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Murder On The Space Coast

Gannett·Hosted by John A. Torres·89 episodes

NewsReporter-ledFlorida true crimeSeasonal cases20-35 min/epInvestigativeStart from episode 1

An unsympathetic victim, a prosecutor's conviction playbook, a missing mother of two and a tale of lie after lie after lie. Across four seasons, Murder on the Space Coast has explored each of these heartbreaking true-crime stories based in Central Florida.

Why listen

Murder On The Space Coast is a reporter-led true crime documentary from Florida Today journalist John A. Torres, built around Central Florida cases where the official story still feels unsettled. Each season follows one case through interviews, court records, local history, and the human fallout, making it a strong fit for listeners who like serialized investigations about wrongful convictions, missing people, and justice system failures.

Series(3)

Episodes

12 min
May 5, 2025
Season 4 Update: Abramowski released from prison

After 23 years in prison for a murder many believe he did not commit, Jeff Abramowski's conviction was overturned and he was released from custody. The state has yet to announce whether it will retry the Melbourne man again for the 2002 murder of Cortney "Dick" Crandall in Palm Shores.

8 min
Nov 27, 2023Episode 7
How We Got Here

Bonus episode: FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explains a bit of the backstory of our journey to telling you about the Gayden case.

31 min
Nov 27, 2023Episode 6
“Monster”

Episode 6: A federal judge lays into the man who prescribed more opiates in six months than the state of California, calling him a “monster.”

32 min
Nov 27, 2023Episode 5
“Young girls”

Episode 5: Dr. Gayden uses his opiate-induced influence on underage girls.

23 min
Nov 27, 2023Episode 4
“Police begin connecting the dots”

Episode 4: As more and more people die from Oxycodone overdoses, police begin connecting the deaths to one doctor in the area.

23 min
Nov 27, 2023Episode 3
“Korrianne”

Episode 3: A Melbourne teenager falls deeper into addiction thanks to Dr. John Gayden.

21 min
Nov 27, 2023Episode 2
“Hot dog stand”

Episode 2: A pill mill doctor’s office is so busy that a hot dog stand is set up to accommodate all the people waiting to get their pain pills.

19 min
Nov 27, 2023Episode 1
“Surf Ghetto”

Episode 1: Years after a notorious pill mill doctor is put out of business, violence and addiction wash over a once idyllic beachfront community.

1 min
Oct 17, 2023
Coming Soon: Monster on the Beach

Based in the small beachside community of Indialantic, Florida, the long-awaited sixth season of the award-winning true crime podcast Murder on the Space Coast is nearly ready to drop. Listen to all our previous episodes before we dive into our next story: Monster on the Beach.

2 min
Apr 17, 2023
While you're waiting for the next season

Murder on the Space Coast season 6 is currently in production. While you wait for it to drop, check out The Last Ride - a series produced by our friends here in the USA Today Network of Florida.

13 min
Jan 19, 2023Episode 13
Crosley Green's fight for freedom moves to the U.S. Supreme Court

With the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversing Crosley Green’s previous victory of a new trial, his lawyers are hoping to get his case in front of the highest court in the land – The U.S. Supreme Court.

11 min
May 6, 2021Episode 12
Crosley Green comes home

After 32 years in prison, Crosley Green was released – pending the outcome of the state’s appeal. He talks prison, family, his lawyers and ice cream with host John A. Torres.

22 min
Dec 8, 2020
Mini Season Episode One: The Vampire and The Beauty Queen

Nearly 40 years after she went missing, local beauty queen Tammy Lynn Leppert’s disappearance continues to baffle. Could there be a simple explanation? Could she have been one of the first victims in Brevard County for John Crutchley, the notorious ‘Vampire Rapist’?

29 min
Dec 8, 2020
Mini Season Episode Two: One Step Ahead

John Crutchley, the ‘Vampire Rapist,’ seems one step ahead of police at all times as they struggle to prove he was a serial killer responsible for killing numerous local women. And why are we, as a society, obsessed with murder?

24 min
Dec 8, 2020
Mini Season Episode Three: A Dark Place

A potential deal between Crutchley and the prosecutor’s office falls apart. Other suspects emerge in Tammy’s disappearance and can being obsessed with murder save your life?

14 min
Jun 16, 2020Episode 9
Season 1 Update: Bennett's Best Shot at Freedom

Having already spent 36 years in prison for a murder many doubt he committed, Gary Bennett finally gets some good news in the form of a top law firm taking his case.

21 min
May 5, 2020Episode 10
The Long Arc of the Universe

Crosley Green dreams of freedom while his attorneys prepare for a worst-case scenario.

26 min
Apr 28, 2020Episode 9
Brady Violation

A Federal Court rules that Crosley Green should get a new trial.

30 min
Apr 21, 2020Episode 8
Hair, Fate and Destiny

Could troubling DNA results derail convicted killer Crosley Green’s fight for freedom?

31 min
Apr 14, 2020Episode 7
National attention

A private eye succeeds in getting Crosley Green’s story national media coverage.

34 min
Apr 7, 2020Episode 6
Truth and lies

While Crosley sits on death row, a Chicago private eye investigates his case ten years after conviction.

30 min
Mar 31, 2020Episode 5
Murder was the case

Already facing a stacked deck, Crosley Green’s murder trial seems hopeless when his own sister testifies against him.

30 min
Mar 24, 2020Episode 4
The Arrest

Almost immediately the police hone in on Crosley Green. Using a tainted photo lineup and suggestive language, investigators get Kim Hallock to identify Green as the killer, though he does not match her earlier description of the killer being big and muscular with Jheri curls.

23 min
Mar 17, 2020Episode 3
Last Words

Twenty-year-old Chip Flynn slowly bleeds to death alone in an orange grove after being shot and left to die. His final words to police could reveal the answer to the mystery of what really happened that night all those years ago.

20 min
Mar 10, 2020Episode 2
The Orange Grove

A late-night romantic drive turns into a nightmare as a young Titusville couple are kidnapped at gunpoint and driven to a deserted orange grove in the middle of the might where gunshots change three lives forever.

28 min
Mar 10, 2020Episode 1
The Beginning of the End

Attorneys for convicted killer Crosley Green battle for their client’s freedom in federal court in what is likely the final climax in a 31-year saga filled with controversy, withheld evidence and accusations of prosecutorial misconduct.

2 min
Mar 2, 2020
Coming Soon: Season 5 Left To Die

FLORIDA TODAY's award-winning podcast is back for its fifth season with an in-depth and timely look at the conviction of a Titusville man sentenced to die after a shooting at a north Brevard orange grove in the late 1980s left a 22-year-old man dead.

25 min
Nov 12, 2019Episode 16
What’s Next?

As Palm Bay Police determine what areas should be searched next in the search for missing firefighter Brandy Hall’s remains, an expert in prosecuting murder cases without a body offers insightful information.

27 min
Nov 5, 2019Episode 15
The Skid Steer

In this episode police and investigators look into what connection a piece of construction equipment in Brandy Hall’s driveway could have with the firefighter’s disappearance.

28 min
Oct 29, 2019Episode 14
Brandy's final 26 minutes

Brandy Hall’s last 24 hours is accentuated by the mystery of the 26 minutes from when she left the Malabar Fire Station to the moment she finished a phone call with her married lover Randall Richmond.

21 min
Oct 22, 2019Episode 13
Nebulous and Murky

One of the private investigators looking into Brandy’s last 24 hours aptly described nearly every facet of the firefighter’s disappearance as ‘nebulous and murky.’ Construction equipment, drug angles and arguments all potentially played a part in the hours before Brandy went missing.

7 min
Oct 16, 2019
Breaking News: Dig does not yield discovery of Brandy

Palm Bay Police examine an area they believe may be the final resting place of missing firefighter Brandy Hall, but come up short. With Sid Ladow-like resolve, investigators remain vigilant in their pursuit of the answer to the question "Where is Brandy Hall?"

29 min
Oct 15, 2019Episode 12
The torch is passed and a cold case heats up

After the sudden passing of retired detective Sid LaDow, the case fell to a private investigator whose main focus was filling in the gaps in Brandy Hall’s timeline.

20 min
Mar 29, 2019Episode 9
Parole for Gary?

A hearing to possibly shorten Gary's prison sentence turns into a nightmare that no one expected.

1 hr 28 min
Mar 15, 2019
Murder on the Space Coast Live: Where Justice Lies

If you missed our March 6th Live event at Surfside Playhouse in Cocoa Beach, we've got the audio here for you. Look for Season 5 in late 2019.

37 min
Feb 26, 2019Episode 11
A final plea

Can a hand-written question mark on a state report and two untested hairs from the crime scene hold the key to Jeff Abramowski’s freedom?FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

31 min
Feb 21, 2019Episode 10
A case for innocence

In the first of a two-part episode, John begins to outline the case for Jeff's actual innocence.FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

28 min
Feb 19, 2019Episode 9
Impact

New audio in the case against Jeff surfaces and we finally hear from the family of murder victim Dick Crandall.FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

4 min
Feb 14, 2019
The unexpected audio

During the course of our storytelling process, new audio from the Abramowski case has just fallen into John Torres' lap.We apologize for the delay, but Episode 9 will arrive on all your favorite podcast platforms on Tuesday.

31 min
Feb 12, 2019Episode 8
Why Jeff?

What was it that made Jeff Abramowski the primary focus of the investigation? What changed to make investigators believe he was their man?FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

28 min
Feb 7, 2019Episode 7
Hope & Lies

Jeff Abramowski is surprised to learn a private attorney will take his case for free just before his second trial. But lying witnesses on the stand doom Jeff’s fate.FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

26 min
Feb 5, 2019Episode 6
Ghouls

Judy and Rita are arrested after returning to Florida when they break into the dead man’s trailer and take his things. Jeff’s first trial ends in mistrial.FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

30 min
Jan 31, 2019Episode 5
Road Trip

The people closest to murder victim Dick Crandall suspiciously leave town around the time of his murder.FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

30 min
Jan 29, 2019Episode 4
Mother's Day

The annual celebration of motherhood takes on a new light when a brawl breaks out between murder victim Dick Crandall and his girlfriend’s son.FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

33 min
Jan 24, 2019Episode 3
DNA

A trace amount of DNA is what ultimately convicts Jeff Abramowski of murder. Do we really understand DNA?FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

29 min
Jan 22, 2019Episode 2
The accident

A near fatal accident changes the life of Jeff Abramowski forever as he is introduced to the painkiller Oxycontin.FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

31 min
Jan 17, 2019Episode 1
Who killed Dick?

A 78-year-old man is found in his Melbourne trailer bludgeoned to death. Who could have wanted Dick dead?FLORIDA TODAY's John A. Torres explores a case of murder, mayhem and whether the real murderer is serving a life sentence for the 2002 death.

5 min
Nov 19, 2018
Where Justice Lies

Are you ready? Murder on the Space Coast Season 4 explores a brutal Melbourne, Florida, homicide and what happens when "friends" become business partners in the prescription pill black market.

22 min
Sep 6, 2018Episode 8
Can anything set Gary Bennett free?

Gary Bennett, the subject of Season One of Murder on the Space Coast, could finally see some movement in his case through the diligence of an attorney and fan of our podcast.

1 hr 38 min
May 4, 2018
Murder on the Space Coast Live: Where is Brandy Hall?

Did you miss our LIVE Season 3 wrap up event? Not to worry. We've got the audio here. Season 3 of Murder on the Space Coast focuses on the disappearance of Malabar Volunteer firefighter Brandy Hall. More details are available at whereisbrandyhall.com