Going West: True Crime

Tensions were high during the summer of 1983 in Saint Petersburg, Florida, leading it to become known as the “summer of hell” after a rash of murders plagued the city. Two years prior, Playboy had opened the Suncoast Club, the first of its kind in the area. And now, as the city grappled with a potential serial killer, the Suncoast Club’s “Bunny of the Year” contest would result in both the winner and the photographer turning up dea...

In May of 2009, the 31-year-old wife of a televangelist’s security guard was murdered in her Illinois home alongside her two sons. For months prior, her husband had been receiving threatening messages via email, and he told police that he feared his anonymous stalker had finally acted on their warnings. But as the investigation into the tragic murders unfolded, a shocking scheme, and sinister cause, was revealed, and it was closer ...

In February of 1985, two teenage girls headed out for an unofficial tour of a historic abandoned mansion outside of San Francisco. But once they arrived, the security officer outside - who had a bad reputation in the area - took the opportunity to prey on the girls, and what followed was a night of horror that only one of the girls would survive. This is the murder at the Carolands Chateau.

Sources:

1. “Carolands Foundation.” Carola...

In January of 2025, a 14-year-old Indigenous girl went missing without a trace from her home in Mesa, Arizona. Just weeks later, her dismembered remains were discovered on the side of a highway a few hours away. Investigators began to dive into a devastating homicide investigation, but it is still very much underway. This is the murder of Emily Pike.

Sources:

1. Blasius, Melissa, et al. “What Led up to Emily Pike’s Placement in Fost...

Between April of 1971 and September of 1972, six girls, between the ages of 10 and 18, were abducted from Washington DC and found murdered. After some of their abductions, he would call the families or those close to the case breathing heavily, or giving crude messages. Then, left behind in one of the victims’ pockets was a note from the killer, taunting the police by saying, “Catch me if you can,” followed by a terrifying name he ...

Part 2 of 2. Starting in 1978, a Montana man murdered three people and injured 23 others during a nationwide bombing campaign. Hiding behind a comfortable upbringing, mathematician degrees from prestigious universities, and his perspective of doing right by the environment, Ted Kaczynski violently opposed modern technology and industrial society. And through a 35,000-word manifesto and multiple horrific attacks -many of which were ...

Starting in 1978, a Montana man murdered three people and injured 23 others during a nationwide bombing campaign. Hiding behind a comfortable upbringing, mathematician degrees from prestigious universities, and his perspective of doing right by the environment, Ted Kaczynski violently opposed modern technology and industrial society. And through a 35,000-word manifesto and multiple horrific attacks -many of which were on innocent c...

In 1988, Dorothea Puente, an elderly and seemingly sweet landlady in Sacramento, California, was arrested after a series of mysterious disappearances plagued her boarding house. When investigators uncovered the remains of several bodies buried on her property, the true horror of her actions came to light: she had been drugging and killing vulnerable elderly and disabled individuals under her care, cashing in on their benefits. As t...

In April of 1980, a nun was found murdered on the floor of a Toledo, Ohio chapel. She had been brutally murdered, her body found with clear signs of strangulation, and over 30 stab wounds - nine of which were in the shape of an inverted cross. At first, it felt as though her murder had been part of a satanic ritual. But as the investigation unraveled, an otherworldly shock hit detectives and the community when they learned who was ...

In April of 1943, a group of teenagers walking through the woods near Birmingham, England made a chilling discovery: a human skull hidden inside the hollow trunk of a wych elm tree. As whispers of witchcraft, espionage, and murder circled the town, investigators uncovered shocking theories that only deepened the mystery… As the woman’s body continued to go unidentified, it sparked speculation and fear, especially after cryptic graf...

When a 43-year-old mother in Colorado slipped into a coma in March of 2023, her grief-stricken loved ones struggled to make sense of it. Otherwise active and healthy, she had been hospitalized multiple times with a mysterious ailment, dying within days. It wasn’t until a shocking source revealed the contents of a suspicious package that a murder plot was uncovered - before she even succumbed to her death. This is the story of Angel...

In March of 2019, a 21-year-old student at the University of South Carolina went out to a local bar with friends. Leaving the rest of her group behind around 2am, she headed outside to hop in her Uber, and was never seen alive again. A day later, in a rural area of South Carolina, her remains would be found with over a hundred stab wounds. And as the investigation would uncover, it wasn’t a rideshare car she got into that evening, ...

In February of 2014, a Missouri girl was abducted off the street in her own neighborhood by a strange man in a truck. Three witnesses watched it happen and acted immediately, writing down the license plate number of the perpetrator, and even knocking on doors attempting to find the girl’s family. And because of their actions, police would soon be knocking on the door of the man responsible - where they would find horrific evidence ...