Twisted & ruthless
A new true-crime series starts on CBS Justice (*170) this month, focusing on some of the most callous murderers ever brought to book. Here’s a snippet of the episodes you can watch in season 1 of Twisted Killers…
No one really knows what drives someone to murder a complete stranger, but it happens all the time unfortunately. Luckily, these people are frequently caught, largely due to tips from the public, diligent police work and intense investigations to find them. Twisted Killers on CBS Justice (*170) investigates killers and their senseless crimes, including:
THE SHOTGUN KILLER
For two months at the end of 1990, the state of Indiana was on edge as someone was gunning down its citizens and robbing them… and the police were unable to catch him. Who would be next? The first victim was an attendant at a petrol station, shot at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun. The second was a desk clerk at a motel, murdered in exactly the same way.
Next to die were two brothers working in their tailor shop. Thanks to the perpetrator confessing his actions to an acquaintance, police finally had a lead – and arrested Christopher Peterson soon afterwards, having found the sawnoff shotgun used in the murders at his home. But did Peterson really commit the murders? And were there more victims than first thought? The trial becomes complicated, especially when an original witness described the killer as looking completely different to him. Do they have the right man?
THE LEAF KILLER
When Tina failed to turn up for work at the local Dairy Queen in Mount Vernon, Ohio, the police were immediately on the case. What they found was unlike any crime scene they had witnessed before and is described as one of the worst homicide cases in
Ohio history. On visiting Tina’s home, there was evidence of blood, leading investigators to think that all four inhabitants had been killed, although no bodies were located. Thorough police work and an incredible lead eventually took them to the perpetrator’s home where they found something surprising: The home was filled to the brim with leaves. They estimated there must have been hundreds of bags. As they made their way through the mess, they made another surprising discovery in the basement – one of the victims was still alive.
HOUSE OF HORRORS
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the US. It’s also one of the quietest and quaintest, with beautiful scenery, historic buildings and gorgeous white beaches. The Ocean State is definitely not synonymous with murder, so back in 2003 when three women vanished in a tiny town called Woonsocket, the last thing anyone suspected was a serial killer. The disappearances coincided with other incidences of violence that had taken place, including the stabbing of a woman and the beating of another with a metal pipe. The abductions and attacks happened in an area frequented by prostitutes, so police focused their attention there. It wasn’t long before they discovered two more accounts of attacks – which led them to a highly organised serial killer.
Watch Twisted Killers season 1 weekdays from Monday 6 June at 19:00.