Wine, Whiskey, and Murder

In January 2025 an Austrian mountaineer with years of experience, Thomas Plamberger, set out on a trek with his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner, to summit Austria’s highest peak. While Kerstin was very athletic and in good physical shape, she was far less experienced as an alpinist than Thomas and was very much relying on him to properly lead them both safely on this adventure. Even before they set out on the morning of their extreme hike, things were not going as they should. A late start and extremely harsh winter conditions only further contributed to the disaster that would unfold in...

In an episode recorded at Inspire Wine Bar in downtown Kingsport, Tennessee, Misti brings us a local story that takes place only a few miles down the road. In this week's episode, Misti tells us about a local historic mansion that many believe to be haunted. She tells us all about the history of the home, the people who built it, lived in it, and ultimately suffered in it during their lifetimes. Though it has been owned and restored for decades now by a local doctor who has been greatly respectful of the home and it's history, the early...

In the early part of the 20th century, there was a lot of new information and studies coming out constantly in many different fields of study. In the 1920s, 2 young intellectuals became acquainted with one another and hit it off. Both in their late teens from affluent families, they were considered prodigies with a rigorous thirst for knowledge. This was not the only thing the pair had in common, though. They would theorize between themselves that it was possible to execute the perfect murder, and in 1924 they decided to prove this if only to themselves.

In the early 2000s, Lori Hacking was living a pretty picture perfect life to anyone looking in. She was married to her high school sweetheart, pregnant with their first child, and working a well paying job as the couple had begun preparing for a cross country move set to happen in just a couple weeks so her husband could begin medical school on the East coast. Everything would fall apart in the blink of an eye, though, when early one summer morning, Lori never returned from her daily run. Authorities, family, and friends were blanketing the community searching for...

In this week's episode, Joel wraps up his coverage of the Delphi Murders in Indiana in this third part.

This week we continue Joel's deep dive into the 2017 murders that took place in Delphi, Indiana with part 2.

This week Joel dove headfirst into one of the most reported on crime cases in recent history, the double murder of 2 young girls in Delphi, Indiana. On a sunny day off from school in February 2017, best friends Abby and Libby spent the day together hiking in a nearby wooded area as was common for many in their small town. But when the girls never showed back up later that night, it was clear to their families that something was very wrong.

In this episode, we are going back to Joel's hometown of Memphis, Tennessee as Misti tells us about a horrible mass murder that took place at a family's home on Lester Street in 2008. In an area riddled with too much violence, it was very important to Misti to tell us about this case and to bring attention and awareness to the multiple victims, their lives, and how their losses impacted their loved ones who are left behind. She also sheds light on generational violence and trauma and the importance of talking about it and breaking the cycle.

It was a typical hot summer day in 1950s Tokyo. For those working at the airport, it was an unremarkable day as they went about their duties. That is until one traveler passing through customs caught the attention of one of the officers when they examined his passport only to find that it claimed this man was from a country no one had ever heard of. This week Adrienne tells the story of the Man from Taured. Did it really happen? Is this one big conspiracy theory? You be the judge!

In 1998, the sudden and unexpected death of 57-year-old American Inventor Stanley Meyer sparked the birth of a new conspiracy theory. With his dying breath, Meyer would create speculation as to his cause of death regardless of what the autopsy would say, by claiming he believed someone was attempting to murder him. In his lifetime his greatest "achievement" would be a car that he claimed ran on water alone. As with Stanley's death, there are a lot of questions surrounding this breakthrough "invention" of his that persist even to this day. Tune in and listen to Jim tell us about...

He is known by many names - the Beast of Chicago, the Devil in the White City, or the Torture Doctor. But what H. H. Holmes is probably most well known for is his infamous "Murder Castle." While it is widely debated how many actual murder victims Holmes accumulated in his life, his reputation and the mystery surrounding his life and crimes has made him one of America's most infamous serial killers. In this week's episode, Mel tells us about not just the murders Holmes committed or was suspected of, but of his many other crimes, writings, and wives.<...

In today's episode, Misti brings you another case that is local to us. Not only is it local, but it is infamous in the true crime community as she will be talking about the case of 17-year old cold blooded murderer, Christa Pike. Teenage insecurities and jealously have a tendency to produce overly dramatic and at times extreme behaviors, but in 1996 Christa took this to a whole other level. While attending Job Core in Knoxville, Tennessee, she would brutally attack and murder classmate, Colleen Slemmer in one of the most heinous crimes we have ever covered. Her overall lack...

For a lot of 18 year olds, moving away from home and starting college is the first real big adventure in their lives. In the fall semester of 2021, freshman Danny Santulli at the University of Missouri was ready and excited to start this exact journey. He, like many other young coeds, was interested in Greek Life on campus and was quickly recruited to pledge one of the biggest and best fraternities on the Mizzou campus. He would soon learn just how steep the price was to join the elite brotherhood, though. And what started as pretty normal college fun as...

At the turn of the new Millennia, a pair of unlikely "friends" in Southern California came together in order to scam unassuming individuals who were already very much down on their luck who were looking for a hand up in just about any way they could get it. Both Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt had spent most of their adult lives making their money by running different scams over the years, most notably using their looks to their advantage on wealthy men when they were younger. But as time moved on, they had to adapt and come up with...

This week’s episode begins in a similar fashion to last week’s. A young girl hitchhiking in the 1970s unfortunately accepts a ride from the wrong “family.” What follows are years of abuse in every form from a cruel “master” who slowly groomed her to be so dedicated to him that she was willing to do anything to keep him happy. Even after she was kept locked away in a tiny space with no light, room, food, or access to basic needs for more than 20 hours a day for years, Colleen Stan fought through it all by compartmentalizing and looking...

Mary Vincent’s story is truly one of the most incredible, terrifying, and awe-inspiring tales any of us could ever hear in the world of true crime. The 1970s were most certainly a “different time” to say the very least. It was very common for people to get from one place to another via hitchhiking. Unfortunately, Mary would be one of the many victims to fall prey to drivers without the best of intentions.

From the very start of his life, the deck was stacked against Hadden Clark. Growing up in both a physically as well as emotionally abusive home, the young boy was taught from a very early age the art of manipulation by his entire family. His parents, while very intelligent, struggled deeply with their reliance on alcohol and overall deeper unresolved mental health conditions that manifested in Hadden’s “mistreatment” (for lack of a better phrase). Though by the end of today’s episode our listeners will know where Hadden ended up, all the details of how he got there and who...

In 2022 a Louisiana couple returned home from a weekend away to find every parent's worst nightmare. Their adult daughter who was home alone over the weekend was unresponsive and not breathing on the couch in their living room. But the scene first responders arrived to was nowhere near typical, and before they even saw the couple's daughter, everyone knew there was something much worse happening inside this home.

This week we wrap up our deep dive into one of the most infamous serial killers in American history, Jeffrey Dahmer.

This week Mel takes on yet another big name in the world of true crime with one of America's most infamous serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer. While most people are somewhat familiar with Dahmer and his murders, the details are absolutely chilling to hear no matter if you are hearing them for the first time or the 50th time. From a very young age, Jeffrey had some somewhat out of the ordinary interests that his family just believed to be an interest in biology and chemistry, but many years and red flags later the world would learn just how much...