On Christmas Eve 1945 in the quiet little town of Fayetteville West Virginia, Jennie Sodder awoke just after one in the morning to find her little farm house filled with smoke, flames licking the walls of her husband's office. She rushed to wake and alert her husband and 9 children. It was clear that they needed to escape quickly. Once out on the l…

We promised we aren't becoming a rebroadcast podcast haha. We will be back soon with a brand new episode! Until then, enjoy our holiday spooky cheer with another best of Christmas WWBD episode! ----------- There is no phrase one can utter that draws a more visceral christmas response, than Bah, Humbug. And so it is with great joy and depth of feeli…

Hello Fiends! With the new Netflix documentary, "Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey", we thought we should rebroadcast our coverage of the case! We will be back next week with an all new episode! ---------- "People ask me all the time how I think of such dark stories every week. Well, I say, I just take any scenario and think of the worst possib…

To start off the holiday season we are sharing one of our favorite episodes from a few years ago, in which we ruin Santa for you. ENJOY! -------- We’re back once again to ruin Christmas! This year we’ll explore the dark and fascinating origins of everyone favorite jolly gift giver, Santa Claus. We’ll explore where our modern Santa came from and mee…

Gainesville Florida is the biggest college town in the sunshine state, but in August of 1990 a dark cloud descended over it. Five people were brutally mutilated and murdered in four short days. All the crime scenes bore the same graphic hallmarks, and local police quickly realized they had a serial killer on their hands. As the media descended on G…

Gainesville Florida is the biggest college town in the sunshine state, but in August of 1990 a dark cloud descended over it. Five people were brutally mutilated and murdered in four short days. All the crime scenes bore the same graphic hallmarks, and local police quickly realized they had a serial killer on their hands. As the media descended on G…

Poison artisans Giulia Tofana and Gironima Spana took all the power held hostage in their time by men and placed it in the hands of women. Join us as we go deep into the rise and fall of the world’s most infamous poison and sought after skin care line: Aqua Tofana. Last week we told Guilia's story and this week we tell Gironima's. Gironima Spana wa…

We wanted to end women’s history month with a bang, so we decided to deliver this much requested case in a way you’ve probably never heard it before, the way it actually happened. What was once thought to be the story of one woman, is actually that of a mother daughter dynasty. Poison artisans Giulia Tofana and Gironima Spana took all the power hel…

In a quiet rural village in China, a respected local doctor, Su Hong, harbors secrets darker than anyone could imagine. When two brothers suddenly vanish, a police investigation reveals twisted layers of deceit, desperation, and revenge buried in the doctor’s root cellar. What starts as a missing person’s case unravels into a chilling tale of betra…

Dear Fiends, We cordially invite you to spend some time with the terrifying spirits of Thrill house. We hope you enjoy this original gothic horror story! Consider it a treat from us to you. Happy Halloween! Click to Learn MoreThe WWBD Team Holly Knapp, Co-Host Leslie Weidel, Co-Host Jon Katity, Composer & Audio Engineer WWBD Merch Buy your WWBD swa…

On a sunny day in November of 1990 three young boys decide to sneak off and play in the gravel pits at a local landscaping store for the afternoon. Little did they know that they were about to open a doorway into the world of colonial American vampires. This week we plunge head first into the strange and mysterious practice of vampire exhumations. …

We're starting off spooky season with one of the most haunting cases in true crime history. This case, referred to internationally as “The Burari Deaths” walks the thin line between devotion and madness, faith and delusion, mortal and paranormal. At 7:15 AM on July 1st, 2018 Gurcharan Singh went outside to meet his neighbor, Lalit Chundawat, for th…

Sorry for leaving you all with a crazy cliff hanger last week but it had to be done! When we left off Laci Peterson had gone missing from her Modesto CA home on Christmas Eve day 2002. After a cursory investigation authorities had their eyes on her husband scott. This week we'll see how a pair of burglars with the worst luck in the world threw this…

On Christmas Eve morning 2002 Scott Peterson said goodbye to his pregnant wife Laci, got in his car and left to go golfing. When he returned home late that afternoon Laci was gone. Friends and family members leapt into action furiously trying to find Laci. Little did they know that they would find themselves launched into a horrifying media circus.…

OH MAN! IT'S FRIDAY THE 13TH!! Remember last year when Leslie had just had her baby so she sent her husband, our composer and editor, Jon, in to take her place?! If you don't, well lucky you, because we are rebroadcasting our Friday the 13th episode that Holly and Jon recorded on 10.13.23. And if you do remember, well you get to enjoy twice!!! Jon'…

It's a Lesliesode!!! This week's double sized TLDR takes you through the murders of Emily Hoffert & Janice Wylie, deemed the Career Girls Murder. It's a windy, twisty road that finally leads us to justice - but not without really f-ing up first. Click To Learn More https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/08/29/89957611.pdf?pdf_redirect=t…

Shortly after midnight on May 14, 2008, 19 year old Brandon Swanson left a going away party for a friend. He started off on the half hour drive home to his parents house in Marshall Minnesota, taking back roads through dark cornfields when he found himself in unfamiliar territory. Brandon tried to turn his car around but ended up stuck off the road…

This week's super sized TLDR takes you through the complicated, one sided love story of Anna Stubblefield and Derrick Johnson. It's the story that inspired the much talked about Netflix Documentary: Tell Them You Love Me. Click To Learn More Click here to watch "Tell Them You Love Me" on Netflix WWBD Merch Buy your WWBD swag here! Join the Conversa…

Mitchell County Iowa, July 12th 2021, 5:27 PM. A local girl was taking a walk down the Greenbelt River Trail when something strange and terrifying caught her attention. She looked once, rubbed her eyes thinking she must be seeing things, and then looked again. Upon further inspection it was clear that no she wasn't seeing things, there among the lu…

Happy Pride Fiends! Alright we know it's July, but we had one more pride episode on the books so we're giving it to you anyway. This one is for the musical theater fans! Before The stonewall there was the Edorado Cabaret, a german, multi locational, enlightened, anything goes wonderland where liberation was was abundant. We have learned that you ca…

Happy Pride Fiends! WWBD whole heartedly supports the LGBTQ+ community and so, we decided that it was time we covered the event that launched what we know today as Pride, The Stonewall Uprising. As we all know, Pride was first and foremost a protest, but the events that lead up to that protest might just surprise you. Click To Learn More https://ww…

Happy Halfoween fiends! It's time once again to brin you stories that explore our deepest, darkest, squirmiest fears! Join Holly, Leslie and fiend favorite John Rattacasa as they bring you a smorgasbord of scary stories. WWBD Merch Buy your WWBD swag here! Join the ConversationΑπό τον We Would Be Dead

WEEKLY CONTENT IS BACK! Ever wish you knew more about the cases the rest of the world has analyzed without you? Often, when cases are fully developed and researched, there's just too much information to take in at once. It can be overwhelming! Don't worry, you've come to the right place. Welcome to Case File TLDR! Every other week we'll provide and…

On April 12, 2018, 43 year old Steven Walter Pladl, murdered his father in law Tony, His infant son Bennet and his 20 year old wife Katie, then called her mother, told her to notify the police, and turned the gun on himself. Days prior to this horrific event Stephen's wife Katie had ended their brief marriage by way of a phone call and Stephen, it …

In 1937 Pin up party girl Veronica Gedeon was a fixture in the pages of many true crime magazines. Her blond hair, bright eyes and slender figure were sure to sell more copies of whatever pulp periodical cover she graced on any given week that all of its competitors combined. So, when Veronica was discovered nude and strangled to death on the bed o…

Welcome to our live game of Irish True Crime Roulette! This year's St. Patrick's Day livestream featured 3 classic Irish true crime stories from the book Foster's Book of Irish Murder. All three were picked at random, live, with the help of our fiends, and as usual feature some lively color commentary. We are happy to bring you "One Sock" read by L…

It's our Irish episode fiends, and boy did we find an eerie tale this year! Just before Christmas in 1835 the British merchant ship, The Angerona, was on it's way from Newfoundland to Teignmouth when the captain spotted something strange. Off in the distance he saw a large vessel, ravaged by a storm, with no masts. Normally this would have signifie…

On November 3rd 2018, 40 year old Tamla Horsford of Cumming Georgia, attended a birthday party with nine fellow football moms. The party took place at Jeanne Meyers' Spacious 6 bedroom home in a well to do local subdivision called Quail Hollow. Since there would be alcohol at the party, everyone was invited to stay the night, everyone meaning nine …

On February 12th 1971, young lovers Patricia Mann and Jesse McBane attended a Valentines day dance, they left at approximately 11:30 PM to go parking and never returned. The next morning's Jesse's car was discovered but there was no sign of him or Patricia anywhere. After two weeks of searching their bodies were found 3.9 miles away from their car.…

On April 1st 2014, Dutch Students Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon hiked into the Panamanian cloud forest and never returned. Months later all that authorities would find of were a few scattered bones, a pair of shorts, and a backpack containing their cell phones and a digital camera. The story that camera told was nothing short of an ambiguous night…

This episode is a special one fiends, We decided to give you a little peek inside something new we're doing! Welcome to the first meeting of Let's Talk Docs, our patrons only true crime documentary discussion club! Once a month we'll be discussing a true crime documentary via live stream and our patrons will be invited to participate. We'd like the…

This week, we are releasing a special episode where we discuss the new Max documentary, Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God. In preparation for that episode, we are rebroadcasting our coverage of the Love Has Won cult for you all to catch up on! And if you haven't already, go watch the documentary, and then listen to Holly and Leslie have some fee…

Whether they’re singing of Silver and Gold, Holding the ghost of your dead father, dreaming of summer or running here and there all around the square saying catch me if you can, The snowman has become an enduring symbol of wintertime holidays. But, as you might have guessed, snowmen weren't always the jolly happy souls we know and love today. The h…

