John Wayne Gacy murdered at least 33 young men and boys. But for years after his conviction, attorney Karen Conti sat across from him on death row, trying to understand the man behind one of America’s most infamous serial murder cases.

In this episode of UNMARKED, Conti describes what Gacy was really like behind closed doors: his manipulation, emotional detachment, need for control, and the contradictions that made him so difficult to fully understand. We also examine modern psychological and criminological research surrounding psychopathy, trophy-taking, victim selection, and the environmental patterns that shape serial killers.

Why did Gacy keep victims beneath his own home when most serial killers attempt to distance themselves from the crime? What did he reveal in private that the public never saw? And what happens when someone spends years speaking directly with a man the world has already reduced to a monster?

Show Notes:

Walter, M., Beauregard, E., & Chopin, J. (2024). Trophy, souvenir, or simple theft? Taking items from the victim in sexual homicide. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 42(4), 338–353.

More from Karen Conti here: https://www.karenconti.com/

Follow James Buddy Day on Instagram: @jamesbuddyday

Lean is having a Huge Memorial Day Sale. Visit takelean.com and enter THANK YOU 25 for 25% off.

When writing Buddy uses FÜM — don’t just try to quit. Upgrade the habit loop: .https://tryfum.com/unmarked

If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, Buddy’s book Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7

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

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

Keith Hunter Jesperson wanted to be seen. Between 1990 and 1995, the long-haul truck driver murdered women across the United States while carefully shaping the story around himself. He wrote letters to newspapers. Confessed on truck stop bathroom walls. Participated in psychological research studies about his own behavior. Even donating his brain to science after death. But beneath the “Happy Face Killer” persona is something more revealing: a man driven by grandiosity, callousness, impulsivity, and an insatiable need for recognition.

In this episode of UNMARKED, we examine the psychology of Keith Jesperson through exclusive conversations with author and investigator M. William Phelps, archival interviews with Jesperson himself, contemporary forensic psychology, and the systemic failures that allowed vulnerable victims to go unseen for decades.

You can hear more from M. William Phelps on Crossing the Line:
https://crossingtheline.biz/

This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Financial stress can affect us more than we know: https://www.betterhelp.com/UNMARKED

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday

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

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.

Joel Rifkin confessed to the murders of 17 women in just three years—leaving their remains scattered across Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey.

And for years, no one was looking for him.

In this episode, we examine the case through the lens of N. G. Berrill—one of the first psychologists to evaluate Rifkin after his arrest. Drawing on interviews, court records, and police reports, this is a reconstruction of how Rifkin operated in plain sight—and what allowed him to continue.

From his early life in suburban Long Island, to the environments he exploited, to the moment a routine traffic stop ended it all, this episode breaks down the pattern behind the crimes.

Because this isn’t just the story of one offender.

It’s a case that exposes something larger—how vulnerable populations are overlooked, how investigations fail to connect, and how, in the 1980s and 90s, the rise of “serial killer” culture may have given offenders like Rifkin a framework to follow.

***

This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Financial stress can affect us more than we know: https://www.betterhelp.com/UNMARKED

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday

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

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

Follow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis:
• YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast
• TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast
• Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

“BTK” is one of the most recognizable names in true crime. But it’s also a name that Dennis Rader created.

In this episode, I’m not just looking back at the investigation—I’m speaking to people who have been in direct contact with Rader, hearing from those who have corresponded with him, studied him, and, in some cases, continue to engage with him to this day.

And what becomes clear very quickly… is that “BTK” isn’t just a label. It’s a carefully constructed identity—one that Rader has spent decades shaping, protecting, and reinforcing.

From the way he named himself…to the letters, phone calls, and communications that followed…to how he still presents himself now. In this episode, we break down how Dennis Rader built the identity of BTK—and why, years later, we may still be playing along.

Check out my friends Olivia and Sydney at True Crime Society Podcast. They cover everything true crime—from missing people and cold cases to the latest breaking news.

