Recent Episodes
Feb. 19, 2025
92. Blood in Birmingham: The 1983 True Crime Murder of Kathleen Bedsole by David Duren
In this episode, we revisit the dark case of Kathleen Bedsole's murder in 1983, a crime that shook the communities surrounding Birmingham, Alabama to their core. We delve into the disturbed mind of David Duren, the man accused of the brutal killing, and unravel the events that led to one of the most infamous true crime stories in the region.
Feb. 14, 2025
91.Love Lost: The Valentine’s Day Murders of Jesse McBane & Patricia Mann in Durham, North Carolina
Feb. 5, 2025
90. Deadly Connection: The 2006 Chatroom Murder
In this episode of Hard Times and True Crimes, we dive into a chilling case that highlights the dark side of online interactions. In the early 2000s, an internet chatroom became the setting for a deadly deception - what started as a seemingly harmless online friendship between marine_sniper and talhotblonde, turned into a love triangle that ended in murder. We'll explore how a web of lies, manipulation, and hidden identities led to a fatal encounter. Join us as we break down the timeline of events, discuss the key players, and examine how the anonymity of the internet played a dangerous role in this real-life tragedy. Could this crime have been prevented? And what does it reveal about the risks of online relationships?
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Recent Blog Posts
Aug. 14, 2024
The Tragedy of The Donner Party
On our latest episode we tell about a tragic event in the history of westward expansion. The Donner Party, named for brothers George and Jacob Donner, and included the James Reed family, made some vital mistakes as they took their …
About the Hosts
Melody Gwyn
Melody, married to Tim for over three decades, has spent the bulk of her parenting years homeschooling her five children, while simultaneously working a side hustle or two. She became interested in true crime as a teen after discovering a local author's books at the library. Her love of reading, writing, and murder mysteries converged when she met Darlene and they discovered their mutual desire to produce a podcast telling true crime stories. Since she is the "Type-A" personality in the partnership, she takes care of the filing, back-ups, and techie stuff. This also involves trying to keep Darlene organized and on track while they try out her rather creative and impressive ideas.
Darlene Hildreth
Darlene loves Southern culture, history and a good story! For her fifteenth birthday, her G-pa gifted her an Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. She owes her fascination of psychology, true crime and fear of the dark to him.
Darlene has been married to her husband ( the narrator) for twenty-five years. They have four children together. They've spent the majority of the past twenty-six years homeschooling and learning how to parent. Just as they were getting the parenting thing figured out, three of the four grew up. This year Curtis and Darlene were blessed with two daughters-in-law and their first grand baby.
Darlene is a true-crime podcast fan as well. As much as she loves to hear good stories, she loves to tell them! Hosting and creating this podcast is a dream come true for her.
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