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Crime Adjacent

OK, profilers. Can you solve an unsolvable murder?

Join host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick live on stage for Crime Adjacent, the world’s biggest true crime podcast. Every week, at shows across the country, Chase reopens the most haunting, enduring mysteries from the grim underbelly of American true crime and challenges you to solve them.

“An atmospheric and immersive podcast where true crime and psychological thrillers intersect.” — Earworthy

From the Zodiac to the Rest Stop Killer, the Michigan Nightstalker to the Cross Country Killer, each episode unfolds like a real investigation — like the whip smart, nerdy love child of Murder, She Wrote and War of the Worlds — and dares you to unravel the mystery and provide justice for those who need it most.

It looks like a true crime podcast. It sounds like a true crime podcast. But what happens when the cosmology of our escapist entertainment looks terrifyingly like our real world? That’s Crime Adjacent. It’s a fully scripted, intimate, locked-room mystery that pulls back the curtain on our social obsession with true crime and what this fascination with humanity’s darkest impulses says about … us.

“Crime Adjacent is redefining the true crime genre.” — Podcasting Today

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick, a former crime reporter turned contributor for NPR, The New York Times, and McSweeney’s. He uses degrees in sociology and gender studies from UC Berkeley, along with an obsession with criminal profiling, true crime, and Jessica Fletcher, to explore why people commit crimes, why we are enthralled with them, and who, ultimately, pays the price.

So listen closely, profilers. Because with every episode, a new crime is afoot and every detail matters.

It’s not crime. It’s Crime Adjacent.

New live shows every Wednesday from theaters across America.

Weekly live behind the scenes insights for Crime Adjacent insiders at Patreon — http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site — www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

Latest Episodes:

How serial killers get their names Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

The same thing that happened in California, in the 1980s, happened in Northern Michigan. Residents wondered: What do we call this guy?

In the beginning, he broke into cabins and rubbed women's feet while wearing a creepy Halloween clown mask. So he became known as the Clown Creeper.

But when he started to murder people, a new name emerged: the Nightstalker. Specifically, the Michigan Nightstalker, to distinguish him from two different serial killers operating in California who were both called the Nightstalker.

Whatever people called him, Sheriff Press knew she had to catch him, fast. And finally, she had a real name of the man behind it all.

This is part 15 of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A huge mistake Feb 25, 2026

Show notes

We had to get ahead of this guy. That was my thinking.

The clown creeper was breaking into cabins with impunity, and now he was in downtown Petoskey, where he was responsible for the murder of Allison Barnes and apparently tried to do the same thing to Ebony Aster just minutes later.

So my plan was simple. We would plant a decoy to lure him out of hiding.

It was the biggest mistake in this case.

This is part 14 of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A loud clue Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Just a few blocks from the Clinton Street house where Allison Barnes was murdered that Saturday, Realtor Ebony Aster was hosting her own open house on Lake Street.

But while she was getting ready, she heard something. Upstairs. That strange noise soon turned to pounding footsteps, and she knew, immediately, she had to get out of the house. Fast.

It turns out, these type of attacks on Realtors happen all the time. In Florida, from 2024 to 2025, a man would check out open homes hosted by women Realtors, and then, when they were alone, he would try to grab their feet.

Ebony was thinking about assaults like these, wondering who was upstairs. And then, the chase began.

This is part 13 of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A timeline for murder Feb 11, 2026

Show notes

Can you kill a person in five minutes? And then appear perfectly reasonable when the cops arrive?

These questions were floating through Sheriff Press's mind as she questioned Billy Barnes, who had just discovered his wife had been murdered.

Why, Press wondered, did it take him five whole minutes from the alleged discovery of her body until the time he called 911?

The more she dug into the story of Billy and Allison Barnes, the more she discovered reason after reason about why he might have killed her. And she wondered, was this the case of a local foot fetish creep escalating to murder, or yet one more horrible example of an enraged husband taking his anger out on the supposed "love of his life"?

This is part 12 of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who belongs in town? Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

As more and more cabins were broken into and more and more visitors were assaulted, or murdered, the town grappled with a sticky moral dilemma.

Who belongs? Who gets to call this place home, and who should be kept away?

The town boiled with debate and turmoil that Saturday. But as residents gathered inside the town hall to discuss these issues, the clown creeper was elsewhere. No longer content to remain at the lake, he moved to downtown at that very moment, sizing up his next murder victim.

This is the story of Allison Barnes.

This is part 11 of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new suspect Jan 28, 2026

Show notes

Best-selling author Aitana Ruiz heads to Walloon Lake every September to put the finishing touches on the latest book in her popular series Daggers and Wind. But 2024 was different.

Because on Saturday morning, September 28, she awoke close to daybreak with a man in a clown mask at the foot of her bed.

This man snapped a length of rope between his hands, whispering, "And now, the fun begins."

This is part ten of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Crimes of duress and sextortion Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

Can you get away with murder if someone is forcing you to do it?

This episode looks at crimes of duress and just how far some people force others to go on their behalf.

Because that is exactly what was happening in Petoskey in 2024, in the lead up to the murders that began in September.

This is part nine of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The worst town bully in the world Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

Someone was following me. At the diner, at the bookstore, the cafe, the town square. Wherever I went that day, the same day the clown struck again, the same man appeared behind me.

He was watching, waiting.

In the pedestrian tunnel that connects downtown Petoskey to the waterfront, he finally struck.

Get out of town, he said. Now.

Petoskey, Michigan, had been hit by a strange wave of crime since the beginning of 2024, and this man in front of me, threatening me, was just the latest.

Stop the investigation, he warned. Or else.

This is part eight of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sociology, clothes, and murder Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

Do you know about those fancy shoes with the red soles? How about that brand with the plaid design crawling over coats and purses? What does a belt with "G" on it denote, or "H"?

In the field of conspicuous consumption, these are what sociologists call loud signals of wealth.

But there are quiet signals as well, signals so subtle and obscure as to be noticed only by the truly, impossibly rich -- those who don't even need fancy brands to signal their wealth.

So what does this have to do with murder? Or this case?

Everything. Because Sheriff Press and Deputy Swanson found a coat so obscenely expensive in the cramped, studio apartment of their main suspect that they wondered: Could this be the final piece of evidence that nails the clown creeper once and for all?

This is part seven of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The punch heard round the world Dec 31, 2025

Show notes

United States Olympic Rugby gold medalist Aubrey Ertz went to Walloon Lake for a short vacation and a team-building retreat. The 2028 Olympics are fast approaching, and Ertz wanted to set the goals for the team.

But on Friday morning, September 27, 2024, she woke to a horrible surprise. Someone was in her room, rubbing her feet.

And so she did what she normally does in situations like this: Punch first and ask questions later.

It turns out, this punch provided yet another important clue in this case.

This is part six of the 8th season of Crime Adjacent: the untold story of the Michigan Nightstalker.

What happens if your favorite character jumps off the page and starts a podcast? That’s Crime Adjacent, the never-ending true crime thriller told weekly.

With the help of devoted listeners and true crime fans, the international #1 smash hit Crime Adjacent podcast team has already captured the Bay Area's Rest Stop Killer in 2023, stopped the Mercy Street Butcher in 2019, and exposed the AmaniCorp conspiracy in 2024.

But now, the darkest chapter begins, as host and serial killer survivor Chase Patrick is pulled into the case of the Michigan Nightstalker.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Weekly live BTS videos and our True Crime College profiling group at Patreon -- http://www.patreon.com/crimeadjacent

Instagram -- https://www.instagram.com/crimeadjacent

Web site -- www.crimeadjacent.com

Crime Adjacent is written and performed by Mike Adamick.

It is produced & edited by Multitude.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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