Podcast
Once Upon A Crime
Hosted by Esther Ludlow · EN
Step into the darker side of history with Once Upon A Crime, a true-crime podcast that delves deep into some of the world’s most gripping cases. Hosted by an expert storyteller, Esther Ludlow, each episode unravels the mysteries behind notorious crimes, exploring the lives of victims, perpetrators, and the intricate details of the investigations that followed. With carefully researched narratives, thematic series, and thoughtful insights, Once Upon A Crime offers listeners a captivating blend of suspense, history, and human psychology. Whether you're a seasoned true-crime fan or just curious about the stories that shaped headlines, Once Upon A Crime promises to keep you on the edge of your seat.
51episodes
Episodes
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Manipulated to Murder: Hilma Marie Witte
Apr 15, 2024Tap to summarizeIn this month’s series, we’ll look at people who were manipulated into committing murder. First up, we’ll take a look at a case where a mother pressures her child to kill his father. That fact alone would make this story truly horrible but it was not the last murder Marie Witte orchestrated. The next one would be as cold-hearted as it was gruesome. Sources: https://murderpedia.org/female.W/w/witte-hilma.htm https://thecinemaholic.com/how-did-paul-witte-die-where-are-eric-witte-and-hilma-marie-witte-now/ Snapped: Hilma Marie Witte, Season 31, Episode 19, Oxygen TV, 2022. https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/hilma-marie-witte-convinced-sons-to-kill-husband-grandmother Evil Lives Here: She Made Me Do It, Season 2, Episode 2, HBO MAX, 2017. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Tarnished Hollywood: Danny Masterson
Mar 11, 2024Tap to summarizeDanny Masterson is an American actor best known for his role in That 70’s Show. In 2020, he was charged with raping three women in 2001 and 2003. Masterson and his victims were all members of the Church of Scientology. The church’s policies and threats toward the victims caused a 20-year delay in bringing the crimes to justice. Sources: A Timeline of Danny Masterson’s Controversies, Skyler Caruso for People.com, Sept 7, 2023 https://people.com/tv/danny-masterson-charged-rape-timeline-of-allegations/ Danny Masterson’s Long History with the Church of Scientology, Christina Dugan Ramirez for People.com, March 3, 2017. https://people.com/celebrity/danny-masterson-history-church-of-scientology/ Danny Masterson Used Drugging, Scientology to get Away with Rape, Prosecutor Says, Andrew Dalton, AP News, May 16, 2023 https://apnews.com/article/danny-masterson-rape-retrial-ecf0ee15fb71ef603dc4ad30ba74f3dd Danny Masterson was Convicted of Rape. What Happens to Scientology?, Tony Ortega for RollingStone, June 5, 2023. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/danny-masterson-rape-conviction-scientology-accountability-1234764377/ Two Hollywood stars are accused of rape, but Scientology is also on trial, Diana Dasrath and Corky Siemaszko for NBC News, Sept 7, 2023. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-hollywood-stars-are-accused-rape-scientology-also-trial-rcna54196 Danny Masterson is Sentenced to 30 Years to Life in Prison for Two Rapes, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Livia Albeck-Ripka, and Michael Levenson for The New York Times, Sept 7, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/arts/television/danny-masterson-rape-trial-sentencing.html#:~:text=Danny%20Masterson%2C%20the%20actor%20best,Judge%20Charlaine%20F. Danny Masterson Branded a ‘Suppressive Person’ After Being Expelled from the Church of Scientology, Favour Adegoke for TheBlast.com, October 24, 2023. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/danny-masterson-branded-suppressive-person-180002162.html#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20report%2C%20the,growth%20of%20those%20around%20them. Former members reveal hell of life inside Church of Scientology, 60 Minutes Australia, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Na0EfFTp50 The Untold Story of Danny Masterson, WatchMojo.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPGe120Mlh4 The Most Shocking Revelations from Danny Masterson’s First Trial, Natalie Finn for E News, Sept 7, 2023. https://www.eonline.com/news/1350935/the-most-shocking-revelations-from-danny-mastersons-rape-trial Links: CrimeCon 24 -https://www.crimecon.com/CC24 - Use offer code ONCE for 10% off your registration. Listen to Marooned - https://visitmarooned.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Deadly Devotion: Motherhood and Mayhem, Part 1
May 22, 2023Tap to summarizeThis Mother’s Day, join Shane Waters on a chilling adventure featuring 14 podcasters (including Once Upon A Crime) as they share sinister stories of motherhood. Mother’s Day is typically a time to honor the love and sacrifices of mothers, but today we’ll be exploring the twisted tales that lurk behind the shadows. Podcasts are listed here in order of appearance: Part 1: Foul Play: Crime Series [www.itsfoulplay.com] Music City 911[https://musiccity911.com] Crimes from the East [https://tinyurl.com/37sx22bt] Cults, Crimes, Cabernet [https://www.cultscrimescabernet.com] A Nefarious Nightmare [https://tinyurl.com/y5nuezs5] Crimelines [https://linktr.ee/Crimelines] The Asian Madness Podcast [ https://tinyurl.com/5n8nv6aySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →YouTube Mayhem: The YouTube Headquarters Shooting
May 23, 2022Tap to summarizeA young woman who creates a YouTube channel to advocate for animal rights and veganism becomes disgruntled with the social media platform when she feels she is being targeted for discrimination. But, no one imagined that her anger would spiral into a random act of violence. Resources: “Sleeping in Car and Visiting Gun Range: How YouTube Attacker Spent Final Hours” by Daisuke Wakabayashi, Matthew Haag and Elizabeth Dias for The New York Times, April 4, 2018. MVPD Statement Regarding Officers’ Interaction with Woman Responsible for YouTube Shooting, City of Mountain View News Details. “YouTube shooter was angry about company’s “Policies and Practices’: The Latest” by Aric Jenkins, Katy Steinmetz, and Mahita Gajanan for Time Magazine, April 4, 2018. The Case Files: Nasim Najafi Aghdam by Virginia Simmons, blog post dated March 25, 2021, Ontic.com. Clip from Mountain View Police Department bodycam footage can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmpjNUWpLBU Links: Once Upon a Crime Facebrook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1730325570622505See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Ghosts in the Attic: Otto Sanhuber
Oct 12, 2020Tap to summarizeThe mysterious murder of Fred William Oesterreich in Los Angeles in 1922 would be revealed years later as one of the strangest and most bizarre true crime cases in California history Resources: A Crime to Remember: Guess Who?, Season 4, Episode 6, The Investigation Discovery Channel "The Story of Dolly Oesterreich" by Erin Kelly for All That's Interesting, Dec 19, 2017. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Bad Teacher: Mary Kay Letourneau
Sep 7, 2020Tap to summarizeIn this month's series "Bad Teacher" I'll share cases of educators who committed newsworthy crimes. First up, a 34-year-old teacher scandalizes the nation when she is convicted of child rape with one of her 6th grade students. Resources: "Strange Love: Mary Kay Letourneau", 7 News Spotlight, July 8, 2020, retrived on YouTube. "Mary Kay Letourneau: 15 Shocking Facts" by John Whitefoot for Crimeola.com, May 29, 2018. "How the Media Turned Child Rape into a 'Tryst' for Mary Kay Letourneau" by EJ Dickson for Rolling Stone, July 8, 2020. "Lawsuit over Letourneau affair blames police, school", HeraldNet, March 21, 2002 "Letourneau is a predator and don't forget it", Susan Paynter for Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 8, 2004. Video Interview: Mary Kay Letourneau, 7News Spotlight, July 8, 2020 - https://youtu.be/7mowKsGWuW4 Links: www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime www.truecrimepodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcribe →Bad Seeds: Leslie Arnold
Feb 25, 2020Tap to summarizeIn Nebraska, in 1958, a high school junior holds animosity towards his mother and takes deadly revenge. He is caught and imprisoned and, years later, disappears for decades. Where is Leslie Arnold today? Resources "Whatever Happened to Leslie Arnold, the Boy who Murdered his Parents?" by John William Tuohy, www.mywriterssite.blogspot.com "The Mystery of Leslie Arnold" by Henry Cordes for The Omaha World-Herald, Sept 13, 2017. Music Credits: Original theme music by http://AaronGoldberg.Bandcamp.com Other music: Licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.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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Fast Food Felonies: The Fast Food Killer
Sep 17, 2018Tap to summarizeA series of fast food restaurant robberies take place in Nashville, Tennessee in 1997. The accused, Paul Dennis Reid, would claim that his early history of brain damage was to blame. Resources: State of Tennessee v. Paul Dennis Reid, Court of Criminal Appeals Decision, retrieved from CourtListener.com, October 2, 2002. It Takes a Killer: The Fast Food Killer, Oxygen Channel, YouTube, uploaded by dolly hostetter, Feb 12, 2017, https://youtu.be/74o5kdqra44. 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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Wild Things: The Murder of Dian Fossey
Jul 9, 2018Tap to summarizeDian Fossey became the foremost expert on the mountain gorillas of the Congo. She conducted the first long-term field study of these animals and her story was immortalized in the book and movie Gorillas in the Mist. A few days after Christmas 1985 Dian Fossey was found brutally murdered in her cabin at the primate research center she founded. People around the world wanted to know who killed Dian Fossey? #Rwanda #poachers #gorillaconservation #Virunga #Karisoke Resources: Nicholas Gordon, Murders in the Mist: Who Killed Dian Fossey? (London: Hodder & Stoughton) 1993. Dian Fossey: Secrets in the Mist (2017), National Geographic Channel. Social Media Links: www.twitter.com/uponacrime www.instagram.com/onceuponacrimepod www.facebook.com/onceuponacrimepod www.patreon.com/onceuponacrimeSee 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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Last Stop: The Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping
Apr 2, 2018Tap to summarizeIn 1976, in the small farming community of Chowchilla, California, a school bus full of children is kidnapped for ransom. #kidnappings #Chowchilla #ransom #crimehistory #California Resources: Dan Noyes, ABC7 News, "Parole hearing reveals new details about Chowchilla kidnapping," Nov 29, 2012. Holly Yan, CNN, "California mass kidnapping: After being buried alive, victims relive nightmare," Dec 28, 2015. Robert Lindsey, The New York Times, "26 Children Found Safe After Being Kidnapped from Bus in Caliifornia," July 17, 1976. Follow us at: www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime www.twitter.com/uponacrime www.instagram.com/onceuponacrimepod www.facebook.com/onceuponacrimepod 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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