Red Tree Crime

A private investigator. An axe in a pub car park. And a corruption scandal that reached the highest levels of Scotland Yard. Thirty-seven years later, Britain's most investigated unsolved murder still has no killer. On March 10, 1987, Daniel Morgan was found dead outside the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south London. An axe was embedded in his skull [citation:3]. The 37-year-old father of two had...

A Thanksgiving visit. A financial ultimatum. And a son who responded with a level of violence so extreme that even veteran detectives called it "pure evil overkill." In this episode, I uncover the horrific case of Lisa and Joel Guy — a devoted couple in Knoxville, Tennessee, who were brutally murdered by their own son over Thanksgiving weekend in 2016 [citation:1]. Joel Guy Jr., a 28-year-old coll...

A nurse. A loving mother. And a secret lover who worked in the same fertility clinic. When Bill McGuire vanished in April 2004, his wife Melanie cried for the cameras. But the Chesapeake Bay had other plans. Fishermen found the first suitcase floating in the water. Inside: human legs. Two more suitcases washed ashore over the next week, each containing dismembered body parts [citation:1]. The vict...

He reported on the murders. He consoled the families. He even coined the killer's nickname. Then police discovered he was writing about his own crimes. Vlado Taneski was a respected journalist in the sleepy Macedonian town of Kičevo. Between 2005 and 2008, elderly women began disappearing. They were cleaners, poor and uneducated — just like Taneski's own mother. Their bodies were found wrapped in...

A psychopath who made his victims call him "Master." Bodies dissolved in acid barrels inside a bank vault. A killing spree that lasted seven years while police unknowingly surveilled the killer. In this episode, I uncover Australia's most terrifying serial killer — John Bunting, the ringleader of the Snowtown murders. Between 1992 and 1999, Bunting and his accomplices tortured and murdered at leas...

A barking dog. A barrage of gunfire. A wife hiding in a closet, listening to her husband take his last breath. And then, three months later, she opened her home to the man who planned it all. In March 2018, wealthy Austin jeweler Ted Shaughnessy was shot dead in his own hallway [citation:1]. His wife Corey survived by retreating to a closet after exchanging fire with the intruders [citation:10]. T...

A bath. A locked bag. A naked body. And a genius spy who vanished from work for eight days before anyone noticed. In this episode, I uncover the baffling case of Gareth Williams, the 31-year-old MI6 codebreaker found dead inside a padlocked North Face bag in his London flat in August 2010 [citation:1]. His hands were folded on his chest. The key was beneath his body. And the heating was turned on...

A millionaire's wife. A teenage lover hidden in the rafters. A murder that went unsolved for eight years while the killer slept above the crime scene. In this episode, I uncover one of the most bizarre true crime stories of the 20th century — the case of Walburga "Dolly" Oesterreich and her secret lover Otto Sanhuber. For ten years, Dolly kept Otto hidden in the attic of the home she shared with h...

A family vanishes from their home. Eggs left on the counter. Popcorn bowls on the sofa. Two dogs in the backyard. And a surveillance camera that captured nothing but the bottom of their SUV. In February 2010, Joseph and Summer McStay and their two young sons, Gianni and Joseph Jr., disappeared from their Fallbrook, California home without a trace [citation:3]. For nearly four years, speculation ra...

A pregnant mother. A two-year-old hiding under the covers. And a husband who claims he was 169 miles away when his wife was beaten to death. On November 3, 2006, Michelle Young was found face-down in her Raleigh bedroom — bludgeoned more than 30 times, her teeth knocked out, her body surrounded by blood [citation:3][citation:4]. Upstairs, her daughter Cassidy was unharmed, her tiny bloody footprin...

A daughter's 911 call. A mother stabbed 70 times in her bed. And a story so full of lies that detectives spent months going down a rabbit hole. On July 16, 2012, 16-year-old Keri Murphy called police screaming that someone had broken into her family's Humble, Texas home [citation:5]. Inside, officers found 48-year-old Mary Ann Murphy dead in her bed — stabbed more than 70 times while she slept [ci...

She cried on national television. She begged for her children's safe return. And for nine days, America believed her. In October 1994, Susan Smith told police a Black man had carjacked her Mazda with her two sons inside. Three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander were gone, she sobbed. The nation searched. The nation prayed. But the truth was far darker than any carjacking [citation:1].  Sm...

A wife. Two children. A golden retriever. He killed them all while they slept. Then he called 911 and waited. When detectives asked why, his answer was so absurd they asked him to repeat it. In this episode, I uncover the most insane reasons husbands have given for murdering their entire families. From a man who killed his wife because she "folded the towels wrong" to another who claimed a video g...

She played the role perfectly. The grieving girlfriend. The concerned witness. The helpful citizen. And then the detective slid a photograph across the table — and watched the color drain from her face. In this episode, I uncover the true crime stories of killer girlfriends who thought their secrets were buried forever. From poisoners who kept detailed journals to women who dismembered lovers and...

He planned the perfect murder. He covered his tracks. He watched the news, waiting for his name to be called. It never came. So he relaxed. He went back to his life. He even bragged to his girlfriend. In this episode, I uncover the true crime stories of killers who thought they had gotten away with murder — until the woman who slept beside them picked up the phone. From jealous lovers to horrified...

He wore the badge. He carried the gun. He was trusted to protect the vulnerable. And behind the uniform, he was the monster he swore to hunt. In this episode, I uncover the chilling true stories of detectives who discovered that a fellow officer — someone they had worked with, eaten lunch with, called a friend — was hiding a horrifying secret. From cops who were serial rapists to those who murdere...

The killing stopped. The police had no leads. Then he walked into the station, sat down, and began to speak. What he said made the detectives wish he had stayed silent. In this episode, I uncover the most horrifying confessions ever made by murderers after their killing sprees ended. From cannibals describing the taste of human flesh to serial killers who kept trophies in their freezers, these are...

She came to the station voluntarily. She offered a detailed statement. She even cried at the right moments. And then the detective noticed the one detail only the killer could know. In this episode, I uncover the twisted true crime stories of killers who inserted themselves into investigations as witnesses — sometimes even helping detectives build cases against innocent people. From the girlfriend...

They read the file. They studied the evidence. And then they sat across from him and realized — the man in front of them was not human. In this episode, I uncover the moments when seasoned detectives, who thought they had seen everything, came face to face with true evil. From killers who showed no emotion during confessions to those who described their crimes with the enthusiasm of someone recall...

She cried for the cameras. She held press conferences. And when detectives asked if she knew who did it, she pointed a trembling finger at everyone but herself. In this episode, I uncover the chilling true stories of ex-girlfriends who played the victim while secretly orchestrating the most evil plans imaginable. From staging their own attacks to framing innocent men for crimes they never committe...

He smiled. He confessed. And then he told the detectives he would do it all again without a second thought. In this episode, I uncover the most disturbing confessions ever recorded from child predators who showed no remorse, no empathy, and no hesitation. From Jason William Forbes, the Australian predator who built a soundproof room in his loft and kept a "mind map" on his bedroom mirror detailing...

The detective sits across from a suspect who smiles like an old friend. The killer speaks in soothing tones. And by the end of the conversation, the interrogator feels like the one being interrogated. In this episode, I uncover the craziest interrogations of master manipulators — criminals so skilled at psychological warfare that they turned the tables on their own hunters. Take Mark Riebe, a con...

She helped her mother hide the truth. Then she killed her to make sure it stayed buried forever. In this episode, I bring you the shocking true crime story of Cassandra Scott, a 36-year-old woman from Longsight who brutally murdered her mother, Beverley Scott, and then staged an elaborate cover-up to protect a dark family secret. Cassandra stabbed her mother ten times with a 21cm kitchen knife whi...

He planned every detail. He covered every trace. He walked away believing he had committed the perfect murder. Then the detectives showed him the one thing he forgot. In this episode, I bring you the chilling true crime story of a killer who thought he could get away with murdering his husband — only to be undone by a single overlooked detail. From DNA on a glove to a witness he never noticed, the...

She trusted him. She slept beside him. She never imagined the man she married was hiding something so dark that detectives would need years to uncover the full truth. In this episode, I bring you the chilling true crime stories of husbands whose horrifying secrets were finally exposed by relentless investigators. From double lives spanning decades to crimes so depraved they shattered entire famili...