The Casual Criminalist

In 1880s Austin, Texas, a serial killer stalked domestic servants, brutally murdering eight people with axes before vanishing into history. The police failed spectacularly, private detectives proved useless, and two husbands faced murder trials. Was the killer a local man named Nathan Elgin, or did he become Jack the Ripper? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1991, four teenage girls were brutally murdered at an Austin yogurt shop. For decades, the case was plagued by wrongful arrests, coerced confessions, and constitutional violations. Finally, in 2025, advanced DNA testing identified serial killer Robert Brashers as the true perpetrator. Four wrongly accused men were declared factually innocent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

William Bonin became one of Southern California’s most notorious serial killers. Explore his disturbing crimes, accomplices, victims, failed releases, investigation, confessions, and eventual death-row fate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Debra Newell was a successful interior designer who fell for charming doctor John Meehan online. Her daughters sensed something was wrong immediately. What they uncovered was terrifying: a convicted felon, drug addict, and serial con artist who stalked women. When Debra finally tried to escape, John came for her family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife Michele seemed to have a life defined by love, family, and activism—until their shocking murders exposed a devastating familial tragedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Natalie Wood’s death remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries. Explore the conflicting accounts, unanswered questions, and investigation that continue to cast doubt over what happened that night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FBI has a history of shocking investigative failures. Explore four controversial cases involving botched investigations, unreliable evidence, corruption, and devastating consequences for victims and their families. Edit description Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a rising music icon whose life ended in a shocking betrayal. Explore her extraordinary journey, tragic murder, Yolanda Saldívar’s trial, and enduring legacy. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your free trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marta del Castillo vanished in Seville, sparking Spain’s most haunting murder mystery. Explore the investigation, shifting confessions, missing body, disputed evidence, and unanswered questions that continue to haunt the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Was Michael Peterson a cold-blooded killer or the victim of a flawed investigation? Explore the staircase death, shocking evidence, disputed theories, courtroom battles, and the twists that changed everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meredith Kercher’s murder became one of the world’s most controversial criminal cases. Explore the investigation, Amanda Knox trial, Rudy Guede, disputed evidence, shocking twists, and unanswered questions. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your free trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode, Simon dives into one of Oklahoma’s most baffling mysteries. In 2009, the Jamison family vanished during a trip to the remote San Bois Mountains, leaving behind their truck, personal belongings, thousands of dollars in cash, and their beloved dog. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your free trial today Sponsor: ⁠shopify.com/casual⁠ - sign up for your free trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A chilling true crime story of Daniel LaPlante, the infamous “Boy in the Walls.” Discover the terrifying home invasion, brutal murders, shocking investigation, and disturbing psychology behind one of America’s most haunting criminal cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A toxic romance, shocking betrayal, and a deadly crash—uncover the chilling Mackenzie Shirilla case, where disturbing digital evidence transformed a tragic accident into one of America’s most haunting murder convictions. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your free trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beneath Melvin Rees Jr.'s charming musician persona lurked a ruthless predator. Discover the shocking crimes, chilling investigation, and haunting trail of violence that terrorized America during the 1950s and 1960s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A mysterious rooftop death, impossible physics, secretive notes, and endless theories. Was Rey Rivera murdered, driven to suicide, or caught in a tragic delusion? Explore one of America’s strangest unsolved cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The shocking true story of Laci Peterson’s disappearance, Scott Peterson’s lies, the investigation, explosive trial, and lasting legacy. Discover the evidence, controversy, and heartbreaking case that captivated America. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A family tragedy. A notorious kidnapping. A jealous brother consumed by darkness. Explore the shocking true story of Cary Stayner, the Yosemite Park Killer, whose twisted obsession with fame and resentment led to a series of brutal murders that terrorized one of America’s most famous national parks. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the forgotten terror: Atlanta’s elusive Ripper. Uncover brutal murders, racial injustice, bungled investigations, chilling suspects, and the century-old mystery behind one of America’s most overlooked true crime killing sprees. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode, what happens when you catch a shark that swallowed another shark that swallowed a human arm? You get the most bizarre unsolved murder in Australian history. We’ll even throw in a second unsolved murder for free. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual⁠ - sign up for a $1 per month trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chilling story of Rex Heuermann: how the alleged Gilgo Beach Killer evaded capture for years, leaving a trail of victims, corruption, secrets, and unanswered questions across Long Island's shoreline. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual ⁠- sign up for your $1 per month trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode, the disappearance of two sisters in Cebu leads to one of the most controversial murder cases in Philippine history. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual ⁠- sign up for your $1 per month trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five friends vanished after a basketball game, leaving behind an abandoned car, a frozen mountain mystery, and one missing man never found. Explore the baffling case of the Yuba County Five. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tragic story of Kouri Richins shocked America. From grief and suspicion to a children’s book and murder allegations, uncover the disturbing case that blurred love, loss, and betrayal. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy to the Zodiac Killer, explore the shocking police mistakes, missed warnings, and investigative failures that allowed some of history’s deadliest serial killers to continue unchecked. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A brutal Bali kidnapping, leaked torture videos, scam call centre allegations, and a dismembered body discovered by a river — the disturbing mystery of Igor Komarov explained. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore Carl Tanzler’s horrifying obsession with Elena de Hoyos—grave robbing, corpse preservation, twisted romance, and eerie experiments—in this chilling true story that inspired comparisons to serial killer Ed Gein himself. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 13-year-old vanishes—uncover the chilling truth behind Megumi Yokota’s abduction, North Korea’s secret kidnappings, and a decades-long fight for answers that still shakes global politics today Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A shocking unsolved assassination: Olof Palme’s murder sparks decades of conspiracy theories—from lone killers to global plots—revealing a mystery filled with political intrigue, botched investigations, and unanswered questions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five family members murdered in 1985—was it a tragic murder-suicide or a calculated crime? Dive into the White House Farm case, shocking evidence, and the lingering question: was justice truly served? Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial period today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four college students brutally murdered in Idaho. Follow the chilling timeline, investigation, and capture of Bryan Kohberger in this gripping true crime story revealing tragedy, fear, and justice unfolding today. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A chilling true crime story of Thomas Neill Cream, a Victorian doctor turned serial killer who used poison, deception, and arrogance—until his crimes unraveled and led him to the gallows. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode: On the 14th of January 1964, the Mexican Police would perform a raid on the Loma del Angel ranch. There, they would uncover multiple mass graves as well as over a dozen malnourished young women who'd been enslaved by the Gonzales sisters - a group of middle-aged sisters who not only ran a prostitution ring together but became infamous for killing more than 100 people over the course of almost 20 years. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A family lunch turns deadly as hidden motives, poisoned mushrooms, and a web of lies unravel—revealing one of Australia’s most chilling and calculated murder cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A shocking true crime story unraveling Sherri Papini’s mysterious disappearance, dramatic return, and the disturbing truth behind her kidnapping hoax that deceived investigators, family, and the public for years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An eerie true crime mystery unraveling Joshua Maddux’s disappearance, shocking chimney discovery, and chilling theories—accident or murder? Dive into unanswered questions that still haunt Woodland Park decades later today now. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explosive revelations from the Epstein files suggest a global network of alleged crimes involving billionaires, politicians, and power brokers—raising disturbing questions about corruption, cover-ups, and whether anyone will ever be held accountable. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flashback to Simon's run of infamous 20th century villains continues. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three shocking cases of students who turned deadly—Colleen Ritzer, Ann Maguire, and Nohema Graber. Disturbing motives, senseless violence, and heartbreaking loss. When trusted classrooms became crime scenes, innocence vanished forever. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An aristocratic French family slaughtered and buried beneath their home. A father who vanished without a trace. Fifteen years later, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès remains one of Europe’s most haunting unsolved mysteries. Sponsor: HelloFresh.com/casual10fm to get 10 free meals + a FREE Zwilling Knife (a $144.99 value) on your third box Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood Ripper: From Chicago to California, Michael Gargiulo stalked, stabbed, and slaughtered for thrill alone. Three murdered, one survivor, and a trail of chilling evidence that finally sealed his fate. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into five of America’s most depraved killers—blood, madness, and chilling psychology—told with dark humor, sharp analysis, and unforgettable stories that push true crime beyond comfort zones and sanity limits. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial period today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Inside Japan’s most haunting unsolved crime, a family murdered, a killer who stayed, and decades of evidence without answers. We explore the Setagaya murders—and why justice still waits today here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A respected headmistress, a powerful lover, and a shattered psyche collide—jealousy, manipulation, and drugs spiral into the shocking killing of America’s famous diet doctor that gripped a nation and courtroom. Sponsors: hellofresh.com /casual10fm to get 10 free meals + a FREE Zwilling Knife (a $144.99 value) on your third box shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial period today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A disturbing true-crime documentary recounting Junko Furuta’s abduction and murder, exposing shocking failures of justice, human cruelty, and the enduring legacy of one of Japan’s most infamous criminal cases ever. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - sign up for your $1 per month trial period today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Emmett Till to the Central Park Five, explore America’s shocking miscarriages of justice, wrongful convictions, and system failures that destroyed lives—and what they reveal about power, race, and truth. Sponsor: ⁠rocketmoney.com/casual⁠ - cancel your unwanted subscriptions today and reach your financial goals fast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this flashback episode, we are in the late 1970s where the Hillside Strangler had been captured, and two men now awaited trail. But one of them, Kenneth Bianchi, had a plan for escaping a life sentence - fake a Hillside Strangler attack, complete with DNA. Enter Veronica Compton, Bianchi's own Harley Quinn. Firmly under Bianchi's spell, she would go on to attempt to kill another woman before being caught by the police and ruining Bianchi's plans. Sponsor: rocketmoney.com/casual - cancel your unwanted subscriptions today and reach your financial goals fast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The disturbing true story of Luka Magnotta—how internet fame, obsession, and ignored warnings led to one of Canada’s shocking crimes, told through the online hunt that tried to stop him. Sponsor: shopify.com/casual - start your $1 per month trial period rocketmoney.com/casual - cancel your unwanted subscriptions today and reach your financial goals fast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On a desolate Australian highway, a backpacker vanishes. A survivor escapes, suspicion erupts, and chilling evidence unfolds in the haunting Peter Falconio outback murder mystery that still troubles investigators today. Sponsors: ⁠⁠shopify.com/casual⁠⁠ - start your $1 per month trial period ⁠rocketmoney.com/casual⁠⁠ - cancel your unwanted subscriptions today Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A staged home invasion, a nation transfixed, and a chilling betrayal. We unravel the lies behind Caroline Crouch’s murder—and how one man fooled Greece before the truth emerged. Sponsor: hellofresh.com/casual10fm - for 10 free meals and free breakfast for life Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices