Horror Mysteries: Weird Creepy Stories

The Résumé on the Bathroom Floor: How a Job Paper Destroyed a Life A job résumé left on the tile of a stranger’s bathroom became the single object that tied a home invasion to a woman with no prior record - and now the prosecution seeks twenty years. What happens when a discarded piece of paper turns an ordinary life into a case that threatens to take away a mother’s future? In this episode, we tell the story of Missy, a thirty-six-year-old first-time offender whose life unraveled after an armed home invasion, and follow the details that connect addiction, family, and a misplaced résumé to the legal fight over a possible two-decade sentence. Which detail in the record shifts this from a tragic mistake to a life-altering verdict? Person: Missy Age: 36 Charges: armed home invasion, kidnapping, assault, assault with a firearm Sentence requested by prosecution: 20 years Dependents: three children (ages include a 15-year-old son, a nonverbal 4-year-old son, and an infant daughter) - The résumé was left on the bathroom floor of the victim’s home on the morning of the crime. - The victim, an elderly woman, did not return to her house for weeks after being bound and held at gunpoint. - Missy had no prior nights in jail until approximately one year before the interview. - Missy’s attorney initially estimated a realistic sentence of two to two-and-a-half years, with a worst realistic outcome of ten years. - A 75-year-old man deposits $150 into Missy’s commissary account each week.

The Yogurt Cup and the Artery: Inside Sacramento's Vampire killings Cold detail at a kitchen counter-an overturned chair, a plain yogurt cup rimmed with bloody lip prints-became the clue that nothing about these murders was rational. Four-inch segments of a major artery removed and taken, borrowed kitchen knives left in plain sight, and a bathtub stained as if someone had sat in it: what kind of belief could make those acts make sense? In this episode, we lay out the crime scenes, the timeline, and the way investigators shifted from ordinary explanations to a profile of an offender operating by a fractured internal logic. What did the evidence - the yogurt cup, the missing artery, and the bathtub bloodline - tell agents about the mind behind the killings? Location: Sacramento, California Date: January 23, 1978 Person: Terry Wallen Person: Daniel Meredith Person: Evelyn Miroth - A plain yogurt cup with bloody lip prints was found on the kitchen counter at Terry Wallen’s scene. - A four-inch segment of a major artery was removed from Terry Wallen’s body and taken from the scene. - Three victims (Terry Wallen; Daniel Meredith; Evelyn Miroth and her son Jason) were killed within days and less than a mile of the first scene. - The attacker used knives taken from the victims’ own kitchens and left the blades behind at each scene. - Blood on the bathtub walls and waterline at the Miroth home indicated someone had been in the water after the killings.

She Served Lemonade - Poisoned a Family and Never Confessed Sweet hospitality masked invisible arsenic: four people closest to a popular Macon restaurant owner died between 1952 and 1958, each death certified by a doctor, and the poison left no taste or smell. Who was the woman who mixed lethal doses into lemonade and never admitted it? In this episode, we tell the story of Anjette Lyles and the sequence of deaths, the insurance payouts, and the witnesses who tried to stop her. Listen to how small doses slipped into juices and buttermilk, why segregation kept accusations silent, and what finally brought the case to the sheriff. Person: Anjette Lyles Location: Macon, Georgia Period: 1952-1958 Case: Four deaths (husband, second husband, mother-in-law, nine-year-old daughter) Amount: Close to $50,000 in life insurance across four policies - Ben Lyles died January 25, 1952 at age 34 with official cause listed as encephalitis. - Anjette borrowed $12,000 to buy back the restaurant three years after Ben's death. - Joe Neil "Buddy" Gabbert married Anjette June 24, 1955 and died in November 1955 after wrist surgery. - Julia Lyles died September 29, 1957 after being given buttermilk prepared by Anjette. - Marsha Lyles, age nine (three months shy of ten), died April 5, 1958 after drinking lemonade brought by her mother and experiencing hallucinations.

When the Timer Stopped: The Quiet Bomber of Prince Edward Island A meticulously built pipe bomb with a stopped countdown timer was left in downtown Charlottetown, a device so precise investigators later called its construction extraordinary - and the only signature was letters signed "Loki 7." How did a retired chemistry teacher with a taste for Nazi memorabilia and an understanding of trace evidence slip into silence for months while assembling explosives and sending communiqués sealed with water? In this episode, we lay out the chronology of the attacks, the investigation that followed, and the forensic threads that tied two blasts together, asking how the stopped timer and unusual components became the clues that pointed investigators toward one man. Person: Roger Bell Location: Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Date: June 1996 Case: Two explosions including a 1995 legislature bombing and a June 1996 pipe bomb Signature: "Loki 7" communiqués sealed with water - The bomb in June 1996 was placed in a green bag outside the Speedy Propane Compound in downtown Charlottetown. - The device contained a countdown timer that had stopped on its own and remained intact until police destroyed it 24 hours after a warning communique. - Police received two communiqués signed "Loki 7" bearing a stylized swastika and antisemitic content. - Forensic examiner Jean-Yves Vermette identified a rare four-inch nipple pipe sealed with double end caps in the second device, calling the combination exceptional. - Roger Bell ordered three explosive-making books in 1994 flagged by Canadian Customs and purchased a four-inch nipple pipe and two double end caps using the alias John MacLeod.

The Last Message: Teen's Farewell and a Sextortion Empire A teenage farewell - "I haven't got any more money, bye-bye" - was the last message sent by Daniel Perry before he died, and the cash that bled from his account traced back to a quiet Philippine neighborhood where Western Union branches recorded the highest transaction volumes on Earth in 2014-2015. How did a Facebook profile, a webcam and a low-paid script turn into an industrial-scale sextortion ring, and who built the system that outpaced every attempt to stop it? In this episode, we tell the story of North Hills Village and the operation that ran like a business: recruitment of local teens, scripted interactions, fake Facebook personas, pre-recorded webcam loops, and coordinated collection of cash through Western Union. Was the woman investigators named as the architect still free, and had the network survived every crackdown? Person: Daniel Perry Location: North Hills Village, Philippines Date: 2014-2015 Status: Investigated by Philippine National Police Anti-Cyber Crime Group Partner: Unnamed Libyan partner - The last message Daniel Perry sent contained exactly four words: "I haven't got any more money, bye-bye." - Western Union branches nearest North Hills Village recorded the highest transaction volumes worldwide in 2014 and 2015. - Operatives were mostly local teenagers aged 17 to 19, paid 300-500 pesos per day. - Victims in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong were targeted, with one office worker in Hong Kong extorted for £2,000-£3,000 over several days. - The operation used fake Facebook profiles with roughly ten connections and pre-recorded webcam videos to create the illusion of live interaction.

The Perfectly Packed Case: How a Ring Unraveled a Murder Mystery A woman found curled in the trunk of her car had spotless shoes, a suitcase packed by someone who wasn't her, and a mystery tied to a single piece of jewelry that broke a five-year deadlock. The scene was staged down to the smallest detail - except for a ring that didn't fit the performance. What did that ring reveal that no confession or witness ever did? In this episode, we tell the story of Elena Busuioc from the day she dropped her son off at a custody exchange to the moment detectives finally followed a small lead that changed everything. We cover the timeline, the staged belongings, the relationships around her, and the detail that closed the case: how one ring contradicted the staged disappearance. Person: Elena Busuioc Date: February 2, 2001 Location: Woodinville, Washington Person: Sione Louie Investigation duration: five years before arrest - Elena was found curled in the trunk of her own car after being missing for seven days. - Elena drove her seven-year-old son Anthony to a parking lot in Woodinville on February 2, 2001 for a custody exchange. - The suitcase staged near Elena's door contained two pairs of boots, two hair dryers, and a travel-sized uncapped gel bottle. - Sione Louie called his sister in Hawaii at 1:15 a.m. the night Elena allegedly slept beside him; the call connected and was not an accidental dial according to detectives. - Detective Sue Peters worked the case initially and spent five years without an arrest before Detective Christina Bartlett reexamined the crime scene photographs.

The Day Alpha Bay Crashed: How One Slip Exposed a Dark Empire A marketplace that looked like Amazon sold AK-47s for $500, lab-tested cocaine at 75% purity for $40 a gram, and a UK passport for any name - all on Tor. For years it moved hundreds of millions in cryptocurrency and was ten times the size of Silk Road; so how did its anonymous architect finally get unmasked? In this episode, we tell how Alpha Bay grew from a small market for stolen digital credentials into the largest criminal marketplace on the dark web, how its interface and seller feedback system normalized illicit trade, and what single operational mistake left the crucial evidence for investigators. How did one decade-old email account become the break that brought down an empire? Person: Alexander Handle: Alpha zero two Market: Alpha Bay Scale: roughly ten times Silk Road Payment type: cryptocurrency - The market listed fake university degrees for 0.1 Bitcoin (about $1,100 at the time). - A Dutch passport was offered for 0.4 Bitcoin (about $4,500 when Bitcoin traded near $10,000). - Lab-tested cocaine advertised at 75% purity was sold for $40 per gram. - An AK-47 was offered for $500 and described as shipped inside a vase. - Analysts estimated the global illegal drug trade at $300-$500 billion per year, a market Alpha Bay positioned itself within.

They Sentenced a Man to Death - But There Was No Body A motel night clerk vanished into blood and a maroon car; the lobby register was emptied while Ricky Ellsworth’s purse, wallet, driver’s license and cash remained untouched. How did a spotless identity and an open security door become the center of a murder case with no body and a man later sent to death? In this episode, we lay out the timeline, the crime scene details, witness sightings, and the connection to a released convict named Michael Rimmer as the investigation unfolds - and ask whether the physical evidence and those last minutes at the counter can explain what really happened to Ricky. Person: Ricky Ellsworth Date: February 7-8, 1997 Location: Motel lobby and back bathroom, Memphis, Tennessee Person: Michael Rimmer Witness observation: man with blood on his knuckles and a maroon four-door car with trunk open parked at the curb at approximately 2:15 a.m. - Ricky Ellsworth was last seen at the front counter at 1:15 a.m.; a different couple found the desk empty about 2:30 a.m. - Ricky’s purse was found undisturbed on a shelf with wallet, credit cards, driver’s license, and folded cash inside. - The security door between the lobby and back office was standing open with no signs of forced entry and was keypad-controlled. - Crime scene found running sink, a flashlight inside the basin, toilet tank lid torn off with broken porcelain brackets, and wet blood-dark sheets pushed into a corner. - Michael Rimmer did not show up for work or collect his paycheck in Mississippi on Friday, February 7, and left his tools behind.

The Nurse, the Controller, and the Vanishing Drug Night A powerful Nevada official was found in a coma she would never wake from while her husband sat in the ambulance reading a newspaper - and an ICU nurse with access to succinylcholine vanished from the supply closet. What happened in that bedroom and on the hospital floor that linked two sudden declines and a hasty Hawaii wedding? In this episode, we trace the timeline from a minor stroke hospitalization to a rapid remarriage, a missing vial of succinylcholine, and a woman who collapsed at home with no signs of trauma. Can the hospital access and coworkers' threats explain the unchallenged deaths and the unanswered questions surrounding Kathy Augustine's final days? Person: Kathy Augustine Date: July 8, 2006 Location: Reno, Nevada Person: Chaz Higgs Event: Charles Augustine hospitalized then died before discharge - Kathy Augustine was born in 1950 and was the first woman elected State Controller of Nevada. - Kathy was found unconscious in her bedroom on the morning of July 8, 2006 and was taken to the hospital in a coma she never recovered from. - Chaz Higgs, an ICU nurse at Sunrise Medical Center, worked overnight the weekend before July 8 and is alleged to have removed a vial of succinylcholine during that shift. - Charles Augustine suffered an initial minor stroke at Sunrise Medical Center, worsened under care, and died before discharge while Kathy had been visiting him. - Kathy and Chaz announced their relationship less than one month after Charles's death and were married three weeks later in Hawaii.

The Bloodied Knock: How a Six-Year-Old Sent an Innocent Man Away A six-year-old girl, soaked in blood, walked out of her grandmother's house and knocked on the door of a convicted sex offender - then identified her uncle as the attacker. The child's single, bloodied knock became the pivot for a murder conviction that ignored a parked car, a sick baby at home, and later recanted details; what really happened that night remains unresolved. In this episode, we tell the story of the June 6, 1998 murder of Judy Johnson, the conviction of Clarence Elkins, and the testimony of six-year-old Brooke Sutton that sent a man to prison for nearly seven years. How did one frightened child's words outweigh physical evidence and alibis, and whose doubts were buried along the way? Person: Judy Johnson Person: Clarence Elkins Person: Brooke Sutton Location: Barberton, Ohio Date: June 6, 1998 - Victim Judy Johnson was 58 years old and nearly blind at the time of her death. - Brooke Sutton was six years old when she walked to the neighbor's house covered in blood. - Clarence Elkins was convicted in May 1999 after a trial that lasted less than a week and jury deliberation of one day. - Clarence Elkins received multiple life terms with parole eligibility in 2054. - At age nine, around 2001, Brooke told investigators she was unsure and described the attacker as having brown eyes (Clarence has blue eyes).