logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
38m 13s

The Hitman (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

Ballen Studios
About this episode

In April of 1990, a bleary-eyed detective stepped into a townhouse in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The detective had been on call for days, and all he wanted to do was sleep. But now, he’d been called in to investigate a double homicide. The detective opened the door to the basement, and started walking down the steps. The overhead light cast shadows on the floor below, so he couldn’t get a clear look at what he was walking into. Then the detective reached the bottom of the steps, and he suddenly felt wide awake. The scene in the basement was far more gruesome than he’d imagined – two dead bodies lay there on the floor. And there was one thing that jumped out at the detective immediately. On a cardboard box sitting between the bodies, a heart and the letter “U” was scrawled in blood. The detective had no idea if one of the victims had left the message, or if this was a scene staged by a deranged killer… and it would take him six months to get the answer he was looking for… and to discover what really happened in that basement.


For 100s more stories like these, check out our main YouTube channel just called "MrBallen" -- https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBallen

If you want to reach out to me, contact me on Instagram, Twitter or any other major social media platform, my username on all of them is @mrballen

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Yesterday
Cost of Adventure
Today’s podcast will feature 4 stories about adventures… that go wrong. The audio from all four stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTube vi ... Show More
31m 7s
Oct 6
The Monaco Matriarch (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)
On the morning of May 17th, 2014, a detective wrote furiously as she sat next to the hospital bed of a mortally-injured 77-year-old woman. The woman had been in a coma for the last ten days, and the detective had been desperately working to figure out who had tried to kill her. N ... Show More
41m 41s
Oct 2
The Truth Beneath
Today’s podcast will feature 3 stories where things are not what they seem. The audio from all three stories has been pulled from our main YouTube channel, which is just called "MrBallen," and has been remastered for today's podcast.Story names, previews & links to original YouTu ... Show More
32m 44s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 12
This Is Why BTK Is One Of The Most TERRIFYING Serial Killers Ever
On this week’s episode of Hot On The Case, we’re diving into the chilling story of Dennis Rader, the man who called himself BTK. For over three decades, he tormented Wichita, Kansas, taunting investigators with cryptic letters and playing a sinister game of cat and mouse with the ... Show More
43m 54s
Aug 2024
A Conversation with Danny R. Smith of Netflix’s “Homicide: Los Angeles” on Phil Spector, Crime Scene Chaos, and the Toll of Working Murder Cases
The Murder Sheet recently interviewed retired homicide detective Danny R. Smith. Smith appeared in several episodes of the new season of Netflix's docu-series Homicide. Homicide: Los Angeles follows several investigators as they navigate cases like the murder of Lana Clarkson by ... Show More
58m 22s
Jul 2023
EP. 118 TEXAS - She Killed Her Best Friend & Stole Her Baby
At the end of 2019, a puzzling crime rocked the community of Austin, Texas. A mother, Heidi Broussard, had gone missing, along with her daughter... and nobody had a clue where she had went. But when the facts of the case began to emerge, an extremely dark picture was painted... a ... Show More
1h 12m
Sep 19
EP. 216 - PENNSYLVANIA: Hazed To Death: The Murder of Timothy Piazza
In 2017, news of a disturbing crime began to spread across the campus of Pennsylvania State University. A student named Timothy Piazza had been found dead inside of a fraternity house... but what could have possibly happened here? As investigators and the public began to probe in ... Show More
1h 46m
Sep 15
INFAMOUS: The Mulholland Drive Murders
In 2003, an LAPD cold case detective digging through old case files finds a piece of forgotten evidence that belongs to an unidentified woman found murdered off Mulholland Drive in 1969. As he searches for her identity, he uncovers eerie parallels to another young woman killed ne ... Show More
43m 41s
Oct 6
INFAMOUS: The Murdaugh Family Murders
When Maggie and Paul Murdaugh are killed on their family’s estate in 2021, the investigation unravels a history of privilege, corruption, and suspicious deaths tied to one of South Carolina’s most influential families. But beneath the headlines and courtroom drama are stories of ... Show More
56m 1s
Aug 14
133. What Was Hiding in Germany's Göhrde Forest? The Göhrde Murders // DARK SUMMER VOL. 2
Match cakes, cookies, and candy in thousands of fun puzzles, when you download Cookie Jam today using the link: http://jamcity.me/HeartStartsPounding Official Göhrde Police Investigation Website: https://www.pd-lg.polizei-nds.de/startseite/kriminalitaet/deliktsbereiche/cold_cases ... Show More
46m 19s
Sep 7
True Crime This Week: Unsolved Murders
In 1980, Roger Atkison and Rose Burkert were found bludgeoned in an Iowa motel room: no forced entry, no suspects, and a message scrawled on the mirror. And in 1943, rising Hollywood actor David Bacon was stabbed mid-drive, bleeding out as his car idled on a quiet LA street. "Tru ... Show More
45m 34s
Oct 1
MURDERED: Idaho Murders
In November 2022, four University of Idaho students were brutally murdered inside their off-campus home. The killer left behind a trail of evidence: from DNA on a knife sheath to cell phone records and chilling witness accounts. Morgan and Kaelyn unravel the case that shocked a c ... Show More
1h 33m
Feb 2025
EP. 191: GEORGIA - The Child In The Trash Bag: The Disturbing Murder of Amari Hall
In 2021, the body of a young 8-year-old girl named Amari Hall was found wrapped up in a trash bag in a wooded area in Gwinnett County, Georgia. But as investigators pieced together what had happened to her, at the hands of her mothers, an incredibly disturbing story began to unfo ... Show More
2h 7m