The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas hosted A-list celebrities and high-stakes gambling. But the elegant hotel was also linked to a brutal gambling murder, the mauling of magician Roy Horn by a white Bengal tiger, rage-induced vandalism by Michael Jackson, and the poolside robbery of actress Sarah Hyland’s
After meeting with hundreds of true crime fans at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, I came away with a list of six traits that most seem to share. 1. They like solving puzzles Solving a criminal case requires piecing together bits of information into a solution. True crime fans like this
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition for review filed by the chief suspect in the murders of Barry and Louise Berman in a remote corner of the Mojave Desert. The petition arose from a sex crimes case in which Michael Pepe, now 70, was convicted of crossing state
SoCal is famous for sunny skies, sandy beaches – and stolen stuff? It’s true: The L.A. metropolitan area is known for its burgeoning trade in pilfered products. Recently I delved into the underworld of stolen stuff, after the tech company I work for as chief legal officer suffered a heist
When Bob Wildoner, then 76, disappeared in remote Saline Valley in 2021, he didn’t just vanish into thin air. My theory is that the desert swallowed him – literally. As seen in my blog entitled “In the desert, a simple mistake can turn deadly,” it appears Bob got disoriented on
Did Bob get disoriented and turn the wrong way? In the desert, a simple mistake like this can turn deadly. In May 2021, Bob Wildoner, then 76, rolled into a campground in a remote area of Death Valley National Park, fifty miles from the nearest highway. Bob was tired –
After grandpa died, my grandmother Dale King moved into a cabin in a lonely desert valley and spent her days roaming the backcountry. Dale had always been free-spirited and artistic. When grandpa was alive, she weaved colorful fabrics on her loom and loved taking spontaneous trips to explore new places.
Eighteen years before detectives Erik Kusmerz and Tyrell Joyner worked together on the Naomi Irion case, they served in the same Marine Corps battalion. Born one year apart – Erik in 1982, Ty in 1983 – they hailed from much different backgrounds. Erik grew up outside of Atlanta, while Ty
When you write about true crime, other people’s pain becomes part of your work. After Bob Wildoner, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran, disappeared in a remote corner of the Mojave Desert, and months passed without a single clue, the case seemed like it would make for an intriguing story. Was Bob