When thirty-four-year-old Shanann Watts missed a doctor’s appointment on August 13, 2018, her friends reported her missing to the Frederick, Colorado Police. When officers searched the home, they found Shanann’s car parked in the garage and her belongings—including her wallet, cell phone, and medication—were found in various spots around the house, but there was no sign of Shanann or the couple’s two children anywhere.

The next day, the FBI opened an investigation into the disappearance of Shanann, Bella and Celeste and Chris took to local television to give one of the most infamous and suspicious interviews of all time. He asked anyone with information about their whereabouts to come forward. The very next day however, Chris failed a polygraph exam and eventually confessed to murdering his wife, but he initially denied killing their children.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

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Chris Watts Discovery Documents

Body Language Analysis Video

References

Baker, KC. 2018. Pregnant Woman and Her 2 Little Girls Vanish and Could Be in Danger, Authorities Say. August 15. Accessed April 15, 2026. https://people.com/crime/colorado-pregnant-mom-daughters-vanish-medication-left/.

Glatt, John. 2020. The Perfect Father: The True Story of Chris Watts, His All-American Family, and a Shocking Murder. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.

Helling, Steve. 2018. Pregnant Mom Vanishes, Husband Pleads for Help — Then 3 Bodies Turn Up: How Watts Family Murder Case Unfolded. September 18. Accessed April 15, 2026. https://people.com/crime/shanann-chris-watts-family-murder-timeline/.

McDonnell-Parry, Amelia. 2018. "Colorado man claims he killed pregnant wife after she strangled their daughters." Roling Stone, August 20.

Swanson, Sady, and Nick Coltrain. 2018. "Christopher Watts sentenced to 3 life terms for murdering pregnant wife, 2 daughters." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 20: 1.

Chris Watts Discovery Documents

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

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Today we are joined by the legendary Patricia Cornwell! We dive into all things Scarpetta, the highly praisedTV adaptation of her iconic book series. We also get into the evolution of forensic science in storytelling, and how Patricia basically walked so every crime show could run. Then we shift gears into her deeply personal new memoir, where she opens up about her life, career, and the experiences that shaped her storytelling. From behind-the-scenes publishing drama to the real-life inspirations for her chilling cases, Patricia gets candid in a way that is equal parts fascinating and inspiring!

Mentions in this Episode

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Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

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Guys! It's that special time of the month! You know... the one that's brought to you By you FOR  you and ALL ABOUT YOU! This month we're getting our bangs sky high to honor a batch of tales from the eighties! Want  to see the fits? Check out the YOUTUBE version is packed with extra Nicholas footage!

If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at  [email protected] with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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When Ron Bradley won an all-expense paid cruise to the Caribbean in 1998, it seemed like a great opportunity to have one last family vacation with his wife, Iva, and his kids, twenty-three-year-old Amy and twenty-one-year-old Brad. In March, the family flew to Puerto Rico, where they boarded “Rhapsody of the Seas,” a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, and set off for the island of Curacao. The trip was everything Ron and his wife had hoped for, but just two days after departing from Puerto Rico, Amy went missing and their lives would never be the same again.

If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of Amy Bradley, they are encouraged to contact the family through their website amybradleyismissing.com or the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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This month’s bonus episode we are revisiting Eclipse, where the stakes are higher, the wigs are worse, and the love triangle is somehow even more unhinged. Bella Swan continues her lifelong hobby of making absolutely baffling decisions as she’s torn between sparkly control enthusiast Edward Cullen and aggressively boundary-ignoring werewolf Jacob Black. Meanwhile, a literal vampire army is being assembled… but sure, let’s focus on Bella’s engagement anxiety. Revisit the series that puts the 'why?' in 'Y.A.' So queue up the movie, dust off your copy, and continue with  us as we spiral back into the alarmingly problematic world of The Twilight Saga!

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Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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In the spring of 1898, the British government began a large-scale infrastructure project, building a bridge connecting Uganda to Kilindini Harbor in Kenya. The ambitious project involved building a large railroad bridge across the Tsavo River in the Coast Province of Kenya. Just days after the bridge project began, workmen on the construction crew began disappearing, their remains turning up mangled days later, if they turned up at all. In time, it was discovered that two male maneless lions in the region were stalking, killing, and eating the men working on the infrastructure project.

For more than nine months, the construction in the Tsavo region was plagued by attacks, resulting in anywhere from thirty-five to more than one hundred men killed and eaten by the lions. Eventually, a massive hunt was undertaken and the two animals were ultimately killed, allowing the infrastructure project to be completed unimpeded. Despite being an exceedingly rare occurrence, the attacks at Tsavo became symbolic of the wildness of Africa and the power of the British Empire to tame the region through colonialism.

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References

Kuta, Sarah. 2024. Two Lions Went on a Man-Eating Spree in 1898. Now, DNA Evidence Reveals Their Diets. October 15. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/two-lions-went-on-a-man-eating-spree-in-1898-now-dna-evidence-reveals-their-diets-180985269/.

Patterson, Bruce. 2004. The Lions of Tsavo: Exploring the Legacy of Africa's Notorious Man-eaters. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Patterson, James. 2016. "The man-eaters of Tsavo." Sports Afield, January 1.

Patterson, John Henry. 1907. The Man Eaters of Tsavo. London, UK: Macmilan.

Raffaele, Paul. 2010. 

Man-Eaters of Tsavo.

 January. Accessed April 8, 2026. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/man-eaters-of-tsavo-11614317/

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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This week we are packing their emotional support sage and heading straight into two deeply unsettling homes because apparently “cozy” is overrated. First stop: the infamous Blood House of Atlanta, where a mystifying issue plagued the house owners.Then we hop across the pond to Perthshire, Scotland, to dig into the legend of Ballechin House. Built by a man with a very specific  obsession with reincarnation, the house became a hotspot for terrifying phenomena after his death. From bloodstained histories to ghostly tantrums, these houses prove that sometimes it’s not the location, it’s the lingering energy that turns a home into a nightmare. 

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Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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When twenty-seven-year-old James Bullock was shot and killed in St. Louis in the winter of 1958, investigators immediately focused their attention on Bullock’s wife, Edna, who was the beneficiary of her husband’s large life insurance policy. Witnesses recalled seeing the victim being chased by a man with a gun on the night of the murder, and detectives suspected Edna had arranged for her husband to be killed so she could collect the insurance money. They didn’t know it at the time, but St. Louis investigators were investigating what was to be the first victim in a decades-long career of a most unlikely hitman and serial killer.

Although they had their suspicions that Edna Bullock had enlisted the help of her ex-husband, Glen Engleman, in the murder of her new husband, it would take many more years before those suspicions were confirmed. And by that time, Engleman, a successful suburban dentist had taken the lives of several more people, all to satisfy his own interest in calculated and carefully planned assassinations.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

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References

Bakos, Susan. 1988. Appointment for Murder. New York, NY: Putnam.

Bryan, Bill. 1987. "Case closed." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, october 18: 77.

Ellis, James. 1976. "Killing of Kirkwood man may have been accident." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 7: 5.

Ganey, Terry. 1999. "Convicted killer Glennon Engleman dies at 71 in prison." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 4: 11.

Kansas City Star. 1958. "Shot, run over near museum." Kansas City Star, December 18: 1.

Mathes, Bob. 1979. "Clues sought in Madison County killing." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 6: 3.

McReynolds, Becky. 1980. "Many questions in new bomb killing." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 15: 1.

Reynolds, Becky, and Geof Dubson. 1980. "Dentist charged in 1976 killing." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 25: 1.

St. Clair Chronicle. 1976. "Shot to death in woods near Pacific." St. Clair Chronicle, September 8: 1.

St. Louis Post-Dipatch. 1958. "Mrs. Bullock's first husband won't talk at killing inquest." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 19: 1.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1980. "Car bomb linked to earlier one at victim's home." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 16: 3.

—. 1958. "Dentist and his friends questioned further in James Bullock killing." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 21: 1.

—. 1977. "Motive unclear in farm couple's killing." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 6: 18A.

—. 1958. "Police question wife of man shot to death in Forest Park." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 18: 1.

Wehling, Robert, and Robert Kelly. 1977. "Double killing stuns neighbors." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 5: 3.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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In April 1834, a massive fire broke out at the mansion of Delphine LaLaurie on Royal Street in New Orleans French Quarter. LaLaurie was known to have kept several slaves as servants in the home, but when bystanders attempted to enter the house to rescue those trapped inside, they found the doors barred. After forcing the doors open and making their way inside the house, the rescuers were horrified to find the “horribly mutilated” bodies of at least seven of LaLaurie’s slaves. Delphine LaLaurie was known to treat her servants very badly, including physically abusing them, but no one in New Orleans had imagined she was a sadistic murderer.

After the discovery of the horrors in the LaLaurie mansion, Delphine LaLaurie fled New Orleans, fearing mob violence, and lived the rest of her life as an exile in Paris—but that is not the end of the story. Just a few decades after LaLaurie abandoned her home and fled the country, her story and those of the men, women, and children who suffered in her home worked their way into New Orleans folklore. Today, nearly two hundred years later, the LaLaurie mansion has become known as the most haunted house in New Orleans, and the legend of Delphine LaLaurie has lived on through television, film, and books about Mad Madame LaLaurie. 

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References

Crawford, Iain. 2020. "Harriet Matineau, White Women, and Slavery in the bAntebellum South." Nineteenth-Century Prose 89-116.

Long, Carolyn Morrow. 2015. Madame Lalaurie, Mistress of the Haunted House. Gainsville, FL: University Press of Florida.

Martineau, Harriet. 1838. Retrospect of Western Travel, volume 2. London, UK: Saunders and Otley.

Masia, Ines Vila. 1947. "New Orleans puts its ghosts to work." The Times (Shreveport, LA), July 20: 21.

New Orleans Bee. 1834. "Baton Rouge news." Baton-Rouge Gazette, April 19: 2.

Pitts, Stella. 1974. "New paint, old stories stir interest in 'haunted house'." Times-Picayune, August 11: 68.

Schneider, Frank. 1969. "Sale typidies French Quarter values." Times-Picayune, February 9: 47.

Wolfe, Poet. 2024. "LaLaurie Mansion in New Orleans has a sinister history dating back to the 1830s." Times Picayune, July 11.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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Chicago in the 1920s is often remembered for the rise of organized crime and it’s larger than life leaders like Al Capone and Johnny Torrio. While these men and their organizations surely shaped the city’s identity, their infamy and influence were, at least for a short time, rivaled by a group of young women whose murderous acts would dominate headlines in papers around the country throughout the decade.

While Beulah Annan and Belva Gardner—the real-life inspiration for the musical Chicago—were arguably the most well known of the female murders from this era, their famous murders were preceded by the equally sensationalized murder spree of Tillie Klimek. Between 1914 and 1921, Klimek was believed to have killed as many as seven people including four husbands. While her crimes would ultimately land her in the Illinois State Penitentiary for the rest of her life, her exploits and criminal trial were sensational and occupied the front pages of city newspapers for years.

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References

Chicago Tribune. 1922. "Death called mere routine in posion home." Chicago Tribune, November 15: 1.

—. 1922. "Find arsenic, arrest wife and stepson." Chicago Tribune, October 27: 1.

—. 1922. "Klimek poison list is twenty; arrest 1 more." Chicago Tribune, November 19: 1.

—. 1922. "Koulik friend sought in new poison charge." Chicago Tribune, November 26: 5.

—. 1922. "Mystery deaths in poison case may reach 20." Chicago Tribune, November 14: 3.

—. 1923. "Tillie Klimek is strong witness in own defense." Chicago Tribune, March 13: 7.

Danville Commercial News. 1923. "The woman, not the jury, was on trial." Chicago Tribune, March 30: 8.

Forbes, Genevieve. 1923. "Grave digger tells of goings on at Klimks'." Chicago Tribune, March 10: 3.

—. 1923. "How Mrs. Klimek jested of death of husband told." Chicago Tribune, March 9: 7.

—. 1923. "Life in prison for woman as arch poisoner." Chicago Tribune, March 14: 1.

—. 1923. "'Ma' Koulik, wise in jail learning, goes back home." Chicago Tribune, November 9: 4.

—. 1923. "Poison evidence robs Mrs. Klimek of indifference." Chicago Tribune, March 11: 7.

International News Service. 1922. "May exhume bodies of four former husbands." Waukegan News-Sun, October 27: 12.

Lynch, Charles. 1923. "Ask hanging for 2 women charged with murder orgy." Belvidere Daily Republican, March 6: 1.

Telfer, Tori. 2017. Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.

United Press. 1922. "Chicago police suspect second 'Mrs. BLuebeard'." Freeport Journal-Standard, November 4: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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On October 14, 1987, Reba McClure and her eighteen-month-old daughter, Jessica, stopped by the Midland, Texas home of her sister for a visit. As Reba sat in the backyard watching Jessica play with some neighborhood children, she heard the phone ring and went inside to answer it. When McClure returned to the backyard a few minutes later, she saw the other children staring at the ground on the far-side of the yard, but Jessica was nowhere to be seen.

To Reba McClure’s absolute horror, while she was inside on the phone, Jessica had fallen twenty-feet down into the well on her sister’s property and become lodged in a section only fourteen-inches wide. Rescue teams arrived at the house not long after Jessica fell into the well, but the situation proved far more complicated than anyone had expected; they needed to dig a parallel shaft to rescue the girl, but any amount of significant vibration in the earth could have collapsed the well entirely.

In the early days of cable news twenty-four-hour news coverage, the rescue of Jessica McClure became one of the most watched events in the United States. However, while the rescue of the girl was everyone’s primary concern, the wall-to-wall coverage itself quickly became a major part of the story, as ordinary smalltown Americans were shoved into the spotlight and questions over rights to the story (and rights to privacy) took center stage.

References

Belkin, Lisa. 1988. "Baby Jessica's rescuers fighting over TV rights." New York Times, March 24.

Bone, Mark, and Gregory Rosati. 2021. How 58 hours in Midland, Texas, changed the future of TV news. July 30. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/30/opinions/baby-jessica-cnn-films-shorts-mark-bone-opinion.

Comiter, Jordana, and Carolina Blair. 2025. Where Is ‘Baby Jessica’ Now? Inside Her Life 38 Years After Her Harrowing Rescue from a Texas Well. October 16. Accessed March 24, 2026. https://people.com/all-about-baby-jessica-life-now-11830322.

Crimmins, Patrick. 1987. "Toddler's rescue 'matter of time'." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Hillrichs, Julie. 1987. "Naps, choruses of nursery song help toddler endure her ordeal." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Kennedy, J. Michael. 1987. "Jessica makes it to safety-after 58 1/2 hours." Los Angeles Times, October 17: 1.

Lunsford, Lance. 2024. Inside the Well: The Midland, Texas Rescue of Baby Jessica. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press.

Madigan, Tim. 1987. "Rescue just agonizing inches from sobbing girl in Midland well." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 15: 1.

—. 1987. "Town shares emotion of toddler's relatives." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 16: 1.

Nye, Ramona. 1987. "Jessica free, under doctors' care." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 17: 1.

Pitts, John Paul. 1987. "Concerned people give of themselves for Jessica." Midland Reporter-Telegram, October 17: 1.

Thomas, Evan, and Peter Annin. 1997. "'Baby Jessica' grows up." Newsweek, October 27: 34.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.