The Minds of Madness - True Crime Stories

In December 2012, a quiet Houston home became the center of a mystery that still raises questions. Jim Melgar was found dead inside a closet. Just steps away, his wife Sandra was discovered alive, bound, and unable to explain how the night had unfolded. There were no clear signs of forced entry. No witnesses. Only a scene that could be read more than one way. What followed was a case built on inte...

In this special true crime crossover episode, I joined Carter Roy for a 2-part episode of Murder: True Crime Stories. To hear part 2 and my extended conversation with Carter, follow Murder: True Crime stories wherever you listen to podcasts. For nearly 30 years, Ken McElroy terrorized the small town of Skidmore, Missouri. Accused of theft, assault, arson, statutory rape, and intimidation, he manip...

In October 2024, two men in Detroit believed they had found the perfect target. A longtime jeweler and pawnbroker whose success made him seem like easy money. They came prepared with disguises, a stolen truck, and a plan designed to look official. But when they arrived at the home of 72 year old Hussein “Sam” Murray in Rochester Hills, that plan began to collapse. A story about assumption, despera...

In the fall of 2021, a young couple in Cobb County, Georgia thought they’d found their dream home. An upscale subdivision. A quiet street. A perfect place to raise their two year old son. What they could not have known was that the house came with an unspoken history. A neighbor who had already crossed the line. A fear that had driven the previous owners to leave. And a threat that did not disappe...

On a cold February night in Somerset, England, a retired couple sat down to celebrate a birthday dinner during the COVID lockdown. Hours later, police were standing outside their quiet bungalow while one of them calmly admitted what had just happened inside. What began as an ordinary evening of steak, lobster, and a video call with family would end with a husband on the kitchen floor and a case th...

In the spring of 2020, as isolation settled over Pella, Iowa, one woman’s new beginning ended in violence. Tracy Mondabough was building a fresh start when a silver Cadillac began appearing in the background of her life. What followed was a confrontation caught between obsession and heartbreak, leaving investigators to untangle what was planned and what was simply justified after the fact. How to...

North Port, Florida is built for fresh starts, quiet streets, new homes, friendly neighbors. On Mallicoat Road, Robbie and Jennifer Tower were the kind of people who made a neighborhood feel like family. Always present. Always helping. Always opening the door. Then one summer night, a Ring doorbell rang just before midnight. A voice screaming for help. Blood on a front porch. A car slipping into t...

When 21-year-old Shayna Hubers called 911 saying she had “killed him,” officers found attorney Ryan Poston shot six times in his Kentucky condo. What followed were two trials, conflicting stories, and years of questions about what really happened that night. A video version of this episode is available on YouTube and Spotify How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, early releas...

When a woman in Wisconsin is found dead in the woods, the explanation seems almost ready-made. It is built from familiar truths, repeated often enough to sound convincing. But as investigators dig deeper, small inconsistencies begin to surface. Timelines shift. Messages do not quite fit. And what first appears straightforward slowly turns into something far more unsettling. How to support: For ext...

It was a calm fall night in Vermont when something suddenly felt off. A neighbor heard an engine roar through the quiet, then take off again. Not long after, sirens filled the air. By morning, the state was trying to understand how five teenagers had lost their lives, and how one man, Steven Bourgoin, became the center of a tragedy that would haunt Vermont for years. What happened on the highway w...

On August 2, 2017, 21-year-old Savannah Gold arrived for her evening shift at a Jacksonville restaurant and was never seen alive again. What began as a missing person case quickly turned into a homicide investigation that revealed a story of betrayal, deception, and a family’s unwavering fight for answers. A video version of this episode is available on YouTube and Spotify How to support: For extr...

In the summer of 2024, a woman retreats into isolation, filling notebooks with carefully written details and rehearsing every line until it feels unshakable. To anyone watching, it looks like preparation. Discipline. Control. But what she is preparing for has nothing to do with school. When police are called to a Wisconsin apartment late one humid night, the story they’re given seems simple enough...

An eighteen year old mother goes to work expecting an ordinary day and never comes home. Brooklyn Sims was building a life for herself and her young daughter when a familiar place suddenly became the setting for something unthinkable. What followed was not chaos but calculation. As investigators began piecing together the truth, hidden connections and erased messages slowly surfaced. The deeper th...

On Christmas Day 2006, police in Phoenix, Arizona, entered a quiet home expecting a simple welfare check. Instead, they found 21-year-old Heather Quan deceased, and 18-year-old Ryan Waller barely alive, suffering from a gunshot wound that went unnoticed at first. What followed changed the course of multiple lives, reshaped an Arizona law, and left two families searching for understanding in the af...

Under the glare of fluorescent lights, the world feels suspended in time. Highway stops where strangers cross paths for minutes and then vanish back into the dark. Places built on movement, anonymity, and trust between people who know almost nothing about each other. When that trust is misplaced, a journey meant for escape or healing can quietly turn into something far more dangerous. What begins...

On a warm March night in Ocala, Florida, a quiet household settles into its familiar routine. A movie plays. The lights go out. Nothing feels out of place. By morning, that sense of normalcy is gone. Join us, as we examine the disappearance and murder of Tim Smith, a man known for stability, kindness, and devotion to his family. What begins inside the safety of home slowly unravels into a haunting...

A quiet Monday morning. A trusted routine that suddenly breaks. And a crime scene that left investigators asking how any of it was possible. In this episode, we unravel a case built not on eyewitnesses but on movement, silence, and a timeline that refuses to behave the way it should. A family forever altered and a truth that remains deeply contested. Sometimes the most unsettling stories are not a...

An elderly couple known for their quiet lives and deep roots in North Carolina are found dead, setting off an investigation that stretches far beyond a single crime scene. What begins with an early-morning fire along a rural highway soon collides with a second act of violence nearly two hundred miles away. As authorities follow the trail, familiar assumptions fall apart. An arrest brings answers,...

Happy holidays everyone!! If you’ve been with us since the beginning, all the way back to 2017, thank you for continuing to join us for this crazy ride. We started with biweekly episodes and transitioned to weekly episodes. Now, we're excited to share that we’ll be adding two additional episodes a month (every other Thursday) starting January 8th! The new episodes will be titled Between The Madnes...

A Christmas reunion meant to bring a family together becomes the starting point of a crime that would confound investigators across two states. What initially appears to be a brutal triple homicide slowly unravels into something far more calculated, a deception maintained for nearly a year, hiding a truth no one was prepared to face. Join us, as we explore the Ivancic family murders, a case define...

On a deserted Florida backroad, a passing moment goes unnoticed until it becomes the key to a crime no one saw coming. When a young, pregnant woman is found in a roadside ditch, investigators are left with fragments: a truck in the dark, a web of secrets, and a timeline that refuses to stay quiet. What follows is a slow unraveling where routine turns sinister, and the truth is revealed in a place...

Join us, as we uncover the investigation that followed — how a burning dumpster led detectives from a quiet street in Fort Worth to a budget motel across town… And how what first looked like a single gruesome act revealed a far deeper horror — one that had been hiding in plain sight for years. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, early release, and ad-free episodes - Go to...

Join us, as we revisit the mysterious murder of Melissa Wolfenbarger. A 21-year-old mother of two who vanished in 1999.  You’ll hear how a confessed serial killer begged police to help find his missing daughter… before realizing she was already in the morgue. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, early release, and ad-free episodes - Go to - Patreon How to connect: Website I...

Join us, as we examine the disappearance of Barry Schmalbach, a man who vanished without a trace from his Florida condominium.  You'll hear a desperate voicemail left in the final hour, a search that spanned counties, and a trail of evidence buried beneath lies, dirt and duct tape. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, early release, and ad-free episodes - Go to - Patreon Ho...

Join us, as we examine the tragic murder of Adreian Payne. A former NBA first-round draft pick and Michigan State basketball star. You’ll hear how a late-night attempt to calm a dispute ended in sudden gunfire. How to support: For extra perks including exclusive content, early release, and ad-free episodes - Go to - Patreon How to connect: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter Please check out our sp...