A Brief Case

If you are a woman in Afghanistan, outside your home you cannot sing and you cannot speak. You cannot show your face, and you cannot study (beyond grade six). You cannot work and you cannot go to the salon, if there were any salons to go to (because they've been shut down). These are just a few of the many things that you cannot do. In 2021, the Taliban captured Afghanistan. In the three years since their takeover, they've systemically erased women's rights and freedom - if you are a woman in Afghanistan, you cannot be seen and you cannot be heard. And if you are...

In the shrine of Shah Dola, there is an unusual sight. Children with microcephaly linger around the temple. Pilgrims to the shrine give money to these children, hoping that it will help them gain favor...But underneath, something darker lurks...There is a rumour, a horrifying allegation - there are gangs, a begging mafia, kidnapping or buying healthy children. Then, they place iron bands, metal helmets around their heads to deform these children... Could it be true or is this just terrible tale...?

The Kingdom of Nepal was no more, and who was to blame? In one night, the royal family had been massacred. King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, the prince and princess. Nine members of the royal family had been murdered in cold blood. Whispers slipped from ear to ear - did Crown Prince Dipendra really go mad, or had it been a plot, a scheme to take the throne?Be my friend on Instagram: @abriefcasepodcast

Akku Yadav was a weak, cowardly man and rape was his weapon of terror. It's said that he had over forty victims, with the youngest just ten years old. He was stabbed to death by a mob of anywhere between 200 to 400 women in a courtroom... It is rumored that the women all took turns, passing the knife around. It is said that they sliced off his penis. As he died, he begged for mercy, he begged for forgiveness... In fifteen minutes, it was over. The serial rapist, the murderer, Akku Yadav was nothing more than a bloody mess on the courtroom floor. His relatively quick death was surely more than he deserved...

Even after they broke up, they would still meet. First as friends, then allegedly, as lovers. Even after Lim Lye Hock moved in with his girlfriend, even after he got married...Tan Hui Ngin and Lim Lye Hock were from the same kampung, the same village. They had known each other for years. They had grown up together...So why would Lye Hock run, and flee to Malaysia. Why would he leave Hui Ngin's battered decomposing body to be found days later in an abandoned chicken hatchery...?

Rio the hammerhead, that's what they called him. Rio Alex Bulo would use two hammers, one in each hand, to bludgeon his victims to death. The serial killer would leave a trail of victims in his wake. From Surabaya to Semarang, and finally in Purwokerto, Rio would be caught after a vicious attack in the Rosenda Hotel. The bloodstains spattered the walls and the ceilings...But even his arrest would not stop his murderous urges, even in prison, Rio would kill a man many considered his friend...

Valentine's day was coming up. But instead of a romantic evening, Ma Jia Jue was planning something else. From 13th to 15th February 2004, he committed quadruple murder. Ma Jia Jue killed four of his fellow students in their shared dorm, before leaving their bodies in the dorm room's closet. They would not be found until almost ten days later. What triggered this heinous crime; an accusation of cheating, a personal insult...?

To the North Korean police, Park Myung-sik was a ghost. He stalked and killed students who worked in rural communal farms. He would capture his victim, then tear their liver out for consumption. Park Myung Sik believed that eating a healthy liver would cure his own cirrhosis. The cannibal killer, the organ harvester - he claimed at least 12 victims...Instagram: @abriefcasepodcast