Mysteries and Histories

It's been over 40 years since the body of an woman was found on the strip in Las Vegas and finally in 2023 she was identified as Gwenn Marie Story, but her identification sadly hasn't shed any light on who was responsible for her death - who killed Gwenn?

Since 2007, 23 feet have been found on the shores of the Salish Sea in Canada and the United States, most found inside trainers/sneakers and hiking boots. What's going on? 

This is a huge part of British and Canadian history which is rarely spoken about now, but a piece of history which has undeniably had a massive butterfy effect on both nations today. Thousands of children were taken off the streets of London and sent to homes in Canada for labour... and as you can imagine, there wasn't much love. 

Julie Hogg disappeared in 1989 after a pizza delivery shift, her mother calling to wake her up the next morning for a court date to find there was no answer. Despite her family's insistence that Julie would not have run away, police fail to investigate properly... and three months later, mother Ann finds her daughter's remains behind the bath panel. From that moment on, she embarks on a mission to...

In the early hours of August 23rd 1994, Beth-Ellen Vinson was on her way to work when she disappeared, her car being found abandoned on the side of the road. A week later, her body was discovered nearby but to this day, there are no answers. Who killed Beth-Ellen? What was the motive?

Releasing over a million balloons at once sounds like a pretty spectacle right? What could go wrong? Well in 1986, the residents of Cleveland would find out. 

Today I've got some updates for you in some massive cases from over the last few months. This is what we hope for in the world of true crime, new information bringing us one step closer to solving a case or identifying a person.

For a whole decade between 1984 and 1994, elderly couple Bill and Dorothy Wacker were harassed by an unknown assailant, with Dorothy even being physically attacked on two occasions, sending her to hospital. But there was never any sign of the perpetrator and police eventually decided Bill himself was responsible. But was he? 

On Christmas Day 1929, residents of Germanton, North Carolina were disturbed by multiple gunshots over at the Lawson residence - and when they arrived to investigate, they found a scene that no-one ever wants to witness: an entire family killed by their own father. We've always known who's responsible for the Lawson family murders, but the big question is: why? Why did Charlie Lawson do it?

From 2010 to 2018, rumours were flying around Toronto's gay village that there was a serial killer on the loose, targeting muslim men in the area. Despite these cries, no-one seemed all that interested in investigating... until in 2018 something undeniable happened. Here is the story of the victims of Bruce McArthur.

Sarah Ottens was murdered in her university dorm in 1973 and after an investigation, James Hall was arrested and charged with the crime. But then a decade later, Hall was exonerated for the crime. Was he truly responsible? If not, who did kill Sarah?

When in 1984 751 people in The Dalles, Oregon, suddenly contracted salmonella after eating at a number of salad bars, the authorities put it down to poor hygiene of the food handlers, despite local residents suspecting the involvement of the Rajneeshees, a cult of 7000 people who had overtaken a nearby ranch. This is the tale of everything that happened before and after.

In May 1968, a man came across the remains of a girl who would go on to become known as Tent Girl. 2 decades later this man would be telling his future son-in-law, Todd, the story who found himself unable to get it off his mind. Todd goes on to dedicate his life to reuniting Tent Girl with her name and her family, becoming one of the founders of DoeNetwork and changing the face of true crime forev...

In 1991, 18 year old Nicola Payne set off on the 6 minute walk from her boyfriend's house to her parent's house, a walk she had done countless times before... and then she disappeared. Over three decades on, numerous arrests and a failed trial later, Nicola's case still remains unsolved. Where is she?

In 1988, the body of a woman was found in the Green Swamp area of Clermont, Florida. Investigators went out in search of her identity, but were never successful - and then in the early noughties, a wave of funding meant that were able to take another look at the case. At this point it was found that investigators may have been looking in the wrong places, as Julie seemed to in fact be a transgende...

Lesley Herring was known to be a solid, reliable person who always showed up - so when one day in February 2009 she failed to turn up for work, her family knew that something was seriously wrong. What followed was a hunt, not only for Lesley but also for her husband Lyle, investigators following a trail of red herrings he'd left in his wake.

A few years ago Thomas Chan consumed magic mushrooms and went on to attack his father, arguing the defence of automatism in court: he wasn't responsible for his actions whilst under the influence. This, and the case of Sullivan, opened up a can of worms in Canadian law. 

This week we're going to be looking at some updates in cases that I've covered in the past, including Alicia Navarro, Lady of the Dunes, Nude in the Nettles, Paige Johnson and more. 

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the bodies of a number of women were found alongside major interstates from Virginia to Missouri. Investigators soon began to connect the cases, as all the women had one thing in common: they all had red hair.

In the 1960s, two couples were driving near Point Pleasant, West Virginia when they came across a creature that they could only describe as 'not-human', 7ft tall with 10ft wide wings and glowing red eyes. They reported it to the local authorities, and since then countless people have reported a similar creature, some think it is a harbinger of doom. But if the mothman exists, why is there no solid...

In 2001, a missing persons segment was aired on Mexico's Canal 5 and for some reason people on the internet deemed that the photo of missing Selene Delgado Lopez was fake... and from there, you won't believe where this story goes.

On 29th October 2004, a woman got in the lift at the Wembley Point building in London and took it all the way up to the 21st floor. Once there, she calmly opened a window and jumped out, her body soon being found in the river down below. Almsot 2 decades on and she has still not been identified, despite a number of interesting clues being left behind.

The 1800s were a time of great migration within the USA, with families packing their entire lives into wagons and setting off on the treacherous journey. Lansford Hastings managed to convince the Donner-Reed party to try out a new route, one which was apparently shorter than the usual - they'll reach California quicker! But things went terribly wrong, and the party were forced to do things to surv...

In April 1998, Traci Pittman Kegley failed to turn up home to her parents house, causing them to search for her through the night. The next morning, her car is found abandoned on the side of the road with her 2 year old daughter in the back, entirely unharmed. There's never been a single sighting of Traci since.

In 1980, Jessie Earl was due to come home to visit her parents but when she failed to arrive her mother headed down to her flat in Eastbourne to ensure Jessie was okay - only finding an enduring mystery. 9 years later, Jessie's body would be found but their battle would be far from over.