TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein

In early August 2025, the lifeless body of 8-year-old Genesis Ariah Mata was found in the bathtub of a La Quinta Inn in Bakersfield, California. The discovery revealed a scene so horrific that first responders were visibly shocked, her body showing signs of extreme abuse including scalding burns, crushed hands, whip marks, and missing fingernails. Arrested and charged were her father, Ray Mata Jr....

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kiaya Campbell with me today. In June 2017, 10-year-old Kiaya Campbell vanished after walking with a 15-year-old acquaintance, her father’s girlfriend’s son. A massive search effort was launched. Hours later, Kiaya’s body was found in a drainage ditch. She had been brutally beaten to death, struck at least five times in the head with a metal pip...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Brett Bowyer, Thurman Ratliff, and Catherine Ratliff with me today. In early 2002, the state of Alabama was rocked by two horrific and connected murder cases. On January 30, 68-year-old Thurman Ratliff and his 62-year-old wife Catherine Ratliff were found shot to death in their Lee County home in what appeared to be a targeted home invasion. Jus...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Seath Jackson with me today. In April 2011, 15-year-old Seath Jackson was trapped by his ex-girlfriend, Amber Wright, and led into a deadly ambush at a rural Florida trailer. Seath was tortured, shot multiple times, and his already shattered kneecaps were broken to fit his body inside a sleeping bag. After his murder, his remains were burned in...

In a case that continues to horrify the true crime community, 13-year-old Paris Bennett brutally murdered his 4-year-old sister, Ella Bennett, in their Texas home on February 5, 2007. Despite having a reported IQ of 141 and no prior history of violence, Paris stabbed Ella 17 times while their mother, Charity Lee, was working a late shift. He then calmly called 911 and pretended to try to save her....

In February 2009 in Marion County, Florida, 26-year-old Heather Strong vanished from her life and from the hearts of those who loved her. She was last seen walking away from her job at a roadside restaurant, leaving behind two children she deeply cared for. A week later, her family raised the alarm and the search began. The investigation soon exposed a web of betrayal: her estranged husband, Joshu...

In a terrifying escalation of obsession, 52-year-old Jeffrey Bothee broke into the Kentwood, Michigan home of a woman he had previously been convicted of stalking. When police cornered him in the basement, Bothee detonated an explosive device, injuring five officers and igniting chaos. As officers moved in, Bothee attempted to trigger a second bomb strapped to his body. He was shot by police in th...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Mark Staudte, Shaun Staudte, and Sarah Staudte with me today. In 2012, the Staudte family of Springfield, Missouri, suffered two mysterious deaths. First, 61-year-old Mark Staudte passed away unexpectedly, followed five months later by his 26-year-old autistic son, Shaun, both ruled at the time as medical-related incidents. In 2013, their daught...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering April Dawn Millsap with me today. 14-year-old April Millsap was walking her dog on the Macomb Orchard Trail in Armada, Michigan, on July 24, 2014, when she suddenly vanished. Just moments before her disappearance, she texted her boyfriend, “I think I almost got kidnapped omfg.” Her body was later discovered in a drainage ditch, brutally beaten a...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Dawn Viens with me today. In October 2009, 39-year-old Dawn Marie Viens, co-owner of a small restaurant in Lomita, California, vanished without a trace. Her husband, chef David Viens, claimed she had left on her own. Days later, terrified friends came forward—Dawn had disappeared from both her home and her familiar routine. Authorities eventuall...

