Best New True Crime Podcasts of October 2024
I am back with a bumper list of brand new true crime podcast recommendations. Once again I am trying to curb my descriptions as best I can! As usual, I am listening to these podcasts on Spotify and mentions of available episodes refers to what I can access there. As you have probably noticed more and more true crime podcasts are now locked behind various subscription platforms and its getting really frustrating as you simply cannot pay for all of these.
1. Chasing Ghosts: The Puppeteer (Season 5) - Hosted By David Fisher - NZ Herald.
This true crime podcast had me hooked from the start. If you are a fan of con-artist/catfishing true crime podcasts then you are going to love the latest season of Chasing Ghosts: The Puppeteer. In this podcast, host and journalist David Fisher tells the story of New Zealand cat-fisher Natalia Burgess. Fisher has been reporting on Natalia Burgess for thirteen years and he is digging deep to try and finally uncover the real Natalia Burgess and the motivation behind her crimes.
This story is long and complicated but Fisher lays it all on the table. The podcast is enhanced by real life interviews with some of the people who knew Natalia Burgess (or one of her many aliases) and the serious consequences that her lies and actions have had on their lives. Finally, we hear from Natalia Burgess directly as she tries to explain her behaviour/crimes.
All five episodes are available now.
If you listen to and enjoy this podcast then be sure to check out my blog 12 Top Con-Artist Podcasts for some similar recommendations that you might also like!
2. Casefile Presents: Missing Niamh - Host Anonymous.
I am a big fan of Casefile true crime podcasts and loved this brand new true crime series Casefile Presents: Missing Niamh. I binged all twelve episodes over two days, I could not stop listening!
Missing Niamh tells the story of Niamh Maye, who in 2002, at only eighteen years of age, went missing from the small town of Batlow in New South Wales, Australia. The host has been researching and working on this missing persons case for four years so, as you would expect, this podcast is very detailed (although sometimes a little repetitive) and covers all aspects of Niamh’s disappearance.
Hearing from Niamh’s heart broken family and friends at times makes for tough listening; their distress is palpable.
As aforementioned, there are twelve episodes, all of which are available now.
3. Heaven’s Helpline - Hosted By Murray Jones - NZ Herald.
While this podcast is listed under the genre of “documentary”, having listened to the available episodes I believe it has a firm place in the “true crime” genre and so I am including it here; this podcast is excellent and deserves maximum exposure.
Heaven’s Helpline is a six-part series in which the host, journalist Murray Jones, investigates the Mormon Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in New Zealand. What starts out as an investigation into the wealth of the church quickly turns into a much darker investigation involving child sexual abuse, the protection of sexual predators within the church and a deeply flawed system which supports and shields abusers rather than their victims. Having read this far, you can now understand why I feel this podcast belongs in the true crime realm.
It it difficult to comprehend the levels of depravity that are discussed in this podcast and the all encompassing cover-up schemes that were/are in place. The stories told are shocking, shameful and horrifying.
The first three episodes are available now and I cannot wait for the remaining episodes to drop so I can to hear how the rest of this investigation unfolds.
4. Kill List - Hosted By Carl Miller - Wondery.
When host and tech journalist Carl Miller uncovers a secret “kill list” on the dark web, his life is quickly turned upside down. This secret “kill list” targets:
“… hundreds of innocent people on a murder-for-hire website.” (Source here).
Carl Miller is less than impressed and not even remotely reassured, when he takes his findings to the Police only for them to almost brush him off, they are slow to take action and seem overall reluctant to investigate. Thus, Miller decides he himself needs to warn as many of those on the kill list as he can before it’s too late.
In this true crime podcast Kill List Miller takes us along on his mission to “save” as many people on the kill list as he can as well as to establish why these people have ended up on the list in the first place and to uncover who is behind the website that features the “kill list”.
The first eight episodes are available now and this is definitely a true crime podcast that you will want to binge!
5. Denise Didn’t Come Home - Hosted By Anthony Scalia - The Binge.
On the 14th of July 1969 15 year old Denise Falasca disappeared near her home in Bergen County, New Jersey, USA. The following morning, Denise’s body was discovered. In this true crime podcast, host Anthony Scalia joins Denise’s sister Karen in her search for the truth - Who killed Denise?
“Karen remembers the bizarre events leading up to her sister’s murder, and all the people she never suspected, until she took a second look.” (Source here).
I think when you have a family member contributing to a true crime podcast it really adds to the narrative and allows for a deeper understanding of the crime and the long lasting effects and this is certainly the case in this instance.
The first six episodes of Denise Didn’t Come Home are available now.
6. Fractured: Melanie Reid Investigates (Season 1) - DELVE & newsroom.co.nz.
The host of this brand new true crime podcast, Melanie Reid might be familiar to you, she previously brought us the formerly featured excellent true crime podcast The Boy in the Water and now she is back with a brand new true crime investigative podcast, once again focusing on New Zealand true crime.
In Fractured: Melanie Reid Investigates Melanie Reid is investigating:
“… a controversial medical diagnosis from a New Zealand hospital and the cascade of events that followed. A baby taken, a mother jailed, a couple forced apart and facing deportation without their daughter.” (Source here).
Wow, this is a truly heart-wrenching story told by the couple at the centre of the case, the woman accused of injuring her young baby and her husband. I found this podcast upsetting at times, the subject matter is so heavy and there is so much at stake. Once you start listening you will really struggle to stop, the need to know how this story unfolds and ends is powerful.
The first eight episodes are available now. I am impatiently waiting for the ninth and final episode to be made available to non-subscribers (to DELVE+) - so annoying!
7. Queen of the Con: California Girls (Season 6) - Hosted By Johnathan Walton - iHeartPodcasts.
California Girls is the latest season of the long running true crime podcast Queen of the Con. In this season, host Johnathan Walton is hot the heels of alleged criminal and con-woman Michelle Mack. From her mansion in the California hills, Michelle Mack is accused of running a team of “California girls”, twelve young women sent out to:
“… steal millions of dollars in merchandise from high-end stores all over the country.” (Source here).
Mack is then selling the stolen goods on Amazon and reaping the rewards, namely her lavish lifestyle, until finally she is caught and accused of being:
“The ringleader of a nationwide organized retail crime operation that targeted Ulta Beauty and other major retailers is facing more than five years in a California state prison.” (Source here).
This is a great, entertaining and humorous true crime podcast that is a little lighter than some of the others on this list, it makes for easy listening!
If you have liked the previous seasons of Queen of the Con then I am sure that you will definitely enjoy this one too.
The first eight episodes are out now.
8. Candyman: The True Story Behind The Bathroom Mirror Murder - Hosted By Dometi Pongo - CBS News.
In this six-part true crime podcast series, host, journalist Dometi Pongo is taking a deep dive into the 1987 murder of Ruthie Mae McCoy. Ruthie Mae McCoy was fifty-two years old when she was shot to death in her housing project apartment in Chicago. Before her murder, Ruthie Mae McCoy had been telling family, friends and neighbours that someone was spying on her through her bathroom medicine cabinet, she even suggested that they visited her apartment when she was not there. She had been living in fear, afraid to even use her bathroom.
On the night of her murder, Ruthie Mae McCoy phoned 911 to report that someone was trying to access her apartment via her bathroom medicine cabinet but her claims were dismissed by the Police until they found her murdered two days later.
This podcast explores why Ruthie Mae’s:
“… desperate calls for help were ignored, the surprising outcome of her murder trial, and the broader systemic issues of racial injustice, housing inequality, and the stigma of mental illness that surround this tragic event.” (Source here).
A sad and despairing story of a brutal murder that could and should have been prevented. The first five episodes are already available.
9. In the Shadow of Princeton - Hosted By Kevin Shea & Rebecca Everett - NJ.com & Wondery.
Who killed Emily “Cissy” Stuart?. In the Shadow of Princeton is a true crime podcast investigating the 1989 cold case murder of Emily “Cissy” Stuart in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Princeton is of course widely known for its Ivy League school, the University of Princeton and not usually associated with unsolved murders.
“The matriarch of a prominent Princeton family is found stabbed to death in her locked basement in 1989. Why would anyone want to kill Cissy Stuart, one of the Ivy league town’s most well-known characters?” (Source here).
In this true crime podcast the hosts speak to family, friends, former neighbours, police and many more people who knew Emily “Cissy” Stuart or were in some way involved in this case:
“The shocking investigation sprawls across decades, as police turn their attention from a serial attacker, to her son, to a group of Princeton University students who said they were at a Grateful Dead concert at the time of the killing.” (Source here).
All eight episodes are available now so queue them up and hit play!
10. REAL: The Disappearance of Michael Frison - By Naomi Channell.
I previously featured this true crime podcast REAL in my 10 Top New True Crime Podcasts this February 2024 and if you haven’t already checked it out then you are in for a treat with over 70 episodes already available.
However, today I am highlighting four specific episodes of this long running true crime podcast, a four-part mini series which you can find at Episode 75, Parts 1-4, and which deep-dives into The Disappearance of Michael Frison.
Michael Frison is 25 years old and has been missing since the 13th of July 2024. Michael Frison is from Chard in Somerset (UK) but he disappeared from Luras, Province of Sassari, Sardinia (Italy) where he was volunteering on a farm after holidaying and visiting family in Sardinia (his mother Cristina Pittalis is originally from Sardinia).
For this series, host Naomi Channell has teamed up with Michael’s mother Cristina Pittalis and we hear from her throughout. This is a very mysterious missing persons case that has recently become a criminal investigation.
Please listen to this podcast about an on-going missing persons case and spread your knowledge of it far and wide; someone knows something.
Michael Frison’s official missing persons Facebook Group can be found here.
The GoFundMe for Michael Frison, to support his mothers efforts to locate her beloved son can be found here.
11. The Binge Crimes: Lady Mafia - Hosted By Michele McPhee - Sony Music Entertainment & Campside Media.
OK, so there is only one episode available so far on Spotify (if you subscribe to The Binge you can listen to six) but it is enough for me to be hooked - I do love a good con-artist/scam story though!
The Binge Crimes: Lady Mafia tells the story of Sara King, a high powered lawyer in Orange County, California (USA) who was accused of scamming $10 million from investors. In this true crime podcast we will hear from Sara King directly, as she gives us her version of events.
Sara King has widely been referred to as the “Female Bernie Madoff” and the “Anna Delvey of the OC”, this is the level of con-artist we are potentially dealing with.
Host and veteran reporter Michele McPhee seeks to figure out what really happened and details:
“… her rise and impossible fall in this riveting behind-the-scenes look at a master of deception. Sara is a glorified loan shark swimming in the murky waters of fast money and shady deals in Orange County. After more than a year of reporting, McPhee gets to the heart of why Sara did what she did and gets Sara to finally level with her.” (Source here).
I really want to know how this story plays-out, lets hope we are not waiting too long for Spotify to release more episodes!
One further note, there are a lot of extremely annoying adverts throughout the episode which I can only assume will also be the case in future episodes.
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