True Crime

Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast

The Official Podcast of Ray William Johnson, storyteller and comedian. Tune in for the best stories of True Crime and Pop Culture.

Latest Episodes:

She's Too Hot To Be a Criminal? // The Laren Sims Murder Story Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Laren Sims utilized at least 38 aliases to execute various fraud and grand theft schemes. She met and married wealthy personal injury attorney Larry McNabney, later embezzling money from his firm. In 2001, Sims and her friend, law firm secretary Sarah Dutra, fatally poisoned McNabney with a lethal dose of horse tranquilizer

These Strippers Are in Big Trouble // The Barbie Bandits Story Oct 21, 2026

Show notes

In 2007, 19-year-old former college tennis player Heather Johnston gained international notoriety alongside her roommate, Ashley Miller, when they were dubbed the "Barbie Bandits" after being caught on surveillance footage laughing in sunglasses during a $11,000 heist at a Bank of America branch inside an Acworth, Georgia grocery store.

She Was Faking The Whole Thing // The Sharee Miller Murder Story Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Sharee Miller was convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy in 2000 for orchestrating what became known as the internet’s first highly publicized murder trial. Living in Michigan with her husband, Bruce Miller, Sharee engaged in an intense online affair with a former Missouri police officer, Jerry Cassaday.

He Ate Rats And Frogs To Survive // The Dieter Dengler Survival Story Oct 19, 2026

Show notes

Dieter Dengler was a German-born U.S. Navy pilot who became one of the few American servicemen to successfully escape enemy captivity during the Vietnam War. After fulfilling his childhood dream of flying by immigrating to the United States and joining the Navy, Dengler's A-1 Skyraider was shot down over Laos in February 1966.

These Evil Women Kill Their Men - A Ray William Johnson Compilation Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

A True Story compilation of women who killed their partners

She Lied To Put Her Boyfriend in Prison // The Laverne Pavlinac Story Oct 17, 2026

Show notes

The Laverne Pavlinac story is a bizarre case of a false confession that derailed a murder investigation and allowed a serial killer to remain free. In 1990, following the murder of 23-year-old Taunja Bennett in Portland, Oregon, 57-year-old Pavlinac concocted a detailed lie to frame her abusive boyfriend, John Sosnovske, as a desperate way to get him out of her life. She eventually implicated herself as an accomplice, leading to both of them being convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1991, despite Pavlinac recanting her story at trial. Because police closed the case based on her fabrications, the real perpetrator—the notorious "Happy Face Killer" Keith Hunter Jesperson- went undetected and murdered at least seven more women over the next several years.

WTF? He Tased a Librarian For $12,000,000 Dollars // The Transylvania Book Heist Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

The 2004 Transylvania University book heist was an audacious, movie-inspired plot orchestrated by four affluent Kentucky college students- Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk, and Chas Allen- who attempted to steal over $5 million worth of rare books from the university's Special Collections Library.

He's Cheating on His Wife With a Teen // The Hamish McLaren Scandal Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Hamish McLaren (born Hamish Watson) is a notorious Australian serial fraudster and con artist often dubbed the "Bondi Swindler" or "Australia's King Con". Over a deceptive career spanning three decades and four continents, he is estimated to have scammed between $60 million and $70 million globally from victims in Australia, the US, Canada, Britain, and Hong Kong.

This Woman is a Liar // The Brittany Norwood Murder Story Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

Brittany Norwood is a former Lululemon employee convicted of the brutal 2011 murder of her coworker, Jayna Murray, inside a Bethesda, Maryland retail store.

She Should Be Dead // The Christa Pike Story Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Christa Pike is an American convicted murderer who became one of the youngest women in modern U.S. history to be sentenced to death. In 1995, Pike, her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, and an accomplice lured their classmate Colleen Slemmer into a secluded wooded area in Knoxville, Tennessee, where they murdered her.

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