True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers

American Scandal is a podcast from Wondery that explores the darker stories that have shaped the United States. From the Unabomber to Bernie Madoff, these are stories that reveal the underbelly of America: ruthless, secretive, and power-hungry. The new season of American Scandal looks at the controversial decision made by a young government official named Daniel Ellsburg to leak the Pentagon Papers, the documents that led Americans to demand an end to the catastrophic Vietnam War. Once Ellsburg realized this terrible truth, he made the bold decision to leak the documents, and the consequences altered the course of American history. This is just a preview of American Scandal, but you can listen to the full episode at wondery.fm/AS_TrueMurder Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

20 Des 20217min

Over 25 people murdered in just over two and a half years. What was happening in the small coastal town of Santa Cruz between October 1970 and Feburary 1973?John Linley Frazier’s home invasion murders of the Ohta family and Dorothy Cadwallader in 1970 and the serial murder sprees of Herbert Mullin and Edmund Kemper left tremors in Santa Cruz that can still be felt today.Local law enforcement, victims’ families and friends, classmates and acquaintances of the killers, local historians, voices from the past and present, and the killers themselves all come together to tell the horrific stories and explain why Santa Cruz was dubbed THE MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD in the early 1970s.Murder Capital of the World is a primary source history telling the story of Santa Cruz in the early 1970’s through quotes and first person stories. MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD: The Santa Cruz community looks back at the John Linley Frazier, Herbert Mullin, and Edmund Kemper murder sprees of the early 1970's-Emerson Murray Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

18 Des 20211h 4min

A woman’s dead body is tossed off a cruise ship. It’s homicide on the high seas, a story of murder and greed, a true crime story you’ll never forget. Why are you always killed by the one you love? A research vessel finds a woman’s decomposing corpse floating in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about twenty miles off the Italian shoreline.Cruise ships frequent the area. Investigators’ best guess is that she came from one of those boats. But which one? And is it a case of accidental death, suicide, or even murder? Only one boat reported the possibility that a passenger had gone overboard. So she had to have come from the Island Star. The mystery of how she died was also swiftly solved. For one simple reason, it had to be a case of homicide. So, someone murdered this woman while both were aboard the cruise ship. Hundreds of people were onboard the Island Star. Who was the killer? Another perplexing question: Why should the DA’s office in Orange County, California, prosecute a murder that occurred off the coast of Italy? Prosecutors also have to deal with the fact that their star witnesses were thousands of miles away when Mary Takahashi went into the water. What complicated the prosecution’s case even more, was the propensity of their star witnesses to change their stories. Both had reasons to turn on the suspect. Would the jury believe them? The Murder of Mary Takahashi: A Shocking True Crime Story tells a story of greed and murder. But it’s also an extraordinary tale of legal intrigue and guile as prosecutors work for more than a decade to put one of their own, a fellow attorney, in prison for the rest of his life. THE MURDER OF MARY TAKAHASHI: A Shocking True Crime Story-Rod Kackley Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

14 Des 202157min

Butcher of Hanover focuses on the serial killer of at least 27 young men and boys in Germany in the post-World War 1 era. At the center of this murder case were Fritz Haarmann and Hans Grans, who were lovers while committing these murders. It wasn't until the skulls and bones started washing ashore from the Leine River in Hanover that Germany realized they had a cold-blooded serial killer in their country.As you read the exploration of the case in this book, ask yourself, did Haarmann murder each victim to keep his lover Hans Grans to stay with him? Did Grans decide who it was that was to be murdered? The evidence on this case will keep you on the edge of your seat, trying to determine who was really behind these gruesome murders. BUTCHER OF HANOVER: Fritz Haarmann-Alan R. Warren Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

9 Des 20211h 4min

Few things are more devastating than a loved one going missing. On The Vanished podcast from Wondery, host Marissa Jones tells stories of missing persons that have gone overlooked by mainstream media. In a recent episode, Marissa looks into the disappearance of James Foster Chance. The 48-year-old man from Texas went missing in March of 2021. Devastated and without any leads, James’ family began searching for him. But in their search they began uncovering clues that James was not the man they thought he was. And worse -- that he may have disappeared on purpose. Listen to The Vanished at wondery.fm/TV_truemurder Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

6 Des 20218min

In the small city of Binghamton in upstate New York, 23-year-old Veronica Taft, a single mother with four small children, all under the age of five, was convicted of Murder and Manslaughter for the brutal murder of her two-year-old son Lyric. She was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in state prison, with her surviving children taken away and placed in foster care.After more than five years in prison, Taft was set free after a bombshell Appellate Court decision found the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. The court overturned the theory and evidence used by authorities, including time-of-death, Taft’s alibi, and controversial testimony of a desperate jail-house snitch.Working on behalf of Taft, Defense Investigator, David M. Beers conducted an independent investigation. In his account, Immunity for Murder, he’ll guide you through the ill-fated police investigation and the shameful prosecution that, contrary to the evidence, quickly turned the tides towards Veronica and away from the real killer. This book will look closely at the suspect, bizarre events, and disturbing facts never before revealed. Furthermore, it’ll show how the evidence proves Taft’s innocence, which is why he considers her story a tragic miscarriage of justice. IMMUNITY FOR MURDER: The Veronica Taft Story-David M. Beers Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

3 Des 20211h 15min

Some said that the killer couldn't be a local. Others claimed that he was the wealthy son of a prominent Morgantown family. Whispers spread that Mared and Karen were sacrificed by a satanic cult or had been victims of a madman poised to strike again. Then the handwritten letters began to arrive: You will locate the bodies of the girls covered over with brush--look carefully. The animals are now on the move.Investigators didn't find too few suspects--they had far too many. There was the campus janitor with a fur fetish, the harmless deliveryman who beat a woman nearly to death, the nursing home orderly with the bloody broomstick and the bouncer with the girlish laugh who threatened to cut off people's heads. Local authors Geoffrey C. Fuller and S. James McLaughlin tell the complete story of the murders for the first time. THE WVU COED MURDERS: Who Killed Mared and Karen? Geoffrey Fuller and Sarah James McLaughlin Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

25 Nov 202158min

Since President John F. Kennedy's 1963 murder in Dallas, medical examiner and lawyer Dr. Cyril Wecht was initially inclined to accept the official theory that one person alone was responsible for the crime. But as Wecht delved into the evidence with boundless curiosity and unprecedented access, he came to understand that America had, instead, suffered a coup d'etat at the hands of rogue elements within our own government.Nobody else has Wecht's up-close and personal experience in uncovering the facts behind this assassination--and now he is sharing it with the world. Co-authored by investigative journalist Dawna Kaufmann, this comprehensive book reveals Wecht's analyses of the case's forensic and medical evidence. With his keen eye and sharp tongue, Wecht wields his scalpel on JFK's dubious autopsy report, the inept Warren Commission Report, the mishandling of crucial materials, all of the key players, and the media malpractice that has allowed the truth to remain hidden for nearly six decades. THE JFK ASSASSINATION DISSECTED: An Analysis by Forensic Pathologist Cyril Wecht-Dawna Kaufmann and Cyril Wecht. Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

24 Nov 202150min