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday

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

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

Follow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis:
• YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast
• TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast
• Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

Paul Bernardo is one of the most notorious serial offenders in Canadian history. But this episode asks a different question: who was really responsible? Between 1987 and 1993, Bernardo committed a series of violent assaults across the suburbs of Toronto before escalating to the abduction and murder of multiple victims alongside his wife, Karla Homolka.

But the story doesn’t begin—or end—with him. In this episode of UNMARKED, we traveled to Toronto and speak with journalists who covered the case in real time. Drawing from court records, archival reporting, and firsthand accounts, we reconstruct what actually happened—and how it was allowed to happen. Because this case isn’t just about a killer.

We examine:

• 
  The early warning signs and missed opportunities to stop Bernardo
• The Scarborough investigation—and how he was nearly identified
• The role of FBI profiling and how it may have misdirected investigators

• Karla Homolka’s involvement—and the debate over coercion, complicity, and responsibility

This episode goes beyond the headlines—separating fact from mythology, and asking the question that still divides people decades later: Where does responsibility actually lie?

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

***

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday

When life feels overwhelming, therapy can help. Sign up and get 10% off at:
https://www.betterHelp.com/unmarked

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

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

Follow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis:
• YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast
• TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast
• Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

Who is the Times Square Killer—and how many people did Richard Cottingham actually kill?

In this episode of UNMARKED, we reconstruct the timeline of Cottingham’s crimes across New York and New Jersey—tracking his early escalation, his use of deception and control, and how he was able to evade detection for years.

Featuring criminologist Peter Vronsky, who has spent over 700 hours in direct conversation with Cottingham, this episode draws on firsthand interviews, police records, and cold case developments to separate fact from fiction.

We examine:

• 
  Cottingham’s early violent escalation in the 1960s
• His movement across jurisdictions and how it prevented linkage
• His use of authority ruses, manipulation, and control
• The Times Square environment in the 1970s and its role in victim selection

• Ongoing efforts to identify unknown victims and close cold cases

This is not a retelling—it’s an analysis of the evidence itself. Because with Cottingham, the story isn’t just what happened.

It’s what’s missing.

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday

When life feels overwhelming, therapy can help. Sign up and get 10% off at:
https://www.betterHelp.com/unmarked

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

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

Follow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis:
• YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast
• TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast
• Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

In 1992, I wrote to the Milwaukee Police Department and asked for the Jeffrey Dahmer case files. Weeks later, they mailed me his full confession.

In this episode of UNMARKED, I go inside Jeffrey Dahmer’s confession—page by page—to understand how one of the most notorious serial killers in history developed, escalated, and ultimately got caught.

Using Dahmer’s own words, police reports, and expert insight from forensic psychologist Dr. Eric Hickey, this episode examines:

• 
  How Dahmer’s childhood isolation and psychological profile shaped his behavior
• The role of fantasy, control, and fear of abandonment in his crimes
• Why victims were targeted—and why many disappearances went uninvestigated
• The failures of law enforcement that allowed Dahmer to continue killing

• What Dahmer says—and what he leaves out of his confession

This is not a retelling of the crimes. It’s an analysis of the mind behind them.

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

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

Follow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis:
• YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast
• Instagram: @unmarked_podcast
• TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast
• Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.

Ted Bundy didn’t begin with murder. Long before the headlines, before the trials, before the mythology took hold, there were patterns—behaviours that escalated, fractures that widened, and warning signs that, in hindsight, feel impossible to ignore.

In this episode of UNMARKED, we step back from the crimes themselves and examine Bundy at the point of origin. Drawing from psychological analysis, original records, and the work of those who studied him closely, this isn’t a retelling—it’s an investigation into how someone like Bundy takes shape.

Because the public story often begins at the moment of violence. But the real story starts much earlier.

Through the lens of his psychologist, we look at the early formation of control, manipulation, and detachment, traits that would later define one of the most studied serial killers in modern history.

This episode doesn’t mythologize Bundy. It strips the story back to behaviour, evidence, and pattern—so you can see where it actually begins.

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

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

Follow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis:
• YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast
• Instagram: @unmarked_podcast
• TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast
• Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddyday

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.