Minds in the Mirror Ep 3: Faith Over Medicine – When Scientology Refused Schizophrenia Treatment

In this powerful episode of Minds in the Mirror: Mental Health & Murder, we examine one of the most heartbreaking cases where religious ideology clashed with medical reality.

On March 13, 2003, Elli Perkins — a talented glass artist and devoted Scientologist — was brutally murdered by her 28-year-old son Jeremy. He st*bbed her 77 times in their family kitchen. Jeremy suffered from severe, untreated paranoid schizophrenia. For years he had been hearing voices and experiencing dangerous delusions, but his mother refused psychiatric care and antipsychotic medication because of Scientology’s longstanding opposition to psychiatry.

Instead, Elli turned to the church’s “vitamin protocols,” natural healers, and spiritual auditing — believing she was protecting her son. What followed was a devastating tragedy that could have been prevented.

We dive deep into:

• Jeremy’s years of escalating symptoms and missed red flags
• The 2001 arrest and court-ordered diagnosis that was ignored
• How Scientology’s doctrine shaped the family’s decisions
• The brutal details of the attack and Jeremy’s confession
• The heartbreaking irony: medication later stabilized Jeremy after years of institutional care

This episode explores the dangerous intersection of faith, untreated mental illness, and the refusal of evidence-based treatment — and what we can learn today about recognizing red flags when ideology overrides medicine.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI

If you or someone you love is struggling with hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, or schizophrenia symptoms, please reach out. Early intervention can save lives.

Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments: When should faith step aside for medical care?

#MindsInTheMirror #Scientology #Schizophrenia #MentalHealthAndMurder #TrueCrime #UntreatedMentalIllness #ElliPerkins

On January 6, 2004, 16-year-old Josh Davis was brutally killed while walking in his own neighborhood in Vandora Village, Garner, North Carolina. For 22 years his family waited for answers.

Now, in this powerful and emotional episode, Josh’s sister Alyssa Hatcher joins us for her most in-depth interview to date. She shares memories of her big brother, the devastating impact of his murder on their family, and her thoughts on the recent bombshell developments involving a decorated local police detective.

In 2026, Megan Bess Potter — a Four Oaks Police Department detective who attended Garner High with Josh and even signed his funeral guest book — was named a person of interest. Search warrants were executed, her devices were seized, and the case is once again active.

Alyssa talks openly about learning these shocking details, her hope that those responsible will come forward, and what real closure would mean after more than two decades.

Content Warning: This episode discusses the murder of a child and contains emotional family testimony. Listener discretion is advised.

No charges have been filed. The investigation by Garner PD and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation remains active.

If you have any information about Josh Davis’s death on January 6, 2004:

• Contact Det. Michael Hammerstein, Garner Police Investigations:
• 919-772-8810
• Anonymous tips are welcome.

This is more than a cold case — it’s a family still fighting for answers and a community still searching for truth.

On May 31, 2014, in the woods of David's Park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, two twelve-year-old girls did the unthinkable. They lured their best friend, twelve-year-old Payton Leutner, into the trees under the pretense of playing hide-and-seek… then stabbed her 19 times with a kitchen knife. Their motive? To become “proxies” for Slender Man — a fictional internet horror character they discovered through creepypasta.

What started as an innocent sleepover spiraled into one of the most chilling true crime cases of the 21st century. In this episode of Red Flags and Body Bags, we unpack the full story: the months of secret planning, the girls’ terrifying obsession with the online myth, the brutal attack, the disturbing interrogation tapes, the psychological red flags that were missed, the trials, and the long-term impact on everyone involved.

We also examine the bigger questions this case still raises more than a decade later — how powerful online fiction can be on young, vulnerable minds and where the line between internet lore and real-world violence gets blurred.

If you love deep-dive true crime with a focus on the warning signs, this one is for you.

Mental Health Resources (available to anyone, anywhere in the US):
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline → Call or text 988 (24/7, free & confidential)
• Crisis Text Line → Text HOME to 741741

If you or someone you know is struggling, these national resources are here for you anytime.

What do you think — how much blame does the internet deserve in a case like this? Drop your thoughts in the comments or leave a review.

#SlenderMan #SlenderManStabbing #WaukeshaStabbing #Creepypasta #TrueCrimePodcast #RedFlagsAndBodyBags

Our best crime shorts of the week all compiled into one video for you to binge! Dates are in the title. If you like what we do don't forget to follow and find us on all of our socials. Visit our link below to see more.

Red Flags and Body Bags Official Site

Welcome back to Red Flags & Body Bags — this week we’re diving into Michigans most bizarre true crime cases… the ones that will leave you questioning everything.

From unexplained disappearances…
to shocking crimes that don’t make sense…
these cases are some of the strangest and most unsettling stories to come out of Michigan.
Some are solved.
Some still raise questions.
And some… just don’t add up.
If you’re into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and real-life cases that feel unreal, this compilation is for you.
⚠️ Viewer discretion advised — these are real stories.
#truecrimestories #newsuncovered #crimereports #crimestories #crime #crimegenre #Michigan #truecrimecommunity #top5 #compliation #bizarrecrimes #fyp

Minds in the Mirror Ep 1: The Harvard Experiment That Created a Bomber – Ted Kaczynski

Episode Description:

Minds in the Mirror: Mental Health & Murder – Episode 1

In the premiere episode of our new Wednesday series, we examine one of the most chilling cases where a psychology experiment gone wrong may have helped shatter a brilliant mind.

Ted Kaczynski — the Unabomber — was a math prodigy with an IQ of 167–170 who entered Harvard at just 16. From 1959 to 1962, he was secretly subjected to a brutal three-year psychological “stress study” run by Dr. Henry A. Murray. Students were strapped to electrodes, blasted with bright lights, and subjected to hours of intense, personally abusive attacks designed to break down their egos.

We break down:

• The secret Harvard experiment and its ties to Cold War-era mind-control research
• How this experience appears to have accelerated Ted’s developing paranoia and anti-technology delusions
• His sudden withdrawal from society — quitting a tenure-track position at UC Berkeley and disappearing into a remote Montana cabin with no electricity or running water
• The 17-year bombing campaign that killed 3 people and injured 23 others
• The 35,000-word manifesto that led his own brother to turn him in
• Court-appointed psychiatrist Dr. Sally C. Johnson’s official diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia

We’re very clear: nothing excuses or justifies the horrific violence Ted committed. At the same time, the psychological abuse he endured as a vulnerable teenager was also deeply wrong.

This episode explores the dangerous intersection of untreated mental illness, missed red flags, and the long-term impact of unethical psychology experiments — and what we can learn today about spotting isolation, paranoia, and ideological extremism before it turns deadly.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Dr. Sally Johnson’s full psychiatric report
• NAMI Colorado & National Helpline: 1-800-950-NAMI

If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health, isolation, or paranoia, please reach out — early intervention can save lives.

Drop your biggest takeaway in the comments: What red flag stood out to you the most?

#MindsInTheMirror #Unabomber #TedKaczynski #HarvardExperiment #MentalHealthAndMurder #TrueCrimePodcast

Welcome back to Red Flags & Body Bags — this week we’re diving into Ohios most bizarre true crime cases… the ones that will leave you questioning everything.

From unexplained disappearances…
to shocking crimes that don’t make sense…
these cases are some of the strangest and most unsettling stories to come out of Ohio.
Some are solved.
Some still raise questions.
And some… just don’t add up.
If you’re into true crime, unsolved mysteries, and real-life cases that feel unreal, this compilation is for you.

Our best crime shorts of the week all compiled into one video for you to binge! Dates are in the title. If you like what we do don't forget to follow and find us on all of our socials. Visit our link below to see more.

Red Flags and Body Bags Official Site