Mugshot Mysteries

Kathryn and Gabriel
  • 5.0 (13)
  • TRUE CRIME

Putting mysteries in the lineup. True crime podcast investigating unsolved cases, cold cases, paranormal phenomena, and the stories that won't let you sleep. Hosts Kathryn and Gabriel dive deep into historical crimes, infamous outlaws, unexplained mysteries, and modern cases that divide America with the kind of dark humor and chemistry that makes hour-long deep dives fly by. From vintage mugshots to ghost ships, from exorcisms to healthcare scandals, from disappeared outlaws to haunted houses: if it's unsolved, unexplained, or unforgettable, we're putting it in the lineup. What we cover: True crime (historical and modern), cold cases, paranormal investigations, unsolved murders, conspiracy theories, forgotten criminals, and the mysteries that still haunt us. Expect thorough research, psychological analysis, skepticism mixed with curiosity, and two hosts who aren't afraid to disagree, joke, or go down rabbit holes together. Our vibe: Smart storytelling meets dark comedy. We take the cases seriously but not ourselves. Because sometimes the best way to examine a murder, a haunting, or a centuries-old mystery is with a partner who gets it...and isn't afraid to call you out when you start believing in ghost pirates. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

  1. 6D AGO

    Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping: The Crime of the Century

    March 1, 1932. The most famous man in America puts his twenty-month-old son to bed. By 10 PM, the nursery is empty. A ransom note on the windowsill. A homemade ladder against the house. The Lindbergh baby kidnapping had begun. Charles Lindbergh was not just a celebrity. In a country devastated by the Great Depression, he was proof the American Dream still worked. Then someone took his baby. What followed was one of history's most contaminated criminal investigations. A crime scene overrun by Lindbergh himself. Ransom negotiations in a Bronx cemetery at midnight. Fifty thousand dollars handed over in the dark. A child's body found four miles from the Hopewell, New Jersey estate, dead for weeks while negotiations were still ongoing. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested in 1934 with fourteen thousand dollars of ransom money hidden in his garage. The 1935 Flemington trial became the most sensational criminal proceeding in American history. Seven hundred reporters. A Depression-era jury that needed someone to answer for everything the country had lost. Kathryn and Gabriel investigate the forensic evidence, the wrongful conviction debate, the inside job theory, and the eugenics-motivated Lindbergh involvement theory that a Rutgers historian spent decades building. Was Bruno Hauptmann guilty? Did he act alone? Was the trial of the century actually fair? SOURCES: Berg, A. Scott. Lindbergh. Putnam, 1998. Gardner, Lloyd C. The Case That Never Dies. Rutgers University Press, 2004. Kennedy, Ludovic. The Airman and the Carpenter. Viking, 1985. Fisher, Jim. The Lindbergh Case. Rutgers University Press, 1987. Mullainathan & Shafir. Scarcity. Henry Holt, 2013. Ward, John William. "The Meaning of Lindbergh's Flight." American Quarterly, 1958. FBI Lindbergh Kidnapping Case File. FBI Records: The Vault. New Jersey v. Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Flemington, NJ, 1935. Federal Kidnapping Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1201, enacted June 22, 1932. Santayana, George. The Life of Reason. Scribner's, 1905. CriticalPast. "Nation Aroused...Kidnapping of Lindbergh Baby." youtube.com/watch?v=NZIcAdZWIO4 British Pathe. "Hauptmann: Found Guilty." 1935. youtube.com/watch?v=tB23Gt4OBPs Witnify. "Bruno Hauptmann's Statement from Prison." youtube.com/watch?v=6B9rnIdMfkU DISCLAIMER: This episode discusses child murder, capital punishment, police brutality, Great Depression-era economic collapse, suicide, and racial inequity in the American justice system. Multiple theories are presented including Hauptmann acting alone, accomplice theories, and historian Lloyd Gardner's theory implicating Lindbergh directly. No theory presented constitutes proven fact. Bruno Richard Hauptmann maintained his innocence until his execution on April 3, 1936. His wife Anna maintained his innocence until her death in 1994. Discussion of Lindbergh's eugenics associations and documented ties to Nazi Germany reflects the historical record only and does not constitute endorsement. Views expressed are solely those of the hosts and do not constitute legal conclusions, forensic findings, or professional analysis of any kind. Educational and entertainment purposes only. Listene Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    1h 12m

  2. FEB 16

    The Circleville Letters: Small Town Secrets, Anonymous Terror

    1977. Circleville, Ohio. An anonymous letter writer terrorizes a town for nearly two decades. Over 1,000 letters exposing affairs, corruption, and secrets. Then attempted murder. Mary Gillispie, a school bus driver, was accused of having an affair with school superintendent Gordon Massie. Her husband Ron received threatening letters. In August 1977, Ron told his children he knew who the writer was, grabbed his gun, and left. He never came home. His truck was found wrapped around a tree with a fired gun and blood alcohol twice the legal limit. The sheriff ruled it an accident. The letters multiplied. In 1983, Mary found a sign along her bus route rigged to a box containing a loaded pistol designed to fire when pulled. The gun traced to Paul Freshour, Ron's brother-in-law. His estranged wife Karen Sue said he was the Circleville letter writer. He was convicted of attempted murder. Then letters kept coming from prison. While Paul sat in solitary confinement with no writing materials. The prison warden confirmed he couldn't be sending them. He served ten years. The letters stopped after his release. Kathryn and Gabriel investigate who the writer exposed and how they knew. The prosecutor had his affair revealed. The coroner who ruled Ron's death an accident was later charged with sex crimes against minors. Multiple suspects include Karen Sue, Gordon Massie's son, and the theory that multiple writers used the phenomenon as cover. SOURCES: 48 Hours. "The Circleville Letters." CBS News, 2024. Unsolved Mysteries. "Poison Pen Murder." Original series broadcast. Crime Junkie podcast. "INFAMOUS: Circleville Letters." Mental Floss. "Unknown Sender: The Mystery of the Circleville Letters." Pickaway County Sheriff's Office case files on Circleville Letters investigation, 1977-1994. FBI behavioral analysis documents regarding anonymous letter campaigns and personality disorders. Suler, John. "The Online Disinhibition Effect." CyberPsychology & Behavior 7, no. 3 (2004): 321-326. Zimbardo, Philip G. Research on deindividuation and anonymity in social psychology. Stanford University Press. Ohio court records: State v. Paul Freshour, attempted murder conviction, Pickaway County, 1983. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prison records, Paul Freshour incarceration 1983-1994. Pickaway County Coroner's Office autopsy report on Ron Gillispie, August 1977. Witness statements: Mary Gillispie, Karen Sue Freshour, Paul Freshour. Pickaway County investigation files 1977-1994. Forensic document analysis by Beverley East examining 49 Circleville letters for 48 Hours investigation. Ohio criminal records: State v. Ray Carroll, charges related to sex crimes against minors, 1993. O'Toole, Mary Ellen. FBI behavioral analysis profiling of anonymous letter writer, Circleville case. Pickaway County court records on booby trap evidence and ballistics, 1983. Ohio polygraph examination records, Paul Freshour, 1983. Columbus Police Department records, letter postmark analysis 1977-1994. DISCLAIMER: This podcast discusses unsolved crimes including a de Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    58 min

  3. FEB 9

    The Black Dahlia: 48 Hours

    January 9, 1947. Elizabeth Short walks into the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. She paces for four hours. Makes calls. Waits. At 10 PM, someone waves through the glass doors. She walks out. Turns south on Olive Street. Forty-eight hours later, her body is found cut in half on a vacant lot. This episode reconstructs Elizabeth Short's final 48 hours in real time. One hour of her life equals one minute of runtime. We walk backward from the moment Betty Bersinger found what she thought was a mannequin to the moment Elizabeth left the Biltmore. Kathryn and Gabriel use newly released Los Angeles District Attorney files that debunk the "missing week" myth. Elizabeth didn't vanish. At least twelve witnesses saw her. She had dinner at Mark Hansen's house on January 11 with a boyfriend. On January 14, LAPD Officer Meryl McBride encountered her twice, first sobbing in terror about a man who threatened to kill her, then leaving a bar with two men and a woman. Two men and a woman. The same configuration as visitors who came to the French house in San Diego, visitors she refused to see because she was "very frightened." Ten hours after McBride's final sighting, Elizabeth Short was dead. We examine the autopsy evidence. Ligature marks indicating she was bound for extended periods. The precise bisection performed with medical knowledge. The body drained of blood, washed clean, posed like art. No blood at the scene. The killer had medical and forensic knowledge, washed evidence with gasoline, and mailed Elizabeth's belongings to the Los Angeles Examiner. Elizabeth Short wasn't a prostitute or aspiring actress. She was 22. Her father abandoned the family when she was six. Her fiance died days before the war ended. She spent her final weeks broke and sad. The newspapers invented everything else. SOURCES: FBI Records on the Black Dahlia (Elizabeth Short). FBI.gov. Los Angeles Police Department case files on Elizabeth Short murder, 1947. Los Angeles District Attorney's Black Dahlia case files, released 2003-2004. Hodel, Steve. Black Dahlia Avenger. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2003. Hodel, Steve. Black Dahlia Avenger II. CreateSpace, 2014. Eatwell, Piu. Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder. New York: Regan Arts, 2017. Gilmore, John. Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder. Los Angeles: Amok Books, 1994. Newbarr, Frederick. Coroner's autopsy report on Elizabeth Short. Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, January 16, 1947. Witness statements: Harold Studholme (Biltmore Hotel bell captain), Betty Bersinger, Robert "Red" Manley, 1947. Witness statements: Connie Starr, Ann Toth. Los Angeles District Attorney files. Officer Meryl McBride witness statement. Los Angeles District Attorney files. Dorothy French witness statements regarding San Diego sightings. LAPD case files, 1947. Asdel, Ralph. Interview. Los Angeles Times, 2003. Los Angeles Times archives, January 1947. Los Angeles Herald-Examiner archives, January 1947. Los Angeles Examiner archives, January 1947. Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    47 min

  4. FEB 2

    The Flatwoods Monster: The True Story of West Virginia's 1952 UFO Encounter

    September 12, 1952. Seven people climb a hill in Flatwoods, West Virginia after watching a red light streak across the sky. At the top, they encounter something ten feet tall with a spade-shaped head, glowing eyes, and a metallic body. They run in terror. Several begin vomiting. To understand what happened, you need to understand 1952 America. The Soviets had the bomb. Boys were dying in Korea. UFOs appeared on radar over Washington DC. Kathryn and Gabriel examine witness testimonies and Project Blue Book's barn owl conclusion. They investigate the unexplained chemical smell and what extreme fear does to visual processing. Then the twist. Gray Barker, who spread the story and invented Men in Black mythology, didn't believe in UFOs. Four months later, the CIA's Robertson Panel recommended debunking UFO reports to prevent mass hysteria. The Flatwoods Monster wasn't extraterrestrial. It was created from atomic age fears. SOURCES: Barker, Gray. "The Monster and the Saucer." Fate Magazine, January 1953. Barker, Gray. They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers. New York: University Books, 1956. Feschino Jr., Frank C. The Braxton County Monster: The Cover-Up of the Flatwoods Monster Revealed. Charleston, WV: Quarrier Press, 2004. Nickell, Joe. "The Flatwoods UFO Monster." Skeptical Inquirer 24, no. 6 (November/December 2000). Ruppelt, Edward J. The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1956. Robertson Panel Report. "Report of Meetings of Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects." CIA, January 14-18, 1953. Stewart, A. Lee Jr. "Visitors from Outer Space." Braxton Democrat, September 18, 1952. United States Air Force. Project Blue Book Case Files, Case #2020, September 12, 1952. LIFE Magazine. "Have We Visitors from Space?" April 7, 1952. Charleston Gazette newspaper coverage, September 13-30, 1952. Pittsburgh Press special report on Flatwoods incident, September 1952. CBS Television interview transcripts with Kathleen May and Eugene Lemon, September 1952. Korean War casualty records for Braxton County, West Virginia, 1950-1952. Churchill, Winston. "Sinews of Peace (Iron Curtain Speech)." Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, March 5, 1946. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QuSXZTo3Uo "Duck and Cover." Federal Civil Defense Administration, 1951. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9scNl9h4Q Samford, Maj. Gen. John A. "Statement on Flying Saucers." Press conference, Pentagon, Washington, DC, July 31, 1952. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-MbGYAv7Cg DISCLAIMER: This podcast discusses the Cold War including nuclear weapons, the Red Scare, Korean War casualties, and theories involving mass psychogenic illness and government coverups. We present both skeptical and believer perspectives while emphasizing genuine witness trauma and 1950s American anxiety. The views and interpretations expressed are those of Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    52 min

  5. JAN 26

    The Mothman of Point Pleasant: The True Story Behind the Legend

    November 15, 1966. Two young couples encounter a seven-foot creature with glowing red eyes and ten-foot wings at an abandoned TNT plant in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Over the next thirteen months, more than one hundred witnesses report seeing the same impossible entity. Then, on December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge collapses during rush hour, killing forty-six people. The sightings stop. Was the Mothman a harbinger of disaster? A misidentified sandhill crane? Mass psychogenic illness consuming a stressed Cold War community? Or something that doesn't fit any category we have words for? Kathryn and Gabriel investigate the original witness testimonies, the strange Men in Black who visited journalist Mary Hyre's office, the telepathic alien Indrid Cold who stopped sewing machine salesman Woodrow Derenberger on Interstate 77, and the engineering failure that brought down America's deadliest bridge collapse. They examine theories from mass hysteria to interdimensional incursion, exploring why traumatized witnesses never recanted their stories and what it means that Point Pleasant transformed their terror into a annual festival. This episode covers the psychology of collective fear, Carl Jung's archetypal winged figures, stress corrosion cracking in eyebar suspension bridges, and why paranormal investigator John Keel arrived a skeptical journalist but left believing in ultraterrestrials. We discuss the two bodies never recovered from the Ohio River, the curse of Chief Cornstalk that never actually happened, and whether a twelve-foot stainless steel statue represents healing or exploitation of tragedy. SOURCES: Keel, John A. The Mothman Prophecies. New York: Tor Books, 1975. Sergent Jr., Donnie, and Jeff Wamsley. Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend. Point Pleasant, WV: Mothman Lives Publishing, 2002. Derenberger, Woodrow W., and Harold W. Hubbard. Visitor from Lanulos. New York: Vantage Press, 1971. National Transportation Safety Board. Collapse of U.S. 35 Highway Bridge, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, December 15, 1967. Highway Accident Report NTSB-HAR-71-1. Washington, DC: NTSB, 1971. Bartholomew, Robert E., and Hilary Evans. Panic Attacks: Media Manipulation and Mass Delusion. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2004. Point Pleasant Register, November 16-December 31, 1966 (Mary Hyre columns and news coverage). Athens Messenger, November 1966-February 1970 (Mary Hyre's "Where the Waters Mingle" column). Huntington Herald-Dispatch, November 17, 1966 ("Bird, Plane, or Batman? Mason Countians Hunt 'Moth Man'"). FBI Case Files on Point Pleasant UFO and Mothman sightings, 1966-1967. DISCLAIMER: This podcast discusses a bridge collapse that killed forty-six people, psychological trauma experienced by witnesses, and theories involving mass psychogenic illness. While we approach the Mothman phenomenon with both skeptical and believer perspectives, we maintain respect for the victims of the Silver Bridge disaster and the genuine fear experienced by witnesses. Content includes references to Cold War anxiety, infrastructure Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    1 hr

  6. JAN 19

    Flannan Isles Lighthouse Mystery Scotland 1900: Three Keepers Vanished, Rogue Wave Theory, Supernatural Disappearance Unsolved

    Flannan Isles lighthouse keepers mystery Scotland December 1900. Three experienced keepers James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald MacArthur vanished without trace from Eilean Mor island in the Outer Hebrides. No bodies found. No distress signals. Just a stopped clock, an unlit lamp, and one missing oilskin coat. Official explanation: rogue wave swept them into the Atlantic. Locals say the island took them back. One of history's most disturbing unsolved maritime mysteries. THE CASE December 26, 1900. Relief keeper Joseph Moore arrives at Flannan Isles lighthouse twenty miles west of Isle of Lewis Scotland. The lighthouse is dark. He climbs 160 steps and finds it abandoned. Clock stopped. Lamp prepared but unlit. Two oilskin coats missing. Three keepers vanished. James Ducat was Principal Keeper, 44, 20+ years experience. Thomas Marshall was Second Assistant, 28. Donald MacArthur was Occasional Keeper, volatile temper. Last log entry December 13. Slate notes December 15 morning suggest they disappeared that afternoon. Superintendent Robert Muirhead investigated December 29. East side undamaged. West landing facing Atlantic showed catastrophic damage. Iron railings bent. Railway track ripped from concrete. Storage crate 110 feet above sea level destroyed. Something reached eleven stories high. Prevailing theory: rogue wave. Scientists dismissed these as myths until 1995 when Draupner platform recorded an 85 foot wave. Muirhead concluded keepers went to west landing to secure equipment. Rogue wave struck without warning, swept all three into the sea. One rushed out without his coat. Bodies never recovered. Flannan Isles were called Seven Hunters for centuries. Locals avoided staying overnight, calling them other country, believing they were guarded by Phantom of Seven Hunters. Shepherds performed rituals when visiting. When the lighthouse was built in 1899, locals opposed it, fearing disaster. For seventy years after until automation in 1971, keepers reported feeling watched, hearing voices in wind, footsteps on stairs, names being called. Ducat. Marshall. MacArthur. SOURCES Northern Lighthouse Board official investigation records and keeper registers, National Records of Scotland marine accident documentation, Superintendent Robert Muirhead official report December 29 1900, Relief Keeper Joseph Moore sworn testimony, Contemporary newspaper coverage Scotsman and Oban Times December 1900, Mike Dash Fortean Times investigative research debunking fabricated log entries, Wilfrid Wilson Gibson Flannan Isle poem 1912, Celtic folklore Seven Hunters mythology, Trinity House Smalls Lighthouse incident records 1801, Antarctic wintering isolation psychology research, Draupner E oil platform wave measurement data January 1995, Isle of Lewis Gaelic oral tradition accounts. WARNING: This episode contains discussion of death, drowning, isolation psychology, and maritime tragedy. DISCLAIMER: The Flannan Isles disappearance represents a real tragedy. While we explore supernatural theories, we maintain respect for James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald MacArthur. This e Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    44 min

  7. JAN 12

    Belle Gunness Female Serial Killer La Porte Indiana 1908: Hell's Belle Black Widow Lonely Hearts Murders, 40 Dead, Unsolved Mystery

    Belle Gunness La Porte Indiana 1908. America's first prolific female serial killer. A lonely hearts scammer who lured at least 40 men to her farm with promises of marriage, poisoned them, bashed their skulls with a meat cleaver, and buried them in her hog pen. Then her farmhouse burned down with a headless woman inside five inches too short and fifty pounds too light to be Belle. Did she die in that fire or escape with a suitcase full of cash? THE CASE Belle Gunness born Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset in Selbu Norway moved to Chicago in 1881 and married Mads Sorenson. Their confectionery store burned down, insurance payout. Their house burned down, insurance payout. Two children died in infancy, both insured. On July 30, 1900, Mads died on the one day his two life insurance policies overlapped. Belle collected $8,500 and bought a pig farm in La Porte Indiana. In 1902 she married Peter Gunness. Eight months later a sausage grinder fell off a shelf and crushed his skull. Another insurance payout. Starting in 1903, Belle placed personal ads in Norwegian newspapers: "Comely widow who owns a large farm desires to make acquaintance of gentleman equally well provided. Triflers need not apply." She lured wealthy bachelors to La Porte with promises of marriage. Andrew Helgelien arrived with $2,900 in January 1908. Gone the next day. Ole Budsberg, John Moe, George Berry, Henry Gurholt all disappeared after visiting with cash. On April 28, 1908, the farmhouse burned to the ground. Four bodies in the basement: three children and a headless woman. When Helgelien's brother Asle arrived demanding answers, they dug in the hog pen on May 3. They found Andrew in a burlap sack. Then eleven more complete sets of remains. Dismembered torsos, separated limbs. Thousands of tourists descended on La Porte to watch. America's first true crime tourism event. The headless woman was five inches shorter and fifty pounds lighter than Belle. Workers found Belle's false teeth in the rubble, pristine despite the fire. Farmhand Ray Lamphere confessed on his deathbed that Belle killed a woman as body double, drugged her children, set the fire, and escaped. In 1931, Esther Carlson was arrested in Los Angeles for poisoning elderly men. Two men who knew Belle identified Carlson's body as Belle Gunness. DNA testing in 2007 was inconclusive. SOURCES Harold Schechter "Hell's Princess" (2018), La Porte County Historical Society archives, Ray Lamphere trial testimony (1908), Andrew Helgelien letters, Chicago Tribune and La Porte Herald (1908), Esther Carlson files (1931), Stephen Nawrocki forensic report University of Indianapolis (2007), Norwegian immigration records, Insurance documents. WARNING: This episode contains discussion of serial murder, dismemberment, child death, poisoning, and domestic violence. DISCLAIMER: The Belle Gunness case represents real tragedies. While we approach this with dark humor as a coping mechanism, we acknowledge the victims deserved justice. This episode is based on historical records and academic research. We're Kathryn and Gabriel. We cover true crime, unsolved mysteries Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    49 min

  8. JAN 5

    The Hinterkaifeck Murders Germany 1922: Footprints in Snow, Killer in the Attic, 6 Dead - Unsolved True Crime

    Germany, 1922. Footprints in the snow leading to a farmhouse. None leading back. Someone walked out of the forest toward the Gruber family home and never left. Days later, all six people inside were murdered with their own farm tool. The killer stayed for days afterward, sleeping in their beds, eating their food, feeding their animals. This is the Hinterkaifeck murders, Germany's most disturbing unsolved case. THE CASE On March 31, 1922, six people were brutally killed at Hinterkaifeck, an isolated farm in Bavaria, Germany. Andreas Gruber (63), his wife Cäzilia (72), their daughter Viktoria (35), her children Cäzilia (7) and Josef (2), and the new maid Maria Baumgartner (44) were all murdered with a mattock. For weeks before the killings, the family reported strange occurrences: footprints in the snow with no return trail, missing keys, an unexplained newspaper, and footsteps in the attic. The previous maid had quit six months earlier, claiming the house was haunted. She was right about being watched, wrong about it being a ghost. Someone was living in their attic. After the murders, the killer stayed at the farm for at least three days, keeping the fire going, tending to the livestock, and sleeping in the master bedroom. Neighbors saw smoke from the chimney and a figure at the property. When bodies were finally discovered on April 4, the crime scene had been hopelessly contaminated. Over 100 suspects were questioned. The case was officially closed in 1955 but remains unsolved. In 2007, German police academy students identified a prime suspect but refused to name them publicly out of respect for living descendants. SOURCES Andrea Maria Schenkel, "Tannöd" (2006) - Fictionalized account based on case files; "Hinterkaifeck: The Most Horrific Unsolved Murder in German History" documentary (2014); Bavarian State Archives case files; Munich Police Department historical records; 2007 Fürstenfeldbruck Police Academy cold case analysis; Contemporary newspaper coverage from Münchner Neueste Nachrichten (1922); Bill James, "Popular Crime" (2011); Court records from 1922 incest trial; Testimony of Lorenz Schlittenbauer, Michael Pöll, Jakob Sigl; Inspector Georg Reingruber investigation reports; Autopsy reports by Johann Baptist Aumüller; Witness statements from Michael Plöckl and neighbors; "Hinterkaifeck: Germany's Most Mysterious Murder Case" play (1991). WARNING: This episode contains discussion of violence, murder, child victims, incest, and domestic abuse. DISCLAIMER: The Hinterkaifeck murders represent a real tragedy. While we approach this case with dark humor as a coping mechanism, we maintain deep respect for the victims, especially the children. This episode is based on historical records and academic research. The true circumstances may never be known. Send us your theories Support the show 📸 Can't get enough? Follow @MugshotMysteries on TikTok and Instagram for mugshots, unsolved mysteries, and the stories we couldn't fit (because Gabriel went on another tangent). ⭐ Rate us if you enjoyed this. Seriously, it's how the algorithm gods bless us. 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you never miss an episode. Thanks for hanging with us. See you next time with another face, another crime, and probably another debate between us. Stay curious. Stay suspicious.

    54 min
See All (29)

5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

Putting mysteries in the lineup. True crime podcast investigating unsolved cases, cold cases, paranormal phenomena, and the stories that won't let you sleep. Hosts Kathryn and Gabriel dive deep into historical crimes, infamous outlaws, unexplained mysteries, and modern cases that divide America with the kind of dark humor and chemistry that makes hour-long deep dives fly by. From vintage mugshots to ghost ships, from exorcisms to healthcare scandals, from disappeared outlaws to haunted houses: if it's unsolved, unexplained, or unforgettable, we're putting it in the lineup. What we cover: True crime (historical and modern), cold cases, paranormal investigations, unsolved murders, conspiracy theories, forgotten criminals, and the mysteries that still haunt us. Expect thorough research, psychological analysis, skepticism mixed with curiosity, and two hosts who aren't afraid to disagree, joke, or go down rabbit holes together. Our vibe: Smart storytelling meets dark comedy. We take the cases seriously but not ourselves. Because sometimes the best way to examine a murder, a haunting, or a centuries-old mystery is with a partner who gets it...and isn't afraid to call you out when you start believing in ghost pirates. New episodes drop weekly. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Information

  • Creator
    Kathryn and Gabriel
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Mugshot Mysteries
  • Show Website
    Mugshot Mysteries

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