Nightwatch Files

"A mother’s story. A quiet road. And a truth no one wanted to hear." May 1983 – Springfield, Oregon. A red car pulls into the emergency bay of McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. Inside are three young children—each shot at close range. One is dead on arrival. Another is paralyzed. The third is barely clinging to life. Their mother, 27-year-old Diane Downs, tells staff they were ambushed on a dark, rural road by a man who stepped into their path, demanded her car, and opened fire. News of the shooting spreads quickly. A mother attacked. Her children the victims of a senseless act of violence. Local papers cover the case closely. Sympathy pours in from the community. But as investigators begin piecing together what happened on Old Mohawk Road, questions begin to emerge. There’s no physical evidence of a struggle. No sign of a suspect. The crime scene is quiet. Too quiet. In this episode, we examine the events of that night, the immediate police response, and the growing public attention surrounding a case that would grip the country. From the first emergency call to the haunting testimony that followed, this is the story of three children, a quiet road, and a night that left Oregon forever changed. LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles [https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles]  www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]

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Nothing seemed wrong—until someone opened the garage. In a quiet East Texas town, an elderly woman vanished without explanation. Months passed. Her home sat undisturbed, her absence explained away—until a routine welfare check uncovered something chilling inside a taped-shut garage freezer. This episode unpacks the unsettling mystery that followed, the town’s unusual reaction, and the chain of events that would eventually capture national attention and inspire a Hollywood film. A story of isolation, control, and a community forced to confront what lay beneath the surface. Keywords: Texas true crime, freezer mystery, small town disappearance, unsolved at first, true crime podcast, East Texas case, hidden body, shocking discovery, crime and psychology, real story behind the Bernie movie LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles [https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles] www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]

She claimed God sent her to kill pedophiles. Two men ended up dead. This episode investigates the disturbing case of Sheila LaBarre — and the chilling belief system she used to justify murder. A quiet New Hampshire farm. A woman claiming to be an avenging angel. And a series of gruesome crimes that stunned a small town and the nation. This episode unpacks the case of Sheila LaBarre — how she targeted vulnerable men, lured them with promises of care, and subjected them to escalating abuse and psychological torment before taking their lives. Through police reports, courtroom records, and survivor testimony, we trace the stories of Kenneth Countie and Michael Deloge — two men whose disappearances led to one of the most disturbing murder cases in recent memory. We examine how LaBarre used a self-righteous facade to mask cruelty, and how she maintained control through fear, isolation, and delusion — and why questions still remain about whether she had more victims. LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles [https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles] www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]

What happens when teenage loyalty turns into something else? When 16-year-old Skylar Neese vanished from her West Virginia home in July 2012, police first suspected she had run away. But as days passed and her closest friends offered matching stories—and inconsistent timelines—investigators began to suspect something far darker. This episode unpacks the unraveling of a friendship, the mounting lies, and the shocking confession that revealed everything. LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles [https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles] www.nightwatchfiles.com [http://www.nightwatchfiles.com]