Crime Writers On...True Crime Review

When a German countess died in 1992, she left her fortune to the only family she had: her dog Gunther. The world’s richest pooch enjoyed private jets, personal chefs, and a dedicated staff led by Gunther’s caretaker, Maurizio Mian.The will also decreed that Gunther would form a pop band. The dog bought Madonna’s mansion where the group’s attractive members were directed to have sex with one another, while researchers studied their levels of happiness. But few questions were asked about the origins of the fortune or how Maurizio came to control Gunther’s financial empire.The Netflix documentary series “Gunther’s Millions” turns the feel-good story of a rich dog into an investigation of media manipulation, tax fraud, sex cults and the man at the center of it all. Is this a story about one lucky dog or is it the ultimate test to see if money can buy happiness?OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GUNTHER'S MILLIONS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 1960s, Ronald Pellar performed as nightclub hypnotist “Dr. Dante.” He thrilled crowds, mixed with celebrities, and even married a movie star. But Dante was a prolific con man, accused of stealing and attempting to have a rival hypnotist murdered.  After prison, Dante expanded his stage act to include seminars, self-help tapes, tattooed makeup, and a collegiate diploma-mill. He made millions of dollars on false claims and was comfortable telling reporters all about them. When it seemed an elderly Dante was ready to retire from his life of deception, he planned a comeback.Campside Media is out with season five of “Chameleon: Dr. Dante.” “Wild Boys” host Sam Mullens recounts the many lives of the hypnotist who used his powers of persuasion to be one of the greatest con men in history.  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DR. DANTE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: stuffing sausages.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A racially-motivated attack on pedestrians was thwarted by the driver’s passenger: a man he picked up hitchhiking. He went simply by “Kai,” and the colorful way he described the incident became a viral sensation. Kai’s quirky personality and unlikely story made him Internet-famous. He declined TV offers in favor of going back off the grid. But months later, the carefree drifter the world thought was so charming when he struck a criminal with a hatchet would be implicated in a murder. The Netflix film “The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker” recounts Kai’s rocky journey from meme to murderer, propelled by Hollywood and social media. Was the world so taken by the dude in the “smash smash smash” video they overlooked his violent tendencies which were in plain sight?  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE HATCHET WIELDING HITCHHIKER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When journalist Sam Anderson learned a high school friend was wanted for the murder of a Northern California pot farmer, he set off to prove his friend’s innocence. He discovered the infamous Emerald Triangle was not the hippie Shangri-la it was made out to be. Anderson tries to reconcile the friend of his youth with the man implicated in a fatal ripoff. He seeks answers as to what happened in the hills that drove Zach Wuester to violence.  In “Crooked City: The Emerald Triangle,” Anderson makes his way through California’s strange and dangerous marijuana harvesting culture. Did Zach lead seven others to kill the farmer who ripped them off, or was he just an unwitting accomplice?  OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE EMERALD TRIANGLE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODECrime of the Week: hotel parking.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ex-preacher and musician Abe Partridge went on a journey to discover songs never recorded, but passed down for generations in Appalachia. He discovered the largest repository of undocumented music were in Pentecostal churches where preachers employed the controversial practice of handling snakes. But once getting over the customs of their unconventional worship, Partridge developed a true appreciation for the people, their beliefs, and their music. He’d eventually convince a snake-handling preacher/musician and his wife to record the songs of their faith.In the podcast “Alabama Astronaut,” host Ferrill Gibbs relays Partridge’s odyssey through an often ridiculed subculture and his hunt for the folk art long hidden. It focuses less on the spectacle of handling snakes and drinking poison and more on how it informs their little-known musical expressions.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ALABAMA ASTRONAUT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 14 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As head of La Luz del Mundo, third generation church leader Naasón Joaquín García promised eternal salvation. All the while, he used his position as Apostle to groom children and young women for sexual abuse for years. When García’s victims in the US and Mexico meet on Reddit and compare stories, they ban together to expose the church’s secret. Once seeming untouchable, they convince authorities to go after García and hold him accountable.The HBO Original “Unveiled: Surviving La Luz del Mundo” is the latest documentary exploring the sins of religious leaders using their position as God’s messenger to coerce followers into sexual exploitation. It provides plenty of space for American and Mexican victims to tell their truth and covers García’s fall from grace.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNVEILED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: doggie style.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A group of uber-successful professionals are invited on a weekend trip to their billionaire friend’s island to play a game: solve his own murder. But one stranger is also tagging along: the famed detective Benoit Blanc, who fears a more sinister game is afoot. The lights go out. A body is sprawled on the floor. Who’s the killer? The politician? The fashion model? The scientist? The video gamer? Or the former business partner the host swindled?Daniel Craig leads an all-star cast in “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.” A modern take on the parlor mystery, the audience follows Blanc as he attempts to solve the case before the killer can strike again.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "GLASS ONION" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In August 2019, her friend reported Jessica Easterly Durning missing. When family members got little response from New Orleans police, they conducted their own search and found Jessica’s body in a field a short distance from her home. Several forensic factors made it impossible for authorities to definitively say whether Jessica’s death was homicide, accidental or some other manner. Meanwhile suspicion has fallen on her husband Justin whose story about her last night at home kept changing.Jessica Noll hosts “Undetermined” from Tenderfoot TV & Resonate Recordings. The podcast dives into the mystery around the death, including her volatile marriage and secret hustle as a cam girl. The series asks whether Jessica’s untimely death was murder - and if so - who was responsible.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "UNDETERMINED" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 8 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: bug in the restaurant. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Justina Pelletier was a 14-year-old girl diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that required numerous surgeries and caused severe pain. When she was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital, doctors suspected Justina’s issues were psychological and not physical - and they suspected her parents were committing medical child abuse.Over the next 16 months, the Pelletiers used the media and threats of litigation to apply pressure on the hospital and the state to discharge their daughter. But administrators said these hardball tactics made it impossible to get Justina care at other facilities, further harming her prognosis.The Peacock documentary series “The Battle for Justina Pelletier” looks at the very public tug-of-war between parents and physicians convinced they’re doing the best thing for a sick child, as well as the exploits of a computer hacker who came to her cause. It also explores the thornier question of what Justina’s medical issues truly were and how that affected the adults’ decisions.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE BATTLE FOR JUSTINA PELLETIER" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 7 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

JeAnna Anderson says Officer Anthony Armour sexually assaulted her during a traffic stop. Frances Salazar went to prison over Armour’s false testimony.  And fellow officer Abby Dennison says Armour drugged and raped her.At the time, Armour was on something called the Brady List, a catalog kept by Arizona prosecutors of cops who shouldn’t be called to the stand - cops whose history of lying or misconduct could impeach their testimony. And that evidence was never disclosed to the women.In the latest season of “Verified: Full Disclosure” host Natasha Del Toro looks at how Arizona failed to hold disreputable cops accountable or track them from job to job. Piggybacking on the work of an investigative reporter, Del Toro explores a system in which cops can lie and no one needs to know.OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "VERIFIED: FULL DISCLOSURE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 9 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.In Crime of the Week: shag doll.  For exclusive podcasts and more, sign up at Patreon.Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.