The Crime Shack Podcast
The Crime Shack is a podcast created and hosted by Michelle Pense, that dives into the details of various crime cases that have occurred around the world. The Crime Shack provides factual information on each case, as well as personal perspective and commentary. (Content may contain elements that are not suitable for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Views and opinions expressed in this podcast and on our website are our own and do not represent that of law enforcement or any other person involved or otherwise in the case. We make every effort to ensure that the information we...
EP41: Russell and Shirley Dermond
In the tranquil setting of Lake Oconee, Georgia, the peaceful existence of Russell and Shirley Dermond was violently disrupted by a sinister act that baffled investigators and sent shockwaves through the community. Picture this: a quiet lakeside home, a retired couple enjoying their golden years. But in 2014, their serene life took a dark turn when Russell was found decapitated and Shirley was nowhere to be found. Was it a targeted attack? A botched robbery? Or something even more sinister?
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EP40: Greg Mulvihill and Diana Lovejoy
In September of 2016, California tech-businessman and father of one, Greg Mulvihill, was shot after being lured to a dark, secluded California trail. The subsequent and shocking investigation into the shooting began to peel back layers of deception, exposing a sinister plot, plagued by manipulation and treachery.
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EP39: The Keddie Cabin Murders
On April 11, 1981, a mother and two teenage boys were found brutally murdered in their cabin at the Keddie Resort, in the small town of Keddie, California. The woman's youngest daughter was missing and presumed abducted from the scene, until a shocking discovery three years later. Â
The investigation into what became known as the "Keddie Cabin Murders" has been marked by a series of missteps and controversies. Despite extensive investigations and a multitude of suspects, no one has been charged with the murders. The case has inspired numerous theories and speculations, ranging from drug deals gone wrong to p...
EP38: The Eastburn Family Murders
The Eastburn family murders was a case that shocked the community of Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1985. On the morning of May 9, 1985, the wife and two daughters of military Captain Gary Eastburn were found brutally murdered in their home. The lone survivor of the tragedy, the Eastburns’ 21 month old baby, was left in her crib, unharmed.
Investigators discovered that Gary Eastburn had been away on a military training exercise at the time of the murders, and Kathryn Eastburn had been at home alone with her three children. That left investigators to find out who would want to ki...
EP37: The Murder of Craig Rideout
During the early morning hours of July 20, 2016 the body of Craig Rideout was found in a wooded field in Yates County, New York. His remains were wrapped in a tarp, and his face and hands had been disfigured by some kind of caustic chemical in order to mask his identity.Â
Investigators were baffled as to who would want to murder this father of seven, but numerous missteps from the suspects would lead them directly back to Craig’s own family.
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EP36: Paris Lee Bennett

In 2007, a Texas single mother of two is told that her 4-year-old daughter has been viciously assaulted and murdered in her own home. When she finds out who the perpetrator of this heinous atrocity is, she is faced with the choice of forgiveness or the loss of both of her children.
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EP35: The McMartin Preschool Trials

In 1983, an accusation was made by the parent of a toddler who attended a Southern California preschool. That single accusation launched an investigation that resulted in hundreds of children bringing accusations of abuse and satanic rituals against the small family-run business.
The controversial case and ensuing trials would go down as one of the longest and most expensive criminal investigations in American history. Were hundreds of children actually abused, or did an overzealous investigation result in a witch hunt?
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EP34: Neighborhood Vengeance • William "Billy" Woodward

On Labor Day, 2012, a vicious neighborhood feud over a missing birthday present led to the brutal massacre of two people in a quiet Florida community.Â
Were relentless months of taunts and bullying a sufficient reason to invoke Florida's Stand Your Ground Law, or was it cold-blooded premeditated murder?
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EP33: Amber & Josh Hilberling

In 2011, Josh Hilberling fell to his death from his 25th-floor apartment in Tulsa Oklahoma. Digging into Josh and his wife Amber's volatile relationship would lead investigators to question whether or not this was simply an accident, or if it was murder.
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EP32: Web of Lies • Chandler Halderson

In July 2021, Chandler Halderson of Wisconsin filed a missing person's report for his parents: 50-year-old Bart Halderson and 53-year-old Krista Halderson. He told authorities that on July 2, 2021, his parents had been picked up by unknown "friends" before they headed to a rustic cabin three hours away. They never returned. It wasn't long before Chandler's story began falling apart, and his intricate web of lies began to quickly - and horrifically - unfold.Â
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EP31: Abducted and Murdered • Cherish Perrywinkle

8 year old Cherish Perrywinkle went shopping with her mom Rayne and two younger sisters at a Florida Walmart on June 21, 2013, when they were approached by a seemingly generous stranger. Within a couple of hours, surveillance video would show Cherish walking out of Walmart with the stranger, never to be seen alive again.
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EP30: A Killer Party • Tyler Hadley

On July 16, 2011, troubled teen Tyler Hadley threw the "party of the year" in Port St. Lucie Florida. About a hundred attendees showed up at the Hadley home to drink, do drugs and party through the night and until the early morning hours.
Unbeknownst to the partygoers, just hours earlier Tyler had bludgeoned his parents to death...and their bodies were still in the house.
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EP29: Darlie Routier

“Somebody came in, they broke in and just stabbed me and my children!”Â
On June 6, 1996, Darlie Routier and her two sons, Devon and Damon, were attacked by an unknown intruder in the middle of the night. Darlie's husband Darin and her infant son Drake were asleep upstairs at the time, and were unharmed.Â
An investigation into the brutal attack revealed disturbing evidence that questioned Darlie’s account of the events of that night.
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EP28: The Epidemic of U.S. Mass Schools Shootings

Within a span of 10 days, 21 men, women and children were murdered in New York and Texas by two lone gunmen. Following these massacres, there is shock, horror, public outcry, and even worse, a resolve and hopelessness that this has become our reality.
Numerous research and studies have been done to try to answer why these mass shootings occur, but tragically nothing is ever done to prevent them from happening.
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EP27: The Disappearance of Suzanne Morphew

On Mother's Day 2020, 49-year-old Suzanne Morphew went for a bike ride in Salida, Colorado, and never returned. She was reported missing, and the investigation that proceeded over the next two years appeared to point to a clear cause for her disappearance; but digital and vehicle forensic technology, sketchy politics, and a chipmunk alibi put doubt in authority's assumptions about what had actually happened to Suzanne.
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EP26: The Ice Chest Murder • Thomas Capano

In 1996, an American lawyer who had a reputable and prominent career, and an enviable life, was accused of murdering his former lover, 30 year old Anna Marie Fahey.Â
The headline-making trial that ensued, weaved a tale of politics, wealth, arrogance, and family betrayal, and rocked the state of Delaware.
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EP25: The Murder of Michele MacNeill

Respected Utah doctor Martin MacNeill was seemingly a good father to his eight children, but when his wife Michele suddenly died in 2007, an investigation into the death uncovered a web of lies and a hidden life that had spun out of control.
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EP24: Mysterious Cruise Ship Death of George Allen Smith

On the early morning of July 5, 2005, as the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas was on its Mediterranean voyage, newlywed George Allen Smith mysteriously plunged from the balcony of Stateroom 9062, never to be seen again. As the investigation into George’s disappearance ramped up, homicide was suspected.
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EP23: The Caffey Family Murders

Two men broke into the Caffey family home in Alba Texas on March 1, 2008 and went on a murderous rampage that left two young children and their mother dead. The investigators, and the father who survived the tragic event, were shocked when they learned who orchestrated and planned the horrendous killing spree.
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EP22: 1100 Miles to Murder: Teresa Sievers

In June 2015, holistic medicine physician Teresa Sievers was attacked and brutally murdered in her Bonita Springs Florida home. Who would want to kill a successful doctor was a mystery to authorities, until the plot to murder her was uncovered, and the shocking mastermind behind it was revealed.
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EP21: The Bizarre Disappearance of Brandon Lawson

In August 2013, 26 year old Brandon Lawson ran out of gas on a remote highway near Bronte, Texas and vanished without a trace. A strange 911 call deepened the mystery and lead to many conspiracy theories, but what really happened to Brandon that night leaves us with more questions than answers.
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EP20: Concrete, Potting Soil and Lies: The Murder of Taylor Wright

In September 2017, private investigator Taylor Wright went missing. She'd entrusted her close friend Ashley McArthur with a substantial amount of her money for safekeeping, not knowing that it would lead to deadly repercussions.
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EP19: Camp Scott: Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders

In the summer of June 1977, three young girls were found brutally murdered at a Girl Scout campground in Oklahoma.
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What came to be known as the largest and longest manhunt for the perpetrator in Oklahoma history ensued, but the mystery of whether authorities actually captured the real killer, remains.
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EP18: Bizarre Disappearance of Girly Chew Hossencofft

A woman goes missing during a bitter divorce battle, leading investigators into a bizarre world of aliens, conspiracy theories, cannibalism and conmen.
What happened to Malaysian-born Girly Chew Hossencofft on September 9, 1999 was one of the most bizarre murder cases in Albuquerque New Mexico history.
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EP17: The Murdaugh Murders

On June 7, 2021 the lives of the prominent Murdaugh family of South Carolina changed forever. A tragic double murder shrouded in mystery, shined the spotlight on the Murdaugh's legal dynasty, a tragic boat crash, and it’s possible connection to a 2015 cold case.
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EP16: Deadly Dad, John Battaglia

John Battaglia was a handsome, charming and well-educated accountant living in downtown Dallas Texas. Though viewed by friends and colleagues as a loving, doting father to his daughters, John had a much darker side.
In May 2001, newly divorced from his second wife Mary Jean Pearle, he would unleash that dark side in an ultimate and fatal act of revenge.
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EP15: The Strange Murder of Robert Eric Wone

32 year old Robert Wone, a lawyer from Oakton, Virginia, was staying overnight at the Washington D.C. home of college friend Joseph Price on August 2, 2006, when he was viciously attacked in the middle of the night. The police investigation revealed that the crime scene was staged, and that the three residents that were in the house at the time of the attack who were all unharmed, knew more than they were letting on.
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EP14: The Monster Preacher, Gary Hiednik

Gary Heidnik was a Philadelphia murderer who kidnapped, tortured, and raped six women. Two of the women did not make it out of his basement alive.
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Heidnik claimed insanity, but in July 1999, he was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection.
Gary Heidnik was part of the inspiration of the Buffalo Bill character in Thomas Harris's 1988 novel, The Silence of the Lambs, and its 1991 film adaptation.
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EP13: Krim Family Murders: Yoselyn Ortega

On October 25, 2012 Marina Krim arrived at her Manhattan apartment, trying to locate her two children, six year old Lucia “Lulu” and her 2 year old son Leo who had been with their nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, that day.
What Marina found in the bathroom of her apartment was unimaginable, and would change her and her families lives forever.
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EP12: Parkland School Shooting: Nikolas Cruz

On February 14, 2018 former 19 year old student, Nikolas Cruz, walked into a three-story building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - immediately before school was to end for that day - and began shooting. Â
In this episode, we dive into Cruz' disturbing past that led up to that fateful day, and the devastating aftermath, of what was to become the deadliest high school shooting in United States history.Â
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EP11: Halloween Edition

In this special seasonal episode, I'll be discussing two cases that occurred on the night of October 31st:
William "B.J." Liske: A family of three are brutally murdered while in their beds in rural Martin, Ohio. Details of a troubled family member surface as investigators begin to search for the perpetrator.ÂSHE’S BIRDIE Safety Alarm:
EP10: Dorothea Puente “The Death House Landlady”

