Fact and Suspicion

On August 10th, 2017, Freelance Journalist Kim wall joined Danish inventor Peter Madsen on his Submarine, the UC3 Nautilus, with the intent of interviewing him. Several hours after they were expected to return, Kim's boyfriend reported her missing. A search ensued for Kim, Peter, and the missing submarine. The next day, Madsen was rescued from the sinking sub, but Kim was nowhere to be found. What followed was the most infamous criminal investigation in the history of Denmark.

The American Stonehenge, that was the name given by many to the Georgia Guidestones, a 19ft tall granite monument weighing over 230,000 lbs with advanced astronomical features and cryptic engravings. In 2022, the Guidestones were damaged by a bomber and were suspiciously dismantled by local authorities later that same day. Today, we will discuss the mysteries of who built the Guidestones and why they were destroyed.

Most cold cases will never be solved. Occasionally, though, new information or advancements in technology will give investigators the edge they need for a major breakthrough. This happened to be the case in the disappearance of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel, who vanished during her spring break while walking down Ocean Blvd., the busy main thoroughfare in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

On February 24, 1978, five men from Marysville California drove to a basketball game in Chico. The last time they were seen alive was shortly after the game ended at a convenience store just off the Chico State campus. Their car was later found in a remote area of the Plumas County forest. Months later, four of their bodies were found miles from the car. To this day, the fifth man, Gary Matthias has not been found. The reason they ended up in the Plumas National Forest is still unknown, and has since become one of the strangest missing person's mysteries of all time.

On August 29, 1995 Mark Winger of Springfield Illinois made a frantic 911 call. He reported that his wife Donnah had been attacked by an intruder, who Mark had then shot in the head. Donnah would die at the hospital, and investigators would find that her attacker had a disturbing history.

In February of 2013, guests of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angelas began to complain that the water in their rooms had a strange sickly taste. This led to a maintenance man making a gruesome discovery in the water reservoir on top of the hotel. The body of 21-year-old Elisa Lam was found floating in the tank. The question still remains: how did she get there?

On November 26, 2003 the town of Chesnee South Carolina saw its largest mass murder ever. Four people were shot to death at Superbike Motorsports, a local motorcycle dealer and service center. After committing these grisly murders, the killer went back and shot each victim in the head and and chest just to be sure. A self-proclaimed serial killer and rapist has confessed to these crimes, but many doubt his guilt in this particular case. Todd Kohlhepp is guilty of murder, but is he guilty of these?

Brandon Swanson Disappeared on May 14th, 2008. After celebrating the end of the spring semester with friends, Brandon began the 30-mile drive back to his home in Marshall Minnesota. He would never arrive.   Around 2 a.m. Brandon called his father claiming to have ran his car into a ditch near Lynd, a small town just outside of Marshall. His parents left immediately but failed to located Brandon or his car. Frustrated, Brandon left his car and decided to walk into town. He has never been seen again.

Ben and Dan take a look at HBO's new mini-series The Staircase and discuss what it gets right and what it gets wrong.

In the autumn of 1888, a killer terrorized the East End of London. Over a three-month period, Jack the Ripper stalked the streets of White Chapel, brutally murdering at least 5 women before vanishing as abruptly as he appeared. More than a century later, Jack the Ripper remains unidentified, but his horrific legacy lives on.

Ben and Dan discuss 12 Tribes, the cult that runs a chain of sandwich shops.

In this episode of Fact and Suspicion, Ben and Dan discuss three prolific conmen: Billy McFarland, Kyle Sandler, and Barry Minkow.

In 2012, 16 Japanese students were trapped on an Island and forced to murder each other by an evil robotic bear named Monokuma. Join Ben and Dan as we discuss perhaps the most horrific case we've ever examined. #April Fools

An Update on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

A wolf in Sheep's clothing, you've probably heard that saying all your life. It's become cliche in books and film. But is this a trope, or a grim reality of our world? The Duggar family was seen as Wholesome, hard working, an interesting caracture of family life for some, heroes for others. Millions of people watched their show on TLC. But beyond the cameras there was dark secrets and a monster in the making named Josh.

On Friday, June 4 2010, Skyline Elementary School in Portland Oregon was having a Science Fair and Talent Show. There were many extra people in the school that day. That morning 7 year old Kyron Horman toured the science fair with his step mother Terri. Kyron, however, never made it to class. Was he abducted from school? Was he targeted by a stranger, or did someone close to him mean him harm?

Kent Heithold was murdered in the early morning hours of November 1st, 2001 in the parking lot of the Columbia Daily Tribune. Police struggled to find leads in the case foryears until 19-year-old Chuck Erickson confessed based on some dreams he had. Chuck also implicated his friend Ryan Ferguson who went on to be convicted of murder, based solely on the testimony of Chuck.

Jaliek Rainwalker was born a victim of abuse. At birth he was addicted to alcohol and cocaine and was given up for adoption and two days old. Due to the circumstances of his birth, he faced severe developmental and behavioral issues. Jaliek went through six different foster families before finally, at seven years of age, being placed with the family that would adopt him. Five years later on November 2, 2007, Jaliek's adopted father Stephen Kerr would awake to find Jaliek missing.  He has never been found.

In the early morning hours of December 9th, 2001 Michael Peterson called 911 to report that he had found his wife Cathleen severely injured at the bottom of a staircase in their home. When Paramedics arrived, the scene was covered in blood. Authorities immediately suspected foul play and their suspicion fell on Michael. As more details emerged, this turned into a rabbit hole of confusing facts that resulted in one of the most polarizing murder cases in American History.

On October 27th, 1989, 11-year-old Amy Mihaljevic left school and walked to the Bay Square Shopping Center. Two of her friends witnessed her leave with an adult male. About an hour later, Amy called her mother, telling her that she had been at choir auditions. Amy, However, never returned home.