About this episode

The episode introduces the mysterious circumstances surrounding John and Ann Bender's lavish mansion and wildlife sanctuary in Costa Rica.

A jungle compound. A midnight emergency call. The mystery begins. At the centre of it all: John and Ann Bender. Young, brilliant and impossibly rich, they set out to build a vast mansion and wildlife sanctuary in the Costa Rican rainforest. But something is off. Not everything in paradise is what it seems.   Hell in Heaven is a production of Exactly Right Media and iHeart Podcasts, produced by Blanchard House.   From Blanchard House Hosted, Written and Produced by: Becky Milligan Co-Writer and Producer: Poppy Damon Original Music: Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis Nanke-Mannell and Toby Matimong Sound Recordist, and Head of Sound and Music: Daniel Lloyd-Evans Lead Sound Designer: Volkan Kiziltug Managing Producer: Amica Sciortino Nowlan Creative Director: Rosie Pye Executive Producer and Head of Content: Laurence Grissell   From Exactly Right Artwork: Vanessa Lilak Executive Producers: Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark and Danielle Kramer Consulting Producer: Lily Ladewig Associate Producer: Jay Elias   From iHeart Podcasts Executive Producers: Katrina Norvell, Anna Stumpf and Nikki Ettore See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Hosts: Becky Milligan, Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark

Topics covered

• mystery
• true crime
• Costa Rica
• wealth
• secrets
• wildlife sanctuary

Keywords

• mystery
• Costa Rica
• Bender
• wealth
• jungle
• secrets
• wildlife sanctuary

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Exactly Right Media, iHeart Podcasts

More episodes of Hell in Heaven: A Mysterious Death in Paradise

• Introducing Two-Faced: John of God · January 28, 2026 · 3 min
• Hell in Heaven - 8: At Last · November 20, 2025 · 45 min
• Hell in Heaven - 7: A Second Chance · November 13, 2025 · 35 min
• Hell in Heaven - 6: The Folly of Two · November 6, 2025 · 33 min
• Hell in Heaven - 5: The Night Of · October 30, 2025 · 35 min
• Hell in Heaven - 4: A Beautiful Mind · October 23, 2025 · 41 min

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