Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

Officer Mickey Fitzpatrick attempts to balance life as a single mother and a cop patrolling Philadelphia's high crime section of Kensington. She discovers a pattern of women whose murders are made to look like overdoses, but struggles to get her supervisors interested in the deaths of addicts and sex workers. Teaming up with her ex-partner, Mickey works to find the serial killer targeting women working the streets. But she’s also looking for one in particular: her drug-addicted sister who’s gone missing. Based on the bestselling novel, “Long Bright River” on Peacock stars Amanda Seyfried and Nicholas Pinnock. The crime drama follows Mickey’s hunt to unmask the killer, while also confronting her past and navigating her complicated personal life. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LONG BRIGHT RIVER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In the 1970s, Kenny “The Kid” Tekiela worked his way up from a teenage doorman at a brothel to a hitman for the Chicago mob. But he left the mafia to become a paramedic, get married, and have children. It was a life he kept from his family for decades, until Kenny’s drug addiction forced him to reveal his past deeds. Years later, his son asked him to finally open up about his past for a podcast. Mixed in with his grandiose tales of mob life, Kenny confessed to struggling with guilt and regret for the things he’d done. In the podcast “Crook County” from iHeartRadio and Tenderfoot TV, host Kyle Tekiela reconnects with his estranged father to learn about the life he never knew. Along the way, Kyle tries to reconcile the loving dad he remembered with the enforcer who committed violence for the Chicago Outfit and covered up crimes for dirty cops. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CROOK COUNTY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: family connection. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

The 1969 Manson Family killings gripped the nation for their sheer brutality and madness. But left unanswered is exactly how Charles Manson turned a group of hippies into assassins through mere persuasion. The book Helter Skelter says Manson convinced his followers of an impending race war, one they needed to be at the center of. But journalist Tom O’Neill uncovered loose connections between Manson and the head of the CIA’s secret program MK-Ultra. He says the Manson murders read less like a spree killing and more like the LSD-fueled mind control experiments the government had been perfecting. From Oscar-winner Errol Morris and Netflix comes “CHAOS: The Manson Murders.” The director of “The Thin Blue Line” and “Wormwood” returns to the subject of MK-Ultra, exploring whether it can be blamed for the famous crime spree. Was Manson really a failed musician-turned-cult leader, or did he get help from an infamous Cold War program? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "CHAOS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

On a quiet morning, British police raid the home of Jamie Miller and arrest the 13-year-old for murder. The boy proclaims his innocence as he and his parents are put through the whirlwind of the arrest process and questioned about the crime. As investigators look for the weapon and a motive, a psychologist searches for clues into Jamie’s psyche, and what in the unassuming boy’s background might have driven him to kill. Netflix’s “Adolescence” features newcomer Owen Cooper as Jaime and veteran actor and co-writer Stephen Graham as his father. Each of the four hour-long episodes were filmed in one continuous shot, as the camera follows characters through various rooms, buildings, on car rides, and even across town through the air. The story explores large themes about growing up in the modern world, the effects of crime on the community and family members, and questions who - if anyone - is responsible for making a murderer. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ADOLESCENCE" IN THE LAST 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: hiss-demeanor. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

Ruby Franke earned fame and fortune on her YouTube channel highlighting an ideal family life with her husband and six children. But that world crumbled when it was discovered her parenting style was more draconian than the loving image they portrayed on screen. After she fell into the orbit of life coach Jodi Hildebrandt, Ruby became estranged from her husband and older children. But police took notice when Franke's youngest son knocked on the door of Hildebrandt’s neighbor, severely emaciated and covered in duct tape. From ABC Studios and streaming on Hulu, “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke” explores her journey from influencer to inmate, and Hildebrandt’s sway over the entire family. It includes interviews with her husband and children, and access to 1,000 hours of raw video which foreshadow the abuse to come. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DEVIL IN THE FAMILY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

Former tv personality Caroline D’Amore met a suave, well-connected businessman at her swanky LA apartment complex. David Bloom said he wanted to invest in her organic food startup and brokered a meeting with the CEO of Whole Foods. But after the money changed hands, D’Amore got a bad feeling about her business partner. It was just Bloom’s latest con in a lifetime of swindles. But determined to get satisfaction, D’Amore and her fellow victims tried to turn the tables on the fraudster…all while recording audio of it. From iHeartPodcasts, AYR Media and 32 Flavors comes “Once Upon a Con.” The former model/reality star/business woman tells her story of getting defrauded by a professional grifter. It also features audio D’Amore recorded in real-time of her discovering the swindle and confronting the perpetrator. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ONCE UPON A CON" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: dead letter. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

While breaking into the world of fashion, twenty-five year old Hannah Mossman Moore is befriended by a well-connected, middle-aged man from Hong Kong, who mentors her and shows her the high life. At the same time, Hannah begins receiving unending menacing messages online and on her phone from a stranger she can’t escape. Her rich friend denies involvement, claiming he’s also been targeted by hackers. With the police unable to make a case, Hannah turns to a journalist to help identify the anonymous intruder who has turned her life upside down. In the podcast “Stalked” from BBC Sounds and Radio 5 Live, Hannah teams with her ex-stepmother, journalist Carole Cadwalladr, to investigate in real time who is behind the elaborate campaign of harassment. They employ everything from IP address tracing to linguistic forensics to unmask the person obsessed with her. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STALKED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In the mid-90s, several men vanished from Indianapolis-area gay bars. Police were piqued after a man claimed he was nearly strangled during sex with Herb Baumeister. Investigators found bones throughout the woods of his secluded horse farm, but before they could question him Baumeister died by suicide in Canada. In 2022, a local coroner renewed the effort to identify victims from the 10,000 bone fragments found on the property. But it revived an unanswered question: how did Baumeister get the bodies of his victims into the woods by himself? And what should we make of the peculiar man who claimed to have escaped being the killer’s victim? From ABC News Studios and streaming on Hulu, “The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer” looks back at the incomplete story of Herb Baumeister’s crimes. It follows those helping victims’ families find closure, while also diving into the biggest hole of the original investigation. The series builds toward a confrontation with an unreliable narrator many suspect is lying about his involvement in the mystery. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE FOX HOLLOW MURDERS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: Why Don't We Do It In The Road Road. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In December 2020, police in Marion, Illinois responded to a brutal death on Songbird Road. Eleven-year-old Jade Beasley was found in a bathtub, stabbed multiple times. Investigators homed in on her stepmother, Julia Bevely, who claimed she returned home to find a man dressed in black with a knife fleeing the scene. Prosecutors pointed to video of Bevely throwing away something at a gas station and a 30 minute gap between finding the body and calling 911. But there was nearly no physical evidence connecting the woman to a bloody attack in the home. That inconsistency has led some to believe Bevely was convicted for a crime she didn’t commit. In the podcast “Murder on Songbird Road,” host Lauren Bright Pacheco teams with podcaster Bob Motta to examine holes in the case against Julia Bevely, including the absence of a weapon, a DNA link, and sightings of an stranger dressed in black nearby at the time of the murder. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MURDER ON SONGBIRD ROAD" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

Since we reviewed the new ABC doc, we thought we'd drop our original review of the Scamanda podcast. Inspired by her blog posts about her cancer journey, friends and admirers gave Amanda Riley money - but her illness was all an act. Following our review of the ABC adaptation of the hit podcast, we going back to our original June 8, 2023 episode "Scamanda" from host Charlie Webster and Lionsgate Sound. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

Amanda Reilly warmed hearts with her blog describing her battle with terminal cancer. The young mother received donations from her church and various fundraisers in her name. But some around her became suspicious her elaborate website was nothing more than theater. Soon, reporters and law enforcement were picking apart her health claims and following the money. Even after her fraud was made public, Amanda maintained she was a cancer survivor being set up by her enemies. Available on Hulu, ABC News Studios presents “Scamanda,” telling Reilly’s story and picking up where the hit 2023 podcast left off. Through interviews with key players, including original host Charlie Webster, the four part documentary recounts her seven year con for cash and sympathy, and relays what Reilly is now doing nearly two years after the number one show made her infamous. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "SCAMANDA" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: p*ssed off. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In 1996, fishermen pulled the body of a man out the English Channel. An inscription on his Rolex watch led police to believe he was Ronald Platt, who according to his friend, David Davis, had left the UK for France to work as a TV repairman. Though the particulars of how Platt wound up in the sea remained unclear, investigators were ready to close the case. They just needed to retrieve some of his belongings from Davis’s home. But when a detective accidentally knocked on the wrong door, the neighbor gave some information that turned the case on its head. The latest season of the CBC Podcasts series “Uncover: Sea of Lies” looks into the case of a deadly conman who was among Interpol’s top fugitives. Host Sam Mullins from “Wild Boys” walks us through the investigation’s many twists and turns to see how a nearly perfect crime came undone. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNCOVER: SEA OF LIES" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In 2021, with plans to create a travel vlog, Gabby Petito and her boyfriend Brian Laundrie set off in a converted van to document their trip across America. But in between social media posts, the couple’s relationship grew dark, even resulting in a traffic stop by cops investigating a domestic violence complaint. In the subsequent days, Gabby’s parents lost touch with her. Then Brian returned home with the van - but with Gabby nowhere to be found. The mystery of the young woman’s disappearance gripped the nation. Netflix’s “American Murder: Gabby Petito” tackles the biggest true crime case of the decade. Using Gabby’s private videos, texts, and journal entries, the series traces her early life, her ill-fated trip, and frantic search for her online and on the ground. It also examines the actions of the Laundrie family, as well as the conversation the case sparked about who gets press coverage and who gets ignored. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "AMERICAN MURDER: GABBY PETITO" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: grand cannon. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In October 1980, a motorcycle packed with explosives went off outside a Paris synagogue, killing four and wounding nearly four dozen others. French investigators gathered evidence the attack was planned by a Palestinian militant group, but the trail for the bomber went cold for years. Twenty-eight years after the attack on Rue Copernic, French authorities accused a Canadian sociology professor of Lebanese descent of planting the bomb. Hassan Diab proclaimed his innocence, saying their evidence was flawed and circumstantial. It spawned a diplomatic crisis, as Canadian judicial authorities also questioned whether Diab should be turned over to France for trial. “The Copernic Affair” from Canadaland and House of Many Windows re-examines the controversial terrorism probe. Hosts Dana Ballout and Alex Atack talk to victims, investigators, and Diab himself to make sense of how an unassuming academic with a common name was accused of a horrific crime four decades ago. Is Hassan Diab guilty of an unspeakable act of political violence? Or is he a scapegoat for a failed investigation? OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE COPERNIC AFFAIR" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas was more than a white power hate group. They were also a sophisticated crime syndicate into drug trafficking and prostitution. Known for its violent methods against its rivals, it was equally as brutal to those suspected of being snitches. After a series of particularly cold-blooded killings, law enforcement groups teamed up to take down the Aryans’ statewide operation. By flipping defendants and cultivating informants, authorities were able to connect the racket and destabilize the group. “The Takedown: American Aryans” on Max looks at the six-year operation to infiltrate the Neo-Nazi crime syndicate. The series walks viewers through several key cases that allowed them to break up much of the hate group’s criminal activities. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE TAKEDOWN: AMERICAN ARYANS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. In Crime of the Week: hard-boiled crime. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In 2003, Northern Irish journalists outed Freddie Scappaticci as one of Britain's most notorious double agents. His code name was “Stakeknife.” For years he was in charge of finding and killing informants within the IRA, and was now accused of working with the Brits all along. The story rocked those on both sides of The Troubles. High-ranking British officials were criticized for allowing their secret asset to kill and torture with impunity. And families of those killed for being alleged informants questioned whether they were executed to keep the IRA from suspecting Scappaticci was the real traitor. “Stakeknife” is the second season of the podcast “Cover” from BBC Sounds, Second Captains & Little Wing. Host Mark Horgan explores how British Army intelligence sanctioned Scappaticci’s dirty work and the lengths taken to protect their valuable operative. He also brings us relatives of those murdered by Stakeknife to talk about the lifelong pain and stigma of having a loved one executed for being an informant - whether it was true or not. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "STAKEKNIFE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL ELEVEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In 1995, when a woman’s body was discovered in a Dayton, Ohio park, Kari thought her boyfriend Mick McQuerter and his prison buddy Tim Terrell may be involved. Before the two could skip town, Kari discovered incriminating evidence in the car. After the men went to prison, detectives turned up at Kari’s door, looking for connections to a decade’s old pair of unsolved murders on a secluded farm. Demonic symbolism at the crime scene cast suspicion on Tim, who served time with a self-styled Satanist and who sported an occultic tattoo for the “Lords of Death.” From Tenderfoot TV and Audacy comes the podcast “Lords of Death.” Host Thrasher Banks grapples with his long held presumptions about the culpability of his mother’s boyfriend Mick in the murder of Cindy Cozad. He also looks into whether Tim Terrell bludgeoned an elderly farmer in 1987 - then returned a year later to kill his widow with a screwdriver through the head. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "LORDS OF DEATH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TWELVE MINUTES OF THE PODCAST. In Crime of the Week: knowing the ropes. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

Myka and James Stauffer built a popular and profitable YouTube channel featuring hundreds of videos of their children and homelife. Then in 2017, after the Stauffers revealed they were adopting a boy from China, subscriptions to their channel took off. Viewers were drawn in by the family’s breezy efforts to address the toddler’s developmental issues. Then past videos of the boy were abruptly gone from the feed and he no longer appeared in the vlog. The mystery around the move sparked a huge backlash, with many criticising Myka’s motives and fearing for the child’s well-being. The HBO Original series “An Update on Our Family” recounts the controversy around the Stauffers and accusations they adopted a child just for the clicks. It also explores the issues about privacy on the internet, the nuances of trans-national adoption, and the unregulated industry of monetizing one’s family. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "AN UPDATE ON OUR FAMILY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE PODCAST. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

In 2015, after being given a date rape drug, Isabel Eriksson awoke in a locked bunker in Sweeden, held captive by a mysterious doctor. Martin Trenneborg wanted to keep her as his girlfriend, subjected her to abuse, and refused to let her go. Though years have passed, Isabel has never dealt with the PTSD of the incident. But now she’s willing to confront it - on camera. The Swedish language documentary series “The Bunker” is available on the Nordic streaming service Viaplay, which is available through Amazon Prime, Roku, Xfinity X1 and other platforms. Isabel recounts her ordeal for filmmakers, goes to counseling for the first time, and experiments with exposure therapy. That includes a visit to a reconstruction of the bunker where she was held in order to process the pain she’s repressed for all these years. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE BUNKER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TWELVE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE In Crime of the Week: hired muscle. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

On a cold North Dakota night in February 1999, Robbie Rahrich’s friends and fiancée waited for him to come home from his shift at a Bismarck liquor store. When they went to the House of Bottles, they discovered Robbie’s body in the backroom and money missing from the cash register. Investigators looked into who might want to target the store and have the opportunity to hold it up. They turned their attention to Shawn Helmenstein, who’d been in Bismarck at the time, but fled to Montana. From Dakota Spotlight and PorchLight Podcast Network comes “Homicide at House of Bottles.” Host James Wolner tells the story through longform narrative, observations from investigators, and an interview with the man convicted of killing Robbie Rahrich. OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DAKOTA SPOTLIGHT: HOMICIDE AT HOUSE OF BOTTLES" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon. Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.