“There’s a pyramid in the cow pasture”

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In 1986, Niki Lopez lives with her family at 717 Bushwick Avenue, home to a secretive group called the Nuwaubian Nation in the heart of Brooklyn–alarmingly, in 1993, the whole community vanishes without a trace. Nearly ten years later, on May 8th, 2002, over 200 federal agents prepare to storm a seemingly “ancient Egyptian” compound in rural Putnam County, Georgia. Inside, nearly 200 families live under the control of Nuwaubian Nation leader, Dwight “Malachi” York. In order to get justice for all the victims before it’s too late, it’s up to Niki to escape, confront her past, and expose the truth behind one of the darkest cases in American history.

Niki founded her organization “What’s Your Elephant”, which aims to empower individuals from all walks of life to use the arts to tell their stories: https://whatsyourelephant.org/

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Written, directed & edited by Matthew Rice

Researched by Bianca Yzabelle Tan

Voiceover by William Akana

Produced by Alexandra Salois & Salim Sader

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Sources

The Nuwaubian Nation, How I Escaped My Cult: Freeform, 2025

United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, People Magazine Investigates: Cults: MMXVIII Discovery Communications LLC, 2018

Nuwaubian Nation, FOX5 Eyewitness News, 1998

Waco: The Inside Story, Frontline PBS, 2018

Mysteries Behind Closed Doors: The Dr. Malachi Z. York Case (The Untold Story), ImperialSevens, 2012

Open House visits to the Nuwaubian compound Tama-Re, Jay Humphrey, 2024

Getty Images

Instagram, Niki Lopez

The Waco Massacre: 30 Years On | DARK SIDE OF THE 90'S, VICE TV, 2023

Local Artist Shares Her “Elephant” to Help Empower Women, NBC 6 South Florida, 2019

“I just know it, there’s something wrong with my kids”

On November 11th 2010, cops enter Tina Hermann’s home after receiving a 911 call from her manager Valerie, who reported how unusual it was for her to miss a day’s work without telling anyone. The house is empty, and Tina and her entire family are gone: a suspicious scene reveals bloodstains, motor oil, a Walmart receipt, a missing car, but most shockingly, a woman-size shoe print leaving the home, meaning someone walked out of there, alive, and as the community begins to hunt for the missing family, time is running out for Sarah, who is now trapped in ‘the house of leaves.’

You can donate for Sarah’s ‘Healing Hearts Memorial Fund’ here:https://fairfieldcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1199

“Are you comfortable now? I doubt it.”

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On March 20th, 1999, Cynthia meets up with her friend, never expecting she is minutes away from being abducted. When she wakes up, a chilling voice speaks to her – it's coming from a recording. As her tears dry up, the early memories of her tough childhood revive, and a voice in her heart tells her: escape.

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Written, directed & by Justin Chalifoux

Researched by Tianyi Zhang

Voiceover by William Akana

Produced by Alexandra Salois & Salim Sader

“Where was Daddy, Eric?”

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On August 13th, 1986, in the quiet suburbs of Austin, Texas, 3-year-old Eric Morton is found wandering outside alone. When a neighbor recognizes the boy and brings him back home, he makes a terrifying discovery: Eric’s mother, Christine, has been murdered. Detectives, and the District Attorney quickly hone in on Michael Morton, Eric’s father and Christine’s husband, as their prime suspect, but several key pieces of evidence are missing and the police aren’t revealing the full story. It will take 25 years, and determined lawyer John Raley, to unlock the hidden memories of a scared little boy, free a wrongfully convicted man, and finally catch Christine’s real killer.

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Written, directed & edited by Justin Chalifoux

Researched by Tiffany Loxton

Voiceover by William Akana

Produced by Alexandra Salois & Salim Sader

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Getty Images

Detective Diaries: Guilty Until Proven Innocent, Breaklight Pictures & The Content Group, 2021

60 Minutes: Evidence of Innocence: The Case of Michael Morton, CBS News, 2012

An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story, Glass House Productions, 2013

Michael Morton Interview, Austin American-Statesman, 2014

Morton to be released, KXAN News, 2011

Anderson gets 10 days in jail, community service, KXAN News, 2013

Mark Norwood found guilty of 2nd murder, sentenced to life, KXAN News, 2016

Ex-prosecutor Ken Anderson Jailed 3 Days for Misconduct in Sending Innocent Man to 25 Yrs in Prison, Fox7, 2013

Michael Morton Freed in Texas, innocenceproject, 2011

"If you guys think I'm a suspect, I have a problem with that"

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February 24th 1986 is a typical, sunny Monday in Van Nuys, California—until John Ruetten comes home after work to a terrifying discovery: his wife of 3 months, Sherri Rasmussen, is lying unresponsive on the floor of their condo. As cops question John, he seems genuinely distraught by Sherri's death—but cops don't realize there's something he's not telling them. After John’s failed polygraph, they discover that Sherri was being stalked in the weeks leading up to her murder, and this stalker was determined to cover their tracks. As the case goes cold, Sherri's father, Nels Rasmussen, begins piecing together clues, kicking off a 20 year fight to expose what really happened to Sherri, and get justice before it's too late.

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Credits:

Written, directed & edited by Alexandre Gendron

Researched by Amanda Hein

Voiceover by William Akana

Produced by Alexandra Salois & Salim Sader

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Sources:

Getty Images

48 Hours: One of Their Own, CBS, 2010

20/20: The Killer Down the Hall, ABC, 2024

Dateline: Detective Story, NBC, 2019

The Real Murders of Los Angeles: Once Bitten, 44 Blue Productions, 2023

Snapped: Stephanie Lazarus, Jupiter Entertainment, 2012

Stephanie Lazarus - Full Length Police Interrogation Video, Red Circle Interrogations and Confessions, 2020

Top 5 Most Disturbing Details About The Stephanie Lazarus Case, Grunge, 2025

“I bet you didn’t think it was gonna turn out like this"

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February 4th, 2007 – it’s a quiet Super Bowl Sunday in Abilene, Texas, where Charity Lee Bennett is working a busy shift at the local bar, but at around midnight, cops arrive at the bar, demanding to speak with Charity. Just hours earlier, a 911 dispatcher received a frantic call from her 13 year old son Paris, saying he just found his younger sister Ella, covered in blood – with the babysitter nowhere to be found. As Charity rushes back home to her kids, she has no idea that she will be thrown into the most unthinkable and disturbing betrayal: what really happened to Ella that night, and what does Paris have to do with it?

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Charity has written a book, "How Now, Butterfly?" which is a memoir about her personal grief & healing journey: https://www.amazon.ca/How-Now-Butterfly-Survival-Transformation/dp/1948239647

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Credits:

Written, directed & edited by Matthew Rice

Researched by Bianca Yzabelle Tan

Voiceover by William Akana

Produced by Alexandra Salois & Salim Sader-

Sources:

Getty Images

The Family I Had, Motto Pictures, 2017

Inside Evil with Chris Cuomo: Murder in the Family, CNN, 2019

Charity Lee Interview, Solminod, 2012

"Oh... he's still alive?"

July 31st 1995, Baraboo police department receives a 911 call in which a teenager calmly claims he is trapped in a house and has both his legs fractured. Little do they know, the caller, 13 year old Thad Phillips, is two hours away from death due to internal bleeding, in the house of a school mate. After two days of torment and two failed escapes, he becomes the only survivor in the hand of the notorious teen serial killer Bonebreaker, carrying the key to solving another mysterious “accidental” death from a year ago.

Credits:

MA:

A World Of Plucking - Frank Schlimbach -

PRO:

BMISuspensful Mind - SynergyMusicUA - ASSET ID: # 1113983

ANW:

Something In The Shadow - Luke Richards

Pathogen - Dan Skinner & Adam Skinner

Track And Trace - James Copperthwaite & Jonathan Buchanan

Damaged - David TObbin, Jeff Meegan, Jason Pedder & Ashley Barnes

Case Remains Open - Pete Masitti & John Andrew BarrowHidden Case - Igor Dvorkin, Duncan Pittock & Ellie Kidd

Mystery Case - Igor Dvorkin & Ellie KiddHostage Situation - Luke Richards

In Case Of Emergency - Mark Petrie & Brandon Yingho Lau

Shadow Of A Memory - Mark PetrieFinal Conclusion - Mark Petrie"