S1:A Cold Whispers True Crime Documentary E6: Buried Truths – The Kraus Confession

In this gripping episode of Duty or Darkness?, we uncover one of the most shocking true-crime moments of 2025: the on-camera murder confession of Lorenz Kraus, a 53-year-old man from Albany, New York, who walked into a TV newsroom and openly admitted he had killed and buried his elderly parents nearly eight years earlier.

The police investigation began when law enforcement noticed Franz and Theresia Kraus — missing since 2017 — were still collecting Social Security benefits. A welfare check led to a search of the family home, where two bodies were unearthed in the backyard.

Kraus’s televised confession — where he described suffocating and strangling his parents and then burying them — drew national attention and sparked intense debate on media ethics, justice, and psychological motives. Despite confessing on camera, Kraus later pleaded not guilty to murder and concealment charges, setting the stage for a controversial and complex legal battle.

Join hosts Mike and Sarah as they examine:

• How the case first emerged

• What led to the shocking confession

• The role of Social Security fraud and backyard graves

• Media responsibility and legal ramifications

• Questions of mercy, madness, or motive

Whether you’re a true crime fan, psychology enthusiast, or criminal justice follower, this episode breaks down every layer of one of the year’s most surreal crime stories.

🎧 Subscribe and hit the bell for more deep dives into the deepest, darkest corners of human behavior and criminal mystery.

S1:A Cold Whispers True Crime Documentary E5: Sean Combs – The Fallen King

In this explosive episode of The Fallen King, we dive into the rise, recount, and court-room drama surrounding Sean “Diddy” Combs — one of hip-hop’s most powerful figures whose legacy was shaken by federal charges, courtroom battles, and a highly controversial documentary. From his ascension in Harlem to founding Bad Boy Entertainment and shaping music culture, to the shocking allegations, trial, convictions, and aftermath, we unpack it all.

In 2024, Combs was federally indicted in the Southern District of New York on sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, and prostitution-related charges after multiple women, including Cassie Ventura, testified about alleged abuse and coercion.His 2025 trial became one of the most talked-about legal sagas of the year. A jury acquitted him of the most serious racketeering and sex trafficking counts, but found him guilty of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act; he was later sentenced to 50+ months in prison, fined, and ordered to serve supervised release.

Shortly after, Netflix released a controversial docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning — executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson — featuring behind-the-scenes footage in the days leading up to Combs’ arrest, sparking heated debate over narrative control, alleged misuse of footage, and celebrity accountability.

In this episode, hosts Mike and Sarah explore:

✔ Combs’ rise from Harlem to hip-hop royalty

✔ The federal indictment, trial drama, acquittals, and convictions

✔ The Netflix documentary’s impact and controversy

✔ Public reaction, ongoing civil cases, and legal appeals

✔ What this reckoning means for celebrity power, justice, and accountability

Whether you’re a true-crime enthusiast, music history fan, or curious about how fame and justice collide, this episode breaks it down with context, drama, and nuanced analysis.🎧 Subscribe now and follow for more deep dives into the stories behind the headlines.

S1:A Cold Whispers True Crime Documentary E4: The Vanishing of the Yuba County FiveIn February 1978, five close friends from Yuba County, California vanished into the snow-covered wilderness after a routine trip to a basketball game — never to return. What should have been an ordinary night turned into one of America’s most enduring mysteries. The group, known as the Yuba County Five, were found months later in baffling circumstances that defy logic, reason, and explanation.In February 1978, five close friends from Yuba County, California vanished into the snow-covered wilderness after a routine trip to a basketball game — never to return. What should have been an ordinary night turned into one of America’s most enduring mysteries. The group, known as the Yuba County Five, were found months later in baffling circumstances that defy logic, reason, and explanation.

In June 1978, four men were discovered:

• Ted Weiher, emaciated and inside a Forest Service trailer miles from the car, suggesting he survived for weeks yet didn’t use nearby supplies.

• Bill Sterling, Jack Madruga, and Jack Huett, found scattered miles apart — all dead of exposure and hypothermia.

• Gary Mathias — the fifth friend — was never found.

With no footprints leading downhill, no clear reason the car was abandoned, and unused food and heat sources nearby, the case has puzzled authorities and armchair detectives alike for nearly half a century. Some theories suggest foul play, disorientation and panic, or tragic survival mistakes. Others point to a 2020 sheriff’s memo quietly reclassifying Mathias’s disappearance as possible homicide, deepening the mystery.

Join hosts Mike and Sarah as they dive deep into:

✔ The strange route the friends took

✔ The eerie discovery of bodies in the wilderness

✔ The baffling clues no one can fully explain

✔ The unanswered questions that still haunt investigators

This is Shadow Trail — where truth, mystery, and human frailty collide. If you love deep-dive mysteries, cold cases, and true unexplained disappearances, this episode will pull you deeper into a story that still defies closure.