Global True Crime

In October 1941, a man named Philip Peters was found brutally murdered in his own home in Denver, Colorado. He had been beaten to death by an unknown attacker in his kitchen. At first, police believed the murder may have taken place during a robbery. But there was no evidence to suggest that anyone had tried to break into the house. Strange theories soon began to circulate throughout the city. And before long, some people even started to wonder if Philip’s death could be connected to something paranormal. But the truth about what had actually happened, and what had been going on inside that house for quite some time, would turn out to be far more shocking, and far more disturbing than anyone could have imagined.

In the summer of 1981, thirteen-year-old Mary Louise Day disappeared from her home in Seaside, California. And no one reported her missing. The family moved on, as if nothing had happened. And for years, no one asked about Mary. But much later, suspicions began to surface. Unusual statements, an interview that raised concern, and discoveries in a backyard where something, or someone, may once have been buried. At the time, no one could have anticipated that someone would eventually come forward and turn everything upside down.

In 1984, Baton Rouge in Louisiana was shaken by a kidnapping that quickly gained national attention across the United States. An eleven-year-old boy was taken by someone the family believed they could trust. When he was eventually found, the case took an unexpected turn. What followed was a widely discussed act of revenge, one that was captured on camera as it happened.

It was the night between December 7th and 8th, 2000.Twenty-two-year-old Trevor Deely stepped out into the rain after attending a Christmas dinner and after-party with colleagues in Dublin, Ireland. On his way home, he stopped by the bank where he worked to pick up an umbrella, and then continued walking toward his apartment. At 4:14 a.m., a security camera captured Trevor walking down the street, heading home with the umbrella in his hand. It would be the last confirmed sighting of him. After that moment, Trevor Deely disappeared without a trace. And among the many questions that remain from that night, one stands out: Who was the man dressed in black who was also captured on camera and was he waiting for Trevor in the dark, rain-soaked street?

In the early hours of 25 March 1990, a party was in full swing at the Happy Land Social Club, an unlicensed nightclub located in the Bronx in New York City. The atmosphere was lively and music poured from the speakers. But before long, Happy Land would be transformed into a burning inferno, and only a handful of people would manage to escape in time. All of this because of an impulsive act of revenge carried out by a single man. A decision that would lead to the deadliest fire in New York City since 1911, a tragedy that ultimately claimed the lives of 87 young people. This is the story of the deadly fire at the Happy Land Social Club.

It was June 2006. Germany seemed to stand still during the World Cup. Streets filled with flags, cheering crowds, and a sense of collective celebration. In Paderborn, a small university town caught up in the festivities, 21-year-old Frauke Liebs left a pub on a warm summer evening and began walking home. She was seen leaving just after 11 p.m. A few hours later, a text message was sent from her phone. She wrote that she would be home a little later. Then, silence. A few days later, the phone rang.

Violence against young women is, tragically, not uncommon. Crimes like these have taken place throughout history. But the murders of Mary Ashford and Barbara Forrest have drawn particular attention because the circumstances surrounding their deaths were eerily similar, even though the second murder occurred 157 years later. Both Mary and Barbara were 20 years old. Both were found dead in the same area of Erdington, just outside Birmingham, after having gone out dancing the night before. And the similarities do not end there, which has led many to question whether this was simply a strange coincidence or something far more unsettling.

In May 1968, the body of a young woman was discovered in a ditch outside Georgetown, Kentucky. She was naked and wrapped in a green canvas tent bag. No one knew who she was. Despite extensive police efforts, the years passed without answers. The woman became known only as “Tent Girl”, and her identity remained a mystery for three decades. Then a teenager named Todd Matthews began digging into the case. His persistent search, which would last more than ten years, did not only lead to her identification. It also became the beginning of something larger, a movement to restore names to the dead and answers to the living. This is the story of “Tent Girl”, and of the person who refused to let her remain unknown.

Monday, 21 June 2004 began like any other day. 43-year-old Jim Donnelly drove to work at the Glenbrook Steel Mill, just outside Auckland, New Zealand. He said goodbye to his wife, Tracey, and the couple’s two children. Once he arrived, he clocked in, changed into his work uniform, and then vanished without a trace. More than twenty years have now passed, and Jim has never clocked out. To this day, no one knows where he went, why he disappeared, or whether he ever even left his workplace that morning.