*This is a part 2, so if you haven't listened to part one, do so now* In this Part of the strange saga of the Blanchard women we take a in depth look at the copious medical disorders Dee Dee claimed Gypsy had, and the treatments she suffered because of them. We follow the thin pathway of logic Dee Dee used to convince doctors of Gypsy's imaginary a…

Community darling Dee Dee Blanchard had been through it all, divorce, abuse, poverty and a medically complicated child who required too many procedures to count. To top it all off Dee Dee and her young daughter Gypsy Rose lost their home and all their belongings during hurricane Katrina, so when habitat for humanity built them a beautiful little ho…

A whirlwind romance, a handsome stranger, a mysterious death, and a ghost that solves her own murder? It's no wonder the legend of the Greenbrier Ghost is one of America's most beloved ghost stories. This week we explore the many things in this time honored tale that have been lost in translation for over a century. If you think you know this story…

Leslie's Back! Just under the wire we bring you a game of true or false crime! See if you can guess if these two compelling and widely told stories are truly true crime or false felonies. Happy Halloween! Click to learn more Validate Us: WWBD Merch Shop Buy us a cup of validation WWBD Official Soundtrack, Vol. 1 WWBD Official Soundtrack, Vol. 2 Sha…

Leslie is still on Maternity Leave so this week we bring you an episode on Holly's favorite topic, poison, with one of her favorite people, frequent campfire guest and all around friend of WWBD; John Rattacasa! John has his very own poison garden with all of the rarest and deadliest plants in the world. Holly and John talk all things botanical pois…

Hey there fiends, Leslie is taking a little time off to be the cutest and spookiest new mom in all the land, which means...(imagine a drum roll) guest hosts! Happy Friday the 13th! This week in honor of this the luckiest unlucky of all days we brought our editor and composer Jon Katity on to help tell the story of the horrific murder of Sharon Greg…

Hey there fiends, Leslie is taking a little time off to be the cutest and spookiest new mom in all the land, which means...(imagine a drum roll) guest hosts! This week we bring you several tales of homegrown horror from our friend and previous guest, author Jesse Pollack. Jesse is a contributing columnist for Weird New Jersey and co authored the de…

As lovers of information Holly and Leslie frequently fall down "rabbit holes" while researching cases for you. Sometimes they're newsworthy, sometimes they're silly, sometimes they're suggestions from you and sometimes they're just plain weird. No matter which rabbit hole they fall down, they all have one thing in common, they're interesting enough…

In the very pre daylight hours of February 23rd 2022 Tara Pakanich heard the storm door to her basement close. Tara's 24 year old son, Shad Thyrion was staying with her at the time in that very basment, and had been entertaining an old friend, a woman named Taylor Schabusiness. Tara upon hearing the door close, wondered if they'd both left, or just…

This week WWBD took a little break - Holly needed some much needed rest, and Leslie and Jon were moving their son into college! So the team needed a moment and we thought, why not go into the vault and pull out an originally patron only episode of 30 minute horror movies for you all to enjoy! This week we bring you, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter. It'…

This week we are talking about a case that has been touted as Utah’s most famous unsolved murder. Trigger warning: this one is about a child and there is mention of sexual assault. At 5 am on August 13th 1995, Lewine Tapia woke from a sound sleep with a start. The house appeared to be still and silent, her husband was peacefully sleeping next to he…

You may know this case as the Heavenly Creatures murder.... The world we inhabit is an ever changing place, one lifetime can contain many lives if we’re lucky. This is the story of two women: rural riding instructor Hilary Nathan and internationally famous novelist, Anne Perry, who once lived as two completely different people. Anne grew up as a ri…

You may know this case as the Heavenly Creatures murder.... The world we inhabit is an ever changing place, one lifetime can contain many lives if we’re lucky. This is the story of two women: rural riding instructor Hilary Nathan and internationally famous novelist, Anne Perry, who once lived as two completely different people. Anne grew up as a ri…

Many of you will know this case will be simply known as the murder of ultra famous, incredibly rich, Italian Fashion designer and icon Gianni Versace, but there is ever so much more to it than that. For a case that is so widely covered we were stunned to learn that we barely knew it at all. Spree killer Andrew Cunanan killed 4 men in the two months…

Newark NJ can be a difficult place to grow up in. The crime rate is high, the income rate is low and gun violence is not an uncommon sight. Fortunately Newark has seen improvements in the last 20 years but in in 2003, when Sakia Gunn and her friends walked the litter lined streets, Newark was one of the scariest places on the east coast. A young bl…

In this campfire re-do Holly takes us back to the Regency Era and tells the very bloody story of The Ratcliff Highway Murders. It was too good not to do on a main episode! You can hear the original campfire stories over on our Patreon if you are a subscriber - if you are not a subscriber, head on over to our Patreon and become one! The date was Feb…

Nowhere will you find more opportunities for disaster, than on spring break. A place with beautiful warm weather, water, and copious amounts of alcohol that attracts thousands of young adults every year. Spring break destinations have disproportionately high rates of human trafficking , DUI deaths, and incidents of alcohol poisoning, rape and illic…