Crimes of Passion

Wanting fame and fortune as a dancer, Melissa James took Craig up on his offer to introduce her to his A-list friends and moved in with him and Kelly. But the growing conflict between the two women became strained — and turned deadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kelly Ryan already knew that Craig Titus was the "bad boy" of body building. After turning him down on numerous dates, she finally gave in. A year later, they were married. But Craig had a secret. And her name was Melissa James. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In January 2005, Sarah Kolb decided to end her friendship with Adrianne Reynolds for good. With the help of Harli Quinn, they lured Adrianne into Sarah's car and drove to a fast-food restaurant. The two strangled Adrianne to death in the backseat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adrianne Reynolds was new to town, and what she wanted more than anything was to make friends. She made them quickly in Sarah Kolb and Harli Quinn. But if Adrianne wanted to stay friends with the pair, she would need to pass a loyalty test. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

She didn't just have a crush on Cubs first baseman Eddie Waitkus, she genuinely believed that the two were in love. So when Eddie got traded to the Phillies, Ruth Ann Steinhagen took it personally. And if she couldn't have Eddie, nobody could. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the fall of 2011, a 17-year-old model struck up an online relationship with NBA player Chris “Birdman” Andersen. But someone else was pulling the strings of their ill-fated romance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Jenelle Potter's crush, Billy Payne, started dating another woman, she used Facebook to spread rumors about the couple. But when a CIA agent contacted her parents, informing them that Payne was a threat to Jenelle's life, they took matters into their own hands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An online love triangle between 18-year-old Tommy, 17-year-old Jessi, and 22-year-old Brian turned tragic when their romantic fantasy world collided with their harsh realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shortly after Tara Lynn Grant returned to Michigan from Puerto Rico, she went missing. Her husband Stephen filed a missing person's report, but when detectives came to check out at their house, it told a different story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By early 2007, Tara Lynn Grant was a successful businesswoman splitting her time between the family home in Michigan and her office in Puerto Rico. She had two children, a beautiful house, and a full life. There was only one problem: her husband Stephen’s poisonous resentment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After facing charges for felony burglary and losing his law license, Eric Williams funneled his rage into planning revenge. He set out to design the perfect crime, and in the early months of 2013, murdered three people in small-town Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Texas, an Eagle Scout grows up to become a prominent member of the Kaufman County legal community. But Eric Williams’s success brought out a sense of entitlement that would cost him everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The night of President Lincoln’s assassination, there was another couple in the State Box at Ford’s Theatre: Henry Rathbone, a young Civil War veteran, and his fiancée, Clara. The death of the president would haunt Henry for years until another tragedy struck the couple in 1883. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November 1986, Richard Crafts began preparing for a macabre project. His crime would launch an investigation unlike any in Connecticut’s history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Helle Crafts, a flight attendant and mother of three, failed to show up for work days before Thanksgiving 1986, her closest confidantes began to fear the worst. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After marrying the heir to the Gucci empire, Patrizia Reggiani was living the dream. Almost overnight, she became a jet-setting socialite, rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. But when her husband threatens to take all the glitz and glam away from her, Patrizia snaps. This Lady Gucci won’t go down without a fight — and she’s willing to play dirty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the day he was born, Christian Brando lived in his famous father's shadow. But in 1990, in the throes of extreme anger and drug abuse, he made a name for himself in the worst possible way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The trials related to Scott Amedure’s murder drew nonstop media coverage — first in 1996, when Jon Schmitz’s lawyers devised a “gay panic” defense strategy, and later in 1999, when the producers and host of The Jenny Jones Show took the stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1995, Jonathan Schmitz and Scott Amedure were invited on a daytime talk show, where one friend made an on-air confession that led to murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For almost a year, Diane Zamora and David Graham had gotten away with murder. But some secrets are impossible to keep. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After David Graham confessed to his high school sweetheart Diane Zamora that he'd cheated on her in 1995, she thought her life had been ruined. She convinced David the only way to make the pain go away would be to punish the girl who stole his heart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1977, Tony Kiritsis took an employee of Meridian Mortgage hostage over a botched land deal. The next few days were a chaotic series of negotiations and near-misses as authorities attempted to save the hostage's life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1972, Meridian Mortgage loaned Tony Kiritsis over $100,000 to buy a plot of land in Indianapolis — but after years, he hadn’t made a single payment. When the company threatened to foreclose on the property in 1977, Tony stormed into their offices to take his revenge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The end of Charles Starkweather's rampage came only after Caril Fugate managed to escape. The subsequent trials were as shocking as they were sensationalized. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1958, 19-year-old Charles Starkweather murdered his girlfriend’s family before taking her hostage and continuing his killing spree. In his twisted mind, dragging 14-year-old Caril Fugate along on a violent rampage was the only way they could stay together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After killing 16-year-old Laurie Show, Lisa Michelle Lambert turned on her friend Tabitha Buck during questioning. A string of sensational trials followed that forever left a mark on their small Pennsylvania community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 18-year-old Lisa Michelle Lambert waged a months-long campaign of harassment against 16-year-old Laurie Show in 1991. By December, it turned deadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1995, John du Pont had a mental health crisis that became a national tragedy. The fallout changed the world of Olympic wrestling forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John du Pont was a failed Olympic hopeful who used his colossal family fortune to become wrestling’s biggest patron. By the early 1990s, John supported most of the elite wrestlers in the U.S., including the most famous of all: Dave Schultz. John was always known for being a little odd, but in 1995, his strange behavior took a dangerous turn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Katherine Knight was in her last relationship. Of that she was sure. Because if one more man left her, she was going to lose it. But then she realized her partner John couldn't leave her if she struck first. The final say would be hers, and she intended to make a grand statement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Australia, a young Katherine Knight had a volatile childhood marked by parental abuse and a short fuse. Things didn't improve as she got older. But what Katherine never had a problem with was finding men — she fell into relationships as quickly as her partners fell out of them, until eventually, she reached the very end of her rope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1972, Lee Morgan was at the precipice of an incredible rise to fame. Tragically, one night at a jazz club would change everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lee Morgan rose to the upper echelons of American jazz in the 1960s before drug addiction caused his career to take a turn. A codependent relationship with Helen Morgan ended up saving Lee’s life… and sealing his fate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After years of abusing his underage female clients, Sergio Andrade was finally exposed as a monster by his victims. The quest to bring the aging music producer to justice quickly turned into an international manhunt, as Andrade struggled to retain his control over the women and girls he manipulated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Mexican music producer Sergio Andrade was on top of the world, thanks to his biggest star Gloria Trevi. But no one knew that behind closed doors, Andrade abused Trevi and controlled nearly every aspect of her life — and she wasn’t his only victim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was difficult for Londoners to understand how Ruth Ellis could commit murder. She was beautiful, well-dressed, and in the courtroom, exuded a gentle demeanor. But as her trial commenced, the question became less about if she did it, but rather, why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1955, a wealthy race car driver was gunned down outside a bar in London. Passersby were shocked to see a petite, picturesque woman standing over his corpse with the smoking gun. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 2015, tensions between Dee Dee Blanchard and her daughter, Gypsy Rose, reached a head. Their final blowout shocked their Springfield neighbors and inspired nationwide terror. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dee Dee Blanchard seemed like the perfect mother to her terminally ill daughter, Gypsy Rose. But she hid a horrifying secret. By the time it came out in 2015, Dee Dee was dead, and Gypsy — who’d spent her lifetime relying on her mother’s care — was responsible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1779, James Hackman's toxic fixation on Martha Ray erupted in violence. When her lover, the fourth Earl of Sandwich got involved, the scandal shocked the nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1761, Martha Ray caught the eye of the fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu. She worked hard to secure a comfortable life for her family. But when a former soldier, James Hackman, started stalking her, all of it was put in jeopardy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just after midnight on September 3rd, 2012, Billy Woodward decided to put an end to the long-running feud with neighbors who had been tormenting his family. In court, Billy turned to Florida’s controversial Stand Your Ground law to mount his defense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A spat between neighbors exploded into a matter of life and death over Labor Day weekend in 2012. Florida men Gary Hembree, Roger Picior and Tim Blake pushed Gulf War veteran Billy Woodward to his breaking point, with deadly results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Desperation and devotion turned deadly in June 1954. Chaperoned by Pauline’s mother, Honorah Parker, the teenage best friends took a midday hike in Victoria Park. They returned bloodied and alone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In New Zealand in the early 1950s, two young girls formed an intense bond over the agony and isolation of their childhood illnesses and their love of fantastical make-believe. When their parents threatened to separate them, they agreed to do whatever it took to stay together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Husband and wife Gerald and Charlene Gallego embarked on a brutal killing spree in the fall of 1978. For months, they terrorized young women in California, until an FBI manhunt brought their reign of terror to an end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the time Gerald Gallego was 30, he was already a lifelong predator whose twisted crimes reached back into his childhood. When he met Charlene Williams in 1977, she became the newest target of his abuse — until she proposed a plan that made her his accomplice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1990, Gregg Smart was murdered. Suspicion fell on 15-year-old Billy Flynn and his friends at first, but eventually the trail led back to Gregg's wife, 22-year-old Pamela Smart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pamela and Gregg Smart's romance started strong, but after Gregg had an affair, 22-year-old Pamela turned to 15-year-old Billy Flynn for validation. The once happy marriage ended in betrayal... and death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casting himself as a lovestruck Robin Hood, 27-year-old John Wojtowicz tried to rob a bank so he could pay for his estranged wife’s gender confirmation surgery. The heist didn’t go as planned — but it would change both their lives forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices