
True Crime Campfire
391 episodes — Page 7 of 8

Mommy Darkest: Sante and Kenny Kimes, Part 2
ESo, campers. Last week we introduced you to Sante Kimes: Liz Taylor lookalike, scammer, arsonist, sadist, and mother of Kenny Kimes, a promising young man she groomed as her partner in crime from the moment he was born. After spending the early part of her childhood in poverty, Sante was determined to be fantastically rich, and she was willing to do anything to accomplish that goal. And we do mean anything, as you’re just about to see. Join us now for part 2 of this bizarre true story.Sources:Son of a Grifter by Kent Walker with Mark SchoneVanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2000/03/sante-kimes-mother-murderer-criminal-mastermindhttps://www.alixkirsta.com/articles/silverman/index.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sante_KimesNBC's "Dateline," episode "Missing Millionaire" A&E's "Biography," episode "Sante Kimes"A&E's "American Justice with Bill Kurtis," episode "Like Mother Like Son"Investigation Discovery's "Vanity Fair Confidential," episode "Sins of the Mother"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

Mommy Darkest: Sante and Kenny Kimes, Part 1
EA wise man once said, “A boy’s best friend is his mother.” Oh, wait. That was actually Norman Bates, wasn’t it? Sorry. But a mother’s love IS one of the most powerful forces on earth. At its best, it’s unconditional, selfless, kind, protective. Willing to throw itself between its young and whatever danger threatens them. At its worst, well…you’re about to find out. This is the story of what happens when a mother decides that instead of nurturing her young, she’ll make him a tool instead…and when the mother in question is an unstoppable, unmerciless force of greed. And what happens when a boy’s love for his mother turns from tender to toxic, from admiring to obsessive, from protective to partner in crime. Sources:Son of a Grifter by Kent Walker with Mark SchoneVanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2000/03/sante-kimes-mother-murderer-criminal-mastermindhttps://www.alixkirsta.com/articles/silverman/index.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sante_KimesNBC's "Dateline," episode "Missing Millionaire" A&E's "Biography," episode "Sante Kimes"A&E's "American Justice with Bill Kurtis," episode "Like Mother Like Son"Investigation Discovery's "Vanity Fair Confidential," episode "Sins of the Mother"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 Resurrection of Loserus: Canoe Man John Darwin
EIn every human civilization I can think of, we’ve had—y’know—rules. Granted, some of them have been silly, or downright wrong, and should have been scrapped. But by and large, rules help keep the weave nice and tight on the fabric of society. Without them, well, you’ve basically got The Purge. Nobody wants that, if for no other reason than all those masks would be creepy. Most people have no problem following most of the rules, but once in a while you get a person who thinks he’s above them. Whether because of arrogance, desperation, inspiration, boredom, or some combination of them all, these folks decide they don’t have to stick to the plan. The sky’s the limit for them, because they are such special little shooting stars. Sometimes that works out okay—we get our rebels with a cause, leaders who change our way of thinking, being, or governing. But just as often, we get a rebel without a clue, instead. If we’re unlucky enough, that can end in tragedy. If we’re lucky, we just get a good laugh, and a wild story like this one. Sources:https://www.theguardian.com/uk/canoehttps://social.shorthand.com/TheNorthernEcho/3gttWa568j/john-canoe-man-darwin-the-full-storyhttps://www.standard.co.uk/news/canoe-mans-lover-darwin-the-druid-is-psychotic-and-i-was-terrified-of-him-6659149.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Darwin_disappearance_caseDocumentary "Back from the Dead: The John Darwin Story" by Real Crime UKFollow 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

Machiavelli in Manolos: Jill and Kent Easter
EIn his seminal work The Prince, philosopher and father of modern political science Nicolo Machiavelli wrote, “In the actions of all men, and especially of princes, where there is no court to appeal to, one looks to the end. So let the prince win and maintain his state: the means will always be judged honorable, and will be praised by everyone.” Many people have taken this to mean that Machiavelli was giving advice—that if you’re pursuing a goal, you should use whatever means necessary to achieve it. But I think if you read that line more closely, what he was really saying was that when a powerful person achieves a desirable end, people tend to decide after the fact that whatever he did to get there was a-okay. Seems more about perception than reality—which is almost scarier, if you think about it. Because whether this is true or not, people in positions of power often seem to think it is. Narcissists are prone to that kind of magical thinking—that whatever they try will turn out great, and everybody will stand up and applaud. For the baddies in today’s story, that didn’t work out so great. Sources:ABC's 20/20LA Times, Framed by Christopher Goffard: https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-framed/#chapter1Dr. Phil 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

Blood Ties: An Asian-American Gothic
EHave you ever wished you could undo one moment in your life? One harsh word you can’t take back? One horribly wrong turn? One zig that should have been a zag? I think we probably all have. There’s a theory that there are infinite universes, kind of like the reflections you see in an elevator with mirrors on both sides. But in every universe, ONE little thing is different. One choice went the opposite way—and the effects of that choice bloomed out into time, changing lots of other things in the process. Some big, some small. In one universe, your decision not to stop for that McFlurry means you didn’t get killed in a car crash. Your boyfriend didn’t marry someone else a few years later. They didn’t have kids. One of those kids didn’t grow up to be president, or cure cancer, or blow up a building. You get the idea. In the story we’re about to tell you, one choice made in anger and pain changed the course of several people’s lives, and ended several others’. Sources:https://www.washingtonian.com/2005/02/01/love-and-murder-in-great-falls/Investigation Discovery's "Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall," episode "Ghost of Great Falls"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

Hate Crime: The Murder of Nazish Noorani
EHate can take many forms. There’s the kind that’s just fear and bigotry—the ugliest human failings—in disguise. There’s the kind that’s really just the dark mirror image of love. I loved you, you hurt me, I hate you. There’s the kind that’s born of envy. And then there’s the kind of hate that’s all about selfishness. “You’re in the way of something I want.” Each of these incarnations is dangerous in its own way. In the story we’re about to tell you, a brutal murder seems at first to be about one very specific kind of hate. But as secrets come to light, it turns out to be about another kind entirely.Sources:Investigation Discovery's "Deadline Crime with Tamron Hall," Episode "Witness to Murder"Oxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples," Episode "Kashif Parvaiz and Antoinette Stephen"https://www.nj.com/morris/2015/06/ex-girlfriend_describes_moms_last_words_after_she.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

Unusual Suspects: A Halloween Horror Story
EWe’re all pretty aware of the big, obvious dangers in our lives. We look both ways before we cross the street. We lock our doors at night (at least I hope we do, after listening to a year’s worth of True Crime Campfire). We take our vitamins. We don’t walk down dark alleys alone if we can avoid it. But the real kick in the kidney is, sometimes the worst dangers are the ones we never see coming. Sometimes they sneak into our lives cloaked in darkness, but sometimes we invite them in with a smile. What happens when danger slips past us, wearing a friendly face?Sources:Nightmare in Napa: The Wine Country Murders by Paul LaRosa CBS' 48 Hours Mystery: Nightmare in NapaFollow 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

Do You Like Scary Movies? The Murder of Cassie Jo Stoddart
EWhat is it we like so much about scary movies? Is it the adrenaline rush, the excitement?That’s part of it, for sure. But it’s also the fact that unlike the screaming victims running fortheir lives on screen, we know we’re safe. Michael Myers might be relentlessly evil andimpossible to kill, but he’s also stuck over there in movie-land where he can’t get us. I thinkthat’s why stories like the one we’re about to tell you are so unsettling. When a killer decidesto bring a horror movie plot to life, it’s like he’s…breaking an unwritten code. Leaving usnowhere to run. No safe place. This is Do You Like Scary Movies? The Murder of Cassie JoStoddart.Your Worst Nightmare, "When The Lights Go Out"Copycat Killers, "Scream"Murder Among Friends, Stick to the PlanUnmasked, "The Final Scream"https://www.idahostatejournal.com/members/supreme-court-upholds-adamciks-sentence-releases-transcripts-of-video-made-by-killers/article_d1fe0af6-5082-56d8-a7e6-bfb31de13844.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

Halloween Special: Scare You Round the Campfire, with Scare You to Sleep Host Shelby Scott
EHey, guess what? BOO! Haha, gotcha. Welcome to our second annual True Crime Campfire Halloween Special! As if 2020 hasn’t been scary enough by itself, right? We’re especially excited about this year’s Halloween episode, campers, because we have a very special guest joining us: The gorgeous and talented Shelby Scott, honey-voiced host of Scare You to Sleep, a podcast that, while beautifully produced and vastly entertaining, miiiight just make you wet yourself a little now and then. So just…y’know, be aware. Shelby’s stock and trade is fictional horror, but she’s also a true crime buff. So we decided that for this episode, we’d each pick a case. And for some reason we all ended up picking vintage ones, which I think adds to the spookiness. So grab your big bowl of Halloween candy, dim your lights, and enjoy three bizarre stories of murder and mayhem. Scare You to Sleep: https://open.spotify.com/show/2sNFsS8B0qvIg1jK0Vo7Ns?fbclid=IwAR2EwLp6Prat1z3xc9RZJQOHsCHWFxi-uPRiPcxgx1eH-O6xm-X0IXyOH_QSources:Investigation Discovery's "True Nightmares," Episode "Seeing Stars"https://malefactorsregister.com/wp/the-fault-is-in-ourselves/Amazon's "Lore," Episode "Ghosts in the Attic"https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/crime/article39122823.html https://medium.com/true-crime-addiction/a-dead-body-lying-next-to-mine-satanic-murder-5687c4b9aabe https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/crime/article39122823.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2001/01/23/did-death-metal-music-incite-murder/63cf6de7-fdd1-4067-a49f-9946f111e6a2/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/502044/chilling-story-hinterkaifeck-killings-germanys-most-famous-unsolved-crimeFollow 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

Viper: The Story of Celeste Beard Johnson
EMost people have at least some degree of appreciation for what they have. They know how to count their blessings, as they say. Most people, if given a beautiful home and beautiful clothes, lavish trips and the love of a sincere, kindly partner, would probably feel like they’d done pretty well for themselves. But then you’ve got people like the bad bitch in today’s story. To a greed goblin like her, the world and everyone in it exist to serve. Everything else life has to offer takes a backseat to the relentless pursuit of More. More money, more stuff, more attention…more everything. You might remember our girl Dante Sutorius from our episode “Inferno” a while back. And when you listened to that story, you might have thought you’d encountered the scariest broad to ever draw breath. Ha. Well that was nothin’. Sources:She Wanted It All by Kathryn CaseyCBS "48 Hours Mystery," Episode "For Love or Money"Oxygen's "Snapped," Episode "Celeste Beard Johnson"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

Poisonous: The Story of Marie Hilley
EFamily. Whether it’s the family you choose for yourself or the one you’re born into, family is vital. When we’re with our families, we’re supposed to feel safe, loved, supported. A family should be a soft place to fall, for everybody in it. A shelter from the storm. But when the nucleus of the family is a parent like the one in this week’s story, home becomes a cesspit of paranoia and fear. Your protector is revealed to be a predator instead—and you soon come to realize that any storm that might be raging outside can’t be half as bad as the one you’re already in. Sources:https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1987-03-09-0110350063-story.htmlTV show "Unsolved Mysteries"Investigation Discovery's "American Monster," Episode "Alabama Murder Mystery"Investigation Discovery's "Southern Fried Homicide," Episode "The Perfect Poisoner"Oxygen's "Snapped," Episode "Marie Hilley"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

Demon in Disguise: The Cult at Angels Landing
EMost of us go looking, at one point or another in our lives, for something…more. Something to give us a purpose. Make us feel like we belong here. For some of us, it’s friends or family. For some, it’s art, or music, or helping people. But then, some of us take a wrong turn on that quest for fulfillment. Come up against just the right kind of charismatic personality—one who makes us feel loved, needed, special…chosen…and we can lose our compass. It’s scary, how much sway one person can have over another. And how quickly we can give up our own sense of reality for somebody else’s dark vision. Sources:NBC's Dateline: Angels and DemonsOxygen's "Deadly Cults," Episode "Angels Landing"Investigation Discovery's "My Murder Story," Episode "The Devil's Angels"https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2015/02/20/358230.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

The Gift of Grift: With Pickpocket Magician James Harrison
EJoin us for our very first special guest episode! The first half of the episode is a lot of talk about cool tricks and cons, and the second half is more traditional TCC--and of course we give you a great villain to hate on in the last story. It wouldn't be TCC without that. As long as there have been humans, there have been scams. We’ve been perfecting the art of the steal for thousands of years. From the cutpurses and pickpockets of ancient times to the faux Nigerian princes of today, we’ve been robbin’ and scammin’ and griftin’ our way across the millenia, and we show no signs of stopping. Different hustles require different skills, of course, and different levels of skill. Today we welcome our first special guest on True Crime Campfire, a guy who’s something of an expert on artful thievery. He’ll teach us a bit about the skills involved, and we’ll tell you some wild stories about people who were blessed with the gift of grift. James Harrison's Instagram--check out his amazing videos: https://www.instagram.com/pickpocketjames/?hl=enSources:https://forzonimagic.com/mindreaders-history/alexander-man-knows/https://www.lybrary.com/modern-magic-p-121.htmlhttps://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lily-dale-spiritualist-communityhttps://geniimagazine.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thomas_Nelson_Downshttps://skepticalinquirer.org/newsletter/spirit-painting-2/Breaking Vegas: The True Story of the MIT Blackjack Team (documentary)CNBC's "American Greed," Episode "Psychic Fiend's Network"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

Perfect Mask: The Murder of Laci Peterson, Part 2
EIn part 1, we told you about the disappearance of Laci Peterson, a bright and vibrant young woman who was due any day to give birth to her first child, a son she’d already named Connor. In the days and weeks following Laci’s disappearance, the whole world began to turn its attention to her handsome salesman husband Scott—first because, well, you always suspect the husband, and he didn’t seem to be behaving like a grieving man—and then because of the explosive revelation that Scott had been cheating on Laci with a young massage therapist named Amber Frey. Slowly, Scott’s double life was brought to light, and the intricate web of lies he’d woven began to unravel, thread by thread. When we left you at the end of part 1, Laci’s and Connor’s bodies had washed up on the beach near the spot where Scott had been “fishing” on the day of the disappearance, and Scott had been arrested after a high speed chase. But Scott maintained his innocence, as he still does today. And we were all about to get a look at his defense. Sources:A Deadly Game by Catherine CrierBlood Brother by Anne BirdWitness for the Prosecution of Scott Peterson by Amber FreyA&E's docuseries "The Murder of Laci Peterson"Investigation Discovery's "Truth and Lies: The Murder of Laci Peterson"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

Perfect Mask: The Murder of Laci Peterson, Part 1
EIt’s our first anniversary at True Crime Campfire, y’all, and we decided we wanted to do something special. So this week and next, we’re doing a deep dive into the much-requested case of Scott Peterson, whose death sentence for the murder of his wife was recently overturned. If you’re not familiar, here’s a thumbnail sketch. In 2003, a radiantly beautiful young woman named Laci went missing on Christmas Eve. She was 8 and ½ months pregnant, and her disappearance immediately captured the attention of the nation. As the case unfolded, it became increasingly clear to most that Laci’s husband, handsome salesman Scott Peterson, knew more than he was saying about the case. For months, revelation after revelation popped up about Scott’s double life, and the many lies he told to cover it up. Finally, the bodies of Laci and her unborn son, Connor, washed up on the beach at the San Francisco Bay, and Scott was arrested, tried and convicted for murder. Now, in the years since, Scott has acquired some very vocal supporters. A documentary series on A&E theorizes that the jury may have gotten it wrong—that Scott might actually be innocent. Yeah, not so much, in our opinion. We’re not going to pretend we don’t have a stance on this, because we wouldn’t be us if we did—we have pretty strong opinions on this case, because both of us have been obsessed with it for years. I watched the trial gavel to gavel in real time. But we do want to give Scott’s supporters their due—so here’s the plan. We’re doing this one over two weeks. This first part will be your basic TCC format—we’re going to tell you the story as we believe it went down, and based on the jury’s guilty verdict. But next week, we’ll get into the trial, including the arguments on both sides, and we’ll examine Scott’s defense in detail. And hey—if you end up disagreeing with us on this one, we’re not mad at you. Just don’t break up with us over it. We hope you’ll reserve judgment until we’ve released both parts. Sources:A Deadly Game by Catherine CrierBlood Brother by Anne BirdWitness for the Prosecution of Scott Peterson by Amber FreyFollow 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

Apt Pupil: The Murder of Richard Carno
EThere’s an old saying that if you’re not where you want to be in your life—or who—you should “fake it til you make it.” And it can work great. For example, let’s say you’re terrified of public speaking. And inside you feel like you’re about to either pee yourself, barf up everything you’ve ever eaten, just turn around and flee, or possibly all three. But instead of letting the audience see your nerves, you straighten your shoulders and stride out to the podium in your best outfit, with a big, fake, confident smile on your face. Chances are, people will never know how scared you were, and you’ll actually start to FEEL confident after a while. But…what if you never get to the “til you make it” part? What if the core of your being is so dark, so abhorrent, so contrary to everything that makes us truly human, that your only option is to fake it, all the time? I bet you’d get real good at it. William Saroyan once wrote, “It takes a lot of rehearsing for a man to be himself.” For the villain in this story, it was just the opposite. The rehearsal was all about hiding the self. Sources:Investigation Discovery's "Diabolical," Episode "Teach Me to Kill"https://lasvegassun.com/news/2004/jan/22/siblings-facing-off-against-each-other-in-murder-t/https://www.newsbreak.com/nevada/las-vegas/news/1547024008696/susanne-carno-paid-her-brother-to-murder-husband-richard-carno-so-she-could-pocket-the-life-insurancehttps://lasvegassun.com/news/2004/mar/12/carno-insists-shes-innocent-at-sentencing/http://www.jailhouse-babes.com/personals/f094/f09-497.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

With Friends Like These: The Murder of Matthew Silliman
EHelen Keller once said “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light.” Friendship, when it’s done right, is one of the joys of life. Most of us hope to find a group of true friends, people who will be happy for us when we’re happy and, like Helen says, walk through our darkest times with us. Most of us would never expect to be confronted with a life or death situation that we needed our friends to pull us out of. But for the people in this case, that’s exactly what happened. Would you put your life in your best friends’ hands? Sources:Investigation Discovery's "Murder Among Friends," Episode "Murder Circle"Masters of True Crime: Chilling Stories of Murder and the Macabre, R. Barri Flowers, Ed. https://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8291262/https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsNotMeet/comments/2gm3bc/i_almost_attended_my_friends_murder/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

Toxic: Poisoners Grab Bag
E“Teacup Poisoner” Graham Young began his creepy career when he was still a child, slipping poison to members of his family. Before he was finally caught and sentenced to Broadmoor in 1962, he’d poisoned more than a dozen people and killed at least three. Family, coworkers, friends. And he didn’t stop even after he was incarcerated. A couple of his fellow inmates at Broadmoor fell victim to his deadly chemistry, too. Then there’s Dr. Michael Swango, one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. He started young, too. When he was just a kid, he created a scrapbook full of gory newspaper clippings about accidents and murders. And once he started poisoning, he didn’t stop until hundreds of victims lay in his wake. Poisoners fall in love with poison. With watching from a distance as their victims sicken and die. The power is intoxicating. The fact that they can stay hidden in the shadows with the power of life and death in their hands. We’re about to tell you two stories about two very different poisoners. Sources, Trepal Case:Poison Mind by Susan Goreck and Jeffrey GoodA&E's "American Justice," episode "Kill Thy Neighbor"HLN's "Vengeance," episode "George Trepal"Sources, Castor case:ABC's 20/20, "Black Widow"Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Stacey Castor"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 Nerds Attack: Prince of Dorkness Rod Ferrell
EFantasy is part of being human. Sometimes we all need to tell ourselves stories, escape from the ordinary everyday. We spend luxurious amounts of time and money on this--in daydreams, books, movies, games, music—it’s something both quintessentially human and tantalizingly magical to give ourselves over to fantasy. And most of us have no trouble knowing where to stop. For those of us who haven’t figured that out, though, things can get sticky. Our real lives, real responsibilities, real relationships can begin to recede into the background. The things that once mattered most can start to pale in comparison to the fairy tale we’ve woven. The people who love us can start to seem like people in a story, people in a dream. And as Shakespeare once put it, that way lies madness. We’re about to tell you a story about a group of people who fell into this trap. Some of them never got out again. Sources:The Embrace by Aphrodite JonesOxygen's "Deadly Cults," Episode "Vampire Clan"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tQAUxMh1KgDocumentary "Kentucky Teenage Vampires," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWclRSulGFQFollow 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

Chameleon: Bad Bitch Cindy McKay
EChameleons are known for their ability to change color. Some species can achieve incredibly intricate, beautiful colors and patterns. Most people believe chameleons change color in order to blend in with their environments and make themselves less visible to predators, but that’s a misconception. In reality, they change their colors according to mood—reinventing themselves at their own whims. People like to do this too, every once in a while. Most of us have, at some point in our lives, played around with different looks, different hobbies, different friend groups. It’s fun. I mean, how many of us are on our third quarantine hairstyle by now? But some people are chameleons as a way of life. Lacking a strong, cohesive inner core, and lacking the emotional connection to other people that inspires us to make real commitments, they reinvent themselves in order to manipulate. To make people easier to fool, to use, to discard. We’re about to tell you the story of a woman like this. Who is she, in her deepest heart of hearts? By the end of the story, you might agree with us…that not even she really knows. Sources:Justin Fenton, 3-part series on Cindy McKay in The Baltimore Sun, 2008: Part 1, "A Trail of Deception;" Part 2, "For Police Detective, an Intriguing Suspect;" Part 3: "A Fatal Romance"Investigation Discovery's "Diabolical," Episode "Weeping Widow"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

Deadly Encounter: The Killing of Betty Gore
EThe human brain is an exquisitely complex organ, and it’s capable of some pretty bizarre stuff. Take couvade’s syndrome, otherwise known as sympathetic pregnancy—where a non-pregnant partner is so in tune with their pregnant one that they start showing signs of pregnancy themselves: morning sickness, weight gain, mood swings. I can relate to this—whenever my husband has a kidney stone, I always feel pain in exactly the same place. Then there’s the whole wide world of wild stuff that can happen to people when they come out of comas. People can wake up with totally different accents than they had before. People have been known to wake up speaking foreign languages that they never actually learned. My point is, our minds are amazing, and they’re not always on our team. There’s a lot we still don’t understand about them, and sometimes they can sabotage us pretty spectacularly. Are you wondering why I’m telling you this? Well, you’re about to hear one of the oddest true crime stories you’ll ever hear, and it raises some fascinating questions about the capabilities of the human mind. Sources:Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs by John Bloom and Jim AtkinsonInvestigation Discovery's "The 1980s: The Deadliest Decade," episode "Friday the 13th"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: The Stalking of Joy Silverman
EImagine waking up each morning with a knot in your stomach—a sense of creeping dread. Imagine knowing that there is someone out there who is obsessed with you in the most unhealthy way imaginable. You are their full time job, the sole focus of their life. They’re always lurking there. Thinking of new ways to force their way into your most private spaces. They may call or text you incessantly. They may veer wildly back and forth between cajoling and threatening, between telling you how beautiful you are, and promising to gut you like a fish. They may post about you on social media—spreading lies, acting as though the two of you are intimately connected. People may believe them. They may communicate with your family, your friends, your employers, your colleagues. They may share humiliating stories or pictures. They may send you things, leave notes on your car or in your mailbox. They may vandalize your property—key your car, throw a rock through your window. They may hire someone to find information about you. They may follow you. You may or may not know they are there. They may threaten to kill you. They may do worse. According to the Stalking Resource Center at the National Center for Victims of Crime, 7.5 million people in the U.S. are stalked every year. For over 85% of them, the stalker is someone they know—for just under 15%, it’s a total stranger. And this one’s really scary: About 11% of stalking victims have been stalked for five years or more. Stalkers can have incredible staying power. People of all genders can be victims of stalking, and whether it results in violence or not, being stalked has a devastating effect on the victim. Today we’re going to tell you about one of the most fascinating, most bizarre stalking cases we’ve ever heard of. Sources:Double Life: The Shattering Affair Between Chief Judge Sol Wachtler and Socialite Joy Silverman, by Linda WolfeInvestigation Discovery's "Vanity Fair Confidential," Episode "Love and Obsession"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

Cobra: A Bizarre Story of Murder in the Gay Porn Industry
EWe all roll our eyes at a spoiled brat—that kind of kid who, no matter how much they have, can never get enough. The kid who snatches toys out of other kids’ hands. For that kid, it’s all about ME. What *I* want is all that matters, all that’s real. Good thing we all outgrow that as adults, right? Ha. Yeah. Well, turns out, some of us don’t. Today we’ll learn about two guys who never aged out of the “if I want it, I’ll take it” phase. Somebody else had something they wanted, and they were determined to snatch it away, no matter what it took. Sources:Cobra Killer: Gay Porn, Murder, and the Manhunt to Bring the Killers to Justice, by Andrew Stoner and Peter ConwayOxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples," episode "Harlow Cuadra and Joe Kerekes"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, 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

Artful Conviction: The Murder of Peggy Hettrick
EPride. When it’s channeled right, it’s a good thing. Pride in our accomplishments, or those of our loved ones, is great. But it’s not for nothin’ that pride is one of the seven deadly sins. When it goes unchecked, ya see, it tends to create a particular kind of tunnel vision. A lens through which you can only see what you want to see, and anything that doesn’t fit within that view becomes too threatening. Gets ignored, or denied…or covered up. Apply that to a homicide investigation, and you’ve got a disaster in the making. We’re about to hear about a case like that, where justice fell victim to pride. A case where one detective’s arrogant one-sightedness stole ten years of a young man’s life, and left a grieving family without answers. Sources:https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2017/02/08/peggy-hettrick-murder-cold-case-fort-collins/97378070/https://www.5280.com/2011/12/presumed-guilty/https://www.greeleytribune.com/windsor/the-two-lives-of-dr-richard-hammond/http://freetimmastersbecause.blogspot.com/search/label/Matt%20ZoellnerCBS' "48 Hours Mystery," episode "Drawn to Murder"Drawn to Injustice by Steve Lehto and Tim MastersFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Bad Bitches 2-Pack
EWomen, campers. Make no mistake about it—we can be assholes too. And when women kill, we tend to get creative about it. Today’s episode is a two-pack of stories. Stories about women who seemed to have it together—loving husbands, great kids, beautiful homes. But underneath that “Live Laugh Love” exterior, storms were a-brewin’. Jealousy. Resentment. Greed. A lust for freedom. Both of these women sought a quick, elegant solution to their problems. Both women chose murder. This is your Bad Bitches 2-Pack: Double the Trouble.Case 1 - Liar, Liar: The Murder of Michael Giles. A bizarre, twisting story of shifting identities, betrayed loyalties, and murder. Case 2 - In Sickness: The Murder of David Mueller. A disturbing story that shows how the people closest to us can be our deadliest enemies.Sources:Investigation Discovery, "Diabolical," episode "Lie for Me"Oxygen, "Snapped," episode "Kwaneta Harris"Oxygen, "Snapped," episode "Cynthia Mueller"https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2016/04/15/killer-who-had-lover-buried-in-backyard-tried-to-flee-prison-by-forging-dallas-judge-s-signature/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2015/05/23/prescott-woman-trial-husband/27847971/https://www.azfamily.com/arizona-co-defendant-in-husband-murder-case-sentenced-to-prison/article_ec25018a-598e-532a-93bc-47efa73df069.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

Dungeons & Dipshits: The Murder of Jane Bashara, Pt 2
EIn part 1, we introduced you to Bob and Jane Bashara, a Grosse Point power couple with a picture perfect marriage on the outside—not so picture perfect on the inside. Not only had Bob run his real estate business into the ground, forcing Jane to forego retirement and carry the family’s financial weight by herself—Bob was also deeply into the BDSM scene, something Jane had no interest in, and he was cheating on her left and right. Especially with his favorite mistress, Rachel, who thought he was already divorced and had begun planning a life with him. When we left you, Bob and Rachel had struck up a relationship with Janet, a woman in Oregon who they hoped would be willing to move to Grosse Point and be their “third” in a relationship where “Master Bob” would rule and the two women would be sexually and financially submissive to him. Bob flew out to Oregon to meet Janet, who was turned off by him from pretty much minute one. Janet was about to get an up-close look at what “Master Bob” was capable of. And so was Bob’s wife Jane. Join us now for part 2 of this bizarre true story.Note to our campers: This episode includes discussion of BDSM, abusive relationship dynamics, and non-consensual sexual violence. Please use discretion when choosing whether to listen, and please skip this one if you're under 18. Sources:Murder in Grosse Pointe Park: Privilege, Adultery, and the Killing of Jane Bashara by Steve MillerCNBC's "Deadly Rich," Episode "The Dungeon Master"Judge Vonda Evans' scathing sentencing of Bob Bashara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaOakftTMDEFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

Dungeons & Dipshits: The Murder of Jane Bashara, Pt 1
EPower and control. For some people, it’s the most important thing in the world—an essential element of any relationship. If they’re going to get involved with you, there’s a price of admission. If you want to be with them, you have to give them the reins to your life. And there’s an interesting thing about that: Some of these people, despite their constant obsession with controlling their partners, can’t seem to control themselves a damn. We’re about to learn about one of these people. For him, power was the ultimate prize. The ultimate aphrodisiac. The endgame in every interaction. And one woman was about to face the consequences of refusing to yield. Note: This episode involves discussions of BDSM, abusive relationship dynamics and non-consensual sexual violence. Please use discretion when choosing whether to listen, and please skip this one if you're under 18. Sources:Murder in Grosse Pointe Park: Privilege, Adultery, and the Killing of Jane Bashara by Steve MillerCNBC's "Deadly Rich," Episode "The Dungeon Master"Judge Vonda Evans' scathing sentencing of Bob Bashara: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaOakftTMDEFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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: Vol. I
EThey say that truth is stranger than fiction. We can forget that sometimes when we see some outrageous viral story on Reddit and decide it must be fake—just a writing exercise, right? Isn’t that what people always say? And sometimes it’s true. But the thing is, it’s been proven true countless times over the centuries—weird shit happens every day. Especially when a particular human failing rears its creepy little snout. I’m talking of course about obsession. Obsession is a wild card. It can take a seemingly normal, well adjusted person and turn them into someone even they wouldn’t usually recognize. Both of the stories we’re about to tell you involve obsession in one form or another. Two very different killers, two very different motives…two very weird stories. Sources:Investigation Discovery's "Your Worst Nightmare," Episode "Bump in the Night"Investigation Discovery's "Deadly Women," Mary Jane Fonder segmentInvestigation Discovery's "True Crime with Aphrodite Jones," Episode "Broken Commandments"http://www.parkaman.com/strange-case-daniel-laplante-real-night-horror-story/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_LaPlanteFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Perfect Stranger: The Murder of Jamie Laiaddee
EHow well do we know the people in our lives? Our coworkers, our friends, the loved ones we sleep next to at night? Everyone decides for themselves how much to share about their private lives. Some of us are over-sharers, posting screenshots of our breakup texts and lunches. Others are closed books, only sharing personal info on a need-to-know basis—and even then, reluctantly. But it’s an almost universal truth that everyone has secrets. We can only know another person as well as they let themselves be known. Most of the time, the secrets we keep are pretty mundane. But once in a while, they’re earth-shattering. Once in a while, we may dig into the life of someone we care about and find something we would never have imagined in our worst nightmares. Once in a while, a secret can be deadly. Sources:CBS "48 Hours Mystery," episode "The Stranger Beside Me"Investigation Discovery "Grave Secrets," episode "Ten Weeks Later"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remains-found-in-arizona-idd-as-long-missing-woman-jamie-laiaddee/https://www.azfamily.com/archives/jamie-laiaddees-convicted-killer-speaks-from-prison-after-her-remains-identified/article_2b4a4a0b-e526-5f7d-9de8-6f87d5eb5d5d.htmlFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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 Catfish, a Kill Room, and a House of Cards: "Dexter" Killer Mark Twitchell Pt 2
EIn part 1, we introduced you to Mark Twitchell. Aspiring filmmaker—though he’s stealing from his own production company and making up outrageous lies to lure investors…New husband and father—though he’s cheating on his wife and showing little interest in fatherhood…And Dexter wannabe. As Twitchell got more and more engrossed in “Dexter” and started researching psychopathy, an “epiphany” began to take shape in his mind. He believed in fate. He believed he was an instrument of it. And now, he felt he knew what fate had in store for him. He would become a serial killer. He was about to move from the realm of fantasy where he’d spent most of his life up til now, to the cold, dark reality of murder. He was making plans. And a whole lot of lives were about to change forever. Join us now for part 2 of this bizarre story.Sources:The Devil's Cinema by Steve Lillibuenhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/twitchell-found-guilty-of-1st-degree-murder-1.998969CBS's, "48 Hours Mystery," Episode "Screenplay for Murder"NBC's "Dateline," Episode "Deadly House of Cards""SK Confessions" manuscript: https://www.scribd.com/doc/202712564/51755869-WARNING-GRAPHIC-Alleged-Diary-From-Twitchell-s-Computerhttp://www.stevelillebuen.com/crime-and-justice/the-question-of-mark-twitchell-dexter-killer/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free and at least a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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 Catfish, a Kill Room, & a House of Cards: "Dexter" Killer Mark Twitchell Pt 1
EThe builders of the Titanic were so sure they’d crafted an unsinkable ship that—in addition to bragging about it all over the media, they opted not to include enough lifeboats to rescue all the passengers in the event of a problem. We all know how that worked out. In Greek mythology, Icarus needed to get off the island of Crete—so he crafted wings out of feathers and wax so he could fly himself on out of there. His dad tried to tell him—Icarus, don’t try to fly too high with those things. You’re not a god—you’ll fall flat on your face. But Icarus didn’t want to hear that, and when he flew a scoach too close to the sun, the wax melted and…well, we know the rest of the story. We could give you lots of other examples from history and literature: Dr. Frankenstein, who was so proud of himself that he’d figured out how to reanimate human tissue that he never stopped to think about whether this was a good idea in the first place. General Custer, and his unwinnable fight at Little Big Horn. What do all these folks have in common? HUBRIS. That tempting little tendency to feel like we’re better than everybody else and the rules don’t apply to us. For some people, hubris just pops up in an occasional moment of weakness. But for others, this kind of arrogance is the organizing principle of their lives. We’re about to learn the story of one of these people.Sources:The Devil's Cinema by Steve Lillibuenhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/twitchell-found-guilty-of-1st-degree-murder-1.998969CBS's, "48 Hours Mystery," Episode "Screenplay for Murder"NBC's "Dateline," Episode "Deadly House of Cards""SK Confessions" manuscript: https://www.scribd.com/doc/202712564/51755869-WARNING-GRAPHIC-Alleged-Diary-From-Twitchell-s-Computerhttp://www.stevelillebuen.com/crime-and-justice/the-question-of-mark-twitchell-dexter-killer/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free and at least a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

Cradle to Grave: Three Stories of Killer Kids
EMost parents will tell you that parenthood is one of the greatest joys in life. And for most parents, that’s undoubtedly true. Having a child is an intense experience in both joyful times and bad, and it tends to change you in ways you can’t possibly anticipate. A parent’s love is eternal and unconditional, and it goes without saying that there’s pretty much nothing a child can do that a parent can’t forgive. Most of the time all this works out just fine. Buuuut…there’s also this. According to the FBI, hundreds of parents are murdered by their kids each year in the US. And in the overwhelming majority of these cases, the parents didn’t even almost see it coming. We’re about to look at a handful of cases where the family’s most golden children—the ones on whom their parents had pinned their greatest dreams—turned on the people who loved them most. Join us for three chilling stories of killer kids. Sources:CBS "48 Hours Mystery," episode "Memory of Murder"Documentary "The Christopher Porco Case, 15 Years Later"Investigation Discovery's "Deadly Women," episode "Killer Kids"Book: The Class Project: How to Kill a Mother: The True Story of Canada's Infamous Bathtub Girls""Crime Investigation Australia," episode "The Gonzales Family Murders"https://7news.com.au/original-fyi/crime-story-investigator/australias-grisliest-murders-money-lies-and-alibis-bring-down-a-baby-faced-killer-c-531469Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes a day early, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

No Fury: Bad Bitch Cherrylle Dell Pt 2
In Part 1, we introduced you to Cherrylle Dell, a beautiful and manipulative woman whose ex-girlfriend, Nancy Fillmore, says murdered her ex husband Scott. Scott’s had died a couple of years earlier after drinking a bottle of wine laced with antifreeze, and the circumstances of his death led police to rule it a suicide. Now, Nancy was at the Killaloe, Ontario police station claiming it was murder. Not long before Scott died, Cherrylle had left him for a woman and immediately set about accusing him of various kinds of abuse, charges that were all found to be baseless. She seemed to be determined to ruin him and take everything: Their kids, their farmhouse, all the property they’d bought together in their 20 years of marriage. Things were about to get real nasty—and not just for Scott. Join us now for part 2 of this wild story.Sources:TV show "The Case That Haunts Me," episode "The Murder of Scott Dell""Killer Stripper" by Jessi Dillman https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/no-early-parole-for-ottawa-woman-who-laced-her-estranged-husbands-wine-with-anti-freeze-in-1995-killinghttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dells-daughter-tells-of-weird-conversation/article4169567/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

