logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
39m 34s

“The Kansas City Butcher” Robert Berdell...

SPOTIFY STUDIOS
About this episode
Inspired by a 1965 horror film called The Collector, Robert Berdella harbored dark fantasies about abuse and control. As a college student, he acted out his sadism on animals, and later, in the early ‘80s, on a teenager named Jerry Howell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 
Up next
Yesterday
Heaven's Gate: Rehearsing for the Apocalypse
A charismatic leader convinces his devoted followers that salvation awaits aboard an alien spacecraft trailing a comet—leading the Heaven’s Gate cult to a tragic, otherworldly mass suicide that exposed the dangerous power of blind faith and cosmic delusion.Sources for this episod ... Show More
39m 3s
May 25
The Convict Who Faked His Death For Love
A brilliant con man turns his life into a high-stakes romantic heist, embezzling fortunes and pulling off mind-bending jailbreaks—all to keep the man he loves in the lifestyle he thinks he deserves. Sources for this episode include: I Love You Phillip Morris : A True Story of Lif ... Show More
43m 48s
May 18
The Trunk Murderess Whose Gruesome Crime Captivated a Nation
26-year-old "trunk murderess" Winnie Ruth Judd killed her two best friends one hot Phoenix night in 1931. Then she stuffed both of them into trunks and loaded them on a train to Los Angeles. What the press assumed was a simple case of jealousy only got messier with each new versi ... Show More
32m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2021
The Sex Slave Murders: Gerald & Charlene Gallego Pt. 1
By the time Gerald Gallego was 30, he was already a lifelong predator whose twisted crimes reached back into his childhood. When he met Charlene Williams in 1977, she became the newest target of his abuse — until she proposed a plan that made her his accomplice. Learn more about ... Show More
46m 53s
Mar 2020
Scandal 34: The Blackmail of Lester Hunt
In the 1950s, at the height of Communist paranoia, Republican Senators Styles Bridges and Joe Welker went after Democratic Senator Lester Hunt in an attempt to blackmail him into giving up his coveted seat in Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad ... Show More
43m 37s
Jun 2020
The Menendez Brothers Pt. 2
In August of 1989, 21-year-old Lyle and 18-year-old Erik Menendez murdered their parents in Beverly Hills after years of abuse. Afterward, they attempted to cover it up, but their stories quickly unravelled. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices 
45m 38s
Dec 2020
Fernald School Pt. 1
Originally billed as an education center for people with intellectual disabilities, the Fernald School exploited thousands of kids for free labor. The institution was rife with abuse even before it became a testing ground for radiation experiments in the 1940s and ‘50s. Learn mor ... Show More
48m 59s
Jan 2021
Robert John Bardo Pt. 1
In 1989, after years of obsessing over actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 19-year-old Robert John Bardo boarded a bus and headed for West Hollywood. It wasn’t his first attempt at reaching through to the young star — but it would be his last. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap ... Show More
46m 49s
Dec 2021
The Houston Mass Murders Pt. 2
When Dean Corll’s crimes finally came to light in 1973, grief and outrage flooded the community. The trials of his two teenage accomplices would paint a picture of one of the most gruesome serial killers in American history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad ... Show More
38m 21s
Jun 2023
Bobby Donati & The Gardner Museum Heist
In 1991 a man was found dead in the trunk of his car. He’d been brutally slain, and despite obvious foul play, leads were hard to come by — until his name began popping up in another investigation. One that was unraveling the threads of an art heist unlike anything the world had ... Show More
39m 22s
Aug 2020
August 19, 1692: Salem Witch Trials
On this day in 1692, five residents of Salem, Massachusetts—including a clergyman—were hanged to death for the crime of witchcraft. They wouldn’t be the last. Guest hosted by Wenndy MacKenzie from the Parcast original podcast, Unsolved Murders. Learn more about your ad choices. V ... Show More
16m 59s
May 2024
Richard Speck: Born to Raise Hell
#213: Die FBI-Fallanalytiker John Douglas und Robert Ressler betreten das düstere Gemäuer des Old Joliet Prisons – es sieht aus wie ein Horrorschloss. Durch die Gänge hallen Schreie und Flüche. Keiner der Gefangenen kann die Fallanalytiker ausstehen. Vor allem nicht der, für den ... Show More
1h 13m