New Website

Thanks to our generous patrons on Patreon, we have been able to upgrade our website to allow us to now post multi-media articles as well as true crime documentary and book reviews.

Head on over to www.insightpod.com to have a look!

Due to this exciting news, this blog will no longer be updated.

Would you like to support us? All sustaining patrons of more than $2 per month receive a premium mini-sode. There are other great rewards too. For more information go to www.patreon.com/insightpod

For a one-off donation, we have either pay-pal or merchandise, such as tshirts, hoodies, coffee cups and travel mugs. Links to both these options are on our website.

And thanks!

Episode Eleven: Tara Calico

Tara Calico went out for her usual bike ride on September 28 1988 in Belen, New Mexico. She took her mother's bike and said if she wasn't home by 12pm to come and get her.

Noon came and went without Tara's return. Her mother went out to get her and found her broken Sony Walkman and cassette tape instead. Neither Tara or her mother's bike was ever seen again.

At least until June 15 1989, when a disturbing polaraid photo was left in a parking lot in Florida....

What happened to Tara Calico? And is Tara the girl in the photograph?

Some of our research

The Charley Project profile
The Story
The New Photos

Episode Ten: Dear Theodosia

Theodosia Burr was born to a wealthy and prominent family. When her mother died when she was young she was raised by her father, politician Aaron Burr, who later becomes a subject in the musical Hamilton due to his controversial acts in US Government.

She marries Joesph Alston and has a child who tragically dies of malaria at 10 years old. Grieving her son and missing her father, Theodosia goes aboard the Patriot to sail to New York to visit her father, Aaron Burr. However, the ship goes missing after a storm hits the Carolina coast, and Theodosia was never seen again.

Or was she?

Some of our research
Aaron Burr's story
Theodosia Burr's story
What happened to Theodosia?

Episode Nine: William Tyrrell

William Tyrrell, his older sister and their parents left their home in suburban Sydney to visit his grandmother in Kendall. This was a surprise visit and one the children were excited about.

The following morning, Friday September 12 2014, William was playing chasings with his sister while his mother and grandmother watched. At 10.30am, William rounds this corner of the home, roaring like a lion. He has not been seen since.

What happened to William?

Some of our research
Where's William website
Persons of Interest
TV interview

Episode Eight: Elliott Smith

 

 

Elliott Smith was an Oscar nominated singer/songwriter who, in his songs, spoke of his struggles with drugs, alcohol and depression.

No one was too surprised when, on October 21 2003, Elliott Smith was found dead from an apparent suicide. But then the coroner's report raised a new possible cause of death - murder.

Did this tortured artist, who openly spoke of suicide in the past, really kill himself? Or was his girlfriend responsible for his death?

Some of our research
His story
The interview
Autopsy report

Episode Seven: The Jamison Family

Bobby Dale, Sherilynn and Madyson Jamison from Eufaula, Oklahoma disappeared mysteriously on October 9 2009. The family had been looking to buy a 40-acre block of land near Red Oak, Oklahoma, about thirty miles away from their family home. Their remains were found four years later however no cause of death could be determined.

So, what happened to the Jamison family? Were they victims of a violent cult? A hiking accident? A murder suicide pact? Or was there something more supernatural to blame?

Some of our research
Overview
The Disappeared episode
Some of the fringe theories

Episode Six: John Guica

Two college aged men are out for a night in Brooklyn with friends. Both drinking and looking to make the most of their night. Fate has John Giuca and Mark Fisher cross paths and when they cannot sneak into a local club with their fake ID's, the party continues at John Giuca's house.

Unfortunately, the night ends in tragedy. Mark Fisher is brutally attacked and shot numerous times in the back. Mark dies in a driveway, wrapped in a blanket from John Giuca's house. John is later arrested and convicted for Mark Fisher's murder.

However, with three out of the four of the prosecution's star witnesses later recanting their testimonies and the fourth changing his story repeatedly, is John Giuca really responsible for Mark Fisher's murder? And can a mother's determination save her son from a life in prison?

Some of our research
Fatal Encounters episode
Note: this only seems to work on notebooks and laptops not smart phones. And start watching at about 17:40 minutes as before this it jumps all over the episode. From this time, the episode starts from the beginning.
Indictment paper
Free John Giuca website

Episode Five: Zach Witman

On October 2 1998, Greg Witman, 13 years old, was returning from school when he was brutally attacked from behind at the front door of his home. His 15 year old brother, Zach was home sick and in his parent's room at the time of the attack. When Zach comes downstairs, he notices blood on the floor and discovers his little brother's body.

Within a few days, after a short investigation, the police charge Zach with the first-degree murder of his brother. At the age of 20, he was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

What would cause one brother to murder another? And was Zach really responsible?

Some of our research
Case report
Short documentary
A wealth of information

Episode Four: Villisca Axe Murders

Sometime between midnight June 9 1912 and early morning June 10 1912 in the town of Villisca, the six members of the Moore family and their overnight guests, the two Stillinger sisters were found bludgeoned to death with Joe Moore's own axe. Despite a hampered investigation, several suspects have been tried and acquitted. Over 100 years later, this crime remains unsolved.

Who killed the Moore family and the Stillinger girls? Why would anyone carry out such a brutal crime on this seemingly innocent family?

Some of our research
Overview of the crime
The virtual house tour
The suspects

Episode Three: Chris McCandless

After graduating college in 1990, Chris McCandless rid himself of all personal ties and possessions, changed his name to Alex Supertramp and hitch-hiked around the United States. His dream was to spend time in Alaska which he achieved, arriving in April 1992. Based on journals completed by Chris, we learn about his journey until his death 113 days after arriving in Alaska.

What would make a upper-middle class, well-educated man give away all his money and run away from his family?

Some of our research

Overview
Timeline
Theories of how he died

Episode Two: The Missing Beaumont Children

 

On January 26 1966, Jane, Arnna, and Grant Beaumont left their home to celebrate Australia Day with a day at Glenelg beach. When the children didn’t return two hours later as promised, their mother assumed that the children either missed the bus or decided to walk home. When they hadn’t returned home by nightfall, Nancy and Jim Beaumont reported the children missing to the police. Though many witnesses reported seeing the children that day, no evidence was ever found to explain what happened to them.

Where did they go? Who was responsible?

Some of our research

The overview
The story
The suspects

Episode One: Lori Erica Ruff

After her suicide in 2010, Lori Erica Ruff (nee Kennedy) was discovered by her estranged husband's family to have been living under a false name, and that her real name was Becky Sue Turner. Or was it? It seems that Becky Sue Turner in fact died in a house fire in 1971, aged 2.

So who was Lori Erica Ruff?

Some of our research

Seattle Times article
Source Documents
Timeline