Panic True Queer Crime - podcast cover

Panic True Queer Crime

Panic: Queer True Crime, a podcast, and youtube channel featuring stories about the life and death of queer folks. To watch any of the true-crime episodes, join me at Panic on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4r13FF8ExLGbhfSH6i4hw A little bit about Panic. I created this true-crime channel to focus on the life and death of queer folk. I called the channel Panic because, for much more of the recorded history of LGBTQ+ people, there’s always been a panic. The primary focus of the channel is an investigation of homophobia through hate crimes murders and intimate partner violence which is underreported in the queer community. Panic is both a podcast and a YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/@panicqueertruecrime Sometimes being queer can be murder. Join me! Check out the first two seasons of the podcast for a little something different.
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Episodes

The Montagu Case: A Peer of the Realm Caught in a Gay Sex Scandal

Two corrections: The pronunciation of Beaulieu is closer to "B-you-ly" or BYOO-lee. In the episode, I mention that the age of consent was 16. That was the age of consent for heterosexuals only. Homosexuality was illegal across all ages until a minor reform in 1967. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 legalized homosexual acts between two men over 21 in private. This did not apply to the armed forces or the merchant navy. Lesbian acts were never criminalized, so there was no legal age of consent. In the...

Jun 23, 202512 minSeason 3Ep. 40

Murder and Hatred in the UK and Across The USA

Several of these stories and their victims are part of the anti-queer wave of legislation put in place by the UK conservative government seeking to outlaw homosexuality. As the anti-queer rhetoric rose, so did the violence against the LGBTQ+ community. The de Gruchy case was the first time the mainstream press began to use the term “queer-bashing” to describe the murderous level of hate crimes. Before this, the tone was unmistakably mock and/or cruel, but the standard would not hold. In 1969, Mi...

May 29, 202512 minSeason 3Ep. 39

A Wave of Uk Queer Bashing : The Murders of Michael Boothe and William Dalziel

One of the reasons I wanted to cover the murders of actor, Michael Boone, and hotel porter William Dalziel is that, like me, some of you will be surprised at when they happened. As it turns out, the crackdown on gay men using indecency laws meant gay men were arrested, and the signal to the homophobes was that it was hunting season. In 1990, the lives of lesbians and gays, not to mention trans and gender nonconforming people, were under assault. Section 28, a cynical bit of anti-gay legislation ...

May 16, 20253 minSeason 3Ep. 38

The Chicken and The Bull: One of the Largest Extortion Schemes of Gay Men You've Never Heard Of

When I started telling these stories, I understood the organized efforts to shame homosexuality out of existence. What I didn't expect was the level of criminality that would grow out of the demonizing of LGBTQ+ people. In the 1960s, Chicago police officer John J. Pyne began to organize a group of criminals and con men in an extortion ring that would go on to scam more than 1,000 men out of a million dollars across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The FBI called the Chi...

Apr 29, 202513 minSeason 3Ep. 37

A Spree Killer, A Drifter, A Lover, Stranger Danger, A Murderous Wife, An Update, and a Cold Case

In my ongoing exploration of the history of homophobia in life and the law, I've been researching the trends, and I do mean trends, of attacks fueled by the targeting of mostly gay men. From the late 1950s through the 1970s in the United States, "Rolling a Queer" became such an epidemic that both Democrats and Republicans came together to introduce legislation that would create some minor protections for gays and lesbians. It failed, of course, and the attacks continued at pace. This crime wave ...

Mar 31, 202518 minSeason 3Ep. 35

Fires, Sudden Violence, White Supremacies, Murder in a Dog Park, Running Away to Murder

In this episode, five cases of homophobic rage, mental illness, alcohol abuse, and murder. Dream City Fire: One of the worst fires in modern London that you've probably never heard of. A combination of alcohol and anger sparked a series of events that ended in the death of 11 men in an unlicensed and uninspected second and third-floor cinema. Ashia Davis: On June 01, 2023, Carlos Scotland and Ashia Davis met at the Woodward Inn in Highland Park, Michigan. By the end of the evening, Ashia Davis w...

Feb 14, 202517 minSeason 3Ep. 33

A Question of Honor?

In the television show The Sopranos, the character of "Big P*ssy" was based on a New York or New Jersey mobster targeted because of his sexual antics, but in Italy, there was a similar situation involving a highly respected hitman who stepped out of line by loving and wanting to make a life with the man he loved. Anthony “Bubbles” Torres was a character, a creation. He tended to amuse and sometimes irritate people. On the night he was killed, witnesses saw the beginnings of a confrontation and T...

Jan 21, 20259 minSeason 3Ep. 32

"Rolling a Queer" and Other Homophobic Games

While researching a story for the next episode I found a 1960 article examinign the growth of homophobic attacks on mostly gey men for financial gain. Rolling a Queer crimes grow to such a degree that lawmakers across the country sought to minimize legal prohibitons agaisnt LGBTQ folks as a partial remedy. Most of these efforts failed contributing to the mid-sixties appearance of homosexual panic as a legal defense. The fisrt two stories in this episode involve murders that resulted from attempt...

Dec 31, 202415 minSeason 3Ep. 31

Molotov Cocktails of Hate and Murder

Molotov Cocktail of Hate Pamela Cobbas, Mercedes Roxana Figueroa, Andrea Amarante, Sofía Castro Riglos Intimate Partner Violence The Murder of Chen Chen Fei The Murder of Quanesha Shantel The Murder of William Nicholas Abraham Disappearance The Murder of Levi Davis? Ex Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries Charged: Human Trafficking and Assault The Shocking Murder Of Eduardo Xol Ex-Partners, a Mysterious Friend, and Two Bodies Found in Suitcases on Bristol's Clifton Bridge Kasim Omar: Esc...

Dec 08, 202420 minSeason 3Ep. 30

Newton Arvin: A Sign of the Times

In 1960, Smith College's Professor Newton Arvin and two of his colleagues were swept up in a scandal concocted in large part as a way of shaming being queer out of existence. Efforts to control the flow of what is erotica or smut is an ongoing crusade in the United States and in many places in the world. When those crusades are weaponized against targeted groups of people they can be lethal. Some of you listening to this episode might think a professor at a private college is a fairly privileged...

Nov 10, 202413 minSeason 3Ep. 29

Jealousy, Hate Crimes, Transgender Murders, and Intimate Partner Violence

This collection of cases includes the murder of three trans women of color, the most at-risk group in the LGBTQ+ community. Two cases of intimate partner violence, please see this description for help. The murder of a 19-year-old murder in prison because he was gay and black. A gay man was murdered in his home by a jealous boyfriend and the victim's friend, and two gay men were murdered by a group of friends led by a homophobic leader. Intimate Partner Help: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTIMATE PARTNER VI...

Sep 23, 20247 minSeason 3Ep. 28

Catfished, Missing, and Late Night Attacks

Peter Coshan Lisa Stone Curtis Marsh Gaurav Gopalan Matthew Mickens-Murrey Ukea Davis and Stephanie Thomas Vanity Williams Several of the cases in this episode involve unsolved cases. In the next episode, I will delve into the reasons why this might be the case. Two of these cases involve the murder of black trans women, the highest rate of murder in the LGBTQ+ community. The last two cases happened at the same time in the same city To watch any of these stories you can find them on the Queer Tr...

Aug 24, 20246 minSeason 3Ep. 27

Intimate Partner Violence, Strangers, Lovers, and a Helping Hand

Anna Flores Pauly Likens Alex Rodda Liara Tsai Bruce Becker Curtis Marsh Kevin Clewer Charles Gibson Brad Nelson Winters Here is a collection of murders some of them due to intimate partner violence and some hate crimes. The thing they have in common is the loss and heartache of family and friends. While might surprise some that young men, mostly, still struggling with their sexual identity resort to murder when threatened, ongoing scholarship suggests that the causes might be complicated, a mix...

Aug 06, 20249 minSeason 3Ep. 26

Mark "Valera" van Krevel: Avenger

In 1998, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia became the location of two of the most violent murders Australia has ever seen. In 1998, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia became the location of two of the most violent murders Australia has ever seen. 19-year-old, Mark Valera's pent-up rage led him down the path of murder, leaving destruction in his wake and sparking an equal fury that ultimately led to the killing of his own father. The murders committed by Mark "Valera" van Krevel further ...

