True Crime Historian

The Burning Love Of Elfrieda KnaakJump To Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 364 tells an unusual story of a broken-hearted young woman found naked and fatally burnt in the basement of a police station. Her family, the police, and the general public find it hard to believe that she could have torched herself in such a horrific manner, so the hunt is on for proof of a murder.Hear About More TORCH MURDERSBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Cuba Triple MurderJump To The Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 363 takes place in rural Ohio, when a woman, her daughter, and her daughter’s suitor are gunned down in front of three young children. The daughter’s ex-husband says he arrived at the scene just after the shots were fired, but in her dying breath his ex-mother-in-law claims he was the culprit. The kids can’t get their story straight, so it’s up to you to put it all together.More BLUEBEARDSBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Greenlease Kidnapping TragedyJump To Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 362 takes on one of the most evil crimes imaginable as told from the point of view of the perpetrator. By the time police caught up with Carl Austin Hall, he had made so many mistakes in the kidnapping and murder of a six-year-old boy that he knew the game was up, so he told the story in a coldly matter-of-fact 36-page confession, here adapted for the first two acts. The third act, we’ll call “the comeuppance”.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Halfwit Gang Of Golden Gate AvenueJump To Ad-Free Safe House EditionAlthough there’s nothing funny about real-life murder, if Episode 361 were fictional, you could shelve it right next to Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiaasen and the wacky characters they create who walk in the realm of dark comedy. The downfall of this gang that couldn’t shoot straight begins when one of its members decides to surrender and deliver state’s evidence when it begins to look like his days are numbered. And, it turns out, he was right.More FEMMES FATALEBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Father Stood TrialJump To Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 359 details one of the most chaotic cases I’ve yet to come across. The investigation left a lot of unanswered questions and the prosecution seems motivated by political pressure and retaliation rather than evidence. Was the youngster murdered by his father or one of his playmates? Let me know what you think.Explore More Cases of Murder By POISONBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Terror Of All Toughs Killed By Horse ThiefJump To Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 358 is dedicated to the Safe House Scoundrel Marlene Resch who required a story from her home town of Eugene, Oregon, and we are happy to oblige. The victim in this story was the law enforcement officer in Episode 336, Murder On The McKenzie Trail, and together they sum up the history of capital punishment in Lane County Oregon, the only two executions there.More WILD WESTERNSBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Trial Of Lena ClarkeJump To The AD-FREE SAFE HOUSE EDITIONEpisode 357 is a crazy blend of murder, embezzlement, and a ghost story. When a former post office clerk is found murdered in the hotel room of a woman who had been a co-worker, there are hints of either a connection the spirit world or madness, but still, a Florida courtroom is stunned the depths of the suspect’s mysticism as revealed in her trial.Explore More Episodes With COURTROOM SHENANIGANSBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Senator, The Embezzler, And The Girl They LovedJump To AD-FREE SAFE HOUSE EDITIONEpisode 356 takes a look at a scandalous murder and failed suicide attempt that leaves the perpetrator blind and a state senator defending not only his own honor, but that of the young lady who got the worst of the whole affair.Explore More Episodes About LOVE TRIANGLES GONE AWRYBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

Killing Billy The KidJump To The AD-FREE SAFE HOUSE EDITIONEpisode 355 takes us back to the Old West with a profile of one of the classic rivalries of the era: The lanky Sheriff Pat Garrett v. the notorious William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, including a narrative of their fateful last encounter as told by the sheriff himself.Explore More Episodes of WILD WESTERN True CrimeBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

HA Debaucher Of Children Gets His RevengeJump To The AD-FREE SAFE HOUSE EDITIONEpisode 354 is a real trip to the dark side as it recounts the rampage of a local beat patrolmen the result of having his ugly perverted secrets revealed. Although he was responsible for a lot of lives lost and hurt forever, there’s some satisfaction in watching him get some of what he deserves, public humiliation as well as the state’s own vengeance.Explore More Episodes About FALLS FROM GRACEBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Murder Of Sheriff Rogers At GlencoeJump To The Ad-Free SAFE HOUSE EDITIONEpisode 353 takes place in late 19th century Minnesota, but plays out like a classic Western tale. You know the one, where a pair of strangers come into town, shoot the sheriff, and incite the citizenry to take the law into their own hands.Click Here To Access More WILD WESTERN EpisodesBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Ladies’ Man Lawyer & The Mysterious BlondeJump To Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 151 recalls a fatal shooting on a dark country road when a pair of unemployed thugs set out to rape and plunder unsuspecting couples looking for a quiet place to canoodle. They get more than they bargained for when their mark turns out to be a well-armed attorney. Explore More ROBBERIES GONE AWRYBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Brutal Murder Of Mayme ShermanA True Crime Short Story by Richard O JonesAd-Free Safe House EditionOne of the factors behind my interest in historical true crime is that my hometown of Hamilton, Ohio, seems to have a particularly rich history of crime--murder in particular, but not just murder. I’ve done several local programs about the safecrackers, bandits, and other notorious characters. This short story, “Bacon On The Table,” concerns the third of three “bluebeard” killers in the first decade of the 20th century. The first was the murder of Hannah Knapp by Alfred Knapp in December, 1902. This is the subject of my book, “The First Celebrity Serial Killer.” But even before this crime came to light, Samuel J. Keelor tried to decapitate his wife on Valentine’s Day, 1903. You can read more about that story in my ebook, “The Sleepwalking Slasher.”The following year, just a week after Knapp paid the ultimate penalty for his crime, Charles Victor Sherman commits the horrible crime detailed in this episode.In

The Atrocities Of Albert FishI'D TURN BACK IF I WERE YOU!!!Episode 191 is without a doubt the vilest case you'll ever hear on this program because I don't think I could find a worse one if I tried. There's a lot of evil discussed here: torture, cannibalism, and more. Consider this your trigger warning: I'd turn back if I were you! Or at least put the kids to bed and plug in your ear buds. Keep this between us.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Murder Of Mary PhaganEpisode 183 tells of one of the most infamous cases of an innocent man wrongly accused. When a teenage factory girl is found dead in the basement of an Atlanta pencil manufacturer, blame falls on the mild-mannered Jewish superintendent of the plant, and the jury takes the word of a drunken janitor. It’ll take 70 years for the truth to come out.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Reily Mattock MurderEpisode 198 is centered on one of my favorite murder tropes, the so-called “eternal triangle,” between the cranky old farmer, his fading wife, and the handsome young farmhand. Yeah, that’s not going to end well, but they might have gotten away with it if they had just put the body across the tracks. It’s all in the details.Culled from the historic pages of the Hamilton Journal-News and other newspapers of the era.Ad-Free Edition

The Real ‘Chicago’ MurdersEpisode 352 explores the two murders that inspired the hit musical “Chicago,” which was based on a play by Maurine Watkins, who did some reporting on both cases as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. I’ll be joined by my colleague Susan Ferman, whose own podcast Catastrophic Calamities, will premiere next week on the Pulpular Media network. Susan will read about the case of Beulah Annan, who became Roxy Hart on stage. I will read the case of Belva Gaertner, who became Velma Kelly.Culled from the historic pages of the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, and other newspapers of the era.This episode includes a reference to a fellow murderess Sabela Nitti, whose story you can hear about in True Crime Historian 230, The Ugly Duckling Murderess.

The Trial Of Rattlesnake James, The Red-Headed BluebeardEpisode 192 gets a bit epic, but it’s the story that keeps on giving, with two botched murders and moral charges to boot, and things go from crazy to crazier when they bring a pair of rattlers named Lethal and Lightning into the courtroom.

A Litany of HorrorEpisode 12 is a reading of the chilling confession of Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes, one of the most remarkable serial killers in American History. The whole nation was shocked and outraged in the waning years of the nineteenth century by the gruesome deeds of one Herman Mudgett, the arch fiend who took on the pseudonym H.H. Holmes as he prepared his famous "Castle of Death" in downtown Chicago. He was arrested for an insurance fraud in November 1894, but his string of murders, perhaps 200 in all, were soon revealed. He was convicted of one capital crime in Philadelphia, and while he awaited execution, he penned a confession detailing 27 murders that was published in newspapers across the country. He would recant this confession before he hanged, but really, you can't make this stuff up.Ad free Patreon edition with subscription

A Terrible Reign of MurderAbout the murders that inspired Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon"Episode 214 digs deep into the files of the FBI and one of its early successful investigations during the tenure of J.Edgar Hoover, when the Bureau of Investigations looked into the murder of as many as 60 to 70 Osage Indians. The file includes a report by Agent Frank Smith as well as statements by informants who helped break the conspiracy. True Crime Historian welcomes guest reader Susan Ferman as Katherine Cole, one of these informants.