371: Ruby Franke: Momfluencer to Felon

FAM! THIS IS APPARENTLY DATELINE'S 'MOST CHILLING EPISODE'! ALSO, KEITH SWEARS, IT'S PRETTY AMAZING. Chris Smith was living his dream southern California life: close family, great friends, running a small business with trusted colleague. So when he emails his family to say he's giving it all up to travel the world with a, wait for it, Playboy Playmate, his family is confused, but happy for him. But when a year goes by and Chris's only contact is sporadic emails--never a phone call--the family gets suspicious and begins to unravel the real story of what is going on. OUR MERCH STORE IS OPEN! Want a "Steve, I've Been Duped" T-shirt, or how about "Not A Mother" baseball T? "Let The Women Do The Work" sweatshirt? We've got all that and more for a limited time only! CHECK IT OUT HERE! LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 200 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" "Night Stalker" "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "A Wilderness of Error" "The Vow"  "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

25 Nov 202154min

In a nutshell: THE REAL-LIFE GUY "THE SOPRANOS" IS BASED ON BUYS A HOCKEY TEAM FOR HIS IDIOT SON...HILARITY (AND A LOOOOOOOOT OF FIGHTING) ENSUES. Look, this is the combination of The Mafia and The Sports that you've been dying to hear us talk about, and believe me, it was worth the wait. OUR MERCH STORE IS OPEN! Want a "Steve, I've Been Duped" T-shirt, or how about "Not A Mother" baseball T? "Let The Women Do The Work" sweatshirt? We've got all that and more for a limited time only! CHECK IT OUT HERE! LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 200 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" "Night Stalker" "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "A Wilderness of Error" "The Vow"  "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

23 Nov 202157min

The text messages came often and always went something like this: "My favorite thing to do is stand outside and stare at you," or "I hate you so much, I want to drive a knife into your heart." The texts were sent to Dave and to his ex-girlfriend Liz. The texts came from Kari, who was stalking them both, but who nobody had physically seen in over a year. It was a love triangle, that could only end one way: Murder. LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 200 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" "Night Stalker" "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "A Wilderness of Error" "The Vow"  "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

18 Nov 202155min

YOU. ARE. NOT. READY. TO. MEET. LISSA. YELLOWBIRD.  For decades, indigenous women have gone missing around Lissa. And when the authorities have been unwilling or unable to find them, Lissa stepped in and got the job done. LET THE WOMEN DO THE WORK! But when Lissa's niece, Carla, vanishes, it becomes personal for Lissa and she will stop at NOTHING to find out what happened to her. COME SEE US ON BOROADWAY! WE'RE GONNA BE THE FIRST PODCAST TO EVER PLAY BROADWAY AND YOU WANT TO BE THERE TO SEE IT! VERY LIMITED TICKETS. GET THEM HEREEEEEEEEEE! LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 200 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" "Night Stalker" "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "A Wilderness of Error" "The Vow"  "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

16 Nov 202149min

KEITH. MORRISON. HATES. EVERYONE. IN. THIS. EPISODE. It's March, 2011 just before 8:30pm. A frantic 911 call comes in. A violent showdown between two men vying for the attention of a woman named Kandi has ended in a shooting. Both men have been shot, one of them is about to die. How on Earth did we end up here? LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 200 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" "Night Stalker" "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "A Wilderness of Error" "The Vow"  "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

11 Nov 202156min

LESBIAN BOXERS KICKING ASS!!! LITERALLY WHAT COULD BE BETTER? You guys wanted to hear us talking about the sports, so HERE. WE. GO. Christy Martin was unquestionably the best female boxer in the world. She was also problematic as hell.  And kind of an A**hole. But when she's gunned down in her own home, she's in for the fight of her life. YOU GUYS THIS ONE IS WILD. AND JUST WAIT TILL YOU MEET NOT-HERE-FOR-YOUR-SHIT-LISA! LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 200 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" "Night Stalker" "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "A Wilderness of Error" "The Vow"  "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

9 Nov 202155min

June 22, 1990. 2:00 am. The phone rings at Gayle and Kay Baker's house in the San Fernando Valley. "We have your son. Unless you give us $100,000 by 5pm, he will die." At first they thought it was a joke. But when the man called back in the morning with the same demand, they knew 21-year-old son was in trouble. Later that day, the police would call the Bakers to tell them their son had been found. Dead. Murdered in the infamous "Manson Tunnel" outside of LA. But who could have done this? And Why?  LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 200 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" "Night Stalker" "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "A Wilderness of Error" "The Vow"  "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

4 Nov 20211h 1min

FAM!! We're doing that thing we do, like, twice a year, and giving ourselves a Tuesday "off" (read: not off, ever off, always working, lol), so we're replaying a favorite episode. BUT DON'T WORRY, YOU'RE GETTING AN ALL NEW DATELINE EPISODE ON THURSDAY!! From 1974 – 1991, a serial killer tormented the people of Kansas. He called himself BTK, which stood for BIND, TORTURE, KILL. He wanted to incite fear and panic, and so his killings were especially brutal. He taunted police with postcards, letters, and voice messages, but no matter how many clues the madman gave them, they still couldn’t catch him. But then, in 2005, after 10 murders and more three decades of terrorizing the locals, they got him. And suddenly it was clear how he’d managed to hide in plain sight for so long. LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed, you'll find over 140 FULL BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW! Including our episode-by-episode coverage of "The Vow" "I'll Be Gone in the Dark," "Tiger King" "Don't F**K With Cats," "The Menendez Murders," "The Murder of Laci Peterson," "Casey Anthony: American Murder Mystery," "Serial," "The Jinx," "Making A Murderer," "The Staircase," "Lorena," "The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann," "OJ: Made in America" and so many more! JOIN HERE!

2 Nov 202152min