Holy smokes, do we have a treat for you! Last week, Stefanie was granted an exclusive interview with a source very close to Robyn Gardner. Join us as we tell you some of the answers to your burning questions about Robyn's case. What kind of relationship did Robyn and Richard have? How close were Robyn and Gary before her disappearance? Why did Robyn accept Gary's invitation to Aruba? In addition, we cover inside information about Robyn's family, those controversial insurance policies and Gary's ...
Jul 31, 2024•43 min•Ep. 61
Hello, Shiver-seekers! We have a special summer treat just for you! The Dark Oak Podcast was honored to participate in "Hot Pursuit - a Focus on Crime in the Summer Sun" which includes 17 true crime podcasters all dedicated to solving crimes and helping victims. We are so excited to share two bingeable episodes that are sure to steer you toward your newest summer obsession. Enjoy! Welcome to Hot Pursuit, a summer true-crime collaboration, where we dive deep into the world of true crime. We’ve ga...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 60
Hello, Shiver-seekers! We have a special summer treat just for you! The Dark Oak Podcast was honored to participate in "Hot Pursuit - a Focus on Crime in the Summer Sun" which includes 17 true crime podcasters all dedicated to solving crimes and helping victims. We are so excited to share two bingeable episodes that are sure to steer you toward your newest summer obsession. Enjoy! Welcome to Hot Pursuit, a summer true-crime collaboration, where we dive deep into the world of true crime. We’ve ga...
Jul 26, 2024•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 59
A camping trip in one of the most beautiful spots in Australia ends in tragedy when a young family's infant daughter goes missing. Lindy Chamberlain's screams pierced the night when she discovered her 9 week old missing from their family tent that a wild dog had just emerged from. Unfortunately, Lindy's account of what happened on that fateful evening were too bizarre for investigators to believe, and Lindy was charged with the murder of her beautiful daughter, resulting in one of the largest le...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 58
In today’s episode we will tell you about the tragic story of Robyn Gardner who disappeared from the beautiful Caribbean Island of Aruba while visiting with her travel companion Gary Giordano. Gary says Robyn was lost to a freak snorkeling accident, but Robyn’s friends and family believe Gary is to blame. Sources: Burnside, T. (2012, September 11). Man accused in Aruba disappearance sued over $1.5 million policy. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2012/09/11/justice/maryland-aruba-lawsuit/index.html Egan,...
Jul 17, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 57
In today’s episode we will tell you about the tragic story of Robyn Gardner who disappeared from the beautiful Caribbean Island of Aruba while visiting with her travel companion Gary Giordano. Gary says Robyn was lost to a freak snorkeling accident, but Robyn’s friends and family believe Gary is to blame. Sources: Burnside, T. (2012, September 11). Man accused in Aruba disappearance sued over $1.5 million policy. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2012/09/11/justice/maryland-aruba-lawsuit/index.html Egan,...
Jul 10, 2024•47 min•Ep. 56
On January 11, 2013, 17-year-old Kendrick "KJ" Johnson was found deceased in a rolled-up wrestling mat at his high school. Many believe it was an accident, but an equal amount believe KJ was murdered. We tell you everything we know.
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 55
Thanks to a vision provided by a dead relative, Carl Tanzler claimed to have been in love with Elena de Hoyos before they even met. Actually, decades before they met. He tried desperately to save her from tuberculosis but was unsuccessful. Unwilling to let death separate them, Carl embarked on an unimaginable and unexplainable journey to keep the body of Elena with him always...as his corpse bride. Sources: Johnson, C. (2023, November 7). Carl Tanzler, the man who lived with a corpse for seven y...
Jun 26, 2024•51 min•Ep. 54
For decades Sea World has been committed to supporting environmental conservation by providing financial and scientific support to organizations focused on animal rescue and rehabilitation, conservation education, habitat protection and species research. Additionally, the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has donated more than $19 million in support of animal conservation projects on all seven continents across the globe. Despite all the good, animal lovers have been asking for year...
Jun 19, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 53
On the 9th of July 2013, a 24-year-old Ryan was driving his car through the Mohave desert through what we know as Death Valley. He was on his way back to Los Angeles after spending the day in Las Vegas, when his car ran out of gas on Hwy 15. After walking several miles towards the closest town in the intense heat, Ryan encountered what should have been an incredible stroke of luck, when a highway patrolman saw Ryan and offered to help him. The highway patrolman eventually dropped Ryan off at a r...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 52
The 1997 disappearance of Amy Wroe Bechtel has been called one of the most baffling cases in U.S. history. A massive search was launched when she vanished, the search was so large even Russia was asked to assist. The healthy young athlete went jogging in the Shoshone National Forest and was never seen again. Amy’s husband led efforts to find his missing wife despite being considered the prime suspect. As years went by, other possible suspects were discussed….but the mystery of what happened to A...
Jun 05, 2024•58 min•Ep. 51
When Jessica Renee Johnson's friends and family were told that she died by suicide, their worlds were shattered. Over the next few weeks and months, details came to light that that just didn't make sense: Jessica was found wearing clothes that no one recognized, she had strange new markings on her body, and the way in which she died was beyond unusual. Fighting with authorities for a more thorough investigation, Jessica's family hired their own investigator, Dr. Godwin, whose investigation revea...
May 29, 2024•58 min•Ep. 50
Maura Murray is an American woman who disappeared on the evening of February 9, 2004, after a car crash on Route 112 near Woodville, New Hampshire, a village in the town of Haverhill. At the time of her disappearance, Maura was a 21-year-old nursing student completing her junior year at the University of Massachusetts. In this three-part series, we report on Maura's state of mind at the time of her disappearance, the day of her disappearance, how the police handled the investigation and theories...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 49
Maura Murray is an American woman who disappeared on the evening of February 9, 2004, after a car crash on Route 112 near Woodville, New Hampshire, a village in the town of Haverhill. At the time of her disappearance, Maura was a 21-year-old nursing student completing her junior year at the University of Massachusetts. In this three-part series, we report on Maura's state of mind at the time of her disappearance, the day of her disappearance, how the police handled the investigation and theories...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 48
Maura Murray is an American woman who disappeared on the evening of February 9, 2004, after a car crash on Route 112 near Woodville, New Hampshire, a village in the town of Haverhill. At the time of her disappearance, Maura was a 21-year-old nursing student completing her junior year at the University of Massachusetts. In this three-part series, we report on Maura's state of mind at the time of her disappearance, the day of her disappearance, how the police handled the investigation and theories...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 47
Commonly referred to as the "Mexican Jon Benet Ramsey", the death of four year old Paulette Gebara Farah is nothing short of a tragedy. What began as a missing person case turned into one of the most suspicious death cases in recent history. Accident? Homicide? Tell us what you think after you listen to the story of Paulette Gebara Farah. Sources: Raga, P., & Raga, P. (2020, June 16). Who killed Paulette Gebara Farah? the real life crime in “The Search.” Distractify. https://www.distractify....
May 01, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 46
At the time of his final flight, Frederick was an ambitious, healthy, hardworking, and optimistic young person. On the evening of Saturday October 21st, 1978, at 6:15 Fred Valentich left Moorabbin airport and headed west, crossing Port Philip Bay on the way to King Island. Fred’s flight started without incident. After about 6 minutes over the open water, just after 7pm, Fred called Steve on the radio and asked if there was “any known traffic below 5000 feet?” The reply was “no known traffic.” Fr...
Apr 25, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 45
When single mother, Geneva Adams, doesn't come home after a rare night out, her family immediately jumps into action, but finds few clues. After almost 40 years of searching a tip leads them to believe their mother may be buried under the name of Jane Doe in a cemetery about an hour away from where she disappeared. The day of exhumation, everyone is shocked to find the body of Jane Doe, believed to possibly be Geneva Adams has disappeared into thin air. Were Jane Doe and Geneva Adams the same pe...
Apr 17, 2024•45 min•Ep. 44
In 2003, Kathleen Folbigg became the most hated woman in Australia when she was convicted of murdering her four children ranging from only 19 days old to two years old. The most damning evidence against her were her journals or what she called her "babble books." These journals detailed her daily life with her children and husband and became a critical piece of the prosecution's case. We will read several excerpts and you can decide - are they the ramblings of a stressed-out mother or the confes...
Apr 10, 2024•55 min•Ep. 43
On March 9, 2024, less than four weeks ago, Boeing whistleblower John Barnett was found dead of a suspected self- inflicted gunshot wound to the head. But many are calling for a full investigation into his death as Boeing's involvement in his death are examined. The state of the great American manufacturing giant, Boeing, has continual come under fire the last decade, with trouble escalating over the last few months. Accusations of poor quality control, a crumbling company culture, deception, fr...
