Casefile True Crime

In early January 2000, residents of Asheville, North Carolina were told to be on the lookout for 18-year-old Zebb Quinn after he failed to return home after finishing his shift at Wal-Mart. A co-worker of Zebb’s, Robert Jason Owens, claimed that Zebb had sped off after receiving a mysterious message on his pager.  Two weeks later, an unexpected breakthrough in the case presents some bizarre clues. But as twist after twist emerges, the prevailing question remains - did Zebb Quinn leave of his own accord, or was he the victim of foul play? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-279-zebb-quinn

*** Content warnings: Child victim, sexual assault *** [Part 2 of 2] Colin Ross maintained his innocence for the murder of Alma Tirtschke right up until his execution. Could he have been telling the truth? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-278-alma-tirtschke-part-2

*** Content warnings: Child victim, sexual assault *** [Part 1 of 2] When 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke failed to return home after running an errand for her family, they were immediately concerned. Alma was a dutiful child who did what she was told and respected her elders. Alma’s final movements were retraced to an infamous saloon in the heart of Melbourne and its problematic owner, a man named Colin Ross. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-278-alma-tirtschke-part-1

*** Content warnings: Sexual assault, domestic violence *** Jeff and Tim Slaten woke on the morning of Friday, September 4 1981, to find their home teeming with police. Their mother, Linda, had been raped and murdered during the night. Neither brother heard a thing, and despite the killer having left pivotal evidence behind, it quickly became clear that this wasn’t an open-and-shut case. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso  Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-277-linda-slaten

May 3 1991, was a typical Friday for 58-year-old Margaret Penny. In the afternoon, she visited the Old London Coiffure in the heart of Portland, Victoria, for her weekly hair appointment with 49-year-old Claire Acocks. But when the two women are found stabbed to death in the salon’s shampoo room, the Portland rumour mill goes into overdrive.  Who could be motivated to commit such a brazen and vicious crime in the middle of the day, in the busiest part of town? And who was the “horrible man” with a hatred of hairdressers who had tormented Claire in the weeks before the crime?  --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill    Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-276-claire-acocks-margaret-penny

*** Content warnings: Sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking *** When Angela Connell met Ian Diaz, the pair began a whirlwind romance that quickly led to marriage and a growing family. But their newfound happiness was soon disturbed by a cyberstalking campaign with real world consequences. Angela and Ian told detectives from the Anaheim Police Department that they knew exactly who was behind the scheme: Ian’s ex-girlfriend, Michelle Hadley. But all was not as it seemed… --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro & Eileen Ormsby Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-275-michelle-hadley

*** Content warning: Child victim *** On November 16 2001, two state troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police arrived to conduct a welfare check at the Poconos Mountains home of 52-year-old Benjamin Amato. Friends and neighbours had reported their concerns after noticing Ben’s car in his driveway for several days, but no sign of Ben himself. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-274-benjamin-amato

*** Content warning: Child victims, serial rapist, stalking *** When the Koneva family fled to England to escape the war-torn Balkans, their hopes for a peaceful new beginning were soon shattered. In May 1997, an unknown intruder entered their London home and claimed the life of 12-year-old Katerina Koneva. The subsequent investigation spanned multiple countries and unravelled a frightening and prolific figure known as “The Beast.”   --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-273-the-beast-of-mlawa

On September 5 2012, a cyclist driving through the French Alps came upon a shocking scene. Married couple Saad and Iqbal al-Hilli, along with Iqbal’s elderly mother Suhaila al-Allaf, were shot execution-style while sitting in their BMW in a secluded parking spot in the woods surrounding Chevaline. 7-year-old Zainab al-Hilli clung to life on the ground nearby, while 4-year-old Zeena al-Hilli was nowhere to be seen. A local cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, was also fatally shot in the brutal killing spree.  An international investigation quickly raised more questions than it did answers. What were the victims doing in this isolated area? Had they been targeted as part of some sinister activity or were they killed at random by a lone psychopath?  --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-272-the-annecy-shootings

*** Content warning: Child victim, child sexual assault, sexual assault/rape *** When six-year-old Bonnie Clarke is murdered in her bed in the middle of the night just four nights before Christmas in 1982, Melbourne detectives are certain they know who’s responsible: Bonnie’s mother, Marion. Yet Marion insists an intruder must have broken into their home while she was sleeping. It would take 20 years, two other crimes, and an undercover investigation for the truth to unravel… --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-271-bonnie-clarke

*** Content warning: Sexual assault *** For 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher, spending a year studying in Italy was a dream come true. But within months of arriving in the medieval town of Perugia, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare. What unravelled next was one of the most polarising murder cases in Italy’s history, with one young American woman at the centre of it all – 22-year-old Amanda Knox. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-270-meredith-kercher

*** Content warning: Animal cruelty *** In May 2021, residents of the affluent Athens suburb of Glyka Nera were left shaken by news of a violent home invasion. Three masked intruders had killed 19-year-old Caroline Crouch as she slept beside her 11-month-old daughter before ransacking the house.  Caroline’s husband, Babis Anagnostopoulos, was the only witness, but he’d been bound and blindfolded during the attack. The desperate search for those responsible led investigators down a path no one saw coming. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-269-caroline-crouch

*** Content warning: Extreme sexual violence, captivity *** [Part 2 of 2] As the years of abuse, torture and confinement to the bed box continued for Colleen Stan, she remained paralysed by her fear of The Company. But one thing changed. Her captors Cameron and Janice Hooker slowly started granting Colleen small privileges, including time outside of their Red Bluff trailer. Did this mean they were finally going to set their slave free? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Research – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-268-colleen-stan-part-2

*** Content warning: Extreme sexual violence, captivity *** [Part 1 of 2] When Colleen Stan’s family received an unexpected phone call from Colleen in June 1980, they were stunned. No one had seen or spoken to Colleen since she hitched a ride to California from her home in Oregon three years earlier. Colleen assured her family that all was well, but they could tell something wasn’t right. What exactly was Colleen Stan trying to hide? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Research – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-268-colleen-stan-part-1

In the spring of 2005, two 18-year-olds met in an online chat room and immediately hit it off. Jessi went by the username TalHotBlond, while her new friend Tommy called himself MarineSniper. It wasn’t long before the two had fallen in love and gotten engaged… But less than a year into their relationship, the romance would be destroyed by a shocking revelation that ultimately led to devastating consequences… --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-267-brian-barrett

In March 1977, school bus driver Mary Gillespie started receiving threatening letters delivered to her home in Circleville, Ohio. It wasn’t long before her husband, Ron Gillespie, also received the letters which accused Mary of having an affair with the local school superintendent, Gordon Massie. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-266-circleville-letter-writer

For Marea Yann, two things mattered most in life - family and community. When the 69-year-old was found violently bludgeoned to death in her Healesville home, the small Victorian town was left shaken. It seemed impossible that anyone would want to hurt this doting grandmother and dedicated volunteer worker. But as investigators learned more about Marea’s life, it quickly became clear that Marea had been living in fear of one person in particular. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-265-marea-yann

*** Content warning: Child victim, child abuse, suicide, grooming *** When 14-year-old Andrew Gosden mysteriously disappeared from his home in the UK suburb of Doncaster, evidence emerged to indicate that he’d left of his own free will. But Andrew was a gifted, intellectual teenager who came from a loving and supportive family – not your typical teenage runaway. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-264-andrew-gosden

When Brian and Beverly Barry returned from a weekend away to discover their 19-year-old daughter Kim was gone, they initially assumed she was out with friends. Then news broke that a body had been found in some bushland south of their home in Wollongong, New South Wales, and it wasn’t long before the truth came out... --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-263-kim-barry

*** Content warning: Domestic violence, sexual assault *** In Pakistani culture, arranged marriages are common.  So when the parents of Samia Shahid chose a husband for her, Samia agreed to the marriage. Despite being raised in England, Samia took her Pakistani heritage very seriously and would do anything to make her family proud.  But Samia’s arranged marriage to her first cousin, Choudhry Shakeel, was far from what she expected. Samia was determined to build a better life for herself, but at what cost? --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Holly Boyd Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-262-samia-shahid