Once Upon A Crime
Esther Ludlow
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Recent Episodes
Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Four: Reckoning
In the final chapter of Ted Bundy for the Defense, the mask comes off.After the shocking courtroom moment in which Bundy cross-examined first responders and forced graphic testimony about the Chi…
Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Three: Unhinged
After escaping from a Colorado jail, Ted Bundy fled to Florida — and unraveled.In this episode, we follow Bundy’s path to Tallahassee, the brutal Chi Omega sorority house murders, the attack on…
The Other Ted Bundy: Suspicion, Denial, and the Warnings That Came Too Early
In the summer of 1974, Seattle was gripped by fear as young women disappeared and witnesses began describing a polite man named “Ted” and his tan Volkswagen. As newspapers cautiously reported on a…
Ted Bundy for the Defense - Part Two: The Mask Cracks
In Part Two of Ted Bundy for the Defense, we follow Ted Bundy from his first arrest in Utah through conviction, psychological evaluation, escalating murder charges, and the escape attempts that would…
Bonus Episode - Bill Mann - “The Black Dahlia” follow-up interview - The Suspect
A recent Los Angeles Times article has reignited worldwide interest in the Black Dahlia murder, spotlighting an amateur sleuth’s theory that attempts to link the case to the Zodiac Killer—and naming…
Ted Bundy for the Defense – Part One: Beginnings
In Ted Bundy for the Defense: Part One, we examine the earliest confirmed crimes of Ted Bundy and the investigation that led to his first conviction.This episode follows Bundy’s documented attacks…
Ted Bundy for the Defense - The Myth on Trial
Ted Bundy is often remembered as charming, intelligent, and dangerously persuasive—a serial killer who outsmarted investigators and manipulated everyone around him. But how much of that story is…
Interview: Crystal Gutierrez on the Disappearance of Anthonette Cayedito
In this special bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, Esther sits down with journalist and investigator Crystal Gutierrez to discuss the missing persons case she and her team are actively…
Bonus: John Wayne Gacy: A Case Review & Peacock’s “Devil in Disguise”
In this bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, Esther revisits the horrific crimes of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, often referred to as “The Killer Clown,” and reviews the 2025 Peacock docu-drama…
Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder — Bonus Episode: Series Wrap-Up + Q&A
In this special bonus episode, Esther and producer Lorena answer listener questions and share their own reflections after a six-week deep dive into the life, death, and murder of Elizabeth…
The Black Dahlia Murder - Part Six: The Black Dahlia Legacy
In the sixth and final episode of our series Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder, we explore the enduring cultural legacy of one of America’s most haunting unsolved crimes. For nearly eight decades,…
Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder - Part Five: Severed
In Part Five of Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder, we examine the discovery of Elizabeth Short’s mutilated body, the forensic evidence revealed by the autopsy, and how early investigative missteps and…
Bonus: The First Suspects - The Black Dahlia Files
In this bonus episode, Esther takes listeners back to the earliest days of the Black Dahlia investigation — before the world even knew the victim’s name.Detectives faced a gruesome and mystifying…
Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder - Part Four: The Black Dahlia’s Lost Week
In this fourth installment of Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder, we trace Elizabeth Short’s final, mysterious days — the missing week between her last confirmed sightings in early January 1947 and the…
Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder - Part Three: City of Broken Dreams
In 1946, Elizabeth Short – the young woman the world would later know as The Black Dahlia – returned to California chasing love, glamour, and a new beginning. Instead, she found herself drifting…
Bonus: Love Letters from The Black Dahlia
Before Elizabeth Short became known to the world as The Black Dahlia, she was a young woman searching for love and belonging in a world still recovering from war.In this bonus episode, Esther reads…
Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder - Part Two: Becoming Elizabeth
Before she became The Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short was simply Beth — a young woman with big dreams, an open heart, and a longing for something beyond the ordinary. In Part Two: Becoming Elizabeth,…
Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder - Part One: The Girl in the Empty Lot
In January 1947, a mother walking through a quiet Los Angeles neighborhood made a horrifying discovery — the bisected body of a young woman posed in a vacant lot. Within hours, newspapers had a…
Introducing “Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder” - A Once Upon a Crime Original Series
In January 1947, Elizabeth Short’s brutal murder shocked Los Angeles — and turned her into the enduring legend known as The Black Dahlia.In this new six-part Once Upon a Crime series, host Esther…
Hanged: Ruth Ellis and the Price of Passion – Q&A Aftershow
In this special Aftershow episode, Esther and Lorena answer listener questions and reflect on the powerful story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in the United Kingdom.Together, we unpack…
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Once Upon A Crime has published 408 episodes since June 2016, covering topics in History, Society & Culture.
Once Upon A Crime is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 40m.
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