Crimes of the Centuries

At the height of the space race, the arrival of the Thiokol chemical company was supposed to bring jobs and opportunities for the small Georgia town of Woodbine.  But a tragic explosion in 1971 killed 29 workers and left many of the survivors in the community entangled in lawsuits for decades afterwards. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from...

Brothers Herman and Irving Arthur wanted to leave their life as Southern sharecroppers in Texas and move to the North in search of better opportunities.  But after an encounter with the landowners turned lethal, they found themselves on the run from a town setting out for revenge. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a m...

This week we dive into our archives for a look back at one our episodes from the first season of "Crimes of the Centuries." Check out this episode and all our episodes from seasons 1 and 2, and we'll see you next week for a brand-new tale! When widower Sam Doss was rushed to the hospital with abdominal pains in 1954, his doctor was flummoxed by his life-threatening yet mysterious illness. But Doss...

Nick De Noia dreamed of becoming a successful choreographer, a goal he attained through his sexy yet classy routines for the Chippendales all-male revue.  Unfortunately, that job also brought him into the crosshairs of the dance troupe's controlling owner, Steve Banerjee.  With the story recently revived in the Hulu series "Welcome to Chippendales," we're diving deep into the details to sort out t...

Months after being named "Playboy Playmate of the Year" in 1980, Dorothy Stratten was poised to make the transition from model to Hollywood actress.  But just as her debut film was about to be released, Dorothy's troubled relationship with her estranged husband ended in one final, tragic encounter. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times...

In Prohibition Era Chicago, competing gangs of bootleggers battled for supremacy.  In February 1929, notorious gangster Al Capone set up a brazen trap to mow down a slew of his rivals in what would become one of the most infamous crimes of the time.  It would also lead to the creation of America's first-ever crime laboratory, and mark the beginning of the end for some of the most powerful criminal...

In Victorian England, a serial killer preyed on sex workers and other vulnerable women. But unlike the infamous Jack the Ripper, this serial killer, Dr. Thomas Cream, used his medical knowledge to devise more insidious methods to claim his victims. But once uncovered, his conviction would set precedent for legal cases for decades to come. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Coll...

Hey Crimes of the Centuries listeners! The Obsessed Network has as a brand new podcast from the former hosts and creators of Obsessed with: Disappeared . It's called I Think Not! Enjoy the trailer here and check out the first episode out now wherever you get your podcasts. NOTE: If you were already subscribed to Obsessed with: Disappeared, STAY subscribed. I Think Not! is taking over that old feed...

After the 1984 discovery of 9-year-old Dawn Hamilton’s body in the woods, police began their search for a tall, muscular, curly-haired man. Kirk Bloodsworth – fitting that description – was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Then, he was tried again and given two consecutive life sentences. Finally, nine years after first being blamed for the crime, a breakthrough in DNA technology would mak...

In the summer of 1964, the first modern lottery was off to the races in New Hampshire. The “Sweeps,” as they were called, were a sensation of national interest, with lawmakers quarreling over the legality of the get-rich-quick horse race scheme and citizens from all over crossing state lines to get in on the action. The craze seemed optimistic, until one man’s attempt at claiming his piece of the...

Film adaptations of true crimes have to strike a tricky balance between authenticity and drama. 1987’s Murder Ordained depicts the 1983 incidents within a small town in Kansas, where the mysterious deaths of a minister’s wife and a secretary’s husband converge. But upon its release, residents and journalists alike argued the movie left some accuracy to be desired. So, what happened in Emporia? " C...

Singing his way through the 1950s and early 1960s, appealing to audiences across a segregated music industry, churning out hits of dreamy quality like “You Send Me” and inspirational fortitude like “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke was more than an artist. He lived – and died – a legend. So how did he end up shot in a Los Angeles motel in 1964? In this episode, we’ll trace the tale: start to fin...

Inside a modest cabin on the vast prairies of Kansas lived a family, or at least four individuals claiming to be one. The Benders were an odd bunch: grumpy Ma & Pa, mysteriously moody daughter Kate and John, who didn't even share their namesake. The 1870s were a stark time in the yet-to-be-settled, American West. Travelers on long journeys had slim pickings when it came time to seek shelter. T...

Dr. Linda Hazzard was an extremely unorthodox physician, a so-called "fasting specialist" who believed food to be the cause of disease. After as many as a dozen people died under her care, her sensational trial would make headlines worldwide and expose the dangerously unregulated world of medical quackery. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes fro...

Selena Quintanilla was on the cusp of becoming a worldwide sensation. The Mexican American had already dominated Tejano music charts for years, but as the mid-1990s got under way, so too did her plans for an English-language album that many predicted would make her a superstar. The world was shocked when that all came to a horrifying end in March of 1995, when the beloved singer was fatally shot b...

The 1981 shooting death of Paul Witte, a father of two in Indiana, seemed to be an accident: Paul's 15-year-old son Eric said he'd tripped while holding the gun, fatally wounding his dad as he napped on the living room couch. The case was considered closed -- until a few years later when a second accident befell the Witte family. This time, police dug deeper and found that Paul's wife, Hilma Marie...

As Hollywood found its footing at the turn of the 20th century, so did a handsome young artist who'd soon be known around the world as Ramon Novarro. In his heyday, the Mexican-born actor was mentioned alongside leading men like Rudolph Valentino. But with the discovery of his battered body decades after his star had faded, Novarro became better known for the personal life he'd spent his whole lif...

In March of 1856, when a visibly intoxicated man of means boarded the Ohio Belle steamboat, the crew immediately worried that they were in for a bad trip. Still, they never could have predicted that the arrival of the man calling himself J.B. Jones would ultimately lead to two dead bodies and headlines in newspapers nationwide. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from the Grab Bag Collab expl...

Between 1967 and 1969, terror gripped two college towns in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan, as investigators discovered the mutilated corpses of seven young women and girls. The murderer -- called the Coed Killer by newspapers of the time -- seemed to be so brazen that he was taunting police by returning to crime scenes and leaving behind evidence. The horrified public became so outraged that th...

Hey, everyone - for Labor Day, we're re-releasing this episode all about a workplace tragedy that helped spark new regulations in the US to protect workers.  Enjoy the episode and we'll be back with a brand-new story next week! ----- People enjoying a warm, sunny Saturday in New York City first noticed smoke arising from a building at about 4:40 p.m. and rushed to gather at the base of a 10-story...

The heartbreaking murder of a small-town Pennsylvania police chief seemed like an open-and-shut case in December of 1980. After all, whoever shot Gregory Adams appeared to have left a driver's license at the scene of the crime. But investigators soon learned that the case would prove to be much more challenging to close than they ever could have imagined. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast f...

Porter Rodgers and his family was as close as royalty as one could get in the small town of Searcy, Arkansas. He was a successful doctor working at a hospital that bore his name. But on Sept. 26, 1974, everything changed when a housekeeper found Mrs. Rodgers dead in the couple's posh home. The case that unfolded was one to be among the most sensational in state history. " Crimes of the Centuries "...

When a haggard Alfred Packer stumbled from the Colorado wilderness in 1874, he at first said he'd been abandoned by five traveling companions who'd left him to fend for himself. But his already-shaky story quickly changed once a search party uncovered the remains of five mutilated men. Packer -- sometimes referred to by the first name "Alferd" thanks to a misspelled tattoo -- went down in history...

To countless women, Amelia Dyer offered salvation: She was a supposedly married but barren woman who offered to adopt babies whose parents (usually unwed mothers) couldn't afford to raise them properly. Dyer promised to rear the "precious" babies as her own and even offered the biological mothers the chance to visit and stay part of the children's lives -- for a small fee, of course. Eventually, o...

Around the same time the first Hillside Stranglers victims were found near Los Angeles, a young man was arrested in Ohio in an unrelated string of robberies and sexual assaults that would have strange bearing over the California cases. Billy Milligan -- who ultimately would be diagnosed as having dissociative identity disorder manifesting in 24 distinct personalities -- would become the first pers...