True Crime Historian

The Pearce Insanity PlotAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 289 is a scandalous story that shook two Midwestern cities in the late 1930s when a woman came forward with a bizarre tale of abduction, adultery, assault, addiction and absconsion. That’s why I’m putting this story on my A-list.More Prison BreaksBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZIN

Murder Of The Mythical Helen JohnsonAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 288 goes out to True Crime Historian patron Aisha B., who requested a murder from her hometown of Pleasanton, California. Although a lot of these historic stories have humorous elements when considered in modern light, I don’t normally treat them as comedies. There may or may not be any actual murders in this one, but there are plenty of accusations and much ado about Mrs. Amador’s allegations that makes it a comedy of errors that would make Shakespeare proud. Wait ‘til they get to the bones.Also, since this story came up a little shorter on time than most episodes, stay tuned after the credits for a bonus short short story.More Bad ConfessionsBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct ac

The Ridde Of The Grinning SkullShe led police to the body of her husband, but when she saw the mocking skull they dug up, a second murder came to light.By Frederic O. SchultzeAd Free Safe House Edition Adapted from True Detective Mysteries, V. 7; No. 4; July, 1927Episode 287 is a first person account from a police reporter who admits to unethical snooping in trying to get to this story. But it’s the tale of a triangle so twisted, that I’ll forgive him for his indiscretions.More Love Triangles Gone AwryBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forg

The Heinous Crime Of Carl WandererAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 286 relates one of the most reprehensible double murders we’ve yet to encounter. They’re all reprehensible, but there’s no question that the act of Carl Wanderer was spawned by truly evil intent.More stories of "Pregnicide"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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular literature, give your ears a treat with PULP MAGAZINES with two ne

Episode 140.Ad-Free Safe House Edition“The Bigamist And Her Murderous Husband: The Sweetwater Double Homicide” is the sordid tale of a love octangle (or something like that) when the suspiciously widowed husband of a girl married five times without a divorce gets fed up from the legal harassment from his wife’s elderly suitor. Culled from the historic pages of the Abilene Reporter and other newspapers of the era.More Love Triangles Gone AwryBonus Stories:“The Storybook Taxi Bandit” begins with a fidgety stranger walking into an Indiana cafe, soon to be followed by an interstate manhunt. Adapted from Master Detective, April 1935.More Manhunts“Stalking The Tiger Girl” tells of a Los Angeles detective’s pursuit of a sassy, auburn-haired hold-up artist who suddenly finds repentance after her arrest. Adapted from True Detective Mysteries, November 1929.More Femmes FataleBecome 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

Episode 193 exposes two tales, one of lust and passion, one of lust for power.Ad-Free Safe House Edition"She Shot To Kill" is composed of two stories from the 1893 Omaha Daily Bee that tells of a deadly love triangle. There's a great contrast between the first day's coverage and the second."The Woman In The Wall" comes from the vintage pages of True Detective Magazine (vol. 56, no. 4), the story of a woman so consumed by ambition that she turns on the people who helped her on her journey. But you gotta know that like most of the journeys we discuss on this show, this one's not going to end well. More Femmes FataleBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDI

Life, Crimes and Confession of Bridget DurganAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 141 conveys the confession of an Irish immigrant, young but hardened by life, who after getting fired from her housekeeping job, resolves to murder her mistress. Once she gets the idea in her head, she can’t let it go. Adapted from a sensational pamphlet published in 1867, the first act is purported to be a confession penned by the culprit’s own hands, and the second part... well, let’s just say it’s not gonna end well for Bridget Durgan.More Femmes FataleBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, tellin

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

Episode 195 shows Jolly Old England is not always so jolly as we take a look at three different cases with a body count of at least four wives and one mistress."Nineteen Dandelions" by Edmund Pearson tells the story of a distinguished poisoner."The Ugly Romeo" by Frank Cipriani tells of a serial bathtub murderer."The Bungalow Murder" is the story of a married man who loved his girlfriend to pieces.Ad-Free Safe House More stories from Edmund PearsonBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What co

The  Drummond AffairAd-Free Safe House EditionBook a bunk at The Safe House and have access to the largest repository of True Crime Historian episodes available on the WWWs.Episode 283 is adapted from the classic pages of True Detective (Vol. 4; No. 6, UK edition) with an international tale of mystery. When the bodies of a titled British couple and their young daughter turn up dead in a camping site on the farmlands in the shadow of the French Alps, a determined investigator is determined to find the culprit. Could it be a notorious deserter from the Foreign Legion? Does the peasant family  that found the body know more than they are telling? Is the whole town of Lurs in on the secrets behind the brutal deaths? Was the family assassinated for a secret? Or is this the result of an espionage caper gone wrongBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can

The Murder Of The GroomAd-Free Safe House EditionJoin the Safe House for complete access to over 400 classic episodes of True Crime Historian, the largest collection available on the WWWs.Episode 142 tells the story of a St. Louis family with a tendency to resort to gun violence to solve their financial woes, imaginary or otherwise. The first crime was over a loan of $2,000 that probably never happened. Then, two years later, the woman who survived the incident turns her eye toward her brother’s insurance policy, and the prospect of a marriage and a new beneficiary gets her to thinking... Yeah. That’s not gonna end well. More Femmes FataleBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you

The Saga of the Scoundrel Thomas McGehanA true crime short story by Richard O JonesAd-Free Safe House Edition-Episode 28 takes place on Christmas Eve 1870, when three men attack a local politician with boulders and slungshots, and at least a dozen men scramble for the door while five shots pepper the faro room at the American Saloon in Hamilton, Ohio, the hometown of True Crime Historian Richard O Jones. One of the bullets kills the politician, Thomas Myers, but in their haste none of the gamblers see who fired the shot. The blame falls on the leader of the gang of thugs who attacked Myers, his political rival Tom McGehean. At his trial, the famed former Congressman, exiled Copperhead, and gubernatorial candidate, Clement Vallandigham literally gives his life for McGehean's defense.Read-Along (more or less. It's not the exact same text)More Hometown HorrorsBecome 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

Who Killed Lettie Whitehall?Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 282 is dedicated to True Crime Historian patron Vivia Boe, who requested an episode from her hometown, Bothell, Washington. In scouring the archives, I found this tragic story that takes place in the vicinity. It’s usually hard to get a full episode from an unsolved case as there’s usually no resolution and a good story needs an ending. This one has a lot of middle, to be sure, as law enforcement thrashes around and blames every man in town for the poor girl’s death. They finally charge a guy, but the evidence is thin. One clue still bugs me, tho. How do you explain the missing tooth?Culled from the historic pages of the Seattle Daily Times 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 rent at the Safe House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House

Hollywood’s First Sex ScandalAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 143 digs back into the early days of the motion picture industry, before Hollywood became synonymous with greed and lust and power. It only took a murder charge to bring down one of the biggest stars of the day, and even though it seems like poor Fatty got a bum rap on the deal, it’s probably the only reason Arbuckle’s work is not held in as high regard as Keaton and Chaplin today. More Falls From GraceBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th c

The Murder Of Harry Dewey GarbeAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 145 takes us into the life story of 18-year-old bad girl Gussie Humann and an ill-conceived plan to get back at an old flame, which results in her becoming the youngest person to be indicted for first degree murder in Queens County, New York. It's a winding, twisty road that begins with a death bed accusation and includes a number of varying confessions, and some thing's not being told.More Femmes FataleBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20t

The Escapades Of Velma West Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 144 takes us into the scandalous world of a restless young flapper and her secret life. Before it’s over, we’ll have a brutal murder, a scandalous revelation, a sensational confession, a daring prison break, and drama galore. Hang on, everybody... This one’s a roller coaster.More Femmes FataleBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your jam, check out CATASTROPHIC CALAMITIES, telling the stories of famous and forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!For brand-new tales in the old clothes from the golden era of popular l

The Deadly Trout Creek Land SquabbleAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 281 is dedicated to listener and patron Kimberlee Anderson, who shares a hometown with the defendants in this case. Although first reports said that Mrs. Alice Harris was a widow, it turns out she was a divorcee whose ex-husband was of THE Harris family of Harrisville, Utah. This story seems like it could’ve been a classic John Ford western, a land dispute in the Utah desert that turns deadly. I think maybe Maureen O’Hara as Alice Harris and Robert Mitchum as the wisecracking Tackman.More True Crime WesternsBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to our other PULPULAR MEDIA podcasts:If disaster is more your ja

Episode 218 journeys across three continents as we hear the stories of wiley police officers outwitting some very clever criminals.Ad-Free Safe House Edition"Strange Murder Of An Aged Romeo" by Peter Levins heads down Argentina way as a family feud gets settled in a grisly way. "A Black Cat Doomed" by Fred Menagh, travel to England and France as Scotland Yard attempts to track down gangsters that seem to have been taking lessons from their American colleagues."Saskatchewan Ki ller" by Maurice Mills, a chase back and forth across the Canadian/American border as a lieutenant in the Royal Mounted Police begins to wonder if he can live up to their motto.More ManhuntsBecome 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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services yo

Episode 147Ad-Free Safe House EditionSpider Attic Ghost Killer: The truly bizarre tale of a man who stalked an elderly couple by living in their attic, sneaking down to forage meals from their fridge.The Texas Candybar Murder: The justice of the peace called it suicide, but others question how the young mother-to-be came to shoot herself in the back of the head.The Nurse and Her Nagging Auntie: A botched suicide in which the suicide is not the person who ends up dead.The Dissection of Antoine DuBlanc: The story of an immigrant who plots a murder before he even gets off the boat. He was from France. Or Switzerland. Or somewhere like that.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 House is still just a buck a week, and you can get access to over 400 ad-free episodes from the dusty vault, Safe House Exclusives, direct access to the Boss, and whatever personal services you require.We invite you to

 Episode 280 is a reading of "The Black Negligee Murder" By Frederic HolmesAdapted from True Detective, v.43 no.1Ad-Free Safe House EditionThere’s a lot going on in this story. The seams show in the author’s reporting as he occasionally allows glimpses into his process, but at the same time, he makes it seem like he’s telling story from the point of view of the bad guy for most of the first two thirds of the narrative. The really cool nerdy part for me as a writer and a fan of pulp, is that you can hear the author’s disdain and sympathy both for the character as well as his determination to be fair and to let the story unfold no matter how disagreeable he may find it. So this tells me that he might have had a frank, lengthy, detailed interview with Dahlbender, was maybe even charmed by him a little, just as Rose Whitmore was, but also repulsed by his plotting and despicable actions. Still, the author seems to get in Dahlbender’s head and lets him have his say, but his self-pity doesn’t make his actions any le