S6 EPISODE 7: Office Party Murders

·30 min·3 clips

Syed and Tashfeen, armed and in tactical gear, opened fire on his own co-workers during a departmental holiday lunch.

The episode begins with hosts Holly and Garry introducing the theme 'office party murders', suggested by listener Kirsty. Holly confesses the topic was difficult to research, even leading her to mistakenly investigate a fictional TV character. The first case discussed is the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, where Syed Rizwan Farooq and his wife Tashfeen Malik attacked his workplace holiday luncheon, killing 14 and injuring 22. The hosts detail their backgrounds, radicalization, and the subsequent police chase where both were killed. They note local Islamic cemeteries refused to bury the couple. The second case is the 1996 disappearance of Melanie Hall, a nurse from Bath, who vanished after a nightclub argument with her boyfriend. Her remains were found 13 years later in a plastic bag by a motorway, with evidence of blunt force trauma. Despite 11 arrests and DNA evidence, no one has been charged. The hosts debate which murder method they'd prefer, with Holly choosing blunt force and Garry choosing shooting. The episode shifts to a tangent where Garry rants about footballers like Steven Gerrard moving to Saudi Arabia for money, criticizing it as unethical and lacking integrity. Holly provides counterpoints about career lengths and taxes, but Garry remains adamant. The episode wraps up with a call for listener feedback.

As heard by us

A false start, a difficult search, and a case that stays stubbornly unresolved.

Witch Murderer keeps its office-party setting in uneasy, very human territory, and the hosts are candid about how punishing the research became after Kirsty, one of the murder twins, raised the case.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want a case that starts with a false lead and keeps sliding away.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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