With more than 1.3M followers across all platforms, Criminally Obsessed delivers best-in-class coverage of the stories everyone is talking about, every day. Powered by a network of stations across the country, we pride ourselves on approaching our content with an investigative eye balanced with compassion for the victims involved in each case. Hosted by award-winning journalist Anne Emerson, our daily video podcast unpacks the complex investigations, breaking developments, and human stories behind each headline. With more than 30 years in the field and inside America’s courtrooms, Anne brings a rare combination of deep sourcing, on-the-ground reporting, and accessible storytelling to each episode.
Our video podcast host, Anne Emerson, covered the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial extensively in 2023, as she was in the courtroom every day for the six-week duration of the trial. The Murdaugh housekeeper, Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson, gave insightful testimony during the trial and was someone Anne had always wanted to interview, but early on (when Anne was reporting for a Sinclair local news station), she declined requests. Anne never pushed and respected her space, but did work to forge a relationship built on trust.
With our video podcast launching around the time the hit Hulu miniseries about the murders, “Murdaugh: Death in the Family,” gained popularity, we saw an opportunity to leverage Anne’s connections to the case to further the conversation and quickly position Criminally Obsessed as a premier destination for true crime news.
Securing a Blanca interview was not an easy task, as she had turned down Anne’s previous requests due to threats against her. Even with a book coming out, she was very selective with granting interviews. But Anne having forged a positive relationship with Blanca helped us land the in-person interview you will see on the submission.
Blanca is a very reserved and private person. However, upon meeting Anne and Cathy, the show’s producer -- women approximately the same age – she immediately felt at ease. What was supposed to be a 45-minute interview turned into a two-and-a-half hour chat, where she told us things she had never revealed before and even included her dog, Bubba, who helped convict Murdaugh by disproving his alibi. We were able to turn three episodes from that one interview, with the episodes racking up a combined 1.4 million views on YouTube.
