This is still me ❤️

I'll be honest with you, this wasn't the post I had planned for today. Jet lag got the better of me and I didn't have the brain capacity to write my original post. The true crime posts I usually write focus on unsolved cases and it's important to me that I give them the time and attention they deserve. Instead, I've prepared a list of some of the best true crime documentaries I have seen and I hope that I'll be back to normal for next week's post. ❤️ The Central Park Five I originally heard about this story when I watched the mini-series, When They See Us I was so moved by the story that I went on to watch the documentary, and both left me in tears. In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers were convicted of raping a white woman. They spent several years in prison before someone else confessed to the crime. Outcry A five-part series about a teenage high school football player sentenced to prison for the sexual assault of a four-year-old boy. This doc

Brianna Maitland disappeared within weeks after just 90 miles from where Maura Murray vanished. Who is Brianna Maitland Brianna was fun, spontaneous and very independent. She lived on a rural farm with her family until she moved out at age 17, and she also dropped out of high school. After some failed living arrangements, she eventually moved in with her friend Gillian and was continuing her education whilst working 2 jobs, one morning job and another evening job in the Black Lantern Inn. The disappearance On March 19th 2004, Brianna had breakfast and went shopping with her mum. During the time they were together, Brianna's mum noticed that she became distracted by something or someone outside the shop they were in. Brianna left, saying she would be right back and her mum eventually found her in the car park. Brianna's mum said she seemed tense, shaken & agitated and had to get home as she had work that evening. Her mum, knowing how fiercely private Brianna was,

Who is Maura Murray Maura Murray was a 21-year-old nursing student at the time of her disappearance. She had previously attended the prestigious West Point with her sister Julie and boyfriend Billy, before transferring to UMAS What Happened On February 9th 2004, Maura emailed her professors to say there had been a death in her family. This was a lie. Maura then packed up her things, enough for a few days away, withdrew almost all her cash from an ATM, went to a shop, bought a lot of alcohol and drove off in her car. She hadn’t told anyone, including her family, where she was going. 4 hours later, she crashed her car and was never seen again. Her phone, credit cards & backpack were also missing. The Accident According to the police report, at 7.27 pm on 09/02/04, a woman reported a car accident outside her house. A car was stuck in a snowbank, she called the police, adding that she could see a man smoking a cigarette outside the car. Around 3 minutes later a bus driver s

I first heard about this case on the Going West podcast Who is Rachel Cooke Rachel Cooke, a 19 Year Old from Georgetown Texas, attended Mesa Junior College in San Diego, California. In December 2001, she went home to Georgetown with her boyfriend Greg to visit her family for the holidays. What Happened After the holidays, Greg returned to San Diego and Rachel stayed to attend a family wedding. On the morning of 10th January 2002, Rachel’s sister went off to school, her parents went to work and Rachel prepared to go for a run, a 6 mile route she had run regularly for many years. Before her run, she spoke to Greg and said she would call him when she got back. Later that day, Rachel's father returned home early from work as they had planned to go shopping, so he was confused to find that Rachel was not at home, although her belongings, including her mobile phone and purse, were still there. He decided she must be at work, as she was going to do some shifts at a local restaurant wh

I heard about this case on the Trace Evidence podcast and it is so baffling that someone can just apparently vanish without a trace. Who is Brandon Swanson Brandon Swanson was a 19-year-old from Marshall, Minnesota who lived at home with his parents and sister, they were a close family. He was an avid reader, with a keen interest in science. He was also blind in his left eye. The disappearance On 13th May 2008, Brandon was coming to the end of his first year in college and made plans to celebrate with friends. He attended a small gathering at a house, where it is said that there was alcohol, however, Brandon did not appear to be drunk Around 10:30 pm, he left the gathering to drive to Canby, which is 30 miles away from Marshall, to visit a friend from school to say goodbye. It was said that there was a party at the house he went to and that he was seen to have a shot of whisky, but he didn't stay long, leaving around midnight. Again, it was reported that he did not appear drun

AKA Neo Babson Maximus I first heard about this case when I watched an episode of "Disappeared" called Game Over. This was a good few years ago and it has stuck in my mind ever since. Annoyingly, I was unable to find this particular episode available to watch anywhere. Who is Charlie? Charlie Allen Jr has been described as a highly intelligent and fun-loving young man. He excelled at everything he did and a few years before his disappearance, he had been an extremely well-known online gamer, he was known online as "Neo" after a character in his favourite film, The Matrix. Two months before his disappearance, Charlie changed his name legally to Neo Babson Maximus. What happened? On the 11th of October 2007, Charlie was playing tennis with his friend Mason, Charlie invited Mason to a party that evening and they agreed that they would meet at their college campus that night. Later that day, Charlie's sister Britney went on to Facebook to reply to a messa