Truer Crime
Do you ever listen to a true crime podcast and think, “that’s not quite right…?” Same. Crime stories are hard to ignore and even harder to forget. But the thing is... they’re stories. And getting a story right is all about how you tell it. Truer Crime talks about real people— murdered, missing, misled — with more nuance, more context, and more questions. Hosted by Celisia Stanton. Season 3 out now!
Episodes
Next on Truer Crime: Murder In Minneapolis
In 1993, Jeanie Childs was murdered in her Minneapolis apartment — a brutal crime that haunted her mother for decades. When genetic genealogy finally named a suspect twenty-five years later, it brought answers her family had spent a lifetim…
From Court TV to TikTok — The Menendez Effect
I’m going off the record with my co-producer, Olivia, to break down our Menendez Brothers series, from how the story evolved during production to what it reveals about our culture’s fascination with crime and punishment. We talk about the e…
The Menendez Brothers Part 3
Broadcast into millions of homes, the Menendez trial became something bigger than a murder case. It was television. Tabloid fodder. Even comedy material. But when trauma turns into spectacle, what gets lost? In Part Three, we trace how the …
The Menendez Brothers Part 2
At just 18 and 21, Erik and Lyle Menendez stood trial for killing their parents. To many, it seemed unfathomable: how could two privileged kids from Beverly Hills do something like this? When they finally spoke, the picture that emerged was…
The Menendez Brothers Part 1
In the summer of 1989, wealthy media executive José Menendez and his wife, Kitty, were found dead inside their Beverly Hills home. The brutality of the crime was shocking enough, until the truth came out. Their killers weren’t intruders. Th…
Nobody Should Believe Me - Season 6
Season 6 of Nobody Should Believe Me covers the extraordinary and tragic saga of the McDaniel family, a real-life Southern Gothic tale of Munchausen by Proxy that spans decades and has left untold damage in its wake. For the past twelve ye…
Next on Truer Crime: The Menendez Brothers
In 1989, Beverly Hills police found Hollywood executive José Menendez and his wife Kitty brutally murdered in their home. Their sons, Erik and Lyle, were charged with pulling the trigger. What followed was one of the most sensational trials…
Facing Death: A Conversation with Keith LaMar
Keith LaMar has spent more than 30 years on death row for crimes he says he did not commit. With his execution date set for January 13, 2027, and his final legal options dwindling, Keith speaks candidly about betrayal by his own attorneys, …
Keith LaMar + The Lucasville Prison Riot Part 4
In many true crime stories, the ending comes with the verdict: guilty, condemned, case closed. But for Keith LaMar, that moment marked the beginning of another story. For three decades, he has fought to keep living inside a system determine…
Keith LaMar + The Lucasville Prison Riot Part 3
Keith LaMar once admitted to murder. But when prosecutors accused him of ordering deaths in the Lucasville prison riot, he drew a line: this time, he said, he was innocent. In this episode, we return to the crime that put Keith behind bars,…
Keith LaMar + The Lucasville Prison Riot Part 2
For eleven days, turmoil gripped the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Hostages were trapped, negotiations collapsed, and the violence only grew. Inside those same prison walls, Keith LaMar was forced to witness horrors that would shape …
Keith LaMar + The Lucasville Prison Riot Part 1
On Easter Sunday in 1993, the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville erupted into chaos. Tensions between prisoners and staff had reached a breaking point, sparking one of the longest prison sieges in U.S. history. Over eleven da…
Women + Crime: The Cassie Ventura Case and Sean “Diddy” Combs
Celisia joins Meghan Sachs on Women + Crime to unpack the Cassie Ventura case and the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs. Together, they explore the power dynamics at play, the impact of the MeToo era, and the bigger questions about justice and ac…
Next on Truer Crime: 'If We Die, We Die'
In April 1993, chaos erupted inside Ohio’s Lucasville prison. Nine prisoners and one guard never made it out alive. And when it was over, the state said Keith LaMar was responsible. He’s been on death row ever since, but insists the truth i…
Off the Record: Mollie Tibbetts and the Grief They Hijacked
What happens when the worst day of your life becomes a talking point on national TV? In this special ‘Off the Record’ episode, we go deeper into the making of our two-part story on Mollie Tibbetts. I sit down with my co-producer Olivia Heu…
Mollie Tibbetts Part 2
For weeks, the search for Mollie Tibbetts consumed her small town, her face on posters, her name on everyone’s lips. And when investigators finally closed in on the man behind the wheel of the car seen circling Mollie on the night she vanis…
Mollie Tibbetts Part 1
In July of 2018, 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts went on a run in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Something she’d done countless times before. But this time, she didn’t come home. What followed was a search unlike anything this town had …
Next on Truer Crime: The Story That Was Taken From Them
A 20-year-old college student. A small-town summer night. A run she’d done a hundred times before. When Mollie Tibbetts vanished from her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, the search to find her captivated the nation. But the story didn’t end th…
Truer Crime Season 3: Vanished. Vilified. Voiceless.
Vanished. Vilified. Voiceless. This season on Truer Crime, every story has something in common: it’s not what it seems. What starts as a disappearance, a tragedy, or a headline quickly reveals something deeper—about power, about prejudice, …
Truer Crime Is Back—And We’re Going Deeper Than Ever
Season 3 of Truer Crime launches this August—and this time, we’re doing things differently. Each month, we’ll spend multiple episodes digging into one case, with deeper stories, bigger arcs, and the kind of nuance and context you’ve told us…
A Line Crossed: The Political Assassination in Minnesota
Early Saturday morning, a man disguised as a police officer went door to door in the Minneapolis suburbs with a hit list. He shot State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. He murdered State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband. He …
Mother, Martyr, Manipulator: Introducing 'Nobody Should Believe Me'
In the first episode of Nobody Should Believe Me’s latest season, host Andrea Dunlop unpacks the origin story of Sophie Hartman — a young woman from Michigan who, by 25, had adopted two Zambian girls and written a memoir titled Crowns of Be…
The Susan Smith Case: Media, Motherhood, and the Lie That Shaped a Manhunt
In this special crossover, Celisia joins Andrea Dunlop — host of Nobody Should Believe Me — for a Casefiles conversation on the Susan Smith case. In 1994, Smith falsely claimed a Black man had kidnapped her two sons. The truth was far more …
“They Didn’t Write That Sh*t When He Was Alive” — Anthony DiMaria is Setting the Record Straight About the Manson Murders
The Manson murders have been told and retold—but rarely like this. In this special bonus episode, Anthony DiMaria, nephew of victim Jay Sebring, reveals the story behind the headlines. Anthony shares what it’s like to grow up under the shad…
Timothy Coggins
In October 1983, 23-year-old Timothy Coggins was brutally murdered in the small town of Sunny Side, Georgia. As his family grieved, they were met with menacing threats, warning them to back off from the investigation. Today’s episode covers…
Deadly Small-Town Secrets: The Reporter Who Risked Everything for the Jeff Davis 8
What happens when a journalist discovers a supposed "serial killer" case might actually be a web of police corruption, informant murders, and small-town cover-ups? In this riveting follow-up to our Jeff Davis 8 episode, I go one-on-one with…
Next on Truer Crime: Blood at the Hanging Tree
In 1983, a 10-year-old boy hunting with his father made a horrifying discovery beneath what locals called the hanging tree.A Black man’s body, brutalized—stabbed in an X pattern that echoed the Confederate flag. A hate crime meant to send a…
Jeff Davis 8
Between 2005 and 2009, eight women were murdered in Louisiana’s Jefferson Davis Parish. To this day, all eight murders remain unsolved. It’s a story that drew the attention of New Orleans private investigator and author Ethan Brown, who unc…
EXCLUSIVE ALERT: Truer Crime Merch Is Here (But Not For Long)
After countless requests, Truer Crime's first-ever merchandise has officially launched! In this special announcement, Celisia reveals the limited-edition t-shirt featuring an exclusive inside reference that only dedicated listeners will und…
Next on Truer Crime: Eight Bodies, One Town's Darkest Secret
In a small Louisiana town, eight women vanished over five years—their bodies discovered in canals and along desolate roads. As investigators dismissed them as troubled women living high-risk lives, families and witnesses pieced together a f…
Sonya Ivanoff
Sonya Ivanoff was a rising star in Alaska’s small, tight-knit community. A talented basketball player with dreams of a college career, she had her whole future ahead of her—until she was found murdered at just 19 years old. In the isolated …
Making Manson: Our Journey Through America's Most Infamous Murders
The Manson murders have been covered endlessly, turned into sensational headlines, Hollywood blockbusters, and pop culture mythology. But how do you tell this story differently—without glorifying the killers or repeating the same tired narr…
Next on Truer Crime: Alaska's Most Shocking Murder
Nineteen-year-old Sonya Ivanoff vanished on a rainy night in Nome, Alaska—only to be found days later, executed with a single bullet to the head. The search for answers would unravel a betrayal so profound it shook the entire community to i…
The Manson Murders Part 2
In the summer of 1969, California police hunted for the killers behind seven brutal deaths over two vicious nights. As the investigation zeroed in on Charles Manson and his cult followers, a shocking story began to emerge. What followed was…
Next on Truer Crime: After Helter Skelter—The Trial That Horrified A Nation
Charles Manson's hold over his followers led to unimaginable violence, but what happened after the murders reveals an even more disturbing story.Part two explores the manhunt, the sensational trial that transfixed the nation, and the uncomf…
The Manson Murders Part 1
Charles Manson is a name synonymous with terror. But after decades of coverage, is there still something we’re missing about one of the most notorious figures in American crime? What forces shape the narratives we think we know? In the firs…
Five Thousand Dollars for a Death Sentence: Inside the Toforest Johnson Investigation w/ Beth Shelburne
If you heard our last episode, you already know the case against Toforest Johnson is riddled with problems—key witnesses recanted, no physical evidence tied him to the crime, and even the original prosecutor now says he deserves a new trial…
Next on Truer Crime: The Manson Murders—What’s Still Missing?
Charles Manson is one of the most infamous figures in true crime history. His name alone conjures terror. But even after decades of coverage, is there still something we’re missing?In our latest deep dive, we’re peeling back the layers of m…
Toforest Johnson
In 1995, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy William Hardy was shot behind a Birmingham hotel. At that moment, over ten witnesses placed Toforest Johnson at a nightclub across town. Despite this, Toforest has spent more than 26 years on death…
Next on Truer Crime: The Innocent Man Alabama Wants to Execute
Toforest Johnson was sentenced to die for a crime he says he didn’t commit—without physical evidence or forensic proof. But that didn’t stop prosecutors from building a case against him. Next week, we dive into a case that has sparked natio…