Evil Everywhere: A True Crime and Horror Podcast

Episode 161: Pennsylvania Collar Bomber - Brian Wells - Part 2

There are some crimes that don’t just make headlines, they stop people in their tracks. Crimes so strange, so elaborate, that even seasoned investigators struggle to explain them. And the case I’m covering this week is one of those stories. It begins on an ordinary afternoon in Erie, Pennsylvania but nothing about what happened next was ordinary. A pizza delivery driver walks into a bank with something locked around his neck, something he says is an explosive device. He hands over a set of instructions that read more like a scavenger hunt than a robbery note. And within minutes, the entire city is thrown into chaos. What followed was a chain of events unlike anything investigators had seen before: a device built with unsettling precision, clues scattered across town, and a timeline that never should have been possible to complete. And the deeper authorities dug, the stranger the story became leading them from an isolated radio tower, to a blue minivan that vanished, to a second death just days later. This case raises questions that still divide people today. Was the man at the center of it a victim or something else entirely? Who built the device? And why did so many clues seem designed to mislead? In this episode, we’re going back to the beginning to the moment the first call came in and following the investigation exactly as it unfolded. Because to understand what happened in Erie, you have to see every piece of the puzzle. And trust me the picture it forms is far more complicated than it first appears.

Episode 160: Pennsylvania Collar Bomber - Brian Wells - Part 1

There are some crimes that don’t just make headlines, they stop people in their tracks. Crimes so strange, so elaborate, that even seasoned investigators struggle to explain them. And the case I’m covering this week is one of those stories. It begins on an ordinary afternoon in Erie, Pennsylvania but nothing about what happened next was ordinary. A pizza delivery driver walks into a bank with something locked around his neck, something he says is an explosive device. He hands over a set of instructions that read more like a scavenger hunt than a robbery note. And within minutes, the entire city is thrown into chaos. What followed was a chain of events unlike anything investigators had seen before: a device built with unsettling precision, clues scattered across town, and a timeline that never should have been possible to complete. And the deeper authorities dug, the stranger the story became leading them from an isolated radio tower, to a blue minivan that vanished, to a second death just days later. This case raises questions that still divide people today. Was the man at the center of it a victim or something else entirely? Who built the device? And why did so many clues seem designed to mislead? In this episode, we’re going back to the beginning to the moment the first call came in and following the investigation exactly as it unfolded. Because to understand what happened in Erie, you have to see every piece of the puzzle. And trust me the picture it forms is far more complicated than it first appears.

Episode 159: The Isdal Woman

Bergen, Norway 1970. A woman is found dead in an isolated Norwegian valley. No name. Every clothing label removed. A few days after, two suitcases are discovered at a nearby railway station, filled with wigs, multiple currencies, and a notebook filled with coded messages. When the codes were cracked, it proved she had checked into hotels under at least 8 different aliases. Reports from witnesses at these hotels revealed the woman had changed her appearance constantly. She also may have been seen near sensitive military sites during the height of the Cold War. Then, the autopsy results: dozens of sleeping pills in her stomach, carbon monoxide in her lungs, and evidence she was alive during the fire that killed her. Authorities ruled it a suicide. But the details never fully supported this theory. Years later, witnesses came forward, placing her with unknown men in her final days. And decades after her death, forensic testing revealed she was likely born in Germany and spent part of her childhood in Paris. But still, 56 years later, there is no identity. No clear answers. Who was the Isdal Woman? And how did she meet her fate?  
 
Sources:
“Spy, Murder Victim, Or Something Else? Inside The Decades-Long Mystery Of The Isdal Woman” by Gina Dimuro on All That’s Interesting on April 15, 2023 (https://allthatsinteresting.com/isdal-woman)
“The Mysterious Death of the ‘Isdal Woman’” by Emily G. Thompson on Morbidology on March 9, 2018 (https://morbidology.com/the-mysterious-death-of-the-isdal-woman/)
“Isdal Woman: The mystery death haunting Norway for 46 years” by Helier Cheung on BBC News on May 13, 2017 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39369429)
“The Unsolved Mystery of the Isdal Woman” by David Nikel on Life in Norway on September 1, 2024 (https://www.lifeinnorway.net/isdal-woman/)
“The Isdal Woman Mystery: Norway's Most Puzzling Cold Case” on Hearts Starts Pounding (https://www.heartstartspounding.com/episodes/isdalwoman)
“The Isdal Woman — A 50-Year-Old Mystery” by A.W. Naves on Criminal, published 4 years ago (https://vocal.media/criminal/the-isdal-woman-a-50-year-old-mystery)
“The Isdal Woman of Norway” by J.A. Hernandez on Into Horror Story on September 27, 2022 (https://www.jahernandez.com/posts/the-isdal-woman-of-norway)
https://www.lifeinnorway.net/history-of-bergen/
 
 

Episode 158: The Hello Kitty Murder

Hong Kong is known as one of the world’s leading financial hubs, home to immense wealth, towering skylines, and global influence. But beneath that image of prosperity lies a different reality. For many, survival is a daily struggle, shaped by deep income inequality and limited opportunity. Fahn Man-yee was one of those people. Abandoned as an infant and raised in an orphanage, she was forced to navigate the world on her own by the age of 15. Her life was marked by hardship: homelessness, addiction, and instability. But by 1999, she was trying to turn things around. She had a newborn son, and she was determined to build a safer, more stable life for him. She worked where she could, doing what she could to survive. But desperation can lead to difficult choices. After stealing a wallet from a client, Fahn found herself entangled with someone far more dangerous than she may have realized, a man connected to organized crime. He demanded not only the return of what was taken, but a much larger sum she simply didn’t have. Fahn returned the wallet. She tried to make things right. But she wasn’t given time. What happened next would shock Hong Kong and leave a lasting mark on the city’s history. A case so disturbing that it became known around the world as the Hello Kitty murder. This story reminds us that evil is everywhere. And sometimes, the most unsettling stories are not just about violence but about vulnerability, power, and the consequences of being forgotten.

Episode 157: Who is "Jennifer Fairgate"?

In Oslo, Norway. 1995. A woman checked into the city’s most prestigious hotel, the Oslo Plaza Hotel, under the name Jennifer Fairgate. No ID. No credit card. Three days later, a gunshot was heard from behind a locked hotel room door on the 28th floor. Inside, police find her body. Alone. No signs of struggle. No identification. No personal belongings. Even the labels on her clothes were removed. She’s dressed in all black with heels on.  There was a powerful handgun in her grip held in a way that doesn’t make sense.  And somehow NO ONE knows who she is. The name she gave? Fake. The address? Fake. Fingerprints? No matches, even through Interpol. But that’s not all. She had 34 rounds of ammunition. A dive watch used by European special forces. And a 20-hour gap where she vanished completely before returning to her room at the hotel. Had she truly been alone? From possible espionage to a staged crime scene to one of Norway’s most haunting unexplained cases. Who was the woman in Room 2805? And why does it feel like someone made sure we’d never find out?
 
***IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION PERTINENT TO THIS CASE PLEASE CONTACT: unsolved.com/tips or Jennifer@vg.no
 
Sources:
“Unsolved Mysteries Left A Few Jennifer Fairgate Details Out” by Sarah Midkiff on Refinery 29 on October 23, 2020 (https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/10/10063608/unsolved-mysteries-who-is-jennifer-post-series-updates)
“A Mystery Death in Oslo, an Intelligence Op Gone Wrong?” by Watches of Espionage on Watchers of Espionage on February 20, 2024 (https://www.watchesofespionage.com/blogs/woe-dispatch/a-mystery-death-in-oslo-an-intelligence-op-gone-wrong?page=2#Comments-734866210931)
“Was Jennifer Fairgate ever identified?” by Muhunya Muhonji on Legit on April 24, 2025 (https://www.legit.ng/ask-legit/1649643-was-jennifer-fairgate-identified-norways-puzzling-cold-case/)
“The Mystery at the Oslo Plaza Hotel” by David Nikel on Life in Norway on May 17, 2024 (https://www.lifeinnorway.net/oslo-plaza-hotel-mystery/)
“The 3 Most Likely Theories for Who Killed Jennifer Fairgate of Unsolved Mysteries” by Joshua St. Clair on Men’s Health on October 22, 2020 (https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34446098/jennifer-fairgate-reddit-theories/)
“Mystery at the Oslo Plaza” by Lars Christian Wegner on VG on June 28, 2022 (https://www.vg.no/nyheter/i/xRjoWp/mystery-at-the-oslo-plaza)
https://www.kupi.com/en-ae/explore/norway/oslo/history
http://introducingoslo.com/history
https://unsolved.com/gallery/death-in-oslo/
Evidence Photos: https://www.vg.no/spesial/2017/plaza-english/#sporene
“A Death in Oslo” on Unsolved Mysteries Volume 2, Episode 2 on Netflix
 

Episode 156: The Tallman Haunting

Imagine your life is completely normal.  You and your spouse are raising three kids in the quiet suburbs of Horicon, Wisconsin. A ranch-style home, an attached garage, nothing out of the ordinary. Safe. Comfortable. Then one day, you bring home a secondhand bunk bed for your daughters. They love it. You got a great deal. It feels like a win. But not long after it enters your home something changes. At first, it’s subtle. Your young son is suddenly too afraid to sleep alone. Then your daughter says she’s seen something, an evil witch, glowing orange, inside the house. And then, it spreads. Clocks start moving on their own. You feel watched even when you’re alone. Shadow figures. Disembodied voices. And glowing red eyes staring from the dark. For nine months, you try to explain it away.You try to stay. To make it work. Until one night you can’t anymore. You grab your children, whatever you can carry and you run. And you never come back. This is the story of the Tallman family. In 1987, they fled their home in the middle of the night terrified of something they believed followed a simple piece of furniture, a bunk bed. Thrown away. Gone. Its origins unknown and its whereabouts still a mystery. Because sometimes evil doesn’t need an invitation. Sometimes it comes home with you.
 
 
Sources:
The Horror Collection – The Tallman House Haunting: One of America’s Real Poltergeist Cases – Razvan Radu – January 19, 2026 - The Tallman House Haunting: One of America’s Real Poltergeist Cases?
USA Ghost Adventures – The Mysterious Haunting of the Tallman House – November 3, 2025 - The Mysterious Haunting of the Tallman House - US Ghost Adventures
Urban Legends, Mystery and Myth – The Tallman Bunk Beds: The Cursed Furniture that Terrorized a Family – November 7, 2025 - The Tallman Bunk Beds: The Cursed Furniture That Terrorized a Family
Wikipedia – Horicon, Wisconsin – Horicon, Wisconsin - Wikipedia
Paranormal Witness – Season 1, Episode “The Tallman Haunting”
A Haunting – Episode featuring the Tallman case
The Uninvited – Steven A. LaChance

Episode 155: Legend or Hoax? The Faces of Belmez

What if the floor you were standing on began to stare back at you? Deep in Southern Spain lies a small town that is seemingly unremarkable. But it is home to the most enduring unexplained cases in Spain’s history. Back in 1971, a woman named Maria was casually doing house chores in her home in Belmez when she noticed a strange pattern forming in the concrete floor. The stain over time began to form, becoming more distinct, forming a human face. Despite cleaning attempts and even removal of the section of floor, the face kept appearing. But not just one, many. Many faces began to form, with expressions of anguish, fear and even content, young and old, men and women. News spread like wildfire through the small town and even throughout the whole country. Travelers came from all over to glance at these faces, believers, scientists, journalists and skeptics alike. Theories were presented but none seem to fully embrace the phenomenon. So what really happened in that house? Illusion, manipulation, or something we still can’t explain?
 
Sources:
“The Belmez Faces” by Jason Roberts on Dark Distractions on September 7, 2020 (https://jasonrobertsonline.com/the-belmez-faces/)
“Haunted or Hoax? The Creepy Story of the Belmez Faces” on Discovery on November 10, 2025 (https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/haunted-or-hoax-the-creepy-story-of-the-belmez-faces/)
“The Faces Beneath the Floor: The Haunting Mystery of Bélmez” by Michelle Edington on the Michele Gargiulo Blog (https://www.michelegargiulo.com/blog/belmez-faces-mystery-of-the-haunted-floor)
“The Ghost Face in Belmez de la Moraleda” on Moon Mausoleum (https://moonmausoleum.com/the-ghost-faces-in-belmez-de-la-moraleda/)
“Material analyses of the “Faces of Bélmez”” by Gerhard Mayer in The Journal of Parapsychology; Durham Vol. 86, Iss. 1, Spring 2022 (https://www.proquest.com/openview/41732855671b655f9e92eef08cbeea3a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=42308)
https://andalucia.com/province/jaen/sierra-magina/belmez-de-la-moraleda/history
https://www.jaenparaisointerior.es/en/w/castillo-de-b%C3%A9lmez-de-la-moraleda?filterCategoryIds=376054&operationType=AND
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2006/12/07/the-belmez-faces/
1634 MEADERY WEBSITE: https://www.1634meadery.com/
 
 

Episode 154: Truck Stop Killer - Robert Rhoades

They called him the “Truck Stop Killer” but for years, no one even knew his name. In the late 1970s and 80s, young men and women began disappearing along America’s highways, hitchhikers, runaways, women just trying to get from one place to another. Their last known locations? Truck stops. Rest areas. The in-between places most people pass through without a second thought. Behind the wheel of an ordinary semi-truck, Robert Ben Rhoades blended in perfectly. He was a long-haul trucker, someone no one would look at twice. But inside his cab, investigators would later uncover something horrifying: a custom-built torture chamber designed to imprison his victims. For years, he traveled across state lines, leaving behind a trail of violence that was difficult for authorities to connect. Different jurisdictions. Different victims. No clear pattern, until one routine traffic stop in 1990 changed everything. What police found that day would expose a nightmare hiding in plain sight. How did he get away with it for so long? How many victims were there, really? And what kind of person builds something like that… and lives a normal life in between? This story reminds us that evil is everywhere, and sometimes the most dangerous person you’ll ever cross paths with might already have passed you on the highway.
 
Sources:
Discovery+ - Evil Lives Here – S3, E3
Aptnnews – Alberta woman recognizes herself in photo found in U.S. serial killer’s truck – Holly Moore – February 24, 2019 - Alberta woman recognizes herself in photo found in U.S. serial killer’s truck - APTN News
CBS News – Family fights to keep convicted Sutter County killer behind bars as state law triggers resentencing hearing – Kayla Moeller – October 24, 2025 - Family fights to keep convicted Sutter County killer behind bars as state law triggers resentencing hearing - CBS Sacramento
The Greenville Advocate – Rhoades Avoids Possible Death Penalty by Admitting to Strangling Teenagers – September 15, 1992
Wikipedia – BDSM - BDSM - Wikipedia
The Cinemaholic – Where is Robert Ben Rhoades Now? – Viswa Vanapalli – November 22, 2021 - Robert Ben Rhoades Now: Where is The Truck Stop Killer Today? Update
They Will Kill You – Robert Benjamin Rhoades - The Story of Serial Killer Robert Benjamin Rhoades | They Will Kill You

Episode 153: Deadly Quest for Love - Raymond James Merrill

In March of 2006, 55-year-old musician Raymond James Merrill traveled to Brazil for the third time in five months. He told friends he was in love and was going to propose to the love of his life but he was never seen again. Ray’s online romance with a Brazilian woman named Regina Filomena Rachid quickly escalated into something deeper. Within weeks, Ray was sending her money. Within months, he had bought her a car, investing in her business and planning a future in Brazil. But behind the romance, there were warning signs: unauthorized charges. Tens of thousands of dollars disappearing from Ray’s accounts. Still hopeful, Ray kept returning to visit this woman in Sao Paulo. Then silence. No calls. No emails. As investigators began to dig, they uncovered thousands of dollars gone from his accounts. A suspicious email claiming Ray was “starting a new life.” And the last person to see him alive  refusing to talk. Then, finally, after months of silence, a break came in the case. What truly happened to Ray Merrill in São Paulo? And how did his quest for love turn into an international murder case that took 15 years to bring to justice?
 
Sources:
“Dark end to a hunt for love” by Patrick J. McDonnell in The Los Angeles Times on December 13, 2006 (https://www.latimes.com/la-fg-merrill13dec13-story.html)
“Love Story's Trail Of Tears To Brazil” on CBS News on October 28, 2006 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/love-storys-trail-of-tears-to-brazil/)
“Horrifying end for man seeking love in Brazil” by Kim Curtis and Stan Lehman in The Seattle Times on November 1, 2006 (https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20061101/killed01/horrifying-end-for-man-seeking-love-in-brazil)
“Online dating leads to brutal slaying of Calif. man in Brazil” on Tuscon.com on November 1, 2006 (https://tucson.com/news/national/online-dating-leads-to-brutal-slaying-of-calif-man-in-brazil/article_dae98b6b-be33-5fff-b9df-8fa963299729.html)
“Ray Merrill, Regina Rachid: ‘Web Of Lies’ — Brazilian Beauty Killed Californian” by Traciy Reyes on Yahoo! News on February 21, 2017 (https://www.yahoo.com/news/ray-merrill-regina-rachid-lies-191513308.html)
“American chases romance in Brazil, pays with his life” by The Los Angeles Times on Chicago Tribune on January 7, 2007 (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/01/07/american-chases-romance-in-brazil-pays-with-his-life/)
“Raymond Merrill Murder: Where Are Regina Rachid and Evandro Ribeiro Now?” by Shraman Mitra on The CInemaholic on March 2, 2022 (https://thecinemaholic.com/raymond-merrill-murder-where-are-regina-rachid-and-evandro-ribeiro-now/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
“Decretada prisão de Regina Rachid, esteticista condenada pela morte de americano em São José” on Portugal Sprio Mais on June 23, 2023 – translated using Google Translate (https://spriomais.com.br/2023/06/20/decretada-prisao-de-regina-rachid-esteticista-condenada-pela-morte-de-americano-em-sao-jose/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87710040/raymond_james-merrill
https://www.britannica.com/place/Sao-Paulo-Brazil/Climate
 
 

Episode 152: Guilty or Not? - Christopher Porco

Sources:
Wikipedia – Murder of Peter Porco - Murder of Peter Porco - Wikipedia
Democrat and Chronicle – UR student, after attack on parents, hires lawyer – Greg Livadas – November 21, 2004
CBS – Christopher Porco’s bid to overturn conviction in the hands of Schenectady Prosecutor – Alex Weidner – February 28, 2025 - Christopher Porco's bid to overturn conviction in the hands of Schenectady prosecutor
48 Hours – Memories of Murder – Season 20, Episode 7
Fox News – Axe murderer set to appeal verdict with support from badly maimed mother – Taylor Penley – September 14, 2023 - Axe murderer set to appeal verdict with support from badly maimed mother | Fox News
Poughkeepsie Journal – Son charged with killing father, attacking mother – November 5, 2005
The Journal News – Son gets 50 years to life in ax attack that killed father, disfigured mother – Michael Virtanen – December 13, 2006