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Mind of a Monster: The Hollywood Ripper — True Crime
Mind of a Monster: The Hollywood Ripper

Across the 2000s, under the shimmering lights of Hollywood, a murderer lay in wait. Watching, waiting and stalking his young and beautiful female neighbors, Michael Gargiulo bided his time until his opportune moment arrived – while they were sleeping. Breaking into their safe havens – their homes – he butchered his victims and then moved to a new location in tinsel town to find his next target. 

Across six episodes, criminal psychologist Dr. Michelle Ward talks with friends and acquaintances of Michael Gargiulo, investigators, experts and attorneys from the case, all to uncover the twisted world of The Hollywood Ripper. 

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Copyright: © Discovery or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All rights reserved.

Latest Episodes:

S7 Ep.2: The Angel of Death Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Kristen Gilbert has had her first taste in what it’s like to harm someone in her care. Her thirst grows when the newlywed mom gets her first nursing job at the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Massachusetts. It's a hospital filled with vulnerable patients giving her the opportunity to test the limits of her medical power of controlling life and death with access to all sorts of powerful chemicals.

Dr. Michelle Ward explores how Kristen Gilbert commits her first kills to gain attention from her colleagues and secret lover, who are unaware that she is responsible for the patient’s death.

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S7 Ep.1: Kristen Gilbert  Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

Season seven of Mind of a Monster begins in the picturesque town of Groton, Massachusetts where Kristen Gilbert is raised.  From an early age, Kristen begins to spin concerning and elaborate lies to garner attention. In her young adulthood, an admirable path into healthcare is chosen by Kristen but during her training years, she begins to practice power over those in her care starting with a young disabled boy and takes advantage of his vulnerable state.   

Speaking to experts and detectives, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates the pivotal moment that saw Kristen Gilbert shift from troubled child to dangerous young woman. 

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Introducing Mind of a Monster: The Killer Nurse Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

1990s Northampton, Massachusetts: a picturesque city known for being home to one of the largest Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the US. It's the last place anyone would imagine a serial killer to walk the hallways, but the very person responsible for keeping these war heroes alive, their nurse, is secretly killing them.

In this 6-part series, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates the case of one of the US's most prolific, but not widely known, serial killers. She'll talk to families of the victims, colleagues of the perpetrator, criminology experts and detectives from the case, uncovering testimonies and confessions, trial transcripts and news reports, all to reveal who was responsible for the rise in deaths on Ward C.

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Mind of a Monster Returns - The Case of Kristen Gilbert Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

On September 23rd, Dr. Michelle Ward returns for another season, and this time she's covering serial killer Kristen Gilbert. From 1989 to 1995, nurse Kristen Gilbert claimed the lives of 4 patients. Across six episodes, criminal psychologist Dr. Michelle Ward consults with detectives, victim’s families, and witnesses to investigate her life and crimes on Ward C. Episode 1 releases September 23rd.

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S6 Ep.7: They Bleed Like Everyone Else Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

We bring the series to a close with a special episode dedicated to the story of Cindy Paulson, the 17-year-old sex worker who turned the entire Hansen case around. In 40 years, Cindy has never spoken in public about her experience. Now we fly to meet her for an exclusive interview. We talk about her childhood and what led her into sex work, we hear her side of Hansen’s attack and the police’s subsequent negligence. We learn how she began to trust Glenn Flothe, and where she disappeared to. We end on the impact these events had on her life.

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S6 Ep. 6: Breaking the Unfortunate Bond Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

Robert Hansen meets with the prosecution, and the true extent of his crimes becomes apparent, surprising even his defense lawyers. But he doesn't remember any of his victims' names. What follows is the painstaking recovery of bodies and the attempts to identify them. Dr. Michelle Ward revisits the story of Delynn Frey and tells of her family's heartache as the wait to identify her body stretches into years. Two other unidentified victims' stories take us to the present day, and the cold case investigators vow to give them back their names.

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S6 Ep.5: What Don't We Know? Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

On a fall day in 1983, the police tear apart Robert Hansen’s home in search of evidence connecting him to the murders of two dancers, but all they’ve found is a few flight maps. In an interview room across town, Sergeant Glenn Flothe has his man in front of him, but he’s telling the same old stories. However, as the search turns and Flothe starts to build a concrete case, his key witness, 17-year-old sex worker Cindy Paulsen, disappears into the Anchorage nightlife scene. Hansen has slipped through their net countless times before. Will this be the last?

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S6 Ep.4: Your Job Is To Protect and Serve Jan 30, 2024

Show notes

In 1983, another woman’s body is found in the sand banks of the Knik River. The police can no longer deny there is a serial killer at work. Detective Glenn Flothe takes on the case at the Alaska State Troopers and realizes it is much bigger than he ever imagined. He painstakingly tracks down further survivors of the man terrorizing Anchorage, including former dancer Christy Hayes, who speaks publicly for the first time about her abduction and escape. Meanwhile, Flothe narrows in on his suspect as Detective Maxine Farrell arrives to aid the investigation.

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S6 Ep.3: Robert C. Hansen vs. The World Jan 23, 2024

Show notes

Superiors at the Anchorage Police Department shrug off sex worker Cindy Paulson’s accusations of rape and kidnapping. Still, Patrol Cop Gregg Baker thinks he knows who is responsible and will not let it lie. In this episode, Dr. Michelle Ward and Criminal Profiler Brent Turvey dive deep into the backstory of Gregg’s main suspect. What can his current life in Anchorage and his distant past in Pocahontas, Iowa, tell us about him and the likelihood that he is involved with the cases of the missing dancers?

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S6 Ep.2: There Were Stuffed Animals Everywhere Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

Years pass, and more young women disappear from Anchorage’s notorious 4th Avenue strip. Dr. Michelle Ward delves into their unsettled backstories and learns that Anchorage may not be a safe place, but when you want to run away, Alaska is about the furthest place you can go. Then a young girl, just 17, is found handcuffed and bruised running down the street. Could this be related to Detective Maxine Farrell’s missing dancers? Dr. Michelle Ward uncovers audio interviews and looks into the botched police investigation that lets the attacker slip through their fingers.

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