Ikbal's mother has been trying to get in contact with her daughter for over an hour at this point. Ikbal had been dealing with a stalker for a few years and her family were frantic.  One more try.  Ikbal’s mother dials for her daughter.   Click.  Someone picks up the phone, but the response is not from a 19 yo teenage daughter. It’s a low, quiet voice; her stalker is on the other end. He says 15 words and hangs up.  “Don’t worry. Your daughter is in good hands. The girl is sleeping in peace now…”    A little later, the same day, a video goes viral on Turkish social media - specifically Discord.  A woman screams ‘Ikbal’ as she’s held back by a crowd of people. Clear as day in front of her, in the middle of a busy street is her daughter’s decapitated head.  A second video goes viral.  A boy, 19 yo as well, jumps from the edge of a building with a rope around his neck.  October 4, 2024 three 19 year olds die in the same city. Their deaths all connected and viral on Discord.  Until it goes dark. Full show notes at rottenmangopodcast.com

It will be their first time seeing each other in 20+ years. The last time they saw each other was when they broke up after college. Now, so much has changed.  He’s gotten out of prison for killing his childhood abuser. She’s started her own business and moved on with her life. Maybe this is a bad idea. Maybe they have nothing in common anymore. Maybe it’s a college fling and they should leave it alone.  After all, they never even said a word to each other for 25 years.  But when they see each other for the first time in that coffee shop. They’re back to college again.  She looks down and notices a briefcase.  “Do you bring a briefcase to all your dates?” He chuckles because inside that suitcase is proof. Proof that for the past 20 years he has never stopped thinking about her. Support Clark and his story: "Scarred" by Clark Fredericks https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Scarred/Clark-Fredericks/9781668018651 Full Shownotes: rottenmangopodcast.com

What happened that day in that little house in the woods is not a debate. The evidence is all there. The blood, the wounds, the dead man lying on the floor of the living room. That night while the homeowner was watching TV - Clark Fredericks walked in, slashed at him with a hunting knife, stabbing him all over his chest, before finally slitting his throat. It’s a bloody killing. There’s blood splattered and smeared all over the room. Detectives have so many questions for the killer - Like why did he kill him? Why did he go and spit on his bed before leaving? Did he think that he was going to get away with this? What was the reason? And does he regret it? Today, we’re getting answers to those questions. This is our interview with Clark Fredericks. Full Shownotes: rottenmangopodcast.com

It’s a little strange for a eulogy to go viral especially when it’s not dedicated to a politician or celebrity that’s passed, but this eulogy is for the joint funeral of a couple Kristin and James Brock. Killed in their sleep while their two daughters slept just a few doors away. The killer is still on the loose.   Kristin’s eldest daughter gives the closing line of her eulogy, “I love you guys so, so much…I’m sorry.”   A relative who is present at the funeral will later recall the teenager’s cadence - how it was one of the weirdest things they have ever witnessed. What is that voice they’re doing? It sounds like crying but not a single tear… Afterwards, the teenager, whose 5 year old sister was the one to find their parents’ bodies, goes down the line of relatives repeating the phrase, “I’m sorry.” Why is 17 year old Sarah Patrick apologizing to everyone when it was her mother and stepfather that were killed? Five months later and a digital footprint of tiktoks will give the police enough evidence to make an arrest. Authorities accuse Sarah Patrick. Could the teenage daughter who recited a eulogy for her deceased parents really be a killer performing a eulogy for her murder victims? Full show notes at rottenmangopodcast.com

July 5th, 2025 a predator in Nanjing, China is arrested. He’s been nicknamed, ‘Uncle Red’ and his face gets plastered on the news. Finally. The community can breathe and go about their daily lives, right? No. Netizens instead start a boycott and it works. No future travel into or through Nanjing. Gyms are shutting down. No one wants to visit. Some residents are ashamed to have an Nanjing address. Suddenly the biggest online diss you can throw at someone on Chinese social media is telling them that their husband or father is from Nanjing. It’s clear that after Uncle Red’s arrest, nothing and nobody is the same… but how the hell is an entire city impacted by one man’s arrest? For that, all you have to do is log onto Chinese social media and you’ll see it. I’m talking, screenshots, gifs, full videos, memes, AI parodies of Uncle Red’s crimes... Over a thousand graphic videos that captured hundreds of Nanjing residents in their most intimate moments between them and a partner. They had no idea Uncle Red was recording them. And they had no idea that the partner participating in the videos with them was actually Uncle Red too. Full show notes at rottenmangopodcast.com

Almost exactly a year before John O’Keefe is found in the snow outside of Boston detective Brian Albert’s home, Sandra Birchmore is found dead in her apartment in the middle of a blizzard. In her phone are thousands of messages between her and a police detective that indicate he is the father of her unborn child. But of course, it’s never that simple. For one, he’s married and his wife is about to give birth to their third child. And two, he legally, shouldn’t be in a relationship with Sandra. Nobody was supposed to find out that he had been grooming and assaulting her since she was 15 years old, a grade school cadet apart of his police explorer’s program. Now that she’s dead - everything’s about to come out into the open right? Not exactly.  When Canton PD and Massachusetts State Police investigate Sandra’s suspicious death, they rule her manner of death as a self exit. It would take the FBI 4 years to get involved and make an arrest.  From first glance, it appeared Sandra Birchmore’s connection to Karen Read ended with the fact that both crimes took place in the same town. But when Karen Read’s defense team requests unredacted files from Sandra Birchmore’s investigation…netizens begin digging.  Many of the same exact officers that are going after Karen Read are the same ones saying Sandra Birchmore did this to herself. What are they all hiding? Full show notes at rottenmangopodcast.com

Karen Read claims she did not kill her boyfriend. She dropped him off at a friend’s house for a party and he was found the next morning, deceased on the front lawn.  The party goers say that he never came inside which has everyone believing Karen Read ran him over with her car.  But she says that never happened.  Then how do you explain the 40+ pieces of HER car tail light that were found at the scene? Well, it’s simple.  She says she was framed. For murder.  Those tail light pieces were allegedly planted by shady cops that want her to go down.  Law enforcement disagree, providing video evidence that nobody touched her car and nobody could have ever placed tail light pieces at the scene. Nobody believes Karen Read. Until it’s revealed that the so called CCTV footage from inside the police station… is altered.  Full show notes at rottenmangopodcast.com

Colin Albert is the son of one of the most powerful families in town. And he was supposed to be anywhere but 34 Fairview, the night John O’Keefe died. For months, not a single witness that spoke with authorities ever stated Colin Albert was at the house that night. Until, John’s girlfriend, Karen Read, gets charged with his death. She knows she didn’t do it and is ready to prove her innocence. She hires a private investigator who uncovers that Colin was there the night of the party. So why is everyone lying to cover for him? Why does it seem like everyone is trying to protect him? Why is it so important to hide the fact that he was at the house that night? Could it be related to the fact that, just weeks after John O'Keefe’s death, Colin Albert was photographed with scraped and injured knuckles? Or perhaps it has something to do with his Snapchat videos, which reveal that this popular high school football player may have violent tendencies? Full show notes at rottenmangopodcast.com

It’s a blizzard party. A group of friends at a house, getting drunk, before they all drive back home. By 2AM, the snow is coming down hard and the party goers have left for their own homes. Only the residents of 34 Fairview Road remain.  At least that’s what they say. Within just a few hours, the frozen body of John O’Keefe is found outside on their lawn. Laying in the snow.  The best way to figure out what happened to John O’Keefe is to talk to every single person inside the house for the ‘blizzard party'. But ‘hos’ can authorities have a proper investigation if all of them are evasive? Nobody wants to answer any of the questions directly and their stories aren’t adding up. Most importantly, what about the allegations that every single person inside of the house that evening may have a motive to harm John? Are they telling the truth? Could it really just’ve been John’s ‘jealous’ girlfriend Karen? Did she really run him over in a fit of rage like all the party goers say? The authorities seem to think so. They take the residents of 34 Fairview and the partygoers at their word despite the mountains of evidence that point in a completely different direction. So the real questions are: Is Karen Read actually guilty or is it just because the residents of 34 Fairview are the most well-connected and powerful family in Canton? Full show notes at rottenmangopodcast.com

Deputy: In the matter of USA v. Combs, how do you find the defendant, Sean Combs, for count one, racketeering conspiracy? Juror 5: Not guilty.  There’s a small gasp from Diddy’s two rows of friends and family.  Deputy: As for sex trafficking of Casandra Ventura, how do you find the defendant? Juror 5: Not guilty. Someone from the same section of the gallery says “yeah!!” It was quiet but in the tension of the courtroom it is clear that everyone heard it. His kids have broken into smiles, happily nodding.   Deputy: Transportation for purposes of prostitution related to Casandra Ventura? Juror 5: Guilty. There’s no reaction.  Deputy: As for sex trafficking of Jane, how do you find the defendant? Juror 5: Not guilty. Teny Geragos tightly grips Sean Combs’s hand across the table as the defense team exchanges positive looks. Deputy: Transportation for purposes of prostitution related to Jane?  Juror 5: Guilty. As the entire courtroom stands and watches the jury leave, Combs continues to nod and clasp his hands in prayer directed towards the jurors; a silent ‘thank you.’ Basically the moment the jury walk out of the room, Marc Agnifilo, Sean Combs's lead defense attorney immediately petitions the Judge. Judge: Are you proposing he just walk outside now? Agnifilo: Yes…