#48: The Real Amityville Horror - The DeFeo Murders and the Birth of a Legend

#48: The Real Amityville Horror - The DeFeo Murders and the Birth of a Legend

The Amityville Horror is one of the most famous paranormal stories ever told. Books, movies, television specials, and decades of media coverage have transformed a suburban house on Long Island into a global symbol of supernatural terror. But before the haunting claims, there was a real crime. In the early hours of November 13, 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were murdered inside their home at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York. The shocking killings made headlines across the country and raised questions that continue to be debated decades later. Just over a year later, the Lutz family moved into the same house and claimed they experienced a series of terrifying events that forced them to flee after only 28 days. In this episode, we separate fact from folklore as we examine the true crime story behind the Amityville legend. From the troubled life of Ronald DeFeo Jr. and the murders that shocked Long Island, to the haunting claims of George and Kathy Lutz and the controversy that followed, we explore how a family tragedy evolved into one of the most enduring horror stories in modern history. Was the house truly haunted, or did a compelling narrative transform a brutal crime into a cultural phenomenon? This is the true story behind The Amityville Horror. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. SUPPORT THE SHOW & LISTEN AD-FREE Join our Patreon and unlock ad-free episodes directly in Apple Podcasts or Spotify after you connect your Patreon account. You can also join the Supporters Club for an ad-free experience. Both go for just $3/month, sign up from the links below. Ad-Free Episodes Patreon: patreon.com/NightwatchFiles Apple (after joining): bit.ly/4i7XcNW Spotify (after joining): bit.ly/4oVVEsT Supporters Club: bit.ly/497ciAm Support Us Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/nightwatchfiles Merch Shop: https://nightwatchfiles.com/store  www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]

#47: The Delphi Murders

On February 13, 2017, an unusually warm winter day provided a perfect backdrop for an impromptu hike, particularly since Delphi Community Middle School in Indiana had canceled classes that Monday to balance out unused snow days. The morning began leisurely for fourteen-year-old Liberty "Libby" German and her best friend, thirteen-year-old Abigail "Abby" Williams, who were recovering from a Sunday night sleepover at Libby's home. The evening prior, the girls had stayed up late eating pizza and garlic knots, watching a scary movie, and messaging boys on social media. When they finally woke up, Libby's father, Derrick, prepared them a breakfast of banana pancakes. Libby's grandmother, Becky Patty, was working in her home appraisal office located in the family's garage when the girls asked for permission to go to a hike at the trails. Although Libby did not mention her specific intention to cross the towering Monon High Bridge, Becky agreed to the outing, stipulating only that the girls needed reliable transportation to and from the hiking spot. Libby secured a ride from her sister, Kelsi. And her father, Derrick, agreed to pick the girls up two hours later. As the teenagers scrambled to leave, Becky reminded her granddaughter that despite the sunshine, the February air would still be chilly and she needed to take a jacket. Pausing in the doorframe, Libby offered her grandmother a final reassurance, stating, "Grandma, it'll be okay". The girls piled into Kelsi's car equipped for the weather; Libby brought along her new black swim team sweatshirt, and Kelsi loaned Abby a gray sweatshirt. With the song "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots droning on the radio, Libby snapped a selfie in the backseat. At 1:38 P.M., Kelsi pulled up to the Mears entrance of the trails, where Abby and Libby jumped out of the car and disappeared into the trees. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. SUPPORT THE SHOW & LISTEN AD-FREE Join our Patreon and unlock ad-free episodes directly in Apple Podcasts or Spotify after you connect your Patreon account. You can also join the Supporters Club for an ad-free experience. Both go for just $3/month, sign up from the links below. Ad-Free Episodes Patreon: patreon.com/NightwatchFiles Apple (after joining): bit.ly/4i7XcNW Spotify (after joining): bit.ly/4oVVEsT Supporters Club: bit.ly/497ciAm Support Us Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/nightwatchfiles Merch Shop: https://nightwatchfiles.com/store  www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]

#46: The Want-Ad Killer

Kathy Miller was 15 years old and looking through the classified ads — not for herself, but for her boyfriend. She found a listing, made a phone call, and told her mother not to worry about it. Her mother had a bad feeling she couldn't shake. Kathy went anyway. What investigators uncovered in the weeks that followed would connect a want ad in a Seattle newspaper to a pattern stretching across multiple states — and to a man whose name they had actually encountered before. More than once. In very different circumstances. The Harvey Carignan case is one of the most disturbing examples of how American law enforcement operated across state lines in the 1970s, before digital databases, before CODIS, before any of the systems that might have made a difference here. This episode follows the Kathy Miller missing persons case from the moment her mother reported her gone — through the investigation, the leads that stalled, the witnesses who came forward, and the details that made detectives in Seattle start making calls to people they'd never spoken to before. Sources: https://www.heraldnet.com/2007/05/07/mother-gives-solace-to-grieving-families/ https://news.prairiepublic.org/show/dakota-datebook-archive/2022-05-25/harvey-carignan https://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Carignan,%20Harvey.htm https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/546721.The_Want_Ad_Killer Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. SUPPORT THE SHOW & LISTEN AD-FREE Join our Patreon and unlock ad-free episodes directly in Apple Podcasts or Spotify after you connect your Patreon account. You can also join the Supporters Club for an ad-free experience. Both go for just $3/month, sign up from the links below. Ad-Free Episodes Patreon: patreon.com/NightwatchFiles Apple (after joining): bit.ly/4i7XcNW Spotify (after joining): bit.ly/4oVVEsT Supporters Club: bit.ly/497ciAm Support Us Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/nightwatchfiles Merch Shop: https://nightwatchfiles.com/store  www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]

#45: How a Podcast Solved a 40-year Cold Case

In January 1982, a Sydney mother of two vanished without a trace. Lynette Dawson was thirty-three years old. She had two daughters under the age of five, a home in Bayview on Sydney's northern beaches, and by all accounts, a life she was deeply devoted to. Then one Saturday morning, she was gone. Her husband Chris — a former rugby league player turned schoolteacher — told family she had called from an unknown location to say she needed time away. Those who knew Lyn found the explanation impossible to believe. Her own mother struggled to make sense of it from the moment she heard the words. Five weeks passed before anyone reported her missing. And once they did, the investigation went nowhere. For nearly four decades, Lynette's case remained unsolved — kept alive only by the people who refused to forget her. Then, in 2018, an Australian true crime podcast changed everything. The series, which focused entirely on Lyn's disappearance, became one of the most downloaded podcasts in history and triggered a national conversation that authorities could no longer ignore. It did more than telling the story. It helped break it open. In this episode, we examine how a young mother disappeared from Sydney's northern beaches, why her case stalled for so long, and how a single piece of audio journalism reignited a forty-year-old investigation. We look at the life Lyn lived, the morning she was last seen, and the long road to what came next. What really happened to Lynette Dawson? And what does it take to make the world finally listen? Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. SUPPORT THE SHOW & LISTEN AD-FREE Join our Patreon and unlock ad-free episodes directly in Apple Podcasts or Spotify after you connect your Patreon account. You can also join the Supporters Club for an ad-free experience. Both go for just $3/month, sign up from the links below. Ad-Free Episodes Patreon: patreon.com/NightwatchFiles Apple (after joining): bit.ly/4i7XcNW Spotify (after joining): bit.ly/4oVVEsT Supporters Club: bit.ly/497ciAm Support Us Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/nightwatchfiles Merch Shop: https://nightwatchfiles.com/store  www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]

#44: Behind the Vault Door - The Snowtown Barrel Murders

>> Content warning: this episode contains detailed descriptions of homicide, torture, hate crimes and the abuse of vulnerable individuals. Listener discretion is advised. << In May 1999, police in a quiet South Australian town followed a routine missing persons lead to a disused bank building on the main street. What they found inside its vault would become the most disturbing crime scene in Australian history — and force investigators to confront a network of killings that had gone undetected for years. This episode examines the Snowtown murders: who the victims were, how they disappeared without triggering alarm, and how the people responsible managed to remain hidden in plain sight for so long. How do you hide something in a small town where everyone knows everyone? And what does it take for authorities to finally see what was there all along? Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support [https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/nightwatch-files--6484889/support?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss]. SUPPORT THE SHOW & LISTEN AD-FREE Join our Patreon and unlock ad-free episodes directly in Apple Podcasts or Spotify after you connect your Patreon account. You can also join the Supporters Club for an ad-free experience. Both go for just $3/month, sign up from the links below. Ad-Free Episodes Patreon: patreon.com/NightwatchFiles Apple (after joining): bit.ly/4i7XcNW Spotify (after joining): bit.ly/4oVVEsT Supporters Club: bit.ly/497ciAm Support Us Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/nightwatchfiles Merch Shop: https://nightwatchfiles.com/store  www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]