Bonus: The First Suspects - The Black Dahlia Files

Bonus: The First Suspects - The Black Dahlia Files

In this bonus episode, Esther takes listeners back to the earliest days of the Black Dahlia investigation — before the world even knew the victim’s name.

Detectives faced a gruesome and mystifying crime scene in a quiet Los Angeles neighborhood. Who was the young woman whose body had been staged so deliberately? And who could have committed such a shocking crime?

Using witness statements, police reports, and historical accounts, Esther reveals how investigators built their first list of suspects — and how each was eventually ruled out.

From Elizabeth Short’s friends and lovers to shady landlords and reluctant witnesses, these early leads laid the groundwork for a case that would haunt Los Angeles for decades.

🎧 Next Time on Broken

In the next episode, we’ll examine the shocking details of the crime scene and autopsy — how Elizabeth Short was killed, the forensic evidence left behind, and what it tells us about her murderer.

We’ll also start piecing together theories about motive — and why her killer may have wanted her body to be found.

Make sure you’re subscribed and that your app is set to automatically download new episodes so you don’t miss what’s next in Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder.

About This Series

BROKEN: The Black Dahlia Murder is a six-part Once Upon a Crime original series.

Through extensive research, historical records, and firsthand accounts, Esther Ludlow uncovers the truth behind America’s most infamous unsolved murder, separating fact from fiction to rediscover the real woman behind the myth.

📚 Sources

Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder by John Gilmore

The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood by William J. Mann (upcoming)

Contemporary newspaper archives, LAPD records, and witness interviews


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Picture Perfect Murder: The Beauty Queen Killer

Picture Perfect Murder: The Beauty Queen Killer

Christopher Wilder posed as a photographer to lure beautiful young women with the promise of modeling work. Those who take him up on his offer - and even those that didn’t - found themselves victims of a serial rapist who soon graduated to serial murder. Resources:  https://listverse.com/2019/08/07/10-shocking-facts-about-the-beauty-queen-killer/  https://allthatsinteresting.com/christopher-wilder  https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Christopher_Wilder  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Wilder https://charleyproject.org/case/elizabeth-ann-kenyon  https://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/wilder-christopher.htmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6 Kesä 202237min

YouTube Mayhem: The YouTube Headquarters Shooting

YouTube Mayhem: The YouTube Headquarters Shooting

A young woman who creates a YouTube channel to advocate for animal rights and veganism becomes disgruntled with the social media platform when she feels she is being targeted for discrimination. But, no one imagined that her anger would spiral into a random act of violence.  Resources:  “Sleeping in Car and Visiting Gun Range: How YouTube Attacker Spent Final Hours” by Daisuke Wakabayashi, Matthew Haag and Elizabeth Dias for The New York Times, April 4, 2018. MVPD Statement Regarding Officers’ Interaction with Woman Responsible for YouTube Shooting, City of Mountain View News Details.  “YouTube shooter was angry about company’s “Policies and Practices’: The Latest” by Aric Jenkins, Katy Steinmetz, and Mahita Gajanan for Time Magazine, April 4, 2018.  The Case Files: Nasim Najafi Aghdam by Virginia Simmons, blog post dated March 25, 2021, Ontic.com.  Clip from Mountain View Police Department bodycam footage can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmpjNUWpLBU Links: Once Upon a Crime Facebrook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1730325570622505See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

23 Touko 202228min

YouTube Mayhem: Mr. Anime

YouTube Mayhem: Mr. Anime

In this episode, a young man who dubs himself “Mr. Anime” gains a large following as a critic and reviewer on YouTube.. But, he’ll later admit to harboring dark fantasies most of his life after he commits a shocking act of violence against his closest family members. Resources: “Mr. Anime Loves God and His Family” by Jeannette Garrett for Crime Magazine. “Parents, brother each had high-powered rifle wounds” by Mike Glenn and Cindy George for The Houston Chronicle, Mar 21, 2012. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2118711/Trey-Eric-Sesler-shot-dead-parents-brother-planning-Columbine-style-massacre.html https://rabrewster.com/2019/07/21/human-monsters-trey-sesler-mr-anime-the-first-youtube-killer/ https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Police-Man-charged-in-Waller-deaths-planned-3425659.php https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/anime-youtube-star-murdered-family-22852419 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-dWvmMif68 Links: Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

16 Touko 202226min

The Minds of Mass Killers with Author Shavaun Scott

The Minds of Mass Killers with Author Shavaun Scott

This week I have a special episode diving into the topic of the psychology of mass killers. What prompts someone to commit mass murder against random strangers? How did Columbine become a cultural touchstone that inspired others to plan and execute their own mass shooting sprees? What can we do to slow down the number and frequency of these types of crimes, if anything? I'll get answers to some of these questions from psychotherapist and author, P. Shavaun Scott, author of The Minds of Mass Killers: Understanding and Interrupting the Pathway to Violence. Here's a link to Shavan's book which you can purchase at Amazon.com. https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B09MB86W17&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_2M1AWDE85GG90D9JY8QH&tag=onc01a-20 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Touko 202249min

