Crime Junkie

In 2019, we covered the Sodder children, five siblings who vanished after their family’s home burned down on Christmas morning in 1945. Officials said they died in the fire, but no bodies were ever found. And now, with new information from a family descendant, we’re taking another look at what happened when their parents started asking questions, and why the family spent decades believing the children may have survived.

When 30-year-old Alyssa Romine-Olson is found floating naked and face down in the pond of a Gilbert, Arizona nature preserve in 2016, online coverage makes the case sound like a suicide. But her missing belongings, an undetermined cause of death, and key evidence found at the scene tell a different story. And all roads seem to lead back to one man. But when his alibi is verified, the case takes some shocking turns.

• If you know a...

Come spiral with us as we recap the biggest true-crime documentary right now, "Death of the Pastor's Wife." The takes are hot, the eyes will roll, and Ashley and Brit will be trauma bonding as they reach back into their churchy upbringing to decode some unhinged religious takes. And of course, Ashley is coming with a bunch of information you won't get in the documentary that might help make sense of how Mica Miller ended up at Lumb...

When 30-year-old Alyssa Romine-Olson is found floating naked and face down in the pond of a Gilbert, Arizona nature preserve in 2016, online coverage makes the case sound like a suicide. But her missing belongings, an undetermined cause of death, and key evidence found at the scene tell a different story. And investigators soon realize, nothing in this case is as it seems.

• If you know anything about the 2016 death of Alyssa Romi...

Twenty-seven-year-old Natalie Jones vanished after a July 4th lake party in Alabama in 2020. Ninety-three days later, her car and her remains were found in a rural Georgia field. No arrest. No clear answer. No closure for the family left behind. The official theory was an accidental overdose. But a negative toxicology report, a drug baggie with no fingerprints, and a phone that never left Natalie's hand — one that’s sti...

In 2011, 74-year-old high school sweethearts Bill and Peggy Stephenson were found murdered inside their Kentucky condo on Memorial Day weekend. Nothing valuable appeared to be missing, but the crime scene was so strange that detectives wondered whether the killer was trying to leave a message. For years, the case pulled investigators in every direction — until one piece of evidence, mailed across the country more than a decad...

When Kerry O’Brien-Krueger vanished in 1989, her husband claimed she left for a work trip that never existed. Decades later, investigators are still untangling shifting stories, missing evidence and some crucial clues that could help reveal what happened - and they need Crime Junkies’ help.

• If you know anything about the disappearance of Kerry O’Brien-Krueger, call the Racine County Sheriff's Office directly...

In part two of Joyce’s story, we dig deep into the case file and letters left behind by Joyce herself, which reveal even more suspects, including the roommate she’d been avoiding that summer.

• If you know anything about the murder of Joyce LePage, call the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office at (509) 397-6266.

Source materials for this episode cannot be listed here due to character limitations. For a full ...

In this special episode of Crime Junkie on the Nancy Guthrie abduction case, breaking news reporter Briana Whitney and host Ashley Flowers reveal all details from the ransom notes you haven't heard yet, Briana shares the stunning things told to her behind the scenes by the sheriff and investigators as she was reporting on the ground, and the two discuss a well-researched theory on the interworkings of how and why the Guthrie abduct...

In the summer of 1971, 21-year-old Joyce LePage disappears after a skydiving lesson followed by a beer with friends. In the beginning, the only clue is a piece of missing carpet that was cut out from a vacant dorm on the campus of Washington State University where Joyce had been secretly squatting. Her belongings, her car and her body would all be found in different places, and they all point to different suspects.

• If you kno...

In August 2005, a woman disappeared just days before she was supposed to testify against her boyfriend, a corrections officer accused of sexually abusing minors. For years, her family says she was treated like a fugitive instead of a missing person. But when we looked deeper, we found a witness who has never spoken publicly before — and a sighting from the night she vanished that could change the way this case has been unders...

On March 23, 1993, screams tore through the thin walls of a gated Indianapolis apartment complex as 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss fought for her life. Neighbors heard the attack, but no one called 911. Carmen was assaulted, mutilated, and killed. For decades, her murder remained unsolved – until a relentless investigator identified a suspect. And after more than 30 years, Carmen’s family finally saw justice.

Head over to...

When 37-year-old Christine Banfield and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan were found fatally injured inside a Virginia home in 2023, investigators were initially told that Ryan was a violent intruder and that Christine’s husband, Brendan Banfield, a federal agent, had tried to save her. But as investigators examined digital evidence, they uncovered a different possibility: that Ryan had been lured to the home through a fake online pers...

On November 30, 2018, 23-year-old Brittany Wallace Shank showed up barefoot and bleeding at a stranger's door asking for help. She said the man she was with had crashed their car and ran away. Deputies were on the way. But before they arrived, Brittany disappeared into the darkness. She has never been seen again.

• If you know anything about the disappearance of Brittany Wallace Shank, especially if you recognize the man in the...

Alberta O. Jones was breaking barriers in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the first Black woman prosecutor in the city’s history, she helped register some 6,000 Black citizens to vote, and she was a leader in the city’s civil rights movement. But on Aug. 5, 1965 –  before she could make even more changes in the highly segregated city – Alberta was found dead floating in the Ohio River. The night before, s...

In November 2024, 15-year-old Tripp Brazeale was found hanging from a tree in the middle of the woods of Forrest City, Arkansas. His death was quickly ruled a suicide, but in the weeks and months that followed, details of the case began to emerge that led Tripp's family, friends, and a private investigator to realize things might not be as clear-cut as they were led to believe.

If you or anyone you know is thinking about suicide, p...

A call from someone you love in crisis is terrifying enough - but what if the voice begging for help isn’t really them? We break down how AI voice cloning is fueling virtual kidnapping scams, why panic is the weapon scammers count on, and the one conversation your family should have before the phone rings.

• If this happens to you, report it right away: if money changed hands, contact your local FBI field office or call 1...

In the summer of 1973, the Jaeger family wakes at a Montana campground to every parent's nightmare: their young daughter, Susie, is gone. Searches turn up nothing, until a man begins tormenting the family with chilling calls and letters. He has Susie, and he has no intention of giving her back. As investigators race to find her, more victims begin to surface. The case finally breaks when a determined mother joins forces with the FB...

In February 2008, six women were held hostage in a women’s clothing storein Tinley Park, Illinois.. Rhoda McFarland, Carrie Hudek Chiuso, Connie Woolfolk, Sarah Szafranski, and Jennifer Bishop were executed and the killer escaped leaving only one survivor. InSeason 8 of CounterClock, host and investigative journalist Delia D’Ambra covers the Lane Bryant Murders and goes further into the case than any journalist has befo...