Koltergeist

For years, the Turpin family lived quietly in plain sight—while thirteen children werebeing systematically controlled, starved, and isolated behind closed doors. In thisepisode of Koltergeist, we examine the disturbing beliefs, generational abuse, andinstitutional failures that allowed unimaginable cruelty to continue unchecked. This is astory not just about captivity, but about silence, missed warnings, and the single act ofcourage that finally broke it.https://www.amazon.com/Family-Next-Door-Heartbreaking-Extraordinary/dp/1250202132

Valentine’s Day—a celebration of love. From grand gestures to whispered promises, a holiday devoted to romance. But on February 14, 2013, Reeva Steenkamp wasn’t struck by Cupid’s arrow - she was struck by gunfire. Four hollow-point bullets tore into her body through a locked bathroom door. The trigger was pulled by the man who said he loved her. Was it a deliberate act of violence… or a catastrophic case of mistaken identity as he claimed?In this episode of Koltergeist, we dive into the details: the courtship, the tragedy, and the aftermath of the death of Reeva Steenkamp at the hands of the Olympian known worldwide as the Bladerunner-Oscar Pistorius. Oscar Pistorius Fast Facts | CNNReeva Steenkamp’s Family Speaks Out After Oscar Pistorius’ ReleaseFibular Hemimelia | Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA)Oscar Pistorius trial: Evidence - BBC NewsHotlines - National Center on Domestic and Sexual ViolenceFacebook

In Run, Hide, Repeat, a family’s quiet life is slowly consumed by an invisible threat—break-ins that don’t make sense, warnings that arrive too late, and a growing belief that someone powerful is watching their every move. As fear tightens its grip, the family is forced into constant flight, changing homes, identities, and routines in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of danger. But as the story unfolds, unsettling cracks begin to appear in the narrative itself, raising an even more disturbing question: what if the danger wasn’t lurking outside the walls at all, but living inside the story they came to believe?Episode Sources:https://www.amazon.com/Run-Hide-Repeat-Fugitive-Childhood/dp/0735233225

In this episode of Koltergeist, we examine the cases of three women whose tragic deaths were all sudden, heartbreaking, and shrouded in mystery. All three ended in the same way—with a body found at the bottom of a trash chute without a logical explanation of how it got there. But the circumstances of each are vastly different and fiercely contested. Were these deaths unfortunate mishaps, misjudgments, or something far more sinister? The evidence doesn’t quite align with any logical answer. Episode Sources:Remains Found in N.Y.C. Garbage Chute Belonged to Missing Woman: PoliceDec 03, 2023, page 36 - Daily News at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™Penn State History Lesson: The Death Of Justine Gross | Onward StateFull autopsy report for PSU student who fell down trash chute subject of court battlePetition update · Received Justine's Toxicology and Autopsy Reports · Change.org · Change.orgObituary information for Justine Marie Elizabeth Gross https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/twincities/name/jaclyn-elmquist-obituary?id=54161644 Feb 26, 2021, page 14 - Daily News at Newspapers.com™Death of woman found at bottom of Manhattan trash chute could have been murder, forensic pathologist says – Crime OnlineSearch Lara Prychodko Obituaries and Funeral ServicesWrongful death lawsuit filed 5 years after Lara Prychodko was found dead at the bottom of Manhattan trash chuteThe mysterious death of Lara Prychodko | FOX 5 New York  Exclusive | Lara Prychodko had affair with wealthy CEO before death | New York Post

Kristil Krug was found dead in the garage of her suburban Colorado home, her body bearing clear signs of violence that immediately ruled out any natural cause. What should have been an ordinary evening ended in a brutal crime that left investigators searching for answers amid a web of contradictions, half-truths, and unsettling behavior from those closest to her. As police pieced together timelines and examined troubling details from Kristil’s marriage, her home life, and the hours leading up to her death, it became clear that nothing about the scene was as straightforward as it appeared. In a case marked by deception, silence, and unanswered questions, the truth of who killed Kristil Krug would remain obscured far longer than anyone expected.Episode Sources:https://apnews.com/article/0658e5bac14daa0aba8a18a9330bb6d4https://apnews.com/article/af75475b55865fd03ecc14452b1f157ahttps://people.com/colorado-man-convicted-killing-wife-stalking-her-impersonating-ex-boyfriend-11718201https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/kristil-krug-daniel-murder-denver-stalking-court-update-b2727262.htmlhttps://www.crimeonline.com/2024/01/02/cops-colorado-man-murders-his-wife-after-pretending-to-be-stalker-ex-for-months/https://www.ksat.com/news/2025/04/18/colorado-man-gets-life-in-prison-for-killing-his-wife-after-posing-as-ex-boyfriend-and-stalking-her/https://nypost.com/2025/04/04/us-news/colorado-man-posed-as-wifes-ex-then-murdered-her-cops/https://www.reddit.com/r/Dateline/comments/1nulqyq

