The Misery Machine

Michael Alig was an American club promoter and convicted felon. He was the self proclaimed "King of the Club Kids," a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s and early 1990s through their flamboyant costumes and their excessive use of party drugs. In March 1996, Alig and his roommate, Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs, killed fellow Club Kid Andre "Angel" M...

Lisa Montgomery took the life of Bobbie Jo Stinnett a 23-year-old mother in what seemed like an absolutely random and senseless act. She received the death penalty in October 26th, 2007, and a judge upheld the jury recommendation on April 4, 2008. She is set to be put to death on January 12th, 2021, making her the first woman to receive this on the federal level since 1953. So does Lisa Montgomery...

Samuel Little, arguably the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, died at a Los Angeles County hospital on Wednesday. He was 80 years old, and had operated undetected for decades, primarily because he primarily targeted poor people of color and people who were estranged from their families. If you know anything about any of the cases listed on the FBI website, please contact them immediatel...

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon (also known as the "Anesthetic Prowler," Friz, the "Phantom Anesthetist," or simply the "Mad Gasser") was the name given to the person or persons believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in Mattoon, Illinois, during the mid-1940s. More than two dozen separate cases of gassings were reported to police over the span of two weeks, in addi...

Merry Christmas! 3000 Sub Celebration + Yergy's Birthday! A very special thank you to Levi for supporting our show as our highest tier patron! Join Our Facebook Group to Request a Topic: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: miser...

Happy Holidays from The Misery Machine! We hope this holiday season find you safe and well. This week, Drewby and Yergy take a break from true crime to discuss some of the more unique holiday traditions from around the globe - some fun and quirky, others more macabre and spooky. Who's having KFC and strawberry shortcake on Christmas Eve? Listen and find out! A very special thank you to Levi for su...

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss The École Polytechnique Massacre, also known as the Montreal Massacre, which was a mass shooting in Montreal at an engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal. Fourteen women were murdered and ten women and four men were injured. On December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine entered a mechanical engineering class at the École Polytechnique and ordered the w...

This week, Yergy and Drewby delve deep into the mysterious disappearance of Ludger Belanger, which has gone unsolved for the last 45 years. Belanger lived in Washington, Maine with his wife Linda at the time of his disappearance. He worked as a heavy equipment mechanic at Bridge Construction in Windsor, working on diesel engines, but at the time of his disappearance was between jobs, and Linda had...

This week, Drew and Yergy discuss the horrific torture and murder of Suzanne Capper, which was committed in Greater Manchester, England in December of 1992. Sixteen-year-old Suzanne Jane Capper died in Withington Hospital on December 18th 1992, from multiple organ failure while in a coma arising from 80% burns after she was deliberately set on fire days prior. Before her death, Capper related that...

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss the tragic life and death of Judith Eva Barsi, who was an American child actress of the 1980s. The child of Hungarian immigrants, Barsi was very small for her age, and often played much younger roles. She began her career in television, making appearances in commercials and television series such as Punky Brewster, as well as in the films Jaws: The Revenge, The...

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss Paul Bernardo and his wife Karla Homolka, a seemingly unlikely pair of Canadian killers. Known as the “Ken and Barbie Killers” for their good looks, the young couple induced fear throughout southern Ontario in the 1990s with a string of sex attacks and killed at least three minors between 1990 and 1992 before they were arrested.  Bernardo is known for initially...

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss another local case taking place in the early morning hours of Halloween 2016, in the small town of Winthrop, Maine. Andrea Balcer, a 17 year old student with a seemingly bright future ahead of her, snaps, leaving her mother Ali, father Tony, and their family dog dead in her wake. The only survivor of the horror was Christopher, Andrea's then 24 year old brother....

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss the life and death of Elliott Smith, who was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity. Smith's primary instrument was the guitar, though he also played piano, clarinet, bass guitar, drums, and harmonica....

***MISSING*** Brittany Omstead  23 years old From Butler, PA Last seen Friday, 10/23/2020 at 10:30am 5'4 and of average build Curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Was thought to be last seen wearing a hoodie and sweatpants. Was supposed to be a bridesmaid in a wedding today, however her dress is still hanging up at her residence. Her vehicle and cell phone were also left at her residence. Investigatin...

A year later, Drewby and Yergy revisit the case of the Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs, who are Ukrainian serial killers responsible for a string of murders in Dnipropetrovsk (now known as Dnipro) in June and July of 2007. The case gained additional notoriety because the killers made video recordings of some of the murders, with one of the videos leaking to the Internet, subsequently going viral and leadin...

This week, Drewby and Yergy revisit the tragic case of Ronnie McNutt with a very special guest, Josh Steen from JustUsGeeks.com. Josh was a personal friend of Ronnie's that worked with him over the years creating content for their podcast, and was one of the folks that unfortunately witnessed his final moments. We were privileged to have him sit down with us for an interview to set the record stra...

This week, Drewby and Yergy shift gears to a local case that has haunted the community of Jay, Maine for 3 decades - one that we hope will soon be solved so that she can be laid to rest and her family can have some long deserved closure. This week we are discussing the disappearance of Kimberly Moreau. Kim Moreau was a beautiful 17 year old girl that went missing from the small mill town of Jay, M...

As Suicide Prevention Month comes to a close, Yergy and Drewby discuss the life and death of Ian Curtis, who was an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division and recorded two albums with the group: Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980). Curtis was known for his bass-baritone voice, dance style, and songwriting typically fill...

In keeping up with Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Drewby and Yergy delve into the case of Robert Budd Dwyer, an American politician who served as the 30th State Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He served from 1965 to 1971 as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and from 1971 to 1981 as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate representing the state's...

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. In light of this very important month, Drewby and Yergy discuss the tragic death of Ronnie McNutt, and young veteran from Mississippi, who took his own life on August 31, 2020 while on a Facebook livestream that was not taken down for many hours, despite many reports from people watching. Unfortunately, the footage got into the hands of internet tro...

Happy Labor Day! This week, Drewby and Yergy take another trip across the pond and delve into the horrors of Dennis Nilsen, whose crimes bear striking similarities to that of our own Jeffrey Dahmer. We also discuss the upcoming 3 part miniseries "Des," starring David Tennant as Dennis Nilsen - which we are very excited for. Dennis Andrew Nilsen was a Scottish serial killer and necrophile who murde...

This week, Drewby and Yergy review the mysterious case of Gloria Ramirez, a cervical cancer victim, whose brief but dramatic emergency room stay  in Riverside, California and untimely death baffled the medical community in the mid 90's due to medical workers falling very ill just by being in the presence of her and her body, prompting concern that her body had turned into a chemical weapon, and th...

Due popular demand by our viewers, we recount the tragic death of Kelly Anne Bates - an English teenager who was murdered in Manchester, England at the age of 17 by her abuser and live in partner, James Patterson Smith, who was roughly 30 years her senior. She was tortured by him over a period of four weeks, including having her eyes gouged from their sockets up to three weeks before her death, be...

This week, Drewby and Yergy discuss the tragic death of Kendrick Johnson, conspiracy theories related to his untimely death, the gross mishandling of his case at the hands of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and how the legal system has yet again failed a person of color. On January 11, 2013, the body of Kendrick Johnson  was discovered inside a vertical, rolled-up mat in the gymnasium of Lown...

As we've talked about in previous episodes, the treatment of Indigenous and First Nations people, specifically women, in Canada is unacceptable. Today we're sharing a case with you courtesy of our friends at Occultae Veritatis Podcast. If you have any information, please utilize the links below.   Tipline Email:  shorturl.at/pHKMX Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-8477 https://www.p3tips.com/...