Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast

Moms and Mysteries Podcast

Two Florida moms, hundreds of mysteries, and one obsession: 'How did this happen?' Mandy and Melissa bring you twice-a-week deep dives into true crime—from Florida's most bizarre cases to infamous mysteries worldwide—all with the warmth, wit, and dark humor of two friends who've been hooked on mysteries since childhood. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

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  1. 3h ago

    The Framing of Michelle Hadley: The Full Story Behind Netflix's A Toxic Love Story

    After the release of Netflix's A Toxic Love Story, we knew it was time to bring this one back. We originally covered the case of Michelle Hadley in 2019, but the story has changed dramatically since then, and this week we are telling the whole thing from start to finish. In 2016, Michelle Hadley was accused of terrorizing her ex-fiance's pregnant wife and sending strangers to her home to carry out a violent sexual attack. The evidence appeared so overwhelming that Michelle spent 88 days in jail and faced the possibility of life in prison. But the case was never simply about a jealous ex and the woman who replaced her, and it would take years to uncover the role of the man connecting them. Following a federal investigation and a major 2023 conviction, we now know that US Marshal Ian Diaz was not just an innocent bystander to his new wife's diabolical framing plot. He was an active participant who used his federal position to help send an innocent woman to jail. Thank you to this week's sponsors! For 50% off your order, head to DailyLook.com and use code MOMS50.   Amplify your spring look with Thrive Causemetics. Go to thrivecausemetics.com/MOMS for an exclusive offer of 20% off your first order.  Text MOMS to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Framing of Michelle Hadley: The Full Story Behind Netflix's A Toxic Love Story

  2. 1d ago • Subscribers Only

    SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: A Toxic Love Story: Michelle Hadley & The Netflix Documentary

    The Netflix documentary A Toxic Love Story drops today, and it covers a case we first reported on way back in 2019 — the story of Michelle Hadley. If you remember it, you remember how wild it was. If you don't, buckle up. Michelle was Ian Diaz's ex-fiancée who was arrested, held on $1 million bail, and charged with stalking, harassment, and arranging the attempted rape of Ian's pregnant new wife, Angela. She was facing life in prison. The only problem? She didn't do any of it. What the documentary reveals goes far beyond what was known when we originally covered this case. The threatening emails, the Craigslist ads inviting strangers to attack Angela, the staged home invasion — all of it was orchestrated by Ian himself, a U.S. Marshal who used his position and insider knowledge to frame his ex while his new wife, who had faked a twin pregnancy and a cancer diagnosis, played along. A DOJ investigator eventually cracked the case wide open, and Ian was ultimately convicted and is now serving a 10-year federal prison sentence. Michelle, meanwhile, has rebuilt her life, went back to school, met someone, and had a daughter on the exact day Ian was convicted. We covered this story in 2019 when it ended with Angela's arrest. Now that we have the full picture, we have a brand new, fully updated episode dropping tomorrow, July 23rd, with all the research plus everything we learned from the documentary. Do not miss it.

    SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: A Toxic Love Story: Michelle Hadley & The Netflix Documentary

  3. 2d ago

    The Murder of Jade Benning: A Fatal Date Night in Nashville

    When twenty-four-year-old expecting mother Jade Benning suddenly collapsed during a quiet date night at her Nashville apartment, it was initially reported as a severe allergic reaction. But when paramedics arrived, the scene didn't match the story being told by her boyfriend, former NFL scout Blaise Taylor. Jade was rushed to the hospital where she was placed on life support, but both she and her unborn daughter, Ivy, tragically passed away days later. As investigators began uncovering what really happened inside her apartment on February 25th, 2023, they discovered a chilling timeline of events. A frantic final phone call overheard by Jade's best friend, a deleted photograph, and a toxicology report showing an extraordinarily high concentration of cocaine in Jade's system painted a terrifying picture. In this episode, we cover the story of a successful young chef, a highly respected college athlete turned NFL scout, and a devastating betrayal driven by an unwillingness to accept a future he didn't want. Thank you to this week's sponsors! Sleep cooler this summer with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/moms with code moms. Exclusions apply.  Whether you're looking for WLP-1, Magnesium, Berberine, CoQ10 or dozens of other science-backed supplements, start taking supplements your body can actually absorb.  Go to absorbmore.com and enter MOMS at check out for up to 35% off your first order. Let your hair be one less thing to worry about. See visibly thicker, stronger, faster growing hair in 3–6 months with Nutrafol. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you visit Nutrafol.com and enter promo code MOMS. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  4. Jul 16