Jul 14, 20248 minSeason 3Ep. 25

Confusion, Chaos, and Murderous Intent

Six stories of possible greed, intimate partner violence, murderous internalized homophobia, and your garden variety homophobia. Toslimy Bang and Terence Brown Blaze Bernstein Kelly Moriarty and Doris “Pat” Carter Michael Causer John Paul Kelso John Walter Lay John Edwards To watch any of these stories you can find them on the Queer True Crime YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4r13FF8ExLGbhfSH6i4hw Or click on any of the titles. For Help National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800...

Jul 11, 20246 minSeason 3Ep. 24

Murder and Madness

In this episode four stories of murder, homophobia, and mental health in crisis. Isaac Herrera Jordan Taylor Terrance Brown Reginald Folks To watch any of these stories you can find them on the Queer True Crime YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4r13FF8ExLGbhfSH6i4hw For Help National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) Online live chat: thehotline.org If you or someone you know is in danger call 9-1-1 immediately. The International Domestic Violence Resource Guide (...

Jun 16, 20244 minSeason 3Ep. 23

Be Proud

Happy Pride and welcome to season four of Panic. This is the second season of Panic and the fourth for the podcast as a whole. In the second season, I want to continue to explore the themes of the podcast and YouTube channel, and how homophobia in all of its permutations plays itself out in the lives of queer folks and the people who love them. I'll continue to explore intimate partner violence while providing resources for help and healing. I want to explore more stories of murdered trans peopl...

Jun 01, 202453 secSeason 4Ep. 23

A Dublin Bashing, The Death of a Teen, Five Murders in Five Months in Boston

Gary Gleeson Alex Rodda Raymond Kindred John McGrail Leonard Riendeau Charles Kimball John Fuoroli Brandi Mells, Shanta Myers, Jeremiah, and Shaniese Myers To watch any of these stories you can find them on the Queer True Crime YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4r13FF8ExLGbhfSH6i4hw For Help National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) Online live chat: thehotline.org If you or someone you know is in danger call 9-1-1 immediately. The International Domestic Violence...

Jun 01, 20245 minSeason 3Ep. 22

Intimate Partners, Stranger Danger, and The Betrayal of a Friend

George Webber In this episode, A closeted man's search to fulfill his fetish leads him to hire a 16-year-old from a Craigslist ad. Charlie Howard Two gay men are attacked by a group of teens ending in murder. Carlos Collins A former police officer's inability to let go ends in murder. James Sheehan Suffering from stage 4 cancer, an elderly man leans on a friend whose only interest is his money. Darrin Thorpe His death has been called a drug overdose but his husband suspects it might be a murder....

May 13, 20246 minSeason 3Ep. 21

The Murder of Professor Howard Appledorf

On September 7, 1982, the Gainesville, Florida Labor Day Weekend was disrupted when University of Florida's Professor Howard Appledorf's neighbors spotted his condo had been broken into. Inside police found a highly staged scene and the professor asphyxiated on his sofa, as the three young suspects fled they left behind a frenzy of fears about cults and witchcraft. The tale that would unravel would be far sadder, exposing the life of a victim lived in the closet and three young perpetrators aban...

May 06, 202414 minSeason 3Ep. 20

Partners, Lovers, and Strangers

Podcast Notes: Akira Ross Allan Lanteigne/Demitry Papasotiriou Summit Kumar Raymond Scotter Shawndell McCloud Dr. Louis Chen, Eric Cooper, and Cooper Chen Warning this case involves the death of a child. Starts at 3:20. To watch any of these episodes you can find them at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4r13FF8ExLGbhfSH6i4hw This episode has a case of homophobic murder by a stranger, the murderous obsession of a former lover, the corruption and greed of love gone wrong, a son killing a father...

Apr 21, 20245 minSeason 3Ep. 19

Being Queer Doesn't Kill, Homophobia Does 05

Here are seven cases of stalking, and homophobia in the United States and Sweden, a case of a stepfather's homophobic rage, and an unresolved case of a body in a fish tank. These shorts are taken from the Panic YouTube channel. If you’d like to see any of these shorts please join me at the Panic channel using the link below. Brittany Cosby and Crystal Jackson Brain Eggs Josef ben Meddour Marcus Volk Lawrence Wong and Thomas Whitney Zachary Kennedy Steen Fenrich To watch these episodes: https://w...

