True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History

DEPUTY KENT McGOWEN and REASONABLE DOUBTS—Jerry Langton

Jerry Langton is a veteran investigative journalist and bestselling author, writing primarily about outlaw motorcycle gangs and organized crime.Former Harris County Sheriff's Department Deputy Joseph Kent McGowen was sentenced in 2002, to 20 years, his second conviction—for murdering Susan Diane White, in her home, August 25, 1992.In 2021, after almost 20 years—Kent McGowen was released.A bestselling book and documntary, depicting McGowen as a killer had been widely seen by the public.In 2025 McGowen contacted Langton—he wanted to set the record straight and have Langton tell his story.. Langton was very skeptical but decided to conduct his own investigation—and what he discovered—was a man wrongfully convicted of murder.Author Jerry Langton jojns me to discuss his new book, Reasonable Doubts: How Rumor and Innuendo Convicted Deputy Kent McGowen of Murder. 

REASONABLE DOUBTS—Deputy Kent McGowen

Texas Deputy Kent McGowen shot and killed Susan White after she pulled a gun on him.It seemed like an open-and-shut case of an officer acting in self-defense. But before his first court date, the Houston region was inundated with rumor, innuendo and speculation about the case. Many believed those fabrications and half-truths to be fact. And an unsubstantiated-but-persistent story of how McGowen allegedly set up White as a murder victim because they had a relationship, or that she refused to have one, sealed his fate. McGowen was found guilty, Twice.He's already done his almost 20 years in prison, with this case worth examining for all the incredible ways criminal courts can be manipulated by media, fast-talking lawyers and dubious witnesses. REASONABLE DOUBTS: How Rumor and Innuendo Convicted Deputy Kent McGowen of Murder—Deputy Kent McGowen

GOD'S NOT HERE, ONLY DEVILS—Laura Brand

The District Attorney began his opening statement with, "If you don't know what hell is like, you're about to find out." In 1979, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris went on a rape and killing rampage. The pliers, screwdrivers, hammers, sledgehammers, and ice picks they used on their victims became their calling card and moniker: The Toolbox Killers. They were soon apprehended and convicted for their atrocities, but for decades, refused to reveal the location of their victims' bodies. More than two decades later, criminologist Laura Brand had the opportunity to interview this sadistic pair as they sat behind bars, probing the depths of their depravity right up to the days of their deaths. Over this relentless six-year period, Bittaker finally gave Brand what he had withheld from law enforcement and families alike: the precise locations of two victims' remains. Brand's investigation tore open sealed police reports, court transcripts, and witness accounts, and unearthed brutal and shocking new findings: undisclosed victims, forgotten evidence, and chilling new insights that resurrected this nightmare in unimaginable ways. God's Not Here, Only Devils is told through a powerful blend of narratives: the voices of Bittaker himself, his victims, traumatized witnesses, the tenacious lead detective, and the hardened District Attorney.. A visceral retelling of the horrors that unfolded and the legacy of terror the Toolbox Killers left behind.GOD'S NOT HERE, ONLY DEVILS: Revelations From The Toolbox Killers—Laura Brand

CRIMES OF OMISSION—Rob Rosen

Truth is supposed to be a journalist’s north star. But during the 2010s, the fourth estate lost its way, abandoning reporting for straight-up activism.In Crimes of Omission, seasoned investigative journalist Rob Rosen will reveal the full story of the high-profile cases of law enforcement violence that rocked the world.Through dozens of exclusive interviews, this book transports readers inside the nation’s most influential newsrooms at those crucial moments when the people we trust to inform us chose instead to mislead and inflame.Crimes of omission aren’t about what is reported—they’re about what’s left out. Discover the disastrous decisions that ripped a nation apart and shattered the credibility of a once noble profession—and prepare to question everything you thought was true. CRIMES OF OMISSION: Distorted Justice—The Media's War on Truth—Rob Rosen

FIVE EVIL WOMEN—Joanna Bourke

Why do certain women become icons of evil? This book offers the first comparative, non-sensationalist account of five of the most reviled women in the modern Anglophone world: Myra Hindley, Rosemary West, Aileen Wuornos, Karla Homolka, and Karla Faye Tucker. It examines their lives, crimes, and cultural reception in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada, asking how violence committed by women is understood, judged, and remembered. Going beyond moral outrage or tabloid headlines, the book explores how concepts of “evil” are shaped by history, belief systems, and social context. Through historical and ethical reflections, it offers a deeper, more critical engagement with female violence and considers how society should respond to those who commit acts of unimaginable harm. FIVE EVIL WOMEN: Hindley, West, Wournos, Homolka, Tucker—Joanna Bourke