Susan Smith: the mother who faked a kidnapping after having killed her children

Susan Smith: the mother who faked a kidnapping after having killed her children

Three chained women: the invisible decade of Ariel Castro: The serial kidnapping of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesús A hand emerging through the crack of a door after ten years in captivity. A school bus driver operating in the shadows of a residential neighborhood, keeping three chained lives while participating in search vigils. The question that haunts this case: how did an ordinary man manage to keep the darkest secret for a decade without a single neighbor believing what their ears heard? In this episode, we explore the architecture of confinement: how Ariel Castro premeditated locks in the basement and attic years before the kidnappings, how he selected victims without safety nets (Michelle without a formal report, Amanda on her seventeenth birthday, Gina deceived with the name of her own daughter), and how Amanda's coded notebook recorded up to five assaults in a single day. The central tension remains unresolved: why did investigators not connect the search volunteer with the predator living two houses away? Victims: Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesús Date: August 2002 - May 6, 2013 Location: Cleveland, Ohio, United States Status: Closed - Life sentence (September 3, 2013, suicide in prison) - Michelle Knight was kidnapped without a formal report because her family assumed she left voluntarily to avoid losing custody of her son. - Amanda Berry received a single call from her own phone days after her abduction: a male voice announcing a fictitious marriage; it was the last recorded information in the FBI about her for eleven years. - Castro volunteered in the organized searches for Gina DeJesús while she was chained in his basement, using the name of his own daughter to deceive her. - More than two hundred seized items corroborated systematic torture; Michelle suffered five forced abortions after being kicked in the abdomen; Jocelyn was born without medical assistance. Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesús, Cleveland 2002-2013, serial kidnapping, serial killer, captivity, criminal minds, forensic investigation, true crime, predator, homicide, true crime Spanish If you want to listen to this podcast without ads and have access to premium episodes, we invite you to try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and associated materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use in whole or in part is prohibited without prior written authorization from OBOMEDIA. For permissions, licenses, and business inquiries, write to: business@obomedia.com [business@obomedia.com]. If you'd like to listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, we invite you to try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and associated materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or total or partial commercial use is prohibited without prior written authorization. For permissions, licenses, and commercial inquiries: business@obomedia.com

The Killer Who Won a Television Dating Show

Killer Laughs on Live Television While Confessing to Forty Murders: The Serial Murders of Nairobi Muñoz and Martha Delgado October 10, 2009, in Sucre, Bolivia. Two university students vanish into a vehicle with two unknown men and are found the next morning mutilated beyond recognition-faces slashed, skulls crushed, one victim missing her nose. Yet the autopsy reveals no sexual assault, contradicting everything police believed about the crime's motive. Exploring this investigation uncovers a chilling pattern: how Jaime Cárdenas Pardo murdered for years with impunity by bribing officers, how he escaped from prison after conviction, and how his televised confession revealed something darker than any court sentence could capture. The central mystery: he was convicted of three murders, but claimed forty-and authorities only opened investigations into eight more, leaving the true victim count unknown. Victim: Nairobi Muñoz, Martha Delgado Date: October 10, 2009 Location: Sucre and La Paz, Bolivia Status: Convicted; currently imprisoned - Cárdenas confessed to over forty murders on television while laughing and using sarcasm about his victims - He was convicted of only three murders, leaving a gap of unverified deaths and unnamed victims - A four-year-old boy, son of his accomplice, was murdered by hitmen seeking revenge for the university students - He escaped prison in March 2012 and remained free for thirty-four days before recapture via a photograph Jaime Cárdenas Pardo, Sucre Bolivia serial killer 2009, antisocial personality disorder hedonistic psychopath, criminal investigation homicide, unsolved murders forensic evidence, true crime English To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com [business@obomedia.com]. If you'd like to listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, we invite you to try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and associated materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or total or partial commercial use is prohibited without prior written authorization. For permissions, licenses, and commercial inquiries: business@obomedia.com

The Butcher of Hanover Protected by the Police

Serial Killer Wins Dating Game Contest While Police Hunt Him for Murder: The Decades-Long Hunt for Rodney Alcalá September 13, 1978. A man smiled at television cameras, charmed a national audience, and won a prime-time dating contest. Off-screen, he had already killed at least three times that year. No producer, no investigator, no one in the studio knew they were broadcasting a serial killer in real time. This episode explores the impossible contradiction at the heart of a true crime investigation that spanned fifty years: how a convicted predator with a documented psychiatric diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder and extreme sadism was repeatedly released by the justice system, diagnosed as rehabilitated after thirty-four months in prison, and allowed to keep killing for over a decade. From the moment Alcalá assaulted eight-year-old Tali Shapiro in 1968, the system saw him, documented him, and still let him go-not once, but multiple times. Victim: Robin Samsoe (primary case); also Ellen Hoover, Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted, Charlotte Lamb, Jill Parenteau, and others Date: 1968-1979 (primary crimes); trials through 2010 Location: Los Angeles, California; New York; New Hampshire; multiple states Status: Convicted of 7 confirmed murders; estimated 130+ victims; died in prison July 24, 2021 - Eight-year-old Tali Shapiro survived a skull-crushing assault in 1968, yet Alcalá was arrested, served thirty-four months, and was released - Two months after release, he reoffended and was arrested for parole violation-then freed again in June 1977 - Between November 1977 and June 1978, four women were murdered in Los Angeles; their cases remained unsolved for twenty-four years until DNA linked them to Alcalá in 2002 - Police recovered over 1,000 photographs in a Seattle storage unit, with names, dates, and addresses written on the backs of images; one jewelry bag contained an earring from victim Robin Samsoe and DNA from victim Georgia Wixted, connecting two murders a year apart Rodney Alcalá, The Dating Game, serial killer, Los Angeles murders, 1970s unsolved cases, antisocial personality disorder, forensic failure, criminal history ignored, true crime English To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com [business@obomedia.com]. If you'd like to listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, we invite you to try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and associated materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or total or partial commercial use is prohibited without prior written authorization. For permissions, licenses, and commercial inquiries: business@obomedia.com

Ariel Castro: ten years of captivity in an ordinary house without effective intervention

The Mother Who Tortured for Nine Years Without Conviction: The Murder of Susan and Sheila by Teresa Cross A mother shot, stabbed, and burned her own daughters alive in Sacramento. For nine years, authorities ignored the cries of a survivor. The system that absolved her of murder in 1964 would fail again decades later, until a television program exposed what no one wanted to see. In this episode, we explore how Teresa Cross kept her children as forced accomplices, how two unidentified bodies remained archived while one daughter pleaded for justice, and why a confession from her own son was necessary to unleash the final downfall of a serial killer operating in broad daylight. Victim: Susan and Sheila Cross Date: 1984-1985 Location: Orangeville and Sacramento, California Status: Sentenced to two life terms (1995) - Teresa shot her first husband in the back in 1964 and was acquitted; the system taught her that dramatic victimization works. - Susan was stabbed, burned alive, and her body was found charred nine years later, classified as Jane Doe. - Sheila died locked in a closet without water or food; that closet survived the fire Teresa ordered to destroy evidence. - Terry reported to the police in 1992 and was dismissed as a liar; in 1993, she saw her dead sister on television and called America's Most Wanted. Teresa Cross, Susan Cross, Sheila Cross, Sacramento, Orangeville, murder, torture, homicide, investigation, serial killer, forensic, unsolved mystery, true crime, late justice, true crime Spanish If you'd like to listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, we invite you to try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and associated materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or total or partial commercial use is prohibited without prior written authorization. For permissions, licenses, and commercial inquiries: business@obomedia.com

Teresa Cross: decades of child torture facilitated by system failures

The mother who sold her son for revenge: The murder of Elmer in Iquitos A mother organized the kidnapping of her own 11-year-old son, provided his school route to the captors, and when she was informed that he had been murdered, her only concern was to destroy the chips from the cell phones. On May 9, 2019, Elmer disappeared in Iquitos in what seemed to be an impossible crime: the family itself was the architect of the plan. In this episode, we explore how Arlen designed every detail of the kidnapping, from placing contact numbers in her son's backpack the night before to withholding the ransom money while her accomplices crumbled under greed. We reconstruct the internal breakdown between Lester, Cásculo, and Belson that ended in asphyxiation, the discovery of the black sack next to the cemetery, and the coldness of a mother who never cried during the search. Victim: Elmer (11 years) Date: May 9, 2019 Location: Iquitos, Peru Status: Sentenced (life imprisonment, June 2022) - Arlen placed a phone number in Elmer's backpack the night before the kidnapping, proving premeditation of 24 hours. - Security cameras located Lester at payphones exactly when the captors called the family. - Arlen withheld 4,500 of 5,000 soles from the ransom, causing the financial breakdown that triggered the asphyxiation murder. - The mother did not cry during three days of searching; the only tears came when they found the body. Elmer, Iquitos, family murder, kidnapping, 2019, criminal minds, investigation, homicide, true crime, forensic, revenge, justice, true crime Spanish If you'd like to listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, we invite you to try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and associated materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or total or partial commercial use is prohibited without prior written authorization. For permissions, licenses, and commercial inquiries: business@obomedia.com