Sword and Scale Nightmares

“Artist, women’s rights activist, Japanese immigrant, renowned arts professor”. These are the words that describe Rie Hachiyanagi, a paper artist living and working in Massachusetts at Mount Holyoke College. When she discovered her friend in serious danger one night in December of 2019, Rie revealed to the world her multi-faceted personality. There was more to Rie than those around her could see.

The report of what appeared to be a body on the front porch of a home in small-town St. Johns, Arizona triggered an investigation that would be quick, but not without a myriad of twists and turns.
In this gripping episode of Sword and Scale Nightmares, listeners are taken deep into the chilling true crime story of Christian Romero, an eight-year-old boy from the small town of Saint John's, Arizona, who became entangled in a gruesome double homicide. The episode meticulously recounts the tragic events that led to the deaths of Christian's father, Vincent Romero, and Vincent's friend, Timothy Romans.
As the story unfolds, listeners are introduced to Detective Debbie Nickel, a seasoned investigator who arrives at the crime scene to unravel the mystery behind the brutal killings. Amidst the chaos, she discovers young Christian at the scene, a boy who should be playing with friends, not witnessing such horrors. In a shocking turn of events, Christian confesses to the murders, stating that he took the lives of the two men in a bid to put an end to their suffering, which he claims was caused by an initial attack from an unidentified assailant.
The episode delves into Christian's background, exploring the environment in which he was raised and the possible influences that may have led to his unthinkable actions. It also scrutinizes the legal ramifications of the case, discussing the complexities of prosecuting someone so young and the judicial system's struggle to balance justice with the welfare of a child.
As the community of Saint John's grapples with the shock and grief of losing two of their own to such a young killer, the episode paints a vivid picture of the town's collective heartache and disbelief. The narrative probes the societal implications of the crime, the psychological factors at play, and the challenging questions it raises about nature versus nurture, childhood innocence, and the capacity for violence in the young.
Throughout the episode, Sword and Scale Nightmares invites listeners to consider the broader implications of Christian's actions, the impact on all those involved, and the haunting uncertainty surrounding the boy's future. It's a tale that not only documents the facts of the case but also invites a deeper conversation about the darkest corners of human behavior and the enigmatic workings of a child's mind.

In 2008, something strange started happening in Omaha, Nebraska. Multiple members of Creighton University Medical Center’s pathology department were targeted in violent crimes. Five years later, it happened again. Police and people in the community were scratching their heads. How could anyone have a grudge against a group of doctors?

In 1986, a young Navy Seaman went missing from Gibraltar, a British naval base, after the ship The Illustrious docked for a few days. Simon Parkes’s grief-stricken parents would search for him for more than fifteen years, until 2001 when a connection was made between Simon and two other young cadets who went missing. Their bodies would surface, but Simon’s would not. Investigators would later discover the grim reality that they may have encountered one of the worst serial killers in England’s history.

“If you were gorgeous and running out of money, what would you do? If you loved hurting things, what would you do?” 30-year-old Iana Kasian was a Ukrainian woman who was about to marry into a very wealthy Canadian family. She had already secured her spot with a baby on the way. Iana would soon learn the answers to those cryptic questions... though she’d learn them the hard way.