Murder: True Crime Stories

All the threats against Veronica Guerin reached a head one day in 1996, when the Irish investigative journalist was shot multiple times while stopped at a red light outside Dublin. For years, Guerin had exposed powerful Dublin drug gangs in the Sunday Independent, naming crime bosses and revealing how heroin was devastating communities across Ireland, despite escalating intimidation and violence....

Veronica Guerin was a fearless Irish investigative journalist who became known for exposing Dublin’s powerful drug gangs in the 1990s. After leaving a career in public relations, she joined the Sunday Independent and quickly built a reputation for naming suspected crime bosses and detailing how heroin was devastating communities across Ireland. In Part 1, Murder: True Crime Stories traces Guerin’s...

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy investigates the Beast of Gévaudan, one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries in true crime history. Between 1764 and 1767, a series of brutal attacks terrorized the rural French province of Gévaudan, leaving dozens of men, women, and children dead. Witnesses described a massive wolf-like creature with unusual features, sparking panic, su...

For nearly 30 years, Ken McElroy terrorized the small town of Skidmore, Missouri. Accused of theft, assault, arson, statutory rape, and intimidation, he manipulated the legal system and silenced witnesses through fear. When he shot 70-year-old grocery store owner Bo Bowenkamp in broad daylight—and still managed to delay justice yet again—the town’s patience began to crack. In Part 1 of this two-ep...

After decades of intimidation and legal loopholes, Ken McElroy’s reign of terror came to a sudden end on July 10, 1981. In front of 30 to 45 witnesses, he was shot dead in the middle of Skidmore, Missouri, and no one claimed to see who pulled the trigger. In Part 2, Carter Roy reconstructs the tense town meeting that preceded the shooting, the fatal confrontation outside a local tavern, and the in...

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy investigates the disappearance of the Sodder children, who vanished after a fire destroyed their West Virginia home on Christmas Eve in 1945. George and Jennie Sodder escaped with four of their children, but five were believed to have died inside. No remains were ever recovered, raising immediate doubts about the official ruling of accident...

In the aftermath of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl’s murder, suspicion lingered within the walls of Mercy Hospital. Early attention focused on clergy members and hospital staff, but despite initial questioning and forensic work, the case stalled and eventually went cold. In Part 2, Murder: True Crime Stories examines how new evidence and renewed scrutiny more than two decades later led investigators bac...

Sister Margaret Ann Pahl had devoted her life to faith, service, and the Catholic Church. A hospital chaplain in Toledo, Ohio, she spent her days comforting the sick and ministering to those in need. In Part 1, Murder: True Crime Stories traces Sister Margaret’s life from her early calling to the Sisters of Mercy to her years at Mercy Hospital. Known for her discipline and deep commitment to her v...

In January 1997, Scott Falater appeared to be a devoted husband, father, and successful engineer living a quiet suburban life in Arizona—until his wife, Yarmila Falater, was found brutally stabbed and drowned in their backyard pool. Scott was discovered nearby with blood on his clothes, yet he claimed he had no memory of the attack, insisting he was sleepwalking during the murder. In this episode,...

In the aftermath of Joan Risch’s sudden disappearance, investigators were left staring at a scene filled with unsettling clues. Blood on the kitchen floor. A phone torn from the wall. Two young children alone in the house. In Part 2, Murder: True Crime Stories examines how police processed the evidence and why the case quickly split into competing theories. Detectives traced blood types, followed...

Joan Risch seemed to embody suburban perfection. A devoted mother of two building a quiet life in Massachusetts in the early 1960s. In Part 1, Murder: True Crime Stories traces Joan’s journey from her childhood and adoption to her marriage and move to the small town of Lincoln. As neighbors describe her as intelligent and reserved, subtle details emerge in the days leading up to October 1961. When...

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy is joined by Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole from Crime House's new show, The Final Hours. Carter examines the disappearance of 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi, a Vatican citizen who vanished after a music lesson in Rome in 1983. What began as a missing-person case quickly spiraled into one of the most complex and disturbing mysteries in mod...

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy examines the final days of Selena Quintanilla’s life and the devastating events that followed when a trusted relationship fractured beyond repair. As Selena attempts to distance herself from someone she once relied on, a private conflict escalates into public tragedy. This episode walks through the confrontation that ended her life, the imm...

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy traces the rise of Selena Quintanilla from a gifted child performer in a family band to one of the most influential figures in Tejano music. As Selena’s fame grows, she inspires millions with her talent, warmth, and ambition—while quietly navigating the pressures of success and trust. The episode explores Selena’s close-knit world, the devo...

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy investigates the mysterious death of journalist Danny Casolaro, who was found dead in a West Virginia hotel room in 1991 just as he claimed to be on the verge of exposing a vast global conspiracy he called “the Octopus.” Danny believed powerful government officials, intelligence agencies, and criminal networks were secretly connected throug...

On the 40-year anniversary of Sherri Rasmussen’s murder, Murder: True Crime Stories continues the story of a case that refused to stay buried. Carter and Vanessa examine the decades-long fight for justice, as ignored evidence, stalled leads, and mounting frustration finally give way to a shocking breakthrough. As forensic science advances and old assumptions are challenged, the investigation expos...

On the 40-year anniversary of the murder of Sherri Rasmussen, Murder: True Crime Stories revisits the beginning of a case that would haunt Los Angeles for decades. Carter is joined by Vanessa Richardson, host of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes, to explore Sherri’s life, her new marriage, and the volatile love triangle unfolding just out of sight. What was initially labeled a burglary gone...

In this episode of Murder: True Crime Stories, Carter Roy revisits the terrifying reign of the Zodiac Killer, whose cryptic letters and brutal attacks paralyzed Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Taunting police and the media with ciphers, threats, and chilling promises, the Zodiac cultivated fear as deliberately as he committed murder. Despite surviving victims, physical evide...

After Missy Avila’s body is discovered, investigators search desperately for answers—but the truth is closer than anyone expects. As the case drags on, manipulation, false leads, and psychological games torment Missy’s family and friends for decades. This episode follows the long road to justice, revealing how jealousy and deception masked the identities of those responsible—and how one crucial br...

Seventeen-year-old Missy Avila was popular, kind, and full of promise—but jealousy simmered beneath the surface of her closest friendships. As rumors, betrayal, and resentment escalated during high school, lines between loyalty and cruelty blurred. This episode explores Missy’s life, the toxic dynamics surrounding her, and the emotional tensions that built quietly for years. What seemed like ordin...

In 1948, an unidentified man was found dead on an Australian beach with no wallet, no ID, and a cryptic message hidden in his clothing. Despite decades of investigation, his identity—and cause of death—remained a mystery. Was he a spy, a poisoned lover, or something else entirely? This episode unpacks one of the world’s most enduring cold cases, filled with coded messages, missing clues, and a rel...

After the murders of Harold and Thelma Swain, investigators faced mounting pressure to deliver answers—but instead, the case spiraled into decades of missteps, false leads, and a wrongful conviction. In Part 2, Murder: True Crime Stories follows the long investigation that led to the arrest of Dennis Perry, the flaws in the evidence used to convict him, and the stunning DNA revelations that ultima...

Harold and Thelma Swain were pillars of the Black community in Waverly, Georgia, devoting their lives to service through Rising Daughter Baptist Church. But on the night of March 11, 1985, that sanctuary was shattered when a gunman walked into the church and murdered the beloved couple. In Part 1, Murder: True Crime Stories traces the Swains’ lives, their leadership during the Jim Crow era and Civ...

A brilliant intelligence analyst is found dead inside a locked sports bag in his London apartment—no signs of forced entry, no clear cause of death, and a trail of secrets left behind. Officially ruled an accident, the case quickly sparks global controversy. Was this a tragic mistake, a dangerous private life gone wrong, or an expertly executed assassination? This episode dives into one of the str...

In the aftermath of Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan, the U.S. military told a heroic story of enemy fire and battlefield bravery—but it wasn’t true. In Part 2, Murder: True Crime Stories unpacks how Pat was killed by friendly fire, how senior officials concealed that truth, and how his family spent years unraveling a web of misinformation, redactions, and institutional self-protection. Through...