Episodes

Two men. Five girls. One summer of calculated, incomprehensible cruelty. This is the story of The Toobox Killers. (If you think you already know this story you might be surprised.) — Support the show https://patreon.com/tapesfromthedarkside — Get...

Two men are locked inside the California Men’s Colony — a medium-security state prison tucked away in the rolling hills of San Luis Obispo. It wasn’t a fortress like San Quentin. It didn’t house the state’s most violent criminals. And its reputation was far from what you’d expect of a place that would soon become a breeding ground for one of the most sadistic criminal partnerships in modern history. Support the show! http://patreon.com/tapesfromthedarkside — Sources: https://www.partnersin...

No credits this week because I didn't want to delay this episode any longer. For their plan to work, Larry Bittaker knew they couldn’t rely on just any car. They needed something bigger… something that could trap a victim inside. In February of 1979,...

It was the summer of 1979. The last vestiges of the 1970s were set to expire and welcome in the rip and roar era of the 80s. This chapter takes place in Torrance, California, a coastal town where the air smells faintly of salt and sun-baked asphalt. The streets glow soft orange beneath the high pressure sodium streetlights. Sixteen-year-old Lucinda Lynn Schaefer walks those streets often, the kind of girl who never seems out of place anywhere. Her friends call her Cindy. Blonde hair, bright blu...

"We've all heard women scream in horror films ... still, we know that no-one is really screaming. Why? Simply because an actress can't produce some sounds that convince us that something vile and heinous is happening. If you ever heard that tape, there is just no possible way that you'd not begin crying and trembling. I doubt you could listen to more than a full sixty seconds of it." Roy Norris, describing his recollections of the audio tape the pair had created of Shirley Ledford's rape and to...

This is the final episode in the Toolbox Killers series. Thanks for your patience. A new series is coming soon. patreon.com/tapesfromthedarkside — For those curious, explanation of where I've been: https://www.patreon.com/posts/155116830

Everyone remembers their first win. I remember mine. The chief of police of New Haven, Connecticut surely remembered his. And in the twelve months that followed, he wagered $4.4 million on sports betting apps from the phone in his pocket. This is...

Nine apps. Ten days. Hundreds of bets. I'll walk you through what a gambling spiral looks like firsthand. We'll take a look at the $314 million machine that put these apps in front of me. And the illusion of control that almost turned a ten day...

Gambling ads have been appearing this season. I don't like that. Here's the situation. *** Questions, comments, etc. tapesfromthedarksidepod@gmail.com

On the floor of a New Haven holding cell, paralyzed, while the officer standing over him laughed and asked why he kept winking, Randy Cox said: "I need somebody to take me seriously." It's on page 17 of a 70-page internal affairs report, no news outlet ever printed it, and it's the reason this episode exists. Resources If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24/7 — call or text 1-800-522-4700. Free and confidential. Patreon S...