Author Archives: Criminal Discourse Reporter

Mel Ignatow admitted to the sexual torture and murder of Brenda Schaefer but never served a day in prison for it. This is a case of double jeopardy and how Mel Ignatow became the most hated man in Louisville.

In 1975, the elusive Black Panther struck, kidnapping young heiress Lesley Whittle. We cover the crimes of UK’s Donald Neilson, from home invader to kidnapper-murderer.

Why did Anthony Rowlingson murder his own brother? Perhaps to protect his teacher and their shared secret: Ku Klux Klan affiliation.

Pets don’t just make good companions – they also can play a vital role in convicting killers. This episode highlights two such cases in Canada and the United States.

On November 7, 2022, James Krauseneck Jr. was sentenced to 25 years to life for the second-degree murder of his wife, Cathleen Krauseneck, in 1982. James and Cathleen’s only child, a daughter named Sara, was just three years old and home with her mother when she was axed to death. Sara has always defended her father’s innocence. In 2012, convicted rapist Ed Laraby confessed to Cathleen’s murder, but it didn’t hold up. With James’s conviction, one half of this family believes that justice was delivered, albeit 40 years late, while the other half is now suffering a second loss. This is the Brighton Ax Murder case.

You’ve heard of the Scream movies, but did you know that in 2006 two teenagers tried to emulate one of their favorite movies?  Listen to how Cassie Jo Stoddart paid the ultimate price when two boys wanted to become more famous than the movies and killers they idolized.

You might not remember the name of serial killer Michael Gargiulo – also known as the ‘Hollywood Ripper,’ for his California knifings, and ‘The Boy Next Door Killer,’ because he lived so close to his victims – but I bet you remember that case where actor Ashton Kutcher’s date was murdered.

In August 1969, outlaw bikers murdered a young couple at their abandoned amusement park-turned-clubhouse, and those same bikers may be responsible for the unsolved murders of two sisters in August 1968 as well. While two of the men involved died in prison, it’s likely that two more killers were allowed to walk free.

In November 1992, Sara Tokars and her two small children return home late at night only to be met by an intruder with a gun. What did he want? Why was he there? Listen to the story of how greed and a thirst for power brought ruin and murder to one young Georgia family.