On the morning of March 8, 2018, 22-year-old Haley Anderson, a nursing student at Binghamton University and beloved daughter and sister from Westbury, New York, disappeared. She had recently ended an off‑and‑on relationship with fellow nursing student Orlando Tercero, who had previously been suspected of slashing her tires during their tumultuous breakup. Security footage confirmed Haley and Orlan...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Melissa Jenkins with me today. Melissa Jenkins was a beloved 33-year-old high school science teacher and single mother living in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. On the night of March 25, 2012, Melissa received a call from Allen Prue, a man she had previously hired to plow her driveway. He claimed he and his wife, Patricia Prue, were having car trouble a...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Brenda Powell with me today. On March 3, 2020, 50-year-old Brenda Powell, a beloved child-life specialist at Akron Children’s Hospital, was viciously attacked in her home. Her daughter, 19-year-old Sydney Powell, struck her with an iron skillet and stabbed her nearly 30 times in the neck—while Brenda was on the phone with university officials wh...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Georgia Williams with me today. In May 2013, 17-year-old Georgia Williams was brutally murdered by 23-year-old Jamie Reynolds, a man with a history of violent behavior. Georgia, an aspiring RAF cadet, was lured to Reynolds’ home under the false pretense of helping with a photography project. Once there, Reynolds trapped her in a sadistic plan, s...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Gloria Gary with me today. In early 2017, 49-year-old Gloria Gary disappeared from her Des Moines, Iowa, home. Nine months later, her body was discovered—concealed inside her own house, hidden in a manner so discreet that family members didn’t realize she was there. The investigation led to 22-year-old Kyle Jepson, who admitted the killing was s...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Micaela Rae Costanzo with me today. On March 3, 2011, 16-year-old Micaela “Mickey” Costanzo disappeared after leaving school in West Wendover, Nevada. Two days later, her body was found buried in a shallow grave in nearby gravel pits. She had been beaten and stabbed, and a plastic tie around her arm suggested she had been forced there. Investiga...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Pamela Horowitz with me today. Scott Dyleski was found guilty of the brutal 2005 murder of Pamela Vitale, the wife of high-profile defense attorney Daniel Horowitz. The 16-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances, leading to a life sentence without parole. Evidence against him included his own blood at the crime s...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Justin Reid and his son with me today. On February  9, 2024, 17‑year‑old Mashenka Ann Marie Reid allegedly shot and killed her father, 39‑year‑old Justin Reid, and her autistic 4‑ or 5‑year‑old brother in their Reno, Nevada apartment. After the shootings, she locked her younger sister in a bedroom and called 911, reportedly telling dispatchers,...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Robert and Tayten Baker with me today. The tragic murders of 14-year-old Tayten Baker and 12-year-old Robert Baker shocked the community of Melrose, Florida in August 2020. The two young brothers were found brutally murdered in their home, having been beaten with a hammer and stabbed with a knife. The prime suspect, Mark Wilson Jr., the boyfrien...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis with me today. On August 1, 2016, 17-year-olds Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis were found shot execution-style behind a Publix supermarket in Roswell, Georgia—each victim had been shot once in the head. Their bodies were discovered by. Investigators uncovered chilling surveillance footage showing the killer—...

In September 2003, 16-year-old Sarah Marie Johnson opened fire on her parents, Diane and Alan Johnson, as they slept in their home in Bellevue, Idaho. The shocking crime ended with both parents dead—Diane with a headshot and Alan fatally shot in the chest—while Sarah fled and called 911, claiming innocence in the chaos. Investigators pieced together the murder using forensic evidence: Sarah’s DNA...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Shilie LaShay Turner with me today. The murder of 15-year-old Shilie King shocked the city of Philadelphia—not just because her body was found shot six times and dumped in a shallow grave in Fairmount Park, but because the person responsible was her own mother, Vivian King. What makes this true crime case even more disturbing is that while holdi...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kaysi McLeod, LeAnn Emry, Jennifer Marcum, and Terry Kimball with me today. Scott Kimball is a police informant turned murdered who preyed on vulnerable human beings and was responsible for the tragic deaths of Kaysi McLeod, Jennifer Marcum, LeAnn Emry, and Terry Kimball. Initially, he got a pretty lenient plea deal from the authorities, but whe...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Penny Caffey, Matthew Caffey, and Tyler Caffey with me today. On March 1, 2008, the Caffey family home in Alba, Texas, became the scene of a horrifying crime. 16-year-old Erin Caffey, feeling trapped by her parents’ disapproval of her relationship with 18-year-old Charlie Wilkinson, hatched a chilling plan: to murder her own mother and two young...

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering beloved teacher Colleen Ritzer with me today. In 2013, Colleen Ritzer, a beloved teacher at Danvers High School, was tragically murdered by her 14-year-old student, Philip Chism. The brutal attack occurred in a school bathroom, where Chism, following a premeditated plan, concealed his identity with a ski mask and used a box cutter. Despite his d...