The Press and Journal’s crime and courts reporters spend their every working minute recording, researching and documenting the details of true crime across the north and north-east – so you might expect them to want to spend their spare time thinking of something else entirely.
However, fond of a busman’s holiday as they are, this team enjoy a well-put-together true crime podcast as much as the next person – probably even more.
Which is why, every year, we round up 10 great true crime podcasts that we have listened to on Spotify.
Here are our most recent favourites:
Paper Ghosts – The Ozarks
From the trustworthy voice of seasoned investigator M William Phelps comes the latest offering in the Paper Ghosts series.
This podcast takes a closer look at the murders of two young women in Arkansas and Missouri in 1989-90.
Beautifully researched and layered with detail that evokes the backdrop to the murders in superb style, this podcast will have you hooked from the off.
Phelps does an admirable job of catching and weaving the threads that run through the cases – and the season finishes in spectacular style with a confrontation that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Top-notch stuff for true crime fans.
Three
Three teenage friends are seemingly inseparable – then one of them disappears never to be seen alive again.
Sixteen-year-old Skylar Neece was a typical teen growing up in West Virginia – so how come she went out one night and didn’t come home?
Perhaps her best friends Shelia and Rachel will be able to shed some light on this terrible tragedy?
Three is a hauntingly desolate tale of teenage intensity and misplaced trust, set against the backdrop of an evolving Appalachia where traditional values and modern norms clash confusingly for these troubled teens.
Hello, John Doe
If true crime can ever be considered comforting then this is the apple pie of podcasts.
Soft-spoken southern sleuth Todd Matthews tells of how the advent of the internet and a sad story from a family member sucked him into the world of cold cases, and never let him out again.
From amateur detective to government consultant, Matthews became an authority in cold case database creation – and a compassionate point of contact for those looking for answers about their loved ones.
Todd, listeners can tell, cares, which is why his thoughts kept returning to a family missing not one, but two, boys.
Then out of the blue – one of those boys calls him.
This is a fascinating journey that blurs the line between journalism and friendship – and becomes even more poignant with the news that Todd himself died shortly after completing the series.
Drowning Creek
Justin Gaines went from a heavy-set child to a confident young man and was seemingly enjoying his life as an 18-year-old carefree college student.
When he didn’t come home from the club one night, his mother Erica initially thought he was out living his best life.
But when one night turned into two and no one had seen Justin, Erica began to worry.
Her son was reported missing and searches ensued, but Justin has not been seen since the early hours of November 2 2007, nor has his body ever been found.
Since then there have been statements made, and retracted, and many stories have circulated about Justin’s fate – and where he might be found today.
In Drowning Creek Sean Kipe attempts to sift through the noise to get to the heart of Justin’s story – in the hopes of bringing him home one way or another.
This podcast is a slower starter, and there’s no promise of a neat ending – but there are moments here that will have you holding your breath along with Justin’s friends and family as you hope for the news that will begin to unravel the mystery once and for all.
Noble
Noble draws in the true crime fan with an eerie tale of creepy goings-on at a Georgia crematorium.
But despite a high body count – this podcast is not your usual offering.
Crimes have been committed – but they may not be what you expect, and Noble explores so much more than whodunnit – asking why they did what they did and how harshly we should judge them.
Posing deeply philosophical questions and proffering profoundly human moments, Noble is so much more than you might expect – a podcast that will leave you pondering for days after the last episode ends.
Worse than Murder
A fascinating 50-year-old true crime tale, Worse than Murder looks at the disappearance of Muriel McKay.
In a shocking case of mistaken identity – McKay was snatched instead of the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and a million-pound ransom was demanded.
But McKay’s disappearance triggers a press frenzy that is arguably more hindrance than help – leading to questions on media responsibility in missing persons cases.
While convictions were sought and secured, Muriel has never been found and this podcast seeks to answer some of the questions that thus far, have remained unanswered.
What Happened to Libby Caswell
Libby Caswell died in room 319 of a run-down motel, where she had been alone with her partner.
Ruled a suicide, Libby’s death was not accepted as such by her nearest and dearest, leading podcaster Melissa Jeltzen to investigate further.
While it may not fully answer the question posed in the title, this podcast shines an important light on the true nature of domestic abuse and the need for systemic change in how potential victims are dealt with.
A tough listen, with brave contributions from Libby’s mother, this podcast is one woman’s tragic story with a universal tale to tell – for those willing to truly hear it.
KILL LIST
When tech journalist Carl Miller is handed a list from a hacked website with a list of people that someone wants dead he has a dilemma, what to do next?
Contact with the authorities initially results in questions about his own mental health, and Karl and his team decide they will have to take matters into their own hands.
Multi-faceted, this podcast explores themes from “What lies in the depths of the dark net?” to “What drives people to commission murder?” It also poses a number of ethical riddles for the presenters and listeners alike to ponder.
This podcast is part race-against-time and part tales of the unexpected – coming together in a surreal examination of the human condition with all of its cruelty and resilience.
Someone Knows Something
In an epic moment of fourth wall-breaking David Ridgen’s latest series of Someone Knows Something podcast documents how Ridgen’s own reporting helped to crack a very cold case.
Of course, the documentary maker had no idea his input would be so key when he began following the case of missing Chrissy Harron, who walked out of her home in 1993 and was never seen again.
Someone Knows Something looks at the man who confessed to murdering Chrissy and still walked free – asking if he did it and if it can be proved.
Tenacious to the last, Ridgen himself confronts the suspect, not knowing that it will be his own investigative efforts that will eventually be used to draw damning details from the killer.
But will Christine ever be found?
High Roller Heist
It’s the stuff of Hollywood movies – a man walks into one of the most famous casinos on the Las Vegas Strip and robs it of more than a million dollars before making off on a motorcycle.
You might expect the thief to want to put some distance between himself and the scene of his crime – but the ‘Biker Bandit’, as he became known, made a shocking return to the scene of his crime and spent his spoils at tables and was even comped a suite as a high roller.
This is a hard-to-believe tale of greed and hubris – that could surely only happen in Sin City – tells how the net closed in on robber Tony Carleo.