Week 17 of 2025 - The Unexplained
What you missed in true crime podcasts from 21 Apr 2025 to 27 Apr 2025
Mens Rea: A true crime podcast
Episode: Bonus - Eileen Costello O'Shaughnessy
Published: 21 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
This episode, originally a Patreon exclusive from September 2019, recounts the unsolved murder of Eileen Costolo O'Shaughnessy. In November 1997, Eileen, a 47-year-old taxi driver in Galway City and one of the country's few women in the profession, was living her life to the fullest after a period of illness. She enjoyed her work, known for being outgoing and meticulous.
On the 30th of November, Eileen went about her shift as usual. After her last paying fare around 7:30 PM and an unsuccessful attempt to call her mother, she contacted her dispatch at 8:30 PM, stating she was heading to Clare Galway. This was her last known communication. When she failed to return her taxi by 9 PM, the alarm was raised. An hour later, her silver Toyota Carina was discovered abandoned outside a bakery in Galway City. The keys were in the ignition, the windows were down, and most disturbingly, there was blood all over the driver's seat.
The search for Eileen ended tragically the following day, December 1st, when her body was found on a muddy track. She had been the victim of a vicious physical assault, dying from brain damage inflicted by a blunt instrument in what appeared to be a sudden blitz attack. robbery seemed an unlikely motive, as some money was left in the car. Over two decades later, the brutal killing of Eileen Costolo O'Shaughnessy remains unsolved, leaving her family and community searching for answers. What happened in those final hours, and who was responsible for such a violent end to her life?
Episode: Joseph "Joe Lupo" Rulli Part 2: Escape or Execution?
Published: 21 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Missing Adults and Vanished Persons (Fate Unknown)
This episode continues the story of Joseph “Joe Lupo” Rulli, whose promising boxing career was cut short by Polio, leading him into the mafia. By April 1971, a fierce mafia turf war was underway. Joe’s associates, including his partner, had been murdered, and he was warned he was next—a marked man. Weeks before he vanished, FBI agents, accompanied by Joe’s older brother Dennis, a New Jersey State Police investigator, offered him a deal: become an informant for protection. Joe refused, unwilling to be a "rat." His wife, Cynthia, witnessed this offer and knew the grave danger he faced.
Not long after, Joe hosted a going-away dinner for a superior, an event meant to usher in a new chapter for him. But before the party began, Joe stepped out for a supposed quick errand and never came back. Cynthia arrived to find him gone, overcome with panic. Days later, Joe’s car was discovered, riddled with bullets and soaked in blood, appearing to be a classic mafia hit. However, when Dennis inspected the trunk, instead of Joe’s body, he found only Easter baskets with melted candy. The blood, it turned out, was animal blood. This shocking discovery transformed the case. Was it a simple mafia hit after all? Or had Joe orchestrated his own escape, perhaps secretly accepting the FBI's offer? Could a family member have helped him disappear? Or was he murdered, with someone else staging the scene? These questions have haunted Joe’s son for decades, who now hopes that sharing this story will finally bring answers to this long-standing mystery.
True Crime All The Time Unsolved
Episode: Branson Perry
Published: 21 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
In April 2001, 20-year-old Branson Perry vanished after leaving his Skidmore, Missouri home. He told his friend, Jenna Crawford, who was helping him clean for his father's return from the hospital, that he was just stepping out to put jumper cables in a shed. He never returned. Over two decades later, authorities are convinced Branson was murdered, but his body has never been recovered.
Investigators Mike and Gibby explore this troubling case, where the prevailing theory points to a drug-related motive. There's a strong belief within law enforcement that individuals in the small, tight-lipped town of Skidmore possess crucial information that could lead to finding Branson's remains, yet they remain silent.
The town of Skidmore itself is no stranger to infamy, being the site of the notorious unsolved murder of Ken McElroy. Adding to the layers of sorrow, Branson's family endured another horrific tragedy when his cousin, Bobbie Jo Stinnett, was murdered by Lisa Montgomery. With so many unanswered questions and a community potentially holding the key, the mystery of what truly happened to Branson Perry continues to haunt those seeking justice. Will the truth ever surface from the shadows of Skidmore?
Episode: MURDERED: Solomon Robinson
Published: 21 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
This episode examines a case that, by all accounts, should have been solved decades ago. In 1998, a young soldier, 19-year-old Solomon Robinson, was home on leave in his South Bronx neighborhood. He should have been safe, but instead, he was brutally murdered in St. Mary's Park on the night of Friday, April 3rd. The park was reportedly full of people, with some estimates suggesting around a hundred individuals were present when a gunshot rang out just before 10 p.m.
Despite the public nature of the crime and the numerous potential witnesses, a wall of silence has shrouded Solomon’s murder for years. Responders found him with a fatal gunshot wound, multiple stab wounds, and slashes to his face and neck. Yet, no one has ever come forward to definitively state what really happened or who was responsible. Solomon, a private stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, was just days away from returning to his base. He wasn't involved in gangs or drugs; he was a young man with a promising future, tragically cut short.
Decades later, Solomon's family continues their agonizing search for justice. Detectives remain hopeful that someone will finally break the silence and provide the crucial information needed to solve this case. The central, haunting question persists: in a park full of people, how could a murder occur with no one willing to speak, and will the truth about Solomon Robinson's death ever come to light? The FBI is offering a substantial reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible.
Episode: Doe ID: 'Mentone John Doe' Derrick Burton
Published: 21 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Unidentified Victims (John/Jane Does) - Identity Mystery
This episode recounts the tragic case of a child, initially known as Mentone John Doe, whose story begins in October 1991. Hunters in Mentone, California, discovered a child's skull, devoid of teeth and a mandible. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's department found a bag with child's clothing nearby, but no other remains at first. An autopsy confirmed the skull belonged to a young boy, estimated to be between four and eight years old, though a cause of death could not be determined. Despite considering local missing persons cases, no connection was made, and the boy remained unidentified.
Decades later, investigative genetic genealogy finally gave Mentone John Doe his name back: Derrick Burton. In a startling revelation, it was learned that Derrick had been reported missing to the very same San Bernardino County Sheriff's department in 1991 by his mother, Patricia Clark, when he was just four years old. A central mystery is how the authorities failed to connect the discovered remains with Derrick's missing person report at the time. Derrick had disappeared while under the care of his stepfather, Christopher Hammond, who later served time for charges related to Derrick's abduction, but not for his death. Sadly, since Derrick's identification, there appears to be little movement in the investigation into his death. This episode tells Derrick Burton's story.
Episode: The Trappers
Published: 22 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
In 1924, deep in Oregon's Deschutes National Forest, a chilling mystery began to unfold. Three fur trappers—Harry Leroy "Roy" Wilson, Ed Nichols, and Dewey Morris—vanished from their remote outpost near Little and Big Lava Lakes. Months passed with no word, prompting Roy's mother, Sarah Wilson, to grow deeply concerned. By mid-April, Roy's brother-in-law, Hervey Ennis, and Dewey's brother, Owen Morris, trekked to the trappers' cabin, only to discover a bizarre and unsettling scene.
Inside, the cabin appeared frozen in time, with a calendar still on January, uneaten food, and the men's boots and snowshoes left behind. Outside, the situation grew more alarming: empty fox pens, a significant amount of uneaten fox feed suggesting neglect since mid-January, and, ominously, a bloodstain in the snow accompanied by spent pistol and shotgun shells. Nearby, they found what appeared to be pieces of a skull. Tracks led from the cabin to Big Lava Lake, ending beside the trappers' sled, which also bore bloodstains.
Authorities, led by Deputy Sheriff Clarence Adams, launched an investigation, piecing together clues from the eerie site. They were months behind a potential killer, facing the daunting task of hunting a career criminal who might have just committed the most audacious act of his life. The disappearance of the three men and the strange evidence left in the snow pointed to a grim fate, leaving investigators to unravel what truly happened at the isolated outpost.
Episode: She Never Came Home
Published: 22 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
On April 4th, 1984, in the typically quiet community of Pleasanton, California, fourteen-year-old Tina Faelz makes a fateful decision. To avoid persistent school bullies, she skips the bus and takes her usual shortcut home. Tragically, Tina never arrives. Her subsequent discovery reveals a brutal murder, a crime so vicious—she was stabbed 44 times—it sends shockwaves through the town, stripping away its sense of innocence.
The central question looms: Who could have committed such a heinous act against a young girl? Investigators embark on a challenging and complex journey for the truth. As outlined in the episode description, the investigation into Tina Faelz's murder forces authorities down a twisting path. Initial inquiries naturally focus on the school bullies Tina had been trying to evade. However, the scope soon broadens dramatically, leading detectives to consider the chilling possibility of serial killers operating in the area. The path to justice is anything but straightforward, as the investigation explores these disparate leads, potentially circling back to earlier considerations in a desperate search for answers. The community and her family are left to grapple with an unthinkable loss, while police confront a case with many potential suspects but few clear answers.
Episode: Joyce Chiang
Published: 22 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
In 1999, Joyce Chiang, a 28-year-old lawyer working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, vanished from the Dupont Circle area of Washington, D.C. Twenty-five years later, her case remains unsolved. This episode revisits the perplexing story of Joyce Chiang, a promising young woman whose disappearance initially garnered local, but not national, attention.
Joyce was last seen on a Saturday night in January after visiting a Starbucks. She intended to walk the mere four blocks to the apartment she shared with her brother, Roger. However, she never arrived. It took three days for her to be reported missing, a delay that complicated the early investigation. The first significant clue emerged when a couple found Joyce's wallet in Anacostia Park, miles from her intended route. A subsequent search uncovered more of her personal items, including her torn jacket, by the Anacostia River, suggesting she had been there.
Three months after her disappearance, Joyce's body was discovered downstream, but decomposition prevented a determination of her cause of death, which was initially listed as undetermined. Investigators even suggested the possibility of suicide, a theory her family vehemently rejected. The episode explores the circumstances of her case, the eventual reclassification of her death as a homicide, and the frustrating lack of evidence to charge identified suspects. It also draws comparisons to the later, more widely publicized case of Chandra Levy, questioning why one story captivated the nation while Joyce's faded, and examines the ethics surrounding media coverage of such crimes. What truly happened to Joyce Chiang on that cold January night?
Episode: 302. West Memphis 3 Part 4
Published: 22 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
This episode of The Prosecutors confronts the grim realization of every parent's nightmare as the search for three missing eight-year-old boys in West Memphis concludes tragically. The hosts, Brett and Alice, meticulously recount the timeline leading to the discovery of the children's bodies in Robin Hood Hills. Early observations, like Officer Regina Meek's encounter with overwhelming mosquitoes—a crucial detail later suggesting the boys were deceased before the insects would have bitten them—paint a vivid picture of the scene.
The narrative builds to the harrowing moment when, on May 6th, Juvenile Correction Officer Steve Jones spots a shoe in a ditch, leading Detective Brian Ridge to the site. A fateful slip lands Ridge in the water, where he makes the devastating discovery of Michael Moore's body. Soon after, Stevie Branch and Christopher Byers are also found, bound with their own shoelaces, with Christopher Byers having suffered horrific mutilation. As the episode description states, the investigation commences immediately, and Damien Echols quickly becomes a person of interest. Officer Steve Jones himself suggests to another officer that the crimes have occult overtones and names Damien Echols, placing him on the police radar from the outset of this disturbing case.
Episode: Jimmy Townsend ////// 838
Published: 22 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
In West Monroe, Louisiana, during the early 1980s, Jimmy Townsend was a name synonymous with promise and talent. At just 13, he was a local legend—smart, athletic, good-looking, and admired by everyone. Known for carrying his youth sports teams to victory, many in his community believed Jimmy was destined for a professional baseball career. His future appeared limitless.
However, this bright trajectory was brutally cut short during a seemingly innocent outing at the annual Ark-La-Miss fair. A night meant for teenage enjoyment turned into a horrific tragedy when Jimmy and his friends were confronted by a group of older boys. The encounter escalated, and Jimmy was viciously beaten to death. The episode examines this senseless act, noting that as many as seven older boys might have participated in the fatal assault.
The heartbreak is intensified by the revelation that Jimmy, so young himself, was a new father, leaving behind an infant daughter who would never get the chance to know him. The entire community grieved, desperate for answers. What could have motivated such a merciless attack on a beloved "golden boy"? Was it jealousy of his gifts, or perhaps envy over a prize he had recently won? Years later, the murder of 13-year-old Jimmy Townsend remains unsolved, a painful, unanswered question for his family and hometown.
Episode: The Trail Went Cold - Episode 428 - Johnny Bowman
Published: 23 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
This episode of 'The Trail Went Cold' examines the brutal and unsolved 1984 murder of Johnny Bowman, a 31-year-old Virginia State Police trooper. On August 19th, in Manassas, Virginia, Johnny was awakened around 4:15 AM by his doorbell. When he answered, an assailant viciously attacked him, stabbing him over 40 times before fleeing. The attacker left behind a wig, glasses, and a hardhat, items possibly used as a disguise.
Johnny was not on duty; he was killed in his own home while his wife, daughter, and brother were present. The crime perplexed everyone, as Johnny was a well-respected and beloved figure with no known enemies, leading to one of Virginia's largest law enforcement investigations. Years later, a shocking development emerged: investigators identified Perry Worrell, a fellow state trooper and one of Johnny’s closest friends, as the prime suspect. They believed a personal dispute was the motive. However, despite this announcement, there was never enough evidence to make an arrest.
The case, now over 40 years old, remains shrouded in mystery. Was Perry Worrell truly responsible? And if so, what personal dispute could lead to such a savage attack on a friend? With questions lingering about the official narrative and even the possibility of multiple people being involved, the murder of Johnny Bowman continues to be a haunting cold case.
Episode: Hell and Gone Murder Line: Lori Murchison
Published: 24 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
On September 1st, 1995, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a routine traffic stop set in motion a baffling mystery. Jerry Cogan was arrested for DUI, and his passenger, 24-year-old Lori Murchison, was taken in for public intoxication. Lori, a mother to her adored four-year-old daughter Britney, worked at a local nursing home. Friends told police she was battling addiction to methamphetamines and alcohol, leading her to live between her mother Nancy's home and local motels, with Nancy often caring for Britney.
After her release from Sebastian County jail around 5 AM on September 2nd, Lori told detectives she planned to get money to bail Jerry out. She was last seen alive at the Continental Motel, picking up a key to a room. But Lori Murchison never returned to the jail, and her family was left in the dark about her whereabouts. What happened to this young mother after she left the motel? The search for answers would unexpectedly lead to allegations of corruption reaching the highest levels of government, leaving her family to wonder if Lori’s disappearance was more than just a tragic consequence of her personal struggles. Where did Lori go, and how could her case become entangled with such serious accusations?
Episode: Episode 396 - Lord Lucan: the Vanishing Earl
Published: 24 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Missing Adults and Vanished Persons (Fate Unknown)
The mystery begins dramatically when the Countess of Lucan, Veronica Bingham, bursts into a West London pub in 1974, completely drenched in blood. She claims to have just escaped a murderous attack, alleging that her husband, Lord Lucan, is in their house and has murdered their nanny, Sandra Rivett.
Lord Lucan is no ordinary man; he's a charismatic, speedboat-racing, professional-gambling aristocrat, known for his high-stakes lifestyle. Following the incident, the accused murderer vanishes without a trace, sparking an immediate national obsession. This disappearance transforms the case into Britain’s most famous fugitive hunt and a captivating murder mystery that has endured for decades.
The episode sifts through the myriad theories that have emerged over the years, ranging from the utterly outlandish to the surprisingly credible. Sightings of Lord Lucan have been reported from all corners of the globe, fueling speculation about whether he was hiding in a Tibetan monastery, a Paraguayan commune, or even performing as a folk singer in Goa. The central question remains: what truly happened to Lord Lucan after that fateful night? The podcast aims to explore these possibilities, attempting to unravel the enduring enigma of this aristocratic fugitive and the death of Sandra Rivett.
MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Episode: Defies Explanation
Published: 24 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Historic Unsolved Cases (Non-Homicide focus, e.g., Disappearances, Mysterious Events)
This podcast episode presents two stories centered on unexplainable phenomena, with audio remastered from the "MrBallen" YouTube channel.
The first story, titled "Voices," introduces Brenda, a middle-aged woman in London who, in 1984, suddenly begins hearing a clear, unfamiliar voice in her head. The voice claims it and a friend want to help her. Initially, Brenda believes she's hallucinating and seeks medical help, leading to a diagnosis of functional hallucinatory psychosis. Though medication initially silences the voice, it returns, urgently directing her to a specific London hospital's brain scan unit. The voice then reveals an even more shocking claim: Brenda has a brain tumor and a swollen brainstem. How could these voices possess such specific and critical medical knowledge that even doctors hadn't yet discovered?
The second story, "Come Back," focuses on Titu, a young child in northern India who, since he could move, has been prone to violent and prolonged temper tantrums for no apparent reason. As Titu learns to speak, his behavior becomes even more perplexing. He complains about his family's modest lifestyle, despite never knowing anything different, and develops an obsession with the nearby city of Agra, which he has never visited. During his tantrums, he repeatedly utters the words "Suresh Verma," a name or phrase unfamiliar to his family. What is the unbelievable truth behind Titu's constant outbursts and his strange, out-of-place knowledge and desires?
Episode: REOPENED: The Hitchhiker
Published: 24 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
In the 1970s, hitchhiking was a common way to travel, despite its inherent dangers. This episode revisits a chilling case from 1975 that exemplifies those risks: a hitchhiker named Jerry Sullivan was found murdered, shot to death in a remote wooded area in Northern California. Investigators at the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office discovered a critical piece of evidence early on—a fingerprint lifted from the victim's wallet, which had been mysteriously mailed to his family.
For nearly three decades, law enforcement pursued this lead, hoping it would unlock the secrets of Jerry's death. The case grew cold, a puzzle with missing pieces, as detectives tried to identify the owner of the print and understand who would have wanted the young man dead. The episode description highlights that after years of focusing on this singular clue, an "unexpected twist" would eventually surface, dramatically shifting the investigation and bringing a "brand new suspect" into focus. The central mystery revolves around this decades-long search and the surprising turn that promised to finally shed light on a long-unsolved murder.
Episode: Betsy Aardsma
Published: 25 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
On a quiet afternoon in November 1969, the day after Thanksgiving, 22-year-old graduate student Betsy Aardsma was focused on her studies. Having recently graduated top of her class from the University of Michigan, Betsy was determined to succeed at Penn State. She chose to spend the holiday weekend on campus, studying in the Pattee Library, rather than traveling home to Michigan.
Around 4 p.m., Betsy and her roommate, Sharon Brandt, headed to the library. After a brief chat with a professor and making tentative plans for the evening, they went their separate ways inside. Betsy found a desk, visited another professor, Dr. Harrison Messerol, to discuss an assignment, and then went to the lower level to find books. Sometime between 4:30 and just before 5 p.m., a commotion was heard. Students reported hearing books falling, and some mentioned screams or gasps. Betsy was found collapsed between a narrow set of bookcases.
Initially, those who rushed to help, including ambulance drivers, assumed she'd had a seizure, noting a small amount of blood on her white turtleneck blouse and her flushed face. She was alive when they arrived and was quickly taken to the Rittenhour Student Health Center. It was there, upon closer examination by Dr. Elmer Reed, that the horrifying truth was revealed: hidden beneath her red dress and turtleneck, Betsy had suffered a single stab wound to her chest. She was declared dead shortly after.
The crime scene in the library was compromised before investigators fully understood what had happened, with the floor mopped and books returned to shelves. This tragic event, the murder of a bright young student in a place of quiet study, quickly became one of Pennsylvania's most haunting unsolved mysteries, a case that continues to perplex investigators decades later. Who would commit such a violent act in the middle of a university library, and how did they escape unnoticed?
Episode: Justice for Carla, Part 2
Published: 25 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
This episode marks the conclusion of the reopened investigation into the brutal 1974 rape and murder of 17-year-old Carla Walker. Esteemed cold-case investigator Paul Holes, known for his work on high-profile cases, previously explored the circumstances surrounding Carla's boyfriend Rodney—who was with her when she was abducted and lived under a cloud of suspicion for decades. Now, Paul turns his full attention to DNA evidence. The mission is clear: to find Carla’s real killer. However, the passage of nearly 50 years presents formidable obstacles. The investigation grapples with the integrity of decades-old evidence, facing the daunting possibility of past lab errors and the critical issue of missing samples, any of which could halt the search for justice. As Paul Holes and the team press forward, they confront these significant challenges head-on. For Carla’s surviving family, including her brother Jim who has carried the weight of this tragedy since he was 12, the stakes could not be higher. Will forensic science overcome these hurdles to finally uncover the truth? This installment is set to navigate these complexities, striving for a definitive conclusion to the question that has lingered for far too long: Who killed Carla Walker?
Episode: Emily Pike // 497
Published: 25 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Cold Case Homicides (Unsolved Murders)
This episode brings to light the very recent and deeply disturbing case of Emily Pike, a story that urgently needs to be shared. In January 2025, the 14-year-old Indigenous girl disappeared, seemingly "without a trace," from Mesa, Arizona. At the time, Emily was living in a group home. Her vanishing marked the beginning of a terrible unknown, which concluded weeks later with a horrifying discovery. Emily's dismembered remains were found discarded in trash bags on the side of a highway, a few hours from Mesa, near Phoenix.
This grim finding launched a devastating homicide investigation into her brutal murder, an investigation that authorities confirm is still very much underway. The hosts emphasize the importance of giving a voice to victims like Emily and the profound shock her death has sent through her San Carlos Apache community and her family, who are now left seeking justice. As investigators work tirelessly to piece together what happened, critical questions loom: What were the circumstances leading to Emily's death after she left the group home? And who is responsible for this heinous act? The search for answers and for Emily Pike’s killer continues, underscoring a case that demands attention and resolution.
Episode: Case 316: Gilbert Bogle & Margaret Chandler
Published: 26 Apr 2025 | Listen Here
Category: Missing Persons and Unsolved Mysteries (Non-Kidnapping Focus)
Subcategory: Historic Unsolved Cases (Non-Homicide focus, e.g., Disappearances, Mysterious Events)
On New Year’s Day 1963, the bodies of Doctor Gilbert Bogle and Margaret Chandler were discovered along the banks of Sydney’s Lane Cove River, sparking immediate scandal. Both were married, but not to each other, instantly raising suspicions of foul play. The scene itself was perplexing: Dr. Bogle was found face down, his suit jacket and trousers meticulously arranged over his partially undressed body, with a piece of carpet covering his torso. Nearby, Mrs. Chandler’s body lay partially concealed under beer cartons, her dress disarranged, and like Dr. Bogle, she was without underwear.
There were no obvious signs of violence on either body, but vomit and excrement at the scene suggested a possible poisoning. Investigators learned that Dr. Bogle, a respected physicist, and Mrs. Chandler had attended the same New Year's Eve party the night before and had left around the same time. Their car was found nearby, containing an abstract painting. As police began to investigate, the circumstances surrounding their deaths grew increasingly strange. Why were they in this secluded, polluted spot? And what led to their bizarre, almost ritualistic covering? The case quickly became a baffling puzzle, far more complex than a simple illicit affair gone wrong, leaving investigators to unravel a mystery far stranger than anyone could have initially imagined.