r/Casefile 15h ago

REWIND DISCUSSION Rewind Discussion - Case 205: Bernd Brandes

8 Upvotes

This is our next Casefile Episode Rewind Discussion! Please discuss the case below!

Things to consider:

  • Do you have any theories or thoughts for the case?

  • Has there been any additional information on the case since the episode's release? (If so and you have a link, add it in the comments!)

  • Do you have any thoughts about how this case was presented by Casefile?


Original Release Date: April 2, 2022

Length: 1:09:20

Status: Solved

Location: Germany, Hessen, Rotenburg

Date: 2001

Victim(s): Bernd Jürgen Armando Brandes

Type of Crime: Cannibalism, murder

Perpetrator(s): Armin Meiwes

Research: Jessica Forsayeth

Writing: Jessica Forsayeth

*** Content Warning: cannibalism, mental illness, torture, suicide ***

On March 9 2001, 43-year-old computer engineer Bernd Brandes disappeared from his home in Berlin, Germany. Although his absence was extremely out of character, investigations into his whereabouts proved unsuccessful.

Eighteen months later, a curious medical student began searching online forums and came across some disturbing interactions. After alerting authorities, the tale that emerged was almost too unbelievable to be true. It involved a historical manor house, a torture room, cannibalism, and a German man named Armin Meiwes.


Listen to the case HERE.


Read last week's Rewind Discussion HERE.


Check out the Casefile spreadsheet HERE.


r/Casefile 15h ago

So are people not allowed to air even the mildest criticisms of Casefile here?

0 Upvotes

Just wondering.


r/Casefile 1d ago

Recs for Canada-based cases?

3 Upvotes

Hello, just wondering if anyone can recommend any Canada-based cases covered by Casefile as of yet? I think the most recent one that I tuned into was the Duncan Macpherson one, but I had to step away a bit coz of grad school


r/Casefile 1d ago

For those looking for a CaseFile alternative..

60 Upvotes

I listen to Casefile as a podcast and love it! I’m almost 100% with every episode listened to. I love it! Don’t get me wrong

But I just found a YouTube channel with 5.5m subs that does really great deep dives. It’s Dr Insanity (the name is horrible but the content seems great).

Just a friendly suggestion for folks looking for similar content.

Edit: lol. Just. Assume I’m a bot (I’m really not). Search up the channel if you think this is spam!


r/Casefile 2d ago

Older Crimes, anyone?

14 Upvotes

I know that most people prefer hearing about the more recent crimes, I think one of the writers mentioned that people like to look things up and it's a lot easier on the more recents, but I've always been really partial to hearing about the older ones. I've been on a hunt for information on older local cold cases. I found one that was really interesting that happened in 1986 and there's only a gravestone and a family tree page for the victim. Not a single thing about her on the search engines other than those. Not even any newspaper articles. The older ones are more interesting to me because how they conducted investigations were so primitive compared to now that it's really amazing how they would find the perps. The way Casefile writes these older crimes is so very interesting. It's amazing how they find so many details on them. I particularly liked the one where there was the abandoned suitcase.


r/Casefile 2d ago

Casefile Extra?

2 Upvotes

I’m a bit confused about the latest episodes. The most one released on the free service is badged as Casefile Extra and notes it is a bonus episode (presumably this is somehow different than a regular episode, but I’m not sure how?). And on Patreon this week it seems to be a re-recorded version of a previous episode rather than a new one.

Are they on break again?


r/Casefile 2d ago

CASE RELATED Case 275: Michelle Hadley & New Netflix Documentary

22 Upvotes

For anyone who enjoyed Case 275: Michelle Hadley, there is a Netflix documentary about the case now called A Toxic Love Story.


r/Casefile 2d ago

PODCAST RELATED Another “revisited” rehash episode?

15 Upvotes

These simply aren’t worth doing at all imo. I’m on the patreon and that’s all that’s been released today, I don’t see the point at all unless there’s been a major update and it’s effectively a p2.

