WILDCIDE

On July 4, 2009, the world woke up to shocking headlines: beloved NFL quarterback Steve McNair had been found dead in a Nashville condo, alongside 20-year-old Sahel “Jenni” Kazemi. What first looked like a mystery quickly unraveled into a tragic tale of obsession, secrecy, and emotional unraveling.

To fans, McNair was the embodiment of grit—a decorated athlete, a husband, and a father of four. But beneath the surface, his life was ...

Step right up, folks—today’s Shortcide takes you on a journey through the wonderfully weird (and slightly horrifying) world of historic freak shows! 🎪 We dig into the strange afterlife of Elmer McCurdy, the outlaw who somehow spent more time touring as a mummy than he ever did causing trouble alive. Then, we honor the story of Julia Pastrana, the incredible performer who deserved so much more than the circus life she was given. Ex...

In this powerful conversation, Sab sheds light on the hidden dangers of honor-based violence, detailing how it continues to affect countless lives across the world. Through her advocacy, she works to raise awareness, support survivors, and fight for a future where no one has to fear violence in the name of family honor.

Sab's courage to speak out is a reminder that honor killings are not just tragic stories but real, preventable cr...

In 2003, Shafilea Ahmed, a 17-year-old British-Pakistani girl, was killed in a brutal act that shocked the world. Behind the walls of a seemingly ordinary family home, Shafilea's desire for independence clashed with her parents' rigid expectations, leading to a tragic and deadly end.

Raised in a family where cultural traditions were enforced without question, Shafilea's growing desire to live life on her own terms set her on a dang...

What happens when love turns deadly? Sharon Graham found herself at the center of a tangled web of emotions, caught between not one, but three men—each unknowingly playing a role in a twisted and dangerous plot. At the heart of this tragic story is Bruce Saunders, a well-liked butcher whose life would be taken by those he trusted most.

As Sharon’s desires and emotions ran wild, her relationship with Greg Roser and Peter Koenig, two...

It's all about Pantera today! In this special episode, we sit down with Michael "Doc" Holt, the cousin of the legendary Abbott Brothers, Darrell "Dimebag" and Vinnie Paul, for an exclusive interview. As one of the few remaining close family members to the Abbott brothers, Doc shares intimate, never-before-heard stories about their childhood, their rise to fame with Pantera, and the deep personal loss he still feels from Dimebag's t...

In this intense episode, we cover one of the most shocking and heartbreaking events in rock music history: the murder of Dimebag Darrell, guitarist of the iconic band Pantera, during a live performance in 2004. The episode delves into the tragic shooting at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, where Darrell and three others—tour manager Chris Paluska, security guard Jeff Thompson, and fan Nathan Bray—lost their lives in an act of br...

In this episode, we dive into the haunting murder of Rhonda “Chantay” Blankinship, whose tragic fate would remain a mystery for over a year. Chantay’s disappearance seemed like an ordinary missing persons case, but what unfolded would leave the small town of Brownwood, Texas, reeling. Her body was found in an abandoned house, brutally beaten and left for dead, but the question remained: Who would do this to someone so loved by all?

In this Shortcide, it's almost as if death itself is playing dirty, pulling off Final Destination-style tricks, taking lives in the most unexpected and bizarre ways. Bailey and Chelsea dive into two of the most perplexing and bizarre cases in recent memory. Bailey covers the eerie deaths of Lucien Perot and Olivier Boudin, two men found dead under mysterious circumstances at a French bistro, their meal left unfinished and their dea...

In September of 1996, tragedy shattered the peace at the historic Snowden House, a grand estate resting in the heart of the Arkansas Delta. It was there that 75-year-old Sally Snowden McKay and her nephew, 52-year-old Joseph Lee Baker, were brutally murdered—a brutal act of violence that stained a home that had stood for generations. The killer? A teenage burglar, Travis Lewis, who had crept onto the property that day with intentio...

In this gripping episode of Wildcide, we sit down with Marie McKenzie, a seasoned Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), to uncover the critical role forensic nurses play in the justice system. Marie shares firsthand experiences from the field, explaining how she conducts forensic exams, supports survivors, and helps build cases against perpetrators. We discuss the emotional toll of the job, the misconceptions about sexual assault i...

Content Warning: This episode discusses sexual violence and drug-facilitated assault. Listener discretion is advised.

Zhenhao Zou appeared to be just another PhD student at University College London—until investigators exposed him as one of the most prolific sexual predators in British history. But beneath the surface, he was hiding a horrifying secret. Between 2019 and 2023, Zou preyed on women—primarily Chinese and East Asian—thr...

Content Warning:  This episode discusses murder, suicide, and other sensitive or controversial topics.

Ooof. This one is a full-blown inferno, and it is STILL DEVELOPING.

Meet the Zizians—who refer to themselves as—wait for it—the Vegan Siths. *Cue "The Imperial March"* This case unravels the shocking layers of a radical faction of rationalists who, despite preaching altruism, have left a trail of brutality in their wake. With at l...

Some call it luck, some call it fate—but one thing’s for sure, Death took a serious L on this one. In this Shortcide, we’re bringing you two cases of two different people who repeatedly dodged death like it was their full-time job. Chelsea covers the outrageous tale of a man named Frane Selak, who seemed to have a VIP pass to disaster—but somehow always walked away.  And Bailey tells the unbelievable story of Violet Jessop, a woman...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains content around child sexual abuse material and child exploitation. Listener discretion is advised.

After authorities dismantled Welcome to Video, the largest known child exploitation marketplace on the dark web, the real battle began—tracking down its users. What followed was a sprawling global manhunt as law enforcement agencies across multiple countries worked to identify and arrest the perp...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains content around child sexual abuse material and child exploitation. Listener discretion is advised.

This case makes Dark Web Diaries look tame. This week, we dive into the horrifying Welcome to Video case—one of the darkest and most expansive child exploitation networks ever uncovered. Operating in the shadows of the internet, Welcome to Video was a marketplace of unimaginable crimes, where tho...

A horrific crime, a high-stakes manhunt, and the inside story from the officer who lived it. In this episode, we sit down with Dallas PD Officer Joe King, a key player in the investigation and capture of Robert Sparks, the man responsible for one of Dallas’ most shocking family murders. Joe takes us behind the scenes of the case, sharing firsthand what it was like to track down Sparks and the reality of working major crimes in law ...

Content Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault, violence, and human suffering. Listener discretion is advised.

Alright, let’s rewind to September of 2007 where a man by the name of Robert Sparks was living a relatively normal life—at least, that’s how it looked from the outside. But inside his home, it was a different story. Robert Sparks had a reputation for being controlling and paranoid, especially about h...

A routine custody exchange. A deserted highway. Two women vanish without a trace.

On March 30, 2024, Jilian Kelley and Veronica Butler set off on what should have been a simple trip to pick up Veronica’s children. But when they never returned home, their loved ones knew something was terribly wrong. Their vehicle was later found abandoned near the Oklahoma-Kansas border, but there was no sign of the women. The unsettling clues left...