Crossing the Line with M. William Phelps

A police commander's husband goes missing and law enforcement seems to think he might have taken off on his own. Then he is found murdered—and the case soon turns into a strange whodunit, with his wife at the center of the investigation. This, as another death ocurrs, leaving one man holding all the cards. For exclusive content, sign up for your free Patreon account here. Leave a five-star review of this show, please. ;-) Order Phelps's latest book, THEY CAME FOR BLOOD, book 1 in a three-book Tom Callahan Western series from Hatcreek, an imprint within the Roan & Weatherford Publishing enterprise.   "...A fine gritty western with an unanticipated twist. Phelps's prose, dialogue, and accurate descriptions of the frontier takes readers back to the old west and all the brutality that went with it. With a nod to the authors who established the western genre, Phelps finds new, unexplored trails for his fans to enjoy." -Reavis Z. Wortham, New York Times Bestselling Author of Comancheria "M. William Phelps hits like a Winchester to the gut. They Came for Blood is brutal, relentless, and carved from the hard timber of the Old West. Callahan's hunt for truth and redemption kept me turning pages long after sundown." -Anthony Wood, Will Rogers Medallion-Winning Author of Land of the Blind "They Came for Blood packs a punch like a belly full of lead. Twists sizzling like hot lightning turn the plot faster'n a barrel racer. A definite must read." -D.N. Sample, Author of Cold Powder Vengeance Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 Apple Podcast hit PAPER GHOSTS, now in its 5th season, "The Texas Teen Murders," wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**  

A serial rapist, Mitchell Gaff, is caught and jailed. Thinking he's getting out of prison many years later, the court sentences him to McNeil Island, where the worst sexual predators are kept from society. After decades, he is finally released. 50 years after his first crimes, police are knocking on his door once again—but this time, it's murder they're looking to charge him with. For exclusive content, sign up for your free Patreon account here. Leave a five-star review of this show, please. ;-) Order Phelps's latest book, THEY CAME FOR BLOOD, book 1 in a three-book Tom Callahan Western series from Hatcreek, an imprint within the Roan & Weatherford Publishing enterprise.   "...A fine gritty western with an unanticipated twist. Phelps's prose, dialogue, and accurate descriptions of the frontier takes readers back to the old west and all the brutality that went with it. With a nod to the authors who established the western genre, Phelps finds new, unexplored trails for his fans to enjoy." -Reavis Z. Wortham, New York Times Bestselling Author of Comancheria "M. William Phelps hits like a Winchester to the gut. They Came for Blood is brutal, relentless, and carved from the hard timber of the Old West. Callahan's hunt for truth and redemption kept me turning pages long after sundown." -Anthony Wood, Will Rogers Medallion-Winning Author of Land of the Blind "They Came for Blood packs a punch like a belly full of lead. Twists sizzling like hot lightning turn the plot faster'n a barrel racer. A definite must read." -D.N. Sample, Author of Cold Powder Vengeance Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 Apple Podcast hit PAPER GHOSTS, now in its 5th season, "The Texas Teen Murders," wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**  

Five members of the Martin family--Kenneth, Barbara, and their three young children, Barbie, Susan and Virginia--head out one afternoon in 1958 for a Sunday drive in Oregon and never return. The only family member left behind, the oldest son, has some explaining to do. But in the end, a case spanning nearly 70 years, the answers are not what anyone has been expecting, sending shockwaves throughout the community.  Welcome to a bonus feature here on the Crossing the Line feed. I come across all sorts of stories while researching books, TV series, and my iHeartMedia podcast, Paper Ghosts, in addition to the ideas you send me. A lot of them grab hold of me emotionally—especially the victims' stories and the ordeal their families go through. A good number of the cases, for myriad reasons, don't fit into the model for a more complete CTL episode. So I wanted to create a sub platform to showcase some of those stories, as well. That said, thank you for supporting Crossing the Line, which has allowed me to produce this new expansion of the brand … Once or twice per month, maybe more, I'll present a 15 to 20 minute episode, covering murder and missing person cases, and other interesting crimes I think you'll want to hear about—but maybe more importantly, cases that give us a deeper understanding of the crimes and scumbags who commit them. Sign up for your free Patreon account here, where I'll be streaming "live," and posting other content you cannot find anywhere else. Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 hit podcast PAPER GHOSTS, now in its fourth season, wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 50 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**  

A young mother, Judith Lord, estranged from her husband, is home alone with her 20-month-old baby one night in Concord, New Hampshire. The next morning, the landlord is looking to collect the rent—and soon discovers a brutal homicide that will take 50-plus years to resolve. For exclusive content, sign up for your free Patreon account here. Leave a five-star review of this show, please. ;-) Order Phelps's latest book, THEY CAME FOR BLOOD, book 1 in a three-book Tom Callahan Western series from Hatcreek, an imprint within the Roan & Weatherford Publishing enterprise.   "...A fine gritty western with an unanticipated twist. Phelps's prose, dialogue, and accurate descriptions of the frontier takes readers back to the old west and all the brutality that went with it. With a nod to the authors who established the western genre, Phelps finds new, unexplored trails for his fans to enjoy." -Reavis Z. Wortham, New York Times Bestselling Author of Comancheria "M. William Phelps hits like a Winchester to the gut. They Came for Blood is brutal, relentless, and carved from the hard timber of the Old West. Callahan's hunt for truth and redemption kept me turning pages long after sundown." -Anthony Wood, Will Rogers Medallion-Winning Author of Land of the Blind "They Came for Blood packs a punch like a belly full of lead. Twists sizzling like hot lightning turn the plot faster'n a barrel racer. A definite must read." -D.N. Sample, Author of Cold Powder Vengeance Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 Apple Podcast hit PAPER GHOSTS, now in its 5th season, "The Texas Teen Murders," wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**  

A mother, Heather Dewild Springer, heads out to meet her soon-to-be ex at the home they once shared… and nobody sees her again. True crime tells us to go right to the old adage: the husband did it. But if you think that's the end of the story, tune in, because it is far more complicated. For exclusive content, sign up for your free Patreon account here. Leave a five-star review of this show, please. ;-) Order Phelps's latest book, THEY CAME FOR BLOOD, book 1 in a three-book Tom Callahan Western series from Hatcreek, an imprint within the Roan & Weatherford Publishing enterprise.   "...A fine gritty western with an unanticipated twist. Phelps's prose, dialogue, and accurate descriptions of the frontier takes readers back to the old west and all the brutality that went with it. With a nod to the authors who established the western genre, Phelps finds new, unexplored trails for his fans to enjoy." -Reavis Z. Wortham, New York Times Bestselling Author of Comancheria "M. William Phelps hits like a Winchester to the gut. They Came for Blood is brutal, relentless, and carved from the hard timber of the Old West. Callahan's hunt for truth and redemption kept me turning pages long after sundown." -Anthony Wood, Will Rogers Medallion-Winning Author of Land of the Blind "They Came for Blood packs a punch like a belly full of lead. Twists sizzling like hot lightning turn the plot faster'n a barrel racer. A definite must read." -D.N. Sample, Author of Cold Powder Vengeance Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 Apple Podcast hit PAPER GHOSTS, now in its 5th season, "The Texas Teen Murders," wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**  

For 25 years you go about your life as if you're a normal dude living the dream … you have a good woman supporting you; a solid job; and loyal friends. Yet, you do it all while holding onto a dark secret … buried underneath the floorboards in one of the bedrooms inside your home. If you find yourself in a domestic violence situation and feel alone, scared, or unsure of what to do, there is help: https://www.thehotline.org/ Call: 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or text: "START" to 88788 - you are safe here with these people.  For exclusive content, sign up for your free Patreon account here. Leave a five-star review of this show, please. ;-) Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 Apple Podcast hit PAPER GHOSTS, now in its 5th season, "The Texas Teen Murders," wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**  

You and your girlfriend are parked on Lovers' Lane, the moonlight shining its wondrous glow on you both. A scumbag comes up to the car—with a gun. Such an innocent image shattered by a psychopath one night in Houston, lurking in the shadows, like the Zodiac Killer… and ready to strike. A double murder that goes unsolved for over 30 years. For exclusive content, sign up for your free Patreon account here. Leave a five-star review of this show, please. ;-) Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 Apple Podcast hit PAPER GHOSTS, now in its 5th season, "The Texas Teen Murders," wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**

