The Leslie Preer case is a deeply researched and widely discussed true crime story that spans more than two decades. In May 2001, Leslie Preer, a successful real estate agent and mother of two living in Chevy Chase, Maryland, disappeared after returning home from dinner with friends. When she failed to show up for work the next day, concern quickly grew, and authorities discovered signs inside her home that suggested something was very wrong. Despite extensive early searches and public appeals, the case went cold, becoming one of Maryland’s most perplexing unsolved disappearances. Years later, breakthroughs in DNA technology allowed investigators to reexamine preserved evidence, ultimately pointing to Eugene Gligor, a former acquaintance connected to her social circle. His arrest decades after Leslie Preer’s disappearance reignited public interest and placed the case firmly among the most compelling cold cases featured in true crime reporting, highlighting advances in forensic science, the long memory of unresolved investigations, and the enduring pursuit of justice for victims and their families.

On the morning of July 29, 2013, 28-year-old Steven Anthony Carden and his friend Thomas Smith left a night out in Gwinnett County, Georgia—and walked into a nightmare. Hours later, police found one man dead and the other barely alive, with almost no clear explanation of how a casual night turned into a violent ambush. Investigators quickly realized this wasn’t random. The case points to a carefully timed setup, suspicious late-night communication, and a small circle of people whose stories don’t match the evidence. As detectives apply pressure through interrogations, phone records, and forensic leads, the investigation becomes a tense unraveling of shifting alibis and hidden alliances—where one wrong move could let key suspects slip away. This video breaks down the full timeline, the interrogation moments that change everything, and how investigators built a case step-by-step—without relying on guesswork.

In the widely covered Keller, Texas true crime case often searched as the “Michelle/Michele Williams Black Widow” story, Michele (frequently misspelled “Michelle”) Marie Williams was convicted in the 2011 death of her husband, Gregg Williams, a North Texas businessman found deceased at their home in the gated Twins Lakes community on October 13, 2011; Williams initially told authorities a masked intruder was responsible, but investigators pointed to inconsistencies, questions about forced entry, and indications the scene had been staged or altered, and her account later shifted to a claim that the death was self-inflicted and that she had tried to make it look like a break-in, while the medical examiner ruled it a homicide; prosecutors emphasized motive tied to life insurance proceeds reported around $650,000 and highlighted evidence tampering as part of the alleged cover-up, leading to her arrest on January 9, 2012, a high-profile legal path that included a plea-agreement twist before trial, and ultimately a jury verdict on September 29, 2014 finding her guilty of murder and tampering with evidence, followed by a 60-year sentence for murder and 10 years for tampering to run concurrently, with her convictions later affirmed on appeal—making the case a staple of true crime searches for keywords like Keller Texas murder, Gregg Williams case, crime scene staging, insurance motive, evidence tampering, and “Black Widow” murder trial.

The Tristaney Baker and Jayla Wyatt case is a high-profile Zanesville, Ohio true crime story centered on the April 27, 2021 death of Jayla Wyatt (23), who was found in an apartment on South 6th Street after police were called to the scene; investigators alleged Tristaney Baker (20, Columbus) traveled to Zanesville after prior conflict and that a firearm was involved, with authorities also focusing on Baker’s boyfriend, Devin McKnelly (Thornville), as the driver who helped her leave the area, leading to both suspects being taken into custody in Columbus within about a day of the incident. Court records show Baker later entered a guilty plea to major charges including aggravated murder and related offenses, and on June 28, 2021 she received a sentence of life in prison without parole (plus additional time tied to firearm specifications), while McKnelly accepted a negotiated plea to aggravated murder with parole eligibility after 20 years as part of the resolution.

According to the Wichita Police case report, in the early morning of June 17, 2020, David Leddy was found fatally shot at 1214 N. Pinecrest after an escalating dispute tied to Xavier Ahrens (Amber Ahrens’ son)—witnesses and Xavier described an earlier confrontation at the house in which David allegedly struck Xavier with a wooden object/baseball bat, after which Amber (also known as “Odyssey”) became angry and said she was going to fight David when she returned. After coming back from the casino and searching for Xavier, an argument occurred near the front porch/front door; Amber later told detectives she had a revolver in her purse for protection, feared David would beat her with bats kept in the home, and shot him in the head as he was by the front porch/front door, then left in a vehicle with a witness and later discarded the gun near Central & Oliver, where police ultimately recovered it. Amber was later located and arrested on July 7, 2020, and the report states she was booked/charged with second-degree intentional murder and criminal possession of a firearm.

In Minnesota’s Crow Wing County, Michael Lee LaFlex (46) faced prosecution after 23-year-old Bryce Brogle—his daughter’s boyfriend—vanished in October 2022 following a visit to LaFlex’s storage unit; investigators alleged LaFlex confronted Brogle because he believed Brogle had been mistreating his daughter, and that the confrontation ended in a fatal incident involving a firearm, after which LaFlex tried to clean up evidence and conceal Brogle’s remains on rural/public land near Merrifield/Mission Township. The case began when LaFlex’s daughter reported Brogle missing, and search efforts later led authorities to a concealed site tied to the disappearance; court filings and testimony also described statements attributed to LaFlex that prosecutors argued showed advance planning, including remarks that a place to hide Brogle had already been prepared. At trial in April 2024, a jury in Crow Wing County District Court convicted LaFlex on premeditated first-degree and second-degree counts tied to Brogle’s death. In June 2024, the judge imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release, with family members providing impact statements, and the case drew wider attention because it centered on an intra-family relationship and the prosecution’s claim that LaFlex acted as a self-appointed protector rather than turning to lawful options

Tynesha Evans was a 45-year-old mother of four from Alpharetta, Georgia, whose case drew attention after she died in a violent incident on March 16, 2019, outside a Wells Fargo branch on North Main Street; police responded late that morning, and investigators said the confrontation happened during an argument in the parking lot. Authorities identified Othniel (Othniel Nathan) Inniss as the suspect and reported that he and Evans had been in an on-and-off relationship, with public records and family statements pointing to a troubled history between them. The story spread widely because Evans’ children spoke publicly about the sudden loss of their mother and the financial instability that followed, and multiple outlets reported that Tyler Perry stepped in to assist the family with major expenses as they tried to regroup. After several years of court delays, the case concluded in February 2025 when Inniss entered a guilty plea; the court imposed a multi-year prison sentence, and Evans’ family described a mix of relief that the long legal process had finally ended and grief that no outcome could undo the harm their family experienced.

Cynthia Berendzen was at the center of a Las Cruces, New Mexico case that began after neighbors reported not seeing her for weeks, prompting a welfare check at her home. When officers entered the residence, they found signs that the scene had been cleaned and later confirmed she had died. The investigation led to charges against her son, and the case moved through the New Mexico court system over the following months.

Court coverage reported that a jury found Dillon Alexander Waller guilty of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with Cynthia Berendzen’s death. Multiple reports also noted that prosecutors sought consecutive penalties, and the judge ultimately imposed a life sentence plus an additional three years on the tampering count.

Reporting on the investigation says Waller initially denied involvement when questioned, but later admitted responsibility. News accounts also describe efforts to clean the home and conceal what had happened, which became part of the evidence discussed in the case. By February 2025, local coverage described the sentencing as the final major step in the prosecution. Dillon Alexander Waller was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison, with additional time added for tampering with evidence.

In Battle Creek, Michigan, two men (Fred Bissel, 62, and Jason Dush, 41) were found unresponsive in an apartment at Silver Star Apartments on April 12, 2020.

Investigators said there were signs of a struggle and worked from witness accounts, security video, and scene evidence to identify Kenneth Hoskins (56, from South Bend, Indiana) as the suspect; police also said he had been staying in the same apartment.

Later that same day, Hoskins was taken into custody in Kalamazoo County after a separate incident on I-94 involving a truck/vehicle, and authorities subsequently filed two “open” counts in connection with the two deaths. Officials said a clear reason for what happened wasn’t established in the early reporting.

The Donovan Barfield case was a tragic 2018 incident in Lansing, Michigan, in which 28-year-old Donovan Barfield was found in his apartment after what investigators described as a targeted act rather than a random event.

Police later connected Neal Prince to the case, and in 2019 he was convicted and sentenced to life without parole; reports also said another person was charged in connection with it. The case drew attention because investigators used witness accounts and surveillance evidence to piece together what happened.