UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast

Is Philadelphia dealing with a serial killer—or are the headlines getting ahead of the evidence?

A sprawling investigation in Philadelphia has connected Raymond “R.C.” Horsch and his son, Eugene Horsch, to a growing mystery involving missing women, Kensington’s sex-work corridor, and a house in the city’s Olney neighbourhood.

In the first episode of this ongoing investigation, I break down what we actually know, what the media may be getting wrong, and the evidence that has led police to examine the Horsch family.

This is an active investigation. Police have linked multiple missing women to Raymond Horsch and the Olney property, but major questions remain unanswered. No one has been convicted of murdering these women, and allegations and suspicions should not be confused with established fact.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll continue following the evidence, digging into the records, and separating what we know from what we think we know.

#PhiladelphiaSerialKiller #RaymondHorsch #EugeneHorsch #Kensington #Philadelphia #TrueCrime

Netflix has reignited the debate over Lizzie Borden—but how much of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is actually true?
Cara Robertson Phd, author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden, returns to UNMARKED to separate fact from fiction. We break down what Netflix got right, what it changed, and the historical evidence behind one of America’s most infamous murder cases.

We also tackle some of the series’ biggest creative choices: its portrayal of Lizzie, its themes of female rage and feminism, and the controversial decision to bring serial killer Aileen Wuornos into Lizzie Borden’s story.

Did Netflix illuminate Lizzie Borden—or turn a complicated historical case into something closer to true-crime fan fiction?

Cara Robertson has spent years studying the Borden case, the original trial, and the historical record. This is our deep dive into what really happened in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892—and how it compares with the story Netflix is telling today.

#LizzieBorden #MonsterNetflix #Netflix #TrueCrime #AileenWuornos 

A disturbing investigation in Philadelphia is taking another turn, as five missing women are now linked to the home connected to Eugene Horsch. Investigators continue to sift through more than one million images and videos recovered from the property, while new evidence and newly surfaced photographs are adding to the questions surrounding what happened inside the house—and what investigators may still uncover.

In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the new information in the Eugene Horsch story and how the story goes all the way back to the 1970s

Then we get to your questions: Is Casey Anthony capable of telling the truth, what happened to the children of the Manson family and the story behind James freeing an innocent victim from prison. 

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on Youtube or Apple Podcasts, DM @ Unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @ JamesBuddyDay.

What if Casey Anthony finally told the truth—would anyone believe her?

Nearly twenty years after Caylee Anthony disappeared, the case remains one of the most controversial mysteries in American true crime. Casey lied about her job, invented a nanny, misled investigators and waited 31 days before her daughter was reported missing. But a jury still found her not guilty of murder.

In this episode of UNMARKED, I sit down with lead prosecutor Jeff Ashton and challenge him on the evidence, the timeline and the questions I still have about what happened on June 16, 2008. I also speak with reporter Steve Helling, revisit the places at the center of the case, and dig into Casey’s extraordinary pattern of lying.

Research in This Episode:

Tejasvi Kainth et al. (2026), “Pseudologia fantastica: a systematic review of sociodemographic features and psychiatric comorbidities,” Annals of Medicine & Surgery, 88(7), 4487–4497. 

Miethe, S., Wigger, J., Wartemann, A., Fuchs, F. O., & Trautmann, S. (2023). “Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and its Association with Rumination, Thought Suppression and Experiential Avoidance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 45, 480–495.

Show Notes:

If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. 

Read it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/

For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.

Join here:
https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

How much of who we become is shaped before we can even remember it?

In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I sit down with clinical and forensic neuropsychologist Dr. Judy Ho to talk about attachment—how our earliest relationships shape the way we see ourselves, connect with other people, and respond to the world around us.

We break down attachment theory, the different attachment styles, what happens when those early bonds are disrupted, and how childhood experiences can continue influencing behavior decades later.

#TrueCrime #Psychology #AttachmentTheory #SerialKillers #DrJudyHo #CaseNotes 

A shocking case is entering a new chapter as Nick Reiner appears in court for a pre-trial hearing in the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. Prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty, while questions over sealed grand jury evidence and what comes next in the case continue to unfold.

In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the pre-trial hearing of the Nick Reiner case and what happens next. 

Then we get into your questions:  Why did Lizzie Borden kill her parents?, Was Gary Heidnik really insane, and Buddy’s favourite kind of movie projects. 

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on YouTube or Apple Podcasts, DM @unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @JamesBuddyDay.

What if everything we think we know about Lizzie Borden is wrong?

With Netflix once again turning Lizzie Borden into a monster, we're going back to the woman behind the legend. In 1892, Lizzie stood trial for the brutal murders of her father, Andrew, and stepmother, Abby, inside their Fall River home. She was acquitted—but more than 130 years later, we're still trying to explain who she was and what could have driven her to kill, if she did.

This week on UNMARKED, I’m joined by Dr. Cara Robertson, author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden and one of the foremost researchers on the case, to separate the historical Lizzie from the character we've created around her.

We reconstruct the morning of the murders, examine the evidence against Lizzie, the alleged attempt to purchase poison, the disputed murder weapon, the Borden family's simmering resentments, and the psychology of parricide. And we trace how each generation has reinvented Lizzie—from Victorian spinster to abused daughter to cold-blooded heiress and, now, Netflix monster.

Research in This Episode:

Heide KM. Patricide and steppatricide victims and offenders: an empirical analysis of U.S. arrest data. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2014 Nov;58(11):1261-78.

Show Notes:

If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. 

Read it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/

For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.

Join here:
https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

I’m joined by Brandi Churchwell, host of the 13th Juror Podcast, to break down the mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case. We talk about what happened in the courtroom, the reaction to the decision, what the jury actually decided—and some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the case.

We also dig into the difficult questions at the heart of this trial: mental illness, criminal responsibility, and why this case has produced such dramatically different reactions from people following it.

#LindsayClancy #TrueCrime #CaseNotes #podcast #UNMARKED

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on YouTube or Apple Podcasts, DM @unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @JamesBuddyDay.

A controversial case has taken another dramatic turn in Massachusetts, where a mistrial was declared after jurors deadlocked in Lindsay Clancy’s trial for the deaths of her three children. Now, prosecutors must decide whether to try the case again—while the debate over mental illness, accountability and what happened in the days leading up to the tragedy continues.

In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the mistrial in the Lindsey Clancy case and what happens next. 

Then we get into your questions:  Gary Heidnik and his connect to Silence of the Lambs, Clifford Olson’s adaptability, and a review of Charlie Hunnam’s performance of Ed Gein. 

Was Gary Heidnik legally insane—or did he know exactly what he was doing?

The crimes committed inside Gary Heidnik’s North Philadelphia home became infamous for their brutality—and would later draw comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs. But beneath the mythology of the so-called “Monster Preacher” is a much more difficult question about mental illness, culpability, and the way the law defines sanity.

Heidnik had a documented history of severe mental illness stretching back decades. He experienced delusions, believed God had given him a mission, and constructed an elaborate fantasy that ultimately helped drive his crimes. Yet prosecutors pointed to his ability to plan, manipulate, conceal evidence, and evade police as proof that he understood exactly what he was doing.

In this episode of UNMARKED, I speak with legendary Philadelphia defense attorney Chuck Peruto, who represented Heidnik at trial, to reconstruct the case and examine the insanity defense that nearly saved him from a death sentence.

Research in This Episode:

Bryant, B. R., et al. (2022). “Behavioral and Emotional Dyscontrol Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging and Electrophysiological Correlates.” Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, 63(5), 434–449.

Show Notes:

If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. 

Read it here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7

If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/

For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.

Join here:
https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcast

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom.