Cafecito & Crime

On October 22, 2013, beloved 9th-grade math teacher Colleen Ritzer went to work just as she loved to do every day. On this day, toward the end of the school day, she stayed with a student, Phillip Chism, who was also new to the school, in her classroom in case he needed help with schoolwork. Later in the day, a search ensued for both Colleen and Phillip after neither showed up at their homes. Phillip was found wandering down a highway, and Colleen was tragically found brutally assaulted and murdered. Join us for today’s episode to find out what happened between Colleen and Phillip. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 

You can donate at the Colleen E. Ritzer Memorial Fund, Inc. 
https://colleenritzer.org/

You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

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High school senior Brooke Skylar Richardson seemed to have everything going for her. She was a cheerleader, she was a good student, she had a good boyfriend, and was on her way to the University of Cincinnati. But Skylar was keeping a big secret: she was pregnant. Skylar would end up giving birth to a baby alone in the middle of the night at home, and it is what she did next that would unravel her life. Join us for today’s episode to learn what happened next. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 

You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected] 

When Nadia Ford called her mother, Alla, multiple times on October 5, 2014, and didn't answer, she knew something was wrong. She soon suspected that her mother’s neighbor, Viktoria, knew something about her mother’s whereabouts. Sadly, Alla’s remains would be found, and Viktoria would soon be on the run from the Russian police for Alla’s disappearance and murder. Viktoria would continue her string of crimes in a different country, but Nadia was not going to give up and let her get away with what she had done. Join us for today’s episode to find out how Viktoria was finally brought to justice. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started.


You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected] 

On a stormy night on June 3, 2007, police arrived at Etta Jean Westbrook's home to find her dead in her living room in a pool of blood. As the investigation of her death begins, investigators catch a big break early in the case that leads to an arrest. What investigators weren't expecting was that, while looking for more evidence in that case, they'd find that someone else had been killed across the street and no one had seemed to notice, until now. Join us for today's episode to learn about what happened to Etta Jean and the second murder. So, grab your cafecito, and let's get started.  

You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected] 

When Matthew Trussler met Melissa Turner in 2017, he thought he had finally met someone who he genuinely connected with. The couple went on to get engaged and purchase a home in Tampa, FL. Everything seemed to be going well, until October 2019 when Melissa called 911 stating that she found her fiance Matthew in a pool of blood. As the investigation begins, police soon realize that Melissa was not telling them the whole truth about what truly happened in the home between her and Matthew and that she might have had something to do with his death. Join us for today’s episode to learn about what happened to Matthew. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 


You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected]

On Saturday in the fall of 1998, Sara Raras thought she was going to spend the night alone since her son was spending the weekend with his father, Sara's estranged husband. Tragically, what Sara thought was going to be a quiet night, would actually turn deadly and she would never see her son again. As investigators tried to solve Sara's murder, her estranged husband became suspect number one but they would soon find out that they had it all wrong, and it wasn't him who had done it. Instead, it would be someone who they never suspected of. Join us for today's episode to find out what happened to Sara. So, grab your cafecito, and let's get started. 


You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected]

Before Christmas break in 2018, 16-year-old Iyana Sawyer didn’t return home from school. It raised immediate concern from her family, not only because it was unlike her, but also because she was pregnant. A large search for Iyana ensued, which led to discovering the worst news her family could have received, that she was no longer alive, and that it was someone close to the family who was involved. Join us for today's episode, so grab your cafecito, and let's get started. 

You can keep up with us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected]

When Maribel Ramos posted an ad on Craiglist for a roommate, she thought that she was going to find someone with whom she could get along. Initially, that was the case, and things were going well with her roommate, KC until he developed feelings for her. Things would take a turn for the worse when Maribel let KC know that she didn’t return his feelings. Join us for today’s episode to learn about what happened to Maribel. So, grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 

You can follow us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod.

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected]

When Sherri Papini disappeared on November 2, 2016, her husband and family, along with the rest of the nation, waited with bated breath for her return. Her face on a missing poster was all over the place and her story was on every news outlet from the moment she went missing. Twenty-two days would pass by before Sherri was found on a highway with injuries. Eventually, Sherri’s story of abduction would unravel, and what was initially thought to be an abduction and torture case, would turn out to be a hoax. Join us for today’s episode, so grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 

You can follow us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod.

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected]

When Dr. George Blumenschein started feeling unwell on the morning of Sunday, January 27, 2013, he tried to shake it off. He also discarded suggestions from colleagues and his girlfriend to go to the ER and continued his work day. It wasn’t until almost midnight when he finally made it to the ER with failing kidneys, and it was detrimental that doctors found out the cause before it was too late. It would take doctors a couple of days before they discovered the cause, ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in anti-freeze. They concluded that George had been poisoned and investigators would rush to figure out who had the motive to kill a world-renowned doctor. Join us for today’s episode, so grab your cafecito, and let’s get started. 

You can follow us on Instagram at @cafecitoandcrimepod.

Or you can send us a nice email to [email protected]