True crime stories you missed this week: July 17-21, 2023

Catch up on the hottest crime stories, mysteries, investigations, cold cases and missing person files every Saturday with Fox News Digital

Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect's duck hunting could have been perfect cover for hiding bodies

FIRST ON FOX: Rex Heuermann, a 59-year-old architect, suburban dad and duck hunter who Suffolk County police allege is the suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer, could have gone from the boat ramp near his Massapequa Park, New York, home to the marsh grass where investigators found the victims in minutes, virtually undetected, if he took a flat-bottomed vessel he had access to. 

"There is a chance that this was an option that he would have seen at the time as something that would be viable for him if, in fact, he was looking to dispose of a body," Paul Mauro, a lawyer and former NYPD inspector, said Wednesday during a visit to the area.

Rex Heuermann is accused of three murders in New York. (Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Suspected Portland serial killer had tried to choke police K-9, was released from prison early: report

A man suspected of killing four of the six women recently murdered in the Portland area had previous run-ins with the law, including an incident during which he allegedly attempted to choke a police K-9.

Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, is reportedly the person of interest in the string of four deaths and is now in custody, according to KOIN, which also reported Calhoun had several other clashes with the law in his past. He was released from prison early under a law signed by former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown.

Oregon Department of Corrections records show Calhoun was charged with three counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, one count of assaulting a public safety officer and one count of first-degree burglary in 2019. 

Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, has been named as a person of interest in connection with the murders of Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leann (Ramsay) Webster, 31; and Ashley Real, 22. (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

Arizona woman murdered by her live-in lover after years of fraud, daughter says: 'Everything was a lie'

Loretta Bowersock seemed to have it all — money and local fame — but the one thing missing in her life was love.

It was 1986 when the wealthy businesswoman decided to lease a room in her Tempe, Arizona, home. Taw Benderly, a Scottish entrepreneur with big invention dreams, arrived by motorcycle, ready to answer her call.

But he stole much more than her heart.

The tragic case of the 69-year-old is the subject of a new episode of "Buried in the Backyard." The Oxygen true-crime series examines cases from across the country where victims are found in unlikely places. It features interviews with the investigators associated with the cases, as well as loved ones.

Taw Benderly in a suit and tie next to Loretta Bowersock in a colorful dress as they both smile (Oxygen)

CARLEE RUSSELL SEARCHED GOOGLE FOR 'TAKEN' MOVIE, 'AMBER ALERT' HOURS BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE, ALABAMA POLICE SAY

Carlee Russell Googled the movie "Taken" before disappearing on July 13, along with a slew of other search terms leading up to the moment where the Alabama woman told a 911 operator that she saw a toddler walking along a busy interstate.

Russell, 25, vanished on July 13 after telling a 911 operator that she saw a 3 to 4-year-old toddler in a diaper along the side of Interstate 459 South near Birmingham, Alabama, according to the Hoover Police Department.

After the 911 call, Russell called a relative and stopped talking but the line "remained open," according to police. She returned home at around 10:45 p.m. on July 15 and was taken to a local hospital before being released.

Police said her "Taken" search was "highly unusual," and they are investigating her reported disappearance as questions mount about her whereabouts.

Hoover, Alabama police are reviewing traffic camera video from I-459 that shows Carlee Russell's car, seen driving slowly in the emergency lane with warning lights, pull over before she went missing July 13.  (Courtesy: Hoover Police Department / TCA)

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