Old Blood

A night out on the town turns deadly after a love triangle unravels in 1920s London.  Sources : Blackburn, Jack. “Edith Thompson: posthumous pardon over husband’s murder a step closer.” The Times. 7 March, 2023. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/edith-thompson-posthumous-pardon-over-husband-s-murder-a-step-closer-s729dpg0q Lusher, Adam. “Laid to rest at last: Edith Thompson, victim of a ‘bar...

In 1889, a father discovered his daughter dead at the home of Dr. Etienne Deschamps, a dentist-surgeon and hypnotist. Was the death truly an accident? Or was it, as most of New Orleans believed, a murder?  Sources : Castellanos, Henry C. New Orleans As it Was: Episodes of Louisiana Life (New Orleans: L. Graham & Son., 1895). Meletio, Donna M. “Leona Queyrouze (1861-1938) Louisiana French Creol...

In 1940, a principal snapped and went on a shooting spree at his Southern California junior high school. Who or what was to blame? Sources : Barer, Burl and Frank Giradot Jr.. A Taste For Murder (Denver: Wildblue Press, 2016). Ban, Thomas A. “Bromides” International Network for the History of Neuropsychopharmacology. 24 October 2013. https://inhn.org/inhn-projects/drugs/bromides Church, John. Pasa...

In October of 1789, a search for the owner of an abandoned carriage led to a gruesome discovery in the home of a wealthy merchant. Don Joaquin Dongo and his entire household had been slaughtered. Within days, Mexico City officials had located, arrested, and publically executed the murderers in the same plaza where laborers worked to unearth Aztec relics. Buy Nicole von Germeten’s book Death in Old...

The Great Poison Mystery began in 1898 after two people were killed by poison sent to them by mail. The packages were eventually traced back to the ritzy Knickerbocker Athletic Club, and its secretary, the son of a Civil War hero.  This is PART II of a two-part episode. Be sure to listen to episode 58 first! Sources : “How the Molineux Rule Permits Certain Witnesses in the Harvey Weinstein Trial.”...

The Great Poison Mystery began in 1898 after two people were killed by poison sent to them by mail. The packages were eventually traced back to the ritzy Knickerbocker Athletic Club, and its secretary, the son of a Civil War hero.  Sources : “How the Molineux Rule Permits Certain Witnesses in the Harvey Weinstein Trial.” NPR.  Jonakait, Randolph N., “People v. Molineux and Other Crime Evidence: On...

In the summer of 1914, a fire broke out at the love bungalow of Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress Mamah Borthwick. When the smoke cleared, it became clear that a horrible massacre had taken place, leaving seven dead. Who wanted to kill everyone at Taliesin, and why? For Magic Mind's limited offer that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one-time purchases, use code OLD...

Two actors fled Hollywood for Salt Lake City in 1928. One was bludgeoned to death, and the other would call upon none other than Charlie Chaplin for help. As authorities scrambled to uncover what happened to the murdered Don Solovich, Hollywood’s most famous actors fought to keep their secrets safe. Before long, the tiny Utah town learned that Chaplin had been subpoenaed to testify and prepared th...

In the summer of 1914, someone shot through the window of a Long Island doctor’s office, killing a woman inside. When investigators found a dictaphone installed inside the office, they began to suspect the doctor’s jealous wife, who claimed to have been upstairs the evening in question. When the wife’s alibi changed her testimony, Americans had to decide whether to believe the jealous wife or the...

Before Jack the Ripper, there was the Servant Girl Annihilator. The man who stalked Austin, Texas, in 1885, preying upon the city’s black servant girls. When he targeted two white women in a shocking Christmas Eve attack, all hell broke loose.  Who was this servant girl killer, and was he the same man that terrorized London in 1888? Sources : Galloway, J. R. The Servant Girl Murders: Austin, Texas...

A widow is found brutally murdered in London's East End in the summer of 1860. Four decades later, Sherlock's creator, Arthur Conan Doyle was still trying and failing to solve the mystery. Can we do better than Sherlock Holmes? Sources : Doyle, Arthur Conan. "The Debatable Case of Mrs. Emsley." Strand Magazine. May, 1901. "JAMES MULLINS. Killing; murder. 22nd October 1860....

A widow is found brutally murdered in London's East End in the summer of 1860. Four decades later, Sherlock's creator, Arthur Conan Doyle was still trying and failing to solve the mystery. Can we do better than Sherlock Holmes? Sources : Doyle, Arthur Conan. "The Debatable Case of Mrs. Emsley." Strand Magazine. May, 1901. "JAMES MULLINS. Killing; murder. 22nd October 1860....

A decade-old murder mystery unravels when a secret is discovered in a Los Angeles attic. Even in 1930, the press declared the mystery of Dolly and the Bat Man Slayer as"Los Angeles' most startling murder story." Sources : Hapsis, Emmanuel. "Meet Walburga, the Married Woman Who Hid a Secret Lover in Her Attic for a Decade." KQED. 29 June, 2016. https://www.kqed.org/pop/2764...

In the summer of 1933, 18-year-old Violette Noziere poisoned her parents before heading out to enjoy the Parisian nightlife. When she was arrested and gave the motive for her crime, Violette scandalized the country. Sources : Breton, Andre. Violette Nozieres (Brussels: Editions Nicolas Flamel, 1933). Maza, Sarah. Violette Noziere: A Story of Murder in 1930s Paris (Berkeley: University of Californi...

The Dark Strangler prowled the streets of Jazz Age San Francisco. His murder spree spanned nine states, two countries, and three years, resulting in the murder of anywhere from 22 to 31 women and children. This is the story of America’s most prolific–and forgotten–serial killer, Earl Leonard Nelson. Sources : Esau, Alvin. The Gorilla Man Strangler Case (Altona: Friesen Press, 2022). And "Murd...

In the summer of 1874, little Charley Ross disappeared after taking candy from a stranger. This is the story of America’s first kidnapping and the nationwide manhunt that ended in a deadly shoot-out. Sources : “Charlie Ross - Gustave Blair - Nelson Miller” https://charleyross.com/ “Court Identifies ‘Charley Ross’ But Family ‘Disowns’ Him.” Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), May 9, 1939, Page A-5. ...

In 1897, sausage sales plummeted after the wife of the so-called Sausage King suddenly went missing. Chicago police investigated the factory and a mysterious vat filled with reddish-brown slime. Did the wife run away? Was she ground into sausages? Or perhaps something worse? Sources : Duke, Thomas Samuel. Celebrated Criminal Cases of America (San Francisco: The James H Barry Company, 1910).  &quot...

It was nearly midnight in May 1911 when crowds left the theater and gathered at the Brown Palace Hotel barroom. Within minutes, shots rang out and patrons scrambled for cover, but two would not survive. What prompted such a brazen shooting in Denver’s most elegant hotel? Sources : Faulkner, Debra. Ladies of the Brown: A Women’s History of Denver’s Most Elegant Hotel (Arcadia Publishing, 2017). Kre...

In the middle of the American Civil War, a horse trader was found in a south Texas river with his head axed in. Following the discovery, the town sheriff arrested an elderly woman by the name of Chipita Rodriguez. Was justice served? Sources : Abernethy, Francis Edward. Legendary Ladies of Texas (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1994). Correa, Tom. “Was Josefa ‘Chipita’ Rodriguez a Patsy?”...

A killer prowled the streets of London in 1811, 80 years before Jack the Ripper. But in 1811, there were no police to catch the fiend who brutally murdered seven people along Ratcliffe Highway. Would there be a victim eight? Sources : “Chapter 1. The Death of a Linen Draper.” Spitalfields Life. December 7, 2021-December 31, 2021. https://spitalfieldslife.com/2021/12/07/the-ratcliffe-highway-murder...

The Gouffe Affair had attracted international interest by 1890, with the world wondering if Gabrielle’s defense could be true. Could someone really be hypnotized and compelled to commit murder?  Sources : Bogousslavsky, Julien and Walusinksi, Olivier. "The forgotten Gilles de la Tourette: Practioner, expert, and victim of criminal hypnotism." Le bâillement. http://baillement.com/recherch...

Mysteries collide in 1889 France, as a bailiff goes missing and a bloody trunk is discovered in the countryside. Can Paris’s best detectives solve the case? Sources : Bogousslavsky, Julien and Walusinksi, Olivier. "The forgotten Gilles de la Tourette: Practioner, expert, and victim of criminal hypnotism." Le bâillement. http://baillement.com/recherche/gdt/gdt_hysteria.pdf   Bogousslavsky...

In 1892, 17-year-old Freda Ward was walking to the river landing when she was attacked with a razor blade and had her throat slit. The ensuing legal battles brought national attention to Memphis, Tennessee, and challenged her society’s views on gender and love. Sources : Abate, Michelle Ann. Tomboys: A Literary and Cultural History . (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008). Astor, Vincent. “...

In March of 1860, sailors found a bloody ghost ship floating in New York’s East River. The discovery sparked a manhunt for a serial killer who had robbed and killed his way around the globe. This episode is the story of the last pirate and the original gangster, Albert Hicks. Sources : Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld. (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1927)....

In 1937, Peking police discovered a British schoolgirl at the bottom of an ancient wall with her heart torn from her chest. The investigation unraveled multiple theories that increased tension between locals and the many foreigners living in China at the dawn of World War II. Sources : Cook, Isham. “Midnight in Peking and true crime fiction.” Isham Cook. 11 January, 2020. https://ishamcook.com/202...