A former Kent Police sergeant. A grandfather. A man who spent years telling over 6,000 people their money was safe in his hands. Michael Stanley ran the Layezy Racing Syndicate, a horse racing betting scheme he claimed was virtually risk-free. For years, the monthly reports he sent out appeared to prove it was working perfectly. They were complete fabrications…
Read moreElkin & Bell / The Gosport Funeral Home Scandal
In England, anyone can become a funeral director. No licence, no qualifications required. This is the story of how that gap was exploited. On December 10th, 2023, bailiffs entered a repossessed funeral home in Gosport, Hampshire, and discovered something that would prompt a year-long police investigation, a landmark criminal trial, and renewed calls for long-overdue industry regulation…
Read moreRomance Fraudster / Kerry Gray
The UK has the third-highest number of dating app users in the world. Over 11 million people in the UK are currently looking for romance online. While there have been many stories of couples who found love over the internet, there are others that end in something worse than heartbreak…
Read moreSeverance / Neil Hopper
A man was rushed to the hospital after feeling unwell during a family camping trip. The medics' battle to save his life was all the more desperate because he was one of their colleagues…
Read moreThe Casanova Conman / The Murders of Margaret McOnie & Jack Shuttleworth
Robert Morphet hadn’t seen his elderly neighbour in several days. He was concerned that 88-year-old Jack could have fallen or hurt himself, so Robert decided to call in to make sure Jack was okay. When a knock at the door went unanswered, Robert walked around to his neighbour's garden and checked the shed. It was locked, but something in the back of Robert’s mind told him to look inside…
Read moreCell Therapy, Sex Counselling & A Contract Killing
The informant's microphone picked up the din of the busy beachfront restaurant. Sheriff’s deputies were stationed in a covert van nearby. They had a camera trained on one of the large windows, focusing on the target's hands passing an envelope of money to the informant. Still clear enough over the customer's chatter, the informant asked when he wanted it done. “Yesterday” was the response…
Read moreA Tragic Pact / The Unbelievable Crimes Of Linsey Cotton
Passing through the hotel's hallway, one guest noticed something strange — a figure slumped against the wall outside room 25. As they got closer, the guest saw, to their horror, that the young woman was covered in blood, and a trail led back to her room. Staff members were quickly alerted and ran down the corridor. When they entered room 25, they found another woman badly injured. She was alive but barely breathing…
Read moreBogus Doctors & Forged Medical Qualifications
Becoming a doctor takes years of dedication and ongoing training. Patients who are physically or mentally unwell, rely on medical professionals, trusting them implicitly to guide them back to health when they are at their most vulnerable. Nonetheless, there are instances when appearances can be deceiving, times when the family doctor isn’t a doctor at all, using a medical title they are not qualified to claim, and ruthlessly risking the safety of unwitting patients for personal gain…
Read moreThe Life & Crimes Of Eddie Chapman / Agent ZigZag
As Britain began to recover from the great depression, the lack of employment led to a rise in crime, and gangs operated under cover of darkness, cracking safes in businesses across London. The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 plummeted the nation into a period of uncertainty and turmoil. While young soldiers fought valiantly on the front lines across Nazi-occupied Europe, each nation utilised its own secret network of spies, to try and infiltrate enemy forces and gather information using covert tactics in an effort to win the war…
Read moreBlack Widower / Malcolm Webster
She rolled her car to a stop and rushed over to attend to the man lying on the verge. Elizabeth discovered his name was Malcolm Webster, and the fireball not far from where they were now standing was his car engulfed in flames. Elizabeth asked if there was anybody else inside the vehicle. Webster replied, “No,” before later correcting himself, and saying, “Yes, my wife”...
Read moreThe Devil's Breath Murder / The Poisoning Of Adrian Murphy
Simon slowly walked through the property, calling for his friend, before he entered the spare room. Adrian was lying on the bed. It was evident he was dead and had been for some time. Simon instinctively knew that someone else was involved. A bottle of whiskey was on the table, and Simon knew his best friend did not drink whiskey…
Read moreThe Life & Crimes Of Donald Merrett / Ronald Chesney
Henrietta Sutherland rushed into the dining room at 31 Buckingham Terrace in Edinburgh. The maid to the Merrett family found 55-year-old Bertha unconscious on the floor, with a pool of blood around her head. Bertha’s 17-year-old son, Donald, was standing next to her when Henrietta entered the room. It was shortly after 9 AM on March 17th, 1926. The maid had been alerted by the sound of a single gunshot. When asked what had happened, Donald explained that he had been arguing with his mother, and she shot herself. However, not everything was as it seemed…
Read moreFootball Betting Scams & Brutal Double Murder
A young couple are found brutally murdered in their flat in Newcastle’s West End. The investigation into their deaths exposes a shadowy underworld of illegal betting scams, and traverses continents as detectives try to find the person responsible…
Read moreThe Grindr Cons
Finding prospective matches through dating websites and apps is a valid and popular way to meet people. While most online interactions do not result in a date, some lead to a meeting in person. However, the exchange may or may not result in what both parties set out to find. There is a small minority of users who utilise dating apps for both sexual and financial extortion...
Read moreTell Us Where She Is / What Happened To Carole Packman?
Lifeboats and helicopters were dispatched to try and find the missing man. Although they hoped Russell was somehow clinging to life, the conditions were treacherous, making it extremely hard for the search party to see anything. After they failed to find any sign of Russell Causley or his body in the vast waters, the police had to notify his daughter, Samantha, of her father's disappearance…
Read moreRomance Scams [TWAU Plus]
Meeting a partner on the internet is common practice in this day and age — its popularity is on the rise. One group, the elderly seeking companionship, have become the preferred target for romance scammers trying to extort money...
Read moreThe Wild Fraud of "Lady" Rosemary Aberdour
Jeeves jumped into the back of the Bentley. The chauffeur was escorting him from London to Scotland. Jeeves was looking peaky; maybe a break from the city for a walk in the Scottish countryside might help freshen him up. After a short trip, they would make the roughly eight-hour drive home, refreshed. Jeeves was used to the more exceptional things in life; sometimes he devoured the best fillet steak purchased especially for him from Harrods…
Read moreThe Lottery Conman / Howard Walmsley [Patreon Exclusive]
In September 1998, painter and decorator Howard Walmsley told a lie to his wife, Kathy. The lie gathered momentum and soon got out of Howard's control…
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