True Crime Campfire

All the world’s a stage, or so Shakespeare once told us, and all the people in it merely players. That’s a nice idea if we’re just talking allegory, but in real life it’s a dangerous way to view the world. Because when you run across the type of person who thinks this way, they tend to think of themselves as the star of the show, and everybody else as disposable extras. That’s not an outlook that...

In part one we learned about Angelina Rodriguez, a greedy opportunist with a heart of darkness. Angie’s first marriage crumbled after the tragic “accidental” death of their baby daughter Alicia, and after cashing in on the $50,000 life insurance policy she’d taken out on the baby the DAY before she died—not to mention the nearly $800,000 settlement from suing the company that made the pacifier tha...

We believe people are basically good. We realize that sounds far-fetched, because people can also be a-holes on a truly epic scale, but hear us out. We think most people have good intentions most of the time and will do the right thing when called upon. However. There are people in this world who are predators, every bit as much as the black widow spiders that sometimes haunt our nightmares. Peopl...

In part 1, we began the story of Michael and Sherry Dally, high school sweethearts with two kids and one of those “from the outside, everything looked perfect” kind of marriages. But as so often happens in these cases, behind closed doors Sherry Dally was suffering emotional abuse and infidelity at the hands of her attractive husband. Michael had a mistress—former model and current Vons employee D...

The late, great British author Sir Terry Pratchett once wrote that treating people as things is the only sin there is. To a narcissist, people are things. If you’re a narcissist, you’re the only one who matters—the only one who’s really real. So other people exist to fluff up your ego and help you get what you want. Even if what you want is something so dark that it will destroy the lives of every...

In Part 1 we introduced you to chronic spendaholic and solider-boy wannabe Mark Avery, who should have been happy as an ocean full of clams with his INHERITED, 600k a year job as trustee of the Smith family trust, but who instead managed to hemorrhage money so badly that he sunk himself into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt in the first six months of the gig. And his buddy Rob Kane, or sho...

Greed can be an unstoppable force. For some, money can become an addiction, just as insidious as the gnawing need for heroin or crack—and just as liable to send the addict into a headspace where nothing and no one else matters. Today we bring you the story of two greedy men. They were greedy for money, for sure. But for these guys, the money was just the beginning. Just the fuel they needed to kee...

In part 1 we began the terrifying story of a campaign of stalking, harassment and threats against Dave Kroupa and his ex-girlfriend Liz Golyar. Dave had met a smart, confident woman named Cari, and they were getting along great with a casual, mutually-agreed upon “no strings” relationship. But when Cari texted Dave to ask him to move in with her and he refused, the angry harassment began. And it e...

Love is one of the greatest things there is. But sometimes love can get warped into something else—something angry and possessive and tunnel-visioned. That something is obsession. And when true obsession takes root in the mind of a certain type of personality, everything else fades into the background and loses all importance. Anybody and anything in the way of the object of that obsession is gonn...

Join us for part 2 of this epic and disturbing story. Sources:https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1982/december/rise-and-fall-of-a-north-dallas-cult-conscious-development/https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2014/06/d-magazines-40-greatest-stories-death-in-a-north-dallas-cult/https://truenoirstories.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/terri-hoffman/#:~:targetText=Murder%20of%20Jill%20Bounds,an...

Cults are fascinating. Jonestown, Heaven’s Gate, Aum Shinrikyo, NXIVM. So often, people end up in these groups because they’re seekers, and they genuinely want to work toward a better world. Contrary to popular belief, people who end up in cults are often smart and well educated. Good people who march to a different drumbeat and have only the best intentions. But unfortunately, when a group dynami...

Join us for part 2 of this macabre grab-bag of three cases. Book: Love Her to Death by M. William PhelpsOxygen's "Snapped," Episode "Rose Vincent and Mark Bowling"Investigation Discovery's "The Perfect Murder," Episode "Silent Killer"http://jimfishertruecrime.blogspot.com/2012/08/robert-girts-four-marriages-pair-of.htmlhttps://fox8.com/2015/12/18/former-parma-funeral-director-admits-to-poisoning-w...

Morticians. The gatekeepers to the ever-after. The ones who comfort our families, help plan our funerals, and spruce us up to face the world one last time. The vast majority of them are kind professionals who took up this tough line of work because they want to be there for people in their darkest hours. A small handful probably got into it because they enjoy the spooky atmosphere. Still harmless....

