UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast

What if Casey Anthony finally told the truth—would anyone believe her?Nearly twenty years after Caylee Anthony disappeared, the case remains one of the most controversial mysteries in American true crime. Casey lied about her job, invented a nanny, misled investigators and waited 31 days before her daughter was reported missing. But a jury still found her not guilty of murder.In this episode of UNMARKED, I sit down with lead prosecutor Jeff Ashton and challenge him on the evidence, the timeline and the questions I still have about what happened on June 16, 2008. I al...

How much of who we become is shaped before we can even remember it?In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I sit down with clinical and forensic neuropsychologist Dr. Judy Ho to talk about attachment—how our earliest relationships shape the way we see ourselves, connect with other people, and respond to the world around us.We break down attachment theory, the different attachment styles, what happens when those early bonds are disrupted, and how childhood experiences can continue influencing behavior decades later.#TrueCrime #Psychology #AttachmentTheory #SerialKillers #DrJudyHo #CaseNotes 

A shocking case is entering a new chapter as Nick Reiner appears in court for a pre-trial hearing in the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. Prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty, while questions over sealed grand jury evidence and what comes next in the case continue to unfold.In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the pre-trial hearing of the Nick Reiner case and what happens next. Then we get into your questions:  Why did Lizzie Borden kill her parents?, Was Gary He...

What if everything we think we know about Lizzie Borden is wrong?With Netflix once again turning Lizzie Borden into a monster, we're going back to the woman behind the legend. In 1892, Lizzie stood trial for the brutal murders of her father, Andrew, and stepmother, Abby, inside their Fall River home. She was acquitted—but more than 130 years later, we're still trying to explain who she was and what could have driven her to kill, if she did.This week on UNMARKED, I’m joined by Dr. Cara Robertson, author of The Trial of Lizzie Bord...

I’m joined by Brandi Churchwell, host of the 13th Juror Podcast, to break down the mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy case. We talk about what happened in the courtroom, the reaction to the decision, what the jury actually decided—and some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the case.We also dig into the difficult questions at the heart of this trial: mental illness, criminal responsibility, and why this case has produced such dramatically different reactions from people following it.#LindsayClancy #TrueCrime #CaseNotes #podcast #UNMARKED

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on YouTube or Apple Podcasts, DM @unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @JamesBuddyDay.A controversial case has taken another dramatic turn in Massachusetts, where a mistrial was declared after jurors deadlocked in Lindsay Clancy’s trial for the deaths of her three children. Now, prosecutors must decide whether to try the case again—while the debate over mental illness, accountability and what happened in the days leading up to the tragedy continues.In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to b...

Was Gary Heidnik legally insane—or did he know exactly what he was doing?The crimes committed inside Gary Heidnik’s North Philadelphia home became infamous for their brutality—and would later draw comparisons to The Silence of the Lambs. But beneath the mythology of the so-called “Monster Preacher” is a much more difficult question about mental illness, culpability, and the way the law defines sanity.Heidnik had a documented history of severe mental illness stretching back decades. He experienced delusions, believed God had given him a mission, and constructed an elaborate fantasy that ultim...

How many serial killers are operating right now—and how many murders are we failing to connect?This week on Case Notes, I’m joined by Dr. Michael Arntfield of the Murder Accountability Project to talk about the enormous amount of homicide data hiding in plain sight—and what it can tell us about serial murder in America.We get into why homicides are underreported and misclassified, how the Murder Accountability Project uses data to identify suspicious clusters of killings, and what the numbers suggest about the serial killers who may still be operating today.W...

A controversial case is entering a new chapter as Bryan Kohberger’s appeal moves forward. The challenge has reignited debate over the investigation, the evidence, and whether the justice system got it right—while the families of the victims continue to face the painful question of whether the case will ever truly be over.In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the Bryan Kohberger plea agreement and how he is able to attempt to change his plea after pleading guilty. Then we get into your questions: What made Richa...

Was Richard Ramirez born to become the Night Stalker—or was he created?Before Richard Ramirez terrorized California as the Night Stalker, he was a quiet kid from El Paso who showed few of the early warning signs we associate with psychopathy. But over time, the ingredients began to accumulate: possible prenatal toxic exposure, neurological problems, violence at home, drugs, sexual fantasy, and the extraordinary influence of a cousin who introduced him to images and stories of rape, torture and murder.In this episode, I’m joined by forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston to retrace Rami...

