On this episode of They Walk Among America… Chowchilla was a rural town in Madera County, California. In 1976 the population of the farming community was around 5,000, spread across sprawling acres of land. Most of those living in Chowchilla had been born and raised there, in the Central Valley. The isolated countryside didn’t provide much for kids to do during the summer months, so many enrolled in summer school. Dairyland Elementary had been assigned as the location for classes in the summer of 76 and over 125 children signed up to attend. 26 of those pupils would become victims of one of the most notorious mass kidnappings in US history…
Read moreMore Than Evidence, More Than A Witness... / Carvel Bennett
Imagine you grow up unaware of your family history, not knowing why you were adopted, oblivious to the fact that you are the only evidence of a crime — you are walking, talking proof it happened, and your DNA is the key…
Read moreFor The Thrill
On this episode of They Walk Among America… Betty Jean Gooch was just beginning her shift as the Special Collections Librarian at the Transylvania University Library in Lexington, Kentucky, on the 7th of December, 2004. The Transylvania University Library is known as the scholarly heart of Transylvania’s campus, and at any given day of the week, it’s teeming with people…
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 Railway Killers / John Duffy & David Mulcahy
The 1980s were plagued by a string of rapes and murders carried out near train stations in and around London. Fear spread to commuters throughout the country. DNA analysis had yet to become standard practice, and the perpetrators, sly and elusive, left investigators increasingly desperate to crack the case…
Read moreUnsolved / Debbie Linsley
A guttural scream could be heard from a neighbouring compartment on a London train to Victoria. It had just pulled away from Brixton, and as the train sped along the tracks, an 18-year-old french au pair remained glued to her seat in terror. She was not sure what to do. She could tell that the noises were screams of fear from a female in the next compartment, but she was too frightened to raise the alarm. By the time the train pulled into Victoria, it was too late. Someone dashed through the carriage door and out of the station before anyone realised what had occurred. Over three decades later, it is still unclear what exactly happened on the 2:16 train…
Read moreRough Cut
On this episode of They Walk Among America… A single block located between 5th and 6th avenue on 47th Street in New York is known as the Diamond District. The bustling epicentre of New York's diamond and jewellery sales industry sprang up on 47th Street in the 1920s and continues to be one of the most popular locations for jewellery shoppers today. The Diamond District expanded during WWII when thousands fled Nazi-occupied Europe and set up shop in New York City. The Diamond Dealers Club, which was founded in the 1930s as a place for dealers and brokers to store their diamonds, has described the arrival of new traders as follows: “Their influx into America, together with the unprecedented economic boom that took place in the country in the post-war period, shifted the balance of the diamond trade from Western Europe to New York. Indeed, immigration has long been a decisive factor in the growth of the U.S. diamond sector, and the DDC, both then and today, traditionally has served as a melting pot for a diverse group of nationalities and cultures”. Many store owners and workers in the Diamond District were Orthodox or Hasidic Jews. A small place that contained such valuable products was always bound to attract undesirables, but in 1977 the disappearance of two diamond cutters proved that pressure was only good for diamonds…
Read moreOne For Gain And One For Revenge / Where Is Danny's Body?
Daniel Hathaway, more commonly known as Danny, left his home at a travellers site off Gretton Brook Road in Corby, Northamptonshire. Shortly after receiving a phone call, the 44-year-old, who worked as a mechanic, had told Diane, his partner of around 15 years, that he was just popping out. Still dressed in his blue-grey overalls with a green logo that read “Just Transits”, Danny exited the blue and cream-coloured double-decker bus where he lived with his partner and their children, Samuel and Ellie. Danny was expected back home later that evening on Wednesday, February 7th, 2007…
Read moreHome Invasion
On this episode of They Walk Among America… Mary Lyons was beginning her shift at the Bank of America branch office in Maple Croft Plaza, in Cheshire, Connecticut. It was the 23rd of July, 2007, a Monday, so Mary knew that it was going to be a busy day. By 9:30AM, there was already a line of customers, ready to go about their financial transactions after the weekend. A middle-aged woman approached the counter. Mary noticed immediately that she had a terrified look in her eyes. Her face was ashen. The woman quietly told Mary that her name was Jennifer Petit, and that she and her family were being held hostage at their home by two men. She needed to withdraw $15,000 to bring to the men, one of whom was in her car in the parking lot waiting for her to return. Jennifer told Mary that if police were contacted, her children and husband would be killed...
Read moreDeath At A Party With Pete Doherty / What Happened To Mark Blanco?
It was busy that night in Whitechapel, East London. The music was blaring, but none of the guests seemed concerned about the noise from the flat. They were there for the party…
Read moreThe Vampire-Obsessed Killer / The Murder Of Mabel Leyshon
It was just before lunchtime on Sunday, November 25, 2001, when Glenys Groom, a meals-on-wheels volunteer, made her way to the home of an elderly client. Mabel Leyshon was a 90-year-old widow, living alone in a beige brick bungalow in Llanfairpwllgwyngyll on Anglesey. Glenys approached Mabel’s front door and knocked loudly. She received no response…
Read moreA Parent's Nightmare
On this episode of They Walk Among America… Sabre Springs is a planned high-end community in San Diego, California. It’s a typical residential community where many people go to raise their families within close proximity to employment and good schools. Around 9,000 people were living in Sabre Springs in February 2002 when something destroyed the community's perceived serenity. Before then, parents had no issues with letting their children play in the neighborhood, or leaving a window unlocked in the two-storey tract homes. Children went to school and came home to play with friends, cycling their bikes past neighbor's houses, never aware of the danger lurking behind closed doors until it was too late…
Read moreCamden Town Killing / Emily Dimmock / Robert Wood
Camden Town in London is home to bustling markets, street food vendors and alternative clothing shops. It's popular with both locals and tourists alike. However, it was once known as a sordid area full of distilleries, pubs, and sex workers, not to mention being the location of a murder that still remains unsolved over a hundred years later…
Read moreA Knock At The Door / Dr Adam Towler / Chanz Maximen
The doctor managed to get inside, slamming the door behind him and securing the lock. He grabbed his iPhone and attempted to call for help. He tried to use facial recognition to unlock the device, but the blood on his face rendered him unrecognisable. The doctor struggled as blood also covered the phone, making it difficult to use the touch screen…
Read moreUnsolved / Sarah Benford
It is estimated that around 170,000 people are reported missing each year in the United Kingdom. Of that number, approximately 98,000 are adults, and more than 70,000 are children. The average age for a first-time runaway is 13, and one out of four missing children will have been the victims of physical or sexual abuse. Children living in residential care are three times more likely to run away than peers living with their families. Those in care are also more vulnerable to abduction and grooming. While most of these missing people do eventually return home, a small percentage turn up dead, and an even smaller number still remain missing…
Read moreStar-Crossed
On this episode of They Walk Among America… A desire for fame and fortune can sometimes make people do dangerous and even fatal things in an effort for clicks. In 2017, a young couple had ambitions to make it big on the internet. By June of that year, their ambitions to become household names would materialise, but it was at a catastrophically high price…
Read moreBlind Justice / Jayne Smith / Yvonne Sleightholme
“You are a farmer's daughter, and you expected to become a farmer's wife. When your fiancé broke off the engagement and married another woman, you wrought upon the newly married couple a terrible revenge. You planned in cold fury and executed with ruthless precision the killing of your rival” — Mr Justice Waite, Leeds Crown Court, May 1991
Read moreCold Case Solved / Rikki Neave
After almost three decades, one of the most heartbreaking and troubling child murders in the history of the UK has been solved. How did the investigators finally catch six-year-old Rikki Neave’s killer?…
Read moreREPLAY - Unsolved / Rikki Neave
REPLAY. There has been a significant update to the investigation since this episode was released, so we are re-releasing it as a refresher, before a detailed case update is published in several days time. ****** Ruth and Dean Neave lived on Redmile Walk in the Welland Estate of Peterborough. Social services were highly involved with the family. The children were placed on the at-risk register, and Ruth was vocal with authorities about not being able to cope — she even threatened that she might hurt her children…
Read moreMother Knows Best
On this episode of They Walk Among America… There is an old Irish proverb that says, “A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest”. The unmistakable bond between a mother and son is hard to break, even when one is accused of an incomprehensible crime…
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