We built the interstate system to connect America. But for some killers, those same roads became the perfect hunting ground.

In this new season of Deadly Truths with Becca, Interstate: Highly Deadly investigates the murders, disappearances, predator patterns, and forgotten victims tied to America’s highways. From long-haul truck routes to roadside dump sites, from isolated exits to cases that crossed state lines before law enforcement could catch up, this season follows the blood trail left behind on the open road.

These are not just stories about serial killers. They are stories about mobility, anonymity, jurisdiction gaps, missed warning signs, and how the American highway system gave violent offenders exactly what they needed: distance, access, and invisibility.

If you are drawn to true crime history, unsolved cases, criminal psychology, victim-centered storytelling, and the darker side of American infrastructure, this season is for you.

New episodes of Interstate: Highly Deadly are coming soon.

Call to Action
Subscribe now to Deadly Truths with Becca on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Turn on notifications, leave a review, and share this trailer with someone who loves true crime, criminal psychology, and the stories hiding just off the shoulder of the road.

If you want, I can also give you:

In 1990, an Arizona state trooper made what appeared to be a routine traffic stop along Interstate 10. Inside the sleeper compartment of a long-haul semi-truck, he found a woman alive — bound and chained to the cab.

The driver was Robert Ben Rhoades.

Over the next several years, investigators linked Rhoades to the murders of Lisa Stasi, Regina Walters, and Ricky Lee Jones. Evidence recovered from his truck — including photographs and logbooks — exposed how mobility, state lines, and fragmented jurisdictional systems allowed him to operate across multiple states.

In this first episode of INTERSTATE: Highly Deadly, we examine:

• How interstate infrastructure created anonymity
• How delivery routes became camouflage
• How fragmented investigations delayed pattern recognition
• And how Rhoades exposed a systemic blind spot in law enforcement

This is not just the story of one killer.
It’s the story of how the highway became a hunting ground.

This episode is based on publicly available court records, law enforcement statements, investigative journalism, and FBI documentation. All allegations discussed are grounded in documented findings and convictions. Robert Ben Rhoades has been convicted of multiple murders and is serving life sentences in federal prison. Any references to suspected additional victims are based on law enforcement statements and remain unproven unless formally adjudicated.

Listener discretion is advised due to discussion of violent crimes.

Resources

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP)
• FBI – Highway Serial Killings Initiative
• United States Department of Justice case records related to Robert Ben Rhoades
• Court transcripts and conviction records (Missouri and Illinois)
• Investigative reporting on the Regina Walters and Lisa Stasi cases

If this episode changed how you see the highway — follow the show.

Leave a rating and review to help others find INTERSTATE: Highly Deadly.

And share this episode with someone who’s never considered what moves between mile markers.

Because the road is long.

And we’re just getting started.

Remember — the past isn’t dead.
It’s walking the shoulder… after dark.

In November 1981, Hollywood icon Natalie Wood drowned off Catalina Island during a Thanksgiving weekend aboard her yacht, the Splendour. Present that night were her husband, Robert Wagner, co-star Christopher Walken, and the yacht’s captain.

The original ruling: accidental drowning.

Decades later, the case was reopened. The cause of death was amended to “drowning and other undetermined factors.” Robert Wagner was later named a person of interest — but no charges have ever been filed.

So what actually happened that night?

In this episode, we break down:
• The argument on board
• The toxicology report
• The changing autopsy findings
• The theories — separated from the facts
• And why this case still refuses to die

No sensationalism. Just the documented record — and the questions that remain.

If you want more deep dives into Hollywood’s unresolved deaths and the stories the industry never fully answered, follow Deadly Truths, rate the show, and share this episode. The past isn’t gone — it’s waiting to be examined.

This episode is based on publicly available records, law enforcement statements, coroner reports, and published biographies. Allegations discussed remain unproven. No individual has been convicted in connection with Natalie Wood’s death. The case remains officially classified as drowning with undetermined factors.

During the height of Prohibition, George Remus wasn’t just a bootlegger — he was one of the richest and most powerful liquor traffickers in America. Operating out of Cincinnati along the Ohio–Kentucky corridor, he built a whiskey empire worth millions while bribing officials and manipulating the law.

But the real scandal wasn’t just his criminal enterprise.

It was what happened in Eden Park in 1927 — when Remus shot and killed his wife, Imogene, in broad daylight after believing she had betrayed him financially and romantically.

The trial that followed shocked the nation. Remus claimed temporary insanity. The jury believed him.

This episode dives into the Prohibition underworld, Remus’s rise to power, his marriage to Imogene Holmes Remus, the alleged affair with a federal agent, and the courtroom drama that turned a murderer into a headline sensation.

This isn’t just a mob story.

It’s a story about ego, betrayal, money, and a man who believed he was untouchable.

🎙 Call to ActionIf you’re fascinated by the untold stories of America’s crime history, subscribe to Deadly Truths and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next episode.

Comment below:
Was George Remus calculating — or genuinely unhinged?

And if there’s a Prohibition-era case you want covered next, drop it in the comments.

⚖️ Disclaimer

This episode discusses historical violence, homicide, and criminal activity. It is presented for educational and historical purposes only. All information is based on documented court records, newspaper archives, and historical research. Viewer discretion is advised.

📚 Resources & References

• Court transcripts from the 1927 George Remus trial
• Contemporary coverage from The Cincinnati Enquirer (1927)
• Federal Prohibition Bureau records
• Daniel Okrent, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition
• Karen Abbott, Sin in the Second City (Prohibition context)
• Ohio Historical Society archives

In 1895, San Francisco was a city of fog, faith, and reputation. Inside the walls of a respected church, that illusion shattered.

He was educated. Religious. Trusted. A young medical student who volunteered in the congregation. And yet, beneath the sanctuary’s quiet order, two women would be lured, assaulted, and murdered — their bodies hidden in the belfry of the very place meant to symbolize safety.

The press would call him “The Demon of the Belfry.”

In this episode of Dead City, we examine the murders of Blanche Lamont and Minnie Williams, the evidence left inside the church, the media frenzy that followed, and the psychology of a killer who never confessed. Was he a calculating predator? A sexually motivated sadist? A man hiding behind piety? Or something more complicated?

This is not folklore.
This is documented history.
And San Francisco has never fully escaped it.

If you value historical accuracy over myth, and context over sensationalism, subscribe to Deadly Truths.

Follow on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube so you don’t miss the next episode in the Dead City series.

Share this episode with someone who thinks the past is quieter than the present.

Because it isn’t.

Disclaimer

This episode discusses real historical murders, sexual assault, and violence. Listener discretion is advised.

All information presented is based on historical records, archived newspapers, court documents, and secondary scholarly sources. Interpretations of psychological motives are speculative and offered for contextual analysis only.

This content is intended for educational and historical discussion purposes.

Resources:

• San Francisco Chronicle archives (1895 trial coverage)

• San Francisco Examiner archives

• Court records of Theodore Durrant trial (California Supreme Court records)

• Murderpedia – Theodore Durrant case file

• Historical Crime Detective – “Theodore Durrant: The Demon of the Belfry”

• Contemporary academic commentary on late 19th-century criminal psychology

• California Digital Newspaper Collection (CDNC)

Before fingerprinting.
Before national manhunts.
Before modern policing.

A family built a roadside inn along the Osage Trail in southeastern Kansas — about three hours south of Kansas City — and turned it into a killing chamber.

They sat travelers at the head of the table.
Struck from behind a curtain.
Dropped bodies through a trapdoor.
Buried them in an apple orchard.

At least ten victims were uncovered in 1873.
The killers were never officially caught.

In this episode of The Frontier Is Dead, we examine what we actually know about the Bloody Benders — their land claim, the murders, the orchard graves, the disappearance, and the unsettling possibility that they walked away free.

The American frontier wasn’t just built on ambition.

It was built on graves.

🔔 Call to Action

If you found this episode compelling, follow, rate, and share Deadly Truths.

It helps keep these forgotten histories alive — and ensures the stories buried in the orchard don’t stay there.

⚖️ Disclaimer

This episode contains discussion of historical violence and murder. Listener discretion is advised.

The information presented is based on historical records, newspaper archives, and documented accounts from the 1870s. Some details remain debated due to limited frontier-era documentation.

📚 Sources & Resources

• Kansas Historical Society archives
• Labette County historical records
• Contemporary 1873 newspaper reports from Kansas and Missouri
• Scholarly research on frontier crime and the Osage Trail
• Independence, Kansas regional archives regarding Dr. William York

In April 1895, two young women walked into a San Francisco church — and never walked back out.

Blanche Lamont was found hidden in the belfry of Emmanuel Baptist Church. Days later, Minnie Williams was discovered concealed inside the same building.

At the center of it all was Theodore Durrant — a Sunday school teacher, choir member, and medical student, the press would later call The Demon of the Belfry.

In this episode of Dead City: San Francisco, we examine the timeline, the psychological profile, the courtroom battle, and the haunting question that lingered long after his execution: how does a trusted man kill inside a sacred space — and return to pray?

This is not folklore.
🔔 Call to Action

If you value historically grounded true crime without sensationalism, follow Deadly Truths with Becca, leave a rating, and share this episode.

Every follow helps keep forgotten cases from disappearing into silence.

⚖ Disclaimer

This episode contains discussion of homicide and possible sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised.

All analysis presented is based on documented court records, contemporary reporting, and modern psychological interpretation. Retroactive profiling is interpretive, not diagnostic. This is documented history.

