UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast

Why do so many people misunderstand the insanity defense?It's one of the most debated concepts in criminal law, yet also one of the least understood. Popular culture has created the impression that defendants routinely "get off" by pleading insanity. The reality is far more complicated. Legal insanity is not the same as mental illness, psychopathy, or a psychiatric diagnosis, and successful insanity defences are exceptionally rare.In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I speak with forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston about what the insanity defense actually is, how courts determine criminal responsibility, and why so much public discussion gets it wrong. We examine the legal standards behind the defense, common misconceptions, and the role mental illness can—and cannot—play in determining guilt.If you've ever wondered what "not guilty by reason of insanity" really means, this conversation offers an evidence-based look at one of the most misunderstood issues in the criminal justice system.

Who was the real Ed Gein?For nearly seventy years, the answer has been buried beneath horror movies, sensational headlines, and one of the most enduring myths in true crime. To find the real Ed Gein, I travelled to Plainfield, Wisconsin, walked the cemetery where he robbed graves, visited the locations that shaped his life, and spent years uncovering records that challenge the accepted story.In this episode, I examine the psychology behind Ed Gein's crimes through newly uncovered evidence, hospital records, interviews with people who knew him, and the original confession recorded on the night of his arrest—a confession hidden for decades and fundamentally different from the version that has appeared in books and documentaries. Along the way, I explore Gein's childhood, his obsessive relationship with his mother, the murders of Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden, and how the case inspired Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs.Show Notes:I just released my first novel called, A Plague of Steel. It’s a grimdark fantasy war story, about what war leaves behind. It’s available now on Kindle, Amazon and Kindle Unlimited: Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Plague-Steel-Sons-Tempering-Book-ebook/dp/B0GSPBTR49If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

It's one of the most common assumptions in true crime, but the answer is more complicated than most people realise. In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I speak with Dr. Louis Schlesinger, Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and one of the world's leading experts on serial and sexual homicide. If you've ever wondered whether psychopathy is required for serial murder, or why some killers appear cold and calculating while others seem disorganised, impulsive, or deeply disturbed, this conversation is for you.

Was Israel Keyes really a criminal mastermind—or have we misunderstood him all along?For years, Israel Keyes has been portrayed as one of the most methodical serial killers in modern history: a man who buried murder kits across the United States, targeted complete strangers, and evaded law enforcement for years. But the deeper I dug into the FBI files, interrogation transcripts, and the people who investigated him, the more that familiar story began to unravel.In this episode, I examine the life of Israel Keyes through an exclusive interview with retired FBI Special Agent Mary Rook, who led the investigation in Alaska, along with journalist Maureen Callahan, author of American Predator. Using FBI interrogation footage, investigative records, and current psychological research, I trace Keyes' trajectory from his isolated childhood to his final FBI interviews, asking whether the evidence supports the mythology that has grown around him—or points to something far more complex.Research in This Episode: Rubin, Bukowski & Parker (2006) "Peer Interactions, Relationships, and Groups" in the Handbook of Child Psychology.Kuhns, J. B., Blevins, K. R., et al. Understanding Decisions to Burglarize From the Offender's Perspective (2014).Show Notes:I just released my first novel called, A Plague of Steel. It’s a grimdark fantasy war story, about what war leaves behind. It’s available now on Kindle, Amazon and Kobo:  Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Plague-Steel-Sons-Tempering-Book-ebook/dp/B0GSPBTR49Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/a-plague-of-steel-sons-of-the-tempering-book-one?srsltid=AfmBOoqPUTLclPMZxRqd0LvWNTzrU0k9SOGBCqaWiISo1HhMQk-RkHHKIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Demonic dogs. Satanic cults. Multiple shooters. Endless conspiracies. Did David Berkowitz act alone?For nearly fifty years, the Son of Sam case has inspired theories. David Berkowitz would later claim that multiple shooters were involved, that others participated in the murders, and that the public never learned the full story. But do those claims hold up to scrutiny?In this episode, I examine the evidence behind one of the most persistent mysteries in true crime. Drawing on Berkowitz's on words, investigative records, crime scene evidence, and expert analysis from forensic psychologist Dr. R. Louis Schlesinger, I explore the origins of the conspiracy theories, what investigators found after Berkowitz's arrest, and whether there is any credible evidence.Research in This Episode: Rebekah Binger, Prison Ain’t Hell: An Interview with the Son of Sam—David Berkowitz, and Why State-Funded Faith-Based Prison Rehabilitation Progr ams Do Not Violate the Establishment Clause, 31 Pace L. Rev. 488 (2011).Stadolnik, R. J. (2000). Drawn to the Flame: Assessment and Treatment of Juvenile Fire Setting Behavior. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.Show Notes:I just released my first novel called, A Plague of Steel. It’s a grimdark fantasy war story, about what war leaves behind. It’s available now on Kindle, Amazon and Kobo:  Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Plague-Steel-Sons-Tempering-Book-ebook/dp/B0GSPBTR49Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/a-plague-of-steel-sons-of-the-tempering-book-one?srsltid=AfmBOoqPUTLclPMZxRqd0LvWNTzrU0k9SOGBCqaWiISo1HhMQk-RkHHKIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

How did a man who passed every background check, every promotion board, and every security clearance manage to hide a violent double life for years?Colonel Russell Williams was one of the most trusted men in Canada. A decorated military officer, commander of CFB Trenton, and pilot to senior government officials and members of the Royal Family. Yet behind that carefully constructed image was one of the country's most prolific sexual predators and murderers.In this episode of UNMARKED I examine the psychology of Colonel Russell Williams, the fantasies that drove his crimes, the warning signs that were missed, and the investigation that finally exposed him. Drawing on interrogation footage, court records, and expert analysis, we explore how power, secrecy, and fantasy combined to create one of the most disturbing criminal cases in Canadian history.Research in This Episode: Birke JB, Jern P, Johansson A, Bondü R. Links between Aggressive Sexual Fantasies and Sexual Coercion: A Replication and Extension of a Multifactorial Model. Arch Sex Behav. 2024 Mar;53(3):1047-1063. doi: 10.1007/s10508-023-02782-5. Epub 2024 Jan 17. Rossegger, A. (2021). "High Risk Sexual Fantasies and Sexual Offending." Sexual Offending: Theory, Research, and Prevention.Show Notes:If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

In 1981, children were disappearing across British Columbia. Parents feared a predator was stalking bus stops, shopping malls, and highways throughout the Fraser Valley. What investigators didn't realize was that the man responsible wasn't hiding from police at all. He was talking to them.In this episode of UNMARKED, I examine the case of Clifford Olson, one of Canada's most notorious serial killers. Drawing on my conversation with forensic psychologist Dr. Eric Hickey, we explore Olson's childhood, the development of his violent fantasies, his manipulation of police and journalists, and the institutional failures that allowed him to continue killing.We also examine the infamous "cash for bodies" deal, in which the government agreed to pay Olson in exchange for the locations of his victims.Research in This episode: MacCulloch, M. J., Snowden, P. R., Wood, P. J. W., & Mills, H. E. (1983). “Sadistic fantasy, sadistic behaviour and offending.” British Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 20–29.Helfgott, Jacqueline B. “Criminal behavior and the copycat effect: Literature review and theoretical framework for empirical investigation.” Aggression and Violent Behavior 22 (2015): 46–64.Show Notes: If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesbuddyday/If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

For nearly fifty years, Wayne Williams has insisted he is innocent. But when you step back and examine the evidence as a whole, the picture becomes far more complicated.In this episode of UNMARKED, I dig through FBI files, surveillance reports, witness statements, and forensic evidence to understand the man at the center of one of America's most controversial murder investigations. Along the way, I speak with award-winning journalist Clemson Richardson, who covered the Atlanta Child Murders as they unfolded and witnessed the fear that gripped the city firsthand.Together, we examine the patterns investigators saw: the dump sites, the escalating violence, the witness sightings, the fiber evidence, and the psychological profile of a man who spent decades trying to control the narrative surrounding himself.Was Wayne Williams a psychopath? A scapegoat? Or something far more complicated?Research Notes: MiinChai, A. M., Yaksic, E., Chopin, J., Fortin, F., & Hewitt, A. (2022). Time After Time: Factors Predicting Murder Series’ Duration. CrimRxiv. Stuart, R. (1981, June 22). Suspect in Atlanta: Young, big ideas, but a career of limited achievements. The New York Times, A1.***If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. #WayneWilliams #AtlantaChildMurders #TrueCrime #SerialKiller #UnmarkedPodcast

