Felonious - the true crime podcast

09/04/2024

Episode 13, Part 2: Sture Bergwall aka Thomas Quick - The Serial Confessor
Part one to this episode looked at the early life of Sture Bergwall, also known as Thomas Quick.
In part two, we take a look at the eight murders he was convicted of and the questionable actions of both the police and his therapists.
If you missed part one of this episode, it is available now to listen.

Image credits: https://www.nrk.no/norge/_-tydelige-bevis-mot-thomas-quick-1.8287930

02/04/2024

Episode 13, Part 1: Sture Bergwall aka Thomas Quick - The Serial Confessor
Sture Bergwall, also known as Thomas Quick between 1991 - 2002, was known as one of Sweden’s most notorious serial killers. He confessed to over 30 murders while he was detained in a psychiatric hospital. He was convicted for 8 of the murders he confessed to.
In 2001, he stopped cooperating with the police, stopped his therapy sessions and hid from the spotlight for seven years. He met with a journalist Hannes Råstam, who made a documentary about him in 2008.
He recanted all of his confessions during the documentary, and had all of his convictions quashed in 2013. So why did he retract his confessions and did he really commit these murders? Or was it all a big miscarriage of justice, the biggest in Swedish history?

Image credits: https://www.alamy.com/thomas-quick-aka-sture-bergwall-born-in-1950-in-falun-claimed-to-be-the-nordic-regions-most-famous-serial-murderer-image441518339.html

26/03/2024

Episode 12: Alphonse Bertillon
Alphonse Bertillon contributed to the advancement of forensic science in the 19th century and developed a number of advanced techniques for identifying criminals, most notably within criminal photography and is known as the “father of the mug shot”.

Image Credit: https://www.radiofrance.fr/s3/cruiser-production/2023/05/3d072274-9630-4689-b0cf-fe6594a75e70/560x315_sc_gettyimages-526510650.webp

19/03/2024

Episode 11: Kathleen Folbigg
In today's episode, we will be looking at the case of Kathleen Folbigg which sent shockwaves throughout Australia as she was labelled the country’s worst serial killer. After spending more than two decades behind bars for the murder of her four children, she is finally a free woman. But why did it take so long for her innocence to be proven, when other women who were wrongfully convicted were freed within a few years?

Image credits: Joel Carrett/EPA (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/05/kathleen-folbigg-pardoned-after-20-years-in-jail-over-deaths-of-her-four-children)

12/03/2024

We're taking a short break this week. Our next episode will be available on Tuesday 19th March 2024.

05/03/2024

Episode 10: Lilliane Bettencourt - The L'Oreal Scandal
Liliane Bettencourt was a French socialite, business woman, and Queen of L’Oreal as one of their main shareholders. She was the richest woman in the world and where there’s money, there’s controversy.
She dodged taxes, gave way too much money to politicians and her family were once N**i supporters.
So, get ready for an engaging episode, because you’re worth it!

27/02/2024

Episode 9: Robert Hendy-Freegard - The Puppet Master
In this episode, we will be discussing the serial conman Robert Hendy-Freegard. While he is British and committed the majority of his crimes in the UK, his last encounter with law enforcement was in Belgium and he is on trial in France for attempted murder.
This man pretended to be James Bond and fooled dozens of people into believing his extravagant lies. We hope he gets the goldfinger in jail where he belongs!

Image credit: Metropolitan Police/PA - Briton who was Netflix’s ‘ultimate conman’ flees French police | France | The Guardian

20/02/2024

Episode 8: Neurology and Crime
In today’s episode, we will be discussing the link between the brain and crime. In Episode 3, we discussed the case of serial killer Diogo Alves whose head was chopped off after his ex*****on in 1841, and preserved with the intention to have his brain studied. However, there is no evidence of such studies taking place. So we have decided to look at what studies have been done to look at the links between neurology and crime. We will also be looking at some notable cases who were known to have suffered head injuries in their early lives which may have contributed to their behaviours as criminals such as Aaron Hernandez, Richard Ramirez, Albert Fish, Fred West and Alexander Pichushkin.

Image credit: AI generated

13/02/2024

Episode 7: Carlos Ghosn
Today we will be talking about Carlos Ghosn. Once a prominent figure in the car industry, he is the former CEO of Renault and Chairman of Nissan, and now a much wanted man in Japan and France.
He was also a director at the aluminium giant Alcoa Inc, on the board of directors at Sony Corp, a chairman for the Russian carmaker AvtoVAZ and a CEO for Michelin in North America. He had his fingers in a lot of pies, didn’t he?
We’ll find out what caused him to take a wrong turn, whose money he spent on fancy parties in Paris and how he was helped in making his grand escape from Japan to Lebanon.

06/02/2024

Episode 6: Fare Dodging
In this episode we will be discussing the act of fare dodging or fare evading.
We’ll take a look at some stats and facts reported in different countries and we’ll see if some countries consider it a criminal offence. We’ll talk about some extreme cases, including why turnstile jumping is a lethal sport and we’ll discuss the reasons why people fare evade in the first place.
Now, where did I put my Jammy Dodgers?

02/02/2024

Listen to all 3 parts of our episode on Charles Sobhraj. Available on all major platforms. If your friends like listening to podcasts why not share this post?

30/01/2024

Episode 5: Bangladesh Bank Heist
In this episode we will discuss the Bangladesh Bank heist of 2016, one of the biggest cyber heists in the world.
We will explore how the hackers planned their attack, what they did with the stolen cash and why the Philippines and the US were involved (When are the US not involved in anything?)
We will also discover who the Lazarus Group are and how they need to make improvements on their spelling and star sign telling.
All will become clear listeners…

Image credit: AI generated

23/01/2024

Episode 4: Félicien Kabuga Afterword
We recorded this episode before the current genocides/ holocausts/ conflicts began taking place in the world or became common knowledge, such as Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Armenia and other countries.

23/01/2024

Episode 4: Félicien Kabuga
In todays episode, we will talk about Felicien Kabuga, a Rwandan businessman who has been accused of helping finance the genocide of the Rwandan Tutsis in 1994.
We will discuss his involvement with arming the militia, his ideology and how he has been able to escape justice for nearly 30 years.
We were both 8 years old when the genocide happened. Now, we’re both older and one of us is taller, we thought it was about time to discuss this horrible episode in recent history.

Image Credit: https://afrikarabia.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Kabuga-plein-cadre-1024x601.jpg

18/01/2024

Our editor loves this week's episode about Portugal and the death penalty

16/01/2024

Episode 3: Portugal and the Death Penalty
In today's episode we will be focusing on Portugal - the land that brought us tempura, Pastéis de Natas, Cristiano Ronaldo, the first country to decriminalise drugs and one of the first to abolish death penalty.
We will discuss three people who were executed in Portugal during the days of capital punishment. We will begin with Diogo Alves and debunk his claim to fame. Followed by Luisa de Jesus, who wasn't as nice as she sounds. And finally we will talk about the well educated, pet killing Francisco de Mattos Lobo.

Image Credit - https://mlimzfndcf9g.i.optimole.com/cb:3rck.f360/w:1423/h:1067/q:mauto/ig:avif/f:best/https://monlisbonne.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/23BF3A3E-D4C0-4C6F-B415-888956DB5867.jpeg

09/01/2024

Episode 2, Part 2: Patricia Hearst
Bringing you another story from the 70’s (we just can’t seem to escape this era), today we will be talking about the case of Patricia Hearst (aka Patty), the wealthy American heiress of a media empire, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, a far left militant organisation. Although our podcast introduction says we’ll mostly cover cases outside of the UK and US, we couldn’t resist this one. Especially given the comparison to the last case we covered and the debates around Patricia Hearst’s innocence.

Image credit: https://i.mtr.cool/tzpjjxpdqt

02/01/2024

Episode 2, Part 1: Stockholm Syndrome
In this episode, we will discuss the crime behind the psychological phenomenon Stockholm Syndrome. The crime takes place, ironically, in Stockholm in August of 1973. We just love 70’s true crime stories! The Norrmalmstorg robbery took place over 6 days and it was the first criminal event to be broadcasted live on Sweden’s television network.

Image credit:
https://mtr.cool/ayxgdrjeti

31/12/2023

Happy new year to you all. Thank you for listening to us and for your awesome feedback.

There's a lot to look forward to in 2024, including episodes on Stockholm Syndrome, the Bangladesh Bank Heist, Carlos Ghosn, the puppet master Robert Henry-Freegard and much, much more.

26/12/2023

Episode 1, Part 3: Charles Sobhraj
In this episode, we will conclude the case of Charles Sobhraj. We will discuss what happens to Nadine Gires, we will find out how Herman Knippenberg joined the dots and found out who Alain Gautier really was, we will count the number of people named Jean who Charles came across and answer how Charles nearly got a meeting with a gibbering rictus, soon to be British prime minister, Boris Johnson. This episode will cover the years from 1976 up until now in 2023, so there is a lot to get through…again!

Image Credit: Charles on his way to France from Nepal. AFP (https://mtr.cool/mkagnwgele)

24/12/2023

Our festive bonus episode is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. We merrily discuss crimes that have happened around the festive season, including Santa robbing a bank, spiking people's drinks and stealing Champagne. No wonder he's a jolly St. Nick!

Show notes can be found on our website - link in our bio.

Image credits: AI generated

24/12/2023

You can listen to a brand new episode of Felonious every Tuesday from 6am. Perfect for the morning commute! Why not start with episode 1 about Charles Sobhraj and let us know what you think.

Listen to Felonious on Spotify. Join Emma Hart and N**ia Islam as they discuss serial killers like the serpent Charles Sobhraj; bank heists; scandals; conmen including Robert Hendy-Freegard, aka The Puppetmaster and much, much more. Join them every Tuesday for a new episode. Follow on Instagram ...