Cup of Coffee and Crime

Helen Bailey, a successful children’s author, had rebuilt her life after the loss of her husband. She’d even found love again.But then she abruptly disappeared from her home in Hertfordshire, England. Along with her dog, Boris.According to her partner, she’d gone away for a few days. Needed space. Time to herself.But the more time passed, the less that story made sense.Helen hadn’t told anyone she was leaving. Only a note explaining her absence.There were no confirmed sightings.Full 999 call: https://youtu.be/ZsS8X4Zspr4?si=rHOZs0bEFrgGzjgJAnd the last trace of her led straight back to the place she vanished from.As the investigation unfolded, the story being told began to shift.Because Helen… and Boris… hadn’t gone anywhere at all.

When twelve-year-old Ashley Pond disappeared on her way to school in Oregon City, it was first believed she might have run away.But when her friend Miranda Gaddis vanished just weeks later under nearly identical circumstances, that explanation no longer held.Both girls lived in the same apartment complex. Both were last seen heading to the bus stop. And neither ever made it there.What began as confusion quickly turned into fear, as investigators realised this wasn’t coincidence.Someone was watching.Someone was waiting.And whoever was responsible… already knew them.

Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway were nine years old and best friends, living just three doors apart.One afternoon, they went out to play...but they never came home.When they were found the next day, police quickly focused on a man who had been seen nearby. He was arrested, charged, and brought to trial.But… he was found not guilty.Three years later, he would attack another child.It would take more than three decades, advances in forensic science, and a change in the law before the truth could finally be proven in court.

Megan Barroso was 20 years old, living in a quiet California community, and spending the Fourth of July with friends at the beach.Hours later, she set off on the short drive home.She never made it.Her car was found abandoned beneath a highway overpass, engine still running, her belongings left behind. Inside, there were signs of violence that immediately told investigators something was very wrong, but no sign of Megan.What followed would uncover a predator who had been hiding in plain sight for years… and a case built on one tiny piece of evidence that would catch a killer.

Sixteen-year-old Claire Tiltman left home one evening in Greenhithe to visit a friend just minutes away.It was a short walk along streets she had known her whole life.Except,she never arrived.What followed was a huge investigation, witnesses who reported hearing screams, and a case that would haunt the community for more than two decades… until detectives uncovered the disturbing truth about a man who had been terrorising the local area for years.

Twenty-three-year-old Marine Todd Sommer was young, healthy, and just living life with his wife and their children in San Diego, California. So when he suddenly became violently ill and died in the early hours of the morning, the explanation seemed tragic but simple. A sudden cardiac event. A devastating loss for a young family. But months later, new testing would raise a chilling possibility: Poisoning. As investigators began looking closer at Todd’s final days, attention quickly turned to his wife, Cynthia. What followed was an investigation built on toxicology results, circumstantial evidence, and a controversial picture of grief, money, and motive. In this episode, I explore a case that went from certainty to doubt and back again… leaving one haunting question behind. What really happened to Todd Sommer?

Holly Bramley was 26 when she disappeared from the flat she shared with her husband in Lincoln, England.He said she had walked out after an argument. But inside their home, police found evidence that told a very different story.What followed was an investigation that uncovered coercive control, calculated deception, and a pattern of behaviour far darker than anyone around them had realised.★ If you or someone you know needs help: Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247, or Women’s Aid https://womensaid.org.uk/about-us/contact/

Brittany Stykes was 22 years old, pregnant, and driving along a familiar stretch of road in Brown County, Ohio, with her young daughter in the car beside her.She was heading to see her family. Except she never arrived.Somewhere along U.S. Route 68, someone opened fire on her vehicle in what investigators later described as a targeted attack. Brittany was killed. Her unborn child died. And her 14-month-old daughter survived a gunshot wound to the head.More than a decade later, no one has been arrested.This episode explores the timeline, the investigation, the theories, and the unanswered questions that still surround the murder of Brittany Stykes, an unsolved Ohio case that continues to haunt her family and the community she left behind.Someone knows what happened that night.To support Brittany's family: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1AjDZE94Xg/?mibextid=wwXIfrTo contact the Brown County Sheriffs dept:Sergeant Terry EshmanBrown County Sheriff's Office750 Mt. Orab PikeGeorgetown, OH 45121teshman@bcoso.us937.378.4435 EXT 127

Amber Gibson had survived a childhood shaped by instability, trauma, and years in care. Despite that, she was a kind, creative teenager who was still trying to build a “normal” life.So when, aged sixteen, she went out one evening in Hamilton, Scotland, to meet someone she trusted, there was no reason to believe she wouldn’t come home.But she never did.What followed would uncover a devastating betrayal, a murder investigation that shocked the community, and a second crime that added another layer of horror to an already tragic case.