Residue: A True Crime Podcast

The Bling Ring is based on the true story of a group of Los Angeles teenagers who burglarized the homes of celebrities including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Patridge, and Orlando Bloom between 2008 and 2009. Driven by an obsession with fame, fashion, and celebrity culture, they stole millions of dollars' worth of luxury items before eventually being caught by police. Sofia Coppola's 2013 film explores not only the crimes themselves, but the culture of celebrity worship that inspired them. SOURCES:The Real Bling Ring: Hollywood Heist https://nypost.com/2023/09/30/bling-ring-leader-rachel-lee-reveals-what-fueled-celeb-crimes/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/erin-lee-carr-ringleader-case-bling-ring-rachel-lee-1235737937/https://www.etonline.com/rachel-bilson-confronts-bling-ring-member-gabby-neiers-years-after-she-robbed-her-192522

In this episode, we dive into the glitter-soaked rise and catastrophic fall of New York City’s infamous Club Kid scene, as portrayed in the film Party Monster. But beyond the tabloid-fueled fame lies a far darker true story — the murder of Andre "Angel" Melendez. We explore how Michael Alig, once a self-proclaimed king of nightlife, built a celebrity persona in the early ’90s underground party world alongside figures like James St. James. Fueled by fame, excess, and escalating drug use, the scene spiraled into chaos culminating in Andre "Angel" Melendez’s brutal killing in 1996. Sources:Party Monster by James St. JamesGlory Daze: The Life and Times of Michael Alig https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/michael-alig-dead-club-kid-party-monster-1107737/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Melendez

In this episode, we unpack the story behind Abducted Off the Street: The Carlesha Gaither Story and the real-life survival of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither. On November 2, 2014, Carlesha was abducted while walking home in Philadelphia, a crime that was partially caught on surveillance footage and sparked a desperate search. Through the Lifetime film, viewers are taken inside the fear, resilience, and quick thinking that defined those terrifying days — including Carlesha’s bravery in leaving behind clues for detectives after she was taken. Sources:Abducted Off the Street: The Carlesha Gaither Storyhttps://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-philadelphia-abduction-found-alive-police/story?id=26706205https://www.aetv.com/articles/carlesha-gaither-abductionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQ-oME48Pd4https://www.npr.org/2021/09/24/1040048967/missing-black-women-girls-left-out-media-ignored#:~:text=The%20media%20ignores%20missing%20Black,of%20the%20overall%20female%20population.

The true story behind The Girl From Plainville, the chilling real-life case that sparked national debate about responsibility, mental health, and the power of words. In 2014, 18-year-old Conrad Roy III died by suicide in a Massachusetts parking lot. In the months leading up to his death, Roy had been in an intense, mostly digital relationship with 17-year-old Michelle Carter — a relationship later revealed through thousands of text messages. Prosecutors argued that Carter’s messages didn’t just witness Roy’s struggles, but actively encouraged his death, including a final phone call in which she told him to get back into his carbon-monoxide-filled truck. Carter’s eventual conviction for involuntary manslaughter raised unprecedented legal and ethical questions: Can someone be held criminally responsible for another person’s suicide? We explore the facts of the case, the court’s controversial ruling, and how this tragedy continues to shape conversations around mental health in the digital age. Sources: Dateline:Reckless Michelle Carter: Love, Texts, and Death https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a37499262/where-is-michelle-carter-now-texting-suicide/ https://www.masslive.com/politics/2022/03/conrads-law-bill-created-after-michelle-carter-texting-suicide-case-still-not-passed-case-gets-looked-at-through-new-lens-of-hulus-the-girl-from-plainville.html https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Conrad_Roy

This podcast episode explores the tragic true story of Nick Markowitz, a 15-year-old boy whose life was taken after being used as leverage in a reckless dispute that spiraled out of control. When a conflict involving his older half-brother and a local drug dealer escalates, Nick is pulled into a situation he had no part in creating. What starts as a misguided attempt to intimidate someone quickly becomes a tragedy driven by fear, ego, and the inability of the adults involved to stop what they started. The episode also examines how this case entered popular culture through the 2006 film Alpha Dog. While the movie brought national attention to the crime, it also raised difficult questions about storytelling, responsibility, and whose perspective gets remembered. We compare the film’s portrayal of events with the real case, including criticism from Nick’s mother, Susan Markowitz, who later wrote My Stolen Son to reclaim her child’s story from sensationalized narratives. Sources: My Stolen Son: The Nick Markowitz Story by Susan Markowitz w/ Jenna Glatzer https://allthatsinteresting.com/nicholas-markowitz Alpha Dog https://allthatsinteresting.com/jesse-james-hollywood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Dog https://www.independent.com/2009/06/21/witness-rundown-hollywood-trial/ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-01-me-64254-story.html https://www.independent.com/2009/06/10/ben-markowitz-on-stand/