True Crime Arizona: The Phantom Killer

The Arizona's Family Investigates team spent months looking at crashes in the Valley, finding Phoenix is #1 for deadly crashes and pedestrian deaths. We looked at why that is and what the City is doing about it. 

Our investigative team looks at the available data, compares descriptions of news events to our video record, and speaks to experts and critics about the Department of Justice investigation into the Phoenix Police Department. Our investigation finds mischaracterizations, misstatements and errors of fact, and raises the question of whether the DOJ report's conclusions are accurate.

Alicia Navarro went missing from Glendale at age 14 back in 2019. For years, no one knew where she was. Suddenly, in July 2023, she walked into a police station in Montana near the Canadian border asking to be taken off the missing persons list. How did she get there? Who may have taken her there? Who had she been staying with? Amy Cutler and Jason Barry discuss the developing details of this case that has captivated the nation.

The original True Crime Arizona podcast has launched a new season, Finding Robert Fisher. It's a fresh investigation that includes never-before-seen evidence and details, and we want to share the first episode with the Lori Vallow's Deadly Delusions listeners. Make sure to subscribe to True Crime Arizona wherever you get your podcasts.

It's one of the biggest true crime cases in United States history, and so much mystery still surrounds notorious fugitive Robert Fisher. He's believed to have murdered his whole family and set their Scottsdale, AZ home to explode into flames in 2001 before disappearing for more than 20 years. Only so much has been publicly known about the case, until now. This season on True Crime Arizona presents: Finding Robert Fisher, host Briana Whitney and photojournalist Serjio Hernandez get exclusive access to the evidence file and crime scene photos, uncover new theories from people involved who haven't revealed details before, and take their own investigation underground and across the globe as they search for Robert Fisher and the clues that may lead to him. SUBSCRIBE NOW to True Crime Arizona wherever you get your podcasts

Bryan Patrick Miller had established his "Zombie Hunter" character as a fixture in the local fantasy & sci-fi scene, appearing at conventions and events in Arizona. But a bombshell arrest would expose a violent and deadly string of attacks. Season two of True Crime Arizona: THE ZOMBIE HUNTER is coming November 2. Subscribe now on the "True Crime Arizona" feed (separate from this one) wherever you get your podcasts.

In the early 1990s, five girls went missing near the Arizona Canal in Phoenix. Four of them were found dead and one remains missing. It left residents living in fear until a breakthrough decades later. But what police found was more bizarre—and possibly more deadly—than they had ever realized. Season two of True Crime Arizona: THE ZOMBIE HUNTER is coming November 2. Subscribe now on the "True Crime Arizona" feed (separate from this one) wherever you get your podcasts.

Morgan Loew and Kris Pickel discuss the Phantom Killer case and address final questions about William Huff.

NEW SHOW COMING MAY 25: She was the perfect wife and mother for decades, until something changed. Lori Vallow is now connected in some way to six violent or mysterious deaths. A former husband, an estranged husband, two of her children, her brother and her new husband's then-wife – all dead. True Crime Arizona: Lori Vallow's Deadly Delusions explores the events and issues that motivated Lori Vallow, throughout her life, and during the tumultuous and tragic year of 2019. We will speak to family members, friends, investigators and forensic experts in an effort to create the most complete picture of who Vallow is, and what turned her from perfect mother to criminal defendant.

William Huff answers questions about why he murdered two young girls 54 years ago. But his brother says the explanations and the motivations the Phantom offers are disingenuous.

William Huff's new neighbors react to the news that a child killer has moved in next door. Meantime, a forensic psychiatrist weighs in on whether someone who committed heinous crimes 50 years ago is still dangerous today. And Huff is caught with a young girl in his apartment.

50 years after the murders of Cindy Clelland and Jennelle Haines, their families work to prevent The Phantom from getting released from prison. When their efforts fail, they alert the media. And the leaders of the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency struggle to justify their decision to let a serial killer out of prison.

Morgan Loew and Kris Pickel break down what has happened so far in the Phantom Killer case. This episode includes insight from behind-the-scenes. It will prepare listeners for the next chapter, which moves forward in time 50 years from the time of the murders.

The Army mobilizes a massive search after another child disappears. Meantime, the Sierra Vista Police chief is certain he knows the identity of the killer. And a spelling error in the Phantom's letter holds the key to the case.

Investigators race against the clock to identify the Phantom. The police chief zeros in on a troubled teenager, but one big misstep causes investigators to overlook the killer. Meantime, the Phantom's own letters shed light on what motivated him to kill Cindy Clelland.

The killer sends a letter to the police, threatening to strike again and referring to himself as “The Phantom.” Meantime, an army of investigators hunt for an old man driving sedan. And the police chief senses something familiar about the murder of Cindy Clelland.

The year was 1967 in small town USA. Children were used to the freedom to play in the streets, playgrounds and fields of Sierra Vista, Arizona. But all that changed one spring day, when a blonde-haired, brown-eyed little girl disappeared. What followed was a search involving hundreds of police officers, sheriff's deputies and soldiers from a nearby Army post. It ended with a gruesome discovery and a mysterious letter from someone who called himself “The Phantom.”

True Crime Arizona: The Phantom Killer is a limited series that examines the gruesome murders that terrified a small town 50 years ago. Investigative reporter Morgan Loew spent four years researching the case, interviewing family members of the victims, investigators, members of the killer's family – and the killer himself. The podcast takes listeners back to the summer of 1967, when one little girl after another disappeared in Sierra Vista, Arizona and the police received a letter written by someone who called himself “The Phantom.” The story continues today, as the killer sheds new light on why he did what he did – all those years ago.