The term "bluebeard" conveys images of pirates sailing the high seas, but the actual meaning of this term is much darker and there are examples of it all around us. You see, a "bluebeard" is a man that murders his wife. The term is derived from a French folktale dating back to the 1600's, making this horrible idea not a new one. The fact that this term isn't commonly used in North America is curious, since its female counterpart "black widow" is widely known worldwide. In this episode of Sword and Scale we examine some Bluebeard cases which you probably haven't heard about, including some recent ones that have shocked us in their pointlessness and brutality. But beware... After listening, you may never look at your husband the same way again.

Everyone thought Joshua Gouker was a dangerous criminal. It was easy to convict him of murdering his 14-year-old step son Trey Zwicker, especially after he suddenly changed his plea to guilty and confessed. But why would a hardened criminal mastermind, who had several friends and family members at his command and lying for him, suddenly confess at trial without a plea bargain in place? The answer is that his son, who he proudly referred to as a demon child, was also on trial for the same murder, and although he was only 15 when Zwicker died, he was being tried as an adult. The bond between this father and son duo is stronger than you would expect given the fact that neither of them seem to have a moral compass of any sort. We'll delve into the incredible details of this case, which gives new meaning to the words "like father, like son."

In this special two-parter, the brutal and inexplicable murder of a 14-year-old boy exposes a dysfunctional American family's secrets and lies. This is the story of Trey Zwicker's murder, a young boy who did everything right but never really had a chance because he grew up in the wrong place, around the wrong people. This is also the story of a father and son. Joshua Young, a bright honor-role student, and Joshua Gouker, a convicted felon who had spent most of his son's lifetime behind bars. The two were so close that they even share a murder indictment for Trey Zwicker's untimely departure from Earth. One was sentenced to life, the other walks among us, but did the justice system get it right or was it fooled by a criminal mastermind? We'll present the evidence and let you decide for yourself in the true-crime murder mystery. Be sure to check in for part two of this story, where we flip the table and make you question your conclusions.

This is one of the most under-reported murders in the history of the North American Continent. A mutilation that took hours and mind that was so disturbed it relished in the extreme violence inflicted on the deceased, this story exposes the obvious deficiencies in the extremely Liberal Canadian justice system, which even many natives don't even fully understand. Dan Zupansky, author of Trophy Kill "The Shall We Dance Murder" and host of the highly-popular true-crime podcast True Murder "The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History", joins us to tell us a tale that is as disturbing as some of the most infamous cases ever reported. Zupansky, however, wasn't satisfied in simply chronicling a historical case. He jumped in, head first, into an active case that was still unraveling. In doing so, he became the unwitting target of critics and star witness for the prosecution of his subject. He tells us his story, no holds barred, describing his disdain for some of the actors in this case such as Greg Broadsky, who defended infamous killer Paul Bernardo and is on a short list of the most prominent known Canadian criminal defense attorneys. This story is interesting from so many different standpoints, and also so tragic from so many different standpoints, it's unlikely for anyone not to find something they feel passionate about on this particular case.

Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Being one of these children is nightmarish enough, but if your abuser is someone you completely trust, then the event becomes all the more traumatic. Jamie Sivrais was one of these children. When he was 10 his father, who had been absent much of his early life, sexually abused him. Emboldened by his act, the abuse escalated to a point where Jamie knew he had to do something to try and put an end to it. Today Jamie runs a non-profit called A Voice for the Innocent which encourages victims of sexual abuse to come forward anonymously with their stories and get help from a community of others who have had similar experiences. The abuse at the hands of Jamie's father is shocking and terrible, but the fact that he has been able to turn such dark events in his life into such a positive act by assisting other victims, makes his story inspirational and uplifting.

With just 10,000 residents, the small town of Jennings, Louisiana has one of the highest crime rates per capita of any US town. Any vice you're looking for can be found here, including prostitution, which is just one of the things that linked all 8 victims that were found in the surrounding swamp land. Another thing linking all eight women, was their association with a man by the name of Frankie Richard. A shady character with a spotty, Richard knew all 8 women and admits to having sexual relations with almost all of them, yet he claims to have nothing to do with the murders and provides little information beyond that. However, the secrets of this town are lying there in wait for someone to who cares enough about eight dead prostitutes to come forward and solve this case. Apparently, the local Sheriff's department hasn't stepped up to the job, and the level of corruption and crime going on by those who actually wear a badge is staggering. The number of officers or investigated for ethics violations over the last decade would be shocking even for a large city, let alone a small town such as Jennings. It has become clear, over the course of two sheriffs being prosecuted and one mysteriously resigning before being asked to step down, that the culture of corruption in this town may go all the way to the top and, because of that, this crime may never be solved.

What could be more horrifying, terrible, and heart-breaking than a mother intentionally taking the life of her own child. The fact that there's even a word in the English language that describes it it shocking in itself. The word is filicide and, even though you may have never heard of it, there are too many cases to cover in just one episode of Sword and Scale. We barely scratch the surface in this episode of some of the most horrifying cases of mommies killing their babies. Episode 23 covers some of the more famous cases like Andrea Yates and Casey Anthony, as well as the deplorable recent case of Megan Huntsman and her garage of nightmares. We also touch on more recent cases that will literally turn your stomach, such as Microwave Mom China Arnold and the attempted murder suicides of Elaine Campione and Julia Murray, each of which failed their intended outcome for entirely different reasons. Warning: these cases are highly disturbing. You won't be able to get these stories out of your head. So if you are sensitive to the brutal truth of true crime, then you may want to skip this one.

A family divided, a hungry media looking for answers, and an inept police department looking for answers to explain and more importantly prove the inexplicable actions by a father of two young boys, sets a community in turmoil. Soon, the entire nation is wrapped up in the "what ifs" that emerge from the web of lies and misinformation that has been weaved by a family of deviants. In the end answers are few and far between, but there is a resolution, although not the resolution anyone would have hoped for. This is the story of Josh Powell, his wife Susan Powell, and their two young kids Charlie and Braden. Of course, the story also involves the friend and family around them that were, and are still, affected by the actions on the night of and early morning hours of December 6-7th, 2009.

Historical Crime Detective Jason Morrow joins us once again to tell the tale of a mysterious killer who took on the persona of a secret agent in the Summer of 1930. One of the first documented cases of a narcissistic killer engaging the media to taunt police, the tale of 3X captured the imagination of the nation. However after the killing stopped abruptly, this story was all but forgotten... until now. With similarities to the Zodiac Killer case, this is a story you have to hear. We also invite trial reporter Jen Wood from TheTrialDiaries.com to give us an update on the Seth Mazzaglia and Bryan Wayne Hulsey murder cases which she is covering. Also... some fun.

Ronald William Brown was a ventriloquist puppeteer on a television program called Joy Junction, a variety show on the Christian Television Network. Last year he received a 20-year sentence for child pornography charges, but the real story is much more disturbing. Brown along with 42 others were netted in a child porn sting that spanned two continents and perpetrators from every walk of life. Believe it or not, the worst part of the story isn't that these individuals wanted to molest children. Instead, their online chat logs revealed a deep desire to murder, mutilate and eat their corpses too. Brown even had a particular victim in mind, a boy that attended his local church. The horrific level of detail in their plans is captured in the eerily benign nature of their back and forth dialog, which has been recreated using computer voices for this program. Sword and Scale has never released a show this disturbing, so if you are sensitive to topics like this please do not listen.

Elliot Rodger's privileged background and his family's ties to Hollywood didn't help him get accepted by those around him. Instead his awkward behavior and creepy mannerisms made girls want to ignore him and guys want to bully him. For most of his life he endured what he described as a torturous and tormented life, so on May 23rd he took his revenge on the world that had created "such an injustice", in what he called his "day of retribution". We also cover two cases in which South Florida, from the last month, in which police officers have been shot by their girlfriends. Although these cases occurred in adjacent counties, they had very different outcomes. We'll also tell you about a 911 call that may make you mad ...very mad.

How much to you trust your friends? How much do you know your friends? What would they do for you? What would you do for them? In this episode of Sword and Scale we examine a story of betrayal involving new age cults, sound healing, apocalyptic scenarios and a self-serving meth-head who has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Welcome to the story of Eric Preimesberger's unfortunate premature death, and the people responsible for killing him and hiding his body. It's also a tale about the perimeter, the friends that were just outside the fold and due to luck or divine intervention, stayed there. It's also a story about you, and who you know, how well you know them, and how easily you could be sucked into being an accomplice to murder.

In this episode of Sword and Scale we recap the last month's most bizarre stories in the genre of true crime. Quite a few people in trouble have gotten in trouble with the law lately because of their poor choices and bizarre behavior. Although to them it may be no laughing matter, everyone else is left thinking "just what on earth were they thinking?" We also catch up with Cathy Russon from Court Chatter who fills us in on all the courtroom drama behind the Julie Schenecker murder case. We'll hear her take and also let you hear Schenecker's bizarre apology which, interestingly enough, did not include any mention of her estranged ex-husband.

Lauren Giddings had just graduated law school and was getting ready for a new life when she suddenly disappeared from her apartment in Macon, Georgia. As her friends and family desperately tried to find her, they were surprised to see Lauren's reclusive neighbor on the news overreacting to word that a dismembered body had been nearby. The shaggy, bearded introvert was questioned by police in one of the strangest and most infuriating interrogations ever caught on tape. In this episode of Sword and Scale we discuss Stephen McDaniel's bizarre behavior, and what led up to his eventual admission of guilt. We also talk to Sergeant Mario de los Santos of the City of Miami Police Department, and former personality of A&E's The First 48, about his experience interrogating murder suspects, and the tactics used by police to secure a confession.

A deliberate murder that took 8 years of planning and plenty of hard work to accomplish. It involved a man, his truck, and an underground bunker in the Washington mountains. Peter Keller was described as a survivalist with a distrust of authority by his family and friends, but none of them had any idea he would ever resort to what he did. Now they're left wondering how they could have missed the clues and whether there was anything they could have done to prevent the murder of his wife and daughter. We'll also cover the castle doctrine case of Byron David Smith, in which all of the condemning audio was recorded by the home owner’s own security system. Even if you strongly feel in the second amendment and the right for homeowners to protect themselves and their property, you'll find this particular case absolutely chilling. The pure evil in Smith's voice is nakedly obvious on tape, stirring memories of Norman Bates in Psycho.

Usually we find the stories we want to talk about on Sword and Scale. This week the story found us, in the form of a cry for help from the surviving sister of Kimberly Renea Mabry, whose mutilated body turned up in a Rockford Illinois creek in 1995 and whose killer remains at large almost 20 years later. We bring you her story and ask for your help in solving this bizarre cold case that all but everyone has forgotten about. We next travel back to 1935 for a bizarre case of extortion and attempted murder in a small rural town of American Indian heritage. This story, titled "The Tahlequah Coed Case", is a place and time where prejudice prevails against justice, and a need for attention would put in motion a case highlighting the dark underside of small town life. We'll also cover the WTF Stories of the week and give you an update on the Oscar Pistorius Trial with Pistorius himself taking the witness stand in his own defense.

This week we're joined by former ex-inmate Glenn Langohr, who spent 10 years behind bars at some of California's toughest level 4 prisons, before reinventing himself as a best-selling author. His latest book, Prison Riot, takes the reader through the details of an actual prison riot he was involved in at California's Solano State Prison. We also talk to Professor Natasha A. Frost, author of the book The Punishment Imperative: The Rise and Failure of Mass Incarceration in America, about America's addiction with prisons and exactly how much it is costing us. We'll also show you how to make your own prison alcohol and taste test some prison food known as Nutraloaf (or Nutriloaf).

When 20-year-old Morgan Ingram tragically died in 2011, the family couldn't deal with their grief. What followed was a bizarre and prolonged Internet campaign of hate which has attempted to ruin the lives of at least a dozen people. Sword and Scale followed the rabbit hole to see where it would go, and we soon found that the pattern of behavior can be traced back to a mysterious individual named Sarah Afshar who interviewed Morgan's mom seems to have some sort of close relationship with. We dive head-first into this story and examine every aspect of it. No stone is left unturned. Morgan's family, and particularly her mother Toni Ingram, continues to claim that her daughter was stalked and killed, even though there is no evidence to support their claims. Toni has even publicly "outed" who she thinks is responsible on the web and on national television. Was Morgan really stalked and killed in the same house that her parents slept, did she commit suicide, or is there an even more sinister explanation to her unfortunate death like Munchausen by Proxy? We'll present you with the facts, but it's up to you to decide.

What happens when a family's grief slips into malice and madness, when a mother is so hell-bent on being portrayed as a victim that she begins victimizing everyone who doesn't see her as one? Welcome to the sad story of Morgan Ingram's untimely death and the circus of insanity that followed and continues to this day. When Morgan's car was keyed in 2011, a bizarre narrative began to unfold which consisted of a maniac serial-stalker who would terrorize the Ingram family for months. This methodical madman with unbelievable speed and agility was able to go undetected for months, according to Morgan Ingram's mother Toni, despite several attempts to catch him and an array of video cameras strewn around the Ingram household. Despite over nine calls to police, this psycho stalker, who Toni Ingram is convinced was a neighborhood boy, devised a plan to gain access to the Ingram home, subdue and murder Morgan with the same drug she was prescribed, and then make his exit without morgan's parents or two dogs noticing. She has publicly named this boy, and his girlfriend at the time, as the murderers of her daughter because she says they were jealous. She also watched his house for months, making note of when his car was in the driveway, driven by his workplace several times a day, and monitored his Facebook account looking for anything she could use to prove he was the killer, which would lead a sane person to question who the real stalker is.

Any untimely death is a tragedy, but when the victim is young, beautiful, and an all-around wonderful person, the whole thing seems to be much worse. Unfortunately, there are two high-profile cases in the news this week that fit this too-familiar mold. We walk you through the backstory of both of them, told by those who knew the victims best. We also speak to high profile crime experts Levi Page, host of The Levi Page Show and frequents HLN contributor and Cathy Russon from CourtChatter.com. The first case is that of nursing student Holly Bobo, who was abducted from her home in 2011. The case made national headlines and the inspirational tale of how an entire town rallied around the search for Holly is truly inspirational. This three-year-old case had started to grow stale, until shocking news this week which suggest the perpetrator was someone that everyone in the community knew, including Holly. Next we travel to the crime-laden land of South Africa, which is hosting a murder trial which has the entire world captivated. It is that of Oscar Pistorius, who shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home on Valentines Day last year. According to Pistorius, he thought she was an intruder and he thought a home invasion was occurring when he shot Steenkamp, but his behavior leading up to the incident and the testimony of ear-witnesses who heard the incident that night tell a different story.

If you had to choose a method of execution for yourself, which would you choose? What if you learned that what is considered the most "humane" method of execution is probably the most painful? We discuss the controversy behind lethal injections, and why just about any other method may be a better option. Convicted murderer Dennis McGuire found out about this the hard way, and his botched execution left onlookers stunned and horrified. We also hear a bizarre murder confession caught on tape by a news crew that ends up becoming part of the story. It's clear that schizophrenia is a major problem that even the neighbors know about, but help for people like this is still somehow inaccessible until they end up hurting others. And if those stories don't wet your appetite, we'll also tell you about the last meals of convicted murderers, including some of the strangest requests ever made. All that, plus Part 2 of the Curtis Reeves bail hearing where we hear from the alleged killer himself. You'll want to hear this one.

This week the true-crime media has been abuzz reporting the verdict of the Michael Dunn "Loud Music Murder Trial." On Sword and Scale we do things a little different, so we'll let you get your fill of that case from other media outlets while we break the case of Curtis Reeves, who like Michael Dunn allegedly shot and killed someone because he didn't like what they were doing and then tried to claim self defense afterwards. Instead of loud music, it was the simple act of texting at a movie theater. I know if someone uses a phone during a movie it can be extremely annoying, but texting isn't really that big of a deal unless you're sitting right next to someone with a particularly big and particularly bright phone. Even then, is it enough to get into an argument about, much less shoot someone? During former cop Curtis Reeves' bail hearing, we learn about all the details that led up to this senseless and tragic outcome where a man died for bad movie theater etiquette.

"White House Boy" Roger Dean Kiser tells us the story of his personal hell. To him, this world which anyone would consider a living hell was just normal everyday life. The way he describes this upbringing is so brutally honest and matter-of-fact, that it will chill your soul. Hundreds of other "White House Boys" have told the tale of the same experience, yet for over a century the institutional torture and sometime murder of children has been taking place right under our collective noses, and only now is this story coming to light. When you hear this story, just keep reminding yourself that you live in America, a country by the people and for the people. You may have to try extra hard to remind yourself because it will be easy to forget. This actually happened. It happened right here, in this country, and the worst part is there is no justice for the victims, not even the ones who are still living. It's absolutely sickening, and a wake up call for anyone who cares enough to listen.

This is the conclusion to a two part saga involving the organized abduction and abuse of children and ritualistic murders by satanic cults allegedly headed by the top levels of government at a mysterious all-male retreat known as Bohemian Grove. We tell the tale of what has become to be known as The Franklin Coverup and follow the trail of young Johnny Gosch and several other youngsters who were persecuted by the very system that was supposed to protect them, all for sharing their nightmare with us. Witness intimidation kept this story under wraps, but some individuals took the fall while countless others probably got away with outright murder.

Imagine a criminal conspiracy and cover-up so so massive in scale, involving the highest levels of government and industry, that it threatens the very fabric of the American system. Now imagine that the crimes of this criminal syndicate are so horrible, so horrendous, that the mere mention of them would be frowned upon in polite society, and the very idea of such a conspiracy being possible would be laughable and downright absurd. Yet, in September of 1982, the unexplained disappearance of a 12-year-old boy named Johnny Gosch, set a series of events into motion that would have earth-shattering ramifications to this day. In this episode of Sword and Scale, we'll delve into Part 1 of a series titled The Massive Cover-Up one of the strangest and most outrageous criminal conspiracy theories ever told, including audio from many of those who witnessed the story unfolding firsthand. We're also delve into all the bizarre side-stories that spin off like fractals into their own mysterious endings. The show concludes with a viral video that made headlines last week. In keeping with the theme, it is that of a sexual abuse victim named Jamie that decided that if the law wasn't going to help her, perhaps YouTube and the outrage of millions could. You won't want to miss this clip.

On Friday, October 5th 2012, 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway disappeared on her way to school. This is the story of what happened to her and how the suburban city of Westminster coped with the aftermath, including the perpetrator's chilling confession. We warn you, some of the details are quite disturbing and not intended for all audiences. We also examine how common child abductions are in the United States and cover some of the week's most eye-catching headlines.

It's really true that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This week we examine the fascinating topic of female serial killers, including the tale of Belle Gunness - a woman who makes Ted Bundy look like an amateur. Although the town of La Porte, Indiana has been made famous by the bizarre events that happened there over a hundred years ago, many have never heard of this woman or her series of cold and calculated murders on a pig farm. We're joined by Bruce R. Johnson, a local expert on the Belle Gunness story, along with Director/Producer of Belle Gunness: The Movie and The Gunness Mystery, Stephen Ruminski. We also chat with local librarian Mary Hedge about La Porte's unusual relationship with the Gunness case. Sword and Scale highly encourages you to support our guests. If you're a fan of Sword and Scale, we're certain you'll enjoy The Gunness Mystery on DVD. To order it, please visit http://www.thegunnessmystery.com/. Also, be sure to check out the La Porte County Historical Society's website for all the wicked little details surrounding this story, and if you want to dig deeper there's always our new friend Mary Hedge at The La Porte County Public Library. Also, if you're into that sort of thing, a horrifying collection of photos related to the Belle Gunness case is available at Murderpedia. If you're interested in the Belle Gunness Story, check out Sword and Scale Staff Writer's profile: Did Belle Get Away With Murder?