YouTube Mayhem: Dying To Be Famous

YouTube Mayhem: Dying To Be Famous

A young couple on a quest for internet fame record a prank for their YouTube channel with tragic results.  Resources: YouTube Prankster Jailed, BBC News, March 15, 2018 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43410816 The Last Moments Before a YouTube Stunt Went Fatally Wrong, Buzzfeed News, June 22, 2018. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/failed-youtube-stunt-killing-videos Who Was Pedro Ruiz?, The Sun, March 15, 2018 https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3908168/pedro-ruiz-youtube-star-killed-girlfriend-monalisa-perez-shooting-stunt-jail-latest/ Stunt Gone Wrong, Valley News, June 27, 2017 https://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/Family-says-it-was-a-YouTube-stunt-gone-wrong-a-22-year-old-man-is-dead-after-being-shot-in-the-chest-431170773.html See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Touko 202223min

The Ties That Bind: The Crimes of Shelly Knotek - Part 2

The Ties That Bind: The Crimes of Shelly Knotek - Part 2

This is part 2 of a 2-part- episode. As we continue the story, Shelly and Dave Knotek have isolated themselves, their three daughters, nephew, and a boarder, Kathy Loreno, in their Ramond, Washington home. The torture and abuse Kathy endured would come to a shocking conclusion in July of 1994. Resources: If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood - Gregg Olsen https://murderpedia.org/female.K/k/knotek-michelle.htm https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/876416/shelly-knotek-abuse-daughters-serial-killer/ https://casetext.com/case/state-v-knotek Snapped: Season 10, Episode 19 Couple Held in Woman’s 1994 Disappearance https://apnews.com/article/1ba1a2ceca7d8bbbc82506c3b1b488b5 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1 Touko 202234min

The Ties That Bind: The Crimes of Shelly Knotek - Part 1

The Ties That Bind: The Crimes of Shelly Knotek - Part 1

Shelly Knotek has been called “America’s Most Evil Mom”. She abused, tortured, and humiliated her children and partners, but her control and abuse went beyond her own family members. One-by-one people she took into her home as boarders also found themselves trapped and unable to escape her abuse. This is part one of a two-part episode. To get Part 2 early and ad free, become a Patreon member of Once Upon a Crime at www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime.  Resources: If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood - Gregg Olsen https://murderpedia.org/female.K/k/knotek-michelle.htm https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/876416/shelly-knotek-abuse-daughters-serial-killer/ https://casetext.com/case/state-v-knotek Snapped: Season 10, Episode 19 Couple Held in Woman’s 1994 Disappearancehttps://apnews.com/article/1ba1a2ceca7d8bbbc82506c3b1b488b5 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

11 Huhti 202248min

The Ties That Bind - The Turpin Family

The Ties That Bind - The Turpin Family

In this month’s series, we’ll take a look at the fascinating phenomenon of narcissistic family cults - a family unit that exhibits all the hallmarks of a traditional cult group but is led by a narcissistic family member - usually a parent.  In this episode, a couple with thirteen children spend decades isolating themselves from the outside world. The public would be shocked when it was discovered their children had been subjected to long-term ritualistic abuse, neglect, and deprivation in one of the worst cases of child abuse ever recorded in California.  Links: Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime - Become a Patreon member of Once Upon a Crime to get ad-free, early release episodes, and more perks.  Military Murder Podcast - Check out my friend Margo’s podcast - Military Murder! www.militarymurderpodcast.com.  Resources: The Family Next Door by John Glatt, St. Martin’s Press, 2019.  David Turpin Biography: 13 Things About Perris, California Engineer Turpin Trial: Couple Jailed for Life for ‘Inhuman’ Child Abuse All That’s Interesting: Louise Turpin California Torture House: Louise Turpin’s Sister Said Sibling Experimented with Religion, Sex People: Couple Accused in Calif. House of Horrors Case ‘Ran Away’ to Marry When She was 16 and He Was 23 David and Louise Turpin Eloped - Daily Mail Inside the Turpin “Horror House” as Young Survivors Reveal Ongoing Struggles ABC 20/20, S44/E7 - Escape from a House of Horror - A Diane Sawyer Special Event Classmate Says Oldest Turpin Sibling Was Bullied, Frail During Grade School in Viral Facebook Post Turpins: 1 Sibling’s Desperate Escape Attempt Foiled When Police Forced Her Back to the House California Torture Case Raises Questions About Home School Regulation People: I Lived with the House of Horrors Family: What Relative Says She Saw Years Before Child Torture Case Came to Light  CNN: Judge Bars Turpins from Contacting Children People - From a Desperate Escape to Revelations of Shocking Abuse: How Abuse of Horrors Case Unfolded Huffpost - Turpin Children Speak Out About Life in California ‘House of Horrors’See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Huhti 202259min

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