Heists, Hustles, and Homicide

Steve W
  • 5.0 (3)
  • True Crime
  • Updated Semiweekly

Welcome to Heists, Hustles, and Homicide - the true crime podcast where brains, betrayal, and blood all share the same spotlight. I'm Steve your host, and each week, I’ll take you into the minds of the boldest criminals, the slickest con artists, and the darkest murderers history has to offer...in story format. Some of these stories you’ve heard whispers of. Some have been buried. And some? They were never supposed to be uncovered at all. We’ll crack open legendary heists that rewrote the rules… We’ll follow the hustlers who schemed their way into the high life… And we’ll revisit chilling homicides that still haunt investigators - and victims’ families - decades later. But this isn’t just about crime. It’s about people. What drives someone to pull off the perfect con - or the perfect murder? Is it desperation? Greed? Ego? Revenge? Each episode, we’ll unravel one real-life case - beginning to end. Some episodes will play out like thrillers. Others will feel like puzzles missing a single, crucial piece. And in every one, we’ll ask the same question: How far would you go? So whether you're into high-stakes break-ins, twisted lies, or unsolved crimes that keep you up at night - welcome. You’ve found your new obsession. This is Heists, Hustles, and Homicide. Make sure to follow the show, and buckle up.

  1. Sep 11

    The Tylenol Murders: A Killer in Your Medicine Cabinet

    The Tylenol Murders: A Killer in Your Medicine Cabinet Seven people reached for relief. Someone had put murder in the bottle. In September 1982, a twelve-year-old girl suddenly collapses. A young father dies, then his grieving brother and sister-in-law take medicine from the same bottle. Across the Chicago area, seemingly unrelated emergencies reveal a terrifying connection: cyanide hidden inside Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. This week on Heists, Hustles, and Homicide, Steve follows the ordinary purchases that became fatal, the nurse who spotted a crucial clue, and the desperate effort to warn the public before anyone else swallowed the poison. Then comes a million-dollar extortion demand. A suspect with explanations for everything. And a revenge killing that takes the life of a man with absolutely nothing to do with the poisonings. Inside this episode: • The seven victims and the families whose lives changed forever. • How investigators connected the deaths to contaminated medicine. • The nationwide recall of roughly 31 million bottles. • James William Lewis’s extortion letter and why his conviction never solved the murders. • Roger Arnold’s deadly pursuit of the person he blamed for making him a suspect. • Renewed investigations, DNA testing, and theories that remain unproven. • How the case changed the packaging we open every day. The bottles came off the shelves. The seals went on. But nobody has ever been charged with the seven murders. Join us, my little crime crew, for a story that makes the most familiar room in your house feel a little less safe. Follow Heists, Hustles, and Homicide wherever you listen, and share this episode with someone who loves an unsolved mystery. Instagram: @heistshustleshomicidepodcast Content note: Includes child death, fatal poisoning, and gun violence.

    The Tylenol Murders: A Killer in Your Medicine Cabinet

  2. Sep 7

    The Dumb Crime of The Month: The Pilot Who Faked His Death

    What do you do when your financial empire is collapsing, investigators are closing in, and your carefully manufactured life is about to fall apart? If you’re Marcus Schrenker, you climb into a million-dollar airplane, report a catastrophic midair emergency, switch on the autopilot, and parachute into the Alabama wilderness while the empty aircraft continues flying toward the Gulf of Mexico. The plan was supposed to convince authorities that Schrenker had died in a tragic plane crash. Instead, the pilotless aircraft attracted fighter jets, crashed suspiciously short of the ocean, and left investigators with an intact windshield, no blood, and no body. Unfortunately for Marcus, things only became dumber from there. His escape involved a hidden red motorcycle, a completely imaginary canoeing accident, an unexpected encounter with local police, and the one thing every successful fugitive should probably avoid: campground Wi-Fi. In this month’s Dumb Crime of the Month, Steve unpacks the unbelievable story of a wealthy financial adviser who tried to escape fraud allegations by faking his own death. In the process, he transformed a financial investigation into a multistate federal manhunt. Strap in, Crime Crew. This getaway is about to experience some serious turbulence. Follow Heists, Hustles, and Homicide on your favorite podcast app and share this episode with someone whose emergency plan is at least marginally better than Marcus Schrenker’s.

    The Dumb Crime of The Month: The Pilot Who Faked His Death

  3. Sep 4

    Alex Murdaugh: Murder, Millions, and the Fall of a Family Dynasty

    Alex Murdaugh: Murder, Millions, and the Fall of a Family DynastyFor nearly a century, the Murdaugh name carried power in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. They were prosecutors. Attorneys. Insiders. A family whose influence seemed woven into the legal system itself. Then everything began to unravel. On June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh called 911 from his family’s sprawling Moselle property and reported finding his wife, Maggie, and his 22-year-old son, Paul, shot to death. What initially looked like an unthinkable family tragedy would soon crack open something much bigger. Millions of dollars were missing. Clients had been betrayed. A longtime housekeeper’s death came under renewed scrutiny. A deadly boat crash had already put the Murdaugh family under a microscope. And then came one of the strangest twists of all, a roadside shooting that investigators said was actually part of a bizarre plan for Alex to have himself killed so his surviving son could collect millions in life insurance. But the most serious accusation was still coming. Prosecutors would eventually claim that Alex Murdaugh murdered his own wife and son as his financial world closed in around him. The murder trial that followed captivated the country. A cellphone video recorded by Paul just minutes before his death would become one of the most important pieces of evidence in the case, placing Alex somewhere he had repeatedly insisted he had not been. In this episode of Heists, Hustles, and Homicide, we go deep inside the extraordinary rise and collapse of the Murdaugh dynasty, from nearly 90 years of family power to stolen settlements, financial fraud, mysterious deaths, a double-murder prosecution, and a courtroom saga that still isn't finished. We’ll explore: • The decades of influence behind the Murdaugh family name • The death of longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield • The fatal boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach • The murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh • The video that shattered Alex’s original alibi • The millions of dollars Alex admitted stealing from clients and his law firm • The bizarre roadside shooting and alleged suicide-for-hire scheme • The prosecution’s theory of why Alex would kill his own family • Alex Murdaugh’s testimony and admission that he lied to investigators • His 2023 murder convictions • The controversy surrounding court clerk Becky Hill • And the stunning 2026 decision overturning those murder convictions and ordering a new trial This isn’t just the story of a murder case. It’s the story of what happens when money, influence, addiction, deception, family loyalty, and violence collide, and an untouchable name suddenly becomes one of the most infamous names in American true crime. Was Alex Murdaugh a desperate man watching his carefully constructed life collapse around him? Was the prosecution right about what happened at Moselle? And after years of investigations, trials, appeals, convictions and revelations... is the full truth about the Murdaugh family finally known? Welcome back, Crime Crew. This is Alex Murdaugh: Murder, Millions, and the Fall of a Family Dynasty.

    Alex Murdaugh: Murder, Millions, and the Fall of a Family Dynasty

  4. Aug 7

    The Dumb Crime of the Month: The Armored Car Heist That Almost Worked

    The Dumb Crime of the Month: The Armored Car Heist That Almost WorkedEpisode Show NotesWelcome to a brand new monthly segment on Heists, Hustles, and Homicide: The Dumb Crime of the Month - where we spotlight criminals who come dangerously close to pulling off the perfect crime…only to destroy the entire thing with one spectacularly stupid mistake. And for our first installment, we’re starting strong. In 2008, Anthony Curcio put together one of the most creative armored-car robberies you’ll ever hear about. He studied the target, planned the timing, created disguises, recruited completely unsuspecting Craigslist workers to serve as accidental decoys, and even mapped out an escape route through a nearby creek. Then he pulled it off. Roughly $400,000 was gone, the getaway worked, and for a brief moment, Curcio looked less like a desperate thief and more like the criminal mastermind in a Hollywood heist movie. There was just one problem. During all that careful planning, somebody noticed something Curcio probably wished they hadn’t. A license plate. That tiny detail would eventually help unravel a robbery that had taken months to prepare. In this episode, we dive into Anthony Curcio’s backstory, the elaborate planning behind the heist, the bizarre Craigslist decoy scheme, his escape, the investigation that followed, and the unbelievably simple mistake that helped bring the whole thing crashing down. Because apparently you can plan disguises, decoys, getaway routes, and an armored-car ambush… …but remembering that cars come with identifying numbers was asking a little too much. Welcome to The Dumb Crime of the Month. Sometimes the difference between criminal mastermind and convicted felon is just one guy standing nearby with a pen.

    The Dumb Crime of the Month: The Armored Car Heist That Almost Worked

  5. Aug 5

    The Wrap Sheet: The Barefoot Bandit - Abused as a Child, Then Hunted as a Criminal

    Colton Harris-Moore became famous for stealing cars, boats, and airplanes, escaping into the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and repeatedly embarrassing the authorities trying to catch him. But long before he was hunted as the Barefoot Bandit, he was a child asking for help. In this Wrap Sheet episode, Steve takes a deeper, sharper, and more entertaining look at the complicated story behind the legend. Colton grew up surrounded by poverty, neglect, instability, and abuse. The woods became his refuge, his classroom, and eventually the perfect place to disappear when law enforcement came looking for him. The same authorities who failed to protect him as a child would later spend years chasing him across multiple states, international borders, remote islands, and eventually the Bahamas. We look at how Colton became a teenage forest ninja, quietly slipping into vacation homes, stealing food, sleeping in empty beds, and somehow staying several steps ahead of agencies that often communicated like they were playing the world’s least organized game of telephone. Then there were the airplanes. With no formal training and apparently very little concern for gravity, aviation regulations, or remaining alive, Colton taught himself enough about flying to steal multiple aircraft. He crashed, nearly died, walked away, and somehow decided the reasonable response was to try it again. And again. His nerve was unbelievable. His survival skills were impressive. His decision-making was the kind usually followed by the phrase, “Do not attempt this at home.” But while fans celebrated the outlaw mythology, real people were left paying the price. Store owners lost money they desperately needed. Homeowners had their privacy violated. Aircraft owners watched expensive machines disappear, crash, or come back looking like they had been used for flight training by a raccoon with confidence issues. To his supporters, Colton was a modern folk hero robbing wealthy vacation homes and making law enforcement look foolish. To his victims, he was not a legend. He was a burglar, a thief, and a threat to everything they had worked to build. This episode explores the uncomfortable space between those two versions of Colton Harris-Moore. Was he a criminal mastermind? A damaged and rebellious kid? A survivalist shaped by neglect? Or a dangerous young man whose tragic childhood explained his actions without excusing them? We also revisit the wild pursuit that carried him across the United States, into the Bahamas, and into one final boat chase that played out like an action movie written by someone who had stopped caring whether the plot sounded realistic. Finally, we look at what happened after the headlines faded, Colton’s release from custody, and the encouraging signs that he may have finally found a way to build a life without stealing the transportation required to get there. This is not another retelling of the Barefoot Bandit story. This is the Wrap Sheet.

    The Wrap Sheet: The Barefoot Bandit - Abused as a Child, Then Hunted as a Criminal

  6. Aug 1

    The Barefoot Bandit: The Boy Who Turned Crime Into Legend

    He was a troubled teenager from a broken home who dreamed of becoming a pilot. Instead, Colton Harris-Moore became one of the most notorious young fugitives in America. After escaping from a juvenile halfway house, Colton disappeared into the forests and islands of the Pacific Northwest. He survived by breaking into vacation homes, stealing food, sleeping in empty houses, taking cars, boats, electronics, and eventually something almost no one believed possible: airplanes. With no formal flight training, Colton allegedly taught himself to fly using manuals, videos, and stolen information. He then launched a crime spree that stretched across multiple states, crossed international borders, and left police, the FBI, Homeland Security, and entire island communities struggling to catch him. Each time authorities closed in, Colton seemed to vanish. He escaped police raids, slipped through forests, crash-landed stolen aircraft, crossed into Canada, traveled through the American Midwest, and eventually flew more than a thousand miles to the Bahamas in a stolen plane. But behind the headlines, fan pages, T-shirts, and outlaw mythology was a much darker story. Colton’s childhood was marked by poverty, neglect, abuse, instability, and repeated warnings that the system failed to address. To some, he became a modern folk hero who embarrassed law enforcement and refused to be caught. To his victims, he was a destructive burglar who stole livelihoods, endangered lives, and left ordinary people paying the price for his legend. In this episode of Heists, Hustles, and Homicide, we take a deeper look at the incredible true story of the Barefoot Bandit, from his troubled childhood on Camano Island to his first burglaries, daring airplane thefts, international manhunt, dramatic capture in the Bahamas, and the final reckoning that forced the world to separate the myth from the man. Was Colton Harris-Moore a brilliant survivalist, a reckless criminal, a victim of a failed childhood, or somehow all three? This is the unbelievable story of the teenager who stole planes, crossed an ocean, and nearly disappeared into legend.

