True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers

Dive Deep Into the Crime Stories of Criminal CouplesFrom harrowing heists to murderous mayhem, this collection of true crime stories will have you on the edge of your seat as you discover exactly why two criminal minds are scarier than one, especially when they belong to lovers.Discover Infamous Legends and Lesser-Known Criminals and find out why they have become solidified in true crime history. From Ted Bundy to Jeffrey Dahmer, serial killers and other criminals often work alone. But when they're in a relationship, this isn't always the case. Acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto brings us a collection that proves that two is better than one when it comes to murder, mischief, and mayhem.From Serial Killers to Your Average Joes. This chilling new collection of original crime stories takes you into the lawless and deadly activities of criminal couples who find more pleasure in crime than in each other. Featuring contributions from an international list of award-winning crime writers, journalists, and experts in the dark crimes field. THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: Partners in Crime-Mitzi Szereto

25 years on, Florida's first serial killer GJ Schaefer returns with a new expanded volume of illustrated killer fiction, featuring the stories used to convict him of double murder in 1973. The ex-cop and serial killer was doing two life sentences for the murder of two teenage girls, when he himself murdered in 1995. Sondra London first published a collection of these stories in 1989, under the imprimatur of Media Queen. Feral House published Killer Fiction in 1997. Now comes the new expanded collection, that also includes the stories Schaefer wrote in prison for Sondra London. 73 illustrations include drawings by Schaefer seized by police in 1973 and used as evidence to convict him of murder; impressionistic sketches of Schaefer by Sondra London; and facsimiles of his handwritten statements. BEYOND KILLER FICTION: Rogue Cop-Sondra London

For almost a decade, Backpage.com was the world’s largest sex trafficking operation. Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, in 800 cities throughout the world, Backpage ran thousands of listings advertising the sale of vulnerable young people for sex. Reaping a cut off every transaction, the owners of the website raked in millions of dollars. But many of the people in the advertisements were children, as young as 12, and forced into the commercial sex trade through fear, violence and coercion.In Taking Down Backpage, veteran California prosecutor Maggy Krell tells the story of how she and her team battled against this sex trafficking monolith. Beginning with her early career as a young DA, she shares the evolution of the anti-human trafficking movement. Through a fascinating combination of memoir and legal insight, Krell reveals how she and her team started with the prosecution of street pimps and ultimately ended with the takedown of the largest purveyor of human trafficking in the world. She shares powerful stories of interviews with survivors, sting operations, court cases, and the personal struggles that were necessary to bring Backpage executives to justice. Finally, Krell examines the state of sex trafficking after Backpage and the crucial work that still remains.Taking Down Backpage is a gripping story of tragedy, overcoming adversity, and the pursuit of justice that gives insight into the fight against sex trafficking in the digital age. TAKING DOWN BACKPAGE: Fighting the World's Largest Sex Trafficker-Maggy Krell

In 1974, Dennis Lynn Rader stalked and murdered a family of four in Wichita, Kansas. Since adolescence, he had read about serial killers and imagined becoming one. Soon after killing the family, he murdered a young woman and then another, until he had ten victims. He named himself “B.T.K.” (bind, torture, kill) and wrote notes that terrorized the city. He remained on the loose for thirty years. No one who knew him guessed his dark secret. He nearly got away with his crimes, but in 2004, he began to play risky games with the police. He made a mistake. When he was arrested, Rader’s family, friends, and coworkers were shocked to discover that B.T.K. had been among them, going to work, raising his children, and acting normal.This case stands out both for the brutal treatment of victims and for the ordinary public face that Rader, a church council president, had shown to the outside world. Through jailhouse visits, telephone calls, and written correspondence, Katherine Ramsland worked with Rader himself to analyze the layers of his psyche. Using his drawings, letters, interviews, and Rader’s unique codes, she presents in meticulous detail the childhood roots and development of one man’s motivation to stalk, torture, and kill. She reveals aspects of the dark motivations of this most famous of living serial killers that have never before been revealed.The Documentary BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer premieres January 8th and 9th on A&E. The 2 night event sheds new light on Rader's double life as both an upstanding citizen and a heartless killer. Dr. Katherine Ramsland, the renowned professor of forensic psychology and author, leads the examination of Rader's transformation from an American boy to an American monster who wreaked havoc in Wichita Kansas and went uncaptured for 30 years. With exclusive conversations with Rader himself, eye-opening new archival, comprehensive interviews, and access to Rader's drawings and coded diaries all paired with Dr. Ramsland's expertise, viewers get to know the man behind the moniker, the truth behind the headline and a glimpse at the secrets Rader is still holding onto. The documentary we are discussing tonight is BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer-Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Forgotten California Murders 1915 to 1968 chronicles homicides that happened so long ago they have been forgotten even by the families of the killers and the victims. Their crimes are no less shocking than the murders that have had books and films made about them. FORGOTTEN CALIFORNIA MURDERS 1915-1968-David Kulczyk

American Scandal is a podcast from Wondery that explores the darker stories that have shaped the United States. From the Unabomber to Bernie Madoff, these are stories that reveal the underbelly of America: ruthless, secretive, and power-hungry. The new season of American Scandal looks at the controversial decision made by a young government official named Daniel Ellsburg to leak the Pentagon Papers, the documents that led Americans to demand an end to the catastrophic Vietnam War. Once Ellsburg realized this terrible truth, he made the bold decision to leak the documents, and the consequences altered the course of American history. This is just a preview of American Scandal, but you can listen to the full episode at wondery.fm/AS_TrueMurder

Over 25 people murdered in just over two and a half years. What was happening in the small coastal town of Santa Cruz between October 1970 and Feburary 1973?John Linley Frazier’s home invasion murders of the Ohta family and Dorothy Cadwallader in 1970 and the serial murder sprees of Herbert Mullin and Edmund Kemper left tremors in Santa Cruz that can still be felt today.Local law enforcement, victims’ families and friends, classmates and acquaintances of the killers, local historians, voices from the past and present, and the killers themselves all come together to tell the horrific stories and explain why Santa Cruz was dubbed THE MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD in the early 1970s.Murder Capital of the World is a primary source history telling the story of Santa Cruz in the early 1970’s through quotes and first person stories. MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD: The Santa Cruz community looks back at the John Linley Frazier, Herbert Mullin, and Edmund Kemper murder sprees of the early 1970's-Emerson Murray

A woman’s dead body is tossed off a cruise ship. It’s homicide on the high seas, a story of murder and greed, a true crime story you’ll never forget. Why are you always killed by the one you love? A research vessel finds a woman’s decomposing corpse floating in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about twenty miles off the Italian shoreline.Cruise ships frequent the area. Investigators’ best guess is that she came from one of those boats. But which one? And is it a case of accidental death, suicide, or even murder? Only one boat reported the possibility that a passenger had gone overboard. So she had to have come from the Island Star. The mystery of how she died was also swiftly solved. For one simple reason, it had to be a case of homicide. So, someone murdered this woman while both were aboard the cruise ship. Hundreds of people were onboard the Island Star. Who was the killer? Another perplexing question: Why should the DA’s office in Orange County, California, prosecute a murder that occurred off the coast of Italy? Prosecutors also have to deal with the fact that their star witnesses were thousands of miles away when Mary Takahashi went into the water. What complicated the prosecution’s case even more, was the propensity of their star witnesses to change their stories. Both had reasons to turn on the suspect. Would the jury believe them? The Murder of Mary Takahashi: A Shocking True Crime Story tells a story of greed and murder. But it’s also an extraordinary tale of legal intrigue and guile as prosecutors work for more than a decade to put one of their own, a fellow attorney, in prison for the rest of his life. THE MURDER OF MARY TAKAHASHI: A Shocking True Crime Story-Rod Kackley

Butcher of Hanover focuses on the serial killer of at least 27 young men and boys in Germany in the post-World War 1 era. At the center of this murder case were Fritz Haarmann and Hans Grans, who were lovers while committing these murders. It wasn't until the skulls and bones started washing ashore from the Leine River in Hanover that Germany realized they had a cold-blooded serial killer in their country.As you read the exploration of the case in this book, ask yourself, did Haarmann murder each victim to keep his lover Hans Grans to stay with him? Did Grans decide who it was that was to be murdered? The evidence on this case will keep you on the edge of your seat, trying to determine who was really behind these gruesome murders. BUTCHER OF HANOVER: Fritz Haarmann-Alan R. Warren

Few things are more devastating than a loved one going missing. On The Vanished podcast from Wondery, host Marissa Jones tells stories of missing persons that have gone overlooked by mainstream media. In a recent episode, Marissa looks into the disappearance of James Foster Chance. The 48-year-old man from Texas went missing in March of 2021. Devastated and without any leads, James’ family began searching for him. But in their search they began uncovering clues that James was not the man they thought he was. And worse -- that he may have disappeared on purpose. Listen to The Vanished at wondery.fm/TV_truemurder

In the small city of Binghamton in upstate New York, 23-year-old Veronica Taft, a single mother with four small children, all under the age of five, was convicted of Murder and Manslaughter for the brutal murder of her two-year-old son Lyric. She was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in state prison, with her surviving children taken away and placed in foster care.After more than five years in prison, Taft was set free after a bombshell Appellate Court decision found the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. The court overturned the theory and evidence used by authorities, including time-of-death, Taft’s alibi, and controversial testimony of a desperate jail-house snitch.Working on behalf of Taft, Defense Investigator, David M. Beers conducted an independent investigation. In his account, Immunity for Murder, he’ll guide you through the ill-fated police investigation and the shameful prosecution that, contrary to the evidence, quickly turned the tides towards Veronica and away from the real killer. This book will look closely at the suspect, bizarre events, and disturbing facts never before revealed. Furthermore, it’ll show how the evidence proves Taft’s innocence, which is why he considers her story a tragic miscarriage of justice. IMMUNITY FOR MURDER: The Veronica Taft Story-David M. Beers

Some said that the killer couldn't be a local. Others claimed that he was the wealthy son of a prominent Morgantown family. Whispers spread that Mared and Karen were sacrificed by a satanic cult or had been victims of a madman poised to strike again. Then the handwritten letters began to arrive: You will locate the bodies of the girls covered over with brush--look carefully. The animals are now on the move.Investigators didn't find too few suspects--they had far too many. There was the campus janitor with a fur fetish, the harmless deliveryman who beat a woman nearly to death, the nursing home orderly with the bloody broomstick and the bouncer with the girlish laugh who threatened to cut off people's heads. Local authors Geoffrey C. Fuller and S. James McLaughlin tell the complete story of the murders for the first time. THE WVU COED MURDERS: Who Killed Mared and Karen? Geoffrey Fuller and Sarah James McLaughlin

Since President John F. Kennedy's 1963 murder in Dallas, medical examiner and lawyer Dr. Cyril Wecht was initially inclined to accept the official theory that one person alone was responsible for the crime. But as Wecht delved into the evidence with boundless curiosity and unprecedented access, he came to understand that America had, instead, suffered a coup d'etat at the hands of rogue elements within our own government.Nobody else has Wecht's up-close and personal experience in uncovering the facts behind this assassination--and now he is sharing it with the world. Co-authored by investigative journalist Dawna Kaufmann, this comprehensive book reveals Wecht's analyses of the case's forensic and medical evidence. With his keen eye and sharp tongue, Wecht wields his scalpel on JFK's dubious autopsy report, the inept Warren Commission Report, the mishandling of crucial materials, all of the key players, and the media malpractice that has allowed the truth to remain hidden for nearly six decades. THE JFK ASSASSINATION DISSECTED: An Analysis by Forensic Pathologist Cyril Wecht-Dawna Kaufmann and Cyril Wecht.

Veteran journalist Joe Nocera’s neighbor in the Hamptons was a therapist named Ike. Ike counted celebrities and Manhattan elites as his patients. He’d host star-studded parties at his eccentric vacation house. But one summer, Joe discovered that Ike was gone and everything he’d thought he’d known about his neighbor -- and the house next door -- was wrong. From Wondery, the company behind Dirty John and Dr. Death, and Bloomberg, “The Shrink Next Door” is a story about power, control and turning to the wrong person for help for three decades. Written and hosted by Joe Nocera, a columnist for Bloomberg. The Shrink Next Door is now an Apple Original series, starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. Watch now only on Apple TV+. Listen to the Shrink Next Door now! https://link.chtbl.com/shrink_next_door?sid=Audio-Shrink_Next_Door_2021-True_Murder

A man watching the Cup on a restaurant patio is shot dead on a busy Sunday afternoon in Toronto. Another dies in a sidewalk ambush just outside a bus-tling college campus. Two men in a Vancouver hotel lobby are gunned down in an attack that sends an American soccer star scrambling for cover. In Mexico, a Canadian is killed at a Nuevo Vallarta coffee shop, his death barely registering amidst the terrifying death tolls of President Calderón’s war on drugs and the cartels’ response; while a Montreal cop is beaten within an inch of his life in a Playa del Carmen nightclub. An infamous heckler from an NBA Toronto Raptors game turns up dead in a bullet-riddled car in a midtown lane-way. Throughout the 2010s, these and other disparate acts of violence entered the public awareness like iso-lated tragedies - but there was nothing isolated about them.In this masterly investigation, veteran journalists Peter Edwards and Luis Nájera introduce listeners to the common cause of a near-decade of chaos. Meet the Wolfpack, millennial-aged gangsters from across the spectrum of Canada’s underworld. Vying to fast-track their way into the criminal void left by the death of Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto, the Wolfpack sought advantage in a steady supply of cocaine from El Chapo Guzmán’s Sinaloa cartel, among the deadliest and most far-reaching of criminal organizations. The juniors had just stepped into the big leagues.This is the roiling landscape of The Wolfpack, a brilliant examination of a time of criminal disruption and rapid adaptation, when one gang’s unchecked ambition unwittingly gave away the most hotly contested corner of the Canadian underworld without a fight. Brazen criminal disruptors or entitled upstarts looking to get rich without paying their dues - whatever you think of them, you will never forget the Wolfpack. THE WOLFPACK: The Millennial Mobsters Who Brought Chaos and the Cartels to the Canadian Underworld-Peter Edwards