Highway to Hell

Christmas Eve release for a Christmas Eve crime! Thank you so much for the love and support from new Hellions who have become followers and subscribers! Follow us on IG at @highwaytohellpodTopic you want to hear? [email protected] December 24, 2002, Laci Peterson, eight months pregnant, disappeared from her home in Modesto. Investigators uncovered inconsistencies in Scott Peterson’s statements and evidence of an extramarital affair. He told police he had gone fishing in San Francisco Bay the morning Laci vanished—where the remains of Laci and her unborn son, Conner, were discovered.In 2004, Scott Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder for Laci and second-degree murder for Conner. Initially sentenced to death, his sentence was later reduced to life without the possibility of parole. Sources:48 Hours investigative reporting on the case timeline, marina evidence, and trial strategy (CBS News, 2003–2004).ABC’s acquisition of taped phone calls between Amber Frey and Scott Peterson (entered as trial exhibits).ABC News / Good Morning America exclusive interviews with Amber Frey and investigators (2003–2004).Associated Press coverage of California Supreme Court ruling overturning death sentence (2020).Associated Press coverage of the trial, verdict, and sentencing (2004–2005).Autopsy reports (Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office), completed by Dr. Brian Peterson (sealed but publicly referenced in court).Berkeley Marina parking records (Dec. 24, 2002).California Attorney General, Respondent’s Briefs in People v. Peterson (Direct Appeal).Cell phone records subpoenaed from December 2002–January 2003 (used in timeline reconstruction).CNN coverage of investigation developments, body discovery, and trial timeline (2002–2004).Court TV daily trial coverage including direct summaries from courtroom transcripts (2004).Documented police inventories of evidence seized during arrest (vehicle contents).FBI Trace Evidence Laboratory notes on mitochondrial DNA testing of hair recovered from the pliers.Financial and property records documenting Peterson’s termination of lease, car sale, mail changes, and satellite cancellation.Frey, Amber. Witness: For the Prosecution of Scott Peterson (2005).GPS tracking logs and surveillance warrants issued January 2003 (Stanislaus County).Habeas corpus petitions filed by Scott Peterson (2005–present).KTVU, KRON, and Northern California regional broadcast reporting on discovery of remains at Point Isabel and Richmond shoreline (April 2003).Law review articles discussing People v. Peterson, circumstantial evidence standards, and California’s application of Witherspoon/Witt in jury selection.Los Angeles Innocence Project filings (2024–2025), including new-evidence submissions and requests for discovery.Los Angeles Times investigative coverage of the disappearance, search efforts, autopsy details, and trial testimony (2002–2004).Los Angeles Times reporting on Peterson appeals and developments (2005–2025).Modesto Bee continuous local reporting from Dec. 24, 2002 onward (search efforts, discovery of remains, hearings, trial, verdict, sentencing, appeals).Modesto Police Department missing person reports (Dec. 24–25, 2002).Modesto Police Department press releases (2002–2003), including “Relationship Verified in Peterson Case” (Jan. 24, 2003).NBC News reporting on the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision and subsequent resentencing.NOAA & USGS tidal and hydrology data used by state experts during trial testimony.People v. Peterson, 2020, California Supreme Court, S132449.San Francisco Chronicle reporting on searches in SF Bay, tidal modeling testimony, and body discovery (April 2003).San Francisco Chronicle courthouse reporting during jury deliberations and sentencing (2004).San Mateo County Superior Court, People v. Scott Peterson, trial transcripts (2004).Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office filings and responses in Scott Peterson post-conviction proceedings (2003–2025).

For more than a decade, Jersey (one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Normandy) was haunted by a figure locals came to call the Beast of Jersey. A masked man who moved through hedgerows and farm lanes at night slicing phone lines and entering homes while families slept. He abducted women and children from their beds assaulted them in their rooms or out in the fields and then returned them hours later, all while their families were fast asleep. Today we meet Edward Paisnel: his background, his double life as a respected builder and beloved “Uncle Ted,” his access to children’s homes, and the crimes that terrorized an island from the late 1950s through the early 1970s. We examine how fear and suspicion led to the wrongful vilification and exile of Alphonse Le Gastelois. Paisnel was finally caught by chance after a reckless night drive (how many of these men were caught by traffic violations) and how the evidence: his mask, nail‑studded coat, and taped torch confirmed survivors’ accounts with chilling precision.We also explore how the case lingered, no just through the firsthand testimonies that convicted him, but the unanswered questions surrounding institutional failure, and the folklore and ghost stories that grew in the wake of collective trauma. Small islands can create big legends. This episode is a examination of one of the most disturbing cases in British criminal history. SourcesJoan Paisnel, The Beast of Jersey (New English Library, 1972; later reprints).Ward Rutherford, The Beast of Jersey: The Final Chapter (Redberry Press).Ward Rutherford, The Untimely Silence (Hamish Hamilton, 1973).Hillsdon, Jersey Witches, Ghosts & Traditions (1987).Robert Sinsoilliez, Histoire des Minquiers et des Écréhou (1995).States of Jersey, Proposition P.111/1999: Alphonse Le Gastelois – Ex Gratia Payment.States of Jersey, Minutes of the States Assembly, 14 September 1999.Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, Final Report (2017).Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, Appendix 1: Chronology of Significant Events.Jersey Heritage Archive catalog entries relating to police and inquiry records (e.g., ZC/D/AW1/A1).States of Jersey, Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 – Report R.62/2016.The Guardian (Jersey care homes and Paisnel coverage, Feb–Mar 2008).The Times — Simon de Bruxelles & David Brown (26 Feb 2008).Irish Examiner — Tom Palmer (27 Feb 2008).Jersey Evening Post (various articles, 2012–2015).BBC Jersey (coverage relating to Alphonse Le Gastelois and later reflections).Bailiwick Express (historical investigations and retrospective features).The True Crime Database – “Beast of Jersey.”The True Crime Enthusiast – “The Beast of Jersey.”All That’s Interesting – “Edward Paisnel, The Beast of Jersey.”Back on the Rock (Jersey blog, July 2020).“Edward Paisnel.”“Alphonse Le Gastelois.”

In this episode, we examine the rise and tragic end of Heaven’s Gate, one of the most infamous cults in modern American history. Founded by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, the group fused New Age spirituality, Christian apocalypticism, and science-fiction belief into a rigid worldview centered on ascension to a higher evolutionary level. We trace the group’s origins in the 1970s, its recruitment tactics, isolationist lifestyle, and the psychological mechanisms that reinforced obedience, identity loss, and total devotion to leadership.The episode culminates in a detailed breakdown of the 1997 mass suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, California, carried out in the belief that a spacecraft trailing the Hale-Bopp comet would transport members beyond Earth. We explore how apocalyptic thinking, charismatic authority, fear of the outside world, and technological alienation converged to produce one of the deadliest cult outcomes in U.S. history—and what Heaven’s Gate still teaches us about high-control groups, belief radicalization, and vulnerability in times of uncertainty.Sources: Benjamin E. Zeller, Heaven’s Gate: America’s UFO Religion (NYU Press, 2014).(JSTOR)Robert W. Balch, “The Evolution of a New Age Cult: From Total Overcomers Anonymous to Death at Heaven’s Gate,” in Sects, Cults, and Spiritual Communities: A Sociological Analysis, ed. W. W. Zellner & M. Petrowsky (Praeger, 1998).(Dokumen.pub)James R. Lewis, “Legitimating Suicide: Heaven’s Gate and New Age Ideology,” in UFO Religions, ed. Christopher Partridge (Routledge, 2003).(ResearchGate)George D. Chryssides (ed.), Heaven’s Gate: Postmodernity and Popular Culture in a Suicide Group (Ashgate/Routledge, 2011/2021).(Better World Books)John R. Hall, Apocalypse Observed: Religious Movements and Violence in North America, Europe and Japan (Routledge, 2000).(Wikipedia)Rosamond C. Rodman, “Heaven’s Gate,” in Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, ed. Eugene V. Gallagher & W. Michael Ashcraft (Greenwood, 2006).(Internet Archive)W. Davis, “Heaven’s Gate: A Study of Religious Obedience,” Nova Religio 3, no. 2 (2000).(JSTOR)W. G. Robinson, “Heaven’s Gate: The End,” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (1997).(OUP Academic)Various scholarly essays reprinted in Chryssides’ anthology and Zeller’s volume.(Better World Books)San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, “Heaven’s Gate Case” (official case overview and FAQ).(San Diego County Sheriff)Los Angeles Times, “39 Dead in Apparent Suicide: Bodies Found in Rancho Santa Fe Mansion,” March 27, 1997.(Los Angeles Times)ABC News, “Heaven’s Gate Investigator Saw Dozens Dead With Their Shoes On,” March 25, 2007.(ABC News)History.com, “Heaven’s Gate cult members found dead,” This Day in History entry.(HISTORY)The New York Times’ contemporaneous coverage of the suicides and profiles of Applewhite and members (e.g., Barry Bearak, “Eyes on Glory: Pied Pipers of Heaven’s Gate,” April 28, 1997).(Wikipedia)

Thank you for listening! Please share and subscribe!Herman Webster Mudgett — better known as H.H. Holmes — is often regarded as America’s first documented serial killer, but long before the murders came fraud, reinvention, and carefully engineered charm. A medical student with a fascination for cadavers, he began his criminal life forging documents, taking out insurance policies on stolen corpses, and committing small-scale scams that sharpened his skill for deception. In Chicago, using aliases and credit manipulation, he built the infamous "Murder Castle" — a multi-level property designed with secret rooms, gas lines, soundproof spaces, and controlled entryways. While later retellings exaggerated elements of torture, confirmed historical evidence shows Holmes used the building primarily to isolate victims, commit insurance schemes, and dispose of bodies with chilling efficiency.Holmes is linked directly to several murders, including those of his employee and probable mistress Julia Conner, her young daughter Pearl, and later the children of his business associate Benjamin Pitezel. Although newspapers of the era sensationalized the number of victims into the dozens or even hundreds, historians note that the confirmed count is considerably smaller — perhaps 9, possibly more, but far from the mythical 200. Holmes' trial for the death of Benjamin Pitezel exposed his layered hoaxes and corpse substitutions, ultimately leading to his conviction and execution in 1896. The Holmes story persists because it lives at the intersection of fact and folklore: a man of intelligence, charisma, and absolute moral vacancy, who weaponized trust and opportunity in a rapidly industrializing American city.SourcesErik Larson — The Devil in the White CityAdam Selzer — H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City DevilHarold Schechter — Depraved: The Shocking True Story of America’s First Serial KillerDavid Franke — The Torture Doctor: The Murder, Madness, and Mayhem of H.H. HolmesThe Philadelphia Inquirer — 1894–1896 Holmes arrest, trial, and Pitezel coverageChicago Tribune — reporting on the Murder Castle, fraud schemes, arrest, executionNew York Times — trial updates, confession coverage, execution reportingTrial Transcripts of United States v. H.H. Holmes (Pitezel case)Insurance fraud documentation filed under Holmes/Mudgett aliasesPhiladelphia police arrest reports — Holmes + accomplices (1894)Death sentence and execution records — Moyamensing Prison, 1896Architectural references & investigation notes regarding the Chicago “Castle” structureRecovered correspondence between Holmes, Minnie Williams, and business associatesConfession documents attributed to Holmes (with known factual inconsistencies)

And here's the Albert Fish episode! Sorry every body I uploaded them out of order on accident. But here we are.TW: Extreme child abuse and assaultAlbert Fish (1870–1936) was an American serial killer, cannibal, and sadomasochist whose crimes in the early 20th century remain some of the most disturbing in U.S. criminal history. Raised in an abusive orphanage and plagued throughout his life by violent sexual compulsions and self-harm, Fish targeted children, abducting, torturing, and murdering several—most infamously twelve-year-old Grace Budd, whose case led to his capture after he sent her family a chilling letter detailing the crime. Known by monikers such as “The Gray Man” and “The Boogeyman,” Fish displayed extreme psychopathy, claiming to have felt moral justification for his actions and reporting pleasure in pain, including driving needles into his own body. He was arrested in 1934, found sane enough to stand trial, convicted, and executed by electric chair in January 1936, leaving behind a legacy of horror that continues to fascinate and appall criminologists, historians, and true-crime researchers.Sources:Bardsley, M. (2012). Albert Fish. Crime Library. Retrieved January 1, 2014, from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/fish/index.html Constantine, N. (2006). A history of cannibalism. Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books. Douglas, J. E. (2006). Crime classification manual: A standard system for investigating and classifying violent crimes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hickey, E. W. (2013). Serial murderers and their victims (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Johnson, G., & Jenks, A. (2008). Albert Hamilton Fish. Radford, VA: Radford University. Newton, M. (2006). The encyclopedia of serial killers (2nd ed.). New York: Facts on File, Inc. Philbin, T., & Philbin, M. (2009). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_FishThe killer book of serial killers. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks. Ramsland, K., & McGrain, P. N. (2010). Inside the minds of sexual predators. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Mayer, R. (Director). (2009). The bogeyman’s gonna eat you – Albert Fish, the vampire of Brooklyn (Motion picture). United States of America: Mill Creek Entertainment. Schechter, H. (2012). Psycho USA. New York: Random House. Schechter, H. (2012, February 24). Cannibal 'Albert Fish' documentary [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orJiXNQeScs Schechter, H. (2003). The serial killer files. New York: Random House. Schechter, H. (1990). Deranged: The shocking true story of America’s most fiendish killer. New York: Simon & Schuster. Smith, D. J. (2003). 100 most infamous criminals. New York: Sterling Publishing Company. Wilson, C., & Seaman, D. (2004). The serial killers: A study in the psychology of violence. London: Virgin Publishing. Vronsky, P. (2004). Serial killers: The method and madness of monsters. New York: Penguin