Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories

There was only one suspect in Helen Jewett's brutal murder: her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Richard. But as the story of Jewett's death spread through the tabloids, Richard was treated less like a killer, and more like a celebrity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1836, a 23-year-old sex worker named Helen Jewett was found dead in bed at her upscale Manhattan brothel. Once the city's tabloids got a hold of the scandalous details, the case quickly became one of the most divisive in 19th century America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A mysterious gunman, a music exec with mob ties, suspiciously timed life insurance policies… The LAPD may have ruled Bobby’s death a suicide, but evidence pointed overwhelmingly to foul play.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In July 1966, Bobby Fuller — the musician who popularized “I Fought The Law” and was dubbed “The Rock and Roll King of the Southwest” — wanted out of his band, and out of his contract. Then he was found dead in his car, his body bruised, bloodied, and doused in gasoline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1948, the investigation into Stanley Skridla and Mary Jane Reed's deaths came to a stand-still. Many suspected a member of the Sheriff's department of having committed the murders, but proof of his guilt would be a difficult thing to come by. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A gruesome double murder in 1948 shocked a small town in Illinois. And when the prime suspect emerged, the case turned scandalous. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Texas A&M senior Charles Sessums was killed during a 1926 football game against Baylor University, the two schools struggled to find his murderer—but someone was trying to sabotage the investigation. And the cover-up seemed to go all the way up to the mayor’s office.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A college football rivalry between Texas A&M and Baylor University reached a climax in 1926, when a riot broke out during halftime and left one college senior dead.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In early 1905, Hawaiian police opened—and quickly closed—an investigation into Jane Stanford’s mysterious death. A century later, an amateur sleuth tried to crack the case, uncovering university scandals, possible motives for murder, and a misinformation campaign led by the president of Stanford University himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She became one of the most influential people in California when she co-founded Stanford University in 1891. Jane Stanford was widely beloved for her forward-thinking, liberal ideals—but she also earned a few enemies. And when she was murdered in 1905, one question sent shockwaves through California: Who disagreed with Jane enough to kill her? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices...

Once the princes disappeared, rumors and theories spread about who killed them—or if they were really dead at all. None of the speculation mattered to their uncle, Richard III, though. With the boys gone, he could finally claim the throne. But the new king soon realized that holding onto power would not be so easy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1483, two princes got caught in the center of a bloody war for the throne of England—and became one of the biggest murder mysteries in British history. After the princes' uncle realized they were the only thing standing between him and his life-long quest for the crown, he locked them in the Tower of London. What happened next has remained a mystery for hundreds of years. Learn more about your...

The search for Sister Cathy’s murderer went cold until the 1990s, when a former student recovered traumatic memories she’d repressed. Their disturbing content suggested Cathy was murdered as part of a cover-up meant to protect a predatory priest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On January 3, 1970, the body of a young teaching nun was found in a Baltimore suburb. Cathy Cesnik was a devout Catholic and beloved by her students… But in the months before her murder, she’d left her teaching job and hung up her habit. Was her strange behavior just a coincidence—or a clue?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While investigating the murder of colleague Dale Kearney, prohibition agent Raymond Sutton vanished on August 28, 1930. Despite strong leads for both of their murders, misfortune, missteps, and the sobering end to prohibition brought their investigations to ruin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On July 6, 1930, prohibition agent Dale Kearney was shot and killed in the town of Aguilar. He was the first Colorado federal agent to be killed in the line of duty. The investigation would lead to the mysterious disappearance and murder of another dry agent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After Saskatoon police failed to find a suspect in the murder of 23-year-old Alexandra Wiwcharuk, the case went cold. Her friends and family took the investigation into their own hands, and started to suspect the police knew more than they let on.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On May 18, 1962, Canadian beauty queen Alexandra Wiwcharuk went for a walk… and never returned. Her body was found 13 days later, buried in a shallow grave just blocks from her home. Local police had no idea where to look for a killer—and the case was already two weeks old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Once Margaret Hossack was arrested for the alleged murder of her abusive husband, her court case became famous across Iowa. Her community decided she was guilty even before the trial began. But her case wasn’t nearly as clear-cut as the prosecution suggested.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1900, an Iowa farmer was found hacked to death in bed next to his wife, Margaret. She swore she had slept through the entire attack… But when her husband’s history of violence was revealed, the town turned Margaret’s own pleas for help against her.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After eight-year-old Buddy Schumacher went missing in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin in the summer of 1925, his dead body was found beaten and gagged in the woods. Many suspected the local vagrants—but the investigation went through multiple suspects, and even a couple confessions, only to be left wide open. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On July 24th, 1925, eight-year-old Buddy Schumacher went missing from his home in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The family searched for months, and the disappearance became a local media sensation. In September, his dead body was finally discovered: and the hunt for his killer was on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 31 BCE, Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s torrid union is tested when Roman leader Octavian declares war against Cleopatra. As Roman troops storm the shores of Egypt, Cleopatra fights against forces that will ultimately lead to her mysterious death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She became the queen of Egypt in 51 BCE, and ignited a worldwide scandal when her fling with Roman leader Julius Caesar produced a child. But Cleopatra’s next great love affair with Caesar’s successor Mark Antony was actually the most meaningful relationship in her life—and led to her untimely demise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By 1911, a serial killer dubbed the “Atlanta Ripper” had killed so many African American women, even the white-owned newspapers and white-controlled police department were forced to take notice. Yet, while they tried to catch the elusive killer, they would find themselves woefully unprepared to stop his wicked ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices