Thanks for your support during a fantastic year!

Hi, it’s Simon here. On behalf of Jacques and me, we want to wish you a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2026!

This year has been huge — three new strands, a growing community of true-crime fans, and more ambitious plans ahead.

Listen in for a festive message and a glimpse of what’s coming in the New Year, including bonus content, Patreon perks, and our back catalogue for binge-worthy listening.

Become a Patreon supporter for more of the authentic, true-crime content you love!

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"The gun went off through the driver's window ... and he shouts, 'Call 999! We've got an armed man!' "

Paul Cullen was a teenager hanging out with a friend when a series of dramatic events catapulted him into the criminal history books. His actions on a cold December night in 1975 helped bring Britain's most wanted fugitive – the elusive and deadly Black Panther – to justice.

Neilson had hijacked a police car and was holding the occupants, PCs Stuart McKenzie and Tony White, at gunpoint. In a last, desperate attempt to escape, they crashed their patrol car outside the fish and chip shop where Paul, who was eighteen at the time, was eating a takeaway supper. 

With thirty years on the force, both in uniform and as a detective, I was keen to find out more about the ordeal of policemen in the car, and the reason why they chose the Junction chippie as their last resort for getting help.

Paul Cullen joined Psycho Killer's Jacques Morrell on location to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Black Panther's capture.



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He built a torture bunker and videotaped acts of depraved cruelty.

Charles Ng is one half of one of America’s most disturbing criminal duos. Alongside Leonard Lake, he participated in a series of kidnappings, tortures, and murders carried out in a remote bunker in the foothills of California.

Their videotapes — cold, clinical, and horrifying — remain among the most chilling pieces of evidence in US criminal history. In this episode, Simon Ford examines Ng’s background, his manipulative personality, and the toxic partnership that allowed Lake’s violent fantasies to become reality.

We also look at Ng’s years-long legal battles, his shifting stories, and the forensic evidence that connected him to the crimes. 

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"There had been families going into the park during the day, dog walkers, you know, it was very well used, and she was there all at the time."

Fifty years ago, two boys were growing up on opposite sides of the English Midlands — unaware that a killer was shaping both their childhoods. 

One lived just yards from the place where Donald Neilson — the Black Panther — held kidnapped heiress Lesley Whittle in terrifying captivity.

The other grew up in the Nottinghamshire coalfield, where Neilson’s violent reign finally came to an end on 11 December 1975.

Those two boys were PC Andy Adams and Jacques Morrell. They later met at police training college in the 1980s, where Andy shared his memories of living in the shadow of Britain’s most wanted armed robber.

In this special episode of Psycho Killer, Andy joins Jacques to discuss the Black Panther, the fear he inspired, and the impact his crimes had on a generation.

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Join us live at 19.30 GMT, Thursday, 11 December 2025, from the exact location where the Black Panther was brought down.

For Lynn Dorling, Thursday, 11 December 1975, was just another day at the village school in Blidworth, where she was head teacher. But the next day, Friday, would be a day like no other.

Overnight, just down the road in Rainworth, another colliery community, Britain's most wanted fugitive had been arrested in dramatic circumstances. The children arrived bursting with the news – and bursting with pride at the bravery of the grown-ups who'd helped tackle an armed killer with their bare hands.

The police soon followed, conducting house-to-house enquiries, seeking witnesses, and looking for evidence to build the case against the armed robber, killer and kidnapper Donald Neilson – the infamous Black Panther.

When Simon Ford spoke to Lynn Dorling, he started by asking her what those coalfield communities were like – and the camaraderie, grit and courage that defeated Neilson on a winter's night 50 years ago.

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To mark 50 years since the capture of Britain's most wanted fugitive, Jacques and Simon retrace the Panther's movements on the night he was caught.

Donald Neilson, dubbed the Black Panther for his ruthless cunning and stealthiness, thought he was above the law. Invincible, even. So when a couple of Bobbies asked him what he was up to one night in December 1975, Neilson responded by hijacking their patrol car at gunpoint.

His plan? Nobody really knows, but we suspect it would have been curtains for the unfortunate cops. Then, providence threw them a lifeline.

In this special episode, presenters Simon Ford and Jacques Morrell drive the route taken by Neilson and his hostages, PCs Stuart McKenzie and Tony White, from the side street where they were seized to the fish-and-chip shop where the drama concluded.

Follow along with what3words

• Stainforth Street: translated.test.love
• Old Mill Lane/Leeming Lane: quite.mini.garage
• Oak Tree Lane junction (Forest Town): doll.stone.daring
• Blidworth Lane/Southwell Road: wished.compelled.elevator
• Junction Fish Bar: removed.plus.buckling

Don't forget to join our live stream on Thursday evening, 50 years to the day that the Panther was finally caged. We'll be live on location in the former colliery village of Rainworth – right where the action unfolded.



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A predator with a shotgun. A village that refused to let him escape.

On 11 December 1975, armed robber and murderer Donald Neilson — the Black Panther — was finally captured in the Nottinghamshire village of Rainworth. In this 10-minute on-location scene setter, presenter Simon Ford revisits the streets where it happened, explaining who the Panther was, why he was feared, and how the people of Rainworth helped bring him down.

The episode includes gripping eyewitness testimony from local man Paul Cullen, who, as a teenager, watched the dramatic struggle outside the village fish-and-chip shop.

On 11 December 2025, Simon Ford and Jacques Morrell will return to Rainworth to retrace the final hours of Britain’s most wanted man. Follow us on our socials for livestream details, and join us as we revisit one of the most dramatic arrests in modern British criminal history.


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Manson didn’t kill people. He convinced people to kill.

Charles Manson never stabbed, shot, or strangled any of the victims in the Tate–LaBianca murders — yet he was the driving force behind every killing. Through psychological manipulation, apocalyptic ideology, and a cult-like hold on his followers, Manson created one of the most disturbing criminal networks of the 20th century. 

In this episode, Simon Ford examines the roots of Manson’s influence, the psychology that underpinned his control, and the crimes that cemented his place in true-crime history. From the counterculture backdrop to the forensic details of the investigations, we unravel the man behind the myth.

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A polite smile, a marriage proposal, and a stove full of ashes.

Henri Désiré Landru was one of France’s most notorious killers — a polite, moustachioed gentleman who lured vulnerable women with promises of marriage during World War I. Once they entered his villas, they vanished forever. 

In this episode, Simon Ford examines Landru’s double life, his careful record-keeping, and the forensic evidence that shocked France. Was he a cunning predator shaped by wartime chaos, or a calculating psychopath hiding in plain sight?

We break down his crimes, his psychology, and the extraordinary trial that captivated the nation.

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Mob enforcer. Contract killer. Self-made legend.

Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski is one of America’s most infamous contract killers — a man who claimed to have murdered more than 100 people while working for New Jersey and New York crime families. But behind the macabre legend lies a killer who blended real violence with outright invention. 

In this episode, Simon Ford looks at the psychology, the mob connections, and the mythmaking behind Kuklinski’s criminal career. From freezing bodies to confuse coroners to his chilling interviews with forensic psychologist Dr Park Dietz, Kuklinski remains a disturbing figure at the crossroads of true crime and dark folklore.

Acknowledgements
The Iceman – Millennium Entertainment, 2012.

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Unmasking the psychology behind London’s most infamous phantom.

In this 5-minute deep dive into criminal history, journalist and true crime storyteller Simon Ford revisits the most famous unsolved murder spree of all time.

Jack the Ripper murdered at least five women—Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly—in a frenzy of theatrical brutality that shocked Victorian London. But beyond the myth, the fog, and the fear… who was he? This episode explores:

• The killings and their escalating violence
• Why the identity of Jack the Ripper remains fiercely debated
• Our long-form investigation into prime suspect Robert D’Onston Stephenson
• The behavioural traits that strongly suggest psychopathy.

For the full investigation, listen to:
Jack the Ripper: Psycho or Satanist? 

Next in the series: K is for Kuklinski — The Iceman.

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He buried “kill kits” across America… but that was only the start of Israel Keyes’ monstrous planning.

Israel Keyes is one of the most terrifying killers in modern American history — not because of the crimes we can prove, but because of the ones we can’t. Keyes built “kill kits” years before he used them, travelled thousands of miles to find random victims, and prided himself on having no recognisable pattern.

In this episode, Simon Ford unpacks the forensic details, psychological insights, and chilling contradictions behind Keyes’ double life. From his calm, calculated interviews to the cold efficiency of his crimes, Keyes remains a disturbing reminder that the most dangerous predators are the ones you never see coming.

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Sometimes love is blind… and sometimes it’s deadly.

In 1958, Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend Caril Fugate embarked on a killing spree across Nebraska that left 11 people dead and America terrified. But was Caril a victim—or an accomplice? 

In this episode, Simon Ford and Jacques Morrell dissect the couple’s toxic relationship, their violent road trip, and the long shadow the case still casts over true crime, youth culture, and media sensationalism.

Hear how the courts ruled, what happened to Caril, and why the debate over her guilt or innocence continues today. 

New to Psycho Killer? Prepare for deep dives into dark minds, flawed justice systems, and stories that linger long after the tape stops.

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Enter the "Murder Castle" in our latest, chilling, bite-sized episode.

H.H. Holmes is often described as America’s first serial killer, but that title barely captures the scale of his crimes. A charming conman and medical swindler, Holmes built a three-storey “Murder Castle” in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair — complete with secret passages, soundproofed rooms, and hidden furnaces.

In this episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths, Simon Ford explores Holmes’s chilling psychology. From pathological lying and manipulation to financial fraud, bigamy, and murder for profit, Holmes exhibited the hallmarks of a true psychopath decades before criminology had language for it.

Join Simon Ford as he uncovers how Holmes engineered a building — and a life — designed for deception and death.

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Beneath the clown makeup, he hid 33 bodies — and the soul of a psychopath.

John Wayne Gacy — the “Killer Clown” — was one of America’s most horrifying murderers.
By day, he was a respected businessman and community volunteer. By night, he tortured and killed young men, burying thirty-three bodies beneath his suburban Chicago home.

In this chilling episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths, Simon Ford examines Gacy’s double life and the psychological traits that made him such a dangerous predator. Using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, he uncovers how superficial charm, narcissism, and total lack of remorse transformed a pillar of the community into a monster.

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When Bonnie met Clyde, a myth began — but what actually drove them to kill?

Step into the story of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow — but not as you know it. This isn’t a simple love-and-crime saga. It’s a study of two personalities colliding, of fear and fascination, of power and vulnerability. In this episode of It Takes Two, journalist Simon Ford and former major-crime detective Jacques Morrell bring you:

• The historical backdrop of 1950s America — from juvenile delinquency panic to the lure of the motor-car getaway.
• An in-depth look at the personal dynamic of Bonnie and Clyde: the 14-year-old girl, the 19-year-old man, and the deadly path they shared.
• A new angle: how culture, violence and identity merged in one of the most notorious outlaw romances of the 20th century.

Whether you’re a true-crime enthusiast or interested in the psychology of partnership and coercion — this one is for you.

Acknowledgements
The sound effects of the 1936 Ford Flathead V8 are courtesy of AutoEsoterica on YouTube.

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He called himself “a real-life boogeyman.”

Albert Fish was every parent’s worst nightmare. A kindly old man on the outside, but beneath the surface — a sadist, cannibal, and predator of children. 

In this deeply disturbing episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths, Simon Ford examines the twisted psychology of “The Brooklyn Cannibal” — a man whose crimes shocked America and still haunt the true-crime world today.

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Police speak in code — but what does it really mean when a detective says ‘ABH gone wrong’?

When a detective says “ABH gone wrong,” what do they really mean? Is it code, cold detachment — or something darker? Behind every headline and police press briefing lies a secret language: blunt, efficient, and sometimes brutal. In this episode of The Detective’s Files, Simon Ford and former detective Jacques Morrell decode the jargon of murder investigations — uncovering how words can reveal, conceal, and even distort the truth. It’s a rare glimpse inside the mind of the police and the media they feed — and a chilling reminder that in the world of crime, language can be as deadly as the act itself.

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Grave robber and the real-life inspiration for Norman Bates and Leatherface.

Ed Gein, the mild-mannered handyman from Plainfield, Wisconsin, shocked the world when police discovered what lay behind his farmhouse walls: human remains, skin masks, and grisly trophies made from corpses. But beneath the horror lies a deeper psychological question — what drove him to do it? 

In this episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths, Simon Ford dissects the life and crimes of Ed Gein, the so-called “Butcher of Plainfield.” They explore his twisted devotion to his mother, Augusta, his macabre “projects” inspired by loneliness and delusion, and his lasting influence on horror icons from Psycho to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Finally, we use three key traits from the Hare Psychopathy Checklist to examine whether Ed Gein really fits the profile of a psychopath — or whether he was something even more disturbing.

The A–Z of Psychopaths is a Psycho Killer production.

Special Mention: Laurie Metcalf’s extraordinary performance as Augusta Gein in Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Netflix) brings chilling realism to one of the most controlling maternal figures in criminal history. In our view, she deserves an Emmy. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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She baked pies for her neighbours — and buried her husbands in the garden. Meet Nanny Doss: The Giggling Granny.

She looked like everyone’s favourite grandmother — smiling, baking, and always laughing.
But Nanny Doss’s laughter hid a terrible secret. Over three decades, she poisoned, smothered, and strangled 11 members of her own family — husbands, children, her mother, even her sister.

Her motive? A twisted mix of romance, resentment, and control. Known as The Giggling Granny, Doss confessed with a smile — and kept on giggling as she described each killing in detail.

In this episode of The A–Z of Psychopaths, Simon Ford uncovers the monstrous psychology behind the apron and the smile. Was Nanny Doss simply a product of her time… or something far more chilling?

Like and share with your psychopathically inclined friends — and tell us which psycho you’d like to hear next because we can always start again at A. There’s no shortage of psychopaths in our sick, sad world… is there?

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