Timestamp to skip intro chat: (2:15)

In the early 1970’s, 42 boys vanished from the Houston Heights area of Texas.

Dean Corll lived in the area and worked for the family company, Corll Candy Company.  In 1970, he began a three-year killing spree, along with his accomplices David Owen Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley.

All of their victims were males, aged between 13-20.  The three men tortured and abused their victims before viciously murdering them.

Their rampage ended in 1973 when Elmer killed Dean following an altercation.  He called police and said "Y'all better come here right now! I just killed a man!"

Dean, Elmer and David have been conclusively linked to 29 murders.

Read our blog for this case - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2025/08/17/dean-corll-and-the-candyman-murders/

Thank you to Lauren for this episode suggestion.  

This episode is sponsored by-

Skylight - Skylight Calendar was designed to help you ditch the chaos of family life.  Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to SkylightCal.com/tcs

Be sure to follow us on all social media including Reddit and Tiktok - just search ‘True Crime Society’ 

Join our Patreon community for weekly exclusive content and all episodes are ad-free - Patreon.com/truecrimesociety

Timestamp to skip intro: (11:57)

Madeline Soto had just celebrated her 13th birthday in February 2024.   She had a small party with her grandmother Yolanda, and a few friends.   She had been spending a lot of time with her grandmother.   When Madeline had to go back to the home of her mother, Jennifer Soto, she cried.

Madeline and Jennifer were living in a condo with many roommates.  One of the people living there was Stephan Sterns.   Stephan and Jennifer had a relationship for years, but according to her, as of February 2024, they were no longer intimate.  

Despite this, the sleeping arrangements in the home meant that Madeline and Stephan would share a bed.  Jennifer had her own separate bedroom.  This was explained because apparently the teen needed human contact to sleep and Jennifer needed her own space.

On February 26, 2024, Jennifer went to collect Madeline from school.  She allegedly discovered that Madeline had not attended classes that day.

A search began for the teen.  Her body was found in a wooded area five days later.

Stephan would end up being charged with Madeline’s murder.  He was also charged with multiple counts of heinous crimes relating to children.  

In July 2025, Stephan was sentenced to 21 concurrent life sentences with no chance of parole for the role he played in Madeline’s abuse and murder.

Read our blog for Madeline here

This episode is sponsored by:

Be sure to follow us on all social media platforms - Reddit, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.  Just search for ‘True Crime Society.’

Join us on Patreon for weekly exclusive content.   All content on Patreon is ad-free - patreon.com/truecrimesociety

Skip straight to the case: (10:35)

In October 2024, six members of the Humiston family were sleeping peacefully in their beds in Fall City, Washington.   Parents Sarah and Mark lived in a beautiful lake-front home with their five children - aged between 7 and 15.

Sarah and Mark had been having some troubles with their eldest son, who we will call  ‘A’.   He had been caught viewing inappropriate images online and had been struggling with his school work.  

On October 21, 2024, A retrieved a gun from the family’s gun safe.   He then allegedly shot every single member of his family.  He believed they were all dead and he called 911.  He told dispatchers that his younger brother Benjamin had carried out the massacre before taking his own life.

A was incorrect in thinking that his whole family was dead.   His 11 y/o sister had played dead after he shot her and she managed to run to a neighboring property to ask for help.  She told authorities the true story.   

In August 2025, new court documents were filed that indicate the Humiston parents were controlling and isolated their children from the community.   “A common theme that has been expressed amongst extended family, neighbors, and those who knew the Humistons is that the children were isolated from the outside world and did not engage socially with many peers – only a select few families that went to their church and were friends of their family,” court documents say.

“Furthermore, initial reports indicate the home was abusive, tightly controlled, and dominated by extreme religious beliefs.”

A has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.   A debate is currently ongoing in the legal system to determine if he will be tried as an adult or a juvenile.

Read our blog for this case

Join us on Patreon for ad-free and exclusive content

Follow us on Instagram for the latest crime news

This episode is sponsored by:

Skip straight to the case: (9:41)

On July 15, 1986, Christopher Abeyta was around 7 months old.  He fell asleep in his older sister’s arms and was carried to his crib, which was located three feet from the bed of his parents.

When his mother Bernice awoke the following morning, Christopher was nowhere to be seen.   Now, almost 40 years later, no trace of Christopher has ever been found.

The Abeyta family are adamant that someone known to the family abducted Christopher.   They have publicly named a woman as a suspect.  This woman was having an affair with Christopher’s father Gil, and was known to have a history of mental health issues.

Could someone have abducted Christopher and raised him as their own?  Or was the baby a victim of foul play?

Read our blog for this case

Be sure to follow us on Patreon for exclusive, ad-free content

Follow us on Instagram

Thank you as always for your support in these trying times!  Olivia and Stephanie x

Timestamp to start the case: (13:23)

In April 1993, Andrea and Russell ‘Rusty’ Yates were married.   They told friends and family that they wanted to ‘have as many babies as nature allowed.’

Between 1995 and 2000, the couple had five children - four sons and a daughter.

Andrea struggled with her mental health.  After the birth of their fourth child, Andrea was hospitalized and the couple were advised to not have any more children.  Andrea’s doctor said that any more births would "guarantee future psychotic depression."

Despite this, the couple had a fifth child and Andrea’s mental health decline continued.  She stopped taking all of her medication, she mutilated and cut herself, read the Bible obsessively and also stopped feeding the children.

Rusty had been advised to not leave Andrea alone with the children.  Despite this, one morning in June 2001, Rusty left Andrea and the kids so that he could go to work.  His mother was scheduled to arrive at the home one hour after he left.   

In that hour, Andrea filled the bathtub and drowned all five of her children - they were aged between 7 months old and 7 years old at the time.

When police arrived at the home, Andrea was standing soaking wet in front of the house.

“I just killed my children,” she told the officers.

Be sure to check the timestamps to get straight to the crime content.

Read our blog for this case here

Be sure to follow us on Instagram for the latest crime news - Instagram.com/truecrimesociety

Join us on Patreon for weekly exclusive content.  All podcast episodes are available ad-free - Patreon.com/truecrimesociety

Timestamps:

In 2008, the Stockdale family from Ohio appeared on the reality TV show ‘Wife Swap.’ 

Kathy and Timothy Stockdale were raising their four sons in a very strict, conservative manner.   This is an excerpt from the family manual Kathy prepared for ‘Wife Swap.’ 

By 2017, two of the children remained in the family home - Jacob and James.  One day that year, while Timothy was at work, Jacob fatally shot his brother James and his mother Kathy.   He then attempted to take his own life by shooting himself in the head.  He survived and was hospitalised for many months.

After he recovered, Jacob was charged with the murders of his mother and brother.   No motive for the killings has ever been revealed.

In this episode of the True Crime Society Podcast, we discuss the murder/suicide involving the Stockdale family from ‘Wife Swap.’

Read our blog for this case

Join us on Patreon for exclusive true crime content.  You also get ALL episodes ad-free and weekly BONUS episodes!

Follow us on Instagram for the latest crime news

This episode is sponsored by:

Skip to the case time stamp: (9:10)

On May 2, 2025, siblings Lilly (6) and Jack (4) Sullivan were said to be in the kitchen of their home in Nova Scotia, Canada.  Their parents - mother Malehya Brooks-Murray and their stepfather Daniel Martell - became worried when the children fell silent.

The story they have told authorities is that they believe the children slipped outside to play and wandered off.  The couple searched for the children before calling 911.  

A large-scale search ensued for the children.  The search involved hundreds of people and ran for weeks.   The only traces of the children that have been found include a blanket and a possible boot print.

Since their disappearance, Malehya has left the family home and has blocked Daniel on social media.   Daniel is adamant that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of the children and has told the media that he passed a polygraph test.

Read our blog for Jack and Lilly - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2025/06/28/where-are-lilly-and-jack-sullivan/

Be sure to check out the GraveYard Tales podcast. Hosts Adam and Matt look at the history behind haunted places, ghost encounters, and cryptid encounters.  Find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Rumble.

Join us on Patreon for exclusive weekly true crime content.  You also get ALL episodes ad-free - patreon.com/truecrimesociety

Follow us on Instagram for the latest crime news - Instagram.com/truecrimesociety

Timestamps:

(3:17) - Karen Read Trial Update

(9:40) - Lilie James Murder

Coercive control is a behavior that is intended to dominate and control a partner.  Studies indicate that it can occur in up to 58% of intimate partner violence relationships.

Australian woman Lilie James (21) began dating Paul Thijssen (24) in August 2023.    Paul exhibited controlling behavior, including monitoring Lilie’s location over social media and waiting outside social events for her.  

By October 2023, the relationship was over.

Just days after the breakup, Paul went to a location where he knew Lilie would be.  He struck her with a hammer over 25 times, killing her.   He then fled the scene and would take his own life by jumping from a cliff.

Read our blog for Lilie here

Be sure to join us on Patreon - you get exclusive weekly content and all of our episodes are ad-free

Join us on Instagram for the latest crime news

This episode is sponsored by:

Timestamps

- (11:37) Jennifer Kesse Start

Florida woman Jennifer Kesse (24) had the world at her feet in 2006.   She had a supportive partner and was becoming increasingly successful in her corporate career.  Jennifer had also purchased her own brand new condo in Orlando, Florida.

On January 24, 2006, it appears that Jennifer began getting ready for her work day.  She showered and gathered her keys, phone and iPod.   She never made it to work and has never been seen again.

Jennifer’s car was found days after she vanished, dumped in an apartment complex lot a few miles from her home.  Some reports indicate that there were drag marks on the hood of the car, suggesting that there had been a struggle.  

When police reviewed CCTV of the location where the car was found, they found that it had been dumped at 11.59am on the day that Jennifer disappeared.  A person was seen exiting the vehicle and walking away.   This person has never been identified.

Was Jennifer abducted by someone she knew?  Or could an employee at her condo complex have been responsible?

Read our blog for Jennifer here

Join us on Patreon for weekly exclusive content - everything is ad-free

Follow us on Instagram for the latest crime news

This episode is sponsored by:

Timestamps - (10:45) Moms Who Murder

A study by Brown University showed that from 1976 to 2007, on average, there were 500 cases of filicide a year in the United States. Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing their own child.

Read our blog for these cases - https://truecrimesocietyblog.com/2025/06/04/moms-who-murder-june-2025/

Be sure to follow us on Instagram for the latest crime news - Instagram.com/truecrimesociety

Join us on Patreon for exclusive weekly and ad-free content - patreon.com/truecrimesociety