📚 Sources & Further Reading

• Trial records of Theodore Durrant (1895–1898)

• Contemporary reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle

• San Francisco Call archives (1895)

• California Supreme Court case documents: People v. Durrant

• Historical summaries from California state archives

• Secondary analysis in late 19th-century American criminal history texts

In the winter of 1884, something began moving through the dark streets of Austin, Texas.

Women were attacked in their beds. Doors splintered. Skulls crushed. Bodies dragged into the yard before dawn. The first victims were Black domestic workers sleeping in servant quarters behind wealthy homes. The city barely reacted.

Then the violence escalated.

In just over a year, between 1884 and 1885, eight women were brutally attacked. Seven died. The killer was never identified. No confession. No arrest that held. No forensic tools capable of catching him.

Before London had Jack the Ripper… Austin had a predator moving silently from house to house while families slept.

This is the story of the Servant Girl Annihilator — one of America’s earliest identifiable serial murder patterns — and the city that was unprepared to stop him.

Call to Action:

If you found this episode compelling, follow Dead City and share it with someone who thinks serial killers are a modern phenomenon.
Rate and review wherever you listen — it helps keep these forgotten chapters of history alive.

Disclaimer: This episode contains discussion of historical violence, including assault and murder. Listener discretion is advised.

All details are drawn from historical newspaper records and scholarly research. Because 19th-century reporting was inconsistent and often influenced by racial and political bias, some elements remain debated among historians.

Sources & Research

Primary research includes:

• Contemporary Austin newspaper archives (1884–1885)
• Texas State Historical Association records
• City of Austin archival materials
• Contemporary criminological and historical analysis of the Servant Girl Annihilator case
• Secondary scholarly reviews of late-19th-century serial homicide patterns

Historical spelling variations and reporting inconsistencies have been standardized where appropriate for clarity.

Before the Mafia.
Before organized crime wore tailored suits.
There were the Whyos.

In the late 1800s, New York’s Five Points neighborhood was ruled by a violent Irish street gang known for selling brutality by the job. Beatings. Retaliation. Murder. Their reputation was so notorious that newspapers claimed they even had a price list.

But the Whyos weren’t masterminds building empires. They were products of poverty, humiliation, overcrowding, and a city that treated immigrant neighborhoods as disposable.

In this episode of Deadly Truths: Dead City, we examine:

• Who the Whyos really were
• The psychology behind violence-for-hire in immigrant enclaves
• The documented murder that helped bring them down
• Why their collapse changed the future of organized crime

Because before crime became structured and strategic, it was loud, personal, and close-range.

And the Whyos were the last of that era.

If you value historically grounded true crime without myth or romanticism:

Subscribe to Deadly Truths.
Leave a review.
Share this episode with someone who thinks organized crime began with the Mafia.

And if you want more deep dives into the people who shaped America’s most dangerous cities, explore the full Dead City series.

Understanding the past doesn’t require defending it. Context explains behavior—but it doesn’t absolve power.

Primary and Historical Sources:

• New York Times archives (1880s coverage of Whyos trials and executions)
• Court records related to the conviction of Piker Ryan (1888)
• Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York
• Tyler Anbinder, Five Points: The 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World’s Most Notorious Slum
• New York Municipal Archives

Secondary Context:

• Academic research on immigrant urban enclaves and 19th-century gang formation
• Historical studies of Tammany Hall and machine politics

This episode contains discussion of real historical violence. Listener discretion is advised.

All individuals discussed are part of the historical record. This episode is intended for educational and analytical purposes and does not condone or glorify criminal behavior.

Before organized crime wore tailored suits and answered to syndicates, New York’s streets were ruled by brute force.

Monk Eastman controlled large swaths of the Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century. His gang enforced protection rackets, operated gambling dens, and served as muscle for Tammany Hall’s political machine. But as crime became more structured and less theatrical, Eastman’s brand of visible violence became a liability.

In this episode of Dead City: New York, we examine the rise, decline, and execution-style death of one of the city’s most notorious early gang leaders — and the moment organized crime evolved from chaos into system.

No myth.
No nostalgia.
No hero worship.

Just power — and what happens when it becomes obsolete.

⚖ DISCLAIMER

This episode contains discussions of historical violence and criminal activity. All analysis is based on available historical records and reputable secondary sources. Where uncertainty exists in the historical record, it is noted as such. Listener discretion is advised.

📚 PRIMARY & SECONDARY SOURCES

• Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York
• Thomas Reppetto, American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power
• NYC Municipal Archives (court and arrest records where available)
• Contemporary reporting from The New York Times (early 1900s coverage)
• U.S. Army WWI enlistment records (Monk Eastman service documentation)

📢 CALL TO ACTION

If you’re not subscribed yet, now’s the time.

Dead City breaks down the real history behind America’s most dangerous streets — without myth and without nostalgia.

Subscribe.
Leave a comment.
Share this episode with someone who thinks early gang history was just folklore. It wasn’t.