True Crime Reporter

True Crime Reporter


Blood Pacts and Breaking Bad: The Rise and Fall of the Devil Lovers

June 25, 2024



In the shadow of Texas’ heartland, a clandestine cult flourished under the guise of dark rituals and methamphetamine production.


Known as the Devil Lovers, this group of middle-aged men and women from prominent Waco families engaged in sinister ceremonies, pledging allegiance to their enigmatic leader, David Russell Zell.


Their twisted journey from occult gatherings to running the state’s largest illicit meth lab in the late 1980s unfolded a tale stranger than fiction.


Join investigative reporter Robert Riggs and former federal prosecutor Bill Johnston as they delve into the spine-chilling case of meth, murder, and malevolence that shocked a community and exposed the terrifying underbelly of human nature.



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