Once Upon a Crime is a weekly true crime podcast that tells “the story behind the story” of real life crime. Told in a storytelling style, host Esther Ludlow digs into the details of each case to bring listeners the facts and information they won’t hear anywhere else.
Recommended
Here are a few episodes you might want to start with!
Episode 238: The Ties That Bind: The Crimes of Shelly Knotek - Part 1
Shelly Knotek has been called “America’s Most Evil Mom”. She abused, tortured, and humiliated her children and partners, but her …
Episode 228: Mansion Murders: Chateau Carolands
An heiress builds a grand mansion as a showplace on a hill in the San Francisco Bay Area. But, it would become a white elephant a…
Episode 214: Getting Away With Murder: Doris Duke
A billionaire heiress kills her friend in a “freak accident”. Was Eduardo Tirella’s death actually an accident or did Doris Duke…
Episode 209: Buried Truth: Dorothea Puente
In this final chapter of “Buried Truth” I share a story of one of the most rare categories of criminal - the female serial killer…
Episode 181: Bad Teacher: Mary Kay Letourneau
In this month's series "Bad Teacher" I'll share cases of educators who committed newsworthy crimes. First up, a 34-year-old teac…
Episode 146: Rocktober: Altamont, The Rolling Stone and The Hells Ang…
A free concert took place in northern California in December of 1969 featuring The Rolling Stones. It would descend into chaos d…
Episode 128: Bad Sports: Ten Cent Beer Night
A summer ball game descends into chaos when a promotional event goes seriously awry. This is the last chapter in the series "Bad…
Episode 084: Last Stop: The Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping
In 1976, in the small farming community of Chowchilla, California, a school bus full of children is kidnapped for ransom. #kidna…
Episode 042: A Woman Scorned: Betty Broderick
In 1989, Betty Broderick guns down her ex-husband and his new wife. Did her cheating husband cause her to snap or did she commit …
Episode 003: Lost and Found: The Cleveland Kidnappings
Three girls go missing over as many years in a Cleveland, Ohio neighborhood. Years go by before they are ever seen again. When i…
Recent Episodes
Episode 265: Holidays in Hell: The Richmond New Year’s Murder Spree
Nov. 29, 2022
For many people around the world, ringing in the new year brings with it the promise of new hope, a fresh start, and renewed possibilities. But each year of Ricky Javon Gray’s short life brought only violence, brutality, and…
Episode 264: Holidays in Hell: Little Boy Blue
Nov. 22, 2022
On Christmas Eve, 1985 a grim discovery was made on a frozen field outside of Chester, Nebraska. The body of a child had been abandoned. The mystery of who the anonymous child who locals dubbed “Little Boy Blue” would take t…
Episode 263: Holidays in Hell: Missing Mom Kelsey Berreth
Nov. 15, 2022
A young mother goes missing after a Thankgiving Day shopping trip in 2018. After meticulous detective work on the part of several law enforcement agencies answers come to light. The perpetrator would be someone no one would …
Episode 262 - “What the Crime?” 3 Strange and unusual crime stories
Nov. 8, 2022
In today’s episode, I’ll share three strange and intriguing true crime cases currently in the news - a suspected serial killer hunting for victims in a small California town, a gruesome discovery on a local walking trail, an…
Episode 261: A Nightmare Before Halloween, Part 2
Nov. 2, 2022
A Nightmare Before Halloween, Part 2 …1 campfire… …1 dark forest… …31 bone-chilling stories… …Will YOU survive the night? This Halloween season, enter the woods for a unique and truly epic podcast experience! Around the camp…
Episode 260: A Nightmare Before Halloween, Part 1
Nov. 1, 2022
…1 campfire… …1 dark forest… …31 bone-chilling stories… …Will YOU survive the night? This Halloween season, enter the woods for a unique and truly epic podcast experience! Around the campfire Shane Waters will introduce 31 c…
About the Hosts
Esther Ludlow
Producer and Host
Esther Ludlow has been interested in true crime since she was a teen and has been podcasting since 2012. She launched her true crime podcast, Once Upon a Crime in June of 2016. In only 8 months, the podcast had over 1 million listens and the audience continues to grow. Her love for storytelling combined with her interest in true crime and her background in psychology creates a unique and compelling podcast.
Esther writes, produces and edits the podcast as a solo venture. Once Upon a Crime presents true crime stories chapter by chapter. Each episode stands alone and cases are grouped by topic. Esther has covered the kidnapping cases of Elizabeth Smart and Jaycee Dugard, celebrity stalkers Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley, and historical cases including Kitty Genovese, Mary Bell and Charles Starkweather.
Lorena Garcia
Administrative, Research and Production Assistant
Once Upon A Crime's right hand, Lorena Garcia can be found behind the scenes. From a young age, Lorena found interest in films and literature based on true crime events. As she matured so did her passion for true crime. Aside from assisting with OUAC, Lorena is a skincare enthusiast, world traveler, and cat mom.
She says being a part of the Once Upon A Crime team is the ultimate dream job.
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