Straight to the Case

In August 1986, the brutal killing of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in New York City’s Central Park shocked the nation. Within hours, suspicion fell on her last known companion: Robert Chambers, a privileged prep-school student whose clean-cut image clashed violently with the crime he was accused of committing. As the case unfolded, the media frenzy exploded—turning courtrooms into spectacles and the...

In July 2005, newlywed George Allen Smith boarded a luxury cruise ship for what should have been a dream honeymoon. By the end of the trip, George was gone—vanishing without a trace somewhere in the middle of the Aegean Sea. What followed was a tangled web of unanswered questions, conflicting stories, missing evidence, and a cruise line more focused on damage control than finding the truth. Was Ge...

In July of 2006, 24-year-old Lori Slesinski left her Minnesota home to meet someone she trusted. She never came back. What followed was years of uncertainty, false hope, and a case built almost entirely without a body—forcing investigators to rely on digital footprints, shifting alibis, and the psychology of someone who knew exactly how to disappear another person. In this episode of Straight to t...

Ken and Barbie Killers: The Evil Duo — Part Two In Part Two of Ken and Barbie Killers: The Evil Duo, the illusion finally shatters. As teenage girls continue to vanish across Ontario, police begin to connect the dots between the unsolved Scarborough Rapist attacks and a new wave of horrifying crimes. What follows is a race against time — one shaped by missed opportunities, hidden evidence, and a d...

In the late 1980s, Canada was on edge. A violent predator known as the Scarborough Rapist was stalking women, leaving fear in his wake — and no one knew who he was. In Part One of Ken and Barbie Killers: The Evil Duo, we trace the origins of one of Canada’s most disturbing true crime cases. We begin with the attacks that terrified Scarborough, then follow the fateful meeting of Paul Bernardo and K...

In this episode of Straight to the Case, we unravel one of the strangest and most unsettling poisoning cases in modern true crime — the death of David Castor. What was first ruled a suicide quickly unraveled into something far more sinister. Antifreeze. A staged scene. A so-called confession letter that raised more questions than answers. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered a chilling patt...

Just after the holidays, a family of four vanished without a trace. Their home looked lived in. Their dogs were left behind. Their phones, wallets, and passports never moved. At first, investigators believed the McStay family had chosen to leave—possibly crossing the border to start a new life. Media speculation followed, searches slowed, and the case quietly drifted into the background. But years...

Bryce Laspisa was a college student with no known enemies, no history of running away, and no clear reason to disappear. But over the course of a single night, a series of strange decisions, missed warnings, and unanswered phone calls would lead to a mystery that still haunts his family—and investigators—today. In this episode of Straight to the Case, we walk step by step through Bryce’s final kno...

When we talk about evil, we usually point to the choices someone makes. They had options, and they still chose to do something horrific. But it always raises the question: is evil purely a decision, or can something else push a person toward those dark acts? Is it outside influence… or a lie the mind tells itself to avoid responsibility? A lot of the cases I cover happened decades ago, and the era...

In this episode of Straight to the Case, we’re examining the haunting disappearance of 18-year-old Kelsey Smith. A quick trip to a local Target should’ve been routine — instead, it turned into a nightmare that unfolded in real time. Security footage, a frantic family, and a race against the clock pushed investigators into one of the most urgent searches they’d ever faced. What happened in those fi...

This week on Innocent or Guilty, we’re diving into the case of Darlie Routier — a story that shook an entire community and still sparks debate decades later. Two young boys attacked in their own home, a mother left injured, and a narrative that split the nation in half. The prosecution called it a cold-blooded crime. The defense argued it was a rushed investigation built on assumptions. And the pu...

In this episode of Case File, Jewel takes the mic solo to break down Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family — episode by episode. Jewel walks you through the docuseries exactly the way it unfolds, while calling out what the show gets right, what it changes, and the real facts behind one of the most shocking Southern scandals of our time. From the boat crash, to the housekeeper’s death, to the Stephe...

In Part One, the trials brought answers — or so it seemed. But behind the convictions were cracks the public never saw. In this second half of the investigation, Jewel and Jeremy dig deeper into the confessions, the interrogation tactics, and the questions that refused to stay buried. As new evidence emerges and old assumptions fall apart, the case takes a turn that no one expected. Decades later,...

In 1991, a fire tore through a small yogurt shop in Austin, Texas — and what firefighters found inside changed the city forever. Four teenage girls were gone, and the search for answers would expose secrets, suspects, and shocking confessions. Join Jewel and Jeremy as they reopen one of Texas’ most haunting cases — The Yogurt Shop Murders, Part One. Ref https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/suspect-ide...

It’s one of Los Angeles’s most haunting Halloween stories — a knock at the door, a mask, and a single gunshot that ended a man’s life. But behind the disguise was no stranger… it was a plan born from jealousy, loneliness, and a love that couldn’t exist in 1957. In this Halloween special, Jewel takes you back to the real story of Peter Fabiano, the man murdered on his own doorstep by two women whos...

In this special bonus episode of Straight to the Case, Jewel and Jeremy revisit four stories that defined the show — The Night Stalker: Face of Evil, The Disappearance of Crystal Rogers, Innocent or Guilty: Crosley Green, and Survivor’s Story: Random Attacks. They reflect on the cases that still linger in their minds — adding new facts, new questions, and new theories. From survivors who fought ba...

The trial of Richard Ramirez became more than a legal battle—it was a spectacle of horror, obsession, and disbelief. Inside the courtroom, survivors faced the man who haunted their nights, while the public watched a killer turn infamy into performance. Every smirk, every word, every moment revealed a man unrepentant in his darkness. In this final part, we explore the aftermath of fear—the justice...

As fear consumed California, detectives raced against time to stop a killer who seemed to vanish as quickly as he struck. Each new crime scene brought more horror, more confusion, and more pressure. The Night Stalker had no pattern—his victims came from every walk of life, every age, and every neighborhood. Evil didn’t discriminate, and neither did he. In part two, we follow the frantic hunt to un...

There are crimes that shake a community, and then there are crimes that paralyze entire cities. In the mid-1980s, California faced a nightmare unlike any before. A faceless predator moved silently through the night, leaving behind only fear, devastation, and unanswered questions. Neighbors locked their doors, families slept in terror, and no one felt safe—not in their homes, not even in their own...

A mother of five disappears over a holiday weekend. Her car is found abandoned on the side of the road—keys, purse, and phone still inside. What begins as a missing person case quickly unravels into something much darker, pulling in family, suspicion, and years of unanswered questions. In this episode of Straight to the Case, we dive into one of Kentucky’s most haunting mysteries: The Disappearanc...

In the final chapter of Innocent or Guilty: Crosley Green, we follow Crosley’s long fight for freedom to its heartbreaking present. With Keith Harrison leading the charge, appeals exposed hidden prosecutor notes, flawed dog tracking, and a suggestive lineup that should have never stood. For a moment, there was hope—Crosley was released, able to work, ride his motorcycle, marry, and share his faith...

In Part 2 of Innocent or Guilty: Crosley Green, we dig deeper into the cracks in the state’s case. Witnesses recant, investigators admit doubts, and the flaws in the physical evidence begin to surface. We break down the questionable dog tracking, the suggestive photo lineup, and the jury bias that sealed Crosley’s fate. But even with all of this, the appeals courts refused to grant him a new trial...

In 1989, Charles “Chip” Flynn was found dying in a Florida orange grove, his hands tied behind his back. The only witness, his ex-girlfriend Kim Halleck, said a random Black man ambushed them and pulled the trigger. Her story set off a chain of events that would change a man’s life forever. Crosley Green was arrested, convicted, and sent to death row—despite no physical evidence tying him to the c...

Two college dates. Two different states. Two brutal, random attacks. In this episode, Jewel and Jeremy take you inside the harrowing survivor stories of Danielle Keener and Dan Zapp in Pennsylvania, and Yvette and Zach Snarr in Utah. What began as simple nights out quickly turned into life-or-death battles when strangers with guns decided to destroy lives without warning. Through first-hand perspe...

We’re switching things up this week with a bonus episode! Instead of diving into a new case, Jewel and Jeremy sit down to look back at our first six episodes of Straight to the Case. We talk about the wild details that stuck with us, why we picked certain cases, and even share a few extra thoughts we didn’t get to say the first time around. Think of this as a recap, a catch-up, and a behind-the-sc...