In 2012, a 21 year old Kenyan woman named Agnes Wanjiru went out for a night in a small town shaped by the presence of a foreign military base - and never came home.

In this episode, we trace Agnes’s last known hours, the uneasy power dynamics of the British troops stationed in Kenya, and the long trail of missed chances that followed. Sometimes the most terrifying mystery isn’t who did it, it’s how so many people knew about it, and did nothing to stop it. 

RESOURCES:

• itv.com/news/2025-11-07/british-soldier-appears-in-court-over-murder-of-agnes-wanjiru-in-kenya
• itv.com/news/2025-10-15/niece-of-murdered-kenyan-woman-calls-for-british-soldiers-extradition
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/07/former-british-soldier-robert-purkiss-accused-of-murdering-kenyan-woman-agnes-wanjiru-appears-in-court
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/21/british-soldier-accused-of-murdering-kenyan-woman-agnes-wanjiru-named
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/22/british-ex-soldier-denies-meeting-kenyan-woman-agnes-wanjiru-alleged-murder
• theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/16/agnes-wanjiru-niece-urges-labour-extradite-ex-soldier-kenya
• theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/24/uk-defence-minister-faces-call-for-inquiry-into-2012-killing-of-kenyan-woman
• reuters.com/world/africa/former-british-soldier-arrested-over-alleged-kenyan-murder-2025-11-07
• reuters.com/world/uk/kenyan-lawmakers-identify-disturbing-trend-misconduct-by-british-troops-2025-12-03
• apnews.com/article/2bfc454e5c3c1eaa8bb227c5e6445cbe
• apnews.com/article/0389c1ecb7f2a593796869e77180e79e
• apnews.com/article/23ef6d907b869bdcd2e0ffa40cb35bda
• gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-meets-family-of-the-late-agnes-wanjiru-in-kenya
• gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-meets-with-the-niece-of-the-late-agnes-wanjiru
• questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-04-30/49427
• news.sky.com/story/niece-of-kenyan-woman-murdered-by-british-soldier-calls-on-king-to-act-during-visit-12996890
• news.sky.com/story/agnes-wanjiru-niece-of-kenyan-woman-murdered-by-british-soldier-comes-to-uk-to-seek-justice-13449012
• the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/agnes-wanjiru-death-british-army-b1944227.html
• forcesnews.com/services/army/charting-timeline-agnes-wanjirus-death-former-soldier-faces-extradition-kenya
• aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/20/kenya-court-orders-uk-soldiers-arrest-for-agnes-wanjiru-death-all-we-know
• aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/5/british-soldiers-accused-of-more-abuses-in-kenya-what-we-know
• thetimes.co.uk/article/soldier-accused-murder-agnes-wanjiru-w6c62w8st
• thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/robert-james-purkiss-agnes-wanjiru-jnx7bgvm9
• thetimes.com/uk/defence/article/british-army-soldier-murder-mother-kenya-9hffnjqqv
• www.sbs.com.au/news/article/family-of-kenyan-woman-allegedly-murdered-by-british-soldier-to-sue-uk-army/9fuxv02y0
  
  

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They spent their life savings to save a boy from a harsh Ukrainian orphanage, then one night, everything inside their quiet Florida home went violently wrong.

In this episode, I unravel the story of Robbie and Jennifer Tower, the son they adopted as a teen, the unsettling red flags leading up to a bloody crime scene, and the courtroom showdown that left everyone questioning how well we can ever truly know the children we bring into our homes.

RESOURCES:

• forgave-him-for-everything-adoptee-from-ukraine-allegedly-murdered-loving-parents-after-troubled-history-of-violence/
• https://www.courttv.com/news/fl-v-dima-tower-troubled-orphan-murder-trial/
• https://www.courttv.com/news/dima-tower-admits-to-brutal-murder-of-adoptive-parents-in-chilling-testimony/
• https://www.courttv.com/title/eyewitness-defendant-dima-tower-had-blood-on-his-hands/
• https://www.courttv.com/title/neighbor-i-heard-banging-and-screaming-for-help-made-911-call/
• https://www.courttv.com/tag/dima-tower/
• https://robersonfh.com/obituary/robbie-tower/
• https://robersonfh.com/obituary/jennifer-christine-tower/
• https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/portcharlotte/name/robbie-tower-obituary?id=53054160
• https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/fl/north-port/jennifer-christine-tower-16901680
• https://nypost.com/2025/11/13/us-news/ukrainian-adoptee-dima-tower-breaks-down-in-florida-court-as-hes-accused-of-slaughtering-parents-in-murder-trial/
• https://open.spotify.com/show/5uzx4TEFdqTLhBvycXYLDm
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/43679042799/posts/10160307474627800/

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In 1957, police in a quiet Wisconsin town entered a farmhouse and uncovered one of the most disturbing crimes in American history. What they found inside revealed a life consumed by grief, isolation, and madness. This episode explores the true story of Ed Gein - the man whose obsession with his mother and the dead blurred the line between devotion and horror, and whose crimes still cast a shadow over modern culture and film today.

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RESOURCES: 

• Ed Gein (overview, trial, myth-vs-fact anchor): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ed-Gein
• “How Many People Did Ed Gein Kill?” (victim count context): https://www.britannica.com/topic/How-Many-People-Did-Ed-Gein-Kill
• “Body of Ed Gein’s final victim, Bernice Worden, is found” (Nov. 16, 1957): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-16/ed-gein-kills-final-victim-bernice-worden
• “Ed Gein dies” (1984 death at Mendota): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/july-26/real-life-psycho-ed-gein-dies
• Ed Gein Farm Auction notice (IM2022): https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM2022
• Ed Gein at State Crime Lab (photo, Nov. 17, 1957): https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM41777
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photo gallery (includes the shed photo; graphic): https://www.jsonline.com/picture-gallery/news/2023/09/15/images-from-the-strange-highly-disturbing-case-of-ed-gein

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A small-town run on a warm July evening should have been routine for 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. Instead, it became the last time anyone would see her alive. What unfolded next gripped the nation: a massive search, hidden clues, and a chilling story that unraveled in the courtroom. In this episode, we step into Mollie’s final hours, the investigation that shocked Iowa, and the twisted defense that left more questions than answers.

Follow  / Support The Crime Shack and Host Michelle Pense:

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RESOURCES: 

• ABC News – Jury gets case after hearing contrasting claims of how Mollie Tibbetts was killed
• KCRG – The Disappearance and Death of Mollie Tibbetts: A Timeline
• Runner’s World – Mollie Tibbetts Disappearance: How Fitbit Data Became Part of the Investigation
• KCCI – The Trial of Cristhian Bahena Rivera: Complete Coverage
• ABC News – Guilty Verdict in Murder of Iowa Student Mollie Tibbetts
• Des Moines Register – What to Know About the Life and Murder of Mollie Tibbetts
• ABC7 News – A Timeline of Mollie Tibbetts’ Disappearance
• For Iowa – Mollie Tibbetts Memorial Fund Surpasses $125,000

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A brutal axe attack in the dead of night shatters a quiet New York suburb, leaving one parent dead, the other barely alive, and a son at the center of a shocking investigation. Lies, forged documents, and a mother’s haunting accusation unravel a story that’s equal parts family drama and cold-blooded betrayal. Was this a random break-in...or the ultimate act of deceit from within?

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RESOURCES:

• Times Union — Porco Case Timeline (2024)
• Times Union — Peter Porco’s Death Detailed in Autopsy
• Times Union — Jonathan Porco Testifies
• Times Union — Sixteen Years Later: Porco Still Maintains Innocence
• Campus Times — Chris Porco: A Tale of Gruesome Uncertainty
• Spotlight News — Jonathan Porco Testifies: Brothers Don’t Look at Each Other
• Times Union — E-mails Reveal Porco Family Rift
• Times Union — $100 Check Impressed Porco Grand Jurors
• Vocal Media — The Porco Axe Murders
• Wikipedia — Murder of Peter Porco

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In the tranquil setting of Lake Oconee, Georgia, the peaceful existence of Russell and Shirley Dermond was violently disrupted by a sinister act that baffled investigators and sent shockwaves through the community. Picture this: a quiet lakeside home, a retired couple enjoying their golden years. But in 2014, their serene life took a dark turn when Russell was found decapitated and Shirley was nowhere to be found.  Was it a targeted attack? A botched robbery? Or something even more sinister?

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In September of 2016, California tech-businessman and father of one, Greg Mulvihill, was shot after being lured to a dark, secluded California trail. The subsequent and shocking investigation into the shooting began to peel back layers of deception, exposing a sinister plot, plagued by manipulation and treachery.

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On April 11, 1981, a mother and two teenage boys were found brutally murdered in their cabin at the Keddie Resort, in the small town of Keddie, California. The woman's youngest daughter was missing and presumed abducted from the scene, until a shocking discovery three years later.  

The investigation into what became known as the "Keddie Cabin Murders" has been marked by a series of missteps and controversies. Despite extensive investigations and a multitude of suspects, no one has been charged with the murders. The case has inspired numerous theories and speculations, ranging from drug deals gone wrong to personal vendettas.  The Keddie Cabin Murders continue to be a haunting and perplexing reminder of the darkness that can lurk in even the most idyllic of locations.

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The Eastburn family murders was a case that shocked the community of Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1985. On the morning of May 9, 1985, the wife and two daughters of military Captain Gary Eastburn were found brutally murdered in their home. The lone survivor of the tragedy, the Eastburns’ 21 month old baby, was left in her crib, unharmed.

Investigators discovered that Gary Eastburn had been away on a military training exercise at the time of the murders, and Kathryn Eastburn had been at home alone with her three children. That left investigators to find out who would want to kill a beautiful young mother and her two daughters...and why?

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During the early morning hours of July 20, 2016 the body of Craig Rideout was found in a wooded field in Yates County, New York. His remains were wrapped in a tarp, and his face and hands had been disfigured by some kind of caustic chemical in order to mask his identity. 

Investigators were baffled as to who would want to murder this father of seven, but numerous missteps from the suspects would lead them directly back to Craig’s own family.

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