Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - Cracking the Code: The Zodiac Pt. 1

Episode Date: June 5, 2023

In the summer of 1969, newspapers in San Francisco began receiving coded letters from a man who would come to identify himself as "the Zodiac." The killer confessed to a string of brutal murders and would go on to terrorize the Bay area into the early 1970s. This episode originally aired in February 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of violence and murder that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. 17-year-old David Faraday eased his 1961 Rambler Station wagon off the side of the road and put it in park. Then he turned to Betty Lou Jensen in the passenger seat and smiled uneasily. Betty Lou was nervous, too. It was their first date, and she had major butterflies. As David leaned in close to her, she couldn't help but let out an anxious giggle. The outburst was a relief to David, who was just as nervous. He snickered, and soon the two of them were laughing together. But the tension had hardly broken before a car sped by in the road beside them. Betty Lou took a breath and tried to relax as it passed. David felt himself flush and was glad it was too dark to see.

He did his best to act cool, slowly reaching his arm around her. Then another car pulled up and parked right next to the couple. Frustrated, David prepared to yell the driver away. But when the stranger reached out of his window, David saw a gun in his hand, gleaming in the moonlight. Hi, I'm Greg Paulson. This is serial camera. Every Monday, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today we're exploring the twisted mind of the Zodiac Killer,

a mysterious attention-hungry murderer who remains unidentified to this day. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers for free on Spotify. The Zodiac Killer is confirmed to have murdered two men and three women in Northern California, between 1968 and 1969, and suspected to have killed several more. This week, we'll discuss the crimes that gained the Zodiac nationwide notoriety

and the first of his strange cryptic communications with police and the press. Next week will delve further into the Zodiac investigation and examine his final grisly murders. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter, whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer. the hunt can be exhausting. When detectives looked and searched to find any kind of evidence to find the person they were looking for,

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Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. The Zodiac's reign of terror began in the sleepy town of Benicia, a rural township in the San Francisco Bay Area. Stella Madero, so local resident, forever remembered the night, She came across the killer's first confirmed victim. On December 20th, 1968, around 11.10 p.m., Stella, her mother-in-law, and her daughter got in the car for a late-night trip.

They drove down the dark, winding Lake Herman Road to pick up Stella's son from a show. Lake Herman Road was a small quiet street that ran six miles through the area. Stella drove carefully around the curves and didn't notice. any other vehicles in her path that night. About three miles into the drive, Stella approached the entrance to a small pump station. The turnout near the station was a well-known lover's lane, where teenage couples went to enjoy some privacy.

As she passed the spot, Stella noticed a Rambler station wagon parked on the side of the road. The driver's side door was open, and Stella could see a teenage boy hanging halfway out of the car. A young girl was not far away. laying on the ground near the road, perfectly still. Stella hit the gas and sped away, now heading for the police station in Benicia. Ten minutes later, she came up behind a patrol car, flashed her lights, and honked at the policeman inside.

Officers Daniel Pitta and William Warner listened to Stella's account and called in the report. They reached the turnout three minutes later, around 1128 p.m. There they found a horridor. The girl, 16-year-old Betty Lou Jensen, lay face down in the gravel by the road, almost 30 feet from the Tan Rambler. A sickening pool of blood collected around her head. Officer searched in vain for a pulse, but she had already lost too much blood. The autopsy later found that Betty Lou had been shot five times,

the bullets penetrating her heart, liver, and right kiddard. and right kidney. The young boy, David Faraday, was not far away from Betty Lou. He lay face up near the car. His head also covered in blood. When police arrived, David was still clinging to life. It was a cold night, only 22 degrees Fahrenheit, and they could still see his faint breath in the air.

