166: Three of the world's craziest cults

Today we’re going to explore a historic case that changed the course of criminal investigations forever: the first-ever case solved by DNA fingerprinting. This groundbreaking technique was used to catch Colin Pitchfork, a man responsible for the brutal murders of two young girls, Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth, in the 1980s. What started as a complex investigation, with dead end after dead end, took a revolutionary turn when DNA evidence exposed the killer in a way that had never been done before.

Every few months I like to take a look back over the cases I've covered in the past and share any new updates with you... and today I have a LOT of very interesting things to share, with updates in the cases of the Menendez brothers, Asha Degree, Sandy Irvine, Julie Doe, the Bear Brook Jane Doe and much more.

One night in September 1973, 18 year old Peter Reilly returned home to find his mother dead on their bedroom floor, brutally murdered. He called the police and within just minutes, became was their one and only suspect. After a long night and day, Peter eventually confessed to Barbara's murder... but did he do it?

In 1900, a reform school opened up in Mariana, Florida, with the intention of helping wayward boys go on to become productive members of society. What happened instead was of pain, abuse and suffering for the children forced to attend. 

In 1959, 16 year old Mary Flanagan waved bye to her family as she headed to work and then to her work's annual New Year's Eve party. But little did her parents know that Mary hadn't actually gone to work for two weeks, and she likely had no intentions of going to the party. And then she never came home. Where is Mary?-0

Siblings Chloie and Daniel were living with their grandparents in Unionville, Tennessee, when a fire broke out on 23rd September 2012. The bodies of their grandparents and pets were all found in the ashes, but there's never been any sign of Chloie or Daniel.

In 1964, 15 year old Reed Jeppson got back from a morning at church and went out to feed his beloved dogs in their backyard kennel whilst his sister prepped lunch for the family. She warned him not to take too long, that food would be ready soon... but he never came back. Both Reed and both of his dogs seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth, with no clue as to their whereabouts.

On April 19th 1953, Ron Tammen came back to his dorm room at Miami University, Ohio, to discover a dead fish in his bed. Assuming it was a prank by a peer, he went to change his bedsheets and got back to his studying. And then, he just disappeared. What happened to Ron Tammen?

Today we're taking a look at some of the craziest cults the world has ever seen, including a cult in which a man worshipped coconuts... and convinced others to do the same. 

In 1992, Rachel Nickell was out for a walk with her dog and 2 year old son on Wimbledon Common in London, when a man came out of the blue and stabbed her to death. She was found with her son by her side, holding her hand. What followed was a shambles of an investigation by the Met Police, in which they decided to focus all their efforts on one (innocent) man, as the true perpetrator went on to kill others.