https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/crime-history-uncovered--7194310
Proposition of value: Each episode combines forensic detail, archival research, and narrative clarity to reconstruct real crimes from the past—with context that explains motive, method, and consequence. This show focuses on historical true crime, cold cases, and notorious criminal figures, separating myth from evidence so listeners can understand how these events influenced law, culture, and everyday life. Expect careful sourcing, timeline-driven storytelling, and a voice that balances suspense with historical rigor.

Frequency and format: New episodes drop every day—Monday through Sunday—at 9:00 AM. Episodes vary between concise case studies and deeper multi-part investigations, always grounded in primary sources and forensic analysis.

Who it’s for: For listeners who crave true crime with a historian’s eye—those who want dates, documents, and the bigger picture behind sensational headlines. Ideal for history buffs, criminology students, and true crime fans who prefer evidence over conjecture.

Call to action: Subscribe now to get a clearer view of the crimes that shaped history and tune in every day at 9:00 AM.

keywords SEO: Crime History Uncovered, historical true crime, cold cases, forensic history, notorious criminals]]>enTrue CrimeCopyright OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENThttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/942254d70c3f0fe13770602989f5943a.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/crime-history-uncovered--7194310Tue, 21 Jul 2026 23:51:01 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTOBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTcreators@obomedia.comHook: What really happened behind history’s darkest headlines? Crime History: Uncovered investigates the cases that reshaped societies and still echo today. Proposition of value: Each episode combines forensic detail, archival research, and narrative...
Proposition of value: Each episode combines forensic detail, archival research, and narrative clarity to reconstruct real crimes from the past—with context that explains motive, method, and consequence. This show focuses on historical true crime, cold cases, and notorious criminal figures, separating myth from evidence so listeners can understand how these events influenced law, culture, and everyday life. Expect careful sourcing, timeline-driven storytelling, and a voice that balances suspense with historical rigor.

Frequency and format: New episodes drop every day—Monday through Sunday—at 9:00 AM. Episodes vary between concise case studies and deeper multi-part investigations, always grounded in primary sources and forensic analysis.

Who it’s for: For listeners who crave true crime with a historian’s eye—those who want dates, documents, and the bigger picture behind sensational headlines. Ideal for history buffs, criminology students, and true crime fans who prefer evidence over conjecture.

Call to action: Subscribe now to get a clearer view of the crimes that shaped history and tune in every day at 9:00 AM.

keywords SEO: Crime History Uncovered, historical true crime, cold cases, forensic history, notorious criminals]]>falseepisodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-silent-ampoule-how-a-forgotten-note-exposed-a-murder-in-1937--73080752
A sealed glass ampoule of pale amber morphine sat in a discarded glass of water beside a dead woman in a 91-degree canvas dormitory tent-an object untouched by the county surveyor and kept three weeks in a desk drawer. What a seven-line undertaker's note, hidden for roughly sixty years, revealed about bruising at an injection site would later turn a certified heat prostration into a deeper mystery: was this death staged or misinterpreted?

In this episode, you will hear how routine actions by ordinary people - a surveyor who would not touch the glass, a camp manager who sealed the ampoule in an envelope, an undertaker who wrote a terse observation - reshaped a case that sat in a Fresno County archive for decades. How did a single line in Stuart Pratt’s notes change the official story of Sharon Underwood’s death?

Person: Sharon Underwood
Date: October 4, 1937
Location: Tulare Basin Agricultural Cooperative seasonal labor camp, four miles south of Ridgecrest Crossing, California
Age: 53
Finding: Ampoule contained morphine sulfate solution, sealed and intact

- The air temperature inside Building D was ninety-one degrees when Russell Dixon entered.
- Sharon Underwood missed her only Thursday shift on October 1 after attending consistently since late July.
- Dr. August Holt spent approximately twelve minutes with the body and signed the death certificate citing heat prostration with cardiac complications.
- Stuart Pratt’s undertaker note dated October 6 recorded “bruising at interior left elbow, consistent with venipuncture, approximately forty-eight to seventy-two hours prior to examination.”
- Laboratory analysis, after the ampoule reached a university lab in Sacramento, took eleven days and identified the contents as medically standard concentration morphine sulfate solution with the seal unbroken.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080752Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:00:02 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Silent Ampoule: How a Forgotten Note Exposed a Murder in 1937 A sealed glass ampoule of pale amber morphine sat in a discarded glass of water beside a dead woman in a 91-degree canvas dormitory tent-an object untouched by the county surveyor...
A sealed glass ampoule of pale amber morphine sat in a discarded glass of water beside a dead woman in a 91-degree canvas dormitory tent-an object untouched by the county surveyor and kept three weeks in a desk drawer. What a seven-line undertaker's note, hidden for roughly sixty years, revealed about bruising at an injection site would later turn a certified heat prostration into a deeper mystery: was this death staged or misinterpreted?

In this episode, you will hear how routine actions by ordinary people - a surveyor who would not touch the glass, a camp manager who sealed the ampoule in an envelope, an undertaker who wrote a terse observation - reshaped a case that sat in a Fresno County archive for decades. How did a single line in Stuart Pratt’s notes change the official story of Sharon Underwood’s death?

Person: Sharon Underwood
Date: October 4, 1937
Location: Tulare Basin Agricultural Cooperative seasonal labor camp, four miles south of Ridgecrest Crossing, California
Age: 53
Finding: Ampoule contained morphine sulfate solution, sealed and intact

- The air temperature inside Building D was ninety-one degrees when Russell Dixon entered.
- Sharon Underwood missed her only Thursday shift on October 1 after attending consistently since late July.
- Dr. August Holt spent approximately twelve minutes with the body and signed the death certificate citing heat prostration with cardiac complications.
- Stuart Pratt’s undertaker note dated October 6 recorded “bruising at interior left elbow, consistent with venipuncture, approximately forty-eight to seventy-two hours prior to examination.”
- Laboratory analysis, after the ampoule reached a university lab in Sacramento, took eleven days and identified the contents as medically standard concentration morphine sulfate solution with the seal unbroken.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1207falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/locked-room-cold-coffee-and-a-telegraph-key-fenwick-s-secret--73080751
Cold coffee, a skin of cream, and a brass telegraph key resting at the bottom of a porcelain cup - all inside a locked telegraph station where the operator lay dead twelve feet away. How did a key signed for in spring 1892 end up drowned in a cup on the east window sill, and who wrote the twelve blank pages that followed the last log entry at 9:47 p.m.?

In this episode, we tell the account of the night of September 13, 1892, and the six-week inquiry that followed, focusing on the physical scene, witness accounts, and the overlooked field notes that later mattered most. Can the defective window latch, a diner’s routine testimony, and an eighty-six-year-old deputy’s notation finally explain what happened?

Person: Craig Perry
Date: September 13, 1892
Location: Fenwick Crossing telegraph station
Cause: Blunt force trauma to back of skull
Inspector: Warren Baker

- Perry was forty-four years old and had worked overnight relay shifts since 1889, reassigned to Fenwick Crossing in spring 1892.
- His last log entry was recorded at 9:47 p.m.; twelve subsequent log pages were blank.
- The brass telegraph key in the cup was serial-matched to the key Perry signed for in spring 1892.
- Dr. Irwin Foss estimated time of death between 10:00 p.m. and midnight based on injuries and stopped pocket watch.
- The relay room east window had a defective latch that could be pressed open from outside; Perry had filed a written repair request in July 1892.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080751Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:26:13 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTLocked Room, Cold Coffee, and a Telegraph Key: Fenwick's Secret Cold coffee, a skin of cream, and a brass telegraph key resting at the bottom of a porcelain cup - all inside a locked telegraph station where the operator lay dead twelve feet away....
Cold coffee, a skin of cream, and a brass telegraph key resting at the bottom of a porcelain cup - all inside a locked telegraph station where the operator lay dead twelve feet away. How did a key signed for in spring 1892 end up drowned in a cup on the east window sill, and who wrote the twelve blank pages that followed the last log entry at 9:47 p.m.?

In this episode, we tell the account of the night of September 13, 1892, and the six-week inquiry that followed, focusing on the physical scene, witness accounts, and the overlooked field notes that later mattered most. Can the defective window latch, a diner’s routine testimony, and an eighty-six-year-old deputy’s notation finally explain what happened?

Person: Craig Perry
Date: September 13, 1892
Location: Fenwick Crossing telegraph station
Cause: Blunt force trauma to back of skull
Inspector: Warren Baker

- Perry was forty-four years old and had worked overnight relay shifts since 1889, reassigned to Fenwick Crossing in spring 1892.
- His last log entry was recorded at 9:47 p.m.; twelve subsequent log pages were blank.
- The brass telegraph key in the cup was serial-matched to the key Perry signed for in spring 1892.
- Dr. Irwin Foss estimated time of death between 10:00 p.m. and midnight based on injuries and stopped pocket watch.
- The relay room east window had a defective latch that could be pressed open from outside; Perry had filed a written repair request in July 1892.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1364falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-cold-glass-outside-room-six-why-a-stranger-died-here--73080750
A cold, upright eight-ounce tumbler of iced sweet tea sat in the gravel outside Room Six for seventeen days, at a motor court that had no glasses, no ice, and no explanation. Detective Russell Watson would call the scene a "stopping-place crime" - but who chose the Sundowner and why was a man found dead inside with a door left open?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the August ninth discovery to the clues that redirected the investigation, laying out what was found at the Sundowner Motor Court and the questions those details raised: why was a glass traced to a nearby diner left outside a locked-window room, and what did the vehicle marks behind the units reveal?

Person: Todd Murphy
Date: August 9, 1954
Location: Sundowner Motor Court, Route 41, central Indiana
Detective: Russell Watson
Evidence: eight-ounce straight-sided tumbler of iced sweet tea

- At 7:20 a.m. on August 9, 1954, birdwatcher Gina Sharp nearly stepped on an upright glass of sweet tea in the gravel outside Room Six.
- Todd Murphy, 28, was found face-down on the floor inside Room Six and had been dead for hours when discovered.
- Murphy had checked in the previous evening, August 8, signing the register as Thomas Murphy and paying $3.50 in cash for two nights.
- A fresh deep lateral gouge and a spin mark were found on the unpaved east access road behind the Sundowner, with a playing-card-sized dark oily stain at the center.
- The straight-sided eight-ounce tumbler matched stock from the Millwheel Diner located two hundred yards north on Route 41.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080750Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:26:09 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Cold Glass Outside Room Six: Why a Stranger Died Here A cold, upright eight-ounce tumbler of iced sweet tea sat in the gravel outside Room Six for seventeen days, at a motor court that had no glasses, no ice, and no explanation. Detective...
A cold, upright eight-ounce tumbler of iced sweet tea sat in the gravel outside Room Six for seventeen days, at a motor court that had no glasses, no ice, and no explanation. Detective Russell Watson would call the scene a "stopping-place crime" - but who chose the Sundowner and why was a man found dead inside with a door left open?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from the August ninth discovery to the clues that redirected the investigation, laying out what was found at the Sundowner Motor Court and the questions those details raised: why was a glass traced to a nearby diner left outside a locked-window room, and what did the vehicle marks behind the units reveal?

Person: Todd Murphy
Date: August 9, 1954
Location: Sundowner Motor Court, Route 41, central Indiana
Detective: Russell Watson
Evidence: eight-ounce straight-sided tumbler of iced sweet tea

- At 7:20 a.m. on August 9, 1954, birdwatcher Gina Sharp nearly stepped on an upright glass of sweet tea in the gravel outside Room Six.
- Todd Murphy, 28, was found face-down on the floor inside Room Six and had been dead for hours when discovered.
- Murphy had checked in the previous evening, August 8, signing the register as Thomas Murphy and paying $3.50 in cash for two nights.
- A fresh deep lateral gouge and a spin mark were found on the unpaved east access road behind the Sundowner, with a playing-card-sized dark oily stain at the center.
- The straight-sided eight-ounce tumbler matched stock from the Millwheel Diner located two hundred yards north on Route 41.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1119falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-darkroom-plates-that-put-a-killer-in-millhaven--73080749
A single misplaced clay pot, a paperboy who knew a town’s private signals, and two glass photographic plates that placed a polite traveling photographer where he should never have been-could images developed in a wagon darkroom hold the key to a long-cold disappearance? Who was Eugene Brooks, why did he delay his departure from Millhaven, and what did those plates finally reveal about Nora Alderman's fate?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Kimberly Whitaker found the geranium pot through the discovery of photographic plates in Eugene Brooks’s wagon darkroom, and into the posthumous research that reexamined those plates. How did school access, a disturbed ledger page, and late departures converge on the questions left unanswered for decades?

Person: Sandra Wells
Person: Nora Alderman
Person: Eugene Brooks
Date: July 14, 1931
Location: Millhaven, western Pennsylvania

- Kimberly Whitaker noticed the clay pot at 6:45 AM on July 14, 1931.
- Nora Alderman disappeared in May 1929 at age 12.
- Eugene Brooks was 38 years old and traveled with a wagon fitted as a darkroom for 11 years.
- Brooks remained in Millhaven past his scheduled July 11 departure and was still there on July 12, thirty-six hours late.
- The Millhaven Grammar School ledger covering 1928-1929 showed a disturbed page after Brooks had unsupervised access for approximately 40 minutes.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080749Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:26:06 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Darkroom Plates That Put a Killer in Millhaven A single misplaced clay pot, a paperboy who knew a town’s private signals, and two glass photographic plates that placed a polite traveling photographer where he should never have been-could images...
A single misplaced clay pot, a paperboy who knew a town’s private signals, and two glass photographic plates that placed a polite traveling photographer where he should never have been-could images developed in a wagon darkroom hold the key to a long-cold disappearance? Who was Eugene Brooks, why did he delay his departure from Millhaven, and what did those plates finally reveal about Nora Alderman's fate?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Kimberly Whitaker found the geranium pot through the discovery of photographic plates in Eugene Brooks’s wagon darkroom, and into the posthumous research that reexamined those plates. How did school access, a disturbed ledger page, and late departures converge on the questions left unanswered for decades?

Person: Sandra Wells
Person: Nora Alderman
Person: Eugene Brooks
Date: July 14, 1931
Location: Millhaven, western Pennsylvania

- Kimberly Whitaker noticed the clay pot at 6:45 AM on July 14, 1931.
- Nora Alderman disappeared in May 1929 at age 12.
- Eugene Brooks was 38 years old and traveled with a wagon fitted as a darkroom for 11 years.
- Brooks remained in Millhaven past his scheduled July 11 departure and was still there on July 12, thirty-six hours late.
- The Millhaven Grammar School ledger covering 1928-1929 showed a disturbed page after Brooks had unsupervised access for approximately 40 minutes.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1148falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ledger-at-mile-marker-nine-why-ruth-s-papers-killed-her--73080748
A county road grader driver found a twenty-three-year-old woman face-down beside Mile Marker Nine at 6:20 AM on June 14, 1928, with a green county-seal ledger placed open next to her left hand - its pages bone-dry despite heavy dew. Who killed Ruth Smith, and why was the most dangerous document in the county left deliberately beside her body?

In this episode, we follow the morning discovery, the autopsy that named manual strangulation as the cause of death, and the county ledger that tied the victim to a sheriff’s hidden accounts; can the missing working copies of Ruth’s records explain both her death and the ledger’s presence?

Person: Ruth Smith
Date: June 14, 1928 (body found at 6:20 AM)
Location: Mile Marker Nine on Route Seven, Sycamore Bluff township
Cause of death: Manual strangulation (time of death between 10 PM and midnight, June 13)
Document: Green cloth county ledger stamped with gold county seal found open beside body

- The ledger contained monthly "MH" entries on the fifteenth that totaled more than $1,400 over two and a half years.
- Ruth had kept her savings in a tin with $14.60 and sent regular letters to her brother Clarence, who identified her at 11:15 AM.
- Ruth boarded above the Millstone roadhouse for seven months and had absorbed about half the secondary bookkeeping.
- Deputy Lloyd Stroud found Sheriff Lester Dodd’s lower right desk drawer unlocked and empty the morning the ledger was retrieved from the ditch.
- Dr. Warren Gault estimated time of death between 10:00 PM and midnight on June 13; the soil on Ruth’s dress knees matched the ditch clay exactly.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080748Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:26:04 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Ledger at Mile Marker Nine: Why Ruth's Papers Killed Her A county road grader driver found a twenty-three-year-old woman face-down beside Mile Marker Nine at 6:20 AM on June 14, 1928, with a green county-seal ledger placed open next to her left...
A county road grader driver found a twenty-three-year-old woman face-down beside Mile Marker Nine at 6:20 AM on June 14, 1928, with a green county-seal ledger placed open next to her left hand - its pages bone-dry despite heavy dew. Who killed Ruth Smith, and why was the most dangerous document in the county left deliberately beside her body?

In this episode, we follow the morning discovery, the autopsy that named manual strangulation as the cause of death, and the county ledger that tied the victim to a sheriff’s hidden accounts; can the missing working copies of Ruth’s records explain both her death and the ledger’s presence?

Person: Ruth Smith
Date: June 14, 1928 (body found at 6:20 AM)
Location: Mile Marker Nine on Route Seven, Sycamore Bluff township
Cause of death: Manual strangulation (time of death between 10 PM and midnight, June 13)
Document: Green cloth county ledger stamped with gold county seal found open beside body

- The ledger contained monthly "MH" entries on the fifteenth that totaled more than $1,400 over two and a half years.
- Ruth had kept her savings in a tin with $14.60 and sent regular letters to her brother Clarence, who identified her at 11:15 AM.
- Ruth boarded above the Millstone roadhouse for seven months and had absorbed about half the secondary bookkeeping.
- Deputy Lloyd Stroud found Sheriff Lester Dodd’s lower right desk drawer unlocked and empty the morning the ledger was retrieved from the ditch.
- Dr. Warren Gault estimated time of death between 10:00 PM and midnight on June 13; the soil on Ruth’s dress knees matched the ditch clay exactly.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1237falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-coat-on-the-telegraph-pole-why-ross-young-was-silenced--73080746
Something deliberate hid the truth: a man's dress coat folded collar-down and placed on an iron cross-arm sixty-one feet high, while the man's body lay four hundred yards away with blunt-force trauma and his wallet intact - who climbed that pole in the dark and why? The missing letters, dry ink bottle and clay-heavy mud point to a planned erasure; what secret did Ross Young carry that someone wanted removed from town and memory?

In this episode, we walk through the morning of May 9, 1905 and the puzzling evidence left behind: the coat on Garnet Street, the drainage channel behind the Hadlow grain elevator, the empty desk and the dry ink bottle - what sequence of events on the night of May 8 connects them?

Person: Ross Young
Date: May 9, 1905
Location: Hadlow, Indiana (Garnet Street; drainage channel behind Hadlow grain elevator)
Cause: Blunt-force trauma to back of skull
Observer: Valerie Draper (utility lineman)

- Coat found folded collar-down with sleeves tucked in on telegraph pole iron cross-arm at height of 61 feet.
- Body discovered in drainage channel four hundred yards from that pole with wallet containing $4.60 still in pocket.
- Time of death estimated between 8:00 PM on May 8 and 2:00 AM on May 9 by Dr. Clement Haas.
- Ross Young paid $3.50 per week for a room at Lena Baxter's boarding house and was heard writing most evenings.
- Young's room contained a dry ink bottle, a penknife with a clean blade, a seed catalog, three shirts, a business ledger, and one unidentified woman's photograph.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080746Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:26:01 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Coat on the Telegraph Pole: Why Ross Young Was Silenced Something deliberate hid the truth: a man's dress coat folded collar-down and placed on an iron cross-arm sixty-one feet high, while the man's body lay four hundred yards away with...
Something deliberate hid the truth: a man's dress coat folded collar-down and placed on an iron cross-arm sixty-one feet high, while the man's body lay four hundred yards away with blunt-force trauma and his wallet intact - who climbed that pole in the dark and why? The missing letters, dry ink bottle and clay-heavy mud point to a planned erasure; what secret did Ross Young carry that someone wanted removed from town and memory?

In this episode, we walk through the morning of May 9, 1905 and the puzzling evidence left behind: the coat on Garnet Street, the drainage channel behind the Hadlow grain elevator, the empty desk and the dry ink bottle - what sequence of events on the night of May 8 connects them?

Person: Ross Young
Date: May 9, 1905
Location: Hadlow, Indiana (Garnet Street; drainage channel behind Hadlow grain elevator)
Cause: Blunt-force trauma to back of skull
Observer: Valerie Draper (utility lineman)

- Coat found folded collar-down with sleeves tucked in on telegraph pole iron cross-arm at height of 61 feet.
- Body discovered in drainage channel four hundred yards from that pole with wallet containing $4.60 still in pocket.
- Time of death estimated between 8:00 PM on May 8 and 2:00 AM on May 9 by Dr. Clement Haas.
- Ross Young paid $3.50 per week for a room at Lena Baxter's boarding house and was heard writing most evenings.
- Young's room contained a dry ink bottle, a penknife with a clean blade, a seed catalog, three shirts, a business ledger, and one unidentified woman's photograph.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1181falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-glove-by-the-canal-how-a-notebook-became-a-confession--73080745
A cream kidskin glove, palm-up and pointing to the water, was found six inches from the canal on April 9, 1944, while Holly Bell lay face-down in eighteen inches of water with her coat buttoned to the throat; the county physician then discovered she had been dead before she entered the canal-so who moved her body and why was her small leather notebook missing? What connects a gap in a padlocked fence, a visitor who signed only "B. Fleming," and a woman who kept precise production counts for twenty-two years?

In this episode, we retrace the facts of Holly Bell’s death and the paper trail that drew civilian consultant Rhonda Bowers into a case the local police were ready to close, following the timeline from the Dunmore gate register to the medical finding that overturned the drowning explanation - and asking how a notebook might become the key to a confession.

Person: Holly Bell
Date: April 9, 1944
Location: Canal towpath
Occupation: Floor supervisor, Dunmore Precision Manufacturing
Investigator: Rhonda Bowers

- Holly Bell was sixty-two years old and had worked at Dunmore for twenty-two years.
- Holly was found face-down in eighteen inches of water with her coat buttoned to the throat; the canal was four feet deep at its center.
- The county physician found no water in Holly’s lungs, indicating she was dead before entering the canal.
- Gate register shows Holly clocked off at 7:40 PM on April 7 and remained on premises for approximately twelve minutes after.
- A visitor signed in at 7:52 PM on April 7 as "B. Fleming" and signed out at 9:19 PM; Fleming had also hosted company gatherings Holly attended.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080745Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:58 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Glove by the Canal: How a Notebook Became a Confession A cream kidskin glove, palm-up and pointing to the water, was found six inches from the canal on April 9, 1944, while Holly Bell lay face-down in eighteen inches of water with her coat...
A cream kidskin glove, palm-up and pointing to the water, was found six inches from the canal on April 9, 1944, while Holly Bell lay face-down in eighteen inches of water with her coat buttoned to the throat; the county physician then discovered she had been dead before she entered the canal-so who moved her body and why was her small leather notebook missing? What connects a gap in a padlocked fence, a visitor who signed only "B. Fleming," and a woman who kept precise production counts for twenty-two years?

In this episode, we retrace the facts of Holly Bell’s death and the paper trail that drew civilian consultant Rhonda Bowers into a case the local police were ready to close, following the timeline from the Dunmore gate register to the medical finding that overturned the drowning explanation - and asking how a notebook might become the key to a confession.

Person: Holly Bell
Date: April 9, 1944
Location: Canal towpath
Occupation: Floor supervisor, Dunmore Precision Manufacturing
Investigator: Rhonda Bowers

- Holly Bell was sixty-two years old and had worked at Dunmore for twenty-two years.
- Holly was found face-down in eighteen inches of water with her coat buttoned to the throat; the canal was four feet deep at its center.
- The county physician found no water in Holly’s lungs, indicating she was dead before entering the canal.
- Gate register shows Holly clocked off at 7:40 PM on April 7 and remained on premises for approximately twelve minutes after.
- A visitor signed in at 7:52 PM on April 7 as "B. Fleming" and signed out at 9:19 PM; Fleming had also hosted company gatherings Holly attended.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1319falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-open-door-how-arsenic-unraveled-the-parkers-quiet-deaths--73080744
A single three-inch-open back door and a cup of coffee half-finished would break the silence of Harlan Flats: Sarah Parker was found dead at her kitchen table on March 14, 1934 with six corked glass vials lined on the north windowsill. Twelve days later the state lab identified the vials as a concentrated arsenic compound-so who brought the poison into a town where bodies were usually buried without question?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of discoveries that followed Philip Weaver’s morning rounds, the local context of the Dust Bowl-era community, and the ties between Sarah Parker, her late husband Ed, and Donald Webb. What did the open door and the six vials reveal about death, motive, and the assumptions of a struggling Kansas township?

Person: Sarah Parker
Date: March 14, 1934
Location: Harlan Flats, Kansas
Person: Donald Webb
Person: Philip Weaver

- Sarah Parker was found seated at her kitchen table with a half-finished cup of coffee and hands flat on the oilcloth.
- The back door had been standing open three inches in twenty-degree air for thirty-six hours before she was discovered.
- Six small corked glass vials containing a pale amber liquid were bagged from the north windowsill at the scene.
- The county doctor, Horace Fenwick, initially recorded the cause of death as heart failure when he arrived within the hour.
- Twelve days after the discovery the state laboratory reported the vials contained a concentrated arsenic compound.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080744Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Open Door: How Arsenic Unraveled the Parkers' Quiet Deaths A single three-inch-open back door and a cup of coffee half-finished would break the silence of Harlan Flats: Sarah Parker was found dead at her kitchen table on March 14, 1934 with six...
A single three-inch-open back door and a cup of coffee half-finished would break the silence of Harlan Flats: Sarah Parker was found dead at her kitchen table on March 14, 1934 with six corked glass vials lined on the north windowsill. Twelve days later the state lab identified the vials as a concentrated arsenic compound-so who brought the poison into a town where bodies were usually buried without question?

In this episode, we walk through the sequence of discoveries that followed Philip Weaver’s morning rounds, the local context of the Dust Bowl-era community, and the ties between Sarah Parker, her late husband Ed, and Donald Webb. What did the open door and the six vials reveal about death, motive, and the assumptions of a struggling Kansas township?

Person: Sarah Parker
Date: March 14, 1934
Location: Harlan Flats, Kansas
Person: Donald Webb
Person: Philip Weaver

- Sarah Parker was found seated at her kitchen table with a half-finished cup of coffee and hands flat on the oilcloth.
- The back door had been standing open three inches in twenty-degree air for thirty-six hours before she was discovered.
- Six small corked glass vials containing a pale amber liquid were bagged from the north windowsill at the scene.
- The county doctor, Horace Fenwick, initially recorded the cause of death as heart failure when he arrived within the hour.
- Twelve days after the discovery the state laboratory reported the vials contained a concentrated arsenic compound.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1490falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/dry-ring-drowned-woman-the-insurance-claim-that-didn-t-add-up--73080743
A dry garnet ring on a drowned woman's finger in February 1893 stopped a volunteer in his tracks - the rest of her was saturated and frozen, yet the ring was bone dry. Who placed the ring back on her hand, and why was a calling card stitched into her coat pointing to a marine insurer in Cincinnati?

In this episode, we lay out the facts found on the towpath, in insurance ledgers, and in county records to follow the trail from Dellbrook to Cincinnati and back again, asking whether a pattern of drownings and prompt insurance claims points to foul play or a very particular kind of fraud.

Person: Connie Harrison
Date: February 4, 1893
Location: Marten River towpath, Dellbrook, Ohio
Case: Insurance claim filed January 22, 1893 for disappearance dated January 3
Event: Prior similar drowning and claim involving Edward Crane and Vera Oaks in summer 1890

- Body discovered at 8:42 a.m. on February 4, 1893 lodged against grain transfer dock pilings in water just above 34°F
- Discoverer Stanley Schultz, age 31, volunteer with St. Anselm's Benevolent Society, was pushing a cart of blankets
- Calling card sewn into coat lining read "Mrs. Connie Harrison, Dellbrook, Ohio. Enquiries: J. Vance & Sons, Marine Insurers, Cincinnati"
- A claim for $2,000 was filed at J. Vance & Sons on January 22, 1893 citing a disappearance date of January 3, 1893
- Records show a prior case: summer 1890 drowning of Vera Oaks with Edward Crane filing an insurance claim shortly after and then vanishing

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080743Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:50 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTDry Ring, Drowned Woman: The Insurance Claim That Didn't Add Up A dry garnet ring on a drowned woman's finger in February 1893 stopped a volunteer in his tracks - the rest of her was saturated and frozen, yet the ring was bone dry. Who placed the...
A dry garnet ring on a drowned woman's finger in February 1893 stopped a volunteer in his tracks - the rest of her was saturated and frozen, yet the ring was bone dry. Who placed the ring back on her hand, and why was a calling card stitched into her coat pointing to a marine insurer in Cincinnati?

In this episode, we lay out the facts found on the towpath, in insurance ledgers, and in county records to follow the trail from Dellbrook to Cincinnati and back again, asking whether a pattern of drownings and prompt insurance claims points to foul play or a very particular kind of fraud.

Person: Connie Harrison
Date: February 4, 1893
Location: Marten River towpath, Dellbrook, Ohio
Case: Insurance claim filed January 22, 1893 for disappearance dated January 3
Event: Prior similar drowning and claim involving Edward Crane and Vera Oaks in summer 1890

- Body discovered at 8:42 a.m. on February 4, 1893 lodged against grain transfer dock pilings in water just above 34°F
- Discoverer Stanley Schultz, age 31, volunteer with St. Anselm's Benevolent Society, was pushing a cart of blankets
- Calling card sewn into coat lining read "Mrs. Connie Harrison, Dellbrook, Ohio. Enquiries: J. Vance & Sons, Marine Insurers, Cincinnati"
- A claim for $2,000 was filed at J. Vance & Sons on January 22, 1893 citing a disappearance date of January 3, 1893
- Records show a prior case: summer 1890 drowning of Vera Oaks with Edward Crane filing an insurance claim shortly after and then vanishing

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1304falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-green-gloves-the-false-address-and-room-fourteen-s-secret--73080742
A frozen creek revealed a left hand in a green velvet glove with pearl buttons-both buttons intact-found on January 9, 1923; why would someone button evening gloves before sinking a body in January, and who used a forged hotel address to disappear? This episode follows the clues that turned a claims examiner into the case's turning point and a misplaced ledger entry that hid a name for decades.

In this episode, we walk through the documents, purchases, and eyewitness accounts that shaped the investigation and ask how a single false address reshaped everything about who could be responsible.

Person: Holly Snyder
Date: January 9, 1923
Location: Harmon Creek behind the Crestwood Depot Hotel, Dellwood, Ohio
Case: Body recovered with green velvet evening gloves, pearl buttons intact
Person: Sharon O'Connor

- Body discovered: left hand protruding through cracked ice on January 9, 1923
- Victim: Holly Snyder, age 32, checked into Room Fourteen on January 5, 1923
- Purchase: green velvet evening gloves with pearl-button wrist closures bought January 4 for $2.40 in coins
- Last sighting: approximately 9:15 p.m. on January 8, seen crossing the Crestwood lobby
- Ledger entry: guest "E. Marsh" listed address "14 Creighton Road, Paulding" - the address did not exist according to response on January 13

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080742Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:47 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Green Gloves, the False Address and Room Fourteen's Secret A frozen creek revealed a left hand in a green velvet glove with pearl buttons-both buttons intact-found on January 9, 1923; why would someone button evening gloves before sinking a...
A frozen creek revealed a left hand in a green velvet glove with pearl buttons-both buttons intact-found on January 9, 1923; why would someone button evening gloves before sinking a body in January, and who used a forged hotel address to disappear? This episode follows the clues that turned a claims examiner into the case's turning point and a misplaced ledger entry that hid a name for decades.

In this episode, we walk through the documents, purchases, and eyewitness accounts that shaped the investigation and ask how a single false address reshaped everything about who could be responsible.

Person: Holly Snyder
Date: January 9, 1923
Location: Harmon Creek behind the Crestwood Depot Hotel, Dellwood, Ohio
Case: Body recovered with green velvet evening gloves, pearl buttons intact
Person: Sharon O'Connor

- Body discovered: left hand protruding through cracked ice on January 9, 1923
- Victim: Holly Snyder, age 32, checked into Room Fourteen on January 5, 1923
- Purchase: green velvet evening gloves with pearl-button wrist closures bought January 4 for $2.40 in coins
- Last sighting: approximately 9:15 p.m. on January 8, seen crossing the Crestwood lobby
- Ledger entry: guest "E. Marsh" listed address "14 Creighton Road, Paulding" - the address did not exist according to response on January 13

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1303falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/three-cities-one-name-the-impossible-wallet-that-proved-murder--73080741
A single leather billfold turned up in Sallow Creek on December 11, 1923 - its owner’s name matched a wallet logged in the Harwick police evidence cage four days earlier, and the billfold contained only a wet, signed performance contract to "Jimmy Bright." How could two identical wallets with one name exist in two impossible places, and what did that contradiction reveal about James Wright’s death?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries that forced Detective Second Grade Judith Wilson to reopen what was first called a cardiac case. From a dressing room with two exits and a replaced exterior lock to toxicology that found chloral hydrate on glass fragments, we trace the records, keys, and bruises that turned a supposed natural death into a staged murder - but who brought the sedative and who had access to the door?

Person: James Wright (performed as Jimmy Bright)
Date: December 7-11, 1923
Location: Harwick, Indiana (Majestic Variety House; alley behind freight yards; Sallow Creek)
Officer: Detective Second Grade Judith Wilson, age 34
Toxicology: glass residue positive for chloral hydrate

- December 11, 1923 at 7:20 AM, fisherman Angela Burns found a leather billfold in Sallow Creek containing only a signed contract dated November 28 to "Jimmy Bright."
- The Harwick Police Department property cage log showed a billfold belonging to James Wright had been locked inside since the evening of December 7 and not removed in four days.
- James Wright, age 52, was found on the dressing room floor the evening of December 7; the attending physician initially ruled a cardiac episode.
- The Majestic’s exterior spring-lock door lock had been replaced on October 14, 1923 by locksmith Alan Dalton, with a work order from George Vess’s shop noting an unlogged blank key.
- Chemical analysis detected chloral hydrate on glass fragments at the scene, and Dr. Henry Cass later concluded sternum bruising was consistent with sustained pressure applied to a sedated man.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080741Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:44 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThree Cities, One Name: The Impossible Wallet That Proved Murder A single leather billfold turned up in Sallow Creek on December 11, 1923 - its owner’s name matched a wallet logged in the Harwick police evidence cage four days earlier, and the...
A single leather billfold turned up in Sallow Creek on December 11, 1923 - its owner’s name matched a wallet logged in the Harwick police evidence cage four days earlier, and the billfold contained only a wet, signed performance contract to "Jimmy Bright." How could two identical wallets with one name exist in two impossible places, and what did that contradiction reveal about James Wright’s death?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries that forced Detective Second Grade Judith Wilson to reopen what was first called a cardiac case. From a dressing room with two exits and a replaced exterior lock to toxicology that found chloral hydrate on glass fragments, we trace the records, keys, and bruises that turned a supposed natural death into a staged murder - but who brought the sedative and who had access to the door?

Person: James Wright (performed as Jimmy Bright)
Date: December 7-11, 1923
Location: Harwick, Indiana (Majestic Variety House; alley behind freight yards; Sallow Creek)
Officer: Detective Second Grade Judith Wilson, age 34
Toxicology: glass residue positive for chloral hydrate

- December 11, 1923 at 7:20 AM, fisherman Angela Burns found a leather billfold in Sallow Creek containing only a signed contract dated November 28 to "Jimmy Bright."
- The Harwick Police Department property cage log showed a billfold belonging to James Wright had been locked inside since the evening of December 7 and not removed in four days.
- James Wright, age 52, was found on the dressing room floor the evening of December 7; the attending physician initially ruled a cardiac episode.
- The Majestic’s exterior spring-lock door lock had been replaced on October 14, 1923 by locksmith Alan Dalton, with a work order from George Vess’s shop noting an unlogged blank key.
- Chemical analysis detected chloral hydrate on glass fragments at the scene, and Dr. Henry Cass later concluded sternum bruising was consistent with sustained pressure applied to a sedated man.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1161falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-hand-in-the-ice-why-a-ledger-hid-a-murderer--73080740
Cold, methodical violence hid in plain sight: a palm rising from Aldren Lake, a body cut into blocks and packed in sawdust, and a single ledger line overwritten in blue-violet ink that would unravel everything. How did a bookkeeper’s crossed-out notation become the key to a murder that scattered a woman across three towns?

In this episode, we tell the story of what the record books, a farrier’s memory, and a jailhouse confession reveal about Darlene Cox’s disappearance and death, and why one altered line in a company ledger mattered more than anyone realized. What did that overwritten entry hide, and who changed it?

Person: Darlene Cox
Date: November 8-14, 1893
Location: Aldren Lake, Carver Mills, Wisconsin
Cause of death: Strangulation (ligature marks)
Item found: Right hand and wrist

- The body was dismembered into blocks, packed in sawdust, and delivered to three towns across forty miles.
- Darlene Cox had worked as the Aldren Lake Ice Company bookkeeper for eleven years and was forty-four in 1893.
- She missed her routine visit to her lame draft horse Aldous at 6:00 PM on November 8, triggering later concern.
- Ice crews harvested and sent deliveries on November 9 that included the shallow notch where the hand was later found.
- A ledger line near the November schedule was crossed out and overwritten in blue-violet ink, a handwriting Frank Aldiss identified as not Darlene’s.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080740Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:41 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Hand in the Ice: Why a Ledger Hid a Murderer Cold, methodical violence hid in plain sight: a palm rising from Aldren Lake, a body cut into blocks and packed in sawdust, and a single ledger line overwritten in blue-violet ink that would unravel...
Cold, methodical violence hid in plain sight: a palm rising from Aldren Lake, a body cut into blocks and packed in sawdust, and a single ledger line overwritten in blue-violet ink that would unravel everything. How did a bookkeeper’s crossed-out notation become the key to a murder that scattered a woman across three towns?

