Crime Curious

The early morning of Wednesday, July 20th, 2016. Yates County, New York, in the rolling farm country of the Finger Lakes. A Mennonite farmer is riding his bicycle to work down a quiet country road in the town of Jerusalem. And just off the road, at the edge of the woods, he sees something that doesn't belong there. A bundle. Wrapped in a tarp. Inside is a man. He's been strangled. He's been beaten so badly his face is fractured. And someone has poured drain cleaner, the industrial-strength kind, over his face and his hands. To burn away his features. To burn away his fingerprints. So that no one would ever know who he was. It almost worked. 

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Monday night, August 14th, 1989. Orlando, Florida.

A 27-year-old man from Brooklyn walks up to the front desk of his hotel. He's in town on vacation with his mom, and his family. They've been to Disney World. They've taken pictures. They've shot home videos. Postcards. The whole thing. More than a thousand miles away, a young man named Darryl Rush is shot to death outside a public housing complex in Brooklyn, and a few days later, the man from the hotel is arrested for killing him. He'd spend the next 24 years in prison, telling anyone who'd listen that he'd been at Disney World. And all that time, the proof was sitting in a police file. This is the story of Darryl Rush, whose murder has never been solved. And of Jonathan Fleming, the man who paid for it with a quarter of a century of his life.

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Toni Jo Henry’s story is one of the most dramatic and tragic in Louisiana true crime history. Born Annie Beatrice McQuiston in Shreveport, she survived a childhood marked by loss, abuse, and poverty before spiraling into addiction and sex work. In 1939, she married prizefighter Claude “Cowboy” Henry—only for him to be arrested soon after and sentenced to 50 years in prison. Determined to break him out, Toni Jo teamed up with accomplice Horace “Arkie” Burks, and their desperate plan led to the robbery and murder of 41‑year‑old Joseph P. Calloway. After three sensational trials, Toni Jo became the only woman ever executed in Louisiana’s electric chair, “Gruesome Gertie,” in 1942. Her case remains infamous for its blend of grit, glamour, and the haunting question of whether she was a cold‑blooded killer or a broken woman chasing love at any cost.

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In 2023, Ohio toddler Mackenna Ray became the center of a heartbreaking child‑abuse case that shocked her community. At just two years old, Mackenna endured injuries no child should ever face — yet her story is not one of loss, but of survival. This episode explores the timeline of her abuse, the charges brought against those responsible, and the ongoing efforts to protect Mackenna as she continues to heal. Her case is a stark reminder of how fragile safety can be — and how powerful a community’s determination is when a child needs justice.

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Jennifer Kvoriak's posts, via TikTok #JusticeForMakennaRae

In 1916, eighteen‑year‑old Marion Frances Lambert left home on a bitter February morning and never returned. By nightfall, she was found frozen in the snow leaving a mystery in her wake, and a community spiraling into scandal. Her boyfriend, college student Will Orpet, quickly became the prime suspect, igniting one of the most sensational trials of the early 20th century. But Marion’s story didn’t end in the courtroom. For more than a century, drivers along Sheridan Road have reported seeing a girl in white standing at the edge of the trees.

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Chicago Tribune (1916) • The Lake Forester (1916) • The Inter Ocean • The Day Book • Wisconsin State Journal • The New York Times (1916) • Los Angeles Herald • San Francisco Call • People v. Will H. Orpet trial transcripts • Lake County Coroner’s Inquest Records • Find A Grave: Marion Frances Lambert • Lake Forest Cemetery Records • U.S. Census Records (1900 & 1910) • Lake Forest–Lake Bluff Historical Society • Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections • Wisconsin Historical Society Archives • Sheridan Road ghost lore archives.

Before sunrise on a storm‑soaked Texas morning, fitness instructor Terri “Missy” Bevers walked into Creekside Church of Christ to set up for her bootcamp class. Within an hour, she would be dead — and the person responsible would vanish into the darkness, leaving behind one of the most chilling pieces of surveillance footage in true‑crime history.

In this episode, we unravel the haunting timeline of Missy’s final moments and the mysterious figure caught on camera: dressed head‑to‑toe in police‑style tactical gear, wandering the church halls with a hammer, breaking windows, and moving with a strange, unforgettable gait. Was this a staged burglary? A targeted killing? Or something even stranger?

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Killing of Missy Bevers - Wikipedia

Who Killed Fitness Influencer Missy Bevers? | A&E

What Happened to Missy Bevers? The Church Surveillance Footage and Timing Questions That Still Haunt This Unsolved Murder | Read The Real Story

Homicide Investigation Under Way After Woman Found Dead Inside Midlothian Church – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

15 Arrests So Stupid They Made Us Lose Faith In Humanity | Bored Panda

In Victorian England, when poverty and shame collided with a brutal social system, desperate mothers sometimes turned to “baby farmers” — women who promised care, safety, and adoption.… but behind closed doors, infants didn’t survive long. Special thanks to our guest host and all credit for today's episode goes to her- Patreon Tashia! 

