"Then she met a man" aw fuck. the way Eleanor tells stories makes it so heartbreaking when the victim dies. she's truly talented at formatting the facts in an easy to digest way, but it's still absolutely heart-wrenching.

Helle: “If I die it WASNT an accident.” Literally everyone: “Idk man her abusive husband said she’s fine so she must be” like wtf?!?!

I can't believe the way the nanny acted the whole time. She had all the evidence of a murder right in front of her eyes and completely refused to call the police, she even hide crucial information. And the jury... How would someone ever doubt that he was responsible for her murder? Are people just stupid?

I can't believe they found HAIRS and TEETH and NAILS in a lake! If only other cases were worked on so thoroughly more often.

Had the worst sinking feeling listening to this. The most dangerous time for a woman in an abusive relationships is when they leave.

I don't get why "good behavior" in prison is even a thing

I've heard of this story before. The reason that the nail polish was so important is because it was a limited brand that was only sold in a small area in Europe. The chances that another American would have the same polish were just about non existent. Also, it's not that hard for them to recover a serial number that has been filed off. The number is stamped into the metal which compresses the metal underneath. The difference in density in the metal can still be seen with the proper equipment. In order to get rid of a serial number you have to chisel it out to and create more density in the surrounding the area.

The nanny is blowing minds through this whole for me. She really impeded this investigation multiple times. I began to think she was complicit in it by how unhelpful she had been.

The trauma her poor kids were put through is unimaginable. I refuse to say ‘his or their’ kids because he is in no way a father.

For everyone wondering why her name was Helle. She's from the Netherlands. Her name means divine woman. And its pronounced HEH-leh

Honestly huge kudos to those divers and investigators. You rarely hear about a case where the police were this thorough and committed.

One of the reasons why I love Eleanor's videos that just like Mr. Ballin, she talks about the victim first. They're not defined by their murder case, and it's why I enjoy her

why did it take her friends and live-in nanny over a week to report her as missing... they knew she was being abused by her husband, they all had bad feelings, WHY did they wait? and why did they keep going back to him knowing he's acting suspicious and weird, knowing he's abusive to her? that's so frustrating and ridiculous to me. i can't believe how they acted in this.

the most annoying thing to me in these cases is when people hesitate when their friends go missing. Helle warned MULTIPLE people about Richard, i can't believe it took them a WEEK to report her missing

Let’s thank that one officer who knew about his past, because.. if he didn’t speak up, Helle’s case might’ve been unsolved, today.

So sad how many stories go "she was a loved, happy, outgoing and friendly girl. Then she met a man" and you just know it's going downhill from there.

Smh this is so horrible. Poor Hel. Also I find it frustrating that people kept going back to her husband (who they know is dangerous, abusive, etc.) instead of reporting her missing??? Like it took over a week for them to do that

I feel horrible for hel, she went through so much just for him to treat her like rubbish.

Great episode. Poor Helle. So many women in abusive relationships either can't leave or wait until it's too late. My mom was lucky. I remember seeing my dad one night sitting on top of her in the front yard of my cousin's trailer, holding her by her ear and just repeatedly punching her in the face. She had already filed for divorce by that time. I also remember being in the the courthouse for the divorce proceedings. I wasn't allowed in the courtroom. I was too little. But I do remember peeking in through the door at one point. My mom was on the stand. And to this day I remember what she looked like...Chin up, hands clasped on her knees, defiant (of my father), and wearing the blood stained sweater from that night. FYI...Kerosene was/is a common fuel for portable kerosene heaters. We had one in our living room in the 80's. Stunk like hell but kept us warm and the fuel lasted a long time.

One of the things that just blows my mind is that this could’ve been avoided. Richard didn’t have to marry Helle if he didn’t want to give up his bachelor lifestyle. If he hadn’t felt “responsible” for getting her pregnant, they wouldn’t have been shackled together. But he was totally ok with murder. He would rather be labeled a “killer” than a “fuckboy” or “deadbeat”

They didn’t have proof that she was dead?? Didn’t they find pieces of her skull? Ugh this case all around just makes me sad.

it’s horrible to know this sick man is now released from prison and is living among us

"her mother had lied about health matters in the past" and him saying helle was unfaithful is such projection !! this is a narcissistic, evil man, so glad he got caught.

I love how you don’t put those creepy songs like they all do, you just keep it as your voice and your information is really good and we understand you really well not like those other KZfaqrs who talk super fast like ThisHappendBackIn1983AndItsReallyScary; you actually talk slowly when it’s important for us to understand

Holyyyy cow. How did they release him?? An 83 year old man was just arrested in Brooklyn, NY after they found dismembered body parts in trash cans. This man went to jail twice, twiceeeeeee for killing 2 ex girlfriends. I just want to know how do these men get out of jail after killing??? For good behavior????? 🤦🏼‍♀️

One thing I love about this channel is that Eleanor goes into a lot of detail about these cases whereas most people I've seen just cover the bare minimum information. So glad I found this channel ❤️ Edit: Thank you for all the suggestions guys, definitely going to check those channels out too 👍

"Good behavior" should NOT be a thing on murder cases! I'm disgusted he got out early and is still in society free right now?? He showed no guilt, no remorse, he murdered Helle and disposed of her body in the most disturbing way I think I've heard. Absolutely disgusting.

Imagine being the people who rented the equipment after him, especially that freezer. Could you imagine unknowingly putting your food in a freezer that was used to hold a body?

One thing i like about her is that she has never been desensitized by these videos, I have been following her for a long time and she still has the same care and sensitively and I highly appreciate you for this ells💖

THIS COMMENT HAS A SPOILER | \/ Is nobody gonna talk about Hel’s poor children?! Their mother was shredded up in a wood-chipper by their own father. That’s the most traumatizing thing I ever heard 😢

It’s so impressive how smart human beings actually are. like finding tinyyy pieces of things and eventually being able to solve murder cases

With all the evidence, that guy who walked out the court saying he thought he wasn't guilty must be a criminal himself - like how the hell do you stand up for someone like that?

i can explain the chainsaw serial number thing!!! when serial numbers are stamped into metal, the metal gets compressed and is thus harder than the surrounding metal. so what they do is they use acid that eats away at the “mutilated” (sanded, scratched, etc) metal and makes it uniform again. but because the stamped parts of the metal are more compressed, the acid eats away at the metal at a different rate, so the real number is raised from the rest of the unstamped metal. and thus the serial number can be read again nowadays they’re looking into using electron microscopes to see filed off serial numbers because of how the different metal densities reflect electrons! it’s really cool

I saw this case on Murderous Affairs, a show that focuses on murders that happen with couples. I was just in shock about the case when I first saw it. Helle did not deserve what happened to her.

I watched the story of Helle on Forensic Files many years ago and it’s one of the most chilling cases in American criminal history. The fact few fragments of her were able to convict her husband was a landmark for trials without an intact body & why many cases can proceed without corpses if tangible proof exists of foul play

This is the kind of stuff you imagine only happens in horror movies. This man is absolutely sick. He did the most horrifying to more than his wife, THE MOTHER OF HIS OWN CHILDREN. May she rest in peace.

1 week for her friends to call the police 1 week for the police to even bother to investigate 1 month later they've got a warrant and leave half way through because it's Christmas After 1 month someone decides to report the 4am Woodchipper in the middle of a snow storm firing debris into a lake! Then seemingly the only competent people in this entire area show up and find 2,000 pieces of evidence in less time it took the police to actually investigate. Wish everyone had the determination of Divers. But then the good old people of this area are back so it took 17 days to deliberate and then 2 trails to actually convict him

A note on the kerosene, it is plausible to have that in the bedroom. Lots of people used to have kerosene lamps and if he said he had one and used it during the fake power outage, I can see why someone might believe that.

I really don’t understand how the people in the first trial found it hard to believe that Richard did that to his wife? Its so pathetic! 🤦🏽‍♀️

My mom tells me this story every time we pass the place that sold the wood chipper. I’m so happy you covered this case!

Dude orders a woodchipper for no reason, wife found disposed in a wood chipper. Guy on the jury I don't think he did it... was he not listening or had he gone through a messy divorce as well

Some guy from my home town murdered his ex wife and put her in a wood chipper and burned parts of her body. He got 60 years… so screwed up, she deserved better.

Can you imagine how scared the live-in nanny was? She had to know SOMETHING happened. I'd be terrified and trying to protect the kids. Also kerosene is used quite often for oil lamps or heaters.

I genuinely can't believe it took them so long to call the police, especially after the dark spot on the carpet and all the lies he told.

it's so sad that she was trying so hard to get away from her abusive husband in hopes of a better life, and she was so so close to being free. may her soul rest in peace ❤

it is so kind of her to always include disclaimers and content warnings. She always goes out of her way to be respectful and kind. 💗

My whole heart goes to the police officer who kept pushing for Richard to not be ruled out

“And that’s when he found he had prostate cancer” Me: Good for him 👏

Unimaginable that someone had to go through something as brutal as this

I don't believe that "good behavior" should be an option for an adult murderer. I don't know about child murderers as that feels like a gray area for me personally. Especially for those who were so young that they didn't understand actions have consequences or the difference between right and wrong.

The police work in this case amazed me Despite hell's disappearance being reported a week after she went missing, and being a case from the 80s, they did an amazing job

I feel terrible for her kids. I can't imagine living with the fact that their father did that to their mother.

Eleanor! You should do the "body in the Thames" case! You mentioned it in the scissor sisters video and I really would like to see it♥️

I adore Eleanor’s style of depicting true crime cases, it’s not focused entirely on the victim OR the crime itself, she spends appropriate time on both of those parts and the criminal. She doesn’t “justify” the crime through a tragic backstory, but she sheds light on the whole case, instead of a small spotlight on areas that don’t seem to link. Love the content 💕💕

Ooh, I know how they tell what the serial number is after it's been filed off. Serial numbers on engines and guns are put on using metal stamps while the item is still hot. The stamps are lined up and pressed into the hot metal (by machines these days). Doing so compressed the metal underneath, causing it to be slightly harder. So even if the number is sanded off, you could do a microscopic analysis and see what parts are slightly harder. It's kinda like reading the writing on a paper by rubbing a pencil over the paper underneath to reveal the indentations.

This breaks my heart.. not only for hel, but for her children, her family and her friends.. absolutely sickening.

This case was horrific it's been done a few times over the years but no one covers a case as well as Eleanor and the details in this video are better than all of the others put together, that's why you're the best on KZfaq I absolutely love your work and look forward to it every week x

"Richard was a player and no one could tie him down" Richard: ಠ益ಠ 👔

Loooooving the natural look girl. So pretty and I think it’s really great for your young female viewers to see you being so confident naturally. I think you’re a great role model, you’re so respectful.

Girl, what are you doing? I just spent all evening and night watching like 10 videos straight, it's 10am and I didn't sleep at all How are you so talented and just making it all so interesting?

You know you need a break from true crime when Eleanor says “he took the nanny and kids to his sister’s house” and your first thought is “oh okay! That’s not too bad then! At least he’s not a family annihilator” 😬

Thank goodness for the man plowing snow at 4 am that morning. He was a key part in police solving this case because she did mention that they never even tracked down the wood chipper that Richard had used! But what a shame that he got to experience freedom again 😡

I did a forensics course & this case was their case file. The forensics team weren't really sure what a human body would look like when put in a woodchipper so they used a pig carcass through the chipper as pig DNA is very similar to human. They were able to determine that the pink 'mush' was actually human flesh.

This happened literally 20 minutes from where I live. My parents told me about this case as it happened 10 years before I was born. Super crazy. I’m glad someone covered this, I’ve never heard it covered before.

A WOODCHIPPER?! What the actual fuck? The murder of this poor woman was so carefully planned out by the looks of it. What a sick and twisted man! Poor Helle, I hope her soul rests easy.

I live in Sandy Hook where this happened and my Dad always told this story to us as kids to freak us out. It's really interesting to see it being covered on this scale thanks Elanor

I am so proud of Helle's friends for not giving up on the search to find her even after her husband tried to give them a semi- believable story about her whereabouts. I mean being woken up in the middle of the night due to a power outage and one family member is missing when you went to bed with them in the house is suspicious! I would have probably investigated and got killed myself because at first I would have just assumed that she was harmed by home invaders because they temper with the electricity before they rob you.

My grans first husband was incredibly abusive to both her and her kids until one day she'd had enough and beat him with a casserole dish. She kicked him out but 2 weeks later he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and it was aggressively progressing. She took him back in and cared for him in his final years and he completely changed, he spent time with the kids, helped to clean when he could, and he reminded her daily how sorry he was. She never forgave him for what he put the family through, but she found peace in it... He passed away 3yrs after his diagnosis and she described it as the first time she felt free 😥 she always told us that abusers will only change when their meeting with the lord draws close, and by then it's too late, the damage is done... This story just reminded me of her so much

What a truly heartbreaking story. So sorry for sweet Helle. I am dumbfounded that those divers retrieved those fragments. In a giant lake. Minuscule parts. It’s unbelievable.

24:19 If I were Ana I would’ve called Hel’s mom and said something like “I heard you were sick and I hope you feel better!” And based off of her mom’s reply, I think that could’ve proven whether or not Hel’s mom was actually sick or if Richard was just lying, which he probably was. Edit: I just got to the part where she actually tried to call the number 🥲srry if this comment was unnecessary

Can I say that I love how triumphant you are whenever there's a big piece of evidence found? Like that moment when the warranty signature is Richard's, perfect. Also as someone who lives in a very windy mountainous area where when I was a kid our power would go out sometimes for days at a time, it would be immensely suspicious to me if a guy I lived with woke me up at 3 am to tell me I needed to go to someone else's house because the power was out. Like there is no reason to leave in the middle of the night because the lights aren't working. We've had the power go off in the middle of the winter in Alaska and it gets cold, but not that bad, in a few hours. At the very least, I would say we could wait until the next morning. Idk that just seems like a super flimsy excuse to get everyone out of the house to me and I can't believe it worked, and it also makes me think it was 100% him just turning the power off and not an actual power outage.

I really love how much enthusiasm and animation you show, Eleanor! The subject matter is very gruesome but you tell it in an extremely entertaining way! Thanks for all your hard work!

As a paramedic a big part of my duty is to chaffeur old people to the hospital and it just hit me, that someone like this man could potentially sit in front of me and I'd have no idea...crazy they let him out of prison

This was the first case I learned about in a forensic psychology course and what began my interest in psychology RIP Helle

It's called financial abuse, my ex-husband abused me in ways I didn't know existed. I worked 45-50 hours a week getting $13 (early 2018) plus OT. He literally kept my debit card and every day gave me an "allowance " I'd earn for "being good ". It was horrible but until then I didn't even know you COULD abuse someone financially 😔

When you said ‘Connecticut’ I nearly shit myself I never expected you to cover a case so close to home. Wow

I've heard this case so many times and it always gets to me. She was so beautiful and positively impacted so many lives. So smart, and she had so much to offer. Rest in peace Helle

My ex husband always knew when I was trying to leave. No matter how careful I thought I was being. Acting normal, no calls about it when he was home, erasing my call log just in case he got hold of my phone, not taking anything out of the house...but he ALWAYS knew. I got lucky and he went to prison so I was able to move on without fear. Please don't ever judge because when you're in fear for your life, it's harder than you think. And you NEVER know what they're going to do. All of these crime shows should be enough to convince people who have any doubts about why people don't leave. When they know you're going, they get crazy. I pray for anyone in an abusive relationship that they get out safely. It's a horrible, scary way to live and leaving isn't always easy no matter how bad you want to go.

HOW IS THIS MAN ALLOWED OUT OF PRISON ??? literally murdered his wife in one of the worst ways imaginable and gets a lesser sentence then some drug dealers, fucking pathetic if you ask me…

I watched this a few times on Forensic Files. Eleanor always goes into more detail. I feel so bad for Helle Krafts. RIP. 🙏

I love how happy and smiley you get when describing the victim in each of the videos, like you’re proud/know them. It shows how much you care about them! You’re wonderful and so very beautiful! Thank you for making awesome videos and keep healthy and happy. We all love you ❤️

I like how Eleanor tells us this like we’re her best friend on a sleepover just talking about true crime it’s so comforting

eleanor i hope u know that i need constant stimulation, including like background noise bc i have adhd - so basically i’ve been binge watching all of the cases you cover (that i can) . it’s amazing to see you grow and change as you cover different cases, and you always make them so easy to listen to, even if the content is dark as hell. thank you for existing, your content is amazing to have playing in the background and to listen to in general. thank you :)

I watch you all the time, but never mention just how lovely you are! You seem like such a genuinely beautiful person inside and out! With such compassion for the victims, and respect for their families as well as your viewers! Thank you for being just amazing!

I am so afraid of woodchippers. I thought this was an irrational fear, but maybe not.

Unfortunately, most American police officers unholster and “prop” their hand on their gun in basically any encounter.. and I’ve lived all over the USA it’s everywhere here.

I really like how Eleanor has the disclaimer in every video even though we know what we’re getting into bc of the title

Eleanor, I just wanna say, I have watched you for a hot while now, and you have grown so much, and I am SOOOO proud of you!! Youve came such a long way, and you have grown quite a bit of a following, and I appreciate the compassion you share for each case you discuss. I just wanna say thank you for that. And props to the self growth as well!! You're totally coming out of your shell and you are freaking ROCKING it! 🙌🙌

Heartbreaking story. Still, it was refreshing to hear about such competent, tenacious police work. I wish I could have seen that awful man’s face when he heard there were divers scouring the lake… or that sanded serial numbers could be recovered!

This was one of the first true crime caes I encountered and I couldn’t believe it - so glad he did not get away with it.

I appreciate how intelligent you are and how you’re able to tell these stories without having to straight read it like a lot of people.

i don’t watch yt often but when i do you’re my absolute favorite go to. i love your stories and the connection you put into them. you’re awesome

i love the way you tell these cases you are so respectful and interesting about it!

Yes, I am glad she gives a disclaimer, about what she is gonna talk about in the video, because towards the end, it gets pretty graphic, in detail.. great job, Eleanor! 😊

"Still maintains his innocence " what an absolute psychopath

I always throw myself on your videos whenever you upload a new one!! You just seem like such a warm person and the way you talk about these people and their families is just so heartwarming in a way. Some tc channels talk about the people like they're characters from a movie but the way you do it just feel so genuine, and humanising❤️ also the way Helle is pronounced is just like the name Helen, but without the L 👀 you're awesome!! Love from Sweden 🇸🇪💕

Eleanore: those old murders from Jack the Ripper times were so savage and scary! Also Eleanore: *proceeds to talk about a murder that involves a body in a WOOD CHIPPER* 😂😂 I love you, girl. Don’t ever change.

This happened a few towns over from me. The town that Richard lied and said Helle was at his sisters', is my town. It's so weird that something so horrific happened near me because it's generally such a safe part of the world (and of course, someone like Richard could live anywhere) but it's just so unnerving.

This case was the first ever episode of forensic files so always sticks in my mind. Great to see Eleanor cover it too

It really upsets me that she pretty much told her friends to not believe her husband if anything happened to her and instead they just took the husbands word. Then they did their own investigation before calling the police. They should have called the police as soon as they found out the number was fake or even earlier. There were so many warning signs that people just ignored in this case. Rest in peace beautiful Helle