In April 1992, 24-year-old Lisa Ziegert vanished while closing a small-town card shop in Agawam, Massachusetts. Her belongings were left behind. The store showed signs of a struggle. And just days later, the worst was confirmed.

Despite DNA evidence and hundreds of leads, the case went cold—leaving a community shaken and a family searching for answers for decades. That is until phenotyping narrowed down the suspect pool in 2016.

This is the story of Lisa Ziegert… and the mystery that refused to stay buried.

Sources

• A&E Documentary Transcript
• Hampden County District Attorney Press Releases (Sept 18, 2017; Sept 25, 2019)
• WWLP News (Sept 26, 2019)
• Oxygen / Dateline: Unforgettable
• Mystery Delver – Agawam’s Agony
• Catt’s True Crime Corner
• Sportskeeda
• Unsolved Mysteries (unsolved.com / Wiki)

In May 2004, three suitcases were pulled from the Chesapeake Bay, each containing part of the same unidentified man. As investigators worked to piece together his identity, they uncovered a timeline filled with what seemed like an open and shut case. That is, until the contradictions, missing evidence, and unanswered questions from the defense arise.

Is there enough for reasonable doubt? You tell us!

Sources

• State v. McGuire (2011), New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division — Justia
• Trial Opening Statements, State v. McGuire (March 5, 2007)
• Dr. Bradley Miller Trial Testimony, State v. McGuire
• NBC News — “Murder suspect’s ex-lover testifies in her trial” (2007)
• ABC News / 20/20 — “Suitcase Killer Melanie McGuire Defends Innocence” (2020)
• Oxygen — The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher
• New Jersey Attorney General Press Release (April 23, 2007)
• Fox News — “Who Is Melanie McGuire?” (2026)
• Wikipedia — Melanie McGuire Case Summary
• A&E True Crime — “Who Is Melanie Slate McGuire?”
• Starcasm — “Suitcase Killer True Story Melanie McGuire” (2026)
• History.com — “Human Remains Found in Suitcase Near Virginia Beach”
• John Glatt — To Have and To Kill (2010)

Documentaries & Media

• Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story — Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story (available on Netflix)
• 20/20 — “The Secret in the Suitcase” (available on Apple TV)
• 48 Hours — “The McGuire Diaries”
• To Have and To Kill — by John Glatt

In 1994, Alison Botha was abducted, brutally assaulted, and left for dead in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. What followed is one of the most extraordinary survival stories ever documented. Despite catastrophic injuries, Alison not only lived—she identified her attackers and helped bring them to justice. This episode follows the crime, the investigation, and Alison’s unimaginable fight to survive.

To donate to the official Trust Fund that will help Alison with her medical expenses:

Nedbank Trust Account No 1302230492

Alison Trust

For international donations, include SWIFT code NEDSZAJJ

Sources:

• Alison (2016 documentary film), directed by Uga Carlini — featuring Alison Botha, Dr. Comyn, Dr. Dimitri Angelov, Detective Melvin Humpel, Tiaan, and Marianne Thamm
• I Have Life: Alison's Journey by Marianne Thamm (Penguin Random House, 1998)
• Daily Maverick — multiple articles covering the parole decision and Alison's brain aneurysm (2024-2025)
• News24 — reporting on the parole release of Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger (July 2023)
• MISA (Motor Industry Staff Association) press release, July 2023
• South African Government media statements — Minister Pieter Groenewald's parole revocation announcement (February 2025)
• AllThatsInteresting.com — Alison Botha profile
• Nelson Mandela University Council Africa Award citation (2016)

This week’s Siblings in Crime episode takes a break from our usual deep dives to explore something just as chilling—real stories from real people. From a father who murdered his entire family, to a predator living just down the street, to a shocking case involving a cop who got away with murder for decades… these Reddit stories prove that true crime isn’t always distant—it’s often closer than we think.

Listen now for a peak into Reddit's home stories.

Sources:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1kvl0lt/whats_the_craziest_true_crime_story_from_your/

Three teenagers. Three tragic deaths. All within weeks of each other. At first, they seem unrelated but when one student notices a chilling connection between all three… the story takes a turn no one saw coming.

This is the case of Marcus Freeman, Wesley McKinley, Brittany Palumbo and the unlicensed hypnotist.

Source:

True Crime Story: Look Into My Eyes

On a cold February night in 2025, police rushed to a luxury apartment complex in Princeton, New Jersey after a resident called 911 to report smoke inside his home.

What officers discovered inside the apartment would leave even experienced investigators stunned.

But as the investigation unfolded, a deeper and more complicated story emerged involving mental illness, terrifying visions, and a family trying desperately to hold everything together.

In this episode of Siblings in Crime, we examine the shocking case of the Hertgen brothers — and the tragic night that changed their family forever.

• Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office
• Mercer County Homicide Task Force – Affidavit of Probable Cause
• Mercer County Superior Court
• The Daily Princetonian
• Law&Crime Network
• Court TV
• New York Post
• FOX 29 Philadelphia
• Planet

On Labor Day night in 2014, an eight-year-old girl vanished from her home in Bullhead City, Arizona. There were no signs of forced entry, no sounds of a struggle, and no reason to believe a stranger had taken her. Within hours, searchers would find her buried in a shallow grave less than half a mile away. What followed was a fast-moving investigation that led detectives back to someone close to home.

Sources:

• Arizona Department of Child Safety Fatality Summary – Isabella Grogan-Cannella (2014)
• ABC15 Arizona – Justin Rector Pleads Guilty in Murder of Isabella Grogan-Cannella
• CBS News – Police Say Shoeprints Linked Family Friend to Arizona Girl’s Murder
• Las Vegas Review-Journal – Man Gets Life Sentence for Killing Bullhead City Girl
• Reuters – Autopsy Shows Missing Arizona Girl Was Strangled to Death

In Part Two of the Cindy James case, the story takes a darker turn. After a public attack at Dunbar Park, hypnosis sessions introduce explosive allegations involving Roy Makepiece. Police surveillance turns up nothing. A female detective concludes Cindy is staging the events herself.

Despite official doubt, the threats continue — fires, phone calls, drug overdoses, and a fourth strangulation.

In 1989, Cindy disappears. Two weeks later, her body is found bound and injected with ten times the lethal dose of morphine.

This is the controversial ending to one of Canada’s most debated cases.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Cindy_James

Audiobook- Death by Unknown Event by Danielle Elliot