In the annals of criminal history, some perpetrators rely on brute force, others on fear — but a select few wage their battles in the mind. This week’s Mind Games Monday takes us into the strange, calculated world of Edward “Ned” Calloway, a thief who convinced his victims to invite him in.

"I’ve never killed anyone. I don’t need to. I think it. I have it done."— Charles Manson

“He’s the kind of guy you’d never suspect — that’s what made him terrifying.”– Former FBI Profiler Jim Clemente

Skylar Neese was a bright, happy 16-year-old from Star City, West Virginia—until one summer night in 2012, she climbed out of her bedroom window and vanished.

“I walked in on betrayal. I walked out a widow.”

True crime isn’t always about cold, hard evidence — sometimes, it’s about puzzles that twist the mind and refuse to let go. This Mind Trap Monday, we’re diving into one of Europe’s most baffling unsolved cases: The Isdal Woman, discovered in Norway in 1970 under circumstances so strange that investigators, journalists, and armchair detectives are still trapped in its mystery decades later.

"A spy. A suitcase. A silent crime."

“How does a young woman fall down a garbage chute in a luxury apartment… and no one sees a thing?”

"I didn't hurt my family... but the evidence doesn’t lie."

🌀 Twisted Tale Tuesday: The Girl in the BoxCalifornia, 1977 — a kidnapping tale straight out of a horror novel… except it’s all true.

"Things are not always as they appear."

“I have walked the same path as God by taking lives... I am God.” — Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins

Some killers wield knives or guns. Graham Young’s weapon of choice? A teacup.

"Now, my conscience is clear." — Nannie Doss

At first glance, Jennifer Pan seemed like the perfect daughter. Raised in a strict Vietnamese-Canadian household in Ontario, she played piano, earned top grades, and lived under the ever-watchful eyes of her traditional parents. But beneath that polished surface was a girl unraveling — and behind closed doors, a twisted plan was taking shape.

True crime is full of mysteries, but few have left investigators and the public as bewildered as the tragic story of “The Boy in the Box.” This decades-long mystery seemed unsolvable—until a shocking plot twist emerged decades later.

“No sign of struggle… until they found the bullet hole in the wall.”

“I’m just a guy whose wives keep disappearing.”— Drew Peterson, joking on national TV

On May 3, 2007, 3‑year‑old Madeleine McCann vanished from her holiday accommodation in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Her parents had left her and her two siblings eating dinner a short walk away. They checked regularly — until she was gone.

“I had nothing to do with the disappearance of my wife.”— Scott Peterson (2002)The evidence said otherwise.

On the morning of September 3, 2025, at approximately 11 a.m., police in Andergrove, Queensland, responded to reports of an armed robbery at a local tobacconist shop on Celeber Drive. Inside the quiet morning neighborhood, the crime scene raised more questions than answers.

"Britain's sweetheart was gunned down on her doorstep… and the question remains: who did it?"

In March 1969, Jane Mixer, a 23-year-old University of Michigan law student, posted a note on a campus bulletin board looking for a ride home to Muskegon. She never made it.

"I was determined to survive. I wasn't going to let him win." — Mary Vincent

"I knew something was wrong. I couldn't stay silent." — Trisha Meili's anonymous witness

To the outside world, Waneta Hoyt appeared to be a grieving mother who had suffered the unimaginable — five infant children, all dying mysteriously between 1965 and 1971 in upstate New York.

"I gave her body as a gift to the washing basin and the oven."

“Where are all the men who loved Belle Gunness? Buried. Literally.”

On the night of June 6, 1992, three women — Sherrill Levitt (47), her daughter Suzanne “Suzie” Streeter (19), and Suzie’s best friend Stacy McCall (18) — vanished without a trace from their home in Springfield, Missouri.

"They said she fell — but the injuries told a different story."

“They declared me dead — twice. But ghosts can stumble into daylight.”— John Kinahan (aka Arthur ‘Derry’ Hannigan)

On November 29, 2004, in Phoenix, Arizona, an armored truck guard named Robert Keith Palomares was ambushed and fatally shot outside a movie theater. The killer fled with over $56,000 in cash—and quickly vanished into the shadows.

On February 13, 2017, two young girls—Liberty “Libby” German and Abigail “Abby” Williams—went for a hike on the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana. They never came home. By the next day, their bodies were found near Deer Creek—murdered in a way investigators have never fully revealed to the public.

"You don’t want to make 657 Boulevard unhappy."— The Watcher

Long before Amber Alerts and DNA databases, one crime captivated and horrified America like no other — the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh.

"Sometimes, the scariest monsters live right next door."

“I was driven by voices… They said I had to do it.” — Daniel M’Naghten

The Zodiac Killer case is one of the most infamous unsolved serial murder sprees in American history — but what if the chilling letters, cryptic codes, and violent crimes weren't the work of one person?

“A child beauty queen. A ransom note. A murder in a mansion. And three decades of no answers.”

In July 1993, 20-year-old Bobby Kent was lured to a remote area of Weston, Florida, by what he thought were friends. Instead, he was ambushed and murdered by a group of seven teenagers—people he had grown up with and trusted. The attack was brutal, involving knives, a baseball bat, and sheer rage.

“A crime for the thrill of it — no motive, no mercy.”

📍 New York City – August 28, 1972

In January 2013, 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found rolled up in a wrestling mat in his Georgia high school gym. Authorities ruled it an accidental death, saying Kendrick fell in while reaching for a shoe.

Back in 2003, Jeanette Wilton (57) was tragically discovered deceased in the Flint River near Saginaw, Michigan, the victim of a brutal homicide involving strangulation, multiple stab wounds, blunt force trauma, and postmortem abrasions. Despite a thorough investigation, the case went cold—until a modern forensic breakthrough turned the tide. Midland Daily News

In 1992, a woman’s body was found in the woods near Knoxville, Tennessee. Decomposition was advanced, and it looked like she’d been there for months. But forensic entomologist Dr. Neal Haskell thought otherwise.

"I couldn’t stop. I wanted to stop."— Gary Ridgway

On this Forensic Friday, we’re diving into one of the most chilling examples of forensic odontology (the study of bite marks in criminal investigations) — and how it helped catch one of America's most notorious serial killers: Ted Bundy.

"Under the moonlight, everything blooms — even secrets."

“I light the match with love. Fire doesn’t destroy — it sets the truth free.” — Ember Rose Maddox

Born on February 15, 1943, in Cartagena, Colombia, Griselda Blanco grew up in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Medellín. Her early years were marked by violence, crime, and survival instincts. By her teens, she was involved in petty theft and kidnapping, already displaying the ruthlessness that would define her adult life.Her move to the United States in the 1970s—first to Queens, New York, and later to Miami—would set the stage for her to rise as one of the most powerful figures in the cocaine trade.

Welcome to Fatal Femme Friday, where we uncover the women who rewrote the rulebook on crime, manipulation, and murder. This week, we shine the spotlight on Della Sutorius, a suburban Cincinnati woman whose charm masked deadly intentions.

“No jury will convict me.” – Jodi Arias, before the trialSpoiler: She was wrong.

You asked. We delivered.This week’s case comes from a commenter who wrote:

On the morning of August 29, 2009, tragedy struck the New Hope Mobile Home Park in Glynn County, Georgia. Law enforcement received a disturbing 911 call from Guy Heinze Jr., who claimed his entire family had been beaten to death. What investigators found upon arrival was chilling:

Not all serial killers haunt the past. Some emerge in full view—armed with cruelty, ego, and a taste for infamy.

"I’ll tell you everything… but first, I want a coffee."

“We’ve all got the power to kill in our hands. Most of us are afraid to use it. Those who aren’t... control life itself.” — Richard Ramirez

“I am so sick of hearing this ‘she's crazy’ stuff. I've been evaluated so many times. I'm competent, sane, and I'm telling the truth.” — Aileen Wuornos

“What I did was not for sexual pleasure. Rather, it brought me some peace of mind.” — Andrei Chikatilo

“I like children… they are tasty.” — Albert Fish

In the sleepy town of Brookhaven, Vermont, 1967 was meant to be just another year of small-town routines and neighborly chatter. That was until Mary Holloway, the town’s beloved shopkeeper, vanished without a trace on a crisp October morning — leaving behind a trail of eerie clues that have stumped investigators for over half a century.

"It was like she vanished off the face of the earth."

“You don’t just disappear in a town that small unless someone helped it happen.” — Maria Ramirez, Alonzo’s mother

Some mysteries haunt us not because of violence or bloodshed, but because of the chilling unknown. One of the eeriest modern mysteries in suburban America is the case of The Watcher House in Westfield, New Jersey. What should have been a dream home for one family became a psychological nightmare fueled by anonymous letters, paranoia, and unanswered questions.

Tonight, we’re diving into one of the most chilling missing person cases in recent memory — a young man vanishes mid-phone call, leaving behind no clues, no trace, and no reason.

“I am the Watcher. Bring me young blood.”— Anonymous letter to the new homeowners

The Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles has a long and eerie history — but one case continues to fuel internet theories and late-night rabbit holes: the death of Elisa Lam.

"Gone without a trace, leaving only questions in her wake."

Case: The Murder of Alanna Gallagher (2013, Texas)

"Bind them, torture them, kill them. BTK."

"I’ve lived with the guilt for 45 years. I’m sorry." — Joseph James DeAngelo, aka the Golden State Killer

Sometimes, the most haunting cases aren’t the ones splashed across headlines — they’re the ones buried in dusty folders, tucked away in a locked drawer that no one talks about anymore.

"There’s something horrifying about a killer who plans down to the initials."

In January 2006, London housing officials made a horrific discovery. Inside a small flat in Wood Green, North London, lay the skeletal remains of Joyce Carol Vincent — a 38-year-old woman who had been dead for over two years, and no one noticed.

`On this Story Time Sunday, settle in for a case wrapped in rain, mystery, and silence — the unsolved disappearance of Mara Belle Dawson, the girl in the yellow raincoat.

“I’m a good person... just a little flawed.” — Dennis Rader, aka BTK