Crime Salad

On September 30th, 2026, Tennessee gave Christa Pike two full doses of pentobarbital. She lived.

Thirty-one years earlier, Christa was an 18-year-old student at a Job Corps center in Knoxville. In January 1995, she and two others led 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer to an abandoned steam plant and killed her. Christa was sentenced to death at 20, making her one of the youngest women sentenced to death in modern U.S. history.

Ashley and Ricky walk through the whole case: Christa’s childhood, the murder, the trial, three decades of appeals, and an escape plot involving a prison guard. Th...

As Halloween approaches and the leaves change, we're revisiting one of the most controversial and notorious haunted attractions out there: McKamey Manor. Known as the most extreme haunted house experience, McKamey Manor has been pushing the boundaries of fear since 2001. It started as a backyard haunt in a quiet San Diego neighborhood, with the classic jump scares and eerie sounds we all expect. Over time, it transformed into something much darker: a psychological endurance test designed to push people to their limits, both mentally and physically.

Reports describe participants enduring grueling challenges and leaving with bloody faces...

In the early 1990s, the transitioning industrial town of Middletown, New York, became the hunting ground for a ruthless killer. It started with a horrific discovery along abandoned railroad tracks and quickly escalated into a string of brutal murders that paralyzed the Hudson Valley.

In this solo episode, Ashley walks us through the devastating timeline of Nathaniel White. From a bizarre false confession that derailed the entire investigation to the chilling RoboCop 2 connection and finally to the incredibly brave mother and sister who refused to accept the police's "runaway" theory and decided to hunt down the killer...

This week on Crime Salad, Ashley takes the mic solo to break down what authorities are calling one of the most disturbing cases in Philadelphia history. What started as a routine traffic stop involving 44-year-old Eugene Horsch near Independence Mall in June 2026 quickly unraveled a decade-long nightmare centered around a fortified rowhouse at 417 West Chew Avenue in the Olney neighborhood.

Inside the home, investigators uncovered an arsenal of weapons, fake federal badges, a toxic chemical lab wired into the city sewer, five urns containing human remains, and a massive digital archive of 600,000 images and 70,000 videos; OVER ONE...

On the evening of June 9, 1995, a little league baseball game in Alma, Arkansas, provided the perfect cover for a predator. In the short time it took to catch fireflies with friends, six-year-old Morgan Nick vanished from the parking lot. What followed was a 29-year nightmare for her family, decades of missed clues, and a relentless hunt for justice that finally resulted in a massive forensic DNA breakthrough in 2024.

In this episode, we explore the timeline of Morgan's disappearance and the dangerous predators operating during the 1990s. We discuss Billy Jack Lincks’ attempted kidnapping of an 11-year-old girl ju...

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He passed the DNA tests for years. He thought he was completely untouchable. He didn't expect investigators to demand a third test... or for them to discover a surgically implanted tube of donor blood hiding right inside his arm. The medical deception is wild, but his behavior while out on bail is genuinely terrifying. Tune into this week's Crime Salad for the unbelievable case of Dr. John Schneeberger.

Seven agonizing years. Zero traces. And a chilling web of occult obsession, digital breadcrumbs, and a secret confession that finally blew a cold case wide open.

In this episode of Crime Salad, we break down the shocking trial and verdict of the Morgan Bauer murder case. Back in February 2016, 19-year-old Morgan packed up her life in South Dakota and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with a dream of a fresh start. Just weeks later, she vanished completely.

For years, her family fought tirelessly for answers while her killers, Kaytlin Goebel and Jonathan "Alex" Warren, moved on...

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⚠️ LISTENER WARNING: This episode contains highly graphic details of severe, prolonged physical abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

A 13-year-old boy is abducted from his couch in the dead of night and forced into a 43-hour fight for his life.

In July 1995, the quiet town of Baraboo, Wisconsin, was rocked when Thad Phillips was kidnapped and tortured by a local teenager named Joe Clark (later known as the "Baraboo Bone Breaker"). Thad’s miraculous survival and harrowing 911 call didn't just save his own life; his incredible bravery ultimately solved the cold c...

When Andrew Jasmine goes completely silent for two days, his girlfriend is first to notice. From the outside of his LaPlace, Louisiana, home, everything looks perfectly normal. Inside, the living room is spotless. But just down the hall, investigators find a devastating discovery: Andrew has been shot ten times in his own bed. 

Was this a personal attack after a heated argument?

With no DNA left behind and no signs of forced entry, investigators are forced to investigate a list of close friends. The case threatens to go cold until a neighbor’s 911 call about a f...

