RedHanded

The sex-mad geisha who sliced off her lover’s genitals, strangled him with a kimono belt, and carved her name into his arm, is perhaps Japan’s most famous criminal of the 20th century. Today, Abe’s story is practically a part of Japanese folklore. So how did this brutal killer become an unlikely celebrity, feminist icon and star of stage and screen? What exactly is a geisha? And what does her stor...

The brutal hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden are still among the most infamous and hotly debated cases in true-crime history. Truly springing from the pages of your favourite murder mystery – with seemingly innocent housekeepers, “evil stepmothers”, and precocious ladies of luxury aplenty – there’s a lot of fact and a lot of fiction to wade through. Join us as we discover the real story be...

With Ross Ulbricht now a free man thanks to his recent presidential pardon we thought it would a good idea to look back at who he is, what he did, and what he represented as "The Dread Pirate Roberts". So enjoy our episode from all the way back in March 2023 for some all important context on the internets iconic drug kingpin, and decide for yourself: Should he be walking free? -- For some, the end...

The world’s media painted Brock Turner as a promising young swimmer – an Olympic hopeful with everything to lose. Whereas his anonymous victim was identified only from the police report: a blackout-drunk girl, passed out by some bins at a frat party, claiming sexual assault. Turner’s expensive team of lawyers did everything they could to further debase and defame the victim’s testimony. But they h...

Ellen Greenberg was murdered, or at the very least died under very suspicious circumstances. To us, and to almost everyone who has even so much as glanced at this case, that much is obvious. Yet as of this episode the state of Pennsylvania refuses to view the 27-year-olds death as anything but suicide. In our second of two parts on Ellen’s brutal murder we’re going to tell you how incompetent poli...

With the release of Gypsy Rose Blancharde’s memoir just around the corner, we thought it was high time we revisited the full story, from Episode 26 of RedHanded. And, to hear our thoughts on the book, check out this week’s Under the Duvet on  Patreon.com/redhanded . -- Things aren't always what they seem... To the world Dee Dee Blancharde was the perfect mum. She dedicated her life as a single mot...

If you believe the official report, Ellen Greenberg stabbed herself: at least 20 times in the back, neck, stomach, chest, and through her scalp, hard enough to pierce her own brain. And only after all that – say the authorities – did she plunge the knife four inches into her own stomach. In 2011, despite blindingly obvious evidence to the contrary, Philadelphia’s police ruled the 27-year-old schoo...

As RedHanded takes a festive pause, we've picked two of our favourite Patreon Bonus episodes from 2024. To get a full-length, bonus episode of RedHanded every month – plus weekly video episodes of Under the Duvet and much more besides – head to Patreon.com/redhanded and sign up. Or, head to patreon.com/redhanded/gift to buy a membership for someone else! -- For our second upcycle, we dive into the...

As RedHanded takes a festive pause, we've picked two of our favourite Patreon Bonus episodes from 2024. To get a full-length, bonus episode of RedHanded every month – plus weekly video episodes of Under the Duvet and much more besides – head to Patreon.com/redhanded and sign up. Or, head to patreon.com/redhanded/gift to buy a membership for someone else! -- The world was gripped in the summer of 2...

Last week we told you how over 1,000 people ended up in the Guyanese jungle following the orders of a meth-head with a god complex. Short answer: Nobody knowingly joins a cult. This week we’re here to tell you how the arrival of US Congressman Leo Ryan inadvertently set off a chain of events that led to the chaotic end of Jonestown and the tragic loss of nearly 1,000 lives. This is part two of the...

In February 1986, the prime minister of Sweden was walking home from the cinema, when a man stepped out of a shop doorway and shot him in the neck with a .357 Magnum. The killer ran down a side street – and disappeared without a trace. The mystery surrounding Olof Palme’s death is a Swedish national obsession that's barely left the headlines in the decades since. Hundreds of theories, from interna...

On the 18th of November 1978, 909 men, women, and children were killed by chemical-laced Flav-Or-Aid in the Guyanese jungle, all at the will of one man - Jim Jones. It was the largest loss of American lives since the Second World War. That’s what everyone remembers. But despite the notorious “Jonestown Massacre” being forever etched into the public consciousness, few people know how almost 1000 pe...

In this episode, we unravel the mystery of the Isdal Woman, Norway’s most notorious cold case. Was it murder, suicide, or something even more sinister? With whispers of Cold War espionage, coded notes, fake identities - and the persistent smell of garlic - this bizarre tale will leave you questioning everything. Wrap up warm: it’s time to enter the Ice Valley. Exclusive bonus content: Wondery  - A...

​​ One of the most prolific serial killers in America's so called 'golden era', Rodney Alcala is responsible for the deaths of at least eight people, although the true number is likely much higher. Yet few people have even heard of him. In fact his ability to narrowly avoid any real consequence for his multiple sexual assaults and violent murders, often on young girls, was so prolific that he even...

With Netflix releasing a brand new documentary on the tragic and suspicious death of JonBenét Ramsey, we thought it would a good time to have a little recap on the case that shook the nation. So here's us from way back in December 2019... When 6 year old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her family’s mansion on Boxing Day 1996 - it sparked a relentless mystery that sti...

Through the 2000s, three neo-Nazi terrorists and serial killers rampaged across Germany – bombing and shooting immigrants in broad daylight, with total impunity. And despite plenty of evidence, investigators failed to join the dots time and time again. Worse still, the German government was, unknowingly, actively funding the bloodshed. To find out why – a half century after the Holocaust – German...

In 1994, Zhu Ling – a brilliant chemistry student at China’s most prestigious university – fell mysteriously ill. A desperate SOS call by her friends on the fledgling Internet brought a chilling discovery: Zhu had been poisoned with thallium. And despite the evidence all pointing in one direction, the investigation ground to a suspicious halt, and nobody was ever charged. Join us for a story of je...

Richard Allen has been found guilty on all charges relating to the 2017 murders of Abby Williams and Libby German. But if anyone thinks that this story is over, think again - there is a lot of controversy around this trial and people are hugely divided over the outcome. In this update we’ll look at what convicted Richard Allen, what the jury  didn’t  hear, and why people are quite so angry… For th...

Of the 83 men who had raped Gisèle Pelicot, she recognised only two faces. One was a neighbour – and the other was her beloved husband of over 50 years. Dominique Pelicot had been using a chatroom to invite total strangers over to assault his wife, without her knowledge, for almost a decade. And she had had no idea. We peel back every layer of this unfathomable case: the shockwaves it sent through...

This week, we continue our spooky tradition of swapping stories on All Hallows Eve, with two chilling cases of betrayal and deceit. From a death in the dorms to a long-buried family secret that changed a Midwestern teenager’s life forever, we’ll have you looking at your inner circle with a healthy dose of suspicion: how much can we really trust those closest to us? Happy Halloween! Exclusive bonus...

The winter solstice is almost here – the time when the threshold between the living and the dead is at its weakest. And here at RedHanded towers, that only means one thing: spooky story swap time! Hannah and Suru have once again searched high and low for the spookiest, most bone-chilling cases they can find, to tell each other for the first time. For the first of our two story-swaps this year, Han...

Incest runs in the family – and Eddie Lee Sexton’s depravity knew no bounds. From his own  teenage daughters right down to the children he had fathered with his own kin – nobody was safe from him, or the sons he’d raised in his image.  With the authorities breathing down his neck, Sexton fled with his miserable menagerie in tow. By the time the law caught up to them, at least two people had been m...

We're digging deeper than ever into the dark recesses of the RedHanded vault – seven years to be exact – to bring you our first EVER Halloween special from 2017... For Halloween, the girls bring you the most disturbing cases they could find for their very own treehouse of horror, filled with kidnapping, a Buffalo Bill copy cat and shivers for days. Get cosy and grab the dog as Hannah & Suruthi...

Neglect has a smell – and it clung to the walls of 1849 Caroline Street, Stark County, Ohio. As a litany of horrors unfurled, the stench was dwarfed only by the darkness emanating from its owner – Eddie Lee Sexton. Over the next two episodes, we reveal a multi-generational secret; one that haunted Sexton’s 12 children for the rest of their days. The DHS, the Police and the Sheriff’s department all...

At first, police thought they were only looking for a double murderer. Nicknamed the ‘Bedsit Killer’ in the press, the suspect’s reputation for savage violence already loomed large in the town of Tunbridge Wells in the late 80s.  But it was only when they caught David Fuller – more than 30 years later – that they learnt the blood-curdling truth: that for years, the mortuary worker had been acting...