Alaina Urquhart

Urquhart says donations created a $1.2 million trust fund for Jessica McClure.

“a trust fund was established in the amount of $1.2 million from donations made by people all around the world”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 59:57

Urquhart says rescuers and volunteers formed rival associations and fought publicly over television rights to the story.

“the two groups eventually formed their own associations and went on to have a pretty public fight over the television rights to the story”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 51:48

Urquhart criticizes conservative politicians who used the accident to attack working mothers and daycare.

“Some conservative politicians used this accident as an opportunity to attack working mothers”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 50:57

Urquhart reports Jessica spent over a month in hospital and lost only a toe on her right foot.

“she spent more than a month in the hospital where she was stabilized and received several skin grafts after surgeons amputated just her little toe on her right foot”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 49:49

Urquhart says the loss of circulation in Jessica's raised leg caused gangrene in her foot.

“because of the loss of circulation in her leg, she had developed gangrene in her foot”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 48:22

Urquhart states that Jessica McClure was freed after 58 hours in the well.

“after 58 hours in a well jessica mcclure was finally free”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 47:24

Urquhart said pressure from Shanann's friends and neighbors meant Chris had to answer for the killings within hours, leaving no time to build a cover story.

“within like six hours of him killing his entire family he was having to answer for it already”

Morbid: The Watts Family Murders (Part 1) (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:31:49

Urquhart argued that Shanann's friends immediately suspecting Chris was itself telling about him.

“If I went missing, I tell you right now, I know for a fact that none of my friends first reaction would be John did it”

Morbid: The Watts Family Murders (Part 1) (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:19:05

Urquhart rejected claims about Shanann's personality as irrelevant, saying nothing justified her murder.

“no matter what, I don't give a shit. She didn't deserve to be murdered. No. I don't care if she was domineering”

Morbid: The Watts Family Murders (Part 1) (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:14:25

Urquhart interpreted Chris paying for a dinner with Kessinger by credit card on August 11 as a sign he no longer expected Shanann to be a problem.

“I take it as a clear indication that he didn't plan for it to be a problem anymore”

Morbid: The Watts Family Murders (Part 1) (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 1:11:47

Urquhart characterized Chris Watts as passive and hollow, going along with others until something stopped working for him and then exploding.

“It looks that Chris Watts is an empty, again, I say husk, that will just take anything and just roll with it until it doesn't work for him anymore”

Morbid: The Watts Family Murders (Part 1) (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 27:41

Urquhart argued that divorce, however difficult, is vastly preferable to family annihilation.

“hell of a lot better than murdering your pregnant wife and your two children, I would say”

Morbid: The Watts Family Murders (Part 1) (May 7, 2026) · Listen from 12:23

Urquhart says Flippo's life-without-parole conviction was upheld and the appeal produced a Supreme Court ruling limiting warrantless crime-scene searching.

“there was a Supreme Court ruling that came out that did limit the amount of time investigators can search a scene without a warrant”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 25:10

Urquhart says the stalker letters were sent by James Flippo himself to frighten his wife whenever she got close to uncovering his conduct.

“Now, also, that stalker we talked about? Was him. That was James”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 24:28

Urquhart says Flippo specifically requested Cabin 13 when making the reservation two days before the killing.

“but Joel said he pointed out specifically cabin 13. This cabin, again, is the last in the row, very secluded”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 24:12

Urquhart says the red Camaro outside the cabin belonged to Joel Boges, whom Flippo had baptized days earlier and called from the payphone.

“And that car outside the cabin? Yeah. That was also Joel's. He claimed he didn't recognize it. That was Joel's”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 23:09

Urquhart says Flippo had stolen $12,000 from a church fund set up for a sick child.

“He had stolen $12,000 from a fund that the church had set up to help a sick child”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 21:08

Urquhart describes Cheryl Flippo as having been found beaten to death with firewood and fire pokers, with her skull crushed and brain matter on the wall.

“there was brain matter exposed and there was brain matter on the wall. Oh, my God. That's how brutally she had been beaten”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 16:15

Urquhart judges that Keppel and Reichert's interviews with Bundy ultimately helped move the case along.

“So Bob Keppel and Dave Reichert doing this ended up being a pretty, a pretty good thing that they did”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 50:48

Urquhart rejects Bundy's claim that pornography turned him into a killer.

“It's not because you watched porn that you suddenly turn from a completely normal child or human into the worst serial killer that the world has ever known”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 42:11

Urquhart argues Bundy wrongly believed all serial killers operate like him, ignoring individual differences.

“i think ted bundy thinks he knows all of them and like this is the way all of them run and i know and it's like you can't know that because they're all gonna have their little nuances”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 40:17

Urquhart believes Bundy was lying when he claimed to dislike publicity, using the claim to justify keeping his cooperation secret.

“I think he's a bullshitter here. I think he just wanted to look like I'm not doing, that's why he made sure to say like, don't go to the media with me doing this”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 39:27

Urquhart argues Bundy's accurate insights came only from his being the same kind of killer, so he deserves no credit.

“the only reason he was able to do that is because he's the same kind of sick fuck that this guy is”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 33:05

Urquhart contends Bundy helped the task force solely to try to obtain a stay of execution.

“He did not do it for any other reason but to try to get a stay of execution. He was not. He was just scared to die”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 9:27

Urquhart recounted an unexplained incident in which something violently struck a closed door from inside an empty room in her childhood home.

“The door was shut and something from behind the door hit the door from inside so hard that I jumped across the hall”

Morbid: Morbid Book Club: Victorian Psycho By Virginia Feito (Jun 26, 2026) · Listen from 1:11:41

Urquhart took the opposite view, reasoning that a person can be fought off but a ghost cannot.

“Wait, no, because I was just thinking, here's the thing, you can kill a person”

Morbid: Listener Tales 111: Camping Tales (Jun 25, 2026) · Listen from 1:26:10

Urquhart reported that the studio presence Nicholas appeared to say his own name during the recording.

“that motherfucker just said his name he just said nicholas”

Morbid: Listener Tales 110: Playdates with the Paranormal (May 28, 2026) · Listen from 48:41

Urquhart said the hosts have performed this ritual at the USS Salem, the S.K. Pierce Mansion and the Lizzie Borden house.

“We did it at the S.K. Pierce Mansion, at Lizzie Borden. We've done it every single time”

Morbid: Listener Tales 110: Playdates with the Paranormal (May 28, 2026) · Listen from 14:08

Urquhart relays that investigators report an unnatural, total silence in the hollow around Cabin 13, comparing it to Aokigahara.

“They said all insects stop making noises, animals don't make noise. It's like, it reminds me of Okigahara”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 26:36

Urquhart read the listener's account of a pastor blessing the house and reporting the strongest dark presence in the crawlspace directly beneath her bedroom.

“He made his way down the basement crawlspace and said this was where he felt the biggest, darkest presence”

Morbid: Listener Tales 108: 90's Tales! (Mar 26, 2026) · Listen from 56:42

Urquhart said her upcoming book, outside her existing series, is true horror rather than a thriller.

“And I can tell you it's really horror. It's like true horror”

Morbid: The Eddy Brothers and the High Life Ski Club (Oct 1, 2026) · Listen from 3:56

Urquhart described chasing teenagers away as an old-man rite of passage she would embrace herself.

“I would love, if I became an old man, I too would chase kids away from things, I think”

Morbid: Listener Tales 114: Back to School Tales (Sep 28, 2026) · Listen from 25:33

Urquhart says she and Kelley delayed covering the Gabby Petito case because it felt too close, though they intend to tell her story eventually.

“Like we will eventually just to make sure that her story is told”

Morbid: Morbid Book Club: Killing The Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar (Sep 25, 2026) · Listen from 1:22:34

Urquhart says writing more books has taught her to value editors.

“But the more books I write, the more I have realized that editors are very smart people”

Morbid: May Bonus Episode: Breaking Dawn (Part 1) (May 29, 2026) · Listen from 1:01:44

Urquhart suggested the absence of crime in Belle Haven points to a killer who potentially knew Martha.

“And it makes you think more that this was someone who potentially knew her because like it's not like random strangers were”

Morbid: The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 2) (Jun 4, 2026) · Listen from 52:08

Urquhart agreed with the prosecutor that the brutality of the attack showed clear intent to kill.

“There was no way whoever did that to Martha did not intend to kill her”

Morbid: The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 2) (Jun 4, 2026) · Listen from 34:40

Urquhart praised retired detective Steve Carroll for acknowledging the original investigation's errors.

“Like he was like, no, I think we fucked up along the way”

Morbid: The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 2) (Jun 4, 2026) · Listen from 18:05

Urquhart said Michael Skakel's new alibi placed him at the scene and made him the leading suspect.

“Michael hadn't just ruled himself back in as a suspect. He'd effectively moved himself to the top of the list”

Morbid: The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 2) (Jun 4, 2026) · Listen from 11:40

Urquhart argued that Ridgway's success at covering his tracks did not make him intelligent or superior.

“That doesn't mean he's smart. That doesn't mean he's capable. It doesn't mean he's superior in any way”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4) (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 1:37:27

Urquhart argued that Ridgway's atypical profile does not discredit profilers like John Douglas, since anomalies exist.

“say that like, oh, John Douglas got it wrong, so he's not a good profile. It's like, no, he happens to be an anomaly”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4) (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 1:15:15

Urquhart explained that a violent death can be inferred from skeletal remains through signs such as broken bones or non-animal cut marks.

“Really, like, a broken bone, cut marks on a bone that can't be attributed to, like, an animal”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4) (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 37:32

Urquhart argued that task force members cared about the case while higher-ups created obstacles.

“So the task force members gave a shit. It was people in the higher up positions that were the ones that were throwing up roadblocks”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4) (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 33:08

Urquhart speculated that authorities avoided adding victims to the list because the task force was being disbanded and more names would invite public pressure.

“They're already disbanding the task force. They're already doing all this shit. So they're hesitant to add more names”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 4) (Jul 16, 2026) · Listen from 40:46

Urquhart notes that Colleen Brockman's runaway report went nowhere because runaway cases were not taken seriously at the time.

“But at a time when runaway cases weren't taken very seriously, the report went nowhere”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 21:52

Urquhart reports that Wendy Stevens's remains went unidentified for nearly 40 years until a 2021 DNA database match.

“these remains would sit unidentified and unclaimed for nearly 40 years. Oh, my God. Until 2021”

Morbid: The Green River Killer - Gary Ridgway (Part 3) (Jul 13, 2026) · Listen from 12:30

Urquhart said she wanted the case solved regardless of whom it ultimately identified.

“Regardless of who is the person they identify, I would like it to be solved”

Morbid: The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 2) (Jun 4, 2026) · Listen from 51:12

Urquhart argues that the Bundy identification proves cold cases are never truly closed.

“this is why we always say like a cold case is never cold”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 7:27

Urquhart says the massacre changed police procedure for mass shootings, including communication, surveillance and weaponry.

“the event did go on to influence police procedure with regards to incidents of mass shootings and other acts of terrorism”

Morbid: The San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre (Jun 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:13:00

Urquhart criticizes the SWAT team's arrival roughly an hour into the attack.

“And for them to only get SWAT there like an hour late, that's, that I don't get”

Morbid: The San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre (Jun 8, 2026) · Listen from 1:12:23

Urquhart recounts that a dispatch error sending the first officer to the wrong McDonald's delayed response by several minutes.

“emergency services were delayed by anywhere between three and five minutes as the officer had to backtrack”

Morbid: The San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre (Jun 8, 2026) · Listen from 47:21

Urquhart argues humans are not equipped to absorb continuous coverage of the world's worst events.

“we're not meant to see all the horrible shit that's happening in the world. We're just not meant to absorb all of it all the time”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 55:00

Urquhart argues that the pre-cable habit of a single nightly news digest was better for people's nervous systems.

“I think it's so much better for your nervous system”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 36:41

Urquhart, citing reporter Mark Roan, says the live coverage of the trapped baby helped shape the 24-hour news cycle.

“the ongoing developments of a living, breathing baby trapped helplessly underground would help shape a 24 hour news cycle that people could connect with at any moment of the day”

Morbid: The Rescue of Baby Jessica McClure (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 37:34

Urquhart says investigators found blood had been soaked up from the floor and transferred to the bed to fake the attack's location.

“Someone had soaked up the blood on the floor and plopped it onto the bed to make it look like the attack had happened there”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 22:48

Urquhart says investigators determined Flippo's leg scratches were self-inflicted based on the direction of the cuts.

“you can also see the direction where the scratches start and stop and if he's doing it from his angle it's clearly he's scratching his own legs”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 21:35

Urquhart says the first deputy on scene found no forced entry and no footprints in the rain-softened mud besides the Flippos'.

“there was absolutely no footprints anywhere around the cabin besides theirs and he said when he went into the cabin he was like there was no mud there was no water on the floor”

Morbid: Haunted Roadtrip: West Virginia Edition! (Mar 30, 2026) · Listen from 13:01

Urquhart read a listener's note that she can handle true crime and gore but cannot tolerate paranormal content.

“Let me first say that I absolutely love true crime, gore, etc. I cannot handle the paranormal, though”

Morbid: Listener Tales 108: 90's Tales! (Mar 26, 2026) · Listen from 48:42

Urquhart read a listener's account that both she and her older brother separately described a small entity with red eyes and horns in their childhood home.

“I told her that he was my height had red eyes and horns”

Morbid: Listener Tales 108: 90's Tales! (Mar 26, 2026) · Listen from 54:49

Urquhart said the tale illustrated something the hosts often note when covering cases—that ordinary life continues next door to atrocities.

“because we always say like when we're telling these cases and like something awful happens it's like imagine like somebody was just next door like cleaning their house”

Morbid: Listener Tales 108: 90's Tales! (Mar 26, 2026) · Listen from 18:20

Urquhart says causes of death are sometimes invisible even after a body is opened.

“Sometimes it's somebody who looks like they're sleeping and it doesn't look like anything has happened”

Morbid: Carrie, Cult Classics & Chaos: A Sit Down with Matthew Lillard (Oct 5, 2026) · Listen from 1:21:58

Urquhart says an autopsy is where helping begins, offering closure and prevention.

“But I feel like in an autopsy, death is just like the beginning of helping”

Morbid: True Crime: A Sit Down With Patricia Cornwell (May 4, 2026) · Listen from 48:51