Uncorked Crime

On August 5, 1982, in New Mexico, Father Reynaldo Rivera received a phone call from a man asking the priest to come give his dying grandfather his last rites. Father Rivera’s body was found three days later. He had been shot and strangled, possibly with a wire hanger. On July 20, 1984, Father John Kerrigan left a bakery in Montana. Nine days later, his clothes were found along with a wire coat hanger. Both were covered in blood. Were the two murders related, were there other priests murdered by the same assailant, and would any of them ever be solved?

On September 14th, 1971, 16 year old Cathy Moulton was dropped off in downtown Portland, Maine to do a little shopping. She visited a friend before making the walk back home. Unfortunately, she would never make it there. Cathy's disappearance would go cold quickly, with no new leads of where she might be. Twenty four years later, a new detective on the case was able to track down where Cathy went from Portland, but that trail ended before Cathy or her body were found. What happened to Cathy Moulton that afternoon? Will her family ever get an answer? 

In June in 1981, Minnesota police received a phone call from a man crying, saying he had killed someone and begged police to find him so he wouldn’t have to kill again. Police were unable to track him. A year later, the same man called for an ambulance after getting into a physical altercation with a woman who he had planned to murder. Paul Stephani was picked up and connected to the phone call made the year before. How many innocent women had Paul murdered, and what drove him to murder them in such a gruesome manner?

In July 2012, 16 year old Skylar Neese disappeared from the apartment she lived in with her family. Six months later, one of Skylar’s best friends, Rachel Shoaf, could no longer stand the guilt and confessed to murdering Skylar with the help of her other best friend, Shelia Eddy. Rachel then led police to Skylar’s body, confirming what they had done. What drove the two teenage girls to plot and murder what everyone thought was their best friend?

In November of 1949, 24 year old Timothy Evans informed the UK police that his wife, Beryl, had died and he had disposed of her body in a sewer drain. Then he told them his neighbor, John Christie, had actually murdered his wife. The bodies of Beryl and her 13 month old were found on the property, and Timothy was executed for the murder of their daughter. Four years later, several other bodies were found on the property and it was discovered that John Christie had murdered several women over the years. Was Timothy wrongfully executed for murder, and would justice ever truly be served for all of the victims?

Jennifer Pan’s parents set very high expectations for her, so when her grades began slipping in highschool, she forged her report cards to show perfect grades. She would then go on to lie about attending college and employment. Her parents soon caught on and forbade her from leaving their home, except to go to work, which they tracked. Until November 2010, when two armed men barged into the Pan family home and shot her parents. Her mother didn’t survive, but her dad did. Was this a random act of violence, or was this part of a scheme put together by Jennifer herself?

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1996, 26 year old Darlie Routier called 911 claiming a man broke into her family’s home, stabbed two of her sons and tried to slit her throat before running out of the home. Her husband was asleep in the other room with their 7 month old son. However, Darlie’s claims of the attack and the evidence at the crime scene didn’t seem to add up. Darlie would soon be found guilty of the murder of one of her sons, but was she really the murderer? And if she wasn’t, who was?

In March of 1905, Jeanna Weber’s sister in law left her two children in Jeanna’s care for a few hours.  When she returned, only one of her children was alive. A week later, her second child died while in the care of Jeanna. By January of 1906, Jeanna was on trial for murdering eight children, including her own son, but she was acquitted on all charges. Within 2 years, she would be back on trial for murdering another two children. Would Jeanna finally be found guilty and put behind bars before she could murder again?

Theresa Knorr lost her mother at a young age and was never quite the same after. By the time she was 30, Theresa was a widow, had been divorced three times, and had six children with three different men. She then began taking her anger out on her children, even killing two of her own daughters within a year. Theresa went into hiding and it appeared she would get away with her evil crimes. Nine years later, Theresa’s youngest daughter took action and finally brought justice to her two murdered sisters.

On August 3, 1930, Judge Joseph F Carter left Maine, where he had been vacationing with his wife, to return to New York City for a week for work. Three days later, Joseph got dinner with his lawyer and another woman. He left the restaurant alone and was never seen or heard from again. He would eventually become known as one of the most mysterious missing person cases of the 20th century. Did Joseph choose to disappear on his own, or did something more sinister happen to him?

On February 14, 2013, Oscar Pistorius, professional sprinter and six time Paralympic gold medal winner, shot into the locked bathroom in his home. The shots fatally wounded his 29 year old girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Oscar claims he believed an intruder had gotten into his home and was hiding in the bathroom. Was the killing of Reeva an accidental one, or was there more to the story that Oscar wasn’t sharing?

Channon Christian and her boyfriend, Chris Newsom were kidnapped in their own vehicle on January 6, 2007. The two were taken to a house where they both raped and tortured, and ultimately murdered. Five individuals would be arrested and tried for the crimes committed. They would all be convicted, but were their sentences harsh enough for the amount of pain and suffering they caused Channon and Chris, and their families?

During Paula Welden’s sophomore year in college, she decided to finally venture out and explore North Bennington’s portion of the Long Trail in Vermont. She set out on the afternoon of December 1, 1946, and would never be seen again. Her body has not been found to this day, and no evidence or leads have come to light. However, she wasn’t the first or last person to go missing without a trace in the area, leading to it being nicknamed the Bennington Triangle.

On March 10, 1928, nine year old Walter Collins left home and headed to the movie theatre. He never returned back home. Five months later, his mother brought home a boy claiming to be Walter. It didn’t take long for her to realize this boy wasn’t her son. Then another woman claimed to have helped her son murder Walter. Who was this boy, who did this woman murder, and what really happened to Walter Collins?

At the age of 16, Scott Kologi was known as a very happy and nice kid, with parents and siblings that were very close and supportive of each other. Until New Year's Eve in 2017. Scott went upstairs, loaded a gun, and waited for his mom to come looking for him. When she did, he shot her and then went on to shoot his dad, sister, and grandma. His grandfather and brother survived the shooting rampage, but their lives would never be the same again. What drove Scott to want to kill his family, and could anyone have seen this coming?

In 2010, 15 year old Kristy Bamu went to visit his sister, Magalie, and her boyfriend, Eric, for Christmas. His two sisters went with him and they were all so excited to spend time with Magalie. Shortly after arriving however, the couple accused the siblings of bringing witchcraft into their home and they aggressively attempted an exorcism. On Christmas Day, after days of torture, Kristy passed away. Would justice be served for Kristy’s death and the abuse he and his sisters endured?

Marvallous Keene and his girlfriend, Laura Taylor, were in need of cash on Christmas Eve 1992 and had the idea of robbing a man. It turned into more than a robbery when the two decided to murder the man. The couple then met up with two more friends, DeMarcus Smith and Heather Matthews. By the afternoon of December 26th, the four would be arrested on a handful of charges, including multiple murders.

On December 24, 2002, Jean Wholaver, and her two daughters, 20 year old Victoria and 15 year old Elizabeth were found brutally murdered in their family home. In the crook of Victoria’s arms was her nine month old daughter, Maddison, mercifully still alive. Eventually, police were led to Jean’s ex husband, Ernest Whoalver as their main suspect. Ernest claimed to be at the home around the time of the murders, but said he was not the one to murder his family. His brother however had a different story of what happened that night.

In December of 2000, Reginald and Jonathan Carr traveled to Wichita, Kansas and began what would end up being a week-long spree of horrible crimes. The brothers began with kidnapping and robbing, but by the end of the week, their crimes got much more brutal. Six victims would be shot, only one of them surviving. After the brothers were caught, this survivor would play a major role in putting the two men in prison for the rest of their lives.

On November 26, Paul Merhige showed up at his cousin’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. By the age of 35, Paul had distanced himself from family and friends, so his family was surprised to see him that day. A few hours later, Paul went outside to his car and came back in the house with a gun. He shot at multiple family members, killing his twin sisters, their aunt, and their cousin’s 7 year old daughter. What drove Paul away from his family and to then try to murder them all?