Apr 03, 2024•58 min•Ep. 42
In 1930, Alfred Rouse, finding himself in financial trouble, faked his own death by purposefully setting his car, a Morris Minor, ablaze. To make the grizzly scene more believable, he murdered a man and placed him at the scene. The victim's identity has been a mystery for almost 100 years in what would come to be called The Burning Car Murder. But, in 2015, DNA from the victim was found preserved in an archival slide. Now, the search is on to match his DNA using an ancestorial search and find hi...
Mar 27, 2024•55 min•Ep. 41
It's hard to believe that a beautiful, smart and talented 19-year-old woman would accidentally lock herself inside of a walk-in freezer, but that's exactly what hotel staff and police say happened to Kenneka Jenkins in 2017. Steeped in mystery, Kenneka's death has raised eyebrows since the news of it broke. Strange surveillance footage and unanswered questions cause many to wonder if there is more to Kenneka's tragic death than meets the eye. Sources: kenneka jenkins. (n.d.). npr.org . Kenneka J...
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 40
Join us as we reveal the secrets of the United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known as Alcatraz or simply, The Rock, which was a maximum-security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles off the coast of San Francisco, California. We take a look at famous inmates, including the Birdman of Alcatraz and two of the most famous prison escape attempts: The Battle of Alcatraz and the 1962 escape of 3 unrecovered inmates. We overturn every lead we can find to determine if it was possib...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 39
When up and coming real estate agent Lindsay Buziak received a cold call from a new client that seemed too good to be true, she was both excited and nervous. This transaction could create a lot of amazing opportunities for her, but she struggled to understand why she, relatively new in the business, would have been trusted with such an opportunity. What began as an exciting business prospect turned into a nightmare within less than 15 minutes of meeting her new "clients." It has been 16 years si...
Mar 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 38
Hugues de la Plaza's death is quite the compelling mystery... a dead body, stabbed multiple times, behind a locked door with no evidence of an assailant and no potential suicide weapon. Security cameras did not pick up anyone other Hugues near his home on the early morning of his death. After being stabbed, why did 36-year-old Hugues de la Plaza walk around his apartment bleeding out instead of reaching for his nearby cell phone and calling for help? This case is full of questions and contradict...
Feb 28, 2024•55 min•Ep. 37
We cover details of DB Cooper’s 1971 plane hijacking and go into some of the more compelling theories and suspects including Richar Floyd McCoy, Dick Briggs, Robert Rackstraw, Sheridan Peterson, Vince Petersen and William Gossett. This episode will be a great way to get caught up to speed on the latest and greatest in the land of the Cooperites. **Correction to the episode: The amount of money requested and stolen by DB Cooper was mistakenly said to be $20,000, but it was in fact $200,000. Sourc...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 36
Almost exactly 18 years ago, a young professional woman seemingly disappeared without a trace. Few clues were ever found and the ones that were are more frustrating than helpful. From grainy security footage where any identifying characteristics of the person of interest were obscured to many potential witnesses never being interviewed, the Kesse family has found themselves in frustrating situation after frustrating situation. In the wake of Jennifer's disappearance, her family not only led the ...
Feb 14, 2024•58 min•Ep. 33
In honor of Black History Month, today we delve into the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The 16th Street Baptist Church was a large and prominent church located downtown, just blocks from Birmingham's commercial district and City Hall. Just before 11 o'clock on September 15, 1963, instead of rising to begin prayers, the congregation was knocked to the ground. As a bomb exploded under the steps of the church, they sought safety under the pews and shielded each other from falling debris. Join ...
Feb 07, 2024•47 min•Ep. 35
Cindy was last seen on August 4, 1981, at the law office where she worked on East Manhattan Boulevard in Toledo, Ohio. The law partners arrived back at the office after a meeting at noon to find the radio on and their desks prepared for the day. Cindy left her romance novel open on her desk to the only violent scene in the book, where the heroine was abducted at knifepoint. Her disappearance occurred after a year of haunting nightmares and what appeared to be an amorous stalker. Was Cindy the vi...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 34
Thanks to lack of education and movies like King Kong, gorillas used to be considered ferocious man killers. It took a tenacious Dian Fossey moving to the jungles of Africa and living among the great apes, to change the public's mind about the gentle giants. During the 1960s and 70s, when a poaching pandemic threatened the existence of the African Mountain Gorilla, Dian went to unimaginable lengths to save the animals she had come to know as family. Her conservation efforts were not without grea...
Jan 24, 2024•59 min•Ep. 32
