Morbid - Introducing CRIME COUNTDOWN!

Episode Date: July 13, 2020

WEIRDOS! Check out our new podcast in addition to Morbid, Crime Countdown! Crime Countdown See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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That's ANGI, or download the app today. Hey weirdos! Manalena have some exciting news! Guys, it's gonna be so fun! We're hosting a brand new podcast on the podcast network and it's called crime countdown. Banana. Banana.

We wanted to let you guys know about it first because we love you. You're our little loyal weirdos. We just love you. So what it's gonna be is it's gonna be every Monday. So mark it on your calendar. And we're gonna discuss 10 super unsettling true crime topics. It's gonna be centered around a common theme every week. Mm-hmm.

And we're gonna be ranking these in top 10. One of us is gonna do five. The other one's gonna do five. We're not gonna know what the other five is. It's a lot fun. We're gonna try to shock each other. We're gonna laugh. We're gonna cry. We're gonna scream. It's gonna be great. All of the above. And we have the podcast research gods helping us out with this. And sometimes we're gonna yell at them. And it's... When we say we, it's probably gonna be Elena. It's definitely gonna be me.

I'm gonna yell at them a lot. She's like, I wanna prove someone wrong. I do. I love proving people wrong. And we have that relationship now. So we're gonna debate things like who the most disturbing serial killer was. The top 10 dangerous moms. And even the top 10 stolen body parts. I personally can't wait to do that one because I'm like, what, what, what?

I'm really excited for that one. The first two episodes are already out right now. So you can go listen to them. And like, not for nothing, they're like really good. They're real good guys. And you don't have to, you know, it's not gonna be like super different from what we're doing on morbid we still have the same back and forth we get to joke around we

get to riff it's gonna be a lot of fun I think you guys are gonna love it. We're still your old pals so sit down and relax as we play you an exclusive clip from our episode on deadly cults and to listen to the rest of this episode, followed crime countdown free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone wants to be part of the club. The Girl Scouts, Phi Beta Kappa, the local golf course. There's just something about the feeling of belonging, of being part of a group. Sure, clubs bring like-minded people together, but unfortunately sometimes that leads to dangerous groupthink. And sometimes, groupthink leads to murder.

Today's crimes were all committed by clubs, but you probably know them by a different name. Cults. Deadly cults, that is. We love a good cult. The thing about cults is, they're never initially supposed to be about killing, but somehow, in so many cults, people wind up dead. It's horrifying, but it keeps happening. Like I said, everyone just wants to be part of the club. Hey all you weirdos, welcome to the podcast original Crime Countdown.

I'm Ash and I'm Alaina. Every week we'll highlight ten fascinating stories of history's most engaging and unsettling crimes. All picked by the podcast Research Gods. And today's topic is the top 10 deadliest cults. Ooh, Ash, you were part of a cult once. Aren't you a fire member correctly? Uh, not that I can remember.

Are you sure? Aren't you a high school cheerleader I remember? Okay, that does not count. I'm just saying. But for real though, what's your favorite cult? weren't you a high school cheerleader I remember? Okay, that does not count. I'm just saying. But for real though, what's your favorite cult? You know I love the man so badly. Oh yes, yes, yes. I would have hopped right on that bus.

How could I forget? With flowers in your hair, you'd be on that van. Exactly. Would you go into a cult, do you think? Cults stress me out, and I think it's just all the people involved. Yeah, I could see that. You're like an introvert, so. I truly am.

I don't think I would thrive in a cult. And I'd like to think, even though this is probably false in so many people and up in cults, I'd like to think because they are so predictable with their playbook that I'd be able to get away from it. Like, no, no. That's true. I know what's happening.

I got that. Right. I would think so. I see that for you. I see myself becoming part of one by accident. Yeah, I mean as soon as like Charlie Manson is like strumming a guitar and handing you a flower crown, I think you'd be like, well, okay. I mean, I'm a sucker for a beach boy wannabe. The only bummer is I feel like all these cults, the same message. It's like, it's the apocalypse, it's the end times, and that's just not fun for me.

They love a good doomsday. These cults they do So the fun part about this culty countdown like always is that we only know half of the countdown So we're gonna be learning half of the countdown right along with you Let's start the countdown 10 10. I'll get us started with number 10, the Fall River Satanic Cult. Specifically, it's member Robin Murphy. In 1980 Murphy, along with a man named Carl Drew, brutally murdered Murphy's girlfriend, Karen Marston,

as part of a Satanic killing. I've heard of this one. This one's like kind of a home townie kind of one. I was gonna say Massachusetts, represent, I guess. He likes me, that's not represent. So this was during that awesome Satanic panic time of the 80s, early 90s, where everyone including heraldor Rivera assumed you were the devil.

If you were black, you know, that fun time where we would have been arrested. I was going to say we would not have survived in this time. Definitely not. The murder of Karen Marston was horrific. It was horrific. It was gruesome. Um, member Robyn Murphy? This is really gross. Cut Marsden's throat.

And then Carl drew literally tore her head off her body. Oh my god. Yeah, this was no joke. Yeah. Carl drew was a known violent turd. You don't say. Yeah, and he was controlling a small group of local sex workers at the time. Robin Murphy was one of them.

Mm-hmm. She banked on that satanic panic thing, and said she was possessed by workers at the time. Robin Murphy was one of them. She banked on that satanic panic thing and said she was possessed by Satan during the murder or she never would have done it. Oh, what a good excuse. Yeah, it's a great excuse. It was alleged that Robin Murphy also had a role in other murders and that these were also done as offerings for the soul of Satan. Oh, good. Just really going for that satanic panic thing. Murphy must have had something on her side because she ended up cutting a deal with prosecutors. How?

So she did this because she said that she would testify against Drew for a lighter sentence. She got it. Are you serious? Yep, she got it and was released on parole in 2004. I don't think I knew that part. Well, here's the good thing. She quickly violated that parole and good good.

Because all of a sudden you're looking behind you like, what's that? I'm like, where is she? Where is she? She ended up going back to prison, but she's eligible to apply for parole again in 2022. Too soon, sis. Too soon, that's next year.

Don't like it. No, thank you. This year's been good enough already. Yeah, we're done. 9 At number nine is a cult that famously had a deadly exchange with the federal agents at their complex near Waco, Texas. The branch Davidians. They were wild for sure. near Waco, Texas, the branched Evidians. They were wild, for sure.

Originally, federal law enforcement agents went to arrest the group's leader, David Kuresh, which sparked a deadly shootout that turned into a 51-day stand-off, and that ended on April 19, 1993, when the members burned the building down. Not a good outcome. Not a good outcome at all. They were wild in from start to finish. They had about 130 members that lived on a 77 acre compound.

Instead of starting a cult, they should have just used that acreage for something like a sick bachibal tournament or just like a little, or like a huge petting zoo, actually. Yeah, that would have worked. A lot's of picnics, just something pure. Exactly. Well, David crushed the leader of the pack at about 250 weapons on the compound, which is why the ATF headed out there in the first place to arrest him.

Yeah, it seems excessive. It definitely does, you don't need that much. Their visit sparked a deadly shootout, which killed four agents of the ATF and six of the Branch Dividean members. The shootout ended up turning into a 51-day standoff that finally came to an end on April 19th, 1993. And that's when the members, including their leader, burned the building down. That's intense.

Right, like way too intense. Way too intense. Well, because of the way that FBI handled this, the American people really changed the way they saw the government. They thought that law enforcement had used poor judgment and excessive force. And actually, the branch dividends still exist today.

Whoa. Yeah, isn't that crazy? That's terrifying, actually. It's from the last nine that survived. And now they call themselves branched, the Lord of our righteousness. Okay, I know, righteous has another meaning in all, but every time I hear it,

I just think of some of me being like, righteous. So do righteous dude. I just think of like the Lord of our righteousness Number eight on our list of deadly cults takes us back to 1989 when authorities found several bodies killed as human sacrifices. On a ranch in the Mexican city of Mademoros near the U.S. border. When they questioned suspects about an American victim, Mark Kilroy, they led police to a dolphin to Haysus, Constanzo, the 26-year-old leader of the Colts. Wow, that's young for a leader.

I was going to say getting started cults. Wow, that's young for a leader. I was gonna say again start a Rill early like okay. The other leader was Sarah L. Dready who was a student at Texas Southmost College. She was known as quote the witch. Oh Same. Yeah, which is a nickname I can totally get behind, but she is not a person that I can get No, definitely not the cult took their cues from a film called The Believers. I looked to this up because I had never heard of The Believers, but I never had. Yeah. It's from the late 80s and it's about a cult who sacrifices kids for power and success, casual, so you can already see that this is not awesome. They literally organized screenings of this film for cult members. Okay. This cult also looked at human sacrifices in the same way

as a method to bring them fortune, protect them from the police, bring them things they wanted. Oh, there was a killing shack at the ranch where all the bodies were found and it was a nightmare in there. A lot of decomposed bodies, decapitated, hanged bodies,

throat-slashed, shot-stabbed, missing organs, missing limbs, think of it, and it was happening in there. Yeah, that's like all the recipe, that's the full-on recipe for a nightmare. Yeah, that's just like here you go. Just sprinkle a little bit of each of those things. Yeah, just everywhere you look, you're like, oh, it gets worse.

Yeah. The American victim, Mark Kilroy, was found in there. And he had had his brain removed and boiled in a pot. No thank you. Leader Costanzo specifically asked for a quote, Anglo male, because they said that it was going to add sacrificial powers. It's going to make it more strong. Okay.

That's why they brought Kilroyin and killed him. Okay, gotcha. So there were a Kutremonts of Santa Ria, which is an underground Caribbean religion, and Black magic that were found in the shack. Okay. So there was a lot of things that were saying they were not dealing in good stuff.

Yeah, it doesn't sound like it. Yeah, no joke. Hahaha. sound like it. Yeah, no joke. 7. Well, at number 7 this week is the infamous Manson family, who in the summer of 1969 committed a series of brutal murders in Los Angeles. The murders were at the direction of Charles Manson, a wannabe singer musician, living in the desert with his, quote, family of devoted young women and men.

For some reason, he always gets lumped in with serial killers. I know, he really does. He does, and he's not. He's just like a dirty little murderous rat. I know, I have to remember not to call him a serial killer in front of you so that you don't get mad at me. I don't get angry. Well, this one happens to be my favorite true crime case.

So, Manson really got full on vicious after having a super messed up childhood and after his rejection from the music industry. It's like everybody's been turned down for something. Do just move on. Well, he was turned down by the beach voice, so that's like, man, that's kind of a big turn down. Big turn down. Turn down for that. Yeah, turn down for that for sure.

Well, he would use the Manson girls to lure other men into the group until they formed this big family. The family was living at Spawn Ranch, which at 55 acres used to be a movie ranch where they would film Westerns. They brought it way down. Yeah, as we all know, drug use was instrumental

in Charlie Manson's control over this group. Beladonna is a hell of a drug, seriously. Don't recommend. Don't do it. And out of ten, do not. So as everybody was tripping, Manson would preach about Helter Skeletor, which is what he said was going to basically be the start of a race war. Imagine just being like, hey everybody, so this Beatles song feels like it's telling me to murder a bunch of people and start a race war around everybody, and then the world's gonna end, and we're gonna be the only ones living.

Like are you guys in? And then imagine everybody being like, hell yeah, let's get it. And just imagine people being like, I don't question that at all. Absolutely. That's a cult. That's when you know you're an occult. Yeah. Call your dad as my favorite writer said. Yeah, exactly. Well, he thought at the end of this war,

the Mansons would rule the world. And the murder of Sharon Tate ended up bringing this case crazy media attention because she was a pregnant movie star at the time. That's so sad. Yeah, it was really sad. She was so beautiful at her. Yeah, for real.

So that is number seven. Where are we headed? Woo. Hey, for real. So that is number seven. Where are we headed? Woo! Hey, prime members. You can listen to morbid early and ad free on Amazon music. Download the Amazon music app today, or you can listen ad free with Wondery Plus and Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. by completing a short survey at Wondry.com slash survey.

What if you were trafficked into a cult over shot nine times or fell in love with a vampire or went into a minor surgery and woke up one week later paralyzed. What would you do? I'm Whit Missildine, the creator of this is actually happening, a podcast from Wondry that brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events, told by the people who lived them. From a young man that dunes his entire future with one choice, to a woman who survived a notorious serial killer, you'll hear their first-person account of how they overcame remarkable circumstances. Each episode is an exploration of the human spirit and personal discovery. These haunting accounts sound like Hollywood movies, but I assure you this is actually happening.

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