In February 1988, a single gunshot shattered the quiet of a Durham, North Carolina, neighborhood. Barbara Stager told police her husband Russ's death was a tragic accident. But as investigators dug deeper, the picture-perfect image of a devoted wife began to crack.  In this episode of Hard Times & True Crimes, we step back into the 1980s Durham - a city caught between its tobacco past and high-tech future, where Baptist faith and family values shaped everyday life, and where appearances mattered. Against that backdrop, the story of Russ and Barbara Stager unfolds: a tale of love, betrayal, financial secrets, and deadly deception.  Was it an accident, or something far more sinister? Join us as we explore the twists and turns of a case that shocked North Carolina and left a community asking how well we ever really know the people closest to us.

In the warm summer of 1955, Judge Curtis Chillingworth, Florida’s youngest ever circuit judge and a man known for his fairness would vanish from his beachside cottage in Manalapan, just south of West Palm Beach. His wife, Marjorie, disappeared with him.  Footprints led to the sea and never came back. What followed was one of Florida’s most shocking  true crime cases: a tale of organized corruption, political ambition, and backroom rackets. The judge had made powerful enemies because he didn’t bend the law for anyone. This episode of Hard Times and True Crimes digs into the Chillingworth legacy, the dangerous underground justice system of 1950s Florida, and how one murder unraveled an entire network of dirty power. If you love true crime stories steeped in Southern history, old Florida glamor, and morally complex characters, this is one you won’t want to miss.

In 1983, a brutal double homicide in Houston, Texas shocked the public—not just because of the violence, but because of who was eventually held responsible. Karla Faye Tucker, a 23-year-old woman with a troubled past, quickly became one of the most controversial figures in modern true crime history. But this isn’t just a story about murder. It’s about transformation. It’s about a young woman who claimed to find God behind bars. It’s about a justice system unprepared for the public outcry that followed. And it’s about the power—and limits—of redemption in the face of execution. In this episode, we take you back to the early 1980s, setting the stage for a crime that would spark national debate and change how many Americans viewed the death penalty. Through historical context, court records, and public reaction, we explore how one case became a cultural flashpoint—and why it still resonates today.

In this gripping true crime episode, we explore the harrowing and heartbreaking story of Graham Staines, an Australian missionary who was burned alive along with his two young sons by a radical mob in Odisha, India, in 1999.  Even in the face of horrific violence, forgiveness and faith can speak louder than hate.

There is an UPDATE on this story, which we recorded as a bonus/MINI episode. It is linked below in the show notes. In June 1961, JD and Utha Welch packed up their car, their four young sons, and headed west from Oklahoma to visit family in California. It was supposed to be a simple road trip — a summer memory in the making. But one quiet night near Seligman, Arizona, while the boys slept in a canvas pup tent, JD and Utha were gunned down in cold blood as they rested in their car. The boys woke up as orphans. In this tragic episode, we explore the mysterious murders that shattered a family on the side of Route 66 — and the long road to identifying James Abner Bentley, a violent drifter with a chilling trail of crimes behind him. We unravel the investigation, the break in the case, and why — despite compelling evidence — Bentley was never tried for the Welch murders. Featuring quotes from those who knew the case best, courtroom drama, and the shocking behavior of Bentley during his sanity trial, this episode dives deep into a brutal killing that’s been overshadowed by time — and the four boys who survived it.

Show Notes: In 1986, Tina and Karen Bowen were just teenage girls when their mother passed away from cancer. Not long after, strange things started happening in their home. Knocking from inside the walls. Furniture moved. Objects disappeared. Messages scrawled in red across the bedroom walls: 💬 “I’m in your room. Come and find me.” The girls thought maybe—just maybe—it was their mother trying to reach them from beyond. But what they were dealing with wasn’t a ghost. It was a monster. Daniel L...