Serial Napper | True Crime Stories for Naps

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  • 4.6 (156)
  • TRUE CRIME
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Serial Napper is the perfect true crime podcast for those who love a good nap and the most intriguing true crime stories. Hosted by Nikki Young, each episode offers a comprehensive and thoughtful deep dive into an unsolved mystery or lesser-known case, told succinctly and with all the key facts, just the way it happened. Let Nikki lead you through some of the most fascinating, chilling, and puzzling true crime stories you've never heard of, all while you drift off to sleep. Follow Nikki on social media for more updates.

  1. No Person Is Disposable: The Unsolved Murder of Wilma June Nissen

    22H AGO

    No Person Is Disposable: The Unsolved Murder of Wilma June Nissen

    In October of 1978, a young woman’s body was found dragged into a roadside ditch along a rural gravel road in Lyon County, Iowa. She had been dead for months. She had no identification. No missing person report. No name. For 27 years, she was known only as Jane Doe. That woman was Wilma June Nissen. Wilma’s life was marked by abandonment and survival long before her murder. Born in 1954, she endured extreme neglect and abuse as a child, homelessness at a young age, and years in the foster care system. As an adult, she was repeatedly exploited, escaped dangerous relationships, and tried to rebuild her life while navigating a world that never truly protected her. After disappearing in 1978, Wilma resurfaced hundreds of miles from home, working for an escort service operating in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Northwest Iowa. Shortly after, she was brutally murdered. The details of her death remain largely undisclosed due to the extreme violence involved. Despite being identified in 2006, Wilma’s case has stalled. Evidence exists. DNA exists. Modern forensic tools exist. Yet law enforcement has declined to pursue updated testing, forensic genetic genealogy, or outside assistance that could move this case forward at no cost to taxpayers. Wilma was never reported missing. She was never prioritized. And today, she risks being erased all over again. This episode is told through the lens of her daughter, the only person still fighting for answers. It’s a story about systemic failure, silence as policy, and what it means to refuse to let someone be forgotten simply because their life was difficult. Sources: https://medium.com/@justice4wilma/no-person-is-disposable-5172b2deee95 https://projectcoldcase.org/2025/05/12/wilma-nissen/ https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/cold-case-spotlight/wilma-nissen-rock-rapids-iowa-homicide-unsolved-rcna232527 https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/2021/02/14/the-murder-of-wilma-june-nissen/ https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Wilma_Nissen Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    39 min
  2. Twelve Hours in Paradise: What Happened to Kiara Agnew

    6D AGO

    Twelve Hours in Paradise: What Happened to Kiara Agnew

    Kiara Agnew was 23 years old when she left Canada for the very first time. In March 2023, the Dawson Creek, British Columbia woman travelled to Playa del Carmen, Mexico to celebrate her birthday with her boyfriend. She sent happy videos home. Smiled from a resort balcony. Talked about food and the beach. Everything about the trip felt ordinary. Less than twelve hours later, Kiara was found beaten to death in a laundry room at a five-star resort. Her boyfriend, Ryan Friesen, was discovered asleep beside her body. Ryan was charged with femicide under Mexican law, and prosecutors told Kiara’s family the case was “open and shut.” But in September 2024, after a judge-only trial, he was found not guilty. This episode walks through what happened next. We examine the crime scene, the physical evidence, and the defence theory that shifted the case, including the DNA evidence that introduced reasonable doubt. We hear from Kiara’s sister about diary entries that documented years of escalating abuse, and we unpack Ryan’s version of events, including his claim that multiple attackers were responsible. We also look at the questions that were never fully answered, including surveillance footage from the resort that Kiara’s family was led to believe existed but was never provided to them. In a case where timelines matter, that absence still looms large. As protests spread across Canada, Kiara’s aunt organized the Justice for Kiara movement, pushing for accountability and for Kiara’s Law, a proposal calling for mandatory Canadian forensic autopsies in suspicious deaths abroad, stronger consular support for families, and Canadian jurisdiction in cases of Canadian-on-Canadian violence overseas. Then, in an extremely rare move, a Mexican magistrate overturned the not-guilty verdict. Ryan Friesen remains free in Canada while his lawyers appeal, and his fate now rests with a three-judge panel in Mexico. If the new verdict is upheld, he could face up to 50 years in prison. This is a story about unanswered questions. Conflicting truths. And a young woman whose first trip abroad ended in violence. Sources: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090631765773 https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/ctv-w5-exclusive-not-guilty-verdict-in-murder-of-canadian-may-be-overturned/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canadian-man-found-not-guilty-of-killing-b-c-woman-in-mexico-1.7322127 https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/kiara-agnew-obituary?id=51529082 https://www.scribd.com/document/985529747/Ryan-Friesen-Statement#google_vignette Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min
  3. The Missing Boys Who Were Never Missing: Finding Orson and Orrin West

    JAN 29

    The Missing Boys Who Were Never Missing: Finding Orson and Orrin West

    In December 2020, two little boys vanished from a backyard in California City just days before Christmas. Three-year-old Orrin West and four-year-old Orson West were reported missing by their adoptive parents, who claimed the boys wandered away through an open gate while playing outside. At first, it sounded like every parent’s nightmare. But almost immediately, nothing about the story made sense. No footprints in the desert dirt.No scent trails.No neighbours had ever seen the boys.No surveillance footage placing them in California City at all. As the search intensified, investigators began to suspect something far darker. What followed was a quiet, meticulous investigation that unfolded largely out of public view, culminating in the arrest and conviction of the boys’ adoptive parents, Trezell West and Jacqueline West. In this episode of Serial Napper, we revisit the case now that it’s been somewhat resolved and walk through what really happened to Orrin and Orson West. Sources: https://www.kget.com/missing-cal-city-boys/west-case-timeline-from-the-initial-report-to-trial/ https://www.courttv.com/news/cal-city-toddlers-trial-ca-v-jacqueline-and-trezell-west/ https://www.yahoo.com/news/west-trial-conflicting-testimony-given-010300309.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADFT6Qni2katPdaXiZ1xxMS4d4R8joN6u_NBPQIyfJ2s5tzwMGSYrTVx2l8EVE4xWX6MOhJt6XZdw4b4ydL2WMuvZUdyyTL3vZvuagovm_h1EYg44KaBCusTOSH4OtVTqqKzCtEk9A6-uc4r-rlAnHboe0RyIhuT-8pxEHblNkUh https://www.kget.com/missing-cal-city-boys/west-trial-day-14-prosecution-begins-calling-west-children-to-testify/  https://lawandcrime.com/crime/they-were-babies-adoptive-parents-sentenced-for-2020-murder-of-still-missing-4-year-old-boy-and-abuse-of-his-younger-brother/ Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min
  4. The Girl Who Saw Everything: Cassidy Stay Survives

    JAN 23

    The Girl Who Saw Everything: Cassidy Stay Survives

    On July 9, 2014, a quiet home in Spring, Texas, became the site of an unimaginable act of violence. Six members of the Stay family were murdered in their own home. Parents Stephen Stay and Katie Stay, and four children, Bryan Stay, Emily Stay, Rebecca Stay, and Zach Stay, were killed by a man who believed he was owed something he had already lost. Only one person survived. Fifteen-year-old Cassidy Stay was shot in the head and left for dead. She stayed conscious. She stayed silent. And when her attacker left, she did more than call for help. She warned police where he was going next, stopping him before he could take more lives. In this episode, we walk through the full story. The family behind the headlines. The years of warning signs that went unheeded. The calculated nature of the attack. The trial that followed. And the decade Cassidy spent growing up with a story no one should ever have to carry. Listener discretion advised. This episode contains discussion of extreme violence against a family and the survival of a child under traumatic circumstances. Sources: https://abc13.com/post/timeline-6-members-of-family-killed-in-their-home-in-spring/5493731/ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-who-killed-6-members-ex-wife-s-family-gets-n1065366 https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/i-didnt-think-someone-would-hurt-kids-lone-survivor-of-spring-mass-shooting-testifies/285-47b9ffd4-9142-4430-89ef-6e10ec2148ab  https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/violent-past-of-alleged-mass-shooting-gunman-ronald-lee-haskell/502-269449058 https://abc7chicago.com/post/couple-speaks-out-about-murders-of-son-daughter-in-law-4-grandkids/176868/ Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    34 min
  5. From Missing to Murder: Suzanne Morphew's Final Days

    JAN 21

    From Missing to Murder: Suzanne Morphew's Final Days

    In 2020, Suzanne Morphew vanished on Mother’s Day from a small mountain town in Colorado. The story the public was given was simple: a bike ride, an accident, maybe an animal attack. But Suzanne was never seen on a bike. In this episode, I return to the case I first covered when Suzanne was still missing and trace what happened next. The red flags that were visible from the beginning. The years of silence and waiting. And the moment, three years later, when Suzanne was finally found miles away from every early theory. We walk through the original timeline, the strange digital breadcrumbs, the first arrest, the collapse of the case, and what investigators now say happened after Suzanne’s remains were discovered in 2023. We also break down the evidence presented in court, including what prosecutors allege about Suzanne’s marriage, her plans to leave, and the forensic details that changed everything. Suzanne Morphew was not a theory.She was a person.And for years, she waited to be found. Sources: https://abcnews.go.com/US/barry-morphew-pleads-not-guilty-alleged-murder-wife/story?id=129144043 https://www.crimeonline.com/2020/05/21/pacing-around-staring-out-windows-chaffee-county-fire-chief-addresses-questions-about-missing-suzanne-morphews-husband-barry-morphew/ https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/barry-morphew-case-colorado-autopsy-wife-suzanne-morphew/ https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/husband-colorado-woman-disappeared-2020-pleads-guilty-murder-129147753#:~:text=Barry%20Morphew%20entered%20his%20plea,murder%20and%20tampering%20with%20evidence. Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min
  6. The Ones Left Behind: The Disappearances of Michael and Chucky Palmer

    JAN 16

    The Ones Left Behind: The Disappearances of Michael and Chucky Palmer

    In 1999, fifteen-year-old Michael Palmer disappeared after leaving a graduation party and riding his bike home in Wasilla. His bicycle was later found in the Little Susitna River. His shoes were discovered nearby. Michael himself was never found. For eleven years, his family lived with unanswered questions. Then, in 2010, history repeated itself. Michael’s brother, Charles “Chucky” Palmer Jr., vanished while snowmachining in the backcountry of the Talkeetna Mountains. His snow machine was located twelve miles from the cabin where his group had been staying. There were no footprints. No helmet. No trace of where he went. Despite extensive searches, Chucky was never found and was later declared legally dead. In this episode of Serial Napper, we examine both disappearances side by side. One that unfolded in town, surrounded by rumours, conflicting stories, and evidence that never quite lined up. And one that disappeared into snow, weather, and terrain that rarely gives answers back. Was Chucky’s disappearance a tragic accident in the Alaskan wilderness? And if so… why does Michael’s case still refuse to make sense? This is a story about missing persons, unresolved investigations, and what happens when families are left without closure. Not just once, but twice. Support Our Sponser: Go to HelloFresh.com/napper10fm to get 10 free meals plus a FREE Zwilling knife valued at $144.99 on your third box. Offer valid while supplies last. Free meals applied as a discount on your first box. New subscribers only. Varies by plan. Sources: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/last-brother/2010/04/16/  https://charleyproject.org/case/michael-timothy-palmer https://charleyproject.org/case/charles-edwin-palmer-v https://www.frontiersman.com/news/youth-still-missing-after-seven-years/article_4778a9bd-9231-5e38-bf8a-d2aa21a7fba1.html Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    32 min
  7. Suicide or Something More in Small-Town Missouri? The Unanswered Death of Tanner Ward

    JAN 15

    Suicide or Something More in Small-Town Missouri? The Unanswered Death of Tanner Ward

    On June 7, 2017, 19-year-old Tanner Ward left his family’s home in Trenton, Missouri, saying he’d be back in thirty minutes. He never returned. Six months later, Tanner’s body was discovered hanging in a tree just blocks from his home. Authorities ruled his death a suicide. Two autopsies reached the same conclusion. And on paper, the case was closed. But for Tanner’s family, the story never settled. In this episode, we walk through what’s known, what’s missing, and why this case continues to divide opinion in a small town where rumours travel fast, and certainty is hard to come by. From the delayed response when Tanner first went missing, to disturbing tips that flooded his family’s inbox, to conflicting interpretations of forensic evidence, this is a case shaped as much by silence as by facts. Sources: https://www.resthavenmort.com/obituary/Tanner-Ward https://truecrimenews.com/2018/03/01/mystery-in-missouri-what-happened-to-tanner-ward/ https://websleuths.com/threads/mo-tanner-ward-19-trenton-7-june-2017.340371/ https://ktvo.com/news/local/autopsy-performed-on-trenton-human-remains Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    35 min
  8. A Double Life and a Dead Man: The Murder of Dennis Hoy

    JAN 9

    A Double Life and a Dead Man: The Murder of Dennis Hoy

    In the early morning hours of October 27, 2006, Dennis Hoy was killed as he slept in his girlfriend’s bed in Etobicoke, Ontario. At first, the story sounded almost tidy. An intruder. A shower running. A crime that appeared sudden and external. But this case was never simple. What followed was a tangled investigation involving a secret relationship, rehearsed narratives, a confession that was never heard by a jury, and two women whose stories changed depending on who needed protecting. In this episode, we examine the murder of Dennis Hoy and the cases against Nicola Puddicombe and Ashleigh Pechaluk. We walk through the plan that was discussed before the murder, the night Dennis was killed, and the police investigation that initially appeared resolved, until it wasn’t. Pechaluk’s confession was ruled inadmissible due to a Charter violation, leading to her acquittal, and the focus later shifted to Puddicombe. We explore the trial that followed, where jurors were shown a videotaped confession they were never allowed to see in the original case, and were asked to decide which version of events could survive cross-examination. This is a case about unreliable confessions, distorted loyalties, and the uncomfortable reality that legal outcomes don’t always provide emotional certainty. Sources: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2013/2013onca506/2013onca506.html https://globalnews.ca/news/11546862/toronto-woman-axe-murder-trial/ https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/this-was-my-only-son-jury-told/article_504bd1ab-fce6-5f07-8305-ebd613cb85f6.html https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/new-girlfriend-of-axe-murderer-seeking-early-parole-is-a-child-killer https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/jury-rules-toronto-woman-serving-life-sentence-for-axe-murder-of-boyfriend-is-now-eligible/article_f5d41159-7f11-4352-952e-9ed995aa16ee.html https://toronto.citynews.ca/2009/10/16/trial-shocker-video-confession-from-acquitted-lover-of-axe-murder-accused/  https://canadianmedialawyers.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Rv.Puddicombe_2009_ONSC_92188.pdf Follow me here: ► YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@SerialNapper/ ► Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/serialnappernik/ ► Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SerialNapper/ ► TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@serialnappernik  *Go Ad-Free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SerialNapper * Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    38 min
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About

Serial Napper is the perfect true crime podcast for those who love a good nap and the most intriguing true crime stories. Hosted by Nikki Young, each episode offers a comprehensive and thoughtful deep dive into an unsolved mystery or lesser-known case, told succinctly and with all the key facts, just the way it happened. Let Nikki lead you through some of the most fascinating, chilling, and puzzling true crime stories you've never heard of, all while you drift off to sleep. Follow Nikki on social media for more updates.

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