The Casual Criminalist

In 1986, Sherri Rasmussen was brutally murdered in her Los Angeles home. Police dismissed it as a botched burglary for twenty-three years. DNA evidence finally revealed the killer was an LAPD detective and her husband's obsessive ex-girlfriend. This chilling case exposes stunning police failures and raises troubling questions about justice.

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For fifteen years, Akku Yadav terrorised the slum of Kasturba Nagar through extortion, murder, and sexual assault while police turned a blind eye. When he threatened the wrong woman in 2004, the entire community finally fought back, cornering him inside a courtroom and delivering their own brutal form of justice.

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Sonia Exelby was a kind, talented music tutor from England who struggled privately with severe mental health issues. Through dark online communities, she connected with Dwain Hall, a Florida man now charged with her murder. Evidence suggests that despite earlier discussions, Sonia changed her mind and desperately wanted to escape.

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For three weeks in October 2002, snipers terrorised Washington DC, killing randomly at petrol stations and car parks. Behind the attacks were John Allen Muhammad, a Gulf War veteran with a troubled past, and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo, whom he had groomed into a killer. This is their chilling story.

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In 2007, Ellen Pakkies strangled her drug-addicted son after six years of abuse, theft, and violence. Her trial revealed a childhood of neglect, institutional failures, and a community ravaged by tik. The judge gave her a suspended sentence. Today, she campaigns for Cape Town mayor, fighting addiction and demanding accountability.

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In 1880s Austin, Texas, a serial killer stalked domestic servants, brutally murdering eight people with axes before vanishing into history. The police failed spectacularly, private detectives proved useless, and two husbands faced murder trials. Was the killer a local man named Nathan Elgin, or did he become Jack the Ripper?

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In 1991, four teenage girls were brutally murdered at an Austin yogurt shop. For decades, the case was plagued by wrongful arrests, coerced confessions, and constitutional violations. Finally, in 2025, advanced DNA testing identified serial killer Robert Brashers as the true perpetrator. Four wrongly accused men were declared factually innocent.

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William Bonin became one of Southern California’s most notorious serial killers. Explore his disturbing crimes, accomplices, victims, failed releases, investigation, confessions, and eventual death-row fate.

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Debra Newell was a successful interior designer who fell for charming doctor John Meehan online. Her daughters sensed something was wrong immediately. What they uncovered was terrifying: a convicted felon, drug addict, and serial con artist who stalked women. When Debra finally tried to escape, John came for her family.

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Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife Michele seemed to have a life defined by love, family, and activism—until their shocking murders exposed a devastating familial tragedy.

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Natalie Wood’s death remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring mysteries. Explore the conflicting accounts, unanswered questions, and investigation that continue to cast doubt over what happened that night.

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The FBI has a history of shocking investigative failures. Explore four controversial cases involving botched investigations, unreliable evidence, corruption, and devastating consequences for victims and their families. Edit description

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Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was a rising music icon whose life ended in a shocking betrayal. Explore her extraordinary journey, tragic murder, Yolanda Saldívar’s trial, and enduring legacy.

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Marta del Castillo vanished in Seville, sparking Spain’s most haunting murder mystery. Explore the investigation, shifting confessions, missing body, disputed evidence, and unanswered questions that continue to haunt the case.

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Was Michael Peterson a cold-blooded killer or the victim of a flawed investigation? Explore the staircase death, shocking evidence, disputed theories, courtroom battles, and the twists that changed everything.

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Meredith Kercher’s murder became one of the world’s most controversial criminal cases. Explore the investigation, Amanda Knox trial, Rudy Guede, disputed evidence, shocking twists, and unanswered questions.

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In this flashback episode, Simon dives into one of Oklahoma’s most baffling mysteries. In 2009, the Jamison family vanished during a trip to the remote San Bois Mountains, leaving behind their truck, personal belongings, thousands of dollars in cash, and their beloved dog.

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A chilling true crime story of Daniel LaPlante, the infamous “Boy in the Walls.” Discover the terrifying home invasion, brutal murders, shocking investigation, and disturbing psychology behind one of America’s most haunting criminal cases.

