Psychopedia: True Crime & Criminal Psychology

EP184: Waffle House Massacre: The Taylor Swift-Obsessed Shooter

On April 22, 2018, a partially naked young man named Travis Reinking opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at a Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee, killing four innocent people and injuring others. He had a documented history of erratic behavior, including delusions that Taylor Swift was stalking him, as well as a 2017 arrest in Washington, D.C., after attempting to breach White House security. That incident led to his arrest and the confiscation of his firearms, weapons that were later returned to his father and ultimately given back to him.  This devastating case is not just about the horror of that night, but about the warning signs that preceded it, and the dangerous intersection of mental illness, access to assault-style weapons, and systemic failure. FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! FOLLOW Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod [http://www.patreon.com/PsychopediaPod]⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Introducing Family Lore

Looking for more mystery to fill your week? While this isn’t a Psychopedia production, we're excited to introduce you to another podcast we think you’ll enjoy. Family Lore is a weekly narrative podcast that celebrates and investigates ancestral mystique. Each episode begins with a guest sharing a fascinating family legend, followed by a historical deep-dive to uncover the truth and meaning behind the tale. Available now. https://link.pscrb.fm/f0281/FLFD [https://link.pscrb.fm/f0281/FLFD] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

EP183: The Comic Book Killer: Scripted, Skinned and Scalped

In May 2016, Blake Leibel - a Canadian comic book creator and aspiring Hollywood filmmaker -brutally murdered his girlfriend, Iana Kasian, in their Los Angeles apartment. Iana’s body bore injuries so horrific they seemed ripped from the pages of Blake’s own graphic novel, Syndrome, which depicted eerily similar acts of torture and mutilation.  This tragic case is widely regarded as one of the most gruesome and sadistic murders Los Angeles has ever seen.  Please listen with caution. FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! FOLLOW Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod [http://www.patreon.com/PsychopediaPod]⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

EP182: Twitter Killer: Japanese Serial Killer Takahiro Shiraishi

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions of suicide and may be distressing to hear.  Please listen with caution.In 2017, a series of disappearances began to ripple through Zama, just outside Tokyo. The victims were young women between the ages of 17 and 26 who all left behind the same digital footprint: Twitter posts expressing a desire to die. What no one realized at the time was that those posts had drawn the attention of a murderous predator.  By the end of that year, the investigation led police to a single apartment, where a scene of calculated horror was waiting: nine dismembered bodies with severed heads and mutilated limbs found scattered and hidden in boxes.  At the center of it all was Takahiro Shiraishi, later known as “The Twitter Killer,” a man who turned vulnerability into a hunting ground and despair into a lethal weapon. FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! FOLLOW Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod [http://www.patreon.com/PsychopediaPod]⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

EP181: TikTok Cancer Scammer: Madison Russo Fakes Cancer for Clicks

From 2022 to 2023, 19-year-old Madison Russo documented what she claimed was a relentless fight for her life, drawing in thousands of followers and raising nearly $40,000 on GoFundMe. She said she was battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Stage 2 pancreatic cancer, and a tumor “the size of a football” wrapped around her spine. The story was catastrophic by design, and people responded exactly as you would expect. They donated, they shared, they rooted for her, watching closely as she posted photos and updates that felt intimate and urgent.  Except none of it was real. Not the diagnoses, not the symptoms, not the scans. What looked like a medical nightmare was a performance, constructed piece by piece, persuasive enough to convince strangers around the world to invest in a fight that never existed.  And when it finally unraveled, the only thing Maddie had actually built was a very real trail of deception. FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod [http://www.patreon.com/PsychopediaPod]⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]