Murder On The Mic

Houston, Texas. The early 1970s.

One by one, young boys began disappearing from neighborhoods across Houston and Pasadena. Families searched. Missing persons reports were filed. But too often, their loved ones were told the same thing: they probably ran away.

What nobody knew was that a predator was hiding in plain sight.

Known to local children as “The Candy Man,” Dean Corll built trust within the community while secretly...

Episode 16: Hidden Behind the Wall: The Murder of Renia Lewis

When 28-year-old Renia Lewis suddenly stopped answering calls and texts, her family knew something wasn’t right.

What started as a desperate search for a missing loved one quickly turned into one of the most disturbing cases out of California.

A phone found on the roof of a nearby school.

A hidden attic space concealed behind a wall.

And a discovery investigators almost...

At just 21 years old, Richard “Ricky” Cowles Jr. was doing everything right. He was working long hours as an apprentice electrician, preparing to become a father, and building a future for the family he loved.

But behind closed doors, a horrifying betrayal was unfolding.

What began as young love spiraled into a shocking murder-for-hire plot involving jealousy, manipulation, secrets, and a deadly setup that would leave Ric...

This week on Murder on the Mic, Vanessa Wilson dives into one of the most disturbing family violence cases to come out of Palm Beach and Las Vegas.

What began as a wealthy Florida divorce spiraled into decades of manipulation, emotional control, murder, and attempted murder—all tied to the same .357 Magnum.

In 1992, prominent Palm Beach attorney James Cooney was shot and killed inside his home while his young sons were nearby...

🎙️ Vanessa Wilson dives into the disturbing case of Zack Bowen and Addie Hall…

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Zack and Addie became known around New Orleans as the couple who stayed behind during the storm. Walking through empty streets, drinking in abandoned buildings, and surviving inside a city that had been left underwater—it almost looked like a twisted love story.

But behind the walls of their apartment at...

A late-night phone call.

A familiar voice.

A front door opened.

And within hours, everything changed.

On this week’s episode of Murder on the Mic, Vanessa Wilson breaks down the Short family murders in a town right side of Columbus in Upatoi, Georgia—where what started as a planned burglary escalated into a brutal act heartbreaking triple homicide.

This is a case about access, decisions, and the moments where everything coul...

On February 24, 2023, a quiet home in Herndon became the center of a shocking double homicide investigation.

Inside that home, 37-year-old pediatric ICU nurse Christine Banfield was found dead. Also killed was Joseph Ryan, a man who, according to investigators, believed he was arriving for a consensual encounter.

What initially appeared to be a home invasion quickly began to unravel.

As detectives examined digital evidence and timelin...

🎙️ Episode 10: Peace, Love… and a Predator Among Them — The Dating Game Murders

In 1978, a man stepped onto the stage of The Dating Game and won the heart of a bachelorette in front of a national audience.

To viewers, he was charming.

To producers, he was just another contestant.

But behind the smile… was a predator who had already committed unimaginable acts of violence—and would continue to do so.

In this ep...

Three lives were taken in a remote mountain community above the Coachella Valley… and then, someone tried to erase it all with fire.

But what that fire revealed would expose something far more disturbing than the scene itself.

In this episode of Murder on the Mic, Vanessa Wilson takes a deeper look at the 2006 Pinyon Pines triple homicide—where eighteen-year-old Becky Friedli, her mother Vicki Friedli, and Jon Hayward we...

When asked what case has haunted her the most, Vanessa didn’t hesitate.

In this episode of Murder on the Mic, she dives into one of the most disturbing cases in California history—the Toolbox Killers. Through a victim-focused lens, Vanessa tells the stories of the young girls whose lives were taken, the calculated brutality behind the crimes, and the lasting impact this case left on an entire generation.

This isn’t ...

On a warm May night in 1997, seven-year-old Sherrice Iverson walked into a restroom inside a busy casino in Primm, Nevada. Just minutes later, her life was taken in a crime that would shock the nation.

What makes this case even more haunting is not only the brutality of what happened, but the disturbing reality that someone else knew a child was in danger — and chose to walk away.

In this episode of Murder on the Mic, Vanessa W...

When 22-year-old Brittany Killgore left her home in Fallbrook, California, she believed she was heading to San Diego for a dinner cruise.

Minutes after getting into the truck of the man who invited her, she sent a chilling text message:

“Help.”

Days later, Brittany’s disappearance would lead investigators to uncover a disturbing crime involving three suspects, a web of deception, and evidence that would eventually br...

In October 1985, 17-year-old Michele “Missy” Avila left her Arleta home with two girls she had known for years — one of them a former best friend. She never came back.

Days later, her body was discovered in a shallow creek in Big Tujunga Canyon. What investigators uncovered would expose jealousy, humiliation, shifting stories, and a betrayal that shook the San Fernando Valley.

This isn’t just a story about tee...

In the early morning hours of September 20, 1996, a quiet home in Lancaster, California became the scene of a violent and deeply personal crime. Twenty-eight-year-old James May was inside his residence when two young males entered, a struggle followed, and his life was taken in a matter of moments. Despite statements being taken, evidence collected, and the scene processed, no arrests were ever made.

Nearly three decades later, the ...

In this heartbreaking episode, we examine the devastating 2021 Lancaster tragedy that claimed the lives of four young children and their grandmother inside their own home. What appeared to be a normal Sunday night ended in unimaginable loss when the violence came from someone they trusted most. Through the timeline, courtroom outcome, and lasting impact on the surviving mother, this episode explores the painful reality of familicid...

This episode was incredibly hard to record. I’ve been sitting with these stories for weeks, and I’m honestly disgusted.

Today, we’re looking at the Antelope Valley- Palmdale and Lancaster in California—a place that’s literally an hour’s disconnect from the Hollywood Hills and the ocean—where the system completely looked away, no matter how many calls were made or reports were written.

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