For seven years, Cindy James reported being stalked, attacked, and nearly killed—multiple times. She hired private investigators. She passed through hospital doors again and again. And yet, police could never catch the person responsible.

In this episode, we break down the beginning of the torment: the phone calls, the garage attack, the bloody kitchen scene, and the growing suspicion that someone close to Cindy may not be who they appear to be. Or… was something else happening entirely?

Listen now to PART ONE and turn on notifications to not miss PART TWO next week

Sources:

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

Audiobook- Death by Unknown Event by Danielle Elliot

In July 2011, a six-year-old boy suffers a catastrophic fall inside a historic California mansion. Just days later, another tragedy unfolds at the same property before dawn. What authorities ruled a suicide would later divide two legal systems and spark years of debate.

This is the case of Rebecca Zahau.

Sources

• San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Investigation Reports (2011) & 2018 Case Review
• San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Report
• San Diego Superior Court Records – 2018 Wrongful Death Trial
• ABC News Coverage (2011–2018)
• Oxygen Network Documentary Coverage
• Rady Children’s Hospital Reporting on the 2011 Coronado Fall Incident
• Wikipedia – 2011 Coronado Mansion Case

On March 21, 2002, a man paddles into the cold waters of the North Sea… and never comes back. His kayak washes ashore. His body never does. For five years, his family mourns him—until one day, all the answers to what happened to John Darwin came walking in.

Sources:

• The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe – The Guardian
• John Darwin Disappearance Case – Wikipedia
• Where Are John & Anne Darwin Now? – Cosmopolitan UK
• Kansas Truck Driver Denies Affair With “Canoe Man” – Evening Standard
• John Darwin: The Canoe Man – YouTube Documentary
• youtube.com/watch?v=8FaqclXPlCM&feature=youtu.be
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mwUhAAAZA0&feature=youtu.be

Welcome to Part Two!

Todays episode follows the investigation backward — from Brianna Denison’s abduction to the assaults that came before it. As survivors come forward and DNA links the cases together, police realize they are hunting a serial offender whose violence is intensifying.

Hope of finding this suspect was dwindling, until an unexpected tip lead the investigators down an entire new path.

(If anyone has any information on the Caitlin Marie Dension case, call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252- TIPS (8477). All tips are anonymous.)

SOURCES USED

• CNN
• NBC News
• Dateline NBC / Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
• Oxygen Network
• CrimeLibrary
• Wikipedia
• Court Records & Trial Transcripts
• https://youtu.be/xZLPJAQRx9E?si=FMQD6CffjK4R6mSL

That's right, another TWO PARTER

In Part One, we walk through the final hours before Brianna Denison vanished from a rental house near the University of Nevada, Reno and the days following. From a night out at a major snowboarding event to a shocking discovery the next morning, investigators quickly realized this was no voluntary disappearance.

As early leads were ruled out, a disturbing forensic connection began to emerge — hinting that Brianna’s case was part of something far larger.

Sources

• Nevada Legislature
• CNN
• NBC News
• Dateline NBC / Dateline: Secrets Uncovered
• Oxygen Network
• CrimeLibrary
• Wikipedia
• Local & National News Outlets
• Court Records & Appellate Documents
• https://youtu.be/xZLPJAQRx9E

In 1876, Charles Bravo died in agony after ingesting a lethal dose of antimony inside his own bedroom. His wife Florence became the prime suspect in the court of public opinion, yet the evidence against her remained circumstantial. With six doctors involved, conflicting testimony, and multiple potential motives, this episode explores whether Bravo was murdered or whether his volatile psychology led to his own destruction.

(We apologize for the audio issues - we have new equipment on the way! True Crime News with Blake will be popping up later this week. Thank you for the patience, stay tuned!)

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Sources-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-vCsXARbns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOD5PexcI20&t=123s

In Part One, Inna Budnystka is found beaten and left for dead. Investigators have no clear explanation for what happened to her — or how she could vanish from a hotel filled with security cameras without being seen leaving. With no answers, and no suspect, Inna files a lawsuit against the hotel, alleging a lack of security.

Ironically, security isn’t the problem.

For the first time in months, the case begins to warm up thanks to Ken Brennan.

He is now armed with surveillance footage, a man whose actions don’t blend in, timestamps that don’t add up and a suitcase that raises questions. The pieces have always been there — they just haven’t been put together the right way.

Until now.

Sources

This episode was researched using reporting and records from:

• ABC News
• ABC 20/20
• Colorado court records related to People v. Michael Lee Jones
• Miami-Dade Police Department investigative materials
• Miami Airport Regency Hotel records
• CODIS DNA match records
• Investigative work by private investigator Ken Brennan
• Survivor testimony and court statements

When Inna Budnystka is found brutally beaten and left for dead, investigators struggle to explain how she could disappear from a hotel filled with surveillance cameras. In Part One, we trace Inna’s survival, the early investigation, and the troubling gaps in the timeline — leading to a private investigator, Ken Brennan, who begins to question everything police thought they knew. And for the first time in months, the case gets it big break.

Sources Used

• ABC News: Serial rapist loose for years before abandoned suitcase put stop to attacks
• ABC 20/20: Michael Lee Jones Arrested: Inna Budnystka Breakthrough
• ABC News video reporting and interviews
• Court records and investigative summaries included in the provided PDF source packet