Crime Curious

32: What If He Was Innocent? The Willingham Case

Todd Willingham woke up on December 23, 1991 to his house in a blaze. To his surprise he was put on death row for the murder of his three young daughters, Cameron, Carmon, and Amber who died in the fire. The prosecution was based on what experts now call "Junk Science". His wife at the time Stacy maintained he was innocent until recently. What made her change her mind? Take a listen to hear both sides and make an opinion for yourself.
Sources:
Movie: Trial by fire
Show: Evil Lives here- What if he was innocent. Season 4 episode 1 
Trial by Fire | The New Yorker: By David Grann August 31, 2009
Cameron Todd Willingham's Ex-Wife Stacy Kuykendall Says Texas Shouldn't Pardon Him [EXCLUSIVE] | HuffPost
Music By: Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art by: Charnell 

31: Conclusion of America’s Most Evil Mother

Here it is everyone....the conclusion of America's Most Evil Mother. Shelly Knotek continues to deny any responsibility for the years of abuse and torture to her three beautiful girls, the death of her nephew, and two other adults but her daughters helped write their story to ensure the world knows what she is capable of because she will walk the streets again..
Kids of murderer Michelle 'Shelly' Knotek warn their mom could kill again (nypost.com)
Shelly Knotek, The Serial Killer Mom Who Tortured Her Kids (allthatsinteresting.com)
America’s ‘most evil mom’ Shelly Knotek abused her daughters and tortured and killed her friends – The US Sun (the-sun.com)
If You Tell By: Gregg Olsen
Music By: Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art By: Charnell 

30: America’s Most Evil Mom

Mothers Day is a day to celebrate and give back to the special mom's in our life.....unless you had an abusive murdering mother like the three girls who tell this story. Shelly Knotek would have everyone believe she was the perfect mother, but her children tell a different story. Their story is one of a childhood full of abuse, trauma and the murder of her own friends.
Kids of murderer Michelle 'Shelly' Knotek warn their mom could kill again (nypost.com)
Shelly Knotek, The Serial Killer Mom Who Tortured Her Kids (allthatsinteresting.com)
America’s ‘most evil mom’ Shelly Knotek abused her daughters and tortured and killed her friends – The US Sun (the-sun.com)
If You Tell By: Gregg Olsen
Music By: Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art By: Charnell 

29: Pressured. The Tragic Death of Conrad Roy

We end our series on Kills Who Kill with a really unusual case.  The suicide of Conrad Roy might have easily been a cut and dry case for police investigators...until they decide to charge his cell phone and see that perhaps Conrad was having second thoughts about taking his own life after all....if it weren't for the harrowing messages from Michelle Carter is it possible he would still be with us today? Take a listen to decide for yourself.   
Sources:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/food-drink/mcdonalds-robber-chicken-nuggets-breakfast-food-because-it-was-still-too-early.amp
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.southcoasttoday.com/news/20170615/timeline-of-michelle-carter-case%3ftemplate=ampart
https://www.thoughtco.com/death-of-conrad-roy-iii-971112
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/06/12/health/text-message-suicide-trial/index.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.womenshealthmag.com/life/amp28282664/michelle-carter-parents/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/words-kill-guilty-verdict-texting-suicide-trial-raises/story%3fid=48093522
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/amp27704746/who-is-michelle-carter/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/prosecution-defense-wildly-different-theories-220000495.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/amp27704746/who-is-michelle-carter/
https://youtu.be/izcjrYzXOkQ
https://www.madinamerica.com/2017/09/part-vi-adult-society-betrayed-michelle-carter-conrad-roy/
https://www.masslive.com/news/2017/06/michelle_carter_told_multiple.html
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.womenshealthmag.com/life/amp28284327/michelle-carter-text-messages-conrad-roy/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/death-by-text-the-case-against-michelle-carter/
Music by Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art by Charnell 

28: Kids Who Kill: The Twilight Killers

14 year old Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham were no Edward and Bella from the Twilight series, but they unfortunately get this name due to their unusual acts after killing two people that they felt tried to stand in their relationships way.
Sources:
Kids Who Kill: Evil Up Close - Yahoo Video Search Results
Kids Who Kill: Lucas Markham told classmate he wanted to murder girlfriend's mum | Metro News
Chilling moment Twilight killer, 15, confessed to police that she and lover, 15, had murdered her mum and sister - as couple are pictured for the first time (thesun.co.uk)
Family of mum and daughter murdered by teen Twilight Killers Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham slam Channel 5's 'disgusting' documentary (thesun.co.uk)
Chilling moment Twilight killer, 15, confessed to police that she and lover, 15, had murdered her mum and sister - as couple are pictured for the first time (thesun.co.uk)
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3761700/liz-edwards-spading-twilight-killers-named/
12 Unbelievable Things People Have Actually Been Arrested And Thrown In Jail For | HuffPost
Music by Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art by Charnell 

