The Mourning Hour

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Part 2 of 2. Last week you met the nine women of Ocean Parkway. This week is the reckoning. The twenty-three minutes at Oak Beach that started everything, a dog named Blue, ten sets of remains, a doctor's phone calls preserved in court records, a police chief who went to federal prison in the middle of the investigation, the state police investigator who solved an eleven-year cold case in six weeks, a pizza crust, a basement planning document with a "lessons learned" section — and the doors still open: a second killer charged on the same highway, a victim still without a name. There are no ordinary people, and that includes the horrors.

Trigger warnings: violence against women, sex work, strangulation, dismemberment, police misconduct, reference to a deceased toddler.

LISTENER DISCRETION IS HEAVILY ADVISED. 

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Advocacy & ways to channel the anger:

• The CSE Institute (Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Villanova Law) — the group behind "Humanizing the Victims in the Gilgo Beach Murders." They've studied this case directly and push law enforcement to reform how missing-persons reports are handled when the person is a sex worker or trafficking survivor, which is exactly the gap that let Valerie Mack sit unreported and unidentified for over two decades.
• Murder Accountability Project — a nonprofit of retired detectives, journalists, and forensic experts who track unsolved homicides nationwide and have repeatedly exposed how serial killers exploit police indifference toward murdered sex workers. Their data-driven pressure campaigns have helped reopen cold cases like this one.
• Sex Workers Project (Urban Justice Center, NYC) — the first legal services program in the country built specifically for sex workers and trafficking survivors. They fight police misconduct, help clear criminal records, and keep women in danger from disappearing through the cracks the way these nine did.
• NY Assembly Bill A6730 — the legislation Megan Waterman's family is championing to stop convicted killers' families from profiting off their crimes.
• End Slavery Now — Antislavery Directory — searchable by zip code, this directory lets you find anti-trafficking organizations near you if you want to get involved locally, not just donate.

Sources & further reading/viewing:

• Suffolk County DA — sentencing announcement
• Patch (Lisa Finn) — sentencing and allocution, firsthand
• Mary Murphy — "A Smirk and a Guilty Plea," firsthand plea account
• NBC New York — courtroom video of the plea (pre-allocution)
• BBC — plea preview with planning-document details ("problems" / "supplies" columns)
• CNN — plea (Apr 8, 2026) · CNN — sentencing takeaways
• CBS News — the Chevy, the hair, and the pizza box
• CNN — What about Gilgo Beach's other bodies?
• CNN/NBC/CBS — the Baden independent autopsy (2016)
• Wikipedia — James Burke · Wikipedia — Mari Gilbert
• Gone Girls (Netflix, 2025) · The Killing Season (A&E, 2016)

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Part 1 of 2. Between 1993 and 2010, at least eight women were murdered by the same man on Long Island — and for most of those years, the world barely noticed, because he chose women the world had stopped watching. Before we tell you about the killer, the botched investigation, and the stunning resolution (that's next week), Katie and Allison spend this episode where it should start: with the women. Sandra, Karen, Valerie, Jessica, Maureen, Melissa, Megan, and Amber — the eight women he admitted to murdering — plus Shannan Gilbert, whose death was never attributed to him but whose disappearance uncovered them all. Nine condensed life stories, in the spirit of Robert Kolker's "Lost Girls," told in chronological order.

Trigger warnings: violence against women, sex work, sex trafficking, strangulation, drug addiction, foster care trauma, mental illness, death of a parent, children losing mothers.

LISTENER DISCRETION IS HEAVILY ADVISED. 

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Advocacy & ways to channel the anger:

• The CSE Institute (Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Villanova Law) — the group behind "Humanizing the Victims in the Gilgo Beach Murders." They've studied this case directly and push law enforcement to reform how missing-persons reports are handled when the person is a sex worker or trafficking survivor, which is exactly the gap that let Valerie Mack sit unreported and unidentified for over two decades.
• Murder Accountability Project — a nonprofit of retired detectives, journalists, and forensic experts who track unsolved homicides nationwide and have repeatedly exposed how serial killers exploit police indifference toward murdered sex workers. Their data-driven pressure campaigns have helped reopen cold cases like this one.
• Sex Workers Project (Urban Justice Center, NYC) — the first legal services program in the country built specifically for sex workers and trafficking survivors. They fight police misconduct, help clear criminal records, and keep women in danger from disappearing through the cracks the way these nine did.
• NY Assembly Bill A6730 — the legislation Megan Waterman's family is championing to stop convicted killers' families from profiting off their crimes.
• End Slavery Now — Antislavery Directory — searchable by zip code, this directory lets you find anti-trafficking organizations near you if you want to get involved locally, not just donate.

Sources & further reading:

• Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker (book, 2013; Netflix film, 2020)
• Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix docuseries, 2025)
• Gilgo Beach serial killings — Wikipedia
• Netflix Tudum — the victims' profiles
• CNN — sentencing takeaways, June 2026
• Victim impact statements

HUMAN TRAFFICKING DEFINED:

From the U.S. Department of Justice website: Human Trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its subsequent reauthorizations recognize and define two primary forms of human trafficking:

• Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age. (22 U.S.C. § 7102(11)(A)).
• Forced labor is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. (22 U.S.C. § 7102(11)(B)).

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS HELP:

• National Human Trafficking Hotline — call 1-888-373-7888, text 233733, or chat at humantraffickinghotline.org. Free, confidential, 24/7, 200+ languages.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In one of the most shocking family murder cases in modern history, Chris Watts appeared to be a devoted husband and father, until his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two young daughters vanished without a trace. As investigators uncovered a web of lies, infidelity, and calculated deception, the horrifying truth sent shockwaves around the world. In this episode, we conclude our deep dive into the Watts family murders, examining the investigation, Chris's polygraph, confession, trial, and then his "actual" confession.

LISTENER DISCRETION IS HEAVILY ADVISED. 

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

In one of the most shocking family murder cases in modern history, Chris Watts appeared to be a devoted husband and father, until his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their two young daughters vanished without a trace. As investigators uncovered a web of lies, infidelity, and calculated deception, the horrifying truth sent shockwaves around the world. In this episode, we start our deep dive into the Watts family murders, examining the timeline, the investigation, the warning signs, and the devastating events that led to one of America's most infamous true crime cases.

LISTENER DISCRETION IS HEAVILY ADVISED. 

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

On the outside, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka seemed like the perfect couple, but they shared a sick, depraved bond, one that included rape, torture and murder of young women in Ontario, Canada. This week is part three of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.

LISTENER DISCRETION IS HEAVILY ADVISED. 

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Check out our Patreon!
www.patreon.com/themourninghour

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Check out our website to see all sources for this episode www.themourninghourpodcast.com

If you want to shop our merch, head on over to our Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/themourninghour/?etsrc=sdt

If you want to support our Buy Me A Coffee, please feel free but do not feel obligated:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/themourninghour

SOURCES
Invisible Darkness: The Strange Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Stephen Williams.
Lethal Marriage: The Unspeakable Crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Nick Pron.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

On the outside, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka seemed like the perfect couple, but they shared a sick, depraved bond, one that included rape, torture and murder of young women in Ontario, Canada. This week is part two of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.

LISTENER DISCRETION IS HEAVILY ADVISED. 

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Check out our Patreon!
www.patreon.com/themourninghour

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Check out our website to see all sources for this episode www.themourninghourpodcast.com

If you want to shop our merch, head on over to our Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/themourninghour/?etsrc=sdt

If you want to support our Buy Me A Coffee, please feel free but do not feel obligated:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/themourninghour

SOURCES
Invisible Darkness: The Strange Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Stephen Williams.
Lethal Marriage: The Unspeakable Crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Nick Pron.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

On the outside, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka seemed like the perfect couple, but they shared a sick, depraved bond, one that included rape, torture and murder of young women in Ontario, Canada. This week is part one of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.

LISTENER DISCRETION IS HEAVILY ADVISED. 

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Check out our Patreon!
www.patreon.com/themourninghour

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Check out our website to see all sources for this episode www.themourninghourpodcast.com

If you want to shop our merch, head on over to our Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/themourninghour/?etsrc=sdt

If you want to support our Buy Me A Coffee, please feel free but do not feel obligated:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/themourninghour

SOURCES
Invisible Darkness: The Strange Case of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Stephen Williams.
Lethal Marriage: The Unspeakable Crimes of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Nick Pron.

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

Surprise! As a little "thank you" from us to you for a year of the podcast, we decided to put out this little Halloween special, filled with spooky tales, some local legends, and just general shooting-the-shit-with-your-bff. We love you guys so much, we would not be here without you and we hope you enjoy!
If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Check out our Patreon!
www.patreon.com/themourninghour

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Check out our website to see all sources for this episode www.themourninghourpodcast.com

If you want to shop our merch, head on over to our Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/themourninghour/?etsrc=sdt

If you want to support our Buy Me A Coffee, please feel free but do not feel obligated:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/themourninghour

Support the show

Send us Fan Mail

On Halloween of 2004, roommates Adriane Insogna, Leslie Mazzara and Lauren Meanza handed out candy to trick or treaters before going to bed in their Napa Valley home. Around 2am, an intruder crept into their home, and murdered Leslie and Adriane, with Lauren being left physically unscathed. The investigation that followed allowed the one person responsible to slip through the cracks for nearly a year. This week, is Nightmare In Napa: The Murders of Adriane Insogna & Leslie Mazzara.

If you enjoy our podcast, please leave us a rating and review! 

Check out our Patreon!
www.patreon.com/themourninghour

Follow us on Instagram @themourninghourpod

If you have questions or case suggestions, send us an email at [email protected]!

Check out our website to see all sources for this episode www.themourninghourpodcast.com

If you want to shop our merch, head on over to our Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/themourninghour/?etsrc=sdt

If you want to support our Buy Me A Coffee, please feel free but do not feel obligated:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/themourninghour

SOURCES
Nightmare in Napa: The Wine Country Murders. Paul LaRosa. 

https://loriajohnston.medium.com/the-2004-napa-halloween-murders-37c8d97e3d4b

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/NAPA-Mother-hopes-to-face-her-daughter-s-killer-2624716.php

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/greenvilleonline/name/leslie-mazzara-obituary?id=48981631

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/pressdemocrat/name/adriane-insogna-obituary?id=15250847

Support the show