The Independent Takes Notice

It's been 36 days since the last episode of Papi Killed Mommy. Lots to fill you in on.

In this episode, I sit down and talk openly about burnout, obsession, grief, media attention, CrimeCon Vegas, and the emotional reality of spending five years living inside my mother's homicide case every single day.

Over the last few months, my mom's case has received major media attention, including front-page local coverage, a national article from A&E, and now a brand-new feature from The Independent https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/cold-case-murder-stephanie-wasilishin-tiktok-b2968369.html after a journalist discovered me through the CrimeCon Facebook community.

We talk about what that coverage means to me, why media pressure has always been the goal, and how surreal it feels preparing to walk onto a stage with Crime Weekly at CrimeCon 2026 after starting this journey alone on TikTok years ago.

But this episode also goes somewhere I never expected…

I talk honestly about hitting a wall with true crime. I don't see my self going forward with other cases.

After years of reading police reports, autopsy reports, case files, and reliving trauma publicly online, I've started questioning whether I can continue existing solely inside this world emotionally and creatively.

And somehow… that led to the accidental launch of an entirely different podcast.

Introducing: Nanny Nikki's Imagination Station
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nanny-nikkis-imagination-station/id1896688793 — where turning the page is just the beginning.

A brand-new children's storytelling podcast inspired by my work with kids, imagination, storytelling, voices, characters, and creativity.

Episode two, Dickie Birdie Has Two Names, is an original story inspired by my tiny senior chihuahua, Dickie Birdie — and honestly, creating it may have been the happiest I've felt creatively in years.

For the first time in a long time, I created something joyful instead of painful.

In this episode we also somehow spiral into:
• kidnapped classroom hermit crabs. I'm a Crabnapper
• why the hermit crab trade is heartbreaking.
• senior rescue dogs
• Arizona heat
• TikTok violations
• emotional exhaustion
• media pressure
• CrimeCon prep chaos
• and whether I'm literally just waiting for a deathbed confession at this point

So basically…
a normal week in my life.

If you're coming to CrimeCon Vegas, come say hi. I'll be at my booth with merch, framed articles, giveaway signed front page articles, and Dickie Birdie riding around in his tiny red stroller.

🐾 Support Nikk's zoo of rescue animals, senior pets, and apparently now hermit crabs:
Amazon Wishlist

Thank you for continuing to keep my mom's name alive after all these years.

I'll see you at CrimeCon…
or I'll see you right back here after.