Crime at Bedtime

The Man Who Vanished from His Chair

On a warm June evening in 1768, a 69-year-old paralysed man named Owen Parfitt sat outside his sister's cottage in Shepton Mallet, England, dressed in his nightshirt and propped up on his folded greatcoat. Just a dozen yards away, farm workers laboured in full view of the porch. Around 7 PM, Owen's elderly sister Mary and a young neighbour, Susannah Snook, went inside to fetch him before an approaching storm. Minutes later, they returned to find Owen gone. The chair remained. The greatcoat remained. But Owen Parfitt—a man who couldn't move by himself—had vanished. The farm workers had seen nothing. Heard nothing. An exhaustive search through the storm and the days that followed found no trace. Owen had been a sailor in his youth, regaling locals with wild tales of piracy, smuggling, and black magic across Africa, America, and the high seas. Mary went to her grave believing the Devil had taken her brother as payment for his wicked life. Others suspected "men from Bristol" had silenced him to claim hidden treasure or stop his garrulous tales. Investigations in 1813, 1814, and 1933 uncovered no answers. More than 250 years later, Owen Parfitt's disappearance remains one of England's most baffling unsolved mysteries. Did the Devil claim him? Was he murdered? Or is there another explanation buried somewhere in the fields of Shepton Mallet? Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here [linktr.ee/one_minute_remaining] Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE [https://www.youtube.com/@CrimeAtBedtimeOfficial] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Architect's Secret

For 33 years, a serial killer hunted sex workers on Long Island, strangling them and dumping their bodies along a desolate stretch of Ocean Parkway. In December 2010, police searching for missing escort Shannan Gilbert discovered four bodies wrapped in burlap near Gilgo Beach—the "Gilgo Four": Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello. Further searches uncovered four more victims, extending the timeline back to 1993. The case went cold, hampered by police corruption and obstruction. In 2022, a new task force made a breakthrough: a witness remembered a Chevrolet Avalanche picking up victim Amber Costello. The vehicle led them to Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old Manhattan architect who commuted daily from Massapequa Park. In January 2023, investigators grabbed a discarded pizza box from a Manhattan bin. The DNA on the crust matched hair on victim Megan Waterman's burlap. Heuermann was arrested in July 2023. Police found a vault with 279 weapons in his basement, a deleted planning document titled "HK2002-04" detailing how to kill and dispose of bodies, and burner phones that pinged towers near his home and office. His wife and children had been out of town during every murder. On 8 April 2026—1,000 days after his arrest—Heuermann pleaded guilty to eight murders spanning 1993 to 2010, admitting he strangled each victim. He will die in prison. The demon who walked amongst us is finally behind bars. Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here [linktr.ee/one_minute_remaining] Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE [https://www.youtube.com/@CrimeAtBedtimeOfficial] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Christmas Shooting - CONNOR HILTON

December 23, 2023. Two days before Christmas. Connor Hilton, 17, invited friends to his Friendswood, Texas home to see his new gun. When Ethan Riley and Ben Bliek arrived, Connor stood up, raised the revolver, and shot both boys in the head. Ethan died on Christmas Eve. Ben survived but was left paralysed. A third teenager locked himself in the bathroom and called 911. Connor told police three different stories: first, self-defence—Ethan attacked him. Then, an accident—the gun just went off. Finally, the truth: "I've had suicidal, homicidal thoughts for so long. I've been planning it." His defence blamed Accutane, the acne medication, claiming it caused drug-induced psychosis. Prosecutors called him evil and pointed to his confession: he'd invited a whole group of friends over—whoever showed up would be his victims. In August 2025, a judge ruled the Accutane defence inadmissible. Connor pleaded guilty and received 50 years. In February 2026, a civil jury found his mother 75% responsible for failing to secure the weapon, awarding the victims' families $60 million. Connor will be eligible for parole in 2050, aged 42. Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here [linktr.ee/one_minute_remaining] Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE [https://www.youtube.com/@CrimeAtBedtimeOfficial] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Did CERN Break Reality?

In 2016, a 13-year-old genius named Max Loughan went viral with an extraordinary claim: CERN destroyed our universe. Not with an explosion—but by shifting us all into a parallel reality. When scientists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider smashed particles together in 2012 and discovered the Higgs boson, Max believed the sheer energy tore a hole in spacetime, sliding humanity into a neighbouring universe almost identical to our own. Almost. The proof? The Mandela Effect. Millions of people remember Kit Kat having a hyphen. It never did. They remember C-3PO being all gold. He's always had a silver leg. They remember the Mona Lisa with no smile. She's always been smiling. They remember the Monopoly Man wearing a monocle. He never has. Are these false memories—or scars from our original universe? Max's theories spread across the internet, educating millions. Then, in 2018, he vanished. Social media went silent. No interviews. No updates. Some say he simply grew up and chose privacy. Others wonder if he knew too much. Did CERN's experiments break reality? Are we living in a parallel universe? And what happened to the boy who tried to warn us? Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here [linktr.ee/one_minute_remaining] Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE [https://www.youtube.com/@CrimeAtBedtimeOfficial] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Riverdale Actor Who Killed His Mother

March 31, 2020. Ryan Grantham, 21, a Canadian actor known for roles in Riverdale and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, shot his mother Barbara Waite in the back of the head whilst she played piano in their Squamish, British Columbia home. He'd rehearsed the murder for days, walking up behind her with the rifle before losing his nerve. On the day he finally pulled the trigger, he filmed a GoPro confession: "I shot her in the back of the head. In the moments after, she would have known it was me." Then he drank beer, smoked cannabis, and watched Netflix for two and a half hours. The next morning, Ryan arranged candles around his mother's body and hung a rosary from the piano. He loaded his car with three guns, 12 Molotov cocktails, ammunition, and a map to the Canadian Prime Minister's residence in Ottawa—50 hours away. He planned to assassinate Justin Trudeau. He made it 120 miles before turning around. He then considered a mass shooting at his university or a bridge in Vancouver. Instead, he drove to the police station and confessed. In September 2022, a judge sentenced Ryan to life in prison with 14 years before parole eligibility. His journal read: "I'm so sorry mom... There's hundreds of hours of me that can be viewed and dissected... No one will understand." Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here [linktr.ee/one_minute_remaining] Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE [https://www.youtube.com/@CrimeAtBedtimeOfficial] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.