It's been a life-long dream of mine to write Westerns (as you can clearly see from the photo below of Little M. William Phelps, the cowboy, LOL). The old-school, plot-driven, big character stories pitting good verses evil, good guys against bad guys, which is not so much different from what I normally do for my day job of true crime reporting and investigation for the podcasts I am most known for and the 40-plus true crime books I have published.  THEY CAME FOR BLOOD is book 1 in a three-book Tom Callahan Western series, and releases May 12, 2026, from Hatcreek, an imprint within the Roan & Weatherford Publishing enterprise.  WHEN THE PAST COMES FOR BLOOD, YOU EITHER DRAW FIRST OR DIE TRYING Tom Callahan was once the government's deadliest secret-a lethal gun-for-hire leading a team of assassins no one knew existed. Now those days are long gone. Or so he thought. Now an aging cowboy trying to keep his ranch alive, Callahan wants nothing more than peace... and a sliver of forgiveness. But when word reaches him that his wife and son-long believed dead-may still be alive, that peace turns to dust. From railroad corruption to a secret slave trade, outlaw towns to Washington DC's back rooms, every mile drags Callahan deeper into the rot of the nation he once served. Hunted, framed, and haunted by the men he used to ride with, he's forced to become the one thing he swore he'd never be again-a killer. In a world built on blood, there's no clean way out. To save his family, Callahan will have to face the ghosts of his past-and decide if redemption is worth the price in bodies. New York Times bestselling author M. William Phelps delivers a brutal, timely, and cinematic Western thriller where the trail to the truth runs red and redemption rides a pale horse.

For some, killing is an addiction, like food, alcohol, sex or drugs. Each victim makes the next one easier … Is the man behind the murders I have for you this week the most prolific serial killer on record—whose name you have likely never heard of? And what do the experts say regarding the psychology behind the dozens of murders he committed?  For exclusive content, sign up for your free Patreon account here. Leave a five-star review of this show, please. ;-) Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 Apple Podcast hit PAPER GHOSTS, now in its 5th season, "The Texas Teen Murders," wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**  

A young couple is living together and finishing their graduate studies in March 1980. One of them arrives home to a horrific scene. For nearly 50 years the case flies under the radar of the media and investigators … until, that is, a compassionate journalist decides the victim deserves to be remembered. Sign the Change.org Julie Revsin petition to help get DNA from her case tested. It cost nothing but a few moments of your time. Welcome to a bonus feature here on the Crossing the Line feed. I come across all sorts of stories while researching books, TV series, and my iHeartMedia podcast, Paper Ghosts, in addition to the ideas you send me. A lot of them grab hold of me emotionally—especially the victims' stories and the ordeal their families go through. A good number of the cases, for myriad reasons, don't fit into the model for a more complete CTL episode. So I wanted to create a sub platform to showcase some of those stories, as well. That said, thank you for supporting Crossing the Line, which has allowed me to produce this new expansion of the brand … Once or twice per month, maybe more, I'll present a 15 to 20 minute episode, covering murder and missing person cases, and other interesting crimes I think you'll want to hear about—but maybe more importantly, cases that give us a deeper understanding of the crimes and scumbags who commit them. Sign up for your free Patreon account here, where I'll be streaming "live," and dropping exclusive content you cannot find anywhere else. Visit www.crossingtheline.biz to contact investigative journalist and host M. William Phelps, get more information about the show, updates to cases, and more.  And don't forget to subscribe to Phelps's #1 hit podcast PAPER GHOSTS, now in its fourth season, wherever you get your favorite shows. M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 46 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Phelps has written for numerous publications1, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant. Diversifying his talents, Phelps consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter and has executive produced and starred in over 350 hours of true crime television. All of which gives him a confluence of expertise and experience to bring to true crime fanatics. Phelps grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now splits his time between Tolland County and N. Stonington, CT. In July 2017, he published his definitive, 10-year project about Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer. **For mental health assistance or to get help, please visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI website or call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text "HelpLine" to 62640, or email [email protected]**