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:

This Cartoonist Turned To Crimes - The Duck Tales Bandit Oct 04, 2025

Show notes

Arno Funke, known by his alias "Dagobert," was a German extortionist who gained notoriety in the late 1980s and early 1990s for his inventive and non-violent blackmail schemes. A failed cartoonist and sign painter, Funke turned to crime in 1988, planting bombs in luxury department stores in Berlin and demanding ransoms.

NSYNC Got Scammed - The Lou Pearlman Story Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Lou Pearlman was a music producer and manager who rose to prominence in the 1990s by creating and managing successful boy bands such as the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. However, behind his musical empire lay one of the largest and longest-running Ponzi schemes in U.S. history.

Mushrooms Drove Him INSANE - The Thomas Chan Story Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

Thomas Chan is a Canadian man from Peterborough, Ontario, who was convicted in 2018 for the 2015 stabbing death of his father, Dr. Andrew Chan, and the assault of his father's partner, Lynn Witteveen. The incident occurred after Thomas consumed a large quantity of magic mushrooms and meditated to enhance the hallucinatory effects.

Everyone LOVES This Criminal - The Jan-Erik Olsson Story Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

Jan-Erik Olsson was a Swedish convict who, on August 23, 1973, attempted to rob the Kreditbanken in Stockholm's Norrmalmstorg Square. During the robbery, he took four bank employees hostage and demanded the release of his former cellmate, Clark Olofsson, who was serving a prison sentence at the time. The Swedish authorities agreed to his demand, and Olofsson was brought to the bank to assist in negotiations. The hostage situation lasted for six days, during which the hostages developed an unexpected bond with their captors, a phenomenon that was later termed Stockholm syndrome.

He Went Insane and Started Shooting - The Micah Xavier Johnson Story Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson, a 25-year-old Army Reserve veteran, carried out a sniper attack during a protest in Dallas, Texas, resulting in the deaths of five police officers and injuries to nine others.

This Creepy Doctor Finally Got Caught - The Neil Hopper Story Sep 28, 2025

Show notes

Neil Hopper, a 49-year-old former NHS vascular surgeon from Truro, Cornwall, was sentenced to 32 months in prison after admitting to self-inflicting injuries that led to the amputation of both his legs. In 2019 Hopper used dry ice to damage his legs, necessitating their removal. He then falsely claimed to insurers that his amputations were due to sepsis, resulting in fraudulent payouts.

He Found a Real Life Infinite Money Glitch - The Dan Saunders Story Sep 27, 2025

Show notes

In 2011, Dan Saunders, a 29-year-old bartender from Wangaratta, Australia, discovered a glitch in the National Australia Bank's ATM system that allowed him to withdraw money beyond his account balance.

The Worst Rock Band In History - The Story of The Shaggs Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

The Shaggs were a rock band formed in 1965 by sisters Dorothy ("Dot"), Betty, and Helen Wiggin in Fremont, New Hampshire. Their father, Austin Wiggin Jr., believing his mother's palm reading had foretold their musical success, insisted they form a band. Despite lacking musical training or interest, the sisters practiced daily under his strict supervision. In 1969, they recorded their only album, Philosophy of the World, characterized by off-key vocals, erratic rhythms, and unconventional melodies. Initially dismissed, the album gained cult status in the 1980s, praised for its raw authenticity.

She Keeps Sleeping With The Prisoners - The Dannemora Prison Escape Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

The 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape was a high-profile jailbreak in which two convicted murderers, Richard Matt and David Sweat, escaped from a maximum-security prison in Dannemora, New York. On June 6, 2015, the inmates used power tools to cut through the backs of their cells, accessed a network of tunnels, and emerged through a manhole cover approximately 500 feet outside the prison walls. Their escape was facilitated by Joyce Mitchell, a prison seamstress who smuggled in tools and had planned to assist them in their getaway.

The Million Dollar Coupon Scam - The Robin Ramirez Story Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

The Robin Ramirez coupon scam was a large-scale counterfeit coupon operation based in Phoenix, Arizona, led by Robin Ramirez and her associates.

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