In 2008, 16-year-old Erin Caffey was accused of helping orchestrate the murder of her own family in rural East Texas. But nearly two decades later, one question still divides everyone who studies the case: Who was really responsible?Using newly released police recordings, interviews, court records, and original reporting from East Texas, this episode reconstructs the psychology behind the Caffey family murders. Was Erin Caffey a manipulative teenage psychopath? Was she controlled by her older boyfriend, Charlie Wilkinson? Or did a volatile group dynamic slowly normalize violence until fantasy became real?This investigation explores adolescent identity, religious isolation, coercive relationships, group psychology, and the dangerous emotional fusion that can happen when rebellion, romance, and resentment collide.If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

John Wayne Gacy murdered at least 33 young men and boys. But for years after his conviction, attorney Karen Conti sat across from him on death row, trying to understand the man behind one of America’s most infamous serial murder cases.In this episode of UNMARKED, Conti describes what Gacy was really like behind closed doors: his manipulation, emotional detachment, need for control, and the contradictions that made him so difficult to fully understand. We also examine modern psychological and criminological research surrounding psychopathy, trophy-taking, victim selection, and the environmental patterns that shape serial killers.Why did Gacy keep victims beneath his own home when most serial killers attempt to distance themselves from the crime? What did he reveal in private that the public never saw? And what happens when someone spends years speaking directly with a man the world has already reduced to a monster?Show Notes: Walter, M., Beauregard, E., & Chopin, J. (2024). Trophy, souvenir, or simple theft? Taking items from the victim in sexual homicide. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 42(4), 338–353.More from Karen Conti here: https://www.karenconti.com/Follow James Buddy Day  on Instagram: @jamesbuddydayLean is having a Huge Memorial Day Sale. Visit takelean.com and enter THANK YOU 25 for 25% off. When writing Buddy uses FÜM — don’t just try to quit. Upgrade the habit loop: .https://tryfum.com/unmarkedIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, Buddy’s  book Charles Manson: The Last Words:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes: https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Keith Hunter Jesperson wanted to be seen. Between 1990 and 1995, the long-haul truck driver murdered women across the United States while carefully shaping the story around himself. He wrote letters to newspapers. Confessed on truck stop bathroom walls. Participated in psychological research studies about his own behavior. Even donating his brain to science after death. But beneath the “Happy Face Killer” persona is something more revealing: a man driven by grandiosity, callousness, impulsivity, and an insatiable need for recognition.In this episode of UNMARKED, we examine the psychology of Keith Jesperson through exclusive conversations with author and investigator M. William Phelps, archival interviews with Jesperson himself, contemporary forensic psychology, and the systemic failures that allowed vulnerable victims to go unseen for decades.You can hear more from M. William Phelps on Crossing the Line:https://crossingtheline.biz/This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Financial stress can affect us more than we know: https://www.betterhelp.com/UNMARKEDIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Joel Rifkin confessed to the murders of 17 women in just three years—leaving their remains scattered across Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey.And for years, no one was looking for him.In this episode, we examine the case through the lens of N. G. Berrill—one of the first psychologists to evaluate Rifkin after his arrest. Drawing on interviews, court records, and police reports, this is a reconstruction of how Rifkin operated in plain sight—and what allowed him to continue.From his early life in suburban Long Island, to the environments he exploited, to the moment a routine traffic stop ended it all, this episode breaks down the pattern behind the crimes.Because this isn’t just the story of one offender.It’s a case that exposes something larger—how vulnerable populations are overlooked, how investigations fail to connect, and how, in the 1980s and 90s, the rise of “serial killer” culture may have given offenders like Rifkin a framework to follow.***This episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Financial stress can affect us more than we know: https://www.betterhelp.com/UNMARKEDIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast  • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

