Serial Killers & Murderous Minds26 Maalis

Heaven's Gate Pt. 2 with Alexis Linkletter and Jac Vanek

In March 1997, as the Hale-Bopp comet passed Earth, 39 members of Heaven’s Gate were found dead in a California mansion, having participated in one of the largest mass suicides in modern U.S. history. They believed their deaths were not an end, but a transition — a deliberate “exit” from human bodies to board a spacecraft trailing the comet. In Part 2, we explore the final days of the group, the psychological mechanisms that sustained unwavering loyalty, and the carefully orchestrated ritual that sealed their fate. Was this collective delusion, coercive control, or the ultimate consequence of charismatic authority unchecked? The tragedy of Heaven’s Gate forces us to confront how far belief can go when doubt is no longer allowed to exist. Then, Alexis Linkletter and Jac Vanek from The First Degree join Dr. Engels and Vanessa Richardson for an extended conversation exploring the legacy of Heaven’s Gate and the enduring questions it raises about belief, manipulation, and the human need for certainty.

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SERIAL KILLER: The Monster of Florence Pt. 2 with Alexis Linkletter from Crimes of Reddit

For this episode, Vanessa and Dr. Engels are joined again by Alexis Linkletter, co-hose of Crime House's newest show Crimes of Reddit. Between 1968 and 1985, a killer known as the Monster of Florence ...

20 Elo 1h 6min

SERIAL KILLER: The Monster of Florence Pt. 1 with Alexis Linkletter from Crimes of Reddit

For this episode, Vanessa and Dr. Engels are joined by Alexis Linkletter, co-hose of Crime House's newest show Crimes of Reddit. In 1968, a young couple was shot dead in the Italian countryside while ...

17 Elo 53min

Campus Crimes: Death in the Ivory Tower

On February 12, 2010, biology professor Amy Bishop opened fire on her colleagues at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, killing three and wounding three more after being denied tenure. But invest...

16 Elo 35min

Joji Obara: Thirty Years of Hidden Crimes in Japan Pt. 2

In July 2000, 21-year-old British hostess Lucie Blackman vanished after a date with a man she knew only as Mr. Kowa. In reality, he Joji Obara, a serial predator who had drugged and assaulted over 200...

13 Elo 47min

Joji Obara: Thirty Years of Hidden Crimes in Japan Pt. 1

Vanessa and Dr. Engels get into the case of Japanese serial rapist Joji Obara, who for thirty years, drugged and assaulted hundreds of women across Japan, documenting his crimes in chilling detail. Hi...

10 Elo 51min

Campus Crimes: The Murder of Jane Stanford

In the first of our four-part limited series "Campus Crimes," Vanessa breaks down the 1905 murder of Jane Stanford, co-founder of Stanford University, who was poisoned to death in a Honolulu hotel roo...

9 Elo 37min

SERIAL KILLER: Israel Keyes Pt. 2

In June 2011, Israel Keyes abducted and murdered Bill and Lorraine Currier from their home in Essex, Vermont, a crime that went unsolved for years. Months later, he targeted 18-year-old barista Samant...

6 Elo 49min

SERIAL KILLER: Israel Keyes Pt. 1

Israel Keyes spent years methodically preparing for murder: burying weapon caches across the country, committing crimes far from home, and maintaining a quiet family life to avoid suspicion. Born into...

3 Elo 44min