Obscura: A True Crime Podcast

Double Homicide: The House on Benchor Road - Part 02 Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com/OBSCURA * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Chime: https://www.chime.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/obscura * Check out Time4Learning: https://www.time4learning.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Double Homicide: The House on Benchor Road - Part 01 Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com/OBSCURA * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/obscura * Check out Time4Learning: https://www.time4learning.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Neglect: The Streamer and the Silent Crib Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com/OBSCURA * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/obscura Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Leslie Preer was murdered in her Chevy Chase, Maryland home on May 2, 2001. For 23 years the case sat cold. This episode features court audio from the August 2025 sentencing and the genetic genealogy breakthrough that finally identified her killer. Leslie Ann Jennings Preer, 48, was a wife, mother, and former University of Florida journalism student. Born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island in 1952 and raised across the country in a large military family, she settled in Chevy Chase in 1982 with her husband Sandy and their daughter Lauren. She volunteered at a local library teaching English to immigrants and newcomers. Friends and family remembered her as gentle, intelligent, and kind. On the morning of May 2, 2001, Leslie did not show up for work. A welfare check at her home on Drummond Avenue revealed she had been beaten and strangled inside the house. There was no forced entry. Blood and skin cells from her attacker were recovered from the dining room, hallway, and near the kitchen. DNA under her fingernails told investigators exactly who did it. The problem was, he was not in any database. Suspicion fell on her husband, Sandy Preer. He was cleared, but the cloud of suspicion followed him for years. Sandy passed away in 2017 before he ever saw justice for his wife. In 2022, Montgomery County investigators Tara Augustin and Alyson Dupouy reopened the file. They uploaded the crime scene DNA to a public genetic genealogy database. The search traced a distant relative in Romania, which narrowed the field until one name surfaced in old case notes. Lauren Preer's high school boyfriend, Eugene Gligor. For five years he had sat at the Preer family dinner table. He had shared their holidays, their game nights, their home on Drummond Avenue. In June 2024, investigators followed Gligor to Washington Dulles International Airport and retrieved a discarded water bottle. The DNA matched. On June 18, 2024, federal marshals arrested Eugene Gligor at his apartment in Washington, D.C. In May 2025 he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. On August 28, 2025, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Lease sentenced him to 30 years with all but 22 years suspended, followed by five years of supervised probation. Prosecutors Donna Fenton and Jodie Mount handled the case. Gligor remains incarcerated at the Maryland Correctional Training Center. Sandy Preer was posthumously vindicated. This episode features court audio from the 2025 sentencing hearing and archival case reporting. Listener discretion advised. Support Obscura: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Website: https://www.mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Apple Premium: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/black-label/id6443660911 Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com/OBSCURA * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/obscura * Check out Time4Learning: https://www.time4learning.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Black Label: The Station Nightclub Fire Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Two women strangled in two days by the same man in Jacksonville, Florida -- one killed at a motel on Christmas night, the other a beloved teacher murdered in her own home the next morning. This episode features real interrogation footage and court audio. Leah Kline's life ended on December 25, 2019. She and Zebulon Perkins had been staying at a Westside Jacksonville motel when an argument turned violent. Perkins strangled Kline and disposed of her body in a dumpster behind the building. She was 38 years old. Her remains would not be discovered for days. The following morning, December 26, Perkins drove to the Cedar Hills home of Vivian James, a 49-year-old chemistry teacher at Atlantic Coast High School. James had once been his teacher. According to court records, Perkins went to her looking for guidance -- and when James told him he needed to turn himself in to police, Perkins beat her and strangled her with a cord inside her home. Vivian James had spent years in a classroom shaping the futures of Duval County students. Colleagues and former students described her as someone who gave her time and attention freely, a teacher who saw potential where others saw problems. The fact that a former student came to her door in crisis -- and that her instinct was to counsel him toward accountability -- speaks to who she was. On December 28, a friend stopped by James' home and found her body. The friend called Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and reported James' car missing. Investigators located the vehicle at the same Westside motel where Kline had been killed. Perkins was inside. When officers searched the car, they found Perkins' bag containing sweatpants stained with James' DNA, along with her camera and three laptops. Two of James' televisions and her computer monitor were recovered from the home of Perkins' mother. DNA recovered from beneath James' fingernails matched Perkins. In March 2024, Zebulon Perkins pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 70 years in Florida State Prison. The interrogation footage played during court proceedings showed detectives confronting Perkins about the evidence against him -- a man who, according to investigators, showed no emotion when asked about either death. This episode features interrogation recordings and court audio. Listener discretion advised. Support Obscura: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Website: https://www.mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Apple Premium: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/black-label/id6443660911 Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Abraham Shakespeare won thirty million dollars in the Florida Lottery. Three years later, he was dead -- shot twice, buried under concrete in Lakeland, Florida. This episode features real court recordings and interrogation audio. Abraham Shakespeare, 43, was a truck driver's assistant from Lakeland, Florida, who lived simply and was known for his generosity. Friends described him as someone who would help anyone, even when he had little to give. On November 15, 2006, Shakespeare won a $30 million Florida Lotto jackpot, choosing a lump-sum payout of approximately $17 million. He purchased a million-dollar home in a gated community, bought cars for friends, paid off mortgages for relatives, and gave cash to nearly anyone who asked. Within two years, the majority of his fortune had been spent or given away. He told relatives he sometimes wished he had never won. In late 2008, Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore approached Shakespeare, claiming she wanted to write a book about how people were taking advantage of him. Moore positioned herself as his financial protector. Within months, she had Shakespeare sign over his home, his remaining properties, and control of his bank accounts to companies she owned. By early April 2009, Moore controlled nearly everything. When Shakespeare began pressing her about where his money had gone, he vanished. His last confirmed sighting was in the first week of April 2009. Moore launched an elaborate deception to cover his absence. She sent text messages from his phone, forged letters in his name, and paid a man to impersonate Shakespeare on a phone call to his own mother. She told police he had planned his own disappearance. When Shakespeare's family reported him missing in November 2009, investigators with the Polk County Sheriff's Office traced the financial records. Every explanation Moore offered contradicted the evidence. A controlled phone call arranged by detectives caught Moore pressuring an attorney to maintain lies about Shakespeare's whereabouts. In January 2010, acting on evidence from an undercover operation, authorities discovered Shakespeare's body buried nine feet deep under a concrete slab at a property on Highway 60 in Plant City, Florida. He had been shot twice in the chest with a .38 caliber revolver. On December 10, 2012, a Hillsborough County jury convicted Dorice Moore of first-degree murder after three and a half hours of deliberation. The judge called her "cold, calculated, and cruel" and sentenced her to life in prison without parole. This episode features court recordings and interrogation audio from the investigation into Abraham Shakespeare's murder. Listener discretion advised. Support Obscura: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Website: https://www.mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Apple Premium: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/black-label/id6443660911 Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For nearly a decade, a predator stalked the quiet marshlands and sugarcane fields of southeastern Louisiana, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. In this episode, we dive into the chilling case of Ronald Dominique, a man who confessed to the rape and murder of at least 23 men and boys between 1997 and 2006.Despite a victim count that rivals some of history's most notorious killers, Dominique's name is rarely mentioned alongside Bundy or Gacy. We explore the "perfect storm" of factors that allowed him to evade capture for so long—from his strategic targeting of marginalized men on society's fringes to the devastating chaos of Hurricane Katrina that overshadowed the investigation. Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For nearly a decade, a predator stalked the quiet marshlands and sugarcane fields of southeastern Louisiana, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. In this episode, we dive into the chilling case of Ronald Dominique, a man who confessed to the rape and murder of at least 23 men and boys between 1997 and 2006.Despite a victim count that rivals some of history's most notorious killers, Dominique's name is rarely mentioned alongside Bundy or Gacy. We explore the "perfect storm" of factors that allowed him to evade capture for so long—from his strategic targeting of marginalized men on society's fringes to the devastating chaos of Hurricane Katrina that overshadowed the investigation. Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In Bridgeville, PA, George Sodini executed a chilling attack inside a gym. Featuring real audio. George Alfred Sodini, 48. He was a systems analyst, once invisible and misunderstood, who turned his personal darkness into devastation. On August 4, 2009, in Collier Township, Pennsylvania, Sodini walked into an LA Fitness gym with a duffel bag, setting the stage for chaos. As he turned off the lights in a crowded aerobics class, the room descended into terror as he opened fire. By night's end, three women lay dead, and several others were injured. The investigation revealed a disturbing blog chronicling Sodini's loneliness and rage, providing a glimpse into a troubled mind plotting revenge. The evidence was overwhelming, with cameras capturing the moments leading up to the horror. The case never reached a courtroom closure, as Sodini took his own life at the scene. His actions left a community scarred and searching for answers. This episode features court recordings and 911 calls. Listener discretion advised. Support Obscura: Patreon | Website | Apple Premium Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/OBSCURA * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On the morning of December 2, 2025, a mother at work checked the surveillance camera in her Elk Grove home and saw her eleven-year-old son lying motionless on the floor. Officers from the Elk Grove Police Department responded to the 7600 block of Ferrell Way and found Mar Aris Untalan Morales with multiple stab wounds. The boy was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. His father, Marvin Morales, was gone. THE SUSPECT: Marvin Morales was a Sacramento County Sheriff's Office deputy from 2017 until his forced resignation in February 2024. His career unraveled on October 24, 2023, when fellow deputies found him unresponsive on the floor of a restroom at the Central Division station. Body camera footage captured deputies administering Narcan to revive him from what turned out to be a fentanyl overdose. The internal investigation that followed revealed Morales had confiscated narcotics from citizens during field stops, then kept them for personal use. He admitted to taking a methamphetamine pipe home and smoking the residue three to four times over four months, claiming the drugs gave him the energy he needed to write reports. On the day he collapsed, he had seized fentanyl from a suspect and smoked it in the station bathroom while still in full uniform. THE AFTERMATH: Morales resigned in February 2024 ahead of his termination and was subsequently decertified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office released over four hundred pages of internal investigation documents, photographs, and body camera video detailing his drug use, evidence tampering, and dishonesty. Sheriff Jim Cooper called it a horrible embarrassment for the department. THE CRIME: Less than two years after his firing, Morales was watching his two children at the family home in Elk Grove when he fatally stabbed his eleven-year-old son. A six-year-old girl was also in the home at the time but was not physically harmed. She was later evaluated at a hospital and released to her mother. THE PURSUIT: After the stabbing, Morales fled in his vehicle. Law enforcement agencies across Sacramento County were alerted and spotted him driving southbound on Interstate 5. A pursuit ensued at speeds exceeding one hundred miles per hour. Near the intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 12, Morales stopped his vehicle and, according to deputies on scene, produced what appeared to be a rifle and pointed it toward officers. Multiple officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office and other agencies fired, striking Morales. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The California Department of Justice opened an investigation into the officer-involved shooting. CURRENT STATUS: The Elk Grove Police Department Investigations Bureau continues to lead the homicide investigation into the death of Mar Aris Untalan Morales. Learn more about this case at https://www.mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Support Obscura: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/OBSCURA * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ad: Time4Learning Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/OBSCURA * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This episode is available to everyone as a preview of what Black Label has to offer. Ricardo López believed he knew Björk. He had never met her, never spoken to her, never been in the same room with her. But through obsessive consumption of her music, her interviews, and her public appearances, he constructed an entire relationship in his mind — one that demanded his loyalty, then his anger, and finally his violence. Between 1993 and 1996, López recorded over twenty hours of video diaries from his small apartment in Hollywood, Florida. These tapes documented a slow psychological unraveling in real time. What started as adoration became entitlement. What began as devotion curdled into rage when López learned Björk was in a relationship with another artist. In his mind, this was a betrayal of him personally. The