Episodes
The Mysterious Murder Of Dr. William H. Wilson Episode 216 comes not only with a mysterious poisoning, but a side dish of “illegal operations.” Either it’s a devilishly clever plot, or perhaps the police didn’t really give it their all, considering the scandalous nature of Dr. Wilson’s practice. Ad-free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 04/05/24
Vivian Gordon’s Final Caper Though the body was found in the Bronx, Episode 228 is a dark, twisting ride to the seedy side of Broadway near the end of Prohibition, with a heavy dose of family drama swirling around a tale teeming with underworld villainy and police corruption. There were plenty of people with a motive to murder Vivian Gordon. Was it the cops? The crooks? Or some combination thereof? It’s a stumper. Told from the historic pages of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and other...
Published 04/03/24
Episode 221 explores how some bits of cardboard, a moonstone ring, and a dog that couldn't bark solved a riddle in the lonely swamp. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 04/01/24
The Teenage Sex & Murder Club Episode 220 takes us to Tucson, Arizona in the 1960s, when police find a charismatic young man responsible for the disappearance of three teenage girls as the leader of a bizarre little party cult. But even when the murder cases are closed, the exciting story continues to include a daring prison break and a deadly prison brawl. Culled from the historic pages of the Arizona Daily Star. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast:...
Published 03/29/24
Evelyn Ramadka, Queen Of The Chicago Vampires Episode 225 at first seems like a run-of-the-mill burglary case, a good girl gone bad, until we start getting to know the defendant as the story takes careen plot turns, compounded by the sensational press coverage--and a mysterious surprise ending. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 03/27/24
The Trial Of The Rev. Ephriam Kingsbury Avery Episode 24 takes place 60 years before Lizzie Borden put the town of Fall River, Massachusetts, on the murder map. The body of Sarah Maria Cornell, a 30-year-old mill worker, was found hanging from a haystack pole in the nearby town of Tiverton, just across the Rhode Island border. The first coroner's jury ruled the death a suicide, but a note later found in the woman's boarding house led to the first of two exhumations of the body and the...
Published 03/25/24
Murder And Arson At Brandywine Springs Park Episode 448 is a sad and sordid tale of a passionate frenzy, when a young woman’s divided attention puts one man in a rage and leaves another to grieve. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 03/22/24
The Lawrence/Foster/Disbrow Affair Episode 423 delves into a love triangle gone awry. When two sides of the triangle, including an expert swimmer and sailor, are found drowned dead in a Long Island bay, suspicion immediately falls upon the third, even though the coroner declares the whole thing an accident. Culled from the historic pages of The New York World, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The New York Tribune, and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this...
Published 03/20/24
Amos Lunsford Meets His Match Episode 175 comes by the way of a request from a listener in North Carolina who wanted to know more about this incident, a fight about a horse at a church revival camp that gets out of hand. There might have been whiskey involved. Go figure. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 03/18/24
The Scoundrel Gershon Marx Episode 447 retains a lot of the discrepancies in the reporting of the story, so don’t be alarmed at conflicting versions of the same incidents. I can’t say for certain that they ever got some of the names right, but nothing could be more wrong in so many ways than the theatrical adaptation of the case that takes place at the denouement. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 03/15/24
The Bloody Record Of Henry Plummer And His Gang Episode 422 hearkens back to the wild wild West, in the days following the great gold rush. Much of the story takes place in Bannack, Montana, which is now a state park and ghost town, and follows the career of one of the most notorious gangs of the day and the rise of the citizen's committee that puts an end to it. Adapted from the books "The Story of the Outlaw" by Emerson Hough and "The Montana Vigilantes, Or Popular Justice In The Rocky...
Published 03/13/24
The Murder Of The Duchess Of Praslin Episode 213 is dedicated to listener Clair Stephenson, who reached out after watching the 1940 move "All This And Heaven Too", the story of a scandalous murder in the courts of France that helped precipitate the French Revolution. Based on dispatches to London, the real story is not quite the Hollywood version, but I can definitely see Bette Davis as Henriette Deluzy. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast:...
Published 03/11/24
Mrs. Peete’s Private Burials Episode 420 recalls one of America’s lesser-known serial killers, Louise Peete. There’s never been a book or a movie about her, yet during her murderous career, her Southern charm and polite matronly manner made her a nation-wide front page sensation, with some newspapers printing literally every word of her trial as well as fawning feature stories. Culled from the historic pages of the Los Angeles Express, the Los Angeles Times, and other newspapers from the...
Published 03/08/24
Clue Of The Antique Dimes Episode 445 is the tale of a pair of simple-minded lumberjack cousins who go to extreme and cruel measures to exact revenge against a mountain recluse. But what price will they pay? Culled from the historic pages of the Denver Post and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 03/06/24
The Doctor's Wife And The Dumpy Little Chicken Man Episode 186 explores another eternal triangle resulting in murder. This time, it's the young-ish wife of an elderly doctor who plots with a neighboring poultry salesman to put a deadly end to her marriage. Obviously, it doesn't end well for them, or they wouldn't be on this show. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 03/04/24
The Suitor V. The Shotgun Episode 419 tells the story of a family’s downfall, precipitated by a general disdain for the 25-year-old suitor of a 17-year-old daughter. Things go particularly awry when the suitor makes a valiant last-ditch effort to win the love of the family he hoped to be his in-laws, but a shotgun blast proves more potent than true love. Culled from the historic pages of the Philadelphia Inquirer and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this...
Published 03/01/24
The Ordeal Of C. Frederick Kohl Episode 444 is the strange story of a double tragedy. On one side we have a woman apparently driven insane with the desire to avenge crimes that exist only in her own mind. Her obsession has serious consequences for an innocent man. Culled from the historic pages of the San Francisco Examiner, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast:...
Published 02/28/24
The Ordeal Of June Robles Episode 224 explores the sensational kidnapping for ransom of a young Tucscon girl, the favorite granddaughter of one of the city's pioneers. It's a story as frustrating as it is heartbreaking as a legion of pursuers doggedly but fruitlessly seek the kidnapper. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 02/26/24
Teen Mother In A Murder Trial Episode 418 concerns a robbery gone awry and features a colorful woman in the case, a teenage bigamist and mother, whose salty ways and love for her baby make her a little bit endearing, in spite of her crimes. The Tesmer case, referred to in the prologue, is the subject of Episode 234, Mrs. Carrick’s Rouge And Whiskers, available only to residents of the Safe House. Reserve your bunk at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian where you can enjoy other treasures...
Published 02/23/24
Murder In The Ozarks Episode 442 shows how a small town in Arkansas splits down the middle when the son of the local justice of the peace is accused of the brutal murder of a popular young lady. Culled from the historic pages of the Daily Arkansas Gazette, the Arkansas Democrat, and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 02/21/24
The Case Against Professor Kane Episode 249 digs into the case of a college professor accused of drowning his wife for the love of another woman, but the prosecution first has trouble identifying her, then tracking her down, then getting the court to allow her testimony and love letters as evidence. I love a good fall from grace story, but what I really like about this case is the devotion shown by the professors father, a renown surgeon who lives in a small Pennsylvania town founded by his...
Published 02/20/24
Killed By The Dapper Bootlegger Episode 226 is dedicated to True Crime Historian listener Kaylie Jansen who recommended this sad story of two sisters, gunned down and left by the roadside after a Christmas holiday with their elderly parents. It takes some clever police work and legal maneuvering to find justice in this case. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.
Published 02/19/24
The Cincinnati Kitchen Sink Tragedy Episode 417 takes place at the turn of the last century Cincinnati, when a man allegedly finds his wife’s brutally murdered body in the kitchen sink and his four-year-old son sound asleep in his bed. Burglars did it, the man says, but his son will tell a different story. Culled from the historic pages of the Cincinnati Enquirer and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast:...
Published 02/16/24
An End To The Graham-Tewksbury Feud Episode 439 looks into one of the great family and land feuds of the Old West, the classic squabble between the sheep herders and cattle ranchers. Oddly, the best descriptions of the central event comes from a preliminary hearing for one of the accused. By the time the incident got to an actual trial, the newspapers seemed to have lost interest. Good story though, with good reliable tropes, including one of my favorites, what I like to call “courtroom...
Published 02/14/24
Murders Of Honor Episode 197 gives us not one but TWO murders arising from the defense of a young lady's reputation. The Pennsylvania trials garnered national attention, and the great orator Indiana Senator Daniel Vorhees served as counsel for the defense in the second trial, deliver a remarkable 90-minute closing speech. The highlights are excerpted near the end of this tale, adapted from a trial pamphlet published shortly after the trial's conclusion. Become a supporter of this podcast:...
Published 02/12/24