No Fury: Bad Bitch Cherrylle Dell, Pt 1
EFire is an awesome force. If you don’t take steps to keep it under control, it can rip through the landscape with a fury that’s almost surreal to behold. And once in a great while, you find a person like that—every bit as relentless and indiscriminate as a wildfire, and every bit as determined to devastate anything that tries to get in the way. Just like fire, these people can be beautiful, captivating, hypnotic. We can fool ourselves into thinking we can keep them under control—let them brighten and warm us, but not burn us. Sometimes we make that mistake at our peril. Sources:TV show "The Case that Haunts Me," episode "The Murder of Scott Dell""Killer Stripper" by Jessi Dillmanhttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/dells-daughter-tells-of-weird-conversation/article4169567/https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/no-early-parole-for-ottawa-woman-who-laced-her-estranged-husbands-wine-with-anti-freeze-in-1995-killingFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Unsolved: Three Dark Mysteries
EThere are few things more irresistible, more frustrating, more fascinating than an unsolved mystery. Today, we have three of them for you: One modern, two vintage. Each of these stories is terrifying and disturbing in its own way. For each, the answer lies tantalizingly just out of reach. We have to admit that we can never know it for sure. But we doubt you’ll be able to resist the lure of these mysteries and the theories that surround them. Sources:https://www.historicmysteries.com/roland-t-owen-murder-room-1046/Buzzfeed "Unsolved," Episodes "Murder in Room 1046," "The Tromp Family's Bizarre Journey," and "The Ghastly Cleveland Torso Murders""Unsolved Mysteries" (TV show), Episode featuring Cleveland Torso Murdershttps://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/erry-2018/10/55d2b5ea596983/clevelands-infamous-torso-murd.htmlhttps://www.clevelandpolicemuseum.org/collections/torso-murders/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37293494https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/60elhm/update_on_the_tromp_familyaustralian_case_of/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Love Bomb: The Murder of Marcus Toney, Pt. 2
EIn Part 1, we told you about the horrific bombing murder of Marcus Toney. Before he was murdered, Marcus had recently been the victim of identity theft, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. And he, his attorney, and the private investigator he’d hired to look into the theft, suspected his estranged wife Lisa and her mysterious new boyfriend, whose name Marcus didn’t know. We know, though, don’t we campers? It’s Sienky Lallemand, a career con man and identity thief who seems to have romanced Lisa Toney into feeding him her husband’s personal information and using it to buy designer jewelry and luxury cars. It didn’t seem like a coincidence that Marcus ended up murdered right as he was starting to figure out who was responsible for ruining his credit and throwing him into six figures worth of fraudulent debt. Investigators were starting to zero in on Lisa and Sienky, and things were about to get real interesting. Join us now for part 2 of this bizarre story.Sources:"Seduced" by Joy Bergmann. Chicago Reader, May 2002. https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/seduced/Content?oid=908545Oxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples," Episode "Sienky Lallemand and Lisa Toney"Investigation Discovery's "Wicked Attraction," Episode "Lust for Life"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Love Bomb: The Murder of Marcus Toney, Pt. 1
EIdentity. The core of who we are. For some of us, we’re connected to it from our earliest days onward. Our interests may change, but our core never does. For others, identity is more fluid. We may change because of the people we encounter, the things we experience, the lessons we learn. Some of us are never in any doubt about who we are. For others, it’s a lifelong journey to find out. But whichever category we fall into, identity is central to being. Unfortunately, some people never develop their own identity. For them, there is no core; there is no essential “I.” So they tend to be chameleons—whoever you want them to be. They may pick up and discard new identities as easily as some of us put on a new dress. This can make them very seductive…sometimes prone to seeing people as tools to help them get what they want…and sometimes, very dangerous. Sources:"Seduced" by Joy Bergmann. Chicago Reader, May 2002. https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/seduced/Content?oid=908545Oxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples," Episode "Sienky Lallemand and Lisa Toney"Investigation Discovery's "Wicked Attraction," Episode "Lust for Life"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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 Nerds Attack: The Murder of Lieth von Stein Pt 2
EIn part 1, we introduced you to a trio of Dungeons and Dragons loving nerds: Chris, Bart, and Neal. All kids who had great potential: Smart, talented, well loved by their families, friends, and teachers. But these three guys each had a dark side, and that darkness was soon to culminate in the worst murder and attempted murder a small North Carolina community has ever seen. Join us now for part 2 of this chilling true story.Sources:Blood Games by Jerry BledsoeCruel Doubt by Joe McGinnessFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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 Nerds Attack: The Murder of Lieth von Stein, Pt 1
ENerds are usually pretty harmless. We know, because we are nerds. More often than not, we’re just smart people who are passionate about our interests. Gaming, or comics, or sci fi, or putting on cool costumes and going to cons. Most of us don’t want any trouble. But once in a while, as we’ve seen on this show once before, you get yourself a bad nerd. Join us for a chilling story of greed, fantasy, and murder. Sources:Blood Games by Jerry BledsoeCruel Doubt by Joe McGinnessFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Breaking Dawn: The Murder of Susan Fassett
EAung San Suu Kyi once said, “It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” In this episode, we’ll tell you the story of a man who was desperately afraid of losing the stranglehold he had on his little domain, and a woman who was afraid of what he’d do if she didn’t help him keep it. Sources:Deadly Secrets by M. William PhelpsFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

False Profit: A Folk Hero's Fall from Grace
EGreed can come in many forms. It’s not always about money. Some of us get greedy for attention, or drama, or sweets, or sex. In fact, there are probably as many faces of greed as there are people. But because we tend to think of greed as an insatiable hunger for money, it can be easy for the other kinds to fly right under our radar. And that can make us vulnerable. In the story we’re about to tell you, we have two kinds of greed. There’s that traditional, wolfish desire for cash—especially somebody else’s. But then there’s a subtle, insidious greed—a single-minded, self-centered obsession with enlightenment. A quest for spiritual growth that would end up destroying scores of lives, and toppling a beloved folk hero. Sources:CNBC's "American Greed," Episode "Lights! Camera! Fraud!"https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/albany/press-releases/2013/conspirators-sentenced-to-84-months-and-55-months-in-fraud-conspiracy-regarding-the-birth-of-innocence-movie-projecthttps://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/is-mac-parker-the-hero-or-the-villain-in-his-film-financing-drama/Content?oid=2139947https://www.ramtha.com/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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 Art of the Steal: The Murder of Clifford Lambert
EWe all like to think we’d see a scam coming. We all like to think we’d never get got. We’re more familiar these days than we’ve ever been with catfish and Nigerian princes and “arrest warrants” supposedly issued for us based on our social security numbers. That last one never fails to crack me up. But although we might be pretty savvy when it comes to these classic cons, there’s one place where we all might be vulnerable. Our hearts. Our desire to love and be loved. Love scams have grown exponentially in recent years, with millions of dollars lost to fantasy romances that began on dating sites and ended with empty bank accounts, heartache, and humiliation. We all know the saying “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” But people are also really good at convincing themselves of the things they WANT to be true. Quite a few people learned that lesson in this story.Sources:TV show "Forbidden," Episode "Prince of Darkness"https://www.sfweekly.com/news/the-dark-prince/https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/I-am-a-predator-ruin-follows-him-everywhere-3187513.phphttps://www.desertsun.com/story/news/crime_courts/2017/11/01/judges-secretly-recorded-hiv-insult-could-undo-palm-springs-killers-convictions/797205001/Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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 Letter: The Murder of Julie Jensen, Pt 2
EIn part 1, we introduced you to Mark and Julie Jensen, two opposite personalities whose initially loving relationship had descended into a toxic mess of abuse and mistrust. Mark had become cold and distant, and Julie felt trapped, afraid that if she tried to leave him, Mark would make good on his threats to take away the kids and “make her look crazy” to the courts. When we left you, unbeknownst to Julie, Mark had just begun a flirtation with a woman in his office, Kelly LeBonte. This mess is about to get worse, campers. Join us now for part 2 of this chilling story.Sources: ABC's "20/20," Episode "A Murder Foreseen"CBS's "48 Hours," Episode "The Letter"https://murderpedia.org/male.J/j/jensen-mark.htmFollow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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 Letter: The Murder of Julie Jensen, Pt 1
EWe don’t write them quite as often as we used to, but a well-crafted letter can be a real treasure. There’s something intimate about opening an envelope addressed to you and unfolding the paper inside to find the letter writer’s unique handwriting, unique voice, little drawings. Plus anything they might have dropped into the envelope as an extra surprise—a pressed flower, a photograph, a folded up twenty dollar bill. Letters can carry gossip, jokes, professions of undying love…and of course, letters can carry secrets. And in the story we’re about to tell you, a letter was the key to unlocking a mystery so dark, so poisonous, that no one who read it would ever be quite the same again. Sources:ABC's "20/20," Episode "A Murder Foreseen"https://murderpedia.org/male.J/j/jensen-mark.htmCBS's "48 Hours," Episode "The Letter"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Bad Luck: The Murder of Abraham Shakespeare, Pt 2
EIn part 1, we began the story of Abraham Shakespeare, a fun-loving, good hearted guy who, at age 40, won 17 million dollars in the Florida lottery and immediately began using it to benefit his community. In fact, in just a couple of years, he spent all but $1.5 million of his winnings, and he was starting to realize that if he wasn’t careful, he could be broke again before long. It was weighing on his mind. We also started telling you about a serial con artist and thief named DeeDee Moore, whose driving force in life was greed. DeeDee dreamed of living the good life, and she seemed determined to do it on other people’s dime. And despite committing crime after crime, DeeDee had never experienced any consequences beyond probation. And when people like DeeDee don’t have to face consequences, they get the message that they can get away with absolutely anything. Sadly, the paths of these two very different people are about to cross, with devastating results. Join us now for part two of this bizarre true crime story.Sources:Book, Unlucky Number by Deborah MathisCNBC's "American Greed," Episode "The Lady Killer"ABC's "20/20," Episode "Lotto Hangover: Big Money, Big Problems"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes a day early, ad-free, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

Bad Luck: The Murder of Abraham Shakespeare, Pt 1
EIn his play King John, William Shakespeare wrote, “There is no sure foundation set on blood; no certain life achieved by others’ death.” It’s a shame the killer in today’s story didn’t get the memo on that. Money is one of the oldest, most common motives for murder, and in our opinion, one of the coldest. It requires the killer to look at a living, laughing, vital human being and break that life—all the likes and loves and pet peeves, all the dad jokes and kindnesses and little heartbreaks—into dollars and cents. I mean, most of us like money. Most of us daydream of scoring big someday so we can live out our passions, support the people we love, see the world, not have to worry any more. But a sudden change in fortune often brings more trouble than it’s worth. Most people would never consider hurting anyone else just to add some zeros to their bank balance. But for one kindhearted man, all his sudden windfall did for him was put a target on his back.Sources:Book, Unlucky Number by Deborah MathisCNBC's "American Greed," Episode "The Lady Killer"ABC's "20/20," Episode "Lotto Hangover: Big Money, Big Problems"Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes a day early, ad-free, an extra episode a month, a free sticker and more!): 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

Ctrl + Alt + Delete: Serial Killer John Edward Robinson Pt 2
EIn part one we introduced you to the rather creative and varied criminal career of John Edward Robinson, a man whose mask of respectability hid a scheming mind and a heart as cold as needles. Robinson spent his entire young adulthood going from con to con, scamming everyone from corporations to mayors to young single mothers. For the first half of this episode, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a story about a con man. But when we left you at the end of part 1, things were beginning to take a much darker turn. A young woman named Paula, who had accepted a “job offer” from Robinson, had disappeared. Her family suspected Johnny boy was involved, but the police didn’t feel they had any justification to start a missing persons case, so Paula’s family was left with nothing but worry and unanswered questions. And campers, it’s about to get much worse. Join us now for part 2 of this chilling story.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

Ctrl + Alt + Delete: Serial Killer John Edward Robinson Pt 1
ESerial killers have most likely been around as long as people have, long before we had the term. In fact, some scholars believe that the early stories about vampires, werewolves, and other such creatures were actually created to explain the kinds of violence people didn’t have any other way to explain. The kind of violence perpetrated by what we now call “serial killer.” Ugh. Even that term is chilling, isn’t it? This is the first time we’ve told the story of one of these killers, and we’ve chosen one who—although his crimes aren’t that different from those of BTK or some of those other infamous names—is unique in at least one aspect. He was the first serial killer to find his victims via the brand-new internet. And the way he wooed them was so methodical, so cold, so premeditated, that we struggle to imagine what it would be like to live inside a mind like that. He was a consummate scammer, too, a criminal to the core.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

Episode 42: Stunning: A Very 80s Story of Love, Lies and Murder, Pt 2
EIn part 1, we introduced you to John Hawkins, a movie-star handsome young party guy with an endless appetite for sex and scamming—and Gene Hanson, his much older friend/business partner/possible lover. After a few years of unsuccessful scams, the two men had finally launched a successful, legitimate business selling workout gear. But then it all went to hell when, after a year of supposed health problems, Gene turned up dead of a heart attack on his doctor’s exam room floor. John Hawkins was left to pick up the pieces and move on, albeit $1.5 million richer from Gene’s life insurance policies. However, when we left you at the end of part 1, a routine investigation by the life insurance company had alerted detectives to the astounding fact that the man who had died in that doctor’s office was NOT Gene Hanson after all. Now investigators were scrambling to figure out who the hell he was—and where the hell Gene Hanson was hiding. Sources:Vanity Fair, "The Murder Hustle" by Ann Bardach. October 1989.Timeline of the case from "Forensic Files Now:" https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/2017/06/29/just-sweats-fraud-murder/LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-14-me-56965-story.htmlAP News: https://apnews.com/6056d3bf876f8f4989241f55f32b3831Oxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples," episode "John Hawkins and Gene Hanson"Columbus Dispatch: https://www.dispatch.com/article/20140521/NEWS/305219823Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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

Episode 41: Stunning: A Very 80s Story of Love, Lies and Murder, Pt 1
EOil and water. Ammonia and bleach. Vinegar and baking soda. Mentos and Diet Coke. There are some substances which, though benign by themselves, can be toxic or explosive when they come together. People can be like that too. Relationship dynamics can be every bit as volatile as chemistry. And when the wrong two people come together, it can start them on a path that leads them—and everyone in their path—to a big BOOM. Sources:Vanity Fair, "The Murder Hustle" by Ann Bardach. October 1989.Timeline of the case from "Forensic Files Now:" https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/2017/06/29/just-sweats-fraud-murder/LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-14-me-56965-story.htmlAP News: https://apnews.com/6056d3bf876f8f4989241f55f32b3831Oxygen's "Snapped: Killer Couples," episode "John Hawkins and Gene Hanson"Columbus Dispatch: https://www.dispatch.com/article/20140521/NEWS/305219823Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes 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