Forensic|Fiends

13-year-old Dario Cicolecchia disappeared from a small Swiss village in 1993. His body was later found in a cornfield, with signs of sexual violence. There was no apparent evidence at the scene, but microscopic examination revealed diatoms - single-celled organisms that live in and around water. Could the tiny diatoms help investigators solve the case? Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

A series of bombings rocked Salt Lake City in 1985. First, businessman Steve Christensen was killed by a bomb left outside of his office. Then Kathy Sheets was killed by a similar bomb at her home. At first, the motive appeared to be business - the second bomb was addressed to Kathy's husband Gary Sheets, former business partner of Steve. When a third bomb went off, injuring documents dealer Mark Hofmann, the case became more complicated. Investigators would soon find themselves unraveling a web of forgeries and cover-ups, using forensic document examination to crack the case. Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This is a wild one! Elementary school teacher Joanne Chambers began receiving bizarre, threatening letters in 1993. Joanne was an unlikely target for harassment, and police could only come up with one suspect: Paula Nawrocki - another teacher at the school. Despite having only circumstantial evidence, police and prosecution went forward with a case against Paula. When DNA evidence was found on some of the letters, everything would change...We'll also give you a lesson in typewriter technology and the history of stamp pricing! Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In 1986, Susan Snow died after taking Excedrin capsules contaminated with cyanide. Her death prompted a recall and an investigation, which turned up more bottles of poisoned pills. 2 of those bottles were at the home of Stella Nickell. Her husband Bruce had recently died, and Stella insisted his death be re-investigated in light of Sue's death. When it was found that Bruce also died of cyanide poisoning, investigators worried there was a serial poisoner at work. The truth was that only one person committed the poisonings, and the identity of the killer would be revealed by some tiny green crystals. Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In July 1991, a janitor discovered burned remains in a dumpster in Vancouver. The remains were so damaged by the fire that dental records were the only possible method of identification. The remains were those of a missing woman named Mary-Lynn Breeden. Bank surveillance footage and questioning an accomplice led investigators to the man they believed killed Mary-Lynn. To convict him, scientists would have to find a source of DNA that had never been used before. Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In 1984, a car bomb nearly killed Margaret Backhouse, wife of Graham Backhouse - a farmer in Horton, England. Less than two weeks later, Graham was involved in a fatal altercation with neighbor Colyn Bedale-Taylor. Graham claimed that Colyn took responsibility for planting the bomb and then attacked him, but forensic analysis of the crime scene would cast doubt on Graham's entire story. Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

41-year-old waitress Peggy Carr fell mysteriously ill in late 1988. Her symptoms stumped doctors, until one noticed a sign that pointed to a terrible poison. Health officials ran extensive tests, and police conducted an undercover investigation to discover the identity of the person who would want to poison Peggy and her family. Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Ruby Morris went missing from Phoenix, Arizona in June 1989. Investigators found evidence of blood in the bedroom Ruby shared with her husband Earl, and a gun the couple owned was missing from the home. DNA testing would reveal dark family secrets, but it would ultimately also crack the case. Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In November 1993, Hambleton couple Derek and Eileen Severs disappeared. Their adult son Roger told police they'd gone to London, but there was no evidence of that. The clues to finding the Severs were small and seemingly insignificant - a few drops of blood, some green fibers, and dried mud on a car - but with the right forensic analysis, they would tell investigators everything they needed to know. Hosts: Colleen O'Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O'Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In 1984 in Tampa, Florida, 10 women were murdered over several months. There were similarities in victimology and M.O., and identical red fibers were found on several of the victims. Along with fiber evidence, details provided by a brave 17-year-old survivor would lead to the arrest of a serial killer. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

A special collab with our lovely friends The Stephen Queens! We discuss the film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and how the movie handles the real-life crimes of Ted Bundy. We bring the true crime facts, they bring the film expertise - it's the perfect combo! Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Our season 1 finale! In 1971, John List murdered his entire family and then disappeared. It would take 18 years, a forensic sculptor, America’s Most Wanted, and an attentive former neighbor to catch him. We’re taking a little spring break after this episode, but be sure to tune in to our crossover episode with The Steven Queens on April 30! Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Between 1985 and 1988, 18 women were sexually assaulted, strangled, and left for dead in the desert mountains outside San Diego, California. While some of the women survived, others did not. The crucial evidence to put away the serial killer in this case would come from a seemingly unlikely source - insects. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Jack Wilson, a well-liked Alabama eye doctor, was brutally murdered in his home in 1992. The suspected killer reveals a murder-for-hire plot and implicates not only Jack’s wife Betty, but her identical twin sister Peggy as well. This episode might be a little low on forensics, but it’s high on drama! Plus, Erica tells her story about meeting The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). AAPI Community Fund and other fundraisers: gofundme.com/aapi --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In 1984, an intruder raped and strangled Carolyn Hamm in her Virginia home. A man confessed and was convicted of her murder. Three years later, three more Virginia women were killed under very similar circumstances. Were the crimes related? Was the right man in prison? Investigators would use psychological profiling and DNA evidence to find out, leading to the first use of DNA evidence to convict a serial killer and the first exoneration based on DNA evidence in US history. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Denise Johnson - a 30-year-old single mother - is found murdered in the Arizona desert. Investigators find a pager at the scene that belongs to a trucker, but not much else in the way of evidence. When a detective decides to find out if the plants at the scene can be used as evidence, the case makes forensic science history. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Two teenage girls - Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth - are murdered in the same village in England, three years apart. Their cases go cold, until an accidental discovery changes forensic science forever. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). RAINN (US) 1-800-656-4673 / https://www.rainn.org/. National Sexual Violence Resource Center (US) https://www.nsvrc.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

After a fight with her husband, Caren Campano walked out of her home in Oklahoma City in the middle of the night and never returned...or at least that’s what her husband Chris claims. The house appeared normal to investigators at first - with the exception of a stain on the bedroom carpet - but a chemical test would reveal shocking evidence that was invisible to the naked eye. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net). National Domestic Violence Hotline (US): 1-800-799-7233 / https://www.thehotline.org/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

14-year-old Trey Cooley was attending a shooting competition at a gun club in Dallas, Texas, when his life was tragically cut short by a single bullet. Was it intentional? Was it an accident? Trey’s father was determined to find out why and how his son died, but he would need the help of forensic experts to solve the mystery of The Magic Bullet. Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White. Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

The first ever episode of Forensic Files! Connecticut flight attendant Helle Crafts vanishes, seemingly without a trace. Her husband says she’s out of the country, either on vacation or visiting her sick mother. A determined PI - who was investigating her husband on suspicion of an affair - convinces police to look into her disappearance. They don’t find much: bloodstains barely visible to the naked eye, tiny bone fragments, a tooth, a fingernail, and some hair. Is it enough to prove there was a murder? Tune in to find out! Hosts: Colleen O’Brien, Erica White Audio Supervisor: Tommy O’Brien Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net) National Domestic Violence Hotline (US): 1-800-799-7233 / TheHotline.org --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Join co-hosts and friends Colleen O'Brien and Erica White each week as they recap an episode of the long-running true crime series Forensic Files. In each episode, they dissect the forensic techniques used to crack the case, discuss whether those techniques still hold up today, and find out if there have been any updates on the case since the episode aired. Theme Music: 'The Drama' by Rafael Krux (orchestralis.net)