Once Upon A Crime

We’re wrapping up Season 8 on the way to Once Upon a Crime’s 9th birthday! We’re sharing six of our “Best Of” Episodes from the archives to celebrate eight years of true crime podcasting.  First up, you’ll hear a clip from one of our most popular episodes released as discussions with everyone’s favorite co-host, my sister, Yolanda.  We’ll break down the O.J. Simpson case with details you may not h...

In the last chapter of the series “Manipulated to Murder,” I’ll share a story about a predator who hid behind a false identity to manipulate young and impressionable teens into committing the senseless murder of a vulnerable young woman.  Sources:  https://law.alaska.gov/press/releases/2024/011124-Schilmiller.html   https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6154251/Schilmiller-Court-Docs-061419.pdf h...

Pamela Smart became a household name - not for being the next Barbara Walters as she’d hoped but for orchestrating the cold-blooded murder of her husband - using her teenage lover as the trigger man. The case became a media sensation when it hit the news cycle in 1990.  It was such a high-profile case that millions watched the trial unfold live on television.  It was the very first time a murder t...

In this month’s series, we’ll look at people who were manipulated into committing murder.  First up, we’ll take a look at a case where a mother pressures her child to kill his father.  That fact alone would make this story truly horrible but it was not the last murder Marie Witte orchestrated.  The next one would be as cold-hearted as it was gruesome. Sources:  https://murderpedia.org/female. W/w/...

In this final episode of “Tarnished Hollywood,” I’ll share a story about a promising young actor who ran afoul of the law.  His decision to immerse himself in gang culture at the expense of an acting career would lead to a life sentence in a prison cell and a brutal and bizarre end to his life at the age of 36. Sources:  https://chicagodefender.com/how-an-infamous-boyz-n-the-hood-cameo-led-to-real...

Amanda Hayes, an actress known for roles on The Sopranos and The Stepford Wives, was convicted of conspiring with her husband, Grant Hayes, to murder Laura Ackerson, his ex-wife and mother of his two children.  The murder  and its cover-up would be one of the most grisly crimes investigators had ever encountered.  Sources:  Bitter Remains, author Diane Fanning, Berkley Books, 2016.  See No Evil: W...

Danny Masterson is an American actor best known for his role in That 70’s Show . In 2020, he was charged with raping three women in 2001 and 2003. Masterson and his victims were all members of the Church of Scientology. The church’s policies and threats toward the victims caused a 20-year delay in bringing the crimes to justice. Sources:  A Timeline of Danny Masterson’s Controversies , Skyler Caru...

...1 historic steam train... ...9 exceptional true crime podcasts... ...9 tales woven with the spirit of Women's Day... ...Will YOU unravel the mysteries aboard? This International Women's Day, join Shane Waters and Wendy Cee on an unprecedented journey through the heart of England to Crimecon UK in London. Mysteries on the True Crime Express is not just a podcast episode; it's an immersive voyage...

In this special episode, I speak with author Gareth Russell.  His new book, The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court, gives us a look at the storied history of what is called the most beautiful palace in England.  But, behind the walls of Hampton Court, true tales of intrigue, sex scandals, assassination plots, and murder played out among the royal...

In history, there have been several monarchs known as “Mad Kings” - monarchs who were plagued by erratic and even violent behavior often attributed to mental illness. King Eric the XIV of Sweden is one such ruler. While intellectually brilliant, King Eric suffered from extreme paranoia, which led to erratic, violent, and even murderous behavior. Sources:  Disturbed Facts About Eric XIV Of Sweden,...

This month, we’re taking a peek at royal families. What secrets and scandals lie behind these noble houses? In this week’s episode, I’ll tell you about an illicit affair an heir to the British throne engaged in with a French courtesan during WWI.  Marguerite Alibert retained evidence of her affair with Prince Edward that she would later use as blackmail when she was on trial for the murder of anot...

In this month’s series, we’ll take a look at the dark side of royalty. I will detail crimes, sex scandals, and even murders that have occurred within royal families.   First up, a member of the British royal family, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York’s reputation is muddied when his close, personal friend, Jeffrey Epstein, is exposed as a sex trafficker of underage girls. Prince Andrew will fall even...

In the summer of 1984, a young woman kidnapped in Northern California finally makes her escape after seven years of violence, torture, imprisonment, and coercive control. While free from the physical restraints of her horrific experience, the emotional battle is just beginning.  The investigation and legal battles unfold while the victim, Colleen Stan, attempts to rebuild her life.  Resources: Tru...

In 1977, a young woman kidnapped by a married couple while hitchhiking is taken to their home and imprisoned for the next seven years. During this time the woman is subjected to depraved torture, sensory deprivation, and sexual abuse. Deep and pervasive brainwashing and coercive control make it less and less likely she will ever escape, despite one of her captors eventually telling her the terribl...

In this first part of a 3-part episode, I share an infamous kidnapping case that began in 1977 in northern California.  The kidnapping of Colleen Stan become famously, and chillingly, known as “The Girl in the Box” case.   It’s an incredible story of unprecedented evil but also one of faith, strength, and the courage of a young girl to survive a horrific nightmare at the hands of the worst kind of...

As we wrap up 2023, I ask the question, “What was your true crime obsession this year?”  In this episode, I’ll find out what true crime cases your favorite true crime podcasters were talking about.   You’ll hear my discussions with Tyler from Minds of Madness, Michael from True Crime Guys , Leroy from Excuse Me, That’s Illegal , Jerri from FBI Retired Case File Review , and Eric, from True Consequ...

In 1958, 19-year-old Starkweather went on a killing spree that shocked the nation. He took his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril, with him.   The story of that crime spree has become a legend in true crime history, and Starkweather and Fugate have been portrayed as villains on par with Bonnie and Clyde.  In this episode, I revisit this case by speaking with best-selling true crime author Harry MacLean...

In this month’s episodes, I’ll wrap up 2023 by discovering what listeners, podcasters, and other true crime experts list as their “true crime obsessions” this year.  This week, I’m privileged to talk to veteran true crime journalist, correspondent, podcaster, and celebrity Erin Moriarty.  Erin has been a correspondent for 48 Hours on CBS Television for over three decades. Her award-winning true cr...

A missing person’s case in Columbus, Ohio, grows cold.  It seemed that what happened to 20-year-old Ashley Howley would remain a mystery until a psychic medium connected with the spirit of the missing girl.  Did Ashley Howley return from beyond to solve her own murder?  Resources: A Vision of Murder: Professional Psychic Medium, Shelly Stewart-Soldan, The Citizen Online, Oct 9, 2023.  Missing woma...

The family of a missing man turns to a psychic in a desperate attempt to locate him.  Rosemarie Kerr’s psychic predictions as to the fate of Andre Daigle would prove to be so accurate that she was later called to testify at his murder trial.   Resources:  “A Mysterious Murder and a Psychic Detective,” JournalOnline, March 19, 2022, https://journal.com.ph/a-mysterious-murder-and-a-psychic-detective...

Two ten-year-old girls went missing in Soham, Cambridgeshire, England in 2002.  After one of the most extensive searches in British criminal history, one of the girls’ parents consults a psychic in a desperate attempt to find them.  When the perpetrator is identified, Dennis McKenzie’s predictions about what happened to the girls will be eerily accurate.  Resources: Soham Murders, https://en.wikip...

Theresa Cross Knor was jealous, controlling, and abusive to her partners and children. After murdering one husband and getting away with it, her children became her next targets.  She would make her children complicit in the murders of two of their siblings and would almost get away with murder again. Resources:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Knorr Theresa Knorr: The Mother Who Burned Her...

..1 eerie corn maze... ...9 haunting figures... ...9 spine-tingling tales... ...Will YOU find your way out? This holiday season, step into a labyrinth of shadows and suspense with Shane Waters as your guide. In this chilling collaboration, you'll encounter the hosts of 9 acclaimed true crime podcasts, each offering a dark tale and a life lesson to send shivers down your spine. This is not just a s...

This week I’m continuing the series “A Family Affair,” detailing cases of a parent involving their children in murder plots.  This time a mother and daughter team up to murder family members for financial profit and to rid themselves of the “burden” of caring for them.  This is the case of Diane and Rachel Staudte aka “The Antifreeze Murders”.  Stay tuned at the end of the episode for a special bo...

In this month’s series “A Family Affair,” I’ll share cases in which children are manipulated into involvement in criminal offenses - even murder - at the direction of a parent. First up, lust and greed spur a man to manipulate his 14-year-old daughter into committing murder.  Later, when facing a lengthy prison sentence, loyalty to her father causes Cinnamon Brown to keep her father’s secret…at fi...