A Little Bit Culty

Laura Richards: What Gabby Petito, “Dirty John,” and Keith Raniere Have in Common

Mar 24, 2025

Laura Richards, a criminal behavior analyst and founder of the first national stalking advocacy service, shares her expert insights on coercive control and its prevalence in high-profile cases like Gabby Petito and 'Dirty John.' She delves into the psychological tactics of abusers, highlighting the need for awareness and legal reforms against stalking and manipulation. Laura emphasizes the importance of recognizing red flags in relationships, discussing how these behaviors can lead to tragic outcomes and the systemic changes necessary to protect potential victims.

01:01:58

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Laura Richards

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Quick takeaways

Laura Richards emphasizes that coercive control is a crucial and recurring theme in various forms of violence, linking domestic abusers and cult leaders alike.

Richards highlights the importance of early recognition of abusive behaviors to prevent potential victimization amidst systemic failures in law enforcement.

The podcast advocates for better training for law enforcement and societal awareness to address coercive control as a distinct form of abuse effectively.

Deep dives

Understanding Coercive Control and Its Dangers

Coercive control is a significant theme in discussions regarding violence and manipulation, linking perpetrators of domestic violence, cult leaders, and serial offenders. This form of control undermines victims’ autonomy and can escalate to severe physical harm or even murder. Behavioral patterns identified in offenders demonstrate that many have a history of domestic abuse, with coercive control being a pivotal factor connecting different types of violence. The podcast emphasizes the importance of recognizing these behaviors early to prevent future victimization.

Intro

2min

Unraveling Coercive Control and Violent Crimes

22min

Navigating Self-Publishing and Coercive Control

8min

The Dark Psychology of Manipulators

15min

Promotional Messages for Health and Entertainment

2min

Understanding Coercive Control and Domestic Violence

10min

Trauma, Stigma, and Women's Health

6min

This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. What do serial killers, cult leaders, and domestic abusers have in common? According to criminal behavior analyst Laura Richards, quite a lot. In this powerful conversation, Laura explains the concept of coercive control—the psychological abuse tactic often at the core of these crimes—and how it plays out across intimate relationships, cults, and high-profile cases.

Laura spent a decade at New Scotland Yard investigating rape, murder, and abduction. She went on to found the Homicide Prevention Unit and Paladin, the world’s first national stalking advocacy service. Her work helped reduce the murder rate in the UK by 58 percent and led to coercive control being criminalized there. Now, she’s fighting for similar legal reforms in the U.S.

In Part 1 of our conversation, Laura offers insight into the behaviors and warning signs she sees in the cases of Gabby Petito, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, “Dirty” John Meehan, British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, Larry Ray (of the Sarah Lawrence cult case), and NXIVM’s Keith Raniere.

This episode gives you a new lens for spotting red flags—and a deeper understanding of how abusers manipulate power and control, so major trigger warning for sexual assault, murder, and domestic violence this week.

For more, check out Laura’s podcasts Crime Analyst and Real Crime Profile, find her on IG @laurarichards999 or visit thelaurarichards.com. Also… let it be known that:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

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CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Amphibian.Media

Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media

Audio production: Red Caiman Studios