Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

On the morning of October 2, 2020, 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett pulled into the parking lot of her job in Carrollton, Texas. Within minutes, she was ambushed in broad daylight, shot, and stabbed multiple times. What initially looked like a random act of extreme violence quickly revealed itself to be something much more sinister. Investigators soon discovered that someone had been quietly tracking Alyssa for months, setting her up, and building a methodical plan to ensure she did not survive.

The investigation led police to the father of Alyssa's child, Andrew Beard, and his fiancée, Holly Elkins. As detectives unraveled a complex web of GPS trackers, false police reports, planted evidence, and burner phones, they uncovered a disturbing campaign of cyberstalking and harassment driven by a bitter custody dispute. The evidence showed a steady escalation toward violence, orchestrated by individuals desperate to create a "picture-perfect" family at any cost.

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In February 1978, five young men from Yuba County, California, drove to Chico to watch a college basketball game. They were close friends who thrived on routine and predictability, and they had a big basketball tournament of their own the next day. But after a quick stop for snacks, Jack Madruga, Bill Sterling, Ted Weiher, Jackie Huett, and Gary Mathias vanished. Instead of driving south toward home, their car was found abandoned 70 miles in the opposite direction, stuck on a remote, snow-covered mountain road.

What followed is one of the most baffling cases in true crime history. Months later, the remains of four of the men were discovered miles away from their vehicle, including one who had miraculously survived for weeks inside a well-stocked forest service trailer but failed to use the resources that could have saved him. Gary Mathias has never been found. We discuss the confusing timeline, the strange witness account of a man stranded nearby, and the lingering questions of why these men walked deeper into the freezing wilderness.

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Mamta Kafle Bhatt worked tirelessly to build a life in the United States. She was a dedicated nurse at UVA Prince William Medical Center in Manassas, Virginia, and a loving mother to her one-year-old daughter. From the outside, her life and marriage to Naresh Bhatt appeared stable and happy. However, close friends and coworkers began to notice troubling signs, including visible injuries and attempts by Mamta to separate from her husband and regain control of her finances and identification documents.

When Mamta failed to show up for her nursing shift in early August 2024, her coworkers immediately raised the alarm. Despite her husband's claims that she had simply walked away to cool off after an argument, the reality of the situation soon became clear. As investigators searched their home, they uncovered a disturbing crime scene that contradicted Naresh's story, leading to his arrest for her murder. While her body has yet to be found, the overwhelming forensic evidence paints a grim picture of what happened to the devoted mother who was just days away from her US citizenship interview.

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On May 11, 2022, 25-year-old professional gravel cyclist Moriah Wilson was found shot to death inside a friend's apartment in Austin, Texas. She had traveled to town for a major race that had the potential to elevate her rising career. Investigators quickly discovered that Moriah had spent the evening with Colin Strickland, a fellow cyclist who was involved in a complicated, on-again, off-again relationship with 34-year-old yoga instructor Kaitlin Armstrong.

As detectives unraveled the timeline, they found that Kaitlin had been tracking Moriah's movements for months. Surveillance footage placed Kaitlin's vehicle at the scene within minutes of Moriah being dropped off. What followed was a massive search that crossed international borders, involving altered identities, cosmetic surgery, and a desperate attempt to evade justice in Costa Rica.

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A quick note on today's episode: Linda Hazzard's 'treatments' heavily involved extreme fasting and starvation. We want to mention this up front for anyone who might be sensitive to discussions around restrictive diets or disordered eating.

This week we discuss Linda Hazzard, a self-proclaimed doctor in the early 1900s who convinced patients that extreme fasting was a medical cure. Operating out of Washington state, Linda exploited legal loopholes to open a sanitarium that locals grimly called "Starvation Heights." She targeted wealthy individuals, placing them on starvation diets while slowly taking control of their finances and estates as they grew weaker.

The situation finally reached a breaking point when wealthy British heiresses Claire Williamson and Dora Williamson entered her care. We cover the harrowing conditions the sisters endured, the desperate rescue mission by their childhood nanny, and the sensational murder trial that followed.
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