Crime at Bedtime

Marcus Schrenker was a successful Indiana financial adviser with a luxury lifestyle, a private plane and a growing list of angry investors. In January 2009, as lawsuits and investigations closed in, Schrenker climbed into the cockpit of his Piper and made a chilling choice: he radioed a distress call, set the plane on a crash course towards Florida, and bailed out with a parachute, apparently hoping the world would believe he had died in the wreck.In this episode of Crime at Bedtime, we walk step by step through Schrenker’s rise as a high-flying money manager, the complaints that began to surface about his investment schemes, and the night he tried to fake his own death at 25,000 feet. We follow the trail from the abandoned plane to a campsite in Florida, the manhunt that followed, and the fraud charges that finally caught up with him.If you’re drawn to stories of white-collar crime, elaborate escape plans and con men who think they can outsmart everyone, this is one to settle in with as you drift off to sleep.

They were decorated NYPD detectives, patrolling the streets of Brooklyn at the height of New York’s organised crime era. But behind the badge, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were secretly working for the mob – passing on intel, setting up hits and helping the Lucchese crime family stay one step ahead.In this episode of Crime at Bedtime, we walk through how two New York City cops allegedly became paid Mafia insiders, how bodies began to pile up across Brooklyn and Staten Island, and how it took years for investigators to finally connect the murders back to the detectives who were supposed to be solving them. From mob meetings and whispered tips to ambushes on quiet streets, we follow the trail that led to the infamous “Mafia Cops” case.If you’re drawn to stories of police corruption, the American Mafia and classic New York true crime from the 1980s and 1990s, this one is for you. Settle in, close your eyes, and let the story of the Mafia Cops unfold.

In July 2001, British backpackers Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees were driving through the dark heart of the Australian outback when a vehicle flashed its lights behind them on the Stuart Highway. Minutes later, Peter was gone – and Joanne was running for her life.In this episode of Crime at Bedtime, we walk slowly through the night of the attack, the frantic search in the Northern Territory desert, and the investigation that turned a missing-persons case into one of Australia’s most famous true crime trials. We’ll look at what Joanne Lees says happened on that lonely stretch of road, how police built their case, and why the disappearance of Peter Falconio still sparks debate decades later.If you’re drawn to Australian true crime, outback mysteries and cases like Azaria Chamberlain, this deep-dive into the Peter Falconio case is for you. Settle in, press play, and let the story unfold.

In this Crime at Bedtime episode, we dive into the chilling story of Harvey Carignan, the American serial killer better known as “The Want-Ad Killer.” Using newspaper advertisements and chance encounters, Carignan targeted vulnerable young women across several US states, leaving a trail of brutal assaults and murders in his wake. We follow his life from a troubled early history and a death sentence he managed to escape, through the series of attacks that finally exposed him, to the painstaking police work that brought him to justice. This immersive true crime bedtime story calmly walks through the victims’ last known movements, the forensic evidence, and the court proceedings that ended his violence. If you’ve heard the name “Want-Ad Killer” and never known the full case, this episode gives you the complete, step-by-step story.

New Year’s Eve, 1997. Hundreds of partygoers pack into Furneaux Lodge in New Zealand’s remote Marlborough Sounds. By morning, two young friends – Ben Smart and Olivia Hope – have vanished after stepping from a water taxi onto a stranger’s yacht. They are never seen again. In this Crime at Bedtime episode, we walk carefully through one of New Zealand’s most controversial murder cases: the disappearance of Ben and Olivia and the conviction of Scott Watson. We follow the movements of that final night, the mystery man on the yacht, the massive search, the forensic hair evidence, and the witness identifications that helped secure a guilty verdict – along with the doubts and challenges that have followed ever since. Told in a calm, measured way for listening at night, this episode lays out the key facts so you can decide what you make of the Scott Watson case.

On 8 November 2010, emergency services were called to a quiet family home in Markham, Ontario. Nineteen minutes after the first 911 call, police walked into what looked like a violent home invasion: parents shot, valuables scattered, their daughter Jennifer Pan tied upstairs. But as detectives dug deeper, the story began to unravel. In this Crime at Bedtime episode, we slowly and calmly unpack the full Jennifer Pan case – from her strict upbringing and carefully constructed double life, to the staged robbery, the text messages that exposed the plot, and the courtroom battle that made headlines around the world. We step through the night of the attack, the surviving father’s account, the digital trails, and the legal twists that have kept this case in the news. A detailed, start-to-finish telling of one of Canada’s most notorious family murder plots.

This year I teamed up with arguably the world’s biggest true crime podcast, Casefile, to bring you the story of an incarcerated man I met some time ago who was suing Sean “Diddy” Combs for 100 million dollars.Across this seven-episode series we go on a wild ride through allegations of assault, corruption, and murder for hire which, Derek claimed, all led to his wrongful conviction. Strap yourselves in, because just when you think you’ve heard it all, this story takes you somewhere else entirely.If you enjoy this episode, you can hear the full season now by searching Suing Diddy wherever you get your podcasts.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For the past three years, Jack Laurence has gone behind the bars of America’s toughest prisons, hearing the stories of robbery, arson, murder, and everything in between. He thought he’d heard it all… until he met one prisoner with a story unlike any other.A man who wasn’t just fighting for his freedom, but was on the verge of becoming one of the richest prisoners in the world, by suing Sean “P. Diddy” Combs for $100 million.But that was only the beginning. What Jack uncovered was a rabbit hole of alleged assault, corruption, cover-ups, and murder. A story so unbelievable it made headlines around the globe and left him questioning everything he thought he knew.If you think you’ve heard it all before when it comes to crime stories… you haven’t heard anything like this.

This is the real story behind The Santa Claus Bank Robbery — one of the strangest and deadliest crimes in U.S. history.On December 23, 1927, Marshall Ratliff walked into the First National Bank of Cisco dressed as Santa and opened fire. Within minutes, the bank was surrounded by armed civilians. What followed was chaos: a running gun battle through the streets, a hostage dragged into a getaway car, and a statewide chase ending in a shocking act of vigilante justice.If you think you’ve heard every Christmas crime story… you haven’t heard this one.

He called himself a pilot. A businessman. A man of wealth and connections. But every airport lounge, every luxury hotel, and every first-class boarding gate he stepped through was part of a lie.Before the world knew him as “Simon Leviev,” Shimon Hayut was building an international web of deception — forging flight credentials, slipping through Europe’s airports, and conning his way into the lives and bank accounts of anyone who trusted him.In this episode, we follow the real story behind the so-called Fake Pilot: how he moved across the Schengen Zone with ease, how European authorities finally closed in, and how the man who lived a life of luxury never once sat in a cockpit he claimed to command.