Murder Most Foul

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H. H. Holmes, the architect of The Murder Castle , was an American serial killer who hunted in Chicago in the 1890’s around the time of the World’s Fair. Holmes was a killer, con artist, and trigamist and the subject of over 50 lawsuits in Chicago alone. Holmes was executed on May 7th, 1896, nine days before his 35th birthday. DEPRAVED is a fascinating True...

Between 1887 and 1891, a succession of horrific murders shook Victorian London. Over the period, 16 women were attacked – of whom only 3 survived. Despite the best attempts of contemporary detectives, no individual was ever charged with those crimes. Countless researchers, like my guest today, Dr. Drew Gray, have attempted to solve the 130-year-old mystery: Who was Jack the Ripper?

“Terror in Wichita,” by Paul F. Caranci is the story of two siblings who committed egregious acts of horror on innocent people in Wichita, Kansas. The story, an hour-by-hour accounting of the events, will bring you into the minds of the killers. It will bond you to the victims causing you to live and relive the horrific events in those nine days in December. It will introduce you to a woman of ext...

Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a murderer? I have. Theories of what makes for a murderer are as numerous as the parties who write about them. I decided to pick just one to share with you, my audience.  My choice? Author and clinical psychologist Katherine Ramsland, PhD. Dr. Ramsland began her literary career in 1992 penning, “Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice.” Over her su...

On New Year’s Eve 1843 in Cranston Rhode Island, wealthy Yankee Mill Owner Amasa Sprague was put upon as he walked home and brutally murdered. Irish immigrant, John Gordon was arrested, tried and convicted in arguably a rather biased trial. On Valentine’s Day 1845, Gordon was executed by hanging. He became the last Rhode Islander to be put to death. His last words: “I hope all good Christians pray...

On New Year’s Day, 2008, 24-year-old Meredith Hope Emerson went hiking with her dog Ella on Blood Mountain in Georgia. She never returned. She was abducted and subsequently bludgeoned to death and decapitated by serial killer Gary Michael Hilton. By the end of the week, Hilton was identified as the killer, arrested and Meredith’s remains were recovered. Lead Investigator, Special Agent John Cagle...

“The Alphabet Murders” (also known as the “Double Initial Murders”) are a series of unsolved child murders which occurred between 1971 and 1973 in Rochester, New York. All three victims were girls aged ten or twelve whose surname began with the same letter as her first name. Each victim was sexually assaulted, strangled and unceremoniously dumped by the side of the highway. Join me and Crime Book...

So, who do YOU think murdered JFK? Lee Harvey Oswald? If so, did he have help from the F.B.I., the CIA, J. Edgar Hoover, the Warren Commission, the men's room attendant at the White House? My guest today has some strong opinions on the subject. Gerald Posner is the author of "CASE CLOSED: Lee Harvey Oswald and The Assassination of JFK." This exhaustively researched book was a New Yor...

Joseph James DeAngelo was born on November 8, 1945. But this former cop and serial rapist and killer was known by many other names during the time he terrorized communities across southern California between 1973 and 1986. Countless books have been written about the Golden State Killer, which was his most popular moniker. Arguably, no one spent more time and effort on covering him than author Anne...

For those listeners out there, who are looking for love on the Internet, you may change your mind after hearing the story of Cari Farver, a young woman who was the victim of a Cyberstalker, who eventually murdered her.  And as if that weren’t enough, terrorized everyone around her for years. The tale is best told by my guest today, Leslie Rule, daughter of the late True Crime author Ann Rule,...

Some murder cases never die…pun intended. One such case is the murder of Laci Peterson. Laci disappeared on Christmas Eve, 2002. Her torso and the body of unborn child, Connor, would wash up onshore 4 months later. Her husband, and father of her child, would be ultimately tried, convicted and sentenced to die for the brutal crime. Fast forward to this past fall when Scott’s appeal of the verdict a...

On February 20th, 2003, the Station Nightclub, in West Warwick, RI caught fire during a concert by the band Great White. Stage fireworks set off by the band quickly ignited flammable foam on the walls. Within 90 seconds the club was a blazing inferno. Anyone who did not escape by then perished in the most horrific way. In October 2020, Emmy Award winning TV reporter and author, Scott James publish...

Theodore Robert Bundy was one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history. He confessed to kidnapping, raping and murdering over 24 women, one as young as 12, although the actual count remains a mystery. He carried out his reign of terror throughout seven states during the 1970s. Some of his victims escaped the final act and lived to share the story of their ordeals. One such victim was Rh...

On Monday February 25th, 1957, a young boy, estimated to be between the ages of three and six, was found nude along Susquehanna Road, an illegal dumping ground for unwanted trash located some eight miles north of downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The case, dubbed "The Boy in the Box" remains unsolved but still open.

On June 29, 1978, Bob Crane, popular star of the television comedy HOGAN’S HEROES was found savagely bludgeoned to death in Scottsdale Arizona. Mr. Crane was appearing at the Windmill Dinner Theater in a play called “Beginner’s Luck.” The news soon reached his son, Robert Crane, who was a successful contributor to PLAYBOY magazine at the time. The murder remains unsolved to this day. In 2015, Robe...

On June 29, 1978, Bob Crane, popular star of the television comedy HOGAN’S HEROES was found savagely bludgeoned to death in Scottsdale Arizona. Mr. Crane was appearing at the Windmill Dinner Theater in a play called “Beginner’s Luck.” The news soon reached his son, Robert Crane, who was a successful contributor to PLAYBOY magazine at the time. The murder remains unsolved to this day. In 2015, Robe...

Vampires have a treasured place in our culture. From Bela to Buffy we have been fascinated, often titillated by the thought of the undead and their thirst for blood. Fiction authors have written volumes using vampires as part of their plot lines. Ann Rice has made a fortune focusing on the erotica angle. Unfortunately, although the exploits of the undead are fiction, murders by deranged individual...

They say Revenge is sweet. I’ll let you decide. On a cold January morning outside the Kaufman County Courthouse, Eric Williams executed Assistant D.A. Mark Hasse. Eric’s wife Kim, drove the getaway car. Two months later on the day before Easter this pair slaughtered D.A. Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia in the foyer of their suburban home. Eric and Kim celebrated the murders with grilled steaks...

Murder in Mayberry tells the horrifying tale of the murder of  Ann Branson . With no clues, no DNA and nearly an entire town full of suspects, it appeared this brutal crime would turn into a cold case. But Ann’s nephew, retired federal agent Jack Branson, never gave up hope. He vowed the killer would be caught.

On Friday June 13, 1980, Texas suburban housewife, Betty Gore was slaughtered in broad daylight in her own home. The lethal weapon? Her own axe. And who wielded that instrument of death? Her close friend, Candy Montgomery. Follow me as I delve into this “whydunit” murder mystery with journalist and author of “Evidence of Love”, Jim Atkinson. Was Candy guilty? You decide!

Mommy's Little Girl , by EDGAR AWARD FINALIST, Diane Fanning, is an account of one of the most shocking confusing and horrific crimes in modern American history. Written before the trial, it is based upon thousands of pages of police transcripts, reports, and other official documents as well as interviews and on-site research. Join me as we delve into this vivid example of justice denied.

On April 3rd 1996, a team of FBI agents closed in on an isolated cabin in remote Montana marking the longest and most expensive investigation in FBI history. The cabin’s lone inhabitant was a former mathematics prodigy and wunderkind professor who had abandoned society decades earlier. Few people know his name, Theodore Kaczynski, but everyone knew the mayhem and death associated with his nickname...

So you think you know all about Lizzie Borden? I beg to differ. Unless you have read the book Parallel Lives: a social history of Lizzie A. Borden and her Fall River, written by Michael Martins and Dennis Binette. Or unless you have had the pleasure, as I did, of sitting down with them and hearing the unvarnished true story of Lizzie Andrew Borden told by the curators of The Fall River Historical...

So you think you know all about Lizzie Borden? I beg to differ. Unless you have read the book Parallel Lives: a social history of Lizzie A. Borden and her Fall River, written by Michael Martins and Dennis Binette. Or unless you have had the pleasure, as I did, of sitting down with them and hearing the unvarnished true story of Lizzie Andrew Borden told by the curators of The Fall River Historical...

It was a crime like none other. It was a high profile media drenched disappearance of an entire family. The people of the small town of Barrington were stunned when 53 year old Ernest Brendel , his 46 year old wife Alice and their eight year old daughter Emily vanished without a trace with many indications leading to the conclusion that violence had played an integral part in the mystery.