Episodes

This is a double episode to conclude the month-long miniseries where I detail the case of serial killer David Carpenter, known as “The Trailside Killer”. Carpenter stalked and killed men and women on the hiking trails of Marin County, San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Other suspected victims would disappear from San Jose and Daly City, California. Resources: The Sleeping Lady: The Trailside Murders Above the Golden Gate by Robert Graysmith, Penguin Books, (1990) People v. Carpenter, Supreme Court of...

In Part 2 of this 3-part mini-series, I’ll continue the story about a random series of attacks that took place on hiking trails in northern California beginning in 1979, soon after David Carpenter was released from prison for an earlier violent crime spree. After three women were found murdered on Mount Tamalpais, investigators began to suspect that a serial killer was on the loose and targeting local hikers. This is the case of “The Trailside Killer”. Resources: The Sleeping Lady: The Trailside...

This month I’ll be sharing a 3-part miniseries. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Northern California was terrorized by a series of random murders that took place on hiking trails in state parks, national forests and coastal lands. The public began to suspect that a serial killer was lurking among them and the media began referring to him as “The Trailside Killer”. In this first part, I’ll detail some of the Trailside Killers earliest victims and describe how he was allowed to slip through the ...

In 2002, two paintings were stolen from The Van Gogh Museum worth $30 million dollars. The investigation into this crime would involve law enforcement in several countries. Special investigators in both art crimes and organized crime units would also be brought in to solve the case of the missing Van Goghs. Resources: Documentary: Stealing Van Gogh (2018) , Julian Hendy, Director. “How 20 Stolen Van Gogh Paintings were Recovered” by Erik Shilling for Atlas Obscura , Sept. 30, 2016. https://www.a...

Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright begins an affair with Martha “Mamah” Borthwick. When the scandal threatens his career and reputation, he builds a home near Spring Green, Wisconsin. Called “Taliesin”, it was supposed to be a place of peace and refuge for the couple, but in 1914, it became the site of a horrifying massacre. Resources: “Soulmate Stunt Loses its Zest”, Kokomo Daily Tribune , August 3, 1910. Frank Lloyd Wright by Jan Adkins, published by Penguin Random House, 2008 “Cook massacres ...

A contemporary artist is murdered in broad daylight in Washington D.C. Conspiracy theories about who was responsible begin to swirl after her close connection to John F. Kennedy is revealed. Resources: “The Last Painting of Mary Pinchot Meyer” by Maria Hummel for Counterpoint , June 5, 2019. https://crimereads.com/the-last-painting-of-mary-pinchot-meyer/ “The forgotten female artist who may have been murdered by the CIA” by Alina Cohen for Artsy.net , May 16, 2019. https://www.artsy.net/article/...

A young widow opens her own restaurant in Macon, Georgia in the 1950s. Suspicions arise when the people closest to her begin falling ill and dying. Was Anjette Lyles a serial killer? Resources: Lyles v. The State, Supreme Court of Georgia, (1959) "Anjette Lyles, Restauranteur of Death" by Ciaran Conlittle for Headstuff.org , Sept 28, 2017. "Criminal History: Anjette Lyles poisoned 4 family members for money" by Chelsea Beimfohr, 13wmaz.com . Links: Podcasts We Listen To: https://podcasts.apple.c...

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay enters London's Brixton Prison in 2012 in an attempt to teach a group of inmates to run a successful bakery. Would he succeed or would the men return to a life of crime once the cameras stopped rolling? Resources: "Mad for It" by Lynn Barber for The Guardian, May 13, 2001 . "From criminal to trainee cook: 'I owe Gordon Ramsay a lot'" by Erwin James for The Guardian , Aug 14, 2013. " Gordon Ramsay's Embarrassing Arrest Inspired Him to Set Up a Prison Bakery for London...

In this series we'll take a look at the restaurant industry to ask "What happens when good cooks go bad?". In this episode, a restaurateur in Southern California is suspected of murder when his wife disappears. What detectives discover would shock and horrify the community. Resources: "Witness: Cliff Jumper Threatened to Kill Wife", Nicole Mooradian for The Patch , Sept 14, 2012. "Did California Chef David Viens Kill, Then Cook Wife?", 48 Hours , May 13, 2013. "Los Angeles jury finds chef guilty...

Two women meet a man on Match.com . After they end the relationship, Wade Ridley vows deadly revenge. Resources: 20/20: In an Instant - "Match Made in Hell", ABC Television, aired July 1, 2017 Dating App Horrors: The Untold Story, A&E Network , aired May 2, 2019. "Mary Kay Beckman Sues Match.com ", The Huffington Post , Jan 24, 2013

A Canadian man, inspired by the television show Dexter , lures his murder victims through online dating sites. Resources: Dateline: Deadly House of Cards, NBC Television, September 16, 2011. "Alleged First Victim Recalls His Escape" by Nahreman Issa for CTV News, April 1, 2011. "'Dexter Killer' Mark Twitchell among members of dating site for inmates" by Scott Stevenson for CBC News, Jan 9, 2017 Mark Twitchell's "Profile of a Psychopath", retrieved on Scribd.com . https://www.scribd.com/document/...

In Part 3 of this miniseries, Curtis Dean Anderson confesses to a high-profile missing child case. He would be investigated for a series of abductions and murders of children in Northern California. Was he a serial killer as he claimed or was this just another manipulation by this serial predator? Resources: “Portrait of ‘an absolute monster’” by Kevin Fagan for The San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 2009 “List of Bay Area child kidnapping cases”, San Jose Mercury News, August 27, 2009. “Murderer’...

In part two of this miniseries the bravery of an 8-year-old girl unmasks a serial predator named Curtis Dean Anderson. He would be linked to the disappearance of Xiana Fairchild. Resources: "Portrait of 'an absolute monster'", by Kevin Fagan for The San Francisco Chronicle, July 7, 2009. "Midsi Sanchez finds purpose, peace 20 years after being kidnapped in Vallejo", by Amy Maginnis-Honey for The Daily Republic - Solano County, July 2020. Letters from a Serial Killer , Kristi Belcamino and Stepha...

A 7-year-old goes missing from Vallejo, California in 1999. It would be some time before Xiana Fairchild would be linked to a serial predator who would ultimately be connected to several missing and murdered women and children in Northern California and beyond. This is the first part of a month-long series about serial predator Curtis Dean Anderson. Resources: Letters from a Serial Killer: The true story of a mother and a journalist's fight to save a little girl's life by Kristi Belcamino and St...

This week my special guest is Leroy Luna from Excuse Me, That's Illegal Podcast. We discuss some bizarre crimes, the dumbest criminals and crime stories that could only have happened in 2020. Resources: https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2020/06/09/naked-florida-man-accused-of-bizarre-crime-spree-that-included-trying-to-kiss-elderly-woman/ https://www.newser.com/story/296711/guy-gets-year-in-jail-for-covid-era-parties.html https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/man-gets-caricature-done-robs-arti...

In this episode I'll share three true crime cases you may not have heard of, but should have. My special guest host is Laurah from The Fall Line and One Strange Thing Podcasts. Resources: A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (2006), Lifetime TV. Trained in the Ways of Men (2007), directed by Michelle Prevost. Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation, Malinda Maynor Lowery, (University of North Carolina Press, 2010). The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggl...

Two women thought they'd met the man of their dreams. But one of them would be found dead of mysterious circumstances and one would go missing never to be seen again. Would justice prevail to convict Drew Peterson for these crimes? Resources: Marcia Clark Investigates the First 48: Drew Peterson, Investigation Discovery Channel, April 5, 2018 Justice Cafe, petersonstory.wordpress.com Links: CrimeCon House Arrest: www.crimecon.com/housearrest Patreon: www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

A teenager goes missing in Morgan Hill, California never to be seen again. It would take meticulous detective work to prove she'd been the victim of a murder and bring her killer to justice. Resources: "Disappearance tests 'no-body' murder cases" by Jenna Lyons for The San Francisco Chronicle , Jan 16, 2017 Statement of Facts: Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Case #12-076-0868G, May 24, 2012 "Dissecting Torres' Past", Staff Writers, The Gilroy Dispatch, May 25, 2012. "No body, no weapon, no c...

This month's series features crimes that were solved...without a body. Tom Capano thought he'd pulled off the perfect murder when his ex-girlfriend disappeared. Meticulous detective work and dogged determination would be needed to solve the crime. Resources: And Never Let Her Go by Ann Rule, 1996, Simon & Schuster. The FBI Files: Deadly Obsession , Jan 18, 2020, retrieved on YouTube.com . Links: www.crimecon.com/housearrest www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime www.truecrimepodcast.com

A story about a teenage stalker who hides in his victim's homes to prey upon them becomes an urban legend. But, the true life and crimes of Daniel J. LaPlante would be a real-life horror story. Resources: "Witness describes abduction by LaPlante", Paul Langner for The Boston Globe, Oct 21, 1988. Commonwealth v. Daniel J. LaPlante , Sept 14 - Nov 16, 1993, Middlesex County Superior Court filing. "A Teen Terrorized a Family by Living in Their Walls", Laura Allan for Ranker.com , June 14, 2019. "Da...

The mysterious murder of Fred William Oesterreich in Los Angeles in 1922 would be revealed years later as one of the strangest and most bizarre true crime cases in California history Resources: A Crime to Remember: Guess Who?, Season 4, Episode 6, The Investigation Discovery Channel " The Story of Dolly Oesterreich" by Erin Kelly for All That's Interesting , Dec 19, 2017.

In 1998, a 14-year-old disappeared from Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. It would be feared she had become a victim of serial killer, Leonard Fraser, but this story would end with a shocking revelation. Resources: 60 Minutes Australia - ‘The Girl in the Cupboard’”(2003) - https://youtu.be/os_K-e_qwu8 " She had everyone fooled" in TheAge.com.au, Apr 11, 2003 "The girl who returned from death" by Greg Ansley for NZHerald.co.nz, Apr 18, 2003 "The 'dead' schoolgirl who fooled a nation" by Shannon...

A multimillionaire in a feud with his family over money and property perpetrates a bizarre hoax in order to get revenge on his children and hold on to his assets. Resources: "Professor Donovan's Magnificent Entanglements" by John Wolfson for Boston Magazine , July 1, 2006 "Ex-professor found guilty of staging own shooting" by John R. Ellement for The Boston Globe , Aug 18, 2007. "When Hollywood Moved In" by Sara Rimer for The New York Times , July 29, 2009 "John J. Donovan III" by Ray Lamont for...

A well-respected educator in Bakersfield, California is accused of a brutal crime - the murders of five of his family members. Resources: "The Mystery of the Lost Weekend", by Keith Morrison for Dateline NBC , July 24, 2009. "Vincent Brothers and murdered wife had rocky relationship say witnesses" by Jessica Logan for Bakersfield.com , March 7, 2007. "Vice Principal is still a suspect in fatal shootings of wife, kids, mother-in-law" by Kerri Ginis for The Fresno Bee , July 10, 2003. "Woman Says ...