Criminally Obsessed

Criminally Obsessed goes deeper — inside the investigations, the courtroom drama, and the human stories at the center of the country’s biggest true crime cases. We track breaking developments, uncover overlooked details, and bring clarity to the chaos — always with compassion for victims and the people whose lives are forever changed. Host Anne Emerson brings more than 30 years of award-winning investigative reporting to every episode. She’s covered the nation’s most high-profile trials firsthand, conducted interviews with some of the biggest names in the true crime world — from Amanda Knox to Elizabeth Smart — and has trusted sources connected to the cases dominating the national conversation.

Criminally Obsessed is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 112 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Criminally Obsessed, a news show with 112 episodes published.

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  Criminally Obsessed

  Murdaugh Bombshell: Did Maggie's Shell Casings Match Another Murder?

  Aug 19, 202623 min

  IF YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THE MURDAUGH CASE, YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS. At the August 14 motions hearing, Alex Murdaugh's defense attorney, Jim Griffin, dropped a bombshell tied to reporting from FITSNews: a possible connection between the shell casings found next to Maggie Murdaugh's body in 2021 and an execution-style murder just a few miles away in April 2026.  Valerie Bauerlein sits down with FITSNews reporter Jenn Wood to pull back the curtain on that reporting, including the original tip about Frank Alexander Brown III's murder in Allendale County, her verification process, and what she learned directly from South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) just last week — information Wood had no idea would become one of the first things out of the defense's mouth in court. Bauerlein also details never-before-presented texts from Alex Murdaugh's phone that didn't surface during the first trial, digs into the mystery of where Maggie's Mercedes actually is right now (hint: not where it should be), and explains why Eddie Smith has never gone to trial. It's an episode Murdaugh junkies will not want to miss.

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  Criminally Obsessed

  Lindsay Clancy: Why Her Mental Health Providers Didn't See a Crisis

  Aug 18, 202623 min

  Lindsay Clancy was under the care of several mental health professionals — so why couldn't they connect the dots? She went from "a loving mother" to a defendant on trial,  and the psychiatric care leading up to this case is under a microscope. Today, Kevin Reddington, Clancy's defense attorney, called Dr. Donald Condie, a clinical and forensic psychiatrist, to the stand. He showed jurors some of what he believes Clancy's mental health care team did wrong, including "sparse" notes and potentially overlooking medication side effects. That courtroom critique is the through-line for this episode: best-selling author and national journalist Valerie Bauerlein sat down with litigation consultant and criminal behavior analyst Sunny Slaughter to go deeper on the alleged gaps in how Clancy’s providers worked — and didn’t work — together, and what that may mean beyond one trial day.   Together, they walk through testimony and analysis around psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Tufts, nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollata, and counselor Latiesha Dukes. You’ll hear why Sunny Slaughter calls Dr. Tufts “far from what Lindsay Clancy needed,” why Jollata’s thorough notes stood out, and why Dukes may have missed what Clancy could have been saying about hallucinations. We’re streaming every day of the Lindsay Clancy trial live on Criminally Obsessed. Turn on your notifications and subscribe for continuing trial coverage, expert insight, courtroom analysis, and exclusive interviews that go beyond the headlines. #LindsayClancy #LindsayClancyTrial #PostpartumPsychosis #AndreaYates #TrueCrime

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  Criminally Obsessed

  Murdaugh Defense Dropping Clues? What You Need to Know

  Aug 17, 202625 min

  If you’ve fallen behind on the Murdaugh case, this is the catch-up before the retrial. Valerie Bauerlein was in court Friday as Alex Murdaugh walked in to his motions hearing without shackles or an orange jumpsuit — dark sport coat, baby-blue tie. What unfolded played like a preview of the defense's case for next year's retrial. Former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon helps break down what armchair detectives need to know with host Valerie Bauerlein, best-selling author of The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty, and the reporter who covered the Murdaugh murder trial alongside Anne Emerson in 2023. The stunner: defense attorney Jim Griffin said a recent Allendale County murder has been linked in press leaks to the Murdaugh murder weapon — and asked how that can be. Judge Debra McCaslin set the trial for April 5 and said she intends to stick by it. From Cousin Eddie to DNA to a change of venue to an attempt to toss Alex Murdaugh’s testimony from the first trial, this conversation is your roadmap of the Murdaugh retrial stakes — not a docket read, a defense-case preview. Charlie Condon unpacks it all and suggests the defense's theme ahead of Alex Murdaugh's April trial.

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  Criminally Obsessed

  Murdaugh Murder Timeline: Could Time of Death Be Completely Wrong?

  Aug 13, 202626 min

  Could Maggie and Paul Murdaugh’s time of death create reasonable doubt for Alex Murdaugh? As his defense prepares for a second murder trial, attorney Dick Harpootlian is signaling that the timeline of the June 2021 murders at Moselle could become a major issue.  We had to speak with an expert who could tell us how time of death is actually determined… and is there room for error?  In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, investigative reporter Anne Emerson speaks with Joseph Scott Morgan, Death Investigator and host of the podcast Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan, who helped create the national standards for determining time of death. He helps us understand the physical process coroners and medical examiners use to narrow down that timeframe, and examines the coroner’s actions in the Murdaugh murders with his expert perspective - what he did, and more importantly, what he didn’t do during that examination. Alex Murdaugh’s case returns to court on Friday August 14th for a retrial hearing, when Judge Debra McCaslin could rule on where the new South Carolina murder trial will be held, along with other pending motions. Join Anne and former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon to watch and analyze the hearing live tomorrow here on Criminally Obsessed.  Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss our courtroom livestreams, the latest developments in the Alex Murdaugh retrial, and expert perspective with those closest to the case.

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  Criminally Obsessed

  Elizabeth Siders Will Be Evaluated: Is She Competent to Stand Trial?

  Aug 12, 202625 min

  Is Elizabeth Siders competent to stand trial in the Ohio “House of Horrors” Case? As the Lindsay Clancy trial puts maternal mental health and criminal responsibility under a national microscope, another mother at the center of a major criminal case is facing psychological evaluation.  Elizabeth Siders, who faces 16 child endangerment charges in the Vinton County, Ohio case, has been ordered to undergo a competency evaluation. But what does a competency test actually involve?  Today, we hear from an expert who takes us inside the evaluation process, and shares parts of it that took us by surprise.  In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, investigative reporter Anne Emerson speaks with forensic psychologist Dr. Leslie Dobson, who has administered many competency evaluations herself. She describes components of the test we’d never heard before, like taking part in a mock trial, and explains what happens after a defendant is found incompetent. With Dr. Dobson’s expert perspective, we learn what professionals will be looking for in Elizabeth Siders. The Siders case continues to move forward, with Gary Siders Jr. due back in court Thursday, August 13th on public indecency charges. We’ll keep you updated on the latest developments - Turn on your notifications and subscribe to Criminally Obsessed so you never miss our coverage of the Ohio “House of Horrors” investigation, the Lindsay Clancy trial, and the biggest true crime cases.

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