True Crime Historian

The Scoundrel John Arthur Pender In episode 259, a woman and her toddler son are brutally murdered in their remote Oregon cabin. Suspicion falls on a neighbor who had been given their mail, found unopened at the crime scene. With intense courtroom testimony and a handful of plot twists, this one will keep you guessing. Did he, or didn’t he? Culled from the historic pages of the Oregon Daily Journal, the Oregonian, and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

First Lady Of The Electric Chair Episode 212 tells the story of the first walk of a woman to the electric chair. One cold winter night, a Brooklyn woman apparantly attacks her husband with an axe as he walks through the door, leaving him for dead in the entry way. Besides this gruesome sight, neighbors are about to discover a whole house full of horrors. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Trial of Susan B. Anthony Featuring Featuring Emily Simer Braun as Susan B. Anthony Episode 173 explores the prosecution of one of the most hideous crimes in American history, trying to sway an election by voting. By a woman! Just kidding. The real crime here is the way the judge handed down the decision. Listen, and tell me if you agree. Theme Music by Dave Sams and Rachel Schott, engineered by David Hisch at Third Street Music. “Sound Off” by John Philip Sousa, performed by the United States Marine Corps Band Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

Betty Martin And Mildred Bolton Take Aim Episode 178 takes us to Chicago in the 1930s when two women stand trial for very similar crimes, murdering their husbands, the second one inspired by the first. Both women are a little crazy, maybe a lot crazy, but their demeanor during their trials and the very different outcomes makes an interesting study to compare and contrast. One of them is pretty, the other pudgy. Which one do you think gets acquitted? Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

Elderly Carpenter Murdered With Hammer Episode 199 tells what happens when a grandmother with a grumpy but somewhat older husband befriends a younger man when he's released from prison and begins paying him $250 a month for his, um, affections. Yeah, that's not going to end well. That's a grand, sordid conspriracy. Just like we like 'em. Ad-Free Episode Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Philadelphia Arsenic Ring Episode 181 takes us down a dark road of spiritualism and witchcraft, of an elaborate web that led to an estimated 200 deaths by various means, including arsenic poisoning. And two executions. And twelve lifesentences. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Murder Of Mary Phagan Episode 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 Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Rosier Affair, Part Two Episodie 190 finishes up the melodramatic tale of Catherine Rosier as she goes on trial for her life. Get out the smelling salts and tissues, folks, there's a lot of swooning and fainting about to take place, not to mention the flying accusations and indelicate revelations. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Willow Love Triangle Murder Plot Episode 184 takes us into Pennsylvania Dutch territory, where two local farmers are found murdered in the woods a month apart. Although not related, the second murder sparks intense local interest, especially when the farmer’s wife is discovered in a salacious love affair. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Inept Executioner of Wise County Episode 254 has a different format than usual. I was perusing an old True Detective Magazine and found a story written from the point of view of the hangman of Wise County, Virginia, telling the stories of the five men whose heads he put in nooses. It was an interesting story, but something wasn’t quite right about it. So I did some research on the individual cases, and have woven some news stories of the day in with the executioner’s tale, an exercise in point of view as it were. It’s interesting to note that the ghostwriter of the True Detective story was James Taylor Adams, the beloved folklorist of Wise County. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Rosier Affair, Part One Episode 189 is the first part of a story so twisted, snarled, and sensational that we broke it down into two episodes because one show couldn't hold all the drama. It starts out looking like another love triangle gone awry, but.... Well, hang on. It's a bumpy one. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Mysterious Murder Of Dr. William H. Wilson Episode 216 comes not only with a mysterious poisoning, but a side dish of “illegal operations.” Either it’s a devilishly clever plot, or perhaps the police didn’t really give it their all, considering the scandalous nature of Dr. Wilson’s practice. Ad-free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

Vivian Gordon’s Final Caper Though the body was found in the Bronx, Episode 228 is a dark, twisting ride to the seedy side of Broadway near the end of Prohibition, with a heavy dose of family drama swirling around a tale teeming with underworld villainy and police corruption. There were plenty of people with a motive to murder Vivian Gordon. Was it the cops? The crooks? Or some combination thereof? It’s a stumper. Told from the historic pages of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and other newspapers of the era. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

Episode 221 explores how some bits of cardboard, a moonstone ring, and a dog that couldn't bark solved a riddle in the lonely swamp. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Teenage Sex & Murder Club Episode 220 takes us to Tucson, Arizona in the 1960s, when police find a charismatic young man responsible for the disappearance of three teenage girls as the leader of a bizarre little party cult. But even when the murder cases are closed, the exciting story continues to include a daring prison break and a deadly prison brawl. Culled from the historic pages of the Arizona Daily Star. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

Evelyn Ramadka, Queen Of The Chicago Vampires Episode 225 at first seems like a run-of-the-mill burglary case, a good girl gone bad, until we start getting to know the defendant as the story takes careen plot turns, compounded by the sensational press coverage--and a mysterious surprise ending. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Trial Of The Rev. Ephriam Kingsbury Avery Episode 24 takes place 60 years before Lizzie Borden put the town of Fall River, Massachusetts, on the murder map. The body of Sarah Maria Cornell, a 30-year-old mill worker, was found hanging from a haystack pole in the nearby town of Tiverton, just across the Rhode Island border. The first coroner's jury ruled the death a suicide, but a note later found in the woman's boarding house led to the first of two exhumations of the body and the arrest of the Rev. Ephraim Kingsbury Avery for her murder. It is believed to be one of the first trials of a minister for murder in America, and it was a scandalous one. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

Murder And Arson At Brandywine Springs Park Episode 448 is a sad and sordid tale of a passionate frenzy, when a young woman’s divided attention puts one man in a rage and leaves another to grieve. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Lawrence/Foster/Disbrow Affair Episode 423 delves into a love triangle gone awry. When two sides of the triangle, including an expert swimmer and sailor, are found drowned dead in a Long Island bay, suspicion immediately falls upon the third, even though the coroner declares the whole thing an accident. Culled from the historic pages of The New York World, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The New York Tribune, and other newspapers of the era. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

The Reily Mattock Murder Episode 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 Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.