A look into the minds of real-life American Psychos
When we think of white-collar criminals, we picture a CEO getting caught up in the latest financial scandal. But there is a subgroup within these seemingly nonviolent offenders who are never discussed in mainstream media – the white-collar criminals who kill.
Join Catherine Townsend as she dives into the minds of these real-life American Psychos…who are often hiding in plain sight. This is Red Collar.
The Episodes
The Preppy Axe Murderer
In November 2004, the axe murder of Peter Porco and the brutal attack on his wife Joan shook the small town of Delmar, New York. Police began taking a closer look at the picture perfect family – especially their son, Chris. But could a preppy, clean-cut college kid really turn into an axe murderer?
The Talented Mr. Rockefeller
A con man pretends to be Clark Rockefeller, heir to the famous oil dynasty. But investigators will discover that the man the tabloids call “Crockefeller” is a serial imposter, grifter, and kidnapper – and start asking questions about a human skeleton they found buried in his former backyard.
Bloodbath in Buckhead
On July 29, 1999, Mark Barton, a day trader known as “The Shark,” walked into his former office in Atlanta. He was smiling – until he pulled out two guns and opened fire on his colleagues. By the end of the day, 12 people would be dead and 13 wounded in a bloodbath that shocked the nation. What caused the family man and Cub Scout leader to snap and kill not just his former colleagues, but his entire family?
Sleeping With The Enemy
In 2008, when Jamie Laiaddee vanished without a trace from her home outside Phoenix, it took ten weeks for anyone to notice that she was missing. The trail led to her personal trainer boyfriend Bryan. But it turned that nothing that Jamie had believed about her “soulmate” Bryan – his job, his age, his marital status, and even his name – was real. Could Jamie have been sharing her bed with a psychopath?
The Rolex Murder
In the summer of 1996, a fisherman off the southern coast of England dragged up a dead body in their net, still wearing his Rolex watch. Police’s search for the identity of the mystery man would lead them to Albert Walker, one of Interpol’s most wanted fugitives, subject of an international manhunt, multi-million dollar conman – and murderer.
Deadly Dream Trip
In 2010, millionaire entrepreneur Chris Smith disappeared on what his family believed was a dream trip on a yacht with a stack of gold coins and a Playboy Playmate on his arm. But Chris wasn’t sailing around the world; he was dead. And police were about to uncover dark secrets connected to his business partner Ed Shin.
Superdad Psychopath
In August 2018, a pregnant Shanaan Watts and her two daughters disappeared without a trace from their home in Frederick Colorado. The entire nation watched in horror as her husband, Chris Watts, confessed to strangling her and their daughters to death and dumping their bodies at his work site. Investigators pointed to Chris affair with a co-worker as the primary motive – but behind the happy social media posts, huge house and affluent lifestyle, the Watts’ finances were falling apart. What role did money, and multi-level marketing, play in the Watts murders?
Murder on Fifth Avenue
When multi-millionaire realtor to the stars Linda Stein was found brutally beaten to death in her Upper East Side apartment, the case shocked New York high society. Investigators began to wonder if her soft-spoken, young personal assistant Natavia Lowery had something to hide.
All American Family Murder
On February 4, 2010 the McStay family disappeared without a trace from their home in Fallbrook, California. Over the years, the case made international headlines and everyone seemed to have a theory about what happened to the family of four: Did they walk over the border to Mexico to start new lives? Were they kidnapped? Did they meet with foul play? After their bodies were found in the desert near Victorville, California, investigators began to look for a killer much closer to home.
Killer Deal
Con man Gary Shawkey set sail to Catalina Island with his business partner Robert Vendrick, but only one of them came home. Could the man who listed motivational speaker, diet shake seller, failed bounty hunter, and fire walker on his resume also be a killer?
Mr. Perfect
Wealthy real estate investor Joseph Cua seemed to have it all: Millions in the bank, a perfect family, and a boss who loved him like a son. When his employer, Fernand Wagner, and Fernand’s wife Suzanne are found brutally murdered, Joseph’s wife begins to uncover his double life.
Murder at the Mansion
In 2015, the wealthy enclave of West Vancouver was shocked when Canadian-Chinese businessman Li Zhao killed his cousin in the driveway of the $8 million mansion that they shared, dragged the body inside and cut it up with a power saw while a SWAT team swarmed outside. The investigation into why Li killed Gang Yuan – and cut his body into 108 pieces before calmly making himself breakfast, would involve multiple paternity suits, bribery, international intrigue and a YouTube reality TV star in the middle of it all.
Seduced and Destroyed
After the body of an elderly World War II veteran was found stuffed into a steamer trunk, the paper trail led police to Nancy Siegel, the beautiful con artist who seduced him and stole his heart before stealing all of his money, and going in for the kill.
Supermom Murder
When mother of five Jennifer Dulos vanishes into thin air from her home in the wealthy community of New Canaan, Connecticut, police immediately focus on her estranged husband, Fotis. As they dig into his alleged multi-million dollar financial frauds and attempt to retrace his movements on the day Jennifer disappeared, some people wonder: Could Jennifer, the brilliant budding writer, have pulled a Gone Girl and faked her own death?
How to Steal a Life
Housepainter Tim Wicks packed up his drum kit on Christmas Eve, headed for a dream gig in Canada and vanished without a trace. When detectives located him, they found someone completely different using his identity. And the search for the “real” Tim Wicks would lead to twisted tale of friendship, betrayal, stolen identity, and a headless, handless corpse found in a frozen river.
“S&M” Serial Killer
In 2000, investigators found decomposing bodies in barrels belonging to John Robinson, a pudgy, middle-aged farmer in rural Kansas. The Scout Master and Sunday School regular had been leading a secret double life for decades as “Slavemaster”, who lured his victims in with promises of sadomasochistic sex and jobs – and bludgeoned them to death with a hammer.
Deadly Rotten Scoundrels
In 2012, a mysterious millionaire who was looking for love in all the wrong places disappears from her luxury London flat. Police must uncover the secrets that she was hiding in order to launch a manhunt for the two career conmen who saw her as a human “million dollar jackpot” and hired imposters in order to steal her life.
What Really Happened in Apartment 4C?
It was Saturday night, and Joey Communale headed to an after party at the home of James Rackover, son of multimillionaire jewelry to the stars Jeffrey Rackover. But Joey would never leave the apartment alive. Then detectives discover that James Rackover is not who he appears to be, and try to unravel the mystery: Is James Jeffrey’s surrogate son, or his lover? Where is Joey’s body? And what really happened in Apartment 4C?
The Enforcer
When Juliana Redding, a beautiful young aspiring actress, is found beaten and strangled in her Santa Monica bungalow, the case turns into a real-life Hollywood thriller. Could it be the ex-boyfriend with a volatile temper, the married surgeon – or a female assassin?
Host
Catherine Townsend
Catherine began her career as a staff writer for New York magazine and then moved to London, where she created the “Sleeping Around” dating column for The Independent newspaper. She wrote two bestselling books based on her columns – and discovered that dating and detective work have a lot in common.
But her true passion has always been solving mysteries. So after moving back to Los Angeles, she channeled her inner Nancy Drew and, after three years and 6,000 hours of training, acquired her private investigator license.
She threw herself into investigative journalism full-time, and is now the host of the hit iHeartMedia podcast Hell and Gone in addition to audiochuck’s Red Collar.
Catherine holds a B.A. in Journalism and Politics from New York University and an M.A. in International Journalism from City University in London.
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