Formerly known as Mind of A Serial Killer, Killer Minds takes you deep into the psychology of history's most chilling murderers-from infamous serial killers to ruthless cult leaders, deadly exes, and terrifying spree killers. Every Monday and Thursday, hosts Vanessa Richardson and Dr. Tristin Engels, a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, blend gripping true crime storytelling with expert psychological analysis to uncover what drives people to kill. From the calculated minds of serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy to crimes of passion and cold-blooded murders, Killer Minds goes beyond the headlines to explore the twisted psychology behind the crimes. What fuels their darkness? How do their minds work? And most hauntingly-could they have been stopped?

A Crime House Studios original, new episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow Killer Minds wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us at Killerminds on social media.

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1980 - Newport, Rhode Island.

On the morning of March 22, 1980, the nude body of 19-year-old Diane Drake washed up on Easton’s Beach between Middletown and Newport, RI. She had vanished the night before on her way to work. Forty-five years later, her killer remains at large.

Yet, despite the passage of time, Diane’s family continues to seek answers and keep her memory alive—though justice today may not look the same as it did in 1980.

In Part 2 of Diane’s story, we explore the final hours before her disappearance, revelations from her autopsy, and the theories that could finally bring her case closer to justice.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/diane-drake-2

If you have any information on the murder of Diane Drake, please contact the Rhode Island Cold Case Unit tip line at (401) 468-2233. You can also call the anonymous tip line at the Newport Police Dept at (401) 846-2606.

Donate to the Diane Drake Memorial Scholarship Fund at Roger Williams University. Choose ‘Make a Gift to RWU’, select Other, and write in Diane Drake Memorial Scholarship: https://www.rwu.edu/giving/ways-to-give

If you contribute to Diane's scholarship, please email me at [email protected] for a gift.

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1980 - Newport, Rhode Island.

On March 21, 1980, as wind and rain swept through Middletown, Rhode Island, 19-year-old Diane Drake got ready for work. But she never made it there.

The next morning, her nude body washed up on Easton’s Beach. Witnesses later reported seeing Diane the night she disappeared, walking—and even hitchhiking—along the three-mile route to work despite the harsh weather. But Diane had always warned her younger sister, Jean, never to hitchhike. Would she have ignored her own advice?

Forty-five years later, Jean is still searching for answers. And to this day, she believes one thing: Diane Drake knew her killer.

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/diane-drake-1

If you have any information on the murder of Diane Drake, please contact the Rhode Island Cold Case Unit tip line at (401) 468-2233. You can also call the anonymous tip line at the Newport Police Dept at (401) 846-2606.

Donate to the Diane Drake Memorial Scholarship Fund at Roger Williams University. Choose ‘Make a Gift to RWU’, select Other, and write in Diane Drake Memorial Scholarship: https://www.rwu.edu/giving/ways-to-give

If you contribute to Diane's scholarship, please email me at [email protected] for a gift.

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2014 - Fortuna, California.

This is an update in the case of my childhood friend, Danielle Bertolini, from the Fortuna Police Dept in California.

To learn more about Danielle and hear her story, listen to the episode from July 2023 on Murder, She Told: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/daniellebertolini

Sign the petition: https://change.org/danielleandsheila

If you have any information regarding Danielle Bertolini’s case, please contact Fortuna Police Detectives Brian Taylor or Thomas MacLeod at the Fortuna Police Department: (707) 725-7550.

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Do you ever listen to a true crime podcast and think "that's not quite right...?" Or even wonder about the parts that have been left out?

Enter Celisia Stanton, host of Tenderfoot TV’s Truer Crime and The Vanishing Point.

We sat down for a nuanced discussion on complex cases, ranging from the exoneration of Anthony Broadwater—wrongfully convicted in the 1980s of raping Alice Sebold, author of The Lovely Bones—to the ongoing fight for justice for Toforest Johnson, who remains on Alabama's death row for the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William G. Hardy, a crime he did not commit. 

To hear more from Celisia, find Truer Crime wherever you’re listening. 

To learn more about Toforest Johnson: listen to Earwitness by journalist Beth Shelburne, and learn how you can help at https://www.toforestjohnson.com.

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1988 - Lawrence, Massachusetts. 

In April 2022, 74-year-old Marvin "Skip" McClendon Jr., a former Massachusetts corrections officer, was arrested for the 1988 cold case murder of 11-year-old Melissa Tremblay. Melissa was found brutally murdered on the railroad tracks in Lawrence, MA. 

