The Oracle's Daughter: Inside an American Cult
How does a free-spirited hippie become the authoritarian leader of a religious cult? And why do ordinary people remain loyal to dangerous le...
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Once Upon A Crime | True Crime
THE podcast for the true crime addict. True crime stories are told chapter by chapter - kidnappings, murders, mysterious disappearances, serial killers, celebrity crime and more.
Episodes
20 of 434 episodes
Rocktober: Axl Rose — Welcome to the Nightmare
Before he became the legendary—and notoriously volatile—frontman of Guns N’ Roses, Axl Rose was a troubled kid from Lafayette, Indiana, with...
Axl Rose, American Cults & Mexico’s ‘Reformed’ Serial Killer - Welcome to Spooky Season on Once Upon a Crime!
Axl Rose, American Cults & Mexico’s ‘Reformed’ Serial Killer - Welcome to Spooky Season on Once Upon a Crime! Spooky Season has arrived on O...
Taylor Parker — Deadly Deception
Taylor Parker presented herself as a hardworking Texas country girl, a devoted girlfriend, an heiress to a family fortune—and soon, an excit...
Mackenzie Shirilla: Behind the Image — The True Story Behind Netflix’s “The Crash”
In July 2022, 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla was behind the wheel of a car that slammed into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio, at near...
BONUS: Why Did They Stay? Inside the Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy: A Discussion with Author Annette McGivney
In this bonus episode, Esther shares the complete interview with journalist Annette McGivney, author of Plastic Shaman: The True Story of a...
The Sedona Sweat Lodge Tragedy
In 2009, self-help superstar James Arthur Ray invited dozens of followers to a six-day retreat near Sedona, Arizona, promising a life-changi...
Copycat Killers - Did Scott Peterson Inspire Other Murders?
In this bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime , we ask a disturbing question: did the Scott Peterson case inspire other men to murder their wiv...
Scott Peterson Revisited - Part Two: Esther & Yolanda Reopen the Case
In Part Two of Scott Peterson Revisited, Esther is joined by her sister Yolanda to take a closer look at the claims now being made on behalf...
Bonus: Unmasking Scott Peterson
In this bonus episode of Scott Peterson Revisited , we look beyond the evidence to examine the man at the center of the case. Was Scott Pete...
Scott Peterson Revisited: Part One - Separating Fact from Fiction
Twenty-three years after the murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner, the case against Scott Peterson is once again under scruti...
Scott Peterson: The Case, the Claims, and the Controversy
More than twenty years after Laci Peterson's murder captivated the nation, one of America's most infamous true crime cases is back in the sp...
Before Bali: The Untold Story of Sheila von Wiese-Mack
In this episode of Once Upon a Crime, we revisits the murder of Sheila von Wiese Mack through the new book When Lambs Become Wolves by retir...
The House on New York Street: The Sylvia Likens Case, Part Two
Part 2 of the Sylvia Likens case examines the heartbreaking final hours of Sylvia Likens, one of the most horrific child abuse and murder ca...
TRAILER: The House on New York Street, Part 2
Police arrived at the New York Street house and quickly realized the story didn’t add up. Within hours, Gertrude Baniszewski, her children,...
The House on New York Street - The Sylvia Likens Case, Part One
Some crimes are so shocking that they force us to ask a question that seems impossible to answer. Not 'Who did it?' We know who did it. Not...
TRAILER: The House on New York Street: The Sylvia Likens Case
How does an ordinary home become the scene of extraordinary evil, and how does a community fail to save a sixteen-year-old girl? This week o...
The Tragedy of Sylvia Likens: A Two-Part Series Preview
In the summer of 1965, 16-year-old Sylvia Likens was left in the care of a mother of seven while her parents traveled for work. What should...
Marie Hilley: The Poisoner Who Fooled Everyone
A black widow. A poisoner. A con artist. A master manipulator. This week on Once Upon a Crime , Esther dives into the unbelievable case of M...
Marie Hilley: The Woman Who Became Her Own Twin
She poisoned her husband. She nearly killed her own daughter. She vanished while out on bail. Then she reinvented herself with a brand-new i...