#crime central

In 2001, Kent Heitholt was murdered outside of his workplace. For two years, the case was unsolved.

Then police got a tip and after hours of interrogation, Charles Erickson confessed and implicated his friend, Ryan Ferguson.

Ferguson denied everything, and would continue to do so for nine years.

In 2013, Ferguson's conviction was overturned and he was released from prison.

Unfortunately, Kent Heitholt's murder remains unsolved.

By the time the truth surfaced, it came with gunshots.

A true crime story about lies, pressure, and the cost of perfection.

Kevin Mitnick was neither the harmless explorer his supporters wanted him to be nor the digital supervillain presented in the headlines.

He repeatedly entered computer and telecommunications systems without permission, copied proprietary information, deceived employees, and continued offending while a fugitive. At the same time, disputed loss estimates, prolonged pretrial detention, and sensational claims helped transform a real offender into a technological myth.

My latest Crime Central article examines the crimes, the manhunt, and the institutions still learning how to understand the technology they were judging.

Read “The Myth and the Manhunt: The Kevin Mitnick Story”

I've always believed true crime should leave readers understanding people—not just memorizing crimes.

That's exactly why I wanted to write about hybristophilia.

It's easy to dismiss people who develop romantic feelings for violent offenders. It's much harder—and much more interesting—to ask why psychologists think these attachments develop at all.

If you're interested in criminal psychology, forensic research, or media ethics, I think you'll enjoy this one.

There's a tendency to romanticize organized crime.

Nicknames. Courtroom antics. Hollywood films. The mythology.

But organized crime survives because of fear, corruption, and violence—not because it's entertaining.

I wanted this article to separate those myths from the historical record.

If you're interested in criminal justice, organized crime, or the history of Operation Family Secrets, I hope you'll give it a read.

MS-13 isn’t a foreign invasion. It’s a feedback loop — and no single country has ever fully owned it.

My new post traces the whole thing, from 1980s LA to El Salvador’s megaprisons.