Mysteries and Histories

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Leigh Occhi or details about her disappearance is asked to call the Tupelo Police Department at (662) 841-6491 or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Mississippi at 1-800-773-TIPS (8477).On a stormy morning in 1992, 13‑year‑old Leigh Occhi vanished from her Mississippi home, leaving behind blood, questions, and a mother who insists she has no idea what happene...

Giulia Tofana was the whispered secret of desperate wives: a woman who bottled death and sold it as salvation. Her creation, the infamous Aqua Tofana, slipped into wine and soup without taste or trace, leaving doctors baffled and husbands quietly buried. In the candlelit streets of 17th‑century Italy, her name became a rumour, a warning, and a legend, proof that sometimes the most dangerous killer...

In 1984, the body of an unidentified man was found in Volusia County, Florida, leaving behind almost no clues to who he was, how he lived, or why he died. Decades later, investigators and online sleuths are still trying to put a name to this John Doe and piece together the final hours that led to his lonely death. This episode takes a broad, introductory look at the case, the few details we do kno...

One killer, six young girls, one city gripped by fear. In the early 1970s, an unknown predator stalked the highways around Washington, D.C., snatching children off the streets and leaving their bodies by the roadside. In this episode, we step into the shadow of the Freeway Phantom: a faceless figure who taunted police, devastated families, and then vanished, leaving behind a trail of questions tha...

Magdalene laundries were so‑called “refuges” or institutions where women and girls were sent for moral “correction”, often made to work long hours in harsh conditions with little or no pay. In this episode, we introduce the history of these laundries, why they existed, and how they affected the lives of those who passed through them.

FROM THE VAULT | In 1982, a series of sudden, unexplained deaths in the Chicago area sparked nationwide panic and forever changed how consumer products are packaged and protected. Victims had taken capsules of Tylenol that had been secretly laced with cyanide. The case, which became known as the Chicago Tylenol murders , remains one of the most chilling unsolved crimes in American history.

Adrienne Shelly was a gifted actress and filmmaker, best known for her work both in front of and behind the camera. In 2006, her life was tragically cut short in New York City under circumstances that initially raised more questions than answers. What first appeared to be a suicide was later revealed to be a devastating act of violence, forcing investigators, loved ones, and the public to confront...

FROM THE VAULT | Natalie Wood was one of Hollywood’s brightest stars - a child actress turned icon whose career spanned decades and generations. But in 1981, her life was cut short under circumstances that remain deeply controversial. When Natalie drowned off the coast of Catalina Island during a weekend aboard a yacht with her husband Robert Wagner and co-star Christopher Walken, questions quickl...

n 1910, Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was convicted of murdering his wife and became the first criminal ever captured with the help of wireless technology. For over a century, the case has been considered closed. But what if it isn’t? New DNA analysis has raised unsettling questions about the evidence used to condemn Crippen, challenging long-held assumptions about the remains found beneath his London...

FROM THE VAULT | In the late 20th century, a chilling pattern emerged in Ireland. Young women vanished without warning from a small geographic area stretching across the east of the country. leaving behind few clues, no bodies, and families desperate for answers. The region would come to be known as the Irish Vanishing Triangle.

In August 2010, experienced cave diver Ben McDaniels entered the depths of Florida’s Vortex Spring and was never seen again. What began as a routine dive quickly spiralled into one of the most baffling missing-person cases in modern adventure history. Despite extensive search efforts by elite recovery teams, no trace of Ben was ever found - not even in a place where escape seemed impossible.

In 2000, 23-year-old Leah Roberts packed up her Jeep and set out on what seemed to be a spontaneous road trip across the American Northwest. Searching for meaning after loss, Leah told no one exactly where she was going - or why. Nine days later, her SUV was discovered wrecked and abandoned deep in the forests near Bellingham, Washington, sparking one of the most perplexing missing-person investig...

Aileen Wuornos is one of the most polarising figures in American true crime; a woman whose life story is as tragic as the crimes that made her infamous. In the early 1990s, Wuornos claimed the lives of several men along Florida’s highways, becoming one of the nation’s most widely known female serial offenders. But behind the headlines was a life marked by trauma, instability, and a desperate strug...

In 1935, a quiet English town was rocked by one of the most notorious forensic cases in British history. When dismembered remains were discovered in a ravine near the Scottish border, investigators confronted a mystery that seemed impossible to untangle - until groundbreaking science changed everything. In this episode, we delve into the story of Dr. Buck Ruxton, the respected physician whose care...

In 1989, Patty Stallings rushed her sick infant son to the hospital, unaware that this desperate act would ignite one of the most shocking wrongful conviction cases in American history. What doctors believed was poisoning was actually a rare genetic disorder. But before the truth could surface, Patty was arrested, charged with murder, and forced to grieve the loss of her child from behind bars. Jo...

In 17th-century Italy, whispers spread of a mysterious woman whose 'beauty' potions promised freedom. Her name was Giulia Tofana, and she turned the art of poison into a quiet rebellion against the oppressive world women lived in. 

A few times a year, I like to take a look back at old cases I've covered and give you the latest updates: new evidence, solves, identifications, big news. Today we're going to be taking a look at how the Yogurt Shop Murders have finally been solved, the identification of Rea Rasmussen (Bear Brook Murders), the latest updates in the LISK trial and more. 

In the 1980s, Japan was terrorized by an invisible enemy. A shadowy group calling itself The Monster with 21 Faces  taunted police, blackmailed corporations like Glico and Morinaga, and brought an entire nation to its knees - all without ever being caught. They sent letters to the media, poisoned candy, and turned the country's trust in public safety into fear.

Rabies is one of the deadliest viruses on Earth, almost always fatal once symptoms appear. But in 2004, a teenage girl in Wisconsin did the impossible: she survived. This episode unravels the extraordinary story of Jeanna Giese, the first known person to beat rabies without receiving the vaccine in time. 

In 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service launched what they claimed was a study on “bad blood” in rural Alabama. In reality, it was a 40-year-long lie: hundreds of Black men with syphilis were deliberately left untreated, even after penicillin became the standard cure. Known today as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, this shocking violation of trust exposed deep systemic racism and reshaped the way...

FROM THE VAULT | In the late 1980s and early 90s, Melbourne, Australia, was gripped by fear as a masked predator known only as Mr. Cruel stalked the suburbs. He was cunning, calculated, and terrifyingly methodical, breaking into homes, abducting young girls, and vanishing without a trace. Despite massive police investigations and public outcry, his true identity remains one of Australia’s biggest...

In 1966, two Brazilian electronics technicians were found dead on a hill outside Rio de Janeiro, wearing strange lead masks and formal suits, with a cryptic note at their side. Known as the Lead Mask Case this chilling mystery has baffled investigators for decades. Were they victims of a bizarre scientific experiment, a secret ritual, or something far stranger? 

In 1986, Sherri Rasmussen, a 29-year-old newly married nurse, was found brutally murdered in her Los Angeles home. The case stunned her family and baffled detectives. For over two decades, it was believed to be a botched robbery... until DNA evidence revealed a shocking twist.

In the late 15th and 16th centuries, a terrifying illness swept through England with brutal speed - striking healthy people in the morning and leaving them dead by nightfall. It was called the Sweating Sickness, and to this day, no one knows exactly what it was. In this episode, we investigate the chilling history of this mysterious epidemic that haunted Tudor England. Was it a virus? A toxin? An...

You’ve heard the punchline: a woman spills McDonald’s coffee in her lap and sues for millions. But behind the jokes and late-night talk show fodder lies a story that’s far more shocking, and far more human, than you’ve been told. In this episode, we dig into the truth behind the 1994 Liebeck v. McDonald’s case, where 79-year-old Stella Liebeck’s life was forever changed by a scalding cup of coffee...