Southern Nightmare: The Hunt for the South Side Strangler

Southern Nightmare: The Hunt for The South Side Strangler Coming May 30, Southern Nightmare: The Hunt for The South Side Strangler is a new podcast hosted by Richmond, Virginia, journalist Richard Foster in cooperation with Style Weekly magazine and WRIR 97.3 FM Richmond Independent Radio.  Thirty years ago a serial killer terrorized the city of Richmond, brutally raping and murdering women in their own homes. Then he struck again, 100 miles to the north in the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Arlington. Most people have never heard of this case, but it marked the first time in U.S. history that DNA evidence was used to catch a killer in a capital murder case, long before the O.J. Simpson trial or TV shows like CSI and NCIS popularized the idea of using DNA as an everyday forensic science tool. This 10-episode, in-depth weekly podcast will tell the behind-the-scenes story of one of the most important cases in modern American criminal justice, as detectives in two cities relentlessly pursued leads, desperate to stop a monster before he killed again. Southern Nightmare features exclusive interviews with homicide detectives, prosecutors, FBI profilers and friends and family of the victims. For more information, including live events, visit us at SouthernNightmare.com. HOSTED BY: Richard Foster TAGS: True Crime, Serial Killer, Richmond, Virginia, RVA, South Side Strangler, Arlington, DNA, Detective, Homicide, Murder

Get a sneak peek at what's ahead over the next 10 episodes -- and make sure to listen all the way to the end! Please subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podbean, etc., and tell your friends about this podcast!

We're still a few weeks from the May 30 launch date of our first episode but in the meantime, here's an excerpt from an interview that we did this week with true-crime investigative journalist Billy Jensen, who helped complete Michelle McNamara's posthumously published bestseller, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer. Billy spoke with Southern Nightmare host Richard Foster about the eerie similarities of modus operandi between the Golden State Killer and the South Side Strangler. You can read the whole interview on May 30 in Style Weekly magazine, when Style will run the first installment of a 10-part series of articles that will complement this podcast.  In the meantime, if you'd like to read "I'll Be Gone In The Dark" for free, take advantage of our great offer from Audible, Amazon's audiobooks division. You can get a free copy of any audiobook of your choice to keep with a 30-day free trial of Audible. Sign up and get your free audiobook here: https://www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare

Debbie Davis was a quiet, single woman who liked baking cookies and reading mystery novels. What a police patrolman found in her apartment bedroom on the morning of Sept. 19, 1987, would mark the beginning of a nightmare that would haunt and terrify the city of Richmond, Virginia, for months to come. Featuring interviews with retired homicide detectives, FBI profilers, prosecutors and friends and family of the victims, Southern Nightmare is the story of how the South Side Strangler serial killer was brought to justice by the use of DNA evidence, years before the O.J. Simpson trial or TV shows like CSI popularized the use of DNA as a forensic investigative tool. Want more Southern Nightmare? For access to exclusive extra content, like our one-hour live episode, extended audio interviews, videos and more, please donate to support Southern Nightmare at https://www.patreon.com/southernnightmare  SPECIAL OFFERS FROM OUR SPONSORS   For a free audiobook that's yours to keep, go to http://www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare    Get $40 off your first two boxes from Blue Apron! (Save $20 Week 1; Save $20 Week 2)  

A promising young neurosurgery resident at the Medical College of Virginia, Dr. Susan Hellams was breaking ground at a time when there were very few women in her field. She was also fated to become the South Side Strangler's second victim. And with the revelation that a serial killer was on the loose in Richmond, the city erupted into fear.  PROMOTIONS AND SPECIAL OFFERS For bonus content, including exclusive interviews and a special one-hour live episode of Southern Nightmare, please support the podcast and keep the nightmare going at https://southernnightmare.com/donate    Get $40 off your first two boxes from Blue Apron! (Save $20 Week 1; Save $20 Week 2)    

The Cho family immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea in search of the American Dream. Instead they found a Southern Nightmare. Fifteen-year-old Diane Cho was a typical 1980s teenager, arguing with her little brother, hanging out with her friends at the mall and dating a boy behind her parents’ backs. She would become the next victim of the South Side Strangler, raped and murdered in her bedroom while her parents and brother were sleeping in the next rooms. This episode features interviews with Diane’s mother and brother, as well as her friends. Thanks for listening and please be sure to tell your friends about us and leave us a positive review on iTunes! And to keep up with the latest updates, sign up for our newsletter at www.SouthernNightmare.com – the sign-up box is at the very bottom of the page. Special Offers For extra content like exclusive bonus interviews, please support Southern Nightmare at www.southernnightmare.com/donate To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.

On Thanksgiving weekend 1987 a quiet townhouse community in suburban Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., is rocked by the bondage strangulation murder of a woman in her home. A hundred miles north of the state capital in Richmond, Arlington only saw a handful of murders a year but officers there had encountered a murder exactly like this before -- three years earlier and just a couple miles away. This episode continues the story of the South Side Strangler serial killings. Special Offers For extra content like exclusive bonus interviews and video of our one-hour live show, please support Southern Nightmare at www.southernnightmare.com/donate To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.

In the wake of the sadistic rape and bondage strangulation murder of magazine editor Sue Tucker, Arlington County homicide detective Joe Horgas re-examines old cases from years before and finds some striking similarities: “Everything just seems to fit the puzzle. The pieces are all coming together now.” This episode continues the story of the South Side Strangler serial killings. Special Offers To access more Southern Nightmare content like bonus interviews and our one-hour live show, please support Southern Nightmare with a small donation at www.southernnightmare.com/donate To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.

In January 1988, with the South Side Strangler still at large, Medical College of Virginia lab tech Rena Chapouris didn't show up for work and wasn't answering her phone. A too-familiar horror story seemed to be playing itself out once again in Richmond.    Special Offers Pre-order the Southern Nightmare companion eBook NOW at Amazon! Coming Sept. 15, the Southern Nightmare companion book will offer a deeper dive into the story of how the South Side Strangler was brought to justice, with extra material not featured in the podcast. To get the ebook for FREE, donate $10 or more toward our Patreon fund for Southern Nightmare season 2 and you'll also get access to more Southern Nightmare content like bonus interviews and our one-hour live show! Just visit SouthernNightmare.com/Donate To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.

On July 11, 1988, opening arguments were delivered in accused serial killer Timothy Spencer's landmark trial for the bondage rape and murder of Arlington, Virginia, magazine editor Sue Tucker. It would be the first time in U.S. history that DNA tests were used as evidence in a capital murder trial. And if the jury couldn't be convinced that this new scientific tool was accurate, then the South Side Strangler would go free. Special Offers Pre-order the Southern Nightmare companion eBook NOW at Amazon! Coming Sept. 15, the Southern Nightmare companion book will offer a deeper dive into the story of how the South Side Strangler was brought to justice, with extra material not featured in the podcast. To get the ebook for FREE, donate $10 or more toward our Patreon fund for Southern Nightmare season 2 and you'll also get access to more Southern Nightmare content like bonus interviews and our one-hour live show! Just visit SouthernNightmare.com/Donate To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.

Someone raped and strangled talented young Washington, D.C., attorney Carolyn Hamm in her home. When detectives questioned a neighbor, his sister pointed them to David Vasquez, a mentally challenged fast food worker who had moved out of the area seven months before the murder.  Special Offers Pre-order the Southern Nightmare companion eBook NOW at Amazon! Coming Sept. 15, the Southern Nightmare companion book will offer a deeper dive into the story of how the South Side Strangler was brought to justice, with extra material not featured in the podcast. To get the ebook for FREE, donate $10 or more toward our Patreon fund for Southern Nightmare season 2 and you'll also get access to more Southern Nightmare content like bonus interviews and our one-hour live show! Just visit SouthernNightmare.com/Donate To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.

In 1989, stay-at-home mom Debbie Smith was abducted from her Virginia home and raped by a masked assailant while her police officer husband was fast asleep in their bedroom. Was history starting to repeat itself?  Or this time, would law enforcement be able to prevent another South Side Strangler-style tragedy?  Special Offers  Pre-order the Southern Nightmare companion eBook NOW at Amazon! Coming Sept. 15, the Southern Nightmare companion book will offer a deeper dive into the story of how the South Side Strangler was brought to justice, with extra material not featured in the podcast. To get the ebook for FREE, donate $10 or more toward our Patreon fund for Southern Nightmare season 2 and you'll also get access to more Southern Nightmare content like bonus interviews and our one-hour live show! Just visit SouthernNightmare.com/Donate  To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.   

In the season finale of Southern Nightmare, Timothy Spencer has an imminent date with the Virginia electric chair. But can FBI profilers and a State Police agent get him to talk about his crimes before he dies?   Special Offers  Pre-order the Southern Nightmare companion eBook NOW at Amazon! Coming Sept. 15, the Southern Nightmare companion book will offer a deeper dive into the story of how the South Side Strangler was brought to justice, with extra material not featured in the podcast. To get the ebook for FREE, donate $10 or more toward our Patreon fund for Southern Nightmare season 2 and you'll also get access to more Southern Nightmare content like bonus interviews and our one-hour live show! Just visit SouthernNightmare.com/Donate  Make the Southern Nightmare Theme Song Your Ringtone! Buy it now for iPhone on the iTunes Store or for iPhones and Android phones at the Tuunes Ringstore. To get a free audiobook from Audible, visit www.audibletrial.com/southernnightmare for a free 30-day trial and an audiobook of your choice to keep! I suggest David Simon’s excellent behind-the-scenes chronicle of the 1980s Baltimore homicide squad, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in The Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer. 

Southern Nightmare host Richard Foster was recently interviewed by Boomtown Richmond radio, so we thought we'd share that and tell you about the new Southern Nightmare book, available now in paperback and ebook via Amazon stores worldwide. Enjoy the interview and please pick up a copy of the book and help us fund season 2 of Southern Nightmare! Links to buy the Southern Nightmare book: Amazon.com (U.S.) Amazon.ca (Canada) Amazon.com.au (Australia) Amazon.co.uk (UK)