The M Word After Dark

In June 1977, more than 100 Girl Scouts arrived at Camp Scott in Oklahoma for what should have been a summer filled with campfires, friendships, and adventure. By the next morning, three girls—Lori Farmer, Michele Guse, and Doris Milner—had been brutally murdered. As investigators searched for answers, they uncovered a disturbing warning that had been found at the camp weeks earlier, a cave filled...

On the morning of June 20, 1994, five members of the Bain family were found shot to death inside their home in Dunedin, New Zealand. Four days later, the only surviving family member, 22-year-old David Bain, was charged with the murders. What followed became one of New Zealand’s most controversial criminal cases. Was David Bain a calculated killer who staged the scene and tried to frame his father...

In 1996, Sharon Lopatka left her home in Maryland after weeks of online conversations with a man she had never met in person. Days later, she was dead. What makes this case different isn’t just how it ended—it’s what led up to it. Hundreds of emails. Detailed planning. And a request that raises questions people still debate today. Did Sharon truly consent to what happened? Or was this a case of so...

In 2016, 51-year-old John Lang was found dead inside his Fresno, California home after a fire broke out. His death was ruled a suicide. But in the weeks leading up to it, John documented what he believed was ongoing surveillance by the Fresno Police Department. He uploaded videos, filed complaints, and made repeated claims that he was being targeted. Days before his death, he posted that if anythi...

In 1996, a group of teenagers who called themselves vampires became the center of a murder case that shocked the country. At the center of it all was 16-year-old Rod Ferrell, who claimed he was a 500-year-old vampire named Vesago and the leader of a small group known as the “Vampire Clan.” What started as teenage role-playing and goth subculture eventually turned into something far darker. In this...

26 years ago, in the early morning hours of February 14, 2000, 9-year-old Asha Degree vanished from her home in Shelby, North Carolina — walking alone into the darkness during a storm. What happened next has remained one of the most haunting mysteries in modern true crime. For decades, investigators have chased leads involving a 1970s-era green vehicle, possible sightings along Highway 18, and mor...

Israel Keyes didn't follow the usual pattern. He didn't stay in one state. He didn't target one type of victim. He buried weapons years before using them and traveled across the country to create distance between himself and his crimes. When he was arrested in 2012, investigators believed they were dealing with a local abduction. What they uncovered instead was an offender who had pote...

This episode marks 22 years since Maura Murray disappeared. On a cold night in February in 2004, Maura's car was found abandoned on a rural road in Haverhill, NH. She was nowhere to be found- and she has never been seen again. In this episode we walk through what we know, what remains unclear, and why this case continues to raise more questions than answers. More importantly this episode cente...

This episode tells the story of Mary Vincent, a teenager whose life was permanently altered by a single ride and a brutal act of violence. What followed wasn't just survival, but an almost impossible will to live- and a determination to make sure it never happened to anyone else. We walk through the events of that night, the failures of the justice system that came after, and the life Mary bui...

Wade Steven Wilson didn't come out of nowhere. Looking back, there were signs of instability, violence and repeated encounters with the justice system long before October 2019. But over the course of one night, everything escalated. In this episode, we walk through Wade's background, the events leading up to the murders of two innocent women- and the chaotic hours that followed. Including...

In 1994, 13 year old Nicholas Barclay disappeared from his neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas. At first, police thought it looked like maybe another run-away case. Then years later a call came in from Spain. Someone claiming to be Nicholas had been found alive. But almost immediately things didn't line up. His appearance was different, his eye color was different and his story kept shifting. E...

On Christmas Eve 1945, a house fire changed the Sodder family forever. By morning, five of their children were gone- and what followed never quite added up. In this episode of The M Word After Dark, we walk through the Sodder family's story piece by piece. From a rushed fire investigation to strange details that refuse to sit right, this case lives in the space between official explanations an...

In the early 1980s, a series of brutal attacks shook Minnesota- but it wasn't just the violence that haunted investigators. It was strange 911 phone calls. After each attach, a man would call 911 with his voice trembling, crying and apologizing for what he'd done. He wept, he begged, he asked to be stopped all while refusing to turn himself in. This week is a Monday Murderer episode where...

This week we dive into one of Europe's most haunting disappearances - the case of 28 year-old Lars Mittank. What began as a summer vacation in Bulgaria spiraled into paranoia, fear and a final chilling moment caught on airport CCTV. Lars walked into Varna airport.. later sprinted out and was never seen again. Was it panic? Head trauma? A mental health crisis? Or was someone really following hi...

In the spring of 1946, the quiet border town of Texarkana was plunged into an unprecedented reign of terror. Known simply as the "Moonlight Murders" a mysterious, hooded figure—dubbed the "Phantom Killer"—stalked lovers' lanes, attacking victims and leaving a trail of bloodshed that captivated the nation. Dive into this chilling, unsolved case as we explore the four savage...

This week's is a Monday Murderer. Late 1950's, Plainfield, Wisconsin- a town so small, everyone knew everyone. No one locked their doors until Ed Gein. We discuss one of the most horrifying discoveries in true crime history, we're unpacking the story that inspired some of Hollywood's darkest killers in cinema.

Welcome Crime Amigos to The M Word After Dark your favorite new true crime podcast! This Halloween night, step into the shadows with your host, Mariana. Tune in every Monday to explore the darkest side of crime. Plus, catch Friday Freights for chilling listener stories. Don't be afraid of the dark- just lock your doors and let your new obsession start now.