True Crime Historian

The Life, Loves, And Crimes Of Emma LeDoux Episode 157 tells the scandalous tale of a California woman who loved not wisely but too often. It’s hard to say from the newspaper reports and court records how the corpse in the trunk actually met its demise, but Emma Le Doux would never escape the consequences. AD-FREE Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-cr...

Executed For A Worthless Haul Episode 268 takes us back to the years just after Prohibition when gangsters no longer had illegal alcohol to excite their purpose. This gang terrorized three states until their number came up, as it always does, and their story not only contains some daring and ill-conceived heists, but internal strife and a flight from justice. Culled from the historic pages of the...

The Last Desperado Of The Wild West Episode 180 takes us to the final days of the Old West and the search for the notorious outlaw Harry Tracy, who made a daring, deadly escape from the Oregon Penitentiary and embarked on a deadlier two-month flight from justice. AD-FREE EDITION More Manuhnts More Westerns Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2...

From The Files of Ellis H. Parker Episode 267 is adapted from a first-person article in True Detective Mysteries, December 1928, written from the perspective of Detective Ellis H. Parker of Mount Holly, New Jersey, who during his career was known as “America's Sherlock Holmes.”  He solved 288 of the 300 major crimes he worked on during his career, obtaining signed confessions in more than half of...

Buck Ruxton’s Double Jigsaw Puzzle Murder Episode 159 takes us once again to the British Isles, our first excursion into Scotland with the story of a physician (some accounts call him a gynecologist) accused of dismembering his wife and the nanny of their children, scattering their parts in a deep bowl-like valley near the town of Moffat, so named as it was known as a good spot for hiding stolen c...

The Brickbat Moron Serial Murders Episode 210 is a dark journey through five murders in two widely-separated states, all perpetrated by a single, simple-minded man using bricks as weapons. Each case has enough drama to be an episode of its own, but taken together it's five times ugly. So hold on. AD-FREE EDITION Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-histor...

The True Crime Of Charles Wilson Against Mamie Walsh Episode 266 details a random, impulsive act in the wilds of frontier Oregon. When a pretty little 14 year old girl turns up brutally murdered and possibly raped, the town of Milwaukie and nearby villages teeter on the brink of mob violence for several weeks until... well, no spoilers here.  AD-FREE EDITION Become a supporter of this podcast: htt...

he Murder of Philippo Caruso Episode 161 takes us on a trip across the Midwest from the Italian slums of Chicago, where a produce salesman meets a terrible fate at the hands of a countryman aboard a train to Pittsburgh where his body was found several days later. In this story, the police and the press work together to break down the brotherhood of silence and crack this horrible crime. Culled fro...

The Cruel Murder Of The Deering Family Episode 177 has been adapted from an 1866 trial pamphlet published in Philadelphia. One of the earliest expressions of true crime in print, trial pamphlets were often embelleshed from newspaper accounts of a case, and like this one--a bloody mass murder on a farmer's family just after the civil war--were released within days of the final disposition. AD-FREE...

Fiasco at the World’s Fair There’s a lot of crazy in episode 167, and it’s a little confusing at first because there’s so much of it going around, but even once the source of the crazy is obvious, the story is just picking up. I never thought I’d be doing a crime story about a child custody case, but I never heard of a child custody case like this one. Hold one, everybody. This one is a wild ride....

 The Betrayal Of Gerretje Haast Although there is a verdict and a lot of drama in Episode 265, many details of this case remain oblique. Only two people know what happened in that shack on the windswept Colorado prairie, and they aren’t talking, but there are many subtle clues to pique your imagination.  AD-FREE EDITION Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crim...

The Michigan Petting Party Murders Episode 176 tells of a most horrible--and most quickly-resolved--murder. When four teenagers are found dead on a country road, public indignation runs high, and under the pressure of a gathering mob, justice moves swiftly. The bodies are found on a Tuesday, and by Friday the case is resolved. AD-FREE EDITION Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreake...

Confession Of The Bigamist Otto Mueller Episode 169 concerns the search for the killer of a young woman whose body is found in a remote Long Island development a year after her death. The one clue takes the investigation to Europe with sudden and surprising results. AD-FREE EDITION Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support . You can...

Frank Carter, Maniac Episode 263 explores the psyche of a purely evil man, but also a witty, highly entertaining individual, a textbook sociopath. AD-FREE EDITION Culled from the historic pages of the Omaha World Herald and other newspapers of the era.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support . You can pay more if you want to, but...

Two Doomed Fugitives Episode 211 truly is a historic case: the story behind the first execution under the Lindbergh kidnapping law, which called for the death penalty in cases where the victim is taken across state lines. So when a pair of fugitives takes hostage a pair of small town policemen in their own car... well, you know that's not going to end well. AD-FREE EDITION For more information on...

Little Eva’s Roadhouse Plot Episode 171 relates the sordid tale of a plot to collect insurance money. After Eva Coo, a Cooperstown, New York roadhouse proprietress, purchased $10,000 in policies for her handyman, she asks him and her best friend to go for a ride in the country in a car she just borrowed. Yeah, that’s not gonna end well.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com...

 Unveiling The Scandalous Hannah Elias Episode 261 begins with a prominent citizen of New York City being gunned down on the street in a case of mistaken identity. But finding the real reason behind the killing, officials uncover a questionable liaison between another prominent citizen and a woman who is living in comfortable circumstances that belie her humble origins. Then things get messy. This...

 The Tragic Ordeal Of Sally Horner Episode 260 relates the sad, short life of Florence Sally Horner, who endured a two-year kidnapping by a convicted sex offender. If that’s not sad enough for you, stick around for the twist at the end.  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support . You can pay more if you want to, but rent at the Safe...

The Search For The Sheba Bandit Episode 234 is not only a murder mystery, but it also explores the history of attitudes regarding alternative lifestyles. Now that we’re living in an age where gender is a fluid thing, it’s interesting to hear how the police and the press respond when the main suspect doesn’t quite fit into the sexual norms of nearly a century past. Culled from the historic pages of...

Assassination of Nancy Parker Remastered from the True Crime Historian VaultEpisode 202 takes us inside the mind of an unhinged woman, but not too deeply. The story takes a lot of strange contradictory turns as the layers are peeled back and everyone tries to get the story straight. Or not. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2...

The Long Island Gas Station Murder Episode 219 is the first-person report of New York private detective Felix De Martini as he investigates the death of a popular and benevolent small businessman, the owner of a service station. De Martini's dogged pursuit of the culprit was told in the classic pages of True Detective Magazine, historic purveyors of sensational true crime, in April 1945. Ad-Free E...

The Solteldo-Barton Affair Episode 247 strikes a little close to home for me. Having spent 25 years working in a newsroom with very little security, the possibility of an indignant individual bursting in with a gun and opening fire because he didn’t like what was printed, was a constant (albeit low-grade) fear. In this case, when the bullets start flying and witnesses start ducking out the door, i...

The Haynesville/Homer Hammer Murder The scandal in Episode 188 unfolds in the small towns dotting the bayou country of Northern Louisiana. When the Haynesville town grocer goes missing, his wife declares that he ran out on her, but then a former border from Homer moves in and eyebrows are raised. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-histor...

The Covington Kiger Conspiracy Charge Episode 227 is the strange tale of a teenage girl who admittedly shot her brother and father in the middle of the night thinking she was shooting at burglars. Did she kill her family because of a nightmare? Was the girl insane? Or were there more sinister forces at work? Seems like no one can decide.... Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https...

Starring Beulah Binford As ‘The Woman In The Case’ Episode 251 is the story of one of the most sensational murders of its day when the spoiled son of a well-to-do Richmond, Virginia, family commits a ghastly crime. The entire nation is enthralled by the salacious details of the case and photos of his beautiful young paramour, a girl with a bad reputation though still in her teens, graces front pag...