Was Richard Ramirez born to become the Night Stalker—or was he created?

Before Richard Ramirez terrorized California as the Night Stalker, he was a quiet kid from El Paso who showed few of the early warning signs we associate with psychopathy. But over time, the ingredients began to accumulate: possible prenatal toxic exposure, neurological problems, violence at home, drugs, sexual fantasy, and the extraordinary influence of a cousin who introduced him to images and stories of rape, torture and murder.

In this episode, I’m joined by forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston to retrace Ramirez’s life and examine how those influences came together. We follow his progression from childhood to burglary, sexual violence and ultimately murder, while exploring the psychology behind his crimes, his seemingly unpredictable choice of victims, and the Satanic persona that helped turn him into one of the most feared serial killers in American history.

Show Notes:

If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.

Read it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/

For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.

Join here:
https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

What is it like to survive an encounter with a serial killer—and then learn what he did to the men who came after you?
In this episode of UNMARKED Case Notes, I sit down with Mark Henderson, a survivor of Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur.

Mark takes us inside his encounter with McArthur: how they met, what happened between them, the details that have stayed with him, and what it was like to later discover that McArthur had murdered eight men.

We also talk about the Bruce McArthur investigation, the warning signs that were missed, and what Mark’s experience reveals about the man behind one of Canada’s most notorious serial murder cases.

This is a firsthand account of Bruce McArthur from someone who encountered him—and survived.

#BruceMcArthur #TrueCrime #SerialKiller #SurvivorStory #CaseNotes

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on YouTube or Apple Podcasts, DM @unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @JamesBuddyDay.

A deeply polarizing story is unfolding in Massachusetts, where a young mother is accused of killing her three children inside their family home. As the case moves forward, it has sparked fierce debate over mental health, motherhood, responsibility—and whether the devastating events of that day could have been prevented in the days leading up to the tragedy..

In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the final arguments in the Lindsey Clancy case and what we know about the insanity defense.

Then we get into your questions: How did Charles McArthur hide in plain sight for so long, why do siblings of serial killers often have normal lives, and which serial killer would James would most like to sit.

How did Bruce McArthur murder eight men in Toronto’s Gay Village while hiding in plain sight?

In this episode of UNMARKED, James Buddy Day returns to Toronto to retrace the footsteps of one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers—speaking with people who knew McArthur, walking the streets where he found his victims, and revisiting the properties where he concealed their remains.

Drawing from Buddy’s original investigation for the Canadian Screen Award-winning documentary Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur, we examine McArthur’s double life, his psychology and evolving fantasies, the murders of eight men, and the extraordinary opportunities police had to identify him before his eventual arrest.

Why did investigators fail to stop McArthur despite witnesses, previous arrests, survivors, and his name appearing in an earlier investigation? And what does his case reveal about the vulnerable populations serial killers choose to target?

Research in This Episode:

Aggrawal, A. (2009). A new classification of necrophilia. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 16(6), 316–320.

Show Notes:

If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.

Read it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/

For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.

Join here:
https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

What do people really want to know about serial killers?
Are serial killers born or made? What actually defines a serial killer? And are female serial killers different from their male counterparts?

In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I sit down with forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston to tackle some of the most frequently asked—and most misunderstood—questions about serial killers.

From the psychology behind repeated murder to the differences between male and female offenders, we separate popular mythology from what the research actually tells us.

Read Dr. Johnston’s book: Serial Killers—101 Questions True Crime Fans Ask

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on YouTube or Apple Podcasts, DM @unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @JamesBuddyDay.

A disturbing investigation is unfolding in Philadelphia, where police say evidence recovered from a home on West Chew Avenue appears to show two missing women deceased—and investigators are examining an enormous collection of images, videos and writings connected to the property.

In our first Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the Eugene Horsch case and what we actually know so far.

Then we get into your questions: the lack of victim blood reportedly found in Bryan Kohberger’s car, the Erin Caffey case, and the blood evidence from the Manson murders.

What made Ed Kemper capable of becoming one of America’s most notorious serial killers?

In this episode of UNMARKED, I retrace the life and crimes of Edmund Kemper—the so-called “Co-Ed Killer”—with renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kent Kiehl, sometimes called “The Psychopath Whisperer.”

Dr. Kiehl has spent decades studying psychopathy, interviewing hundreds of offenders and using brain imaging to investigate what happens inside the minds of people with extreme psychopathic traits. His connection to the Kemper story goes back to his earliest days studying forensic psychiatry, when he encountered Kemper at California’s Vacaville correctional facility.

Together, we examine Kemper’s neurological vulnerability, his volatile relationship with his mother, the violent fantasy world he develops as a child, the murder of his grandparents at fifteen, his release from psychiatric custody, and the circumstances that eventually give him access to a vulnerable population of young women hitchhiking through Northern California.

Featuring Dr. Kent Kiehl and Christine Falco of Ed Kemper Stories.

Research in This Episode:

Stein, Michelle L., Louis B. Schlesinger, and Anthony J. Pinizzotto. “Necrophilia and Sexual Homicide.” Journal of Forensic Sciences 55, no. 2 (2010): 443–446.

Cherry, Kendra. “What Are Freud’s Stages of Human Development?” Verywell Mind. Updated July 5, 2026. Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD.

Show Notes:

If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.

Read it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/

For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.

Join here:
https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

What does Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes get right about Charles Manson—and what does it leave out?

In this episode of Case Notes, I’m joined by George Stimson, author of Goodbye Helter Skelter and a longtime associate of Charles Manson, to break down and react to the new Netflix documentary series Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes.

George knew Manson personally for years and has challenged the traditional Helter Skelter narrative surrounding Manson and the Tate-LaBianca murders. We discuss his reaction to the Netflix series, what he believes it gets right and wrong, Manson’s relationship with his followers, and how more than fifty years of books, documentaries and competing firsthand accounts have shaped our understanding of the case.