Tag: killer

55 – Murder by Arson: The McCann Family

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn affair, Child Victim, Controversial Case, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, IRA/Paramilitary links, Irish Crime, Landmark Case, Life Sentence, Mental Health, murder, murder for profit

In the summer of 1992, the McCann Family endured a series of gas leaks in their home, and a spate of threatening phone calls. These nuisances escalated quickly though, and culminated in a raging fire in their Rathfarnham home. Esther McCann and her foster daughter, Jessica, died in the blaze.

Investigators ruled that this was a case of arson, and gardai quickly discovered that Frank McCann – the grieving father and husband – had some dark secrets.

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53 – Exorcism: The death of Christine Taylor

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Controversial Case, Domestic Violence, Insanity Defence, Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health, murder, UK Crime

This week, we delve into the world of the paranormal – sort of.

In 1974, in the small town of Ossett, northern England, Michael and Christine Taylor found religion. They became born again after attending a small Fellowship meeting in their community. 

The meetings had a profound effect on Michael, and he began to act oddly. His behaviour led local clergy to suspect that Michael had been possessed by demons, and so an exorcism was in order. But, before the end of that process, someone would be dead.

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52 – Betrayal: The murder of Mary Gough

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn affair, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Irish Crime, Life Sentence, murder, murder for profit

Mary Gough tragically fell down the stairs in her home, only 6 months after her wedding day. Or, at least that’s what her husband, Colin Whelan, said. When Mary was rushed to the hospital after this purported accident, the Gardai did not take him at his word.

His story did not add up, and Colin Whelan was charged with with Mary’s murder. But when Whelan’s car was discovered at the top of Howth Head near the seaside cliffs, people thought that there would be no justice for Mary. 

But they were wrong.

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51 – Rampage: The murders of Elizabeth Plunkett & Mary Duffy

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Controversial Case, Human Rights, Irish Crime, Kidnapping, Landmark Case, murder, sadism, Serial Killer, sex crimes, torture, Vintage murder

In 1976, there was a crime spree in Ireland. Houses and caravans were burgled, cars were stolen, and then two women went missing. Elizabeth Plunkett disappeared in Brittas Bay in Wicklow, and a month later, across the country, Mary Duffy went missing without a trace.

The gardai discovered that all these crimes were related, and had been committed by two men who had only arrived into the country a year before from England, where they were wanted in relation to a number of sexual assaults. 

John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans would go on to be some of the longest serving prisoners in Ireland. 

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48 – Milly, Marsha and Amelie: The Bus Stop Murders

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Child Victim, Controversial Case, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Kidnapping, Mental Health, murder, Public Inquiry, Serial Killer

In March of 2002, Milly Dowler went missing. She was 13 years old and had been walking home after school that afternoon, down a busy road in a familiar area, near to her middle class home. Despite efforts by Surrey police to locate her there were no leads. Her body was found 20 miles away over 6 months later.

No one knew who had taken Milly, or what had happened to her. Nor was it know that hers would be the first – and most high profile – in a series of murders and violent attacks carried out by a man who hated women and young girls.

This is the story of the murders of Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy and their murderer, known as The Bus Stop Killer.

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41 – Attacked: The murder of Karen Buckley

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Irish Crime, Kidnapping, murder, Scottish Crimes, sex crimes, UK Crime

In April of 2015, two countries were gripped by the disappearance of a 24 year old nurse. Karen Buckley, from Co. Cork had gone on a night out in Glasgow’s busy West End. But she didn’t return home.

Quickly a police search for the missing woman was up and running. But it would prove to be too late. Karen’s fate was sealed mere minutes after she told her friends goodbye.

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38 – Tortured Teens: The horrific murders of Suzanne Capper & Sylvia Likens

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Child Victim, Collabouration, Controversial Case, Discrimination, Drug-related, Kidnapping, Kids who Kill, Mental Health, Organised Crime, sadism, torture, UK Crime, US Crime, Vintage murder, Women Who Kill

Early on a December morning, in 1991, Suzanne Capper (16) was found wandering on a quiet laneway south of Manchester. She was half naked, and her body had been burned badly. She was brought to hospital, but died 4 days later of her injuries.

It quickly emerged that she had been held in a house, tied up and tortured for nearly a week before her death. These horrific acts were committed by people she had considered friends. She was able to name them before she died, and they were held responsible for their crimes.

But Suzanne is far from the only young girl who has suffered torture at the hands of a group of people that she knew.

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32 – Ron Williamson, Wrongful Convictions & Murders in Ada (Part 1)

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, Controversial Case, Discrimination, Drug-related, Human Rights, Insanity Defence, Landmark Case, Mental Health, murder, US Crime, Wrongly Accused

The small town of Ada Oklahoma was rocked in the early 80s by two unrelated murders of young women in the town. But by the mid 90s, that would change. The town would come under scrutiny for miscarriages of justice, where two and possibly more men were convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Last month, Netflix released The Innocent Man, a 6 part series looking at these crimes and their aftermaths. This week on the podcast, we take an in-depth look into just one of those cases, that of the murder of Debbie Sue Carter and the wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz.

Ron Williamson was an eccentric and unstable character. Was it this nature of his that made him a target for the Ada Police Department? 

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29 – The murders of Thomas Murray & life sentences

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Controversial Case, Irish Crime, Mental Health, murder, Public Inquiry

The small town of Ballygar was shocked when 73 year old bachelor farmer William Mannion was found stabbed to death on his kitchen floor. A local youth was responsible. He was brought to trial, found guilty and received the mandatory life sentence. How was it then, that 17 years later, the same man would be able to kill another elderly resident of Ballygar, Nancy Nolan (84) in a senseless and motiveless crime?

This week, we look at the murders committed by Thomas Murray in East Galway and how life sentences in Ireland don’t really mean life.

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12 – The murders of Colin Ireland: The Gay Slayer

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Mental Health, murder, sadism, Serial Killer, UK Crime

As spring changed to summer in London 1993, a man stalked his prey at the Coleherne Pub in Earls Court. He targeted gay men, particularly those interested in BDSM, as he knew that they were a vulnerable group with poor relations with the policing authorities. Colin Ireland tricked 5 men into taking him back to their homes, where he brutally attacked them. He then waited to hear about his crimes in the paper. Because Colin Ireland killed for no other reason than his desire to make something of himself. His journey for fame and notoriety, to make a mark, cost 5 lives and terrorised the London Gay scene. This is the story of the Gay Slayer.

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