amandasheppardauthor

Tag: writing

  • The Woman in the Walls: The Haunting Case of Brenda Marie LeBlanc

    For more than two decades, Brenda Marie LeBlanc existed only as a question — a woman who slipped out of the 1990s and into silence, leaving behind no trace except the memories of those who once knew her. She was not listed on missing‑person registries. She was not the subject of national searches or televished…

  • A Troubling Case in Maricopa County: When Help Isn’t Enough

    WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Some cases linger long after you read them—stories so distressing and complex that they challenge your understanding of how neglect, vulnerability, and personal choice collide. The Maricopa County case involving Vivian Shimkus, his mom and his adult son is one of those situations, and the more details that emerge, the more unsettling…

  • A Kansas Community Faces the Ashes of a Terrible Loss

    Rural Dickinson County doesn’t often make headlines. The land stretches quiet and steady, tucked west of Topeka, the sort of place where neighbors recognize each other’s trucks by sound alone. But in January, that quiet was shattered when a house fire claimed the life of two‑year‑old Elijah Crump—an adored toddler whose smile, family says, never…

  • Inside the Psychology of “Black Widow” Killers — And Why Their Stories Still Terrify Us

    When most people imagine a serial killer, they picture a man: a stranger in the shadows, a predator driven by sadism or compulsion. But history — and the present — tell a different story. A quieter, more calculated kind of killer exists, one who moves through kitchens, bedrooms, and hospital rooms with disarming ease. The…