Like most American Millennials, I was subjected to Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE. It was the typical kind of “Drugs Are Bad, mmmkay?” sort of thing. Police officers would come to school and show 2nd graders pictures of smoker lungs and suggest that everyone and their mom would be peer pressuring you to smoke weed and/or crack, which was not as big of an issue as some of us might have hoped. During one such class, we were being taught about the danger of gang violence and we were told to draw what we thought a gang member would look like. Yes, it does sound like a potentially extremely racist arts and crafts session, but yours truly decided to get creative. I drew a woman wearing a crop top and JNCO jeans. The DARE officer looked at my drawing and told me that women weren’t ever members of gangs, but were usually girlfriends, which made my tiny feminist hackles raise. What do you MEAN there weren’t any lady gang members? Whatever men could do, women could do, right? EQUALITY, RIGHT? If she had been prepared for nuance beyond her vaguely racist lesson, she might have talked about the culture of toxic masculinity that pervades most gangs as we think about them today and often, women have to carve out their own niche when it comes to organized crime. Officer Silva, this one’s for you.

• Get 15% off OneSkin with the code HAPPYCAMPER at  https://www.oneskin.co/ #oneskinpod

Sources:
Heritage of Endurance: Family Patterns and Delinquency Formation in Urban Japan By Hiroshi Wagatsuma, George A. De Vos
https://www.thegenealogist.co.uk/featuredarticles/2023/the-queens-of-the-forties-1683/ https://www.dannydutch.com/post/meet-the-forty-elephants-the-all-girl-gang-from-london https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QZEnyZyYo4 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220094211018490
https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/ww2/Pages/life-juveniles.aspx#:~:text=(Image%20source%3A%203%20)%20Wartime,year%20of%20World%20War%20II.  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001112875500100210?journalCode=cada https://apnews.com/article/japan-gangsters-yakuza-crime-fdb57ffd2325fb3aba8c211a30b6c861 https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a60938449/under-the-bridge-manjit-suman-reena-virk-parents/ https://web.archive.org/web/20090801004713/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060719/virk_killer_060719?s_name=&no_ads= https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/reena-virk-kelly-ellard-sim-1.7185366 https://www.vice.com/en/article/qvpqa7/the-unforgettable-story-of-a-bc-teen-murdered-by-her-peers https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/13803/1/MQ49780.pdf https://www.vicnews.com/news/kelly-ellard-declines-chance-for-full-parole-says-shes-not-ready-

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Obsession can be a good thing. An obsessed athlete can spend hours practicing to be the best they can be, an obsessed collector can find joy and community in the thrill of the hunt, or obsession can drive an artist to explore the human condition in a way that moves everyone that sees their art. But obsession can veer into something darker if the object of it is a person. That’s how you get a stalker. Someone who is so consumed with the life of another almost always pushes the boundaries of appropriate behavior. If you’ve seen the show Baby Reindeer, you’ll know that being the target of a stalker’s attention can have serious consequences. Today, we have two stalker stories for you. The first is about how a stalker can project their own feelings of love and affection onto their victim, to a violent outcome. In the second, we’ll tell you a story about how one of the largest companies in the world harassed a couple for the crime of blogging. This is One Step Behind: A Stalkers Grab Bag.

Sources: 

• Journal of Homicide and Major Incident Investigation, V6I2 Autumn 2010, “Operation Hydration” https://library.college.police.uk/docs/J_Homicide_MII/J_Homicide_6.2.pdf
• Nightmare in Suburbia, S2E5, “The Internet Stalker”
• World’s Most Evil Killers, S3E15, David Heiss
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/technology/ebay-cockroaches-stalking-scandal.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/technology/ebay-cyberstalking-crimes.html
• https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/ex-ebay-manager-prison-harassing-natick-couple-stephanie-popp/
• https://www.svvoice.com/former-cop-discussed-using-scpd-contacts-to-obstruct-cyberstalking-investigation/
• https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/ebay-inc-pay-3-million-connection-corporate-cyberstalking-campaign-targeting
• https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/couples-case-over-ebay-stalking-campaign-can-move-forward-us-judge-rules-2023-12-13/
• https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/gdpzwzqykvw/12122023ebay.pdf

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! 


Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

When it comes to stuff, I really feel like counterfeit can be just as good as the real thing. Give me a lab-created diamond any day; I can show off some sparkle without robbing a bank. Same goes for shoes and bags and perfume dupes—I’m happy to sport a convincing knockoff. Fake isn’t always bad. But when it comes to people, it’s a whole different story. Especially when we’re talking fake doctor, or fake financial advisor…or as we’ll see in today’s story, fake assassin. Join us for a story of counterfeit clout, astounding gullibility, and greed, that when mixed all together, led to a deadly conclusion.

This is a wild one, folks. 

Sources:
Kill or be Killed by Robert Scott
Oxygen's "Mastermind of Murder," S2E10, “Under Covers”
The Investigators, S1E8, “Toy Soldier”
Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-supreme-court/1891091.html

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

I'm not going to try and do his voice because it'd tear my throat up, but Hollywood legend Jack Palance once said, "The only two things you can truly depend upon are gravity and greed." Greed has been a motivation in more true crime cases than I can count, and it's astonishing how a grasping desire for dollars and cents can twist the human heart. It can drive someone to acts of both chilling cruelty and jaw-dropping stupidity, and in this week's case we get both. Join us for a bizarre true story of a heartless murder for hire that took 11 long years to solve. 

Sources:
Court papers: https://casetext.com/case/cooke-v-gang
Court papers: https://www.mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/unreported-opinions/0815s23.pdf
Interrogation footage from the interrogations of Alexander Bennett and Grant Lewis
NBC's Dateline, episode "Indiscretion"
Investigation Discovery's True Crime with Aphrodite Jones, episode "Discreet House Cleaning"

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Almost everyone who walks into a casino feeling confident that they’re gonna walk out richer is what is technically known as “a sucker.” Every game you play at a casino gives the house an edge. Not much of one—otherwise, why would people play? Players have to win a decent portion of the time, that’s why they keep putting their money down on the table. But behind the glitz and glamour, casinos run on cold mathematical certainty. Over the long term, over hundreds of hands of cards and rolls of the dice and spins of the wheel, the house ultimately always wins.  But what if they didn’t? What if people, through brainpower and daring, managed to beat the odds and come out on top? It’s a tantalizing thought—and for the people in these three stories, it was too tempting to pass up.

Sources: 
https://www.888casino.com/blog/famous-mit-team-members
BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27519748
Esquire: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a37016468/heather-tallchief-roberto-solis-heist-netflix-now/
NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9766179
Boston Magazine: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2019/06/21/mit-blackjack-team/
NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/us/fugitive-in-armored-car-theft-gives-up-after-12-years.html
New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428644-500-roulette-beater-spills-physics-behind-victory/
Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-physicist-has-built-a-machine-that-can-beat-the-odds-at-roulette
Justice.gov: https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nv/news/2006/03302006.html
http://www.richardmunchkin.com/2011/08/my-interview-with-john-laurie-c-mit.html
Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/heist-netflix-heather-tallchief-roberto-solis-true-story-facts-documentary-1610361

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Our homes are meant to be where we feel the safest, so it makes sense that there’s an entire horror movie subgenre dedicated to home invasions. The Strangers, Panic Room, Funny Games, When a Stranger Calls, even Jordan Peele’s Us. All those movies play on the innate fear we have that our most peaceful area would be disturbed by those that would do us harm. Unfortunately, there are people out there that would do us harm just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today, we’re finishing one of those stories. Join us for part 2 of the story of the Dartmouth Murders.

Sources:
Judgment Ridge by Lehr and Zuckoff

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

Schopenhauer wrote, “Fate shuffles the cards, and we play.” Every day, every decision we make sparks a chain reaction of others, leading us down a particular path. And with every choice, a universe of other un-choices spins away behind us, forgotten. We all like to think we’re the master of our own destiny, but sometimes…we fall to the whims of chance instead. This is one of those stories—of two boys whose monster egos sent them down a path of destruction, and two innocent victims whose only crime was being there.

Sources:
Judgment Ridge by Lehr and Zuckoff

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

We tend to think of doctors as leading pretty cushy, privileged lives—lots of money, social status, and respect. But a dark trend has been developing in recent years, and it’s only getting worse. Increasingly, doctors are experiencing violence at the hands of their patients. Sometimes it’s a verbal threat, a push or a shove. Sometimes it’s stalking. And sometimes, it’s murder. This is one of those stories, about a woman whose obsession with physical perfection led her to an unimaginable act. 

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2015/03/08/dr-michael-davidson-died-as-he-lived-saving-others/?sh=176e90165e12
Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Theresa Ramirez"
Dr. Joni Johnston: https://medium.com/crimebeat/the-ugly-truth-behind-the-murder-of-dr-paul-tavis-e5ad525c88ba
SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/disgruntled-patients-hazardous-to-health-3069418.php 
MDLinx: https://www.mdlinx.com/exclusive/unsafe-haven-the-rise-of-violence-against-physicians-in-the-workplace/LyJwbDwQgHps1wJ00QYYn

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

It’s not unusual or unhealthy to go a little wild when you’re young—to just go looking for a good time with little thought for the consequences. It’s just how human beings are made. But if you’re like that your whole life, relentlessly looking out for your own pleasures and barely aware of the damage you cause along the way, you’re likely to land yourself and everyone around you in a whole mess of trouble.

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
“Deadly Seduction” by Wensley Clarkson
Court papers: https://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/supreme-court/1996/52s00-9408-cr-00725-4.html

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.

There’s an old saying: A gilded cage is still a cage. Meaning, you can be in what looks like an enviable situation—all your needs met, plenty of pretty toys to entertain you—and still feel like you’re in prison. The human soul doesn’t take well to being kept in a box, no matter how nice the box may be. There’s a pull toward freedom, even if you have to risk everything to answer it. This is the story of one of the strangest murder cases in American history—a 1920s true Hollywood story about what can happen when a pretty pet gets restless and starts looking for a way to stretch its wings. 

Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796

"June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1

Sources:
"The Man in the Attic" by Denise Noe, CrimeLibrary.com
LAist: "The Murderous Lover Who Lived In A Silver Lake Attic. A True Story" by John Rabe 
Investigation Discovery's "A Crime to Remember," episode "Guess Who"

Follow us, campers!
Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire
https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/
Facebook: True Crime Campfire
Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079
Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire
Email: [email protected]
MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-campfire--4251960/support.