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A toxic romance, shocking betrayal, and a deadly crash—uncover the chilling Mackenzie Shirilla case, where disturbing digital evidence transformed a tragic accident into one of America’s most haunting murder convictions.

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Beneath Melvin Rees Jr.'s charming musician persona lurked a ruthless predator. Discover the shocking crimes, chilling investigation, and haunting trail of violence that terrorized America during the 1950s and 1960s.

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A mysterious rooftop death, impossible physics, secretive notes, and endless theories. Was Rey Rivera murdered, driven to suicide, or caught in a tragic delusion? Explore one of America’s strangest unsolved cases.

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The shocking true story of Laci Peterson’s disappearance, Scott Peterson’s lies, the investigation, explosive trial, and lasting legacy. Discover the evidence, controversy, and heartbreaking case that captivated America.

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A family tragedy. A notorious kidnapping. A jealous brother consumed by darkness. Explore the shocking true story of Cary Stayner, the Yosemite Park Killer, whose twisted obsession with fame and resentment led to a series of brutal murders that terrorized one of America’s most famous national parks.

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Explore the forgotten terror: Atlanta’s elusive Ripper. Uncover brutal murders, racial injustice, bungled investigations, chilling suspects, and the century-old mystery behind one of America’s most overlooked true crime killing sprees.

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In this flashback episode, what happens when you catch a shark that swallowed another shark that swallowed a human arm? You get the most bizarre unsolved murder in Australian history. We’ll even throw in a second unsolved murder for free.

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The chilling story of Rex Heuermann: how the alleged Gilgo Beach Killer evaded capture for years, leaving a trail of victims, corruption, secrets, and unanswered questions across Long Island's shoreline.

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In this flashback episode, the disappearance of two sisters in Cebu leads to one of the most controversial murder cases in Philippine history.

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Five friends vanished after a basketball game, leaving behind an abandoned car, a frozen mountain mystery, and one missing man never found. Explore the baffling case of the Yuba County Five.

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The tragic story of Kouri Richins shocked America. From grief and suspicion to a children’s book and murder allegations, uncover the disturbing case that blurred love, loss, and betrayal.

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From Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy to the Zodiac Killer, explore the shocking police mistakes, missed warnings, and investigative failures that allowed some of history’s deadliest serial killers to continue unchecked.

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A brutal Bali kidnapping, leaked torture videos, scam call centre allegations, and a dismembered body discovered by a river — the disturbing mystery of Igor Komarov explained.

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Explore Carl Tanzler’s horrifying obsession with Elena de Hoyos—grave robbing, corpse preservation, twisted romance, and eerie experiments—in this chilling true story that inspired comparisons to serial killer Ed Gein himself.

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A 13-year-old vanishes—uncover the chilling truth behind Megumi Yokota’s abduction, North Korea’s secret kidnappings, and a decades-long fight for answers that still shakes global politics today

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A shocking unsolved assassination: Olof Palme’s murder sparks decades of conspiracy theories—from lone killers to global plots—revealing a mystery filled with political intrigue, botched investigations, and unanswered questions

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Five family members murdered in 1985—was it a tragic murder-suicide or a calculated crime? Dive into the White House Farm case, shocking evidence, and the lingering question: was justice truly served?

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Four college students brutally murdered in Idaho. Follow the chilling timeline, investigation, and capture of Bryan Kohberger in this gripping true crime story revealing tragedy, fear, and justice unfolding today.

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A chilling true crime story of Thomas Neill Cream, a Victorian doctor turned serial killer who used poison, deception, and arrogance—until his crimes unraveled and led him to the gallows.

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In this flashback episode: On the 14th of January 1964, the Mexican Police would perform a raid on the Loma del Angel ranch. There, they would uncover multiple mass graves as well as over a dozen malnourished young women who'd been enslaved by the Gonzales sisters - a group of middle-aged sisters who not only ran a prostitution ring together but became infamous for killing more than 100 people over the course of almost 20 years.

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A family lunch turns deadly as hidden motives, poisoned mushrooms, and a web of lies unravel—revealing one of Australia’s most chilling and calculated murder cases.

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A shocking true crime story unraveling Sherri Papini’s mysterious disappearance, dramatic return, and the disturbing truth behind her kidnapping hoax that deceived investigators, family, and the public for years.

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