It’s the stuff of nightmares. Women and girls start disappearing, then are found murdered, naked and brutalized. A shadowy intruder breaks into homes, leaving satanic signs and murdering and raping everyone inside. Yet from 1977 to 1985 this was a reality for residents in Los Angeles as it became the center of two of the most notorious serial killer investigations in US history: those committed by the Hillside Strangler and the Night Stalker. 
Criminal psychologist Dr. Michelle Ward takes us to the beginning of the horror. It’s October 17, 1977, and a young woman’s naked body is discovered near famed Hollywood cemetery, Forest Lawn. Little do investigators know that the killers are just getting started…   Watch full episodes of Mind of a Monster on discovery+. Go to discoveryplus.com/mindofamonster to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S2 Ep.1: Making a Killing in Hollywood

Hosted by criminal psychologist Michelle Ward, Mind of a Monster brings you exclusive access and insight into depraved killers. Hear from history’s most notorious serial killers—with chilling audio straight from the monsters themselves.
Season 6 examines the case of the Butcher Baker, Robert Hansen. 1980s Alaska: a swirling, chaotic mix of oil workers, dancers, sex workers and old-school cops. On the seedy 4th Avenue strip in Anchorage, nicknamed the world's longest bar, women start to go missing, plucked from the street or the bars and never seen again.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; In this 7-part series, Dr. Michelle Ward investigates the case of one of the US's most prolific, but not widely known, serial killers. She'll talk to survivors, criminology experts and the police on the ground, uncovering audio tapes, police reports and old newspaper articles, all to reveal the killer's identity as it happened.&nbsp; Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

True crime

We bring the series to a close with a special episode dedicated to the story of Cindy Paulson, the 17-year-old sex worker who turned the entire Hansen case around. In 40 years, Cindy has never spoken in public about her experience. Now we fly to meet her for an exclusive interview. We talk about her childhood and what led her into sex work, we hear her side of Hansen’s attack and the police’s subsequent negligence. We learn how she began to trust Glenn Flothe, and where she disappeared to. We end on the impact these events had on her life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S6 Ep.7: They Bleed Like Everyone Else

Robert Hansen meets with the prosecution, and the true extent of his crimes becomes apparent, surprising even his defense lawyers. But he doesn't remember any of his victims' names. What follows is the painstaking recovery of bodies and the attempts to identify them. Dr. Michelle Ward revisits the story of Delynn Frey and tells of her family's heartache as the wait to identify her body stretches into years. Two other unidentified victims' stories take us to the present day, and the cold case investigators vow to give them back their names. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S6 Ep. 6: Breaking the Unfortunate Bond

On a fall day in 1983, the police tear apart Robert Hansen’s home in search of evidence connecting him to the murders of two dancers, but all they’ve found is a few flight maps. In an interview room across town, Sergeant Glenn Flothe has his man in front of him, but he’s telling the same old stories. However, as the search turns and Flothe starts to build a concrete case, his key witness, 17-year-old sex worker Cindy Paulsen, disappears into the Anchorage nightlife scene. Hansen has slipped through their net countless times before. Will this be the last?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S6 Ep.5: What Don't We Know?

In 1983, another woman’s body is found in the sand banks of the Knik River. The police can no longer deny there is a serial killer at work. Detective Glenn Flothe takes on the case at the Alaska State Troopers and realizes it is much bigger than he ever imagined. He painstakingly tracks down further survivors of the man terrorizing Anchorage, including former dancer Christy Hayes, who speaks publicly for the first time about her abduction and escape. Meanwhile, Flothe narrows in on his suspect as Detective Maxine Farrell arrives to aid the investigation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S6 Ep.4: Your Job Is To Protect and Serve

Superiors at the Anchorage Police Department shrug off sex worker Cindy Paulson’s accusations of rape and kidnapping. Still, Patrol Cop Gregg Baker thinks he knows who is responsible and will not let it lie. In this episode, Dr. Michelle Ward and Criminal Profiler Brent Turvey dive deep into the backstory of Gregg’s main suspect. What can his current life in Anchorage and his distant past in Pocahontas, Iowa, tell us about him and the likelihood that he is involved with the cases of the missing dancers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S2 Ep.1: Making a Killing in Hollywood

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