REDRUM true crime

In the quiet, picture perfect town of Herndon, Virginia, everything about the Banfield family looked… normal. A beautiful home. Childhood sweethearts tuned into a long marriage. A young daughter. And two parents with demanding, high-pressure careers - one working in federal law enforcement, the other caring for critically ill children as a paediatric intensive care nurse.
But on the morning of February 24th, 2023, everything changes. A series of frantic 911 calls leads police to a scene inside the family home that is almost impossible to comprehend. A woman is found with devastating injuries. A man... a complete stranger... lies dead nearby. And in the basement, a four-year-old child is left completely unharmed.
At first glance, it looks like a home invasion gone terribly wrong. But as investigators begin to piece together what really happened inside that house, they uncover a trail that leads them far beyond the front door… into a hidden world of online identities, secret relationships, and messages that raise more questions than answers.
Because the man found inside the home that morning… wasn’t there by accident.
And the deeper detectives dig, the more the story begins to unravel. What starts as a seemingly random act of violence quickly becomes something far more complex... and far more deliberate.
In this episode, we break down the full timeline of events, the key people at the centre of the case, and the evidence that would ultimately lead to one of the most disturbing and calculated murder trials in recent memory.
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SOURCES: https://www.courthousenews.com/defense-attorney-in-double-murder-case-pushes-back-against-catfishing-theory/ https://www.fox5dc.com/news/banfield-murder-trial-defense-begin-presenting-case-wednesday https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/1qrflij/brendan_banfield_the_mcdonalds_defence/ https://people.com/au-pair-made-up-bdsm-murder-plot-defense-attorney-claims-trial-11896564 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/au-pairs-jailhouse-letters-plea-deal-questioned-ex-lovers-bdsm-double-rcna254059 https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/defense-in-virginia-fetish-sex-murder-case-challenges-catfish-theory/3954723/ https://news.sky.com/story/man-on-trial-in-virginia-accused-of-plotting-double-murder-with-brazilian-au-pair-13493962 https://www.courttv.com/news/va-v-brendan-banfield-au-pair-affair-murder-trial/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/02/02/banfield-au-pair-murders-verdict/ https://abc7.com/post/new-bodycam-video-revealed-trial-brendan-banfield-hospital-accused-killing-christine-amid-affair-au-pair/18493078/ https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/commonwealthattorney/sites/commonwealthattorney/files/Assets/press%20releases%20master/4.15.2024%20Indictments%20%28Smerk%20-%20Larazo%20Cruz%20-%20Peres%20Magalhaes%29.pdf Video footage of Herndon: Herndon, Virginia | Full Tour (4K) Living in Greater DC | Rick Hartunian
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In November of 2003, a school teacher in Charleston, South Carolina failed to show up for work. For most people, that might not raise immediate alarm... but this was Mary Lynn Witherspoon. Reliable. Dedicated. The kind of woman who wasn't someone to leave or disappear without some kind of explanation. Within hours, concern turned into something far more serious.
What began as a welfare check quickly unravelled into a scene investigators would later describe as deeply disturbing... signs of a struggle, a home in disarray, and a discovery that would leave an entire community in shock. But what makes this case even more chilling, is that the person responsible wasn’t a stranger lurking in the shadows. He had been in Mary Lynn’s life for years.
In fact, his connection to her stretched back 23 years, beginning when he was just a child. What started as unsettling behaviour slowly escalated over the years into something far darker.
There were warning signs. Repeated ones. Incidents that, in hindsight, paint a terrifying picture of obsession, fixation, and a complete disregard for boundaries.
This is a case that forces us to confront uncomfortable questions: How does a situation escalate from troubling behaviour to unimaginable violence?
As the investigation unfolds, what police uncover is not just a brutal crime, but a pattern. One that had been building for years, hidden in plain sight. And in the aftermath, Mary Lynn’s death would go on to change the law, highlighting critical failures in the system designed to protect victims, and ensuring her name would never be forgotten. This is the story of Mary Lynn Witherspoon.
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Sign up for the free REDRUM newsletter, full of all things true crime, as well as a run down of all the latest REDRUM cases. This will only ever come to you once a month... I'm no fan of spam. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W79H87S Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redrumtruecrime/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redrumtruecrime/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/redrumtruecrime You can email me: [email protected] COOKIES to look! : https://www.instagram.com/thiccbakess/ SHOP MERCH: redrumtruecrime.myshopify.com Podcast versions of all episodes if you prefer to listen on the go: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FCoeRZQeDkEJ5i8bGuFpy?si=ec5c7c4c945c4952 If you're able, please support me on Patreon/buymeacoffee/YouTube membership to continue bringing REDRUM content to YouTube. Thanks, Grace x Patreon monthly subscription- www.patreon.com/redrumtruecrime A one off donation- www.buymeacoffee.com/redrumhumans Youtube monthly membership levels- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGzDaluex7D_hPe7exgKhQ/join Thanks, Grace x
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On a hot Australian summer’s day in January 1965, two teenage girls set out for a trip to Wanda Beach, expecting maybe some sun, some sand, and time with a few siblings. But somewhere between the shoreline and the dunes, something happened. A Person. Someone watching. Someone waiting. What followed would become one of Australia’s most haunting and enduring criminal cases.
In this episode, we unravel the timeline of that day, piece by piece from the girls’ final movements to the disturbing discoveries that sent shockwaves through the country.
As the investigation unfolded, hundreds of individuals were questioned, and various suspects emerged. Some names would come up again and again, and in this episode, I'll take you through each of them.
I outline the evidence, the missed opportunities, and the fragments that may mean something IMPORTANT. Join me, and let me know your thoughts.

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SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanda_Beach_murders
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-27/fresh-dna-clue-in-wanda-beach-cold-case/3855202
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-12/wanda-beach-murder-anniversary-marianne-and-christine-killer/104795602
https://unsolvedx.com/criminology-forensics/wanda-beach-murder
https://www.funtrivia.com/quiz/people/the-mystery-of-the-wanda-beach-murders-343407.html
https://7news.com.au/original-fyi/crime-story-investigator/the-snapshot-killer-inside-christopher-wilders-murderous-spree-across-two-countries-c-638367
https://www.9news.com.au/national/dna-evidence-found-on-wanda-beach-victim/a272ee11-d2e3-49b9-ba8f-86599ad29d9f
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2GytmvJ5T6cOD9JD55OeCc?si=b19c122623bd4cfb
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-27/dna-advances-may-solve-cold-case-murders/3855916
https://cronullasanddunes.blogspot.com/2009/03/wanda-beach-murders.html
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/99396-wanda-beach-murders-ian-ross-interviews-detective
https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/1355040
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128654748
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/99096-nine-news-wanda-beach-murders
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/crime/investigators-name-beauty-queen-killer-christopher-wilder-as-wanda-beach-murderer/news-story/848a75bf9abacb1e0bd7d32202ae0aae
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ED9yBQ9LW3CID5EUn20KN?si=ec0df7f4df4f469a
https://www.nfsa.gov.au/stories/articles/true-crime-mysteries-wanda-beach-and-beaumont-kids
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-12/wanda-beach-murder-anniversary-marianne-and-christine-killer/104795602
https://www.neighbourhoodmedia.com.au/post/cronulla-true-crime-the-wanda-beach-murders-mystery
https://library.mackay.qld.gov.au/Montage/Work.aspx?b=R0000598830
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In June 1998, 11 year old Wesley Neailey left his home in Newcastle and cycled off to meet someone he believed he could trust. For Wesley’s family, it was supposed to be a normal afternoon. But when he didn’t come home, panic quickly set in. A missing child search began across the city... and what investigators would eventually uncover would shock the entire community. The person Wesley had been taken by was Dominic McKilligan, an adult who lived nearby. What most people didn’t realise at the time was that Dominic already had a deeply troubling past. Just months earlier, he had been released from a young offenders’ institution after committing a series of assaults against young boys. Despite those warnings, he was now living in this new community - close enough to cross paths with Wesley. On the day Wesley disappeared, he was lured by Dominic to his home. Inside his garage on Wingrove Road, the situation turned violent. For weeks, the case remained a mystery. Posters went up across Newcastle. Searches were carried out across fields and streets as Wesley’s family pleaded for information about where their son might be. As detectives pieced together what had happened, the case raised deeply troubling questions... not just about the crime itself, but about how someone already known to pose a serious risk to children had been able to get close enough to take another young life. For Wesley’s family, the loss was unimaginable. And for the wider public, the case would become a haunting reminder of the consequences when dangerous warnings are missed. REDRUM questionnaire to tell me about you: https://redrumtruecrime.lnk.to/feedback Sign up for the free REDRUM newsletter, full of all things true crime, as well as a run down of all the latest REDRUM cases. This will only ever come to you once a month... I'm no fan of spam. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W79H87S Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redrumtruecrime/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redrumtruecrime/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/redrumtruecrime You can email me: [email protected] COOKIES to look! : https://www.instagram.com/thiccbakess/ SHOP MERCH: redrumtruecrime.myshopify.com Podcast versions of all episodes if you prefer to listen on the go: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FCoeRZQeDkEJ5i8bGuFpy?si=ec5c7c4c945c4952 If you're able, please support me on Patreon/buymeacoffee/YouTube membership to continue bringing REDRUM content to YouTube. Thanks, Grace x Patreon monthly subscription- www.patreon.com/redrumtruecrime A one off donation- www.buymeacoffee.com/redrumhumans Youtube monthly membership levels- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGzDaluex7D_hPe7exgKhQ/join Thanks, Grace x
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In the early hours of July 14th, 1966, police were called to a quiet townhouse on Chicago’s South Side. Inside lived a group of student nurses- young women who had moved to the city to train at South Chicago Community Hospital, sharing the home while they studied, worked long shifts, and built lives dedicated to caring for others.
But that morning, the house was eerily silent...
Inside, investigators would uncover one of the most shocking mass murders in American history.
8 young nurses had been brutally killed over the course of a single night. The crime scene was chaotic... But even more incredible was one detail investigators discovered later.
Somehow… one woman inside that house had survived.
For hours, she had hidden silently, under one of the beds. And the testimony she would eventually give would become the key to identifying the man responsible.
The suspect who emerged would soon become one of the most infamous killers in American criminal history: Richard B. Speck.
But as the investigation unfolded, disturbing details about that night began to surface... including what Richard claimed happened inside the house, and the version of events he would later give from prison decades later...

Grace recommends: SIFT the baking book
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