On March 11, 1989, fourteen-year-old Aundria Bowman disappeared from her home in Hamilton, Michigan. Her adoptive parents & police declared her a runaway & shelved her disappearance for over a decade….until an armchair detective and a determined mother teamed up to discover the real truth.

Article read for today’s episode:

“The Girl In The Picture” by Niles Cappello for Atavist Magazine

https://magazine.atavist.com/the-girl-in-the-picture-aundria-bowman-dennis-murder-michigan-cold-case/

Welcome to Friday Night Frights!

Greg Fleniken was a kind, easygoing and well-liked oil man who had settled in for the night at his hotel in Beaumont Texas to watch the new Iron Man movie, when a disaster struck that he literally never saw coming. At first glance, Greg's death was signed off by law enforcement as natural causes...but upon closer examination, his body told a much more sinister story--and was the beginning of a bizarre and incredibly frustrating puzzle that a seasoned PI would become obsessed with piecing together.

Sources:https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/05/true-crime-elegante-hotel-texas-murder

In 2009, a notorious art thief got the luckiest break of their life when a highly respected LAPD detective named Stephanie Lazarus (aka “Spazarus”) who was closing in on their heels got called into the office for her OWN police interview…and a horrific murder case that had been cold for 23 years would be blown wide open. This is the absolutely bonkers and tragic story of the murder (and finally, justice served) of 29 year old Sherri Rasmussen.

Lights Out Campers.

SOURCES:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/stephanie-lazarus-sherri-rasmussen-lapd-detective-murder-parole-rcna129130

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-16/stephanie-lazarus-as-a-cop-killed-ex-boyfriends-wife-now-recommended-for-parole

https://allthatsinteresting.com/sherri-rasmussen

https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime/A-Dad-Knew-Who-Stalked-and-Murdered-His-Daughter-But-It-Took-23-Years-to-Make-an-Arrest-The-Sherri-Rasmussen

https://www.oxygen.com/the-real-murders-of-los-angeles/crime-news/bite-mark-on-sherri-rasmussen-ties-stephanie-lazarus-to

14-year old Elizabeth Shoaf was nearly home from the bus stop on September 6th, 2006, when she was intercepted at the end of her own driveway by a predator pretending to be a police officer. Vinson Filyaw had been watching her for months, carefully orchestrating her abduction and believing he had a foolproof plan to keep her as his prisoner in an underground bunker deep in the woods of Lugoff, South Carolina. But in all his careful planning---the one person he'd completely underestimated was her.

SOURCES:https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/elizabeth-shoaf-kidnapping-assault-in-bunkerUnseen Channel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApiZWKIj92Ahttps://people.com/crime/girl-in-the-bunker-kidnapper-rapist-who-held-girl-underground-for-10-days-dead/Emma Kenny Channel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qENqjHf5_38https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/textmewhenyougethome-what-happened-elizabeth-shoaf-now#:~:text=Elizabeth%20is%20currently%2030%20years,assistant%20in%20Cayce%2C%20South%20Carolina.https://nypost.com/2021/05/04/monster-behind-the-girl-in-the-bunker-dies-in-prison/

THE CONCLUSION IS HERE. WWII has arrived, Leonarda finally completes the protection spell, her fully grown son gets thrown into a less-than-ideal bathing situation, and the Italian postal service becomes an unlikely hero. You can binge all three parts of our coverage of Leonarda Cianciulli: The Soapmaker of Correggio right now wherever you get your podcasts

Sources:

The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism by Ryan Green

murderpedia.org: Leonarda Cianciulli

things get a little...**shaky** for the Pansardi family in today's episode...before they finally settle down in the idyllic country town of Correggio. Leonarda opens a soap shop and becomes a well-respected fortune teller, her kids are thriving... & everything seems to be going great...until WWII arrives.

SOURCES:

https://murderpedia.org/female.C/c/cianciulli-leonarda.htm

The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism (True Crime) by Ryan Green

How 4 children survived 40 days in the Amazon jungle after a plane crash:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/how-4-children-survived-40-days-jungle-plane-crash-amazon-colombia-rcna88791

WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of self-harm, domestic and sexual assault, and death of children/miscarriage.

On a summer night in Italy 1893, young Emilia di Nolfi would have her promising future torn away at the hands of a drunk scumbag...which would be the makings of a villian origin story that we couldn't possibly make up if we tried. There will be spells, curses, soap and axe murder in abundance over two parts as we break down the harrowing tale of Leonarda Cianciulli: The Soap-Maker of Correggio. Listen to Part 1 now.

Sources for this episode:

https://murderpedia.org/female.C/c/cianciulli-leonarda.htm

The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism (True Crime) by Ryan Green (available for purchase on Amazon)

On October 21st, 2008, 9 year old Elizabeth Olten vanished less than a mile from her home in St Martins, Missouri after a spur of the moment playdate with one of her best friends. In the frantic search that ensued in the small, close-knit town, no one suspected that an incredibly disturbed killer was closer than they ever could have imagined.

• Repeal Law That Could Free Elizabeth Olten's Murderer Alyssa Bustamante Within 3 Years:

https://www.change.org/p/missouri-governor-veto-bill-that-could-free-elizabeth-olten-s-murder-alyssa-bustamante-within-a-couple-years

• Follow us on Instagram @campingiscanceled
• Send case suggestions to [email protected]

Sources:

https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime/Murderous-Children-Alyssa-Bustamantehttps://www.crimelibrary.org/notorious_murders/young/alyssa_bustamante/1.htmlhttps://allthatsinteresting.com/alyssa-bustamantehttps://fox2now.com/news/missouri/journal-helps-police-find-a-2009-missouri-teen-thrill-killer/https://anitadurairaj.medium.com/the-troubled-teen-who-thought-murder-was-fun-bd452049d4f4

Finally—the wild ride of the Michael Peterson case and all the staircase shenanigans come to an end in Part III. Today we wrap everything up and break down the Alford Plea, where the Peterson kids are now…and most importantly…the Owl Theory.

Todd Peterson video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NI15RZN8wM

Sources:

https://www.nickiswift.com/464174/what-are-michael-petersons-kids-doing-today/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danafeldman/2022/06/09/the-staircase-a-defense-attorney-explains-why-michael-peterson-took-an-alford-plea/?sh=ae3269d1b18b

https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/staircase-ending-explained-alford-plea/

https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-news/a21343954/the-staircase-netflix-owl-theory-true-crime-doc/

https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/ Chapters 1-13

https://davidsrudolf.com/thestaircase/the-owl-theory/