Mind of a Monster: The Hollywood Ripper

In 1983, another woman’s body is found in the sand banks of the Knik River. The police can no longer deny there is a serial killer at work. Detective Glenn Flothe takes on the case at the Alaska State Troopers and realizes it is much bigger than he ever imagined. He painstakingly tracks down further survivors of the man terrorizing Anchorage, including former dancer Christy Hayes, who speaks publi...

Superiors at the Anchorage Police Department shrug off sex worker Cindy Paulson’s accusations of rape and kidnapping. Still, Patrol Cop Gregg Baker thinks he knows who is responsible and will not let it lie. In this episode, Dr. Michelle Ward and Criminal Profiler Brent Turvey dive deep into the backstory of Gregg’s main suspect. What can his current life in Anchorage and his distant past in Pocah...

Years pass, and more young women disappear from Anchorage’s notorious 4th Avenue strip. Dr. Michelle Ward delves into their unsettled backstories and learns that Anchorage may not be a safe place, but when you want to run away, Alaska is about the furthest place you can go. Then a young girl, just 17, is found handcuffed and bruised running down the street. Could this be related to Detective Maxin...

Dr. Michelle Ward takes us to 1980s Alaska, into the swirl and chaos of the pipeline oil boom. For months, Detective Maxine Farrell’s been troubled by the list of missing dancers on her desk, but her superiors don’t want to know about it. Then, an off-duty cop makes a shocking discovery in the wilderness - a young woman’s body in a shallow grave. In this episode, Dr. Michelle Ward explores the und...

1980s Alaska: a swirling, chaotic mix of oil workers, dancers, sex workers and old-school cops. On the seedy 4th Avenue strip in Anchorage, nicknamed the world's longest bar, women start to go missing, plucked from the street or the bars and never seen again. In this 7-part series, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates the case of one of the US's most prolific, but not widely known, serial killers. She'l...

Aileen is found guilty of the murder of her first victim. Despite her protestations of self-defence and numerous assessments deeming her mentally incompetent, she is sentenced to death. For the remaining five murders, she fires her legal team and hires a new lawyer, Steven Glazer. She pleads “no contest” further sealing her fate. Aileen’s best friend Dawn stays in close contact, her constant comfo...

Aileen Wuornos has been captured, her killing spree at an end, but her arrest is only on an outstanding warrant. Police need evidence to prove her guilt and they persuade Tyria, Aileen’s girlfriend, to elicit a confession. It’s a delicate operation but over the phone Aileen eventually agrees to confess. Dr. Michelle Ward explores, with Psychologist Dr. Tasha Jackson, the diminishing emotional stat...

Aileen Wuornos has now killed five men, stealing their cars and possessions in the process. Her next victim is an ex-cop and determined police manage to retrace his steps. Their breakthrough comes from a pawn shop where they find two items belonging to Aileen’s first victim. Dr. Michelle Ward speaks to the investigators about how the case unfolded. They get a name and a fingerprint, but the name i...

Police are investigating the murder of Richard Mallory. He’s been shot dead by Aileen Wuornos who he solicited for sex work, but Mallory himself has a violent past. Aileen confides in her girlfriend Tyria about the murder, who is initially shocked. Meanwhile, the police investigation runs cold, but it is only six months until Aileen’s next kill. This time, her victim is a construction worker named...

Aileen Wuornos has hitchhiked to sunny Florida, making money through sex work along the highways before meeting a millionaire yacht club president, whom she marries in 1976. But her chance at happiness is short lived and the marriage is annulled. She heads home to Michigan to see her brother, but he soon dies of cancer. Aileen is heartbroken and attempts suicide. Returning to Florida, Aileen meets...

Season 5 of Mind of a Monster begins in Rochester, Michigan. Aileen Wuornos is just a child when she is abandoned by her parents and left with a grandfather who physically abuses her. Aileen is bullied at school and is just 14 when she begins accepting money for sexual favors. Tragically, she is raped by her grandfather’s friend and becomes pregnant, but the baby is taken away from her. Now homele...

From 1989 to 1990, Aileen Wuornos killed seven men as she hitchhiked along Florida’s highways. Some were giving a woman in need a ride, others gave her money for sex, but they all fell victim to the rock ‘n’ roll biker chick dubbed the ‘Damsel of Death’. Across 6 episodes, criminal psychologist Dr. Michelle Ward speaks to detectives, witnesses, and experts to delve into the mind of Aileen Wuornos,...

Jeffrey Dahmer’s reign of terror finally ends after claiming 17 lives and attacking and drugging countless more. As the case goes to trial, could his insanity defense actually work?  Hosted by criminal psychologist Michelle Ward, the Mind of a Monster true crime podcast brings you exclusive access and insight into some of history’s most notorious serial killers—with chilling au...

Dr. Michelle Ward tracks his latest victim, Tracy Edwards, as he manages to escape Dahmer’s clutches. This time, law enforcement finally takes notice, and when they enter his apartment, they make a macabre discovery -- a human head in the fridge.    Hosted by criminal psychologist Michelle Ward, the Mind of a Monster true crime podcast brings you exclusive access and insig...

It’s 1991 and Jeffrey Dahmer's depravity has descended to a new low. Tired of his victims dying so quickly, he attempts to create human zombies. Dr. Michelle Ward investigates as Dahmer’s apartment transforms into a Dantean epicenter of pain, deviance, and torture, as victim after victim find themselves in Dahmer’s clutches. In this episode, we meet Rita Isbell, whose brother Errol’s lif...

After a nine-year gap between his first and second kills, Jeffrey Dahmer now murders men and boys at speed. Dr. Walsh tracks Dahmer’s progression as a serial killer and investigates how a near miss almost stops his killing spree in its tracks. Hosted by criminal psychologist Michelle Ward, the Mind of a Monster true crime podcast brings you exclusive access and insight into some of histo...

Dr. Michelle Ward discusses how Dahmer flunks college and enlists in the army, before finally moving in with his grandmother in Milwaukee. The prevailing story of this period is that he resists his violent urges for nine years -- but is this the truth?  Hosted by criminal psychologist Michelle Ward, the Mind of a Monster true crime podcast brings you exclusive access and insight int...

We begin in the picturesque town of Bath, Ohio, where a troubled teenager is developing some disturbing interests. Speaking to experts and witnesses, Dr Michelle Ward investigates the pivotal moment that saw Jeffrey Dahmer shift from class jokester to ruthless killer.  Hosted by criminal psychologist Michelle Ward, the Mind of a Monster true crime podcast brings you exclusive access...

Hosted by criminal psychologist Michelle Ward, the Mind of a Monster true crime podcast brings you exclusive access and insight into some of history’s most notorious serial killers—with chilling audio straight from the monsters themselves. Season 4 of Mind of a Monster examines Jeffrey Dahmer, who from 1978 to 1991 murdered seventeen men and boys, attempted to kill at...

In our season finale, with Bundy executed, Dr. Michelle Ward explores the cutting-edge technology that finally put Gary Ridgway behind bars, and finds out what it’s like to be face-to-face with the one of the most prolific serial killers of all time. Watch full episodes of Mind of a Monster on discovery+:   discoveryplus.com/mindofamonster   *discovery+ is currently only available for US...

Dr. Michelle Ward takes us back to Ted Bundy’s escape where he carried out the frenzied Chi Omega murders. She talks to the Florida Sheriff who took the bite out of Bundy’s campaign of killing for good, and picks apart the decline of the Green River Taskforce, following their unsuccessful raid of Gary Ridgway’s home. Ridgway commits what he later claims is his last murder, but evidence shows there...

In this episode, Gary Ridgway has escaped the clutches of police not once, but twice, and is feeling invincible. He has now killed at least 40 women and there’s no sign of him stopping. But a key witness comes forward to confess to having escaped the killer’s clutches. It’s a lightning rod to the investigation. Could they finally catch the individual responsible?  Watch full episodes of Mind...

Dr. Michelle Ward is on the trail of The Green River Killer.  As the disappearances and bodies pile up, the public is gripped by fear. The story is all over the news, but investigators are out of ideas and desperate for a break in the case. What happens next shocks everyone… Green River Task Force detective Bob Keppel receives a letter from a ‘wanna-be consultant’. The letter has come from a...

In this episode, Ted Bundy is in captivity, but makes a final frenzied attempt to evade justice. Dr. Michelle Ward follows the case of the The Green River Killer as it continues to unfold over almost two decades. How did another evil killer not just emerge, but thrive in King County so soon after Bundy? Watch full episodes of Mind of a Monster on discovery+:   discoveryplus.com/mindofamonster...

In this season, criminal psychologist Dr. Michelle Ward takes us to Washington State in the 1970s to investigate two of the most prolific serial killers in US history – Ted Bundy and the so-called Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway. Both use deception to prey on young women and utilize the vast terrain to dump their bodies. And they did it almost 100 times between them – maybe more.  In this ep...