Show Notes
For journalists all over the world, reporting true crime stories is a day-to-day reality. But what do journalists do when that reality is so dark that it feels like we’ve reached a new depth of human cruelty?
For the first time, a network of 600 of these journalists have invited us into the darkest recesses of their world. They’ve shared stories of some of the most disturbing cases ever reported, past and present.
From Podimo and Vespucci — this is The Darkness Vaults, released weekly on Wednesday.
A note to listeners — due to the nature of their subject matter, some of these stories discuss suicide, sexual assault and may include detailed descriptions of violence. Please take care while listening.
More from The Darkness Vaults
On a cold Sunday in March 2008, an 18-year-old woman jumps off a bridge in Canada's capital, Ottawa. She sinks into the icy water and welcomes death to end the darkness that has consumed her mind. Three years before, a 32-year-old man hanged himself in his apartment in the city of Coventry in central England. He could see no other way out. The two apparently have nothing in common, but they both leave behind an open computer. It turns out that they have been active on the same online suicide forum. And they have been talking to the same person.
In St. Petersburg's gray suburbs, loneliness hits hard. The elderly Tamara Samsonova desperately tries to fill the void left by her husband's sudden disappearance by renting out a room. But the tenants never hang around. Is it due to the bleak surroundings? Is it because Tamara herself is becoming more and more eccentric? Or is it connected to the mutilated corpses and occult signs that are found in the area? Listen to the hair-raising story of one of the 20th century's most brutal serial killers, who over two decades killed, dismembered and possibly ate its victims.
There can be a certain joy associated with being engrossed in one's work. But when is enough enough?
Can a traumatic childhood experience turn you into a serial killer? This is the story of Charlie Brandt, who, together with his wife Teri, must leave their home in the Florida Keys before the hurricane arrives. Fortunately, they can stay with Teri's beautiful, successful niece in Orlando. But when all three are found dead behind locked doors, there is no doubt who wielded the knife. And suddenly it becomes clear that Charlie had a horrible obsession and other barbaric murders on his conscience.
The year is 1979. Mary Vincent is only 15 when she decides to leave her home in Las Vegas and pursue her dream of becoming a professional dancer in Los Angeles. She will hitchhike down there and take a few detours along the way. But she should never have settled for the friendly middle-aged man in the blue van. This is the tragically bloody story of how Mary is subjected to a macabre assault, but nevertheless survives against all odds. And she is not the man's only victim...