The Trial: USA

Latest Episodes:

Chris Watts Unmasked Pt.4 - Mind of a Murderer: How an Apparent Family Man Became a Monster Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

Murderer Chris Watts could have divorced his wife. He could have moved on to the bachelor existence he was hiding from her in the months before her 2018 death.

Instead, he strangled her in their home and smothered their preschool-aged daughters Bella and Celeste.

It defied logic and it was cruel beyond imagination.

In the final episode of this series, Crime Desk reporter Rachel Sharp joins Kayla Brantley to break down her reporting on Chris Watts’s possible thinking. Rachel spoke to forensic psychologist Dr.Gary Brucato and behavior analyst Scott Rouse to better understand Watts’s behaviors before and after he killed his family.

The entire Chris Watts Unmasked series is available right now, ad free, to crime desk subscribers. Subscribe today for ad-free listening, early access to new shows, exclusive bonus episodes and complete access to our true-crime podcast collection. Visit plus.thecrimedesk.com/the-trial-usa for more information.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producers: Shayna Jacobs and Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

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

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

Chris Watts Unmasked Pt.3 - Delusions and Denials: The Disgraceful ‘Good Guy’ Act Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

Chris Watts lives in another reality.

In his mind, he’s a good man. He charms people with a friendly demeanor and is liked by fellow prison inmates. As part of that, he claims to be deeply religious and has tried to blame his unspeakable crimes on other people or spiritual forces.

Watts strangled his wife Shannan and then, one by one, smothered each of his two young daughters — Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, on Aug. 13, 2018. He also ended the life of an unborn son, who would have been called Nico.

Yet by all accounts, Watts has never shed a tear or expressed remorse.

In this episode The Trial: USA’s Kayla Brantley delves into the delusional thinking of family annihilator Chris Watts and how he has attempted to reassign blame for his revolting acts, joined by Crime Desk reporters Rachel Sharp, Steve Helling and Luke Kenton.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producers: Shayna Jacobs and Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

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

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

Chris Watts Unmasked Pt.2 - Romance and Bible Study: The Prison Life of a Family Annihilator Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

The murders made him famous. Then came a tidal wave of female admiration.

Chris Watts has a flourishing love life behind bars at the Dodge Correctional Facility in Wisconsin in spite of the unspeakable acts he committed against his family in 2018. He’s serving multiple life sentences for the murders of his wife Shannan, their daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, and his unborn son Nico.

The confessed murderer was driven by a desire to be clear of his suburban dad's existence.

Chris Watts’s daughters adored him as depicted in a large collection of home videos. Bella even joyfully performed a song from her car seat referring to him as “a hero.”

Yet there are a number of women clamoring for his attention including one who left her husband and uprooted her life to be one of Watts’s girlfriends.

The Trial: USA’s Kayla Brantley speaks to Crime Desk reporters Steve Helling, Ruth Bashinsky and Rachel Sharp about the women who fawn over Watts and enable his deranged self-image.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producers: Shayna Jacobs and Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

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

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

Chris Watts Unmasked Pt.1 - Sex, Secrets and Lies: How Watts Betrayed Wife Before Killings Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

The life that Chris and Shannan Watts had was slipping away.

The doting wife and mom fought to keep her family together. The couple was expecting another child — a son, Nico — and they had two happy and energetic little girls already.

As Shannan tried to keep her family together, her anxiety and fears intensified. Her husband had been acting strangely. She suspected an affair but he denied it as he went through the motions of his life as a suburban husband and father.

In actuality, Chris Watts had become a stranger.

This installment of The Trial: USA’s special series on Chris Watts explores his life of cheating, dating app activity and fabrications leading up to the point where he murdered his entire family on Aug. 13, 2018 — nearly eight years ago.

The couple’s children, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, became victims in one of the most heartbreaking and inexplicable domestic crimes in recent memory.

Along with their mother, the girls were callously killed by Chris Watts, who by all accounts has exhibited no remorse since it happened. Their remains were dumped in industrial oil tanks at a site belonging to Watts’s company. Shannan was discarded in a surrounding field.

You’ll hear from our interview with Amanda McMahon, who said she met Watts on Tinder and carried on a casual relationship with him for months beginning the spring of 2017.

We also explore his steamy romance with Nichol Kessinger, a co-worker who Watts was enamored with in the lead up to the killings.

The Trial: USA’s Kayla Brantley dives deep into Chris Watts’s sordid hidden life before he annihilated his family, joined by Crime Desk reporters Luke Kenton, Steve Helling and Rachel Sharp.

The entire Chris Watts Unmasked series is available right now, ad free, to crime desk subscribers. Subscribe today for ad-free listening, early access to new shows, exclusive bonus episodes and complete access to our true-crime podcast collection. Visit plus.thecrimedesk.com/the-trial-usa for more information.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producers: Shayna Jacobs and Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.

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

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

Melissa Barthelemy's Sister On Long Wait to Face ‘Repulsive Monster’ In Court Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Melissa Barthelemy went missing in 2009 when her doting kid sister Amanda Funderburg was just 15.

Amid a desperate search, Amanda began getting calls from Melissa's phone. The teen hoped it was good sign — that Melissa resurfaced or that someone had information.

Instead, it was the first of a series of calls from a deranged stranger who bragged about killing and sexually assaulting the 24-year-old Buffalo native.

The caller refused Amanda's pleas to share her sister's location. Amanda spent years dreading the possibility that the "repulsive monster" would reemerge.

Seventeen years after the first call, Amanda got to face Rex Heuermann in court. He was finally in custody and no longer a threat to Melissa’s family or anyone else.

Heuermann is serving more than three life sentences after pleading guilty in connection to eight murders. Investigators are trying to determine if he’s responsible for additional killings.

On this week’s The Trial: USA, Funderburg speaks to Daily Mail reporters Ruth Bashinsky and Rachel Sharp about her sister, her family’s struggle and what Heuermann deserves.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

'I Don't Think He Knows How To Be Sorry': A Sit Down With Gilgo Victim's Family Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

Rex Heuermann’s victims got a measure of justice last month, but the pain and the questions linger for their families. The deranged former architect spent decades murdering sex workers and callously dumping their brutalized remains around Gilgo Beach, Long Island.

Heuermann, 62, was sentenced last month to more than three life sentences in prison for eight murders. He was captured in 2023 by investigators who stealthily captured him on a midtown Manhattan street after collecting DNA evidence and tracking his activities.

Anguished relatives of the young women he killed finally had the chance to address Heuermann at his June 17 sentencing. They shared with the world the torment of living without answers for years.

This week on The Trial: USA, we bring you a special interview from Daily Mail reporters Rachel Sharp and Ruth Bashinsky with the family of Gilgo Beach victim Megan Waterman, a 22-year-old Maine resident who was killed in 2010.

Elizabeth Meserve was among a group of victim relatives who doggedly pushed law enforcement to solve the Gilgo Beach case. She’s joined today by her niece, Liliana Waterman. Liliana is Megan’s daughter who was just 3 years old when her mom disappeared.

In this episode, you’ll hear their story of pain and perseverance — and what it was like to finally see Heuermann face consequences.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

How Alex Murdaugh's Second Murder Trial Is Shaping Up Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

It’s another chance for Alex Murdaugh to try to prove he did not callously gun down his wife and youngest son.

Murdaugh was previously convicted of fatally shooting Maggie and Paul Murdaugh in a desolate area of his family’s sprawling South Carolina property.

The wealthy Lowcountry lawyer got a reprieve in May when the state’s top court found an elected clerk who managed the trial had inappropriate dealings with jurors.

Murdaugh was in court last week for the first time since that ruling.

On this episode, the Daily Mail’s Rachel Sharp joins The Trial: USA host Kayla Brantley to break down what happened in court and what may be next.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

Chainsaw, Body Bag And Inflatable Pool: How D4vd's Alleged Murder Materials And Other Evidence May Play Into Key Hearing Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

They were materials that prosecutors say were procured for a sole purpose: murder.

In this episode, we’re joined by the Daily Mail’s West Coast News Editor Marjorie Hernandez to discuss the upcoming preliminary hearing in the Los Angeles district attorney’s case against singer D4VD, or David Anthony Burke.

Hernandez details what prosecutors have revealed so far, including that the young music artist made online purchases for the alleged purpose of mutilating 14-year-old Celeste Rivas and concealing the grisly crime. D4Vd has pleaded not guilty.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com
WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial
Presenter: Kayla Brantley
Producers: Shayna Jacobs and Lucy Robson
Editor: Chelsey Moore
Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham
Executive Producer: Jamie East

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

Top Cop Who Revamped Gilgo Beach 'Demon' Probe Reflects On Rex Heurmann And Cracking The Case Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

“A demon that walks among us.”

That’s what former Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said about Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heurmann during an announcement of the elusive suspect’s arrest in 2023.

Harrison worked on numerous headline-grabbing investigations over a 30-year career in the NYPD as an investigator and top executive but he may best be known for orchestrating the law enforcement task force that finally led to Heurmann’s capture.

In a Long Island courtroom last week, Heurmann received multiple life sentences without the option of parole after pleading guilty in April. There was no apology to offer the still-shaken family members who finally had a chance to share their accounts of devastation and torment with Heurmann.

Harrison joins The Trial: USA this week with a behind-the-scenes account of the effort to close one of New York’s most memorable crime investigations. He recently authored “The Commissioner: From Street Cop to Top Cop in the NYPD, and the Inside Story of the Hunt for the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer.”

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com
WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial USA
Presenter: Kayla Brantley
Producers: Shayna Jacobs and Lucy Robson
Editor: Chelsey Moore
Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham
Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

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

Karmelo Anthony Trial Deep-Dive: Part 2 Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

Karmelo Anthony’s lethal force against Austin Metcalf during a 2025 teenage track meet scuffle was not justified.

That was the finding of the Texas jury in Anthony’s case last week. The same panel sentenced the 19-year-old to 35 years in prison for murder.

Yet the conviction remains a topic of intense interest and controversy. It has been framed as a racial injustice by Anthony’s supporters despite testimony from a number of witnesses that he was not in danger.

Metcalf, 17, another local athlete, died for nothing and the verdict was deserved, others say.

In this episode, James Stainton, a district attorney from another county in the greater Dallas area, breaks down the law and how it applies.

Stainton explains to The Trial: USA’s Kayla Brantley that the jury followed the law.

Tune in for this in-depth analysis on Anthony’s case.

Email us: thetrial@dailymail.com

WhatsApp us: +44 7796 657512 Start your message with Trial

Presenter: Kayla Brantley

Producer: Shayna Jacobs

Editor: Sam Morris

Creative Director: Caroline Cheetham

Executive Producer: Jamie East

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.