“BTK” is one of the most recognizable names in true crime. But it’s also a name that Dennis Rader created.In this episode, I’m not just looking back at the investigation—I’m speaking to people who have been in direct contact with Rader, hearing from those who have corresponded with him, studied him, and, in some cases, continue to engage with him to this day.And what becomes clear very quickly… is that “BTK” isn’t just a label. It’s a carefully constructed identity—one that Rader has spent decades shaping, protecting, and reinforcing.From the way he named himself…to the letters, phone calls, and communications that followed…to how he still presents himself now. In this episode, we break down how Dennis Rader built the identity of BTK—and why, years later, we may still be playing along.Check out my friends Olivia and Sydney at True Crime Society Podcast. They cover everything true crime—from missing people and cold cases to the latest breaking news.If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast  • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Paul Bernardo is one of the most notorious serial offenders in Canadian history. But this episode asks a different question: who was really responsible? Between 1987 and 1993, Bernardo committed a series of violent assaults across the suburbs of Toronto before escalating to the abduction and murder of multiple victims alongside his wife, Karla Homolka.But the story doesn’t begin—or end—with him. In this episode of UNMARKED, we traveled to Toronto and speak with journalists who covered the case in real time. Drawing from court records, archival reporting, and firsthand accounts, we reconstruct what actually happened—and how it was allowed to happen. Because this case isn’t just about a killer. We examine: The early warning signs and missed opportunities to stop Bernardo The Scarborough investigation—and how he was nearly identified The role of FBI profiling and how it may have misdirected investigators Karla Homolka’s involvement—and the debate over coercion, complicity, and responsibility This episode goes beyond the headlines—separating fact from mythology, and asking the question that still divides people decades later: Where does responsibility actually lie?https://www.tryfum.com/UNMARKED to get your free gift with purchase, and start The Good Habit today!***If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayWhen life feels overwhelming, therapy can help. Sign up and get 10% off at:https://www.betterHelp.com/unmarkedIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast  • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Who is the Times Square Killer—and how many people did Richard Cottingham actually kill?In this episode of UNMARKED, we reconstruct the timeline of Cottingham’s crimes across New York and New Jersey—tracking his early escalation, his use of deception and control, and how he was able to evade detection for years.Featuring criminologist Peter Vronsky, who has spent over 700 hours in direct conversation with Cottingham, this episode draws on firsthand interviews, police records, and cold case developments to separate fact from fiction.We examine: Cottingham’s early violent escalation in the 1960s His movement across jurisdictions and how it prevented linkage His use of authority ruses, manipulation, and control The Times Square environment in the 1970s and its role in victim selection Ongoing efforts to identify unknown victims and close cold cases This is not a retelling—it’s an analysis of the evidence itself. Because with Cottingham, the story isn’t just what happened.It’s what’s missing.If you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayWhen life feels overwhelming, therapy can help. Sign up and get 10% off at:https://www.betterHelp.com/unmarkedIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast  • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

In 1992, I wrote to the Milwaukee Police Department and asked for the Jeffrey Dahmer case files. Weeks later, they mailed me his full confession.In this episode of UNMARKED, I go inside Jeffrey Dahmer’s confession—page by page—to understand how one of the most notorious serial killers in history developed, escalated, and ultimately got caught.Using Dahmer’s own words, police reports, and expert insight from forensic psychologist Dr. Eric Hickey, this episode examines: How Dahmer’s childhood isolation and psychological profile shaped his behavior The role of fantasy, control, and fear of abandonment in his crimes Why victims were targeted—and why many disappearances went uninvestigated The failures of law enforcement that allowed Dahmer to continue killing What Dahmer says—and what he leaves out of his confession This is not a retelling of the crimes. It’s an analysis of the mind behind them.If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast  • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Ted Bundy didn’t begin with murder. Long before the headlines, before the trials, before the mythology took hold, there were patterns—behaviours that escalated, fractures that widened, and warning signs that, in hindsight, feel impossible to ignore.In this episode of UNMARKED, we step back from the crimes themselves and examine Bundy at the point of origin. Drawing from psychological analysis, original records, and the work of those who studied him closely, this isn’t a retelling—it’s an investigation into how someone like Bundy takes shape.Because the public story often begins at the moment of violence. But the real story starts much earlier.Through the lens of his psychologist, we look at the early formation of control, manipulation, and detachment, traits that would later define one of the most studied serial killers in modern history.This episode doesn’t mythologize Bundy. It strips the story back to behaviour, evidence, and pattern—so you can see where it actually begins.If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast  • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Danny Rolling’s murders in Gainesville shocked the country. But they didn’t begin there. In this episode, I travel to Florida to investigate the Gainesville Ripper — speaking with journalists, authors, and witnesses who lived through the panic — and trace the case back to where it really starts.Long before the murders, there were warning signs: documented abuse, escalating behavior, and multiple points where intervention could have happened… but didn’t.This isn’t just the story of what Danny Rolling did. It’s the story of how he got there — and how those failures followed him across state lines.Featuring interviews with Emmy-winning investigative journalist Mike Deeson and author J.T. Hunter, this episode examines the psychology, the escalation, and the systemic blind spots behind one of the most disturbing cases in modern true crime.If you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the evidence directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast  • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastIf you want to follow the cases as I’m working on them, you can find me on Instagram — @jamesbuddydayUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

In the final year of his life, I spoke with Charles Manson on the phone multiple times. Those conversations became the foundation of a decade-long investigation into the people who once called themselves the Manson Family.In this episode, I track down the surviving members of the Manson Family — speaking with former followers, examining trial records, and revisiting the places where the group formed, radicalized, and ultimately collapsed.What emerges is a story far more complicated than the word “cult.” The Manson Family began as a loose commune of runaways and outsiders drifting through the counterculture of the late 1960s. Over time, isolation, fear, and loyalty transformed that group into something far more dangerous.Through interviews with former members, firsthand witnesses, and people who knew Charles Manson personally, we examine how the Family formed, why people followed him, and what became of them after the murders.The research behind this episode comes from years of interviews with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself. I document that investigation in my book Charles Manson: The Last Words.Read it here:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7For those who want to examine the Manson material directly, complete phone calls and documents are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes.Join here:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastUNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Serial killer Hadden Clark is one of the most unsettling figures in modern criminal history — a man whose crimes, confessions, and psychological unraveling have baffled investigators for decades.In this episode of UNMARKED, we examine the case through the original record. Former FBI agents, primary documents, and Clark’s own words reveal a deeply fractured personality and a disturbing window into the mind of a killer.Clark’s writings and statements — including letters he sent from prison — offer rare insight into how he saw himself, his crimes, and the strange identities he adopted along the way.But the deeper question remains: when investigators confront someone like Hadden Clark, what are they really looking at — manipulation, madness, or something far darker?For those who want to examine the material directly, the complete letters are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files, our research portal, along with ad-free episodes:https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastIf you want to go deeper into the Charles Manson case, my book Charles Manson: The Last Words documents years researching the story and speaking directly with members of the Manson Family — including Charles Manson himself: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

I’m in Phoenix, Arizona, sitting down with a group called “Jodi Arias Is Innocent.” They aren’t arguing that Travis Alexander wasn’t killed — they’re arguing the case is more complicated than the verdict suggests. For this episode, I read Jodi Arias’ full appeal (300+ pages), spoke with her supporters, revisited the evidence, and re-examined what the trial did — and what it may have failed to weigh. We walk through the relationship, the timeline, the forensic sequence, and the competing interpretations — then we get to the part that won’t go away: allegations of misconduct, a media spectacle, and why the question at the center of this case is still open.At the end, you decide: not just what happened — but whether we got this right. Extended interview content referenced in the episode is available inside UNMARKED: Case Files our research archive on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Celeste Beard Johnson appeared to live a life of privilege and stability — marriage to a millionaire, social status, financial security.But beneath that image was something far more complicated.After Steven Beard was shot, attention initially focused on the woman who pulled the trigger. But the trial would hinge on a deeper question:Who created the circumstances that made the crime inevitable?In this episode of UNMARKED we examine how manipulation operates slowly — how influence can become pressure, how dependency can become leverage, and how someone can orchestrate violence without ever touching the weapon.Because sometimes the most dangerous person in the room is the one shaping the story.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Scott Kimball wasn’t just a fraudster or a murderer—he was a paid FBI informant.For over a year, I corresponded with Kimball from prison. Phone calls. Letters. Recorded conversations. What he told me—and how he told it—reveals how a career con artist convinced federal agents to release him without probation, and how that decision allowed him to murder at least four people.Beginning in 2003, Kimball used his position as an informant to gain access to vulnerable women, including the girlfriends of the very men he was supposed to be informing on. The murders we know about happened while he operated under federal trust.This isn’t just a story about murder. It’s about deception, institutional vulnerability, and a man who still believes he’s in control of the narrative.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Aileen Wuornos is one of the most infamous killers in American history, often reduced to a label and a caricature. This episode of Unmarked examines what actually happened—and why.Through on-location reporting in Florida, primary source interviews, and a close analysis of the crimes, this episode traces Wuornos’s trajectory from lifelong abuse and instability to a clear pattern of escalating violence. It focuses on the moments where ambiguity gives way to repetition, and where personal pathology intersects with systemic failure.This is not a retelling of myth or spectacle. It is an examination of responsibility, escalation, and the conditions that allow violence to repeat unchecked, until it becomes impossible to ignore.UNMARKED: A true crime podcast built on real cases and never-before-heard audio.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

The justice system assumes that when two people commit a crime together, one will eventually betray the other. Amanda Logue didn’t.In this episode of Unmarked, we examine a case defined not just by violence, but by loyalty—how emotional dependency, fear, and identity can bind people together even when silence becomes self-destructive.Using rare audio recordings and court records, this episode explores the prisoner’s dilemma at its most human: when survival demands betrayal, but loyalty feels safer than freedom.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

For decades, the Grim Sleeper terrorized South Los Angeles — killing women in neighborhoods he knew by heart, often within miles of his own home. Lonnie Franklin Jr. wasn’t a criminal mastermind or a drifter moving between states. He was a neighbor. A city worker. A man who lived quietly beneath the LAX flight path while violence unfolded around him. In this episode of UNMARKED, we break down how Franklin was able to operate for nearly thirty years without being caught — and why traditional serial-killer profiling failed to see what was happening right in front of investigators. Using geographic profiling, DNA evidence, and firsthand accounts, we examine how systemic blind spots, ignored communities, and outdated assumptions allowed one of America’s most prolific serial killers to hide in plain sight. This is not a story about a monster.  It’s a story about what happens when the most vulnerable voices go unheard — and what we can learn from the Grim Sleeper case to prevent it from happening again.  UNMARKED: A true crime podcast built on real cases and never-before-heard audio. Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

On April 6th, 2009, a man vanished in Lakeland, Florida. Seven months later, investigators uncovered one of the most shocking fraud-to-murder cases in modern true crime.This episode of Unmarked investigates the con, the deception, and the killing of lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare—through prison interviews, interrogation recordings, recovered police files, and a psychological analysis of the woman at the center of the case: Dorice “Dee Dee” Moore.For months, Moore told anyone who would listen that Abraham was alive. She forged documents, sent fake text messages, created phantom sightings, and even tried to buy a false confession. Behind the scenes, she controlled his money, his assets, and ultimately his fate.But today, for the first time, we tell the full story—from the moment Abraham met Dee Dee, to the rapid transfer of his wealth, to the undercover operation that exposed her shifting stories, and the discovery of his body beneath a concrete slab behind her property.Featuring original recordings, exclusive prison audio, archival reporting, and a forensic breakdown of her pathological lies, this is the most complete account of the Dee Dee Moore case ever told.James Buddy Day is an award-winning true crime filmmaker known for directing and producing some of the most watched and most discussed crime documentaries today. His work covers infamous killers, cold cases, cults, missing persons, and some of the biggest true-crime stories of the last decade.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

In part 2 we dig deeper into Bob’s Diaries and into the years that his fantasies darken into a calculated pattern.This episode of Unmarked investigates the crimes of “Bizarre” Bob Berdella, City’s first documented serial killer—using never-before-heard material, recovered police files, and an AI restoration of Berdella’s sealed confession.For decades, the confession was believed lost. The tapes were ordered destroyed. The documents were sealed.And the case slipped out of the headlines after a massive explosion reshaped the city’s priorities.Featuring interviews with investigators, archival reporting, original documents, and restored audio based on the only surviving descriptions of the confession, this is the most complete account of the Berdella case ever told.James Buddy Day is an award-winning true crime filmmaker known for directing and producing some of the most watched and most discussed crime documentaries today. His work covers infamous serial killers, cold cases, cults, missing persons, and some of the biggest true-crime stories of the last decade.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

On July 5th, 1984, a man vanished in Kansas City. Four years later, police would uncover one of the most bizarre cases in American history.This episode of Unmarked investigates the crimes of “Bizarre” Bob Berdella, City’s first documented serial killer—using never-before-heard material, recovered police files, and an AI restoration of Berdella’s sealed confession.For decades, the confession was believed lost. The tapes were ordered destroyed. The documents were sealed. And the case slipped out of the headlines after a massive explosion reshaped the city’s priorities.But today, for the first time, we tell the full story—from the 911 call that exposed Berdella to the detectives who sat in the room for his three-day confession.Featuring interviews with investigators, archival reporting, original documents, and restored audio based on the only surviving descriptions of the confession, this is the most complete account of the Berdella case ever told.James Buddy Day is an award-winning true crime filmmaker known for directing and producing some of the most watched and most discussed crime documentaries today. His work covers infamous serial killers, cold cases, cults, missing persons, and some of the biggest true-crime stories of the last decade.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Before his death, Robert Pickton calls from prison. The recording he leaves behind — never before heard — reveals a man who still believes he hasn’t been caught.In this episode of Unmarked, we uncover the story of Canada’s most notorious figures through his own words, and through the detectives who tried to stop him. Lead investigator Lorimer Shenher recounts the warnings that were ignored, the evidence that was missed, and the moment Pickton nearly confessed.From Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to the pig farm in Port Coquitlam, this is the story of how decades of indifference allowed a killer to hunt freely — and how a single phone call, years later, exposes the mind of a man who never believed he was guilty. James Buddy Day is an award-winning true crime filmmaker known for directing and producing some of the most watched and most discussed crime documentaries today. His work covers infamous serial killers, cold cases, cults, missing persons, and some of the biggest true-crime stories of the last decade.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Through the phone lines from his cell, Charles Manson spoke to me in one of his final recorded conversations. What he said about power, fear, and the truth behind the Manson Family has never been heard publicly—until now.Unmarked takes you inside the cases you thought you knew, through exclusive calls, original recordings, and firsthand reporting from inside America’s most notorious investigations.Extended interviews, primary documents, and ad-free episodes are available inside UNMARKED: Case Files https://www.patreon.com/Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFollow UNMARKED for additional case material, updates, and short-form analysis: • YouTube: @Unmarked_Podcast • Instagram: @unmarked_podcast • TikTok: @unmarkedpodcast • Patreon: /Unmarked_TrueCrimePodcastFor readers interested in primary-source work on the Manson case, see Buddy’s book, Charles Manson: The Last Words: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GQ6QRVQ7UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast is hosted by Audioboom. 

Don’t miss the entire season of Unmarked. We’re opening our archives one case at a time. Subscribe so you never miss what we uncover next. First three episodes drop on Jan 7th 2026!