Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her Salt Lake City home at the age of 14 by a handyman who had previously done work at her house. Now, she is a profound activist and author.
All in Fresh from MMN
Yellowstone and True Crime
What does Yellowstone National Park have to do with solving crime? The history of DNA samples and PCR testing, which has been crucial to forensic scientists and detectives in identifying suspects, has a curious link to the beautiful Yellowstone National Park.
The Ariel Castro Kidnappings
On the afternoon of May 8, 2013, 911 operators received a frantic call from Amanda Berry in Cleveland, Ohio saying she’d been missing for ten years and was alive. When police arrived, they discovered her and her daughter at a neighbor’s home. She quickly directed police in the direction of the home where she and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, were held captive for a decade by Ariel Castro.
New Podcast Episode: Terror on the Appalachian Trail
Long distance partners Claudia Brenner and Rebecca Wight met up for a romantic weekend of camping and hiking around the Appalachian Trail in the spring of 1988. At the time, they felt like they might spend the rest of their lives together. However, their time was cut short when Rebecca and Claudia were attacked by a stranger in the woods 34 years ago today.
Human Remains Found in Las Vegas Spark Interest in Jimmy Hoffa’s Disappearance
Two sets of human remains were unearthed last week in Lake Mead, Nevada after drought conditions caused water levels to lower significantly. The bodies were in barrels in the Colorado River reservoir, just a 30-minute drive from the Las Vegas strip which has deep-rooted ties to the mob. This discovery has not only highlighted the devastating impacts of climate change; it has also sparked renewed interest in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.
Josef Fritzl: The Story of a Monster
The Fritzl’s seemed like a normal and happy family, but hidden behind the basement door of their Austria home was a secret that would destroy their family and haunt their town forever.
The Unexplained Deaths of Don Henry and Kevin Ives
On August 23, 1987, Don Henry, 16, and his best friend Kevin Ives, 17, had returned from hanging out with a group of friends on the outskirts of Little Rock, Arkansas. Wanting to do a little late-night hunting, the boys stopped at Don’s house so he could grab his .22 rifle. Don spoke to his father for about 15 minutes at 12:15 a.m. before he and Kevin walked towards the railroad tracks that ran behind Don’s house to begin their hunting. Three hours later, Don Henry and Kevin Ives would be dead.
New Podcast Episode: The Moors Murders
For Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, Manchester was their hunting grounds, and the moors -- a vast stretch of barren landscape -- was their dumping grounds. Britain's most reviled killers preyed on children, abducting and violently murdering their victims before leaving their bodies in shallow graves.
The Murder of Amber Hagerman
The 1996 unsolved abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman is what inspired the creation of the ‘Amber Alert.’
Diane Downs: Murderous Mother
On the night of May 19, 1983, Diane Downs entered an emergency room with her three children, Christie, 8, Cheryl, 7, and Danny, 3, in a blood-spattered car. What she would initially claim to be a roadside attack would quickly become one of the most infamous cases in the Pacific Northwest.
New Podcast Episode: The Victims of Dorothea Puente
40 years ago, Dorothea Puente had everyone fooled into thinking she was a kindly grandmother. Friends, tenants at her boarding house, social workers and the police all bought her act. In reality, she was much younger than she appeared, and far from kind. Preying upon the elderly, unhoused people and alcoholics, Dorothea assumed no one would search very hard for her victims.
Angelina Barini, the Modern-Day Aileen Wuornos
Angelina Barini will spend the next 30 years of her life in prison for fatally drugging four men in 2019.
The Murder of April Tinsley
8-year-old April Tinsely was walking home from a friends house to pick up an umbrella when she was tragically abducted, raped, and murdered by John D. Miller on April 1, 1988.
Waco Siege: 29 Years On
This week marks the 29th anniversary of the siege at the Branch Davidians compound in Waco, Texas. What would occur over a 51-day standoff would end with the deaths of 80 people, which included 24 children.
New Podcast Episode: A Massacre in Medicine Hat
In April of 2006, local authorities were called to the scene of a triple homicide in a family home on a quiet street in Medicine Hat, Alberta. When they realized the Richardson’s 12-year-old daughter was missing from the scene, police issued an Amber Alert. After uncovering some disturbing evidence, the girl quickly went from missing person to person of interest.
What Happened to Corinna Slusser?
Corinna Slusser was last seen in the early morning hours of September 20, 2017 at the Haven Motel in Rego Park, Queens, NY.
The Story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard
Gypsy Rose Blanchard who was constantly deemed “ill” by her abusive mother was actually a healthy young girl, but soon Gypsy had enough of her mother’s abuse and would later serve a 10-year sentence for the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard.
New Podcast Episode: The Keddie Cabin Murders
In 1980, single mother Sue Sharp escaped an abusive marriage and she and her five children moved from Connecticut to California to start afresh. The Keddie Cabin Resort, where the Sharps ultimately landed, was a one-time vacation destination turned low-income housing complex. Not long after the family settled in to cabin #28, it became the scene of a horrific multiple murder.
Will Increasing Police Presence Reduce Crime on New York City Subways?
The short answer—probably not.
The Murder of Liz Reiser
What was supposed to be a night of movie-watching and fun, quickly turned deadly after Liz Reiser, 17, and her friend Brandi Hicks, 18, gave a ride to a stranger.