An 81-year-old farmer.

A phone call about a loved one in danger.

And a woman in a black Acura looking for the package.

What happens next leaves two families shattered—and one question that still doesn’t have a clear answer.

This is the devastating case of William Brock and Lo-Letha Toland-Hall.

Thank you for supporting the show!

Sources

• Court TV / Vinnie Politan Investigates — broadcast transcript + case coverage
• Springfield News-Sun — pretrial filings, scam sequence detail, sentencing coverage
• CNN — Lo-Letha Hall profile, Mario Hall interviews, verdict and sentencing reports
• WKBN — William Brock trial testimony coverage
• WDTN — trial day three, verdict report
• WHIO / News Center 7 — indictment, jury selection, sentencing
• Dayton 24/7 Now (WKEF/ABC6) — arrest, arraignment, dashcam release
• WOSU Public Media — post-indictment case summary
• CBS News — verdict and deliberation time
• AP / Springfield News-Sun wire — indictment and charge details
• 10TV Columbus — case coverage
• Clark County Sheriff's Office — incident report, press releases
• Clark County Prosecutor Daniel Driscoll — public statements
• Uber — public statement re: banned account
• FBI — confirmed awareness of case (no further comment per DOJ policy)

In the fall of 1986, five women disappeared from Perth, Australia within just five weeks. With no clear connection between them, police struggled to understand what was happening—until a 17-year-old girl escaped from captivity and led investigators straight to a suburban home hiding unimaginable crimes.

This is the story of Mary Neilson, Susannah Candy, Noelene Patterson Parr, Denise Keren Brown and Kate Moir.

Sources

• Wikipedia — "David and Catherine Birnie"
• The West Australian — "Survivor wants Birnie forgotten"
• ABC News Australia — "Serial killer refused parole"
• Yahoo News Australia — "'Monster' serial killer could get parole"
• Yahoo News Australia — "How a young girl and rookie cop caught serial killers David and Catherine Birnie"
• The Line-Up — "Moorhouse Murders: The Killers May Have Inspired 'Hounds…'"

After a week-long vacation, Lars Mittank should have boarded a flight home to Germany.

Instead, he ran.

What followed was a decade-long mystery filled with paranoia, unanswered questions, and four competing theories, none of which fully explain what happened.

This is the missing persons case of Lars Mittank.

Sources

Wikipedia — Disappearance of Lars Mittank
Crime & Investigation — The Disappearance of Lars Mittank: Overview & Analysis
People — All About Lars Mittank’s Mysterious Disappearance
All That’s Interesting — The Disappearance of Lars Mittank And The Haunting Case
Mirror — Chilling Mystery of the ‘Most Famous Missing Person’
AOL — Lars Mittank Was Last Seen Sprinting Toward a ForestDark Tales — The Disappearance of Lars Mittank
True Crime Society — Lars Mittank Case Overview
Reddit — Lars Mittank Disappearance Discussion (compiled timeline)

Before the Hinterkaifeck murders, the family noticed warning signs they couldn’t explain: footsteps overhead, a newspaper no one ordered, and tracks in the snow that led to the house but never away. What followed was a crime so unsettling it still has investigators, historians, and true crime fans asking the same question over 100 years later: who or what was inside that farmhouse?

This is the case of Andreas Gruber, Cäzilia Gruber, Viktoria Gabriel, Cäzilia, Josef and Maria Baumgartner.

Sources

• Wikipedia — Hinterkaifeck Murders
• onoff.gr — Hinterkaifeck Farm: 6 Dead and the Killer Lived There
• The True Crime Database — Hinterkaifeck Murders
• Mental Floss — The Chilling Story of the Hinterkaifeck Killings
• Headcount Coffee — The Unsolved Hinterkaifeck Murders
• Headcount Coffee — Hinterkaifeck Footprint Analysis
• StrangeCo Blog — The Hinterkaifeck Mystery
• Kim Parr (Medium) — Horror at Hinterkaifeck, Part II
• Jack Rosewood — The Hinterkaifeck Murders
• 10 Minute Murder — Six Murders, No Answers

For years, the small town of Skidmore, Missouri lived under the shadow of one man. Accused of dozens of crimes and known for intimidation tactics that kept witnesses silent, he seemed untouchable. But in the summer of 1981, everything changed. What happened next would leave investigators stunned, a community silent, and a case that remains unsolved to this day.

This is the case of Ken McElroy

Sources

• In Broad Daylight by Harry N. MacLean
• Wikipedia (Ken McElroy case, cross-referenced)
• A&E — case feature
• Fox2Now — reporting
• Crime Library
• Mental Floss
• Morbidology
• Patch
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (grand jury documentation)
• All That’s Interesting
• Northwest Missouri News
• Weird History (limited, corroborated details)

In April 1992, 24-year-old Lisa Ziegert vanished while closing a small-town card shop in Agawam, Massachusetts. Her belongings were left behind. The store showed signs of a struggle. And just days later, the worst was confirmed.

Despite DNA evidence and hundreds of leads, the case went cold—leaving a community shaken and a family searching for answers for decades. That is until phenotyping narrowed down the suspect pool in 2016.

This is the story of Lisa Ziegert… and the mystery that refused to stay buried.

Sources

• A&E Documentary Transcript
• Hampden County District Attorney Press Releases (Sept 18, 2017; Sept 25, 2019)
• WWLP News (Sept 26, 2019)
• Oxygen / Dateline: Unforgettable
• Mystery Delver – Agawam’s Agony
• Catt’s True Crime Corner
• Sportskeeda
• Unsolved Mysteries (unsolved.com / Wiki)

In May 2004, three suitcases were pulled from the Chesapeake Bay, each containing part of the same unidentified man. As investigators worked to piece together his identity, they uncovered a timeline filled with what seemed like an open and shut case. That is, until the contradictions, missing evidence, and unanswered questions from the defense arise.

Is there enough for reasonable doubt? You tell us!

Sources

• State v. McGuire (2011), New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division — Justia
• Trial Opening Statements, State v. McGuire (March 5, 2007)
• Dr. Bradley Miller Trial Testimony, State v. McGuire
• NBC News — “Murder suspect’s ex-lover testifies in her trial” (2007)
• ABC News / 20/20 — “Suitcase Killer Melanie McGuire Defends Innocence” (2020)
• Oxygen — The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher
• New Jersey Attorney General Press Release (April 23, 2007)
• Fox News — “Who Is Melanie McGuire?” (2026)
• Wikipedia — Melanie McGuire Case Summary
• A&E True Crime — “Who Is Melanie Slate McGuire?”
• Starcasm — “Suitcase Killer True Story Melanie McGuire” (2026)
• History.com — “Human Remains Found in Suitcase Near Virginia Beach”
• John Glatt — To Have and To Kill (2010)

Documentaries & Media

• Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story — Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story (available on Netflix)
• 20/20 — “The Secret in the Suitcase” (available on Apple TV)
• 48 Hours — “The McGuire Diaries”
• To Have and To Kill — by John Glatt

In 1994, Alison Botha was abducted, brutally assaulted, and left for dead in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. What followed is one of the most extraordinary survival stories ever documented. Despite catastrophic injuries, Alison not only lived—she identified her attackers and helped bring them to justice. This episode follows the crime, the investigation, and Alison’s unimaginable fight to survive.

To donate to the official Trust Fund that will help Alison with her medical expenses:

Nedbank Trust Account No 1302230492

Alison Trust

For international donations, include SWIFT code NEDSZAJJ

Sources:

• Alison (2016 documentary film), directed by Uga Carlini — featuring Alison Botha, Dr. Comyn, Dr. Dimitri Angelov, Detective Melvin Humpel, Tiaan, and Marianne Thamm
• I Have Life: Alison's Journey by Marianne Thamm (Penguin Random House, 1998)
• Daily Maverick — multiple articles covering the parole decision and Alison's brain aneurysm (2024-2025)
• News24 — reporting on the parole release of Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger (July 2023)
• MISA (Motor Industry Staff Association) press release, July 2023
• South African Government media statements — Minister Pieter Groenewald's parole revocation announcement (February 2025)
• AllThatsInteresting.com — Alison Botha profile
• Nelson Mandela University Council Africa Award citation (2016)