Crime Curious

In 1979, Hope College senior Janet Chandler vanished from her night shift at a Holland, Michigan motel. What looked like a simple abduction unraveled into a shocking story of jealousy, abuse, and a violent conspiracy involving private security guards stationed during a local labor strike. For decades, the truth stayed buried—until a student documentary cracked the case wide open. This episode explores Janet’s life, the betrayal that led to her death, and the cold‑case investigation that finally delivered justice 25 years later.

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Janet Chandler Murder: Where are Laurie Swank and Robert Lynch Today?

Janet Chandler — ColdCaseIndex

CRIME HUNTER: Janet Chandler's double life meant it took cops 30 years to solve her murder | Toronto Sun

4 Convicted in 1979 Kidnap, Rape and Murder of Michigan College Student | Fox News

28 Years Later, Justice For Slain Student - CBS News

Conspiracy of silence

Buford Pusser rose from small‑town constable to one of Tennessee’s most feared and celebrated sheriffs, waging a one‑man war against the State Line Mob. But behind the legend was a trail of violence, unanswered questions, and a marriage that ended in tragedy. This episode unpacks the myth, the man, and the recent revelations that challenge everything the public thought they knew about Buford Pusser’s story.

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Sheriff Buford Pusser And The True Story Of 'Walking Tall'

Buford Pusser - The True Crime Database Membership Buford Pusser Tennessee Lawman

https://www.crimeonline.com/2025/10/30/new-eyewitness-testimony-laid-bare-the-ambush-that-killed-pauline-pusser-part-1-of-2/

Dixie Mafia - Wikipedia

Buford Pusser - Wikipedia

State Line Mob - Wikipedia

In the early 1990s, a string of disappearances along Australia’s backpacker trails led investigators deep into the eerie silence of Belanglo State Forest. What they uncovered would shock the nation. This episode unpacks the life and crimes of Ivan Milat — the man believed responsible for the infamous Backpacker Murders. Through survivor testimony, forensic breakthroughs, and the relentless work of detectives who refused to give up, we trace how Milat was finally unmasked and why questions about his true number of victims still linger today.

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Ivan Milat, Australia's 'Backpacker Murderer' Who Butchered 7 Hitchhikers

Ivan Milat was convicted of murdering seven people. Could he have killed scores more? | New South Wales | The Guardian

Ivan Milat inquiry: The clues that led to his arrest.

Ivan Milat's family claim serial killer was framed for backpacker murders | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site for latest headlines

Fifteen-year-old Stephanie DuBay was searching for independence when she walked away from home after a fight over a simple rose tattoo. She crossed paths with two young men in a Warren, Michigan crash house — a place known for drugs, danger, and predatory behavior. Within days, Stephanie vanished. 

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Psychologist says man sentenced to life in teen's decapitation 30 years ago is 'good candidate' for parole | FOX 2 Detroit

Killing on Jean Street in Warren (part 1), Fri 13 July 1990 - Newspapers.com™

Stephanie Lynn Dubay (1975-1990) - Find a Grave Memorial

Convicted 30 years ago, man sentenced to life in teen's gruesome murder up for parole | FOX 2 Detroit

Jury returns quick conviction in beheading case - UPI Archives

In January 1997, 10‑day‑old Delimar Vera vanished from her family’s Philadelphia home under the cover of a house fire that investigators quickly ruled accidental. But her mother, Luz Cuevas, never accepted that her baby had died in the blaze. For six long years she held onto an unshakable intuition — that Delimar was alive.

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Baby Missing From Fire Found 6 Years Later with New Family | A&E

Delimar Vera, 27, Shares Her Incredible Story of Being Abducted as a Child and Reuniting With Her Family

Delimar Vera Tells Her Kidnapping Story In New Philly Doc

Woman Took Baby from Burning House, Gets 30 Years | Fox News

In the quiet woods of rural California, two men built a world fueled by paranoia, domination, and unimaginable cruelty. Leonard Lake and Charles Ng weren’t just survivalists—they were predators hiding behind the façade of self‑reliance and doomsday prep. As their bunker took shape, so did a chilling pattern of disappearances that would haunt the community for years. This episode unravels how their partnership formed, how their fantasies escalated, and how an isolated cabin became the center of one of the most disturbing crime sprees in American history—long before anyone knew the full truth lurking underground.

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Charles Ng: California Serial Killer's Death Row Status in 2024 - Sentence Upheld

Charles Ng - Wikipedia

Leonard Lake - Wikipedia

Charles Ng: From Hong Kong Thief to California's Deadliest Serial Killer

Charles Ng | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

Oklahoma teen Jesse Mack Butler was a rising baseball star with a dark, escalating history of violence that the public never saw — until two brave girls came forward. One survivor endured a brutal assault that required surgery. Another was choked unconscious while Butler filmed it. Despite 11 felony charges and a documented pattern of predatory behavior, the court handed down a sentence so lenient it sparked national outrage. This episode breaks down the timeline of Butler’s crimes, the victims’ voices, and the justice system that chose to protect an athlete instead of the girls he harmed.

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Parents of Oklahoma teen sex assault victim speak out after suspect receives no prison time - ABC News

Oklahoma teen convicted of rape avoids jail, sparks hearing protests

Parents of Teen in Oklahoma Assault Case Break Their Silence After Judge Spared Her Ex from Prison

Oklahoma prosecutor speaks on Jesse Butler's controversial sentence

High school baseball star who pleaded no contest to string of rapes walks free — sparking outrage from parents, lawmakers

Dr. Thomas Neill Cream wasn’t practicing medicine — he was perfecting murder. A trained physician with a taste for poison, Cream used strychnine the way most doctors use a stethoscope. Women seeking help ended up dead, investigations twisted into chaos, and Cream himself kept inserting his smug self into every inquiry like he wanted a spotlight more than a license.

From Chicago to Canada to London, he left a trail of victims and confusion across continents, reinventing himself each time the heat got too close. But arrogance has a way of catching up, and Cream’s need for attention ultimately became the very thing that exposed him.

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A young mother vanishes from the quiet village of Middleburgh, New York in 1986 — and no one reports her missing for four months. Erica Jayne Franolich had been trying to escape an abusive marriage, made a terrified call to her brother the night before she disappeared, and then walked into the October darkness and never came home. Nearly forty years later, her family is still fighting for answers in a case where the truth has always pointed in one direction.

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Erica Jayne Franolich – The Charley Project

Missing: Franolich, Erica Jane | New York State Police

The Forgotten Woman of Middleburgh | by Josie Klakstrom | Medium

Vanished Without a Trace: The Unsolved Disappearance of Erica Franolich in Middleburgh, NY

New York Cold Case: Michigan Woman Missing 39 Years After Vanishing in Middleburgh - Country Herald

NYSP continue to investigate disappearance in Middleburgh 39 years later

When 46‑year‑old Andrea Stranko returned home from a neighborhood UFC watch party with her boyfriend, Daryl Smith, the night should’ve ended quietly. Instead, it became a deadly ambush. Waiting in the shadows was Daryl’s ex, 35‑year‑old Morgan Jane Smith—armed with a shotgun and fueled by obsession.

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Woman killed when love triangle turns deadly in North Port

Morgan Jane Smith - The True Crime Database Membership Morgan Jane Smith Fifty Shades Killer

Did killer plan murder, or was she insane?