On Halloween night in 2004, three roommates spent the evening handing out candy to trick-or-treaters before going to bed. A few hours later, Lauren Meanza was awoken to the sounds of the screams of her roommates, Adriane Insogna and Leslie Mazzara, above her. As she opened her bedroom door, she heard whoever had been attacking her friends coming down the staircase toward her, so she bolted out the backdoor. Leslie and Adriane would be found brutally murdered in an upstairs bedroom, and Lauren would live tormented by the survivors' guilt from that night. The investigation would bring to light that their killer was a lot closer to the girls than anyone could have imagined.
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Episode 251: The True Story of Captain Phillips
In April of 2009 four Somali pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama, a US/Danish cargo ship off the coast of Africa, a notorious piracy hotspot. The crew aboard the Alabama did everything they could to keep the pirates from gaining control of the ship, however the pirates still held multiple crew members hostage, including Captain Richard Phillips. After chief engineer, Mike Perry, managed to capture one of the pirates, the crew attempted to negotiate an exchange of hostages. However the failed attempt led to Captain Phillips being held on a lifeboat with the pirates, who demanded a $2 million ransom for his release. The captain's capture resulted in a standoff between the pirates and the US Navy, including Navy SEAL Team Six.
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Episode #250: Halloween Let's Not Meet
Let's talk about some terrifying Reddit Let's Not Meet stories!
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Episode 249: Phrogging 2: Nightmare Fuel
In this episode we're talking about two terrifying instances of intruders living in their victim's home. In our first story, Tina Bowen, her sister Karen, and thier friend Kathy, believed the ghost of their mother haunted the Bowen home, but after months of terrifying signs they would learn that a highly disturbed 16-year-old boy named Daniel Laplante had been living in the cellar for six months. In the second, an intruder broke into a couple's brand new home and left something surprising in the basement.
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Episode #248: Stalked For Over A Decade
Christopher Thomas’ obsession with Samantha Stites began in 2011 after meeting her through a Christian student group. What began as seemingly innocent contact quickly devolved into constant unwanted attention. His behavior grew more sinister over the years as he relentlessly harassed and tracked her through her college years and beyond. Stites was granted a personal order of protection which lasted six years, however as soon as it expired Christopher was back as if he had never left. In October 2022, Christopher broke into her home, kidnapped her and took her to a soundproof bunker he had built inside a rented storage unit. While inside the bunker, he told Samantha he had been inspired by Joe Goldberg from the thriller series, You.
Not Today covers unbelievable but true stories of survival. Join Steph and Alex as they discuss real incredible people who made it out of unimaginable circumstances against all odds.