Each week we present the true stories of people who've already stood trial for committing violent crimes, and see if we can determine whether the defendant was found guilty or not guilty based on the evidence from the actual trial. Every episode reveals the actual trial outcome so you'll never wonder whodunnit, though you may wonder if the jury got it right!
Listeners of Based on the Evidence that love the show mention: true crime, love.
Elizabeth McCabe disappeared after a night out in Dundee Scotland in February of 1980. Her body was found 16 days later on the eve of her 21st birthday. It would be 25 years before her suspected killer was brought to trail.
When Christine Morton was bludgeoned to death in 1986, everyone in her Austin, Texas neighborhood was terrified that a madman was on the loose. The local Sheriff and the state prosecutor soon put their fears to rest. Now they had something that was possibly more sinister to fear.
How did the police and prosecution build a case before DNA and modern forensics? This case from 1967 digs into the heavy use of circumstantial evidence and theatrics as trial techniques to sway a jury.
Joel Guy Sr. and his wife of 31 years Lisa spent Thanksgiving of 2016 with their four children and their families. None of them knew it would be the last. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Joel_and_Lisa_Guy https://www.cracked.com/article_35609_how-not-to-get-away-with-murder-joel-guy-jr-and-his-murder-instructions.html https://allthatsinteresting.com/joel-guy-jr Crime Scene Photos: https://thecrimewire.com/true-crime/Diabolical-Stew-of-Human-Remains-The-Dismemberment-Murder-of-Joel-and-Lisa-Guy
Did local kids find sanctuary with the neighborhood "fun" Mom, or did they stumble into a house of horrors?
A NETFLIX Documentary: A twisted criminal's gruesome videos drive a group of amateur online sleuths to launch a risky manhunt that pulls them into a dark underworld. Kristine and Susan give you their take on this popular Netflix documentary.
Growing up the children of poor, uneducated, itinerant farmers could not have been easy for the Gilley kids. Add into that an alcoholic abusive father, an uncaring mother driven by her fundamentalist christian views, and a life of abject poverty and you've got the recipe for a story that had little chance of ending well.
Growing up the children of poor, uneducated, itinerant farmers could not have been easy for the Gilley kids. Add into that an alcoholic abusive father, an uncaring mother driven by her fundamentalist christian views, and a life of abject poverty and you've got the recipe for a story that had little chance of ending well.
Beautiful nature lover, 16 year old Savannah Leckie left her Minnesota suburban home to live on the Missouri farm of her birth mother. One year later she is reported missing under mysterious circumstances.
Dr. Darryl Sutorius, a prominent heart surgeon in Cincinnati, married Della Dante Britteon in 1995. Dr. Sutorius was found dead in the basement of the house he shared with his wife on February 19, 1996. Though it was clear that a gunshot to the head had been the cause of death, authorities were initially unsure whether his death was homicide or suicide. Forensic Files Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84yPzfUeWmw
When Warriena Wright sent off on a Tinder date while visiting Brisbane, Australia, she probably never imaged that her night of romance would go terribly wrong.
Ronald Gene Simmons was the worst mass murderer in Arkansas history, and his crimes led him to be dubbed the Christmas Killer.
At what point does the exploration of dark fetishes and online roleplaying become a crime? Watch the 2015 HBO documentary about this case on YouTube
It's every parent's nightmare. What started as a fun trip to the carnival ends with a massive manhunt in search of a missing 5-year-old boy. Almost 11 months later, his remains are discovered across the Raritan River in the marshlands of Edison, New Jersey.
On October 27, 2007, Joel Lovelion was dressed as a fan of his favorite hockey team for a Halloween party hosted at the Broken Drum bar in Grand Forks, ND. Before the night was over, Joel would be dead, beaten to death by another partygoer. The only physical evidence found was something yellow from part of a costume. The suspects include a penguin, a clown, a gangster, and a construction worker. Will the murderer be unmasked or will Joel's killer remain disguised?
When the body of Kathleen McGehee was discovered on Halloween, 2011, there seemed little doubt of who murdered her. But was it an act of rage, or resentment, or was the killer driven by more malevolent forces?
You can't talk about notorious 90s trials without talking about the Bobbitts. John Wayne Bobbitt and Lorena Bobbitt were an American couple whose relationship received international press coverage in 1993 when Lorena cut off John's penis with a knife while he was asleep in bed. The penis was subsequently surgically reattached
In the second episode of our notorious nineties murders, we examine the 1994 murders of 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander Smith at the hands of their mother, Susan Smith.
The murder of Gregg Smart masterminded by his wife Pam made national headlines in the 1990s when she went to trial on charges she coerced her teenage lover Billy Flynn to kill the 24 year old Gregg. The trial was the first to be broadcast live on TV and it subsequently launched a media frenzy. As part of our September infamous 90s murders month, we couldn't think of a more obvious choice than the notorious Pam Smart trial.
On February 24, 1986, the body of 29-year-old Sherri Rasmussen was found in the apartment she shared with her husband in Van Nuys, California. She had been beaten and shot three times in a struggle, apparently a victim of a botched robbery. Tonight we discuss the appeal of the person arrested for her murder.
On February 24, 1986, the body of 29 year old Sherri Rasmussen was found in the apartment she shared with her husband in Van Nuys, California. She had been beaten and shot three times in a struggle, apparently a victim of a botched robbery. It would be 23 years before Sherri's father and a few cold case detectives force the LAPD to re-open the case and consider that the murder may have been committed by someone who knew how to do just enough to make the crime scene look like an interrupted burglary.
In our final episode about the brutal murder of an innocent young girl, Sarah Cherry, we take a look at Murder In America, the documentary based on the true crime book "Human Sacrifice" by James P. Moore.
Could Dennis Dechaine, the man convicted for the murder of Sarah Cherry, actually be innocent? Did the prosecution suppress evidence of other potential suspects? Did the police department ignore or not follow through on leads? Tonight we'll take a look at evidence that wasn't presented to the jury in the original trial.
The brutal murder of Sarah Cherry on July 6, 1988, resulted in what some have called the most notorious criminal case in Maine history.
The close knit town of Pembroke, KY is thrust into the national spotlight when three of it's residents are gunned down in it's idyllic community.
The lives of three young Girl Scouts are tragically cut short in 1977
A trail of red herrings leads detectives to multiple suspects.
A rich lover and and a hefty insurance policy leads police straight to the killer. But a false accusation and a false confession might make it more difficult to prosecute than the State first thought.
On July 25th, 1984 two young boys were fishing in a small pond when they saw little Dawn Hamilton walk off into the woods with a stranger. They were the last people to see her alive. Can a breakthrough in forensic technology prove a man's innocence, or send him to the gas chamber?
On July 25th, 1984 two young boys were fishing in a small pond when they saw little Dawn Hamilton walk off into the woods with a stranger. They were the last people to see her alive.
Todd Mullis said his wife died in a gruesome farm accident but the State of Iowa didn't quite see it that way.
A seldom used statute adds confusion and chaos to the tragic death of Brandon Lay.
When a young mother is found bound with rope and weighed down with cinder blocks in a lake, it doesn't take long for police to zero in on a suspect.
This killer couple criss-crossed the country leaving death in their wake.
Peggy Carr was newly married and trying to make her blended family work. No one could have predicted that she would be dead before her first anniversary.
The Australian Outback is a very dangerous place and it's not just the snakes, spiders, or scorpions you should be afraid of.
Home invasion? Drug deal gone bad? Revenge killing? Whatever the circumstances, no one could have predicted it would end by samurai sword.
The amazing story of a Mother's love and her relentless pursuit of justice.
How far would he go to be free of his marriage? How far would she go to frame him for murder?
The luckiest man in Florida with the world's worst luck!
Like all parents, Susan Bailey wanted to keep her kids safe. It never occurred to her that she was the one in danger.
Was Linda Razzell abducted, murdered, or did she simply walk away from her life?
Sometimes passion leads to obsession, and sometimes obsession leads to murder.
This is a tragic case of domestic violence. Was it self defense or murder, and who was the real victim?
PART II: After three members of the Eastburn family are slaughtered in their home, the prime suspect takes the legal system for a wild ride.
After three members of the Eastburn family are slaughtered in their home, the prime suspect takes the legal system for a wild ride.
Dubbed the "Dexter Killer" by the press, Mark Twitchell took his fanboy obsession to a very dark place.
Practicing law can be a dangerous business. For Richard Armitage it was deadly.
A scheming con mom and her devoted son take dysfunctional family dynamics to a whole new evil level.
Did a crazed robber bring a young life to an end or did April Barber willingly walk along a moonlit beach with her murderer?
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