The Dark Divide

It was September 26, 2022, when Orange County deputies arrived at a quiet suburban home, that gave no hint of the darkness waiting inside. At the center of the crime was a soft-spoken, unassuming young woman who seemed incapable of violence, yet she had just stabbed her own sister. In her chilling confession, Fatiha Marzan would reveal the simmering tensions that had consumed her before plunging h...

It was a beautiful and sunny Saturday morning in Waukesha, Wisconsin on May 31, 2014 when a cyclist came upon Payton Leutner laying near a bike path in a park. The 12-year-old girl had been stabbed multiple times and left for dead, but after extensive life-saving measures, would miraculously survive the vicious attack. Authorities were forced to confront their fundamental assumptions when she told...

When 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd failed to show up for work, it immediately set off alarm bells for everyone who knew how responsible and reliable she was. Upon further inspection, two sets of footprints in the snow would show Jessica's shoes walking away from her home towards the property line, vanishing once met with tire tracks. Someone had taken her. And this was yet another event on a growing l...

Philip Markoff appeared to have it all: a shiny academic record, a beautiful fiancé and a successful medical career in the making. But beneath the exterior of his perfect life was a hidden thirst for power, a greedy sense of entitlement and a financial debt that left him feeling desperate. Using Craigslist to meet women and steal his way back to freedom, Philip would eventually end up with blood o...

The night of July 27, 2021 had been just like any other for Katie Janness. She stopped in to visit her girlfriend at work while walking their dog Bowie, intending to see her back at home when she finished. But shortly after, the two would enter Piedmont Park and never exit. Over two years later, the FBI and Atlanta Police are still searching for leads to solve a murder that has baffled not only Ge...

At the time she went missing, Taylor Wright's life was complicated and messy. Just recently divorced, the rumor on the street was that she had skipped town with a load of her ex-husband's cash. The nation would soon be captivated by this alleged mother on the run, and as the days passed the focus of suspicion would instead fix itself onto her best friend, Ashley McArthur. In between all the lies,...

In September 2017, 65-year-old Dianna-Mah Jones and her 68-year-old husband, Richard Jones, would be found murdered in their safe and vibrant residential neighborhood in Vancouver, British Columbia. For weeks, authorities canvassed the area and examined clues left behind at the scene. The community held their breath for over a month until 27-year-old Rocky Rambo Wei Nam Kam was arrested, a man who...

May 5th is the National Day of Awareness and Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, girls, 2 spirit, and gender diverse people in Canada. So today, I'm bringing you three exclusive episodes from Patreon of MMIW women in Canada that deserve more attention.  If you'd like to support the show, JOIN PATREON for more bonus episodes like these:  ABIGAIL ANDREWS - 01:00 Thirteen years ago, Abi...

Melinda and Bruce Pleskovic had been dealing with months of disturbances, theft and attempted burglaries. When Bruce came home on the evening of October 23rd, 2017 to find his wife had been murdered, he assumed that could be the only possible threat. But after hours of interrogation and piecing together her last day, authorities would discover that the biggest danger to Melinda's family wasn't lur...

Newlyweds of no more than a week, Jordan Graham and Cody Johnson should've been living out the ultimate summer of love in July 2013. But an afternoon hike in the best nature Montana has to offer, would have only one of them returning home. For some it's a dream, and for others, falling in love is the deadliest thing you could ever do.  Get early listening & bonus episodes on Patreon   ____________...

In February 2019, Linda Roberts begged her boyfriend for one more chance to explain all the difficulties and drama that she brought into their relationship. He prepared himself for a tale of childhood trauma and chaotic family dynamics involving her sister Mary-Beth and her father Anthony Tomaselli. Instead, he would quickly realize that what he was there for wasn't an explanation, but a confessio...

October 2nd, 1999 was a perfect day to be on The Big South Trail. As it continues along the Poudre River, you can catch scenic canyon vistas along it's climb and descent, and experience the best of what Northern Colorado has to offer. But Allyn Atadero would face every father's worst nightmare when his three year old son, Jaryd, would go missing during a hike. The majestic beauty of the land would...

When the bodies of two tourists are discovered along a highway in Northern British Columbia, an immediate tension would rise with the peak of the season. Within days, another murder would lead the RCMP to believe they had a spree on their hands. By the time law enforcement realized they had mistook perpetrators Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky for possible victims, a relentless manhunt would take...

In the summer of 1980, Dorothy Jane Scott would disappear into the California night without a trace. There is nothing more chilling than an unsolved case where a person seemingly vanishes into thin air. Intertwine that with a self-proclaimed killer committed to haunting the aftermath and you have the stuff nightmares are made of. But how do you solve a crime that wasn't even a crime while it was h...

On February 24, 1986, John Ruetten came home to his Van Nuys apartment to discover that his wife, Sherri Rasmussen had been beaten and murdered. The Los Angeles Police Department was quick to call it a burglary gone wrong, with no suspects ever being brought to justice. The case went cold, with evidence waiting on technology to catch up. For over two decades, friends and family of Sherri would hol...

On the eve of her 22nd birthday, a British tourist named Grace Millane would go missing during a backpacking trip in Auckland, New Zealand. Soon after alerting the public for leads in finding her, authorities would begin investigating it as a homicide, resulting in an arrest within days of her disappearance. But for two years, name suppression would wrap the case in a thick sense of confusion, bew...

On January 1, 2008, Yaser Said carried out the unspeakable as his two teenage daughters, Sarah and Amina, would never make it out of his vehicle alive. Later, many will question what they could have done or should have done to prevent such a senseless tragedy. How does one keep their head above water in the throes of fear and power? Where do we go when the ones who have the responsibility to prote...

Both the US and Canada would be shaken by the senseless murder of Andrew Bagby in 2001. We like to believe that cases with evidence as straight-forward and clear cut as this begin and end simply in the legal system with the necessary consequences delivered to the perpetrator. However, this case is one of the most convoluted and confusing, covered with injustice and senseless tragedy. It would rema...

On June 8th, 1989 the body of Cindy James was discovered in Richmond, BC. She was laying on her side, with her ankles and wrists fastened behind her & had a nylon stocking tied tightly around her neck. The cause of death however, would be overdose. Almost immediately, news networks would be sharing details of a nearly decade-long horror story of a woman, hunted down and scared for her life. By the...

On June 8th, 2017 Randy Stair (also known as Andrew Blaze) would arrive for night shift at The Weis Market and kill 3 co-workers before committing suicide. The headlines about the shooting would die down quickly, in much less time than had even been spent on it's planning, drowned out by similar back to back events. Each time we seem to be left in the same place, asking the same questions; finding...

On June 8th, 2017 Randy Stair (also known as Andrew Blaze) would arrive for night shift at The Weis Market and kill 3 co-workers before committing suicide. Within hours, police would search Randy's room and find the remnants of a trail, leading to one of the biggest digital footprints of massacre planning left behind. Not only would the small borough of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania be shaken forever...

In 1974 an American news reporter, Christine Chubbuck, was the first person to commit suicide on live television. Like any other tragic and horrifying event, in the midst of sorrow and confusion, we are all left with one question: Why? Support the show & get bonus episodes on Patreon _______________________________________ All music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution. Measured Paces,...