Once Upon A Crime

A young girl living outside of New Delhi, India is found murdered in her own bedroom in a high-security apartment building with her parents sleeping mere feet away. Was her murder an inside job or caused by an unknown intruder? Join us for this “whodunit” that has been called the “JonBenet Ramsay case of India”. Resources: “Behind Closed Doors: How a 13-Year-Old’s Murder Ignited Class Warfare” by...

Jamison Bachman spent his adult years being “the roommate from hell”. He destroyed property, bullied his housemates, filed lawsuits for petty complaints, and rarely paid his rent. But, growing more desperate once his history of scamming people was revealed, he crossed the line from annoying to dangerous.  Resources: “Worst Roommate Ever” by William Brennan for New York Magazine , Feb 19, 2018.  “P...

The mysterious disappearance of a 4-year-old from her own bedroom takes a bizarre twist and rumors and conspiracy theories soon follow. This case would come to be known as “The JonBenet Ramsey Case of Mexico.” Resources: “Resignation in Mexican missing girl Paulette case”, BBC News, May 26, 2010 “Mexico Shocked by Discovery of Girl’s Body,” CBS News, April 5, 2010 Misterios favoritos en espanol/Un...

On this special Halloween episode, I’ll share creepy tales of corpses that were mistaken for Halloween displays. I’ll also share the bizarre tale of a failed outlaw who became a successful carnival oddity…after his death.  Resources: “Was a Suicide Mistaken for Halloween Decoration?” by David Mikkelson for Snopes.com , Oct. 28, 2005.  “75-Year-Old Marina Man Found Dead on Apartment Balcony” by Vin...

In this episode, a family claims a family member has become possessed by a demon. When a young man challenges the demon in an attempt to save his friend, he may have gotten more than he bargained for. He would later claim that demons drove him to commit a brutal murder. Resources: “By Demons Possessed” by Lynn Darling for The Washington Post , September 13, 1981. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arc...

A teenager takes the life of family members as well as a random stranger and then claims his involvement in “satanic rituals” lead him to murder. Was 16-year-old Sean Sellers demon possessed, mentally ill, or simply a cold-blooded killer?  Resources:  "On Thursday He Dies",  The Mirror (London), Jan 30, 1999 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/_/print/PrintArticle.aspx?id=60226483 "Reaching Out as Time...

In this bonus episode, you’ll hear the live show from CrimeCon UK in London. Esther discusses the motivations and psychology behind mass shooters with Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. Sohom Das, host of the YouTube channel A Psych for Sore Minds. Check out True Crime Week on Stitcher where they are kicking off the spookiest month of the year with the creepiest and crawliest True Crime Podcasts. Check out...

In this conclusion to our 2-part episode on spree killer, Robert Garrow, I’ll detail Garrow’s killing spree in the summer of 1973, his time as a fugitive, and his arrest and convcition.  Resources:  The Garrow Manhunt: A Serial Killer in the Adirondacks https://www.adirondack.net/history/garrow-manhunt/ Crime Library: Robert Garrow  https://web.archive.org/web/20140403090224/http://www.crimelibrar...

In 1973, a violent sexual predator went on a killing spree in the Adirondack Mountains. In Part 1 of this 2-part series, I detail Garrow’s abusive childhood, history of violence, and the escalation of his crimes from theft, to kidnapping and assault, and ultimately to rape and murder.  Resources: Robert Francis Garrow, Jr: American Spree Killer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu5e4RJKp9s&t=123...

In 1969, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy was the front runner to become the next Presidential candidate on the Democratic Party ticket. But, decisions he would make one fateful night on Chappaquiddick Island would result in the death of a young woman and leave his reputation in tatters. Did Ted Kennedy get away with murder? Resources “‘Kennedy Passenger Dies in Car Plunge’: How Chappaquiddick was covered...

A billionaire heiress kills her friend in a “freak accident”. Was Eduardo Tirella’s death actually an accident or did Doris Duke commit murder?  Resources:  Doris Duke: Facts, Death and Mansion, Biography.com : https://www.biography.com/personality/doris-duke Homicide at Rough Point by Peter Lance for Vanity Fair , July 16, 2020  https://bit.ly/2VHjXC7 The Fatal Crash that Plunged Doris Duke into...

The wealthy son of a New York real estate family leaves town to avoid investigation in the decades-old disappearance of his wife. A year later, he will be the number one suspect in the murder of an elderly man in Texas. This is the first chapter in the series “Getting Away with Murder”, the case of Robert Durst.  Resources: Books: A Deadly Secret: The Bizarre and Chilling Story of Robert Durst by...

In 1967, a double murder shocked a small town in Virginia. A suspect was quickly rounded up, but the case wasn’t truly resolved until decades later when a chance encounter led to a series of events that would ultimately bring about a deathbed confession.  Resources:  “Thomas Free on Bond; Hearing Slated Oct 27”, The News Leader , Oct 17, 1967. “Prosecution Rests in Thomas Hearing”, The News Leader...

In this series I share cases where people on their deathbeds finally confess to terrible crimes. In his episode you’ll hear about a brutal murder that went unsolved for over a dozen years when the perpetrator confessed before meeting his maker. But, this story ends with a twist when fate intervenes.  Resources:  State of Tennessee v. James Murray Washington, Direct Appeal from the Criminal Court f...

In this series "Deathbed Confessions" I share cases that went cold and the perpetrator was only revealed when they made a deathbed confession. In this first episode, a dying woman reveals a long-held secret to her children, leading to a shocking discovery.  Resources:  “Slaying Victim had Fled a Troubled Past”,  The Boston Globe , November 20, 2004. “John’s in the Freezer”,  What Lies Beyond,  Aug...

In this final chapter of “Buried Truth” I share a story of one of the most rare categories of criminal - the female serial killer. Behind her grandmotherly exterior, Dorothea Puente was hiding some very dark secrets very close to home. This is the case of “The Killer Landlady”.  Resources:  Newspapers.com : Dorothea Puente by Julia Scheeres for TruTV.com , Jailed Landlady: I Didn’t Kill Anyone - T...

A teenage boy goes missing in 1984. Authorities would quickly decide that he was a runaway, but his family didn’t agree. Fourteen years later his fate would be learned in a shocking and unusual way.  Resources:  The New Detectives: Grave Secrets - Season 8, Episode 7, The Discovery Channel  Articles (Jackson Vallarta/Christopher Denoyer/Dale Vallarta) from The Californian newspaper, Feb 17 1998 to...

In this month’s series “Buried Truth” I share cases where a person goes missing never to be seen again. Just when it seemed their fate would remain a mystery, the truth would be uncovered. This time, a neighborhood menace harbors dark secrets in his own backyard. This is the case of Russell Tillis and The House of Horrors.  You can now receive texts from Once Upon a Crime! Text OUAC to 408-676-177...

This is a double episode to conclude the month-long miniseries where I detail the case of serial killer David Carpenter, known as “The Trailside Killer”. Carpenter stalked and killed men and women on the hiking trails of Marin County, San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Other suspected victims would disappear from San Jose and Daly City, California.  Resources: The Sleeping Lady: The Trailside Murders A...

In Part 2 of this 3-part mini-series, I’ll continue the story about a random series of attacks that took place on hiking trails in northern California beginning in 1979, soon after David Carpenter was released from prison for an earlier violent crime spree. After three women were found murdered on Mount Tamalpais, investigators began to suspect that a serial killer was on the loose and targeting l...

This month I’ll be sharing a 3-part miniseries. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Northern California was terrorized by a series of random murders that took place on hiking trails in state parks, national forests and coastal lands. The public began to suspect that a serial killer was lurking among them and the media began referring to him as “The Trailside Killer”. In this first part, I’ll detail...

In 2002, two paintings were stolen from The Van Gogh Museum worth $30 million dollars. The investigation into this crime would involve law enforcement in several countries. Special investigators in both art crimes and organized crime units would also be brought in to solve the case of the missing Van Goghs.  Resources:  Documentary: Stealing Van Gogh (2018) , Julian Hendy, Director. “How 20 Stolen...

Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright begins an affair with Martha “Mamah” Borthwick. When the scandal threatens his career and reputation, he builds a home near Spring Green, Wisconsin. Called “Taliesin”, it was supposed to be a place of peace and refuge for the couple, but in 1914, it became the site of a horrifying massacre.  Resources:  “Soulmate Stunt Loses its Zest”, Kokomo Daily Tribune , Augu...

To celebrate reaching 200 episodes we created a bonus episode to answer listener questions. Thanks everyone for submitting them! Links: www. Patreon.com/onceuponacrime To listen to our "haunted" episode go to Episode #108 - Haunted Homicides: The LaLaurie Mansion. Some hear a "ghost" at minute 20 or so. The Scott Peterson episodes with my sister, Yolanda is #71 and #72 - The 12 Crimes of Christmas...

A contemporary artist is murdered in broad daylight in Washington D.C. Conspiracy theories about who was responsible begin to swirl after her close connection to John F. Kennedy is revealed.  Resources:  “The Last Painting of Mary Pinchot Meyer” by Maria Hummel for Counterpoint , June 5, 2019. https://crimereads.com/the-last-painting-of-mary-pinchot-meyer/ “The forgotten female artist who may have...