The night before Irene Izak left Cleveland, she woke up screaming. She had dreamed of a faceless figure beating her over the head with rocks. Her family calmed her down. It was just a dream.

Two nights later, on June 10th, 1968, Irene's body was found at the bottom of a wooded ravine on Wellesley Island, New York — just one mile from the Canadian border. She had been bludgeoned with rocks. Killed exactly as she had dreamed.

Irene Juliana Izak was 25 years old. A child of Ukrainian war refugees, she had survived bombings, displacement, and poverty to become a beloved French teacher fluent in six languages — a woman who radiated warmth, chased adventure, and trusted the goodness in people. She was on her way to a job interview in Quebec City but never made it.

The only real suspect was the state trooper who pulled her over that night — and then, just 30 minutes later, found her body. He had blood on his uniform. He gave three different stories for how it got there. He refused to meet with Irene's heartbroken father. He lawyered up mid-interview and was never questioned again. He died in 2009, taking any secrets to his grave.

No one has ever been arrested. No one has ever been charged.

Ed and Melissa bring you this episode with a heavy heart, and with personal connection. This case is dedicated MU listener and longtime friend of the pod, Cassandra, whose family has spent decades seeking justice for her great-aunt Irene. Cassandra's mother, Lisa, shares her family's story in her own words throughout this episode.

If you have any information about the murder of Irene Izak, please contact the New York State Police Cold Case Unit. This case remains open.

This one is for Irene. 🖤

⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode covers the deaths of infants. Ed and Melissa handle it with care, but please listen accordingly.

In 2015 and 2016, the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital in the UK recorded a disturbing spike in unexplained infant deaths. The investigation — codenamed Operation Hummingbird — eventually zeroed in on one suspect: a quiet, introverted nurse named Lucy Letby.

After a 10-month trial, Lucy was convicted of murdering 7 babies and attempting to murder 6 more. She received 15 whole life terms — the longest sentence possible in the UK. The case rocked Britain.

But not everyone is convinced justice was served.

A panel of 14 elite international neonatal physicians — assembled voluntarily by the Canadian doctor whose research was used to convict her — reviewed all 17 cases and unanimously concluded: no crimes were committed. The medical evidence, they say, was misunderstood.

Add to that: a lead prosecution expert witness with a documented pattern of tailoring testimony to whichever side hires him. A defense team that called zero medical experts. And a handwritten note that reads 'I AM EVIL, I DID THIS' — which prosecutors called a confession and the defense called the journal of a gaslit, scapegoated nurse.

Ed and Melissa break down every angle of one of the UK's most divisive cases, from Lucy's unusually quiet childhood and rocky nursing school days, to the questionable testimony, the missing evidence, and the international doctors who may have just blown the case wide open.

This one will make you question everything. 🖤

Submitted by listener Kate M. | Written by Sue Grice | Hosted by Ed Hydock & Melissa Spivey

On Thanksgiving Day 2018, 29-year-old flight instructor and mother Kelsey Berreth vanished from her Woodland Park, Colorado condo. She'd been at the grocery store that morning. She'd texted her mom about Thanksgiving dinner recipes. She'd left cinnamon rolls on the stove for her baby daughter. Then she was gone.

What followed was one of the most gripping murder investigations in Colorado history... a missing person case that turned into a homicide investigation when a single blood smear on a toilet changed everything. And a critical break that came not from physical evidence, but from a nurse in Idaho with a secret she could no longer keep.

In this episode, Ed covers the full Kelsey Berreth case, including:

• How Patrick Frazee (her fiancé and the father of her daughter) planned and carried out a premeditated murder.
• How he enlisted his secret girlfriend Krystal Lee Kenney to clean up the evidence and help disappear Kelsey's body.
• How an extraordinary web of phone records, surveillance footage, and one woman's devastating testimony put a killer in prison for the rest of his life.

This is a case about domestic violence, manipulation, and coercive control. It is also a case about a woman who deserved better, and a little girl growing up knowing who her mother really was.

Case suggested by listener Tiange678. Thank you!!!