Alive Killers

Michael Brett Kelly became known in Georgia criminal cases after being convicted in the 2012 home invasion murder of Gale Spencer in Macon, Georgia. Prosecutors alleged Kelly was one of four offenders involved in the violent robbery that ended with Spencer’s death inside the residence. The case generated strong local media attention because multiple offenders participated in the fatal home invasion. Authorities later secured convictions against Kelly and the co-defendants following the investigation into Spencer’s killing. Kelly ultimately received a life sentence for his role in the homicide.

Brett Peter Cowan became one of Australia’s most notorious child killers after abducting and murdering Daniel Morcombe on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 2003. The case devastated Australia because Daniel disappeared while waiting for a bus in broad daylight, triggering one of the country’s largest and longest-running child disappearance investigations. For years, Daniel Morcombe’s disappearance remained unsolved as his family led tireless public campaigns to keep the case in the national spotlight. Cowan was eventually exposed through an elaborate undercover police operation in which officers secretly befriended him and recorded incriminating admissions about the murder. The investigation and conviction later became one of Australia’s most significant child homicide cases.

Brian Easterling became known in true crime coverage after being convicted of murdering his longtime friend Michael Evers in Kentucky in a case prosecutors described as calculated, deceptive, and financially motivated. Easterling, a respected local fire chief and mechanic, shocked the community after investigators alleged he killed Evers before attempting to hide evidence and maintain the appearance that nothing had happened. The case generated significant media attention because Easterling had publicly presented himself as a trusted community figure while secretly becoming the focus of a homicide investigation. Prosecutors argued the killing stemmed from financial disputes and personal conflict connected to vehicle projects and money owed between the two men. The contrast between Easterling’s public reputation and the brutality of the crime turned the case into one of the region’s most disturbing modern homicide prosecutions.

Brian Christopher Laundrie was an American man who became the central figure in the disappearance and death of his fiancée, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, in 2021. Their cross-country road trip attracted international attention after Petito disappeared and Laundrie returned to Florida without her. The couple had been travelling across the western United States in a van, documenting their journey on social media. In August 2021, police in Moab, Utah, responded to a reported domestic dispute involving the couple. Weeks later, Petito stopped communicating with her family, while Laundrie returned to Florida alone. Petito's remains were discovered on September 19, 2021, in the Spread Creek area of Wyoming. The Teton County coroner determined that she had died from blunt-force injuries to the head and neck, with manual strangulation. The FBI's investigation identified Laundrie as the person responsible for her death. Laundrie disappeared shortly after returning to Florida and became the subject of a nationwide search. His remains were found in October 2021 in a nature reserve near his parents' home. Investigators recovered a notebook containing written statements in which he claimed responsibility for Petito's death. Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before he could be prosecuted for her killing. His death ended the criminal investigation without a trial, but the FBI concluded that he was responsible for Petito's death.

Brian Steven Smith is a South African-born convicted murderer who was found guilty of killing two Alaska Native women, Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abouchuk, in Anchorage, Alaska. The case became known as the “Memory Card Murders” after a sex worker stole Smith's cellphone and discovered footage of Henry being tortured and killed. She copied the footage to an SD memory card and gave it to police, providing the breakthrough that connected Smith to the murders. Smith was convicted of all 14 charges against him in February 2024 and sentenced to 226 years in prison.

Bricen John Rivers was convicted of the capital murder of his former girlfriend, 22-year-old Lauren Johansen, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in July 2024. Rivers had been released from a Tennessee jail only days earlier while facing charges stemming from a violent assault on Johansen. Despite court-ordered restrictions, he returned to Mississippi and went to Johansen's home. Prosecutors said he abducted and beat her to death before driving away in her car with her body. Rivers was captured after a six-hour manhunt and ultimately pleaded guilty to capital murder in August 2026. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Bruce McGregor Davis was a prominent member of Charles Manson's Family who was convicted for his involvement in the 1969 murders of musician Gary Hinman and Spahn Ranch worker Donald "Shorty" Shea. Davis joined Manson's group during the late 1960s and participated in crimes committed around the period of the notorious Tate-LaBianca murders, although he did not participate in those killings. After spending more than a year as a fugitive, Davis surrendered in 1970 and was convicted in 1972 of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and robbery. Originally sentenced under California's indeterminate life-sentence system, he has spent decades in prison, where he became a born-again Christian, pursued higher education and repeatedly sought parole.

Bruce Koklich became known in true crime coverage after being convicted in connection with the disappearance and presumed murder of his wife, millionaire real estate broker Jana Koklich, in Michigan. The case generated major media attention because Jana vanished without a trace in 2009, leaving investigators to pursue a homicide prosecution despite never recovering her body.