TRIAL FILES

MiMiLi

Every investigation begins with a disruption in the ordinary: a broken lock, an unanswered call, an unfamiliar figure caught at the edge of a streetlight. Welcome to The Stranger. In this series, we unpack documented true crime cases strictly through the record—contemporaneous logs, forensic files, witness testimonies, and courtroom transcripts.

Episodes

  1. Oct 5

    The Mama Mouth Cafe Murders — Taiwan

    In 2013, a body was discovered along the banks of the Tamsui River in Bali, Taiwan. Days later, a second body was found. The victims were husband and wife. Before they disappeared, the couple had visited the nearby Mama Mouth Cafe. What happened that day? In this episode, we explore the Mama Mouth Cafe double murder case. References and Further Reading This episode draws on the public sources below (accessed through October 2026). Court press releases are not full judgments. We did not obtain the full forensic report, the full psychological evaluation reports, or the interrogation transcripts. Titles and case numbers are given in the original Chinese; English renderings of titles are unofficial translations. I. Court rulings and official documents [1] Taiwan High Court, notice of ruling on the interlocutory appeal (抗告裁定公告), 12 March 2013. [2] Shilin District Court, "一审宣判新闻稿及附件" (Press release and attachments on the first-instance verdict), 29 October 2013. Case no. 102年度矚重訴字第1號. [3] Taiwan High Court, "二审宣判新闻稿" (Press release on the second-instance verdict), 5 September 2014. Case no. 102年度矚上重訴字第44號. [5] Taiwan High Court, "更二审宣判新闻稿及附件" (Press release and attachments on the second retrial verdict), 11 January 2017. Case no. 104年度矚上重更(二)字第3號. [6] Supreme Court, "强盗杀人案件新闻稿" (Press release on the robbery-murder case), 19 April 2017. Case no. 106年度台上字第669號. [7] Supreme Court, "106台上60、172号民事新闻稿" (Press release on civil cases 106 Tai-shang 60 and 172), 22 June 2017. Covers the Li Baocai case (103上600; 106台上60) and the case brought by Chen Jinfu's two sons (103重上406; 106台上172). [8] Supreme Court, "111台上857号民事新闻稿" (Press release on civil case 111 Tai-shang 857), 6 February 2024. [12] PTS News (Public Television Service), report on the three men being released on bail again, 14 March 2013. [13] PTS News, "八里双尸命案谢依涵依五罪遭起诉" (Xie Yihan indicted on five counts in the Bali double-homicide case), 12 April 2013. [14] PTS News, "吕炳宏获不起诉，咖啡店将重开张" (Lü Binghong not prosecuted; café to reopen), 13 April 2013. [15] Liberty Times, "八里双尸共犯？声请再议驳回" (Accomplices in the Bali double homicide? Request for review rejected), 1 November 2013. [16] PTS News, report on the Supreme Court oral argument, 2015. [17] PTS News, "谢依涵死刑判决，最高法院发回更审" (Xie Yihan's death sentence sent back for retrial by the Supreme Court), reporting the remand of 12 February 2015. Case no. 104年度台上字第483號. [18] PTS News, "谢依涵判死，最高法院再度发回" (Xie Yihan sentenced to death; Supreme Court remands again), 27 November 2015. Case no. 104年度台上字第3630號. [19] Central News Agency (CNA), "谢依涵案待台大鉴定" (Xie Yihan case awaits National Taiwan University evaluation), 17 October 2016. [20] Mirror Media, retrospective interview with the café's operator, 19 July 2017. [21] PTS News, "吕炳宏赴监察院陈情" (Lü Binghong petitions the Control Yuan), 8 March 2018. [22] CNA, "八里双尸案更一审，妈妈嘴老板吕炳宏仍免赔" (Bali double-homicide case, first retrial: café owner Lü Binghong still not liable), 8 January 2019. [23] CNA, "八里双尸案妈妈嘴老板，更二审改判连带赔631万" (Café owners ordered to pay NT$6.31 million jointly on second retrial), 27 October 2021. [24] CNA, "妈妈嘴老板判赔第三度发回" (Café owners' liability ruling remanded a third time), 6 February 2024. IV. Commentary and secondary sources [25] 一起读判决 (Read Judgments Together), "妈妈嘴案的雇用人责任" (Employer liability in the Mama Zui case), 16 June 2017. [26] Zhengyu International Law Office (blog), "妈妈嘴老板很衰？民法第188条适用的标准到底是如何？（续上）" (Is the café owner just unlucky? What is the standard under Civil Code Article 188? Continued), 14 May 2019. [27] LawShare, "妈妈嘴案件与雇用人的责任、雇用人为谁" (The Mama Zui case: employer liability and who the employer is), quoting an excerpt of Supreme Court judgment 108年度台上字第768號. [28] Judicial Reform Foundation, trial observation report on the Supreme Court proceedings, 2015. [29] Wikipedia, "八里雙屍案" (Bali double-homicide case), accessed 1 October 2026. On the civil compensation claims, no final ruling after the Supreme Court's third remand in February 2024 could be found at the time of research.

  2. Oct 2

    The Execution That Couldn’t Finish

    Knoxville, Tennessee, 1995. Four young students left their dormitory together into the night, but only three ever returned. What really happened out there that night? More than three decades later, breaking news on October 1, 2026, thrust the case back into the national spotlight. What unexpected turn could this thirty-year saga possibly take? References Supreme Court of Tennessee. State v. Pike. 1998. Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. State v. Shipp. 1998. Supreme Court of Tennessee. Pike v. State. 2005. Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Christa Gail Pike v. State of Tennessee. 2011. Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Christa Gail Pike v. State of Tennessee. 2013. United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Pike v. Gross. 2019. Supreme Court of the United States. Pike v. Gross: Petition for Review and Docket. 2020. United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In re Christa Gail Pike: Stay of Execution Order. September 30, 2026. Supreme Court of the United States. Nelsen v. Pike: Order Vacating the Stay and Dissent. September 30, 2026. Tennessee Department of Correction. TDOC and TBI Foil Escape Attempt. March 21, 2012. Tennessee Department of Correction. TDOC Completes Lethal Injection Protocol Review. December 27, 2024. Tennessee Department of Correction. Media Advisory: Christa Pike. September 30, 2026. WBIR News. Murder Victim’s Mother Begs Tennessee to Release Skull Fragment. January 16, 2015. WBIR News. Killer in 1995 Knoxville Job Corps Case Denied Parole After Monday Hearing. October 20, 2025. Associated Press. How Tennessee’s Failed Execution of Christa Pike Unfolded, Minute by Minute. Published by The Durango Herald. October 1, 2026. ABC News. Reporting on Christa Pike’s Execution Attempt and Subsequent Updates. October 1, 2026. WPLN News. Governor Lee Halts Execution, Orders Third-Party Review Following Pike’s Failed Lethal Injection. October 1, 2026. Death Penalty Information Center. Reporting on Tennessee’s Failed Execution of Christa Pike and Historical Comparisons. October 1, 2026.

  3. Sep 27

    The Millennium Dome Heist: A Digger, Five Minutes, and £350 Million in Diamonds

    A digger crashes through the entrance to London’s Millennium Dome. Smoke fills the air. Two robbers rush towards the diamond display case. On the Thames, their getaway speedboat is already in position. They’ve given themselves five minutes. Break through the glass, grab diamonds valued at up to £350 million, and disappear down the river. When a hole finally opens in the glass, everything seems to be going to plan. But unknown to them, another plan is already unfolding. References Crime Reporting The Guardian, Police foil dome diamond raid (2000). The Guardian, How gang's daring plan turned into mission impossible (2002). The Observer, ‘You don't mess with the Wenhams’ (2002). The Independent, Police ‘kept watch on Dome raiders for five months’ (2001). Trial Reporting & Legal Records The Guardian, Five jailed for dome raid (2002). The Irish Times, Four jailed for daring diamond raid on Dome (2002). The Guardian, Dome raiders have sentences cut (2004). European Court of Human Rights, Betson and Cockram v. the United Kingdom, Application no. 12710/04 (2005). Diamonds & Auction Records De Beers, Legendary Diamonds — The De Beers Millennium Star. Sotheby’s, Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite, Hong Kong, Lot 1843 (2016).

  4. Sep 23

    The Trial of the Century: The O.J. Simpson Case and a Divided America

    O.J. Simpson’s long and extraordinary saga began as an inspiring story of a man who crossed racial boundaries and achieved the ultimate American Dream. It ended, however, in a tragedy of the century—one that would forever reshape America’s legal system and media landscape. In this episode, we reopen the case files of the 1994 Los Angeles murders, carefully reconstructing the physical evidence, the prosecution and defense strategies, and the procedural battles that defined the trial. Beyond the courtroom drama, we examine the deeper questions of privilege, law, and justice at the heart of the “Trial of the Century.” Sources & References U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General — FBI Laboratory Report: Roger Martz’s Testimony in the O.J. Simpson CaseEDTA testing, blood evidence, and FBI laboratory testimony. Famous Trials — University of Missouri–Kansas City — The O.J. Simpson Trial: Excerpts from the Trial TranscriptSelected testimony, cross-examinations, and closing arguments from the criminal trial. Famous Trials — The Trial of O.J. Simpson: Selected DocumentsNicole Brown Simpson’s 911 calls, Simpson’s June 1994 letter, and other primary documents. Jack Walraven’s Simpson Trial TranscriptsExtensive archive of criminal and civil trial transcripts, motions, exhibits, and depositions. Los Angeles Times — Coverage of the 1994 investigation, crime scene, Bronco pursuit, arrest, and subsequent criminal trial. Los Angeles Times — Reporting on DNA and blood evidence, evidence collection procedures, Allan Park’s testimony, and disputes over Simpson’s blood sample. Los Angeles Times — Coverage of the Mark Fuhrman tapes, his Fifth Amendment testimony, and the subsequent LAPD investigation. Los Angeles Times — Reporting on jury deliberations, the 1995 acquittal, and contemporary public reactions to the verdict. Los Angeles Times — Coverage of the 1997 civil trial, Bruno Magli shoe-print evidence, and the $33.5 million civil judgment. U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division and Los Angeles Times — Sources on the Rodney King case and the racial and policing context of Los Angeles in the early 1990s. Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners and Los Angeles Times — Sources covering Simpson’s 2008 Las Vegas conviction, sentence, parole, and later release. Los Angeles Times — Reporting on If I Did It, Simpson’s later years, his death in 2024, and subsequent developments involving his estate. The Washington Post — Reporting on Simpson’s relationship with race, athlete activism, and the origins of the phrase “I’m not Black, I’m O.J.”

  5. Sep 21

    Unabomber Part 2: The End

    No digital footprint. No usable fingerprints. His targets spanned universities, commercial flights, and private residences—seemingly random, but consistently lethal. For years, his handcrafted wooden bombs were an invisible, unavoidable terror. Hundreds of top FBI agents chased down tens of thousands of leads, chasing nothing more than a phantom.How do you find a man living completely off the grid in a vast nation? ### Court Decisions & Sentencing Records ⚬ United States v. Kaczynski Sentencing Transcript (May 4, 1998) & District Court Docket 2:96-cr-00259 ⚬ DOJ Sacramento Indictment (1996) & Government’s Sentencing Memorandum (1998) ⚬ U.S. District Court Search Warrant for Kaczynski’s Cabin (1996) ⚬ Terry D. Turchie Affidavit in Support of Cabin Search Warrant (1996) ⚬ Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Opinions: 239 F.3d 1108 (2001), 262 F.3d 1034 (2001), and No. 06-10514 (2009) ### Official Forensic & Scientific Records ⚬ Sally C. Johnson, M.D., Psychiatric Competency Report (1998) ⚬ NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Autopsy Report (2023–2024) & NBC/KYMA Verification Coverage ⚬ BATF/FBI/USPIS Joint Task Force Report: UNABOM Major Case 75 (1995) ⚬ FBI Laboratory QDU Forensic Document Analysis by Dorothy-Anne E. Held (2001) ⚬ Forensic Linguistics Declarations: Donald W. Foster (1997) & Robin Tolmach Lakoff (1997) ### Memoirs & Case Literary Evidence ⚬ Wanda Kaczynski Legal Declaration (1997) ⚬ Linda E. Patrik Union College Interview (1998) ⚬ Industrial Society and Its Future by FC [Theodore J. Kaczynski] (1995) ⚬ The Ice Brothers by Sloan Wilson (1979) & Mirror Worlds by David Gelernter (1991) ### Contemporary Investigative Journalism & Press Archives ⚬ The New York Times: "Times and The Washington Post Grant Mail Bomber's Demand" (1995) ⚬ Associated Press: Kaczynski Death Report (2023) ⚬ UC Berkeley & UCSF Archives: Kaczynski Appointment Record (1996) & Victim Memorials (1997, 2011) ⚬ U.S. Marshals Service: 2011 Online Property Auction Historical Record ### Documentary & Audiovisual Archives ⚬ FBI Case History: "Unabomber" & Inside the FBI Podcast with Terry Turchie (2021)

  6. Sep 19

    Unabomber Part 1

    No digital footprint. No usable fingerprints. His targets spanned universities, commercial flights, and private residences—seemingly random, but consistently lethal. For years, his handcrafted wooden bombs were an invisible, unavoidable terror. Hundreds of top FBI agents chased down tens of thousands of leads, chasing nothing more than a phantom.How do you find a man living completely off the grid in a vast nation? ### Court Decisions & Sentencing Records ⚬ United States v. Kaczynski Sentencing Transcript (May 4, 1998) & District Court Docket 2:96-cr-00259 ⚬ DOJ Sacramento Indictment (1996) & Government’s Sentencing Memorandum (1998) ⚬ U.S. District Court Search Warrant for Kaczynski’s Cabin (1996) ⚬ Terry D. Turchie Affidavit in Support of Cabin Search Warrant (1996) ⚬ Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Opinions: 239 F.3d 1108 (2001), 262 F.3d 1034 (2001), and No. 06-10514 (2009) ### Official Forensic & Scientific Records ⚬ Sally C. Johnson, M.D., Psychiatric Competency Report (1998) ⚬ NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Autopsy Report (2023–2024) & NBC/KYMA Verification Coverage ⚬ BATF/FBI/USPIS Joint Task Force Report: UNABOM Major Case 75 (1995) ⚬ FBI Laboratory QDU Forensic Document Analysis by Dorothy-Anne E. Held (2001) ⚬ Forensic Linguistics Declarations: Donald W. Foster (1997) & Robin Tolmach Lakoff (1997) ### Memoirs & Case Literary Evidence ⚬ Wanda Kaczynski Legal Declaration (1997) ⚬ Linda E. Patrik Union College Interview (1998) ⚬ Industrial Society and Its Future by FC [Theodore J. Kaczynski] (1995) ⚬ The Ice Brothers by Sloan Wilson (1979) & Mirror Worlds by David Gelernter (1991) ### Contemporary Investigative Journalism & Press Archives ⚬ The New York Times: "Times and The Washington Post Grant Mail Bomber's Demand" (1995) ⚬ Associated Press: Kaczynski Death Report (2023) ⚬ UC Berkeley & UCSF Archives: Kaczynski Appointment Record (1996) & Victim Memorials (1997, 2011) ⚬ U.S. Marshals Service: 2011 Online Property Auction Historical Record ### Documentary & Audiovisual Archives ⚬ FBI Case History: "Unabomber" & Inside the FBI Podcast with Terry Turchie (2021)

  • 6 Episodes

About

Every investigation begins with a disruption in the ordinary: a broken lock, an unanswered call, an unfamiliar figure caught at the edge of a streetlight. Welcome to The Stranger. In this series, we unpack documented true crime cases strictly through the record—contemporaneous logs, forensic files, witness testimonies, and courtroom transcripts.

Information

  • Creator
    MiMiLi
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © MiMiLi
  • Show Website
    TRIAL FILES