Don't Blame The Mom

21 year old Laken Snelling seemed to have it all, she was a popular student at the University of Kentucky, and an accomplished cheerleader with a promising future ahead of her .

But all of that changed in August 2025 when a 911 call came in to the police reporting the discovery of a deceased newborn hidden inside a closet.

This tragic discovery led to a shocking realisation. That his mother was student Laken Snelling who had secretly concealed not just her pregnancy but his birth, & had also taken his life... .
Todays case raises some deeply uncomfortable questions about concealed pregnancies & shocking secrets that can lead one to make terrible & fatal choices, causing pain & devastation to so many as a result .

It also highlights the tragic consequences that can come when a situation remains hidden from the people who are able to offer help, support or otherwise would have been able to intervene.

Laken Snelling chose not to ask for help & instead killed her newborn baby. A crime so unthinkable that she has found herself at the centre of a case that will no doubt shock the community of Lexington, Kentucky for years to come....

This is episode 191: A Fatal Secret – The Case of Laken Snelling.

Crime Talk Time Stamp: 7 minutes 06 seconds

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14 year old Elizabeth Shoaf stepped off the school bus on September 6th 2006 to begin the short walk home in Lugoff, South Carolina.

Suddenly she is confronted by a predator masquerading as an officer who had been hunting for a young victim just like her

As she is handcuffed & led further and further away from safety deep into the woods she had no idea of the nightmare this man had in store for her.

She was held captive, trapped in a small underground bunker that had been dug out by her kidnapper who was already a wanted man named Vinson Filyaw.

For 10 days she was forced to endure daily sexual assaults as she was trapped below the woods with him, chained up, surrounded by weapons & with explosives hanging around her neck.

However Filyaw had underestimated this young girl's strong will to survive, & she managed to channel her terror into a steely determination to do whatever she had to in order to get out of this alive .

Elizabeth's staggering courage & ability to think on her feet even in the most dire situations allowed Elizabeth to turn the tables on her attacker...

Slowly she lured him into a false sense of security by humanising herself to him, making him believe she liked him even , a trick that made him drop his guard & eventually gave her an opportunity to try & save her own life...

Todays case is not about another predatory child sex offender, it is about how he was defeated by a brave teenage girl whose overwhelming will to live & dream to be reunited with her family allowed her to keep going even in the darkest of moments .

It is about one girls strength in refusing to give up on life or give in to a dangerous criminal. In doing so she ultimately became not only a real life heroine, but a true inspiration to many other survivors of crime...

This is episode 190: Terror Underground- The Kidnapping Of Elizabeth Shoaf

*Crime Talk Time Stamp 6 minutes 20 seconds

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It was December 2010.

The city of Bristol was getting ready for Christmas, and 25-year-old Joanna Yeates was living in Clifton with her boyfriend, Greg.

On Friday, December 17th, Joanna went out for drinks with colleagues.

Later that evening, she left the pub and made her way home.

By the following day, Joanna was missing.

What happened on that fateful night?

And how did a normal Friday night end in the murder of a 25-year-old woman?

This is episode 189: The murder of Joanna Yeates part 2

Crime Talk Time Stamp:

Sources: BBC / Bristol News / Gloucester Citizen / The Guardian / https://helpfindjo.wordpress.com/ / Channel 4 / Sky News / The Standard / Bristol Post / Documentary by abacus media The Murder of Joanna Yeates
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It was December 17th as 25 year old Joanna Yeates said goodbye to her boyfriend & went out for drinks with colleagues in Clifton, Bristol in England.
Later that evening she made her way home but by the following day Joanna had vanished .
Her family were terrified and a huge search was launched for Joanna , as the days passed fears for her safe return deepened .
When she was eventually found murdered police zoned in on a suspect and the British media hounded the man, assuming he would eventually be charged .
However the intense vilification of one individual meant for a while Joanna's real killer, a married man named Vincent Tabak, was able to slip by unnoticed....
As her devastated family were left to try to navigate life without their beloved daughter her story continued to receive huge press coverage in the UK.

Ultimately the way the tabloids nearly destroyed an innocent man's life highlighted big issues leading to important changes in the way the media cover cases like Joanna's in the future....

This is episode 187: The murder of Joanna Yeates.

**Crime Talk Time Stamp: 8 minutes 05 seconds

Sources: BBC / Bristol News / Gloucester Citizen / The Guardian / https://helpfindjo.wordpress.com/ / Channel 4 / Sky News / The Standard / Bristol Post / Documentary by abacus media The Murder of Joanna Yeates
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In 1990 a 3 year old boy Jamie Campbell was happily playing in his grandmother's garden before he was lured away in Drumchapel, Glasgow.

The community were devastated when his body was found, revealing he had been subjected to a brutal and violent ordeal by his killer during his final moments.

When local boy Richard Keith was soon arrested for Jamie's heinous murder it sent shock waves across the country when details of his background & age were revealed.

His killer was just 11 years old .

When he was sentenced for his wicked crime he became Scotlands youngest killer.

The fact that a troubled, dangerous child had been living so close & that his previous behaviour showed he was a ticking time bomb caused even more distress to Jamie's devastated family.

This was only deepened when three years later a very similar case occurred in Liverpool. 2 year old James Bulger was also murdered by two 10 year old boys.

Jamie Campbells family were left questioning why this equally horrific case received far more press attention than Jamie's murder.

When Jamie's killer Richard Keith was released after serving just 8 years it has raised many questions.

Can someone capable of so much cruelty at such a young age ever really be rehabilitated?

Is it fair that Keith is able to live freely in the community with his whole life ahead of him whilst he had stolen his innocent victims future from him in such a brutal way ?

This is episode 187
Scotland's Youngest Killer- The Murder Of Jamie Campbell.

Crime Talk Time Stamp: 5 mins 04 seconds

Sources: The Guardian / The Glasgow Times / LBC / Jeremy Kyle Show / Herald Scotland / The Sun / BBC Scotland / UK dtatabase /
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