    The Snowden House Murders: A Legacy of Forgiveness and Fatal Betrayal

    In 1996, the quiet community of Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas was shattered by the brutal double murder of seventy-five-year-old Sally Snowden McKay and her fifty-two-year-old nephew, Joseph Lee Baker. The historic Snowden House, a landmark family estate that had belonged to Sally's family for generations, was set on fire to cover up the crime. Investigators eventually arrested fifteen-year-old Travis Lewis, a local teenager who lived across the field in a home his family rented from Sally. Travis eventually pleaded guilty to the murders and was sentenced to twenty-eight and a half years in prison, though he never publicly admitted to pulling the trigger. Decades later, Sally's daughter, Martha McKay, made a decision that shocked her family and friends. A practicing Buddhist who believed deeply in redemption and forgiveness, Martha began writing to Travis in prison. She visited him, supported his parole, and eventually hired him to work as a handyman at the newly restored Snowden House after his release in 2018. For a while, the arrangement seemed to work, but when a large sum of cash went missing from the home, Martha suspected Travis of stealing it and fired him. On the morning of March 25th, 2020, an alarm was triggered at the Snowden House. When deputies arrived, they discovered the back door open and a man fleeing the scene. The pursuit ended at the edge of Horseshoe Lake, where the suspect jumped into the water and drowned. Inside the home, deputies found sixty-three-year-old Martha bludgeoned and stabbed to death. The man who drowned was Travis. In a heartbreaking twist of fate, the very man Martha had forgiven and tried to help rebuild his life had returned to the Snowden House to take hers. Thank you to this week's sponsors! See how K12 Powered Schools can help unlock your child’s full potential. Enroll online today at K12.com/moms. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    The Snowden House Murders: A Legacy of Forgiveness and Fatal Betrayal

  5. Jul 15 • Subscribers Only

    SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Worst Neighbor Ever: Midwest Meltdown

    This week we are covering episode two of the Netflix series Worst Neighbor Ever, and we will warn you upfront, his one is more shocking than it is funny. We are in Richmond Hill, Georgia, a tight-knit subdivision where neighbors gathered on driveways, kids rode bikes together, and families ate dinner at each other's houses multiple nights a week. It was the kind of neighborhood everyone dreams about, until the night of November 12th, 2012, when a massive explosion leveled a house on the block and killed two of its beloved residents. The house belonged to Moncy, a nurse who had lived in the neighborhood for years. Investigators quickly realized this was no gas leak. The valves had been deliberately removed, the microwave had been rigged with a programmable timer, and Moncy and her boyfriend Mark Leonard had been at a casino when it all went off. What followed was a murder investigation that revealed they had attempted this three times before, all for a $300,000 insurance payout. Dion and Jennifer, the couple next door who had done nothing wrong, never made it out. It is a devastating story about greed, a neighborhood destroyed, and two people who are never coming back.

    SUBSCRIBERS ONLY: Worst Neighbor Ever: Midwest Meltdown

  6. Jul 14

    Poisoned for a Fortune That Never Existed: The Murder of Steven Riley Jr.

    In the fall of 2023, Steven Edward Riley Jr. was living in Minot, North Dakota with his longtime partner, Ina Kenoyer, when he received a letter claiming he was the sole heir to a $30 million estate left behind by a relative he had never met. For months, Steven communicated with a man named Richard Eglin, who identified himself as the estate's attorney, as the two worked toward a meeting that would finalize the inheritance. On September 3rd, 2023, Steven collapsed after attending a series of airport meetings where Eglin never appeared. Two days later, he was dead. His official cause of death was ethylene glycol poisoning. Antifreeze. As investigators began piecing together what happened, witnesses came forward with disturbing information. Several people told police that Ina had previously talked about poisoning Steven with antifreeze specifically, and she had already begun trying to sell his belongings before she even knew he had died. What followed was one of the most contradictory police interviews investigators had ever conducted, full of shifting timelines, bizarre theories, and a woman who could not stop talking even after she asked for a lawyer. But the detail that makes this case truly unsettling is what investigators discovered about the inheritance itself. The $30 million fortune that Steven believed was about to change his life almost certainly never existed at all. He was not murdered over a fortune. He was murdered over the illusion of one. Thanks to this week's sponsors! Go to Quince.com/moms for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/vwn13ren #CashAppPod.  Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card.  Savings provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Poisoned for a Fortune That Never Existed: The Murder of Steven Riley Jr.

  7. Jul 10

    Lake Lanier | A Listener Favorite: The Curse Beneath Georgia's Deadliest Lake

    This episode has been one of your most requested since we first released it, so we are bringing it back. Lake Lanier, Georgia's largest lake, is one of the deadliest bodies of water in America, with over 700 deaths since its creation in 1956. But the lake's dark history goes deeper than tragic accidents. Built by flooding entire communities, including a predominantly Black town that was never properly evacuated, Lake Lanier sits atop homes, churches, and even cemeteries. Locals believe the lake is cursed, haunted by the spirits of those whose graves were disturbed. We explore the eerie history of Lake Lanier, the mysterious deaths and disappearances that continue to this day, and the folklore that has made it one of America's most haunted places. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Lake Lanier | A Listener Favorite: The Curse Beneath Georgia's Deadliest Lake

  8. Jul 9

    [Florida Files] The Murder of Shirley and Virgil Best: A Family's Fatal Devotion

    Shirley and Virgil Best were beloved, hardworking members of their Riverview, Florida, community. For forty-five years, they built a life centered around their faith, their family, and their successful tropical fish farm, Quality Fins. They were finally looking forward to a well-earned retirement traveling the world together in their RV. But beneath the surface, the couple spent decades dealing with the constant crises of their oldest son, Robert Best. A convicted con artist who had once defrauded a blind woman out of nearly a million dollars, Robert was facing a new, deeply disturbing criminal trial set to begin on the morning of November 12, 2015. Hours before he was expected in court, Robert and his wife, Marisol Best, drove to his parents' home, supposedly to pray with them. Instead, they found Shirley and Virgil brutally shot to death. While investigators initially confronted a staged burglary scene, the physical evidence quickly pointed to an insider. When a pair of missing handguns belonging to a family friend were uncovered, Marisol confessed to a crime that shocked the community. She admitted to shooting her mother and father-in-law after a tense argument about Robert's lack of family support, pulling the trigger just as they stood up to hold her hands and pray with her. This week we cover the tragic murders of Shirley and Virgil Best, the bizarre web of manipulation surrounding their son, and the ultimate act of misguided loyalty that resulted in a double life sentence. Thank you to this week's sponsors! Sleep cooler this summer with Boll & Branch during their Annual Summer Event. For a limited time, get 20% off sitewide at BollAndBranch.com/moms with codes moms. Exclusions apply. Right now, IQBAR is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQBAR products—including the Ultimate sampler pack—plus FREE shipping. To get your 20% percent off, text MOMS to 64000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    [Florida Files] The Murder of Shirley and Virgil Best: A Family's Fatal Devotion
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About

Two Florida moms, hundreds of mysteries, and one obsession: 'How did this happen?' Mandy and Melissa bring you twice-a-week deep dives into true crime—from Florida's most bizarre cases to infamous mysteries worldwide—all with the warmth, wit, and dark humor of two friends who've been hooked on mysteries since childhood. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

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