259: The Killing of Kirsty Bentley | New Zealand

259: The Killing of Kirsty Bentley | New Zealand

On New Year's Eve 1998, fifteen-year-old Kirsty Bentley vanished while walking her Labrador, Abby, near the Ashburton River in Canterbury, New Zealand. Seventeen days later, her body was found hidden in dense scrub at Camp Gully, Rakaia Gorge, 40 kilometres away. She had been killed by a single blow of blunt force trauma to the head. Despite decades of investigation under Operation Kirsty, hundreds of suspects interviewed, a 2016 coroner's inquest, and a $100,000 reward offered in 2022, no one has ever been charged. New Zealand's most haunting cold case murder remains unsolved. Books: Read collections of The Evidence Locker Files [https://evidencelockerpodcast.com/books], available in print and digital editions. Follow us on: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-3vROB1gpEWM1YoEr9vLA], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], X [https://x.com/EvLockPodcast], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@evidencelockerpodcast] For more information, visit: Evidence Locker Website [https://apple.co/3td9ivp] Listen ad-free: Visit our page at Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/evidencelocker] 25% of Evidence Locker Patreon proceeds are donated to support the Doe Network [https://www.doenetwork.org/], solving international cold cases. To learn more, visit: https://www.doenetwork.org/ [https://www.doenetwork.org/] Resources Web Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsty_Bentley] New Zealand Police: Hot Spot: Op Kirsty [https://www.police.govt.nz/stolenwanted/ten7/2022/hot-spot-op-kirsty]  Articles Killer Blow: the Kirsty Bentley mystery [https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2020/kirsty-bentley-killer-blow/]   New evidence in cold case murder [http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/659450/New-evidence-in-cold-case-murder] The curious case of Kirsty Bentley’s murder [https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/75559999/the-curious-case-of-kirsty-bentleys-murder] DNA could crack open Kirsty Bentley cold case [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dna-could-crack-open-kirsty-bentley-cold-case-20-years-after-ashburton-schoolgirls-murder/] Kirsty Bentley murder: Police offer $100,000 reward [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kirsty-bentley-murder-police-offer-100000-reward-in-ashburton-cold-case/] Kirsty Bentley cold case narrows to 10 suspects [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kirsty-bentley-cold-case-narrows-to-10-suspects/]  Brother John Bentley speaks on Ashburton cold case [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kirsty-bentley-murder-brother-john-bentley-speaks-on-ashburton-cold-case/]  Teen’s killing still unsolved after 18 years (coroner inquest, 2016) [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/308730/teen%27s-killing-still-unsolved-after-18-years] Lawyer sounds warning over $100,000 Kirsty Bentley murder reward [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/474404/lawyer-sounds-warning-over-100-000-kirsty-bentley-murder-reward] Created & Produced by Sonya Lowe Narrated by Noel Vinson Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios [https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios] This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archival materials.

258: The Doppelganger Case of Adolf Beck | England

In 1895, a Swedish man named Adolf Beck was stopped on a London street by a woman who accused him of swindling her out of her jewellery. Police quickly connected him to a string of similar frauds — and to a man named John Smith, convicted of identical crimes in 1877. Over a dozen victims picked Beck out of line-ups. He was convicted at the Old Bailey and sentenced to seven years' hard labour. The problem: he wasn't John Smith. He wasn't any of it. Eight years later, still protesting his innocence, Beck was convicted again — for the exact same type of fraud. Only when the real culprit was arrested mid-crime did the truth finally surface. We explore how a face so ordinary it could belong to anyone sent an innocent man to prison twice, and what the case of Émilie Sagée tells us about the ancient human terror of the double. Books: Read collections of The Evidence Locker Files [https://evidencelockerpodcast.com/books], available in print and digital editions. Follow us on: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-3vROB1gpEWM1YoEr9vLA], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], X [https://x.com/EvLockPodcast], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@evidencelockerpodcast] For more information, visit: Evidence Locker Website [https://apple.co/3td9ivp] Listen ad-free: Visit our page at Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/evidencelocker] 25% of Evidence Locker Patreon proceeds are donated to support the Doe Network [https://www.doenetwork.org/], solving international cold cases. To learn more, visit: https://www.doenetwork.org/ [https://www.doenetwork.org/] Resources Web Wikipedia - Adolf Beck [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Beck_case] Wikipedia - Émilie Sagée [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89milie_Sag%C3%A9e] LawTeacher [https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/adolf-beck-case.php] Articles Old Bailey Proceedings Online [https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18960224-277?text=adolf%20beck] Crime Library [https://www.crimelibrary.org/notorious_murders/not_guilty/adolf_beck/index.html] Forensic Psychology – eyewitness testimony [https://www.simplypsychology.org/eyewitness-testimony.html] Created & Produced by Sonya Lowe Narrated by Noel Vinson Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios [https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios] This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archival materials.

257: The Mysterious Disappearance of Christine Walters | USA

In November 2008, 23-year-old Christine Lindsey Walters left her hotel room in Eureka, California, in her pyjamas, to collect identity documents from a nearby copy centre. She was trying to get home to Wisconsin. She never made it. A junior studying botany and ethnobotany at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Christine had come to Humboldt County for a planned three-week holiday. She stayed, drawn to the area's natural beauty and a spiritual community. One week before she vanished, she participated in an illegal ayahuasca ceremony. Days later, she was found naked and covered in briar scratches on a stranger's doorstep, speaking of demons. She tested negative for drugs, was discharged, and began making plans to fly home. She was last seen on November 14, walking away from a copy centre on I Street, Eureka. Her belongings and untouched bank funds were later recovered. She has never been found. Books: Read collections of The Evidence Locker Files [https://evidencelockerpodcast.com/books], available in print and digital editions. Follow us on: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-3vROB1gpEWM1YoEr9vLA], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], X [https://x.com/EvLockPodcast], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@evidencelockerpodcast] For more information, visit: Evidence Locker Website [https://apple.co/3td9ivp] Listen ad-free: Visit our page at Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/evidencelocker] 25% of Evidence Locker Patreon proceeds are donated to support the Doe Network [https://www.doenetwork.org/], solving international cold cases. To learn more, visit: https://www.doenetwork.org/ [https://www.doenetwork.org/] Resources Web The Charley Project [https://charleyproject.org/case/christine-lindsey-walters] NamUs [https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP5477] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/HelpFindChristineLindseyWalters] Articles Missing Women: Humboldt Mystery [https://lauthmissingpersons.com/missing-women-humboldt-mystery/] Lauth Investigations International — Christine Walters [https://lauthmissingpersons.com/tag/christine-walters/] True Crime Society - Christine Lindsey Walters [https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2019/07/29/missingmonday-christine-lindsey-walters/] Missing People in America — Christine Walters [https://missingpeopleinamerica.org/missing/christine-walters] Websleuths Forum — "CA: Christine Walters, 23, Arcata, 14 Nov 2008." [https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ca-christine-walters-23-arcata-14-nov-2008.104148/] Created & Produced by Sonya Lowe Narrated by Noel Vinson Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios [https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios] This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archival materials.

256: The ‘My Way’ Karaoke Killings | The Philippines

Frank Sinatra's "My Way" became one of the deadliest songs in history — not on a battlefield, but in the karaoke bars of the Philippines. Between 1998 and 2018, at least a dozen people were killed in disputes linked to the song, in incidents dubbed the "My Way Killings." Victims were shot for singing off-key, stabbed over microphone disputes, and killed for daring to claim the song as theirs. The killings prompted bar owners to ban the song outright, drew international media attention, and sparked debate about karaoke culture, Filipino identity, and the role of pride and alcohol in public violence. Books: Read collections of The Evidence Locker Files [https://evidencelockerpodcast.com/books], available in print and digital editions. Follow us on: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-3vROB1gpEWM1YoEr9vLA], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], X [https://x.com/EvLockPodcast], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@evidencelockerpodcast] For more information, visit: Evidence Locker Website [https://apple.co/3td9ivp] Listen ad-free: Visit our page at Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/evidencelocker] 25% of Evidence Locker Patreon proceeds are donated to support the Doe Network [https://www.doenetwork.org/], solving international cold cases. To learn more, visit: https://www.doenetwork.org/ [https://www.doenetwork.org/] Resources Web Wikipedia – My Way Killings [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Way_killings] Wikipedia – My Way [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Way] Articles Karaoke fan killed for singing out of tune [https://web.archive.org/web/20100106000922/http:/www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/02/world/main2877951.shtml] Man kills friend after fighting over karaoke [https://coconuts.co/manila/news/man-kills-friend-fighting-karaoke/] Man killed by drinking buddy inside Lucena bar [https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/971359/man-killed-by-drinking-buddy-inside-lucena-bar] Sinatra song often strikes a deadly chord [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/world/asia/07karaoke.html] Not again: Filipino man killed in fight over song ‘My Way’ during karaoke session [https://coconuts.co/manila/news/not-filipino-man-killed-fight-song-way-karaoke-session/] 12 shot dead in random killings while all singing the same karaoke song [https://www.the-express.com/news/world-news/149716/my-way-karoake-killings-explained] Music Comme D'Habitude – Claude Francois [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w22haP4hgsQ] Kishidan – My Way [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq97CWuT0dw] Created & Produced by Sonya Lowe Narrated by Noel Vinson Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios [https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios] This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archival materials.

255: The Real Twin Peaks Case: Murder of Hazel Drew | USA

In the sweltering summer of 1908, 20-year-old domestic servant Hazel Drew was found floating face-down in Teal's Pond, New York. Her skull had been crushed by repeated blows. A corset string wrapped around her throat. The investigation revealed a web of secrets, political corruption, and powerful men with much to hide. More than a century later, this unsolved murder would inspire Twin Peaks – and after 113 years, researchers finally believe they've solved the case that captivated a nation… Books: Read collections of The Evidence Locker Files [https://evidencelockerpodcast.com/books], available in print and digital editions. Follow us on: YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-3vROB1gpEWM1YoEr9vLA], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/evidencelockerpodcast/], X [https://x.com/EvLockPodcast], TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@evidencelockerpodcast] For more information, visit: Evidence Locker Website [https://apple.co/3td9ivp] Listen ad-free: Visit our page at Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/evidencelocker] 50% of Evidence Locker Patreon proceeds are donated to support the Doe Network [https://www.doenetwork.org/], solving international cold cases. To learn more, visit: https://www.doenetwork.org/ [https://www.doenetwork.org/] Resources Books Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks by David Bushman and Mark Givens Hazel Was a Good Girl: Solving the Murder That Inspired Twin Peaks by Dr. Jerry C. Drake Podcasts The Girl in the Pond - Times Union Web Timeline: The Hazel Drew murder investigation [https://www.timesunion.com/projects/2025/hazel-drew-timeline/] HazelDrew.com [https://hazeldrew.com/] Investigating the Cold Case That Inspired Twin Peaks [https://crimereads.com/investigating-the-cold-case-that-inspired-twin-peaks/] Articles A look at the New York murder that inspired 'Twin Peaks' [https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/how-an-unsolved-1908-murder-inspired-local-lore-13654073.php] Murder that inspired 'Twin Peaks' solved 100 years later [https://nypost.com/2022/01/01/murder-that-inspired-twin-peaks-solved-100-years-later-book/] The True Crime That Inspired 'Twin Peaks' Was Solved by Its Fans [https://movieweb.com/twin-peaks-real-story-true-crime/] Created & Produced by Sonya Lowe Narrated by Noel Vinson Music: "Nordic Medieval" by Marcus Bressler Background track: Doblado Studios: https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios [https://www.youtube.com/c/DobladoStudios] This True Crime Podcast was researched using open-source or archival materials.