Crimes of the Centuries

After Kenneth Bianchi was arrested in early 1979 on suspicion he was responsible for the so-called Hillside Stranglings near Los Angeles, he made an outrageous claim: He did kill 10 women in LA and another two in Washington state, he said, but not as Bianchi. He was a split personality and had killed them as his alter-ego, Steve. Not only that, he said, but he'd had help from his older cousin, Ang...

The first body discovered on a California hillside in late 1977 didn't make much news, but as the body count kept growing, so did the headlines -- and the sense of panic. The slayings, soon dubbed by the media as the work of the "Hillside Strangler," had Los Angeles-area women on edge day and night. It wouldn't be until a pair of similar murders occurred in Washington state that LA police would fi...

When news spread that a high-profile comedian was killed in a murder-suicide in 1998, the response was disbelief: Phil Hartman wasn't just famous for being funny. He was even better known for being a good-hearted guy. The shocking story behind the deaths of Hartman and his wife, Brynn, not only made international headlines, but it shook the entertainment industry and changed how people talked abou...

On Easter Sunday 1937, Ethel Gedeon discovered her sister Veronica and mother Mary murdered in their New York City apartment alongside a third victim, a man who was residing in the apartment as a boarder. As police began to investigate the crime, Veronica's career as a popular artist's model led to a manhunt for one suspect whose bizarre path to the murder highlighted deadly shortcomings in the na...

When the county coroner arrived at Sam Sheppard's house in July of 1954, the pathologist was certain the case was open-and-shut: Sheppard, a headlines-courting doctor and serial philanderer, clearly had murdered his 31-year-old wife, Marilyn. Sheppard faced not one but two trials of the century in a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and continues to stir controversy to this day. " Crimes of...

When three members of the Newman family were discovered slain in 1987, residents of Anchorage, Alaska, flew into a panic. Though murders weren't rare there, the slayings were brutal and the potential suspect list uncomfortably long. The case marked the first time that an FBI profiler was allowed to testify to help explain how law enforcers narrowed the suspect pool to a member of the victims' own...

The Great Depression sparked a desperation in people that led to an epidemic of kidnappings nationwide, including the 1937 abduction of Arthur Fried, a married father of one whose father owned a sand-and-gravel company. As crime writer Sarah Weinman helps explain, Fried's unusual case ultimately led to the state of New York executing two men for the first time on charges other than first-degree mu...

We're taking a break for the holiday, so we wanted to feature an episode from our first season you may not have heard yet.  We'll be back with a new episode next week! As actress Rebecca Schaeffer rushed around her apartment to ready for the biggest audition of her career, a disturbed young man was pacing the street below, armed with a gun. Schaeffer's senseless death in 1989 would not only shock...

You've probably heard of the controversial Reid interrogation technique designed to extract confessions from suspects, but did you know that the case that put that technique on the map actually elicited a wrongful confession? Rabia Chaudry, co-host of the true crime podcast Undisclosed , helps tell the story of Darrel Parker's 1956 conviction in the murder of his wife, Nancy. " Crimes of the Centu...

With the issue of slavery dividing America in the early 1800s, Patty Cannon told neighbors curious about the Black people they spotted secreted across her property that she was helping them escape into freedom. In reality, she was leader of a gang that kidnapped free Black people -- often children -- from the streets, forged ownership papers and sold them to plantation owners in the south. And bec...

Pharmacist-turned lawyer-turned bootlegger George Remus had been making headlines for years as one of the richest men in America thanks to his illegal booze-selling operation during the start of Prohibition. Come 1927, however, his legacy was threatened with another title: cold-blooded killer. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past...

Defense lawyer George Remus started to notice a new kind of client in 1919 and 1920: the bootlegger. He also noticed that those bootleggers always paid handsomely in cash. Remus, who had a background in pharmaceuticals, decided he wanted in, and within a year, he owned 35% of America's alcohol. The federal government moved quickly to shut down this so-called King of the Bootleggers. " Crimes of th...

One of the biggest crimes of the 20th century was the type of heist we usually associate with the 1800s: a train robbery. In August 1963, at least 16 people managed to steal more than $7 million from a train in England. And some of them actually got away with it. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped cha...

When the body of a beautiful and well-dressed woman was discovered in 1877 outside of Jefferson, Texas, residents recognized her immediately -- even though they didn't know her real name. She'd been christened through gossip as "Diamond Bessie" thanks to the jewels she wore, and she'd come to town with a mysterious man who'd promptly disappeared. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab...

It's because of revisionist history that Paul John Knowles might be better known to some listeners at the Casanova Killer, but don't be fooled: This serial killer deserves no romanticization. Knowles went on a murder spree in 1974 that's been tied to the deaths of at least 20 people -- and he apparently did it just to get famous. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab explor...

Hey, fam!! Season 2 of the Obsessed Network Original Podcast "Strange & Unexplained With Daisy Eagan" launches today!   In case you aren't familiar, “Strange & Unexplained” is a podcast about all the things that make us wonder. Each week host Daisy Eagan tells the tale of something strange–sometimes it’s paranormal like a haunting or alien encounter, other times it Earthly like an unexplai...

After her niece Ruth died in her care, Mary McKnight -- herself a grieving mother -- worried that the shock would kill her sister-in-law, so she gave her something to calm her nerves. But Gertrude died within the hour, and her husband, John, within two weeks. What could have caused the three mysterious deaths in 1903 Michigan? " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring...

A young woman named Carrie Buck was not only deemed too unfit to raise her daughter in 1927, but the U.S. Supreme Court declared she was too stupid to procreate, period. And that decision, sparked by the so-called eugenics movement, paved the way for hundreds of thousands of people to be sterilized through the 1970s. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten...

Almshouses in the 19th and early 20th centuries were meant to help society's most vulnerable, but in the 1880s, one in Tewksbury, Massachusetts was accused of such shocking treatment that the governor ordered a months-long investigation that dominated headlines nationwide. Among the claims: that the skin of patients who died was tanned and turned into curiosities for sale. " Crimes of the Centurie...

Ken McElroy was killed outside, in broad daylight, with some 60 witnesses watching -- and yet no one copped to having seen a thing. McElroy, who'd long been known as a town bully in Skidmore, Missouri, was shot dead in 1981 after terrorizing his neighbors, two of whom he shot. When the system seemed to fail at holding McElroy accountable, townsfolk took matters into their own hands. " Crimes of th...

The Roberts murder discussed in last week's episode wasn't the only murder tied to "Peyton Place," the fictional town depicted in Grace Metallious' 1956 book. Just after Hollywood legend Lana Turner earned an Oscar nomination for her role in the film version of the tale, her mobster boyfriend turned up dead. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes f...

When the groundbreaking book "Peyton Place" hit bookshelves in 1956, the murder tale at its center was so scandalous that many stores banned it outright. But the truth is that author Grace Metallious ripped that tale from the headlines -- and even softened its edges a bit. The real-life story centered on Sylvester Roberts, who was killed in 1946 by the daughter he had raped. " Crimes of the Centur...

Carl Panzram had a rough life growing up, so he decided to make life hell for everyone around him -- especially innocent young boys. When Panzram finally owned up to his crimes, his confession was so outlandish that authorities thought he was full of it. But then one grisly story was confirmed after another, and soon Panzram earned a reputation as a butcher of humanity. " Crimes of the Centuries "...

The most popular motives for murder are money and sex. That's as true today as it was in 1903 when Edwin Burdick was found brutally bludgeoned in the den of his home. Soon, the nation would learn that Burdick was an unwilling participant of a love triangle that surely got him killed. But who did it? Was it Burdick's cheating wife or her adoring lover? " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from...

Theora Hix was an enigma to those who knew her. She was witty, intelligent, and ambitious, but fiercely secretive. So when she turned up dead in the summer of 1926, investigators at first had no idea who might have been responsible. Within hours, however, Hix's sex life became national news as two of her lovers were arrested on suspicion of murder -- including James H. Snooks, an Olympic gold meda...