In November 2023, the tight-knit community of Lacey, Washington, was rocked when a beloved local chiropractor, Dr. Karen Koep, mysteriously failed to show up for work. When deputies arrived at the home she shared with her husband, Davido, they found a chilling scene: the exterior locks had been bizarrely drilled out, and the air was thick with the chemical smell of bleach. Inside, investigators discovered an "unsurvivable" amount of blood, with the frantic tracks of a household vacuum cleaner dragged straight through it. But Karen and Davido were nowhere to be found.

The investigation quickly zeroed in on...

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At 3:13 AM automated Apple SOS crash alert from a daughter's phone would send any parent into a frantic search. This was the terrifying reality for the mother of 20-year-old Melody Hoffman. But instead of a car crash, she found Melody's shattered phone abandoned on an empty road, a discovery that raised a chilling set of questions. Hours later, a devastating find was made in...

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From reversing a vasectomy in secret, to exploiting Western Union loopholes, to fleeing to Eastern Europe, this case proves that the truth is often stranger than fiction. We unpack the devastating financial reality of community property laws, the psychological toll of marital waste, and how a father's desperate fight-or-flight response sparked a viral international manhunt.

Ryan Borgwardt, a local cabinet maker living in Wisconsin with his wife a...

The Empty Casket: The Bizarre Disappearance of Julie Mott

How does a body go missing from a funeral home? After defying the odds and battling cystic fibrosis for 25 years, Julie Mott passed away, only for her remains to be stolen from a San Antonio funeral home in broad daylight just hours after her service. In this episode, we explore the bizarre timeline at Mission Park Funeral Chapels, an obsessive ex-boyfriend, theories of a massive corporate cover-up, and the heartbreaking legal battle that followed.

Where is Julie Mott?

Case Resources & Tips: If you have...

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On a quiet Sunday morning in March 2012, a jogger on Utah’s Jordan River Trail made a gruesome discovery: pools of blood on a pedestrian bridge and a single red sneaker discarded near the water. Hours later, the lifeless body of 15-year-old Annie Kasprzak was pulled from the river.

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What happens when a highly trained, elite narcotics detective realizes the bad guys are having way more fun than the cops? He starts a multi-million-dollar cartel, of course.

This week on Crime Salad, Ashley and Ricky are diving headfirst into an 80s action movie. Andrew Thornton II wasn’t just a cop, he was a wealthy Kentucky blue-blood, a paratrooper, and a licensed lawyer who threw it al...

Today, we have something a little different for you: it’s the first episode of The Snare, from ABC News and 20/20.

The Snare examines the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Angie Dodge, who was killed in her apartment in Idaho Falls in 1996. As investigators hunted for her killer, DNA recovered from the crime scene pointed to an unidentified suspect. Despite the evidence, police built their case against another man, Chris Tapp, securing a conviction that later unraveled while the real killer remained at large. As the years passed, Angie’s mother Carol never gave up on a...

How far would you go to escape the consequences of your own greed?

What happens when a high-flying millionaire's house of cards finally begins to collapse? He vanishes into thin air.

Marcus Schrenker had it all: private planes, luxury sports cars, and a massive French chateau. As a trusted financial advisor, he carved out a highly exclusive niche catering to the "cream of the crop," managing the retirement portfolios of commercial Delta Air Lines pilots. But behind the facade of luxury, Schrenker was secretly draining their life savings through deceptive financial schemes and a completely...

In February 1991, a relaxing family vacation to Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico, transformed into a horrific nightmare. Trish Willoughby, a highly successful business owner from Phoenix, Arizona, was found brutally attacked inside a rental condominium at Las Conchas Beach.

Her husband, Daniel Willoughby, painted the picture of an open-and-shut tragedy, claiming a random local robbery had occurred while he was visiting a nearby museum with their three young children. But back across the border, the ultimate family-man facade was already beginning to crack.

Investigators quickly uncovered a twisted web of intense greed, an unraveling m...

We joined Vanessa Richardson for a special deep dive into the sweetest crime Canada has ever seen. Between 2011 and 2012, a small, organized crew systematically drained nearly $18 million worth of maple syrup from the world's only strategic reserve, replacing it with water, barrel by barrel, while nobody noticed. The ingredients? A government-sanctioned monopoly, a decade-long grudge, and a facility with almost no security. The method? Forklifts, burner phones, and a black market network running from Québec all the way to New England.

Follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes to listen to the full episode: https://pod.l...

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This week, we are re-releasing an episode that has stuck with us deeply while we travel to cheer on our oldest son at his state championship track meet! Please make sure you stick around to the very end of this episode, as we have recorded a massive, brand-new segment covering explosive updates that just broke in early 2026. Coroner's findings as "fiction"?! 

In May 2017, 35-year-old Heather Turner was found unresponsive in her bathroom with a gunshot wound to t...

