Top 9 New True Crime Podcasts of March 2024
April is here and with it comes nine new true crime podcasts that I hope will keep you listening and satisfied this month.
1. Unreliable Witness - Hosted By Jason Farrell & Liz Lane - Storycast.
From Storycast, who brought us the excellent true crime podcast Patient 11 comes another brand new and absolutely gripping true crime podcast. I am not lying when I say I binged all six episodes one after the other. This is a true crime story that will captivate you and stay with you long after you have finished listening.
Ellie Williams was 19 years old when she posted on social media that she had been:
“… trafficked by an Asian grooming gang across the North of England.” (Source here).
Ellie backed up her claims with photographic evidence of her injuries and soon her story/post went viral. In her home town of Barrow-in-Furness (which she named in her social media post) rumours develop, fingers are pointed and attacks on Asian men and businesses take place.
However, the biggest shock of all comes when Ellie Williams herself is arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice. She is accused of lying to the police, faking evidence and essentially making up the whole story.
In this podcast we hear from Ellie, her family, friends, police investigators, information from the court-cases and we even hear from some of the men who were victims of abuse in the community following Ellie’s claims. This case is so interesting, the hosts are excellent and ask the pertinent questions to try get to the truth:
“… to investigate what could have led her to make these claims and if, underneath it all, there is some other secret buried amongst the lies.” (Source here).
All six episodes are available now.
2. REAL Presents: Who Killed Billie-Jo? - By Naomi Channell.
I mentioned in my 10 Top New True Crime Podcasts this February blog that Naomi Channell was working on a brand new true crime podcast and it is here! Luckily all eight episodes of Who Killed Billie-Jo were released at the same time as it is so good I could not stop listening. So yes, I did indulge and listen to all eight episodes on the day they were released; my house has never been so clean.
This true crime podcast is a re-investigation into the unsolved murder of Billie-Jo Jenkins. Billie-Jo Jenkins was only 13 years old when she was found murdered in the garden of her foster family’s home in Hastings, East Sussex on the 15th of February 1997.
Naomi Channell is methodically in her investigation. She provides us with the background to this story and speaks to people who knew Billie-Jo and her foster family. She also speaks to one of the lead investigators who worked on this mysterious case. This story is absolutely heart-breaking.
As aforementioned all eight episodes are already available so you too can binge it!
3. Wrongly Accused: The Annette Hewins Story - By Nicole Jacob - BBC Radio Wales.
I stumbled upon this podcast and I am so glad that I did. I knew nothing of this horrific true crime story. This is a complex case that is hard to reduce down to a few sentences, but I will try to give a brief outline!
In October 1995 Diane Jones (aged 21) and her two daughters Shauna (aged 2) and Sarah Jane (aged 1) died in an arson attack on their home in Merthyr Tydfil in Mid Glamorgan, Wales. In 1997, following a police investigation and subsequent court-case, two women, Annette Hewins (her daughter Nicole Jacob is the host of this podcast) and Hewins’ niece Donna Clarke were convicted of arson with intent to endanger life and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Annette Hewins was was pregnant with her fifth child at the time of her conviction and served 18 months of her sentence before she was released by the Court of Appeal in 1999 after it was concluded there was no evidence against her.
There is SO much more to this story and really for Annette Hewins, her wrongful conviction was the beginning of the end; to say it had massive consequences that reverberated throughout her family is an understatement.
This true crime podcast is truly heart-wrenching. Host Nicole tells us about her experiences and the impact that her mother’s imprisonment had on her life. We also hear from her siblings and her father, you will find it near impossible not to shed a tear for all that they lost when their mother was wrongfully convicted. Through audio recordings we hear Annette’s own anguish filled voice proclaiming her innocence, living through a nightmare and later her anger filled statement following her release from prison.
There are five episodes so far. However, when I was listening I quickly noticed that episode two was missing from Spotify. Upon further investigation I found that it was also unavailable on Amazon and the BBC website so I can only assume that it was removed for some reason but perhaps it will be back in the future, either way, this does not affect the podcast story/investigation.
4. Missing Pieces: The Search for Samantha Murphy - Podshape.
Fifty-one year old, mother of three, Samantha Murphy disappeared on the 4th of February 2024 while out for a run near her home in her Ballarat, Victoria (Australia). One month after her disappearance, this true crime podcast set out to find Samantha, however, within days of starting this podcast new evidence was uncovered and an arrest was made. This completely changed the trajectory of this true crime podcast from a missing persons investigation to a murder investigation. On the 6th of March 2024, 22-year-old Patrick Stephenson was arrested in connection with Samantha’s disappearance and subsequently charged with her murder. Samantha’s body has not yet been recovered.
This podcast takes us back to start, prior to Samantha’s disappearance and leads us through the investigation right up to the arrest of Patrick Stephenson. We learn how the accused was connected to this case, the critical role that mobile phone data played in catching the accused and where the case goes from here.
I am following this case closely and this podcast offers excellent insights into everything that is happening within it. I hope for her family’s sake that Samantha’s body is found. There are four episodes available so far and more will be released as the case evolves.
5. Murder in the Hollywood Hills - Hosted By Keith Morrison - Dateline NBC.
Keith is back and as you know I am his number one fan so I am very happy that he has something new for us! Murder in the Hollywood Hills is a true crime story about a con-artist and serial predator operating in L.A, luring young women with his money, charm and empty promises of fame and fortune. Victor Paleologus has had many brushes with the law until he is finally caught and charged with the murder of a young aspiring actress, twenty-one year old Kristi Johnson. Kristi vanished on the 15th of February 2003 after telling her housemate that she was meeting a “film producer” who thought she was a perfect fit for a role in a Bond movie that he was supposedly casting for. On March 3rd Kristi Johnson’s body was discovered.
The story of Victor Paleologus is a complicated one but Keith Morrison navigates us through, clearly laying it out in chronological order and bite size pieces. When the many previous victims of Victor Paleologus come forward I think you will be as shocked as I was. Paleologus arrogance and repeated blatant disregard for the law and his victims stands out. Its crazy when you learn that Victor Paleologus simply evaded justice for years!
The first four episodes are available now.
6. Anatomy of a Stalker - Hosted By Ruchira Sharma - Cue Podcasts.
This is a five-part true crime podcast series where host Ruchira Sharma deep-dives into the world of stalking. Having seen up close the affect that stalking has on the person being stalked, Ruchira wants to know more and essentially answer three main questions - Who are the people that stalk? What motivates their actions? Can they be rehabilitated?
“Nearly 4% of people in the UK will experience stalking this year. But why is it happening, and what can we do about it?” (Source here).
Ruchira speaks to a variety of experts in the area of stalking in an attempt to answer the questions she has posed and to understand stalking in general.
I found this podcast really interesting. We hear from some victims of stalking and honestly their accounts are terrifying. This is such an important and worthwhile topic of investigation as with advancements in social media, smart devices etc. the ability to stalk and occurrences of stalking have never been so high in our societies.
All five episodes are already available.
7. Witnessed: 19 Days - Hosted By Sean Flynn - Campside Media, Pegalo Pictures & Sony Music Entertainment.
This is a brand new podcast so I have only been able to listen to the first episode but that was enough to hook me and I am waiting impatiently for the next episode to drop (they are released weekly). Witnessed: 19 Days transports us back to 19 days in March 2018 when:
“… five package bombs were mysteriously placed or mailed to random locations in and around Austin, Texas — killing two people and seriously injuring another five.” (Source here.
As you would imagine, these attacks left everyone terrified and the race was on to catch those responsible before more lives were lost. Even already knowing about these crimes, the first person accounts of those who worked on these cases that feature in this podcast make for compelling listening and really enhance the story. Listen to episode one now so you are ready when episode two drops.
8. In The Blood - Hosted By Ben McKenzie - Voyage Media.
Ronald Trimboli was charged with, and convicted of, the brutal murder of three teenagers in Arlington on the 17th of June 1985. Trimboli’s conviction was greatly affected by the results of DNA testing (which was in its infancy at the time) that matched his DNA with that found at the crime scene. Trimboli’s conviction occurred despite the fact that he had an alibi, no history of violence and a relationship with the victims which meant he had visited the house where they were murdered prior to their killings (so his DNA could have been there). Was it even plausible that one person alone could subdue and murder three fit and healthy teenagers? Ronald Trimboli always maintained his innocence and what will strike you when you listen is that if he is innocent then someone got away with the murder of these three teenagers.
Across eight episodes host Ben McKenzie combs through this case and highlights so many inconsistencies within it. This true crime podcast will at times probably induce a rage within you and when you hear Ronald Trimboli’s daughter tell her version of events, it will undoubtedly bring you to tears:
“Is it possible he was innocent of the triple murder he was convicted of? IN THE BLOOD presents all the evidence, including evidence jurors were not privy to, and asks you, the audience, for your verdict.” (Source here)
All eight episodes are already available.
9. To Die For - Hosted By Neil Strauss - Tenderfoot TV & iHeartPodcasts.
Have you ever wanted to know more about the art of espionage? Yes - then this is the true crime podcast for you. Over eight episodes host Neil Strauss takes a journey:
“… through the dark world of Russian intelligence where, for the first time, a professed “sex spy” tells her story. All of it.” (Source here).
I didn’t know I had an interest in espionage until I started listening to this podcast and quickly got sucked in by the stories of the key contributor (yes I know there is an irony here) Russian trained “sex spy” Aliia Roza.
While I guess we can never know for certain if the stories of the so-called professional “sex spy” Aliia Roza are true, it doesn’t make them any less fascinating. At times, the experiences of Aliia Roza are harrowing, involving sexual abuse and exploitation. These accounts of world of sexpionage that she unfortunately found herself in the middle of are not for the faint hearted.
All eight episodes of To Die For are available now.
If you've any questions, suggestions or just want to say hello, contact me via the Contact Form, Instagram (@noroadlongenough) or By Email noroadlongenough1@gmail.com