Morbidology

In 2017, police in Perry, Iowa, received an anonymous phone call reporting an unresponsive teenager inside a home. When they arrived at the scene, it quickly became apparent that this was far more complex than they first of all realised and in fact, the teenage girl was the victim of prolonged abuse and neglect. SPONSORS - Best Fiends: Thank you to Best Fiends for sponsoring this episode! Engage y...

American Scandal is a podcast from Wondery that explores the darker stories that have shaped the United States. From the Unabomber to Bernie Madoff, these are stories that reveal the underbelly of America: ruthless, secretive, and power-hungry. The new season of American Scandal looks at the controversial decision made by a young government official named Daniel Ellsburg to leak the Pentagon Paper...

In 2011, a teenage girl was found dead in bed in Dorset, southwest England. By first appearances, it seemed like this was nothing more than a tragic accident. However, it would be soon be discovered that just days earlier, the teenage girl had complained about having a stalker. Investigators would now need to uncover if something much more sinister had actually transpired. SPONSORS - Incipio: Than...

In August of 2013, the young foster child of a couple in Logan, Iowa, was reported missing. The young boy’s older foster brother had come back home after playing outside with the young boy. It was noticed that the older foster brother had blood spattered on his t-shirt. He then relayed a very perplexing and unrealistic situation, a situation that evoked immediate fear. SPONSORS - Smartass & Sass:...

Mont Vernon is a town located in New Hampshire in the United States. It is the home of around 2,500 residents, and consists almost entirely of single-family homes and just a handful of stores. It has a real quaint feel to it and is considered by many to be the perfect location to raise a family, free from the violence that can plague bigger towns and cities. In October of 2009, however, this quain...

Towards the end of November in 2010, a woman walked in to a police station in Louisville, Kentucky, and informed them that two children were dead. The grim revelation led to an extensive search for the two children which spanned across several states. SPONSORS - Phocus: Thank you to Phocus for sponsoring this episode! Phocus is a delicious, health conscious and thoughtfully caffeinated sparkling w...

In 2007, a young woman vanished in Christchurch, New Zealand, after arranging to meet somebody who was interested in buying her car. When she didn’t return home, her family reported her missing. The young woman was deaf and her disappearance would bring the hearing and deaf communities closer than ever before as they both worked together to try and bring her home safely. SPONSORS - Phocus: Thank y...

Feilding is a town located in the Manawatu District of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is known for its outstanding beauty and has won the title of New Zealand’s “most beautiful town” 14 times. It’s an Edwardian themed town with picturesque red-bricked pavements. The area surrounding the town is mostly farmland and at parts, can be quite rural. In 2010, the murder of a local farmer would...

North Epping is a quiet, family-oriented and leafy suburb located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It’s the kind of area that’s perfect for blossoming families who want to be a bit further away from city life. In 2009, however, residents awoke to the grim news that an extremely brutal crime had taken place overnight in their tight-knit community, a crime so heinous that the responding office...

It’s estimated that around 2,000 Irish students travel to the United Kingdom each year to further their education. One of the most popular locations to relocate is Scotland because no tuition fees are charged to Irish students because of their EU status. Even with Brexit, this remains the same. One of the students to make the trip to Scotland for a better life was Karen Buckley. However, on a nigh...

In December of 2015, Versailles, Kentucky, was preparing for Christmas. Residents had decorated their homes in preparation for the festivities. In the quiet neighbourhood of Gray Street, there was one family home which had lit up in celebration, with decorations a plenty and a Snoopy wearing a Christmas hat standing out front. One morning, however, the community would awake to the terrifying news...

In summer of 2016, a married mother of one would vanish after leaving her home in Avondale Heights, Melbourne, Australia. The disappearance would immediately baffle investigators and hold the collective attention of the local community as well as the community further afield. Soon enough, bizarre allegations regarding the family’s relationships would be publicized in the media, launching the case...

In January of 2013, South Valley in New Mexico and the surrounding area was rocked by an extremely brutal mass murder which had taken place inside a secluded family home. The area would be even more horrified when they discovered who had been the perpetrator of the slaughter and in the aftermath, there be intense media coverage and a massive debate over gun control. SPONSORS - Best Fiends: Thank y...

Temple Terrace is a city located in northeastern Hillsborough County, Florida. The most frequent crime in the primarily suburban area are burglary and theft. Murders in Temple Terrace are extremely rare and between 2000 and 2014, only ten murders took place in the city. In 2014, the local police department would investigate an extremely horrific and confusing murder case, quite unlike anything the...

In June of 2014, a woman in Calgary, Canada, went to her parents’ home to pick up her young son who had been dropped off the night before for a sleepover. When she arrived, however, she found that the home was eerily silent and, in the driveway, she found drag marks and a sinister looking red liquid. SPONSORS - Vodacast: Thank you to Vodacast for sponsoring this episode! Vodacast is a brand new po...

Race can often play a part in how certain people view certain situations. In 2013, a black teenage girl went to the front door of a home in a predominantly white neighbourhood near Detroit, Michigan. She had gotten into a car accident and was looking for help. The actions of the home-owner that night would raise many questions about how people talk about race and violence within the United States....

In April of 2014, students from the University of Calgary were celebrating the end of school year. A party among friends was being held in a quiet, tree-lined street in Brentwood. In the early morning hours, however, a flurry of 911 calls were made from inside the home, reporting that somebody in attendance had unleashed a senseless attack with a knife. SPONSORS - Vodacast: Thank you to Vodacast f...

Anti-transgender hatred fuels an alarming number of murders throughout the world. The Trans Murder Monitoring project was started in 2009 and systematically monitors, collects and analyses reports of homicides of transgender people throughout the world. The statistics that they post each year are extremely disturbing. In Cabool, Missouri, a 17-year-old girl who had recently come out as transgender...

In April of 2019, police in the Chicago Suburb of Crystal Lake were informed of a missing five-year-old boy. According to his parents, he had vanished at some point in the middle of the night. However, it quickly became apparent that the family were well-known to child protective services and for many years, police had been trying to get them to take action and remove the children from the home. T...

In the United Kingdom, it’s estimated that two women are killed each week by their partners and former partners. A lot of these women, unfortunately, are let down by the very system put in place to protect them. Far too often, victims of domestic abuse, harassment and stalking are not taken seriously and these failures can lead to violence and sometimes murder. In 2016, a young woman reported her...

It was summer of 2014 when Rosalie Joseph went to work at a local hotel in Orlando, Florida, leaving her teenage daughter home alone. When she arrived back home that evening, her teenage daughter was missing from their home. Her bedroom was in complete disarray with clothing missing from the drawers. In the corner of the bedroom, she found a stuffed teddy bear, spattered with blood and underneath...

Presenting a defence based primarily on the word of an accused killer is certainly no easy feat. In fact, it’s almost impossible. It all boils down to whether the jury believes the accused killer or not. In Carlsbad, California, in 2012, an accused killer would claim that she was the victim of domestic violence and had acted in self-defence, but was she really telling the truth…? Listen on Vodacas...

Lawrence is a city of around 75,000, situated near the New Hampshire border. In November of 2016, a teenage boy vanished from his grandmother’s home. CCTV footage would capture him in the company of another teenage boy. His disappearance, and the outcome, would lead to many within the community questioning whether Lawrence police really did their job and whether they had shrugged the teenager off...

When hatred goes unchecked, it can lead to a disaster and tragically, far too often, violent words lead to violent actions. On a busy MAX train in Portland, Oregon, in 2017, a man unleashed a racist and xenophobic attack, mainly aimed at two Muslim teenagers. The perpetrator had been a member of the alt-right movement and had made blatant indications in his words and his actions that he was radica...

In 2013, a teenage girl in Glenburn, Maine, vanished after walking to the bottom of her driveway to meet somebody. Over 500 concerned locals offered up their time to search for the missing girl and truly bounded together to try and bring her home safely. The investigation into her disappearance would uncover that the person she had gone to meet was somebody she was speaking to on Facebook. Her dis...