*** Content warnings: Animal cruelty *** On a hot summer’s day in 1989, a father and son travelling through Stockton, California, discover a VHS tape left by the side of a road. When they take it home and decide to watch it, they make a disturbing discovery. The tape contains footage of a house burning to the ground and was apparently filmed by the…

In early January 2000, residents of Asheville, North Carolina were told to be on the lookout for 18-year-old Zebb Quinn after he failed to return home after finishing his shift at Wal-Mart. A co-worker of Zebb’s, Robert Jason Owens, claimed that Zebb had sped off after receiving a mysterious message on his pager. Two weeks later, an unexpected brea…

*** Content warnings: Child victim, sexual assault *** [Part 2 of 2] Colin Ross maintained his innocence for the murder of Alma Tirtschke right up until his execution. Could he have been telling the truth? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew …

*** Content warnings: Child victim, sexual assault *** [Part 1 of 2] When 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke failed to return home after running an errand for her family, they were immediately concerned. Alma was a dutiful child who did what she was told and respected her elders. Alma’s final movements were retraced to an infamous saloon in the heart of Me…

*** Content warnings: Sexual assault, domestic violence *** Jeff and Tim Slaten woke on the morning of Friday, September 4 1981, to find their home teeming with police. Their mother, Linda, had been raped and murdered during the night. Neither brother heard a thing, and despite the killer having left pivotal evidence behind, it quickly became clear…

May 3 1991, was a typical Friday for 58-year-old Margaret Penny. In the afternoon, she visited the Old London Coiffure in the heart of Portland, Victoria, for her weekly hair appointment with 49-year-old Claire Acocks. But when the two women are found stabbed to death in the salon’s shampoo room, the Portland rumour mill goes into overdrive. Who co…

*** Content warnings: Sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking *** When Angela Connell met Ian Diaz, the pair began a whirlwind romance that quickly led to marriage and a growing family. But their newfound happiness was soon disturbed by a cyberstalking campaign with real world consequences. Angela and Ian told detectives from the Anaheim Police…

*** Content warning: Child victim *** On November 16 2001, two state troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police arrived to conduct a welfare check at the Poconos Mountains home of 52-year-old Benjamin Amato. Friends and neighbours had reported their concerns after noticing Ben’s car in his driveway for several days, but no sign of Ben himself. ---…

*** Content warning: Child victims, serial rapist, stalking *** When the Koneva family fled to England to escape the war-torn Balkans, their hopes for a peaceful new beginning were soon shattered. In May 1997, an unknown intruder entered their London home and claimed the life of 12-year-old Katerina Koneva. The subsequent investigation spanned mult…

On September 5 2012, a cyclist driving through the French Alps came upon a shocking scene. Married couple Saad and Iqbal al-Hilli, along with Iqbal’s elderly mother Suhaila al-Allaf, were shot execution-style while sitting in their BMW in a secluded parking spot in the woods surrounding Chevaline. 7-year-old Zainab al-Hilli clung to life on the gro…

*** Content warning: Child victim, child sexual assault, sexual assault/rape *** When six-year-old Bonnie Clarke is murdered in her bed in the middle of the night just four nights before Christmas in 1982, Melbourne detectives are certain they know who’s responsible: Bonnie’s mother, Marion. Yet Marion insists an intruder must have broken into thei…

*** Content warning: Sexual assault *** For 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher, spending a year studying in Italy was a dream come true. But within months of arriving in the medieval town of Perugia, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare. What unravelled next was one of the most polarising murder cases in Italy’s history, with one yo…

*** Content warning: Animal cruelty *** In May 2021, residents of the affluent Athens suburb of Glyka Nera were left shaken by news of a violent home invasion. Three masked intruders had killed 19-year-old Caroline Crouch as she slept beside her 11-month-old daughter before ransacking the house. Caroline’s husband, Babis Anagnostopoulos, was the on…

*** Content warning: Extreme sexual violence, captivity *** [Part 2 of 2] As the years of abuse, torture and confinement to the bed box continued for Colleen Stan, she remained paralysed by her fear of The Company. But one thing changed. Her captors Cameron and Janice Hooker slowly started granting Colleen small privileges, including time outside o…

*** Content warning: Extreme sexual violence, captivity *** [Part 1 of 2] When Colleen Stan’s family received an unexpected phone call from Colleen in June 1980, they were stunned. No one had seen or spoken to Colleen since she hitched a ride to California from her home in Oregon three years earlier. Colleen assured her family that all was well, bu…

In the spring of 2005, two 18-year-olds met in an online chat room and immediately hit it off. Jessi went by the username TalHotBlond, while her new friend Tommy called himself MarineSniper. It wasn’t long before the two had fallen in love and gotten engaged… But less than a year into their relationship, the romance would be destroyed by a shocking…

In March 1977, school bus driver Mary Gillespie started receiving threatening letters delivered to her home in Circleville, Ohio. It wasn’t long before her husband, Ron Gillespie, also received the letters which accused Mary of having an affair with the local school superintendent, Gordon Massie. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – …

For Marea Yann, two things mattered most in life - family and community. When the 69-year-old was found violently bludgeoned to death in her Healesville home, the small Victorian town was left shaken. It seemed impossible that anyone would want to hurt this doting grandmother and dedicated volunteer worker. But as investigators learned more about M…

*** Content warning: Child victim, child abuse, suicide, grooming *** When 14-year-old Andrew Gosden mysteriously disappeared from his home in the UK suburb of Doncaster, evidence emerged to indicate that he’d left of his own free will. But Andrew was a gifted, intellectual teenager who came from a loving and supportive family – not your typical te…

When Brian and Beverly Barry returned from a weekend away to discover their 19-year-old daughter Kim was gone, they initially assumed she was out with friends. Then news broke that a body had been found in some bushland south of their home in Wollongong, New South Wales, and it wasn’t long before the truth came out... --- Narration – Anonymous Host…

*** Content warning: Domestic violence, sexual assault *** In Pakistani culture, arranged marriages are common. So when the parents of Samia Shahid chose a husband for her, Samia agreed to the marriage. Despite being raised in England, Samia took her Pakistani heritage very seriously and would do anything to make her family proud. But Samia’s arran…

*** Content warning: Sexual assault *** [Part 2 of 2] When nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was abducted from the front of her family’s trailer in Richland County, South Carolina, there were immediate concerns that her kidnapping could be linked to the recent murder of Lexington teenager, Shari Smith. Those fears were confirmed when Shari’s sister D…

*** Content warning: Sexual assault *** [Part 1 of 2] When 17-year-old Shari Smith disappeared from the end of her family's driveway in Lexington, South Carolina, there were immediate concerns for her wellbeing. Shari had a rare medical condition that could turn fatal without her medication. But any concerns that Shari’s illness could have caused h…

*** Content warning: Elder abuse *** The Director of Nursing at the Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was thrilled when Catherine Wood and Gwen Graham joined their team of nursing aides in the mid-1980s. They were hard-working, enthusiastic and well-liked. But soon after they started, some residents of Alpine Manor began telling …

*** Content warning: Child victim, child sexual abuse *** When eight-year-old Jamie Lavis failed to return home on Monday, May 5 1997, his family quickly raised the alarm. Soon, it seemed as though all of Greater Manchester was searching for the missing boy – including a bus driver named Darren Vickers... --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & w…