*Part Two* **Trigger warning for everyone again: I will be covering child death, mental illness including depression, post partum depression, post partum psychosis, eating disorders, and suicide.**Join Kendra as she dives into and tells April the tragic ending of the Andrea Yates Case. If you haven't listened to our last episode, which is part one,…

*Part One*In June 2001, news broke that rocked the nation to its core. A 36 year old mother had killed all of her children, all five children, the oldest of whom was 7 years old and the youngest a mere 6 months. She drowned them all in the bathtub. What more is there to really say after that right? She’s clearly evil, right? Here’s the thing though…

This is the case of Susan Cummings, a wealthy heiress, who shot and killed her boyfriend, an Argentine polo player named Roberto Villegas. On that day, Sept. 7th, 1997, Susan claims it was self defense, but based on the information gathered by the police and investigators. It was not as cut and dry as it might have appeared to be, which is why I am…

*Fair warning, this inadvertently wound up being a MUCH longer part 2 than anticipated. I tend to dive deep and when the case takes place in a different country, more explaining is needed about court processes etc. So, that being said, this is a 2+ hour episode.*This is Part 2 of The Murder of Ana Kriegel, a beautiful 14-year old teen girl whose li…

*NOTE: This is a re-recording of part 1, please take the time to listen even if you already listened to the original. I feel it's much better and there's a surprise guest too!*In May 2018, Ana Kriegel was a beautiful 14 year old living in Ireland when a classmate came to her home, asking her to go to the local park. She went with him and never retu…

A man received the heart of a suicide victim, married his widow, and years later killed himself in the same way his donor did. A seemingly sad story about a woman who lost her husband to suicide and then found love again in the man who received his heart. Only to have that husband take his own life in the same way. Love found and love lost and foun…

Jesus Borja, age 15, was surprised and shocked when he found out that the girl he wanted to marry one day, Rosa Guerrero, age 13, was suddenly and with no warning, married to an older man, Pedro Garcia, age 22. She had promised to marry Jesus and he thought they would be happy and have a family one day. Brokenhearted and thinking that his friends a…

This case, in my opinion, fits into Category 1: Justifiable Homicide on The Gradations of Evil Scale Wendy Howard was abused by her ex-partner for almost 4 years before she was able to escape him. 14 years later, she finds that he has been sexually abusing the 16 year old daughter they share, for close to two years. After reporting the abuse to the…

Season Two on Nocturnal Distractions will be a series that will cover Forensic Psychologist, Michael Stone’s, 22- level “Gradations of Evil” Scale. But what exactly is the definition of “evil”? And is there a way to classify one act of evil as being more evil than another? Or, what is the point of even dividing evil into levels?Could we use this in…

What do you get when you combine together: an insomniac, an obsession with true crime, an interest in psychology, a thirst for the answer to the question 'how and why do crimes happen', and a Bluetooth mic? You get a podcast called Nocturnal Distractions. What else?

Hey guys so this is not a normal episode, it's not a case or anything like that, it's just some updates on the podcast itself. Like some information about where it's going, what changes you might be hearing in it, and other such information that I feel you, as our listeners, should be aware of. because you're the ones that kind of keep the show goi…

As Kendra was hunting for pictures to post on the socials of Carl Panzram, who April presented in last weeks episode, she stumbled across a site where she was able to download the entire autobiography he wrote while in prison, in his own cursive handwriting. And... Kendra got intrigued. Really intrigued... So down the rabbit hole she went. She will…

*Want episodes without ads? Join our Patreon!!* April is back with us this week and boy did she come prepared with a doozy of a case. Carl Panzram was a man who was doomed from the start. And those are HIS own words. At 5 he was a self proclaimed liar and thief. Abused during his childhood, by age 8 he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. B…

*AD FREE VERSION AVAILABLE TO OUR PATRONS ON OUR PATREON PAGE!* Bringing us back to Nebraska today, Kendra (solo) will tell us the incredible survival story (cuz it’s nice not to talk about death all the time) of Anne Sluti. In 2001, the teenager was kidnapped in broad daylight from the parking lot of a shopping mall in Kearney, NE and held captive…

This is Part Two on Satanism. If you haven't listened to Part One, I'd go listen to it first! This part includes some of the common myths (fiction) surrounding it and the facts (truth) of what Satanism actually is. To end the Spooky Season Kendra, she will be talking about Satanism. That's right. Satanism. What it's about, what they do, what they b…

We did not start out planning this episode to be so long, and we don't typically do this, but due to the length and technical audio issues, we broke it into two parts. To end the Spooky Season Kendra will be talking about Satanism. That's right. Satanism. What it's about, what they do, what they believe... However, as she dove into researching this…

*It hasn't been our week, a late episode and Kendras mic dies 9 minutes before the end, luckily she was done with the important info, and as we pride ourselves on being unedited and unscripted, it's been left as-is, so enjoy?*🥴 Stuck scrolling the endless interweb, Kendra was having a rough time finding a paranormal story or such to cover.She got t…

April finishes up the unsolved case of the Detroit Occult murders and we discuss the various theories about what happened more in depth and give our opinion. Was it mob dealings? Was it the tenant that stopped by the night before to give his final payment to Benny? Or was it Benny's old friend, who was also involved in the occult, and had been conv…

TW: Deaths of teenagers, and Suicide Kendra tries to see if she can ruin Halloween for anyone else…Because after researching this episode she has tarnished her once undying love of all things Halloween. This episode hopefully will make everyone aware of some of the dangers that come along with Haunted Attractions, home haunted houses, and seemingly…

History is in the making folks! Because April, that’s right, APRIL is bringing us a TWO PARTER! *Sings “It’s the end of the world as we know it, it’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine…” * In all seriousness though, she will be telling us about The Evangelista Occult Murders, an unsolved case of the murder of an entire family of si…

Kendra’s episode is belated by almost a week, but she is here to relay short spooky tales and then stories of some dumb criminals that should probably pick a different career path. Email us at: nocturnaldistractions@gmail.com Here's the link to all our listening platforms, socials, tip jar, etc: https://linktr.ee/nocturnaldistractionspodcast Our Pa…

Another road trip for some spookies! Join us on another late night road trip adventure as we go out to Witches Bridge. We try to catch sight of anything creepy while April shares the tale of how the bridge got its name and some of the odd and tragic things that have happened on the site. Be sure to check our Instagram and other socials for videos a…

First, we have a special guest host tonight, Kendra's...boyfriend? Person? Life partner? Dude she puts up with? They don't have a label really. But he's joining in for this haunted episode told by Kendra! In 2006 Susan, her daughter Jaime, Susan's boyfriend, Matt, and his daughter, Marie, move into a house in Moreno Valley in Southern California. A…

We go for another night drive as Kendra attempts to show April the old Army Ammunition Plant again, which was an epic fail again. And April tells about the sad death of Vaclav "James" Parkos in the small town of Comstock, Nebraska, in 1935. Which leads to discussion of state mental hospitals back in the day, and how creepy the abandoned ones are, a…

It’s basically spooky season, or close enough, so Kendra is going to be delving into the supernatural and paranormal instead of the regularly scheduled murder and shitty human beings. Including a special spooky collaboration episode with another podcast, to be announced at a later date!Today, she will tell the story of the Martin family who moved t…

???????...🤫 Email us at: nocturnaldistractions@gmail.com Use the following link to access all our socials, listening platforms, donation options, and Patreon page: https://linktr.ee/nocturnaldistractionspodcast

THE FINALE IS HERE. And it's AD-FREE! That’s right, Part 5 and the conclusion of The Marybeth Tinning Saga. The episode is a bit longer than usual, but Kendra was ready to be DONE thinking about this real piece of work that only excelled at one thing in life: popping out kids, but that’s about it.The ending includes the death of their adopted son, …

April brings use not one, not two, but SEVEN murders with motives that will make you scratch your head and wonder whats wrong with people. *And again, I don't know why, but after the ad our mics screw up randomly and we sound like we’re under water or something. I blame Mercury being in retrograde... I got nothing* Shoutout to World’s True Crime Po…

Kendra continues with Part Four of Five: The case of Marybeth Tinning who had 9 children, between the ages of 11 days and 4 1/2 years old, that all died over the course of 14 years. Marybeth has 3 more babies, all of whom die before they are 6 months old. Her and Joe adopt a child. And doctors start to try to figure out just what is happening. Call…

April tells us about Clarence Victor who killed a woman, was let out on parole early, kills again, let out early again, kills AGAIN. WTF Nebraska? And talk about the death penalty and some of the differences between manslaughter, and the various degrees of murder (1st, 2nd, 3rd) loosely (very loosely) explained. Images to go along with episode will…

So, Kendra was not feeling the whole Marybeth Saga tonight. She has it ready, but needed a break from the case. Since it's going to be wind up being a 5 parter. So instead we decided to celebrate our 20th episode by learning more about her and how she became intrigued with true crime and how it eventually morphed into this start of this podcast. An…

Kendra continues with Part Three of _?__ :The case of Marybeth Tinning who had 9 children, between the ages of 11 days and 4 1/2 years old, that all died over the course of 14 years. Part Three will cover the Tinnings' short time as Foster Parents, the two different sides of Marybeth and how she basically picked a ‘mask’ to get what she wanted. She…

We're back! After Kendra got a little brain recovery from her vacation, April is starting us out this week with the tale of Emma Oliver, a 1930s-40s sex worker in San Antonio, Texas. After a string of arrests throughout the 30s and 40s, Emma seemed to have reached the end of her rope in 1949 when she stabbed a male acquaintance to death over $3 tha…

*TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes the deaths of children*Kendra continues with Part Two of (???) covering the case of Marybeth Tinning who had 9 children, between the ages of 11 days and 4 1/2 years old, that all died over the course of 14 years. Part Two will discuss the deaths of her first three children, starting with her third born, Jenni…

April brings us the tragic case of 19 year old Kenneka Jenkins who attended a hotel party with her friends one night in 2017. Instead of the night ending with fun memories and laughter it ended with confusion and frustration when Kenneka disappears somewhere inside the hotel. Despite numerous requests by her mom to view hotel camera footage in orde…

*The audio seems a bit feed backish for some reason, not sure what happened, so apologies ahead of time! Will try to fix it before next week 🤦‍♀️* Kendra is doing another deep dive, multi-parter covering the case of Marybeth Tinning who had 9 children, between the ages of 11 days and 4 1/2 years old, all die over the course of 14 years. The causes …

April just keeps dragging me farther back in history, this time to the 1400s! She will introduce us to Gilles de Rais. He went from a War Hero and the protector of Joan of Arc, to a convicted serial killer of 100 children. BUT, did he actually commit the crimes he was accused and convicted of? Listen up, and then you decide! And there might be a fe…

Thomas Quick was once known as Sweden’s worst and most gruesome serial killer, confessing to killing 30 victims between 1965 and 1991. Thomas is charged and convicted of eight of the murders.And, in 2008 he WITHDREW ALL HIS CONFESSIONS and by 2013 ALL OF his convictions had been overturned and he was released from the hospital a free man.What the h…

April is taking me on a trip back to the late 1920s in good ol Nebraska, and fills me in on the case of The Omaha Sniper, Frank Carter. Who was convicted of two murders, but claimed to have killed 43, and tells the executioners, at the last minute, that Frank Carter ISN'T EVEN HIS ACTUAL NAME. whaaat?? Who is this guy then? I had never heard about …

It's another missing person episode, Kendra style. 19 year-old Brandon Swanson had just finished his first year of college. After attending an evening party with friends, he left around 12am on May 14th, 2008, to drive the 30 miles to his hometown of Marshall, MN. He got his car stuck on the way home and after calling his parents to come help him, …

Bryce Laspisa went missing under very strange circumstances right before his sophomore year of college in 2013 and hasn't been seen since. Here's the link to the family's FB they have set up for him, there's phone numbers and contact info on it for any information you may have on Bryce!! https://m.facebook.com/100064511599937/ Follow us, rate us, d…

*Ok, so still getting used to the mics and where to have them clipped onto our shirts, please forgive any overly static sound, we’re learning!* Tonight Kendra will take us back to the late 1800s - early 1900s, and introduce you to the Black Widow of the Heartland, Belle Gunness, our other female serial killer of the week. Who appears to have maybe,…

Ok everybody, we got us some mics to use when we record and we think it went fairly well, with a few glitches in there, but hopefully (fingers crossed) the sound quality is better than previous episodes! Either way, we were excited to use them anyway, like we’re all professional and shit. (Ha!)But anyways, tonight is April’s case! And we’re going w…

Part Two! It's a long one guys, but Kendra has a hard time condensing information when she's got so much of it rolling around in her head...you should see how long some of her FB posts are. But, she finishes telling April the story of the Stayner family and how they just couldn’t seem to catch a break when it came to their sons, Steven and Cary. Du…

Extra bonus episode for you all this week! April was ready with her first case and we wanted to get it recorded before she chickened out! This is one that Kendra hasn't heard before and it happened right here in our state of Nebraska. Apparently we don't just have cornfields and cows, we also have serial killers. 😬 We head back to the 70s (there se…

This week's story is actually going to be a two-parter because there’s just too much to fit into one episode! Join Kendra as she tells April the story of the Stayner family and how they just couldn’t seem to catch a break when it came to their sons, Steven and Cary. They go through the absolute worst and just when you think it can’t get worse, it d…

So back in July of 1976, in Chowchilla, California, three men carried out a mass abduction/kidnapping of an entire school bus of 26 kids (aged 5-14) and their bus driver after a day of summer school. They stashed all of them in a truck that was BURIED underground and left them there. They then went home to call in a ransom. However, things don’t go…

Did you ever stop and wonder which island out there is the most densely populated? No? Yeah, us neither. Until Kendra's Random Facts of the Day app popped up and told her about it. And she went down just a small rabbit hole and now you get to hear about it! Join our FB group or follow our Instagram to see photos of this Island! Do you have a topic …

After much waiting, it's time to meet the other host of this podcast, April! Now she gets to answer the same random questions that I did in my intro. This is her first episode too so remember, don't judge too harshly, follow us if you'd like to hear more and you can email us at: nocturnaldistractions@gmail.com with any suggestions, topic ideas, fun…

Hello everyone! I'm Kendra, one of the hosts of this podcast. My partner in crime, April, is not currently available because, well, it's daytime, and she's sleeping. Why aren't I? I'm in that oh so lucky category of people who are up for basically three days straight and then crash for at least 12 hours. Insomnia plus anxiety is great fun! So, you …