Apr 08, 20249 minSeason 3Ep. 18

The Handcuff Man

Robert Bennett Jr. was a smart guy from a wealthy family he was also a violent sadist who liked to inflict pain on unwitting strangers. Though this is not a murder case it illustrates what happens when you mix a homophobic cultural attitude filtered down to law enforcement mixes with the influence of a predator from a wealthy family who'd go to any length to protect their son.

Mar 24, 202412 minSeason 3Ep. 17

Cunanan: The Murders of Jeffrey Trail And David Madson

Note: I've only just realized that the audio for the previous upload of this episode was icky and is only a few minutes long. Here is the episode in its entirety. I have also wanted to delve into the lives of Jeffrey Trail and David Madson and Andrew Cunanan's relationship with them both. In part, because as tragic as Gianni Versace's murder was, not to mention the murders of Lee Miglin and poor Andrew Reese who was just doing his job, Trail and Madson's murders seem particularly devasting. Frie...

Mar 17, 202419 minSeason 3Ep. 16

Being Queer can be Murder 01

Peeble LaDime Doe Wendy Thorpe Gordon Church Luke Davies and Jesse Baird Ranjith Kankanamalage Zach Kennedy August Provost Seven cases of intimate partner violence and hate crime murders. The case of Peeble LaDime Doe, a transgender woman who was murdered by her former lover. This is the first case in the nation to use federal protections to prosecute a hate crime based on gender identity even though South Carolina remains one of the two states with no hate crime protections for queer people. DO...

Mar 04, 20247 minSeason 3Ep. 15

Being Queer Doesn't Kill, Homophobia Does 04

This week a mixture of intimate partner violence, madness, and homophobia. If you'd like to watch any of these stories join me at the Panic Queer True Crime Channel on YouTube. Jake Marandino Harley Walker Annie Meyer Brian Campbell Jun Lin Crystal Parker Naasire Johnson Filippo Gangitano Sylvia Lugo Howard Efland If you or anyone you know is the victim of violence please use the link above. In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline . You deserve to live ...

Feb 14, 202411 minSeason 3Ep. 14

Eight Stories of Love, Deception, and Murder

Eight stories of intimate partner abuse, theft, murder, and a historical case that has never been solved. To watch any of these stories you can find them at: https://www.youtube.com/@panicqueertruecrime Gary Ruby Ronald Shumway Heather Diebert Dr. Gary Jenkins Timothy Smith The Slasher Brian Williamson Casey Taylor If you or anyone you know is the victim of violence please use the link above. In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline . You deserve to live...

Jan 23, 20248 minSeason 3Ep. 13

The Life and Death of Jimmy Zappalorti

The story of Jimmy Zappalorti's life and death is the story of the times in which he lived. The love of a family, and community, and the search for self-acceptance and a small amount of joy. Jimmy Zappalorti died twice. Once while stationed in Danang, Vietnam, and some twenty years later on Staten Island where he grew up when two hate-filled young men decided to take his life. It has been an honor to tell Jimmy's story and to get to know his story. I think you might have as much affection for hi...

Jan 14, 202420 minSeason 3Ep. 12

Being Queer Doesn't Kill, Homophobia Does 03

Eight stories of love, friendship, homophobic hate, and murder. Annamarie Rintila Brian Bergeron Daniel Clancy Harry Major Jorge Diaz Johnston Steven Nelson Allen Leroy Anderson Devon Hoover

Dec 25, 20237 minSeason 3Ep. 11

Being Queer Doesn't Kill, Homophobia Does 02

In this episode stories of queer folks targeted and murdered for the crime of being gay. If you'd like to watch any of these episodes join me at the Panic: Queer True Crime Channel https://www.youtube.com/@panicqueertruecrime Bernardo Pantaleon Benjamin Anderson A'Nee Robertson Gerry Edwards and Chris Bevan David Morley David Iwo Jimmie ‘Jay’ Lee Lauren "Lela" Leslie Sakai Gunn Yousef Palani Steven Lorenzo Devan Hoover Jesús Ociel Baena and Dorian Daniel Herrera...

Dec 11, 202311 minSeason 3Ep. 10
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