In late September 2019, a woman reported that she had discovered evidence of a brutal crime. A discarded memory card she’d found on a street in Downtown Anchorage, Alaska had video and image files depicting the torture and murder of an Alaska Native woman. The investigation that followed revealed the stories of three women – Kathleen Henry, Veronic…

*** Content warnings: child abuse, sexual assault, child victims, stalking *** In Paterson, New Jersey, during the early 1980s, Marie Moore was seen as the neighbourhood’s ‘cool mum’. The 35-year-old allowed her 12-year-old daughter Tammy to have friends over as often as she liked, and would even take the pre-teen and her friends out on fun excursi…

On September 15 2003, Singaporean student Ram Tiwary awoke in his Sydney apartment to find his two flatmates, Tony Tan Poh Chuan and Tay Chow Lyang, had been brutally murdered. A suspicious car seen in the area leads police on a hunt for the killers, until another suspect emerges closer to home. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – E…

When 71-year-old Thomas Perez Senior failed to return home after a short walk to his mailbox in Fontana, California, his son Tom wasn’t overly concerned. He suspected his father had just gone to visit friends or family and would return home of his own accord. But when police arrived at the Perez home to complete a missing person’s report, they came…

When the bodies of Doctor Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler were found along the banks of Sydney’s Lane Cove River on New Year’s Day 1963, scandal and suspicion erupted. The two were married – but not to each other – raising immediate questions of foul play. Yet as investigators peeled back the layers of this bizarre case, they found themselves t…

*** Content warnings: child victims, child abuse, child sexual assault, child exploitation *** In 2013, a forum appeared on the dark web called Hurt2theCore. Run by an anonymous user known only as Lux, it was a digital cesspool dedicated to one of the most vile subgenres of illicit pornography. It quickly became Lux’s most notorious creation and dr…

On a January night in 1997, Yarmila Falater was brutally stabbed and drowned in the family’s backyard pool. Her husband, Scott Falater, was caught red-handed, but claimed he had no memory of the crime. What followed was a high-profile trial that pitted science against suspicion, as experts debated whether Yarmila’s death was a tragic accident or de…

*** Content warnings: Sexual assault, homophobia*** On Anzac Day of 1999, life partners Keith Hibbins and David Campbell were walking through the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne when they were approached by two agitated young men, John Whiteside and Kristian Dieber. The young men claimed they were on the lookout for a pair of rapists who had just sexu…

*** Content warnings: Sexual assault *** When first responders arrived at the Roberts family home in the small town of Early, Iowa, on December 13 2001, they found 20-year-old Dustin Wehde lying in a pool of his own blood. The homeowner, Tracey Roberts, claimed she’d shot Dustin in an act of self-defence after he and another unknown assailant broke…

*** Content warnings: Gun violence, animal cruelty *** When 74-year-old Russell Hill and 73-year-old Carol Clay vanished while camping in Victoria’s rugged High Country, their disappearance brought many hidden secrets to light. People theorised that the pair had run away together, were the victims of a murder-suicide, or had accidentally been kille…

*** Content warnings: Sexual assault, child victims *** After 14-year-old Kalinka Bamberski is found dead in her own bed in the German town of Lindau, her French father, André Bamberski, refuses to accept that she died of natural causes. The further he digs, he starts to suspect that foul play was involved and that the person responsible was none o…

When 41-year-old Lindsay Jellett failed to return home from his evening walk around the Victorian town of Ararat in May 1994, staff at his residential care unit were immediately worried. As well as being intellectually disabled, Lindsay had epilepsy, which required nightly medication, and it wasn’t like him to lose track of time. As daybreak emerge…

*** Content warnings: Sexual abuse *** In the late 1970s, Wichita secretary Ruth Finley began to receive cryptic letters and chilling threats from a mysterious figure known only as ‘The Poet.’ For years, The Poet tormented Ruth and her husband, Ed, leaving them in a constant state of confusion and fear. Despite relentless efforts from the police, T…

[Part 2 of 2] *** Content Warning: Sexual assault, gun violence, child victims *** By mid-1963, The Night Caller’s reign of terror had altered Perth forever, and he still remained at large and unidentified. Following another execution-style slaying in Perth’s wealthy western suburbs, investigators set a trap that would expose his identity as Eric E…

[Part 1 of 2] *** Content Warning: Sexual assault, gun violence, child victims *** The city of Perth in Western Australia is sometimes described as the most isolated city in the world. During the late 1950s, Perth’s idyllic beaches, laidback lifestyle and small town atmosphere made it feel like a safe, protected place to live. But that sense of saf…

In 1999, Ina and David Steiner founded an online newsletter called eCommerceBytes. The couple worked hard to establish themselves as knowledgeable, trustworthy and unbiased reporters in the e-commerce industry and were well respected by their niche community. Then in 2019, eCommerceBytes received a scathing message from a Twitter user who took issu…

*** Content warnings: Extreme sexual violence, torture, captivity, racism, domestic violence *** When 25-year-old Josefina Rivera accepted a ride with North Philadelphia local Gary Heidnik on the night of November 26 1986, she could never have anticipated the events that were about to unfold. Josefina, along with five other women – Sandra Lindsay, …

*** Content warnings: Self-harm *** When 60-year-old Mark Staudte of Springfield, Missouri, fell ill in early April of 2012, he suspected he just had a bad case of the flu. But the situation quickly turned critical, and Mark was soon found dead in his bed. A medical examiner concluded Mark had died from “natural causes”. Yet, when other members of …

When 23-year-old Canadian ice hockey player Duncan MacPherson accepted a coaching job in Scotland, he was ready for his next adventure. But when Duncan failed to show up for the first day of his new job, serious concerns were raised about his well being. A desperate search led his parents Bob and Lynda to the Austrian Alps, kicking off a series of …

*** Content warnings: Child victims *** Wayne and Jennifer De Gruchy lived a comfortable life in the New South Wales suburb of Albion Park Rail with their three teenage children, Matthew, Adrian and Sarah. But on the morning of Wednesday March 13 1996, detectives arrived at a scene that would shake the local community to the core. --- Narration – A…

*** Content warnings: Child sexual assault, child murder *** In 1986, two pre-teen girls from Tacoma, Washington, were abducted and murdered mere months apart. Both Michella Welch and Jennifer Bastian were attacked, sexually assaulted and killed after cycling to a public park. Their crime scenes were eerily similar; both bodies were hidden in woode…

*** Content Warning: Child victim *** [Part 2 of 2] When Keli Lane is charged with the murder of her newborn baby Tegan in 2009, the circumstantial case sparks debate around the country. Was this star athlete a cold blooded killer or a woman unfairly judged on her poor decision making? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGil…

*** Content Warning: Child victim *** [Part 1 of 2] After 24-year-old Keli Lane gave birth in 1999, she began the process of placing her newborn son for adoption. It was soon revealed that Keli had also given birth in September 1996, to a baby girl named Tegan Lee Lane who couldn’t be located. Keli claimed Tegan was with her biological father, Andr…

*** Content warnings: Child victims *** In 2002, 10-year-old Russian girl, Olga Chardymova was allowed to walk to her grandmother’s house unaccompanied for the very first time. Her journey barely began before she met a monster. For years after her death, Olga’s parents were continually tormented by another kind. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Resea…

On August 19 1990, the tiny mountain town of Camp Nelson, California was stunned when the owner of the Camp Nelson Lodge, Bonnie Hood, was found shot to death in her private cabin. Her handyman, Rudy Manuel, was also shot in the head during the attack. While various suspects and theories emerged, it wasn’t until a separate shooting took place a lit…