Happy New Year! As we look ahead to 2026, we’re excited to bring you even more fascinating cases and gripping investigations.
More importantly, we'd like to thank you for listening, and making 2025 an unforgettable year, your support and curiosity keep us coming back week after week.
Please enjoy our Best of 2025 selection, The Night Stalker! Killer Minds will be back next week with a brand new episode. Richard Ramirez believed Satan protected him, but he couldn't outrun justice forever. In Part 2, we explore "The Night Stalker’s" gruesome 1985 killing spree, the chilling trail of clues left in his wake, and the courageous community that ended his reign of terror in an unforgettable showdown.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

🎧 Need More to Binge? 

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

Instagram: @Crimehouse

TikTok: @Crimehouse

Facebook: @crimehousestudios

YouTube: @crimehousestudios

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy New Year! As we look ahead to 2026, we’re excited to bring you even more fascinating cases and gripping investigations.
More importantly, we'd like to thank you for listening, and making 2025 an unforgettable year, your support and curiosity keep us coming back week after week.
Please enjoy our Best of 2025 selection, The Night Stalker! Killer Minds will be back next week with a brand new episode.
Richard Ramirez, "The Night Stalker," wasn't born a killer, but his path was paved with trauma, violence, and a dark obsession. In Part 1, we explore Ramirez’s disturbing childhood in El Paso, his fascination with Satanism, and the twisted influences that turned him into one of California’s most feared serial killers.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

🎧 Need More to Binge? 

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

Instagram: @Crimehouse

TikTok: @Crimehouse

Facebook: @crimehousestudios

YouTube: @crimehousestudios

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The conclusion of the Jim Jones story follows his unraveling as defections, scandals, and mounting scrutiny push the cult leader to flee the U.S. and establish the isolated Jonestown settlement—where his paranoia, drug-fueled delusions, and absolute control escalate to catastrophic levels. As Congressman Leo Ryan attempts to investigate, Jones’s fears explode into violence, culminating in the airstrip ambush and the mass poisoning that claimed over 900 lives, including more than 300 children. Vanessa Richardson guides listeners through the harrowing final days of Jonestown, while Dr. Tristin Engels explores the psychology behind Jones’s descent into lethal fanaticism and the chilling mechanisms that allowed a community’s trust to become a weapon of mass destruction.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

🎧 Need More to Binge? 

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

Instagram: @Crimehouse

TikTok: @Crimehouse

Facebook: @crimehousestudios

YouTube: @crimehousestudios

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Engels joins Vanessa in this episode of Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes for a Crime House crossover! 

Dozens of young men, all found drowned. A single eerie clue near every crime scene: a painted smiley face.

Uncover the dark origins of the Smiley Face Killers theory — a decades-long investigation that suggests a nationwide ring of serial murderers might still be active.

Follow Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: https://play.megaphone.fm/wm1aoandqx-axn1ncatcaq

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first part of this two-episode deep dive, Killer Minds traces the rise of Jim Jones—from a lonely, attention-seeking child in Indiana to a charismatic preacher who built the Peoples Temple and laid the groundwork for one of history’s most infamous cults. Vanessa Richardson recounts how Jones blended social justice messaging with manipulation, staged miracles, and psychological control to amass thousands of devoted followers, while Dr. Tristin Engels analyzes the early signs of his megalomania, obsession with power, and growing paranoia. By exploring his childhood influences, calculated use of religion, and escalating tactics of fear and loyalty-testing, this episode examines how Jones transformed himself into a leader capable of unimaginable darkness.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

🎧 Need More to Binge? 

