Latest news with #truecrime
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
I testified at the Harold Shipman Inquiry - these disturbing behaviours foreshadowed Dr Death's killing spree
On the latest episode of the Mail's 'The Psychology of a Serial Kille r', forensic psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Johns and police surgeon Dr. Harry Brunjes interrogate the 'unusual' early life of serial killer Harold Shipman. They also examine how institutions failed to spot Shipman's increasingly erratic and suspicious behaviour, despite the trail of deaths that followed him from practice to practice. The Mail's 'The Psychology of a Serial Killer' is a brand-new true crime podcast that delves into the minds, methods, and motivations of medical murderers. Medical murderers are those who pervert their positions of trust, as doctors or nurses, to prey on the public. The season opens with a study of the infamous cases of doctors Harold Shipman and John Bodkin Adams. Shipman, a GP, is suspected of killing 215-250 patients between the years 1975 and 1998 by injecting them with lethal doses of diamorphine (medical heroin). Dr Andrew Johns, podcast co-host, was called to give expert testimony during the official inquiry into Shipman's murders. Listen to The Psychology of a Serial Killer below or by clicking here. Shipman, a GP, is suspected of killing 215-250 patients between the years 1975 and 1998 by injecting them with lethal doses of diamorphine Adolescence Harold Shipman was born to a working-class family in Nottingham in 1946. He was the son of a lorry driver and the 'apple of his mother's eye', as Dr. Johns told the podcast. At 17, Shipman's mother, Vera, was diagnosed with lung cancer. At the time, there was no treatment for the illness apart from using opiates to manage pain. Dr Johns suspects that exposure to this class of drugs at a young age had a profound effect on the young man. He said: 'The GP would visit Vera at home and give her regular injections of morphine to relieve her pain. 'It's a highly addictive opiate that, in large doses, kills through respiratory depression. It simply stops you from breathing. 'Shipman witnesses the powerful effect of that drug on his mother and how it ultimately eases her passing. What impression did that doctor and needle have on him?' When Vera succumbed to her cancer, it was Shipman who discovered her body coming home from school. To combat his grief, Shipman begins using Sloan's Liniment, a pain killer, recreationally. In high doses, the over-the-counter medication can produce a slight high. On the eve of moving to medical school, Dr John describes Shipman as an 'odd, reclusive chap'. Early Medical Career Shipman studies at Yorkshire's Pontefract General Infirmary and in 1971, is named House Officer of the hospital. Despite being only a Junior Doctor, Shipman certifies 133 deaths during his time at the hospital. As Dr Johns explains: 'As a Junior, Shipman is regarded as overconfident. The official inquiry conjectured that he started misusing the drug Pethidine around this time. 'Pethidine is also an opiate painkiller, but it's synthetic – it's prescribed for moderate to strong pain, unlike morphine, which is used for severe pain. 'At Pontefract, Shipman certifies 133 deaths. There's nothing particularly high about that number until you notice he was present at a third of all deaths. 'Junior Doctors are rarely present at the time of the death. Shipman was present at death 20 times more often than any other Junior Doctor.' After Pontefract, Shipman becomes a qualified GP and moves to Morton, a small town in Leeds, to work in a surgery. At this time, Shipman's judgment and general demeanour become more erratic with his addiction to opiates escalating. 'Shipman is dogmatic about his medical judgement. He's extremely critical of those he deems intellectually inferior', Dr Johns said. 'After several blackouts, including a collapse in front of patients, Shipman is found slumped over the wheel of his car. He claims he's epileptic. 'Following a routine audit, it is discovered that he has forged prescriptions for 30,000 milligrams of Pethidine. That is 600 normal doses.' Shipman admits to using the Pethidine recreationally and is fired and sent to a drug rehabilitation program in York. Despite a Magistrate's Court finding him guilty of forging prescriptions, the General Medical Council let Shipman off with a warning. He would then move to Hyde in Greater Manchester, again working as a GP, where the majority of his murders would take place. For expert analysis of Shipman's murders, search for the Mail's 'The Psychology of a Serial Killer' – available now wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Wednesday.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Her Husband Began an Affair with His Best Friend's Widow — That's When She Began to Suspect Something Far Worse (Exclusive Clip)
