Murder, My Dude

Take a look, it's in a book: Murder, My Dude! We're taking a look at the Stephen King book so controversial, that the legendary author removed it from store shelves. Rage was originally published under a pseudonym, and it inspired a series of horrendous crimes (mostly in Kentucky, for some reason). This week, we explore those stories! BUT FIRST! This Week in Murder explores updates to some old stories and a senseless Bed-Stuy stabbing. And, as always, we close with a game of Who Died The Worst!

Murder, My Dude returns to Episode 168! (or is it 169?) Dorothy Stratten was not only one of the top playmates for Playboy Magazine in 1980, but she was also seemingly poised for crossover superstardom in Hollywood, where she drew the attention of one director in particular… By the end of the year, she was brutally murdered before her 21st birthday. In this episode, we explore her story. BUT FIRST!!! This Week in Murder explores a Chicagoland Slaughter and a murder/kidnapping trial in England. And, as always, we end with a game of Who Died The Worst?! NOTE: Please excuse the technical/production issues about 10-15 minutes in.

Murder, My Dude returns for the 167th (and possibly final?) time! In the Winter of 2013, LAPD officers and police in surrounding areas found themselves the targets of a rampaging killer hell-bent on getting even for what he thought was a broken system that had victimized him and cost him his livelihood. Christopher Dorner was a vigilante with a twisted set of targets who targeted the very same police force he was once a part of. This week, we tell his story! But first!!! This Week in Murder explores a domestic incident gone wrong in Texas and a 98-year-old Nazi being tried as a juvenile.  And, as always, we close out (possibly for good?!) with a rousing game of Who Died The Worst?!

It’s September, and back to school season is in full swing on Murder, My Dude! While that usually means homework and recess for most people, for us, it means school bus accidents and one of the most sinister killer’s we’ve ever covered. Andrei Chikatilo’s life was a Stalinist horror story, with an upbringing dominated by birth defects, intentional famines, and World War II. These surroundings helped create a monster - one that would terrorize the Rostov-on-Don section of the Soviet Union for over a decade.  This week, we tell his story. BUT FIRST! This Week in Murder explores the aforementioned school bus accidents and a hate crime in California. And, as always, we play a rollicking game of Who Died The Worst?!

This week’s feature is a rough one, given the age of one of the victims and how preventable his death was. 20 years after his tragic killing, we look at both the murder of one-year-old Zachary Turner as well as the killing of his father, Andrew Bagby. We also explore the tireless efforts of Andrew’s friends and family to make sure that their deaths resulted in reform to help prevent others from suffering a similar fate. BUT FIRST! We play with Chat GPT and explore current crimes in This Week in Murder!  Then, as always, we close with a rousing game of Who Died The Worst?!

It may be August, but Murder, My Dude is thinking cool thoughts! If you’ve watched your share of late night HBO in the 90s or 2000s, you may already be a little familiar with the story of Richard “The Iceman” Kulkinski, the self-professed hitman who seemed to love killing more than anything (with the possible exception of talking about killing). How many of The Iceman’s tales of terror were real and how many tall tales from an attention-starved small-time hustler with a mean streak? Listen, and find out! BUT FIRST! This Week In Murder explores a cold case solved after nearly 50 years and the capture of the Long Island Serial Killer. And as always, we close things out with a game of Who Died The Worst!

No, it’s not a shameless effort to court Red Hot Chili Peppers fans, this week, we venture North to explore a Canadian true crime case that left the nation fearing for (or just straight up fearing) their youth in the mid/late 1990s. What happened to Reena Virk was every parent’s worst nightmare, and the ensuing legal wrangling is a case study in both the flaws of criminal justice and the power of forgiveness. Join us, and learn about the story before it becomes the latest hit true crime miniseries on Hulu. BUT FIRST! Jackson Wells regales us with tales from dating apps, and This Week in Murder explores two people being sentenced to prison and an unlikely person being released. And then we close with a capital punishment-themed rendition of Who Died The Worst?!

It’s a day full of fun and fireworks, and to celebrate the 4th of July, we’re releasing this week’s episode a few days early!  And in our very special Independence Day episode, we’re going to look at not one, not two, but THREE stories of historical American Murders: the first known murderer in the colonies that would become the United States, an infamous massacre that helped kickstart the revolution, and the first fully transcribed murder trial in American history. BUT FIRST! This Week In Murder takes a look at another “self-defense” shooting through a locked door and an unlikely plea for clemency in a California killing An, as always, we finish up with a rousing game of Who Died The Worst?!

Yeah, Father’s Day was almost a week ago, but in the spirit of, “better late than never,” Murder, My Dude is going to celebrate it the only way we know how: the worst way humanly possible! When most people think of killing one’s parents, the name that springs into mind immediately is Menendez. Even by their own testimony, Lyle and Erik Menendez shot their parents 15 times with a pair of 12-gauge shotguns on August 20, 1989. They claim it was to escape from a lifetime of abuse, but those who put them in jail for life say it was greed, plain and simple.  In this episode, we explore their story. BUT FIRST! This Week In Murder explores a children’s author accused of murder (and of making dubious internet searches) and a man long believed to be wrongfully convicted of murder is freed. And finally, we close out with a rousing game of Who Died The Worst!

It’s another of our tentpole episodes of the year this week: our 4th rendition of Pride, My Dude! And in this episode, we travel to our CONFIRMED SECOND BIGGEST MARKET!!! In the glorious, wonderful, please recommend the podcast to a friend United Kingdom, where we’ll explore the notorious Grindr (and Fitlad and Sleepyboy) Killer, who exploited questionable policework and killed four victims in the mid-2010s. BUT FIRST! This Week In Murder revisits the 2021 (yes, 2021) Gabby Petito case, and explores a Family Feud Contestant gone bad. Then, as always, we end with a rousing game of Who Died The Worst!