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Imagine being at the height of your career when the FBI knocks on your door to deliver a terrifying message: someone has paid a dark web hitman to end your life. This week, we dive into the chilling, rapidly unfolding case involving pop singer Jack Avery of the band Why Don't We and the...

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In this episode of Crime Salad, Ricky and Ashley dive deep into the chilling timeline of Joanna's final hours. We expose the massive, unexplained gaps in Mark's alibi, the harrowing paper trail of restraining orders Joanna filed in her early twenties, and the psychological fortress Mark built around his wife after taking control of the Fellowship Baptist...

Two deaths. Same mansion. Two days apart. In Part 2, we walk through the physical evidence in Rebecca Zahau's death: the knife, the gloves, the painted message, the balcony, the knots, the head injuries, and the tape residue almost no one talks about. We get into the independent investigation into Max Shacknai's fall led by his mother Dina, the 2018 civil trial that found Adam Shacknai responsible, the verdict that was later vacated, and what Rebecca's sister Mary is still fighting for today.

Adam Shacknai has consistently maintained his innocence and was never criminally charged. The 2018 civil verdict was...

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In July 2011, two people died at the same mansion in Coronado, California, within a week. First, six-year-old Max Shacknai fell from a second-floor banister while in the care of his father's girlfriend, Rebecca Zahau. Two days later, Rebecca was found hanging from a balcony at the Spreckels Mansion, naked, bound, and gagged. The San Diego Sheriff's Department called it a suicide. Rebecca's family has spent over a decade arguing it was something else entirely.

Need help? National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or visit thehotline.org. Available 24/7, free and confidential.

On April 27, 2024, 30-year-old Mica Francis Miller was found dead at Lumber River State Park in Robeson County, North Carolina. Two days earlier, she had served her husband, Myrtle Beach pastor John Paul Miller of Solid Rock at Market Common, with divorce papers. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide. Her family has never disputed that ruling. What they have disputed, from the day she died, is what was done to her in the 528 days before she...

Egg Harbor Township in South Jersey is a place where community roots run deep, and no one was more rooted than April Christine Kauffman. A beloved local business owner, fiercely outspoken radio personality, and dedicated veterans' advocate, April was a pillar of Atlantic County. But on May 10, 2012, the affluent, quiet neighborhoods of Linwood, New Jersey, were shattered when April was found murdered inside her own home.

In this episode, Ricky and Ashley unpack a case that frustrated a community for years. We dive into the immediate alibi of her husband, prominent endocrinologist Dr. James Kauffman, the shocking...

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⚠️ Listener Discretion is Advised: The following episode contains intense and explicit descriptions of domestic violence, suicide, and a highly traumatic death involving fire. The information presented is based on publicly available records, family statements, and alleged accounts. This podcast is for informational purposes only. We are not law enforcement, legal professionals, or medical experts, and we are not accusing anyone of any crimes.

On February 8, 2018, in the freezing cold of Plymouth, Minnesota, 24-year-old David Elmquist was...

Head to https://www.tryfum.com/SALAD to get your free gift with purchase, and start The Good Habit today!

⚠️ Listener Discretion is Advised: The following episode contains intense and explicit descriptions of domestic violence, suicide, and a highly traumatic death involving fire. The information presented is based on publicly available records, family statements, and alleged accounts. This podcast is for informational purposes only. We are not law enforcement, legal professionals, or medical experts, and we are not accusing anyone of any crimes.

On February 8, 2018, in the freezing cold of Plymouth, Minnesota, 24-yea...

In November 2025, 18-year-old Anna Kepner boarded the Carnival Horizon cruise ship with her family for a six-night Caribbean vacation. On the final sea day, she was found dead, hidden under her bed inside her own cabin. Surveillance footage reportedly showed only one person entering and leaving the stateroom during that window: her 16-year-old stepbrother.

The FBI took over the investigation, and federal homicide charges were eventually filed against the minor suspect. But as the legal process unfolded, court filings, leaked messages, and accusations from family members revealed a much more complicated picture of what was happening inside...

Celebrating years of Crime Salad stories! Here is a throwback: updates at the end of the episode!

On the morning of April 13, 2011, nursing student Holly Bobo was abducted from her family's home in Darden, Tennessee, while her brother watched from inside the house, believing she was walking with her boyfriend. What followed was a three-and-a-half-year search that gripped a small town and drew national attention. When arrests finally came, so did shocking confessions, but allegations of coerced statements, fabricated evidence, and prosecutorial misconduct have left many wondering: was justice truly served? Ashley and Ricky...

In the summer of 2021, in the quiet river city of Auburn, Maine, 27-year-old Celeste Doghmi was at a turning point. After years of struggle and addiction, Celeste had completely turned her life around. She was a devoted new mother, had purchased her first-semester nursing textbooks, and was sharing her pride and love for her infant son on social media every day.

But following a harrowing final video call with a close friend, one that captured a violent domestic dispute, Celeste's digital and physical footprint vanished.

In this episode of Crime Salad, Ashley and Ricky dive...

Head to https://www.tryfum.com/SALAD to get your free gift with purchase, and start The Good Habit today!

This episode contains content related to domestic violence, child neglect, and homicide. Listener discretion is advised.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, help is available around the clock through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. You are not alone.

On the night of January 6th, 1981, Lonene Rogers finished her work shift, picked up her two young children from the babysitter, and...

On August 16, 2015, Sara Easton, a 31-year-old mother of three from Yuba City, California, died from a gunshot wound in her bedroom. Investigators quickly moved toward a suicide ruling. Her family never accepted it.

Sara's husband was Aaron Easton, then-Chief of the Marysville Police Department. And the more forensic details emerged, including the autopsy findings, the toxicology results, the witness accounts, and the history of alleged domestic abuse, the more questions piled up around a case that many believe was never properly investigated.

Was this a suicide? A homicide? And did Aaron Easton's position in law...

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In this episode of Crime Salad, Ashley and Ricky examine the case of Na’Ziyah Harris, a 13-year-old girl from Detroit, Michigan, who disappeared after getting off her school bus on January 9, 2024, near Cornwall Street and Three Mile Drive on Detroit’s east side. What began as a missing child investigation quickly turned into something far more disturbing as detectives uncovered digital messages, witness testimony, and evidence pointing to a hidden relationship that had been unfolding for years.

Listener discretion is advised.

On a cold November morning in 2011, a 911 call shattered the silence along Interstate 77 near Marietta, Ohio. A car sat abandoned against a guardrail. Its lights were on. The driver was nowhere to be found.

Minutes later, another call came in.

A body had been discovered in the roadway.

What followed should have been a straightforward investigation. There were crash reports, phone records, witness statements, and forensic evidence. But as the details began to surface, the story became anything but clear. The death of Jaleayah Davis has raised questions for more than a decade...

Andrew Sadek was a 20-year-old college student at North Dakota State College of Science when he disappeared from his dorm in Wahpeton, North Dakota. Weeks later, his body was found in the Red River. His death was ruled a suicide, but the circumstances surrounding it have continued to raise questions.

In this episode of Crime Salad, we examine Andrew’s case and the broader risks tied to confidential informant agreements, including the pressures placed on young or first-time offenders and the lack of consistent oversight and safety.

For Andrew’s parents, the fight has been endl...

*Listener discretion is advised. This episode contains discussion of sexual violence, severe physical injury, and death.

In the early morning hours of May 2003, a piercing fire alarm shattered the silence inside Hugh Poland Hall at Western Kentucky University. Students poured out into the dark, confused and half-asleep, unaware that behind one closed dorm room door an 18-year-old freshman was fighting for her life. This episode of Crime Salad examines the brutal attack on Katie Autry, a case that shocked the WKU campus, raised questions about campus safety, and continues to spark debate more than two decades later.<...

Ryder was a medically fragile child living with Sanfilippo Syndrome Type IIIB, a rare and terminal neurological disease that required constant specialized care. For years, his survival depended on strict medical routines, equipment management, and a caregiver trained to respond to emergencies. Then a custody battle moved his case from hospital rooms into courtrooms, where legal procedure began to outweigh medical warnings.

In this episode, we examine the timeline of court decisions, ignored medical directives, and the devastating consequences that followed. This is not a mystery of who did it. It is a case that raises difficult...

On December 7, 2003, 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe disappeared while waiting for a bus beneath the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. What should have been a routine trip to Sunshine Plaza became one of the largest missing child investigations in Queensland history, spanning years of public tips, shifting timelines, and missed opportunities.

In this episode of Crime Salad, Ashley and Ricky trace Daniel’s final known movements, the early police response, the flood of leads that overwhelmed investigators, and the long road to answers. Eight years later, an extraordinary undercover police operation finally drew out a conf...

In late spring 2009, Florida State University students in Tallahassee, Florida were wrapping up finals when 23-year-old Rachel Hoffman became the center of a police operation that would end in tragedy. In this episode of Crime Salad, we break down the Rachel Hoffman case, focusing on how a “controlled” and “by-the-book” confidential informant (CI) operation unraveled, and why officers reportedly waited more than 90 minutes after her last contact before launching a search.

Rachel Hoffman was a college student with big plans, described as driven and fearless, working toward her future when she was asked to assist law enforcement as an in...