Sinister Crimes and Cocktails: A True Crime Podcast

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Serial killer duo Loren Herzog and Wes Shermantine, collectively known as the “Speed Freak Killers”, due to their habitual methamphetamine abuse, are suspected of slaughtering as many as 72 people in and around San Joaquin County, California in the 1980s and '90s. After the deadly due was arrested in March of 1999, they quickly turned on each other and gave detailed accounts of the sinister crimes that they had committed over the years. So, how does such a deadly pair of killers manage to evade the authorities for over a decade?

References:

Speed Freak Killers: Victims And Possible Victims

Serial Killers’ Graveyard Opens California Town’s Wounds - The New York Times

The Speed Freak Killers — An Outraged Community — Crime Library

What you need to know about the 'Speed Freak Killers' | abc10.com

Speed Freak Killers: Wesley Shermantine & Loren Herzog

The Gruesome Meth-Fueled Murders of the Speed Freak Killers | Truthfully

Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog: Where Are Speed Freak Killers Today?

The Speed Freak Killers' And Their Meth-Fueled Murder Spree

Who were the victims of Speed Freak Killers? Details explored ahead of Evil Lives Here on ID

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An imprisoned Bay Area killer, David Misch, was found guilty in January of 2025, for the 1986 murders of two young Northern California women, Jennifer Duey and Michelle Xavier, after a DNA match connected him to the crime. In 2003, while serving a life sentence for another murder, David Misch told Fremont police that he had seen the two young women being kidnapped at gunpoint and tried to save them, which was his explanation for the presence of his DNA found on one of the victims. So, did David Misch kill Jennifer Duey and Michelle Xavier or was he an innocent bystander who was just trying to help.

References:

Imprisoned SoCal killer convicted of 1986 murders of two women - Los Angeles Times

'I walked off with her cigarette': Accused East Bay serial killer testifies he was just the victims' friendly neighborhood cocaine dealer

Convicted killer David Misch charged in Michaela Joy Garecht's 1988 death

Serial Killer Sings ‘99 Bottles of Beer’ as He’s Sentenced for Murdering 2 Best Friends

David Misch trial: Judge doubts Bay Area women's killer acted alone

Man awaiting trial for allegedly killing 9-year-old convicted in the 1986 deaths of 2 women

Alleged Bay Area Serial Killer David Misch May Face One or Two Trials For Killings of Two Women and a Nine-Year-Old Girl

Michaela Garecht case: California David Misch charged with 1988 murder and abduction of 9-year-old | CNN

David Emery Misch: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Convicted killer found guilty of murdering 2 Fremont woman nearly 40 years ago | KTVU FOX 2

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In August of 2022, Missouri woman 40-year-old Melanie Biggins claimed to 911 dispatch that an intruder had broken into her Kansas City home that she shared with her husband of nine years, 50-year-old Ettienne (et-ee-in) McEwan, and had shot him while they were both asleep in bed. However, Melanie’s story began to crumble when officers began asking her what had occurred and eventually, she admitted that she had killed her husband. So why did Melanie murder her husband to get out of her marriage?

References:

Kansas City woman faces murder charge in husband’s shooting | Kansas City Star

Missouri Woman Charged With Killing Husband After Claiming It Was An Intruder | HuffPost Latest News

Missouri Woman Charged with Husband's Murder

Missouri Woman Sentenced to 10 Years After Killing Husband Over Divorce Financial Woes - Loyal Conservatives

Missouri Woman Shot Her Sleeping Husband In The Head Because 'Divorce Was Not An Option'

Missouri wife who 'couldn't afford' a divorce killed sleeping husband with brutal gunshot to the head - The Mirror US

Woman Who Didn't Want to Pay for Divorce Shot Husband in Sleep

‘Currently Not an Option’: Cheating Missouri Wife Allegedly Killed Her Sleeping Husband Because She Couldn’t Pay for a Divorce Gets 10 Years In Plea Deal 

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In March of 2016, in the northeast part of Romania in Vasuli county, 40-year-old Marinela Benea, launched a vicious attack on her husband 39-year-old Ionel Popa. Marinela had ripped open her husband’s scrotum with her bare hands after he had failed to get her flowers on International Women’s Day and then later refused to help her with housework. So, was Marinela justified in her attack against her husband or is she a woman with a sinister mind?

References:

Ionel Popa Romanian husband’s testicles ripped off by wife after refusing to help with housework

Woman Tears Off Husband’s Testicles When He Refused To Do Housework

Woman rips husband's testicles after failing to appreciate her

Evil wife rips off hubby's testicles after he forgets her flowers - Daily Star

Woman stabs husband in testicles 'because he refused to help with housework' | The Independent | The Independent

Romanian husband forgives wife who ripped off his testicles on International Women's Day | Daily Mail Online

Romanian wife rips off husband's testicles on International Women's Day after he refused to do housework | Daily Mail Online

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Twenty-six-year-old Estrella Carrera was found dead inside the bathtub of her Burbank, Illinois apartment on May 13, 2012- less than forty-eight hours after she had married her husband, Arnoldo Jimenez. After, Estrella’s body was discovered an arrest warrant for Arnoldo was issued, who managed to stay off police radar for 12 years before being captured in Mexico. So, why did Arnoldo murder his wife of less than forty-eight hours?

References:

Man on FBI's most wanted list arrested in Mexico for 2012 murder of his new bride in Chicago suburb | News | WPSD Local 6

FBI arrests Chicago man in connection with 2012 suburban wedding night murder - Chicago Sun-Times

Suspect in Burbank newlywed stabbing captured in Mexico: FBI

FBI most wanted fugitive finally arrested after wife found stabbed to dead in bathtub still wearing her wedding dress - The Mirror US

Man accused of fatally stabbing wife after wedding in 2012 arrested: FBI

One of FBI's Most Wanted, accused of murdering wife after their wedding, captured in Mexico after over 12 years on the run

FBI 10 most wanted fugitive Arnoldo Jimenez arrested in Mexico for stabbing of newlywed Estrella Carrera found in Illinois bathtub - ABC7 Los Angeles

Feds capture man charged with stabbing wife to death less than 48 hours after their wedding

One of the FBI's 'most wanted' who was suspected of killing his bride the day after their wedding is found hiding in Mexico

Bride Was Found Slain in Her Wedding Dress, Husband Arrested 13 Years Later

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In May of 2017, 43-year-old Nunzia Del Viscio, an Italian national who was working and living in Edinburgh, Scotland, claimed that she was acting in self-defense when she ripped out one of 44-year-old Italian national Marcello Palma’s testicles with her teeth. Nunzia, however, was convicted of assault when it was discovered that she had brutally attacked Marcello after he refused to have a threesome with her. So, was Nunzia Del Viscio acting out in self-defense or is she just a sinister scorned lover?

References:

'It's my fault as well': Chef who had testicle ripped out of scrotum by woman he rejected for threesome speaks out - Mirror Online

Nunzia Del Viscio ripped out boyfriend Marcello Palma’s testicle after he refused threesome

'She drew her head back and my testicle came out' Woman bites former boyfriend and rips open his scrotum during row - Daily Record

Woman bit ex's testicle out of scrotum when he turned down threesome | Metro News

Edinburgh restaurant worker bit off ex-lover’s testicle | Daily Mail Online

Chef to sue woman who bit his testicle off after snubbing her threesome demand - Daily Record

Woman who ripped out man's testicle with teeth forced to pay less than $700 restitution

Woman ripped man's testicle out with her teeth

Woman ripped ex-boyfriend's testicle out of scrotum with her teeth after being rejected for threesome - Mirror Online

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In the early morning hours of October 7, 2006, 21-year-old college senior Michelle Garner-Quinn had been out with friends in Burlington, Vermont when she disappeared. At the time of her disappearance, Michelle had been on her way to meet up with some other friends when her cell phone battery died. That’s when she asked a random man on the street 37-year-old Brain Rooney to borrow his cell phone. After not being able to reach her friends, Michelle was last seen on surveillance camera footage walking past a jewelry store with Brian. Six days later, her half-dressed body was found covered with leaves and stuffed into a rock crevice at the scenic Huntington Gorge. DNA evidence would link Brain to Michelle’s death though he denied killing her. So, did Brain Rooney kill Michelle Garner-Quinn or was the DNA evidence found not enough to prove that he committed this sinister crime?
References:
Suspect in Vermont student slaying charged

Vermont Student’s Body Is Found - The New York Times

Man Convicted in Rape, Murder of University of Vermont Coed | Fox News

Brian L Rooney - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

Jury returns guilty verdict against Brian Rooney | News | rutlandherald.com

Vt. Slay Suspect Has A Sordid Past - CBS News

Life in prison for murder of UVM student | Local News | benningtonbanner.com

Brian Rooney | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

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As we have discussed before, the holidays can be an especially stressful time of year and New Years Eve is certainly no different. On December 31, 2014, Florida authorities responded to a 911 call at Maria Suarez-Cassagne’s home. The caller was Mario Gomez, Maria’s eldest son, who told dispatch that his brother Christian Gomez had killed their mother and cut off her head. Christian attacked and murdered his mother after she asked him to move some boxes for several days. After Christian’s arrest he told investigators that he had been planning his mother’s death for two days. So, was Christian Gomez a sinister mind or one that was mentally unwell?
References:
Microsoft Word - State of Florida v. Christian Jose Gomez.docx

Florida man decapitates his mother, sheriff's office says - ABC13 Houston

Florida man decapitates mother on New Year's Eve - BBC News

Sheriff says Oldsmar man killed his mother with an ax

Christian Gomez: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/02/ax-killing-mother/21181991/

Florida Man Charged With Murder After Mother Found Decapitated Outside His House

Son's mental illness preceded decapitation of mother in Oldsmar (w/video)

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On April 12, 2006, Oklahoma man Kevin Ray Underwood, lured his 10-year-old neighbor Jamie Rose Bolin to his Purcell apartment where he killed and then sexually assaulted the little girl as part of a sinister cannibalistic sexual fantasy, though he did not end up eating her. Just a few days later, Jamie Rose Bolin’s body was discovered inside a large plastic container in the closet of Underwood. So, was Kevin Ray Underwood just a sinister mind or one that was deeply mentally disturbed?
References:
Timeline: The murder of Jamie Rose Bolin | News | normantranscript.com

Death row inmate Kevin Underwood says he 'deserves' to die for Jamie Bolin's murder

Man Executed for Brutally Murdering 10-Year-Old Girl as Part of Cannibalistic Fantasy

Taped confession graphically depicts plot to kill and eat Bolin | Local News | normantranscript.com

Oklahoma death row inmate Kevin Ray Underwood denied clemency

Kevin Ray Underwood : Man who beheaded 10-year-old put to death in Oklahoma

Oklahoma executes man who killed 10-year-old girl during cannibalistic fantasy - CBS News

Oklahoma executes Kevin Ray Underwood for 2006 murder of 10-year-old

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Even with all the festive cheer that the Holidays bring, we all know that they can be a very stressful time of year. Gathering with family and friends can bring out the best in us as well as the worst in us. With emotions running high during the holiday season, it’s no wonder that so many crimes occur during this time of year. Certainly, that was the case of South Carolina woman Helen Ann Williams, who stabbed her husband with a ceramic squirrel in the early morning hours of Christmas Day in 2013. So why did Helen stab her husband with a ceramic squirrel and was she justified in doing so?
References:
SC woman charged with stabbing husband with a ceramic squirrel

Wife 'Stabbed' Husband with Squirrel? | Snopes.com

SC woman charged with stabbing husband with a ceramic squirrel

Helen Ann Williams Stabbed Beerless Husband With Ceramic Squirrel: Police | HuffPost Weird News

Cops: Wife Stabbed Husband With Ceramic Squirrel | Spokane News | khq.com

Woman Arrested For Stabbing Husband With Ceramic Squirrel (VIDEO)

Moncks Corner woman who fatally struck man with U-Haul in 2017 given probation | News | postandcourier.com

Woman in custody after not showing up in court for deadly Northwoods Mall hit-and-run

Bond denied for woman charged in Northwoods hit & run

Moncks Corner woman accused of killing man with U-Haul in 2017 arrested again | News | postandcourier.com

Bond denied for woman charged in Northwoods hit & run

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