Two similar crime scenes are found within days of each other in the same apartment complex. Is it a coincidence, or the beginning of a serial killer’s reign of terror in Houston, TX?

Sources:

Dogan, Kamil Hakan & M.D, Serafettin & M.D, Idris & Erkol, Zerrin. (2010). Decapitation and Dismemberment of the Corpse: A Matricide Case*. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 55. 542 - 545. 10.1111/

"Houston Decapitator - Police try to link killings - 14 AUG 1979" Newspapers.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 14, 1979, https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-houston-decapit/55075340/

Alys Elaine McDonald Rankin (1946-1979) - Find A... 7 July 1946, www.findagrave.com/memorial/140901551/alys-elaine-rankin.

“Slashing Deaths Thought Related “Newspapers.com, Longview News-Journal, August 14, 1979, https://www.newspapers.com/article/longview-news-journal/19537489/

“Houston Tenants Frightened By 2nd Murder at Apartments” "08131979" Newspapers.com, Austin American-Statesman, August 13, 1979, https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman-08131979/33026184/

“Second Murder Checked” Newspapers.com, Corpus Christi Times, August 13, 1979, https://www.newspapers.com/article/corpus-christi-times/149658900/

“Police Unsure About Slasher” Newspapers.com, Tyler Morning Telegraph, August 14, 1979, https://www.newspapers.com/article/tyler-morning-telegraph-houston-decapita/55075141/

“Woman Assaulted, Decapitated” Newspapers.com, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 29, 1979, https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram/149659242/

Ehrlich, Brenna. “Why Were There so Many Serial Killers Between 1970 and 2000 — and Where Did They Go?” Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2021, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/serial-killers-1970s-2000s-murders-1121705.

Pinkerton, James. “Horrific 1979 killings left bodies headless” Chron. April 9, 2012. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/horrific-killings-in-1979-left-bodies-headless-3467505.php

Winskog, C., Byard, R.W. Decapitation: a rare form of postmortem mutilation. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 12, 98–100 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-015-9714-4

When horrible murder is committed by a 13-year-old boy, his family decides to hide his dark secret from the world. But when he is linked to another murder 30 years later, police begin to suspect that they are dealing with a terrifying serial killer who flew under their radar for decades.

Sources:

DeLong, William. “Charlie Brandt Killed His Mom at 13, Then Walked Free to Kill Again.” All That’s Interesting, 24 Feb. 2020, allthatsinteresting.com/charlie-brandt.

Holt, Tony. “Cold Case of Osteen Girl Abducted From Bus Stop Unsolved 40 Years Later.” The Daytona Beach News Journal, 24 Sept. 2018.

McReynolds, Marcus. “Wrongful Death Serial Series: Charlie Brandt.” Robert J. DeBry and Associates, 1 Aug. 2019, robertdebry.com/wrongful-death-serial-series-charlie-brandt.

Perez, Robert. “Evidence Boosts Murder Theories.” The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Sept. 2004.

Perez, Robert, and Melissa Harris. “Man May Have Been Serial Killer.” The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Oct. 2004.

Schorn, Daniel. “Deadly Obsession: A Family Tragedy Unmasks a Killer’s Secret Past.” CBS News, 21 Sept. 2011, www.cbsnews.com/news/deadly-obsession.

Carl Brandt | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. murderpedia.org/male.B/b/brandt-carl.htm.

Taylor, Gary. “Killings Spark More Inquiries: Investigators in Germany and Holland Seek Details About the Gruesome Slayings in Seminole County. Deadly Rage Brewed in ‘quiet Kid.’” The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2004.

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

Strange occurrences start to plague a family on a remote farmstead in Germany months before they are brutally murdered with an axe. This is a case that is shrouded in mystery. Was the house haunted? Was there someone creeping around in the attic without the family knowing? Or did the family’s dark secrets have deadly consequences?

Sources:

“The Hinterkaifeck Murders – Part One; an Introduction to Hinterkaifeck.” Two Queens True Crime, 4 Jan. 2024, twoqueenstruecrime.wordpress.com/2022/12/29/the-hinterkaifeck-murders.

“The Hinterkaifeck Murders – Part Two; the Timeline.” Two Queens True Crime, 11 Jan. 2024, twoqueenstruecrime.wordpress.com/2024/01/11/the-hinterkaifeck-murders-2.

“Hinterkaifeck Part Three; Evidence and Suspect List.” Two Queens True Crime, 14 Jan. 2024, twoqueenstruecrime.wordpress.com/2024/01/13/hinterkaifeck-part-three.

“Maria Baumgartner, Portrait of a Maid.” Two Queens True Crime, 14 Jan. 2024, twoqueenstruecrime.wordpress.com/2024/01/14/maria-baumgartner.

“Der Mythos Hinterkaifeck • Hinterkaifeck.” Hinterkaifeck, 26 Aug. 2023, www.hinterkaifeck.net.

Wikipedia contributors. “Hinterkaifeck Murders.” Wikipedia, 1 June 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterkaifeck_murders.

Serena, Katie. “Hinterkaifeck Murders: The Unsolved German Massacre.” All That’s Interesting, 20 Oct. 2023, allthatsinteresting.com/hinterkaifeck-murders.

---. “Municipalities of Germany.” Wikipedia, 7 Feb. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipalities_of_Germany.

Kennedy. “20 Facts About the Hinterkaifeck Murders: Germany’s Most Notorious Unsolved Case.” Discover Walks Blog, 25 Sept. 2023, www.discoverwalks.com/blog/germany/20-facts-about-the-hinterkaifeck-murders-germanys-most-notorious-unsolved-case.

McNairn, Alan, et al. “The Mystery of Germany’S Hinterkaifeck Farmhouse Murders.” Historic Mysteries, 19 Sept. 2022, www.historicmysteries.com/major-crimes/hinterkaifeck-murders/14960.

“Germany | Facts, Geography, Maps, and History.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 June 2024, www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Years-of-crisis-1920-23.

“Evidence and Clues.” Hinterkaifeck - Mordfall Gelöst, www.hinterkaifeck.ch/en/indications.

Farmhouse Layout: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=hinterkiefck+layout&fr=mcafee&type=E210US91088G0&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.modding-welt.com%2Fattachment%2F34219-39486-16b3905a-jpg%2F#id=2&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fce%2Fdb%2Fa7%2Fcedba7a3735be7359b09794d5243f59a.png&action=click

In this episode, we cover Sandy Melgar’s trial and how the prosecution says she committed a seemingly impossible crime. The videos mentioned in the episode are linked below.

Sources:

KHOU 11. “Watch: Could Sandra Melgar Have Locked Herself in the Closet?” YouTube, 29 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-5ZUfLJqoU.

KHOU 11. “Missing Pieces: What Does the Blood Evidence in the Melgar’s House Show?” YouTube, 30 Nov. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=waZKIHDrlLY.

KHOU 11. “Could Sandra Melgar Have Tied Herself up the Night Her Husband Died?” YouTube, 30 Nov. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1XwozdhMLo.

KHOU 11. “Court Denies Sandra Melgar’s Appeal, Upholding Murder Conviction.” YouTube, 8 Jan. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF-OWy_ZuxQ.

Sandy Interrogation Transcript

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZzwNC6e83sNtxe1oeqZYWESnLC-K50j_/view

Matt Orchard - Crime and Society. “The Curious Case of Sandy Melgar.” YouTube, 25 Dec. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrCHj-LNjYQ.

True Crime Recaps. “Was Sandra Melgar Wrongly Convicted? | True Crime Recaps.” YouTube, 21 Aug. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=78QG2QPV_OE.

“Sandra Melgar - Innocence Project of Texas.” Innocence Project of Texas, 20 Dec. 2022, innocencetexas.org/cases/sandra-melgar.

“Sandra Jean Melgar V. The State of Texas Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Opinion).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/fourteenth-court-of-appeals/2020/14-17-00932-cr.html.

“MELGAR, SANDRA JEAN Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Original per Curiam).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2022/pd-0243-20.html.

Paparella, Andrew, et al. “Amateur Sleuths Take on Case of Woman in Prison for Stabbing, Bludgeoning Husband to Death: ‘There Were No Bones Behind’ Conviction.” Good Morning America, 23 Aug. 2019, www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/amateur-sleuths-case-woman-prison-stabbing-bludgeoning-husband-59477363.

Vanapalli, Viswa. “Sandra Melgar: Where Is the Convicted Killer Now?” The Cinemaholic, 16 Dec. 2023, thecinemaholic.com/where-is-sandra-melgar-now.

Pelisek, Christine. “A Daughter'S Outrage After Mom Is Convicted of Murdering Dad in Staged Home Invasion: Why She Says the Verdict Is Wrong.” Peoplemag, 7 Sept. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-murder-verdict-daughter-says-is-wrong.

“Texas Woman Convicted of Murder After Prosecutors Say She Killed Husband Then Staged a Home Invasion.” Peoplemag, 24 Aug. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-guilty-husband-murder-fake-home-invasion.

FreeSandyMelgar. “The Wrongful Conviction of Sandra Melgar.” FreeSandyMelgar, www.freesandymelgar.com/the-melgar-murder-case.

Palin, Megan. “Woman Staged Home Invasion and Locked Herself in Closet After Brutally Murdering Her Husband.” NZ Herald, 22 Sept. 2020, www.nzherald.co.nz/world/woman-staged-home-invasion-and-locked-herself-in-closet-after-brutally-murdering-her-husband/JNHGGBRTYZGQCZY5HMXYDD6XJM.

The Houston police are faced with a bizarre murder case that reads like a riddle. A man is beaten and stabbed to death in his own home, while his wife is found barricaded in a closet, bound by her ankles and wrists, with no memory of what happened. There is no evidence of anyone else being in the house. Is it possible that the wife, who walked with a cane and was chronically ill, could have overpowered her husband, barricaded herself into a room from the opposite side of the door, and tied herself up? Or was there a stranger in the house that night?

Sources:

Sandy Interrogation Transcript

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZzwNC6e83sNtxe1oeqZYWESnLC-K50j_/view

Matt Orchard - Crime and Society. “The Curious Case of Sandy Melgar.” YouTube, 25 Dec. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrCHj-LNjYQ.

True Crime Recaps. “Was Sandra Melgar Wrongly Convicted? | True Crime Recaps.” YouTube, 21 Aug. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=78QG2QPV_OE.

“Sandra Melgar - Innocence Project of Texas.” Innocence Project of Texas, 20 Dec. 2022, innocencetexas.org/cases/sandra-melgar.

“Sandra Jean Melgar V. The State of Texas Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Opinion).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/fourteenth-court-of-appeals/2020/14-17-00932-cr.html.

“MELGAR, SANDRA JEAN Appeal From 178th District Court of Harris County (Original per Curiam).” Justia Law, law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2022/pd-0243-20.html.

Paparella, Andrew, et al. “Amateur Sleuths Take on Case of Woman in Prison for Stabbing, Bludgeoning Husband to Death: ‘There Were No Bones Behind’ Conviction.” Good Morning America, 23 Aug. 2019, www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/amateur-sleuths-case-woman-prison-stabbing-bludgeoning-husband-59477363.

Vanapalli, Viswa. “Sandra Melgar: Where Is the Convicted Killer Now?” The Cinemaholic, 16 Dec. 2023, thecinemaholic.com/where-is-sandra-melgar-now.

Pelisek, Christine. “A Daughter'S Outrage After Mom Is Convicted of Murdering Dad in Staged Home Invasion: Why She Says the Verdict Is Wrong.” Peoplemag, 7 Sept. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-murder-verdict-daughter-says-is-wrong.

“Texas Woman Convicted of Murder After Prosecutors Say She Killed Husband Then Staged a Home Invasion.” Peoplemag, 24 Aug. 2017, people.com/crime/sandra-melgar-guilty-husband-murder-fake-home-invasion.

FreeSandyMelgar. “The Wrongful Conviction of Sandra Melgar.” FreeSandyMelgar, www.freesandymelgar.com/the-melgar-murder-case.

Palin, Megan. “Woman Staged Home Invasion and Locked Herself in Closet After Brutally Murdering Her Husband.” NZ Herald, 22 Sept. 2020, www.nzherald.co.nz/world/woman-staged-home-invasion-and-locked-herself-in-closet-after-brutally-murdering-her-husband/JNHGGBRTYZGQCZY5HMXYDD6XJM.

When two beloved professors are brutally murdered in their own home, rumors of an affair emerge, but is a jealous lover really the murderer?

Sources:

Francis, Eric. The Dartmouth Murders. Macmillan, 2002.

Lehr, Dick, and Mitchell Zuckoff. Judgment Ridge. Harper Collins, 6 Oct. 2009.

“Robert Tulloch: Formative Years.” Times Argus, 17 Oct. 2018, https://www.timesargus.com/news/robert-tulloch-formative-years/article_142305f9-4fa8-5f48-9307-92c44202dfd8.html.

Fox Butterfield. (2002, April 5). Teenagers Are Sentenced For Killing Two Professors. TimesMachine. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/2002/04/05/405078.html?pageNumber=15

ABC News. (2006, January 7). Neighbors Aid Dartmouth Slay Suspects’ Families. https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93859&page=1

Mehren, E. (2019, March 1). 2 Fugitive Teens Arrested in Professors’ Killings. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-20-mn-27781-story.html

Maddi, T. (2022, February 27). Ivy League Murders. Criminal Discourse Podcast. https://criminaldiscoursepodcast.com/ivy-league-murders/

Giaccone, J. (2021b, December 24). Dark Passenger - See It Now. Medium. https://medium.com/see-it-now/dark-passenger-da546ad1d161

Paciorek, A. (2012, November 10). Dartmouth murder suspects apprehended in Indiana. Yale Daily News. https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2001/02/20/dartmouth-murder-suspects-apprehended-in-indiana

Mooney, B. K. S. (2012, February 2). Teen Suspects In Dartmouth Killings Found / Hunt ends at Indiana truck stop -- pair to face murder charges. SFGATE. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Teen-Suspects-In-Dartmouth-Killings-Found-Hunt-2950179.php

Glennie, R. B. (2022, May 3). The Flowers of Evil. Anatomy of Culture. http://anatomyofculture.blogspot.com/2010/02/flowers-of-evil.html

Steve Zind. (2006, January 27). Loss still deeply felt on anniversary of murder. VPR. https://archive.vpr.org/vpr-news/loss-still-deeply-felt-on-anniversary-of-murder/

(2021, January 28). The Dartmouth Murders Twenty Years Later. The Dartmouth Review. https://dartreview.com/the-dartmouth-murders-twenty-years-later/

A violent home invasion results in the death of a loving husband and father, and ends what neighbors and friends called the "perfect marriage." But as any Stranger in the House listener knows, nothing is what it seems, and this crime will reveal a messy love triangle and a devious murder plot.

Sources:

“Linda Jones | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers.” Murderpedia.org, murderpedia.org/female.J/j/jones-linda.htm. Accessed 12 May 2024.

“Woman Plots Brutal Murder-For-Hire of Husband after He Has Affair with Teen Girl.” Oxygen Official Site, 29 Aug. 2018, www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-time/woman-plots-murder-for-hire-husband-affair-teen-girl. Accessed 12 May 2024.

“The Commission on Capital Cases Updates This Information Regularly.” Www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us, www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us/Documents/Case_updates/Htm/066600.html. Accessed 12 May 2024.

BRADLEY v. STATE (2010) Donald BRADLEY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Donald Bradley, Petitioner, v. Walter A. McNeil, etc., Respondent. Nos. SC07-1964, SC08-1813. Decided: January 07, 2010 https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/content/download/375777/file/07-1964_ini.pdf

The Amityville Horror is one of the most famous stories in American pop culture, but do you know the story of the murders that started it all? Before all the paranormal theories and conspiracies, one Amityville family experienced a real-life horror story: a deadly stranger in their house.

Sources:

Blistein, Jon, and Jon Blistein. “Ronald DeFeo, Killer Who Inspired “The Amityville Horror,” Dead at 69.” Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2021, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/amityville-horror-murderer-ronald-defeo-dead-1142644/.

Juan Ignacio Blanco. “Ronald DeFeo | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers.” Murderpedia.org, 2010, murderpedia.org/male.D/d/defeo-ronald.htm.

Kruszelnicki, Karl S. “Amityville Truth a Shocking Horror.” Www.abc.net.au, 8 Mar. 2011, www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/03/08/3157382.htm. Accessed 7 May 2024.

“Ronald DeFeo - Murders, Movie & Family.” Biography, 16 Sept. 2019, www.biography.com/crime/ronald-defeo.

Dziemianowicz, Joe. “The Disturbing New York Family Massacre That Inspired a Horror Movie Hit.” Oxygen Official Site, 24 Nov. 2021, www.oxygen.com/family-massacre/crime-news/amityville-horror-true-story-behind-ron-defeos-family-massacre.

Lynott, Douglas B. "The Real Life Amityville Horror". truTV Crime Library. Trutv.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008.

Amityvillemurders.com, 2021, amityvillemurders.com/.