Once Upon A Crime | True Crime

A 16-year-old boy from a well-to-do Fort Worth family commits a quadruple vehicular homicide.  His attorneys will argue that his overprivileged upbringing resulted in him not knowing how to discern right from wrong. The term "affluenza" was coined to describe defendants like Ethan Couch - wealthy, spoiled and held unaccountable for their bad behavior.  I'll also describe how this same defense was used in 1924 to defend the wealthy teenaged murderers Leopold and Loeb.  #LeopoldandLoeb #CrimeoftheCentury #EthanCouch #Affluenza Resources: Manny Fernandez, Richard Perez-Pena and Azam Ahmed, The New York Times, "Ethan Couch, 'Affluenza' Teenager, Had Last Party Before Fleeing," Dec 29, 2015.  Michael J. Mooney, D Magazine, "The Worst Parents Ever," May 2015.   American Experience, PBS Television, "The Perfect Crime: Leopold and Loeb". 

Supervisor Dan White murders San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978. His defense would claim "diminished capacity" to keep him from being sentenced to death. The media dubbed this "The Twinkie Defense". But, what really caused Dan White to become a double murderer? Resources John Geluardi, SF Weekly, "Dan White's motive more about betrayal than homophobia," Jan 30, 2008. Carol Pogash, SFGate.com, "Myth of the 'Twinkie Defense', Nov 23, 2003. 

Three cases are outlined where a person commits murder and then blames the crime on sleepwalking.  First up, Albert Tirrell murders his mistress in 1846 claiming he was in a trance-like state at the time. Kenneth Parks travels 23 km to commit a murder - all while asleep, he claimed. Finally, another man tries to use the sleepwalking defense after killing his wife in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Resources: Karen Abbott, Smithsonian.com, "The Case of the Sleepwalking Killer," April 30, 2012.  Paul Rubin, NewTimes.com, "A Killer Sleep Disorder," Nov 19, 1998.  True Crime Truant, "Scott Falater: Sleepwalking Killer Gets a Wakeup Call," July 20, 2017.  Berit Brogaard and Kristian Marlow, Psychology Today, "Sleep Driving and Sleep Killing: The Kenneth Parks Case," Dec 13, 2012. 

The last chapter of this series continues with stories of the darker side of the Academy Awards.  You'll hear about missing and stolen Oscars, the tragic story of the Oscar Night Streaker and a murder committed by the son of an Oscar winning songwriter. #Oscars #AcademyAwards #CelebrityCrimes #HollywoodCrime Resources: Documentary - Uncle Bob, written, produced and directed by Robert Oppel Television Show: Do Not Disturb: Hotel Horrors - Season 1, Episode 1 - Power, Privilege and Passion, (Investigation Discovery Channel) - This episode details the case of the murder of Sylvie Cachay. 

A man escapes the genocide in Cambodia and becomes an Academy Award Winning Actor in the U.S.  #genocide #Cambodia #VietnamWar #refugees #Hollywoodcrime Resources: Books: A Cambodian Odyssey by Haing. S. Ngor and Roger Warner, Survival in the Killing Fields by Haing S. Ngor Movies: The Killing Fields (1984), directed by Roland Joffe, starring Haing S. Ngor, Sam Waterston, John Malkovich Documentary: The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor (2015), Produced, written, directed and edited by Arthur Dong (Deep Focus Productions)

Roman Polanski lives a life of hardship and tragedy before becoming an award winning director - and a fugitive from justice after being charged with the rape of a 13-year-old girl.  We'll hear from my special guest AJ Benza, the host of the podcast Fame is a Bitch about the inner workings of Hollywood and his first-hand impressions of Roman Polanski. #hollywoodcrimes #charlesmanson #celebritycrime  Resources: Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker, "The Celebrity Defense: Sex, fame and the case of Roman Polanski," Dec 14, 2009.  Christopher Sandford, The Telegraph UK, "Why did Roman Polanski risk it?," Oct 3, 2009.  Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast, "Roman Polanski is a Child Rapist: It's Long Past Time for Hollywood to Cast Him Out," Oct 23, 2017. 

The Academy Awards is held annually to honor the best of Hollywood. But, there is a darker side of this star-studded ceremony. The first is the true story of the crime portrayed in the Academy Award winning film Dog Day Afternoon.  #bankrobberies #johnwojtowicz #chasemanhattanbank #newyorkcrimes  Resources: Movie: Dog Day Afternoon, Starring Al Pacino, John Cazale & Charles Durning (1975)  Documentary: The Dog, Written, produced and directed by Alison Berg & Frank Keraudren (2014)  

A teenage hitchhiker is picked up by a violent rapist in Northern California in 1978. The attack upon her would horrify the public and Lawrence Singleton would serve as a terrifying warning about accepting rides from strangers.  Music on today's episode is by St. Patrick. You can purchase the music on iTunes at this link or on the website www.captainfathands.com. Several resources were used in the research for this episode including:  Paul Dean, The Los Angeles Times, "Mary Vincent Speaks Out: 'He Destroyed Everything About Me'," Feb 25, 1997.  People v. Singleton, Court of Appeals Decision, Fourth District, Div I, California, Nov 20, 1980.  Jacqui Morice Crawford, I Survived, Mary/Brooke/Sharene (2009). 

A woman leaves her abusive husband and spends months trying to get  law enforcement authorities to help her escape her abuser. In 1983, she survives one of the most brutal and vicious incidents of domestic violence I've ever encountered. She will file a civil lawsuit against the city an the police department for failing to protect her.  Patricia Brennan, The Washington Post, "A Cry for Help," Oct 1, 1989.  Thurman v. City of Torrington, Ruling on Motion to Dismiss, Retrieved from Harvard.edu, Oct 23, 1984.  Republican-American, "She survived thirteen stab wounds, a broken neck," Jun 9, 2008.  www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime 

A young woman is offered a ride by a nice looking man in Salt Lake City in 1974. By the end of the day she would be attacked and almost killed by the infamous serial killer, Ted Budy.  My special guest, Rhonda Stapley, is the author of "I Survived Ted Bundy: The Attack, Escape and PTSD That Changed My Life".  You can find it here on Amazon. Rhonda can be found on Facebook here. If you are someone you know would like help and/or information about post-traumatic stress you can go to www.ptsd.va.gov.

A young girl is abducted on her way home from school in Lugoff, South Carolina in 2006.  Resources Sarah Beckett, Investigation Discovery Channel, "Surviving Evil: Underground Terror," 2013.  Mike Celizic, Today, "Kidnapped teen describes bunker ordeal," Mar 7, 2008.  Follow us on: Twitter: @uponacrime Patreon: www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime Facebook and Instagram: @onceuponacrimepod

I continue my discussion of the Laci Peterson case with my co-host, Yolanda of the Not Perfect or Functional Podcast. In this episode we take a deep dive into the background and psychology of Scott Peterson and what we believe contributed to his crime. Holiday Greetings in this episode from: The True Crime Guys The Fall Line Hillbilly Horror Stories Not Perfect or Functional Happy Holidays! 

On Christmas Eve day, 2002, an 8-month pregnant woman went missing from her home. A large-scale search was started right away, but suspicion immediately fell upon her husband, Scott Peterson.  This episode will be a little different for OUAC. I have a special co-host, Yolanda Norris from the Not Perfect or Functional Podcast who will be discussing the case with me. Yolanda is my sister so this is a real holiday treat for me - and I hope it will be for you too! Also, while you may think you know this story, we've come at it from a different angle. First, it will be in response to the A&E program "The Murder of Laci Peterson" in which they lay out a case for the reasons some believe Scott Peterson was tried in the media and should have been found not guilty. Second, we will do a deep into the background and psyche of Scott Peterson to give our take on why we think not only is he guilty, but that there were signs pointing to how and why Scott may have been able to so casually murder his wife and unborn so

We're talking Black Friday Madness, Grinchy burglars, and more true crime holiday craziness on this special holiday edition episode.   Hear holiday greetings from some of my pod friends including Canadian True Crime, True Crime Garage, Southern Fried True Crime, Insight Podcast, True Crime Island, Murder Road Trip, The Cleaning of John Doe, Killifornia Dreaming and Done Disappeared.

We kick our true crime holiday season with stores of Santas who go bad. #Christmascrime #badsantas #historicalcrime

Two cousins from a prominent and wealthy family seek revenge on their own relatives and turn to murder. Resources: Books: Bitter Blood: A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness and Multiple Murder by Jerry Bledsoe Movies/Television: In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride and Madness (Also known as "Bitter Blood") starring Harry Hamlin and Kelly McGillis (1994)

A mother-son team of grifters turns to murder to get away with their financial schemes. #serialkillers #SanteKimes #KennyKimes #conartists Patreon: www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

One of the most prolific serial killer families in history was discovered in Jalisco, Mexico in 1964.  This is the story of the Gonzalez Sisters.  www.Patreon.com/onceuponacrime - become a Patron starting at only $2 month for merch, early release episode, series wrap-up discussions and bonus episodes. 

Our new series "Murder in the Family" details cases where family members commit murder together. First up, the story of The Briley Brothers who went on an 8-month crime spree in Richmond Virginia.

As a special treat I'll share a couple of creepy urban legends...with a twist. These tales are actually based on true crime stories. Son of Sam, The Zodiac Killer, 3x Killer, The Watcher Podcast Recommendations: Murder Road Trip They Walk Among Us Ticklish Business