In episodes 35 and 36, back in late 2020, I told you the story of 9-month-old Jacob Landin, a tiny boy with a big laugh and an even bigger personality. Jacob died in April 1987 from a severe traumatic brain injury. When the injury occurred, he was in the care of his mom’s boyfriend, Steven Chavez, who told several different stories to Brenda Landin, medical professionals, and investigators. Despite being the only suspect, failing a polygraph, and reportedly confessing to police, Steven was never prosecuted for Jacob’s murder, and he went on to abuse and terrorize Jacob’s mom and brother for ye ..read more

In the last episode, I told you the first part of the story of three-year-old Arabella Parker, who was rushed to the hospital on October 10, 2019, reportedly suffering from a seizure. Because medical staff wasn’t told that the seizure resulted from severe head trauma, the damage was irreparable, and Arabella died on November 22, 2019. In this episode, I’ll take you through the hearings and the trials of the three people accused of allowing, causing, or covering up the reason for Arabella’s death: her mother, Samantha Delcamp; Samantha’s boyfriend, Jahrid Burgess; and Jahrid’s mother, Christy ..read more

Four years ago, in episodes 16 and 17, I told you the tragic story of 3-year-old Arabella Parker. Because that was so early in my podcasting journey, I’m not satisfied with my coverage of her story, so I’m revisiting it in an all-new, comprehensive re-telling as I’ve never told it before: with the help of her family and others.  On October 10, 2019, Arabella reportedly suffered a seizure at her home in Trevorton, Pennsylvania. At the hospital, doctors immediately suspected child abuse based on her multitude of injuries, which included a head injury so severe that they had to remove part ..read more

(This episode was originally released in April 2022.) On the morning of Wednesday, March 18, 2020, police in Bakersfield, California responded to an apartment on a report of an eight-year-old child not breathing. Although Ger’Mya Alexander was rushed to the hospital, she died of her injuries the same day. Her mother’s boyfriend, 37-year-old Clint Mason, who had been caring for Ger’Mya when she was fatally injured, fled on foot and was apprehended the next morning.  This is the story of a smart, sweet, caring little girl who adored her granny and sometimes got in trouble at school for ta ..read more

In episodes 87 and 88, I told you the story of four-year-old Judah Morgan. Judah lived for most of his life in a foster care kinship placement with the family of his second cousin, Jenna Hullett. In April of 2021, Judah was returned to his biological parents, Alan Morgan and Mary Yoder, despite multiple red flags and warnings to DCS. Six months later, Alan and Mary were arrested for Judah’s brutal murder. In this episode, you’ll hear multiple updates to Judah’s story in my most recent conversation with his “real” mom, Jenna Hullett, who is truly one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever know ..read more

On this podcast, I’ve told you the stories of many children whose deaths came at the hands of parents or guardians after extended periods of what can only be described as torture. Intra-familial child torture is a disturbingly common occurrence, and it has a 36% fatality rate for the children affected. In this episode, you’ll hear my conversation with childhood torture survivor and advocate Ali Davis. Ali survived 19 years of torture at the hands of one of her parents. Her experience led her to create the Pretty Graffiti Foundation to fund humanitarian aid for survivors of non-war-related chi ..read more

On February 17, 2020, police in Fort Myers, Florida responded to a horrific single-vehicle accident in which a minivan carrying two women and a three-year-old girl veered off the road, hit several palm trees, and flipped over. The little girl, Serenity Robinson, was not in a car seat and was unrestrained. Her mother, Leslie Joe Zeagler, was found to be impaired by multiple controlled substances and survived with minor injuries. Serenity was not so lucky. Leslie was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Later, Fort Myers police officer Tyler Williams was also charged after prosecutors learne ..read more

Last week, I told you about the abduction and murder of seven-year-old Joan D’Alessandro. On April 19, 1973, Joan was delivering Girl Scout cookies when her neighbor, Joseph McGowan, a high school science teacher, lured her into his basement, sexually assaulted her, and brutally beat and strangled the helpless little girl. McGowan pleaded guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to life in the New Jersey prison system with the possibility of parole after 14 years. In this episode, I’ll dig deep into McGowan’s various psychological evaluations and his interview with famed FBI profiler John Do ..read more

**This episode was originally released in June of 2021. I am re-releasing it due to the recent arrest of Lisa Jo Vanderlinden, the woman who spent less than a year in jail for Lucas's murder, on charges of abusing another child.** In 2017, Lucas Call and his baby sister were removed from their biological mother’s custody, in part because she had a learning disability and was unjustly deemed an unfit mother. They were placed in the care of a woman who had previously fostered upwards of 40 children. She was also a trained nurse who worked with the county government’s child abuse investigation t ..read more

As a child, Antonia Deignan believed that her father’s nighttime visits to her bedroom showed the special love he had for her. Still, some part of her knew that what he was doing to her was wrong. She began to create fantasy worlds in her mind to escape. As Tuni grew up, she traded her fantasies for dancing, but her inner turmoil also manifested in self-destructive ways. After she suffered a serious bike accident that forced her to face the demons from her past, Tuni finally began to work through her trauma by writing a hauntingly beautiful memoir about her experiences. For today’s episode, I ..read more