True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

There's a moment in the final episode of the Peacock docuseries House of Secrets that stopped me cold. Rex Heuermann is on the phone from jail with his ex-wife Asa Ellerup. He's already confessed to killing eight women. He's already told her he strangled and dismembered victims in the basement of the home they shared. He's already described to their daughter Victoria how his victims weren't real people in his mind. And on this call, he calls Asa "dear." And she smiles.
That single moment tells you more about the aftermath of the Gilgo Beach case than anything that happened in the courtroom. Because Asa Ellerup isn't smiling because she doesn't care. She's smiling because thirty years of marriage built reflexes that a confession can't undo overnight. She's a woman caught between the life she lived and the life that was actually happening underneath it, and she hasn't figured out how to stop responding to the version of Rex that felt safe — even after learning what he really was.
The docuseries reveals that Asa has renovated the Massapequa Park basement and moved into it. She sleeps every night in the room where her ex-husband admits he killed. She says it's spiritual. She says it's an apology. And then she takes his calls from jail and the warmth is still in her voice.
I walk through everything in this episode — how Asa confronted him about the murder that allegedly happened days before their wedding, how Victoria asked her father if he saw his victims as human and got the worst possible answer, and why I think Asa's behavior isn't evidence of complicity but evidence of what it looks like when a life built on trust collapses and the person inside it has nowhere to stand.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#RexHeuermann #GilgoBeach #LISK #AsaEllerup #GilgoBeachKiller #HouseOfSecrets #VictoriaHeuermann #KarenVergata #LongIslandSerialKiller #TrueCrime

The Duggar family curriculum wasn’t a fringe experiment. It was a closed system that educated thousands of children across America — fifty-four pamphlets called Wisdom Booklets that promised a college-equivalent education and delivered chaos dressed up as curriculum. Bill Gothard and IBLP told families this was better than school. Certified educators who reviewed the material found fabricated science, no academic progression, and content so incoherent that a professional scientist needed an hour per topic to untangle it for a high school student. The enrollment process didn’t screen for readiness. It screened for compliance — no TV, no unapproved music, no working mothers, family photographs submitted for review. We go inside the actual curriculum and show you what these children were given instead of an education.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#IBLP #WisdomBooklets #BillGothard #DuggarCurriculum #ATI #HiddenKillers #CultEducation #HomeschoolAbuse #ShinyHappyPeople #RecoveringGrace

The prosecution’s timeline in the David Anthony Burke case raises significant questions about both the defendant’s alleged conduct and the investigative response. Prosecutors allege Burke killed fourteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez on April 23, 2025. He was not arrested until April 16, 2026 — nearly a year later. During that interval, Burke allegedly continued public professional activity, including a concert tour and album release, while Rivas’s remains were discovered in an impounded Tesla registered to him on September 8, 2025.
LAPD held the vehicle for 48 hours to process evidence before releasing it to the impound lot. The vehicle was subsequently retrieved under Burke’s name and transferred to new ownership — a detail that raises chain-of-custody and evidence preservation questions that the defense will almost certainly scrutinize.
Additionally, Burke’s legal team initially represented publicly that he was cooperating with investigators. LAPD Robbery-Homicide later contradicted that characterization, stating Burke was not cooperative and that investigators believed he likely had assistance in disposing of the body.
The documented record shows Celeste was the subject of three missing persons reports over fourteen months, had not been enrolled in school for a year, and was allegedly represented to Burke’s associates as a nineteen-year-old college student rather than the thirteen-year-old she was when contact allegedly began.
Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer provides procedural analysis of the investigative timeline, the legal implications of the evidence handling decisions, the significance of conflicting cooperation narratives, and the systemic failures reflected in the documented record of missed interventions. Burke is represented by defense attorney Blair Berk and faces first-degree murder with special circumstances.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#D4vd #DavidAnthonyBurke #CelesteRivasHernandez #TrueCrimeToday #LAPD #EvidenceHandling #CriminalLaw #FBI #MurderCase #LegalAnalysis

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has charged David Anthony Burke with first-degree murder with special circumstances — lying in wait, financial gain, and the alleged killing of a witness — in the death of fourteen-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. Additional charges include lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under fourteen and mutilation of a body. District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charges, alleging Burke killed Rivas to protect his lucrative music career after she allegedly threatened to expose their relationship.
The unsealed autopsy documents two stab wounds to the torso with smooth edges from a sharp instrument — one perforating the liver, one damaging the ribs. The body was dismembered, with blue plastic fragments embedded in the severed surfaces. Toxicology detected benzodiazepines and substances screening consistent with methamphetamine or MDMA. The medical examiner completed the autopsy months prior but it was sealed at LAPD’s request, over the examiner’s publicly stated objection.
Prosecutors additionally disclosed that forty terabytes of digital evidence seized from Burke’s phone, computer, and iCloud account contained what they described as a significant amount of child exploitation material. Burke is represented by defense attorney Blair Berk. His defense team has stated they will vigorously contest the charges and maintain Burke did not cause Rivas’s death.
Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer provides procedural and forensic analysis of the evidence now on the record, the legal weight of embedded trace materials, the prosecutorial implications of exploitation material discovered during a murder investigation, and the strategic significance of the sealed autopsy.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#D4vd #DavidAnthonyBurke #CelesteRivasHernandez #TrueCrimeToday #MurderCharges #SpecialCircumstances #FBI #ForensicEvidence #LAPD #CriminalLaw

Nancy Guthrie, eighty-four, the mother of NBC Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, was reportedly abducted from her residence in the Catalina Foothills community near Tucson, Arizona, on or about February 1, 2026. Bloodstains at the scene were confirmed as Guthrie's. Her Bluetooth-enabled pacemaker disconnected from her phone at approximately 2:30 a.m., suggesting movement out of range. Surveillance footage captured a masked individual on Guthrie's porch carrying a backpack investigators identified as a big-box retail purchase. No arrest has been made. No suspect has been publicly named. A multi-agency task force led by the FBI is conducting the investigation.
Multiple ransom notes have been delivered to media outlets rather than the family — a pattern former federal agents have characterized as highly unusual. The most recent note demanded cryptocurrency in a split payment structure, creating two separate potential tracing opportunities. Former FBI agents have publicly noted the bureau's demonstrated capability in cryptocurrency recovery, citing the Colonial Pipeline case among others.
The institutional handling of the case has drawn significant scrutiny. Reporting indicates the sergeant supervising the initial response had been in the role for approximately six months and lacked prior experience with comparable cases. Sources within the department state that experienced detectives had been reassigned, allegedly due to loyalty considerations rather than performance deficiencies. One veteran detective was reportedly returned to duty only after the case escalated to a multi-agency task force. The department's search and rescue aircraft was reportedly grounded because its pilot had been transferred to patrol duties. A DNA hair sample was sent by the Pima County Sheriff's Office to a private laboratory in Florida, where it remained for eleven weeks before being transferred to the FBI laboratory for advanced testing. The FBI has publicly stated the material was requested over two months prior.
Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer provides analysis of the ransom note pattern, the forensic and procedural handling of the critical initial response window, and the investigative implications of the evidence profile — which she characterizes as consistent with a local, unsophisticated actor.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#NancyGuthrie #SavannahGuthrie #JenniferCoffindaffer #FBI #TrueCrimeToday #PimaCounty #TucsonKidnapping #MissingPerson #BitcoinRansom #InvestigationFailure