True Crime Historian

The City Of New Orleans Vs. The Mafia Jump to AD FREE SAFE HOUSE EDITION Episode 408 explores the lead-in and aftermath of one of the most deadly vigilante actions in American history. When the commissioner of police is assassinated on his way home, a committee of 50 citizens call an indignation meeting, and you know how those are likely to go. Just a couple of notes: One, the descriptions of the...

The Accusations Against Florence Elizabeth Maybrick Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 407 is dedicated to my new friend from the United Kingdom, Joan Smith, who asked me to dig up more stories from across the great pond. This one involves an American woman who marries a Brit old enough to be her father, and is then charged with his poisoning. The bulk of this episode is adapted from a...

The Work Of The Mormon Butcher Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 451 begins in the summer of 1902, when a woman’s mutilated body is pulled from the Morris Canal, and the trail leads to a blood-soaked missionary’s flat in Manhattan. The suspect: William Hooper Young, grandson of Mormon patriarch Brigham Young, whose notebook bore the chilling phrase “Blood Atonement.” This is a rich ep...

Audrey Jacob Stands Trial Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 406 comes from a special request from one of my many listeners Down Under, this one the tragic story of a spurned young woman who settles the score on the dance floor. And we’re not talking about a tango competition, but her trial is a dramatic one and the resolution is indeed surprising. Hear More Stories From DOWN UNDER. Be...

The Horrible Horner-Simpson Affair Jump To AD-FREE Safe House Edition Episode 404 is jam-packed with crazy when a fun-loving dentist is charged with the double-barrel shotgun murder of his father-in-law. The family dynamic seems to go off the rails in the lead-in to the trial, and there are a couple of interesting subplots to keep things going, including a long-lost relative and the sad story of t...

Eugene Burt Flees From Justice Jump To AD-FREE Safe House Edition Episode 403 explores the story of a man who leaves his family battered and murdered in a cistern under their Austin home, and heads out of town on the midnight train. He thinks he can disappear in a big city, but Chicago has another story. Hear More Stories About The Death Of INNOCENTS Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www...

The Lynching Of Lloyd Warner Jump To The AD-FREE Safe House Edition Plus transcripts and deep-dive research for Safe House residents Episode 449 tells the story of civil unrest sparked by reports of a young white woman being sexually assaulted by a young black male, a story all too common in American history, and like many of the others, it appears likely that the unruly mob lynched and incinerate...

A Fake Hold-Up Murder Plot Jump To AD-FREE Safe House Edition Episode 402 tells the story of a discontented wife and her young paramour, who set in motion a plan to stage a robbery to get money for a quick Reno divorce. The victim, her husband. Yeah, that didn’t work out so well. There are some intense personalities in this story and a lot of theatrics, including a murder victim testifying from be...

Clara Smith Hamon Takes The Stand Jump To The AD-FREE Safe House Edition Episode 401 tells the salacious story of a leading politician who shows up at a private hospital with a gunshot wound. He tells the doctor it was self-inflicted, but that turns out to be a cover story. Why the big lie? You guessed it: There’s a woman in the case, and what she has to say will blow your mind. Hear More Stories...

Josie Kensler’s Delicate Condition Jump To Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 400 employs a trope we’ve seen before: the cranky old farmer whose wife takes up with the farm hand and well, it just doesn’t end well for anybody. But this one, taking place near the turn to the twentieth century in rural Idaho, has its own particular set of twists, turns, and complications, and conflicting testimony be...

The Axe Murder Of Alice Mallett Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 450 begins with a scream in the night as the beautiful Miss Alice Mallett, her body brutally defiled, found in a bloody pool. The town of Jackson, Michigan, reels, a mob thirsting for vengeance. The twisted trail of an axe points to the fiendish George Straub, an ex-con with a dark past. But wait! Did he act alone? Or did another s...

The Life And Death Of Jennie E. Cramer Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 397 tells the story of a young girl in late 1800’s New England who falls in with a fast crowd with fatal results. Three people were tried for her murder, but it’s up to you to decide whether she was the victim of her own shame, or if the victim of an unjust patriarchal society. Hear About More UNSOLVED Cases Beco...

The Astounding Disappearance Of Benjamin Collings On Long Island Sound Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 396 relates the puzzling story of a family apparently attacked on their cabin cruiser on an inky summer night. The husband is missing and the wife and five-year-old daughter have an amazing tale to tell. But can her story hold water as well as the 26-foot cruiser? Hear More UNSOLVE...

The Fiendish Slaughter Of An Innocent Child Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 394 relates the tragic tale of an eight-year old girl who fell into the clutches of a degenerate murderer. The hero of this story is a Louisville, Kentucky, detective who not only pieces together the crime, but embarks on a cross-country chase for the alleged murderer, who proves to be slippery even behind b...

Brothers Face Gas Chamber Together Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 392 explores the case of two brothers charged with the murder of a Colorado farmer and his “chore boy.” The chief witness against them is the farmer’s wife, who made a miraculous getaway and recovery. Hear More Stories About CAPITAL CRIMES Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crim...

The Barber And The Gambler’s Wife Stand Trial Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 393 takes us back to the Gilded Age and the salacious story of a professional gambler who is fatally attacked as he leaves his house to go to the hotel where he operates. Blame falls on his barber, who confesses to the crime and implicates the gambler’s wife, accusing her of not only having an interracial...

The Indiantown Creek Insurance Murder Plot Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition! Episode 390 explores what was reported to be the first murder case in the English-speaking world where six men receive a guilty verdict on one indictment, the result of a plot to murder a man in order to receive the benefits of a bunch of insurance policies. It doesn’t really end well for anyone. Hear More Stories A...

Murder In The Attic With Pipe, Gun, and Knife Jump To Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 389 details one of the clumsiest murder plots we’ve yet to encounter, and is jam-packed with some of our favorite tropes: A love triangle gone awry and a trunk murder, to name a couple, with a large dose of crowded courtroom hijinx, including a highly inappropriate kiss between defendants. Hear More Stories Ab...

Domestic Scandal In Sioux Falls Jump To AD-FREE Safe House Edition Episode 388 is not a classic trunk murder, per se, but one of the most dramatic scenes in the narrative comes when the prosecutor opens up a dead girl’s trunk in front of witnesses to speculate on the abuses its contents portend. Two families are ripped apart in this gripping drama where evidence is thin but accusations are as abun...

The Repudiated Confessions Of Richard Ivens Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 398 explores the tragic murder of a Chicago housewife and the subsequent confession of the simple minded young man who found the body in a refuse pile. Listen To More BAD CONFESSIONS Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support . You can pay more...

A Hung Jury For Hazel Combs Jump To The AD-FREE Safe House Edition Episode 387 starts out conventionally enough: A woman murders her husband to collect the double indemnity insurance policy. But when after she cheats the hangman at the  end of Act II, the story doesn’t stop there. Because of the legal technicalities of the insurance she took out, a jury still has to determine whether or not she co...

The Slippery Scoundrel Gerald Chapman Jump To The Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 384 tells the story of a so-called gentleman thief who fearlessly went for the big scores, even while the object of a nation-wide man-hunt. This is another action-packed episode loaded with gunfights, jailbreaks, courtroom breakdowns, and all kinds of shenanigans. Act III starts with a rather odd, melodramatic fea...

The Vermont Desperado Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 386 tells the epic story of one of New England’s most persistent scoundrels. It’s the kind of story I delight in finding, that in another context would make a great Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiaasen novel, this one about a slippery but dim-witted thief, that would almost be comic if there wasn’t a tragic loss of life in Act II, and even when he...

Our long international nightmare is over! True Crime Historian is coming off hiatus with a block of brand new episodes. The first new release comes October 1 with "A Bloody Scream In The Night: The Axe Murder Of Alice Mallett. Episode 450 begins with a scream in the night as the beautiful Miss Alice Mallett, her body brutally defiled, found in a bloody pool. The town of Jackson, Michigan, reels, a...

The Murderous Journeys Of Frederick Deeming Jump To The AD-FREE Safe House Edition Episode 383 is another request from a listener Down Under, the story of a man who brutally murdered his wife and buried the body inside the house, then disappeared. Although they capture him at the end of Act II, Act III reveals an even more gruesome murder on the opposite side of the globe. He’s a slippery one, but...