Blood Ties Podcast

Latest Episodes:

S14 Ep6: The Wests Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Fred and Rosemary West looked like an ordinary couple. A home in Gloucester. A family. A life that, from the outside, seemed unremarkable. But inside 25 Cromwell Street, a house later dubbed the House of Horrors, unimaginable crimes were unfolding.

Together, they tortured, abused, and murdered young women, including members of their own family. Their victims were buried beneath the house, hidden in plain sight while the world carried on around them.

In this episode, Geoffrey and Molly Wansell unravel the disturbing partnership at the heart of these crimes. A relationship built on control, cruelty, and silence.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S14 Ep5: The Killer Landlady Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

Dorothea Puente looked like the perfect landlady. Warm. Trustworthy. Harmless. But behind the doors of her Sacramento boarding house lurked something far darker.

Throughout the 1980s, she preyed on the elderly and mentally disabled, offering shelter before poisoning them, burying their bodies in her garden, and cashing their Social Security checks.

For years, she got away with it.

Until one disappearance exposed a chilling truth: this was not a home, it was a graveyard.

Even more disturbing, she was only convicted of three murders, leaving the full scale of her crimes unresolved.

This episode uncovers a story of manipulation, greed, and cold blooded calculation.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S14 Ep4: Steve Wright: The Suffolk Strangler Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

Steve Wright was already one of Britain’s most notorious killers. Known as the Suffolk Strangler, he was given a whole life sentence in 2008 for murdering five women in Ipswich. The case shocked the nation and left lasting scars on a community that had felt safe.

But the story did not end there.

In 2026, Wright admitted to the murder of seventeen year old Victoria Hall, a crime that had remained unsolved for nearly three decades. Her family had waited years for answers.

This episode of Blood Ties revisits the case. Six victims. One killer. And a truth that proves some stories are far darker than we first believe and asks whether justice can ever truly arrive when the past keeps returning again.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S14 Ep3: Valdo Calocane: A preventable tragedy? Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

In the early hours of a summer morning, a city that should have been asleep became the scene of something unthinkable.

On 13 June 2023, a series of violent attacks unfolded across Nottingham. What began as a quiet walk home for two students ended in tragedy. Minutes later, a school caretaker setting out for his day was killed, his van stolen and turned into a weapon. By the time it was over, three people had lost their lives and others were left fighting to recover.

At the centre of it all was Valdo Calocane. In court, the case would raise difficult and uncomfortable questions about mental health, responsibility and justice. His eventual plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility would divide opinion and leave families searching for answers.

In this episode of Blood Ties, Geoffrey and Molly look beyond the headlines to understand how a single morning can ripple through generations. Because when violence strikes so close to home, the impact does not end at the scene. It lives on in the people, the memories and the ties that bind them.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S14 Ep2: The Grindr Killer: Four young men, a web of lies, and a predator hiding in plain sight Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Blood Ties, Geoffrey and Molly Wansell examine the chilling case of Stephen Port, a serial killer who hid in plain sight in modern London.

On the surface, Port seemed deeply unremarkable. A softly spoken bus depot chef who kept largely to himself, he lived a quiet, almost invisible life. He rarely socialised, spending most of his time alone in his flat, trawling internet dating sites and apps such as Grindr. To the few who knew him, he appeared awkward, isolated and strange but hardly dangerous.

The truth was far more sinister.

In this gripping episode, Geoffrey and Molly unravel how Stephen Port was able to operate in plain sight, the failures that allowed the killings to continue, and the devastating human cost of a case that shocked the nation.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S14 Ep1: Tony Dyce: The East London predator who thought he'd escaped Mar 30, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey and Molly Wansell examine one of the most shocking cold cases in East London history. A brutal triple murder that went unsolved for nearly three decades and a killer who believed he had got away with it forever.

In July 1982, 27 year old Norma Richards and her two young daughters were found murdered in their home in Dalston. The crime was savage, senseless and deeply disturbing. Yet despite a major investigation, the trail went cold. For 28 years the killer lived quietly among the public, convinced suspicion would never fall on him.

That man was Tony Dyce.

A sexual predator whose crimes remained hidden in plain sight until an extraordinary twist of fate brought the truth back into the light. The breakthrough did not come from a detective but from a journalist. Peter Law was researching the life of the late England footballer Laurie Cunningham when he began asking questions about Cunningham's brother and his partner, Norma Richards.

Those questions reopened old wounds and triggered a police cold case review. Detectives reexamined forensic evidence that had sat untouched for decades and what they found finally led them to Dyce. He was arrested in October and brought to justice for a crime that had haunted East London for a generation.

In this gripping episode, Geoffrey and Molly unravel how a killer hid in plain sight for nearly thirty years, how a chance line of journalistic inquiry reignited the investigation and how justice finally caught up with a man who believed he had beaten the system.

A story of brutality, persistence and the extraordinary moment when the past refuses to stay buried.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 14 Trail! Blood Ties is back! Mar 14, 2026

Show notes

Each week, father and daughter duo Geoffrey and Molly Wansell explore some of the most compelling true crime stories from around the world. Drawing on Geoffrey’s decades of experience as a crime writer and historian, and Molly’s sharp curiosity and insight, the pair unravel the human stories behind notorious cases, forgotten investigations, and crimes that shocked communities across continents.

From historic mysteries to modern criminal cases, Blood Ties looks beyond the headlines to examine motives, evidence, and the lives affected by crime.

New episodes every Monday, with a classic episode from the archive every Wednesday.

If you are fascinated by the psychology of crime and the stories behind the cases, join Geoffrey and Molly each week for a global journey into the darker side of human nature.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

A pod60 production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus Ep: Blood Ties meets Grace from Redrum Dec 29, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, with special guest Grace from Redrum, Geoffrey and Molly confront one of the most disturbing crimes in recent British history. The murder of Brianna Ghey. A 16 year old girl who trusted the wrong people and paid with her life.

On 11 February 2023, Brianna was lured to a park by someone she believed was a friend. What awaited her was not friendship, but a carefully planned act of extreme violence. Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both just 15 at the time, had planned the attack in advance. This was not a moment of rage. It was deliberate. It was cold. And it was brutal.

The court would later describe the crime as driven by sadistic tendencies, with transphobia playing a secondary role. That finding raises uncomfortable questions. About cruelty. About obsession with violence. And about how two teenagers came to see murder as something to rehearse, discuss, and finally carry out.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Featuring: Grace Cordell https://redrumtruecrime.lnk.to/listen

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus Ep: Blood Ties meets British Murders Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

Blood Ties bonus with a case that refuses to stay quiet. The murder of Bhim Kohli shocked a community and exposed uncomfortable questions about family loyalty power and silence. In this episode we are joined by Stuart Blues of British Murders to find out more.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Featuring: Stuart Blues https://www.britishmurders.com/

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S13 Ep 22: Hannibal the Cannibal Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Geoffrey and Molly Wansell confront Britain’s most chilling killer, Robert Maudsley, the man the tabloids dubbed Hannibal the Cannibal. Locked away in a glass cell beneath Wakefield Prison, Maudsley has spent decades in near-total isolation after a string of murders so brutal they shocked even hardened detectives. But who is the man behind the monster?

With Geoffrey’s trademark precision and Molly’s probing curiosity, Blood Ties digs into Maudsley’s tragic childhood, his descent into violence, and the media myth that turned him into a British bogeyman. Was he born evil or made by a system that failed him?

This is Blood Ties at its most provocative: a gripping, fearless look at one of Britain’s darkest souls and the uncomfortable truths that lie behind the nickname Hannibal the Cannibal.

CREDITS:

Presenters: Geoffrey and Molly Wansell

Producer: Peter Shevlin https://pod60.com/

Artwork: George Leigh

Music: Dan Wansell

CONTACT:

Twitter: @BloodTies_Pod

Instagram:@bloodtiespodcast

Email: bloodties.podcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloodtiespodcast

Support: patreon.com/bloodtiespodcast

Please complete our survey if you have time: http://bit.ly/bloodtiespodcast-survey