True Crime Tuesday: The Cold Case of April Tinsley

IPlease read the “TCT Disclaimer” under the True Crime tab at the top of the page before reading any true crime posts.

One of the most fascinating things happening in the crime-solving world right now is the use of genealogy databases, like Ancestry and 23 And Me, to solve cold cases.

Most recently, and maybe most famously, we saw it this year when the Golden State Killer was finally apprehended after 40+ years undetected.

Privacy and ethics debates aside, I actually think it’s brilliant to be looking for matches this way if it gets more wastes of fucking oxygen off the street.

In the case I want to tell you about for this week’s instalment of TCT, the Fort Wayne Police Department ran testing on DNA evidence from a 1988 cold case using a genealogy database and came back with hits on two living brothers of the DNA source.

That’s ah-meezing.

What are killers supposed to do? “Hey, family? Please don’t give your DNA over to 23 and Me. The police might find out I did some things I don’t want them to know about. Nothing crazy, I promise. Just some mild murder. Okay? Thanks, great talk.”

bruce campbell hero GIF by Ash vs Evil Dead

Obviously, the killer in this case never got around to giving his family the heads up.

This is the Cold Case of April Tinsley.

Trigger warning: Child rape, violence against children

Continue reading →

True Crime Tuesday: A Graphic Novel Murder

Please read the “TCT Disclaimer” under the True Crime tab at the top of the page before reading any true crime posts.

Gooooood morning friends, lovers, Vietnaaaaaaaam and strangers! It’s my favourite day of the blogging week once again, True Crime Tuesday! *crowd goes wild* so I thought let’s start it off with a Robin Williams reference because those are always good.

Today I’ve got a cracker of a case to share. I’ve been obsessing over it all weekend as the trial just started so there’s lots of new information spilling out.

…but first, a joke:

Related image

This might actually be my new favourite serial killer joke. Yes, that’s a thing I’m allowed to have a favourite of. My previous favourite was:

Q: What does Jeffrey Dahmer sing while he’s making his lunch?

A: My bologna has a first name…

That doesn’t go over well at parties most of the time, so maybe just keep it between you and your murderino friends.

Anyway, now that’s you’re in a good mood, let’s completely ruin that, shall we?

Continue reading →

True Crime Tuesday: Remembering The Humboldt Broncos, Plus a Dismembered body in NYC

Please read the “TCT Disclaimer” under the True Crime tab at the top of the page before reading any true crime posts.

It feels like it’s been a minute since I’ve done a TCT post. Maybe because I feel like I’ve been really busy, but also the days are just absolutely dragging at work. I wasn’t even totally sure I was going to do one this week until a creepy story broke on Monday night from New York, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

I want to start with something a little bit different that I know is not technically “true crime,” but I created this regular post to talk about crazy/interesting crimes talking place across the globe so we can be aware, but also to talk about the deaths of people who were victims, taken from this world before it seemed fair or just; before they had a chance to experience whatever they went for in life.

And so, with that in mind, the Humboldt Broncos fit that sentiment.

Continue reading →

Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager

32796253

★★★★★

Dutton | 2017

It’s my birthday and I’m King of the World!

Okay, it’s not my birthday, nor am I a king, but that’s how this book makes me feel.

I’m not going to shame other people for their opinions on this one, but I will say if you didn’t like it, I truly believe you missed the beauty of what Riley Sager did here.

But, still, no judgement. I respect you all, I’m just a little bit in love with this novel.

At Pine Cottage, ten years earlier, Quincy Carpenter emerges from the woods, bloody and screaming, the only survivor of a murderous massacre. We’re talking slasher-flick-sized proportions. The only problem is, Quincy has repressed all memories of that night. She has no idea what happened.

By surviving this horrific event, Quincy becomes a member of a very exclusive club dubbed in the media as The Final Girls.

“Final girls is film-geek speak for the last woman standing at the end of a horror movie.”

Continue reading →

True Crime Tuesday: Teenage Thelma And Louise

Please read the “TCT Disclaimer” under the True Crime tab at the top of the page before reading any true crime posts.

It’s that time again! And maybe that time is occurring too much? I’m waffling on that, considering making True Crime Tuesday a bi-weekly post to give myself more room to research and write. But we’ll see. Maybe I’ll just write a story whenever I feel the vibe to do it.

This blog is supposed to be a hobby, not work.

Anyway – last week I wrote about The Snapchat Murders – the story of two young girls who are the victims of a still-free killer. There are links in the story to provide any tips to police that you might have. You just never know who or where my posts are going to reach, right?

This week, let’s turn the two girls concept on its head. This is the story of two young girls who are the killers.

Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum.

3CDE141200000578-0-image-a-36_1486321674387 — Sandra Ketchum (left) and Holly Harvey (right.)

Continue reading →

True Crime Tuesday: The Michigan Murderer

Please read the “TCT Disclaimer” under the True Crime tab at the top of the page before reading any true crime posts.

“Ken, two kids just came in with some story about a body out in a field somewhere. Want to go down and see what it’s all about?”

Last time for True Crime Tuesday, I talked about the Robison Family Murders, an unsolved case from the 60s. Lots of theories and suspects have been floated around about who killed Richard Robison, his wife and four children. One of the names suggested was John Norman Collins because of a connected between him and one of the eldest Robison sons.

There’s absolutely nothing to suggest Collins had anything do to with the Robison murders, but honestly, how crazy is it that you would know a serial killer from school and then also be fucking murdered?

THE ODDS! Definitely not in your favour.

After writing about both cases, it’s clear to me that Collins wasn’t involved in the Robison murders because his pathology as a serial killer is very specific and very “strangling young women.” Like, not original at all but also not “I’m going into the words to shoot a family.”

Collins is the original Co-Ed Killer, not Bundy, but he never got the same amount of attention as some of the other big name serial killers from around that same star-studded time. And my star-studded, I mean fucking psychos. Collins was also known as the Michigan Murderer and the Ypsilanti Ripper.

I’m going to avoid the Ypsilanti name because I don’t have a fucking clue how to pronounce it.

So, grab a drink or a joint or a snack, snuggle in and prepare to take a long journey through a savage serial killer’s crime spree. This is an intense one and probably comes across best if you read it like Keith Morrison is narrating.

Continue reading →

True Crime Tuesday: The Robison Family Murders

Please read the “TCT Disclaimer” under the True Crime tab at the top of the page before reading any true crime posts.

It’s week two of True Crime Tuesday and apparently I’m on some kind of family murdering ~~spree~~ kick. What’s that say about my mindset? Could it have anything to do with my teetering mental health because of the chaos that currently envelopes my entire home and marriage due to my oldest stepson’s all-consuming hurricane behaviour that is literally making it feel like I can’t fucking breathe and maybe my marriage won’t make it?

I digress. We certainly don’t have time to unpack all of that and delve into the psychology and Freudian slip-like choice of true crime tales I’m telling.

Everything is fine. No one is going to kill anyone in my house, unless it’s mentally and emotionally HAHAHA…

stressed awkward marketing GIF

Alright, here we go. The Robison Family Treehouse…no, murders. They’re all going to die in this one, so just prepare yourselves.

Continue reading →

True Crime Tuesday: Werewolf Lovers

Please read the “TCT Disclaimer” under the True Crime tab at the top of the page before reading any true crime posts.

Before we get into my first inaugural true crime story for the blog (so exciting!!!), I just want to ask: have you seen Zac Efron as Ted Bundy for the upcoming biopic “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile“? I am literally shaking with antici…………..pation.

tumblr_p2qbxkV1Vg1uqxnoyo1_1280

I will admit, I definitely felt like screaming WHY GOD WHYYYYYYYYYYY when I heard Efron had been cast as the killer who tops my list of favourite of all time – not in a admiring way, obviously – but seeing this shot really calms my skepticism. I’ll reserve full judgement until I see his portrayal, but so far so good.

Now, onto my first true crime write-up for my brand new blog! I’m Canadian and it’s pretty clear to me that hardly anyone pays attention to us on an international level, and that’s fine. We like keeping to ourselves. Y’all know who Trudeau is, but admit it – this is the first time you’ve ever really known our Prime Minister’s name. Or even that we don’t use the term “President.” Admit it!

Anyway, I feel like this gives me an opportunity to explore a true crime case that maybe not a lot of people are familiar with because it’s a Canadian case. I could do something big, flashy and well-known, but that’s not really the vibe I want to start off with.

So, instead, let’s talk about The Werewolf Lovers. That’s the most lame-ass name for these two, but whatever. Here we go…

Trigger warning: violence against children

Continue reading →