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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Murray State chapter.

Crime Junkie is one of my favorite podcasts of all time. The hosts, Ashley and Brit, go through different criminal cases and give theories and possible explanations as to what happened. These can be really dark and twisted sometimes, but they are very interesting to listen to, especially if you are on a long car ride. Not only do Ashley and Brit tell about the cases, but they also give information on how to report tips and information about the cases. There are so many episodes that it can be hard to find the really interesting ones. Fortunately, I’ve listened to a lot of Crime Junkie, and I have a list of four of my favorite episodes below!

MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: Holly Bartlett 

When police and construction workers find Holly Bartlett, a 31 year old blind woman, barely alive below the MacKay Bridge in Halifax, Novia Scotia, Canada, their first thought is that it was an accident. However, when family and friends saw the treacherous journey she would have taken to get there, they automatically knew that something wasn’t adding up. According to her family, Holly never let being blind get in the way of accomplishing her goals or getting where she needed to be. So it was extremely suspicious that she would have gotten as far away from home as she did. In order to be under the bridge where she was found, she would have had to walk a quarter of a mile away from her apartment, crawl through a barbed wire fence, climb up a 20 foot tall cable abutment, and then fall to the ground underneath it. This was highly uncharacteristic of something Holly would do, but police ruled the incident an accident. When you look at all the evidence that they didn’t look at, and people they did not question, you may also see that there’s something weird about Holly’s death that the police may not have taken into consideration. You can listen to the episode at https://open.spotify.com/episode/40hyBBpjpSzrd9BdJo3VT1

MISSING: Leigh Occhi 

Leigh Occhi, aged 13 years old, was staying home alone for the day while her mother went to work. Later on, Leigh was planning on going to an open house at her middle school with her grandmother. But when her mother called home to let her know that Hurricane Andrew was quickly approaching their home in Tupelo, Mississippi, Leigh didn’t answer, sending her mom into a panic. She drove all the way home to find no sign of Leigh in the house, except for a crumpled up blanket and blood smears on the walls. Police were quickly called, but there was no sign of where she could have gone. On September 9, 1992, 13 days after she disappeared, Leigh’s mother got a package in the mail containing Leigh’s glasses, sent from the area where her ex-stepfather lived. Yet, there were still no suspects or motives that could be found. You can listen about this case at https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ODvntgVgt8IhDU9pOeT52

MURDERED: Madeleine McCann

By now, we all know the case of Madeleine McCann. She was only three years old when she went missing from her vacation home in Portugal while her parents and their friends were out at a restuarant down the road. However, her case was recently updated from a missing persons case to a murder case. Pretty much everyone has their theories about what happened to Madeleine that night. Some say they saw a man, who was carrying a child, walking away from the area of their vacation home about the time she went missing. But others believe that her parents may have had something to do with her disappearance and her death. You can hear all the last updates at https://open.spotify.com/episode/5EiorSn3AkufNyeEGmYr7i

MURDERED:  The Lundys Part 1 and 2

Christine Lundy, 38, and Amber Lundy, 7, were found murdered in their home with blunt force trauma to their heads on August 29, 2000. Who could have committed such a brutal attack? At first, police were not sure of any potential suspects, but after a little while, they named Mark Lundy, husband and father to Christine and Amber, guilty of murdering his family. However, many people are questioning the validity of this accusation. While he was in a different city than Christine and Amber, in Wellington, New Zealand, pinged phone locations show that he may have driven back to their home the night of the murder. There was also body tissue found on one of his shirts, possibly from Christine. And of course, we can’t forget that Christine and Mark had just increased their life insurance policies a few days prior. Yet, some people aren’t sure Mark is guilty. Nobody could find a pathologist who was willing to confirm the body tissues, except one that they found in Texas. The prosecution also changed their story from the time of the first trial to the time of the second trail, and there was unknown male tissue underneath both Amber and Christine’s fingers. So who really committed the murder? Listen to the episodes at https://open.spotify.com/episode/4dnCNMKuyuP9bCGeyI3P28 and https://open.spotify.com/episode/61oQU1bhDMz0qFOtRkSVFS

As you can see, Ashley and Brit deal with some pretty brutal cases on their show, but if you’re looking to be drawn in by cases of whodunnit, this is definitely the podcast for you!

Taylor Moore

Murray State '24

Taylor Moore is currently a sophomore at Murray State University majoring in Advertising. On campus she is part of the Honors College, Ads Club, Springer-Franklin RCC Executive Board, and Her Campus! When she isn't in her classes, she enjoys kayaking, hanging out with friends, crafting, and other on campus activities.