Crime sleuths came forth. For the first time since 2022, CrimeCon returned to the Las Vegas Strip May 29-31 for three days of survivor stories, stunning accounts of cold cases being cracked and eye-opening panels on how to stay watchful in a world of injustice.
CrimeCon was possibly the safest place to be all weekend, considering all the K9 units, FBI agents and police circling about. And then there were the people, the “legal eagles,” as famed TV journalist Nancy Grace called them. These were the folks who lived and breathed true crime podcasts and binged episodes of The First 48. As crime sleuths packed the Caesars Palace ballroom on Friday, a montage of captured criminals flashed onscreen from high-profile cases. Attendees cheered, celebrating convictions like their home team scoring the game-winning goal. But the behavior was far from romanticizing these crimes. It was more a display of zeal for justice.
“We believe in justice, and that is not easy to get,” Grace told the audience during her discussion on the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie. “People ask, why do we care so much? Why not? Why wouldn’t you care so much?”
In several instances, it’s the true crime enthusiasts who have helped solve cases, Grace said. Two travel bloggers spotted the late Gabby Petito’s van, tipping the police off to the location of her remains. That vigilance is precisely what this weekend at CrimeCon set out to celebrate. –AS
It was a woman’s world. A few years ago, a study from Pew Research Center found that women are nearly twice as likely as men to listen to true crime podcasts. That was reflected in the crowd at the Las Vegas edition of CrimeCon. Hundreds of women, representing a wide range of ages and backgrounds, streamed into the convention’s sprawling ballrooms, eager to engage with stories that, on the surface, seem unsettling and grim.
The scene raises the question: Why are women so drawn to true crime and stories of violence, deception and loss? For many, the appeal lies not in the morbidity itself, but in the lessons these stories offer. True crime can serve as a form of education and self-preservation. A way of learning what warning signs to recognize, what to avoid and how to navigate a potentially dangerous situation. For others, it can provide a means of processing trauma, offering reassurance and solidarity through the experiences of those who have endured similar hardships and emerged on the other side.
That dynamic was on full display during Friday afternoon’s panel featuring Eva LaRue, Athena Klingerman and Amber Rasmussen, the women behind the Paramount+ documentaries My Nightmare Stalker: The Eva LaRue Story and Don’t Date Brandon. As they recounted their experiences, whether it was involving an unknown stalker or abuse within an intimate relationship, a common thread emerged. Though the circumstances differed, their stories echoed one another in striking ways.
It is a sobering reality that so many women share experiences rooted in fear, harassment or violence. Yet the panel underscored why true crime storytelling continues to resonate. Beyond the headlines and sensational details, these narratives offer something many people seek, which is understanding, validation and, in some cases, some measure of closure. –GR
Attorney General Aaron Ford was right about Roblox. In one of the most eye-opening panels, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen investigated Roblox, a popular free-to-play title containing countless community created games. Roblox has caught considerable heat after several states have sued the platform for serving as a breeding ground for child predators. While onstage, Hansen even demonstrated a live chat with a questionable stranger on Roblox, revealing just how unsafe this can be for children if gone unchecked. This April, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford reached a multimillion-dollar agreement with Roblox to support kid-focused programs and nondigital activities, and to implement safeguards on the app for minors. Nevada, like many other states now, leads by example in this commitment to protecting kids in virtual spaces. –AS
Vegas’ true crime still mystifies the masses. CrimeCon’s jam-packed schedule featured everything from self-defense demonstrations to panels with serial killer profilers and Jeffrey Epstein survivors. Still, Las Vegas’ own unsolved mysteries and tragedies kept true crime junkies on the edge of their seats. We heard from local detectives and LVMPD officers who responded to the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in a two-part panel. Then “Buffalo” Jim Barrier, a boisterous wrestling promoter who became a Vegas icon in the late ’90s, received the spotlight after his mysterious motel death in 2008 resurfaced in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, prompting family and friends to allege foul play. CrimeCon even shed light on casino heir Ted Binion’s untimely death, leaving us to consider: Sometimes what happens in Vegas really does stay in Vegas. –AS