27: The Hair Fetish Murders of Elisa Claps and Heather Barnett

Danilo Restivo claimed he had no idea that it was not ok to go around cutting women's hair without permission while he touched himself...but we are sure he knows murder is not ok, otherwise why would he have attempted to cover it up for 17 years? Take a listen to hear the story of the beautiful Elisa Claps and the sweet mother of two Heather Barnett, and how they met their tragic end by a sick man with a fetish for the smell and feel of women's hair.
The Investigation | Crime+Investigation UK (crimeandinvestigation.co.uk)
Elisa Claps and the Murder Captivating Italy (thedailybeast.com)
The Cutter – Michael Litchfield, 2011
Blood on the Altar – Tobias Jones, 2013
Out For Blood: 18 Authentic True Crime Stories of Murder and Mayhem – Gary C. King, 2016
 Restivo jury hears DNA evidence | Bournemouth Echo
Crimewatch - How they caught: Danilo Restivo - YouTube
Heather Barnett murder: 'Face-to-face with mum's killer' - BBC News
Murder accused was cut on day of girl's disappearance - BBC News
True Crime Blog UK: September 2011
Danilo Restivo guilty of teenager murder | The Independent | The Independent
Caso Claps. Le verità di Eliana De Cillis - Il Quotidiano del Sud
Music by Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art by Charnell

26: The Tragic Murder of Lana Clarkson and The Big Wigs of Phil Spector

Phil Spector was a very strange little man that let his wigs display his big personality. He also unfortunately murdered the beautiful actress Lana Clarkson...or did he? Take a listen to hear what the evidence say's and what Phil and his big hair say. #murderhairdontcareweek
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tearing_Down_the_Wall_of_Sound
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/phil-spector/5150524/Phil-Spector-guilty-of-murdering-actress-Lana-Clarkson.html
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/books/11070/tearing-down-the-wall-of-sound
https://www.lindakenneybaden.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/True-Crime_-Phil-Spectors-Real-Defense-Attorney-Weighs-in-on-HBO-Movie-Los-Angeles-Magazine.pdf
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ronnie-spector-phil-spector-death-1115788/amp/

25: The Tool Box Killers

Ugh these assholes. Our "heinous hardware" week concludes with the 5 beautiful victims of two men who met in prison and made a deal to take one victim for every "teen" age. Spoiler alert: They don't succeed... thank God but take a listen to hear their victims stories and how the two men become their own worst enemy. 
Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris Are the Toolbox Killers (thoughtco.com)
California killer Lawrence Bittaker dies in prison at 79 - ABC News (go.com)
Roy Norris | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
The Toolbox Killers by: Jack Rosewood
Music by: Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art by: Charnell  

24: The Girl In The Box

This week we bring you cases dealing with "Heinous Hardware" This episode takes a dive into the horrific years of Colleen Stan's life spent held captive by Cameron and Janice Hooker in the most bizarre way. You won't believe how long she was held captive or what she was made to do.
Sources:
The Perfect Victim by Christine Mcguire and Carla Norton.
Petition · Stop the release of Cameron Hooker because of COVID-19 · Change.org
Cameron Hooker meets classification of sexually violent predator – Red Bluff Daily News
Man sentenced after loaded gun found in buttocks during strip search (nypost.com)
Music by Jonas Bjornstad
Cover Art by Charnell

23: How The Greenbrier Ghost Helped Solve Her Case

Even if spooky isn't your thing, we think you will love this episode. The death of Zona Heaster Shue wasn't really looked into until her spirit came back and forced investigators to take a deeper look into things. There is even a monument in West Virginia honoring Mrs. Shue, known as the Greenbrier Ghost! 
Sources:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FgvM3Vag34Y&feature=share
https://www.appalachianhistory.net/2018/01/greenbrier-ghost.html
https://youtu.be/XyeIdDmn2Dg
https://alchetron.com/Greenbrier-Ghost
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenbrier_Ghost
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5015852/zona-shue
http://www.wvdnr.gov/wwvmagazine/Archive/Batch1999/1999%20-%2009%20September.pdf
https://www.postize.com/16-hilarious-crimes-that-could-only-have-happened-in-florida
Music by: Jonas Bjornstad
Cover art by: Charnell