    The Barefoot Bandit: The Boy Who Turned Crime Into Legend

  7. Jul 23

    The Dumb Criminal Handbook: 10 Surefire Ways to Get Arrested

    The Dumb Criminal Handbook: 10 Surefire Ways to Get ArrestedWelcome back, Crime Crew. Some criminals spend months planning the perfect crime. Others bring their personal cell phone, use their own car, leave their identification behind, post the evidence on social media, and then return to the crime scene to see how the investigation is going. In this sarcastic true crime countdown, Steve presents The Dumb Criminal Handbook, a mock training manual covering ten of the fastest and most ridiculous ways criminals help law enforcement arrest them. From unforgettable disguises and terrible getaway vehicles to suspicious Google searches, ridiculous alibis, sudden spending sprees, and the complete inability to remember that cameras exist everywhere, this episode celebrates the criminals who practically solve their own cases. The episode also includes three dishonorable honorable mentions: The crew member with a nickname like “Stacks” or “Dookie” who was trusted to destroy the evidence but instead left the getaway car outside his side chick’s apartment. The burglar who broke into someone’s home and used the victim’s computer to check Facebook, then forgot to log out. And the suspect who voluntarily contacted law enforcement about an unrelated scam and accidentally handed investigators the DNA they needed to connect him to a much more serious crime. This is not a guide to committing the perfect crime. It is a guide to understanding why the smartest criminal decision is usually not committing one in the first place. Because when your plan involves a personalized getaway vehicle, an open Facebook tab, a half-eaten sandwich covered in DNA, and the least responsible member of the crew handling cleanup, the police investigation may be over before it even begins.

    The Dumb Criminal Handbook: 10 Surefire Ways to Get Arrested

  8. Jul 20

    The Wrap Sheet: The Xerox Credit Union Murder - Bad Wig, Bad Plan, Bad Karma

    In this Wrap Sheet episode of Heists, Hustles, and Homicide, we take one more look at the chilling and bizarre Xerox Credit Union Murder - a case involving a fake FBI agent, a bad disguise, a deadly robbery, and one umbrella that may have helped crack the case wide open. On August 12, 2003, a man walked into the Xerox Federal Credit Union in Webster, New York, dressed like an FBI agent and claimed he was there to conduct a security audit. But the “audit” quickly turned into a robbery, and the robbery turned into murder when Raymond Batzel was shot and killed. Joseph Doud was also shot but survived. In this episode, we dig into the stranger details of the case: the terrible wig, the sunglasses, the fake FBI act, the grainy surveillance footage, and the baffling decision to bring - and then leave behind - an umbrella at the crime scene. Was the umbrella part of the disguise? Was it used to avoid cameras? Or was it just one more dumb mistake in a crime filled with bad decisions? We also talk about how this case sat unsolved for over a decade until fresh investigators, public billboards, DNA technology, and one very unlucky envelope lick helped point authorities toward Richard Wilbern, a former Xerox employee. Was it luck, karma, or the universe handing investigators a gift-wrapped break? This is The Wrap Sheet: The Xerox Credit Union Murder - Bad Wig, Bad Plan, Bad Karma, a witty, introspective true crime deep dive into a fake badge, a deadly choice, and the evidence that refused to disappear.

    The Wrap Sheet: The Xerox Credit Union Murder - Bad Wig, Bad Plan, Bad Karma
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to Heists, Hustles, and Homicide - the true crime podcast where brains, betrayal, and blood all share the same spotlight. I'm Steve your host, and each week, I’ll take you into the minds of the boldest criminals, the slickest con artists, and the darkest murderers history has to offer...in story format. Some of these stories you’ve heard whispers of. Some have been buried. And some? They were never supposed to be uncovered at all. We’ll crack open legendary heists that rewrote the rules… We’ll follow the hustlers who schemed their way into the high life… And we’ll revisit chilling homicides that still haunt investigators - and victims’ families - decades later. But this isn’t just about crime. It’s about people. What drives someone to pull off the perfect con - or the perfect murder? Is it desperation? Greed? Ego? Revenge? Each episode, we’ll unravel one real-life case - beginning to end. Some episodes will play out like thrillers. Others will feel like puzzles missing a single, crucial piece. And in every one, we’ll ask the same question: How far would you go? So whether you're into high-stakes break-ins, twisted lies, or unsolved crimes that keep you up at night - welcome. You’ve found your new obsession. This is Heists, Hustles, and Homicide. Make sure to follow the show, and buckle up.

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