True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

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May 20 What Cruise Lines Won’t Tell You About the People Who Have Keys to Your Cabin
One-third of cruise ship assault survivors were minors, according to a Congressional report. Maritime attorneys confirm a similar ratio across more than a thousand cases. And the access that makes it possible is built into how the ships operate. Master keycards open every cabin. Youth centers run without the licensing standards required of daycare centers on land. International crew are screened against whatever their home country provides — no international offender database exists. This is the structural vulnerability parents are not being told about: the access, the supervision gaps, the screening limitations, and the environment engineered to separate parents from children while encouraging adults to let their guard down. The documented cases show the threat exists in every part of the ship: cabins, youth centers, dining rooms, fitness areas, entertainment venues. The industry’s response every time: zero tolerance after the fact. Not prevention before it. Cruising with Predators, a Hidden Killers investigation.
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#CruiseShipSafety #KidsClub #MasterKey #CruisingWithPredators #CruiseIndustry #HiddenKillers #FamilyCruise #ChildProtection #TrueCrime #ParentWarning
24 min
May 20 Why Did SLED Never Run the DNA Found Under Maggie Murdaugh’s Fingernails?
Maggie Murdaugh had unknown male DNA beneath her fingernails. Investigators collected it. And then, according to the defense, nobody ever ran it through CODIS — the federal database that exists to match exactly this kind of forensic evidence.
Jim Griffin disclosed this at the press conference and made clear the defense plans to use it at the retrial. It joins a list of investigative shortcomings that SLED will have to answer for in court — including tire tracks that were never processed and GPS data that was overwritten before anyone could examine it.
The retrial timeline is coming into focus, and it is not fast. The defense does not expect to be in a courtroom this year. The preparation alone is staggering: eight thousand pages of transcript to review, a full discovery scrub, new experts to retain and prepare. They are building a defense from the ground up — except this time they know what the prosecution’s case looks like.
Finding a courtroom is its own challenge. A change-of-venue motion is under consideration, but the defense needs a county that demographically matches Colleton. They ruled out Richland and Charleston as likely options. And seating a jury anywhere in South Carolina requires individual voir dire — questioning each potential juror separately to find people who have not already decided this case.
Alex Murdaugh, according to Griffin, has read the Supreme Court opinion himself and reacted with disbelief and emotion. The attorneys noted they have no additional funding and are continuing the representation while operating at a financial loss.
Tony Brueski, criminal defense attorney Bob Motta of Defense Diaries, and retired FBI Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Program Robin Dreeke discuss the untested DNA, the retrial timeline, and why the defense made clear there will never be a plea deal.
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#MurdaughTrial #MaggieMurdaugh #DNAEvidence #CODIS #MurdaughRetrial #SLEDInvestigation #TrueCrimeToday #PleaDeal #VenueChange #TrueCrime
25 min
May 20 Did the SC Supreme Court Give Alex Murdaugh’s Defense Lawyers Exactly What They Needed?
Alex Murdaugh’s defense team didn’t just get a second chance — they got a court-issued roadmap showing exactly where the prosecution went wrong and how far the next trial judge should limit the state’s evidence. True Crime Today examines how Harpootlian and Griffin turn the Supreme Court’s ruling into a defense strategy that could produce an acquittal.
The financial evidence firewall is built directly from the court’s language. Every financial witness the prosecution calls faces a defense objection citing the Supreme Court’s explicit finding that the state went too deep into Murdaugh’s financial history. The defense doesn’t need to exclude everything. They need to exclude enough to prevent the emotional buildup that turned the first jury against Murdaugh before they ever weighed the murder evidence.
Whether Murdaugh takes the stand is the strategic decision both sides are already gaming. A recording captured his voice at the scene minutes before the alleged killings, contradicting everything he’d told investigators. He’ll likely have to explain that lie again. But this time the jury hasn’t spent weeks absorbing his financial crimes before he sits in the witness chair. His credibility starts from a different baseline.
The defense’s strongest argument may be the simplest: reasonable doubt. No DNA on Murdaugh despite two close-range shootings. No blood. Both weapons still missing after years. No eyewitnesses. A crime scene contaminated within hours. These gaps were present in Trial 1 but got overshadowed by the financial narrative. In Trial 2, with that narrative constrained by the Supreme Court, the physical evidence gaps become the defense’s centerpiece. The bar isn’t innocence. It’s uncertainty. And the defense has three years of preparation aimed at creating exactly that.
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HASHTAGS

#AlexMurdaugh #DickHarpootlian #MurdaughDefense #MurdaughRetrial #SCSupremeCourt #TrueCrime #ReasonableDoubt #MurderTrial #SouthCarolina #HiddenKillers
19 min
May 20 How Did Word of Faith Fellowship Sue Child Protective Services Over Abuse — and Win?
A former teacher at the Word of Faith Christian School told the Associated Press that in the middle of class, children would surround a classmate accused of having demons, throw them to the floor, and beat them. Teachers were allegedly told not to stop it. The school, which operated on the Spindale compound under Jane Whaley’s authority, was one piece of the church’s alleged control over children and families. Former members described a practice of removing children from their biological parents and placing them with ministers to be raised. In some cases, contact was allegedly cut for up to ten years. According to former members, the separations served as loyalty engineering — children bonded with church guardians while biological parents were trapped, unable to leave without forfeiting their kids. When parents did leave the church and fought for custody, the Word of Faith Fellowship reportedly used its resources to fight them in court. Three single mothers described a church member and county court clerk who allegedly bypassed the foster system to gain custody of their children. A judge found clear evidence of abuse and neglect inside the fellowship. The church sued the Department of Social Services and reportedly won, closing investigations. Tony Brueski continues a five-part investigation into what former members say was a machine designed to weaponize family bonds.
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#WordOfFaith #JaneWhaley #ChildAbuse #Cult #TrueCrime #Spindale #CultSurvivors #HiddenKillers #FosterCare #ReligiousAbuse
19 min
May 20 Did the AG’s Office Fail to Investigate Becky Hill’s Jury Tampering in the Murdaugh Case?
The Murdaugh defense team came out swinging at Attorney General Alan Wilson — and the accusation they leveled is not one that gets tossed around lightly. They called the death penalty announcement vindictive prosecution.
Here is what that means: when a prosecutor escalates charges not because the evidence supports it, but because the defendant exercised a constitutional right — like winning an appeal — the law treats it as retaliation. Harpootlian argued that is exactly what happened here. Murdaugh’s conviction was overturned. And the state’s response was not to accept the court’s ruling and retry the case. It was to announce the death penalty.
Harpootlian asked the question that exposes the logic problem in the state’s position: what does Wilson know now that he did not know when he originally chose not to seek the death penalty? The facts of the crime have not changed. No new evidence surfaced. The only thing that changed is that Murdaugh won.
The defense went further. They accused Wilson of running his prosecution through political consultants rather than relying on the career prosecutors who staff his office. Harpootlian suggested that the attorneys who actually understand courtrooms are not the ones driving the bus.
And they landed a second blow: the AG’s office, they said, never properly investigated Becky Hill’s conduct. The statute makes jury tampering a crime. Hill pled guilty to misconduct. And the state apparently saw no reason to look deeper.
Tony Brueski, criminal defense attorney Bob Motta of Defense Diaries, and retired FBI Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Program Robin Dreeke unpack the accusations, the doctrine, and what it means for the prosecution’s strategy heading into the retrial.
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#MurdaughTrial #DeathPenalty #VindictiveProsecution #AlanWilson #Harpootlian #TrueCrimeToday #MurdaughRetrial #SouthCarolina #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers
18 min
May 20 How Will Murdaugh’s Federal Lawsuit Against Becky Hill Expose What the State Missed?
When the South Carolina Supreme Court granted Alex Murdaugh a new trial, it confirmed what the defense had argued for months — Becky Hill’s conduct compromised the verdict. But the court’s ruling only opened a door. The federal lawsuit the defense just filed is designed to walk through it.
The Section 1983 claim targets Hill directly, alleging she deprived Murdaugh of a constitutional right that is supposed to be untouchable: a fair trial before an impartial, untampered jury. This is not a symbolic filing. It comes with the full weight of federal civil discovery — the power to compel testimony, demand documents, and put people under oath.
The defense laid out their goals with unusual specificity. They want to know exactly what Hill did. They want to know if anyone else was involved. They want answers about the removal of juror Myra Crosby — whose departure from the jury during deliberations has never been satisfactorily explained. And they want the state to answer for what they describe as a failure to investigate any of it.
More than six hundred thousand dollars in damages are on the table, tied to the cost of the first trial. The defense took pains to clarify that any recovered money goes to the receivership — Murdaugh does not benefit personally.
Tony Brueski, criminal defense attorney and Defense Diaries host Bob Motta, and retired FBI Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Program Robin Dreeke discuss the lawsuit, the unanswered questions it targets, and why the investigation the state never conducted may happen anyway — just in a different courtroom.
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#MurdaughTrial #BeckyHill #FederalLawsuit #JuryTampering #CivilRights #TrueCrimeToday #MurdaughRetrial #Section1983 #ColletonCounty #TrueCrime
24 min
May 20 Did Anna Kepner’s Defense Just Tip Their Hand In Cruise Ship Trial?
The defense team in the Anna Kepner federal case just made its first move that doesn’t look like confidence. After three months of waiving rights, requesting adult prosecution, and charging toward a June 1 trial date, they filed a motion asking for ninety more days. The prosecution signed off.
Document 74 — an Unopposed Motion to Continue Trial — was entered on the docket May 13. Lead defense counsel Evan Kuhl cited the government’s voluminous discovery productions, two other federal trials on his schedule, and family obligations. It’s the first continuance anyone has requested in this case. That shift from full speed to full stop is the story.
Tony Brueski digs into the filing and what it means for where this case is headed. The compressed timeline that made June 1 a placeholder from the start. The strategic calculation both sides are making with the extra time. Why the prosecution’s decision not to oppose the delay says as much about their position as the defense’s decision to ask for it. And the procedural battles coming between now and September 8 — the unresolved detention motion, the withheld autopsy, the evidence fights that will shape what twelve jurors eventually hear.
Anna Kepner was eighteen. A Titusville cheerleader on a family cruise. Found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon in November 2025. Her stepbrother Timothy Hudson faces two federal felony counts and remains free under GPS monitoring at a relative’s home. The Kepner family has said publicly they’re troubled he hasn’t been taken into custody. September is now the earliest they’ll see a courtroom.
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Hashtags:

#AnnaKepner #TimothyHudson #CarnivalHorizon #CruiseShipDeath #FederalTrial #TrueCrimeToday #TrueCrime #JusticeForAnna #CarnivalCruise #MiamiCourt
18 min
May 19 What Three Forces Are Already Shaping Alex Murdaugh’s Retrial Before It Even Starts?
A governor candidate threatening the death penalty. A son who won’t visit his father. Defense lawyers hinting at mystery suspects on national television. None of this existed a week ago. All of it is shaping Alex Murdaugh’s retrial right now.
Tony Brueski and Robin Dreeke bring the full picture together in one listener-driven conversation. Robin’s behavioral analysis ties the threads that mainstream coverage keeps treating as separate stories. The political pressure on the prosecution isn’t separate from the family fractures. The family fractures aren’t separate from the defense’s new strategy. And the defense’s third-party hints aren’t separate from the political environment that makes every pretrial statement a campaign ad.
The conversation builds from the specific to the systemic. Wilson’s death penalty posture and what it reveals. Buster’s reported silence and what it communicates. Harpootlian’s morning-show tease and what it accomplishes. Robin connects all three to one central question: Is this retrial going to be decided by evidence, or by everything happening around the evidence?
The listeners brought the sharpest questions of any episode in this series. Tony and Robin match them.
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#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughRetrial #MurdaughMurders #TrueCrime #MurdaughTrial #HiddenKillers #RobinDreeke #SouthCarolina #CriminalJustice #DeathPenalty
55 min
May 19 A 6-Year-Old Stopped It — The Cases Federal Courts Exposed Across Every Cruise Line
Federal filings show three crew members charged on the Disney Dream in early 2024. A Royal Caribbean cabin attendant sentenced to 30 years after pleading guilty to secretly recording passengers as young as two inside their cabins. An FBI affidavit describing a Celebrity youth counselor who allegedly targeted children for four months while avoiding security cameras. A 6-year-old was the one who put a stop to it. Two Princess employees sentenced to a combined 45 years for grooming a teenager and exchanging exploitation material depicting very young children. This is the episode that connects the cases the cruise industry has never been forced to address together: Disney, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess, Carnival, Holland America. Year after year. Ship after ship. Same pattern: crew hired internationally through third-party agencies, screened only against home-country records, no shared offender database. Cruise Law News reports nearly 200 crew accused of possessing CSAM in roughly two years. Cruising with Predators, a Hidden Killers investigation.
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#CruiseShipCrime #DisneyDream #RoyalCaribbean #PrincessCruises #Carnival #CruisingWithPredators #HiddenKillers #CruiseSafety #TrueCrime #ChildSafety
20 min
May 19 What Does Alex Murdaugh’s History With Curtis Smith Reveal About the Night of the Murders?
Three months after Maggie and Paul were found at Moselle, Alex Murdaugh drove to a rural road and allegedly paid Curtis Eddie Smith to end his life in an insurance scheme. The plan fell apart. Smith didn’t finish. Alex survived with a scratch and a story that collapsed within hours.
That incident established something critical about Alex Murdaugh: he recruits other people for violence. He sets up the circumstances, creates the alibi, and expects someone else to execute. Tony Brueski and Robin Dreeke dig into listener questions about whether that same pattern was at work on June 7, 2021.
Two weapons were used at Moselle. Two different types of ammunition. Neither gun was ever recovered. And now the defense is publicly hinting at “third parties and potential motives”—information they say has come from people who’ve reached out since the first trial.
Robin applies behavioral analysis to the operational pattern. If Alex planned to have someone else carry out the killings and had to resort to doing it himself, what would that look like? What evidence would survive? And does the physical evidence at Moselle actually support a two-person scenario—or a single person using two weapons? The answers aren’t as clean as either side wants them to be.
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#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughRetrial #MurdaughMurders #ThirdParty #TrueCrime #MurdaughTrial #HiddenKillers #SouthCarolina #CriminalJustice #MurdaughCase
16 min