True Crime Historian

The Lumberjack And The Boatman’s Wife Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 335 tells of another scandalous eternal triangle that ends in murder. The victim this time is the husband, and both his comely wife and the illiterate man who cuckolded him go on trial for his murder. More LOVE TRIANGLES GONE AWRY  Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909...

The Crimes Of The Citrus King Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 332 tells the story of a prominent businessman and his relationship with a young woman that gets him in all kinds of hot water. But the remarkable thing about this story is how history repeats itself, and twenty years later, he finds himself in another fine mess. More FALLS FROM GRACE Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.s...

Emil Sanger’s Rage  Ad-Free Safe House Edition Like all episodes of True Crime Historian, Episode 333 is a cautionary tale, this time about rage, when a normal businessman gets so  heated about a squabble mixing family and business that he lays out his own ruin. I wouldn’t go so far as to say anyone was asking to be murdered, but... I’ll let you be the judge. More FALLS FROM GRACE Become a support...

The Trial Of Arthur Sargent Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 334 is a simple tale: Three men go fishing on a boat, one man comes back the next day saying the other two were drowned in an accident on the pond. But was it an accident? We’d let the jury decide but for a rare motion with unusual timing by the prosecuting attorney that makes the outcome a certainty.  More COURTROOM SHENANIGANS Become...

The Saga Of Ida & Paul V. Hadley Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 125 concerns Ida Hadley, who was so passionate for her husband Paul that they called her a nymphomaniac in open court. Their trouble started much earlier, in Beaumont, Texas, when a man made eyes at Ida, and Paul shot him. This steamy story spans five years and includes three trials, attempted and successful jail breaks, multi...

Death of a Teenage Stenographer Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 123 is the story of fifteen year old Ruth Wheeler, recent graduate of a secretarial school, who excitedly picked up a referral from her alma mater and headed to her first job interview in a building on East 75th Street in New York City. She was not seen alive again. Two days later, a man living in the same building discovered that...

The Minot Redemption Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 124 is classic potboiler adapted from the pages of True Detective Mysteries Magazine, concerning a party of sailors landing in a private speakeasy in the San Pedro Harbor during prohibition. Told from the perspective of a detective on the case, this is a tale of sin and redemption, of an escape from justice and ill-fated love, and the efforts...

The $2.35 Murder Ad Free Safe House Edition Episode 331 is dedicated to listener Kalie Jansen who recommended this strange story of a  Syracuse, New York woman who came up missing during a brutal snowstorm, and the surprising way in which the mystery unfolded. Culled from the historic pages of the Syracuse Herald and other newspapers of the era. More CAPITAL CRIMES Become a supporter of this podca...

The Jailer's Wife's Betrayal Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 330 is the exciting story of the Biddle Brothers of Pittsburgh, whose ransack of a humble home turns to homicide and leads to the line-of-duty death of one of the city's beloved officers. 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 re...

The Tragic Typhoid Conspiracy Commerc ial Free Safe House Edition Episode 329 tells of an unusual modus operandi, the use of typhoid germs as a method of poisoning when an Illinois attorney goes on trial for the murder of a young man he raised after the death of his mother, who happened to leave her son a million dollar estate. A big welcome back to our friend Susan Ferman, who will read passages...

Rampage in Valdosta Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 126 concerned this podcast’s first non-human perpetrator, a great big crazy brilliant elephant first known as Empress when imported into the United States in 1871. She killed so many handlers that she was sentenced to death many times, but doing so was so difficult that she was just passed from show to show. Along the way someone changed her n...

The Botched Execution of Tom Ketchum Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 127 takes us back to the days of the Old West with the tale of “the Black Jack Gang,” terrors of the Southwest, from about 1896 to 1891 when its leader, Tom Ketchum, was finally captured trying to pull off a train robbery solo. He didn’t know the conductor had been robbed once before and carried a sawed-off shotgun. Yeah, that...

What The Dog Saw At Beekman Place Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 128 is one of the creepiest and sleaziest yet, when the mad Bohemian debauchery that made Greenwich Village famous spills over into the posh East Midtown. The colorful cast of real-life characters includes a woman who ran a prohibition speakeasy, her beautiful model daughter and her artistic friends, and an estranged husband who...

The LaBoeuf Triangle Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 328 revisits one of our favorite tropes: The Love Triangle Gone Awry. The people involved here weren't rich and famous, but just ordinary people, tragically caught up in their passion. 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 S...

The Exploits Of The Outlaw James Gang Ad Free Safe House Edition Episode 326 finishes off Wild West Month with the epic tale of one of the most notorious bands of outlaws to plague the American frontier. It’s a wild ride, so hang on. More WILD WESTERNS 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 r...

The Thorny Rose Of The Wild Bunch Ad Free Safe House Edition Episode 324 tells the tale of a young woman who would do anything for the man she loves, even go to prison for him. The couple were associated with the gang known as the Wild Bunch, featuring such notorious characters as Black Jack Ketchum, Butch Cassidy, and Harry Longbaugh, also known as the Sundance Kid. More WILD WESTERNS Culled from...

The Grand Mogul Of The Texas Desperados Commercial Free Safe House Edition Episode 322 relates the downfall of one of the most desperate desperados of the Old West, John Wesley Hardin, the man so mean that it is alleged he shot a fellow just for snoring. Culled from the historic pages of the Galveston Daily News, The El Paso Times, and other newspapers of the era. More WILD WESTERNS Become a suppo...

The Capture Of Hong Di  Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 321 continues our exploration of stories from the Old West, this one from a ranch near Colusa when a Chinese cook, a mere boy of 17, opens fire with a rifle during the family meal. After a flight from justice, an unlikely hero captures the fugitive, who is put on trial while a vengeful crowd gathers outside demanding the extreme penalty of...

The Earp Brothers Take A Stand Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 319 takes us on a journey to one of the most famous gunfights in Old West history, the shoot-out at the OK corral. The first two thirds relates the story from the newspaper accounts of the day, while the third act gives a first-person account from Wyatt Earp himself. Culled from the historic pages of the Tombstone Epitaph, the Arizo...

She Conversed With The Devil Ad-Free Safe House Edition Recently widowed, eager to date, her family hated of her choice of a mate. So she put poison in their water. What a mean & devilish daughter! YESTERDAY’S NEWS --Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told from historic newspapers in the golden age of yellow journalism... Episode 317 explores the bizarre tale of Martha Wise who...

The Mysterious Case Of Alma Tirtschke Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 315 is the sad tale of a 12 year old Aussie girl who disappeared while running errands for her family. Her body was found naked and outraged the following morning. Based on the testimony of some spurious witnesses, as you shall hear, the crown executed the owner of a wine shop near the alley. But did they get the right man? M...

The Botched Execution of Eva Dugan Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 131 concerns the murky relationship between the mysterious hired wife, a Tucson rancher, and a young man who came to stay. It’s also about the dogged chase for the fugitive conducted by a determined sheriff, but the scene that strikes me most takes place in the office of a prison warden when they confront the suspected murderer...

The Trial Of Vera Stretz  She was his dedicated love slave and "office wife," until he pushed her too far. Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 133 is the story of a scholarly young artist whose married fiance tries to take things too far. This story is performed by our late friend Emily Simer Braun, reading the reporting from Alice Cogan, ace reporter for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. More Femmes Fatal...

A Secret Crime Spree Revealed By Murder Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 313 is the action-packed story of a pair of bands who met in juvenile jail, and embarked on a short-lived but deadly crime spree through the Wyoming Valley of Eastern Pennsylvania that included two murders, a shooting to kill, several home invasions, and a general disregard and disdain for social order and the rule of law....

Bannon Buries Bodies In The Haven Barn A family of six goes missing, and the only clue is a badly misspelled letter from a post office box that doesn't exist.  Ad-Free Safe House Edition Episode 312 tells the story of a disappearing farming family in North Dakota, who were said to have gone out West for the health of the wife and mother. But the young man left in charge has a strange story to tell...