Pushing Up Lillies
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  • Julie Mattson
  • December 31, 2025December 31, 2025
  • Podcast

New Year’s Eve Murder Encore – Son Decapitates Mom

On New Years Eve in 2014, a son attacked his mother at their home and decapitated her with an ax, because she “nagged him” to do the chores.

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  • Julie Mattson
  • December 11, 2024December 11, 2024
  • Podcast

The Walls Have Eyes: The Chilling Case of Daniel LaPlante

This week, I’m taking you into one of the most unsettling cases I’ve ever researched—the story of Daniel LaPlante. Known for his bizarre and terrifying behavior, LaPlante lurked in the walls of a family’s home before brutally murdering a pregnant woman and her children.

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  • Julie Mattson
  • November 27, 2024November 27, 2024
  • Podcast

Susan Smith: A Mother’s Betrayal

This week, we’re revisiting one of the most shocking and heartbreaking cases in true crime history—the story of Susan Smith, the mother who drove her car into a lake in 1994, drowning her two young sons. It’s a case that stunned the nation, and now, nearly 30 years later, Susan was up for parole.

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  • Julie Mattson
  • October 11, 2023October 11, 2023
  • Podcast

Mothers Who Drown Their Children

On this episode, we delve into the haunting and deeply disturbing phenomenon of maternal filicide, where mothers, like Andrea Yates and Susan Smith, commit the unimaginable act of drowning their own children.

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  • Julie Mattson
  • January 18, 2023January 19, 2023
  • Podcast

MLB Star Martin Bergen, Killed His Wife and Children With an Axe

Today on our series ‘Men Who Kill Their Wives’, we are going to go way back to the year 1900, when a horrific murder-suicide took place by a professional baseball player.

On January 19th, Marty Bergen, characterized as the best catcher in baseball history, killed his wife Harriet and his two children, three year old Joseph and six year old Florence, with an axe. After killing his family, Marty then used a straight razor to forcefully cut his own throat.

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  • Julie Mattson
  • December 28, 2022December 28, 2022
  • Podcast

Horrific New Year’s Eve Murder – Son Decapitates Mom

On New Years Eve in 2014, a son attacked his mother at their home and decapitated her with an ax, because she “nagged him” to do the chores.

Read more

Pushing Up Lilies

Pushing Up Lilies
Pushing Up Lilies

Dissect the science behind some of the most spine-tingling, unusual and terrifyingly true crime stories with Julie Mattson, a seasoned Forensic Nurse Death Investigator in this gripping weekly podcast.

Julie’s unique approach to investigations is informed by her background in nursing, which allows her to provide an in-depth analysis of the medical intricacies and physiological aspects of each case.

With her compassionate storytelling and unwavering dedication to uncovering the truth, Julie takes you on a thrilling journey into the world of forensic science, shining a light on the intersection of medicine, justice and criminal investigation.

In “Pushing Up Lilies,” Julie’s expert medical analysis will captivate your imagination and challenge your understanding of the human body’s role in solving the most complex and enigmatic criminal case.

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The Monster He Wanted to Become
byJulie Mattson

In this episode of Pushing Up Lilies, I’m covering the heartbreaking case of Rachel Castillo, a young mother whose disappearance in Southern California led investigators to a devastating discovery, and ultimately, the conviction of her estranged husband, Zarbab Ali.

Rachel vanished during what should have been a routine custody exchange involving her children. But almost immediately, investigators began uncovering signs that something was terribly wrong. What followed was an intense investigation involving surveillance footage, blood evidence, digital tracking, and a search that ended with Rachel’s body being found buried in a remote area.

As a forensic death investigator, I walk through how cases like this begin to unfold behind the scenes, how small pieces of evidence start forming a timeline, how investigators interpret behavioral patterns, and how critical those early investigative decisions become when someone suddenly disappears under suspicious circumstances.

This episode contains discussion of domestic violence, homicide, and burial concealment. 

Listener discretion is advised.

The Monster He Wanted to Become
The Monster He Wanted to Become
May 27, 2026
Julie Mattson
The Death of Spencer Irwin: Questions Left Behind
May 20, 2026
Julie Mattson
The Shocking Torture and Murder of Sonia Exelby
May 13, 2026
Julie Mattson
Inside the Crime that Shook a Community – Part Three
May 6, 2026
Julie Mattson
Inside the Crime that Shook a Community – Part Two
April 29, 2026
Julie Mattson
Inside the Crime that Shook a Community – Part One
April 22, 2026
Julie Mattson
Julie Mattson: LIVE From Beyond The Crime 2026
April 15, 2026
Julie Mattson
Pedro Rodrigues Filho: The Man Who Killed Killers
April 8, 2026
Julie Mattson
Walter Carl Kenney: Twice a John Doe
April 1, 2026
Julie Mattson
A Case That Still Hurts: Revisiting Aubreigh Wyatt’s Story
March 25, 2026
Julie Mattson
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Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, terrifyingly true stories with a forensic twist, hosted by Julie Mattson.

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Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, terrifyingly true stories with a forensic twist, hosted by Forensic Nurse Death Investigator, Julie Mattson.

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Recent Episodes

The Monster He Wanted to Become

The Death of Spencer Irwin: Questions Left Behind

The Shocking Torture and Murder of Sonia Exelby

Inside the Crime that Shook a Community – Part Three

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© 2026 Pushing Up Lilies. All Rights Reserved.