Cold Case Reopened: FBI Manhunt For Twisted Black Widow Killer

A respected dentist. A city on edge. And a trail of bodies stretching across decades. This chilling FBI investigation peels back the mask of Glennon Engelman, the St. Louis “deadly dentist” tied to car bombs, staged accidents, and cold-blooded executions for cash. From a Madison County farmhouse massacre to a body staged at a seedy motel, investigators chase a phantom who always seems one step ahead. A car bomb shatters the quiet south side, but a misfired device from months earlier reveals an unexpected link. An ex-wife’s terrified testimony opens locked doors: an alleged quarry “accident,” a drag-strip blast, and a suspicious 1958 killing that never sat right. Insurance windfalls, forged signatures, a bogus confession, and a killer’s arrogance converge as agents connect dots others missed. How did a mediocre dentist outmaneuver cops for years? What tiny forensic match finally cracks the case? And why did so many people closest to him keep paying with their lives? Watch the full story to see how investigators exposed the method behind the murders and the motive that never changes.

In 1988, new light was shed on the mysterious death of a South Carolina farmer when a criminal confessed that two prominent community members hired him to commit murder.

On October 2, 1987, a Boston police officer responding to a domestic disturbance call was fatally wounded. Local authorities launched a citywide manhunt, but were only able to find the fingerprints of the chief suspect.

Two men entered a pawnshop in Alabama and ruthlessly murdered the employees. Unknown to the killers, a secret video surveillance camera recorded the shooting.

Two bodies, one locked house, and 130 years of the wrong question. What really happened in Fall River on August 4, 1892? This cinematic cold case re-examines the Andrew and Abby Borden murders from the ground up. We retrace timelines, test the locked front door and “sticking” lock, revisit the broken-handled hatchet, the blue dress burned in the stove, and the prussic acid rumor that never reached the jury. We follow John Morse’s overnight visit, Bridget Sullivan’s uneasy testimony, and the moment Lizzie was heard laughing upstairs. Then we step inside the trial, from excluded evidence to the dramatic unveiling of the victims’ skulls and a verdict that changed everything. Instead of asking “Did Lizzie do it?”, we interrogate a deeper possibility: was Abby the first and only intended target, and did a plan unravel when Andrew came home early? Watch to see how a family’s loyalties, timelines, and silences might resolve contradictions others ignore. Stay to the end for the question that could have redirected the entire 1892 investigation. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to

A cross-country predator leaves a red Chevy behind and a hostage in danger. Inside the dragnet, the FBI pieces together a killer's trail before time runs out. From Sarah Mitchell’s roadside escape to a shotgun standoff with police, this episode follows the breakneck search that begins in West Palm Beach and points to a chilling name: Paul John Knowles. A hidden Volkswagen, a Fort Pierce motel check-in under an alias, and a yellow Dodge Demon tie-ins raise the stakes. As Agent James Cavanaugh builds a psychological profile, evidence links Knowles to a murdered schoolteacher in Jacksonville Beach, a brutal Atlantic Beach killing, and a Milledgeville double homicide traced through stolen clothing and a newspaper clipping. With Deborah Taylor captive and Knowles obsessively scanning newscasts, investigators chase credit card breadcrumbs across dozens of states and a last will that finally reveals his identity. What they uncover about his past changes the urgency of the hunt. Watch to see how a red Impala, a forged identity, and a terrifying confession push the FBI to close in before he kills again.