Kathy Aldredge tells PEOPLE about the nearly two-decade investigation she helped spearhead into her close friend Mike Williams' mysterious death in 2000NEED TO KNOW ABC News Studios' latest true crime docuseries, Mr. and Mrs. Murder, begins streaming on Hulu July 30 The series looks into the mysterious death of Mike Williams on Dec. 16, 2000 Kathy Aldredge, one of Williams' close friends, helped crack the case and tells PEOPLE she believes "there's still some missing pieces" out there that could explain what really happenedKathy Aldredge felt vindicated in front of the camera, finally free to share the truth about a devious plot she quietly investigated — at times alongside police — for the better part of the last two decades. 'I feel a lot of satisfaction,' Aldredge tells PEOPLE. 'I've waited a long time to speak on this topic and speak about my experience, and so there's a lot of satisfaction in finishing the project.' Aldredge's tireless search for the truth about her close friend Mike Williams' mysterious 2000 death is at the center of ABC News Studios' upcoming true crime docuseries, Mr. and Mrs. Murder, which begins streaming on Hulu on July 30. (An exclusive clip is shown below.) The four-part series examines Williams' disappearance the weekend before he and his wife, Denise, were set to celebrate their wedding anniversary — and follows Aldredge's determined quest to uncover what really happened. The 31-year-old father went missing after setting out on his boat to go duck hunting on the morning of Dec. 16, 2000, on Florida's Lake Seminole. He never returned, leading police to later theorize he had been eaten by an alligator. But Aldredge grew suspicious after her husband, Brian Winchester, began having an affair with Denise — his best friend's widow. She and Winchester eventually divorced but remained in each other's lives because they shared a child. 'To say they stabbed me in the back doesn't even touch it,' Aldredge says in the docuseries' trailer. 'They had stabbed me in the soul.' She and Williams' mother, Cheryl Williams — who adamantly believed Denise and Brian had killed her son — began digging deeper into what had happened. They ultimately worked directly with police, went undercover, and later testified against Brian and Denise when the pair were convicted of working together to kill Mike. 'I've been able to kind of shut the door on that chapter, but there's a window that's still open,' Aldredge explains to PEOPLE, wondering how Brian and Denise were able to get away with the murder for 17 years before eventually being convicted. With the docuseries is coming out soon, Aldredge says she hopes it might lead to others coming forward with more information about what happened — and why she believes police investigations into Mike's murder were repeatedly halted. 'I feel like there's still some missing pieces,' she says. 'I feel like Brian and Denise, for all those years, were protected in some way.' Aldredge says revisiting her experiences 'took me back to a dark place.' After she and Williams' mother, Cheryl, came forward with their accusations against Brian and Denise, they encountered police roadblocks — and backlash from community members who defended the couple. Despite the blowback, the pair of fiercely determined amateur investigators never stopped trying to figure out how and why Mike was killed.'She and I spent a lot of years under the radar,' Aldredge says, recalling the many days she and Mike's mother spent digging for clues that might help connect the dots in his death. 'Cheryl and I went through this together, even though we didn't see each other every day and we didn't talk every day, whenever we got together, this investigation was what we talked about. This investigation was what connected us, and it was a constant obsession throughout all those years, no matter how much time had passed between us, there was always that connection.' Viewers can watch how it all unfolded on July 30 when Mr. and Mrs. Murder begins streaming on Hulu. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Kim Kardashian reacts to 'unimaginable' Idaho murders - and urges public to help find missing woman
Kim Kardashian is feeling the weight of two heartbreaking true crime cases, and she's using her platform to shine a spotlight on both. On Sunday morning, the SKIMS mogul, 44, shared her raw reaction after watching One Night in Idaho, Amazon Prime's gripping documentary about the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. 'I'm watching One Night In Idaho, I thought I knew the story from the news but really had no idea,' Kardashian wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a photo of her TV screen. 'It's really emotional and you can feel every friend and parents pain.' She continued: 'So many details I just didn't know. Ugh it's just unimaginable.' The timing of Kardashian's post comes just days after Bryan Kohberger — the man convicted of killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin — was sentenced to four life sentences plus 10 years. The brutal stabbings rocked the small college town of Moscow, Idaho in November 2022 and captured national attention for months. Though Kardashian didn't speak directly about the verdict, her emotional response to the documentary echoed the pain still felt by the victims' families and public. Just an hour later, the mother-of-four posted about another case, this time, a haunting missing persons mystery, covered in Netflix's Amy Bradley is Missing. 'This doc is mind blowing. Must see,' she wrote. ' We must find Amy! This is so crazy.' The documentary, Amy Bradley Is Missing, recently hit Netflix and revisits the baffling 1998 disappearance of the 23-year-old American woman who vanished from a cruise ship off the coast of Curaçao. Despite alleged sightings over the years and multiple theories, Amy has never been found. With over 356 million followers on Instagram, Kardashian has previously used her platform to advocate for wrongly convicted prisoners and to highlight flaws in the justice system. In May, she completed her law school program after a six year journey. Kardashian didn't attend traditional law school. In California, individuals can become lawyers by completing a four-year Law Office Study Program (LOSP), also known as 'reading the law,' instead of going to law school. 'I thought I knew the story from the news but really had no idea. It's really emotional and you can feel every friend and parents pain,' Kardashian wrote on her Instagram Story She still needs to pass the Bar Exam to practice law in the state. Over the past six years, Kim has dedicated roughly 18 hours a week to studying law, totaling more than 5,000 hours. Her efforts paid off when she passed the 'baby bar' back in 2021. Kim's process took longer than four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and her busy schedule. Kim had already passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination back in March — a big exam for her program — sources told TMZ. She is following in the footsteps of her late father, legendary attorney Robert Kardashian. He gained national recognition in the mid-1990s for his involvement in O.J. Simpson's murder trial, where he served as a friend and defense attorney on Simpson's legal 'Dream Team.' He passed away in 2003 from esophageal cancer. He was 59 years old. The reality TV star reportedly plans to take the bar exam in 2026.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Kidnapping survivor, once dismissed as a liar, now retrains police to help victims
Denise Huskins, who was accused of lying after surviving a home invasion and kidnapping, has now found herself teaming up with law enforcement. The California woman, whose ordeal was chronicled in the Netflix true-crime docuseries "American Nightmare," is now being invited to speak with officers who are looking to change the way they are trained to interrogate suspects. The 40-year-old recently spoke out in a true crime podcast by PAVE Studios, "Clues," which is hosted by Morgan Absher and Kaelyn Moore. The weekly series aims to analyze some of "the world's most infamous crimes where a single clue can crack a case wide open." "This past year, as we've connected with more people in law enforcement, we've felt a new sense of hope," Huskins told Fox News Digital. "There's still resistance. There are still people within law enforcement and out there who see us in a certain way, but now we get to see the other side of it." "What's been even more encouraging is having some of those people… say, 'I'm so sorry.'" Huskins' nightmare occurred on March 23, 2015. Matthew Muller broke into Huskins' Vallejo home, where he drugged and tied her up and her then-boyfriend, Aaron Quinn. He kidnapped Huskins, brought her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, and sexually assaulted her. Two days later, Muller drove Huskins to Southern California and released her. The Vallejo Police initially believed the invasion and kidnapping were a hoax orchestrated by Quinn. The case was referred to by the press as the real-life "Gone Girl," referring to the hit Ben Affleck thriller and novel in which a small-town wife stages her own murder to get back at her cheating husband. According to the docuseries, Quinn endured 18 hours of questioning. After months of public scrutiny, the couple sued the Vallejo Police Department. They reached a $2.5 million settlement in 2018. Fox News Digital reached out to the Vallejo Police Department for comment. "Initially, advocacy started with self-advocacy," Huskins explained. "We needed to fight for the truth in our case. We needed to correct the narrative and have the real truth out there." Huskins noted that after the premiere of "American Nightmare," members of law enforcement began reaching out. Huskins admitted to feeling surprised, but felt it would also be the perfect time to turn personal pain into purpose. She said among those who connected with her was the chief of police in Seaside, California, who asked her to host a talk. "I have been closely following the case of Denise and Aaron from the very start," Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges told Fox News Digital. "Although I was not involved in the investigation, I always had faith in their truth. When Lt. Misty Carausu from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office finally brought the case to light in 2015, it became clear how many errors had occurred. I felt a strong desire for my department to learn from these missteps to improve our future investigations and interactions." "After watching the Netflix docuseries, I reached out to Denise and Aaron, surprised that they were willing to engage with law enforcement after everything they had faced," he shared. "They agreed to share their story at a Seaside event, and hearing it firsthand was an incredibly moving experience." "I have learned many lessons from them since working with them since 2024," Borges continued. "The most significant lesson I took away from them is that collaborating with victims can greatly enhance our ability to solve crimes. We must listen. "Thanks to their courage, their perpetrator has received four new life sentences, providing answers to victims who might have otherwise remained in the dark. Denise and Aaron have not only improved my understanding but have also made my department and many others in law enforcement more effective." "In the end, they are the true heroes," he added. Huskins described her experience of meeting officers who wanted to improve their tactics "a blessing." "Before, no one in law enforcement invited us to speak," she said. "Now they are. And we've met a lot of amazing people in law enforcement who've been doing tireless work for decades, trying to make changes. It's nice to finally feel we're a part of that. And we, for the last decade, wanted to work with law enforcement. We didn't see them as opposing sides. We all just needed to work together to make these changes happen." "It's been incredibly validating to feel seen, heard and respected in a way that we have never experienced before with law enforcement," Huskins shared. "It has helped us regain some hope." During her talks, Huskins has been teaching investigators about "science-based interviewing," which relies on evidence during interviews with victims and suspects. "A lot of what science-based interviewing is doing is telling [investigators] to treat people with respect and decency, whether it's a suspect or a victim," said Huskins. "It allows someone to open up. It allows you to connect with them, understand their background, all while having a conversation with the suspect. But also, it's about having someone else observe that conversation and try to back it up with facts and evidence, not having the primary goal be a confession." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "A lot of times, I think the draw is to get that confession, because people know that confessions get convictions," she noted. "But also, people falsely confess. It's a serious problem, because not only are you ruining that person's life, but you are emboldening the perpetrator to attack again." On June 5, 2015, another couple woke in the middle of the night to a near-identical home invasion. After reaching out to police departments in the Bay Area, Misty Carausu, then a rookie detective, learned that Muller had been a suspect in a 2009 Palo Alto home invasion. Also at the scene were a pair of swimming goggles blacked out with duct tape that had blonde hair attached. While the wife hid in a bathroom and called police, her husband managed to fight off the attacker. But he left crucial evidence behind: zip-ties, duct tape, a glove and a cellphone. Carausu traced the phone to Muller's stepfather. She learned that Muller was a Harvard-educated immigration attorney and Marine veteran. Carausu contacted the FBI, and Muller was arrested. Evidence in his home, including Quinn's laptop, linked him to Huskins' kidnapping. He pleaded guilty to one count of federal kidnapping in September 2016 and was sentenced to 40 years behind bars. Muller also faced state charges for burglary, robbery, kidnapping and two counts of rape. According to the documentary, Muller was deemed incompetent to stand trial for those charges in 2020. He allegedly suffered from "Gulf War illness" after his military service, and his attorney claimed he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Muller was then sentenced in 2022 to 31 years in state prison after pleading no contest to two counts of forcible rape of Huskins. Huskins admitted it took time for her and Quinn, now her husband, to begin trusting police again after being accused of orchestrating a hoax. For years, the sound of a police siren left her feeling "terrified." "I think our whole worldview was just shattered," she reflected. "It was more victimizing, more traumatic, to be received and treated that way than the crime itself… We all know that there are bad people out there… But you grow up with the belief that if you call 911, if you go to