Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Jersey Shore Thrill Killer” Richard Biegenwald Pt. 1

Episode Date: May 22, 2023

Before he was even five years old, Richard Biegenwald was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After more than a decade in institutions and reform schools, he finally got the freedom he longed for. But once out in the world, he reverted to old habits and destructive behavior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the nature of this episode, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder, domestic violence, gun violence, suicidal ideation, and sexual assault. Consider this when deciding how and when you'll listen. To get help on mental health and domestic violence, visit spotify.com slash resources. Richard Beganwald tightly gripped the steering wheel, watching the cold December-northeastern night fly by. He was going way too fast on the highway, but he didn't give it a second thought. It was 1958, and the 18-year-old had a devil-may-care attitude. He and his passenger, James Sparnroft, were out that night looking for trouble.

They'd boosted the car a few hours ago in New York City. Now they were headed south, nowhere in particular. Just two days before, the parrot held up a convenience store, looking to score some cash. It ended with a little money in their pockets. of the shopkeeper's death. Tonight could go the same way. It all depended where the evening took them. The pair should lay low, but Beganwald liked tempting fate.

Beganwald pressed his foot to the floor as the car flew over the blacktop. Then just past the city limit sign of Salisbury, Maryland, Beganwald saw flashing red lights in the rearview mirror. He took his foot off the gas and pulled onto the shoulder of the highway. The officer approached, flashlight in hand, gun on his hip. But Beganwald wasn't nervous as he clutched a sawed-off shotgun on his lap. The cop wouldn't know what hit him. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast.

Every Monday and Thursday, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're discussing the crimes of Richard Beganwald, the Jersey Shore thrill killer. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other sports. Spotify originals from Parkast for free on Spotify. In today's episode, we'll explore how Beaconwald's criminal behavior began when he was just five years old, landing him in a series of institutions that all proved incapable of treating him. In part two, we'll explore the details of Beganwald's eventual murder spree across the Jersey Shore

and how a young woman he groomed as his accomplice played a key role in his downfall. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Bonnie and Clyde, the lonely hearts killers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. These are infamous criminal duels. But you don't need to break any laws

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That's shopify.com slash killers. 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, like Jack the Ripper, the Golden State Killer, the Unit Bomber. It's tedious work to find what you're looking for. So if you're hiring, I've got news for you. You can skip the lengthy investigation and the tiresome process of sorting through hundreds of resumes.

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That's ZipRecruiter.com slash killers. Meet your match on ZipRecruiter. Transport your senses with Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection at Sephora. Sprits on lush notes of rainforest orchid and crisp sea breeze with he fresco paraizzo. Embrace a 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. When we try to understand the twisted journey of a serial killer, we often start by looking

at their past. For true crime fans and criminal profilers alike, a murderous childhood can reveal the psychological, environmental, and social factors that drove their horrific actions. Some theories even suggest there are so-called childhood red flags, which predict if someone will commit violence later in life. But it's rare to find full-blown criminal tendencies in someone's childhood, much less when the child is barely school age. Born in the summer of 1940, Beganwald grew up in Staten Island, New York, in a household starting to disintegrate. His father, Albert, drank heavily, and by the time

Beganwald was old enough to talk, Albert had become bitter and abusive towards his wife, Sally, verbally at first and then physically. As their only child, Beganwald likely sensed how unstable things were, whether we witnessed the abuse or not. And so, it's perhaps and surprising that he seemed to develop severe behavioral problems at a young age. It's not clear exactly how often those problems manifested, but we do know that before Beganwald turned five years old, a psychiatrist diagnosed him with schizophrenia. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for

this show. Thanks, Greg. Childhood onset schizophrenia is very rare, and the term typically refers to schizophrenia diagnosed in a child of 13 or younger. In children under six, the condition is especially hard to confirm, because many of the symptoms can mimic a developmental delay. It's unclear exactly what symptoms Begenwald displayed, or if the diagnosis of the time had the same characteristics of a childhood onset schizophrenia diagnosis today. Medical reports at the time described his behavior as bizarre, but don't offer much beyond that. We know Beganwald was a withdrawn and irritable child, and instead of responding to this with compassion, it seems his father reacted with abuse. It became a vicious cycle. Albert's violence towards his son likely exacerbated his psychiatric symptoms, and as Beganwald's behavior worsened, so did the abuse.

Then things came to a head. At just five years old, Beganwald tried setting his family's house on fire. While some might think this just sounds like a kid playing with matches, Reports about this incident all make it sound like a deliberate act. His parents certainly saw it as attempted arson. They had their son admitted to a children's psychiatric hospital in Rockland County, about 45 miles away. Beganwald spent the next three years there as an inpatient, and it was only permitted to leave every so often,

largely for a week in visits home. His parents surely hoped that the hospital could treat him, but it didn't seem to improve things. Supposedly during his years there, Beganwald's behavior became more antisocial, and he was often cruel and aggressive to his fellow patients. By age eight, Beganwald was reportedly drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and gambling. This sounds so ludicrous that it's tempting to dismiss it as hearsay, especially since it's unclear how he could access any of these vices inside the hospital.

In any case, the hospital stay wasn't having the intended effect. In September of 1949, Beganwald's mother transferred him to Belmont. Bellevue Hospital, infamous for its psychiatric wing. She thought that if anybody could handle her tear-away son, Bellevue could. There was no dedicated children's psychiatric ward, but it's possible Sally Beganwald reasoned that her son already had grown-up vices. Perhaps he should be treated as an adult patient, too. The doctors at Bellevue concurred with the earlier diagnosis of childhood schizophrenia, and also noted that Beganwald was hyperactive and fixated on fantasies about death. told one physician, I could jump out of that window and then it would all be over.

Doctors proceeded with an intensive course of electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT. ECT was in its heyday in the late 1940s and was used to treat a number of psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. The treatment involved administering electric currents to the brain, causing a brief surge in electrical activity, which is generally known as a seizure. ECT can be effective, but in Begenwald's day, it was often done without regard to the patient's safety and even used as punishment. The procedure could therefore be horrific. And remember, Begenwald was under 10 years old. Today, most guidelines advise against using ECT on children younger than 11, largely because the long-term effects on a developing brain are unclear.

But at Bellevue in 1949, it seems no such rules existed. Beganwald underwent a total of 20 ECT sessions in the space of six weeks. After this rigorous treatment, doctors deemed him well enough to leave the hospital and discharged him. However, Beganwald wasn't considered ready to rejoin society just yet. Instead, he was sent to a reform school just north of New York City, which promised to rehabilitate troubled boys through fresh air and farm work, while still offering medical supervision for those who needed it. But the young Beganwald showed no interest in

rehabilitation. Even in this setting, surrounded by troubled peers, he stood out as a rebel. He made at least one attempt to escape the school, and during his weekend visits home to Staten Island, he began stealing money from his parents. Even so, doctors eventually discharged Beganwald from medical supervision. When he was 16, he was sent home to live in Staten Island full time. Things there had changed. His parents were divorcing. Their long troubled marriage had finally ended. This meant that Albert was gone, and neither Beganwald nor Sally had to fear his abuse. After over a decade in institutions and reform schools, Beganwald enrolled at a local public school, but it wasn't without its challenges.

Beganwald had never been interested in studying. Any enthusiasm he might have had for regular school soon faded. He managed to graduate the eighth grade and started attending high school. But by then, he was again becoming consumed by self-destructive urges. He stole cars and was arrested for it more than once. After just six months, he dropped out of high school. He wasn't interested in studying. What Beaconwald was starting to realize he craved more than anything

was the adrenaline rush that came with breaking the rules. Now at 18, there was nothing left to hold him back, and without those guardrails in place, there was no telling how much damage he could do. In a moment, Beaconwald's disastrous first attempt at armed robbery. Hi, it's Sarah Turney from the Spotify original from Parkast Disappearances. In honor of May being missing an unidentified person's awareness month, we've been showcasing a series of impactful stories we think you should hear.

This week, I'm teaming up with the Cold Cases podcast to examine one of the most high-profile cases in U.S. history, The Boy in the Box. For nearly 70 years, people all over the country wondered, who is America's unknown child, how did he die, and where is his family? A forensic breakthrough would ultimately tell us his name, Joseph Augustus Sorrelli. But as you'll come to find out, that was just one piece of the mystery. Catch this incredible episode this Thursday on Disappearances. Listen free only on Spotify.

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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. In 1958, 18-year-old Richard Beganwald left New York for the first time in his life.

Maybe to celebrate dropping out of school, he took a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. It's not clear why Beganwald chose Nashville or what he planned on doing there. All we know is that while there, he stole a car and went on the run. The authorities caught up with him hours later in Kentucky. Beganwald was quickly convicted and sentenced to several months behind bars at a juvenile detention center. Having spent more than half his life in various facilities, this didn't face him. And as soon as he was released in the winter of 1958, he returned to Staten Island, moved back into his mother's house, and returned to his old ways. That December, he teamed up with an accomplice, 18-year-old James Sparnroft, and began planning an armed robbery.

One night that month, the pair stole a car and drove north from Staten Island and into the city of Bayonne, New Jersey. They headed to a local deli and parked outside. Beganwald got out of the car holding a sawed-off shotgun. Sparnroft stayed behind as the getaway driver. When Beganwald walked into the store, it looked empty. The cash register up front was deserted, or so it seemed. The owner, 47-year-old Steven Slodowski, was putting away some items under the counter and didn't notice the intruder right away.

When he stood up, he saw Beganwald at the front of the store, pointing the shotgun directly at him. Beganwald ordered him to open the register. Sladowski refused. He had a day job as an attorney for the Bayonne City prosecutor and wasn't easily intimidated by criminals. Beganwald floundered at first. This confrontation wasn't going as planned, but he didn't stop to think for long. He quickly fired at close range, hitting Sladowski in the chest and killing him. He then grabbed Sladowski's wallet and fled. He made no attempt to get at the register or the cash box beneath it. Once he was outside the store,

Beganwald stopped. For some reason, he seemed to decide he wasn't quite finished. He turned, raised his shotgun, and fired through the front window of the store, attempting to hit Sladowski again. But he missed. Then Beganwald quickly jumped inside the getaway car as Sparnroft sped away into the night. Sparnroft was panic-stricken and likely furious with his accomplice's bungling of the plan. Beganwald had managed to steal just $100. and he'd left behind a bloody crime scene. But Beganwald wasn't concerned. As far as he knew, he'd shot a deli owner in a holdup.

He had no idea he'd murdered a city prosecutor, which prompted an immediate and robust police response. Beganwald and Sparnroft abandoned their getaway car on the drive home, and within hours the cops tracked it down. But since the vehicle was stolen, they couldn't glean much information from it, just that it had been taken in Staten Island. Undeterred, authorities went door to door throughout Staten Island, questioning residents in the hopes of finding a lead. Beganwald and Sparnroft got wind of this and decided to get out of town.

They acquired another car and drove south from New York, cruising through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This time, Beganwald was behind the wheel, and being the thrill-seeker he was, he was going way over the speed limit. After more than three hours of driving, they reached the town of Salisbury, Maryland, around 1 a.m. There, a cop spotted their car care careening along the highway and pulled them over. As 42-year-old Sergeant Eldridge Heyman approached, he gestured for Beganwald to roll down his window. Inside, Beganwald was calm. Slowly, he pulled his shotgun onto his lap, then lowered the window. He waited until Heyman was right alongside the car.

Then, he turned sharply to his left, pointed the gun, and fired. As Heyman crumpled to the ground, Beganwalt errantly fired. again and floored it. Miraculously, the shotgun blast only grazed Heyman's cheek, so he wasn't seriously injured. He quickly radioed for backup and gave a detailed description of the car and its occupants. The logical choice would have been for Beganwald and Sparnroff to get out of town as fast as possible. They likely assumed that they'd killed Haman, and as cop murderers surely knew they'd be pursued mercilessly. But an hour later, they were still in Salisbury, perhaps

trying to find a spot to abandon their car. On 2 a.m., police lieutenant Carol Sermann spotted the pair driving on the outskirts of town. He pulled them over and got out of his patrol car. This time, Beganwald didn't wait. As Sermann walked towards him, Beganwald leaped out of the driver's seat and fired his shotgun, striking Sermon in the leg. Sermann returned fire, and Beganwald took a bullet to the cheek. He dropped to the ground in pain, his shotgun falling beyond his reach.

It was unclear what Sparnroft was doing during all of this, but when he saw Beganwald down, he surrendered. After just two nights, their ill-conceived spree had ended. The authorities in Maryland soon linked Beganwald and Sparnroft to the Sladowski murder in Bayonne. Sparnroft quickly turned on Beganwald in custody, telling the police that his accomplice had killed Slodowski. In the end, prosecutors charged both Beganwald and Sparnroft with the murder. They pleaded no contest, which meant that there was be no trial. Instead, in the summer of 1959, authorities extradited them to New Jersey for sentencing. During that hearing, Beganwald's attorney, Alan Crout, pleaded for leniency. He pointed

to Beganwald's long history in various institutions and argued that his client needed medical treatment. This didn't entirely sway the judge. Given that Beganwald had seemingly made little progress despite years of psychiatric care, the argument might have actually worked against him. In the end, Begenwald avoided the death penalty, but the judge sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Sparnroft got 25 to 30 years. In the summer of 1959, 19-year-old Beganwald arrived at Trenton State Prison. Just three years after being given his freedom, he was right back in another institution,

and this maximum security facility was by far the toughest place he'd been. But it's possible that for Begenwald, a highly restricted life behind bars felt more manageable. After all, he'd spent his formative years in similar places, with strict rules, a regimented daily schedule, and limited movement. These things were familiar. There's a term for this, institutionalization, or a chronic state caused by incarceration, where inmates struggle to adjust to life without the structure and limitations found behind bars. For people like Begenwald, incarcerated at an early age, institutionalization may be even more likely. On the other hand, Beganwald seemed uneasy with the ordinary world from a very young age

and exhibited severe antisocial behavior before he was even five years old. It's therefore hard to separate the effects of incarceration from his pre-existing troubles. Either way, Beganwald soon got a reputation as somebody not to be messed with in prison. Jailas sent him to solitary confinement several times after he fought with other inmates. When he was 20, Beganwald was involved in a fight so severe that he spent 11 months in solitary confinement. Details about this incident aren't available, but regardless of what happened, this was a very severe punishment. Solitary confinement is among the most psychologically damaging things that can happen to an incarcerated person. In fact, the United Nations recognizes any stint longer than,

than 15 days as a form of torture. According to a 2006 paper published in the Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, solitary confinement can cause a specific psychiatric syndrome characterized by symptoms like hallucinations, panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, and delirium. There's also evidence to suggest that parts of the brain physically shrink as a result of prolonged isolation. While solitary confinement can be dangerous for anyone, it's especially so for people under 21 and those with pre-existing mental illness. For Beganwald, it was potentially

disastrous. Today, some states have strict regulations on using solitary confinement in prisons, especially among young inmates. But in the early 1960s, few guardrails existed. There aren't a lot of details available about Beganwald's mental state during his time in prison, but we can draw some conclusions from what we know about his physical appearance. He became increasingly increasingly disheveled and started chain smoking, reportedly getting through three packs a day. But it seems that his behavior improved as he matured. In the spring of 1967, when Beganwald was 26, authorities transferred him to Rawaway State Prison, a mixed security facility. Beaconwald took this as a hopeful sign. He would be eligible for parole in a few years. If he kept his head down and stayed out of trouble, he could get out.

As far as we know, he became a model prisoner at Rawa. So much so that when a riot broke out in 1971, Beganwald was conspicuously absent from it. For the first time in his life, he had a goal and was determined not to let his appetite for chaos get in the way. Eventually, his discipline paid off. In June 1975, authorities released 34-year-old Richard Beganwald on parole, after almost 17 years behind bars. He moved back into his mother's house on Staten Island and tried to build a life for himself. He found work painting houses and repairing cars and discovered he enjoyed making an honest living. To everyone who knew him, Beganwald seemed transformed.

While prison had noticeably aged him, it also made him more mature and focused. He was soft-spoken, articulate, and exuded a quiet confidence. He used that confidence when he met 16-year-old Diane Marcellus, a bright honor roll student at a New Jersey high school. The pair began dating. It's unclear if he was unable to meet women his own age or was uninterested in doing so, but a 34-year-old man dating a teenage girl is sinister and predatory, regardless of the underlying reasons.

It's unclear how much Diane knew about his past, but the immense power imbalance in their relationship was surely a deliberate choice on his part. This suggests that Beganwald was not as reformed as he appeared on the surface. Beneath it all, he was the same man he'd always been. with the same dark impulses. And as he adjusted to freedom, thoughts of death crept back into Beganwald's mind. They weren't overwhelming, not yet. But soon, they began taking up more of his attention.

And now it wasn't his own death he was imagining. Up next, Beganwald finds himself in more criminal trouble. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals' head. everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen.

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She had her thumb outstretched trying to hitch a ride. To protect her identity, this young woman's name isn't available, so we'll call her Lisa. That night, a man saw Lisa and pulled over. He rolled down his car window and smiled at her. According to author John O'Rourke, after exchanging a few words, Lisa hopped into his car. The man drove away. For a while, they chatted amiably. But at some point, the atmosphere shifted.

Lisa seemed to get nervous. Out of nowhere, the driver stopped the car. He grabbed hold of her and began trying to rip her clothes off. She fought back and was able to struggle out of his grip. Heart pounding, she grabbed the door handle and leapt out into the darkness, running as fast as she could into the undergrowth beside the car. We don't know if the assailant tried chasing her, but if he did, Lisa still got away. She fled and went straight to the Staten Island Police.

There she gave a detailed account of what had happened. Based on her description and presumably his criminal history, the police identified Beganwald as their suspect. They issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of attempted rape. But Beganwald somehow got wind of this and fled before the police could catch up with him. His movements throughout the next few years of his life are unclear since he was trying to lay low. Although we know that he and his teenage girlfriend, Diane, continued seeing each other even as he was on the run. In fact, things were so serious between the couple that they got married. That might explain why Beganwald didn't go far.

In fact, when the police finally did track him down, he hadn't even left New York City. It's unclear what led to a breakthrough in the long-stalled case, but in June 1980, the police finally arrested Beganwald at a party in Brooklyn and sent him back to jail. But the authorities' case for attempted rape soon ran into a hurdle when, supposedly, the victim failed to pick Beganwald out of a police lineup. Though lineups are still widely used, they can be a flawed means of identifying suspects. This is mainly because traditional lineups are subject to confirmation bias, which describes the tendency to interpret information through the lens of what we already expect to be true.

In other words, if a victim goes into a lineup expecting to see their attacker among the faces presented, they're more likely to identify someone with confidence, even if their attacker isn't actually there. This was shown to be true in a seminal 1984 study at University of Alberta. There was another factor that could have thrown Lisa off. Before the lineup, Beganwald had shaved his head while locked up, radically changing his appearance. To try and salvage things, the authorities had all the men in the lineup wear wool hats to cover their heads. But this in itself would have made the identification process much more difficult. Given this and the fact that three years had passed, It's no surprise that Lisa didn't identify her attacker.

With little physical evidence, prosecutors dropped the attempted rape charge, and Beganwald walked free. After so many years on the run laying low, he was liberated. And for him, that could mean only one thing. Trouble. Diane had stood by her new husband through all of this. Now, the couple settled into an apartment in Asbury Park, a beachfront city on the New Jersey shore. In high school, Diane had been an honor roll store. But now, any ambition she had seemed to vanish.

Her only connection to the outside world was her job as a cashier at a local pharmacy. But even that became tenuous as she began using recreational drugs and stole prescription medication from work. Whether that was for consumption or to sell, we don't know. But to Begenwald, this criminal behavior seemed to be a bonding activity. Another case in point was his relationship with Darren Fitzgerald, a friend he'd made in prison. Fitzgerald had also been released recently, and in 1981 he moved into the apartment across from Beganwald and Dianz.

Beganwald and Fitzgerald shared an interest in chaos and destruction. They spent hours together in the basement of their apartment complex, building bombs and weapons. They also kept a venomous snake down there and extracted its venom. The endgame of all this isn't clear. Allegedly, the pair planned to poison a group of people en masse at a local mall, among other dark schemes. But what is clear is they talked a lot about death. That fall, as the days started to get shorter, it was all Beganwald could think about.

Until one evening, thoughts weren't enough. On Halloween night, 17-year-old Maria Chiallella left her family's house in Brick Township, about 20 miles south of Asbury Park. She told her father she'd be at a party and would be home around midnight. True to her word, she left around 11.30 p.m. and made her way home. Driving on Route 88,

Beganwald noticed Maria walking on the road. As soon as he did, he pulled over and drove slowly alongside her. He asked if she needed a ride. Rather than face the rest of her dark, cold walk home, she said yes. What happened next is unknown, but at some point Maria likely sensed something was wrong. Perhaps Beganwald started driving in the wrong direction, away from her destination in Brick Township. Or maybe his tone shifted in a way that made her skin crawl. When Beganwald pulled the car over in a secluded area, miles from civilization, she may have tried to run.

But Beganwald caught Maria. He shot her, and then watched her die. Afterward, he considered leaving her body where it was. However, he wasn't quite as reckless as he used to be. He had no desire to return to prison, and he knew he was already on the police's radar. He had to hide Maria. He put her in the trunk of his car, and he had to hide Maria. started driving, but he didn't go home. Diane had some awareness of his criminal activities, but bringing a body to their place would presumably be a step too far. Besides, they lived in an apartment. There was nowhere to hide it. So Beganwald did the only thing he could think of.

He drove to his mother Sally's house in Staten Island, just as he'd hoped all the lights were off, and she was fast asleep. It was perfect. Beganwald snuck into his mother's backyard and dug a shallow grave. Then he retrieved Maria's body from his trunk and buried her. As he threw shovelfuls of dirt into the earth, gradually covering Maria up with soil and mulch, Beganwald felt a new kind of thrill. It wasn't the adrenaline rush he'd experienced from past crimes. It was calmer, less frantic and more satisfying. It was the feeling of getting away with murder. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back next time with part two, where we'll discuss the string of horrific crimes that earned Beganwald the nickname, Jersey Shore's thrill killer.

For more information on Beganwald, amongst the many sources we used, we found John O'Rourke's book, the Jersey Shore thrill killer Richard Beganwald, extremely helpful in our research. You can find all episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Stay safe out there. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Our head of programming is Julian Borrow. Our supervising sound designer is Russell Nash, with Nick Johnson as our head of production,

and Spencer Howard as our post-production supervisor. Stacey Nimick is our supervising editor, and Derek Jennings is our writing lead. This episode of Serial Killers was written by Emma Dibdin, edited by Robert Tyler Walker and Kate Murdoch. Fact-checked by Kevin Johnson, researched by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood, produced by Bruce Kitovich and sound design by Carrie Murphy. Our hosts are Greg Polson and me, Vanessa Richardson.

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, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Do you 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.

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