True Crime Historian

Who Killed The Widow Short? Ad-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 137 is the quirky story of the death of a beloved widow in Topeka, Kansas. She was old and in ill health, and no one suspected any foul play until her caretaker--allegedly her late husband’s nephew--suddenly confessed to the crime, but then the autopsy told another story entirely. Was Fred Fanning covering for someone? Or did someone have undue influence over his mind, if he had one? 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

The Complicated Death Of Starr FaithfullAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 138 is the story that inspired the John O’Hara novel and the Elizabeth Taylor film “BUtterfield 8,” the sad, sordid tale of a beautiful girl with an evocative name and a traumatic past that put her on the road to ruin. The finding of her body on a Long Island beach led to probe deep into the social fabric of three cities on two continents. The telling of the story isn’t particularly graphic, but it does go into dark, dark places. Just so you know.More Unsolved CasesBecome 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, t

The Murder Of William Desmond TaylorAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 295 recaps one of Hollywood’s first and most sensational murder cases. After his death, the mysterious past life and personal entanglements of William Desmond Taylor lead in a dozen different directions, but none apparently toward a solution to the case. But there’s a reason the case aroused so much sensation.The victim's mysterious past and a tangled web of relationships made the shocking murder impossible to solve.Culled from the historic pages of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers of the era.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

Episode 294Ad-Free Safe House Edition Pulp Nonfiction“I’d die before I’d let a man do anything to me,” she said. And she did.Adapted from “Joanna And The Hillbilly Lover Boy,” by George Vedder Jones, True Detective, Vol.73 No.1, May 1960Become 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 new stories every week.

A Rampage In RichmondAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 293 may start out like your ordinary love triangle gone awry, but the city of Richmond, Virginia is scandalized by the revelations that come out about the young people of their city during the shocking trial. When the flapper told the dapper young man that it was over between them, she set off a massacre.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 forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!For brand-new tales in the old clothe

Historic Lady KillersAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 292, in which we pay our respects to a quartet of murdered wives:Sarah Yargus, murdered by her husband John Yargus, July 13, 1849;Pauline Schmitt, murdered by her husband Germain Schmitt, January 21, 1919;Ida Jech, murdered by her husband Frederic Jech, July 22, 1930;Anna McDowell Gentry, murdered by her husband Sam Gentry, February 1, 1935.Recorded live at Miami University Hamilton Downtown, October 29, 2018.Download the slideshow for headlines and more information. 0292 slideshow.pdfBecome 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,

Six Dead At Erland’s PointAd-Free Safe House EditionEpisode 139 is the gruesome story of a home invasion, circa 1934, a case that seemed so random that it took over a year to crack one of the most brutal mass murders witnessed by the Pacific Northwest. The small-town police are at first presented as in over their heads, but they remained dogged in their pursuit, and justice will be served. Eventually.More Mass MurdersBecome 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 br

Episode 165:Ad-Free Safe House Edition"Murder By Dynamite," by Stewart Whitehouse. An explosion in the mens room of a department store sets off a wave of copycats, including one plot to murder a young lawyer by booby-trapping his car with dynamite. More Big Booms"Terror in La Paz," by Manuelo Martino, is our first trip to South America with the story of a clever serial killer and master of disguise with his mind set on strangling as many young girls as he can. More Serial KillersBecome 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

AKA The Lipstick Killer And His Imaginary AccompliceEpisode 291Ad-Free EditionHang onto your seats, folks, this one is another wild ride down psychopath lane. Folks in a nice Chicago neighborhood are scandalized when a string of murders go from fearsome to gruesome. Police get their man--or men, depending on how you look at it--almost by accident when the culprit is arrested for another crime. His crimes are heinous and involve a child, so tread carefully if your sensitive to that stuff, but I will tell you that the reporting isn’t overly graphic.Culled from the historic pages of the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers of the era.More Botched ExecutionsBecome 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

The Unexpected Crimes of Nurse ToppanEpisodes 29 and 30Ad-Free Safe House EditionHistory contains many cases of nurses who turned out to be killers, but there may not be one as bizarre as the case of Jane Toppan, one of the first "angels of death" on record.Because she had such a cheerful disposition, people called her “Jolly Jane,” and so were completely surprised when she was arrested for the murder of a family in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Once suspicions were aroused, accusations began to fall like rain. The exact count of her death toll remains a mystery, but estimates put it between 31 and 84 murders, although the longer she remained in the asylum, the larger the number grew.More Serial KillersBecome 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 t

Pulp Nonfiction: A Celebration Of The Pioneers Of True CrimeA Safe House ExclusiveAd-Free Safe House EditionOrphaned at an early age, Pauline Campbell had worked hard for her goal, until a killer ended her dream. Her murder seemed the work of a fiend with a grudge against nurses, then a teenager stepped forward with a shocking clue.Adapted from True Detective, Vol. 56 No. 4, February 1952More Robberies 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 forgotten tragedies of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!For brand-ne

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