What is it like to survive an encounter with a serial killer—and then learn what he did to the men who came after you?In this episode of UNMARKED Case Notes, I sit down with Mark Henderson, a survivor of Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur.Mark takes us inside his encounter with McArthur: how they met, what happened between them, the details that have stayed with him, and what it was like to later discover that McArthur had murdered eight men.We also talk about the Bruce McArthur investigation, the warning signs that we...

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on YouTube or Apple Podcasts, DM @unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @JamesBuddyDay.A deeply polarizing story is unfolding in Massachusetts, where a young mother is accused of killing her three children inside their family home. As the case moves forward, it has sparked fierce debate over mental health, motherhood, responsibility—and whether the devastating events of that day could have been prevented in the days leading up to the tragedy..In this Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to br...

How did Bruce McArthur murder eight men in Toronto’s Gay Village while hiding in plain sight?In this episode of UNMARKED, James Buddy Day returns to Toronto to retrace the footsteps of one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers—speaking with people who knew McArthur, walking the streets where he found his victims, and revisiting the properties where he concealed their remains.Drawing from Buddy’s original investigation for the Canadian Screen Award-winning documentary Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur, we examine McArthur’s double life, his psychology and evolving fantasies, the murders of eight m...

What do people really want to know about serial killers?Are serial killers born or made? What actually defines a serial killer? And are female serial killers different from their male counterparts?In this episode of UNMARKED: Case Notes, I sit down with forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston to tackle some of the most frequently asked—and most misunderstood—questions about serial killers.From the psychology behind repeated murder to the differences between male and female offenders, we separate popular mythology from what the research actually tells us.Read Dr. Johnston’s book...

Have a question for the show? Leave it in the comments on YouTube or Apple Podcasts, DM @unmarkedpodcast on Instagram, or find me directly @JamesBuddyDay.A disturbing investigation is unfolding in Philadelphia, where police say evidence recovered from a home on West Chew Avenue appears to show two missing women deceased—and investigators are examining an enormous collection of images, videos and writings connected to the property.In our first Friday edition of UNMARKED, producer Jon Nadeau joins me to break down the Eugene Horsch case and what we actually know so far.Th...

What made Ed Kemper capable of becoming one of America’s most notorious serial killers?In this episode of UNMARKED, I retrace the life and crimes of Edmund Kemper—the so-called “Co-Ed Killer”—with renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kent Kiehl, sometimes called “The Psychopath Whisperer.”Dr. Kiehl has spent decades studying psychopathy, interviewing hundreds of offenders and using brain imaging to investigate what happens inside the minds of people with extreme psychopathic traits. His connection to the Kemper story goes back to his earliest days studying forensic psychiatry, when he encountered Kemper at California’s Vacaville correc...

What does Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes get right about Charles Manson—and what does it leave out?In this episode of Case Notes, I’m joined by George Stimson, author of Goodbye Helter Skelter and a longtime associate of Charles Manson, to break down and react to the new Netflix documentary series Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes.George knew Manson personally for years and has challenged the traditional Helter Skelter narrative surrounding Manson and the Tate-LaBianca murders. We discuss his reaction to the Netflix series, what he bel...

Before the release of Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes, I joined attorney Karen Conti on WGN Radio 720 in Chicago to discuss Charles Manson and what years of research into the case have revealed.Karen Conti has a fascinating connection to another notorious American murder case: she was John Wayne Gacy’s final attorney, representing him during his death-row appeals before his execution in 1994.🎙️ Originally broadcast Aug 9, 2026 on WGN Radio 720 — The Karen Conti ShowExplore our investigations into Charles Manson, the Manson Family, Sharon Tate and the murders at Cielo Drive

What really happened inside 10050 Cielo Drive on the night of August 8, 1969?More than fifty years later, the Manson murders remain one of the most infamous crimes in American history. But beyond the mythology surrounding Charles Manson lies a far more complicated story.After more than a decade investigating the case—including interviews with Charles Manson and members of the Manson Family, access to rare recordings, police reports, trial transcripts, and my private research archive featured in Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer—I reconstruct the murders at Cielo Drive almost minute by minute.Rese...

What does one of America's most prolific serial killers say when he's spent more than two decades behind bars?For years, author Maria DiLorenzo has corresponded with Gary Ridgway—the Green River Killer—offering a rare window into the mind of a man convicted of murdering 49 women and who later confessed to many more.In this episode of UNMARKED, I sit down with Maria to examine what Ridgway's letters, interviews, and prison conversations reveal about the psychology of one of history's most prolific serial killers. We explore the violent fantasies that preceded the murders, the role...