Historical True Crime

In 1670s Paris, the deaths of a noblewoman’s father and brothers sparked fears of a hidden poison network. As police investigated, they were drawn into a world of fortune-tellers, love powders, secret remedies, and La Voisin , setting the stage for a scandal that would reach Louis XIV’s court. Source Materials Anne Somerset, The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court...

When Louise Bailey was shot through the window of a Long Island doctor's office in 1914, suspicion quickly fell on the physician's wife, Florence Carman. But with no eyewitness, no confession, and a case built largely on circumstantial evidence, two juries were left to decide whether suspicion was enough. More than a century later, Louise Bailey's murder remains unsolved. Source Materi...

In 1922, Fred Oesterreich was found shot to death in his Los Angeles home. His wife claimed burglars were responsible, but investigators had doubts. Nearly eight years later, a shocking discovery reopened the case: another man had beenliving in secret inside the house for years. This is the extraordinary story of Dolly Oesterreich, Otto Sanhuber, and one of the strangest murder cases of the twenti...

In 1937, twenty-year-old dancer Patricia Douglas accused an MGM salesman of raping her at a company convention attended by hundreds of studio employees and guests. When a grand jury declined to indict, she refused to back down, taking on one of Hollywood's most powerful studios in a legal battle that would last for years. In this episode, we examine the assault, the investigation, the court ca...

In 1900, fifteen-year-old Eddie Cudahy Jr., the son of one of Omaha's wealthiest businessmen, was kidnapped and held for a record-breaking ransom. The crime sparked a nationwide manhunt, a five-year search for suspect Pat Crowe, and one of the most controversial trials of the era. In this episode, we examine the kidnapping, the evidence against Crowe, and why a jury ultimately found him notgui...

In 1901, fourteen-year-old Willie Nickell was shot and killed near his family’s ranch in southeastern Wyoming. Suspicion eventually settled on Tom Horn, former Apache War scout, Pinkerton detective, and one of the most feared men connected to the Wyoming range wars. But more than a century later, historians still debate whether the state truly proved he committed the murder. Source Materials Ball,...

Robert Stroud became one of the most famous prisoners in American history as the “Birdman of Alcatraz” but the real story was far more complicated. This week, we look at the life of Robert Stroud, the violence that shaped his prison years, the mythology built around him, and the reality behind one of the most enduring legends in true crime history. Source Materials Babyak, Jolene. Bird Man: The Ma...

  In the summer of 1483, two boys disappeared inside the Tower of London. Edward V and his younger brother Richard were last seen in the months after their uncle, Richard III, took the throne. In this episode, we examine the Wars of theRoses, the political crisis surrounding the princes, and the centuries of suspicion and debate that followed their disappearance. SourceMaterials Mancini, Dominic....

Louis Le Prince created some of the earliest motion pictures in the 1880s, years before Edison or the Lumière brothers. In 1890, just as he was preparing to present his work publicly, he boarded a train in France and disappeared. He was neverseen again. Source MaterialsPaul Fischer, The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies Nat Segnit, “Who Killed Louis...

A routine Post Office investigation in 1889 led to the discovery of a male brothel on Cleveland Street, involving telegraph boys and high-profile clients linked to the royal household. As the case unfolded, key figures escaped prosecution—raising questions about power and accountability. Source Materials H. Montgomery Hyde, The Cleveland Street Scandal H. Montgomery Hyde, The Love That Dared Not S...

Anna Marie Hahn was a German immigrant living in Cincinnati in the 1930s. She cooked for people, spent time with them, and became part of their daily lives. And over time, the men she grew close to began to die. Source Material Franklin, Diana Britt. The Good-bye Door: The Incredible True Story of America’s First Female Serial Killer to Die in the Electric Chair. Kent State University Press, 2006....

In 1893, Sicilian banker and former mayor Emanuele Notarbartolo was murdered on a train traveling along the northern coast of Sicily. What followed was a case that moved through multiple trials, convictions, and acquittals, raising questions about political influence, financial power, and the limits of the legal system. Source materials John Dickie, Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia (Ho...

In December 1811, two households on London’s Ratcliffe Highway were brutally murdered within days of each other. As panic spread through the East End, investigators searched for a killer moving through the dockside streets. A sailor named John Williams soon became the prime suspect but his death would leave the truth uncertain. Source Materials P. D. James and T. A. Critchley. The Maul and the Pea...

In October 1949, aspiring Hollywood actress Jean Spangler left her Los Angeles apartment and never returned. Despite a major police investigation and decades of speculation,Jean Spangler was never found. In this episode, we examine the evidence behind one of Hollywood’s most enduring unsolved disappearances. Source Materials Lewis, Jon. Hard-Boiled Hollywood: Crime and Punishment in Postwar Los An...

In 1922, six people were murdered at the remote Hinterkaifeck farm in rural Bavaria. Despite an extensive investigation, the killer was never identified. This episode examines the historical context, evidence, and enduring mystery behind one of Germany’s most famous unsolved crimes. Source Materials Peter Leuschner, Hinterkaifeck: Germany’s Most Mysterious Murder Case. Bill James & Rachel McCa...

In 1857, a prominent New York dentist was found murdered in his Bond Street office. Suspicion fell on Emma Cunningham, the widow who ran the boardinghouse and claimed to be his wife — and heir. Her acquittal did not end the scandal. Adisputed marriage, a claimed pregnancy, and a staged birth kept the city riveted and raised new questions about truth, reputation, and inheritance in mid-19th-century...

In 1629, the Dutch merchant ship Batavia wrecked on a remote reef off Western Australia. What followed was not just a struggle for survival, but a calculated campaign of violence that left more than one hundred people dead. Drawing on survivor testimony and historical records, this episode examines one of the most disturbing episodes in maritime history. Source Materials Pelsaert, Francisco. The J...

The 1612 Pendle witch trials remain among the most famous in English history. What began with a single accusation soon expanded into a prosecution that would send ten people to the gallows. Source Materials Potts, Thomas. The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster (1613) Almond, Philip C. The Lancashire Witches: A Chronicle of Sorcery and Death on Pendle Hill. Poole, Robert (...

In 1937, three girls left home for a day at the park and never returned. Their disappearance sparked a frantic search, a shocked community, and a murder case that moved with remarkable speed. This episode traces the investigation intothe deaths of Melba Everett, Madeline Everett, and Jeanette Stephens, the arrest of Albert Dyer, and a trial shaped almost entirely by his confessions. Everett, Pamel...

I n September 1907, Emily Dimmock was found murdered in her rented rooms in Camden Town, her throat cut while she slept. Known to some as “Phyllis,” she lived a double life in Edwardian London, moving between respectability and survival. This episode explores Emily’s final days, the trial that followed, andwhy the Camden Town Murder remains unsolved more than a century later. Source Materials Napl...

In 1799, Elma Sands vanished from a New York boardinghouse. Her body was later found in a well, and the trial that followed — defended by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr — left more questions than answers. This episode examines the Manhattan Well murder and the limits of justice in early America. Source Materials Coleman, William. The Trial of Levi Weeks; or, The Manhattan Well Mystery . New Yor...

Three deaths. No obvious violence. No immediate suspicion. An 1886 poisoning case that unfolded quietly inside the home — until it didn’t. Source Materials: Berry,James. My Experiences as an Executioner .Berry, James. The Hangman’s Thoughts Above the Gallows .Shannon, Issy. Infamous Lancashire Women .Stratmann, Linda. The Secret Poisoner: A Century of Murder Watson, Katherine. Poisoned Lives: Engl...

In February 1567, an explosion destroyed a house in Edinburgh but the body of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley was found outside the ruins, untouched by the blast. His murder was never solved. This episode examines Darnley’s death within thepolitical world of sixteenth-century Scotland and the pressures facing Mary, Queen of Scots. A story of power, perception, and suspicion without proof. Source Materi...

In 1924, bones emerging from the River Leine exposed the crimes of Fritz Haarmann—the “Butcher of Hanover”—who had been operating in plain sight. This episode traces the missing boys, the fractured systems that failed them, and how one city finally uncovered a killer hidden in its midst. Source Materials Alexander Gilbert — The Hanover Vampire: Fritz Haarmann Mark Pulham — “The Monster of Hanover,...

A quiet border town, a sudden illness, and a solicitor accused of poisoning both his wife and a rival. This episode examines the Armstrong case and why, even 100 years later, it remains one of Britain’s most debated convictions. Sources & Further Reading Stephen Bates, The Poisonous Solicitor (2022) Martin Beales, The Hay Poisoner: Herbert Rowse Armstrong (2001) Robin Odell, Exhumation of a Mu...