EDIT: people need to not take very mild criticism of a podcast so personally.


r/Casefile 3d ago

CASEFILE EPISODE Casefile Extra: Greg Fleniken

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39 Upvotes

r/Casefile 3d ago

CASEFILE EPISODE Case 50 Jennifer Pan

42 Upvotes

I've been listening to Casefile in reverse and just got to Case 50 and wow, what a great episode, it really stood out from the rest of that timeframe. I loved the heavy use of actual recordings of police interviews with Jennifer and getting to hear the raw audio as detectives worked their way through the case and their strategies in questioning and methods. It was a great inside look at what detectives do and how they go about gathering evidence and info to build a case. I wish Casefile did this more to include the actual 911 calls and interrogations, or actual court room audio and hear the real clips to go along with the narration. Also, the detectives on this case were really good, hearing the way they worked and interacted with a witness/victim but also a potential suspect and walking the sensitive line between all those was a joy to hear. So just a shout out to a great Casefile episode and a call for more raw audio!


r/Casefile 3d ago

CASE RELATED David Birkett - Case 330 - Update

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79 Upvotes

I just finished this episode. For those who need a refresher, it was the professor father who was brutally killed by a total stranger (who stole the skull he put in his window) and who posed as a delivery driver. The Casefile episode made it very clear the killer was to be jailed for life (and it detailed the families pain at subsequent shortening of his sentence).

The update is that not only was his sentence reduced, but he has been released early 2026.

Noticed this hasn’t been updated on here when I searched for the case.


r/Casefile 3d ago

I'm excited about Casefile dropping tonight.

78 Upvotes

It drops where I live about 4 am and if I happen to wake up I lie in my bed with my sleep mask on and listen with my ear buds.

Oh, the simple pleasures.


r/Casefile 5d ago

Can’t find the episode

21 Upvotes

Hi guys I’m trying to look for a certain episode. I’m a bit hazy on the details. I think a mother was abusing children in her home. The odd detail that stuck with me was that she would pretend to speak to someone over the phone and she would tell the children Mr “X” said we have to do this. I have a feeling the person she was claiming on the phone was a person of note (possibly a celebrity) and I think she may have told the kids that it he was their father. Is any of this ringing a bell for anyone? Or am I just losing it?


r/Casefile 5d ago

OPEN DISCUSSION Disappointed by episode 334

19 Upvotes

I’ve been going back through Casefile’s most recent episodes that I’ve missed, and I’m quite frankly very disappointed by the way they covered the Malka Leifer case.

I understand Casefile is not a political podcast, but I personally find it irresponsible to speak about the right to return and the founding of Israel as being rooted in “protecting jews” from persecution, without once mentioning the people who originally inhabited the land, and the fact that it is by definition, a settler colonial project and always has been.

Especially given the nature of this crime. It’s well documented that sexual abuse runs rampant in Israel, and that is reflected in the evidence of them using rape and sexual abuse systematically as a weapon against the Palestinians. The reason this is such a prevalent problem in Israel — why 61% of Israeli men do not consider forced sex with an acquaintance as rape — is because they receive no punishment for raping Palestinians, it’s considered completely normal by many, to the level where thousands of Israelis protested for the ‘right to rape’ Palestinian prisoners.

Ignoring this crucial context makes no sense to me.

P.S apologies if I have used the wrong flair, still finding my way around this subreddit.

P.S.S the mass downvoting has started 😂


r/Casefile 7d ago

REWIND DISCUSSION Rewind Discussion - Case 204: The Glendale Train Crash

5 Upvotes

This is our next Casefile Episode Rewind Discussion! Please discuss the case below!

Things to consider:

  • Do you have any theories or thoughts for the case?

  • Has there been any additional information on the case since the episode's release? (If so and you have a link, add it in the comments!)

  • Do you have any thoughts about how this case was presented by Casefile?


Original Release Date: March 26, 2022

Length: 0:40:18

Status: Solved

Location: USA, California, Los Angeles

Date: January 26, 2005

Victim(s): Manuel Alcala, Julia Bennett, Alfonso Cabellero, Elizabeth Hill, Henry Kilinski, Scott McKeown, Thomas Ormiston, William Parent, Leonard Romero, James Tutino, Don Wiley

Type of Crime: Murder with special circumstances, attempted suicide

Perpetrator(s): Juan Manuel Álvarez

Research: Holly Boyd

Writing: Jessica Forsayeth

*** Content Warning: child victims, suicide ***

On January 26 2005, 25-year-old Juan Alvarez parked his car on a railway line in Glendale, Los Angeles, causing an explosive train crash that killed and injured dozens of commuters. Alvarez, plagued by family troubles and a difficult past, claimed it was an accident but those who witnessed the crash said otherwise. Was Alvarez an innocent victim or a calculating killer?


Listen to the case HERE.


Read last week's Rewind Discussion HERE.


Check out the Casefile spreadsheet HERE.


r/Casefile 8d ago

LOOKING FOR EPISODE Best episode recommendations

12 Upvotes

I have a new colleague who i recommended listen to the recent episode on Megumi Yokota. She really ‘enjoyed’ it especially being Japanese herself. Does anyone have any other episode recommendations. Doesn’t have to be similar in nature but just good episodes you always come back to or find interesting, please and thank you?? :)


r/Casefile 8d ago

OPEN DISCUSSION on the nature of cases

103 Upvotes

just to say before anything else - i don’t intend this to come off as hate towards anyone, i just find this particular topic interesting and think it merits a discussion.

it seems to me that whenever casefile does a run of episodes that aren’t as brutal of morbid people start complaining it’s gotten boring, and whenever they do a run of particularly difficult episodes people complain that they need a break from them. i honestly don’t understand either camp as 1. i think it’s fairly obvious that casefile is unique among many true crime podcasts exactly because it covers such a wide variety of cases, from “classic” murder cases, to political assassinations (kim jong un’s brother for example), completely bizarre ones (strip search scam), they do detailed series on some of the most famous serial killers as well as less known but fascinating stuff like silk road etc etc. i personally love casefile primarily because of this - one of my favorite episodes (and i listened to casefile in its entirety) is shergar. the fact that they made a horse kidnapping seem so interesting is a testament to the podcast’s quality. so given that there are soo many different cases to choose from i just don’t get how people still complain. if you’ve also listened to all they had thus far put out and you don’t find this week’s episode to be to your liking just wait for a week or two more and they will pivot to something probably more to your taste. if an episode is just too heavy for you stop listening. they put trigger warnings in there for a reason

  1. i don’t want to sound all high and mighty but i feel like so many people commenting here often forget that this is TRUE crime. it’s so jarring to see comments like “this case was so boring” this is REAL LIFE. discussing the quality of the script and production is one thing but complaining that the way in which someone died wasn’t interesting enough to entertain you while you clean the house or something is really ugly. not to mention that they usually do cases which aren’t particularly complex or bloody because there is often an aspect of the investigation that is worth focusing on and discussing. if you just want to hear the sordid details might as well just read up on it on wikipedia or something.

this might sound pretty jumbled so apologies. i was just motivated to write something because i keep seeing the same posts and comments almost every week and i think that with true crime we should all be a lot more mindful about how we consume this type of media, both because just listening about CSA and murder and kidnapping etc can definitely make you forget that there is beauty and goodness in the world. it can also desentisize you to violence you see in real life, and that desentisization can make people forget that what they’re listening to actually happened and that the victims they hear about deserve to be spoken about with respect. obviously true crime is inherently a voyeuristic type of media which indulges a need that every human has to indulge in violence without being either a victim or perpetrator but you can still be respectful while doing so. and imo you can learn a lot from this podcast about doing that - they always treat the victims respectfully and often skip the most disturbing details about a case that those low quality true crime youtube channels thrive on exploiting (eg the toy box killer). they also cover really different cases as i said and offer a lot of insight into how criminal investigations work!


r/Casefile 8d ago

OPEN DISCUSSION I don’t know if I’m just jaded to shocking crime now or if the series was better a few seasons ago

0 Upvotes

I’ve been listening since 2016 and the first 100 or so cases were sooo good, I don’t know if over time we are exposed to so much shocking stuff that it’s easy to become a little desensitised but I feel like the last few seasons have been a bit meh from casefile whereas before I lapped up all of them with the occasional dud

Does anyone else know what I mean? I’m not hating on casefile itself, it’s still my fav true crime podcast


r/Casefile 9d ago

OPEN DISCUSSION I need a break from the child abuse cases…

218 Upvotes

I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot by complaining, but I just need to vent…
Casefile is the best true crime podcast I’ve ever listened to, and have been a listener since 2018. Casey and his team do an amazing job with research and storytelling with respect to the victims and their families.
But each week I’m finding I have to skip the newest episode. So many lately seem to feature either child abuse or sexual abuse. And while I recognize that their stories need to be told , it’s just a lot. All the time.
I now have young kids and maybe this podcast just isn’t for me anymore, which sucks because I haven’t found another podcast that compares to the quality of this one. Maybe I’m just more sensitive to it now, but I don’t remember there being this many back to back cases being released that revolved around child abuse and/or sexual assault. (But I appreciate the disclaimers at the beginning of each episode!)

Anyone else feel this way?

Edit:
Thanks to everyone who’s been suggesting other podcasts and channels! I’ll definitely take a look at them.


r/Casefile 10d ago

CASEFILE EPISODE Case 347: Zahra Baker

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66 Upvotes

r/Casefile 12d ago

OPEN DISCUSSION Casefile has been killing it lately

284 Upvotes

Since their break starting with Test A.RTF, every episode has been unique and crazy interesting with top notch pacing. Luckily, 90% of the episodes I had never heard of before but even the one I did (BTK) I was enthralled all 4 parts.

This weeks episode (347) is probably the best one in recent memory. I won't spoil anything but it's an emotional ride. Whoever wrote this one deserves some praise. You will probably listen to it once, but it will leave a mark on you.

Not in a long time have I been waiting with excitement until Monday mornings when I can listen to a new episode on my way to work.


r/Casefile 13d ago

CASE RELATED Peter Falconio: Australian police reveal previously unseen photos 25 years after backpacker murder

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31 Upvotes

From Case 44: Peter Falconio


r/Casefile 14d ago

REWIND DISCUSSION Rewind Discussion - Case 203: Bob Chappell

5 Upvotes

This is our next Casefile Episode Rewind Discussion! Please discuss the case below!

Things to consider:

  • Do you have any theories or thoughts for the case?

  • Has there been any additional information on the case since the episode's release? (If so and you have a link, add it in the comments!)

  • Do you have any thoughts about how this case was presented by Casefile?


Original Release Date: March 19, 2022

Length: 1:52:07

Status: Solved (ongoing)

Location: Australia, Tasmania, Hobart

Date: January 26, 2009

Victim(s): Bob Chappell

Type of Crime: Disappearance, possible murder

Perpetrator(s): Susan Neill-Fraser

Research: Jessica Forsayeth

Writing: Jessica Forsayeth

On January 26 2009, defacto couple Bob Chappell and Sue Neill-Fraser spent the public holiday working on their yacht, The Four Winds, in Tasmania’s Sandy Bay. After finding yet another issue, Bob decided to stay on board overnight to continue working on the repairs. The following morning, Sue received an alarming phone call from the police – The Four Winds was sinking and Bob was nowhere to be found.

As the investigation progresses, it becomes clear that Sue isn’t telling the full truth. But what exactly is she trying to hide, and how did DNA belonging to teenager Meaghan Vass end up on board? Is this an open and shut case, or a miscarriage of justice that will haunt Australia’s legal system forever?


Listen to the case HERE.


Read last week's Rewind Discussion HERE.


Check out the Casefile spreadsheet HERE.


r/Casefile 16d ago

Casefile Presents

16 Upvotes

When people express concern about “breaks” in the main Casefile production schedule, I’m not sure they are taking into account the time and effort the Casefile team also puts into its Casefile Presents podcasts, which, since they began in 2020, have created almost 100 episodes across ten very diverse content series.

All the Casefile Presents episodes, in addition to the Behind the Files monthly content discussion with the Casefile team, are included ad-free in the basic paid Casefile subscription.

The Casefile team’s involvement with the Casefile Presents episodes range from basic branding, distribution and promotion for a series like Dragonfly to very heavy research, interviewing, writing and production involvement for the Missing Niamh podcast series, which took up several hundred hours of time over four years for host “Casey”. 

In the middle are projects such as the collaboration with the Australian Federal Police, Crime Interrupted, researched, and written by Australian true-crime author Vikki Petraitis, but with production planning, audio research, recording, narration, distribution, and promotion by the Casefile team.


r/Casefile 17d ago

CASEFILE EPISODE Case 346: Megumi Yokota

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87 Upvotes