True Crime Witch

07/15/2026

My secret is finally out, I’m now working for A&E Crime and Investigation. My first article has just gone live and it feels very surreal to see my name in the credits.

Her remains were found in a Chelsea, Mass., parking lot in 2000.

06/30/2026

𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝟭𝟱-𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥-𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗬𝗔𝗦𝗠𝗜𝗡 𝗔𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗘?

15-year-old Yasmin Acree had a troubled early life, but she was determined to turn it around. In 2008, she was living with her aunt in Chicago, Illinois. Then, she vanished. Police took little interest in her case, that was, until they discovered a convicted ra**st had been living next door.

Yasmin Acree lived with her aunt, Rose Mae Stanes, at an apartment complex in Chicago, IL. In 2001, Yasmin and her brother were sent to live with Rose after social services removed them from her mother’s care. According to reports, Yasmin’s mother suffered from substance abuse and is now deceased.

In 2006, Rose Mae formally adopted Yasmin and her brother. To the outside world, the adoption brought with it peace and stability, but not everything was perfect. According to Rose Mae, Yasmin had behavioural issues, which resulted in her being physically punished with a belt.

As Yasmin got older, the issues worsened. Once a star student in middle school, she was now getting bad grades at Austin Polytechnic High School. In 2007, just a year after the adoption, Yasmin’s brother was asked to leave his aunt’s home for unknown reasons.

Following his removal, Yasmin’s poor grades continued, leaving her aunt at her wits' end. Rose Mae hoped that the dawn of a new year would bring peace for her niece, but the family would be struck by another tragedy.

January 15th 2008, was like any other day for Yasmin. She woke up, went to the local YMCA in North Lawndale and played sports with her friends. That afternoon, she returned home, put a load of washing on, showered and went to bed. When darkness fell, Rose Mae went to bed, not knowing what awaited her at dawn.

January 16th rolled around, and when Rose went to wake her niece, Yasmin was nowhere to be found. Frantic, Rose searched the home and found some disturbing clues. Two locks to the outside fence had been broken, along with a broken lock on the basement door.

Rose’s heart sank. Yasmin’s bedroom was located in the basement. When she entered, she couldn’t see any signs of a struggle. Yasmin’s glasses lay neatly on her nightstand, and nothing had been taken. After searching for her niece, Rose Mae contacted the Chicago Police to report her missing.

Unfortunately, the Chicago PD did not take Yasmin’s disappearance seriously. It is obvious to outsiders that race plays a huge role in this. Yasmin was Black, and we all know that the disappearances of Black/African American people are brushed to the wayside.

The Chicago PD performed a very sloppy crime scene analysis at the Starnes home. It would later come out that they failed to take fingerprints or properly analyse any of the broken locks. With a sloppy investigation out of the way, the police told Rose her niece had likely run away.

As a toddler, Yasmin had been part of the care system. Children in the care system are far more likely to run away, and just as likely to be forgotten by the police and systems in place to keep them safe.

Rose Mae and Yasmin’s families continued to pressure the Chicago Police Department to broaden their investigation. In 2009, the police received a tip that would change their outlook forever.

This tip would come from Rose Mae, who admitted to police that Jimmie Terrell Smith lived on the second floor of their building. In 2009, Jimmie was arrested for the r**e of 5 women/girls, two of whom were just 14 years old. Years earlier, Jimmie had also served time for attempted murder.

Following his release for attempted murder, Jimmie moved into the second-floor apartment above Yasmin. Unfortunately, Jimmie struggled to keep his hands clean, picking up charges for selling drugs. It was also at this time that Rose Mae admitted that Jimmie, who was in his early 30s, had ‘taken a liking’ to 15-year-old Yasmin.

By the time investigators had learnt this, Jimmie was already in prison, beginning his 110-year sentence for the r**e of 5 women/girls. From prison, Jimmie issued a press release stating that he knew what had happened to Yasmin.

He also added that he was responsible for 4 murders, for which he has yet to be charged. It is unknown if Jimmie released any further details about what happened to Yasmin. But, seeing as though no charges have been pressed, it appears not.

Jimmie is an unreliable narrator, but he was close to Yasmin. Close enough to be mentioned in her diary. Despite all of this information, the Chicago Police Department are still no closer to finding Yasmin. Someone out there knows something, and it is time they did the right thing.

Yasmin(e) Rayon Acree is described as a Black female with sandy brown hair, brown eyes, 5’1” and 125 lbs. Yasmin needs glasses to see, but these were left behind. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det Mike Roth of the Chicago PD at 312-744-8266, quoting case no M08A1869.

06/25/2026

For over 50 years the body of a teenage girl sat unidentified in Clinton County, Iowa. Investigators now have answers as to who she was. This identification is another win for forensic science. Will that same science finally be able to bring justice?

On April 11th 1975 two men in a fishing boat found the body of a teenage girl in a mud bar on the river. A few days beforehand, the two had spotted the mass, but believed it to be an animal. Upon discovering the remains were human, the two called it it and thus a 50+ year investigation began.

The medical examiner determined the remains belonged to a Black girl, aged 12 to 23. She stood at 5’2 to 5’4 and was 100 to 120 lbs. It was also discovered that the young girl was 10 weeks pregnant.

She had been shot once in the head, behind the right ear, before being dumped in the river. Other than her pregnancy, she had no distinctive features or marks, making the investigation difficult from the jump.

A homicide investigation was opened, but very few clues trickled in. It took only a few months for her case to become fully cold. Without answers, she was labelled Jane Doe.

Whilst her case had run cold, there were still investigators in Clinton County who couldn’t forget about her. Finally in 2025 NCMEC, the DNA Doe Project and the Iowa Department of Public Safety came together to solve the case.

As per press releases, genetic genealogists from all 3 departments gathered one weekend to work the case pro bono. Their work began Friday evening, and by the time the clock had reached midnight, they had already made a breakthrough.

Genealogists were able to find the girl’s grandparents from a DNA sample and advanced genealogical techniques. From there they found the girl’s parents. Her father was an active US Army member, meaning the family moved from place to place, but the genealogists did not let this hold them back.

Finally, they uncovered the missing piece. The girl’s family were living in Waukegan in the 1970s. Birth records confirmed her existence, but after the mid 1970s, she disappeared from the paper trail all together.

In June 2026 the DNA Doe Project announced that their Jane Doe from 1975 had finally been identified as 15 year old Cheryl Lynn Edwards. Edwards was born in San Diego, but moved to Waukegan with her family due to her father’s military service.

Cheryl can now be laid to rest with her family. Investigators from Clinton County and beyond are still investigating her murder. If you have any information you are asked to contact the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office at 563-212-9211.

06/23/2026

CONVICTED: 20 year old Dmitry Popov was found guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime against 28 year old O’Shea Sibley.

A sentencing hearing will be held to determine his punishment.

06/18/2026

June 12th 2026 saw the conclusion to a 2 year court-case against 20-year-old Dylan Matthews of Liverpool. Whilst the court case has finally ended, many are unhappy with the light sentence he has been handed.

In 2023, Matthews was arrested and charged with 53 counts. These included one count of causing a child to engage in s*xual activity, two counts of s*xual activity with a child, thirty-seven counts of engaging in s*xual communication with a child, and five counts for making indecent images of children.

Matthews victims ages ranged, with some as young as just 12. His offences date back several years, to when he was 16, complicating the proceedings.

At court, Matthews' defence argued that he had been exposed to po*******hy and obscene material from a young age. Leading him to seek out more depraved material.

His defence also argued that whilst Matthews knew the ages of the girls he was messaging, it happened because ‘There was a lack of appropriate parenting’.

Matthews told the court he was taking responsibility for his actions now by pleading guilty to the charges against him.

Despite the plethora of charges against him, including 5 of producing CSAM, Matthews was sentenced to serve just 7 years and one month in a young offenders institution.

He will also be placed on the s*x offenders registry for life and barred from working with children and young adults.

There are ongoing discussions about a s*xual harm prevention order. This order may bar Matthews from travelling abroad and place restrictions on his future online activity post-release.

05/10/2026

In April of this year the FBI announced an investigation into the deaths and disappearances of US scientists… but their families fail to see the connection.

Since April; the number of missing scientists has slowly increased, leading many to believe a wider conspiracy is at play.

Is a mysterious force removing the most brilliant minds one by one. Or is there a more rational explanation? What do you think?

04/20/2026

For 38 years, the body of a young man found murdered near Ryan Airfield, Tucson, Arizona, has lain unnamed. Almost 4 decades on, investigators finally know the truth.

On April 5th 1988, the partial skeletal remains of a young man aged 17 to 18 years old were found in a remote desert wash in Tucson. His remains had been placed inside a trash bag and buried.

He was around 5’11” with brown hair and had a unique feature. An extra left cervical rib, which the medical examiner stated would have caused him physical issues akin to a pinched nerve.

Despite the young age of their victim, the investigation was slow. Media interest was non-existent, and soon, all of their leads dried up.

It wasn’t until recently that the case began to move, all thanks to the DNA Doe Project. They were able to extract a DNA profile of the boy, now dubbed the Three Points John Doe.

Genealogists quickly made a stunning discovery: their John Doe was of Mexican descent. So, they began trawling American and Mexican records and discovered he may have moved from Sonora, Mexico, to Arizona. Within a matter of months, a possibly family were found and contacted.

But the relative they contacted did not know of anyone in their family missing. Weeks later, the relative contacted genealogists again, and this new information would lead to a break in the case.

The relative explained they had been made aware that their cousin had disappeared sometime in the 1980s.

This cousin's name was Rogelio Morales Caudillo. After digging a bit deeper, investigators learned that Rogelio was just 17 years old when he vanished from Tucson in 1986. They were then able to contact other family members for a DNA profile.

On April 15th 2026, almost 38 years to the day of his discovery, the remains of the Three Points John Doe were confirmed as 17-year-old Rogelio Morales Caudillo. Investigators are now focused on finding who murdered Rogelio and bringing them to justice.

04/13/2026

A woman who has been missing since she was 13 years old has just been found alive and well in Arizona.

She wasn’t kidnapped,or taken against her will. She chose to run away. This is the story of Christina Marie Plante.

In May 1994, 13 year old Christina Plant headed up to her stable in Star Valley, Arizona. She told her aunt and uncle she wouldn’t be long, but she never came back.

A massive search was launched for the missing teen, but very few clues were found.

Investigators uncovered that Christina had spoken about running away before, but her friend’s didn’t think she was serious.

At the time of her disappearance, she was living with her aunt and uncle, and was very unhappy with the situation. Investigators classified her disappearance as an abduction, but the case quickly grew cold.

For 32 years the community believed the case would never be solved, but the Gila County Sheriff’s Office was determined.

Finally, in April 2026, they made a shocking breakthrough. Details are scarce, but we do know they ‘utilised new technologies’ to find Christina as an adult.

When officers tracked her down, she confessed and made another shocking revelation. She had run away.

Some articles have said Christina, who now lives under a new name, met with her mother the day she disappeared.

It is believed the pair took a flight out of Arizona and Christina has been living elsewhere ever since.

Christina has asked that her new identity be kept secret and details of her new life have been omitted from reports.

She told investigators that her disappearance was ‘her old life’ and she wants to get on with her life, and her family in peace.

04/07/2026

SHE MADE A PHONE CALL AND THEN VANISHED

In 2006, Rebecca Tume received a call from her sister, 18-year-old Louise Tume. Louise told Rebecca she was fine before the line went dead. After that call, her foster parents revealed a secret they had been keeping from her. Louise had been missing for a year.

Louise Tume was born in 1987 in Leeds, England. Her childhood was marred by difficulty. Her father was involved in the criminal underworld and was not kind to Louise’s mother. By the late 1980s, Louise, her sister Rebecca and her brother were living in Edge Hill in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Despite the move, the family dynamic remained the same. The patriarch of the family was still involved in drugs and weapons, and the abuse continued. Eventually, Louise’s mother moved out of the home after suffering a miscarriage due to the physical abuse she endured.

When their mother moved out, Louise’s behaviour changed. She ran away from home often and found solace at her mother's new place. Everyone in the area knew Louise as a runaway, and many felt there was little they could do to quell her feelings.

When Louise was around 10-11 years old, she was taken into care due to her frequently running away. Louise didn’t fare much better in foster care, though, and would run away from whichever home or couple she was placed with. She would often run away to see her siblings and mother.

Shortly after Louise was placed into care, so were Rebecca and her brother, effectively splitting up the siblings. This move did little to deter Louise, though, who took her role as the big sister seriously. Louise was told she could only meet her siblings under foster carer supervision, but these meetings were always cancelled at the last minute.

In 2003, Louise was planning her next moves, as in two years, when she turned 18, she would be removed from the care system. The UK has a long way to go in helping care leavers, even in 2026. According to Rebecca, Louise wanted to join the army and make something of her life.

In 2005, when Louise turned 18, she got her own flat in Darlington and was beginning to put plans in motion for the future. According to police reports, the final sighting of Louise was made in mid June 2005 in Islington, London. We have no idea how she ended up in London, or why she was there.

Meanwhile, Louise’s sister had no idea she was missing. In 2006, Rebecca received a call from Louise using a phone box. In the call, she said, “Becky, it’s me, I’m okay.” before the line went dead. This would be the last time Rebecca would ever hear from her sister again.

Following the call in 2006, Rebecca’s foster parents explained to her they had been keeping a secret. Louise had been missing for a year. The carers had decided to keep the secret as Rebecca was sitting her GCSEs, and now, she was left to reckon with this news.

According to Rebecca, the police haven’t been helpful in her sister's case. “They just tell me there is no trace of her. They have interviewed a number of people from London - they don’t tell me who they are.” Nobody can seem to figure out why Louise was last spotted in London, over 246 miles from her flat in Darlington.

After Louise disappeared, Rebecca was given Louise’s belongings, including a suitcase. Inside the suitcase was a letter from a man, Lee James, and the letter had been sent from HMP Wormwood Scrubs, London. The letter read “I hope you are doing well and that you are staying away from London… I do not want you having anything to do with your old way of life.”

Not only was there a letter, but a phone book too. In this phone book, there was a number for a local restaurant near Louise’s flat in Darlington. When Rebecca spoke with Social Services about this restaurant and its owners, they raised suspicion. A social worker straight up told Rebecca they believed the owners were trafficking girls and women.

Despite these concerns, little has been done in the way of Louise’s disappearance or a public investigation into the owners. Rebecca has been the one to dig up tips, and not too long ago, she found another. A social worker admitted that she had met Louise in London sometime in 2006.

We do not know what the meeting was about or the exact date. The police have stated they could find no record of this meeting, leaving Rebecca to wonder whether it ever happened at all. The police believe that Louise was hanging around the wrong crowd in London, but nobody seems to know for sure why she was there.

Louise Tume, who may go by Anya Ford, is described as a white female, 5’6” with a slim build, with brown eyes and reddish brown hair. She was last seen wearing blue embroidered jeans, a blue denim jacket and pink sandals.

Anyone with information, no matter how small, is urged to contact the Police at 101, Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111 or the Missing People charity at 116 000, quoting case ref 06-000681.

03/10/2026

IDENTIFIED | LITTLE MISS LAKE PANASOFFKEE

For 54 years, the body of a woman found in Lake Panasoffkee, FL, lay unidentified. Her body showed obvious signs of trauma, but no signs of who she was. We now know who she is, but we don’t know who killed her.

On February 19th, 1971, two teenagers discovered the body of a young woman submerged in Lake Panasoffkee under an overpass. She was white, 17 - 21 years old, and wearing a green shirt, green plaid pants and a green poncho.

Her body showed obvious signs of violence and the belt used to strangle her was still around her neck. Further examinations showed a fractured rib and evidence of childbirth, at least two to be exact. She had also undergone extensive dental work and an orthopaedic procedure on her right ankle.

Investigators were clueless, and as the months passed, this woman became known as Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee Jane Doe. Her passing was violent, and investigators had no idea who her or her attacker were. Her case was highlighted in local media, but there were no solid leads.

Things went quiet until 2012 when isotope testing was conducted, which showed she was likely from Greece. Scientists were able to narrow it down further to the town of Laviro based on the lead content in her teeth. The Greek media were informed, and her case exploded in Greece.

In late 2012, another promising lead sprang up. During a live TV broadcast covering this case, a woman called, claiming she knew Jane Doe’s identity as Konstanina. Konstanina had attended a ‘prep’ style school in the 1970s where she learnt English, and how to take care of children and a home.

Once schooling was over, Konstanina was sent to the US to work and was never heard from again. The caller provided photographs that bore a striking resemblance to Jane Doe, but investigators struggled to follow this lead.

In 2018, genetic genealogy was attempted on Jane Doe; however, her DNA was far too degraded to produce a viable sample. It wasn’t until October 2025 that Florida investigators would finally get the breakthrough they had been waiting 54 years for.

In 2025, investigators ran Jane Doe’s fingerprints again after a major system update, and there was a match. The fingerprints belonged to Maureen Lou Rowan, nee Minor. Maureen was not from Greece, as her teeth had suggested, but Florida.

In the 1970s, Maureen was living with her two children in Tampa, Florida. She had recently separated from her husband, Charles Rowan Sr, following a ‘tumultuous’ relationship. According to Charles, Maureen simply up and left one day, and he never thought to report her missing.

Maureen would have been just 21 when she died. The air of suspicion has naturally fallen on Charles, who passed away in 2015. Police in Florida are continuing their investigation into her death. Now, Maureen can finally rest after 54 long years of being a Jane Doe.