Crime Writers On...

The website OnlyFans democratized the world of webcamming, allowing independent creators to make big money attracting their own subscribers for adult entertainment.  But the nature of the forum changed anonymous online sex work to a more personalized service for both the models and their customers. These intimate relationships spawned a new kind of business, one that goes beyond sex. As those on both sides of the camera form parasocial connections, their interactions can feel more personal — leaving some vulnerable, some empowered, and some wanting intimacy that is more than skin deep.  

The Audible Original podcast “OnlyFantasy” investigates how the multi-billion dollar adult website has become not only a financial lifeline for its models, but a marketplace for emotional support. Hosts Leon Neyfakh and comedian/OnlyFans creator Gracie Canaan talk without judgment to creators, subscribers, and business people about the digital intimacy economy and whether its customers are paying for more than online sex.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "ONLYFANTASY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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When a Texas trooper pulled her over, Taylor Parker said she was rushing to the hospital, doing CPR on the newborn baby she just gave birth to in her car. But when doctors examined her, they realized she’d never been pregnant. For months, Parker had told everyone she was carrying her boyfriend’s baby, posing on social media with a pregnant belly. But friends knew she’d had a hysterectomy years before. Then as her purported due date arrived, miles away, police made a gruesome discovery.

The Netflix documentary “Maternal Instinct” recounts the 2020 story of Taylor Parker, and how her efforts to fake a pregnancy resulted in a tragic conclusion. The film uses body-worn camera footage, digital evidence, and interviews with Parker’s boyfriend and others to piece together her elaborate scheme and the lengths she went to resolve it.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MATERNAL INSTINCT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: I wanna get off...the ride!

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Relatives of those who died by suicide discovered their loved ones had been active in online forums for those looking for ways to end their lives. They were directed to a retailer selling fatal quantities of sodium nitrite to people in crisis in more than 40 countries. Police and journalists hunted down Kenneth Law, who admitted to selling to hundreds of people worldwide. But authorities wanted to know whether Law was just providing a lethal product — or whether he was actively pushing people in crisis to take it.

The CBC podcast “Hunting the Suicide Salesman” recounts the effort to stop Law and shutdown the business of selling sodium nitrite. Host Daemon Fairless goes beyond the criminal investigation and takes an unusually frank and intimate examination of the issue of suicide — including causes, prevention efforts, and the hidden online world for those considering ending their lives.  

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "HUNTING THE SUICIDE SALESMAN" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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As André deals with the shock of his girlfriend’s brutal murder, he reluctantly allows police to question the only witness to the crime: his two-year-old son. When the interviews prove too traumatic and press coverage too intrusive, André flees London with Alex — but finds putting the past behind them is difficult. Meanwhile, using information from the toddler, police home in on a man who shares his violent sexual fantasies with an undercover cop. Detectives are sure they’ve got Rachel Nickell’s killer — even though a similar murder suggests a different suspect.

Netflix’s “The Witness” is a dramatized version of the infamous 1992 case, and a companion series to the documentary “The Murder of Rachel Nickell.” The show focuses on father and son, as Rachel’s unsolved murder adds strain to their relationship. It also follows the detectives' efforts to close the case, even though their assumptions about their lead suspect take them in the wrong direction.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE WITNESS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL NINE MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: Noah-countability.

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In 1992, Rachel Nickell was brutally murdered in broad daylight in a London park. But her killer left behind a witness: her two-year-old son Alex. With the uneasy consent of his protective father, André, police spent months working with the toddler to coax details about the attacker. After André put an end to his son’s distressing questioning, police laid a honeytrap for a nearby suspect with violent sexual fantasies. They arrested Colin Stagg even though there was nothing connecting him to Rachel’s death. And when a similar murder stunned the city, investigators were at odds with one another on whether they had the right man.

The Netflix documentary “The Murder of Rachel Nickell” tells the inside story of the search for a serial killer. It features in-depth interviews with André and Alex about the toll it took on the two-year-old boy repeatedly asked to identify his mother’s murderer. It also explores how missteps by the police — before and after the crime — resulted in years of delayed justice.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE MURDER OF RACHEL NICKELL" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE. 

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

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