Residue: A True Crime Podcast

Talhotblond is a 2012 Lifetime made-for-television movie based on a shocking real-life internet love triangle that ended in murder. The film dramatizes how online anonymity, emotional insecurity, and deception spiraled into deadly violence. The story centers on Thomas Montgomery, a middle-aged, married factory worker who is dissatisfied with his life and seeks escape through online chat rooms and...

This podcast episode explores the tragic true story of Nick Markowitz, a 15-year-old boy whose life was taken after being used as leverage in a reckless dispute that spiraled out of control. When a conflict involving his older half-brother and a local drug dealer escalates, Nick is pulled into a situation he had no part in creating. What starts as a misguided attempt to intimidate someone quickly...

In this episode, we explore the real-life case of Susan Wright, a Texas woman whose story captured national attention and later inspired the Lifetime made-for-TV movie Blue-Eyed Butcher. We walk through Susan’s background, her marriage to Jeff Wright, and how a seemingly ordinary suburban life became the center of a high-profile criminal case. Sources: https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/susan...

I Am Zozo is a horror film that follows a group of friends who decide to use a Ouija board out of curiosity. During their sessions, the board begins responding aggressively and identifies itself as “Zozo.” As the group continues to engage with it, the atmosphere becomes increasingly tense and unsettling, suggesting that whatever they’ve contacted grows stronger the more attention it receives. The...

This episode explores the true story behind Lifetime’s Husband, Father, Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story. From adoption and reunification to manipulation, abuse, and murder. We examine the escalation of violence, the deaths of Katie, her adoptive father, and her infant son Bennett, and how systemic failures allowed danger to go unchecked. We also separate fact from dramatization in the Lifetime movi...

In 1976, a chilling horror film hit theaters, introducing the world to Damien, the Antichrist child. But while audiences were terrified on screen, strange and deadly events were unfolding behind the scenes. The Omen didn’t just scare moviegoers, it seemed to haunt its cast and crew in real life. Was it coincidence? Or did the dark subject matter of Satan, prophecy, and the Antichrist bring real-wo...

In this episode, we take a closer look at the tragic abduction of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman—an event that would go on to reshape the way communities respond to missing-child emergencies. We explore the circumstances surrounding Amber’s disappearance in 1996, the investigation that gripped the nation, and how her legacy inspired the creation of the AMBER Alert system used across the United States t...

In this episode, we dive into the extraordinary story of actress Theresa Saldana. A rising Hollywood star whose life was nearly cut short by a brutal attack in 1982. From her disciplined childhood in Brooklyn to her breakout roles in Raging Bull and I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Theresa seemed destined for fame. But one terrifying encounter with a delusional stalker changed everything. We explore the st...

In July of 1993, a group of Florida teenagers committed one of the most shocking and senseless murders in modern true crime history. The crime, later dramatized in the 2001 film Bully, was not the work of hardened criminals or masterminds, but of suburban kids. At the center of the story were two childhood friends: Marty Puccio, quiet and impressionable, and Bobby Kent, a young man many described...

In this episode, we uncover the terrifying true story behind Taken In Broad Daylight, the Lifetime movie based on the abduction of 17-year-old Anne Sluti. In April 2001, Anne was kidnapped in broad daylight from a Nebraska shopping mall by convicted felon Anthony Steven Wright. What followed was a harrowing six-day ordeal that stretched across multiple states and showcased Anne’s remarkable courag...

In this episode, we start with Abducted at an HBCU: A Black Girl Missing Movie a gripping Lifetime film that dives into the disappearance of a young woman at a historically Black college. When a student suddenly vanishes, her counselor refuses to look the other way, uncovering a system that too often dismisses missing Black women and girls. The story is fictional, but its message hits painfully cl...

In the early 1990s, the college town of Gainesville,Florida was paralyzed by fear. Over just three days, five students were brutally murdered in their own apartments, victims of Danny Rolling, the man the press would call The Gainesville Ripper. His crimes were savage, his methods deliberate, and the terror he left behind felt like something straight out of a horror movie. Years later, screenwrite...

In this episode, we dive into the true story behind Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story, the Lifetime movie that shocked viewers. We recount the 2006 case of 17-year-old Ashley Reeves, a high school student from Illinois who was lured to a remote park by her former teacher and brutally attacked—strangled and left paralyzed, alone in the woods for over 30 hours. Miraculously, she survived. We’ll...

