Casefile True Crime

During the 1980s, Canadian nurse Cindy James was tormented by an unknown assailant at her home in Vancouver, British Columbia. She was subject to threatening phone calls, break-ins, arson attacks and even physical assaults. Cindy tried everything to protect herself, from installing an alarm system to moving house, but nothing – not even her policeman roommate – could deter the assailant.

In 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay disappeared after playing basketball with his friends in his home town of San Antonio, Texas. Years went by with no sign of him. Just when his family thought all hope was lost, in October 1997 they received a call from a police officer in the Spanish city of Linares. Nicholas had been found wandering the local streets, alive and well.

In 1979, residents of Adelaide were gripped by fear when several young men began to go missing under mysterious circumstances. 17-year-old Alan Barnes, 25-year-old Neil Muir, 14-year-old Peter Stogneff, 18-year-old Mark Langley and 15-year-old Richard Kelvin were later found dumped in the Adelaide Hills and surrounds. They had been drugged and subject to horrific sexual abuse and torture.

Hello Casefile listeners! Anonymous host here. I’m making a special appearance to tell you about a very special challenge I’ll be participating in this weekend. The 4x4x48 challenge by David Goggins. I’ll be raising money for Missing Persons Advocacy Network (MPAN) - a charity that humanises missing people and supports loved ones left behind. Click the link below to read the full story about the challenge and why I’m doing this - and to make a donation to MPAN. I’ll be posting updates after every leg of the challenge so keep an eye on our social media channels for some exclusive content!

In Australia, Father’s Day falls on the first Sunday of September and is typically a time for families to gather together and celebrate. But on Father’s Day in 2005, the small Victorian town of Winchelsea was rocked by news that a local man named Robert Farquharson had driven his three young sons – Jai, Tyler and Bailey – into a dam. Robert survived, but all three boys drowned.

In January 1974, 18-year-old Guðmundur Einarsson enjoyed a night out with friends in the town of Hafnarfjordur, Iceland. At the end of the evening, he walked into a wild snowstorm and was never seen again. Ten months later, in November 1974, 32-year-old Geirfinnur Einarsson (no relation) also disappeared from the Icelandic fishing town of Keflavik. In a country with next to no homicide, foul play was considered immediately.

On October 2 1987, a council employee in Central City, Kentucky called police after finding an abandoned, blood-smeared Pontiac outside his workplace. When Lieutenant Billy Fields arrived at the scene, he found the savagely assaulted body of 20-year-old Corinna Mullen in the boot. Corinna hadn’t been seen since the previous night when she’d gone out drinking with her roommate Angela Smith.

On February 29 2008, members of the Caffey Family were sleeping soundly in their Texas home when intruders suddenly stormed in and launched a brutal attack. After setting the house on fire, the intruders fled, unaware that one family member was still alive. Patriarch Terry Caffey emerged from the burning building barely clinging to life, his body riddled with bullet wounds.

On August 19 1988, two armed offenders entered a branch of the Deutsche Bank in Gladbeck, West Germany with the intention of holding it up. Hans-Jürgen Rösner and Dieter Degowski planned to steal a large sum of money, then make a quick getaway.

In August 1961, Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storie were sitting in their car in Dorney Reach, UK when an intruder forced his way into the backseat brandishing a gun. After driving them around the English countryside for hours, the intruder shot both Michael and Valerie, leaving them on the side of the road at a location known as Deadman’s Hill.

When 19-year-old Rocio Wanninkhof failed to return home after a night out with friends, her mother Alicia was immediately worried. The family lived in the small town of La Cala de Mijas, Spain – where teenagers felt safe going out alone. Alicia’s concern quickly turned to distress when she discovered Rocio’s shoes lying abandoned in a clearing near their home, alongside a pool of blood.

One cold winter night in 1991, best friends Vicki Arnold and Julie-Anne Leahy vanished from their town of Atherton, Queensland. The two women had left for a late-night fishing trip but never came home. Two weeks later, their bodies were found in Julie-Anne’s car on a remote bushland track, in the opposite direction from where they’d been headed.

When newlyweds Gail and Rick Brink failed to show up to their respective jobs on the morning of November 23 1987, the alarm was immediately raised. The couple’s bodies were discovered at the ranch house they had only just purchased. Both had been shot multiple times in the head, execution-style. The slayings shocked the quiet community of Holland, Michigan, and everyone had a theory as to what might have happened.

On June 9 2017, Yingying Zhang vanished on her way to an appointment in Urbana, Illinois. The Chinese visiting scholar missed her bus and after she failed to return to work that day, her colleagues quickly raised the alarm...

Married couple Derek and Maria Broaddus were house hunting when a property in the affluent neighbourhood of Westfield, New Jersey immediately caught their attention. 657 Boulevard was a striking six bedroom, four bathroom Dutch Colonial style home that was the perfect place to raise their family – or so they thought.

Between 1993 and 2009, DNA discovered at 40 crime scenes across Germany, Austria, and France were linked to an unknown woman of eastern European descent. Dubbed ‘The Woman Without a Face’, her crimes ranged from petty theft to murder. After her DNA was linked to the murder of Heilbronn police officer, Michele Kiesewetter, the suspect was renamed ‘The Phantom of Heilbronn’.

On the morning of September 6 2011, Auckland teenager Christie Marceau was woken by a troubling phone call from an acquaintance named Akshay Chand. The two 18-year-olds had previously worked together at a supermarket, and Chand was now threatening to take his own life.

“This is going to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard. This is going to be the craziest thing you’ve ever heard. There is nothing in your lives or background that has prepared you to understand the Potter family. You have never seen anybody like them.”

During the early ’70s, cemeteries and mortuaries throughout Germany were targeted by a particularly disturbing grave robber. Not only did he steal the personal belongings of the dead, but he also exhumed, mutilated, molested, and gnawed upon the bodies...

To our faithful listeners, we regret to inform you that Casefile will be taking a short, unexpected break while our beloved host recovers from a medical issue. We should be back to our usual schedule in a few weeks. In the meantime, be sure to check out the latest Casefile Presents podcast series, The Invisible Hand or explore Casefile’s back catalogue and rediscover some of the podcast’s classic episodes. We know our listeners will join us in wishing the host the best as he rests and recuperates. The entire Casefile team looks forward to sharing new episodes with you very soon. Thank you for understanding, Casefile team

On February 5 1921, eight-year-old Freda Burnell went missing in the small coal-mining town of Abertillery, Wales. The unusual disappearance reached a tragic conclusion when her bound and beaten body was found dumped inside a sack in an alleyway...

Karen MacKenzie resided in Greenough with her three children - Daniel, Amara, and Katrina. The 31-year-old single mother had recently gotten together enough money to rent a small house on the rural outskirts of town...

Early on the morning of October 18 1947, a stewardess working on the ocean liner Durban Castle discovered something strange. The cabin belonging to an actress named Gay Gibson was empty...

When Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong were offered the chance to star on a prank show that aired on YouTube, the young women thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime. All they had to do was approach strangers on the street and rub oil on their faces...

When 16-year-old Colleen Walker suddenly vanished from the New South Wales town of Bowraville in September 1990, her family and friends knew something was terribly wrong. But local police dismissed their concerns, suggesting that the Indigenous teenager had simply “gone walkabout”...

In the early hours of Monday, November 15 2004, husband and wife Peter and Joan Porco were savagely attacked with an axe while they slept...

On August 2 2006, 32-year-old lawyer Robert Wone knocked off after a long day at his office in Washington DC. To save making the journey home so late at night, he arranged to stay at a friend’s house...

When JoAnne Chambers was hired to teach at Coolbaugh Learning Centre in Pennsylvania she arrived with glowing reviews from her former school. So when an anonymous harasser began targeting the popular school teacher, she was left stunned...

[Part 1 of 2] During the 1970s and ’80s, a predator was stalking the streets of Anchorage, Alaska. By day, he was a respectable family man who ran his own business. But at night, he would prowl Anchorage’s infamous Tenderloin District, looking for vulnerable or destitute women...

[Part 2 of 2] In June 1983, Cindy Paulson ran out onto a highway in Anchorage, barefoot and handcuffed. She was the prized prey of a prolific serial killer who was plaguing the region and had escaped his plans to hunt her down in the Alaskan wilderness – something he had done with many other women...

Melbourne psychotherapist Margaret Hobbs was used to dealing with sex offenders. Many of her clients were men who had been referred to her through the court system after committing terrible crimes...

On Christmas Eve 1945, while most citizens of the town of Fayetteville, West Virginia celebrated the end of World War Two, Italian immigrants - George and Jennie Sodder watched their house go up in flames...

On July 17, 1984, a deceased female was located in a deserted area near Lake Tahoe, California. Investigators were stumped as to her identity or her killer, who had horrifically murdered her by setting her alight...

Saturday, June 4 1960 seemed like the beginning of an idyllic summer break for Finnish teenagers, Nils Gustafsson, Seppo Boisman, Maila Irmeli Björklund and Anja Tuulikki Mäki. The four friends had decided to go camping at Lake Bodom, a picturesque region not far from their homes in Helsinki...

On the evening of May 22 2010, Steve Herr drove over to his son Sam’s apartment in Costa Mesa, California. The 26-year-old college student was supposed to be spending the weekend with his parents but when he never showed up, Steve decided to check on him...

*** Warning: This case involves a child victim *** In March 1997, residents of Kobe, Japan were horrified when dead and mutilated cats began appearing at random along the city's sidewalks...

In 1974, a young woman named Margaret Schafer was strangled to death in her hometown of Ewersbach, Germany...

When Kmart employee Tami Reay failed to show up at work in Pierre, South Dakota on the morning of Wednesday, February 8 2006, her co-worker Brian Clark called the police to report her missing. Brian had reason to suspect that Tami might have fallen victim of foul play. He and Tami had been having an affair, and her husband had just found out.

During the summer of 1976 and 1977, seven young women mysteriously disappeared from the streets of Adelaide. Veronica Knight, Sylvia Pittman, Julie Mykyta, Connie Iordanides, Vicki Howell, Tania Kenny, and Deborah Lamb were all last seen near main roads or waiting at bus stops.

Casefile will be back in early February 2022. Thank you all for listening to the podcast and for your support. It keeps us going every day! In the meantime, be sure to check our Casefile Presents shows here: https://casefilepresents.com There are more to come in 2022!