Episodes

A horror film franchise is seemingly cursed when it experiences tragedies including hauntings, serious accidents, fatal illness and murder. Resources: https://www.ranker.com/list/victims-of-the-poltergeist-curse/melissa-brink...

From 1922 to the 1940s over 40 child actors would be cast in a popular series of short films and many of them would later fall victim to strange accidents, illnesses, drug addiction, financial hardship, murder and suicide. T...

Every manifestation of the Man of Steel - comic books, television shows and films - has been marked by bad blood, shattered careers, tragic accidents and even murder. This is the Curse of Superman. Resources: George Reeves R...

Three child actors become stars after being cast in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes in 1978. But, all three would go on to live troubled adult lives including drug addiction, legal troubles and untimely death. These are the sto...

Susan Polk enters into a relationship with her therapist when she is a young girl. Years later, after 20 years of marriage, she will claim she has been abused by her husband for decades. After he is found dead in their guest...

A mother seeks help for her special needs child, but a church prayer service ends tragically. Several resources were used in the research for this episode including: Book: True Stories of Law and Order by Kevin Dwyer and Jure...

In the second chapter of the series "Deadly Therapy" a young girl who grows up in an unstable home is placed up for adoption. Her adoptive mother finds her behavior problematic and has her undergo a new and controversial the...

In this month's series, "Deadly Therapy", I’ll detail cases of people who sought help from experts, but rather than receiving healing and transformation, their journeys came to an abrupt and deadly end. In this first chapter...

Identical twin sisters, Sunny and Gina Han were lifelong rivals. One sister's jealousy would lead her to plot her twin's murder. Resources: Court Transcripts: People v. Han, Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, Cali...

In this bonus episode, I interview Jan Broberg and Skye Borgman about their documentary film "Abducted in Plain Sight" LIVE at CrimeCon 2019 in New Orleans. #AbductedinPlainSight #truecrimedocumentary #CrimeCon2019

On this bonus episode I take you along with me to CrimeCon 2019 in New Orleans and my travels to New York City and Toronto for the Toronto True Crime Film Festival. #CrimeCon #NewOrleans #TorontoTrueCrimeFilmFestival #truecri...

I continue the story of the Gibbons Sisters - twins who were locked in a battle their entire lives. Neither believed they could survive without the other, but controlled each other so completely they only spoke to or associat...

June and Jennifer Gibbons were identical twins who, from a very young age, were so bonded to one another that they created their own “twin language” to communicate speaking only to one another. They rejected any other relati...

"Lost and Found" was the very first series of Once Upon a Crime in June, 2016. In that series I covered the story of three young women who were held captive and abused by Ariel Castro for over a decade. In this bonus episod...

A mother takes justice into her own hands in Jamestown, California in 1993 when she discovers her son has been abused by a child molester. Some called her a hero, others denounced her actions as vigilantism. This is Chapter...

In 2005, a man on trial for rape escapes custody in Atlanta's Fulton County Courthouse and goes on a violent rampage. This is Chapter 1 of "Disorder in the Court". Resources: 3 Slain in Atlanta Courthouse Rampage , The Washi...

A summer ball game descends into chaos when a promotional event goes seriously awry. This is the last chapter in the series "Bad Sports" recounting the Cleveland Indians' "Ten Cent Beer Night" riot. Thanks to guest voice act...

A friendly soccer game on a dusty field in Brazil turns into a horrific act of violence. Resources: Article: A Yellow Card, Then Unfathomable Violence in Brazil by Jere Longman and Taylor Barnes for T he New York Times , Octo...

Ray and Sally McNeil were a married couple who were both accomplished athletes in the sport of professional bodybuilding. But, a combination of infidelity, abuse and anabolic steroid use would lead to a final, bloody confron...

This month I'll be sharing stories of outrageous crimes that occurred at sporting events or by sports figures. First up, a neighborhood ice rink, a pee-wee hockey pick-up game and some unsportsmanlike conduct leads to a confr...

A man starts having vivid memories of a violent crime he believes he may have committed during an alcoholic blackout. Resources: Kevin Dwyer and Jure Fiiorillo, True Stories of Law & Order (New York: Berkley Boulevard Books),...

I conclude the story about Eileen Franklin who claimed to have witnessed her friend, 8-year-old Susan Nason's murder in 1969. She would say her memory of the event was only recovered after 20 years. Her story would begin a d...

In this series I'll share crime stories that feature a very strange and rare phenomenon - recovered memories of murder. Is it possible to forget about a murder? Could a traumatic event, like witnessing a violent crime, caus...

A career criminal commits multiple murders plus an attempted murder and continues to be released on parole. This is the case of Michael Keith Moon. Resources: Michael Hemmingston, San Diego Reader , "Moon Arraigned in Escond...