Rotten Mango

They were called “Comfort Women,” but their lives would not be in any sense comfortable. They were kidnapped, tortured, and held hostage to be assaulted by military officials.

Soldiers had their own name for them; it was “public toilets.” Most of these women either died in captivity from murder, disease, or from the sheer violence of their assaults.

But don’t be fooled by the name, sometimes comfort women were girls as young as 11 years old. Why? Well, wartime always brings out the superstitions in soldiers, and it was believed that assaulting a virgin brought soldiers strength and power.

And they would need that strength to go out and kill over 200,000 citizens in the city of Nanking. This might be one of the darkest cases we have covered in a very long time.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Leslie only had Marie to lean on. They were best friends. Sure, they just started bonding, but Leslie really needed someone to count on. They spent countless hours on the phone, whispering, giggling, staying up, hoping their parents wouldn’t hear them.

But it was a bit strange that she kept asking Leslie about what had happened in that basement. Leslie had been gang raped by some of the most popular kids in high school in the football captain’s basement. There was a trial underway for it. Marie kept asking about it.

Marie asked about how much fun Leslie had if she would do it again, and how Marie could be invited to be assaulted by the boys. She said she wanted what Leslie had. Leslie was desperate for a friend. She said she was willing to go a second time with her new best friend - if that’s what she wanted.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When I say “it was the town’s best-kept secret,” what do you imagine? Maybe an unknown hole-in-the-wall restaurant with the best milkshakes? Maybe a secret hangout spot near the river with the best city views.

Not for the town of Glen Ridge; it was much darker than that. For them, their best-kept secret was their boys. The town’s group of star athletes - the football players, wrestlers, basketball players, and the most popular boys in class.

So why are they a secret? Well, they’re not. But the secret was over a dozen of the most popular boys gang raped a disabled high school girl. They assaulted her with a baseball bat and broomstick.

It was a secret kept by the boys, the parents, teachers, faculty members, coaches, and social workers, for 3 full months before the police were alerted.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the surface, there was nothing remarkable about Larry Lavin. He lived in a quiet neighborhood with his wife and family, drove a Volvo, and practiced dentistry in Philadelphia. But, from 1978 to 1984, Dr. Lavin moonlighted as one of the largest cocaine kingpins on the Eastern Seaboard.

Through the voices and perspectives of law enforcement, drug runners, friends, business associates and Larry Lavin himself, Wolves Among Us, Season One, The Larry Lavin Story, tells the story of Lavin’s dual life, his impact on Philadelphia culture in the late 70s and early 80s, and the stunning events that led to an intense manhunt for one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives.

Wolves Among Us is a presentation and creation of Peabody-nominated C13Originals, a Cadence13 Studio.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

John was devastated when he got the call from his wife’s twin. His wife of two and a half years had just passed. Sure, he knew that she had been terminally ill for a while, but that didn’t ease the grief he felt.

So when his wife’s twin sister showed up at his front door, he welcomed her in with open arms. She was the only one that understood his pain.

They were identical twins, but she had blonde hair, whereas his wife had brown. She was also a bit thinner than his wife. Maybe she reminded him so much of his wife that he slowly fell in love with her.

He felt it was natural to connect with her, but he had no idea that she had planned it all. His wife’s twin had been obsessed with their life. Their picture-perfect marriage, their lovely plush house, and she wanted it for herself. She felt she deserved it more than her twin. So she was here to take it. Everything. The house, the husband, and the life.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

They say when you seek revenge, you should dig two graves. One for yourself as well. The PTA moms didn’t think of that when they raged war.

Jill was said to have gone up and down the hallways of the wealthy school to pass out flyers. Flyers that were printed with baseless accusations against another PTA mom. It’s said that she was jealous of the other mom. Some say it’s because she was trying to distract the community from the fact that she was cheating on her attorney husband with 4 firefighters - at the same time.

Regardless Jill’s obsession will turn into a web of conspiracies involving child abuse, cheating with the tennis coach, drugs, and death. The result? Two behind bars and millions of dollars on the line. This is the PTA mom nightmare.

(Book Red - “I’ll Get You” - by Kelli Peters & Riley J Ford. Such a good book I couldn’t put it down and the emotions were so raw and so real. Please check it out)

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Edward’s new boss loved a good team-building event. Most companies would take their employees out for a fun night of bowling.

But not Edward’s boss, Robin; he liked to have a more intimate setting. He gathered all 3 of his employees in the attic of his house and told them to follow after him.

He started chanting random phrases while holding up an object into the air above them. Then he dramatically pressed the object to his mouth and took a bite. He cackled maniacally and passed it around for everyone to eat.

It was an amputated human breast. They were all going to be cannibals from this point on. Robin didn’t care though. He didn’t even care that he ripped the flesh straight from a human being who was still alive. All he cared about was that his employees were bonding with him.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Her boyfriend loved a good surprise. Surprise dates and gifts were kind of his specialty, but this one felt a bit different. She was blindfolded and taken into a building.

He tied her to a chair in the middle of an empty room. She was getting giddy. He had been talking to her about buying a house for her soon. Maybe, he had finally done it!

He ripped off her blindfold and got in her face to say, “welcome to my mortuary!” Her eyes adjusted to the light, and she looked around. Around her were 2 dead bodies of women laid out on the ground. On the mattress in front of her was a woman tied spread eagle. She was still moving.

Book: “Love Me To Death” - by Steve Jackson

(Such a good deep dive on this case and honestly really dives deep into the terror that everyone involved must have felt)

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You’ve heard of the red rooms - the alleged deep web livestreams of people being assaulted, tortured, and killed.

The existence of red rooms is largely debated. But have you ever heard of the “Little Red Mansion?” Because this one is very real.

The mansion itself was beautiful, filled with crystal chandeliers, gold crown moldings, and massive rooms filled with over-the-top furniture. It felt like an expensive boutique hotel.

But for the girls trapped inside it was the biggest nightmare. They were being held hostage, trafficked to high-powered government officials, injected with hormones, and in the end, their eggs were ripped from their bodies to be sold on the black market.

If you walked by the Little Red Mansion, you would think it’s a nice building - you would never imagine the secrets it held.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Detective Nel was having a rough time falling asleep. She had a debilitating migraine and was throwing up all night long. Sure, her job as a detective wasn’t easy, but she almost always slept like a baby.

The next day she went into work and was rushed to the cell of a young, doe-eyed girl that she personally arrested last night. It was a shocking case. The girl skinned someone’s entire face off. She wanted to be the next Ed Gein it seemed. In the cell, she saw the same girl covered head to toe in blood, deep gashes in her legs, smiling up at her.

There was writing on the walls - in blood. “Along came a little girl” it read.

And next to her?

A voodoo doll with a piece of hair tied tightly around the neck. It was Detective Neil’s hair.

Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.