EP. 246 - SERIAL KILLER: THE TORSO KILLER - RICHARD COTTINGHAM PART 1

More from Murder In America

1. 

   12 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 56 min

   EP. 249 - FLORIDA: THE PULSE MASSACRE, PART TWO: THE ENDLESS NIGHT.

   It was just after 2 am. Over 200 people were enjoying the freedom that Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub, offered. They were dancing. Connecting. Singing. Embracing the beauty of being alive and being understood. But in an instant, the night changed entirely. Within just a few minutes, dozens would be dead. And over the next few hours, those who did survive would be forced to fight for their lives as they were held captive by a shooter. In part 2 of our 4-part series, we will take you minute by minute through the shooting – looking at every victim, and countless survivors, as they tried to make it…

2. 

   5 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 31 min

   EP. 248 - FLORIDA: THE PULSE MASSACRE, PART ONE: DARK BEGINNINGS

   On June 12th, 2016, Omar Mateen committed one of the most violent mass shootings in American history when he attacked Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. It was an attack that was 29 years in the making. Throughout Omar’s life, there were signs that things weren’t right. Expulsions from school. Being fired from the police academy. And even an investigation by the FBI. In Part 1 of our 4-part series, we’re going to dive into the events leading up to the shooting, and try to answer the question: What could have been done to stop it before it happened? -…

3. 

   29 May 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

   EP. 247 - SERIAL KILLER: THE TORSO KILLER - RICHARD COTTINGHAM PART 2

   When firefighters rushed to a hotel room in December of 1979, they had no idea they were stumbling into the den of a serial killer. On the bed, they discovered the bodies of two women — their heads and hands cut off, and their torsos set on fire and left on display for first responders to find. It was the first glimpse into the madness of Richard Cottingham, the Torso Killer. Little did first responders know, his reign of terror went back decades, leaving a twisted trail that, to this day, we haven’t uncovered the full truth behind. Even now, as he sits in jail, we’re left to wonder: How…

4. 

   15 May 2026 · 2 hr 55 min

   EP. 245 - TEXAS: The Murder of Athena Strand

   "Are you a kidnapper?" Those are some of the last words that Athena Strand ever said. She was just 7 years old, standing in the back of a FedEx van, where an adult had told her she was safe, that things would be okay. But things would never be okay again. The man driving the van was not only a predator... but a killer. And his plans for Athena would be captured on camera, leading to one of the most horrific trials in modern history. A trial that still has everyone asking: How could someone be so evil? -…

5. 

   1 May 2026 · 1 hr 19 min

   EP. 244 - ILLINOIS: TIMOTHY BUSS: THE CHILD KILLER WHO WAS RELEASED… AND KILLED AGAIN

   No one thought a 13-year-old boy was capable of such evil. But when 5-year-old Tara Sue Huffman was discovered bludgeoned to death, all the evidence pointed to neighbor, middle-schooler Timothy Buss, being her killer. After just 12 years of incarceration, Timothy returned to his hometown a reformed man. But not long after his release, another child disappeared. And this time, no one doubted what he was capable of. - Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eTYeCoYyxm58DXXdoFbHQyWHlWbcH9iKGIefFcQToW4/edit?tab=t.y2yayotxnlcb Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify -…

6. 

   24 Apr 2026 · 2 hr 2 min

   EP 243 - TEXAS: THE DARKEST CRIME IN TEXAS HISTORY: The Gang Killings of Elizabeth Peña and Jennifer Ertman

   Elizabeth Peña and Jennifer Ertman were just two teens enjoying a walk home on a hot summer night on June 24th, 1993. When they took a shortcut home, they stumbled upon the aftermath of the unthinkable: A violent gang initiation. What happened to them afterward is the stuff of nightmares. - Sources:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eTYeCoYyxm58DXXdoFbHQyWHlWbcH9iKGIefFcQToW4/edit?tab=t.y2yayotxnlcb Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5IY9nWD2MYDzlSYP48nRPl -Apple Podcasts -…

7. 

   9 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 22 minNew

   EP. 263 - ILLINOIS: The Catfish Cartel Family Murders

   On September 18th, 2023, officers in Romeoville, Illinois, knew they were facing something they had never seen before. As they peered in the windows of a darkened family home, the flashes of what lay inside made their stomachs churn. Three dogs, shot. Furniture turned over. Belongings strewn across the room like a robbery gone wrong. The young family that lived in the home: 32-year-old Alberto Rolon, 38-year-old Zoraida Bartolomei, and their boys, nine-year-old Adriel and seven-year-old Diego, were missing. As police looked inside, nothing could have prepared them for where the family ended…

8. 

   2 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 23 min

   EP. 262 - TEXAS: A SISTER’S LOVE: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARIA JIMENEZ-RODRIGUEZ

   On June 21st, 2018, a 29-year-old dedicated mother and aspiring lawyer, Maria Jimenez-Rodriguez, vanished without a trace. For the next 8 years, her family fought for justice: Leading the investigation into her disappearance, hunting down clues, and even confronting her killer by themselves. This case is one defined by love in the face of true evil. Evil was pieced together, piece by piece, using phone records, video surveillance, and a receipt for an incredibly troubling purchase. -…

9. 

   26 Sep 2026 · 4 hr 2 min

   EP. 261 - MASSACHUSETTS: THE LINDSAY CLANCY CASE: PT. 3: THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY

   In the final part of our three-part series, we take you inside the courtroom of the trial of the century: The case of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts versus Lindsay Clancy. It’s a case that began on a cold winter night more than three years ago, but has spiraled into something much, much more. In the wake of this trial, controversy, anger, and arguments have sprouted across the country and the world. And with them came misinformation, rumors, and outrage. Join us as we break the trial down, moment by moment, to bring you the full truth of this case, unfiltered, from the mouths of the…

10. 

    18 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 49 min

    EP. 260 - MASSACHUSETTS: THE LINDSAY CLANCY CASE PT. 2: THAT WINTER NIGHT

    In Part two of this three-part series, we walk second-by-second through January 24th, 2023, a day that changed Duxbury, Massachusetts, and the Clancy family forever. On that day, police arrived at the peaceful family home belonging to Lindsay and Patrick Clancy to discover the most horrific scene of their career: Lindsay, clinging to life in the snow outside after an apparent suicide attempt, and inside, the bodies of Cora, Dawson, and Callan Clancy, strangled to death in the basement of their own home. -…

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