Signs of a Psychopath
For every psychopath there are signs. Would you see them? Revisiting some of the most dangerous killers in modern history to see which psychopathic traits they exhibited. Featuring real archive footage.
Genre: Crime
Cast:Nameeta Sahni , Charles A. Morgan III , Chriscelyn Tussey , Chitra Raghavan , N.G. Berrill , Jonathan Deright , Daniel Mundy , Kostas A. Katsavdakis , John Latenser V , Kate Termini , Bryanna Fox , Kevin Davis , Kimberley Hill , Samantha Turret , Alissa Collins , Andrew Colford , Melissa Powers
S1.E1 ∙ Chase Me
A 50-year-old woman is found dead in her home. All that's left behind is a note that reads, "Chase me." But when detectives uncover the killer, they quickly discover they have come face to face with a remorseless psychopath.
S1.E2 ∙ Into the Woods at Midnight
Residents of a quaint village are terrified when a local innkeeper and two others are found brutally murdered. Detectives in Maine must follow the depraved killer into the woods at night as he leads them to where he killed and buried a fourth victim.
S1.E3 ∙ I'm Not the Monster I Was
An unapologetic 14-year-old boy confesses to the murder of his best friend. Twelve years later, he's back in court with chance at a reduced sentence. Has this 26-year-old really changed? Or is he the same meticulous, cold-blooded killer he always was?
S1.E4 ∙ Where Evil Grows
A charming 20-year-old wants to help authorities with a murder investigation. He claims to have met one of the three victims and says he has no knowledge of the crime, but detectives suspect otherwise. Could this young intellectual be hiding a dark side?
S1.E5 ∙ I Dug a Hole and Said a Prayer
When police question a man in the disappearance of his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her young son, they discover he has a terrifying capacity for violence. And later, could a seemingly innocuous man searching for a missing girl be a real-life monster?
S1.E6 ∙ I Could Hear Her Calling...
A young girl disappears after school. Her last known steps are caught on surveillance cameras, which lead investigators to two dark minds who carefully plotted one of the most sinister, depraved crimes imaginable.
S1.E7 ∙ I Am the Devil
A missing Colorado woman's roommate claims she'll do anything to help find her, but investigators fear they may have a rare female psychopath on their hands. Later, a killer's angry outbursts could be real, or just an act put on by a skilled manipulator.
S1.E8 ∙ Now They Lay Me Down to Sleep
After a house fire in Texas, suspicion lands on John Hummel when his family's brutally murdered bodies are discovered in the ashes, and he doesn't blink an eye. Now an inmate on death row, he grants a final interview weeks before his execution.
S2.E1 ∙ I Didn't Do Anything
An arrogant woman believes she's committed the perfect crime. She is wrong.
S2.E2 ∙ Fantasy Over Family
An obsession with a web-cam model leads to the annihilation of a family.
S2.E3 ∙ Guess I've Got No Conscience
A prolific serial killer brags on tape about strangling eight young women.
S2.E4 ∙ Diary of a Psychopath
Police suspect a love triangle is the cause of a student's disappearance.
S2.E5 ∙ I Have a Surprise for You
After coming home to find her parents on the floor bleeding, a woman's younger brother claims their father shot their mother before turning the gun on himself.
S2.E6 ∙ Only if There's Something in it for Me
While being questioned in the abduction of an Anchorage barista, a young local businessman starts negotiating with investigators to reveal details of a depraved secret life as one of America's most meticulous and psychopathic serial killers.
S3.E1 ∙ I Am Strange
A heartless gunman shoots a young couple with devastating consequences.
S3.E2 ∙ The Good Girl
A home invasion leads to the revelation of a shocking double life.
S3.E3 ∙ Do Her Mortal Harm
The naked and mutilated body of a mother turns up at the bottom of a ravine in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When tire tracks lead investigators to a suspect, they encounter an undetected serial killer who confesses to butchering eight women over a decade.
S3.E4 ∙ You Met the Angel of Death
When a graduate student suddenly goes missing, the family he's staying with immediately contacts police. Days later, a horrific discovery forces investigators to face a rare kind of monster.
S3.E5 ∙ I'm Just a Sick Murderer
An officer response to a 911 call placed by a robber on the lam who feels compelled to turn himself in. When the officer arrives at the scene, the criminal confesses to much more than breaking and entering.
S3.E6 ∙ She Isn't Acting Dead
A man crashes into the back of a woman's vehicle early one morning. Officers respond to the scene only to find her car abandoned. Detectives are horrified to discover a sadistic psychopath who admits to murder.
S3.E7 ∙ She Isn't Acting Dead Enough
Police respond to a 911 call to find a father of two dead in his home with 15 gunshot wounds. Police question the family, but one person is missing, his mother-in-law. Now they must determine if this grandma could be a deadly psychopath.
S4.E1 ∙ Everyone Has a Death Sentence
The "Tourniquet Killer" terrorizes young girls across Houston, Texas. When advances in DNA finally lead to his arrest, this psychopath eagerly confesses to multiple murders.
S4.E2 ∙ Sleeping Beauties
First responders arrive at a home in Ontario where a mother leads officers to the bodies of her two children. An investigation yields the truth: this awful tragedy isn't an accident but a carefully crafted killing by a vengeful psychopath.
S4.E3 ∙ God Was Going To Use Me
A longtime nurse confesses to helping end the lives of numerous elderly patients at multiple nursing homes; detectives discover this is no angel of mercy; behind her unsuspecting persona lies a ruthless psychopath.
S4.E4 ∙ Most People Would Be Haunted
A failed actor take out his rage on the weakest members of society; after killing four people, a chance encounter with police leads to his downfall; the interrogation room becomes the stage for this killer's final performance.
S4.E5 ∙ I Knew She Lived Alone
Burlington Police get a call that a man killed his girlfriend. At the scene they find the man calm while his girlfriend's body lies nearby. He explains that he has other victims, revealing a history of psychopathic sexual deviancy.
S4.E6 ∙ I Was a Star
A woman dies in a brutal stabbing at home. Police quickly locate the prime suspect: Antoine Bynum. In his interrogation, he appears to have a psychotic episode until detectives discover it's merely the ruse of a deranged psychopath.
S4.E7 ∙ Sometimes People Get Shot
A 17-year-old breaks into his family's cabin and steals a gun before beginning a horrifying road trip through Iowa. When officers catch up with him, a haunting portrait of a burgeoning psychopathic killer emerges.
S4.E8 ∙ I Call Him Monster
Nov. 2015: Police respond to a car crash alongside a highway in Grand Rapids, MI. Investigators at the scene realize this is no accident. Donald Spice is eventually arrested and convicted for the murder of his fiancee Lori Marie Vargas.
S4.E9 ∙ The Women on His List
In rural Wilno, Ontario a vigilante leaves his home on a mission to confront three women who have rejected him over the years. His confession gives investigators picture of a cold-hearted psychopath with a long history of abusing women.
S4.E10 ∙ He Is Not Among the Living
A woman reports her boyfriend is missing after finding a pool of blood in their apartment. When investigators start their search for answers, they are confronted with a sinister plot hatched by their roommate.
S5.E1 ∙ I Guess My Life is Over Now
2020: A Des Moines, Iowa mother, Paula Thompson, calls 911 to report her delinquent son, Christopher Thompson. Five days later she turns up dead in her home.
S5.E2 ∙ I Was in a Zone
July 6, 2012, Bismarck, North Dakota: A crash on a North Dakota highway leaves the passenger Lee Clay, age 40, dead. The driver, John Clark Bridges, age 38, claimed that his friend died due to the accident. Police noticed several stab wounds on Lee Clay's neck, plus zip ties and duct tape at the scene and suspected that Clay was dead before the crash. In the end, John Bridges is arrested and convicted of the murder of Lee Clay. He was sentenced to "life plus 20 years" in prison. This had not been Bridges' first murder. When Bridges was age 16, he killed Danny M. Taylor in Harrisburg, Illinois. He had already served his time for that murder and had been released from prison.
S5.E3 ∙ It Wanted to Kill Somebody
May, Texas: This installment details the videotaped confession of Ryan Riggs in November 2017. He had raped and murdered mentally-challenged Rhonda Chantay Blankinship on May 13, 2016. When he told the detectives, "It wanted to kill somebody," he explained that "It" stood for "Satan." Ryan Riggs was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
S5.E4 ∙ I Wanted Her to Hear It
Nicholas "Nick" Nigro finds his girlfriend and her mother murdered in their beds at night. He calls 911 for help, but police, through careful questioning, uncover the true story behind the horrendous murders.
S5.E5 ∙ Hell to Look Forward to
Aurora, Colorado: On September 10, 2003, Richard Paul White shocks police detectives by revealing that he is behind a long trail of bloodshed and is a serial killer who seems to consider himself an angel of mercy. First, White confesses to "accidentally" killing his best friend, Jason Reichardt, while cleaning his gun. He also confesses to the murders of three prostitutes: 1. Victoria Turpin, who had been buried in the backyard of his Denver house; 2. Annaletia Maria Gonzales, who had also been buried in his backyard; 3. Torrey Marie Foster, who had been left in the Colorado desert. For Jason's death and two of the girls, White took a plea deal and was sentenced to 3 consecutive life sentences plus 144 years.
S5.E6 ∙ Heat Will Destroy
This installment details the murders of James Barnes of Florida. In December 1997, he murdered his wife, Linda Barnes, in Melbourne, Florida. This confession is on audiotape. James Barnes only agreed to confess if Linda's ex-husband, Tony Verzi, was present. In January 1998, James Barnes was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife. The murder of Linda Barnes was not his first murder. On November 1, 2005, at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Florida, James Barnes confessed to the 1988 murder of 41-year-old Patricia Miller. He had raped and killed her and then burned her body on a mattress. This murder had been unsolved for 17 years. In December 2007, Barnes was sentenced to death for the murder of Patricia Miller. The Miller confession is on videotape. As of January 2023, he is still awaiting execution while his case goes through the appeals process.
S5.E7 ∙ I'm Gonna Recycle a Snitch
Phoenix, Arizona: This installment outlines the August 5, 2009 murder of a paraplegic man, Terry Neely, age 46. His killer is Angela Simpson, who tortured him to death, dismembered his body, and burned him beyond recognition. Investigators receive a tip and arrest Angela Simpson. A police interview reveals her as the most remorseless psychopathic killer they have ever seen. Simpson pleads guilty and is sentenced to life in prison.
S5.E8 ∙ Ladies First
This installment outlines the Sunday, January 28, 2007 husband-and-wife murders of an elderly couple, Gilbert Overlin and Naomi Overlin of Mitchellville, Iowa. Police find their bodies at the bottom of a a well at their residence and look for their son, Russell Overlin, age 52. Russell is found 400 miles from the crime scene in Miami, Oklahoma on February 8, 2007. He admits to the brutal homicides of his father and his step-mother. He tells detectives that he hated his step-mother and had been thinking of murdering her for the past four years, because she made him feel uncomfortable and unappreciated in their home. This is in spite of the fact that he has been living with them, and sponging off of them, for several years. In the end, Russell Overlin pleads guilty to the double-murder and is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole.
S5.E9 ∙ In My Van, I'm the Aggressor
Omaha police officers chase down a stolen vehicle driving recklessly. When they arrest the driver, he shocks detectives by giving an unsolicited confession to a gruesome murder of a local woman, the first of many chilling revelations.
S5.E10 ∙ I'm a Sick Puppy
When a Catholic priest, Reverend Father Rene Wayne Robert, age 71, of Saint Augustine, Florida goes missing, police focus on a troubled ex-convict, career criminal Steve James Murray, age 28, who had been recently released from a Jacksonville, Florida jail. Father Robert had ministered to Murray and had helped to support him. Through multiple interrogations, the psychopathic killer reveals details of a twisted vengeance that escalates to the chilling firearm murder on April 10, 2016 in Waynesboro, Georgia. Steven Murray was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
S5.E11 ∙ How to Spot a Psychopath
This installment discusses going inside the minds of psychopaths to see if it is possible to discover when their pervasive traits deviate into violence.
S5.E12 ∙ Cruel World
Both of these cases were previously aired on this series in January and February 2023, both as hour-long stories. For this installment, the cases are edited and combined into two 30-minute segments. STORY 1. July 6, 2012, Bismarck, North Dakota: A crash on a North Dakota highway leaves the passenger Lee Clay, age 40, dead. The driver, John Clark Bridges, age 38, claimed that his friend died due to the accident. Police noticed several stab wounds on Lee Clay's neck, plus zip ties and duct tape at the scene and suspected that Clay was dead before the crash. In the end, John Bridges is arrested and convicted of the murder of Lee Clay. He was sentenced to "life plus 20 years" in prison. This had not been Bridges' first murder. When Bridges was age 16, he killed Danny M. Taylor in Harrisburg, Illinois. He had already served his time for that murder and had been released from prison. STORY 2. Phoenix, Arizona, August 5, 2009: The dismembered and burned body of a disabled man, paraplegic Terry Neely, age 46, is found in a trash can. Law enforcement detectives receive a tip and are soon on the heels of a woman who seemingly thirsts for torture. Eventually, Angela Simpson confesses to Terry Neely's brutal murder. Neely had been a resident in an assisted care facility. Autopsy results revealed multiple injuries, including a three-inch nail that had been hammered into Neely's skull. Simpson had been under the false impression that Neely was a "snitch" and took it upon herself to eliminate him.
S5.E13 ∙ I'm Usually So Calm
Both of these cases were previously aired on this series in February 2023 as 'Heat Will Destroy' and March 2022 as 'I Call Him Monster'. The stories were both single-story, hour-long presentations. For this installment, the two hour-long cases have been edited to two 30-minute segments. STORY 1. This installment details the murders of James Barnes of Florida. In December 1997, he murdered his wife, Linda Barnes, in Melbourne, Florida. This confession is on audiotape. James Barnes only agreed to confess if Linda's ex-husband, Tony Verzi, was present. In January 1998, James Barnes was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife. The murder of Linda Barnes was not his first murder. On November 1, 2005, at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Florida, James Barnes confessed to the 1988 murder of 41-year-old Patricia Miller. He had raped and killed her and then burned her body on a mattress. This murder had been unsolved for 17 years. In December 2007, Barnes was sentenced to death for the murder of Patricia Miller. The Miller confession is on videotape. STORY 2. November 9, 2015, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Police respond to the site of a car crash alongside a highway. Investigators at the scene quickly realize this is no accident, but rather an elaborate cover up for a cold-blooded murder by a relentless psychopath. Lori Marie Vargas, age 37 and a mother of two girls, had been killed and placed in a car that had been set on fire as a cover-up. The person who murdered her was her fiance, Donald Spice. His motive was a $200,000 life insurance policy that was taken out on her, with Donald Spice as the beneficiary. Spice had been a career criminal who had previously served prison time for a suspected 1,200 'breaking and entering' crimes. In the end, for the murder of Vargas, Spice was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
S5.E14 ∙ Tears of a Clown
Both of these cases were previously aired on this series in February 2023 as 'I Wanted Her to Hear It' and 'Hell to Look Forward to'. The stories were both single-story, hour-long presentations. For this installment, the two hour-long cases have been edited to two 30-minute segments. STORY 1. September 30, 2009, Scarborough Drive, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey: Nicholas Nigro, age 25, confesses to murdering his girlfriend of two years, Paula Mulder, age 21, and her mother Maryjane Buri-Mulder, age 48, in their separate bedrooms at night. After killing them both with a shotgun, he travels to his home, changes his clothes, and returns to the crime scene to phone 911 to report that he "found" the deceased women. At the beginning of his videotaped interrogation by the homicide detectives, he claims innocence, but his false story falls apart and he confesses to the brutal murders. When he was asked why he shot Paula's mother first, Nigro responded, "I wanted her to hear it." Nick Nigro was convicted of the murders in April 2011 and sentenced to 125 years in state prison, which included extra time due to the psychological terror he inflicted upon Paula by making sure that she first heard the murder of her mother. STORY 2. Aurora, Colorado: On September 10, 2003, Richard Paul White shocks police detectives by revealing that he is behind a long trail of bloodshed and is a serial killer who seems to consider himself an angel of mercy. First, White confesses to "accidentally" killing his best friend, Jason Reichardt, while cleaning his gun. He also confesses to the murders of three prostitutes: 1. Victoria Turpin, who had been buried in the backyard of his Denver house; 2. Annaletia Maria Gonzales, who had also been buried in his backyard; 3. Torrey Marie Foster, who had been left in the Colorado desert. For Jason's death and two of the girls, White took a plea deal and was sentenced to 3 consecutive life sentences plus 144 years.
S5.E15 ∙ Kids Will Be Kids
Police find a 17-year-old Makia Coney's body in a ditch with two gunshot wounds. The investigation centers on two friends claiming her death was an accident. However, detectives uncover it was a thrill kill carried out by evil psychopaths.
S5.E16 ∙ Unholy Acts
Both of these cases were previously aired on this series in January and February 2023 as 'I'm a Sick Puppy' and 'It Wanted to Kill Somebody'. The stories were both single-story, hour-long presentations. For this installment, the two hour-long cases have been edited to two 30-minute segments. STORY 1. When a Catholic priest, Reverend Father Rene Wayne Robert, age 71, of Saint Augustine, Florida goes missing, police focus on a troubled ex-convict, career criminal Steve James Murray, age 28, who had been recently released from a Jacksonville, Florida jail. Father Robert had ministered to Murray and had helped to support him. Through multiple interrogations, the psychopathic killer reveals details of a twisted vengeance that escalates to the chilling firearm murder on April 10, 2016 in Waynesboro, Georgia. Steven Murray was sentenced to life in prison without parole. STORY 2. May, Texas: This story details the videotaped confession of Ryan Riggs in November 2017. He had raped and murdered mentally-challenged Rhonda Chantay Blankinship on May 13, 2016. When he told the detectives, "It wanted to kill somebody," he explained that "It" stood for "Satan." Ryan Riggs was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
S5.E17 ∙ An Excuse to Kill Somebody
Milford, New Hampshire reels after police arrest teenagers for robbing and murdering 42-year-old Kimberly Cates and maiming her 11-year-old daughter. Detectives uncover two suspects who are not ordinary criminals but sadistic psychopaths.
S6.E1 ∙ Something a Man Would Do
Discusses the 2015 murder of 68-year-old Daniel A. Taylor in Collinsville, Illinois by psychopath Eva Heisch and her boyfriend Jessie Werley. Additional details below.
S6.E2 ∙ Hey Look, I'm a Serial Killer
Racially motivated serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin, sits on death row refusing to confesses additional unsolved murders. Until a shrewd female prosecutor sits down with him to convince him otherwise.
S6.E3 ∙ Having Breakfast on Him
Investigators search a farm near Medford, Oregon for a missing man. They find a human leg bone on the property. The owner, Susan Monica admits that her pigs ate her tenant alive, and he's not the only victim.
S6.E4 ∙ He Didn't Know I Was There
A gunman shoots a man dead as he runs along a road. First responders find a witness standing next to the body with a strange story to tell. Detectives unravel the lies of a callous person who takes out his frustrations in bloodshed.
S6.E5 ∙ He Thought We Were Buddies
2003: Randy Tomjack calls 911. First responders find him dead, stabbed 59 times. Detectives question his friend, Danny Ball, and uncover a sick story of deception and jealousy that explodes in psychopathic rage. More details below.
S6.E6 ∙ I Still Care About Her
2004: Ryan Doyle murders Lora Fischer in his Orlando, FL apartment. Hours later, he is in a North Carolina hospital with a gunshot wound and a bizarre story that unravels to reveal he is a lying, callous psychopath. More details below.
S6.E7 ∙ Kids Will Be Kids
Two thrill-seeking students brutally murder their 17-year-old friend.
S6.E8 ∙ An Excuse to Kill Somebody
Depraved teenagers attack a mother and daughter in their sleep.
S6.E9 ∙ This is What I Chose to Be
A puppet master, Aubrey Trail, lures women into a deadly world of sexual exploitation. More details below.
S6.E10 ∙ Deadly Women
Experts explore the unique characteristics of female psychopathic killers.
