Mysteries and Histories

In 2000, 23-year-old Leah Roberts packed up her Jeep and set out on what seemed to be a spontaneous road trip across the American Northwest. Searching for meaning after loss, Leah told no one exactly where she was going - or why. Nine days later, her SUV was discovered wrecked and abandoned deep in the forests near Bellingham, Washington, sparking one of the most perplexing missing-person investigations of the decade.

Aileen Wuornos is one of the most polarising figures in American true crime; a woman whose life story is as tragic as the crimes that made her infamous. In the early 1990s, Wuornos claimed the lives of several men along Florida’s highways, becoming one of the nation’s most widely known female serial offenders. But behind the headlines was a life marked by trauma, instability, and a desperate struggle to survive.

In 1935, a quiet English town was rocked by one of the most notorious forensic cases in British history. When dismembered remains were discovered in a ravine near the Scottish border, investigators confronted a mystery that seemed impossible to untangle - until groundbreaking science changed everything. In this episode, we delve into the story of Dr. Buck Ruxton, the respected physician whose carefully maintained façade hid a violent undercurrent. Through innovative detective work, early forensic anthropology, and a nationwide investigation, the truth behind the Ruxton murders reshaped criminal science to this day.

In 1989, Patty Stallings rushed her sick infant son to the hospital, unaware that this desperate act would ignite one of the most shocking wrongful conviction cases in American history. What doctors believed was poisoning was actually a rare genetic disorder. But before the truth could surface, Patty was arrested, charged with murder, and forced to grieve the loss of her child from behind bars. Join us as we examine the heartbreaking story of Patty Stallings - a mother fighting to clear her name - and the lesson her case still teaches about justice, science, and the devastating cost of getting it wrong.

In 17th-century Italy, whispers spread of a mysterious woman whose 'beauty' potions promised freedom. Her name was Giulia Tofana, and she turned the art of poison into a quiet rebellion against the oppressive world women lived in.