28 JUN 2024 · I'm not going to try and do his voice because it'd tear my throat up, but Hollywood legend Jack Palance once said, "The only two things you can truly depend upon are gravity and greed." Greed has been a motivation in more true crime cases than I can count, and it's astonishing how a grasping desire for dollars and cents can twist the human heart. It can drive someone to acts of both chilling cruelty and jaw-dropping stupidity, and in this week's case we get both. Join us for a bizarre true story of a heartless murder for hire that took 11 long years to solve.  Sources: Court papers: https://casetext.com/case/cooke-v-gang Court papers: https://www.mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/unreported-opinions/0815s23.pdf Interrogation footage from the interrogations of Alexander Bennett and Grant Lewis NBC's Dateline, episode "Indiscretion" Investigation Discovery's True Crime with Aphrodite Jones, episode "Discreet House Cleaning" Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

21 JUN 2024 · Almost everyone who walks into a casino feeling confident that they’re gonna walk out richer is what is technically known as “a sucker.” Every game you play at a casino gives the house an edge. Not much of one—otherwise, why would people play? Players have to win a decent portion of the time, that’s why they keep putting their money down on the table. But behind the glitz and glamour, casinos run on cold mathematical certainty. Over the long term, over hundreds of hands of cards and rolls of the dice and spins of the wheel, the house ultimately always wins.  But what if they didn’t? What if people, through brainpower and daring, managed to beat the odds and come out on top? It’s a tantalizing thought—and for the people in these three stories, it was too tempting to pass up. Sources:  https://www.888casino.com/blog/famous-mit-team-members BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27519748 Esquire: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a37016468/heather-tallchief-roberto-solis-heist-netflix-now/ NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9766179 Boston Magazine: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/2019/06/21/mit-blackjack-team/ NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/us/fugitive-in-armored-car-theft-gives-up-after-12-years.html New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428644-500-roulette-beater-spills-physics-behind-victory/ Science Alert: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-physicist-has-built-a-machine-that-can-beat-the-odds-at-roulette Justice.gov: https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nv/news/2006/03302006.html http://www.richardmunchkin.com/2011/08/my-interview-with-john-laurie-c-mit.html Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/heist-netflix-heather-tallchief-roberto-solis-true-story-facts-documentary-1610361 Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

14 JUN 2024 · Our homes are meant to be where we feel the safest, so it makes sense that there’s an entire horror movie subgenre dedicated to home invasions. The Strangers, Panic Room, Funny Games, When a Stranger Calls, even Jordan Peele’s Us. All those movies play on the innate fear we have that our most peaceful area would be disturbed by those that would do us harm. Unfortunately, there are people out there that would do us harm just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today, we’re finishing one of those stories. Join us for part 2 of the story of the Dartmouth Murders. Sources: Judgment Ridge by Lehr and Zuckoff Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

7 JUN 2024 · Schopenhauer wrote, “Fate shuffles the cards, and we play.” Every day, every decision we make sparks a chain reaction of others, leading us down a particular path. And with every choice, a universe of other un-choices spins away behind us, forgotten. We all like to think we’re the master of our own destiny, but sometimes…we fall to the whims of chance instead. This is one of those stories—of two boys whose monster egos sent them down a path of destruction, and two innocent victims whose only crime was being there. Sources: Judgment Ridge by Lehr and Zuckoff Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

31 MAY 2024 · We tend to think of doctors as leading pretty cushy, privileged lives—lots of money, social status, and respect. But a dark trend has been developing in recent years, and it’s only getting worse. Increasingly, doctors are experiencing violence at the hands of their patients. Sometimes it’s a verbal threat, a push or a shove. Sometimes it’s stalking. And sometimes, it’s murder. This is one of those stories, about a woman whose obsession with physical perfection led her to an unimaginable act.  Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796 "June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 Sources: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2015/03/08/dr-michael-davidson-died-as-he-lived-saving-others/?sh=176e90165e12 Oxygen's "Snapped," episode "Theresa Ramirez" Dr. Joni Johnston: https://medium.com/crimebeat/the-ugly-truth-behind-the-murder-of-dr-paul-tavis-e5ad525c88ba SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/disgruntled-patients-hazardous-to-health-3069418.php  MDLinx: https://www.mdlinx.com/exclusive/unsafe-haven-the-rise-of-violence-against-physicians-in-the-workplace/LyJwbDwQgHps1wJ00QYYn Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

24 MAY 2024 · It’s not unusual or unhealthy to go a little wild when you’re young—to just go looking for a good time with little thought for the consequences. It’s just how human beings are made. But if you’re like that your whole life, relentlessly looking out for your own pleasures and barely aware of the damage you cause along the way, you’re likely to land yourself and everyone around you in a whole mess of trouble. Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796 "June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 Sources: “Deadly Seduction” by Wensley Clarkson Court papers: https://law.justia.com/cases/indiana/supreme-court/1996/52s00-9408-cr-00725-4.html Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

17 MAY 2024 · There’s an old saying: A gilded cage is still a cage. Meaning, you can be in what looks like an enviable situation—all your needs met, plenty of pretty toys to entertain you—and still feel like you’re in prison. The human soul doesn’t take well to being kept in a box, no matter how nice the box may be. There’s a pull toward freedom, even if you have to risk everything to answer it. This is the story of one of the strangest murder cases in American history—a 1920s true Hollywood story about what can happen when a pretty pet gets restless and starts looking for a way to stretch its wings.  Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796 "June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 Sources: "The Man in the Attic" by Denise Noe, CrimeLibrary.com LAist: "The Murderous Lover Who Lived In A Silver Lake Attic. A True Story" by John Rabe  Investigation Discovery's "A Crime to Remember," episode "Guess Who" Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

10 MAY 2024 · Romantic jealousy is, for the most part, fundamental to the human experience, one of the uglier strands in the tangled mess that makes up a heart. Some people manage to overcome it completely, most of us will be familiar with the occasional hot stab of possessiveness. And some people will let jealousy consume them like a wildfire. If that person is also broken in a hundred other ways, then chances are, somebody’s gonna get hurt. Join us for a story of stalking, rage, betrayal and double murder.  Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796 "June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 Sources: Paula May, “First Degree Rage” Paula May, “Raging On” Investigation Discovery's "Dead of Winter," episode “Cold Blue” https://www.wataugademocrat.com/news/convicted-felon-former-officer-dies-while-serving-sentence-for-25-year-old-murder/article_122572e8-7598-58ce-b4ee-8d36d0f5f428.html Court papers: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/nc-court-of-appeals/1435151.html Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

3 MAY 2024 · In Dostoevsky’s book Crime and Punishment, the character Raskolnikov says, “All people seem to be divided into 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary'. The ordinary people must lead a life of strict obedience and have no right to transgress the law because they are ordinary. Whereas the extraordinary people have the right to commit any crime they like…just because they happen to be extraordinary.” Spoken like a true psychopath, my dude. It probably won’t surprise you to hear that Raskolnikov murders an old woman in that book—not just for the money, but to prove to himself how “extraordinary” he is. That the rules most of us abide by aren’t for him. Today’s case is about a modern-day Raskolnikov—a self-proclaimed intellectual whose grandiose narcissism hid a deep well of rage and insecurity, and led him to not only commit a brutal murder, but to tell us all about it on his blog.  Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796 "June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 Sources: The New Yorker, David Grann: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/02/11/true-crime Taipei Times: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/09/23/2003380130 The Guardian, Elizabeth Day: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/16/crimebooks.features Sky TV's "Killers: Behind the Myth," episode "Bala: The Novel Killer" Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/

19 APR 2024 · We've talked about a lot of notorious criminals here on True Crime Campfire, but do you think any of today's villains will still be widely known in three-hundred years? Will their names be known to almost everyone, and conjure up vivid if not exactly accurate images of a time long past? The subject of this week's story is a man whose brief but spectacular criminal career wrote him a place in history—not to mention on the hit TV show “Our Flag Means Death.” Time for some true crime on the high seas! Download the game "June's Journey" on Apple iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/junes-journey-hidden-objects/id1200391796 "June's Journey" on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.wooga.junes_journey_hidden_object_mystery_game&hl=en&gl=US&pli=1 Sources: Stephan Talty, Empire of Blue Water  Captain Charles Johnson, A General History of the Pyrates Angus Konstam, Blackbeard Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://gramha.net/profile/truecrimecampfire/19093397079 Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com/