logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2018
8m 57s

Adopted By The Man Who Killed My Family

Bbc World Service
About this episode
<p>Ramiro Osorio Cristales was just five years old when his family was murdered by the Guatemalan army, along with more than 200 other civilians from the Mayan village of Dos Erres. One of the soldiers who participated in the killings, Santos Lopez, took Ramiro with him and later adopted him. In November 2018, Ramiro gave evidence in the trial against his ad ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
The creation of the International Criminal Court
In 1998, at a conference organised by the United Nations, a blueprint was devised for what would be the world's first permanent International Criminal Court.Judge Phillipe Kirsch chaired the Rome conference that led to the formation of the court. He tells Gill Kearsley about the ... Show More
10m 23s
Aug 22
Geneva Conventions
In 1859, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant witnessed the Battle of Solferino, in Italy. He couldn’t believe the lack of aid for the wounded soldiers and came up with two ideas – a voluntary aid organisation and an international treaty to protect those injured in wartime. They went o ... Show More
10m 2s
Aug 21
The rise and fall of BlackBerry
In the early 2000s, BlackBerry was the phone that ruled the world. But within a decade, it collapsed, overtaken by the touch screen revolution.Sam Gruet speaks to former co-CEO Jim Balsillie about BlackBerry’s meteoric rise, its battle against Apple, and the moment he knew it was ... Show More
9m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2021
El Sapo (Jose Ortiz Munoz)
One of Mexico’s worst murderers and known assassins was Jose Ortiz Muñoz. He was known as El Sapo due to his physique and face. He was a soldier in the post revolutionary era who began a reign of terror that started at the age of 9. He lived a life of crime and murder, murdering ... Show More
39m 43s
Mar 2025
Duterte Arrested: Was the Drug War a Cover Up?
Sean Williams reports from the Philippines, where former President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drug war cost up to 30,000 lives and tore Philippine society to shreds. But was it all cover for his family’s own involvement in the drug trade? Reporting from Duterte’s stronghold of Dava ... Show More
55m 4s
Oct 2024
79: Sick Stepmom Murders 8 Year Old Boy
Ad - Use my code USUAL20 for 20% off your first Wild order: https://www.wearewild.com/?discount=USUAL20 On February 27th, 2018, 8 year old Gabriel Cruz disappeared during a short 100-metre walk from his grandmother's house to his cousin’s. What began as a simple trip turned into ... Show More
1h 13m
May 2018
“The Confession Killer” Pt. 2 - Henry Lee Lucas
Henry Lee Lucas served only 10 years for killing his abusive mother. After being released early due to overcrowding, he longed for a sense of family and befriended fellow murderer Ottis Toole. Lucas moved in with Toole and his family. Once together,they spent most of their time t ... Show More
46m 27s
Jul 12
The 'trial of the juntas' and Evita’s missing body
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all with an Argentine theme. We find out more about the 1985 ‘trial of the juntas’ when the country’s former military leaders stood accused of torturing and murdering thousands of their own people. And we h ... Show More
50m 59s
Sep 2022
Fireside With The Underboss - "If I'm not out in 15 Minutes, Come In & Kill Everybody"
Sammy speaks on the murder of fellow Rampers member, Gerry Pappa who was killed as revenge for killing Colombo crime family caporegime Thomas "Shorty" Spero. 
19m 23s
Mar 2018
Hernan Cortes
Hernan Cortes was born in 1485 in Medellin, Spain. From an early age, he sought adventure and romance, which led him to trouble throughout his life. He grew to be one of the first Spanish conquistadors who brought European culture to the Americas. His legacy lives on as both a he ... Show More
53m 33s
Oct 2024
The Menendez Murders / Part 2 // 445
In August of 1989, two brothers entered their parents’ Beverly Hills mansion, and shot them multiple times, killing them almost instantly. When police arrived, the men maintained that the murders had taken place while they were at the movies, which police initially believed. But ... Show More
1h 30m
Nov 2022
Carl Panzram: A Life of Killing, Raping, and Vengeance
Charles "Carl" Panzram (June 28, 1891 – September 5, 1930) was an American serial killer, spree killer, mass murderer, rapist, child molester, arsonist, robber, thief, and burglar. In prison confessions and in his autobiography, Panzram confessed to having committed twenty-one mu ... Show More
35m 31s