What happens when a teenager goes missing in the world’s smallest, and supposedly safest, country? Emanuela Orlandi’s sudden disappearance remains the only missing person’s case in Vatican City, yet more than 40 years later we still have no idea what really happened behind the papal state’s walls. After the story, stick around for an exclusive interview with the director of The First Omen, Arkasha Stevenson! This episode is brought to you by Twentieth Century Studios' the First Omen. Experience the most terrifying movie of the year, and what critics are calling “deliciously disturbing” only in ..read more

Elizabeth Short’s gruesome murder is the LAPD’s most infamous unsolved case. But there’s one person who thinks he’s cracked it — the alleged killer’s own son. Today, we reopen the case against George Hodel, a certified genius and once-celebrated doctor who rubbed elbows with noted surrealists… and had a vile history of abuse and terror, even against his own family. This episode originally aired August 2022 - to hear more of Vanessa and Carter check out Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more

In 1940s Hollywood, a 22-year-old aspiring actress is found mutilated and drained of blood. Her body is posed, and her mouth has been carved into a permanent smile. The investigation takes police into the hidden sides of the city — illicit romances and gang-related crimes. But when another mutilated body is found weeks later, the hunt is on for a possible serial killer. This is a crossover series with Unsolved Murders, looking at the murder of Elizabeth Short and other unsolved cases surrounding it. This episode originally aired August 2022 - to hear more of Vanessa and Carter check out Serial ..read more

In early 1905, Hawaiian police opened—and quickly closed—an investigation into Jane Stanford’s mysterious death. A century later, an amateur sleuth tried to crack the case, uncovering university scandals, possible motives for murder, and a misinformation campaign led by the president of Stanford University himself. This episode originally aired in September 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more

She became one of the most influential people in California when she co-founded Stanford University in 1891. Jane Stanford was widely beloved for her forward-thinking, liberal ideals—but she also earned a few enemies. And when she was murdered in 1905, one question sent shockwaves through California: Who disagreed with Jane enough to kill her? This episode originally aired in September 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more

During World War II, two bizarre murders in the West Midlands region of England became linked by speculations of witchcraft and black magic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more

Two years after the unidentified skeleton known as Bella was found in a hollow tree in Hagley Wood, a second bizarre murder struck the West Midlands. On February 14th, 1945, a 74-year-old Farmhand named Charles Walton was brutally slain in the nearby village of Lower Quinton. Scotland Yard deployed master detective Robert Fabian to lead the investigation. But what he hoped would be an open-and-shut case soon revealed itself to be an impenetrable web, made only murkier by centuries of superstition. From the outset, the case seemed to be cursed, whether by the phantom hounds that traipsed the co ..read more

On April 14th, 1943, four boys discovered the skeleton of a woman in a hollow tree while exploring the woods near Hagley, England. Investigators threw themselves into the task of identifying the body, but after months of searching, were no closer to giving her a name. With England caught in the midst of World War II, it seemed like she was destined to be forgotten... until mysterious messages began cropping up around the Black Country, taunting the investigators with a cryptic question: who put Bella in the wych elm? This episode originally aired in September 2019. Learn more about your ad cho ..read more

After a beachcomber discovered Starr’s body, it took two autopsies to determine foul play. Was Starr’s childhood abuser — and former mayor of Boston — behind her death? Did Starr decide to take her own life that night on the water, as some of her private letters suggested? Or did she get wrapped up with a notorious gangster in a blackmail scheme gone wrong? This episode originally aired in October 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more

In 1931, the body of a young woman washed up on the shores of Long Island. Starr Faithfull had spent the Roaring Twenties chasing glamor, partying in speakeasies and sneaking aboard ocean liners. Her mysterious death became a tabloid sensation. This episode originally aired in September 2021.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ..read more