From 2022 to 2023, 19-year-old Madison Russo documented what she claimed was a relentless fight for her life, drawing in thousands of followers and raising nearly $40,000 on GoFundMe. She said she was battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Stage 2 pancreatic cancer, and a tumor “the size of a football” wrapped around her spine. The story was catastrophic by design, and people responded exactly as you would expect. They donated, they shared, they rooted for her, watching closely as she posted photos and updates that felt intimate and urgent.  Except none of it was real. Not the diagnoses, not the symptoms, not the scans. What looked like a medical nightmare was a performance, constructed piece by piece, persuasive enough to convince strangers around the world to invest in a fight that never existed.  And when it finally unraveled, the only thing Maddie had actually built was a very real trail of deception. FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Abbess Mariam, better known as “Mother Rasputin,”  has been described as one of the most prolific female serial killers in modern history.  She cloaked herself in the authority of a Greek Old Calendarist Orthodox abbess while running something far darker than a monastery. Between 1939 and 1950, she was found guilty of a staggering range of crimes, including multiple murders and fraud, but the charges barely capture the reality inside her compound in Keratea, Greece. Hundreds of people - mostly women - arrived there seeking refuge, faith, and safety, and instead found solitary confinement, empty plates, and discipline that escalated into ritualized cruelty. Mariam ruled with a mix of spiritual theater and calculated brutality, presenting herself as divinely guided while systematically breaking down (and killing) the very people who trusted her. Sadistic, controlling, and untethered from any moral boundary, she has been described as one of the most prolific female serial killers in modern history. FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains discussions of suicide and may be distressing to hear.  Please listen with caution. In the tragic and recent case of Sonia Exelby, a vulnerable woman in the UK went online to arrange for her own death.  Sadly, she connected with a sadistic man in the U.S. named Dwain Hall, who framed her murder as mercy while investigators uncovered evidence of manipulation, coercion, internet predation, and calculated cruelty. Sonia was struggling, emotionally and psychologically, and Dwain positioned himself as a "mentor" who truly understood her pain.  But text messages, recordings, and witness testimony painted a different picture: he was a predator who isolated Sonia from support systems, reinforced her belief that death was the only option, and meticulously documented her "consent" as insurance against exactly this kind of investigation. What Dwain called mercy, prosecutors called premeditated murder.  This complex case is truly heartbreaking - please listen with caution! FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the extraordinary case of Judy Malinowski, the first person in American history to testify from beyond the grave at her own murder trial.  In 2017, Judy's life was shattered when her boyfriend doused her in gasoline and set her on fire.  She was left to endure nearly two years of relentless pain, dozens of surgeries, and the heartbreak of not being able to raise her two children. Determined to be heard and to advocate on behalf of other survivors/victims, Judy worked with prosecutors to record her testimony from her hospital bed - forever preserving her voice, her memory, and her account of what happened. After her death, that testimony was played in court, allowing her to confront her killer and help secure his conviction in a way that had never been done before. This episode traces Judy's unbelievable fight for justice, the legal impact of her groundbreaking case, and the strength of a woman who ensured that her own words would be used to help bring down the man who killed her. FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Part 2 of our in-depth coverage of the "Devilsdorp" cult, the brutal murders introduced in Part 1 take on a new meaning.  What initially appeared to be isolated, occult-linked attacks starts to reveal a far more calculated pattern.  Because this was never about religion.  As the case progresses into trial, Part 2 unpacks the roles of those involved in the gruesome murders of 11 individuals and explores the psychology of Cecilia Steyn - the dark force at the center of it all.  For Cecilia, the carnage was a test of power measured by how far she could push others to prove her control.   FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A pentagram-shaped town.  A string of cult murders.  Between 2012 and 2016, the town of Krugersdorp became “Devilsdorp.”  At the center was Cecilia Steyn, a manipulative, "Ted Bundy-esque" figure who claimed to be a 42nd-generation witch with supernatural powers, infiltrating a Christian ministry and slowly tightening her grip on a group of devoted followers. Through staged attacks, psychological control, and fabricated threats of a satanic enemy, she convinced them to protect her at all costs...even if it meant killing. When her authority was challenged, Cecilia retaliated by forming a splinter group, “Electus per Deus,” and orchestrating a series of calculated murders that were initially dismissed as random occult violence. But beneath the surface, this wasn’t chaos - it was total control. And it was only the beginning... FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening! Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Looking for more mystery to fill your week? While this isn’t a Psychopedia production, we're excited to introduce you to another true crime podcast. True Crime News: The Podcast is your weekly dose of real-time updates on the most gripping true crime stories, current cases, investigations, scams, and schemes. Host Ana Garcia is joined by crime experts, police officers, defense attorneys, and other leading authorities in their fields as they cover murders, scams, investigations, and unsolved crimes from across the country. Join us each week as we take you inside the biggest, most shocking, and most bizarre true crime cases. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the devastating case of Chris Benoit - aka The Canadian Crippler - a man once internationally revered in the wrestling ring, whose final act shattered the illusion completely. Over one horrifying weekend in June 2007, thirty-time champion Chris Benoit murdered his wife, Nancy, and their seven-year-old son, Daniel, before taking his own life - leaving behind a trail of questions that stretched far beyond the crime scene. From the devastating effects of repeated head trauma and suspected Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, to steroid use, psychological decline, and the dark underbelly of professional wrestling culture, the case became a horrifying collision of violence, brain injury, and unchecked deterioration.  Following this tragedy, the world was forced to confront how a man so celebrated in the spotlight could unravel so catastrophically in the shadows. Please SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening!Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On May 1, 2021, 19-year-old Sarah M. stabbed 39-year-old Zayed in the neck after pretending to be on a date with him. Sarah had joined dating apps under the name “Domina Cherry,” using the alias to gain access to hundreds of men she planned to murder in an effort to become the most prolific serial killer to ever live. Reportedly obsessed with notorious murderers, including Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, and Richard Ramirez, Sarah aspired to match their depravity and notoriety. This case forces us to confront something uncomfortable - because there is a clear and crucial difference between studying killers to understand them, and idolizing them to the point of wanting to become one. True crime asks us to look darkness in the face...while Sarah took notes on how to replicate it. Please SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening!Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Join our Patreon family! (⁠www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod⁠) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, exclusive true crime content, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On November 25th, 2025, the body of twenty-two year old Rebecca Park was discovered in Michigan's Manistee National Forest. When Becca vanished three weeks earlier, she was full-term pregnant. When her remains were found, the baby was gone. Becca's eviscerated body made it clear that someone had cut the baby from her womb at or around the time of her death - deliberately, methodically, and with intent.  The details of what happened to beautiful Becca Park are disturbing in a way that is difficult to prepare you for. This was not a crime of passion, nor was it random.  This was calculated, premeditated, and carried out by the last person/people Becca ever would ever suspected... Follow Investigator Slater on Instagram + TikTok: @investigatorslater  Please SUBSCRIBE to Psychopedia wherever you are listening!   Join our Patreon family! (www.Patreon.com/PsychopediaPod) On Patreon, you get AD FREE episodes, Girl On Gore Season 2 episodes releasing soon, merch discounts, exclusive content, extra true crime cases, pop quizzes, behind-the-scenes pics/vids, private group chats, and much more!  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices