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The Salem Witch Trials took place over 330 years ago, when within just 16 months, between February 1692 and May 1693, almost 200 people in a population of around 2000—mostly women—were accused of practicing witchcraft, 30 of whom ended up being convicted, and 20 executed, 19 by hanging, and 1 pressed to death with heavy stones. From baseless accusations to wide-spread panic, how is it that an entire community lost its sense of reality, using the LEGAL system of indictments, warrants of arrest and trials to justify the torture and execution of the innocent? We’ll speak to themes of groupthink and mass hysteria, phenomena spurred on by the highly oppressive Puritanical theocracy which governed their lives at this time and place in history.

The three headlines we discuss this week are: Alex Murdaugh's judge warning him that his retrial won't become a circus; Russell Brand standing trial for rape in London; and a former Chicago homicide detective named as the man who killed an 8-year-old girl 65 years ago!

The Red Barn Murder became a thing of legend after it happened in 1827 in the British countryside. Then 25 year old, Maria Marten, met her lover, William Corder, in a red barn from where they planned to elope, when instead she met her end. The discovery of her body almost a full year later is where things take a turn for ethereal. Did the stepmother play a role in Maria’s murder, or did she truly dream of the location of her step daughter’s body? Either way, Polstead, UK quickly became the murder tourism capital of the United Kingdom—plays and ballads written and performed about the case, soon to be movies and books.

In today’s true crime news episode, we give updates on the status of Christa Pike after waking up post execution attempt; Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly known as Prince Andrew) challenging the search warrants tied to his Epstein investigation; and former Manson Family cult murderer, Patricia Krenwinkel being granted parole for a third time!

This case was the first ever homicide in the small town of Brookefield, Connecticut’s 193 year history. While the February 16th, 1981 murder of 40 year old Alan Bono was open and shut as far as who committed the murder, the year leading up to the murder is one of the most bizarre paranormal stories we have on record. This case earned national attention as the first (and last) time that demonic possession was used as a legal defense strategy in a United States court.

In today’s episode we give updates on the botched execution of Tennessee death row inmate, Christa Pike; Lindsay Clancy’s hearing to see if they will go to trial again for the murders of her three children; and the tragic SA case involving Jane Doe and the accused seven frat men at Cornell University.

In this, part 2, of the Amityville Horror story, we tell the haunting tale of The Lutz family, who just one year after the brutal murders of the six DeFeo family members, decide to move into the scene if the crime. Not only move in, but buy all of the original furniture, including the bed frames where the deceased were discovered! We detail an intrepid paranormal investigation into said haunting that went on to divide the nation with one question: The Amityville Horror: Haunting? Or Hoax? Which camp are you in?

Christa Pike's execution is scheduled for today at 10AM CT via lethal injection. We discuss how problematic lethal injection is as a form of execution, much more cruel and unusual than we ever would have thought. We also discuss Harvey Weinstein's 15 year prison sentence (FINALLY) after successfully evading an official sentence in two other trials that ended up being thrown out! Finally, we discuss Caleb Flynn's trial. Update: since the recording of this episode he has been declared guilty of aggravated murder (Ohio's version or first degree premeditated murder). Also, can we talk about the songs played during the trial?!

The name of the town where this horrific story takes place is a dead giveaway: Amityville, Long Island, New York. It was in the quiet village of Amityville that in the year 1974, an entire family was tragically killed in cold blood by one of their own: the 23 year old son. The weapon? A hunting rifle. The victims? His parents, Louise (42) and Ronald Sr. (43), and four younger siblings, Dawn (18), Allison (13), Marc (12) and John Matthew (9).

In this week’s True Crime News episode, we discuss a woman found to be the sixth victim of a PNW serial killer, Jessie Calhoun. Prosecutors say the victims in this horrific story are Libby Gibson, 32; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; Joanna Speaks, 32; Kristin Smith, 22; and Ashley Real, 22. Next, we dive into the tragic story of a once American Idol contestant on trial for shooting and killing his wife in their Ohio home—ample proof that he had a mistress for years prior to the attack. Finally, we discuss the Patrick Clancy segment that aired this week on Sixty Minutes in which he provides background details about what it was like for him testifying during Lindsay’s murder trial, life after the horrible loss of his three children, and breaks the news that he and new wife Rachel Danis are starting a family of their own.

The murders of Andrew & Abby Borden, and subsequent arrest, trial and acquittal of their daughter Lizzie Borden, is a mystery that has enthralled curious minds since it occurred in 1892. A testament to people's enduring fascination with a 134 year old case is the proliferation of the below ditty (forgiving the factual inaccuracies): “Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one.” Tighten your corsets, and ready your cigars as we travel back in time to the Victorian era of America, examining the sociocultural norms of the day that may have allowed one of the nation's most vicious murderesses to narrowly escape the clutches of the justice system.

In today's True Crime News update, we discuss: - Self-proclaimed misogynists, Andrew and Tristan Tate's arrests in Miami, FL, and talks of extradition to the UK. - Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) DNA analyst Yvonne "Missy" Woods admitting to falsifying evidence on more than 1,000 criminal cases in Colorado during her 29 year career. - The horrifying murder of a toddler boy, Barrett Walsh, by his mother Corie Walsh, who had been heavily invested in the Lindsay Clancy case and trial proceedings. - And finally, the 4 Lindsay Clancy trial jurors agreeing to interviews on national news networks, and what they had to say. Join us for this and more! And as always, thank you for being here.

In today's case deep dive, we tell the stories of the four US airliners hijacked by Jihadist al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11th 2001, crashing the planes into four targets chosen by the Islamist terrorist organization because of their symbolism of American power. We end the episode by telling of the heart-warming tale of a tiny town of 11,000 in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, that played host for a week to 7,000 "plane people" whose NYC bound flights had to suddenly be rerouted after the Twin Towers were struck. The townspeople and the stranded passengers came together, showing the best side of human kindness and decency--a great way to end an otherwise tragic recounting of events. We hope this episode reminds Americans of our resilience as a nation, as well as serving as a clarion call to the individual and collective to move forward with a renewed devotion to living in peace and harmony with those from other nations, creeds, religions and political persuasions, regardless of the division and vitriol sewn by many. To quote heroic Flight 93 passenger, Todd Beamer, "Are you ready? Let's roll!"

This week’s True Crime News episode covers updates on the following: Updates on alleged Charlie Kirk assassinator, Tyler Robinson’s arraignment in Utah.Updates on Tupac murder accomplice, Duane Keef Davis’s conviction 30 years after the murder. The tragic stabbings in Times SquareAn infamous “butt sniffer”(?!) being arrested for the fourth timeAnd updates on the Lindsay Clancy trial after Judge Sullivan declares a mistrial

Today’s episode dives deep into the 1995 torture and murder of 19 year old Colleen Slemmer, by three classmates at a Job Corps vocational training program in Knoxville, Tennessee. Those responsible for her murder are Christa Pike (18), Tadaryl Shipp (17) and Shadolla Peterson(18). Christa Pike is currently imprisoned on death row in Nashville, TN, her execution scheduled for the end of this month, on September 30th 2026, after 30 years in prison! If carried out, she will be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over two centuries. Was this murder part of a Satanic ritual sacrifice, or was it the result of a jealous girlfriend with a horribly abusive childhood snapping and killing her competition? Tune in to find out!