The 1983 made-for-TV movie Adam tells the true story of six-year-old Adam Walsh, who was abducted from a Sears department store in Hollywood, Fl in July 1981. The movie follows his parents, John and Reve Walsh, as they struggle with the devastating loss of their son and the failures of the system meant to protect children. The real-life case behind the movie had a lasting impact. John Walsh became...

We revisit the harrowing true story of Francine Hughes, the Michigan housewife whose decades-long abuse at the hands of her husband, Mickey Hughes, ended in a desperate act that would shake the nation. On a cold night in March 1977, after suffering relentless physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, Francine set fire to the bed where her husband lay sleeping. We explore the real events behind the gr...

When Susan Wilson and her family move into what they believe is their dream home in a quiet Louisiana neighborhood, everything seems perfect. But soon, Susan begins to suspect that something isn't right. Susan makes the horrifying discovery that her trusted neighbor has been spying on her family, watching their most private moments. He has secretly installed hidden cameras in her home. Even more d...

We dive into the true story behind the Lifetime movie Mommy Meanest. A chilling thriller where a teenage girl is tormented by a cyberbully, only to find out that the person behind the screen is her own mother. Based on the real-life case of Kendra Licari, the Michigan mom who stalked and harassed her daughter for 2 years. Sources: https://www.tvinsider.com/1212649/kendra-licari-updates-unknown-num...

Send us a text Laurie Show was a 16-year-old high school student from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, whose life was tragically cut short in 1991 in a brutal act of jealousy and revenge. She had briefly dated an older teen, Lawrence  Yunkin, who was in a volatile relationship with another teenager, Michelle Lambert. Lambert became increasingly obsessed with harassing and threatening Laurie. On the mornin...

Send us a text The Marla Hanson Story is a dramatic retelling of a real-life tragedy. The film follows Marla Hanson, a young and ambitious model who moves to New York City to pursue her career. She rents an apartment from Steve Roth, a makeup artist with whom she initially forms a friendship. However, when Marla rebuffs his unwanted romantic advances, Roth's interest turns dark and obsessive. Cons...

Send us a text In 1991, Wanda Holloway, a mother from Channelview, Texas, became the center of national outrage when she attempted to hire a hitman to kill the mother of her daughter’s cheerleading rival. Holloway believed that eliminating the rival’s mother would emotionally destabilize the girl freeing up a coveted spot on the high school cheerleading squad for her own daughter. Her plan unravel...

Send us a text PART 2 .... In 1983, Diane Downs drove her three children to an Oregon hospital — one dead, two critically injured — claiming a stranger had attacked them. But investigators quickly uncovered a much darker truth. In this PART TWO episode, we look at the shocking real-life crime committed by Downs and how it was brought to the screen in the 1989 TV movie Small Sacrifices, starring Fa...

Send us a text In 1983, Diane Downs drove her three children to an Oregon hospital — one dead, two critically injured — claiming a stranger had attacked them. But investigators quickly uncovered a much darker truth. In this PART ONE episode, we look at the shocking real-life crime committed by Downs and how it was brought to the screen in the 1989 TV movie Small Sacrifices, starring Farrah Fawcett...

Send us a text In 1995, a tragic crime in Grand Prairie, Texas, shocked the nation and became known as the Texas Cadet Murder. The case involved two promising high school students—Diane Zamora and David Graham—both of whom were aspiring military cadets with bright futures ahead of them. Their intense romantic relationship took a dark turn when jealousy and obsession spiraled into violence. Accordi...

Send us a text Amy Carnevale was a vibrant 14-year-old girl from Massachusetts—kind, popular, and full of promise. In what seemed like a typical teenage romance, she began dating an older boy. But as their relationship unfolded, so did a pattern of control, jealousy, and escalating red flags that too many people overlooked. Her tragic story would later inspire the 1996 TV movie No One Would Tell,...

Send us a text In December 2009, 29-year-old Teka Adams was nearly full-term in her pregnancy and trying to rebuild her life after homelessness. When a woman posing as a social worker offered her free baby supplies, Teka thought it was a chance to provide for her future child. What followed was a horrifying four-day ordeal of captivity, deception, and survival. In this episode, we tell the story o...