Some of the most devastating intersections of mental illness and violence occur in cases that are unthinkable-when parents killed their children while experiencing episodes of active acute psychosis.In this episode of Koltergeist, we discuss just 3 of the many stories of fractured reality—where delusions overrode instinct. We examine what psychosis looks like in deeply unwell parents and how when symptoms go unrecognized or misunderstood, they can lead to irreversible outcomes-cases of filicide-where a parent kills their own child.Mental illness does not discriminate by age, race, gender, income, or education. It can take root in any home, unravel any mind, and alter anyone’s life. These cases will challenge our most basic ideas about intent, culpability, compassion, and justice.These are stories of Lindsay Clancy, Romechia Sims, and Richard Greist.Episode Sources:Oct 26, 2023, page A5 - The Republican at Newspapers.com™Oct 16, 2024, page B4 - The Boston Globe at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™Lindsay Clancy's Husband Speaks Out After Killings, Says Wife Isn't a 'Monster'Lindsay Clancy hearing weighs psych records and reporter's notes | Court TVPostpartum Psychosis - StatPearls - NCBI BookshelfSep 15, 2015, page 4 - The McDowell News at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™Apr 23, 2016, page A2 - Lexington Herald-Leader at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™Jun 07, 2015, page A25 - The News Journal at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™May 11, 1978, page 1 - The Morning Press at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™Jan 23, 1980, page 35 - Philadelphia Daily News at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™Aug 03, 2022, page B3 - The Philadelphia Inquirer at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™May 12, 1978, page 1 - The Reporter at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2787197

Episode Description:On Christmas Eve, 1985, the frozen body of a young boy clad only in blue pajamas was found abandoned in a snowswept ditch along a stretch of rural Nebraska highway. With no clues to his identity, he became known among the locals as “little boy blue”. Nearly 2 years later, authorities found his family and uncovered a trail of dead bodies and sordid tale of secrets and lies that shattered a peaceful Amish community. Sources:Jul 19, 1988, page 15 - Austin American-Statesman at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™30 years later, two Durango murders remain unsolved - The Durango HeraldSwartzentruber Amish: The Most Traditional Group - Amish AmericaRe-Examining the Death of Amish Woman Ida StutzmanFather jailed in death of 'Little Boy Blue' - UPI ArchivesOlsen, Gregg. The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy That Let a Killer Go Free (p. 121). Thomas & Mercer. Kindle Edition.

Episode Description:On Christmas Eve 2008, a man dressed as Santa Claus rang the doorbell of a family home in Covina, California. Minutes later, the house was engulfed in flames, and a holiday gathering turned into one of the most horrifying massacres in modern true crime history. In this episode, Koltergeist unpacks the deception, the rage, and the chilling premeditation behind Bruce Pardo’s violent rampage—and the unanswered questions that still linger long after the smoke cleared.Then, On Christmas Day, 1929, a North Carolina tobacco farmer wiped out his entire family—just days after forcing them into an expensive, unexplained portrait. Nearly a century later, the Lawson murders remain one of America’s most chilling holiday mysteries. In this episode, Koltergeist unravels the strange behavior, whispered secrets, and unanswered questions behind a crime that still haunts the foothills… and the photograph that warned no one.Sources:https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6530779&page=1https://abc7.com/post/covina-christmas-shooting-survivor-hopes-walkout-sends-a-message/3217340/?userab=abc_web_player-460*variant_a_abc_control-1900%2Cotv_web_player-461*variant_a_otv_control-1902%2Cotv_web_content_rec-445*variant_a_control-1849%2Chp_banner-426*variant_a_control-1777https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawson_family_murdershttps://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2016/12/25/story-lawson-family