The Bennington Triangle

In this episode of Criminology, Mike and Morf explore the mysterious Bennington Triangle in southern Vermont, examining a series of disappearances and deaths dating back to the 1940s. The cases include hunters Carl Herrick and Middie Rivers, college student Paula Jean Welden, World War I veteran James Tedford, eight-year-old Paul Jepson, hiker Frieda Langer, and the disappearance of Martha Jeannette Jones, who was eventually found alive.Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the Bennington Triangle. Explanations range from accidents and getting lost in the rugged wilderness to abduction and foul play. Also examined is the area's eerie reputation, the legendary Bennington Monster, and Native American stories of cursed land. You can help support the show through Patreon.We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms:Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1987, Josefina Rivera escaped from Gary Heidnik and led Philadelphia police to his home, where they discovered three women chained and imprisoned in his basement and human remains in the freezer. Heidnik had spent years preying on vulnerable and intellectually disabled women, including a previous victim he kidnapped from a state hospital in 1978. Between November 1986 and March 1987, he abducted seven women and subjected them to horrific abuse, captivity, starvation, and torture. Two victims, Sandra Lindsay and Deborah Dudley, were murdered. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss Gary Heidnik. Rivera ultimately escaped and called the police, bringing Heidnik’s reign of terror to an end. At trial, his defense argued insanity, citing his history of mental illness, while prosecutors maintained that he knew right from wrong. Heidnik was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder along with numerous kidnapping, rape, and assault charges and sentenced to death. After years of appeals and a last-minute stay, Gary Heidnik was executed by lethal injection on July 6, 1999—the last execution carried out in Pennsylvania. His Philadelphia home, known as the “House of Horrors,” still stands today. You can help support the show through Patreon.We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms:Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eugene Horsch was arrested in June 2026 after authorities found drugs, illegal firearms, fake IDs, and law-enforcement credentials in his vehicle, leading investigators to his Philadelphia home. The investigation uncovered evidence connected to four missing women—Amy McHale, Blair Tonzelli, Maribel Fresses, and Gabrielle Amarando—with digital evidence suggesting Fresses and Amarando may be dead. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss Eugene and Raymond Horsch. Eugene’s father, Raymond Horsch, who died in 2025, had a long criminal history and produced disturbing films and photographs depicting sex, violence, and apparent deaths. Investigators are now working through hundreds of thousands of images and videos while searching the property for evidence. Eugene remains in federal custody, and the investigation into the missing women is ongoing.   You can help support the show through Patreon. We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms: Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok  Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, we’re sharing a special look at a podcast we think you’ll like from our friends at ABC Audio and 20/20. It’s called “Burden of Proof: Luigi Mangione.” In this five-part series, ABC News Legal Analyst Brian Buckmire goes deep into the case of Luigi Mangione and Brian Thompson. He’ll unpack the murder itself, the two men at the heart of the story, and how this case has affected the conversation about healthcare in America.  This is episode one, “Christmastime in Altoona.” In this episode, the manhunt for the alleged shooter of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson comes to an end at a McDonald’s in Altoona, PA. To hear the rest of the series, follow "Burden of Proof: Luigi Mangione" for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or listen ad-free on Apple Podcasts by subscribing to 20/20 True Crime+.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the 1990s, a series of brutal murders and disappearances in Southwest Florida became known as the Hog Trail Murders. Investigators began focusing on Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. after survivor David Payton described being lured into Conahan's car with an offer of beer and money. Payton escaped by stealing the car, while another survivor, Stanley Burden, described being taken into the woods, tied to a tree, and attacked. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss Daniel Conahan Jr. Multiple bodies were discovered in remote areas of Charlotte and Sarasota Counties, with several victims displaying similar injuries, rope marks, and mutilation. Investigators believe he may have been responsible for additional victims, including some of the Fort Myers Eight, though he was never charged in those cases.   You can help support the show through Patreon. We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms: Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok  Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford. 

In the 1990s, a series of brutal murders and disappearances in Southwest Florida became known as the Hog Trail Murders. Investigators began focusing on Daniel Owen Conahan Jr. after survivor David Payton described being lured into Conahan’s car with an offer of beer and money. Payton escaped by stealing the car, while another survivor, Stanley Burden, described being taken into the woods, tied to a tree, and attacked. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss Daniel Conahan Jr. Multiple bodies were discovered in remote areas of Charlotte and Sarasota Counties, with several victims displaying similar injuries, rope marks, and mutilation. Investigators believe he may have been responsible for additional victims, including some of the Fort Myers Eight, though he was never charged in those cases.   You can help support the show through Patreon. We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms: Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok  Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On July 29, 2026, 60-year-old Shukur Aikebaer was at his home in Chino Hills, California, with his wife and 13-year-old daughter when the power to their house was intentionally cut. When Shukur went outside to check the electrical panel, two men ambushed him, shot him, and forced him into the trunk of their car. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the Chino Hills kidnapping. A neighbor called 911 after hearing gunshots and screams, and deputies quickly located the suspects' silver Nissan Altima. After a brief pursuit, the passenger surrendered, but the driver, 67-year-old Zhengfeng Bo, opened fire into the trunk before officers shot and killed him. Shukur was found inside and had died from the additional gunshots fired by Bo. Investigators soon discovered that this was a deeply personal crime. Bo and Shukur had known each other for roughly 20 years and had been business associates and close friends. You can help support the show through Patreon. We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms: Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For homicide detectives, their chance of solving a murder is cut in half if they don't get a lead within the first 48 hours. Adapted from the hit A&E true crime series The First 48, Crime House Studios brings you the podcast that drops you inside that critical window: the interrogations, the dead ends, and the breakthroughs that crack a case wide open. Each week, we revisit a landmark investigation from the franchise, pairing its signature investigative depth with immersive, long-form storytelling built for your ears. Real detectives. Real cases. Real stakes. New episodes every Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Crime House Studios, A&E Global Media, and ITV America. Listen here: https://pod.link/6786011424 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1992, 20-year-old Jennifer Judd was murdered in Baxter Springs, Kansas. Jennifer had been married for only nine days when she was brutally stabbed in her home. Her husband, Justin, immediately suspected his friend Jeremy Bryan Jones, but investigators initially lacked enough evidence to arrest him. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss Jeremy Bryan Jones. Jones had a long history of violence, sexual assault allegations, drug abuse, and fleeing authorities. He eventually assumed the identity of John Paul Chapman. A fingerprint database error allowed him to avoid identification during multiple arrests in Georgia. You can help support the show through Patreon. We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms: Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Although we aren't covering a new case this week, we wanted to bring you this replay episode from the Criminology vault. It's the Mississippi Burning case which originally aired on episode 49 in 2019. We will be back soon with an all new episode of Criminology. In the summer of 1964, three civil rights workers went missing in Mississippi. They were in the state working to help African Americans get registered to vote. Their station wagon was found burned and then their bodies were found after a 44-day search. The murders sparked a national outcry for justice and led to the first successful federal prosecution in a Mississippi civil rights case. There was a tremendous amount of media coverage on this case. The individuals responsible included members of the KKK as well as local law enforcement. But it wouldn't be easy to get convictions on all involved, and the fight for justice would take many years. You can help support the show through Patreon. We'd love to connect with listeners on social media. We are available on the following platforms: Facebook - Facebook Discussion group - Instagram - Threads - X Formerly Twitter - Blue Sky - Twitch - Tik Tok Criminology is an Emash Digital production hosted by Mike Ferguson and Mike Morford. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.