True Crime Campfire

From our earliest days, some people know exactly who they are. They’re just…comfortable in their own skin. They know who and what they want to be, and they go after it, and shine. Air Force Captain Marty Theer was one of those people. His plans for his life were pretty simple: He wanted to fly, and he wanted to be a husband and a dad. For a while, it seemed like everything was clicking into place perfectly to give him the life he always wanted. Married his high school sweetheart, rose fast in the ranks of the Air Force, and spent most of his days way up in the clear blue sky. But he didn’t bargain for the storm clouds that were brewing in the heart of the woman he loved. Sources:The Officer’s Wife by Michael FleemanDateline NBC S19 E10, “Deadly Ambush”https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/asset/tv/snapped-killer-couples/7751525996455149112https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nc-court-of-appeals/1201672.htmlhttps://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=125624&page=1https://www.osi.af.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/2311497/the-murder-of-capt-marty-theer/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here are some facts about identical twins: They start to bond with each other before they’re even born. As they grow up, they often develop their own secret languages, comprehensible only to them. Many report a deep psychic bond, so strong that if one twin gets into a car crash on the other side of the country, the other twin will somehow know. The bond between twins is one of the strongest, most unbreakable, most mysterious connections in the human experience. They even share the same DNA. In most cases, the twin bond is a rare, even enviable blessing. But there can be such a thing as too much closeness, where the thread between twins becomes more like a strangling vine, binding them together so tightly that neither one can escape. Sources:https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00RXLA3QA/ref=atv_dp_season_select_s3https://www.cbsnews.com/news/heather-dewild-will-her-killer-get-away-with-murder/https://kdvr.com/news/daniel-dewild-sentenced-to-75-years-in-killing-of-estranged-wife/https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/judge-sentences-daniel-dewild-to-74-years-behind-bars/https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/i/cbslocal/wp-content/uploads/sites/15909806/2011/12/final-dewild-indictment.pdfFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Emily Gellis hears rumors of people suffering horrible side effects from a trendy diet she springs into action. Armed with over a hundred thousand Instagram followers, Emily launches a social media crusade to expose F-Factor and its founder, Tanya Zuckerbrot. It’s the start of a feud that will attract trolls, lawyers, and, eventually, national media all because of fiber. From Wondery, this is a story about wealth, wellness, and influence hosted by Casey Wilson. Listen to Fed Up: wondery.fm/TCC_FedUpBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I read a book once about the inner workings of Wall Street. I don’t really like to talk about it—I still get a little nauseous when I think about it. Yechh. One of the most memorable bits, though, was an interview with an investment banker who said, with a total lack of irony, “What good does it do me to make ten million if the guy down the hall is making twenty?” When the author said, “Well…okay, but when is it enough?” the guy looked at him like he’d just grown a second head. “Enough? It’s never enough.” That right there, campers, is the engine that drives some of the worst stuff in the world. And there’s no shortage of assholes in the clown car—some of whom are more than willing to resort to fraud to get there. Join us for the story of Dawn Bennett, a woman who rose to fame as one of the "best" financial advisors in the country, then crashed and burned spectacularly, despite her efforts to put curses on the SEC agents coming after her for fraud. Yeah, you read that right: Curses. Sources:CNBC's "American Greed," episode "The Luxury Curse Scam"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dawn-bennett-ponzi-scheme-suspect-paid-720k-for-prayers-by-hindu-priests-in-india/https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2019/10/04/when-a-financial-advisor-turned-to-hoodoo-spells/?sh=514afa3146bbhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/dj-bennett-brings-luxury-to-sporting-goods/2012/12/23/3c9a365e-43cc-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.htmlhttps://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/former-financial-advisor-sentenced-20-years-federal-prison-her-conviction-17-federalhttps://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-cr-maryland-investment-adviser-sentenced-0801-20190801-ueewer72wnglvdpwimudumebje-story.htmlhttps://www.sec.gov/alj/aljdec/2016/id1033jeg.pdfhttps://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2017/comp23922.pdfhttps://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/how-to-find-a-financial-advisor-who-wont-make-your-money-disappear.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve seen it a hundred times by now—evil comes in many different forms. Sometimes, you can see it coming a mile away. But sometimes it’ll look like a million dollars, dressed to the nines and fluttering its eyelashes at you, making you feel like you’re the only guy in the room. Stay frosty out there, fellas. Evil comes in many shapes, and sometimes they’re extra pleasing. Join us for the story of one of America's scariest female serial killers, a woman whose sophisticated exterior hid a heart of blackest darkness. Sources:Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-11-14-8503180695-story.htmlMichael Newton, An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers: Hunting HumansInvestigation Discovery's "Diabolical," Episode "The Devil Wears False Eyelashes"https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/state/2019/08/23/last-meals-of-gary-ray-bowles-danny-rolling-and-others-executed-by-state-of-florida/4395061007/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1998-03-31-9803310252-story.htmlhttp://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/buenoano450.htmhttps://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/buenoano-judy.htmhttps://law.justia.com/cases/florida/supreme-court/1988/68091-0.htmlhttps://casetext.com/case/buenoano-v-state-1https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1671479/state-v-buenoano/?Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s become a cliché in the telling of murder stories that someone will always say “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen here.” Somehow, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, we’re good at convincing ourselves that there are safe zones…places that are immune to the darker shades of the human soul. Most of us—at least, the ones who make a study of darkness—know better by now. But even for us, there are some communities that do seem unlikely to wind up on a true crime podcast. Unlikely, maybe. But nevertheless, here we are. Join us for a story of devotion, deception, lust and betrayal, against the unexpected backdrop of the Amish country. Sources:Investigation Discovery, A Murder in Amish Country, ep. A Twisted ConfessionInmate profile and criminal complaint against Samuel Borntreger: https://www.insideprison.com/state-inmate-search.asp?lnam=Borntreger&fnam=Samuel%20H&county=&st_abb=MO&id=2025969725Horror History: https://horrorhistory.net/2020/12/04/man-kills-his-wife-with-antifreeze-and-battery-acid/https://www.scribd.com/doc/295500611/Samuel-Borntreger-Criminal-Complaint?irclickid=35FTDSWZszbEW4P3jgQVdWKAUkD3r7z1sxfsw40&irpid=10078&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=affiliate_pdm_acquisition_Skimbit%20Ltd.&sharedid=huffpost.com&irgwc=1KTTN news: https://www.kttn.com/samuel-borntreger-could-face-additional-charges-of-child-abuse-and-sexual-misconduct/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amish-minister-confesses-to-killing-wife-9-years-ago-cops_n_5697cf0de4b0b4eb759d6db3Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Foster Wallace once wrote that the truth will set you free, but not until it’s finished with you. Every time we tell a lie, we put it on our tab. That may work out for a while, but eventually the bill is gonna come due. And when that time comes, you better make sure you’ve got the money in the bank. Otherwise, your whole life’s gonna get repo’ed, and you’ll be there just standing in the wreckage. Especially if, like the guy in this week’s story, you’ve built your whole life on a lie. Sources:CBS' 48 Hours, Episode The Murder of Anna Repkinahttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/anna-repkina-murder-william-hargrove-love-triangle-ultimatum-48-hours/Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/04/william-chase-hargrove-anna-repkina-oregon-murder/Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8898317/Man-serving-life-sentence-killing-Russian-bride-researched-time-travel-death.htmlIndependent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/man-convicted-murder-fiancee-william-hargrove-anna-repkina-alsea-oregon-time-travel-b1454490.htmlhttps://nypost.com/2019/11/24/man-found-guilty-in-fiancees-murder-after-kfc-receipt-links-him-to-slaying/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It takes a special kind of narcissism to feel entitled to murder somebody. Especially when the motive is just to get them out of your way, because they’re inconveniencing you. And it takes an even bigger ego to decide that you’re not gonna do your dirty work yourself—you’re gonna outsource it instead. We’ve seen plenty of murder for hire schemes before on this show, and as you’ve probably noticed, they don’t tend to go real well. And you usually find, at their center, a person so self-involved that they view the world as their own personal chessboard to manipulate as they choose. What’s unusual about this week’s story is that it involves not one of these narcissistic little gremlins—but two. It offers us a tantalizing peek at what happens when two people get together to bring out each other’s darkest desires. Join us for the bizarre story of Drs. Leon Jacob and Valerie McDaniel, who conspired together to murder their exes. Although the plan was to eliminate two people, only one life was ultimately lost, and it's probably not the one you're expecting. CWs: Suicide, domestic violenceSources:https://www.cbsnews.com/video/operation-murder-1/#xhttps://www.peacocktv.com/watch/playback/vod/GMO_00000000375791_01/e01627d5-a717-34b3-8a7e-f64ffb972d60?paused=truehttps://abcnews.go.com/US/happened-bizarre-murder-hire-plot-led-veterinarians-suicide/story?id=54092867https://www.chron.com/news/article/Failed-Houston-doctor-Leon-Jacob-sentenced-to-12781963.phphttps://www.fox26houston.com/news/leon-jacob-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-murder-for-hire-casehttps://abc13.com/murder-for-hire-trial-case-plot-leon-jacob/3263581/https://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Youngstown%20Hospital%201_9189482_ver1.0.pdfhttps://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Ohio%20Burglary%203_9189481_ver1.0.pdfhttps://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Divorce%204_9189477_ver1.0.pdfhttps://media.click2houston.com/document_dev/2017/03/21/Leon%20Jacob%20Harris%20County%20Assault%20Case%207_9189478_ver1.0.pdfFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all wish we could win the lottery. I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of a life-changing financial windfall? The chance to pursue your real passions, get all your loved ones out of debt, travel, just…not have to worry anymore? But for the tiny percentage of people who actually do win the lottery, against almost impossible odds, the reality often ends up a lot more complicated than they expect. According to the NY Daily News, about 70 percent of lottery winners end up flat broke within 7 years. Worse than that, some believe there’s a curse attached to winning. Take the case of Jeffery Dampier, who won a 20 million dollar jackpot in the 90s, started a popcorn business, and ended up brutally murdered by his sister in law and her boyfriend. And we all remember Abraham Shakespeare from an earlier season of TCC, a man who used his lottery winnings to revitalize his community—until he was manipulated into signing over his fortune, then murdered by a scam artist named DeeDee Moore. These are just two examples of many. It’s one of those “careful what you wish for” things—a lesson the people in this week’s story had to learn the hard way. Join us for a true whodunnit, a twisting, turning story of ambition, deception, secrets and betrayal.Sources:https://www.the-sun.com/news/3890533/lotto-winner-fatally-injected-husband-squandered-cash/#:~:text=Joseph%20Roncaioli%2C%2072%2C%20was%20found,she%20split%20with%20her%20friend.&text=Prosecutors%20told%20his%20trial%20he,retirement%2C%20the%20Toronto%20Star%20reported.https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2011/05/16/md_convicted_of_poisoning_wife_loses_appeal.htmlhttps://www.lottoanalyst.com/lottery-winner-ibi-roncaiolihttp://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2017/09/legends-of-team-canada-stelio-zupancich.htmlInvestigation Discovery's "Your Number's Up," episode "Cruel Hand of Fate"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some people are born for a certain vocation. Mozart, for music. Shakespeare, for drama. Steven Hawking, for physics, and...let's say...Machine Gun Kelly? for rap music. Vjeran Tomic was born for the steal—as comfortable scaling the side of a tightly-guarded museum as a leopard is, stalking through the jungle. He says he’s in it for the love of art—a modern-day Robin Hood. But we seem to remember something about Robin Hood giving the money away…hmm. Sources:The New Yorker, Jake Halpern: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/14/the-french-burglar-who-pulled-off-his-generations-biggest-art-heistThe New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/arts/design/vjeran-tomic-paris-spiderman-sentenced-to-8-years-for-art-heist.htmlThe Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-spiderman-art-heist-and-the-five-missing-masterpiecesFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everybody has a skeleton or two in the closet, and most of us are able to leave it right where it is, cover it up with old coats and mothballs and forget all about it. But some skeletons are bigger and meaner than others, and for the man at the center of this story, it would be hard to imagine one worse. And he was living in fear that it was about to come busting out of there and trample all over his life. He thought he was doing everything he needed to do to prepare for it. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t his past he had to worry about. It was a threat he never saw coming. Join us for a twisting story of greed and betrayal, and a missing persons case that turned into a truly heartbreaking murder. Sources:Court paperwork, State v. Tocker: https://www.leagle.com/decision/inazco20121002008https://mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/william-mcgrath-murder-august-2009-phoenix-az-bradley-tocker-convicted-of-his-murder/https://disappearedblog.com/william-mcgrath/Investigation Discovery's "Disappeared," episode "Murder by Design"Oxygen's "Buried in the Backyard," episode "Living in Fear"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 4, 2001, Bonny Lee Bakley was found fatally shot in a car on a dark North Hollywood street. The prime suspect was her husband, famed actor Robert Blake. But Bonny, a longtime con artist, had plenty of enemies. She left behind a trail of men she’d scammed, and she had a volatile relationship with Christian Brando, the troubled son of movie star Marlon Brando. Not since the O.J. Simpson case had the eyes of the nation been so fixated on a homicide. The search for Bonny’s killer took detectives on an eleven-month odyssey across the country and through Hollywood's underbelly of hustlers, drug addicts, and would-be hitmen. It would be the most expensive murder investigation in LAPD history to date. This is the story of Robert and Bonny’s toxic relationship, her shocking murder, and his chaotic trial. Did actor Robert Blake kill his wife? Or was the murder someone else's vendetta?From Wondery, and the team behind the hit series Hollywood & Crime (The Dating Game Killer, The Wonderland Murders, Death of Starlet) comes a six-part series about love, obsession and fame gone wrong. Co-hosted by Tracy Pattin and Josh Lucas.Listen at wondery.fm/TCC_TEOBLBBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No matter how many apples you eat in a day, you’re gonna eventually have to go see the doctor. It’s an unfortunate but necessary part of the human experience to go into that cold little room, put on a gown with no back, try not to gag on the tongue depressor, and hold your breath while they stick a needle in your arm. It’s not fun. And it’s bad enough without having to worry about whether the doctor who’s doing it to you is qualified to be there. We put a lot of faith in our healthcare providers. Sometimes we put our actual lives in their hands. It’s high-stakes stuff. But as stories like “Dr. Death” have taught us, our faith isn’t always well-placed. Join us for one of the most audacious cases of medical malpractice we’ve ever heard of, and forgive us in advance if it haunts your nightmares. Sources:https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1096465.htmlCNBC's "American Greed," Episode "The Impostor"Investigation Discovery's "Who the BLEEP," episode "Bad Medicine"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_BarnbaumNew York Times, Kenneth B. Noble: https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/17/us/doctor-s-specialty-turns-out-to-be-masquerade.htmlSan Francisco Chronicle, Elizabeth Fernandez: https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Bizarre-Medical-Masquerade-Determined-con-man-2950633.phpFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prey animals sometimes use camouflage to protect themselves from predators. But over millions of years of evolution, some predators have learned to do the same. Take the ghost mantis, a crafty little bug who masquerades as a leaf to get close to unsuspecting crickets. If you want to move in for a kill, there’s real value in blending in—whether you’re a leopard stalking a hare, or a cute pediatric nurse and former cheerleader who’s getting tired of her middle-class life and dreaming of bigger things. Michelle Michael: a woman whose perky personality and magazine-perfect lifestyle hid a heart as black as midnight. Join us for the true story of one of the cruelest, most brutal murders we've ever covered. Sources:John Glatt, Playing With Fire (St. Martin's True Crime)CBS' 48 Hours Mystery: Episode "Death Without Mercy"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/death-without-mercy/https://writingdeadlyaffairs.blogspot.com/2019/12/sudden-death-michelle-michael-james.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing the true crime podcast Persona: The French Deception— the story of Gilbert Chikli, one of the greatest con artists of all time. What does it feel like to pick up the phone and scam someone out of $50 million? Host and award-winning journalist, Evan Ratliff, investigates how Chikli successfully duped some of the world’s most powerful people into handing over their fortunes. He explores how Chikli evaded the law for years and became a Robin Hood-like hero. More than just a tale of criminal genius, this is a show about the moment we’re living in right now — the golden age of scammers — and the power of seduction. But what happens when the fantasy we’ve been lured into finally crumbles away? For all that and more, follow “Persona: The French Deception” wherever you get your podcasts. Or you can listen early on Amazon Music or early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app: wondery.fm/TCC_PersonaBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we left you at the end of part 1, the brawny-yet-dimwitted Sun Gym gang, led by smooth-talker Danny Lugo and his bestie Adrian Doorbal were trying to figure out whether to kill their captive, Marc Schiller. They’d already drained most of his assets, set up shop in his house, stolen his cars, and sent his family fleeing in terror to Colombia. So now it was time to wrap up the plan and ride off into the sunset. But as you can probably anticipate, based on the general incompetence of these guys, that it might not go according to plan. Join us now for part 2 of this bizarre true story. Sources:Miami New Times, Pete Collins: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/pain-and-gain-6396870CBS' "48 Hours," episode "Pain and Gain"Various articles, Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lugo-daniel.htmFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teamwork makes the dream work. But what if your dream is a get-rich-quick scheme involving kidnapping and murder? And what if your team is a ragtag squad of steroid-swollen gym rats sharing about sixteen brain cells between them? This is the story of what happens when ego meets incompetence, with a generous handful of evil thrown in. Plus: Abs. Lots and lots of abs. Join us for the story of the Sun Gym gang--a case so strange, Hollywood turned it into the movie "Pain & Gain." Sources:Pete Collins, Pain and Gain (3-part longform article) https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/pain-and-gain-6396870Murderpedia, various articles: https://murderpedia.org/male.L/l/lugo-daniel.htmCBS' "48 Hours," episode "Pain and Gain"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a cold one out there the day she walked into his life—gray, like the color of her eyes. She showed up like a shiny silver dollar in the path of a starving man—exactly what he needed, at exactly the right time. Blonde. Young. Full of big ideas. She was a small-town dame in the big city, ready to take the place by storm. She was a perfect pearl. And he knew she’d believe whatever he told her. He was about to teach the girl a hard lesson: That in the big city, you can’t trust anyone. Sometimes, not even yourself. Join us for a true story that could have come straight out of the pages of a Raymond Chandler novel, a fascinating vintage story about a young woman who inadvertently became a tool in the hands of a clever kidnapper-killer. We bet you've never heard of this one! Sources:St. Clair McKelway, The New Yorker, 1953: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1953/08/08/the-perils-of-pearl-and-olgahttps://uselessinformation.org/pearl-lusk-x-ray-camera/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the story of Pinocchio, a wooden puppet dreams of becoming a real boy—a real son to his maker, Geppetto. He’s a bit of a mess—always getting into mischief, lying and hanging around with the wrong crowd. But when he learns how to really care about people, the good fairy finally grants his wish, making him fully human. It’s a pretty powerful lesson: That what makes us whole, a lot of the time, is learning how to care for other people. Protect the people we love. Sacrifice our own comfort for theirs. It’s a noble impulse. But in the hands of a manipulator with ulterior motives, it can get twisted in all kinds of terrible ways. And the puppet can end up not a full-fledged human being, but a tangled mess of wood and string. Join us for the disturbing story of Dr. Pamela Buchbinder, a prominent New York psychiatrist who manipulated her troubled young cousin, Jake Nolan, into the attempted murder of her ex. Sources:Various articles, NY Post: https://nypost.com/tag/pamela-buchbinder/CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-pamela-buchbinder-jacob-nolan-did-psychiatrist-brainwash-cousin-to-kill-ex-lover/https://demo.socastcms.com/2021/05/08/new-development-in-case-of-a-man-who-claims-psychiatrist-convinced-him-to-kill/CBS's "48 Hours Mystery," Episode "The Psychiatrist and the Selfie"Court documents: https://casetext.com/case/buchbinder-v-hochul-2Court documents: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-division-first-department/2018/30222-17-30207-17-3160-17-101651-17-101532-17.htmlhttps://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/jacob-nolan-michael-weiss-crime-scene-photos-nyc-sledgehammer-attack/11/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/nyregion/jurors-reject-brainwashing-defense-in-attempted-murder-trial.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elle Newmark wrote, “Unrequited love does not die; it’s only beaten down to a secret place where it hides, curled and wounded.” Most of us have felt that special kind of pain that comes from pining after somebody who’s not pining after you. Most of us manage to take the hit and move on. But a few take…another path. This is the story of Jonna Henningsson, a bright, outgoing young woman who loved animals and caring for others. Jonna seemed to have everything going for her. Most people knew nothing about the darkness coiled up inside her, a darkness that lay sleeping most of the time. But when she fell obsessively in love with a man who couldn’t seem to choose between her and his other girlfriend, that darkness opened its eyes and stretched. Sources:A BIG thank you to our patron, who chooses to remain anonymous, for translating these Swedish-language sources for us!Swedish podcast "Rättegångspodden," episode "Styckmordet i Askersund:" https://aca.st/a8d2fbA stack of Swedish-language court documents YouTube channel "The Fear Files," Episode "The Case of Jonna Henningsson:" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUm3eYL5nQFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Adams once wrote that genius is sorrow’s child. A couple years ago, The Economist published an article called “The Curse of Genius” about the tumultuous lives of child prodigies. And how many times has Mensa come up on this show by now? About half a dozen, at least? Genius, it seems, is a double-edged sword. Some people are able to harness it to make spectacular leaps forward in art or science or technology. But for some, the expectations that come with that scary-high IQ can be like an anvil around their necks. Insecurity starts to fight with arrogance in those sharp-as-diamond minds, and resentment starts to brew. Combine a brilliant mind with a grudge against the world and you start to open some really dangerous doors. Join us for the story of Dinh Bowman, a guy with the potential to do anything he set his mind to, but chose to study murder instead. Sources:CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-yancy-noll-death-dinh-bowman-student-of-murder/48 Hours Mystery: Episode "Student of Murder"The Sun: https://www.the-sun.com/news/4555033/who-yancy-noll-what-happened-to-him/Court papers: https://casetext.com/case/in-re-pers-restraint-of-bowman-1"Bunny and Snuggles" phone calls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSLZMMK4Nd0ABC News, Bryan Robinson: https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96770&page=1Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Bible, First Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” It’s actually a pretty good definition of love—the kind most of us hope to have in our lives someday. And it's a definition you’d expect a man of God to live by. A pastor is called to be an example to his congregation. Not to be perfect, but at least transparent—sincere—and a soft place to fall for anyone who’s struggling. But for one congregation in Florida, their leader’s charm and charisma was nothing more than a trap. Join us for the story of Pastor James Flanders, the dynamic head of the Calvary Emerald Coast church in Fort Walton Beach--and Marie Carlson, the lovely young mother he lured into a web of lust, lies and murder.Sources:https://thecinemaholic.com/marie-carlson-murder-where-is-james-flanders-now/ https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/entertainment/local/2018/03/03/dateline-nbc-to-feature-local-murder-mystery-photos/13769313007/ NBC's "Dateline," Episode “Secrets on the Emerald Coast” https://www.sheriff-okaloosa.org/former-fwb-pastor-arrested-in-connection-with-disappearance-and-murder-of-marie-carlson/ https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/news/2015/12/02/pastor-charged-with-murder-granted/32912916007/ https://2paragraphs.com/2018/03/dateline-marie-carlsons-daughter-6-in-custody-of-james-flanders-wife/ https://www.myheraldreview.com/news/willcox/mom-murdered-by-dad-custody-granted-to-murderers-cochise-county-family/article_440eb8a0-d936-5f04-b1b3-eca75ca6cccf.html https://www.destinchamber.com/news/details/eccac-board-welcomes-lt-nesli-suhi-moore TV show "Cold Justice," Episode “Devoted”*Thanks to patron and friend Megan for her help with this episodeFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s an old saying that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get ya. For one brilliant yet troubled mind, living in fear was pretty much the norm for most of his adult life. His friends had come to take his worries with a grain of salt. Some of them seemed like the kind of bizarre fantasies you’d find in an episode of the X-Files. Nobody really took them seriously. That is, until their paranoid friend went missing. Join us for one of the strangest cases we’ve ever covered—a twisting, turning story of greed and secrets: both government and personal. Sources:Cincinnati Magazine: https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/features/death-and-the-maid/https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/blanc-willa.htmInvestigation Discovery's "Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen," episode "Death of a Genius"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, this might seem like a weird question, but hear me out. Does authenticity matter? Let me be more specific. Does art need to be authentic? What if you found out, for example, that your favorite writer—somebody whose traumatic life story you related to, somebody whose identity was a living, breathing part of the power of the stories they told—was a fake? Not the person they presented themselves to be at all? Would you be fine with it, or would you feel kind of…betrayed? And how would you feel about the stories? Would they hit a little different if you knew the person who wrote them was a big, stinky fraud? Join us for the story of an audacious literary con, a scam that made its mastermind a pile of money and a whole entourage of celebrity fans—and rocked the early 2000s literary scene to its core. Sources:The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/20/jt-leroy-story-modern-literary-hoax-https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/23/my-life-as-jt-leroy-savannah-knoop-on-playing-the-great-literary-hoaxerNew York Magazine: https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/14718/Vanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/08/jt-leroy-documentary-interviewDocumentary "The Cult of J.T. LeRoy"Investigation Discovery's "Impostors," episode "The Heart Is Deceitful"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed—only transferred from one form to another. For example, dynamite explodes when chemical energy is converted to kinetic energy. It’s an interesting metaphor for a kind of killer we see a lot on True Crime Campfire: the smart, dynamic charmer with everything going for them, who throws it all away by putting their energy into all the wrong stuff: Revenge, or greed, or a lust for power. And like a stick of dynamite, when these people go off, they tend to take innocent people with them. Monserrate Shirley was a bright, attractive ICU nurse with a loving daughter and a beautiful home. She had the potential to do anything she wanted to do. What she did instead was hook up with a guy named Mark Leonard, a con artist with a faux tan and a whole lot of bad ideas about how to get rich quick. Join us for the bizarre true story of a plan gone horribly wrong. Sources:CNBC's "American Greed," episode "Neighborhood Inferno"Oxygen's "Killer Couples," episode "Monserrate Shirley and Mark Leonard"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Hill_explosionhttps://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/monserrate-shirley-sentencing-starts-monday/531-c1efed7f-5eff-4f1f-b989-d88067ee5a51https://www.wrtv.com/longform/but-for-monserrate-shirley-she-was-a-neighbor-a-friend-a-nurse-she-betrayed-it-allhttps://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiYqL-BnKD2AhU0JEQIHVx5AcQQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indystar.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2016%2F12%2F20%2Frichmond-hill-suspect-monserrate-shirley-gets-50-years%2F95657520%2F&usg=AOvVaw3jMrZL-YLV1R88znU7pUajhttps://fox59.com/news/richmond-hill-explosion-culprit-mark-leonard-dies-at-indy-hospital/https://fox59.com/news/cause-of-death-of-richmond-hill-conspirator-mark-leonard-determined/https://www.in.gov/apps/indcorrection/ofs/ofs?lname=Shirley&fname=Monserrate&search1.x=40&search1.y=12Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Becky Sears and Kay Parsons were not only next door neighbors, but best friends, too. Their sons were in Little League together, and their husbands liked to join them both for dinner, drinks, and games of mixed doubles tennis. But secrets and lies would soon rip their friendship apart, and the consequences would reverberate throughout their small Georgia community for years to come. Join us for one of the twisty-turniest murder cases we've ever covered, a story of sex, lies, and stunning personal betrayal of the very deadliest kind.Sources:NBC's "Dateline," episode "Murder on Hot Springs Drive"ABC's "20/20"Investigation Discovery's "Evil Kin," episode "For Sale by Owner"https://www.monstersandcritics.com/tv/becky-sears-had-her-son-christopher-bowers-beat-neighbor-kay-parsons-to-death-with-a-hammer/https://murderpedia.org/female.S/s/sears-rebecca.htmFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lying is an essential human activity—everybody does it sometimes. And there are a few different reasons people do it. Sometimes it’s an innocent attempt to spare somebody’s feelings: Y’know, “It’s not you, it’s me,” or “Oh no, Gramma, I loved that sweater you made me! It’s just um…it was stolen. Yeah, stolen!” Sometimes it’s to avoid accountability. “I didn’t kill that guy,” or “That vase was shattered when I got here.” Sometimes it’s to cause somebody else pain. “I never loved you.” And sometimes, it’s about creating a fantasy version of ourselves, because we don’t like who we see in the mirror. For a small percentage of these people, the big lie they build around themselves becomes their greatest treasure—something to guard with everything they have. And anyone who threatens it might not make it out alive. Join us for the story of "perfect son" Brian Blackwell, who built an elaborate web of lies to impress his girlfriend--that he was an up and coming professional tennis player, that he'd just closed on a 450,000 pound flat in the same complex as a famous footballer, that he could afford to give her anything and everything she wanted. When his parents threatened to put a stop to his fraud, he committed one of the most shocking crimes in British history. Sources:The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1493035/Psychological-time-bomb-that-turned-teenage-son-into-frenzied-killer.htmlThe Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/30/ukcrime.helencarterBBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/4634401.stmBBC's "Real Crime," episode "A Perfect Son"BBC's "Killing Mum and Dad," episode "Brian Blackwell"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

T.S. Eliot ends his poem “The Hollow Men” with the line “This is the way the world ends…not with a bang, but a whimper.” Spree criminals are always after the bang. Many see themselves going out in a blaze of glory, taking as many people with them as they can. Going down in history as some kind of dark antihero, shaking up the way we think, making us question our most basic values—leaving a big, smoking crater in the earth on their way out of it. These guys are legends in their own minds. Funnily enough, though, as hard as they try for the big bang, they often end up with the whimper. And there’s no better example of that than Peter Braunstein, a former playwright and fashion writer who--after being fired from his job at Women's Wear Daily--embarked on an outrageous crime spree. His ultimate goal? Kill Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. Join us for the bizarre story of a grudge that spun out of control.Sources:"Friend of the Devil" by Aaron Gell: https://humanparts.medium.com/friend-of-the-devil-3726bd1ddc1cInvestigation Discovery, "I Almost Got Away With It," Episode "I Got to Pose as a Firefighter"Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/peter-braunstein-endures-fellow-prisoners-teasing-you-didnt-even-rape-herhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_BraunsteinFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the series premiere, radio DJ Fred Heckman (Jon Hamm) receives an unexpected call from a listener that turns his life upside down. Follow American Hostage on Amazon Music, to hear all 8 episodes right now: wondery.fm/TCC_AmericanHostageBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the old Hans Christian Anderson tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes, the emperor was the kind of clothes horse who’d make Anna Wintour look like a frump in a burlap sack. This guy was all about the fashion, and the more extravagant the better. So one day, a couple of con men came blazin’ into town, pretending to be the best tailors in the biz. They swept into the emperor’s castle, bragging about the spectacular wardrobe they could make for him…for the right price. And it got even better than that. These tailors had magic powers. They could create a fabric that could only be seen by those who are good enough, smart enough, and powerful enough. Well of course our boy and his ego couldn’t resist, and he set the two “tailors” to work, creating the kind of threads that would blow the roof off of any room he strutted into. Of course the tailors weren’t tailors at all, and they had no magic powers. They just wanted the cash…and the cache. So when the day of the big reveal came along, they finessed it. Rolled in a fancy garment rack full of empty hangers, and presented them as the finest wardrobe in the land. When the emperor saw the empty rack, of course, his first thought was…oh no…oh God…I can’t see it! I’m not good enough! Presumably everybody else was thinking the same thing—oh no, why can’t I see it? There was a moment of panicky silence. And then, the emperor gasped the fakest gasp he’d ever gasped, and said “I LOVE IT!” And later that day, the whole kingdom was treated to the sight of their ruler, catwalking down the main street in the buff. And everybody clapped, and everybody had something to say about how beautiful the clothes were. Better that than admit ya got got. This is one of those stories that never goes stale. We see it every day, that essential human urge to save face, even at great personal expense. Today we’ll tell you about a fraudster who knew this all too well, and decided to try his hand at faking out one of the wealthiest, most discerning crowds in the world: the wine snobs. Sources:2016 Documentary "Sour Grapes" by Jerry Rothwell, Reuben AtlasCNBC's "American Greed," episode "Vintage Wine Fraud"The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2016/sep/11/the-great-wine-fraud-a-vintage-swindleFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we left you at the end of part 1, we had just learned one of Bart Corbin’s best-kept secrets: that, 14 years before the murder of Jennifer Corbin, his ex-girlfriend Dolly Hearn had died from a gunshot wound to the head. A gunshot wound eerily similar to Jenn’s—and a death that had been ruled a suicide, to the disbelief of the people closest to the victim. Now, Dolly’s parents were determined to make contact with the investigators in Jenn Corbin’s case, and finally bring to light a truth they had always been sure of: that Bart Corbin killed their daughter. Join us now for part 2 of this twisting tale.Sources:Ann Rule, Too Late to Say GoodbyeCBS "48 Hours," episode "Love and Lies"https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15253153https://www.oxygen.com/a-wedding-and-a-murder/crime-news/dentist-bart-corbin-pleads-guilty-murdering-girlfriend-wifehttps://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/archive/dentist-gets-life-for-killing-two-women/article_4b206d69-70ac-5cfc-9555-22cfe9e0c145.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A little mystery can be fun in a relationship. It keeps things interesting. You don’t have to share every thought that passes through your head, or tell all your best stories on the first or second date. Keeping your partner guessing about a few things can add a little spice. You shouldn’t feel like you have to make your life an open book. But if you end up with someone who won’t even let you take a peek at the very first page, that’s a red flag. This is the twisting, turning story of a marriage built on secrets—some of them so potent, so poisonous, that they began to eat at the relationship from the inside out. Some secrets can be harmless, but some you take to the grave. Join us for the story of Dr. Bart Corbin, a dentist whose charming exterior hid a dark past, and a smoldering rage so powerful that it swallowed the lives of at least two women.Sources:Ann Rule, Too Late to Say GoodbyeCBS "48 Hours," episode "Love and Lies"https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna15253153https://www.oxygen.com/a-wedding-and-a-murder/crime-news/dentist-bart-corbin-pleads-guilty-murdering-girlfriend-wifeFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I always loved the old “Twilight Zone” series. In most of the stories, ordinary people would wake up one morning and find themselves in a world that had changed in some crucial, baffling way. Everybody else would be in on the change, going around like nothing had happened, and the hero would have to figure out how to navigate this scary new reality. It’s fun to watch, when it’s fiction. But what if you woke up one morning and realized you were living your own version of that story? That all the trappings of your comfortable life were as flimsy as a sheet of painted canvas, hiding a nightmare underneath? What if the person you loved and trusted most had been in on the joke all along…and the joke is on you? Join us for the story of Paul Curry, a Mensa member and two-time Jeopardy champ whose charms were only skin deep.Sources:https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/timeline-investigating-the-death-of-linda-curry/11/https://www.grunge.com/493987/the-truth-about-the-jeopardy-winner-who-murdered-his-wife/https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20170629061CBS's "48 Hours," episode "To Catch a Genius"CNBC's "American Greed," episode "Recipe for Murder"Investigation Discovery's "Charmed to Death," episode "A Life in Jeopardy"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve said it before on True Crime Campfire: We’re nerds. And so are most of our friends. Nerds can be the very best people. All most of us want to do is to read our comics or cosplay our favorite characters from Final Fantasy VII, or learn to speak Klingon. We’re harmless. Most of us. But every category of person has its dark element. And for some people, fantasy is anything but harmless. For them, it can fuel a sense of superiority and separateness from ordinary life—provide a sort of storyline for them to follow, where they become the dark hero of their own little movie. When two such nerds come together, it can make for some toxic dynamics. Especially since human beings tend to do things in groups that they might NEVER have the nerve to do alone. Join us for the story of one of the Seattle area's most horrifying multiple murders--the 1997 slaughter of the entire Wilson family, by a pair of teenage killers who just...kinda wanted to see what it felt like.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love, hate and obsession have always been pretty close relatives. Anybody who’s ever picked up a Harlequin romance novel or watched a ridiculous rom-com knows that we don’t really get the best guidance from society on how to manage our love lives. Some of us just kinda wing it until we figure it out. Some of us go from train wreck to train wreck, and some decide we’d rather skip the whole thing and focus on hobbies and pets and learning how to keep indoor plants alive. But then there are the ones who—so desperate to latch on to another person that they feel empty without it—weave an elaborate fantasy of the Perfect Love. And when they meet someone who seems to match the dream, they latch on. Even if it turns out that the object of their desire doesn’t want to be latched anymore. The more the dream-partner pulls away, the more feverish the fantasy becomes. And things can get dangerous, fast. Join us for the strange true story of Diane Schaefer, a woman whose obsession with a famous cancer doctor took over her life, and the lives of many others. Sources:Marie Brenner, "Erotomania: The Haunting of Dr. Brennan," Vanity Fair, Sept. 1991The Village Voice: "Stalking the Stalkers" https://www.villagevoice.com/2001/07/03/stalking-the-stalkers/Investigation Discovery's "Tabloid," episode "Love You to Death"Lifetime, "Obsessed," 2002Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Stranger than fiction” is one of our guiding forces here at True Crime Campfire. We always try to find the kind of stories that will live rent-free in your head for the rest of your life. But of all the weird stories we’ve encountered in our decades of true crime obsession, there are a few that stand out far above the crowd. In our first case, a quirky professor known for his unorthodox views on fast food comes home from a conference and walks into a nightmare. A day later, detectives walk in on the weirdest, most brutal crime scene they’ve ever seen. And in the second, a teenage boy is forced to confront a kind of betrayal worse than he ever could have imagined—and investigators will have to puzzle through a maze of bizarre clues to work out what happened. Sources: https://archives.law.virginia.edu/dengrove/writeup/appledorfhttps://www.gainesville.com/story/news/education/campus/2018/04/04/35-years-after-murder-appledorfs-memory-lives-on-in-popular-uf-course/12823197007/Investigation Discovery's "Tabloid," episodes "Deadly D-List" and "Devils in Disguise"https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/22/us/2-sentenced-in-slaying-of-professor-in-florida.htmlhttp://truecrimediscussions.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-assault-of-charles-hardeman.htmlhttps://www.actionnews5.com/story/17590194/teen-recovering-after-surviving-fire-car-crash-and-attempted-drowning/https://wreg.com/news/sister-of-kidnapping-victim-arrested-in-case/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When we left you at the end of part 1, Omaha homicide detectives had just put a new suspect on their radar for the brutal murders of Tom Hunter, Shirlee Sherman, and Roger and Mary Brumback: Dr. Anthony Garcia, a former resident in the pathology department at Creighton University Hospital. Garcia had been terminated from his residency after a series of bad evaluations. Now, years later, the doctors who fired him were in the crosshairs, and investigators were desperate to find him before he struck again. Join us now for part 2 of this bizarre true story.Sources:Pathological by Cordes and CooperVarious articles: https://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/garcia-anthony.htmCBS' "48 Hours," https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anthony-garcia-case-was-revenge-motive-behind-omaha-double-murders/NBC's "Dateline," episode "Haunted"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2008, a tranquil neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska was stunned by the vicious double murder of an eleven year old boy—the son of two prominent local doctors—and their much-beloved housekeeper. No one could imagine who was behind the killings, and the case went colder and colder…until the same thing happened again, five years later, and the motive became clear. Join us for a classic whodunnit, the story of a desperate race to uncover the secrets behind these brutal and seemingly senseless murders. Sources:Pathological by Cordes and CooperVarious articles: https://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/garcia-anthony.htmCBS' "48 Hours," https://www.cbsnews.com/news/anthony-garcia-case-was-revenge-motive-behind-omaha-double-murders/NBC's "Dateline," episode "Haunted"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the era of some of the most heinous serial killers of all time, one murderous family went curiously unnoticed: The McCrarys. Led by a psychopathic patriarch and his cunning son-in-law, this Texas clan roamed the country robbing, kidnapping, and killing up to 20 people, most of them taken from donut shops. “Families Who Kill: The Donut Shop Murders” recounts the wild and deeply disturbing story of an unhinged American family and the terrible brutality they unleashed. The podcast features the taped confessions of one of the killers, given when he was serving a life term in Colorado.Listen Here: wondery.fm/DSM_TCCampfirePodBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In every great love story, there’s some degree of risk. We risk our hearts, at the very least. We risk getting hurt. But one thing we DON’T usually risk is prison time. This is the story of one of America’s tricksiest con men. An ingenious thief, a master impersonator, and the most prolific prison escapee in U.S. history. One of the fascinating things about him is the motivation behind his many crimes and escapes. Not so much money…but love. Or so he claims. Join us for a made-for-Hollywood tale of obsessive love and intricate fraud--the subject of the movie "I Love You, Phillip Morris" with Jim Carrey and Ewan MacGregor.Sources:I Love You, Phillip Morris by Steve McVickerEsquire Magazine, The Great Escapee by Alex HannafordThe Guardian, Elizabeth Day: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/sep/06/steven-russell-elizabeth-day-jim-carreyTodayIFoundOut.com, Karl Smallwood: King Con: The Con Man Who Simply Walked Out of Prison Four TimesFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since it's the holidays and we both have family to see and things to bake, we decided to give everybody another peek at one of our past Patreon-exclusive episodes. Sometimes these patron-exclusives are just regular TCC episodes—extra cases. But sometimes we like to mix things up and do something a little different. In this episode, we decided to walk our patrons through some of the most common, most classic cons and scams—we’ll give you a little history on each, tell you how they work, and how to avoid them. Just about anybody can get got, so this is good info to have. So put on your pjs, grab your snacks, and let’s hang out and talk about griftin’.Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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_TCCampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a Danish proverb that says, “If envy were a fever, then the whole world would be ill.” It’s probably true. I mean, everybody feels that poisonous little pang now and then. We all occasionally want something that somebody else has, maybe even resent them a little for having it. We learn to get past it, focus on the good in our own lives instead of obsessing about everyone else. But sometimes, envy can take over—spread through the soul like a kudzu vine, smothering and strangling and covering everything else. You can get trapped in it. And you can convince yourself that the only way out is destruction. Join us for a Southern gothic tale for the social media age: a story about love, family, betrayal, envy and manipulation. Sources:Too Pretty to Live: The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee by Dennis BrooksMedium: https://medium.com/serial-napper/jenelle-potter-the-killer-catfish-51c0626cec7ABC's 20/20, Episode "Unfriended"Investigation Discovery special, "Too Pretty To Live"https://www.timesnews.net/one-of-three-facebook-murder-convictions-overturned-mother-granted-new-trial/article_4aea9524-0618-11ec-a093-8b71991a842d.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected] a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all think of charm and good looks as a good thing, right? Something we all wish we had goin’ on. But for some people, a silver tongue and a knockout bod are nothing more than tools to help them hurt and manipulate. Tools that make it easier for them to wreak six kinds of havoc on the lives of everyone they meet. Some people are just forces of destruction, determined to take everything they can get their hands on and not worried about who they destroy in the process. We’ve covered some bad bitches on this show before—Dante Sutorius, Tracey Richter—and we think this li’l English rose we’re about to tell you about could hold her own with the worst of them. Join us for a twisting tale of fraud, outrageous deception, greed, attempted murder and murder, all at the hands of one of our worst "bad bitches" yet: Dena Thompson.Sources:BBC Channel 4 documentary "Black Widow"The Argus: https://web.archive.org/web/20140907164935/http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/12/16/5099453.Black_Widow__Inside_the_mind_of_a_predator/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5060737.interpol-hunt-for-missing-lover-of-sussexs-black-widow/Guy Toyn: https://web.archive.org/web/20140704134021/http://www.courtnewsuk.co.uk/c_murderers/a_dena_thompson/crime_vaults/Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1257751/Black-Widow-new-probe-vanished-lover.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/true-crime-campfire/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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_truecrimecampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marriage. It might not be for everybody, but for a lot of us, it’s great stuff. You get to join up with your best friend, the love of your life, somebody you can just be you around, somebody who feels like home. And of course most of us begin that journey with a wedding: a beautiful ceremony where you pledge to hang together for better or worse, then throw down and join your best buds for some cake. Most of the time, the worst case scenario with all this stuff is divorce. But in the stories we’re about to tell you, that would have been a walk in the park. First, a startling case from Brazil in which a brand-new groom murders his bride and best man during the wedding reception--then the story of a new bride who pushed her husband off a cliff just eight days after they wed. Sources:Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-brazil-groom-who-killed-his-wedding-partyCBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rogerio-damascena-shoots-his-bride-best-man-then-self-at-brazilian-wedding-after-announcing-surprise/NPR NewsUniversity of Sao PaoloFlathead Beacon, Justin Franz: https://justinfranz.com/writing/a-murder-in-glacier-park/Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Jordan Graham"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/true-crime-campfire/Nina's podcast, "Twisted Mirror:"https://www.twistedmirrorpodcast.comFacebook @twistedmirrorpodIG: TwistedmirrorpodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since it's Thanksgiving, we're giving you a sneak peek at one of our Patreon subscriber exclusive episodes this week! This one is the story of one of New York City's most notorious murders: A beautiful, privileged young woman brutally strangled in Central Park after a night out with friends. The crime initially looked to be sexually motivated, but the experienced detectives felt something was amiss--the scene was almost a caricature of a sex crime, as though the killer had staged it to look that way. What was this murder really about? Join us for a story of envy, greed, revenge and ego--one that illustrates the way media narrative can shape a murder case, for better or for worse. Sources:https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/news/a7587/jennifer-levin-robert-chambers-preppy-killer/#:~:text=Thirty%20years%20ago%20today%2C%20on,Central%20Park%20by%20Robert%20Chambers.&text=They'd%20walked%20into%20Central,marks%20of%20a%20violent%20struggle.https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a29712185/robert-chambers-preppy-murder-central-park/https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/the-preppy-murder-how-robert-chambers-defense-victim-blamed-jennifer-levinDocumentary: "The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park"CBS "48 Hours," "The Preppy Killer"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/true-crime-campfire/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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_Crime_CampfireBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parenthood, or so we hear, is full of a kind of transcendent joy, the kind you can only experience by watching your offspring learn and grow. That is, when they’re not making you want to hop in the car and keep driving until you run out of road. There are some ups and downs, for sure. But you’ll hardly ever find a parent who wouldn’t do almost anything for their kids. Notice we said “almost” anything. Because there have to be limits, right? Well…for the parents in today’s story, not so much. First we have Texas mom Wanda Holloway, who in 1990 tried to hire a hit man to take out her daughter's cheerleading rivals. Then we have French dad Christophe Fauviau, who dosed his kids' tennis opponents to make sure his little angels won every match. Sources:Texas Monthly, Mimi Swartz: https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/the-cheerleader-murder-plot/ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=1680047&page=1https://www.wistv.com/story/4609148/eight-years-in-prison-for-dad-who-drugged-his-kids-tennis-rivals/The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/mar/01/france.mainsectionWashington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2006/03/04/for-french-tennis-dad-deadly-obsession-to-win/2b80701d-a3fe-442c-a72d-08f858f9eee5/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/true-crime-campfire/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1997, a 26 year old woman named Sarah Smith went in for a routine breast augmentation procedure. It should have been an easy, outpatient surgery for this healthy young woman, but it didn't turn out that way. Sarah went into cardiac and respiratory arrest on the operating table, slipped into a coma, and died a few days later. Investigators soon discovered that Sarah wasn't the first of cosmetic surgeon Dr. Anthony Pignataro's patients to die after routine surgery. And the more they investigated this flashy, Lamborghini-driving, safari-hunting doctor, the more skeletons they found in his closet--from a long list of butchered patients to an audacious fraud. Pignataro would face justice for Sarah Smith's death, but that wouldn't be the end of his story. There was an even darker chapter still to be written, this time much closer to home. Join us for a twisting tale reminiscent of "Dr. Death," a stark example of what happens when narcissism and recklessness meet greed. Sources:Ann Rule, Last Dance Last ChanceBuffalo News: https://subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https://buffalonews.com/news/pignataro-a-profile-in-deceit-how-the-failed-west-seneca-surgeons-disastrous-professional-life-brought/article_3ec7b800-b1d0-5287-a981-c9790c18380f.htmlWSVN News: https://wsvn.com/news/investigations/disgraced-doctor-who-poisoned-wife-spotted-on-elder-care-website/Oxygen: https://www.oxygen.com/license-to-kill/crime-news/anthony-pignataro-surgeon-resurfacess-florida-new-nameForensic Files Now: https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/tag/anthony-pignataro/Oxygen's "License to Kill," episode "Killer Surgeon""Forensic Files," Episode "Bad Medicine"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfireFacebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: [email protected]: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/true-crime-campfire/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices