As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Awatef Aboudihaj with me today.

On December 30, 2006, singer and actress Brandy Norwood was driving her SUV northbound on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles when she failed to notice that traffic ahead had slowed. Her Land Rover rear‑ended a 2005 Toyota driven by 38‑year‑old Awatef Aboudihaj, pushing that car into another vehicle, the center divider, and then into the path of a fourth car in a chain‑reaction crash. Awatef, a married mother, was critically injured and died in hospital the following day, while Brandy and others involved escaped serious physical harm.

Investigators found no evidence that Brandy was impaired, and after a lengthy review prosecutors ultimately declined to file criminal charges, concluding the fatal pile‑up was a traffic accident rather than a crime. Awatef’s family pursued civil lawsuits that were later settled out of court, but Brandy has said she carried “unimaginable grief” and deep survivor’s guilt for years afterward, even as official investigations cleared her of criminal responsibility.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Ava Grace Majury with me today.

In 2021, 15‑year‑old TikTok creator Ava Majury blocked a follower whose comments had turned from fan messages into creepy, persistent demands for photos, only to have him reappear under new accounts, then finally at her front door. In the early hours of July 10, 2021, 18‑year‑old Eric Rohan Justin traveled from Maryland to Ava’s home in Naples, Florida, and fired a shotgun through the family’s front door, intent on getting to the girl who had cut him off online.

Ava’s father, retired police lieutenant Rob Majury, grabbed his own handgun, confronted Eric outside, and shot him after the teen returned to the property, killing him and ending the attack. Investigators later said Rob’s actions were justified under Florida’s self‑defense and “stand your ground” laws, and he has not been charged, but the case has become a chilling example of how a blocked online obsession can turn into a real‑world attempt to kill.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Jennifer Rothwell and her baby with me today.

In November 2019, 28‑year‑old chemical engineer Jennifer Rothwell vanished after leaving her home in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and her husband, Beau Rothwell, tearfully reported her missing and joined public search efforts. Within days, investigators found bleach‑soaked, blood‑stained carpet in the couple’s basement and learned that, shortly before she disappeared, Jennifer had googled “what to do if your husband is upset you are pregnant,” while Beau had secretly made a “pros and cons” list about leaving his six‑weeks‑pregnant wife for another woman.

Confronted with the evidence, Beau admitted that he had struck Jennifer from behind with a mallet during an argument over his affair, then disposed of her naked body in woods about 45 miles from their home before staging her car to make it look like she’d broken down on the way to work. A jury rejected his claim that the killing was a heat‑of‑the‑moment outburst and, in 2022, convicted him of first‑degree murder, tampering with evidence, and abandoning a corpse; Beau was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus additional years for the other charges.

In August 2016, Russian-born Viktoria Nasyrova went to the Queens apartment of her lookalike, 35‑year‑old eyelash stylist Olga Tsvyk, carrying a gift: a slice of cheesecake. Prosecutors said Viktoria had laced the dessert with phenazepam, a powerful sedative, then waited as Olga grew violently ill and lost consciousness, before staging the scene to look like a suicide and stealing her passport, cash, and other valuables in an apparent attempt to assume her identity.

Olga survived and later tests found phenazepam on the cheesecake container and in pills scattered around her, with Viktoria’s DNA also on the box, tying her directly to the poisoning. In February 2023, a New York jury convicted Viktoria of attempted murder, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and petit larceny; that April, she was sentenced to 21 years in prison plus five years of post‑release supervision and faces possible deportation to Russia, where she is also wanted on a separate murder charge.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Jessica L. Kaczmar Padgett with me today. In November 2014, Jessica Padgett, a 33-year-old mother of three from Northampton County, Pennsylvania, vanished after leaving work during her lunch break to visit her stepfather’s nearby business... what seemed like a routine errand quickly turned into a missing persons case that shocked the community. Investigators soon focused on her stepfather, Gregory Graf, after inconsistencies in his story, and within days he confessed to murdering Jessica Padgett, shooting her inside his home and burying her body beneath a shed on the property. The case grew even more disturbing as authorities uncovered evidence of post-mortem abuse, making it one of the most horrific family-related crimes in Pennsylvania. Gregory was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. This tragic case of betrayal, premeditation, and family violence continues to draw attention in true crime for its shocking details and the devastating loss of a young mother.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Shad Thyrion with me today.

In February 2022, 24‑year‑old Shad Thyrion was killed inside his mother’s home in Green Bay, Wisconsin, after a meth‑fueled sexual encounter with 24‑year‑old Taylor Schabusiness. Investigators say Taylor strangled Shad with a chain during sex, continued choking him until he died, then sexually assaulted his body and dismembered him, leaving his severed head and other remains in a bucket and various bags for his mother to discover.

Taylor was arrested the same day and charged with first‑degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, and third‑degree sexual assault. After competency evaluations and multiple disruptive outbursts in court, a jury in July 2023 found her guilty on all counts, and in September 2023 the judge sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus additional time for related offenses.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Imani Serafina Roberson with me today.

In July 2023, 29‑year‑old mother of four Imani Roberson disappeared after leaving her mother’s home in Conyers, Georgia, following a Sunday family dinner with her children. Days later, her SUV was found burned out near Atlanta, and after a nearly three‑week search, investigators located Imani’s body and determined she had been killed in what authorities described as a domestic violence homicide.

Detectives focused on Imani’s husband, Donell Anderson, after finding blood evidence inside the couple’s home and other indications that the crime occurred there before her body and vehicle were moved. Donell was arrested on 4 August 2023 and charged with felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, and a firearm offense; days later, his brother Cedarius Glaze was also arrested and accused of helping conceal Imani’s body, commit arson, and tamper with evidence. The case is still moving through the courts, and as of the latest reports, no final sentence has been handed down.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Robert Mendoza “Rob” Limon Jr.with me today. In August 2014, 38-year-old Robert Limon was shot and killed at his workplace in Tehachapi, California, in what initially appeared to be a robbery gone wrong. However, the investigation quickly shifted when authorities uncovered a secret affair between his wife, Sabrina Limon, and firefighter Jonathan Hearn. Phone records, witness statements, and Jonathan's eventual confession revealed a calculated murder-for-love plot, where Hearn carried out the shooting so the couple could be together. In 2018, Sabrina Limon was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation, receiving a sentence of 25 years to life, while Jonathan Hearn accepted a plea deal. The Robert Limon case remains a shocking example of a love triangle murder, workplace shooting, and premeditated killing driven by infidelity and deception.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Ryan Poston, Brandon Duran, Frankie Fitzgerald, and Darlene Vandergiesen with me today.

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Phil Hartman with me today.

On May 28, 1998, comedian and actor Phil Hartman was shot to death in his sleep by his wife, Brynn, in the bedroom of their home in Encino, California. After an argument late that night, Phil went to bed; sometime before 3 a.m., Brynn entered the room and fired three shots at close range with a .38‑caliber handgun, hitting him in the head, throat, and chest and killing him instantly.

Brynn, who had alcohol, cocaine, and an antidepressant in her system, then drove to a friend’s house and confessed, returned with him to the home, and locked herself in the bedroom as police were called. A few hours after killing Phil, she died by suicide with a second handgun while officers were on the scene, leaving their two young children without parents and Hollywood stunned by the murder‑suicide.