Mind of a Monster: The Hollywood Ripper

In the remote mountains of north-west Washington, Israel Keyes splits his time between taking care of his young family and hunting for victims. When he travels to visit family members in other states, The Cross-Country Killer discovers fresh hunting grounds and develops new methods of killing in secret. Increasingly emboldened, his murder spree culminates in a horrendous attack on a suburban couple.  Speaking with witnesses and detectives, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates how Keyes perfects his MO – and then deviates from it in search of sustaining the adrenaline high.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season eight of Mind of a Monster begins in the wild and remote city of Anchorage, Alaska where Israel Keyes is being questioned about the abduction of a young woman. Unearthing information from his childhood, we find he was reared in the woods learning survivalist skills that primed him for his future killings. Showing early signs of disturbing  behavior, Israel hones his skills and attempts his first kill as a young man.  Speaking to childhood friends and detectives, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates the pivotal moment that saw Israel Keyes shift from troubled child to killer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Gilbert’s reign of terror has ended but the trials have just begun.  She is tried for the bomb threats, tried for the murder of multiple patients and in a unique and shocking turn of events, faces the death penalty – a capital punishment that had not been administered in Massachusetts for 50 years.  Damning testimonies are heard and the eyes of the victim’s families watch on hoping that they receive justice for their deceased loved ones.   Speaking with the prosecutor, journalists, detectives, experts, witnesses and the victims' families, Dr. Michelle Ward uncovers Kristen Gilbert’s fate.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen’s colleagues come forward with their concerns over the suspicious deaths on Ward C, and an investigation gets underway. Kristen quickly catches wind that something is up, but rather than staying under the radar, her behavior becomes increasingly erratic and altogether frightening. But it’s in a phone call to her lover that everything changes. Dr. Michelle Ward discusses Kristen’s reaction to the investigation with psychologists, as well as detectives, prosecutors and other witnesses on the scene to learn more about how authorities finally start to explore these mysterious deaths on Ward C. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Gilbert has had her first taste in what it’s like to harm someone in her care.  Her thirst grows when the newlywed mom gets her first nursing job at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Massachusetts.  It's a hospital filled with vulnerable patients giving her the opportunity to test the limits of her medical power of controlling life and death with access to all sorts of powerful chemicals. Dr. Michelle Ward explores how Kristen Gilbert commits her first kills to gain attention from her colleagues and secret lover, who are unaware that she is responsible for the patient’s death. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1990s Northampton, Massachusetts: a picturesque city known for being home to one of the largest Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the US. It's the last place anyone would imagine a serial killer to walk the hallways, but the very person responsible for keeping these war heroes alive, their nurse, is secretly killing them.  In this 6-part series, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates the case of one of the US's most prolific, but not widely known, serial killers. She'll talk to families of the victims, colleagues of the perpetrator, criminology experts and detectives from the case, uncovering testimonies and confessions, trial transcripts and news reports, all to reveal who was responsible for the rise in deaths on Ward C. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We bring the series to a close with a special episode dedicated to the story of Cindy Paulson, the 17-year-old sex worker who turned the entire Hansen case around. In 40 years, Cindy has never spoken in public about her experience. Now we fly to meet her for an exclusive interview. We talk about her childhood and what led her into sex work, we hear her side of Hansen’s attack and the police’s subsequent negligence. We learn how she began to trust Glenn Flothe, and where she disappeared to. We end on the impact these events had on her life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a fall day in 1983, the police tear apart Robert Hansen’s home in search of evidence connecting him to the murders of two dancers, but all they’ve found is a few flight maps. In an interview room across town, Sergeant Glenn Flothe has his man in front of him, but he’s telling the same old stories. However, as the search turns and Flothe starts to build a concrete case, his key witness, 17-year-old sex worker Cindy Paulsen, disappears into the Anchorage nightlife scene. Hansen has slipped through their net countless times before. Will this be the last?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.