In the early morning hours of July 16, 2016, Asheville, NC plastic surgeon Frank “Buddy” McCutcheon was shot in the head while he slept on the couch. Before he died, a trove of previously hidden secrets had come to light that may have led to his demise.
It’s been five years since Sherri Papini shook the U.S. with an account of a harrowing kidnapping. Everyone was left with more questions than answers, and many disbelieved her story. This year she proved the doubters right when she admitted it was all a hoax.
John DiRubba says he fell in love at first sight with NYPD police officer Valerie Cincinelli, who was 20 years his junior. The fact that she was married didn’t bother him because Valerie told John her husband Isaiah Carvalho was a bad guy. Things escalated to devastating levels when Valerie tried to convince John DiRubbia to hire a hitman to kill her husband.
Over a decade later there are still questions about the 2010 shooting death of Norman “Lee” Radder. Lee died from a gunshot wound to the eye from his step-father-in-law Robert Fischer’s gun after a night of drinking. Prosecutors argued that Robert killed Lee and then staged Lee’s death as a suicide and Robert Fischer was convicted of Lee’s death in 2013. That conviction, however, was overturned in November 2021 on the ground of “interest of justice.” What really happened to Lee Radder?
A year ago, on March 8, 2021, Ryan Bane reported his girlfriend Sarm Heslop missing from his catamaran boat named “Siren Song” while at St. John, Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. As of March 2022, Sarm is still missing, the boat has never been searched, and Ryan had never been questioned by police.
When Ben Renick was found dead with a crushed skull in June, 2017, his brother thought he had been killed by a python. It was only after a police investigation uncovered that he had been killed by a gunshot wound that it became clear he had been murdered by a human. Why was his murdered?
For a while, Donna Palomba stayed anonymous regarding her September 11, 1993, sexual assault in her own home by a masked assailant. She had gone to the police as a “Jane Doe,” but they weren’t exactly on her side and all the people in her community thought she was lying about the horrible attack in order to cover up an affair. Eventually, Donna got justice for her terrifying assault and came out of hiding, but it took years of vigilance.
Las Vegas casino heir Ted Binion (of Binion’s Horseshoe, now known as Binion’s Gambling Hall,) was found dead in 1998, but the mystery surrounding his death still hasn’t been solved. He left behind millions buried in the Nevada desert, and rumors are that there is much more treasure to be found. Was his death suicide? Murder? His girlfriend Sandy Murphy was convicted of murdering him in 2000, but she was released four years later. Sandy is speaking now to Dateline in an episode airing tonight titled “What Happened in Vegas.” Does she have the answers everyone is looking for?
Girlfriends Mollie Olgin and Kristene Chapa were found brutally injured on June 23, 2012 at Violet Andrews Park in Corpus Christi, TX. The girls had had plans at the park that night, and one of their friends, Brittany Selby, was supposed to join them. That decision to not spend time at the park that night saved her life. Because Kristene and Mollie had been dating, the community wondered if it had been a hate crime.
Polyester clothing magnate Peter Nygard used his massive wealth to sex traffic and blackmail young women at his Bahamas 4.2 acre paradise called Nygard Cay. Tonight’s episode of Dateline interviews some of his victims and explores the story of the strange and hellish fantasyland.
Chad Daybell was a former gravedigger who found a new life in writing apocalyptic novels based around LDS (Mormon) theology. He even started his own publishing company. As his writing grew more popular, Chad claims that the content of his books had come from prophetic visions. Once he met Lori, he considered her to be a goddess on a special mission on Earth. The couple threw themselves into their grandiose delusions on a dangerous path to murder and mayhem.
On July 13, 2019, 57-year-old teacher Denise Hallowell was found dead with an axe in her head by her adopted son Carlos Hallowell. When 17-year-old Carlos called the police he told them that he and his mother had attended a funeral that day, and returned home between 2 and 3 p.m. and that he had discovered her body after their barking dogs woke him up from a nap.