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PODCAST

True Crime Historian

Richard O Jones

Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told through vintage newspaper accounts from the golden age of yellow journalismBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

true crime documentary

All Episodes

123:23

A Body Under The Stairs

True Crime Historian ·

2024/03/08

Mrs. Peete’s Private BurialsEpisode 420 recalls one of America’s lesser-known serial killers, Louise Peete. There’s never been a book or a movie about her, yet during her murderous career, her Southern charm and polite matronly manner made her a nation-wide front page sensation, with some newspapers printing literally every word of her trial as well as fawning feature stories.Culled from the historic pages of the Los Angeles Express, the Los Angeles Times, and other newspapers from the era.Ad-Free

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78:06

The Hermit Of Grand Lake

True Crime Historian ·

2024/03/06

Clue Of The Antique DimesEpisode 445 is the tale of a pair of simple-minded lumberjack cousins who go to extreme and cruel measures to exact revenge against a mountain recluse. But what price will they pay?Culled from the historic pages of the Denver Post and other newspapers of the era.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

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92:15

The Great New Jersey Swamp Mystery

True Crime Historian ·

2024/03/04

The Doctor's Wife And The Dumpy Little Chicken ManEpisode 186 explores another eternal triangle resulting in murder. This time, it's the young-ish wife of an elderly doctor who plots with a neighboring poultry salesman to put a deadly end to her marriage. Obviously, it doesn't end well for them, or they wouldn't be on this show.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.

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93:12

The Pleasant Valley War

True Crime Historian ·

2024/02/14

An End To The Graham-Tewksbury FeudEpisode 439 looks into one of the great family and land feuds of the Old West, the classic squabble between the sheep herders and cattle ranchers. Oddly, the best descriptions of the central event comes from a preliminary hearing for one of the accused. By the time the incident got to an actual trial, the newspapers seemed to have lost interest. Good story though, with good reliable tropes, including one of my favorites, what I like to call “courtroom

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107:42

Lizzie Nutt's Sad Experience

True Crime Historian ·

2024/02/12

Murders Of HonorEpisode 197 gives us not one but TWO murders arising from the defense of a young lady's reputation. The Pennsylvania trials garnered national attention, and the great orator Indiana Senator Daniel Vorhees served as counsel for the defense in the second trial, deliver a remarkable 90-minute closing speech. The highlights are excerpted near the end of this tale, adapted from a trial pamphlet published shortly after the trial's conclusion. Become a supporter of this podcast:

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104:59

Monster On The Run

True Crime Historian ·

2024/02/10

The Ghastly Kidnapping And Murder Of Marion ParkerEpisode 415 relates one of the most difficult crimes we’ve yet to tell, a terrible kidnapping and brutal murder of 12-year-old girl by a smiling, charming monster. No other word for William Edward Hickman. The details of the crime were so disturbing that the newspapers could not report on them, but even the broad outline as presented will give you chills.Culled from the historic pages of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers of the era.Ad-Free

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61:59

Murder In The Klondike

True Crime Historian ·

2024/02/07

Homer Bird’s Gold FeverEpisode 438 takes place during the great Alaskan gold rush when a group of adventurous businessmen from New Orleans leave their families and risk all in a quest to gain riches beyond imagination. Yeah, that’s not gonna end well, but the most interesting part of this drama is the influence of two women in the defendant’s life. One, a literal gold-digger, the other, the faithful wife who stands by her husband’s side til the bitter end.Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this

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85:38

In Search Of The Desperado Will Harris

True Crime Historian ·

2024/02/05

The Scourge Of Sugar CreekEpisode 164 asks the rhetorical question: Will the real Will Harris please stay in jail? It seems "Will Harris" was the go-to nom-de-plume for a number of Southern scoundrels around the turn of the 20th century. Sometimes the press is confused and sometimes the police are confused, shedding doubt on whether or not they have the real desperado, an imposter, or just another desperado with the same name.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast:

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96:08

Blackmail Or Bullets?

True Crime Historian ·

2024/02/02

The Shooting Showgirls Lillian Graham And Ethel ConradEpisode 414 tells the story of a pair of young vaudeville actresses who come up with a scheme to dupe an older former lover of a great sum of money. But when he calls their bluff, they choke and shoot the old fellow in the leg. Three times. It’s hard to find a hero in this tale. They’re all kinda skeezy.Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.CLICK HERE to reserve

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87:49

Hoosier Desperados

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/31

The Scoundrel Frank BadgleyEpisode 437 is dedicated to the True Crime Historian patron Kim Parkhurst, who discovered several scoundrels, including the subject of this story, on the Indiana branch of her family tree. Her people seem to be as shady as my own.Ad-Free EditionSupporters Clubhttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/supportCLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the past is present and the rent is just a buck a week but gives you access to ad-free

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57:22

Girl Buried in a Barrel

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/30

The Awful Fate of Mary Ann Rheinhardt ___This episode explores the heinous crime of the scoundrel Edward Reinhardt of Manhattan and Staten Island who got tangled up with two women, got them both in trouble, and apparently, had to pick a favorite. Yeah, that’s not gonna end well. And when they find the barrel buried on the shore of Silver Lake, all sorts of scandal comes tumbling out.Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast:

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92:19

The Herrin Coal Mine Massacre

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/29

The Trials Of Otis Clark, Etc.Episode 136 comes by the way of a request from Herrin, Illinois, where TCH listener Chris Banes wants to know more about some hometown dark history, about the time a local mining company imported fifty guys from Chicago to bust a strike--25 to ship the coal that had been dug, and 25 to stand armed guard with rifles and machine guns to make sure the work got done. Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast:

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128:57

A Thanksgiving Mutiny At Folsom Prison

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/26

Trial Of The Big Beef SextetEpisode 424 is not your typical heartwarming holiday story, but takes place on Thanksgiving day, 1927, when a pack of Folsom prisoners enact a long-laid plan to make a big break from the big house. Needless to say, it doesn't end particularly well for any of them when two guards and ten prisoners meet their deaths as a result.Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.CLICK HERE to reserve

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96:23

Murder Or Medicine?

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/24

Bosson’s Bitter Whiskey And BananasEpisode 436 comes from a request by True Crime Historian patron Marlene Resch, who wanted to hear a story from her home Lane County, Oregon. So I dug up this sordid tale of a man who stands trial for the murder of his wife, with allegations of insurance fraud and lust for his young sister-in-law, who turns out to not have the best reputation herself.Culled from the historic pages of the Eugene Guard, the Eugene Morning Register, and other newspapers of the

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83:26

Mary Pearsey's Perambulator

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/22

The Murders Of Phoebe Hogg And Phoebe HoggEpisode 244 tells of a murder in Victorian London so vicious and violent and ghastly that some people believe to this day that the perpetrator was the infamous Jack the Ripper--or Jill the Ripper, as it were, for this brutal murder of a mother and her babe fell squarely upon Mary Eleanor Wheeler Percy, who will pay dearly for her crime.Ad-Free Edition Become a supporter of this podcast:

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76:53

Answering The Description

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/19

The Montgomery Grocer Murder MysteryEpisode 433 follows the investigation of a robbery gone south down South, and while the family battles over the will, police arrest many different suspects, but it takes three years before they get a confession from an unexpected place.Culled from the historic pages of the Montgomery Advertiser, the Montgomery Times, and other newspapers of the era.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast:

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97:48

Death Of The Bulky Crusading Editor

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/17

The Tragic Leggit OrdealEpisode 425 tells of the end of the road for Walter Ligget, who made his fame as a journalist who supported unions, exposed the criminal element, crusaded against graft and corruption, and dared to speak truth to power, so the powerful (whoever they may be) try and try again to get their revenge.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-crime-historian--2909311/support.CLICK HERE to reserve your bunk at The Safe House, where the

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70:53

The White Cloud Rolling Pin Murder Conspiracy

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/15

The Tribulation Of Meda Dudgeon HodellEpisode 229 is a rich tale from the swamp lands of Michigan, an ever-changing story that includes a fake suicide, a pair of murders, confessions out the wazoo, as well as charges of police corruption and coersion--even a couple of ghost stories--all centered on a simple 20-year-old country girl, the bride of a much older man. Yeah, it's that kinda country.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast:

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89:15

The Albury Torch Murder

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/12

Mystery Of The Pyjama GirlEpisode 432 comes from a request from a listener Down Under, the story of a mysterious body found smoldering in a country culvert. It takes ten years to identify the body and name a suspect, but one interested physician claims they misidentified the victim and pinned the crime on the wrong man. Weigh the evidence yourself, and let me know your verdict.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast:

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97:52

The Secret Love Shack Suicide Pact

True Crime Historian ·

2024/01/10

Kid McCoy Down For The CountEpisode 427 documents a dramatic fall from grace when a beloved American prizefighter and silent film star falls for a married woman, who seemed destined to be his ninth or tenth wife. His marital history is as complicated and murky as her business dealings, and their affair takes a tragic turn late one hot august night.Culled from the historic pages of the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers of the era.Ad-Free EditionBecome a supporter of this podcast:

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263 results

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