Culprit

Calista and Theresa Whitney
  • 0.0 (0)
  • True Crime
  • Updated Biweekly

* Rebranded! * We admit it. We’re fascinated by true crime. And if you’re reading this, we bet you are too. Join mother-and-daughter hosts Theresa and Calista for a new intriguing/upsetting case every other week!

  1. Oct 18

    Episode 57 - Caroline Grills: More of That Tasty, Trusty Thallium

    By April 1953, four of Caroline Grills’s relatives had turned up dead in similar circumstances and even more of her family members were still getting sick. It was under this aura of unnerving uncertainty that John Downey, the son-in-law of one of the recently deceased, stumbled upon a newspaper article about Yvonne Fletcher, the first Australian found guilty of murder by thallium poisoning. So, when John saw Aunty Carrie slipping something into his mother-in-law’s tea, he decided it was time to take action.Sources: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/serial-killer-caroline-grills-served-rat-poison-to-her-relatives/news-story/d4bc91eecf8ff0d85050cd38ecc0737d https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/grills-caroline-10371  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/277828549 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/280482217 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48927134 https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/recipe-for-murder-the-poisoners-tales-20110520-1evcj.html https://mhnsw.au/whats-on/exhibitions/crimes-passion/ https://vernon.mhnsw.au/objects/54282/photograph  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/280471787 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/249257539 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69484978 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96400776 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2895015 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/99091033 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/275036074  https://www.neighbourhoodmedia.com.au/post/death-in-a-teacup https://dictionaryofsydney.org/media/67208 https://darkstories.com.au/tag/caroline-grills/ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/96533590  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18283164  https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.304978805990535?__cf_chl_tk=.sV.wTn.Gy19VvLQOW_FObWDlukKR_HYhFgFgtnQQBk-1791301423-1.0.1.1-a4T7J2wmbgulPjV2SLjxc6DfmMl_VnVWNzZsB79p3T4 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peritonitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20376247

  2. Sep 10

    Episode 56 - Stephen Seddon: Hounded by Furies

    Robert and Patricia Seddon did everything right. They worked hard and raised two children.  Sadly, their daughter, Lesley, would be diagnosed with epilepsy as a child and would die when she was just 40, leaving her parents to raise their grandchild. Their son, Stephen, began getting in trouble as a teen, serving prison time twice, but the Seddons didn’t abandon their son. They bought him a house and gave him money. He repaid their love and kindness with murder.Sources: https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/manchester/may-the-furies-pursue-you-until-death-judge-tells-killer-who-shot-his-parents-t8ggjkgg0pw https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-21523464 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-19760862 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-21534028 https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/JCO/Documents/Judgments/seddon-sentence-remarks.pdf https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/7957936.businesses-count-cost-as-grants-fraudster-is-jailed/ https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2013-03-18/man-accused-of-murdering-parents-was-on-drugs-run https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/stephen-seddon-murder-trial-man-1977961 https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/canal-plunge-how-stephen-seddon-1980042 https://gizmodo.com/rich-kids-who-killed-their-parents-2-if-at-first-you-d-1743074610 https://www.news.com.au/world/stephen-seddon-accused-of-murdering-parents-for-insurance-money/news-story/064f29f64b709551493467461bc726d0 https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10245037.shotgun-son-used-kill-parents-stolen-north-east-burglary-court-told/ https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/family-tributes-loving-selfless-couple-2061752 https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/shoot-disabled-nephew-thats-sick-1763380 https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10299277.seaham-man-mounts-angry-defence-claim-considered-killing-disabled-nephew/ https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-21549564 https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/murder-trial-son-stephen-seddon-told-1671919 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/03/28/conman-stephen-seddon-jailed_n_2970393.html https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7111057.trickster-too-broke-repay-5m-fraud/ https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/murder-trial-son-stephen-seddon-told-1671919 https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/chilling-moment-cold-hearted-killer-stephen-1976030 https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10245037.shotgun-son-used-kill-parents-stolen-north-east-burglary-court-told/

  3. Aug 23

    Episode 55 - Roberto Martinez-Marinero: A Son, a Brother, a Killer

    Salvadoran Jesus Ismenia Marinero came to the United States in 1999 in search of a better life. She must have felt that she was on her way to finding it when one of the five children she had been forced to leave behind, Roberto Martinez-Marinero, came to join her a decade later. Over the next six years, Ismenia gave birth to two more sons, Josue and Angel, but in May 2015, the son whose reappearance she had gladly welcomed would be the one to irreparably destroy the family she had been trying to rebuild. Sources: https://people.com/crime/nebraska-woman-allegedly-murdered-by-own-son-thought-she-would-protect-him/ https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/immigration-and-agriculture/immigration-and-meatpacking-in-the-midwest-  https://farmstand.org/how-big-ag-thrives-on-trumps-immigration-threats/  https://www.ketv.com/article/timeline-in-missing-boy-case-homicide-investigation/7652598 https://people.com/crime/baby-found-in-dumpster-5-year-old-brother-still-missing/ https://people.com/crime/roberto-martinez-marinero-allegedly-killed-his-mom-and-4-year-old-brother/ https://people.com/crime/suspect-in-nebraska-case-may-face-death-penalty-for-killing-his-mother-brother/ https://people.com/crime/family-speaks-out-second-arrest-made-in-jesus-marinero-death/ https://www.ketv.com/article/update-missing-5-year-old-found/7652597 https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Accessory-in-stunning-metro-murder-case-sentenced-to-prison-404288516.html  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/guilty-plea-in-murder-of-boy-4-thrown-from-bridge/ https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us/nebraska-man-pleads-guilty-gets-two-life-sentences-in-murders-idUSKCN0VJ2HV/ https://www.ketv.com/article/roberto-martinez-marinero-pleads-guilty-in-deaths-of-mother-half-brother-1/7658050 https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/police-chief-recalls-finding-marinero-toddler-in-dumpster-one-year-later https://www.corrections1.com/arrests-and-sentencing/articles/man-walks-into-jail-admits-involvement-in-mothers-death-sPy1uyI587YHJSRJ/ https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Bond-denied-for-woman-who-helped-boyfriend-dump-body-482841491.html https://www.kcci.com/article/second-arrest-made-in-death-of-nebraska-mother/6906825 https://www.ketv.com/article/body-of-missing-5-year-old-boy-found-officials-say-1/7652602 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-mother-was-likely-alive-when-son-dumped-her-in-ditch/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cops-believe-missing-nebraska-boy-was-thrown-into-river/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-5-missing-after-tot-brother-abandoned-in-dumpster/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/body-likely-of-missing-nebraska-boy-found-in-river/  https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/martinez-marinero-gets-two-life-sentences-for-killing-mother-half-brother  https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/official-salvadoran-report-says-its-factories-are-2922670.php  https://forumtogether.org/article/explainer-migrant-deaths-at-the-border/  https://www.migrationpolicy.org/explainer/immigrants-and-crime-united-states https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77l28myezko  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/state-of-union-fact-check-trump-speech-2026-rcna259900

  4. Aug 9

    Episode 54 - Jason Harris: Cereal Killer

    We should all hope to have the kind of family Christina Harris had. When their beloved daughter and sister, a 36-year-old mom of a 4-year-old and a 4-month-old, died unexpectedly, they wanted answers, but the answers they hoped to gain from an autopsy came in the form of more questions. The autopsy revealed an accidental overdose. This made no sense. Christina didn’t struggle with substance use disorder. It would take years before investigators would finally listen to the family and reveal what really happened. Sources: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders/2021/12/09/weve-been-fighting-so-long-how-2-michigan-women-helped-solve-their-sisters-murder/ https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders/2021/11/17/michigan-man-convicted-of-murdering-wife-by-lacing-cereal-with-lethal-dose-of-heroin/ https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/11/02/can-michigan-mothers-breast-milk-reveal-who-killed-her-husbands-trial-begins-this-week/ https://thecinemaholic.com/christina-ann-thompson-harris-murder-where-is-jason-harris-now/ https://thecinemaholic.com/christina-harris-family-now/ https://au.news.yahoo.com/judges-spray-after-man-is-jailed-for-killing-wife-with-cereal-060617247.html?guccounter=2 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/michigan-man-accused-killing-wife-spiking-her-cereal-heroin-n1047276 https://people.com/conviction-upheld-for-mich-man-who-killed-wife-by-putting-heroin-in-cereal-weeks-after-she-gave-birth-8601803 https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/defenders/2021/12/09/weve-been-fighting-so-long-how-2-michigan-women-helped-solve-their-sisters-murder/ https://www.courts.michigan.gov/49d86f/siteassets/case-documents/uploads/opinions/final/coa/20240222_c359675_79_359675.opn.pdf https://www.wnem.com/2024/02/27/appeals-court-upholds-conviction-davison-man-who-killed-wife-with-poisoned-cereal/

  5. Jul 26

    Episode 53 - Chisako Kakehi: Widow by Design

    For nearly two decades, Chisako Kakehi watched on as her partners passed away one by one. Although she claimed that she had been “doomed by fate” to endure these tragedies, after the death of her fourth and final husband, Isao Kakehi, in 2013, the Japanese authorities finally became suspicious enough to perform a postmortem. After the autopsy confirmed that he hadn’t died from natural causes, investigators began digging into her past, ultimately discovering a series of poisonings that had made Chisako a very wealthy widow indeed. Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/25/asia/japan-black-widow-killer-intl-hnk-dst  https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/30/asia/japan-black-widow-serial-killer-intl-hnk/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/21/world/asia/japan-black-widow-murder/index.html  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30125055  https://www.euronews.com/2014/11/19/seven-time-widow-arrested-on-suspicion-of-poisoning-fourth-husband-with-cyanide https://www.cbsnews.com/news/japan-black-widow-death-row-inmate-chisako-kakehi-dead/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/japan-charges-serial-widow-in-1-of-6-ex-partner-deaths/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/japan-arrests-serial-widow-in-suspected-poisoning/ https://www.dw.com/en/japans-black-widow-murderer-dies-while-on-death-row/a-71167848 https://www.dw.com/en/japans-black-widow-sentenced-to-death-for-killing-partners/a-41281696  https://people.com/black-widow-serial-killer-japan-11752221 https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2118708/japans-black-widow-serial-killer-sentenced-death-murdering-three  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40586289  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41898623 https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/06/29/Japan-black-widow-serial-killer-death-penalty/3311624983733/ https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/11/07/Japans-black-widow-sentenced-to-death/5591510073147/ https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/12/10/Japan-prosecutors-charge-black-widow-with-husbands-murder/4441418236988/  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170710/p2a/00m/0na/011000c  https://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/campus-life/regional-guide/kobe/  https://discover.osaka-info.jp/en/articles/jinaicho-kaizuka  https://www.kupi.com/en-ae/explore/japan/itami  https://www.izeria.com/en/places/p-hbtglune/Muko  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170626/p2a/00m/0na/011000c  https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/black-widow-i-wanted-to-kill-him-out-of-deep-hatred/news-story/79a8cdd0623df6d5e634afd3c2dca8d6   https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/07/japans-black-widow-sentenced-to-death-for-murdering-a-string-of-lovers  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/20/millionaire-widow-seven-dead-partners-arrested-japan-poison  https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/killer-wives-8-most-infamous-black-widow-murderers-249561/chisako-kakehi-249599/  https://www.vice.com/en/article/japans-black-widow-arrested-again-after-poisoning-her-eighth-male-victim/  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39599188  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-17702029  https://japantoday.com/category/crime/black-widow-sentenced-to-death-for-murder-of-3-men  https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/japan-performed-no-executions-in-2023-making-u-s-the-only-g7-country-to-use-capital-punishment-last-year  https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16351757  https://borgenproject.org/elderly-poverty-in-japan-2/  https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/01/life-at-the-heart-of-japans-solitary-deaths-epidemic-i-would-be-lying-if-i-said-i-wasnt-worried  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/salaryman  https://www.staysafeonline.org/articles/why-do-scammers-target-older-adults

  6. Jul 12

    Episode 52 - Robert Wood: Loathsome Loser

    Murder and arson in the small Eastern Washington town of Newman Lake were rare. Neighbors looked out for each other and couldn’t have imagined that a member of their community, a single dad who was caring for two of his six children, would ever do what he was accused of, but how well do we really know our neighbors? What could drive a mild-mannered, middle-aged man to commit such a heinous act? Financial stress can cause people to do unimaginable things.Sources: https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hbojAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mtAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3097%2C1925661 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=42NWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HfIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5907%2C8450 https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19990601/2963955/arson-slaying-suspect-dies-in-apparent-suicide----spokane-county-man-accused-of-strangling-son https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19990309/2948477/did-boy-pay-deadly-price-for-fathers-debts----money-mattered-most-to-man-accused-of-killing-son-for-insurance-accusers-say  https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/feb/13/boy-strangled-father-focus-of-probe-robert-wood/ https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/feb/24/wood-arrested-as-suspect-in-sons-death-prosecutor/ https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/may/14/accused-killer-charged-with-job-related-thefts/ https://www.spokesman.com/stories/1999/feb/27/prosecutors-formally-charge-dad-wood-accused-of/ https://forensictales.com/a-cereal-killer/

  7. Jun 28

    Episode 51 - Garry Davis: Psychic? More Like Psychopathic

    Garry Davis had been fired, terminated, or deregistered from five of the six aged care facilities at which he had previously worked, including from one for posting, “I hate old people,” on Facebook. Despite all this, the 26-year-old had not only gotten a job at SummitCare Wallsend, but after just three years, he had already secured a senior position on the wing from which three elderly residents were taken to the hospital for hypoglycemia over two days in October 2013, a coincidence that caught the attention of a vigilant endocrinologist, and soon after, the police.Sources: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-22/aged-care-killer-garry-davis-wrongful-conviction-serial-killer/105043288  https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/motive-a-mystery-in-nursing-home-insulin-murders-davis-sentenced-to-40-years/32h8vx5vc https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/nsw-aged-home-worker-found-guilty-of-murdering-two-residents/pyxyfccee  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/sep/28/nsw-aged-care-worker-guilty-of-and-attempted-of-dementia-patients https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-nursing-home-carer-garry-davis-sentenced-to-at-least-30-years-jail-murder-attempted-murder/da977f05-4a31-41bd-ac21-57c1378e2909 https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/former-nursing-home-worker-garry-davis-jailed-for-40-years-over-murder-of-two-residents-20161213-gt9xa5.html https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/nurse-garry-davis-guilty-of-murdering-dementia-pair-with-insulin-in-agedcare-home-20160928-grqah5.html  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-16/could-aged-care-killer-garry-davis-have-killed-elizabeth-eifler/105042672 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/australia-nursing-home-worker-prison-insulin-murder-elderly-patients/ https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-murder-accused-predicted-deaths/6fc068a7-1007-4e95-ae89-1c5fcf4d813d https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-nurse-accused-of-murdering-elderly-patients-with-insulin-claimed-they-died-from-food-poisoning/dc9da3af-d253-440b-a281-b013c33530a9 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-28/nursing-home-employee-garry-davis-found-guilty-of-murder/7883704 https://catherinehenrylawyers.com.au/client-stories-2/mother-murdered-by-a-nursing-assistant-our-clients-story/  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-19/nurse-refused-bail-over-alleged-nursing-home-double-murder-in-n/5979942  https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-31/summitcare-alleged-killer-sent-text-predicting-deaths-court-told/7793484 https://www.australia.com/en-us/places/sydney-and-surrounds/guide-to-newcastle.html  https://www.high-school-australia.com/newcastle-lake-macquarie/  https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/midazolam-oral-route/description/drg-20072182

  8. Jun 14

    Episode 50 - Judith Hyams: Judging Judy

    Though the 1960s were a time of change that saw women becoming more vocal about their rights and lack thereof, access to reproductive choice was still years away. When Judy Hyams found herself unexpectedly pregnant, she turned to a family friend whom she trusted. After all, he was a doctor. Things became murky after Judy was introduced to someone who promised they could help her. Years later, a true crime show would shed light on the case but provide no new answers. Sources: https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Judy_Hyams https://charleyproject.org/case/judith-carole-himes https://www.facebook.com/PIFortheMissing/posts/on-this-date-judith-carol-hyams-sometimes-spelled-himes-went-missing-on-septembe/386415725381250/ https://websleuths.com/threads/fl-judith-hyams-22-coral-gables-14-sept-1965.61731/page-2 https://mysterydelver.com/judging-judy/ https://reprorights.substack.com/p/before-roe-america-had-abortion-squads https://bioethicstoday.org/blog/abortion-welcome-to-the-sixties/ https://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=04f0b513-fc12-45fb-bbeb-86ed47d25dff https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/23/health/abortion-lessons-jane-wellness https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/03/12/the-1960s-a-decade-of-change-for-womenhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/powerful-complicated-legacy-betty-friedans-feminine-mystique-180976931/

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About

* Rebranded! * We admit it. We’re fascinated by true crime. And if you’re reading this, we bet you are too. Join mother-and-daughter hosts Theresa and Calista for a new intriguing/upsetting case every other week!

Information

  • Creator
    Calista and Theresa Whitney
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Calista and Theresa Whitney
  • Show Website
    Culprit