Who was Aileen Seiden—and why didn’t she make it out of Room 15? ************************************** Do you have thoughts about this case, or is there a specific t...

Three days at Disneyland. A mother. Her son. Then… a quiet 911 call from a motel hallway: “I killed my son.” When police arrived, they found 11-year-old Yatin Ramaraju dead. His body surrounded by souvenirs. His mother standing outside—calm, covered in blood. What happened after the rides stopped? And why did she wait to call? This wasn’t a random act. It was something else. Something planned. Tod...

“Dad stabbed Mom.” That’s what a 10-year-old whispered into the phone from a locked bedroom in Gresham, Oregon. Her mother was bleeding out. Her father, Manuel Jesus Huchin-Interian, had vanished. For years, he was nowhere to be found. But in 2024, the trail lit up again. Was justice actually served? ************************************************************************************************ P...

She was always on time. Always predictable. So when Janet Acosta didn’t return from her lunch break, her coworkers knew something was wrong. What they didn’t know was that Janet’s van was already gone—headed south with her bound and bleeding inside. This is the case of Janet Acosta. A woman who lived for adventure. And the 23-year-old Michael Tanzi who stole everything from her. ******************...

She was just six years old when she disappeared without a trace from her home in Saldanha Bay, South Africa. What followed? Blood-stained clothes. A mother’s shifting story. And a courtroom packed with 30 witnesses. And still… no trace of Joshlin Smith. Today, we’re telling you the case of Racquel Kelly Smith—a case that ended in court justice… but no answers about where Joshlin is. **************...

Michael Shaver vanished in 2015 without a trace. No calls. No texts. No goodbye. His wife said he’d left her and didn’t want to be found. But then… a concrete firepit. A single bullet. And years of digital manipulation. How does a devoted Disney World monorail technician go from missing to murdered—buried in his own backyard while his wife starts a new life steps away from his grave? In today’s ep...

A 74-year-old father called 911 with his last words: “Christina with a knife… my wife’s been attacked too… I’m fading fast.” On September 16, 2022, in Leeward Air Ranch, Florida, Richard Langer and his wife Sally were brutally stabbed inside their own home. Inside the house, it’s a bloodbath. One parent clings to life. The other won’t survive. And the person responsible? Someone they raised, Chris...