Culprit

We’re starting our new true crime theme: when celebrity fandom turns to murder. Rebecca Schaeffer was a 21-year-old actress whose career was just starting to take off. On the morning of her murder, she was anxiously waiting for a messenger to deliver the script for the highly anticipated third and final Godfather movie which she would be auditioning for later that afternoon. She opened her apartment door to be met not with a messenger, but a troubled fan named Robert John Bardo. Rebecca’s death would send shockwaves through Hollywood and force law enforcement to finally take stalking seriously.

Sources:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/when-celebrity-worship-turns-deadly-1.1129874

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3960781/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9977013/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-trauma/201306/in-the-mind-of-a-stalker

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-advances/article/stalking-risks-to-celebrities-and-public-figures/B389AB3D8AC6A3641C8320C8D2BABB07

https://allthatsinteresting.com/robert-john-bardo 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/schaeffer-rebeccas-star-sister-sam-devastated-murder/story?id=62284160

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-05-08/rebecca-schaeffer-hollywood-murder-that-changed-america

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a27116831/rebecca-schaeffer-murder/

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/07/the-hollywood-murder-that-made-states-take-stalking-seriously/

https://www.etonline.com/rebecca-schaeffers-murder-how-actress-death-changed-hollywood-and-inspired-anti-stalking-laws

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-22-me-114-story.html 

https://www.eonline.com/news/1057267/the-still-terrifying-details-of-the-murder-of-rebecca-schaeffer-a-star-on-the-rise-and-an-obsession-turned-deadly 

https://www.10minutemurder.com/blog/robert-the-celebrity-stalker/ 

https://www.stalkingawareness.org/contact/

“Lizzie Borden took an ax …” You may know the rhyme, but do you know the true story behind it? Today, for our final case on daughters who kill, we’re talking about Lizzie Borden. Even though she was acquitted, most people still believe that Lizzie Borden killed her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby Borden with a hatchet in 1892. Could she have been innocent, or did Lizzie kill them for her inheritance? What about the rumors of incest? Give our last episode on daughters who kill a listen and tell us what you think!

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-lizzie-borden-got-away-with-murder-180972707/ 

https://historyofmassachusetts.org/fall-river-ma-history/ 

https://www.road2college.com/seven-sisters-colleges/  

https://ruminant.ca.uky.edu/beware-prussic-acid#:~:text=Prussic%20acid%2C%20hydrogen%20cyanide%20or,outer%20cells%20of%20the%20plant. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lizzie-borden-accused-killer-axe-48-hours/ 

https://www.americanheritage.com/what-made-lizzie-borden-kill 

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/cast-of-characters.htm  

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24213-pelvic-congestion-syndrome 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hydrocephalus/symptoms-causes/syc-20373604 

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/chronologies/chronology1789-1892.htm 

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/chronologies/probableevents.htm 

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/suspects-in-the-borden-case.htm 

https://www.historictrialtranscripts.com/lizzie-borden-preliminary-hearing#:~:text=She%20was%20transported%20to%20the,ending%20on%20September%201%2C%201892.

Police arrived at the two-story home in quiet Markham, Ontario on November 8, 2010, in response to 24-year-old Jennifer Pan’s 911 call in which she told the dispatcher that three men had broken into her home and shot her parents, Hann and Bich Pan. Police and ambulance services pulled up to find a bloodied Hann in the front yard. Upon entering the home, they discovered Jennifer tied to the upstairs banister, apparently uninjured, but Bich was found in the basement, dead from multiple gunshots. Jennifer hadn’t made a lucky escape, though, she had been the one behind the hit on her parents.

Sources:

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/when-chinese-cubs-turn-on-their-tiger-parents/news-story/36ad884522b2d22ba1e2f88faa5d72ab 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/jennifer-pan-sentenced-to-life-without-parole-for-25-years-1.2930113

“What Jennifer Did”, Netflix, 2024, directed by Jenny Popplewell

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/jennifer-pan-s-father-testifies-at-murder-trial-1.2585146 

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/2043688/murder-toronto-and-dark-side-asian-immigrant-dream

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/27/tragedy-of-golden-daughters-murder-plot-against-parents-resonates-with-asian-immigrant-children/ 

https://www.today.com/popculture/tv/jennifer-pan-dad-now-rcna148242 

https://soundcloud.com/user-873765053/jennifer-pan-911-call

A blood-soaked scene, three bodies, and one missing girl, the police can hardly be faulted for assuming they were looking at an abduction following a triple murder. But the person who had plotted the murders of Debra and Marc Richardson and their eight-year-old son, Tyler Jacob, wasn’t a stranger. It was 12-year-old Jasmine Richardson who had enlisted the help of her “boyfriend,” 23-year-old Jeremy Steinke, to kill her family. We’re back with another daughter who killed her family in this week’s episode on the youngest Canadian to have ever been convicted of multiple counts of first-degree murder who is now walking free.

Sources:

https://allthatsinteresting.com/jasmine-richardson 

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-actions-and-decisions/investigations/investigations-into-businesses/2012/pipeda-2012-001/ 

https://www.mamamia.com.au/jasmine-richardson/ 

https://restore-mentalhealth.com/richardson-family-murders-mind/ 

https://www.worldremit.com/en/blog/education/education-system-in-canada 

Numerous articles by the CBC such as: ⁠https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/crown-rips-into-accused-alberta-killer-in-cross-examination-1.733208⁠ (For all the links, please email us.)

https://people.com/richardson-family-murders-how-a-12-year-old-helped-murder-her-family-with-23-year-old-boyfriend-8682958  

https://globalnews.ca/news/1835793/timeline-tracking-canadas-youngest-multiple-murderer/ 

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/jasmine-richardson-walks-free-a-decade-after-she-and-boyfriend-massacred-her-family/TDLBX4NMVXCY5UGVSRISBITUTE/ 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fetal-alcohol-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20352901#:~:text=Overview,and%20thinking%2C%20and%20physical%20development. 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9905-oppositional-defiant-disorder 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23924-conduct-disorder 

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-7-things-to-know 

São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, experienced plenty of crime in 2002. With many citizens living in poverty and struggling to survive, police were used to being called to crime scenes in the poorer neighborhoods. However, getting called to the wealthy area of Campo Belo was not the norm. Entering the residence, police found that the rooms on the lower level largely appeared undisturbed, except for the office, where it looked like items had been strewn about. After going upstairs, though, they found the owners of the home, Manfred and Marisa von Richthofen, both in theirbeds, obviously dead. While their son, Andreas, was visibly upset, their daughter, Suzane, seemed more concerned about her inheritance than her murdered parents.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/affair-is-focus-of-brazil-murders/

https://vocal.media/criminal/i-used-to-love-you-ftcggb0dp

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5207124.stm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyjSBDZuCk

https://www.news24.com/you/archive/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-griekwastad-murder-case-20170728 

https://www.news24.com/you/celebs/school-boy-cast-as-convicted-killer-don-steenkamp-in-movie-about-griekwastad-murders-20190410 

With the bodies of her mother, Elizabeth, and sister, Katie, upstairs, Kim Edwards watched the Twilight movies with her boyfriend Lucas Markham, reveling in their unobstructed relationship before police came to arrest them. Having long been jealous of her mother and sister’s close relationship, Kim wanted revenge for how her mother had treated her, and getting Lucas to kill Elizabeth for her was hardly difficult. After all, Elizabeth had never kept her disapproval of their relationship a secret. We're continuing with our theme of daughters who kill as we dig into Kim and Lucas’s relationship and the resulting murders.

Sources:

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/dinner-lady#:~:text=%2F%CB%88d%C9%AAn%C9%99r%20le%C9%AAdi%2F,meals%20to%20children%20in%20schools 

https://www.verywellhealth.com/jugular-vein-anatomy-4769029 

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/markham-edwards-v-r-judgment.pdf  

https://www.stpaulschambers.com/st-pauls-chambers-reduce-sentence-for-britains-youngest-double-murderers/

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-37648194    

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/09/kim-edwards-lucas-markham-murders-mother-sister-spalding 

https://news.sky.com/story/teenage-couple-get-life-for-killing-spalding-mother-and-daughter-10651939 

https://patient.info/doctor/dissocial-personality-disorder 

https://www.advocatemagazine.com/images/issues/2022/01-january/reprints/Berkley-Jan22-article.pdf 

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/adjustment-disorders

We will be covering two separate cases about daughters who kill this week. First, when Reid and Miriam Beck’s son, Justin, visits their home on January 17, 2023, because he hadn’t talked to his parents in a few days, his sister, Verity, who is also living in the house, tells him things have “been bad.” Justin can see that when he notices what looks like a body covered with a sheet and a chainsaw nearby. Second, local villagers in Bawan Kheri, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, heard crying and pleading late in the evening of April 15, 2008. After making their way to the home, they noticed the patriarch of the family deceased and on the floor. Police would later find six more family members, including a 10-month-old boy, all dead.

Sources for Verity Beck:

https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/mental-health-brief-psychotic-disorder 

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/verity-beck-insanity-defense-murder-parents/

https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/news/local/prosecutors-abington-woman-killed-parents-after-stealing

https://www.inquirer.com/crime/verity-beck-murder-abington-theft-montgomery-county-20231201.html

https://archphila.org/statement-regarding-ms-verity-a-beck/

https://www.inquirer.com/news/verity-beck-jenkintown-charged-murder-dismembering-reid-miriam-20230623.html

Sources for Shabnam Ali:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/24/india/india-shabnam-execution-intl-dst-hnk/index.html 

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/the-shabnam-that-i-knew-was-very-different/article33949536.ece

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/who-is-shabnam-ali-first-woman-in-india-to-be-hanged-till-death/articleshow/81081970.cms

https://jlrjs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/78.-Pratishtha-Singh-1.pdf

https://news.abplive.com/crime/amroha-uttar-pradesh-murder-crime-case-love-betrayal-haunting-tale-shabnam-saleem-1609779

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/24/india/india-shabnam-execution-intl-dst-hnk/index.html

https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/shabnam-ali-death-sentence-rarest-of-rare-case-or-was-there-a-chance-for-reform-3474116.html

Daughters who kill … That’s our first ever theme, and today, we’re diving into the case of Virginia McCullough. We’ve all dug ourselves into a hole with our lies before. Most of us, though, don’t see murder as our only way out. However, Virginia McCullough decided that murdering her parents, John and Lois, was her only answer. When the police showed up at the family home, they learned that Virginia hadn’t just been living with what she’d done, she’d been living with the bodies of her parents for the past four years.

Sources: 

https://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_Report_ExSum.pdf 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx24g4pq51eo

https://www.essex.police.uk/news/essex/news/news/2024/october/chelmsford-daughter-life-sentence-murdered-parents/

https://people.com/virginia-mccullough-killed-parents-lived-bodies-four-years-8730630 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/oct/11/woman-jailed-life-murdering-parents-bodies-essex-virginia-mccullough 

https://apnews.com/article/britain-parents-murdered-daughter-tombs-447dd9e79b8fbd58281c35d340de9dcd 

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Rex-v-Virginia-McCullough-Sentencing-remarks.pdf 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/dad-family-john-chelmsford-crown-court-virginia-b2627982.html 

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/virginia-mccullough-parents-murder-fwxqlfpd9 

https://www.hamiltonbilliards.com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-snooker-and-pool/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23921-hypercholesterolemia 

https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/giving-gift-can-make-you-feel-less-lonely 

https://www.verywellmind.com/compulsive-liars-how-to-cope-with-their-lies-7373288 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9827478/#:~:text=As%20a%20proportion%20of%20all,2020%3B%20Holt%2C%202017