Crimes of Passion

She didn't just have a crush on Cubs first baseman Eddie Waitkus, she genuinely believed that the two were in love. So when Eddie got traded to the Phillies, Ruth Ann Steinhagen took it personally. And if she couldn't have Eddie, nobody could. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fall of 2011, a 17-year-old model struck up an online relationship with NBA player Chris “Birdman” Andersen. But someone else was pulling the strings of their ill-fated romance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Jenelle Potter's crush, Billy Payne, started dating another woman, she used Facebook to spread rumors about the couple. But when a CIA agent contacted her parents, informing them that Payne was a threat to Jenelle's life, they took matters into their own hands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An online love triangle between 18-year-old Tommy, 17-year-old Jessi, and 22-year-old Brian turned tragic when their romantic fantasy world collided with their harsh realities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shortly after Tara Lynn Grant returned to Michigan from Puerto Rico, she went missing. Her husband Stephen filed a missing person's report, but when detectives came to check out at their house, it told a different story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By early 2007, Tara Lynn Grant was a successful businesswoman splitting her time between the family home in Michigan and her office in Puerto Rico. She had two children, a beautiful house, and a full life. There was only one problem: her husband Stephen’s poisonous resentment.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After facing charges for felony burglary and losing his law license, Eric Williams funneled his rage into planning revenge. He set out to design the perfect crime, and in the early months of 2013, murdered three people in small-town Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Texas, an Eagle Scout grows up to become a prominent member of the Kaufman County legal community. But Eric Williams’s success brought out a sense of entitlement that would cost him everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The night of President Lincoln’s assassination, there was another couple in the State Box at Ford’s Theatre: Henry Rathbone, a young Civil War veteran, and his fiancée, Clara. The death of the president would haunt Henry for years until another tragedy struck the couple in 1883. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In November 1986, Richard Crafts began preparing for a macabre project. His crime would launch an investigation unlike any in Connecticut’s history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Helle Crafts, a flight attendant and mother of three, failed to show up for work days before Thanksgiving 1986, her closest confidantes began to fear the worst.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After marrying the heir to the Gucci empire, Patrizia Reggiani was living the dream. Almost overnight, she became a jet-setting socialite, rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. But when her husband threatens to take all the glitz and glam away from her, Patrizia snaps. This Lady Gucci won’t go down without a fight — and she’s willing to play dirty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the day he was born, Christian Brando lived in his famous father's shadow. But in 1990, in the throes of extreme anger and drug abuse, he made a name for himself in the worst possible way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The trials related to Scott Amedure’s murder drew nonstop media coverage — first in 1996, when Jon Schmitz’s lawyers devised a “gay panic” defense strategy, and later in 1999, when the producers and host of The Jenny Jones Show took the stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1995, Jonathan Schmitz and Scott Amedure were invited on a daytime talk show, where one friend made an on-air confession that led to murder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices