Hidden Killers Live! Daily True Crime News & Breakdowns

When Joseph DeAngelo — the Golden State Killer — was finally unmasked in 2018, the world saw an old man slumped in a wheelchair. But according to Sacramento DA Thien Ho, it was all an act. In this exclusive conversation, Tony Brueski goes behind the headlines with Ho, the man who stood across the courtroom from one of America’s most elusive serial predators. From the whispered “crazy act” DeAngelo tried to pull in the interrogation room to the frail performance he staged in court, Ho explains how the prosecution saw through every layer of manipulation. But this story isn’t about glorifying a killer — it’s about the survivors. Ho shares how he centered their voices, the emotional weight of their impact statements, and the unforgettable moment one woman told DeAngelo, “I’m not afraid of you anymore.” The People vs. The Golden State Killer gives us the first insider look at the battle between truth and illusion — and how one prosecutor helped make history by exposing the evil hiding behind a mask of normalcy. #GoldenStateKiller #ThienHo #JosephDeAngelo #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcast #Justice #Prosecution #DNAEvidence #EastAreaRapist #CrimeStories Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

For more than 40 years, the man now known as the Golden State Killer stalked California — breaking into homes, raping, murdering, and then vanishing into the night. He was a ghost who terrorized families from Sacramento to Santa Barbara — until one relentless prosecutor finally helped end his reign of fear. In this episode, Tony Brueski sits down with Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, the man who personally led the prosecution that put Joseph James DeAngelo behind bars for life. Ho’s new book, The People vs. The Golden State Killer, pulls back the curtain on the real investigation — from the DNA breakthrough that cracked the case wide open to the survivors who refused to stay silent. This isn’t a retelling of old headlines. It’s the first inside account of what really happened in the courtroom, the strategies behind the scenes, and the human cost of justice decades in the making. You’ll hear how DeAngelo faked insanity to manipulate investigators, the haunting promise Ho made to a survivor, and the moment victims stood up in court and told their attacker they weren’t afraid anymore. This is the story of justice, perseverance, and the team that never stopped hunting a monster hiding in plain sight. #HiddenKillers #GoldenStateKiller #JosephDeAngelo #ThienHo #TrueCrimeToday #ColdCase #DNAJustice #EastAreaRapist #OriginalNightstalker #JusticeServed Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Imagine fleeing a war as a child, arriving in America unable to speak the language — and decades later, becoming the prosecutor who takes down one of the nation’s most infamous serial killers. That’s the real-life journey of Thien Ho, Sacramento County’s District Attorney and author of The People vs. The Golden State Killer. In this Hidden Killers exclusive, Tony Brueski sits down with Ho to unpack the extraordinary story behind both the man and the case: the trauma that drove him, the promise he made to a survivor, and the moment he finally saw justice done. Ho shares never-before-heard insights into Joseph James DeAngelo’s double life — a police officer by day, a sadistic predator by night — and explains how the prosecution dismantled his decades-long facade of control. He also opens up about his personal mission to shift true crime’s focus away from the monster and toward the heroes: the survivors and investigators who never stopped fighting. It’s a conversation about justice, redemption, and the moral courage it takes to stand in the face of real evil — and win. #ThienHo #GoldenStateKiller #JosephDeAngelo #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimeToday #JusticeServed #ColdCase #SurvivorVoices #DNAJustice #EastAreaRapist Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

After weeks of testimony and emotional bodycam footage, the jury finally spoke: Sean Grayson is guilty of second-degree murder for killing Sonya Massey — the unarmed woman who called 911 for help. But “second-degree” feels like a technicality, not justice. In this Hidden Killers exclusive, Tony Brueski and defense attorney Bob Motta pull apart the verdict, the courtroom strategy, and the dangerous precedent it sets. How did prosecutors lose the first-degree charge when the evidence seemed iron-clad? Did the defense successfully reframe Grayson’s panic as “fear for his life”? Together they analyze how “imperfect self-defense” keeps shielding officers from full accountability, why juries hesitate to call it murder when the killer wears a badge, and what this means for police reform going forward. This isn’t about one bad cop — it’s about a system that keeps lowering the bar for justice. Hidden Killers — real verdicts, raw truth. #SeanGrayson #SonyaMassey #BobMotta #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #TrueCrime #JusticeForSonya #PoliceShooting #LegalBreakdown #CourtAnalysis #Accountability Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

She called 911 for help. And they sent her a bullet. When 36-year-old Sonya Massey phoned the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office on a quiet July night, she thought officers would protect her. Instead, Deputy Sean Grayson — a man with a trail of DUIs, firings, and a dishonorable discharge — shot her in the face inside her own kitchen. In this episode of Hidden Killers, Tony Brueski sits down with defense attorney and Defense Diaries host Bob Motta to dissect a verdict that’s enraged a nation. A jury found Grayson guilty of second-degree murder — not first — despite crystal-clear bodycam footage showing an unarmed woman holding a pot of water, doing exactly what officers asked. How does someone with Grayson’s record keep getting hired? Why did the system that should have screened him out instead hand him a gun? And what does this verdict say about how America still treats police violence as a “mistake,” not a crime? Tony and Bob dive into the broken hiring pipeline, the psychology of a cop who panics behind a badge, and the legal gymnastics that turn murder into “imperfect self-defense.” Hidden Killers — because “serving and protecting” shouldn’t mean burying the evidence. #SonyaMassey #SeanGrayson #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #BobMotta #PoliceAccountability #JusticeForSonya #TrueCrimePodcast #Bodycam #PoliceReform #LegalAnalysis Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Before he killed Sonya Massey, Deputy Sean Grayson was already a walking liability — fired from department after department, discharged from the Army for misconduct, arrested for DUI, and still somehow cleared to wear a badge in Illinois. In this powerful conversation, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels and attorney Bob Motta expose how that happened — and why it keeps happening. From failed background checks to lax hiring standards, the system designed to protect the public instead recycles problem officers. The result: tragedy after tragedy. Grayson’s conviction for second-degree murder feels hollow when the larger machine that put him in that kitchen still runs unchecked. Tony and Bob unpack the loopholes, the union protections, and the culture of silence that let Grayson slip through every filter. They also explore Illinois’ new “Sonya’s Law,” the state’s attempt to patch the holes after it was too late — and whether any of it will stop the next preventable death. Hidden Killers — where we hold the system accountable, one case at a time. #SonyaMassey #SeanGrayson #PoliceReform #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #BobMotta #TrueCrime #JusticeForSonya #SystemicFailure #LawEnforcement #Accountability #Podcast Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Security footage: a nine-year-old in a gray hoodie and wig beside her mother at a Lompoc rental-car counter. Three days later, the mother returns — alone. In this Hidden Killers round-table, Tony Brueski and the team dissect the road-trip timeline that has investigators racing from California to Nebraska and Kansas. Why disguise a child? Why drive 1,500 miles and come home without her? And why hasn’t Ashlee Buzzard been charged? We’ll walk through the digital trail — credit-card pings, cell data, GPS logs, and OnStar records — the forensic bread crumbs the FBI is now reconstructing minute by minute. We’ll also examine what investigators look for in recovered vehicles, why restraint in arrests sometimes protects a case, and how public pressure can derail careful forensic work. This isn’t speculation — it’s a forensic autopsy of a mystery still unfolding. #HiddenKillers #MelodeeBuzzard #AshleeBuzzard #TonyBrueski #FBI #TrueCrimePodcast #MissingPerson #Lompoc #Nebraska #ForensicInvestigation #DigitalForensics #GroupDiscussion Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

How does a child disappear while every agency insists it’s “following policy”? Tonight on Hidden Killers, Tony Brueski and the panel trace the bureaucratic breakdown that let Melodee Buzzard, 9, fade from every official record. Complaints were filed. CPS was warned. The school marked her “independent study.” And still, no one saw her for more than a year. We unpack the entire chain of failure — from overloaded caseworkers and loophole homeschooling laws to judges demanding “visible danger” before approving removals. The grandmother reported rotting food and filth; social workers logged a “monitor.” By the time anyone knocked again, Melodee was gone. Now the FBI is digging through her mother’s Lompoc home, a storage unit, and a rental car that traveled 1,500 miles — searching for proof of what happened. This isn’t just one tragedy. It’s a blueprint for how neglect hides in plain sight when red tape replaces common sense. #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #MelodeeBuzzard #CPS #ChildProtection #California #SystemFailure #TrueCrimeToday #LawAndCrime #MissingChild #FBIInvestigation #GroupDiscussion Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance isn’t an anomaly — it’s the warning sign of a statewide collapse. Between 2019 and 2022, California’s public-school rolls dropped by 270,000 students. Roughly 150,000 of them remain unaccounted for in any school, private affidavit, or relocation record. They didn’t all move — many simply vanished from the data, the same way Melodee vanished from oversight. In this episode of Hidden Killers, Tony Brueski and the panel connect the dots between one missing-child case and the larger crisis of invisible minors. We’ll analyze state education reports, CPS workload numbers, and how “independent study” loopholes became a hiding place for abuse and neglect. We’ll also ask the uncomfortable question: If a state can lose track of 150,000 children on paper, how many are in real danger off the record? This is not fear-mongering — it’s a forensic look at bureaucratic blindness and the cultural apathy that lets it continue. #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #MelodeeBuzzard #GreatVanishing #MissingKids #CaliforniaCPS #EducationCrisis #SystemFailure #TrueCrimeToday #LawAndCrime #GroupDiscussion #PostCovid #DataInvestigation #ChildSafety Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

What happens when the grooming starts long before the predator ever arrives? Virginia Giuffre’s Nobody’s Girl traces that timeline—from a chaotic childhood to the psychological capture engineered by Epstein and Maxwell. Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, Todd Michaels, and retired FBI behavioral chief Robin Dreeke dissect the emotional architecture of trafficking: the grooming cycles, the normalization tactics, and the moment victims become complicit just to survive. Dreeke breaks down why fear—not money or fame—is the real currency of control, and why Epstein’s operation mirrors cult dynamics more than conventional criminal networks. They also tackle the chilling final chapter—Giuffre’s warning that if she’s ever found dead by suicide, no one should believe it. Dreeke walks through the behavioral indicators that separate genuine self-harm from coercive silencing, reminding us how power systems erase voices long after death. This isn’t about conspiracy—it’s about pattern recognition, the psychology of compliance, and why truth-tellers rarely live comfortably within systems they expose. #Epstein #VirginiaGiuffre #RobinDreeke #HiddenKillers #BehavioralScience #FBIAnalysis #TraumaPsychology #SurvivorStory #JeffreyEpstein #GhislaineMaxwell #TrueCrime #NobodyGirl Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl isn’t just another Epstein chapter—it’s a psychological case study in how fear becomes control. In this raw episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski  sits down with retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke, the former Chief of the Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program, to unpack how predators like Epstein and Maxwell systematically identify and break their targets. Giuffre’s memoir lays bare every step—from her father’s early betrayal to the moment she realized fear, not freedom, ruled her life. Dreeke explains how Epstein’s network weaponized shame, isolation, and manipulation to create compliant victims—and why trauma’s distortion of memory doesn’t discredit survivors. This is not tabloid talk. It’s an anatomy of exploitation told through behavioral science, human vulnerability, and institutional failure. Together, Tony and Robin dig into the core question: why did so many powerful people stay silent? #VirginiaGiuffre #JeffreyEpstein #RobinDreeke #HiddenKillers #GhislaineMaxwell #BehavioralAnalysis #Trafficking #SurvivorPsychology #FBI #TrueCrimePodcast #AbuseDynamics #NobodyGirl #TonyBrueski Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl doesn’t just tell a story—it indicts an entire system built on power, grooming, and silence. In this episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels sits down with FBI veteran Robin Dreeke to map out how the Epstein-Maxwell machine turned trauma into obedience and money into immunity. Dreeke unpacks every psychological layer: how parental betrayal created lifelong vulnerability, how Maxwell’s “female reassurance” normalized exploitation, and how fear—not force—enslaved an entire network of victims. He also explores why Giuffre’s brutal honesty about recruiting other girls actually proves her credibility, and what that means for how investigators should interpret survivor testimony going forward. It’s an unflinching breakdown of the behavioral playbook behind one of the darkest crimes of our generation—and a warning that the machinery of silence is still running. #VirginiaGiuffre #JeffreyEpstein #GhislaineMaxwell #RobinDreeke #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #Trafficking #BehavioralAnalysis #FBI #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorPsychology #NobodyGirl Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Virginia Giuffre’s memoir Nobody’s Girl doesn’t just tell a story—it indicts an entire system built on power, grooming, and silence. In this episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels sits down with FBI veteran Robin Dreeke to map out how the Epstein-Maxwell machine turned trauma into obedience and money into immunity. Dreeke unpacks every psychological layer: how parental betrayal created lifelong vulnerability, how Maxwell’s “female reassurance” normalized exploitation, and how fear—not force—enslaved an entire network of victims. He also explores why Giuffre’s brutal honesty about recruiting other girls actually proves her credibility, and what that means for how investigators should interpret survivor testimony going forward. It’s an unflinching breakdown of the behavioral playbook behind one of the darkest crimes of our generation—and a warning that the machinery of silence is still running. #VirginiaGiuffre #JeffreyEpstein #GhislaineMaxwell #RobinDreeke #HiddenKillers #TonyBrueski #Trafficking #BehavioralAnalysis #FBI #TrueCrimePodcast #SurvivorPsychology #NobodyGirl Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Two stories. One broken system. In Idaho, Bryan Kohberger could legally make money off his own murders. In Virginia, a first-grade teacher named Abby Zwerner was shot after four separate warnings were ignored. Both stories show how America’s justice system has traded accountability for excuses — and how law, morality, and bureaucracy keep collapsing under their own contradictions. Tony Brueski and former prosecutor Eric Faddis connect these cases in one of their most morally charged episodes yet. The first half, When Infamy Becomes an Industry, explores how constitutional loopholes turned the First Amendment into a profit shield for convicted killers. The Supreme Court’s Simon & Schuster decision gutted Son of Sam laws nationwide — and states like Idaho never replaced them. Tony and Eric unpack how “free speech” became a business plan for murderers and why politicians are too afraid to fix a law that lets killers cash checks while victims’ families get nothing. The second half, The Price of Ignorance, turns the spotlight on institutional cowardice. In Newport News, Virginia, teacher Abby Zwerner was nearly killed after school officials ignored every warning about an armed six-year-old. Tony and Eric examine how fear of optics, legal liability, and self-preservation led to tragedy — and what that means for every teacher still walking into a classroom unprotected. Together, these stories reveal a single truth: justice in America doesn’t end at the verdict — it just changes platforms. Whether it’s a killer monetizing murder or a school hiding behind procedure, the result is the same. Profit over pain. Policy over people. #BryanKohberger #AbbyZwerner #TrueCrime #JusticeSystem #SonOfSam #SchoolShooting #TonyBrueski #EricFaddis #VictimsRights #CrimePodcast #LegalAnalysis #WhenJusticeFails #FreeSpeech #Accountability Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

When Ajike Owens was killed through a closed door, her four children lost their mother — and a nation faced the consequences of unchecked paranoia. In this exclusive episode, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott joins Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels to dissect the mental chain reaction behind that fatal moment. Scott explores how chronic resentment, fear scripting, and entitlement converge in what she calls “justified aggression”—the mind’s way of excusing harm under the guise of self-protection. She breaks down how fear, when reinforced over years, becomes not a response but an identity. The discussion turns toward healing: what happens to children who witness or lose parents to violence, what recovery actually looks like, and how society can stop mistaking grievance for danger.  This is not just analysis — it’s a human reckoning with how far distorted thinking can go when no one intervenes. #ShavaunScott #HiddenKillersPodcast #ThePerfectNeighbor #AjikeOwens #SusanLorincz #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimeToday #PsychologyOfFear #TraumaRecovery #FearVsAccountability Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Imagine fifteen people—five of whom personally knew Laci Peterson—telling police they saw her alive, walking her golden retriever, after her husband had already left for his solo fishing trip. Now imagine every single one of them ignored. That’s the picture painted by the LA Innocence Project in its new 600-page petition for a new trial. The filing lists more than a dozen witnesses who saw a pregnant woman matching Laci’s description between 9:45 and 11:30 a.m. on Dec 24 2002, right in the Petersons’ Modesto neighborhood. Detective Grogan told jurors no “verifiable” sightings existed. Yet other officers called those witnesses “credible.” Several now swear they were told by police, “We already got our guy.” This episode examines the testimonies that never reached a courtroom—and why suppressing them matters. If Laci was seen alive after Scott left, the state’s entire timeline collapses. Fifteen people say they saw the truth. The question is — why didn’t anyone want the jury to? #ScottPeterson #LaciPeterson #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #LAInnocenceProject #JusticeForLaci #TonyBrueski #WrongfulConviction #EyewitnessTestimony #CriminalJustice Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?  Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

In this full episode of Hidden Killers Live, Tony Brueski, Stacy Cole, and Todd Michaels take you inside the minds of two of America’s most notorious convicted murderers — Donna Adelson and Chad Daybell — through the words they wrote themselves. Segment 1: Donna Adelson’s Prison Letter From a Florida jail cell, Donna Adelson wrote a 2024 letter to her husband Harvey describing how her heart “breaks” over missing her grandsons’ first day of school. What could have been a rare glimpse of remorse quickly spirals into denial and bitterness: “If I don’t get out, then hopefully I die soon so no one remembers me in prison garb.” She paints herself as the victim of “vigilante justice” and a “southern sweetheart prosecutor,” refusing to accept any role in the plot that left her former son-in-law, Dan Markel, dead. The Markel family’s official statement, read in court, shredded that illusion — accusing Donna of callous indifference and of cutting off Markel’s parents from their grandsons for six years. Tony unpacks the psychology of control, image management, and moral blindness that define the Adelson saga — and why Donna’s letter might be the most revealing confession she never meant to write. Segment 2: Chad Daybell’s Ghost Story Letter Then, we shift from manipulation to mysticism. In “Letter #7,” Chad Daybell — the self-proclaimed prophet now convicted of multiple murders — recounts his time as a Utah cemetery sexton. He writes of being haunted by a thief’s ghost, attacked by unseen forces, and taunted by demonic voices shouting, “We hate your books!” He interprets it all as proof that Heaven had chosen him for a divine mission. Tony dissects how this “ghost story” maps the arc of Daybell’s descent — from fantasy and grandiosity to apocalyptic belief — showing how delusion and ego fused into a theology that justified murder. Two letters. Two minds. One terrifying common thread: a total inability to see reality — or remorse — through the walls they built around themselves. #DonnaAdelson #ChadDaybell #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #DanMarkel #LoriVallow #MurderForHire #CultCrimes #PsychologyOfEvil #TonyBrueski Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

A six-year-old brought a gun to class. Four adults sounded the alarm. The assistant principal said the boy’s pockets were too small to hold a gun. Hours later, teacher Abby Zwerner was bleeding on a classroom floor. The bullet came from a child’s hand — but the failure came from the adults who didn’t listen. In this episode, Tony Brueski and former prosecutor Eric Faddis dig into The Price of Ignorance — the $40-million civil trial that exposes how bureaucracy, denial, and institutional cowardice nearly cost a teacher her life. They break down the legal concept of foreseeability — how repeated warnings establish negligence — and the difference between a bad decision and reckless disregard for human safety. Abby Zwerner’s case reveals the rot inside American education: administrators afraid of optics, systems paralyzed by fear of lawsuits, and a culture that prioritizes image over action. Tony and Eric walk through every failure: the ignored warnings, the denied bag search, the “too small” comment, and the claim that being shot is a “normal occupational risk.” They also unpack the emotional and psychological damage to teachers nationwide who watch the case wondering, Would my school protect me? This episode asks the questions that cut through legal jargon: When does negligence become moral crime? How many warnings are enough before inaction becomes guilt? And if a jury rules that a teacher’s shooting was “unforeseeable,” what message does that send to every educator still waiting to be heard? In a country with 344 school shootings since Columbine, this trial isn’t an exception — it’s a mirror. #AbbyZwerner #SchoolShooting #Negligence #TrueCrime #JusticeSystem #TonyBrueski #EricFaddis #EducationReform #VictimsRights #TeacherSafety #ZwernerTrial #Accountability Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Bryan Kohberger can’t leave his cell — but his story can. In the state of Idaho, there’s no Son of Sam law, meaning that a convicted murderer can legally make money from the story of his crimes. Books. Documentaries. Interviews. Royalties. In this episode, Tony Brueski and former prosecutor Eric Faddis expose how one of the most horrifying modern murder cases has collided with one of America’s oldest constitutional blind spots: the First Amendment’s protection of speech — even when that speech turns into profit from murder. Tony opens with the question every viewer needs to hear: How can a convicted killer make money from killing? The answer lies in a 1991 Supreme Court ruling, Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Board, which struck down New York’s original Son of Sam law after the “Son of Sam” killer, David Berkowitz, tried to sell his story. The Court ruled that laws restricting “crime-based storytelling” discriminated against speech by content. States rewrote their laws to pass constitutional review — some succeeded, others failed — but Idaho never passed anything. The result: a legal vacuum where infamy becomes an industry. This episode breaks down the moral, legal, and economic consequences of that loophole. What does it mean for victims’ families when killers can cash checks? Could Kohberger assign rights to a third party to hide profits? And why are lawmakers too afraid to fix it? Tony and Eric dissect how “freedom” became a shield for greed, how fear of being called unconstitutional paralyzed reform, and why the justice system now doubles as a business model. Justice shouldn’t have a payout plan. This episode asks why America keeps writing one. #BryanKohberger #SonOfSam #TrueCrime #JusticeSystem #CrimePodcast #VictimsRights #TonyBrueski #EricFaddis #KohbergerTrial #FreeSpeech #MurderProfit #TrueCrimeAnalysis Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

Two stories. One broken system. In Idaho, Bryan Kohberger could legally make money off his own murders. In Virginia, a first-grade teacher named Abby Zwerner was shot after four separate warnings were ignored. Both stories show how America’s justice system has traded accountability for excuses — and how law, morality, and bureaucracy keep collapsing under their own contradictions. Tony Brueski and former prosecutor Eric Faddis connect these cases in one of their most morally charged episodes yet. The first half, When Infamy Becomes an Industry, explores how constitutional loopholes turned the First Amendment into a profit shield for convicted killers. The Supreme Court’s Simon & Schuster decision gutted Son of Sam laws nationwide — and states like Idaho never replaced them. Tony and Eric unpack how “free speech” became a business plan for murderers and why politicians are too afraid to fix a law that lets killers cash checks while victims’ families get nothing. The second half, The Price of Ignorance, turns the spotlight on institutional cowardice. In Newport News, Virginia, teacher Abby Zwerner was nearly killed after school officials ignored every warning about an armed six-year-old. Tony and Eric examine how fear of optics, legal liability, and self-preservation led to tragedy — and what that means for every teacher still walking into a classroom unprotected. Together, these stories reveal a single truth: justice in America doesn’t end at the verdict — it just changes platforms. Whether it’s a killer monetizing murder or a school hiding behind procedure, the result is the same. Profit over pain. Policy over people. #BryanKohberger #AbbyZwerner #TrueCrime #JusticeSystem #SonOfSam #SchoolShooting #TonyBrueski #EricFaddis #VictimsRights #CrimePodcast #LegalAnalysis #WhenJusticeFails #FreeSpeech #Accountability Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872