Björk case stands as one of the earliest and most extensively documented examples of parasocial obsession turning violent. López spoke directly to his camera, constructing elaborate justifications for what he planned to do. He researched methods. He tested materials. He kept working, day after day, toward a goal that made complete sense in his distorted worldview. On September 12, 1996, López mailed a package to Björk's London address. It contained a hollowed-out book filled with sulfuric acid, designed to spray in her face when opened. Then he returned to his apartment, pressed record one final time, and ended his own life. The package was intercepted by Scotland Yard after López's body was discovered. Björk never saw it. But the twenty-two hours of video López left behind reveal something chilling: how obsession can hide behind the mundane routines of ordinary life, how fixation can grow in isolation until it becomes indistinguishable from purpose. This episode examines not just what López did, but how he got there. It traces the warning signs that were never seen, the psychological patterns that repeat across stalking cases, and the specific dangers of parasocial attachment in the early internet era. Through his own recorded words and the investigation that followed, we piece together a portrait of obsession unchecked. Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of stalking, violence, and suicide. For more Black Label episodes, visit patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ or subscribe on Apple Podcasts. For help with stalking situations, contact the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC) at stalkingawareness.org. Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/OBSCURA * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In the rural reaches of Florida's Panhandle, where longleaf pines line quiet roads and neighbors know each other by the sound of their engines, a sexual battery case in the unincorporated community of Fountain exposed how far the state's legal system will go to punish crimes against children. This episode examines the case and the legal architecture behind it. VICTIM PROFILE: The victim was a minor between the ages of twelve and seventeen living in Bay County, Florida. Her identity is protected under state law. What the record shows is that her willingness to come forward and testify at trial formed the foundation of the prosecution's case. Without her testimony, the legal system would have had nothing to act upon. Her courage carried a weight that no verdict can fully acknowledge. THE CRIME: In 2020, allegations surfaced that Brandon Paul Janssen had committed sexual battery against the victim in Fountain, a small unincorporated community in Bay County. The Bay County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation in coordination with the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center, which provided forensic interview support for the minor. During questioning, Janssen confessed to the acts. Prosecutors charged him with two counts of sexual battery on a minor under Florida Statute 794.011(4)(b), each carrying the potential for life imprisonment. THE INVESTIGATION: The Bay County Sheriff's Office led the case with the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center handling victim support and forensic interviews. Janssen's confession became a focal point at trial, with his defense challenging its admissibility on grounds of voluntariness and Miranda compliance. Prosecutor Jeff Moore presented six witnesses before Bay County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Register. The defense also raised hearsay objections to certain testimony. After roughly one hour of deliberation, the jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts. CURRENT STATUS: On November 13, 2023, Janssen received two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. He was designated a sexual predator under Florida law, ensuring lifetime registration and supervision. He appealed to the First District Court of Appeal, which affirmed the convictions and sentences on August 27, 2025, under docket number 1D2023-3176. As of early 2026, Janssen remains incarcerated at Century Correctional Institution. Support Obscura: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/OBSCURA * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The investigation into Heather Strong's disappearance ends in the most devastating way possible. What began as a missing person case becomes a murder trial that sends ripples through Florida's legal system for years to come. Heather Strong was 26 years old when her life was brutally cut short. A mother of two young children, McKinzie and Zachary, she had spent years navigating a turbulent relationship with her ex-partner Joshua Fulgham while trying to build a better life for her family. Her cousin Misty, who grew up with Heather in Mississippi, described her as the sister she never had. On February 15, 2009, in a storage trailer in rural Boardman, Florida, Heather walked into a trap. Lured by promises of hidden money, she instead found herself bound to a chair with duct tape, a plastic bag sealed over her head. According to court testimony, she remained conscious for approximately five agonizing minutes as she suffocated. Joshua Fulgham and his pregnant girlfriend Emilia Carr worked in tandem to restrain her, silence her pleas for help, and end her life. The investigation that followed was methodical and relentless. Deputy Billings from the Marion County Sheriff's Office pieced together witness accounts, jailhouse recordings, and forensic evidence. When detectives enlisted Fulgham's sister to wear a wire, Carr's admissions unraveled completely. On March 19, 2009, Fulgham led investigators to a shallow grave on property owned by Carr's mother, where Heather's decomposing remains confirmed what her family had feared. Both perpetrators faced justice. Emilia Carr was initially sentenced to death in 2011 by a 7-5 jury vote. Following the 2016 Hurst v. Florida Supreme Court decision declaring non-unanimous death penalty recommendations unconstitutional, she was resentenced to life without parole in June 2017. Joshua Fulgham received life without parole in April 2012. Heather's two children were eventually adopted into new families. This episode contains audio from court proceedings and investigative interviews. Listener discretion is advised. If you are experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. For more episodes, visit mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Join Black Label at patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On a February evening in 2009, a young mother vanished from rural Marion County, Florida, lured to a storage trailer by promises that masked a deadly betrayal. What investigators would uncover weeks later would reveal a calculated murder born from a toxic love triangle and a bitter custody battle. VICTIM PROFILE: Heather Strong was 26 years old, a hardworking mother of two young children, McKinzie and Zachary. She worked the morning shift at the Iron Skillet restaurant in Reddick, Florida, supporting her family through the service industry. Those who knew her described a woman caught in a turbulent on-again, off-again relationship with Joshua Fulgham, a pattern that had defined much of her adult life. Despite the instability, Heather remained devoted to her children and had recently begun building a new life away from Fulgham's control. THE CRIME: On February 15, 2009, Heather was lured to a storage trailer in Boardman by her estranged husband Joshua Fulgham and his pregnant girlfriend Emilia Carr under the pretense of retrieving money. Once inside, she was bound to a chair with duct tape while Fulgham confronted her about custody papers for their children. The attack escalated when a plastic bag was placed over her head and sealed with tape around her neck. Medical examiners determined she suffocated over approximately five agonizing minutes while fully conscious. Her body was buried in a shallow grave on the property, where it remained undiscovered for over a month. THE INVESTIGATION: When Heather's cousin Misty Strong reported her missing on February 24, 2009, Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies began canvassing her known associates. The trail led quickly to Joshua Fulgham and the volatile history between the couple, including his January 2009 arrest for pointing a shotgun at Heather. Through persistent interviews, Emilia Carr's story unraveled, eventually leading investigators to the burial site on March 19, 2009, where Heather's decomposed remains were unearthed. CURRENT STATUS: Both perpetrators were convicted. Emilia Carr was initially sentenced to death in 2011, but following the U.S. Supreme Court's Hurst v. Florida ruling, she was resentenced to life without parole in 2017. Joshua Fulgham received life without parole in 2012. Both remain incarcerated in the Florida correctional system. Heather's two children were adopted into new families following the murder. AUDIO NOTE: This episode features detailed accounts of the crime reconstructed from court testimonies, confessions, and forensic evidence. Listener discretion is advised. For more episodes, visit mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Join Black Label at patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On March 15, 2024, a Piedmont, Oklahoma police officer responded to a routine runaway report that would uncover one of the most disturbing child abuse cases in recent Oklahoma history. The officer found a 14-year-old girl hiding under a blanket, weighing approximately 60 pounds—the size of a first grader. Her skin hung from her bones, and her eyes carried a fear that went far beyond a typical runaway. She had fled from her foster mother, 43-year-old Tina Marie Ramirez, and she was terrified to go back. What the officer discovered inside the Ramirez home shocked even veteran investigators. Every cabinet was padlocked. The refrigerator was locked. The pantry was locked. Surveillance cameras covered every room in the house. The children couldn't access food without permission—and permission was rarely granted. The officer found a taser that Tina had used as "discipline" on the malnourished children. He also discovered a handwritten letter from one of the children, addressed to God, its desperate words scrawled by a child who had lost hope that any human would help. This was the girl's seventh runaway attempt. For reasons that remain unclear, this time someone finally listened. Five foster children were immediately removed from the home and evaluated at OU Children's Hospital, where medical professionals described it as one of the worst malnutrition cases they had ever seen. The children were placed with their biological grandmother, Shelly Yates, who described them as "fragile and very thin" upon arrival. On March 28, 2024, Tina Marie Ramirez was charged in Canadian County District Court with four counts of child abuse by injury, two counts of child neglect, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Her husband, 26-year-old Anthony Ibeziako, was charged with two counts of child neglect and child abuse for failing to intervene. Both remain free while court proceedings continue. As of early 2026, the children are reportedly recovering with their grandmother—gaining weight, attending school, and slowly rebuilding their lives away from the locks, cameras, and fear. This episode features body camera footage, police interrogation recordings, and 911 dispatch audio. Listener discretion is advised. For more episodes, visit mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Join Black Label at patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Part 2 of 2: In our conclusion to the Baby Lollipops case, we examine the final months of three-year-old Lazaro Figueroa's life, the investigation that followed his discovery, and the decades-long pursuit of justice that saw his mother convicted three separate times. VICTIM PROFILE: Lazaro Figueroa never had a chance at a normal childhood. Born in September 1987, just weeks after his father, drug dealer Fidel Figueroa, was murdered in Miami, Lazaro became the target of his mother's resentment as her lavish lifestyle collapsed. At three years old, he weighed only eighteen pounds, half what a healthy child his age should weigh. His left arm had been broken so many times that muscle tissue calcified into bone, freezing the limb at a permanent ninety-degree angle. Despite the relentless abuse, witnesses recalled him running across streets alone, a tiny figure navigating a hostile world without protection. THE CRIME: On the morning of November 2, 1990, Florida Power and Light employees discovered Lazaro's body hidden beneath bushes outside a Miami Beach mansion. His emaciated frame bore forty-three documented injuries: cigarette burns, defensive wounds on his small hands, a fractured skull, and two front teeth knocked out months apart. Brown packing tape secured a soiled diaper to his wasted body. Medical examiner Dr. Bruce Hyma determined Lazaro had endured eighteen months of systematic torture, including being bound, gagged, locked in closets, and left in bathtubs with scalding or freezing water. The cause of death was blunt force trauma from a baseball bat, compounded by starvation and extensive bodily trauma. Most devastating: Lazaro may have survived up to three days after being abandoned, lying alone and helpless before death finally came. THE INVESTIGATION: Police initially could not identify the child and dubbed him Baby Lollipops after the cartoon candy pattern on his T-shirt. The nickname stuck as investigators canvassed Miami Beach with flyers. On November 6, Martha Fleitas recognized the photograph on television and identified Lazaro. The investigation led to his mother, Ana Maria Cardona, and her partner Olivia Gonzalez Mendoza, who had fled to St. Cloud, Florida, stopping at Disney World after disposing of the body. Neighbor Mercedes Estrada reported hearing screams on Halloween night followed by a heavy thump against her wall, then silence. Her report to social services went unanswered. CURRENT STATUS: Ana Maria Cardona's path through the courts spanned nearly three decades. She was sentenced to death in 1992, but the conviction was overturned in 2002 due to a Brady violation. Convicted and sentenced to death again in 2011, that conviction was overturned in 2016 for prosecutorial misconduct. In 2017, prosecutors waived the death penalty, and Cardona was found guilty a third time, receiving life without parole. Judge Miguel de la O told her that wild beasts show more empathy for their offspring. Olivia Gonzalez Mendoza served fourteen years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder. Cardona's eldest son, Juan Puente, died in prison in 2018 at age thirty-seven. The only publicly available photograph of Lazaro Figueroa shows him in death. RESOURCES: Learn more about this case at mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura Support Obscura: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out BetterHelp: https://www.betterhelp.com * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.com * Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code OBSCURA20 for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On November 2, 1990, Florida Power and Light workers discovered the emaciated body of a small child hidden in the bushes of a wealthy Miami Beach home. The boy, dressed only in a lollipop-decorated T-shirt and a soiled diaper wrapped in brown packing tape, had been beaten, starved, and systematically tortured. He weighed just eighteen pounds. This is part one of the story of how a mother's resentment turned deadly. VICTIM PROFILE: Lazaro Figueroa was born September 18, 1987, into what should have been a life of comfort. His father, Fidel Figueroa, was a well-connected drug dealer who kept his family in a lavish penthouse overlooking Biscayne Bay. But fate intervened before Lazaro ever drew breath. Just two days after his birth, his father was executed in a gangland-style shooting outside a Miami riverfront bar. The murder was never solved. From that moment forward, Lazaro became the target of his mother's displaced rage, blamed for the loss of everything she had. THE CRIME: Ana Maria Cardona's abuse of Lazaro began shortly after he was returned to her custody from foster care in late 1988. Over the next eighteen months, she systematically starved, beat, and confined her son in conditions the Dade County Medical Examiner would later call the worst child abuse he had ever witnessed. Lazaro spent weeks locked in closets and tied to beds. His arm was broken and left untreated, eventually becoming fixed at a ninety-degree angle. His two front teeth were knocked out. Cardona wrapped duct tape around his diapers to avoid changing them, leaving his skin raw with bedsores. On October 31, 1990, Cardona beat Lazaro with a baseball bat, fracturing his skull. She then dumped his dying body in the bushes of a Miami Beach mansion and fled the state with her girlfriend, Olivia Gonzalez, stopping at Disney World before their arrest. THE INVESTIGATION: Miami Beach police initially could not identify the battered child, dubbing him Baby Lollipops after his T-shirt. Detectives conducted door-to-door interviews in English and Spanish and distributed flyers throughout the community. The break came when a neighbor who had occasionally cared for Lazaro recognized him from police bulletins. The investigation led detectives to Ana Maria Cardona and Olivia Gonzalez, who had fled to central Florida. Both women were arrested within weeks. Gonzalez eventually testified that Cardona had called Lazaro the son of the devil and blamed him for her descent from riches to rags. CURRENT STATUS: Ana Maria Cardona has been convicted of first-degree murder three times. Her first two death sentences were overturned by the Florida Supreme Court on procedural grounds. In 2017, she was convicted for the third time and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Olivia Gonzalez served fourteen years for her role in Lazaro's abuse and has since been released. RESOURCES: Learn more about this case at https://www.mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Support Obscura: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mind of a Monster: The Killer Nurse: https://podcasts.apple.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Escambia County, FL. March 24, 2010. When Tina Brown invited twenty-year-old Audreanna Zimmerman to her trailer under the guise of reconciliation, the young mother had no idea she was walking into an ambush. What would unfold in the following hours represents one of the most horrific crimes in Florida history. Part 02 of 02. VICTIM PROFILE: Audreanna Zimmerman was just twenty years old, a young mother navigating the precarious landscape of poverty in rural Pensacola. She lived in close proximity to Tina Brown's family, sharing the forced intimacy of a mobile home park where everyone knew everyone's business. Despite the tensions that had developed between her and Brown—accusations of slashed tires, broken car windows, reports to child protective services—Zimmerman believed in the possibility of peace. When the invitation came to clear the air, she accepted it with the trust of someone who had not yet learned that reconciliation can be a weapon. THE CRIME: On the evening of March 24, 2010, Zimmerman entered Brown's trailer expecting conversation. Instead, she was ambushed with a stun gun. Tina Brown, her sixteen-year-old daughter Britnee Miller, and Heather Lee restrained Zimmerman, beat her, and forced her into the trunk of a car. They drove her to a remote clearing in the Florida woods, where the assault escalated to torture. Zimmerman was struck repeatedly with a crowbar, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. The women left her burning in the clearing, believing they had killed her. THE INVESTIGATION: Zimmerman did not die. A third of a mile away, witness Terrance Hendrick heard cries for help and found a figure so badly burned he could not determine her race or whether she wore clothing. Despite injuries that defied comprehension—her skin crackling as she walked, her jaw broken, burns covering the majority of her body—Zimmerman remained conscious. She identified her attackers by name. She told investigators everything that had been done to her. She survived for sixteen days before succumbing to thermal injuries at the University of South Alabama Burn Center. CURRENT STATUS: On June 21, 2012, a jury convicted Tina Brown of first-degree murder. On September 28, 2012, she was sentenced to death. The court found the murder was cold, calculated, and premeditated; heinous, atrocious, and cruel; and committed during the course of a kidnapping. Britnee Miller and Heather Lee were also prosecuted for their roles in the crime. Tina Brown remains on Florida's death row. Content warning: This episode contains extremely graphic descriptions of torture, burning, and prolonged violence against a young woman. Real medical and investigative details. Listener discretion strongly advised. Learn more about this case at: https://www.mythsandmalice.com/show/obscura/ Support Obscura: https://www.patreon.com/obscuracrimepodcast/ Our Sponsors: * Check out Chime: https://chime.com/OBSCURA * Check out Kensington Publishing: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com * Check out Mind of a Monster: The Killer Nurse: https://podcasts.apple.com * Check out Mood and use my code OBSCURA for a great deal: https://mood.com * Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/obscura-a-true-crime-podcast/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy