Severed | True Crime Podcast
Severed is a podcast that explores true crime to paranormal cases with a concise format and in-depth analysis. Severed Strange Stories and Severed Jersey Stories are commentary-only spinoff shows that cover strange stories from the digital dumpsters of drama and Jersey, baby.
Episodes
Strange Stories: Deviant
We discuss the salacious sexual scandal between Rev. Travis Clark and two dominatrices, Lady Vi (Mandy Dixon) and Melissa Cheng (Empress Cheng), that occurred at a church’s altar in 2020. Listener discretion is advised. NSFW. CW | TW: This…
Paranormal: NJ Urban Legends 2
We celebrate our 100th episode by discussing the history and details of the Overlook Asylum (Essex County Hospital), the haunted Ayers-Allen House in Metuchen, and the tragic history of the Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City. CW | TW: Thi…
Paranormal: Myrtles Plantation
We discuss historical facts and mythos surrounding The Myrtles. We succinctly chronicle the plantation’s 230-year history and explore the autobiographical (and erotically-charged) accounts of one-time proprietress, Frances Kermeen, in her b…
Strange Stories: Napa Valley Murders
Episode Description: Drew solo hosts to discuss the murders of Leslie Mazzara and Adriane Insogna that occurred between Halloween 2004 and early November 2004 in Napa Valley, California. CW | TW: This episode discusses predatory behavior, …
Strange Stories: Pumpkin Pounce
We discuss an inflatable yard decoration that took flight in Bay Village, Ohio. This 15-foot pumpkin was ablaze with LED lighting amidst a wind and rainstorm, obstructing traffic and posing a challenge to officers on the scene to restrain i…
Jersey Stories: Brawl at the Mall
We discuss armed robbery and violence at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, NJ. Orlando Ocampo-Galo stuffed his backpack with stolen perfumes before being apprehended in Macy’s. CW | TW: This episode discusses armed robbery, theft, and violen…
Strange Stories: Rage Quitting
We discuss the visceral to viral “F**k You! I Quit!” announcements from Walmart and Burlington employees. We consider how far-reaching and universal this message appears on social media and in the broader work culture. CW | TW: This episod…
Jersey Stories: Burger Bandit
We discuss the reoffending Burger Bandit, Jermaine Campbell, who broke into a Shake Shack restaurant in Paramus, NJ, to cook himself a meal and steal merchandise, including a chef’s hat. How does he like his burger? Well done. CW | TW: Thi…
Strange Stories: Money Baller
We discuss the former SoCal USPS postal worker, Mary Ann Magdamit, and her three-year mail and bank fraud scheme, in which she splashed her freshly stolen cash on social media and took lavish vacations to Aruba and Turks and Caicos. Oh, but…
Strange Stories: Mom Goes Ballistic
We discuss Charlotte, North Carolina, mom, Cherez Davis, who shot warning shots at a local health fair to allegedly break up a fight between her son and another child. It’s a theater of the absurd for those who love our strange stories. CW…
Jersey Stories: Superintendent of Fools
Harry solo hosts and discusses the May 2018 incident of a not-housebroken-for-prime-time New Jersey school superintendent accused of lewdness and repeated public “relief” on a rival high school’s track. Harry discusses the main story from 2…
Strange Stories: Chuck E. Skeeze
Harry solo hosts and discusses the May 2025 case of a Chuck E. Cheese mascot committing credit card fraud at a restaurant in Tallahassee, Florida. Harry outlines the broad strokes of the case, talks about the childhood disillusionment of s…
Strange Stories: Afterlife Airways
We discuss the sudden and untimely death of a passenger on board a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha in February 2025. We outline the in-flight response by the crew and the traumatic events, in which passenger Mitchell Ring was fo…
Strange Stories: Body in the Backyard
We discuss the tragic discovery of Matthew Zoll’s body in a Long Island homeowner’s swimming pool in May 2025. He suffered from schizophrenia and was wanted for the murder of his father, Joseph Zoll Sr., in November 2024. CW | TW: This epi…
Jersey Stories: Taylor Slam, Egg & Cheese
We discuss the controversy surrounding the brunch menu at Taylor Sam’s, a local eatery in Bay Head, NJ, after a video was posted to their TikTok account criticizing customers for sharing their opinions on the expensive food prices. Edgly Ma…
Strange Stories: Copsicle
We discuss the crackdown on crime with an ice cream cone! The Danbury Police Department (and those in neighboring New England states) purchased the Copsicle truck from a vendor of the same name based in Litchfield, NH. The Copsicle blends t…
Strange Stories: High While Hiking
We discuss hikers high on magic mushrooms (psilocybin), who found themselves lost, disoriented, and reported their hiking partner dead, when he was alive and uninjured on Cascade Mountain in the Adirondacks. CW | TW: This episode discusses …
Strange Stories: Lawn & Disorder
We discuss landscaper Michael Brown and his hosting an unauthorized house party at his clients’ residence in a suburb outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Brown hosted 400 partygoers, charged them admission, and lied to law enforcement whe…
True Crime: Times Square Killer
We discuss the Times Square Killer, Richard Cottingham, and his brutal and sadistic murders of sex workers in the late 1970s. The transient nature of Times Square, coupled with its indulgence of kink and sex, made it a prime landscape for p…
True Crime: Murder on Mulberry St.
We discuss the infamous murder of “Crazy” Joe Gallo on Mulberry Street in Little Italy. Gallo, a captain in the Colombo crime family, put out a hit on then-Boss Joe Colombo. Gallo’s charisma and hob-nobbing with Hollywood elite were no matc…
True Crime: The Sullivanians
We discuss the Sullivanians, a 1970s psychotherapy sex cult in New York City’s Upper West Side. We outline their disturbing evolution, as patient-members were lured and ensnared with promises of sex, parties, low rent, and “chumships” among…
True Crime: Son of Sam
We discuss the notorious serial killer, Son of Sam, or David Berkowitz, who terrorized New York City from 1976 to 1977. We timeline his life, beginning with his birth to adoption, and offer insights into his neuroses surrounding his abandon…
Paranormal: House of Death
We discuss the paranormal history of The House of Death–the one-time home of author Mark Twain. We reenact some of the haunting moments from Jan Bryant Bartell’s memoir, Spindrift: Spray from a Psychic Sea, which chronicles her seven-year s…
True Crime: Seduction of Jane Doe
Drew solo hosts to discuss the infamous “Seduction of Jane Doe” case–based on journalist Skip Hollandsworth’s 1994 article, published in Texas Monthly–that outlined Coach (Jesse) Lynn Stroud’s grooming and sexual abuse of several Jane Does,…
Strange Stories: Buying Bones
We discuss Wicked Wonderland owner, Kymberlee Schopper, who was arrested and charged with a second-degree felony for selling human remains on Facebook Marketplace. We dissect the oft-stigmatized industry of oddities, curiosities, and retail…
Strange Stories: Hamptons Spa Murder
We discuss the violent murder of 33-year-old NYC artist, Sabina Khorramdel-Rosas, found dead at the Shou Sugi Ban House, in the Hamptons. We chronicle her move to the U.S., toxic relationship with her killer, Thomas Gannon, in October 2024.…
Paranormal: The Stanley Hotel
We figuratively roam the Colonial corridors of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. We briefly outline its history, discuss our favorite amenities, and outline the most haunted hot spots in the Vortex, Concert Hall, and Rooms 217 and …
Strange Stories: Ditched Delivery
We discuss the stressed Amazon delivery driver who dumped 80 packages along a wooded road in Lakeville, Massachusetts. We consider this case alongside the unionization of Amazon workers and stories of overwhelmed and exploited workers. CW …
Strange Stories: CarMax Crash
We discuss Andrew Jesus Arroyo’s vehicular rampage, as he drove his Subaru Outback through a CarMax showroom, shattering glass and ruthlessly causing bodily injuries and paralysis. We review conflicting eyewitness reports, Carmax employee r…
Strange Stories: Police Chief Pranks
We discuss the vile and depraved abuse of power by North Bergen, New Jersey Police Chief Robert Farley, and the eight or more allegations of intimidation and harassment. Farley is accused of exposing himself and defecating in the presence o…
Strange Stories: Bear Attack Bandits
We discuss two absurd and em-bear-assing cases involving criminals who attempted to frame (and blame) bears for murder and insurance fraud. CW | TW: This episode discusses murderous and morally unscrupulous bears–it’s a Severed Monday. List…
Strange Stories: Party Principal
We discuss the Cocoa Beach house party hosted by Roosevelt Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan and third-grade teacher Karly Anderson. A raucous neighborhood scene played out with teens shouting obscenities, puking on the fr…
Paranormal: The Sallie House
We explore narratives of a child ghost haunting The Sallie House in Atchison, Kansas. We dive into the Finney family history and discuss Debra Pickman’s ghost memoir, The Sallie House: True Story, which outlines her year-long accounts of li…
Streaming: Luigi Mangione
We examine the brazen and hyperpolarized case of Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old who premeditated, plotted, and pulled the trigger of his self-designed, 3D-printed ghost gun on 50-year-old Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, on Decem…
Strange Stories: Gross-ery Store
We discuss 23-year-old content creator Kelli Tedford and her participation in (and recording of) public urination in the Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene, NH, and the surrounding area spanning four years. We investigate whether Tedford was ins…
True Crime: Pastor Eli Regalado
We discuss the egregious and incomprehensible defrauding of members of Victorious Grace Church by Pastor Eligio (Eli) Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn Regalado, by establishing a worthless cryptocurrency, INDXcoin, in 2024. We explore the lev…
Streaming: Lorena (Bobbitt)
We discuss the case timeline of the four-part docuseries Lorena (2019) and comment on the intersectionality bias in the media and the volatile events surrounding the infamous severing of John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis on June 23, 1993. CW | TW:…
Streaming: Long Island Lolita
We discuss the infamous Long Island Lolita case as re-told through the documentary Amy Fisher: Kill for Me (2021). We give a brief bio and overview of Amy Fisher, the Buttafuocos, and the obvious media bias and perpetuation of sensational t…
Strange Stories: Au Pair Affair
We discuss the 2023 double homicide in an affluent neighborhood in Herndon, Virginia, in which 23-year-old Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães and her 39-year-old married lover, lured in Joseph Ryan, who had a profile on the fetish we…
Strange Stories: Racquetball Romance
We discuss the scintillating details of ex-porn star-turned-racquetball instructor Robert Baker and his affair with Monica Sementilli, the wife of renowned hairstylist Fabio Sementilli, that led to his murder. We unravel the scandalous deta…