police, they'll be helpful. And in our case, they made things worse. And what do you do if something happens? Who do you turn to for help?" "It's really a hopeless place," she added. Today, Quinn and Huskins hope to continue making a difference for victims. "When people message me, it's fuel," she said. "This is something we need to keep fighting for… A big piece of all of this, I think, for a lot of sexual assault survivors, but probably most victims and survivors of a violent crime, is that you lose your sense of self and identity. And then to be publicly shamed and have the world call you [names], you can get lost in self-blame and self-doubt." "Who I really am – the core of my being, my values, my worth – I wasn't going to let anyone dictate that," she added.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Amy Bradley Sent Girlfriend a 'Message in a Bottle,' Lamenting 'an Ocean Between Us.' Then She Vanished at Sea
Netflix's docuseries 'Amy Lynn Bradley Is Missing' goes in-depth into the mysterious 1998 disappearance of the 23-year-old At first, the message seemed straightforward. In January of 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley, 23, of Virginia, confessed over the phone to her girlfriend, Mollie McClure, that she had kissed another woman while both of them had been drinking. Needing time to process the news, McClure, then 23, stopped taking Bradley's calls. Determined to reach McClure, Bradley sent her a 'message in a bottle,' expressing her remorse in a handwritten letter — one that took on new meaning after Bradley vanished in March of 1998 during a Caribbean cruise with her family. "Mollie, I hurt you deeper than you can ever forget,' Bradley wrote in a letter McClure shares in episode three of Netflix's true-crime series Amy Bradley Is Missing, which premiered on July 16. 'I'm not asking you to forget, because that'll never happen," Bradley wrote. "I just wanted to ask you if you could find it in your heart to forgive me." Then, in an eerie foreshadowing of what may have befallen Bradley a month later, she wrote, "I feel like there is an ocean between us, like I'm on a desert island waiting for you to rescue me. A message in a bottle, my only hope. I miss you, Mollie.' Bradley ended the missive writing, 'Save me, please. Stranded, Amy." On March 24, 1998, exactly one month after Bradley wrote the message in a bottle, she disappeared from a Royal Caribbean ship in Curaçao. She has been missing ever since. Some believe that Bradley fell overboard or died by suicide. Others wonder if she had been kidnapped, trafficked and forced into a life of prostitution. In the series, McClure says she has no idea what happened to the woman she loved, who vanished while traveling with her parents and brother. Her father last saw her sleeping on the balcony of their cabin between 5:15 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on the morning of March 24, 1998. But by 6 a.m., she was gone, and had only taken her lighter and cigarettes with her, leaving even her shoes behind. "Some viewers have fixated on Bradley's letter and phrases that now seem haunting in retrospect — like "an ocean between us" and "stranded." But McClure says in the series that "the convenience of the metaphor is ripe for misunderstanding." 'It could suggest suicide,' McClure says. 'But I don't connect with it in that way.' She notes that 'it is a love letter.' During a nearly 30-year-search for Bradley, her family has received tips that have seemed promising. Canadian tourist David Carmichael said that in August 1998, he believed he saw Bradley in Curaçao, "flanked by two people" on the beach. As he got closer, he says the woman pointed to her tattoos — which matched all of Bradley's. Authorities searched the area after getting Carmichael's tip, but didn't find any sign of Bradley. In January 1999, a Navy petty officer reportedly visited a brothel in Curaçao and said a woman told him her name was Amy Bradley and asked him for help. He told her there was a naval ship about five minutes away, but she responded, "No, you don't understand. Please help me. My name is Amy Bradley." The officer didn't take action, her father, Ron Bradley, told NBC News — in in part because the officer wasn't allowed to be in the brothel and because he didn't know anyone by that name was missing until he saw a magazine cover with Amy's face and name on it. Related: Was Amy Bradley Ever Found? Unpacking the Theories About Her Disappearance and Alleged Sightings Over the Years In September 2005, an anonymous source allegedly sent the Bradleys online photos of a woman named Jas whom they claimed was their daughter. The Bradleys had a forensic detective analyze the photos, who allegedly said it was a perfect match for Amy. Unfortunately, they weren't able to pinpoint the site's IP address, and the FBI still lacks evidence to detain or charge anyone with kidnapping. Amy Bradley Is Missing began streaming on Netflix on July 16. Read the original article on People
