TRUE CRIME with Bratterstein
As someone who has been personally effected by homicide, I approach every True Crime case I cover with the goal of balancing facts with empathy—giving victims a voice while exploring the larger cultural and societal implications of the cases. I want you to leave my episodes not only knowing that the people who I talk about are real.. what happened to them is real but also acknowledging that they are much more than just their deaths. Each audio file from this podcast is taken from my videos on YouTube. If you want to see me in action, you can se...
Episodes
Teen Love Triangle Leads to 12-Year-Old's Murder
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Shanda Renee Sharer with me today. In January 1992, 12-year-old Shanda Renee Sharer was brutally abducted, tortured, and murdered by four teenage girls in Madison, Indiana. The crime was …
Serial WOMB RAIDER : Guilty but Insane?
In 2008 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, 18-year-old Kia Johnson, who was 36 weeks pregnant, disappeared. She was later found murdered, and her unborn child was stolen from her womb. The perpetrator, Andrea Curry-Demus, had lured Kia to her apa…
From Honor's Student to Cold-Blooded Killer? She Poisoned her Dad to Live with her Mom
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Steven Robards with me today. Dorothy Marie Robards was just 16 years old when she secretly laced her father’s dinner with barium acetate, a toxic chemical she stole from her high school …
Parents Killed with Shotgun Shells that Said "Mom and Dad"
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Dawn and Richard Heikkila with me today. On January 30, 1991, Dawn and Richard Heikkila were discovered murdered after a welfare check was requested by Dawn's coworkers. Their son, Matthe…
Teen Love Triangle Ends in Murder: The Texas Cadet Killing
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Adrianne Jones with me today. In December 1995, the brutal murder of 16-year-old Adrianne Jones shocked the quiet town of Mansfield, Texas. Adrianne was a bright high school student whose…
13-Year-Old Girl Gunned Down by JEALOUS and OBSESSED Loner
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Lauren Landavazo with me today. In September 2016, 13-year-old Lauren Landavazo was walking home from school in Wichita Falls, Texas, with her best friend when she was ambushed and shot m…
Murdered by a MANIAC and he is ON THE RUN
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Felicia Marie Johnson with me today. GOFUNDME for Felicia's Family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/x7jqsf-family-in-needIn April 2022, 24-year-old Felicia Johnson flew from San Diego to Houst…
Father Shot in Bed Next to his Sleeping Wife : Who Killed Ben Oxley?
In February 2008, 36-year-old father Ben Oxley was brutally murdered in his own home in Minden, Nevada. While he slept in bed next to his wife Melissa Oxley, an intruder entered the bedroom and shot him point-blank in the head with a shotgu…
Serial Killer "Hannibal" Leads Police To Victims Bodies.. but, are there MORE VICTIMS?
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kaysi McLeod, LeAnn Emry, Jennifer Marcum, and Terry Kimball with me today. Scott Kimball is a police informant turned murdered who preyed on vulnerable human beings and was responsible f…
She Killed her Boyfriend, made Bail, then Killed his Son: Andrew Bagby & Zachary Turner
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner with me today. In one of the most heartbreaking true crime cases Canada has ever seen, 13-month-old Baby Zachary Turner was murdered by his own mother, Shi…
MOTHER Murders own Daugher to SAVE HER?
In March 1982, 38-year-old Leslie DeVeau committed a crime that stunned Washington D.C. She shot and killed her 10-year-old daughter, Erin, as the child slept, before attempting to take her own life. Leslie survived, losing an arm from the …
Alisa Mathewson and her 55 Hours of Terror
In March 2017, Alisa Mathewson was kidnapped by her estranged husband, Trevor Summers, in Florida. Despite a restraining order, he broke into her home, tied her up, sexually assaulted her, and tried to kill her. For 55 hours he held her cap…
Father 'Finished Off' Daughters STALKER with MOOSE ANTLER
In March 2023, 27-year-old Levi Axtell walked into the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota, covered in blood, and confessed to killing 77-year-old Lawrence Scully, a convicted sex offender.Axtell had long believed that Scully posed a …
Serial Killer Obsessed Mother Slays Boyfriend : Shaye Groves
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Frankie Fitzgerald with me today. In July 2022, 25-year-old Frankie Fitzgerald was murdered in his home in Havant, Hampshire, by his girlfriend, 27-year-old Shaye Groves.Shaye, who was ob…
Mother Blames OWN SON For Husband's Murder?
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Greg Williams and Brynn Fletcher with me today. In March 2018, 37-year-old Greg Williams and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Brynn Fletcher, were brutally murdered inside Greg’s apartment in …
"Don't Call Me a Monster": The Nicole Nachtman Case
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Robert Dienes and Myriam Dienes with me today.In August 2015, the quiet suburb of Carrollwood, Florida, was shaken by a brutal double murder. Twenty-one-year-old college student Nicole Na…
The REAL STORY of the Death of a Cheerleader : Kirsten Costas
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kirsten Marina Costas with me today. In the summer of 1984, the quiet suburb of Orinda, California, was rocked by the brutal murder of 15-year-old Kirsten Marina Costas. A high school swi…
Kuria Family Slaughtered in Their Home… Two Boys Survive, But Don’t Remember
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Jane Kuria, Isabelle Kuria, and Annabelle Kuria with me today. In August 2007, the quiet town of Powder Springs, Georgia, was rocked by a horrifying and still unsolved family murder. Jane…
The Killer Was Among her Friends: The Michele "Missy" Avila Case
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Michele "Missy" Avila with me today. In October 1985, 17-year-old Michele “Missy” Avila vanished after going for a ride with her close friends, girls she trusted implicitly. She never cam…
Her "Parents" *allegedly* Left her in a Hotel Bathtub : Justice for Genesis Mata
In early August 2025, the lifeless body of 8-year-old Genesis Ariah Mata was found in the bathtub of a La Quinta Inn in Bakersfield, California. The discovery revealed a scene so horrific that first responders were visibly shocked, her body…
10-Year-Old Girl Beaten to Death by Troubled "Brother" : Kiaya Campbell & Aidan Zellmer
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Kiaya Campbell with me today. In June 2017, 10-year-old Kiaya Campbell vanished after walking with a 15-year-old acquaintance, her father’s girlfriend’s son. A massive search effort was l…
Buried Alive But Lived to Bring Down a Murderous Trio
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Brett Bowyer, Thurman Ratliff, and Catherine Ratliff with me today. In early 2002, the state of Alabama was rocked by two horrific and connected murder cases. On January 30, 68-year-old T…
15-Year-Old Lured to His Ambush Murder by His Ex-Girlfriend : Seath Jackson
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Seath Jackson with me today. In April 2011, 15-year-old Seath Jackson was trapped by his ex-girlfriend, Amber Wright, and led into a deadly ambush at a rural Florida trailer. Seath was to…
13-Year-Old Killed his Sister to Hurt his Mother
In a case that continues to horrify the true crime community, 13-year-old Paris Bennett brutally murdered his 4-year-old sister, Ella Bennett, in their Texas home on February 5, 2007. Despite having a reported IQ of 141 and no prior history…
Young Mom Caught in a Deadly Love Triangle | The Pregnant Mistress & Abusive Ex
In February 2009 in Marion County, Florida, 26-year-old Heather Strong vanished from her life and from the hearts of those who loved her. She was last seen walking away from her job at a roadside restaurant, leaving behind two children she …
STALKER takes a BOMB to Ex-Girlfriend's Home
In a terrifying escalation of obsession, 52-year-old Jeffrey Bothee broke into the Kentwood, Michigan home of a woman he had previously been convicted of stalking. When police cornered him in the basement, Bothee detonated an explosive devi…
Mother and Daughter MURDER DUO Take Out HALF THE FAMILY
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Mark Staudte, Shaun Staudte, and Sarah Staudte with me today. In 2012, the Staudte family of Springfield, Missouri, suffered two mysterious deaths. First, 61-year-old Mark Staudte passed …
‘I Think I Almost Got Kidnapped’: April Millsap’s Murder Solved by Her iPhone App
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering April Dawn Millsap with me today. 14-year-old April Millsap was walking her dog on the Macomb Orchard Trail in Armada, Michigan, on July 24, 2014, when she suddenly vanished. Just moments…
Chef COOKED HIS WIFE'S BODY to Hide How She Died?
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Dawn Viens with me today. In October 2009, 39-year-old Dawn Marie Viens, co-owner of a small restaurant in Lomita, California, vanished without a trace. Her husband, chef David Viens, cla…
Nursing Student Brutalized and her Killer.. FLED THE COUNTRY
On the morning of March 8, 2018, 22-year-old Haley Anderson, a nursing student at Binghamton University and beloved daughter and sister from Westbury, New York, disappeared. She had recently ended an off‑and‑on relationship with fellow nurs…
Deviant Couple Lured Beloved Teacher into a Deadly Trap : Melissa Jenkins
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Melissa Jenkins with me today. Melissa Jenkins was a beloved 33-year-old high school science teacher and single mother living in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. On the night of March 25, 2012, Me…
Mother Beaten with a Frying Pan and STABBED by "Best Friend"
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Brenda Powell with me today. On March 3, 2020, 50-year-old Brenda Powell, a beloved child-life specialist at Akron Children’s Hospital, was viciously attacked in her home. Her daughter, 1…
Teenage Girl Hanged, Photographed, and Betrayed by Someone She Trusted
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Georgia Williams with me today. In May 2013, 17-year-old Georgia Williams was brutally murdered by 23-year-old Jamie Reynolds, a man with a history of violent behavior. Georgia, an aspiri…
Killed by a STRANGER and hid in HER OWN HOME
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Gloria Gary with me today. In early 2017, 49-year-old Gloria Gary disappeared from her Des Moines, Iowa, home. Nine months later, her body was discovered—concealed inside her own house, h…
16-Year-Old Girl Left in Shallow Grave by Bestfriend & his Girlfriend : Mickie Costanzo
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Micaela Rae Costanzo with me today. On March 3, 2011, 16-year-old Micaela “Mickey” Costanzo disappeared after leaving school in West Wendover, Nevada. Two days later, her body was found b…
16-Year-Old Killer Smiled at His Handiwork : Pamela Vitale and Scott Dyleski
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Pamela Horowitz with me today. Scott Dyleski was found guilty of the brutal 2005 murder of Pamela Vitale, the wife of high-profile defense attorney Daniel Horowitz. The 16-year-old was co…
17-Year-Old Girl Couldn't Resist the Urge to Kill
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Justin Reid and his son with me today. On February 9, 2024, 17‑year‑old Mashenka Ann Marie Reid allegedly shot and killed her father, 39‑year‑old Justin Reid, and her autistic 4‑ or 5‑ye…
Mother Finds Two Young Sons Brutally Murdered : The Deaths of Tayten and Robert Baker
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Robert and Tayten Baker with me today. The tragic murders of 14-year-old Tayten Baker and 12-year-old Robert Baker shocked the community of Melrose, Florida in August 2020. The two young …
17-Year-Old Sweethearts Shot by a Masked STRANGER
As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis with me today. On August 1, 2016, 17-year-olds Natalie Henderson and Carter Davis were found shot execution-style behind a Publix supermarket in Roswell…
Daddy's Girl Commit's Double Parricide
In September 2003, 16-year-old Sarah Marie Johnson opened fire on her parents, Diane and Alan Johnson, as they slept in their home in Bellevue, Idaho. The shocking crime ended with both parents dead—Diane with a headshot and Alan fatally sh…