Episodes

  • Mitrice Richardson: The Night the Police Let Her Walk Away

    Mitrice Richardson: The Night the Police Let Her Walk Away
    Jul 2 2026
    On the night of September 16, 2009, 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson was arrested at an upscale Malibu restaurant after behaving in ways that concerned both the staff and the responding deputies. She passed a field sobriety test. She was cooperative and calm throughout booking. And just after midnight, the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station opened its doors and let her walk out alone, without her car, into an area she had never been before.Her mother had already called the station to say something was wrong. The restaurant employees had said something was wrong. And still, Mitrice walked out into the dark. Nearly a year later, her remains were found in a remote stretch of the Santa Monica Mountains known as Dark Canyon. The cause of death was listed as undetermined. And the controversy surrounding how she was treated that night, and how the scene was handled when her remains were finally discovered, has never been fully resolved. This week we cover the full story of Mitrice Richardson, from her life in Southern California to the night everything went wrong, the year-long search, and the questions her family is still asking today. Thank you to this week's sponsors! Get your IQ Bars today! To get your 20% off text MOMS to 64000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. Get THE most comfortable hoodie of your life by going to www.PakaApparel.com. See how K12 Powered Schools can help unlock your child’s full potential! Enroll online today at K12.com/moms. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    52 mins
  • Stolen Youth: Inside the Sarah Lawrence Cult and the Trial of Larry Ray

    Stolen Youth: Inside the Sarah Lawrence Cult and the Trial of Larry Ray
    Jun 30 2026
    In March 2010, a middle-aged ex-convict named Lawrence Ray was released from prison after serving six months for child custody interference. With nowhere else to go, he moved into his daughter Talia's co-ed dormitory at Sarah Lawrence College, a small and prestigious liberal arts school just outside New York City. Talia had spent months telling her roommates that her father was a brilliant man who had been unfairly targeted by a corrupt government. So when he arrived, the students opened the door. What began as a temporary stay quickly evolved into a decade of psychological terror, financial exploitation, and absolute domination. Larry positioned himself as a trusted mentor and therapist, conducting lengthy late-night sessions where he encouraged the students to reveal their deepest insecurities, family conflicts, and mental health struggles. Piece by piece, he assembled a detailed map of each student's vulnerabilities, which he eventually weaponized against them. Through a combination of sleep deprivation, physical violence, and relentless interrogation, Larry convinced his followers that they had committed terrible acts, poisoned him, and destroyed his property. He forced them to write detailed false confessions in journals and on video, and then insisted they owed him hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. To pay these fabricated debts, the students drained savings, borrowed from parents, performed grueling unpaid manual labor in North Carolina, and in one case, were coerced into commercial sex work.This is the story of how a master manipulator took over the minds of some of the brightest young people in the country, the New York Magazine investigation that exposed the truth, and the federal trial that finally brought him to justice. Thank you to this week's sponsors! For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you visit Nutrafol.com and enter promo code MOMS. And right now, IQBAR is offering our special podcast listeners 20% percent off all IQBAR products—including the Ultimate sampler pack—plus FREE shipping. Text MOMS 64000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • The Farmhouse Conspiracy: The Murder of Ryan Cooper

    The Farmhouse Conspiracy: The Murder of Ryan Cooper
    Jun 25 2026
    *We realized after recording that we mispronounced the name of Traer, Iowa throughout this episode. We are sorry to anyone from Traer who had to listen to that!* On the morning of June 18, 2021, a frantic 911 call led deputies to a quiet farmhouse in Traer, Iowa. Inside, they found 42-year-old Ryan Cooper, a beloved local farmer, slumped in his recliner. He had been shot twice in the face. His wife, Karina Cooper, was found clinging to his body, sobbing and claiming that a mysterious intruder had broken into their home while she and their three children slept upstairs. But as investigators began to peel back the layers of their seemingly ordinary family life, they realized the scene was not what it appeared to be. Behind the scenes, detectives uncovered a secret affair between Karina and a local 22-year-old man named Huston Danker. Though both insisted their relationship was nothing more than a harmless online fantasy, their digital footprint told a far more sinister story. Investigators recovered messages where Karina referred to her husband as merely a sperm donor, fantasized about a rogue semi-truck accident taking him out, and openly discussed building a new life with Huston. When a half-million-dollar life insurance payout entered the picture, the pieces of a cold-blooded murder conspiracy fell into place. In 2024, nearly three years after the murder, both Karina and Huston were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Karina chose to take the stand in her own defense, a high-risk move that ultimately sealed her fate. Following a dramatic trial, a jury convicted her in just three hours, resulting in a mandatory life sentence. Just weeks later, as his own trial was set to begin, Huston unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty, bringing a final, shocking conclusion to a devastating case. Thank you to this week's sponsors! And right now, IQBAR is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQBAR products—including the Ultimate sampler pack—plus FREE shipping. Text MOMS to 64000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to Quince.com/moms for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    46 mins
  • The Murder of Corinna Mullen: A Corrupt Cop, a Cover-Up, and 20 Years Without Justice

    The Murder of Corinna Mullen: A Corrupt Cop, a Cover-Up, and 20 Years Without Justice
    Jun 23 2026
    In October 1987, 20-year-old Corinna Mullen was found brutally murdered in the trunk of her own car behind a city garage in Central City, Kentucky. Her injuries were catastrophic. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and left to die. Her boyfriend, Jimmy Springer, was arrested, tried, and ultimately acquitted when the jury found the evidence too thin to convict. The investigation was riddled with problems. Evidence was never tested. Key interviews were never recorded. And a pocket knife with blood and hair on it was found by Corinna's own father after her car was returned to the family. For nearly two decades, Corinna's parents, Claude and Patricia Mullen, refused to let the case die. They placed ads in newspapers, handed out flyers, met with agencies, and followed every lead they could find. Then in 2005, a woman named Sandy came forward with a story that changed everything. She claimed she had been a 16-year-old witness to Corinna's murder and that the man who orchestrated it was none other than Lieutenant Billy Fields, the very officer who had responded to the crime scene and led the original investigation. In 2006, Billy Fields, Jeffrey Boyd, Jimmy Cramer, and Angela Smith were all arrested in connection with Corinna's death. The trial finally began in 2009, more than 20 years after the murder. Billy and Jeffrey each received life sentences. Jimmy Cramer received 60 years. Corinna's mother did not live to see the arrests. Her father, Claude, died just before Christmas in 2011, two years after the verdicts. Corinna's daughter, Stephanie, who was just two years old when her mother was killed, said she never believed this day would come. Thank you to this week's sponsors! Sleep cooler this summer with Boll & Branch during their Annual Summer Event. For a limited time, get 20% off sitewide at BollAndBranch.com/moms with code moms. Exclusions apply. Start taking supplements your body can actually absorb. Go to AbsorbMore.com and enter MOMS at checkout for up to 35%off your first order. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • The Lip King: Jordan Parke and the Death of Alice Webb

    The Lip King: Jordan Parke and the Death of Alice Webb
    Jun 18 2026
    Jordan James Parke spent years chasing the next procedure, spending over £130,000 on surgeries, fillers, and dramatic transformations that made him one of the most recognizable faces in the British cosmetic industry. He called himself the Lip King, building a massive social media following and launching his own aesthetics training academy. But behind the glamorous before-and-after photos lay a deeply unregulated industry and a series of increasingly dangerous choices. In September 2024, 33-year-old Alice Webb, a mother of five daughters, traveled to Gloucestershire to attend one of Jordan's training sessions. After undergoing a liquid BBL procedure, Alice became critically ill and died later that day from complications, sparking a national manslaughter investigation and renewed calls for tighter regulation of the cosmetic industry. Then, before investigators could reach a conclusion or file charges, another death shocked the industry. On February 18, 2026, Jordan was found dead at a London hotel at just 34 years old under circumstances that appeared connected to the very same world that made him famous. This week, we look at the rise of the Lip King, the tragic loss of Alice, and the shocking twist that left both cases with more questions than answers. Thanks to this week's sponsors! Start taking supplements your body can actually absorb. Go to absorbmore.com and enter MOMS at check out for up to 35% off your first order. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    50 mins
  • Heaven's Gate: The UFO Cult That Ended in a Mansion in Rancho Santa Fe

    Heaven's Gate: The UFO Cult That Ended in a Mansion in Rancho Santa Fe
    Jun 16 2026
    On March 26, 1997, deputies responding to an anonymous tip entered a luxury mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California, and found 39 people dead. They were all dressed in matching black clothing and brand-new Nike sneakers, with purple shrouds placed carefully over their faces. The house was immaculate. The trash had been taken out. And every single person inside had died willingly, convinced they were boarding a spacecraft hidden behind the Hale-Bopp comet. This week, we are covering the full story of Heaven's Gate, from the very beginning. We trace the origins of the group through its two founders: Marshall Applewhite, a charismatic former music professor from Texas, and Bonnie Nettles, a Houston nurse with a deep interest in astrology and the occult. Together, they spent years building a belief system that blended UFO mythology, biblical prophecy, and New Age spirituality into something entirely their own. We talk about how they recruited hundreds of followers across the country, the strict rules that governed every aspect of daily life inside the group, and how Bonnie's death from cancer in 1985 forced Marshall to completely reinterpret everything the movement had been built on. We also get into the final days of Heaven's Gate, the farewell videos members recorded, and the chilling, methodical way the group carried out their plan over the course of three days. This one is a deep one, and it is a story that still feels impossible to fully understand almost thirty years later. Thank you to this week's sponsors! Text MOMS to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products, plus FREE shipping. Message and data rates may apply. Download Cash App Today: https://click.cash.app/ui6m/vwn13ren #CashAppPod. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Savings provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • UPDATED: Bonus Episode: Neighbors "Patch of Grass" from the Patreon Vault

    UPDATED: Bonus Episode: Neighbors "Patch of Grass" from the Patreon Vault
    Jun 12 2026
    It seemed we missed some (ALL) edits on the last post. Thanks everyone who took the time to let us know! We are giving you a little gift this week. This episode originally aired on our Patreon several months ago, and we loved it so much that we wanted to share it with everyone. Consider this a peek behind the paywall! And if silly isn't for you, don't worry, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week! This week we are covering the HBO Max show Neighbors and the episode titled "Patch of Grass." If you have not seen this show yet, please stop what you are doing and get yourself a Max subscription, because this one is something else entirely. We have two stories out of Florida, which should tell you everything you need to know. In Palm Bay, we meet Johnny and Andy, two neighbors who have been locked in a full-blown war since the year 2000 over St. Augustine grass. There are death threats, acid-throwing promises, a very decorated vehicle, and a man who used to go by the Italian Stallion. In West Palm Beach, we meet Victoria and Melissa, two women who were perfectly good neighbors for 16 years until a one-foot-wide strip of grass came between them. There are guns, Zoom court, a chain-smoking Victoria, a mediator who also sells firearms, and a son named Jack who wants absolutely no part of any of this. If you want more bonus episodes like this one, you can find them over on our ⁠Patreon⁠. We release content there regularly that never makes it to the main feed (plus our regular episodes without ads), and we would love to have you over there. Thank you so much for listening and for all of your support. It means everything to us. Patreon: ⁠Patreon.com/momsandmysteriespodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • A Toxic Web in Zanesville: The Murder of Jayla Wyatt

    A Toxic Web in Zanesville: The Murder of Jayla Wyatt
    Jun 11 2026
    On April 27, 2021, the quiet community of Zanesville, Ohio, was shattered when 23-year-old Jayla Wyatt was found shot to death in the entryway of a local apartment. She had been shot six times, including a devastating direct shot to the face. The apartment belonged to Patrick Downes, a man significantly older than Jayla with whom she had recently started staying. When investigators began looking into who could have targeted Jayla, they quickly uncovered a toxic web of addiction, obsession, and volatile relationships. The trail led directly to 20-year-old Tristaney Baker and her 23-year-old boyfriend, Devin McKnelly. Driven by a deep, drug-fueled jealousy over Patrick, Tristaney had planned the execution, while Devin provided both the firearm and the getaway vehicle. Within twenty-four hours of the crime, police used emergency cellphone tracking to locate the couple in Columbus, Ohio, bringing an end to their short-lived flight from justice. In this episode, we discuss the heartbreaking details of Jayla's life, the explosive and dangerous dynamic between her killers, and the rapid police investigation that brought them both to justice. Thank you to this week's sponsors! Sleep cooler this summer with Boll & Branch during their Annual Summer Event! For a limited time, get 20% off sitewide at BollandBranch.com/moms with code moms. Exclusions apply. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to Quince.com/moms for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    42 mins