His fingers were locked around his class ring, adorned with a brilliant red stone. One of the officers said it looked like David was protecting it, as if someone had tried to take it from him before his death. An ambulance soon arrived for David. A bullet had gone through his left ear and into the back of his head, but he was in slightly better shape than Betty Lou. Some officers followed the ambulance to the hospital

in hopes he would recover and be able to give a statement. Others stayed behind to examine the scene more closely. Authorities found shells of several small, caliber bullets on the ground and two bullet holes in the right side of the rambler. Investigators stayed at the scene for several hours, completing their examination around four in the morning. By that time, they had received word that David had died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. All told, a fair amount of evidence was gathered, but none of it shed much light on what had happened. Benicia was a sleepy town, and there hadn't been a murder

there in the past five or six years. Local officers weren't experienced in dealing with such violent crime, and the most important clue, the motive for the crime, couldn't be ascertained. It's undoubtedly more difficult to track down a killer with no apparent motive. With that said, studies have shown that there are commonalities between senseless killers, and these similarities can help police create a psychological profile to aid in their search. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but she has done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg.

According to a 2006 paper published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, individuals who have committed impulsive, senseless murders demonstrate a severe weakness of impulse control, blurring of the boundaries between fantasy and reality, blunted and shallow emotional reactions and a violent and primitive fantasy life. This may provide some insight into the Zodiac's early motivations. A preoccupation with some kind of alternate reality may have driven him to enact his violent fantasies in the world. And because of his delusion, it's possible he did have a motive.

It just might not make sense to outside observers. His victims may have been central to his fantasies without ever suspecting him. it. Regardless of the killer's true motivations, authorities at the time were stumped. The morning after the murder, officers interviewed David and Betty Lou's families in search of a suspect. Betty Lou's friend Sharon told detectives she'd seen Betty Lou with David the previous evening, but she had no idea where they went after 9 p.m. Betty Lou's sister suspected her jealous ex-boyfriend, Ricky. Police investigated him thoroughly, but ultimately found that at the time of the killings, he was with family and friends.

He had an airtight alibi. Another lead was provided by James A. Owen, a local man who drove past the pump station the previous night, around 11.14 p.m. He said he saw the station wagon parked at the turnout and that he noticed another vehicle beside it. Unfortunately, he could only remember that it was a mid-sized, dark-colored car.

He didn't see anyone outside of the car or nearby. This meant that the shooting must have occurred sometime between 1114 when Owen drove past and 1120, the time Stella Medeiros came on the scene. It was an extremely small window for two murders to have occurred. And as the months passed and the investigation stalled, it looked more and more like the killer had committed a senseless act of violence and then disappeared. Though the prospect baffled authorities at the time, it was the only thing that made sense. After all, even if someone had been specifically looking for David and Betty Lou,

they couldn't have known beforehand the two of them would be parked at the lover's lane. Neither one of them had told any of their friends where they'd be, and a reliable stream of witnesses had accounted for the cars in the area, so it was unlikely the couple was followed all the way to Lake Herman Road. Only the dark-colored car seen by James Owen remained a loose thread. But as the months passed, police were unethical. unable to track it down, and it seemed like the trail had gone cold. Until the killer came back.

Six months after the Lake Herman Road murders, there was another murder, just four miles away in the town of Alejo. On July 4, 1969, Darlene Farron drove 19-year-old Michael Majot to a secluded lot near the entrance of Blue Rock Springs Park. As she stopped the car, 22-year-old. Darlene Farron turned the radio down low and looked at her date. Like the Lake Herman turnout, the Blue Rock Springs lot was a well-known lover's lane. Darlene and Michael chatted for a while. Darlene joked with her date for wearing so many layers on such a warm day. He was wearing a coat, multiple shirts, and even a couple pairs of pants. Since he was thin, Michael was self-conscious about how lanky he looked and had tried to look more muscular. As the couple laughed, they noticed,

another vehicle pull up behind them, its headlights shining in the rearview mirror. Michael and Darlene assumed it was a police officer and reached for their IDs. A man got out of the car carrying a large flashlight and approached the passenger side door where Michael was sitting. Michael rolled down his window, blinking in the bright light. Before he had a chance to say anything, the stranger emptied a 9-millimeter Luger pistol into the vehicle with no warning. Both Michael and Darlene were hit and began gushing blood.

Without a word, the shooter turned away and walked back to his car. He was almost there when Michael let out a scream, the pain unbearable. At the sound, the killer stopped and crept back to the passenger side window. Seeing that Michael was still alive, the killer fired again, hitting both Darlene and Michael two more times. Then, for the second time, the shooter nonchalantly returned to his car. Michael heard the vehicle slowly back out of the lot and turned down the road. As he gasped and bled all over the back seat, Michael tried his best to hold on to a single memory.

Despite the killer's best efforts, he was still alive. and through the glare of the flashlight, he'd seen his shooter's face. Up next, police rush to the scene of the Zodiac's attack and try desperately to save his latest victims. Want to support your gut health? Take Activia's gut health challenge by enjoying two Activio yogurt today for two weeks and see if you feel a difference. With billions of probiotics and 20 years of scientific expertise, Activia is one of the easiest and tasty. ways to start your gut health ritual. Try Activia today. Enjoying Activia twice a day for two weeks

as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound terseptide may be able to help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity or some adults with overweight who also have weight-related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off. Zepbound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zepound contains terseptide and should not be used with other terseptide containing products or any GLP1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if Zepound is safe and effective for use in children.

Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take a allergic to. it, or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop zepbound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. If you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking Zepbound with a sulfonel urea or insulin may cause low blood sugar.

Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-99 or visit Zepbounds.lily.com. Now back to the story. Minutes before midnight on July 4th, 1969, the Zodiac Killer attempted to claim his third and fourth, known victims. While 19-year-old Michael Mijot and 22-year-old Darlene Farron were parked in a lot outside of Alejo Park, a strange man approached their car. Without speaking, he shot them both and drove away. Though it was late, there were several people nearby who heard the gunfire.

One, a young woman in her late teens called the police to report the shooting. At 12.10 a.m., the call was put out to officers in the area and two cars responded. The first, occupied by officers Lindemann and Myring, intercepted a Cadillac which appeared to be fleeing the scene. The officers pulled the Cadillac over. Two 19-year-olds, Andy and Betty, were in the car. Andy immediately asked if the stop was about, quote, the guy laying down back there. Apparently, he'd seen Michael Majot writhing on the ground of the parking lot, but hadn't stopped to help. Betty and Andy were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the shooting, while the second patrol car continued on.

Officer Richard Hoffman arrived at the lot to find Darlene's brown Chevrolet Corvair parked near the road. The headlights were on, and the steady click of the turn signal mingled with the sound of quiet pop music still drifting through the radio. The eerie scene turned heart-wrenching, as Hoffman saw Michael Majot laying on his back, outside the passenger door. He feebly gestured to the officer for help, coughing and bleeding on the pavement. Hoffman could tell Michael had been shot in the chest, the neck, and his left leg. Hoffman then looked in the driver's seat and saw Darlene Farron collapsed against the door. She'd been shot twice in the arm and once in her side. She was breathing, but just barely. Hoffman rushed to call an ambulance, as another officer started to start.

Sergeant Conway arrived. Conway tried to question Michael. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Michael could only say a white male and a brown car was responsible. When the ambulance arrived, Hoffman rode along in case either of the victims spoke during the drive, but neither did. Darlene was declared dead by the time the ambulance arrived at the hospital. Michael was rushed into surgery. Meanwhile, authorities continued to comb the scene at the park. They'd Dusted the car for fingerprints and interviewed the people who had called the police station, but had little luck getting specifics on the killer.

At first, no one connected the attack to the Lake Herman Road murders, but the killer was determined to take credit for every bit of horror he'd wrought. At 1240 a.m., 40 minutes after the attack, a call came in to the Vallejo Police Station. When the operator answered, a male voice told her, he'd like to report a double murder, one that he'd committed. In addition to confessing to the attack on Darlene and Michael, the caller said he was responsible for the murders of those kids the previous December.

His voice was steady and dispassionate, so much so that it gave the operator Nancy Slover, the chills. At the end of what sounded like a rehearsed confession, the caller ended with an ominous, mocking, goodbye. The haunting farewell stuck with Slover for the rest of her life. By taunting the police like this, the Zodiac knew he was putting himself at risk of getting caught.

He had revealed his voice, and possibly the location he was calling from. At first, it seems like he had nothing to gain by jeering at authorities. But criminology professor Scott Bond posits that this kind of taunting was what exhilarated the Zodiac the most, Bond classifies the Zodiac as a thrill killer. He writes, The primary motive of thrill killers is to induce pain or terror in their victims prior to killing them,

which provides intense stimulation and excitement. It soon became clear that the Zodiac planned on claiming many more lives, but the actual act of killing was almost an afterthought. What he really sought was to terrify the public, the authorities and his potential targets. The unsettling call to the police definitely did the trick. After the killer hung up, there was a frenzy of activity and confusion in the station. Police traced the call to a nearby gas station.

Officers raced to the secluded phone booths but found it empty. The gas station had closed four hours earlier and no one was around the area when the call was made. The near miss shook many of the departments. who were unsure what to make of the call. At the time, there was little precedent for the Zodiac's crimes. Most of the serial killers that would later become infamous hadn't yet emerged. It was just over a month before the Grizzly Manson murders would rock the country. Police could only hope that they could get a lead on the culprit soon.

Otherwise, it seemed certain the killer would strike again. Michael Majot seemed to be their best shot at getting ahead of the murderer. Remarkably, he survived several operations and stabilized over the next couple of days. When he recovered, he was able to give officers a full account of what had happened. According to Michael, Darlene had picked him up at his home around 11.30 that night. They had to be discreet as Darlene was already married. The two of them were initially headed to a diner to eat. But Darlene pulled a U-turn as they approached the restaurant.

Michael said Darlene wanted to talk to him about something, but she never told him what. Instead, she pulled into the Blue Rock Springs lot. According to Michael, there were three other cars parked nearby. Soon, the other cars took off, leaving him and Darlene alone in the dark. But only minutes later, another car pulled up behind them. The car stayed where it was for about a minute,

and then sped off, out of the lot. Michael didn't get a good look at the vehicle or its driver. Five minutes later, another car pulled into the lot. Michael thought it was the same car that had just sped off, but couldn't be sure. This time, the vehicle pulled up until it was only inches behind Darlene's car. The driver got out and approached the passenger side. Though we held a bright flashlight in Michael's face, Michael could tell he was a young white man, likely in his late 20s.

He told authorities the assailant was around 5'8, 200 pounds and had curly, light brown hair. Michael seemed confident about the killer's appearance, but couldn't be positive about all of the details. The pain killers he was on after the surgery, as well as his lengthy recovery period, may have dulled his memory. Though he'd survived the Zodiac's vicious attack, he hadn't fully escaped. its consequences. He suffered from the debilitative effects of the shooting for the rest of his life. In later years, it affected his ability to speak and work. But thanks to Michael's resilience, police had the subject's description. However, they needed more, and they were willing to go to unusual lengths to gather new clues. For example, Darlene's babysitter, a woman named Karen,

piqued their interest with some enticing testimony. She claimed she spotted a mysterious man stalking Darlene's house not long before the attack. According to her, a white man in a sedan had parked outside Darlene's house for several hours while Karen was babysitting one night. Karen related the incident to Darlene, who told Karen that the man must have been checking up on her. Darlene explained that she'd witnessed the mystery man committing murder, and he'd been watching her ever since. Karen claimed Darlene even told her the man's name.

but she couldn't recall it. Nevertheless, her statement encouraged authorities. They set Karen up with a hypnotist, hoping it could help her recall additional details. The session yielded a more in-depth description of the stalker, one that matched closely with Michael Majot's description of his shooter. Despite the hypnotist's best efforts, however, Karen still couldn't remember the man's name.

Undeterred, police interviewed a multitude of Michael and Darlene's friends, and family over the following days. Once again, there was no apparent motive, and thus, few solid leads. They were also still perplexed by the taunting phone call. They were mystified further on July 7th, when the parents of Darlene's husband reported they'd also gotten a suspicious call the night of the attack. According to them, the call came in around 1.30 a.m. They heard heavy breathing for a moment on the other end of the line.

Then the caller hung up. It wasn't much to go on, but it did deepen detective's suspicions that the killer was intent on mocking his victims. His mockery would only grow more extreme and his scare tactics more terrifying. When we return, we'll learn how the Zodiac killer truly shocked the nation. Transport your senses with Sol de Janado's limited edition perfume mist collection. At Sephora, sprits on lush notes of rainforest orchid and crisp sea breeze with Hefresco Paraiso. Embrace of floral and fruity scent inspired by Rio's nude beach with chiqui bikini or caps for sun-kissed bliss with limonada gelada, where zesty Brazilian lemonade accord meets coconut milk and golden brown sugar. Don't miss Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection, only at Sephora.

Now back to the story. By July 1969, the Zodiac, the Zodianian. killer had attacked four known victims, but his true notoriety would arise when he began taunting the public and the police with menacing phone calls. Police suspected that the killer wanted to terrorize people and mock his victims. Their suspicions were confirmed on July 31st, 1969, when the killer emerged once again. He clearly wanted attention. That day, the Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner, all received mysterious, almost identical letters. They were the first of many communications from the Zodiac. In them,

he claimed responsibility for the Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs murders. To prove it, he gave a short list of facts about each crime that only the police or the murderer could possibly know, information that hadn't been released to the press. He gave the brands of ammunition used in both crimes, as well as some specifics about his victims, and the number of shots fired. After supplying his proof, the Zodiac ended with a demand. Along with each letter he'd sent to the newspapers, he'd included a separate page written in code. Each paper got one-third of the code, and the Zodiac commanded that they print the ciphers on their front pages.

According to him, cracking the ciphers would reveal his identity. In each letter, he ended with a warning. Quote, if you do not print this cipher by the afternoon of Frye, first of Aug 69, I will go on a kill rampage, Fry night. I will cruise around all weekend, killing lone people in the night, then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend. Following the threat, the letter, were signed with a symbol resembling the crosshairs of a gun site. The same symbol was found

in the cipher, which also included English letters, mirrored letters, U.S. naval flags, and mathematical symbols. The letters were turned over to police departments. They were then sent to a naval radio station near Vallejo to see if the cryptologist there could break the code. In the meantime, the papers faced a predicament. They weren't sure which action carried a greater risk, publishing the letters and inciting panic, or holding them back and defying the murderer. If they chose not to circulate the letters and a dozen people were killed, someone might blame the publishers for refusing to follow the killer's instructions. And as offensive as the situation was, publishing the letters was undeniably mutually beneficial

from a business standpoint. The papers wanted to sell more copies, and the killer wanted more publicity. All three papers consulted each other and eventually published the letters, though not all exactly to the killer's specifications. Only the Vallejo News Chronicle, owned by the same company as the Vallejo Times Herald, published the cipher on its front page by the August 1st deadline. The San Francisco Chronicle and the Examiner published it on page four of its August 2nd joint paper. As expected, the story received nationwide attention. people all over the country attempted to crack the Zodiac Code. The killer was getting exactly what he wanted, infamy.

Law enforcement could only hope that the cipher would reveal his identity and that the murderer's need for fame would be his downfall. The chief of the Vallejo police publicly challenged the Zodiac to send even more proof that he was truly the killer they were after. In actuality, the police were firmly convinced, the author of the letters was the perpetrator of the murders. He had provided more than enough proof in his first letter. Instead, the challenge was meant to bait the killer.

It was years before the term serial killer gained popularity or the FBI began developing criminal profiles, but the Vallejo police astutely recognized that a fame-obsessed criminal, like the Zodiac, could be tempted into a trap. On August 7th, the killer responded to the police, Chief's request via another letter to the examiner. It began with the now famous line, Dear Editor, this is the Zodiac speaking. In the following three pages, the Zodiac provided more

details about how he committed his first murders. The information confirmed that the Zodiac was no imposter, but more importantly, it gave the police some insight into how the killer operated. For example, the killer gave a patient and detailed description of the way he attached a flashlight to his gun barrel before the Blue Rock Springs murder. It revealed his careful and exacting planning. His eccentric spelling mistakes throughout the letter also led detectives to believe he was purposely disguising his speech, possibly to hide his true intelligence or level of education. Even so, there wasn't much to go off of. The most significant impact of the letter was the last.

that it gave the killer a name, one which ended up sticking, the Zodiac. With his blackmail of the press and his spooky name, it was clear that the Zodiac was deliberately crafting a public persona for himself. By hiding behind spelling mistakes and misleading detectives about his motivations, the real killer wasn't making himself famous. Instead, he was elevating the character he'd created, the Zodiac. It may be that in creating the Zodiac identity, the killer was seeking to disassociate himself from his own crimes. Author Soren Korsgaard writes that the Zodiac's actions are consistent with the psychological concept of de-individuation.

De-individuation theorizes that people can lose their own sense of self, especially in a violent group setting. Korshgard writes, The usage of the name Zodiac could have been a component of his de-individed. de-individuation process, as it would have allowed him to focus and identify with the skills, capabilities, and temperaments of his imagined character Zodiac, hence resulting in a loss of self-identity, as well as an ability to block out possible feelings of guilt. The Zodiac name then might not have been chosen simply to terrify the public. It could also have served to give the killer a buffer between his actions and reality.

If he was prone to violent fantasies already, it might have been easy for the Zodiac to let go of his real identity and his final connection to reality entirely. This would have been an especially terrifying concept to police who already felt like they were chasing a ghost. The real name of the killer remained a mystery. Instead, all authorities had were a couple of unsettling letters and a possibly meaningless series of bizarre symbols. they had to hope they would catch a break soon. Luckily, they did. The day after the Zodiac's second letter, a couple in Salinas, California,

called the San Francisco Chronicle. They'd broken the encryption. Don and Betty Hardin, two ordinary puzzle buffs, had spent the previous few days, around 29 hours in their estimation, solving the riddle. The key to their strategy

was in looking for the word kill, and the phrase, I like killing, which they thought might be hidden somewhere in the code. They guessed correctly, but even then, cracking the cipher wasn't easy. The zodiac had intentionally misspelled words, omitted at least one important word, and used multiple symbols to represent the same letters of the alphabet throughout. Unfortunately, the solved cipher failed to reveal the true name of the zodiac. He explained why at the end of the uncoated message. The best part of it is that when I die, I will be reborn in paradise,

and all I have killed will become my slaves. I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for my afterlife. The police were left with only guesses about how to proceed next. The Zodiac was beating them. That much was clear. And he was just getting started. Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. We'll be back Monday with Part 2,

exploring the Zodiac's continuing reign of terror and the police investigation which failed to catch the cryptic killer. For more information on the Zodiac killer, amongst the many sources we used, we found the book, Hunted the Zodiac Murders by Mark Hewitt, extremely helpful to our research. You can find more episodes of serial killers for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time.

Have a killer week. Serial Killers was created by Max Cutler. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Dick Schroeder, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden, Freddie Beckley, and Paul Mahler. This episode of serial killers was written by Terrell Wells, with writing assistance by Abigail Cannon,

and stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson. Want to hear something spooky. Some monster, it reminded me of Bigfoot. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal. One of the boys started to exhibit demonic possession. Stories straight from the witnesses' mouths themselves. Something very snake-like lifted its head out of the water. Hosted by me, your guide, Derek Hayes.

Somehow I lost eight whole hours. Listen now on Spotify, wherever you get your podcast. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up getting ready for bed is brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

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