In August 2005, 21-year-old Australian backpacker Ryan Chambers walked barefoot out of an ashram in Rishikesh, India, leaving behind his passport, wallet, phone, and shoes. He was never seen again. For nearly two decades, his family searched across India, chasing rumours and plastering posters from Punjab to Rajasthan.

In 2023, a South Australian court finally declared Ryan dead — but the mystery of what happened that morning on the banks of the Ganges remains unsolved. This is the haunting story of Ryan Chambers, one of Australia’s most enduring missing-person cases abroad.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In January 2013, 21-year-old Canadian student Elisa Lam checked into Los Angeles’ infamous Cecil Hotel. Known for its dark history of crime, tragedy, and mystery, the hotel was the last place Elisa was seen alive.

When she failed to check out or contact her family, police launched a search. Two weeks later, security footage of Elisa inside a hotel elevator shocked the world. Her behaviour, pressing multiple buttons, hiding in corners, stepping in and out, gesturing as though to someone unseen went viral online.

Millions debated what the strange footage meant: was she running from someone, suffering a mental health episode, or caught in something far more sinister?

On February 19, Elisa’s body was discovered in one of the hotel’s rooftop water tanks, after guests had complained about the water supply. With no signs of trauma, an official ruling of accidental drowning, and countless unanswered questions, her death remains one of the most disturbing and widely discussed mysteries of the 21st century.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 22 years, Robert Hanssen lived two lives. By day, he was a devoted Catholic, a father of six, and a senior FBI counterintelligence officer trusted with America's most guarded secrets. By night, he was Ramon Garcia, a faceless traitor selling those secrets to Moscow for diamonds and cash. He compromised nuclear war strategies, revealed the identities of American spies working inside the KGB, and even spent years hunting for the mole who was betraying the FBI. He was searching for himself. When the bureau finally closed in, they discovered the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history had been unfolding right under their noses. This is the story of the man who fooled the FBI for over two decades, and the former KGB officer whose $7 million file finally brought him down.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

February 27, 2026. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Retired Air Force Major General William McCasland left his home between 11:10am and 12:04pm. He took his wallet, hiking boots, a .38-calibre revolver, and a red backpack. He left behind his phone, glasses, and wearable devices. Seventeen days later, despite helicopters, drones, search dogs, and 700 homes canvassed, there was no trace of him. But McCasland was not the first. Six months earlier, government contractor Steven Garcia walked out of his Albuquerque home carrying only a handgun. He left his phone, wallet, keys, and car behind. He was never seen again. Monica Reza disappeared whilst hiking in California. Anthony Chavez vanished from Los Alamos. Melissa Casias was last seen walking on a highway, her phones wiped clean. By April 2026, the list had grown to ten. Ten scientists, government contractors, and military experts. All connected to America's most classified nuclear and aerospace programmes. All disappeared or dead under mysterious circumstances. And on April 16, 2026, the White House announced it was investigating. This is the mystery of the vanishing scientists.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On December 13, 2000, seven convicted felons walked out of a maximum-security Texas prison in broad daylight. They overpowered guards, stole weapons, and drove through the front gate in a maintenance truck. For eleven days, they stayed ahead of the largest manhunt in Texas history. Then, on Christmas Eve, they robbed a sporting goods store in Irving. Officer Aubrey Hawkins responded to the call. He left his family at dinner, drove across the highway, and pulled into the car park. He never saw the ambush coming. Shot eleven times and run over as the escapees fled, Hawkins became the tragic end to one of the most audacious prison breaks in American history. This is the story of the Texas Seven, the month-long manhunt that followed, and the police officer who paid the ultimate price.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Between May 2005 and August 2006, Phoenix, Arizona, was terrorised by two men who drove through the city at night, shooting random strangers for sport. Dale Hausner, a Sky Harbor Airport custodian and boxing journalist, and Samuel Dieteman, an electrician from Minnesota, killed at least eight people and injured 19 more in what they called "RV'ing"—Random Recreational Violence. High on methamphetamine, they targeted pedestrians, cyclists, and animals in drive-by shootings across the Valley. Their reign of terror coincided with another serial killer, the Baseline Killer, creating unprecedented fear in Phoenix. The breakthrough came when Dieteman's drinking buddy, Ron Horton, reported a drunken confession. Police surveillance captured the pair joking about their victims. In August 2006, they were arrested after investigators found a map marked with shooting locations and a note bearing victim Robin Blasnek's name in a dumpster. Hausner was convicted of 80 charges and sentenced to six death sentences. He died by suicide in prison in 2013 after overdosing on antidepressants. Dieteman pleaded guilty to two murders, testified against Hausner, and is serving life without parole at Arizona State Prison Complex in Safford. For 14 months, Phoenix lived in fear of two killers who murdered for fun.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a warm June evening in 1768, a 69-year-old paralysed man named Owen Parfitt sat outside his sister's cottage in Shepton Mallet, England, dressed in his nightshirt and propped up on his folded greatcoat. Just a dozen yards away, farm workers laboured in full view of the porch. Around 7 PM, Owen's elderly sister Mary and a young neighbour, Susannah Snook, went inside to fetch him before an approaching storm. Minutes later, they returned to find Owen gone. The chair remained. The greatcoat remained. But Owen Parfitt—a man who couldn't move by himself—had vanished. The farm workers had seen nothing. Heard nothing. An exhaustive search through the storm and the days that followed found no trace. Owen had been a sailor in his youth, regaling locals with wild tales of piracy, smuggling, and black magic across Africa, America, and the high seas. Mary went to her grave believing the Devil had taken her brother as payment for his wicked life. Others suspected "men from Bristol" had silenced him to claim hidden treasure or stop his garrulous tales. Investigations in 1813, 1814, and 1933 uncovered no answers. More than 250 years later, Owen Parfitt's disappearance remains one of England's most baffling unsolved mysteries. Did the Devil claim him? Was he murdered? Or is there another explanation buried somewhere in the fields of Shepton Mallet?

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For 33 years, a serial killer hunted sex workers on Long Island, strangling them and dumping their bodies along a desolate stretch of Ocean Parkway. In December 2010, police searching for missing escort Shannan Gilbert discovered four bodies wrapped in burlap near Gilgo Beach—the "Gilgo Four": Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello. Further searches uncovered four more victims, extending the timeline back to 1993. The case went cold, hampered by police corruption and obstruction. In 2022, a new task force made a breakthrough: a witness remembered a Chevrolet Avalanche picking up victim Amber Costello. The vehicle led them to Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old Manhattan architect who commuted daily from Massapequa Park. In January 2023, investigators grabbed a discarded pizza box from a Manhattan bin. The DNA on the crust matched hair on victim Megan Waterman's burlap. Heuermann was arrested in July 2023. Police found a vault with 279 weapons in his basement, a deleted planning document titled "HK2002-04" detailing how to kill and dispose of bodies, and burner phones that pinged towers near his home and office. His wife and children had been out of town during every murder. On 8 April 2026—1,000 days after his arrest—Heuermann pleaded guilty to eight murders spanning 1993 to 2010, admitting he strangled each victim. He will die in prison. The demon who walked amongst us is finally behind bars.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

December 23, 2023. Two days before Christmas. Connor Hilton, 17, invited friends to his Friendswood, Texas home to see his new gun. When Ethan Riley and Ben Bliek arrived, Connor stood up, raised the revolver, and shot both boys in the head. Ethan died on Christmas Eve. Ben survived but was left paralysed. A third teenager locked himself in the bathroom and called 911. Connor told police three different stories: first, self-defence—Ethan attacked him. Then, an accident—the gun just went off. Finally, the truth: "I've had suicidal, homicidal thoughts for so long. I've been planning it." His defence blamed Accutane, the acne medication, claiming it caused drug-induced psychosis. Prosecutors called him evil and pointed to his confession: he'd invited a whole group of friends over—whoever showed up would be his victims. In August 2025, a judge ruled the Accutane defence inadmissible. Connor pleaded guilty and received 50 years. In February 2026, a civil jury found his mother 75% responsible for failing to secure the weapon, awarding the victims' families $60 million. Connor will be eligible for parole in 2050, aged 42.

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2016, a 13-year-old genius named Max Loughan went viral with an extraordinary claim: CERN destroyed our universe. Not with an explosion—but by shifting us all into a parallel reality. When scientists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider smashed particles together in 2012 and discovered the Higgs boson, Max believed the sheer energy tore a hole in spacetime, sliding humanity into a neighbouring universe almost identical to our own. Almost. The proof? The Mandela Effect. Millions of people remember Kit Kat having a hyphen. It never did. They remember C-3PO being all gold. He's always had a silver leg. They remember the Mona Lisa with no smile. She's always been smiling. They remember the Monopoly Man wearing a monocle. He never has. Are these false memories—or scars from our original universe? Max's theories spread across the internet, educating millions. Then, in 2018, he vanished. Social media went silent. No interviews. No updates. Some say he simply grew up and chose privacy. Others wonder if he knew too much. Did CERN's experiments break reality? Are we living in a parallel universe? And what happened to the boy who tried to warn us?

Become a Patreon or Apple + subscriber now for ealry and ad free access from as little as $1.69 a week. All the details here

Subscribe to Crime at Bedtimes Youtube channel HERE

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.