Sin City Stories: Vegas True Crime - podcast cover

Sin City Stories: Vegas True Crime

Jeff Walkerredcircle.com


Through its relatively short history, Las Vegas has gone from being a railway stop in the middle of the desert to the glittering neon-lit oasis it is today, welcoming millions of visitors from around the world every year.


Over the last century, the city has seen its fair share of mayhem - including murders, bombings, kidnappings, and more!


Presented in collaboration with Mayhem In The Desert, this is...Sin City Stories: Vegas True Crime - The Sordid Tales Behind The Stranger-Than-Fiction History of Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada

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Episodes

Betrayed: The Murder of Jared Whaley

On October 26, 2003, a 911 call led police to a dry lakebed near Boulder City, Nevada – roughly 25 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. There, they discovered the unearthed remains of a brutalized human body. Disturbing aspects of the crime scene immediately led investigators to conclude that the victim had not been the target of random violence. This had been a well-planned execution. It would be over 4 months before the remains would be identified as those of Jared Whaley, a Las Vegas high school s...

Dec 24, 20241 hr 2 minSeason 2Ep. 10

Big Top: The Circus Circus Heist - Part 2

To this day, the 1993 Circus Circus Casino heist in Las Vegas remains one of the most remarkable criminal escapades in U.S. History. Over $3 million was stolen from an armoured truck in broad daylight, and the heist was carried out so smoothly that it took hours for anyone to realize a crime had even occurred. And while the planning and execution of the robbery itself was impressive, what happened AFTER the heist is equally as impressive. To learn about the robbery at the Circus Circus Hotel &am...

Nov 26, 202426 minSeason 2Ep. 9

Big Top: The Circus Circus Heist - Part 1

In the early hours of October 1, 1993, a quiet but daring heist unfolded on the Las Vegas Strip. What began as an ordinary day at the Circus Circus Hotel & Casino turned into a high-stakes mystery that would take years to unravel, forever changing the way casinos approached their security. In a heist that seemed straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster, over $3 million in cash was stolen from an armoured truck without a single alarm being raised or a single shot being fired. It wasn’t until h...

Nov 19, 202419 minSeason 2Ep. 8

From Dream To Drama: The Story of the Fabulous Flamingo

The Las Vegas Strip has its fair share of iconic hotels & resorts, perhaps none of which are more steeped in history & folklore than The Flamingo. Part of the Vegas landscape since the mid-1940’s…it was the brainchild of a Los Angeles-based night club owner, restaurant owner and entertainment news publisher who wanted to build one of the most luxurious hotels & casinos Las Vegas had ever seen. But that’s not what legend & pop culture would have you believe... To learn more about ...

Nov 12, 202436 minSeason 2Ep. 7

Ransom: The Kidnapping of Kevyn Wynn

It was the summer of 1993 when Las Vegas casino mogul, Steve Wynn, was thrust into a nightmare that few people could ever imagine. In a brazen late-night plot that seemed to come straight out of a Hollywood thriller, Wynn’s daughter had been kidnapped…abducted from her own home and held hostage by two men, who were now demanding that wynn hand over a huge ransom. But this wasn’t just a simple ransom demand. The kidnappers were watching – or so they claimed. Every move was carefully calculated, e...

Nov 05, 202423 minSeason 2Ep. 5

An Urge To Kill: The Zane Floyd Massacre

It’s June 3, 1999…early morning, sometime around 5 am in a quiet neighborhood roughly a mile from the Las Vegas Strip. Walking through this serene scene is a young man in his early twenties, draped in a camouflage shirt, sporting black pants and boots. In his hands, a pump-action shotgun loaded to maximum capacity. In his pockets are more shells…ready to be used. A total of nineteen shells in all. The man’s name is Zane Floyd, and on this early summer morning, he plans to use those ninteen shell...

Oct 29, 202424 minSeason 2Ep. 5

Cold War Murder: The Russians Are Coming

As the early 1980’s rolled around, the cold war between the United States and Russia was well into its third decade and tensions between these global superpowers were steadily mounting. As newly elected U.S. President Ronald Reagan promised to take an aggressive stance against the Soviets, Russian troops secretly invaded Afghanistan and the USSR faced an international backlash over their human rights violations. It was amidst this backdrop, that an elderly las vegas couple known for their outspo...

Oct 22, 202418 min

ICU: Death Angels and Dead Pools

In the spring of 1980, headlines across the united states screamed out, “ ANGEL OF DEATH! ” These sensational stories centered around 32-year-old Jani Adams , a nurse working the graveyard shift in a Las Vegas Intensive Care Unit. These articles about the so-called “Death Angel” carried a distinctly Vegas twist – word was, this nurse was running a hospital “dead pool”, placing wagers on when patients would die. But how did a mild-mannered nurse - who described herself being “shy as a mouse” - en...

Oct 15, 202420 min

Final Act: A Jazz Man's Last Tune

On a late-spring night in 1955, the Moulin Rouge in Las Vegas was coming alive with the promise of breaking down racial barriers. But as the city revelled in the excitement, a dark mystery was unfolding. On May 25, 1955, renowned jazz saxophonist, Wardell Gray, who had been scheduled to be a part of the opening night entertainment at the Moulin Rouge, was found dead…his body discarded in the desert, his death shrouded in mystery. Click here to read more about the mysterious death of Wardell Gray...

Oct 08, 202419 min

10.1.17: Terror on the Las Vegas Strip

October 1st, 2017…it’s a date burned into the memories of Las Vegas locals and people around the world. It was on that day that from his high suite in a nearby hotel, a lone gunman focused his rage on a crowd of country music concert-goers. This turned the normally-festive Las Vegas Strip into a scene of unimaginable terror, and the site of the worst mass-shooting in modern U.S. history. Click here to learn more about the October 1st, 2017 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip - including photos, news...

Oct 01, 202439 min

Bootleggers and Bandits: The Wild Side of Prohibition in Vegas

BONUS EPISODE With the passage of the 18th Amendment and the Federal Volstead Act, liquor was, by and large, made illegal across the United States starting in 1920 – including in the tiny newly-formed desert town of Las Vegas. This immediately created a lucrative black market for the illicit sale of alcohol, and along with it came an explosion of violent crime as competing rackets fought for control of this new underground market. Click here to read more about prohibition-era crime in Las Vegas ...

Sep 01, 202423 min

Boom Town: Blowing Up Las Vegas

BONUS EPISODE Thousands of bombs have gone off across the United States over the course of the 20th & 21st centuries for every reason…from the personal, to the political, to the financial. And through its short history, the city of Las Vegas has not been spared from the threat of criminal bombings. Click here to read more about some of the most famous bombings to occur in Las Vegas - including photos, newspaper articles, and more! To learn about other true crime tales from the darker side of...

Aug 01, 202427 min

Chasing the Darkness: The Serial Killers of Las Vegas

BONUS EPISODE The term "serial killer" originated in the 1970s and was coined to describe individuals who commit a series of murders, typically with a cooling-off period between each crime. The FBI formally defined "serial murder" in the 1980s, highlighting the repetitive nature of the killings and the psychological motivation behind them. The term has since become widely used in criminology and pop culture to categorize and understand this specific type of criminal behavior… …a criminal behavio...

Jul 01, 202434 min

Shattered Vows - A War Bride's Revenge

Las Vegas resident, Frank Waters survived his service with the U.S. military in Europe during World War II. But only a year after the war's end, the consequences of Frank's actions overseas followed him thousands of miles back to the middle of the Mojave Desert, ultimately leading to a series of events that would end with Frank's murder and a trial that made international headlines. Click here to learn more about the murder of Frank Waters by his wife, Bridget - including newspaper articles, pho...

Mar 04, 202426 minSeason 1Ep. 10

Disposable Lives - Trafficking and Murder Under The Desert Sun

In the spring of 1996, a trio of bodies were discovered in the desert just outside of Las Vegas. Initially believed to be victims of sex trafficking, the case remained unsolved for over a decade, demonstrating a troubling proposition: Three people can be murdered in a major American city, with little more than a passing mention in the local press and zero potential suspects. Click here to learn more about the triple-murder of Luz Maria Mucino, Edith Mucino Gonzalez, and Gabriela Mucino Gonzalez ...

Feb 26, 202434 minSeason 1Ep. 9

Til Death Do Us Part - Murder In The Divorce Capital Of The World

Nevada offers the same lax residency requirements to obtain divorce today as it did nearly 100 years ago; a person only has to live in the state for six weeks before being eligible to for a divorce. But not too long after Nevada gained a reputation as the place to go for a quickie divorce, Las Vegas was the scene of a brutal public murder on the steps of a law office in a tale involving domestic violence, the death of a child, and a desperate insanity plea to avoid the gas chamber. Click here to...

Feb 19, 202426 minSeason 1Ep. 8

Deadly Negotiations - The Explosive Murder of Bill Coulthard

It's one of the most high-profile murders in the history of Las Vegas. On a scorching hot 115 degree summer day, a former FBI agent & prominent attorney left his office in downtown Las Vegas and made his way to the third floor parking garage. Bill Coulthard climbing into the car, cracked the window, started the ignition, and THAT'S when it happened... Click here to learn more about the murder of Bill Coulthard - including newspaper articles, photos, and more! To learn about other true crime ...

Feb 12, 202422 minSeason 1Ep. 7

Standing Up For Free Speech - McCarthy vs. Greenspun

In 1950's Las Vegas, the most powerful newspaper owner in the city went on trial for publishing an editorial that Federal Prosecutors alleged was intended to incite the assassination of an extremely controversial U.S. Senator. The resulting court case was a national sensation, involving intrigue at the highest levels of the government and a concerted effort to defeat the destructive political involvement in the ruthless pursuit of "the Red Menace". Click here to learn more about the incredible c...

Feb 05, 202420 minSeason 1Ep. 6

Restaurant Wars - The Murder of Al Bramlet

In the 1970's Las Vegas was the site of bombings & murders...but not ALL of this mayhem was linked to the mafia. In the fall of 1975, a labor dispute between the Culinary Union and several off-strip restaurants escalated into violence. This ultimately resulted in the head of the Culinary Union, Al Bramlet , learning a very valuable lesson: No matter what, ALWAYS pay your hitman. Click here to learn more about the disappearance & murder of Al Bramlet as well as the bombings at Alpine Vill...

Jan 29, 202422 minSeason 1Ep. 5

Kidnapping A Gangster's Son - The Attempted Abduction of Ted Binion

The trial surrounding the 1998 alleged murder of a casino heir was one of the most sensational cases in Las Vegas history, garnering national attention. But decades before tales of jilted lovers, underground vaults in the desert, and a man rapidly squandering his wealth on a wild lifestyle, Ted Binion was at the center of another Las Vegas crime plot. Click here to learn more about the planned kidnapping of Ted Binion and the wild events that followed - including newspaper articles, photos and m...

Jan 22, 202425 minSeason 1Ep. 4

No One Suspects The Busboy - Arson At The Las Vegas Hilton

During the 1970's, t he Las Vegas Hilton featured some of the most modern amenities in town along with incredible showcase entertainers. The hotel looked poised for additional growth and success heading into the 1980's. But the deadliest arson in modern Nevada history temporarily derailed the steady expansion the Hilton had enjoyed, while putting a young hotel busboy in the national spotlight as the unlikely hero-turned suspect responsible for the blaze. Click here to learn more about story of t...

Jan 15, 202426 minSeason 1Ep. 3

Taken: The Murder Of Kim Bryant - Part 2

Las Vegas teenager Kim Bryant went missing from in front of her high school on a winter's day in 1979. Her abduction & murder would scar the Vegas community and remain unsolved for decades. But just as the case seemed to be going cold, new suspects in the disappearance would emerge - including a vicious serial killer known as "The Chameleon". Click here to read more about the story of Kim Bryant's kidnapping & killing - including photos, newspaper articles, and more! To learn about other...

Jan 08, 202427 minSeason 1Ep. 2

Taken: The Murder of Kim Bryant - Part 1

The 1979 daylight abduction of a teenager from a parking lot nearby her Las Vegas High School absolutely stunned the local community. It was only a few weeks before the body of Kim Bryant was discovered in the desert surrounding the city, but it would be decades before police would finally be able to figure out who was responsible for her tragic death. Click here to read more about the story of Kim Bryant's kidnapping & killing - including photos, newspaper articles, and more! To learn about...

Jan 01, 202426 minSeason 1Ep. 1

Sin City Stories: Vegas True Crime

For most people, Las Vegas is a neon-lit oasis. It's where they go to escape their day-to-day lives. They go to gamble in world class casinos, eat meals prepared by celebrity chefs, and take in performances from the biggest names in entertainment. But if you scratch the surface just a little bit, you'll find the stories that never made it onto the postcards...the stories that remain hidden behind all the glitz & glamor of the Vegas Strip. Coming January 1, 2024...it's Sin City Stories: Vegas...

Nov 24, 20231 min
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