Ep 14: The Slenderman Stabbing: Two 12-Year-Olds, 19 Stab Wounds, and a Fictional Killer

Ep 16: Betrayed From Birth: Shannon Matthews Was Missing for 24 Days — Then Police Found Out Who Took Her | True Crime UK

Five police officers are clearing a flat in Batley Carr, West Yorkshire. They've already searched 1,800 properties. This is just another one. Then Detective Constable Nick Townsend crouches beside a divan bed and hears a small voice coming from inside it. A nine-year-old girl wriggles out of a hidden slot in the base. Tear-streaked. Terrified. Blinking. She says: "I'm Shannon." Shannon Matthews had been missing for 24 days. The search had gripped the UK. A community of working-class women on a Dewsbury council estate had organised themselves into one of the most extraordinary missing-child campaigns the country had ever seen — fundraisers, search parties, TV appearances, tears. And then Shannon told the officer one more thing. He's under the bed. The man. He's where I was. What followed would freeze the room, break the community, and become one of the most shocking betrayals in modern British true crime. This week on You're Killing Me, Shawnee covers the kidnapping of Shannon Matthews — the case that asked who we extend sympathy to, who we believe, and what happens when the person who should protect you is the one who put you in danger. Topics: Shannon Matthews | UK true crime | Dewsbury | missing child | Karen Matthews | Michael Donovan | West Yorkshire | British true crime | working class | YKM New episodes every Monday. Follow so you never miss one.

Ep 15: The Medicine Hat Murders: Jasmine Richardson & Jeremy Steinke

In 2006, the quiet city of Medicine Hat, Alberta became the centre of one of Canada’s most horrifying family murders. Twelve-year-old Jasmine Richardson and her 23-year-old boyfriend, Jeremy Steinke, were accused of brutally murdering Jasmine’s mother, father, and eight-year-old brother inside their family home — a crime so shocking it immediately made international headlines. What began as an online relationship built around dark fantasies, vampire culture, and teenage rebellion quickly spiralled into obsession, isolation, and violence. Investigators uncovered disturbing messages between the pair discussing murder, running away together, and a belief that they were destined to be together no matter who stood in the way. In this episode, we break down the full case: Jasmine’s upbringing, her relationship with Jeremy, the warning signs missed by the adults around them, the night of the murders, the police investigation, interrogation details, and the trial that followed. We also explore the psychological manipulation, online influence, and emotional vulnerability that turned a deeply unhealthy relationship into one of the most disturbing crimes in Canadian history. This episode contains discussions of child victims, graphic violence, and family homicide.

Ep 14: The Slenderman Stabbing: Two 12-Year-Olds, 19 Stab Wounds, and a Fictional Killer

On May 31st, 2014, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, two 12-year-old girls lured their best friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times — all to prove their loyalty to a fictional internet character known as Slenderman. This is the story behind one of the most disturbing cases in modern true crime. We follow Payton Leutner — the girl who survived — and the two friends who believed they had no choice but to kill her. From the rise of creepypasta and the Slenderman myth, to the months of planning, the attack itself, and the chilling police interrogations where both girls calmly explained why they did it. We also examine the evidence uncovered during the investigation, including disturbing drawings, search histories, and the belief system that turned fiction into something dangerously real. Then, we break down the trial — and the mental health diagnoses that changed everything. This episode contains discussions of attempted murder, childhood mental illness, and graphic violence.

Ep 13 - Title: Peter Falconio Murder | The Case That Inspired Wolf Creek | Joanne Lees Survival Story

In 2001, British backpackers Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees were traveling through the Australian outback when they were flagged down by a stranger on a remote highway. What happened next became one of Australia's most infamous unsolved mysteries. Peter was shot and killed—his body never found. Joanne escaped and hid in the desert for five hours while a killer hunted her with a torch and a dog. This case inspired the horror film Wolf Creek and led to Australia's "no body, no parole" law. Join us as we uncover the terrifying true story of Bradley Murdoch, the DNA evidence that convicted him, and the secret he took to his grave. #TrueCrime #PeterFalconio #JoanneLees #AustralianOutback #WolfCreek #UnsolvedMystery #BradleyMurdoch #StuartHighway #BackpackerMurder #TrueCrimePodcast

Ep 12 - The Reading Man: A Mother Found a Human Head in Her Son's Closet | Warren Barnes Murder | Grand Junction

EPISODE DESCRIPTION: In February 2021, a 19-year-old named Brian Cohee drove his car into the Colorado River — with a murdered man's remains in the boot. The next morning, his mother Terri went to clean his room and found something she will never unsee. This is the true crime story of Warren Barnes — Grand Junction, Colorado's beloved "Reading Man" — and the teenager who spent six months planning his murder, believing nobody would notice Warren was gone. He was catastrophically wrong. In this episode: a driveway confession caught on bodycam, a nearly two-hour police interrogation where Brian was eager to talk, a jury trial centred on an insanity plea, and a community that proved — within one business day — exactly how wrong Brian Cohee's calculations were. Warren Barnes was 69 years old. Unhoused. Known by everyone on his block. He finished a book every single day, showed up at the Shell station before 5:30am every morning, and greeted everyone who passed him the same way: "And you also." His story deserves to be told right. Watch the body cam of this footage on the Explore with Us Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvrp87VXtD4 True crime | Murder case | Colorado | Homeless victim | Teen killer | Bodycam footage | Insanity plea | Victim advocacy | Community justice | Grand Junction Colorado | Brian Cohee | Warren Barnes