Join us for part 2 of "Bad Romance: Three Cases of Love Gone Wrong." We continue the story of David Meza and Jay Merendino, and move on to the truly bizarre story of Sheila Davalloo, a woman who makes Glenn Close's Alex from "Fatal Attraction" look stable and relaxed. Sources:Books: Obsession by M. William Phelpshttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-doctor-ana-maria-gonzalez-angulo-gets-10-ye...

Love is grand, or so they say. When it works out, it can be one of the greatest things in the human experience. Unfortunately, a lot of the time it doesn't work out. Sometimes it fails to work out in truly spectacular fashion. Join Katie and Whitney for three true stories of love gone horribly, horribly wrong. Case 1, "The Doctor," involves a level of deviousness we rarely see in would-be killers....

Join Katie and Whitney for the conclusion of the twisting tale of Dr. Martin MacNeill. See description of Part 1 for list of sources. Follow us, campers! Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.comBecome a support...

The MacNeill family was, to all appearances, perfect. There was beautiful and kindhearted mom Michelle. There were EIGHT bright and accomplished kids--some biological, some adopted. And there was the famiy patriarch, Dr. Martin MacNeill. A doctor AND a lawyer, Martin was handsome, brilliant, wealthy, and a devout Mormon--a bishop in his church. But behind closed doors, there was a toxic mess getti...

Join Katie and Whitney for part 2 of this bizarre story of manipulation and murder. Sources:Book: I'd Kill for You by M. William Phelpshttps://caselaw.findlaw.com/va-court-of-appeals/1204421.htmlhttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-oct-16-na-sword16-story.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/09/09/va-scientists-killer-gets-life-sentence/97617817-bcd2-43e9-a806-168d8a18173c...

December 10, 2001. Leesburg, Virginia. Neighbors find the body of Dr. Robert Schwartz, a brilliant DNA researcher, lying in a pool of blood on his living room floor. He had been stabbed more than 25 times with a very large blade, and an X was carved into the back of his neck. Dr. Schwartz was, by all accounts, a quiet and mild-mannered scientist. Who could possibly hate him enough to do this? The...

Join Katie and Whitney for the conclusion of this bizarre story, the first in our "Just Bananas" category. Sources: Book: September Sacrifice by Mark HornerTelevision shows: "Sins and Secrets," Episode "Albuquerque""Snapped," Episode "Linda Henning""I'd Kill for You," Episode "Killer Alien""American Justice," Episode "Traces in Blood"Follow us, campers! Patreon: https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfi...

Albuquerque, New Mexico. September 11, 1999. Employees at a local bank call police in a panic. Their coworker and friend, Girly Chew Hossencofft, hasn't shown up for work that morning. Girly is in the midst of a nasty split from her abusive husband Diazien, and she recently asked her coworkers to call the police if she was even five minutes late to work. "If I don't show up," she said, "it means D...

Join us as we conclude the story of Matt Baker, a Baptist preacher with some seriously scary inner demons. Sources:Book: Deadly Little Secrets by Kathryn Caseyhttps://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Killer-s-in-laws-win-custody-fight-1468405.phphttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-mystery-dirty-little-secrets/https://www.wacotrib.com/news/crime/mistress-testifies-that-matt-baker-told...

To his congregants at Crossroads First Baptist, Matt Baker was their charming, relatable young pastor. He was energetic, he was great at firing up the young people, and he was married to an equally energetic and charming young woman, Kari. They had two beautiful daughters. A picture perfect young family. But as every true crime obsessive knows, looks can be deceiving--and a mask of Christian piety...

Join us for part 2 of the Tracey Richter story. The cold case investigation heats up as Special Agent Trent Vileta and Prosecutor Ben Smith take over, and Tracey starts to sweat. And when Tracey sweats, she tends to engage in some truly bizarre behavior. Sources: Book: Beautifully Cruel by M. William PhelpsInvestigation Discovery's "Pandora's Box," Season 1, "A Murder, She Wrote"https://siouxcityj...

December 2001. The tiny town of Early, Iowa. Police respond to a 911 call from an eleven year old boy who said his mom, Tracey Richter Pitman Roberts, had just been attacked by two intruders while her husband was out of town on business. They had choked her unconscious, and when she came to she managed to get to her gun safe and take one of them down while the other fled out the back door. At firs...