What crime stories have you been obsessed by?

[WomenHour]

I was griped by the James Bulger murder 25 years ago

The extremely disturbing Family Murders.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_Murders

I find it really unsettling that four of these horrific killings remain unsolved.

@TopBitchoftheWitches yes exactly I thought exactly the same!!

@RonObvious

I recently listened to an audiobook about the Golden State Killer. Absolutely fascinating story - it focussed more on the police investigation, which was driven pretty much by one man, but also showed the impact on the survivors once the killer had been caught. I can highly recommend it - I listened to it whilst walking to work, and often found myself going the long way around, so that I could listen for longer.

What was it called @RonObvious?

Jeffrey Dahmer- some of the police incompetence in that case was really staggering.

I haven’t read a lot about it but Holly and Jessica have always stuck very firmly in my mind, I think because I was about their age when they were killed and you saw them everywhere. I can still remember the pictures of them in their football shirts really vividly.

I'd like the body of Peter Falconio to be found. His partner and family have suffered for years and not found closure.

The backpacker murders by Ivan Milat are one of the most horrifying stories I've ever read.

The murder of poor Sophie Lancaster and the bravery and altruism of her grieving mother have haunted me ever since.

I've read about the Meredith Kercher case. I'm not saying Amanda Knox isn't a strange one, or that some of her behaviour hasn't been inappropriate to put it mildly. But given the evidence that existed (despite the bungling of the case by police) it's very difficult to see how she can possibly have been complicit in Meredith's murder. I also don't see for one minute how she lives up to the silly, femme fatale 'Foxy Knoxy' image cooked up by the media, on how anyone can possibly be tried for their freedom on that kind of basis.

Being a bit of a weirdo isn't a criminal offence.

The murder of Suzanne Capper and the murder of James Bulger. To the extent I can't read about either of them.

@FlamingoAndJohn Just looked it up and it is called "Evil has a name: The untold story of the golden state killer investigation." It's one of those Audible Original things.

@MarielVanArkleStinks

I agree regarding Amanda Knox. The idea that she conspired with a stranger, to commit such a crime as a one off incident, is preposterous to me.

What she did to her boss was terrible and thank goodness he could prove his innocence. But people have been known to do similar things, even make false confessions, after being interrogated without legal support for hours on end.

Joanna Yeates. I remember it so well, I guess because it happened around Christmas. Even the tiny details stayed with me, like the kind of pizza she bought before she went missing. And the whole saga with the landlord, too. So sad.

Meredith Kercher. I also did a year abroad and it really struck a chord with me, that poor girl. I read lots of books on it and eventually came to the conclusion that Amanda Knox & Raffaele Sollecito were innocent. Amanda behaved oddly and showed a lack of empathy but I dont believe she was in any way involved.

Meredith's father was killed recently in a hit and run too. So sad for the family.

Also this one - Tony Parsons, who set out on a 'sponsored' cycle trip, seemingly on the spur of the moment and unprepared. He probably had a heart attack and is lying somewhere undiscovered in undergrowth, but it's strange that nothing has been seen of him since he passed the last set of cameras.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-45663082

It's the oddness of it all that gets me. Just... why?

@Daisy95 if it is him at least his family have some closure.

The man in Austria who kept one of his daughters holed up in their cellar basement & sexually abused her. He had children with her and I often think how did a young girl cope with giving birth and bringing up her children in a room(s) she was never allowed out of. How did she know what to do? And if I remember right, her mother didn't know she was down there, thought she had run away instead.
I think of her often.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Bergmann_case

This is a weird one as well.Makes you think why he picked Sligo.

Claudia Lawrence. I fell into a rabbit hole reading the Web Sleuths forum.

The Colombine shootings. I was roughly the same age as the killers when it happened, and it was all over the news for weeks. Years later, and there are still forums and subreddits talking about the case. I know it's awful to read but the minor details are fascinating. There are also a bunch of video tapes out there that the killers made that were never released, so there's a lot of conspiracy stuff around.

Elisabeth Fritzl. I think of all the things I did or experienced in her 24 years' incarceration, and what she suffered. It makes me shudder. She's been out for 12 years. I hope she has a good life.

Robert Black's killing spree. I'm not fascinated or obsessed but I was the same age and bore a very similar physical appearance to one of his victims at the time of her death. His actions changed my life in that a lot of mine and my friends freedoms were curtailed at the time and for a long time afterwards.
I've read a lot about his life, he had a pretty horrible time of it but I've never been able to feel sorry for him.

Two others for me also:

The al-Hilli family murders (and French cyclist) in Annecy, French alps.

Also the Ipswich prostitutes murders in 2006. The way the stories unfolded in the weeks leading up to Christmas was like watching a crime drama, with arranged bodies and water being a theme. Then finding out about the women's lives and the tragedy of their deaths.

I don't think there's anything weird about being interested in true crime.

Case file is a good podcast with an Australian host.
Well explained cases that aren't just from Australia.

Many are unsolved though which adds to how hard it must be for victims families.

Since having a child I can't listen to anything involving kids like baby Peter, James bulger, Victoria climbe.
Just makes it infinitely more heartbreaking.

Sophie Hook. My H knew Howard Hughes's father, not very well, but a lad I worked with knew Howard as he was from the same village as him.

@Gobbycop I love Case File! "That Chapter" is also a good intro to lots of cases (Irish host) though not enormously in depth.

@SideEyeing

Ahh great to know there's fellow listeners, I stumbled on it a few months ago.

I'll check out That Chapter.

Thanks.

I’d also recommend True Crime All The Time Unsolved and Criminology.