Mark Hobson: Britain's Deranged Spree Killer

To say that Diane Downs had a troubled past is an understatement. She was habitually abused throughout her life, and you can safely say that all she ever wanted was to feel loved. So when the man she was obsessed with told her that he didn't want to be a father to her three children, she decided to murder them so that she could finally have her happy ever after. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Dec 20221h 8min

This is the tale of a woman who wanted nothing more than to be the center of everyone’s universe. In the process she would not only harm herself to various degrees in order to get it, but she would steal the lives of innocent children and forever damage the lives of many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Dec 202243min

The Golden State Killer is one of the most prolific criminals in American history. Despite committing hundreds of known crimes and being suspect of many more, he evaded capture for 44 years until technology finally caught up with him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Dec 20222h 2min

Today's episode features two very different stories revolving around love and obsession, littered with nuances and gray tones, in which concepts like perpetrator and victim barely hold up to the next plot twist, and yet allow for enthralling glimpses behind the veil of human nature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Dec 20221h 28min

For 15 years, John Cooper haunted the villages in Pembrokeshire. Armed with a sawed-off shotgun and a balaclava, he'd fulfill the role of master burglar when he wasn't attacking or brutally murdering his more well-off neighbors. When he was finally caught, he was unrecognizable, but his downfall came when investigators remembered that he'd once appeared in a game show - and used it to help his victims positively identify him as their attacker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Dec 20221h 3min

Mikhail Popkov is Russia's most prolific serial killer. It took Russian officials 20 years to track him down, and at the time they believed that he'd killed 22 women - but he'd since admitted to killing more, with his victim count currently standing on 83. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Nov 20221h 30min

The Axeman of New Orleans was a nearly forgotten serial murderer who assaulted twelve victims in the late 1910s. What has kept him from fading into complete obscurity is his letter to the local newspaper in which he claimed to be a demon from Hell that loved jazz music - and if the citizens of New Orleans wanted him to stop killing, they'd be in the middle of a swinging jazz party when he next visited their city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Nov 20221h 3min

Known as Blue, Spoons, Hannibal the Cannibal, and Britain’s Most Dangerous Prisoner, Robert John Maudsley is infamous for being Britain's longest-serving prisoner, having spent the last 48 years in prison - 44 of them in solitary. But how did he end up there, and does he truly deserve not only his title - but his fate as well? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Nov 202254min