Dark and Devious

Patrick is out this week with an injury so Chris is tackling a heavy hitter solo this time around. Ed Gein, who fashioned strange handicrafts from the skin of his victims is one of the most bizarre and legendary tales from the history of true crime. In the wake of the Ryan Murphy series "Monster" that dramatizes the life of Ed Gein that came out in 2025, this is a summary look at the whole story. The source for this episode was "Deviant" by Harold Schechter.

Pier Paolo Pasolini, the celebrated and controversial Italian film director, was murdered 50 years ago this month and the case is still unsolved. We 'll dive into Pasolini's past and try to piece together how his early demise came together.

For many generations the General Wayne Inn in Marion, Pennsylvania was a place to gather together, but is it possible some of the former guests didn't care to leave? This location that opened at the dawn of the 18th century also bore witness to a murder at the end of the 20th century. Check out this episode that has a balance of supernatural encounters as well as a real life murder.

Anna Marie Hahn at first glance seems like an angel. She rained her affections on her elderly acquaintances in 1930s Cincinnati. But her sweetness came with a price that multiple people would pay over the course of the decade. Anna was no angel, when it came down to it, she was a devil who cruelly used poison as her M.O. and stole everything of value from her victims.

In January of 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman went on a bike ride with her brother around her neighborhood in Arlington, Texas, but she never returned. Amber's tragic abduction and murder, however, inspired a national response system for missing children that has reunited more than a thousand children with their families thanks to public awareness. The AMBER Alert is a tribute to her in the hopes that one day no child will go missing again.

On November 27, 1928 in the quiet small town of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania Nelson Rehmeyer welcomed three guests into his home including his former farmhand. However, this was no friendly visit. Each man accused Rehmeyer of putting a hex on them and they wanted it lifted by any means necessary.

We're finally back for 2025 and we're kicking off this new year with a Minnesota classic! In June of 1977, wealthy heiress, Elizabeth Congdon and her nurse, Velma Pietila were murdered in the iconic Glensheen Mansion on the shore of Lake Superior. The shocking murders became headline news and the truly devious plot became the stuff of local true crime legend.

On August 7, 1985, the well-to-do Bamber family of Tolleshunt D'Arcy in Essex, UK was found murdered in their family home. The only family member left alive was the son, Jeremy Bamber, who was left with the grief of losing his parents, his sister, and his two nephews. But in the period after the murders suspicion soon fell upon Jeremy. This is a classic case of not everything is as it appears.

It seemed like an easy enough case; a young woman, partying a little too hard, drinks too much and ends up dead. But the case of Kenneka Jenkins has far too many unanswered questions to have such a simple explanation be the complete truth. The Dark and Devious Duo explore several of the theories that might explain the death of the 19-year-old woman who was found in the walk-in freezer of a hotel she had been partying in.

Austin, Texas in 1991 seemed to be an idyllic place to raise a family; a mid-size, cosmopolitan city with a relatively low crime rate. But that image was shattered when four teenage girls lives were taken under strange and suspicious circumstances. This is the unsolved case of the deaths of Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison, Eliza Thomas, and Amy Ayers. If you have any information on this cold case you can call in a tip to 512-472-TIPS.

In 1924, Chicago was shook by the disappearance of 14-year-old Bobby Franks from his well-to-do south side neighborhood; but what was even more shocking was who took him, what they did, and why. Bobby's cousin, Richard Loeb, and his companion, Nathan Leopold, two intellectual college boys from prominent families, kidnapped the boy and murdered him for the thrill of it. The resulting trial was a media sensation and their actions were dubbed the "Crime of the Century." Tune in and find out how two teenage boys went from school yard chums to partners in crime.

In the 1920s the Osage Tribe in Oklahoma was one of the wealthiest groups of people in the world. They were making millions from the booming oil industry when the average worker took home about $3,200 a year.  But the extreme wealth acquired by the Osage people made them prime targets for sinister plots orchestrated by those who hoped to line their own pockets. For the better part of a decade, tribe members were poisoned, shot, or even blown up in hopes of cashing in on their demise. When local officials found themselves unable to bring about justice the Federal Government sent agents to solve the killings. The sensational case pitted the network of agents against a deadly web of outlaws, and it will no doubt shock you as to who the perpetrators were.