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

Instagram: @Crimehouse

TikTok: @Crimehouse

Facebook: @crimehousestudios

YouTube: @crimehousestudios

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Christmas Eve 2008, the Ortega family gathered at their home in Covina, California, for their annual holiday celebration. Laughter, food, and music filled the night—until a man dressed as Santa Claus knocked on their door. In Part 2 of The Santa Claus Massacre, Carter Roy reveals the shocking and tragic events that unfolded that night, when 45-year-old Bruce Pardo—Sylvia Ortega’s embittered ex-husband—turned holiday cheer into unimaginable horror. What began as a festive family gathering ended in one of California’s deadliest crimes. This episode traces Bruce’s meticulously planned attack, the inferno that followed, and the chilling aftermath that left investigators searching for answers—and a surviving family struggling to rebuild their lives. But out of the ashes, hope emerged: a story of survival, resilience, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
Listen to Murder: True Crime Stories wherever you listen to podcasts: https://play.megaphone.fm/zooymjyirj-p1yeorxgirwOn Christmas Eve 2008, the Ortega family gathered at their home in Covina, California, for their annual holiday celebration. Laughter, food, and music filled the night—until a man dressed as Santa Claus knocked on their door. In Part 2 of The Santa Claus Massacre, Carter Roy reveals the shocking and tragic events that unfolded that night, when 45-year-old Bruce Pardo—Sylvia Ortega’s embittered ex-husband—turned holiday cheer into unimaginable horror. What began as a festive family gathering ended in one of California’s deadliest crimes. This episode traces Bruce’s meticulously planned attack, the inferno that followed, and the chilling aftermath that left investigators searching for answers—and a surviving family struggling to rebuild their lives. But out of the ashes, hope emerged: a story of survival, resilience, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.
Listen to Murder: True Crime Stories wherever you listen to podcasts: https://play.megaphone.fm/zooymjyirj-p1yeorxgirw

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year — but for Bruce Pardo, the holidays brought something far darker. After losing his marriage, his family, and even his dog, Bruce’s bitterness turned deadly. In this first part of our Christmas Crime Special, we meet the Ortega family — a loving, tight-knit clan from Covina, California. When Sylvia Ortega met Bruce, she believed she’d finally found her happily ever after. But behind Bruce’s charming smile was a trail of deceit, neglect, and violence stretching back decades. As Carter Roy guides us through the Ortegas’ story, we uncover how one man’s obsession and thirst for revenge set the stage for one of the most horrifying crimes in Christmas history.
Listen to Murder: True Crime Stories wherever you listen to podcasts: https://play.megaphone.fm/zooymjyirj-p1yeorxgirw

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the late 1970s, John Wayne Gacy seemed untouchable — a pillar of his community who charmed neighbors and entertained children. But when police began closing in, the façade cracked, revealing one of the most horrific crime scenes in history.
In this conclusion, hosts Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristin Engels follow investigators as they uncover Gacy’s terrifying secrets: 33 victims buried in his home and beyond. Through psychological insight and gripping storytelling, Killer Minds examines how Gacy’s ego, delusion, and cruelty finally brought him down — and what his case reveals about the darkest corners of the human mind.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

🎧 Need More to Binge? 

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

Instagram: @Crimehouse

TikTok: @Crimehouse

Facebook: @crimehousestudios

YouTube: @crimehousestudios

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before he became one of America’s most notorious serial killers, John Wayne Gacy was a respected businessman, community volunteer, and beloved party clown in suburban Chicago. But behind the makeup of “Pogo the Clown” hid a deeply disturbed man shaped by abuse, trauma, and rage.
In this first episode, host Vanessa Richardson and criminal psychologist Dr. Tristin Engels trace Gacy’s early life — from a violent childhood and secret compulsions to the first crimes that exposed his monstrous double life. Beneath the surface of normalcy, a predator was taking shape.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

🎧 Need More to Binge? 

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

Instagram: @Crimehouse

TikTok: @Crimehouse

Facebook: @crimehousestudios

YouTube: @crimehousestudios

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After shooting cyclist Mo Wilson in cold blood, Kaitlin Armstrong vanished. Using her sister’s passport, she fled the U.S. for Costa Rica — changing her name, dyeing her hair, and even getting plastic surgery to hide from authorities. But as investigators closed in, Kaitlin’s confidence became her downfall.
In Part 2, Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristin Engels follow Armstrong’s desperate escape across borders, her stunning capture in a Costa Rican hostel, and her shocking attempt to flee custody before trial. Through psychological analysis, they explore the fragile ego and delusional self-assurance that led Kaitlin to believe she could outsmart everyone — even after committing an unforgivable crime.

If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Killer Minds to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Killer Minds is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios

🎧 Need More to Binge? 

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Murder True Crime Stories, Crime House Daily and Crimes and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

Instagram: @Crimehouse

TikTok: @Crimehouse

Facebook: @crimehousestudios

YouTube: @crimehousestudios

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices