True Detective

The True Tale of Seattle's Sherlock Holmes

Luke May was a one-man CSI unit who solved crimes in the city’s most tumultuous era. In 1923, one wild case would take him into a world of murder, astrology, and secret codes.

09/09/2025 By Allison Williams

mystery

Is D.B. Cooper Still on the Run?

Fifty years ago a mysterious criminal parachuted out of an airliner and into legend. An FBI agent, a self-trained scientist, and an outsider theorist have all dedicated years to unraveling the Northwest's iconic puzzle. But can you catch a myth?

09/27/2021 By Allison Williams Illustrations by Joseph Laney

Feature

In the Straits: An Inmate Turned Millionaire Turned Lone Survivor

He was a convicted felon who found a niche in Seattle’s construction boom. As the region’s fortunes rose and fell—and rose again—so did his. Then a fatal boating accident came for Michael Powers’s fairy-tale ending.

08/19/2019 By James Ross Gardner

Feature

Dealer Takes All: Inside One of Seattle's Biggest Opioid Busts

It took a multistate sting to bring down the opioid king of Capitol Hill. But not before his product stole a life. The story of two men, their elusive dreams, and one deadly drug.

03/26/2019 By Levi Pulkkinen

Feature

A Rumor in Madrona

Before Info Wars or Pizzagate, a right-wing conspiracy theory led to the murder of Seattle lawyer Charles Goldmark and his family. Can a decades-old deadly home invasion case help unmask the dangers of the misinformation age?

10/15/2018 By James Ross Gardner

Feature

Darren Berg on the Run: Inside the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in Washington State History

He owned yachts and sped around the country in Lear jets—spoils from the more than $100 million he bilked from investors—before he was convicted and sent away to serve an 18-year sentence in federal prison. Then, late last year, Darren Berg disappeared.

03/19/2018 By Ciara O'Rourke

Feature

Undelivered

After Carlyle Aicher was murdered for the pearls he was carrying, authorities assured his family the killer would be found. Nearly 50 years later, those who are left are still waiting.

05/25/2016 By Matthew Halverson

The Year's Best

Our Top 5 Most Popular Stories of 2015

Here are the most read Seattle Met longform stories of the year

12/28/2015 By Seattle Met Staff

Feature

17 Shots in Pasco

The police shooting of a Mexican field worker prompted a reckoning in a Washington farming town.

05/26/2015 By Brooke Jarvis

Feature

Tony Wheat Has Been Sorry for So Long

Can we forgive Washington’s longest incarcerated inmate?

04/27/2015 By James Ross Gardner

Feature

The Brief, Extraordinary Life of Cody Spafford

Cody Spafford found both solace and redemption in the kitchen of Seattle’s most celebrated restaurant. What turned a promising chef into a bank robber?

03/10/2015 By Allecia Vermillion

Crime

This Is What Happens to Your Bike After It’s Stolen

Last year 1,121 bicycles in Seattle were reported stolen. That’s roughly three purloined bikes a day. But the moment a ride is pinched is only the beginning.

10/01/2014 By Casey Jaywork

Feature

The 10 Crimes That Shook Seattle

From D. B. Cooper to Ted Bundy to the Wah Mee Massacre, the crimes (and criminals) that impacted the city the most.

10/01/2014 By Bess Lovejoy

Feature

Crime in Seattle, By the Numbers

10/01/2014 Research by Ezra Parter and Casey Jaywork

Feature

Who Killed Tom Wales?

The murder of the beloved federal prosecutor remains unsolved 13 years later.

10/01/2014 By Seattle Met Staff

Feature

Ground Control to Mr. Meline

Rob Meline always dreamed of being an astronaut. He became a teacher instead. When he fell victim to a family secret in October 2012, he became the symbol of a flawed judicial system. What his students did next was out of this world.

09/17/2013 By James Ross Gardner

Post

Legends of the Fallen

A magnificent Douglas fir stood for more than 300 years at the edge of the Olympic National Forest. When Reid Johnston looked at it, all he could see was money.

04/17/2013 By Matthew Halverson

Profile

The Law and John Henry !*@#ing Browne

He’s defended the Northwest’s most reviled killers and gained the cursed admiration of Ted Bundy and the begrudging respect of prosecutors. So what’s John Henry Browne doing for his next act?

07/18/2012 By James Ross Gardner

Crime

The PTSD Defense

A Bellingham mental health expert says the soldier accused of the worst military atrocity in decades isn’t the only one to blame.

04/25/2012 By James Ross Gardner

Post

The Smartest Sucker in the Room

From his humble trailer in northern Washington State, Scott Stuart ran a decade-long investment scam so lucrative you’d think he was a lifetime con artist. The truth is, everything he knew he learned from the Nigerians who bled him dry.

03/02/2012 By Matthew Halverson