People are the Worst

In 1990, a local news anchor named Diane Newton King got a phone call from a fan asking for advice. She was polite and talked to him, but then he kept calling...Things went downhill fast. This was the beginning of stalking laws and Diane's husband Brad was a former cop so they took this very seriously. Then on a cold, February night it all ended tragically. Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Pa...

*DISCLAIMER - Rebecca's an idiot and forgot to connect her microphone to our recording platform so she sounds more echoey than usual. You would think after 98 episodes, we would have this down but you'd be wrong. On October 1, 1985, 17-year-old Michele "Missy" Avila went out with her friend, Laura Doyle. Hours later, the Avila's phone rings and it's Laura asking to speak to Missy. Mrs. Avila's hea...

Joan Harmon had had a very rough couple of years until 2004 when she met & married Christian "Kit" Martin. Kit was a well respected army major and when the two finally settled in Pembroke, Kentucky, life was good...until it wasn't. After their divorce, Cal & Pam Phillips take Joan in until she gets back on her feet. As she's moving out, she finds something very damning & the story goes downhill fr...

In 2002, John Darwin went out for an early morning kayak ride and never returned. His wife and two sons were devastated but held out hope that he was alive until his broken kayak washed up on shore months later. It was determined he was dead but they never found a body. Six years later a man walks into a police station and changes the entire investigation... Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our P...

On January 11, 2018, 55-year-old Ray Wright vanished without a trace. He had no reason to leave. After all, his family said he was in the best place of his life. Fearing the worst, his brother went to his house to check on him and walked in on an intruder. A few days later, Sacramento police were led on a high speed chase, seemingly unrelated to Ray's case. But when they searched the evader's van,...

In 2006, 17-year-old Ashley Reeves borrowed her boyfriends car for a job interview then had plans to play basketball with friends, but she never came home. A missing persons report was filed and her friends tell police a secret that Ashley was keeping that leads them right to someone no one expected...and he is the absolute worst. Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Patreon for bonus episodes, c...

In 2008, police in Raleigh, NC received reports of an unresponsive woman on the side of the interstate. When they got there, it was clear that 21-year-old Latrese Curtis had been brutally murdered. Latrese was a newlywed and college student who had a secret that nobody knew about. When investigators uncover the secret, they zero in on multiple suspects, but it doesn't take long to make an arrest t...

The Facebook Rapist, Thabo Bester. Get a load of this sh*t. Story starts on 4:28 Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Patreon for bonus episodes, check out our website for merch, and follow us on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1999, Stacie Reed &  Kristie Reed, were brutally attacked after returning home from school. Stacie's friend, Paul Powell, was arrested and when we talk about people being the worst, he's up there. After sending taunting letters to the victims' families & the prosecutor, it's clear he thinks he is the smartest one in the room, but don't worry, his actions lead to a new phrase we coined: "dip shitte...

9-year-old Annie Swartz woke up to what sounded like a struggle downstairs. She froze in fear when she heard her dad yell for help but before she knew it, there was silence. Once the door slammed, she looked out the window to see a man with an axe walking into the woods. Based on the description, police were confident they knew who it was but they were fooled... Story starts on 3:02 Produced by Ja...

In 1996, 18-year-old Angie Dodge was found murdered in her Idaho Falls, ID apartment. Fortunately, they had a perfect DNA sample. Unfortunately, things were mishandled. Someone was charged relatively quickly, but was it the right person? It takes over two decades (and CeCe Moore, duh) to find out & this story doesn't end there. Listen to this case all the way through to hear the sad, shocking conc...

On January 13th, 2010 a policeman driving around Conyers, GA heard screams of 2 young girls.  It was 16-year-old identical twins, Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah Whitehead, who just came home from school to a gruesome crime scene. Their mother, Nikki, was found in her bathrub stabbed over 80 times after a very clear struggle. There's no shortage of suspects but the evidence found at the crime scene tells a...

In 2010, Yara Gambirasio went to run a quick errand and never returned home. Her small, safe Italian town of Brembate di Sopra was shaken when it wasn't immediately solved. Luckily, the lead investigator was a badass who wouldn't give up. Her hunt for the killer unveiled several secrets and made this one of the most expensive & controversial cases in Italian history. Story starts at 10:00 Produced...

Tanya Kach was going through a rebellious stage when her parents got divorced and her dad moved her to Mckeesport, PA. Middle school is a terrible time to be a new student and she struggled to make friends.  She would often run away only to come home a few hours later and in February 1996, her dad and stepmom woke up to what they assumed was one of those days: Tanya was gone. Except this time, it...

Susie Newsom was born into a very prominent family in North Carolina. When she was in college, she met her future husband Tom Lynch. They got married, had two sons & Tom started his own dental practice. However, Susie was miserable and when the marriage fell apart, she started behaving differently, to say the least. After she sparked up a new romance with the most unlikely of people, Fritz Klenner...

”We imagine someone’s last moments in the hands of evil beyond terrifying when, in fact, the person is protected by shock. While in this state, pain is not felt and the greatest escape at that time is to cross over. When it happened to me I did not feel like I died. In fact I had never felt more alive in my life. I knew everything and feared nothing. I was a part of something huge” - Jennifer Asbe...

Jamie & Jennifer Faith had been together for almost 15 years when one day, Jennifer randomly got a message from her old high school boyfriend, Darrin Lopez. Jennifer & Darrin hadn't talked in over 30 years, but soon they were texting each other all day every day...and the communication got spicy. Even though Jennifer was married and everyone seemingly loved Jamie, she had a dark secret about him....

Imagine finding out you were kidnapped and not having any answers for 40+ years. Come on this roller coaster of emotions as Rebecca tells the fascinating and devastating story of Paul Fronczak. *Story starts minute 3:22 Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Patreon for bonus episodes, check out our website for merch, and follow us on TikTok, Instagram & YouTube  Learn more about your ad choices. V...

On May 23, 1984, over a dozen people on a quiet street were awoken by a scream in the middle of the night, yet nobody knew where it came from so nobody called the cops. The next morning, 36-year-old Karen Gregory's was found horrifically murdered. This case is a real whodunnit and after two years, they finally bring the shocking perpetrator to justice. Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Patreon...

Margy Palm was kidnapped from a KMart while Christmas shopping in San Antonio, TX. After several hours of being held hostage the kidnapper made her go into a 7-eleven to pick up a few things and she sees a startling headline that makes her realize how much danger she's actually in. The thing is though: she wasn't planning that trip to KMart. It was an impromptu errand and it wasn't even her usual...

When 36-year-old single dad, Dave Kroupa, decided to start dating again after breaking up with his long term girlfriend, he was hesitant to start anything serious. That's why he was relieved when he met Cari Farver, who also wanted to keep the relationship casual...Until one day when she abruptly suggested that they live together. When Dave said no, he had no idea that it would lead to years of ha...

Stephen Schap was a family-oriented man who swore that if he ever got married, it would be for life. Divorce was not an option for him but unfortunately it was for his wife, Diane, and in 1993 she made it clear that she wanted one. Stephen took it surprisingly well...until he didn’t. Things went south very quickly and the victim isn't who you think it is Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Patre...

You're getting 3 stories today! Nadja Medley and her daughter Payton were living in Ogden, UT when Nadja met the love of her life, Mike Bullinger. However, Nadja was concerned that Mike wasn't as committed to her as she was to him so to prove it, Mike bought a ranch in Caldwell, Idaho and asked Nadja and Payton to move in with him. It was a happily ever ending until it wasn't... We also talk about...

In 1984, a huge fire at Ole's Home Center in Pasadena, CA took the lives of 4 people. This was only one of the estimated 2,000 fires in the 80s and early 90s started by a serial arsonist known as the Pillow Pyro. A dedicated task force was formed to catch him, and when they zeroed in on the most unlikely suspect, it spurred a badass investigation. Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Patreon for...

Jesse Valencia was a fun-loving, sociable college student at University of Missouri and had a ton of friends so when he was found outside nearly naked with his throat slit, the entire college town was shocked. While there were a ton of suspects, the investigation reveals a secret that would lead them right to Jesse's unexpected killer. Produced by Jacob Hollabaugh Join our Patreon for bonus episod...