In December 2023, the trial began. Prosecutors disclosed that DNA evidence had led to Marvin's arrest, but what seemed like an open-and-shut case quickly unraveled into something far more complex.

A lot has happened since the original Murder, She Told episode, but to get to the end, we have to start back at the beginning: This is part 2 of a full story update on Melissa Tremblay featuring new interviews, exclusive court documents, and records.

This is part 2 of the story of Melissa Tremblay.

If you have any information at all on the murder of Melissa Tremblay, please contact the Lawrence Police Dept at 978-794-5900.

See sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/melissa-tremblay-2

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1988 - Lawrence, Massachusetts. 

On the afternoon of September, 12, 1988, a rail yard worker for B&M Railroad in Lawrence, MA made a horrifying discovery on the tracks: the body of 11-year-old Melissa Ann Tremblay who was missing from Salem, NH.

Investigators quickly realized this was no train accident—that something more sinister happened to the young girl—and her killer tried to cover up his crime by staging the gruesome scene. 

For decades the case was cold… until April of 2022, when a former corrections officer was arrested at his home in Alabama. Marvin “Skip” McClendon, Jr went to trial in December 2023… But did investigators get the right man?

A lot has happened since the original Murder, She Told episode, but to get to the end, we have to start back at the beginning: This is a full story update on Melissa Tremblay featuring new interviews, exclusive court documents, and records.

This is part 1 of the story of Melissa Tremblay.

If you have any information at all on the murder of Melissa Tremblay, please contact the Lawrence Police Dept at 978-794-5900.

See sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/melissa-tremblay-1

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2000 - North Providence, Rhode Island.

In the early hours of January 19, 2000, somebody was in the apartment of 32-year-old Kimberly Sue Morse, waiting in the dark for her to return home from work—somebody who knew she worked late nights. The assailant brutally murdered Kim in her own kitchen. Her body wasn't discovered until 15 hours later when firefighters responded to a fire at the apartment, unaware of the horror waiting inside.

But as the mystery unravels, the potential suspect list continues to grow, and one thing remains clear to police: Kimberly Morse likely knew the man who killed her.

Kimberly Morse was the life of the party. She loved to entertain and make people laugh and smile, and she had a wide circle of friends and family who adored her. A true extrovert, Kim could make friends with just about anyone. This makes it so much harder to accept what happened to her.

Kim had so many people who loved her. People who are still waiting for the day the man who stole Kim's life is in handcuffs. Four of them can be heard in this episode.

2025 marks 25 years unsolved. If you have any information about the murder of Kimberly Morse, please contact the North Providence Police Department at (401) 231-4533.

See sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/kimberly-morse

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1990 - Springfield, Massachusetts.

On the morning after Christmas in 1990, a parks employee at Blunt Park in Springfield, MA, made a grim discovery: the body of 17-year-old Shana Renee Price. Initially, police suspected she had been shot, but an autopsy later revealed the brutal truth behind her death.

Shana was a young mother to a baby boy, living a vibrant life surrounded by her friends and family.

Her case received little public attention until 2022, when Springfield Police and the Hampden County DA released a phenotype composite sketch developed by Parabon Nanolabs. The sketch, created using DNA evidence found on Shana’s body, reignited hope that her tragic murder might finally be solved.

However, police still need the public’s help to bring her killer to justice.

If you have information on the murder of Shana Renee Price, please call or text her tip line at the Hampden County DA’s Office at (413) 432-9881.

If you are a current or former Hampden County resident, get a free DNA ancestry kit to help solve cold cases: https://hampdenda.com/news/forensic-genetic-genealogy/

Episode sources and photos: https://www.murdershetold.com/episodes/shana-price

Support the show: https://www.murdershetold.com/support

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Special bonus episode! Kristen is joined by fellow true crime podcasters Charlie Worroll from Crimelines, and Lucy Fitzgerald from Wine & Crime.

Their conversation covers case updates, festival recaps, the perks and pitfalls of podcasting, entomology, Forensic Files, eye drop poisoning, and a whole lot more.

Tune in for a special "Podcasters on Podcasters" style crossover episode we’re calling Murder, She Wine & Crimelines!

Find more info about Crimelines and Wine and Crime here:

https://wineandcrimepodcast.com/

https://www.basementfortproductions.com/

https://www.murdershetold.com/connect

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Support the show: https://www.murdershetold.com/support

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