Episodes

  • Tales of the Unexpected: A Grab Bag of Odd Stories
    May 15 2026
    People can be pretty strange. And not just people—as we’ll see in one story of this week’s episode, you can add all our extended family of primates to that. If you have a big brain and opposable thumbs, there’s a good chance you’ll be getting up to shenanigans. But as we’ll see in our other story, human beings still wear the crown for weird, ridiculously confident nonsense. Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027. Sources, Monkey Invasion case: Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-170-wild-monkeys-escaped-from-a-jungle-camp-and-terrorized-new-york-180985537/ NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/23/archives/monkey-runaways-still-number-111-32-simian-flagpole-sitters-are.html https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/22/archives/150-monkeys-flee-camp-stop-train-simians-escape-from-frank-bucks.html Farmingdale Local History Blog: https://farmingdalelocalhistory.blogspot.com/2018/07/frank-bucks-jungle-campmassapequa-zoo.html https://omeka.hofstra.edu/exhibits/show/long-island-business-and-indus/frank-buck-collection--1935-19 https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1935/08/30/issue.html https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-174-monkeys-skip-jail/159743530/ https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026749/1935-08-24/ed-1/?sp=1&q=MASSAPEQUA&r=0.241,0.976,0.311,0.229,0 Sources, Alison Gu case: U.S. Court of Appeals filings: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-2nd-circuit/2140129.html https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/6943f1bbcfa51735e29ca3b7 Bennington Banner: https://www.benningtonbanner.com/local-news/former-winhall-woman-back-in-court-more-fraud-charges/article_f37d8ad2-dd24-11ec-94e0-4f8b05aedbae.html "Lowering the Bar," Kevin Underhill: https://www.loweringthebar.net/2025/07/defendant-recruited-seven-actors-to-testify-in-fraud-trial.html Manchester Journal: https://www.manchesterjournal.com/local-news/former-winhall-woman-headed-back-to-prison/article_63203790-1e66-11ed-ba8a-77d4d5eff5ee.html Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfirehttps://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/Facebook: True Crime CampfireInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=enTwitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfireEmail: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.comMERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • Listen Now: Blood and Water
    May 11 2026
    Today we’re sharing something a little different from our friends at ABC News and 20/20. It’s the first episode of a brand new original true crime series called "Blood and Water." In 2001, Leslie Preer was found brutally murdered, her body left in the shower of her home in the wealthy suburbs of Washington, D.C. Investigators initially set their sights on Leslie’s husband as the prime suspect — until bombshell DNA evidence revealed the presence of an "unknown male" at the scene. With extensive access to the original police tapes and interviews with the cold case detectives who worked to solve the crime, Blood and Water tells an in-depth story of the decades-long wait for justice for Leslie’s daughter, and the cutting-edge investigative techniques that finally caught the killer. To hear the rest of the series, follow "Blood and Water" on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon Music⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • The Sausage Kingdom: The Crimes of Stuart Alexander
    May 8 2026
    I’m sure most of you have heard some variant of the phrase, “nobody wants to see how the sausage gets made,” which refers to the often messy procedures behind getting things done in, say, business or politics. But it’s also a literal truth that most of us don’t want to see how sausage gets made, and that goes double if the person making it cuts corners and develops a wildly aggressive attitude to any kind of government oversight. Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027. Sources: LA Times: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-oct-18-mn-38382-story.html SFGate: https://www.sfgate.com/news/baycitynews/article/sausage-king-guilty-of-killing-3-meat-2641380.php https://www.sfgate.com/news/baycitynews/article/girlfriend-says-sausage-king-wanted-to-grind-up-2758522.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/oakland-sausage-factory-secretary-tells-of-fear-2721223.php East Bay Times: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/06/10/survivor-recalls-shooting-spree-in-sausage-factory/ https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/04/29/ex-meat-inspector-describes-factory/ https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2004/05/21/linguisa-not-safe-to-eat-expert-says/ https://web.archive.org/web/20160527100913/http://www.mindfully.org/Food/sausage-king.htm KCBS Radio Podcast, “The Sausage King” Follow us, campers!Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=en Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • True Lies: The Murder of Lori Hacking
    May 1 2026
    Secrets can ruin everything. Not little ones, we’re talking big, looming secrets that might change your life forever if they were ever brought out into the light of day. Some people just can’t help themselves, stacking lie upon lie, hiding the secret truth behind an ever-growing wall of falsehood. And if that wall comes crashing down…well, some people will go to any lengths to keep their secrets safe. Go to quince.com/CAMPFIRE for free shipping and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0, Feb. 8-12 from Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau, Bahamas! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=en Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • When Nerds Attack - Raging Fool: The Crimes of Charles Severance
    Apr 24 2026
    Anger can be useful. If you need to defend yourself or those you love, or if you need to stand up against some outrage in your community, anger can give you the necessary fire to get things done. It can also be poisonous, eating away at a soul until there’s not much left but dense fury that constantly leaks out like oil from a ruptured tanker. This week’s story is about a man who let his anger consume not only himself, but the lives of three innocent people. Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027. Sources: The Parable of the Knocker by Bryan Porter ID's See No Evil, S9E6, “Shaken and Disturbed” https://web.archive.org/web/20160215131616/http://mentaldisorder.com/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/mother-of-severances-son-testifies-of-frightening-threatening-letters/2015/10/14/270a887c-729d-11e5-8d93-0af317ed58c9_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/at-severances-trial-nancy-dunnings-son-describes-finding-her-dead/2015/10/15/5375017c-7364-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/alleged-alexandria-serial-killer-scheduled-to-appear-in-court/2015/09/16/472604b2-5bc6-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/police-look-for-gunman-clues-in-fatal-shooting-in-alexandria/2014/02/07/da370d26-9004-11e3-b46a-5a3d0d2130da_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/virginia-serial-killer-charles-severance-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/2016/01/20/0ba176c6-bfb0-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html https://northernvirginiamag.com/culture/2020/04/22/recently-released-the-parable-of-the-knocker-sheds-new-light-on-charles-severance/ Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=en Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 mins
  • You Belong to Me: The Murder of Robin Benedict
    Apr 17 2026
    Love can be a pretty hard thing to define. It’s easier to say what it is not. Love is not secretly following someone and trying your best to keep her within sight every second of the day. Love is not trying to keep someone scared and uncertain so that they’ll rely on you more. And love is not thinking you own a person, and becoming furious when you find out that you do that. This is a story about someone who made all those mistakes, who mistook obsession for devotion, and whose towering sense of entitlement turned into awful violence. Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027. Sources: Don Stradley, Boston Tabloid https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/06/03/Missing-Beauty-killer-released/1326739080000/ https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/19/us/killer-marries-in-prison.html https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/28/us/professor-about-to-go-on-trial-admits-killing-his-young-lover.html Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=en Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Red Weddings: The Crimes of Jill Coit
    Apr 10 2026
    Many of the stories we cover revolve around the disintegration of a marriage. It’s often a deeply traumatic event, upending entire lives and making an imagined future just vanish into nothing. It can drive some people kind of crazy. But other people are just built differently, and can move effortlessly from one marriage to the next as easily as changing a pair of socks. The woman in this week’s case certainly could do that, and she took that same casual attitude into matters of life and death. Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit ⁠badmagicproductions.com⁠ for more info and to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027. Sources: Clifford Linedecker, Poisoned Vows https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/backus-appeal-rejected/ https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=STP19931216-01.2.6&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7CtxCO%7CtxTA--------0------ A&E's "American Justice," interview with Jill Coit Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=en Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Falling Star: The Murder of Greg de Villers
    Apr 3 2026
    Life, obviously, is easier with money. Without having to scrabble and hustle just to survive, you can be free to pursue whatever interests and fascinations you like. But wealth doesn’t make you immune to the realities of human life. Families still have drama, hearts still get broken, dreams still get crushed into dust. This week’s story is about someone who started life with every possible advantage, but despite all her privilege, still descended into darkness. Sources: Deadly American Beauty by John Glatt https://www.smh.com.au/world/jury-awards-a147-million-in-american-beauty-murder-20060322-gdn7du.html https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2013/sep/18/feature-arrest-warrant-issued/ Join us live at Wet Hot Bad Magic Summer Camp in Equinunk, PA, September 10-13th! Visit badmagicproductions.com for more info and to buy tickets. Tickets are on sale now for CrimeWave 2.0! Visit crimewaveatsea.com/CAMPFIRE to get your discount code for $100 off your cabin and a private meet-and-greet with us! The cruise is Feb. 8-12, 2027, from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas. Follow us, campers! Patreon (join to get all episodes ad-free, at least a day early, an extra episode a month, and a free sticker!): https://patreon.com/TrueCrimeCampfire https://www.truecrimecampfirepod.com/ Facebook: True Crime Campfire Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truecrimecampfire/?hl=en Twitter: @TCCampfire https://twitter.com/TCCampfire Email: truecrimecampfirepod@gmail.com MERCH! https://true-crime-campfire.myspreadshop.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 4 mins