In this special bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, Esther sits down with journalist and investigator Crystal Gutierrez to discuss the missing persons case she and her team are actively investigating. The disappearance of 9-year-old Anthonette Cayedito, who vanished from her home in Gallup, New Mexico, in 1986.

Crystal shares what it’s like to reinvestigate a decades-old disappearance, what keeps this case at the forefront of public memory, and why awareness still matters. Esther and Crystal also talk about the upcoming Beyond the Crime Convention, returning for its second year in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Esther will be a featured speaker.

Case Discussed

Anthonette Cayedito (Age 9)

Missing from Gallup, New Mexico — April 6, 1986

📺 Anthonette Cayedito 911 Call (Video)

https://youtu.be/sICCy_hOmKU?si=OYMNictYwHKELTrr

Follow Crystal Gutierrez

📌 Crystal Gutierrez on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/CrystalGutierrezTV

Submit Tips

If you have information about Anthonette Cayedito’s disappearance, please email tips to:

📩 info@beyondthecase.com

Beyond the Crime Convention

The Beyond the Crime Convention returns for its second year in Albuquerque, New Mexico — featuring speakers, creators, investigators, and advocates focused on cases that still need answers.

📍 Location: Albuquerque, NM

📅 Dates: April 11–12

🎤 Esther (Host of Once Upon a Crime) will be a featured speaker

📸 Convention Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/beyondcrimeconvention/

🎟️ Discount Code for Tickets

✅ BEYOND-OUAC

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, Esther revisits the horrific crimes of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, often referred to as “The Killer Clown,” and reviews the 2025 Peacock docu-drama Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy. The episode explores Gacy’s background, his crimes, the investigation's failures, and how the new series approaches the case from a victim-centered perspective.

🔍 Episode Overview

• A concise but comprehensive summary of John Wayne Gacy’s life, early red flags, criminal history, and escalation into serial murder.
• A breakdown of the 1978 investigation that led to the discovery of 33 victims and Gacy’s eventual arrest.
• Key points from Gacy’s trial, sentencing, and 1994 execution after 14 years on death row.
• Esther’s review of the 2025 Peacock TV series, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy:
• How the series differs from past portrayals
• Why its victim-focused storytelling stands out
• What is factually accurate and what is dramatized
• A discussion of additional theories, research, and case details not included in the series.

📚 Sources & Further Reading

• Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (2025), Peacock TV / Littleton Road Productions
• Creator & Showrunner: Patrick McManus
• Rolling Stone – “Four Things ‘Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy’ Leaves Out”
• Elisabeth Garber-Paul (Oct 24, 2025)
• EBSCO Knowledge Advantage: John Wayne Gacy – Research Starters
• People Magazine – “‘Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy’ — What’s Fact, What’s Fiction?”
• Caroline Blair (Oct 20, 2025)

This episode was brought to you by:

Completing the Puzzle - Go to CompletingthePuzzle.com and use code OUAC for $10 off your first puzzle subscription box or gift card. Because no one’s been murdered while doing a puzzle.

Shop our OUAC MERCH SHOP holiday sale!

For a limited time, get up to 27% off all products — including $16 tees — during our Holiday Sale. But hurry, deals end December 15th! Place your order by the 15th for delivery before Christmas.

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✈️ Travel with Us to Mexico City! 🇲🇽

We’re taking Once Upon a Crime on the road—and you’re invited! In March 2026, join us for a fun, fabulous 4-day group trip to vibrant Mexico City. Explore incredible sights, savor delicious food, and connect with fellow true crime fans on an unforgettable adventure.

Reserve your spot today with just 25% down—but hurry, space is limited and will sell out fast!

🔗 Click here to learn more and book your spot now!

📝 Connect With the Show

Have thoughts about the series or the case? Want more bonus reviews?

Let Esther know on social media or at truecrimepodcast.com.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this special bonus episode, Esther and producer Lorena answer listener questions and share their own reflections after a six-week deep dive into the life, death, and murder of Elizabeth Short.

Topics include:

• Who the real Elizabeth Short was versus the myth of “The Black Dahlia”

• Whether her killer was someone she knew or a stranger

• Whether the murderer had medical training

• The possibility of solving the case today with DNA

• Theories on whether more than one person was involved

Esther and Lorena also discuss what surprised them most during the series, how their theories have evolved, and why this case still grips us nearly 80 years later.

Subscribe and stay tuned for more deep-dive true crime investigations.

📚 Sources

Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder by John Gilmore

The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood by William J. Mann (upcoming)

👉 Pre-order the book here: Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood

To explore more of William J. Mann’s fascinating work — including his previous bestsellers and a calendar of upcoming appearances — visit his author page on Simon & Schuster.

Shop our OUAC MERCH SHOP holiday sale!

For a limited time, get up to 27% off all products — including $16 tees — during our Holiday Sale. But hurry, deals end December 15th! Place your order by the 15th for delivery before Christmas.

Shop now at onceuponacrime.dashery.com.

✈️ Travel with Us to Mexico City! 🇲🇽

We’re taking Once Upon a Crime on the road—and you’re invited! In March 2026, join us for a fun, fabulous 4-day group trip to vibrant Mexico City. Explore incredible sights, savor delicious food, and connect with fellow true crime fans on an unforgettable adventure.

Reserve your spot today with just 25% down—but hurry, space is limited and will sell out fast!

🔗 Click here to learn more and book your spot now!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this bonus episode, Esther takes listeners back to the earliest days of the Black Dahlia investigation — before the world even knew the victim’s name.

Detectives faced a gruesome and mystifying crime scene in a quiet Los Angeles neighborhood. Who was the young woman whose body had been staged so deliberately? And who could have committed such a shocking crime?

Using witness statements, police reports, and historical accounts, Esther reveals how investigators built their first list of suspects — and how each was eventually ruled out.

From Elizabeth Short’s friends and lovers to shady landlords and reluctant witnesses, these early leads laid the groundwork for a case that would haunt Los Angeles for decades.

🎧 Next Time on Broken

In the next episode, we’ll examine the shocking details of the crime scene and autopsy — how Elizabeth Short was killed, the forensic evidence left behind, and what it tells us about her murderer.

We’ll also start piecing together theories about motive — and why her killer may have wanted her body to be found.

Make sure you’re subscribed and that your app is set to automatically download new episodes so you don’t miss what’s next in Broken: The Black Dahlia Murder.

About This Series

BROKEN: The Black Dahlia Murder is a six-part Once Upon a Crime original series.

Through extensive research, historical records, and firsthand accounts, Esther Ludlow uncovers the truth behind America’s most infamous unsolved murder, separating fact from fiction to rediscover the real woman behind the myth.

📚 Sources

Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder by John Gilmore

The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood by William J. Mann (upcoming)

Contemporary newspaper archives, LAPD records, and witness interviews

Follow & Subscribe

Be sure to subscribe to Broken wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you’re watching on YouTube, hit the notification bell to be alerted as soon as a new episode drops.

Sponsors:

See a list of our sponsors and discount codes on our website:

https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/sponsors/

Links:

Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

Our Website - www.truecrimepodcast.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OnceUponACrimePodcast

Visit the new OUAC MERCH SHOP!

For a limited time, get up to 27% off all products — including $16 tees — during our Grand Opening Sale. But hurry, deals end October 31st!

Shop now at onceuponacrime.dashery.com.

✈️ Travel with Us to Mexico City! 🇲🇽

We’re taking Once Upon a Crime on the road—and you’re invited! In March 2026, join us for a fun, fabulous 4-day group trip to vibrant Mexico City. Explore incredible sights, savor delicious food, and connect with fellow true crime fans on an unforgettable adventure.

Reserve your spot today with just 25% down—but hurry, space is limited and will sell out fast!

🔗 Click here to learn more and book your spot now!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 1946, Elizabeth Short – the young woman the world would later know as The Black Dahlia – returned to California chasing love, glamour, and a new beginning. Instead, she found herself drifting through a postwar Los Angeles filled with promise, danger, and people who would soon become key figures in one of the most infamous unsolved murders in American history.

In this episode, we follow Beth — now calling herself Betty — from Long Beach to Hollywood and finally to San Diego in the final weeks before her disappearance. Along the way, she crosses paths with men who offer affection and opportunity, but whose motives aren’t always as pure as they seem.

From the glitzy Florentine Gardens nightclub to the humble home of the French family, this chapter reveals the pattern that defined Elizabeth’s life: charm and tragedy, hope and heartbreak, played out against the glittering — and unforgiving — backdrop of midcentury Los Angeles.

About This Series

BROKEN: The Black Dahlia Murder is a six-part Once Upon a Crime original series.

Through extensive research, historical records, and firsthand accounts, Esther Ludlow uncovers the truth behind America’s most infamous unsolved murder, separating fact from fiction to rediscover the real woman behind the myth.

📚 Sources

Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia Murder by John Gilmore

The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood by William J. Mann (upcoming)

Contemporary newspaper archives, LAPD records, and witness interviews

🎧 Next Time on Broken

In Part Four – The Lost Week, we trace Elizabeth Short’s final known days and nights — a week shrouded in rumor, mystery, and new revelations. Author William J. Mann joins us to discuss his groundbreaking research uncovering what really happened between her last sighting in San Diego and the moment her body was discovered in Los Angeles.

Sponsors:

See a list of our sponsors and discount codes on our website:

https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/sponsors/

Links:

Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime

Our Website - www.truecrimepodcast.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OnceUponACrimePodcast

Visit the new OUAC MERCH SHOP!

For a limited time, get up to 27% off all products — including $16 tees — during our Grand Opening Sale. But hurry, deals end October 31st!

Shop now at onceuponacrime.dashery.com.

✈️ Travel with Us to Mexico City! 🇲🇽

We’re taking Once Upon a Crime on the road—and you’re invited! In March 2026, join us for a fun, fabulous 4-day group trip to vibrant Mexico City. Explore incredible sights, savor delicious food, and connect with fellow true crime fans on an unforgettable adventure.

Reserve your spot today with just 25% down—but hurry, space is limited and will sell out fast!

🔗 Click here to learn more and book your spot now!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.