In the 1980’s, Dorothea Helen Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento California for the elderly, drug addicted and mentally disabled. As part of their agreement in renting a room in Dorothea's house, she would retrieve her tenants' daily mail, cash their social security checks and give them only a portion of the money...and if they refused or gave her problems about it, they would mysteriously disappear.
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EP09: "Behind Closed Doors" The Turpin Family

In the early morning of January 14, 2018, with the help of a 17 year old girl, authorities would come to discover the shocking truth behind the Turpin family of Perris, California. The Turpin’s had the appearance of a perfect, happy and successful family. David and Louise Turpin and their 13 homeschooled children would go on adventures to Disneyland and Las Vegas, never bringing suspicion to those around them or to their family members that anything was wrong.
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EP08: The Pike County Murders: Part 2

In the middle of the night or early morning of April 21st and 22nd of 2016, eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families were murdered - execution-style - in their homes in Pike County Ohio.
In Part 2, we continue to follow the extensive 2 1/2 year investigation as authorities narrow in on the suspects. The evidence in the investigation is revealed, as well as the shocking potential motive behind the killings.
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EP07: The Pike County Murders: Part 1

In the middle of the night or early morning of April 21st and 22nd of 2016, eight members of the Rhoden and Gilley families were murdered - execution-style - in their homes in Pike County Ohio.
This episode is a multi-part series that details the events of this brutal slaying of almost an entire family, and the extensive two-year investigation that follows.
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EP06: Geza de Kaplany "The Acid Doctor"

Geza de Kaplany, also known notoriously as “The Acid Doctor,” was a Hungarian doctor who immigrated to the United States in the 1950’s. In 1962, Geza met and quickly fell in love with a fellow Hungarian immigrant, Hajna Piller, who was a model and dancer. After only being married for a couple of months, Geza heard a rumor about his new wife that angered him, causing him to mutilate her and kill her in their San Jose California apartment.
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EP05: Christy Sheats and Cynthia Kessler Collier: Maternal Instincts

Maternal filicide is a term used to describe when a mother murders her own child or children. This is a rare and uncommon type of crime that begs the question “what would cause someone to do something so horrendous?”Â
In this episode we discuss a couple of cases that occurred within the last 5 years, of maternal filicide where two seemingly good and loving mothers commit the unimaginable.
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EP04: Harold Henthorn: Mystery on Deer Mountain

In September of 2012, Toni Henthorn, a 50 year old ophthalmologist, fell more than 120 feet off a cliff to her death on Deer Mountain Trail in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. She was on an anniversary hike with her husband of 12 years, Harold Henthorn. Unbeknownst to Toni, Harold had obtained life insurance policies on his wife totaling millions of dollars. In 1995, 17 years prior to that event, Harold’s previous wife Lynn, also died a suspicious death by being crushed to death underneath their vehicle while her husband was changing a tire. Harold Henthorn was arrested and charged with Toni’s murd...
EP03: Natascha Kampusch and The Secret Cellar

Natascha Kampusch, an Austria native who lived with her family in a suburb of Vienna, Austria, was abducted by a stranger named Wolfgang Přiklopil on March 2, 1998. For 8 ½ years she was held captive in a custom built cellar Wolfgang Přiklopil’s house and “thought only of escape” during her entire time imprisoned. She escaped on August 23, 2006, and has since written a book, 3096 days, describing her ordeal.
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EP02: The Incident by the Pool: Honey & Barry Sherman

Barry and Honey Sherman, Toronto residents, were known by many to give generously to multiple charities and were close with their family and friends. Barry was the founder of Apotex, Inc. a global pharmaceutical company, and he and his wife Honey were heavily involved in philanthropy. Before heading to a planned trip to Miami, Florida, Barry and Honey Sherman were found strangled in the basement of their Toronto home, on the deck of their own pool.
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