UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast

Before the release of Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes, I joined attorney Karen Conti on WGN Radio 720 in Chicago to discuss Charles Manson and what years of research into the case have revealed.

Karen Conti has a fascinating connection to another notorious American murder case: she was John Wayne Gacy’s final attorney, representing him during his death-row appeals before his execution in 1994.

🎙️ Originally broadcast Aug 9, 2026 on WGN Radio 720 — The Karen Conti Show

Explore our investigations into Charles Manson, the Manson Family, Sharon Tate and the murders at Cielo Drive. 

What really happened inside 10050 Cielo Drive on the night of August 8, 1969?

More than fifty years later, the Manson murders remain one of the most infamous crimes in American history. But beyond the mythology surrounding Charles Manson lies a far more complicated story.

After more than a decade investigating the case—including interviews with Charles Manson and members of the Manson Family, access to rare recordings, police reports, trial transcripts, and my private research archive featured in Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer—I reconstruct the murders at Cielo Drive almost minute by minute.

Research in This Episode: 

Schein, E. H., Schneier, I., & Barker, C. H. (1961). Coercive Persuasion: A Socio-Psychological Analysis of the "Brainwashing" of American Civilian Prisoners by the Chinese Communists. New York: W. W. Norton.

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. 

What does one of America's most prolific serial killers say when he's spent more than two decades behind bars?

For years, author Maria DiLorenzo has corresponded with Gary Ridgway—the Green River Killer—offering a rare window into the mind of a man convicted of murdering 49 women and who later confessed to many more.

In this episode of UNMARKED, I sit down with Maria to examine what Ridgway's letters, interviews, and prison conversations reveal about the psychology of one of history's most prolific serial killers. We explore the violent fantasies that preceded the murders, the role of psychopathy, why Ridgway targeted vulnerable women, how he evaded capture for nearly twenty years, and why he may still be trying to control the story of who Gary Ridgway really is.

If you've heard the legend of the Green River Killer, this may change how you understand the man behind it.

Read Confessions of the Green River Killer — The True Story of Manipulation, Madness and a Search for Justice: 
https://amzn.to/4ph903W

Research in This Episode: 

Levi-Minzi, M., & Shields Levi-Minzi, M. A. (2007). Serial Sexual Murderers and Prostitutes as their Victims: Difficulty Profiling Perpetrators and Victim Vulnerability as Illustrated by the Green River Case. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 7 (1), 77-89. 

Castillo, Natalie V., "They Have Names, Too: A Case Study on the First Five Victims of the Green River Killer: Examining the Construction of Society and Its Creation of Victim Availability" (2020). Women, Gender , and Sexuality Studies Under gr aduate Honors Theses. 2.

Aggrawal, A. (2009). A new classification of necrophilia. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 16(6), 316–320.

Atherley, Loren T., "Profiling Ridgway: A Retrospective Analysis of Criminal Profiling through the Green River Investigation" (2010). Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Theses. 5. 

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. 

In this episode of Case Notes, I'm joined by bestselling author and investigative journalist Howard Blum to discuss one of the most controversial theories to emerge from the Idaho murders investigation: Did Bryan Kohberger act alone? 

Drawing on his reporting, Howard explains why he began questioning the official narrative and outlines the evidence that led him to consider the possibility of an accomplice. 

This discussion is a companion to our main episode ⬇️
#BryanKohberger #IdahoMurders #TrueCrime #Netflix 

Why did the Idaho murders happen?

Bryan Kohberger has pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students. But his plea answered only one question: who committed the crime. It told us almost nothing about why.

In this episode of UNMARKED, I take a different approach. Rather than reconstructing the murders, I construct a psychological autopsy of Bryan Kohberger—examining his childhood, social isolation, personality, fantasy life, academic interests, and the evidence surrounding the case to better understand how someone becomes capable of an act like this.

Research in This Episode: 

Clare S. Allely, Helen Minnis, Lucy Thompson, Philip Wilson, Christopher Gillberg, Neurodevelopmental and psychosocial risk factors in serial killers and mass murderers, Aggression and Violent Behavior, Volume 19, Issue 3, 2014, Pages 288-301, ISSN 1359-1789. 

Rubin, K. H., Coplan, R. J., & Bowker, J. C. (2009). Social withdrawal in childhood. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 141–171.

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. 

What role does fantasy play in serial murder?

In this episode of Case Notes, I sit down with bestselling investigative journalist and true crime author M. William Phelps to explore one of the most misunderstood aspects of violent offenders: the fantasies that often precede, shape, and sustain serial violence.

We discuss how violent fantasy develops, why it can become central to an offender's identity, and what investigators, psychologists, and the public often misunderstand about the connection between imagination and real-world violence. Along the way, we examine how fantasy influences victim selection, ritual, escalation, and the stories serial killers tell about themselves after they're caught.

#TrueCrime #SerialKillers #Psychology #CriminalPsychology 

Why did Long Island produce so many serial killers?

From Richard Cottingham and Joel Rifkin to Robert Shulman and Rex Heuermann, Long Island has been home to one of the greatest concentrations of serial killers in modern history. Coincidence? Or did something happen during the 1980s and 1990s that created the perfect conditions for these men to hunt undetected?

In this episode, I examine the life of Robert Shulman through newly uncovered prison letters that have never been presented publicly. Drawing on police files, autopsy reports, court records, psychological research, and interviews with investigative journalist Kristin Thorne and researcher Nick Graystone, I trace Shulman's childhood, his fantasies, and the psychological patterns that connect him to other Long Island serial killers. Along the way, I explore how New York's policing strategies inadvertently displaced vulnerable women, creating an environment that multiple predators exploited for decades.

Research in This Episode: 

Perricone G, Fontana V, Burgio S, Polizzi C. Sibling relationships as a resource for coping with traumatic events. Springerplus. 2014 Sep 15;3:525. 

Marono AJ, Reid S, Yaksic E, Keatley DA. A Behaviour Sequence Analysis of Serial Killers' Lives: From Childhood Abuse to Methods of Murder. Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2020 Feb 6;27(1):126-137.

Show Notes:

I just released my first novel called, A Plague of Steel. It’s a grimdark fantasy war story, about what war leaves behind. It’s available now on Kindle, Amazon and Kindle Unlimited: 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Plague-Steel-Sons-Tempering-Book-ebook/dp/B0GSPBTR49

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

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

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. 

What does it really take to become a forensic psychologist?

In this episode of Case Notes, I sit down with Dr. N.G. Berill, a forensic psychologist with more than three decades of experience evaluating violent offenders, consulting on major criminal cases, and teaching forensic psychology. Before we discuss the path into the profession, Dr. Berill recounts the shocking reality of a career in which defendants have threatened, and even tried, to kill him.

Whether you're considering a career in forensic psychology, studying criminal justice, or simply fascinated by the psychology behind violent crime, this conversation offers an honest look at one of the most challenging professions in the justice system.

#ForensicPsychology #Psychology #TrueCrime ##CareerAdvice

Why was Emilia Carr the youngest woman on death row in America?

When I first received a letter from Emilia Carr in 2010, she was awaiting execution on Florida's death row. Years later, I traveled to Ocala, Florida, reviewed the original case files at the Marion County Sheriff's Office, visited the trailer where Heather Strong was murdered, and listened to hours of unedited interrogation recordings that helped convict Carr.

In this episode, I examine one of the most controversial capital murder cases in recent American history. Using police interviews, undercover recordings, trial records, appellate briefs, and my own reporting from Florida, I explore how detectives built their case, the role of the Reid Technique, the reliability of confessions, prosecutorial discretion, and why Emilia Carr—not Joshua Fulgham—became the youngest woman on death row in the United States. Along the way, we examine the evidence, the competing accounts of what happened inside the trailer, and the legal questions that ultimately led Florida's courts to vacate Carr's death sentence.

If you enjoy deeply researched true crime that goes beyond the headlines and examines how investigations actually work, subscribe to UNMARKED for new episodes every week.

Show Notes:

I just released my first novel called, A Plague of Steel. It’s a grimdark fantasy war story, about what war leaves behind. It’s available now on Kindle, Amazon and Kindle Unlimited: 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Plague-Steel-Sons-Tempering-Book-ebook/dp/B0GSPBTR49

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

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

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. 

Why do so many people misunderstand the insanity defense?

It's one of the most debated concepts in criminal law, yet also one of the least understood. Popular culture has created the impression that defendants routinely "get off" by pleading insanity. The reality is far more complicated. Legal insanity is not the same as mental illness, psychopathy, or a psychiatric diagnosis, and successful insanity defences are exceptionally rare.

In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I speak with forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston about what the insanity defense actually is, how courts determine criminal responsibility, and why so much public discussion gets it wrong. We examine the legal standards behind the defense, common misconceptions, and the role mental illness can—and cannot—play in determining guilt.

If you've ever wondered what "not guilty by reason of insanity" really means, this conversation offers an evidence-based look at one of the most misunderstood issues in the criminal justice system.