Serial Killers

He was never caught. So why did Jack the Ripper stop killing? In the finale, Greg, Vanessa, Carter, and Wenndy follow the years-long search for Jack the Ripper, ranging from bloodhound trials to DNA testing. Then our hosts discuss Jack’s last victims, his pop culture influence, and a few major suspects; finally pinpointing the person they believe was Jack the Ripper.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the first serial killers to write letters to the authorities, Jack the Ripper’s mail was memorable, to say the least. Our resident Ripperologists examine Jack’s odd correspondence and determine which letters were fakes and which were truly penned by the Ripper. They also examine the “Double Event” murders and how sensational journalism and media coverage influences active killers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He's the world's most famous killer. But how could a series of crimes committed in a few weeks in 1888 still be so famous nearly 130 years after the fact? In the first episode of this special series, Unsolved Murders Hosts Carter and Wenndy join Serial Killers hosts Greg and Vanessa to explore the most infamous anonymous killer the world has ever known: Jack the Ripper.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the case of the Lethal Lovers, Gwen Graham was charged with five murders, and Cathy Wood charged as her accomplice. But was that truly their relationship, or was Cathy blackmailing Gwen to use her as a scapegoat? Greg and Vanessa piece through the lies to discover who was really culpable in the Alpine Manor killings- Gwen Graham, Cathy Wood, or both women?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After meeting at Alpine Manor in Michigan, nurses’ aides Gwen Graham and Cathy Wood began a romantic relationship that eventually earned them the nickname “The Lethal Lovers.” Motivated by dark erotophonophilia, Graham and Wood’s dangerous “pranks” soon escalated to what they dubbed “The Murder Game”.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bible John left gruesomely specific crime scenes. This week, Greg and Vanessa scrutinize this killer’s disturbing methods for any semblance of meaning. Were the kills sadistic, predatory, or spurred by rage at encountering an “unclean” menstruating woman? And how, despite the fact that the Glasgow police interviewed over 20,000 people, did Bible John evade capture?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom was meant to be a place for people to dance and enjoy themselves. Instead, Bible John, one of Scotland’s most infamous serial killers, used the dance hall as a hunting ground. Vanessa and Greg investigate the motives of this mysterious murderer who may have used the Bible as justification to target menstruating woman.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles Cullen was one of the deadliest serial killers in American history. As a nurse, he went from hospital to hospital, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Greg and Vanessa investigate how the New Jersey hospitals that employed the killer nurse ignored evidence of his murders. Yet despite the mounting deaths, the one person capable of bringing Cullen to justice was his only friend.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nurses are trained to save lives. But this nurse killed. Charles Cullen overdosed his elderly patients on digoxin and insulin, passing off over 40 deaths as natural before authorities finally got involved. Greg and Vanessa examine how Cullen’s depression, feelings of victimhood and drug abuse led him to abuse drugs on others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A fire rages at black widow Belle Gunness's murder farm, where her many victims lie buried below her hog pen. After deputies find a headless woman's body in the ashes, authorities believe that Belle was murdered by her jealous farmhand. But Greg and Vanessa think that’s exactly what Belle wanted them to believe. Why would a serial killer fake her own death? And what would drive her to do so? Greg and Vanessa investigate.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Norwegian immigrant Belle Gunness was one of America's deadliest black widows. Suitors answering her personal ads seeking romance found themselves at the wrong end of Belle's meat cleaver. Join Greg and Vanessa as they investigate the motives behind Belle's prolific murders. Was early-life trauma to blame? Or did simple greed drive Belle to kill? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What makes someone evil? And how evil is Gary Ridgway, serial killer and necrophiliac? Greg and Vanessa discuss Ridgway’s sex addiction, how he lured his victims, and the great lengths he went to in order to evade the police for nearly twenty years.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Struggling with a low IQ, Gary Ridgway always wanted to be the best at just one thing. That one thing turned out to be serial murder. The most prolific American serial killer, Ridgway claims to have killed almost eighty women. Greg and Vanessa discuss the formative events and possible Oedipal complex behind the Green River Killer.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Behind the cheerful demeanor of a sweet southern grandma, lurked a vicious killer. Nannie Doss poisoned her husbands, killed her children, and even went after her own mother. This week, Greg explores Nannie’s use of the lonely hearts columns to find victims, and Vanessa examines how social conformity and societal norms helped this killer fly under the radar for so long. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“The Giggling Granny”, Nannie Doss’ home cooked meals were served with a side of poison. Was she suffering from Munchausen-by-Proxy, or did she just feel trapped by mid-20th century society? Greg and Vanessa examine how a troubled childhood, brain damage, and an abusive husband led this killer to snap and go after everyone who was closest to her.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lonnie Franklin Jr. offered rides to Los Angeles women, only to kill them, photograph them, and leave their bodies to be found like trash on the street. “The Grim Sleeper” had a deep-seated need to degrade women, ending at least ten lives before new breaks in forensic technology helped the police to catch him. Greg and Vanessa discuss Franklin’s change in MO, his police interrogation, and the remaining task of identifying the unknown women in his Polaroids. Join us after the episode for an exclusive interview with Hart Hanson, creator of the TV series BONES. We’ll talk about his new crime novel, The Driver.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He targeted and killed multiple women in the 1980’s; then mysteriously disappeared. Fourteen years later, he started killing again. Why would he stop? And why, after so long, would he come back? Greg and Vanessa examine what made “The Grim Sleeper” different from other serial killers operating in the area at the same time, as well as the psychology behind his “trophies.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lust killer who dreamed to be known as an outlaw, Paul John Knowles sought infamy. He was so desperate to be remembered; he recorded his own confession to multiple murders while still a free man, and shared the tapes with his lawyer. Knowles killed indiscriminately, occasionally allowing writers to live—so they could chronicle his story. This week, Greg and Vanessa follow Knowles’ cross-country murder spree to its shoot-out conclusion.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He had no pattern. No victim type. No consistent MO. And he killed across the country. Nicknamed the “Casanova Killer” for his good looks, Paul John Knowles confounded the police. Greg and Vanessa dig into Knowles troubled childhood and disrespect for authority, then try to unpack a confusing man who described himself as both Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Bonnie and Clyde.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“The Boogey Man”, AKA Albert Fish, attacked over 100 children, many of them unidentified. A traumatic childhood created a twisted old man, tormented by religious delusions and sick sexual fantasies. Greg and Vanessa explore the kidnapping and murder of Grace Budd, which led to Fish’s downfall, his shocking confessions, and his eventual execution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices