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Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

🔎 Daily True Crime Podcast | Criminal Psychology | Ongoing Trials | Expert Analysis Multiple new episodes every day! Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski is your ultimate daily true crime podcast, bringing you real-time updates on criminal investigations, high-profile trials, forensic breakthroughs, and psychological deep dives into the minds of killers. 🎙️ Hosted by veteran journalist Tony Brueski, we go beyond the headlines, featuring exclusive insights from FBI agents, forensic experts, criminal psychologists, and legal analysts. Whether it's the latest developments in cases like Bryan Kohberger and Lori Vallow or deep dives into cold cases and unsolved mysteries, we uncover the hidden truths behind the crimes that captivate the world. If you’re obsessed with true crime, forensic psychology, and legal drama, subscribe now to Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski on Apple Podcasts. 🎧 New episodes multiple times a day—stay ahead of the latest crime stories. Join our SubStack: https://HiddenKillers.SubStack.com 📺Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod 📷Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ 💻Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ ⏰Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod/ Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

  1. Mackenzie Shirilla's Recorded Calls Are Building a Case Against Her

    2h ago

    Mackenzie Shirilla's Recorded Calls Are Building a Case Against Her

    Two cases. Two different kinds of evidence problems. Mackenzie Shirilla's own family is building the record against her on monitored prison calls — while in the Anna Kepner cruise ship case, the DNA points one direction and a federal judge just said the prosecution's case isn't strong enough. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines where both cases stand. Shirilla has thirty-six conduct violations in under three years at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, guilty on thirty-two. On recorded calls she refuses rehabilitation, calls herself the third victim, and discusses plans for a post-prison career. Her father Steve lost his teaching position after appearing on a Netflix documentary defending her. Her mother Natalie was recorded calling the Russo family "evil people" — and prosecutors have decoded separate calls in which mother and daughter used a fabricated language to evade monitoring, including an exchange about claiming Shirilla had a seizure. In the Anna Kepner case, a hundred and forty-five pages of unsealed transcript revealed the prosecution's full theory months before a September trial. The DNA odds are 120 sextillion to one against Timothy Hudson — but an FBI agent admitted on the record he cannot connect that DNA to Anna's cause of death. Judge Torres described the case as "a much closer call" with "various defenses." Faddis breaks down what the parole board does with an institutional record like Shirilla's, whether Natalie's conduct on monitored calls carries legal consequences, and what the gap between DNA identification and proof of cause of death means for the Kepner trial. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #MackenzieShirilla #AnnaKepner #ShirillaNetflix #KepnerCruiseShip #TimothyHudson #TheCrash #DominicRusso #EricFaddis #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers

    56 min
  2. Why Was Three-Year-Old Elijah Vue Sent to a Convicted Felon Still on Federal Supervision?

    4h ago

    Why Was Three-Year-Old Elijah Vue Sent to a Convicted Felon Still on Federal Supervision?

    Jesse Vang had a felony conviction for harming a child when he was seventeen. He’d been charged with conspiracy to commit human trafficking — with the alleged victim being the same woman who later placed her three-year-old son in his care. He had a federal drug conviction. He was still on supervised release when Katrina Baur drove her son Elijah Vue two and a half hours across Wisconsin and left him in Vang’s apartment for what she called “disciplinary reasons.” She told investigators she wanted Vang to teach Elijah “how to be a man.” The child was three years old. According to the criminal complaint, Vang described the arrangement as “boot camp.” He forced Elijah to stand for up to three hours at a time as punishment. He subjected the boy to cold water. He took away the child’s only toy. He changed his diaper once a day. Their text messages show two adults coordinating what was happening to this child — and Baur’s deleted photograph, recovered by investigators, showed Elijah blindfolded with bruising on his face and neck at 3:13 in the morning. She erased it within the hour. Eight days after Baur dropped Elijah off, Vang reported him missing. He told police the boy walked away while he slept. Within one minute, Baur messaged Vang telling him what to say. She deleted that message too. Investigators found it anyway. The community searched for seven months. Elijah’s remains were found in a wooded area three miles from the apartment — discovered by a hunter on private property. Doctors found healed fractures on his skull and face. His death was ruled a homicide. Vang now faces life in prison. Baur faces up to sixty years. Both have pleaded not guilty. The evidence in this case raises a question that goes beyond the courtroom: how does a three-year-old end up in the hands of someone like Jesse Vang — and who is supposed to stop it? Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #ElijahVue #JesseVang #KatrinaBaur #TwoRivers #Wisconsin #TrueCrime #JusticeForElijah #ManitowocCounty #HiddenKillers #TrueCrimePodcast

    22 min
  3. What Does the DNA Actually Prove in the Anna Kepner Cruise Ship Case?

    6h ago

    What Does the DNA Actually Prove in the Anna Kepner Cruise Ship Case?

    The DNA odds are 120 sextillion to one pointing at Timothy Hudson. But an FBI agent admitted on the record that he is unaware of any DNA evidence directly connecting Hudson to Anna Kepner's cause of death. That admission — buried inside a hundred and forty-five pages of unsealed transcript — may be the single most important sentence heading into a September trial. Defense attorney Eric Faddis breaks down what the evidence can and cannot establish. Anna Kepner was eighteen when she was found dead aboard the Carnival Horizon during a family cruise in November. Her cause of death was mechanical asphyxia. Hudson, her stepbrother, was initially charged as a juvenile and later indicted as an adult on first-degree murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty. The unsealed transcript from a February detention hearing laid out the prosecution's full theory — CCTV footage, phone records, Snapchat timestamps showing Anna was active at 8:14 in the evening, and a timeline placing her alone with Hudson in their shared cabin for roughly three hours. Prosecutors say he was seen looking both ways before exiting the room. Her body was discovered the next morning concealed beneath the bed. The transcript also revealed that Anna had an encounter with a second juvenile male aboard the ship before her death. The FBI obtained his DNA, tested it, and excluded him. The defense has signaled they intend to use this information at trial. Judge Torres, who heard all of this evidence, stated from the bench he would not call the government's case strong and described it as "a much closer call" with "various defenses." Faddis analyzes what that language means for trial strategy, how a defense attorney attacks the gap between DNA identification and cause of death, and whether the prosecution's decision to put their entire theory on the public record months before trial gave the defense an unusual advantage. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #AnnaKepner #KepnerCruiseShip #TimothyHudson #CarnivalHorizon #DNAEvidence #KepnerTrial #TrueCrime #EricFaddis #HiddenKillers #FederalCase

    18 min
  4. Why Did Ted Bundy Make Sure the Country Would Never Get the One Answer That Mattered?

    8h ago

    Why Did Ted Bundy Make Sure the Country Would Never Get the One Answer That Mattered?

    Ted Bundy spent ten years on death row making absolutely sure of one thing: that the country would never get the why. The Chi Omega trial in Miami, summer 1979 — the first criminal trial broadcast nationally on American television — was his stage. He fired his attorneys. He rehired them. He fired them again. He cross-examined witnesses, including Nita Neary, the woman who had seen him on the stairs. The bite mark evidence cut through all of it. Guilty. Sentenced to death. Judge Edward Cowart called him a bright young man and a tragedy, on the record, in front of the cameras. In Orlando in January 1980, during his trial for Kimberly Leach, he proposed to Carole Ann Boone on the witness stand with a notary in the room. Convicted. Third death sentence. Death row. Florida State Prison. Nine years. Two journalists, Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth, recorded him for hundreds of hours. He would only profile the killer in the third person. FBI Agent Bill Hagmaier visited for three years and became something close to a confidant. In his final week, Bundy summoned detectives from four states and handed them women's names like currency. Healy. Manson. Rancourt. Campbell. Cunningham. Culver. Kent. When Hagmaier asked if thirty-six was closer to the real number, Bundy said: add one more digit and you have it. On January 24, 1989, he was pronounced dead at 7:16. A field of several hundred people cheered the hearse. He gave the country a count he probably understated, an explanation he chose for the listener, and a confession he could keep at arm's length. What he never gave was the why. This is the fifth and final conversation in Ted Bundy: History's Hidden Killers. The women's names come last, because the last word is theirs. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #TedBundy #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #DeathRow #FloridaStatePrison #ChiOmega #BiteMark #Justice #TrueCrimePodcast #HistorysHiddenKillers

    15 min
  5. Was Kouri Richins Recruiting Her Own Sons From the Podium?

    10h ago

    Was Kouri Richins Recruiting Her Own Sons From the Podium?

    Eye rolls during victim impact statements. Smirks while therapists read her children's words. Then tears — real tears — when her own family called her the glue of the family.Pain aimed at her: contempt. Praise aimed at her: emotion. That behavioral split tells you everything about the wiring we've been breaking down in this series. And then she spoke. For forty-five minutes. To three boys who'd asked the court to lock her away forever.She told them the verdict was an absolute lie. She admitted the affair and called it a love that never failed. She said she'd never stop writing to them. And she left them with an instruction: "Never apologize for something you didn't do." Not a goodbye. A recruitment pitch. A seed planted in three traumatized minds with the hope that one day they'll doubt their own memories and believe their mother instead.The final installment in a five-part psychological series. The speech. The tears. The promise. And three boys who deserve to be free of a machine that only knows how to run. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #KouriRichins #EricRichins #KouriRichinsTrial #Psychology #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #FentanylPoisoning #SummitCounty #TrueCrimeCommunity #Justice

    17 min
  6. What Are Mackenzie Shirilla's Parents Saying on Recorded Prison Calls?

    12h ago

    What Are Mackenzie Shirilla's Parents Saying on Recorded Prison Calls?

    Natalie Shirilla called the Russo family "evil people" on a recorded prison line. Steve Shirilla's teaching contract was not renewed after he appeared on a Netflix documentary defending a convicted killer — his daughter. Defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis examines what this family is doing to Mackenzie Shirilla's case from the outside. Mackenzie Shirilla was convicted in 2023 of killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan after driving into a brick building at roughly a hundred miles an hour in Strongsville, Ohio. She's serving fifteen years to life. On recorded calls from the Ohio Reformatory for Women, Natalie has told her daughter that rehabilitation is for "actual criminals" and that her story isn't finished. She's encouraged Mackenzie to write a book. Prosecutors decoded separate calls in which Mackenzie and Natalie used a fabricated language to circumvent the prison monitoring system. In one of those decoded conversations, Mackenzie allegedly asked whether they could claim she had a seizure before the crash. The calls were presented as evidence at trial. Steve's public campaign has included podcasts, news appearances, and a Netflix documentary where he stated on camera he had no issue with his daughter's substance use — while employed as a teacher at a Catholic elementary school. He challenged the public to show him evidence of intent while a judge's findings already address exactly that. Faddis breaks down whether Natalie's conduct on monitored calls could carry legal consequences, whether Steve's public statements undermine the appeal, and whether this family understands that every word on a recorded line becomes part of the institutional record the parole board will review. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #MackenzieShirilla #ShirillaParents #NatalieShirilla #SteveShirilla #TheCrash #DominicRusso #DavionFlanagan #TrueCrime #EricFaddis #HiddenKillers

    18 min
  7. What Is Mackenzie Shirilla's Prison Record Telling the Parole Board?

    14h ago

    What Is Mackenzie Shirilla's Prison Record Telling the Parole Board?

    Thirty-six conduct violations. Guilty on thirty-two. Recorded calls where she refuses rehabilitation, calls herself the third victim, and tells her mother she plans to become a life coach. Mackenzie Shirilla's institutional file at the Ohio Reformatory for Women is growing — and defense attorney Eric Faddis says the parole board will read every page of it. Shirilla was convicted in 2023 of killing Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan after deliberately driving her car into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio, at roughly a hundred miles an hour. She's serving two concurrent sentences of fifteen years to life, with parole eligibility in September 2037. Her conduct record since entering the facility has been relentless. Unauthorized medication that wasn't prescribed to her. Altered clothing. Contraband. Refusing work assignments. And the one that stands apart from the rest — more than a hundred video visits with a released former inmate using another person's identity. She pleaded guilty and took a thirty-day electronics restriction. On recorded calls she knows are monitored, Shirilla describes herself as the third victim of what she still calls an accident. She's expressed zero interest in the rehabilitation programs available to her. She's told her mother she plans to be a life coach when she gets out. Faddis, a criminal defense attorney and former felony prosecutor, breaks down what this institutional record actually means when the parole board convenes. He explains how violations are weighed, whether refusal to acknowledge the crime carries specific consequences, and whether an inmate's own recorded words can be used against them at a hearing. He also answers the question nobody around Shirilla appears to be asking: what would a defense attorney tell her to do differently starting now? Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. #MackenzieShirilla #ShirillaParole #TheCrashNetflix #DominicRusso #DavionFlanagan #TrueCrime #EricFaddis #OhioReformatory #HiddenKillers #ShirillaConductViolations

    21 min

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About

🔎 Daily True Crime Podcast | Criminal Psychology | Ongoing Trials | Expert Analysis Multiple new episodes every day! Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski is your ultimate daily true crime podcast, bringing you real-time updates on criminal investigations, high-profile trials, forensic breakthroughs, and psychological deep dives into the minds of killers. 🎙️ Hosted by veteran journalist Tony Brueski, we go beyond the headlines, featuring exclusive insights from FBI agents, forensic experts, criminal psychologists, and legal analysts. Whether it's the latest developments in cases like Bryan Kohberger and Lori Vallow or deep dives into cold cases and unsolved mysteries, we uncover the hidden truths behind the crimes that captivate the world. If you’re obsessed with true crime, forensic psychology, and legal drama, subscribe now to Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski on Apple Podcasts. 🎧 New episodes multiple times a day—stay ahead of the latest crime stories. Join our SubStack: https://HiddenKillers.SubStack.com 📺Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod 📷Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ 💻Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ ⏰Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod/ Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872

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