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In the misty woods of Olalla, Washington, a woman calling herself a doctor built a sanitarium where “healing” meant starvation, control, and death. Wealthy seekers, spiritual wanderers, and vulnerable patients walked into Wilderness Heights hoping for a cure — but many never walked out.

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  Washington State Archives – “Linda Burfield Hazzard: Healer or Murderess?” Collection of documents including death records, licensing records, trial materials, and historical commentary. (Washington State Digital Archives)

  Washington Supreme Court – State v. Hazzard, 1913 Official decision upholding Linda Hazzard’s manslaughter conviction in the death of Claire Williamson.

  Washington Supreme Court – State v. Hazzard, 1926 Decision clarifying that Linda’s medical license remained revoked despite her gubernatorial pardon.

  Washington State Penitentiary Records (Walla Walla) Documentation of Linda Hazzard’s incarceration, parole, and release.

  Death Certificate Records (Washington State) Includes documented deaths of patients under Hazzard’s care, including Daisey Maud Haglund.

  Smithsonian Magazine – “The Fasting Cure That Killed” Detailed historical feature on Linda Hazzard, the Williamson sisters, and Starvation Heights.

  Harbor History Museum (Gig Harbor, WA) – “Starvation Heights” Exhibit & Research Notes Regional historical research on Wilderness Heights, patient deaths, and community accounts.

  HistoryLink.org – “Linda Burfield Hazzard and Starvation Heights” Washington State’s online encyclopedia entry summarizing Hazzard’s career, trial, and legacy.

  Gregg Olsen – Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest The definitive modern true‑crime book on Linda Hazzard, based on extensive archival research.

  Linda Burfield Hazzard – Fasting for the Cure of Disease (1908) Hazzard’s own book outlining her fasting philosophy and treatment methods.

  Linda Burfield Hazzard – Scientific Fasting (1927) Her later work expanding on her fasting theories; used for understanding her self‑justification and ideology.

  Edward Hooker Dewey – The No-Breakfast Plan and the Fasting Cure The fasting philosophy that influenced Hazzard’s early medical ideas.

  Seattle Daily Times (1911–1913) Coverage of the Williamson case, trial proceedings, and public reaction.

  Seattle Post‑Intelligencer (1911–1913) Reporting on patient deaths, community concerns, and the sanitarium.

  Tacoma Daily Ledger (1911–1913) Articles on the trial, sentencing, and aftermath.

  London Daily Mail (1911–1912) International coverage of the Williamson sisters, including statements from their family.

  Minnesota Birth and Marriage Records (Carver County) Documentation of Linda Burfield’s birth and first marriage to Erwin Harrison Perry.

  Minnesota Census Records (1880–1900) Household listings confirming Linda’s early life, parents, and siblings.

  Washington State Marriage Records (1903) Marriage documentation for Linda Burfield and Samuel Chrisman Hazzard.

  Haglund Family Records (Seattle) Documentation of Daisey Maud Haglund’s death and her son Ivar Haglund’s later biography.

  Kitsap County Historical Society Oral histories and local accounts of Wilderness Heights and community reactions.

  Olalla Community Historical Notes Local recollections of the sanitarium, patient sightings, and the nickname “Starvation Heights.”

Renee “Giggles” Freer was the kind of child who lit up every room she walked into—sweet, chatty, and full of life. So when the 12‑year‑old vanished from her quiet Connecticut neighborhood in 1980, the community was left stunned… and terrified. What happened in those final moments before Renee disappeared? And why did the truth stay buried for decades?

In this episode, we peel back the layers of a case that’s equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating—one that reveals how innocence can be shattered in an instant, and how a small town’s silence can echo for years.

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Petition · WHO KILLED RENEE FREER? - United States · Change.org

Renee Freer (1968-1977) - Find a Grave Memorial

Monroe police ask killer to come forward after developments in cold case – NBC Connecticut

Author pursues book to shine spotlight on Monroe’s only unsolved murder | The Monroe Sun

News 12 | Connecticut | Monroe Police They Have Person Of Interest In Nearly 50 Year Old Cold Case

The Unsolved Murder of Renee Freer: 1977 in Monroe, Connecticut — Murder, She Told: Maine & New England True Crime

CT - CT- Renee Freer, 8, missing enroute to friend's house, fatally struck on head, her body found in the woods behind her house, Monroe, 22/6/77, *DNA* | Websleuths

Monroe police speak out on Renee Freer case | fox61.com

47 years later, Monroe police hope to find who killed 8-year-old girl