In this episode, we tell the story of what the record books, a farrier’s memory, and a jailhouse confession reveal about Darlene Cox’s disappearance and death, and why one altered line in a company ledger mattered more than anyone realized. What did that overwritten entry hide, and who changed it?

Person: Darlene Cox
Date: November 8-14, 1893
Location: Aldren Lake, Carver Mills, Wisconsin
Cause of death: Strangulation (ligature marks)
Item found: Right hand and wrist

- The body was dismembered into blocks, packed in sawdust, and delivered to three towns across forty miles.
- Darlene Cox had worked as the Aldren Lake Ice Company bookkeeper for eleven years and was forty-four in 1893.
- She missed her routine visit to her lame draft horse Aldous at 6:00 PM on November 8, triggering later concern.
- Ice crews harvested and sent deliveries on November 9 that included the shallow notch where the hand was later found.
- A ledger line near the November schedule was crossed out and overwritten in blue-violet ink, a handwriting Frank Aldiss identified as not Darlene’s.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1195falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-ledger-under-her-arm-who-erased-nora-keeps-cloud--73080739
A folded body, a leather attendance ledger tucked beneath an arm, and an erased name that should not have survived a week in standing water - Nora Keeps Cloud, age 8, scrubbed from the record yet visible beneath the abrasion. Who had motive and means to open a locked cistern, plant a ledger, and try to make a child vanish from paper?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events around Monica Ford’s disappearance and death at the Calvary Mission School for Indian Children and the erased enrollment entry that linked her to Nora Keeps Cloud. We trace the ledger, the cistern, and the people with access to both to ask: why was an eight-year-old’s name worth silencing?

Person: Monica Ford
Date: October 12, 1916 (night of disappearance)
Location: Calvary Mission School for Indian Children, Pryor Flats, Oklahoma Territory
Case: Erasure of enrollment entry for Nora Keeps Cloud
Event: Purchase of a new iron pin and linseed oil by J. Tucker on October 13, 1916

- Monica Ford’s body was found folded in fourteen inches of water inside a sealed stone cistern with a leather-bound attendance ledger under her left arm.
- The ledger page showed an erased line; tissue-rubbing recovered the impression: NORA KEEPS CLOUD, AGE 8, ENROLLED SEPT. 14 / 1916.
- Monica had made forty-one consecutive Wednesday telephone calls to a Muskogee number; the calls stopped on October 11, 1916.
- Maintenance logs show John Tucker entered the cistern for inspection in March 1916 and his name appears on thirty-one maintenance entries over two years.
- On October 13, 1916 the ironmonger’s sales book records J. Tucker bought one 3/4-inch iron pin and a small tin of linseed oil - the pin type found bright and recently oiled in the cistern hasp.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080739Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:38 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Ledger Under Her Arm: Who Erased Nora Keeps Cloud? A folded body, a leather attendance ledger tucked beneath an arm, and an erased name that should not have survived a week in standing water - Nora Keeps Cloud, age 8, scrubbed from the record...
A folded body, a leather attendance ledger tucked beneath an arm, and an erased name that should not have survived a week in standing water - Nora Keeps Cloud, age 8, scrubbed from the record yet visible beneath the abrasion. Who had motive and means to open a locked cistern, plant a ledger, and try to make a child vanish from paper?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events around Monica Ford’s disappearance and death at the Calvary Mission School for Indian Children and the erased enrollment entry that linked her to Nora Keeps Cloud. We trace the ledger, the cistern, and the people with access to both to ask: why was an eight-year-old’s name worth silencing?

Person: Monica Ford
Date: October 12, 1916 (night of disappearance)
Location: Calvary Mission School for Indian Children, Pryor Flats, Oklahoma Territory
Case: Erasure of enrollment entry for Nora Keeps Cloud
Event: Purchase of a new iron pin and linseed oil by J. Tucker on October 13, 1916

- Monica Ford’s body was found folded in fourteen inches of water inside a sealed stone cistern with a leather-bound attendance ledger under her left arm.
- The ledger page showed an erased line; tissue-rubbing recovered the impression: NORA KEEPS CLOUD, AGE 8, ENROLLED SEPT. 14 / 1916.
- Monica had made forty-one consecutive Wednesday telephone calls to a Muskogee number; the calls stopped on October 11, 1916.
- Maintenance logs show John Tucker entered the cistern for inspection in March 1916 and his name appears on thirty-one maintenance entries over two years.
- On October 13, 1916 the ironmonger’s sales book records J. Tucker bought one 3/4-inch iron pin and a small tin of linseed oil - the pin type found bright and recently oiled in the cistern hasp.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1271falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-binder-wartime-murder-hidden-by-the-tide--73080737
The city detective found a bone-dry Navy binder sitting beside a waterlogged body in eighteen inches of tidal water-yet tidal reconstruction showed that spot had been submerged fifteen to twenty-two inches for about four hours before sunrise. A procurement coordinator was beaten to death, a Navy technical binder remained perfectly dry, and the binder's hand-copied figures would link to a single handwriting match-so why was the document left on a slim strip of silt instead of being washed away?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and the physical evidence that drew Detective Terry Ward into a wartime case involving the Aldrich Naval Repair Facility, a contractor called Tidewater Supply Associates, and questions about who wanted Duane Simpson silenced. How did a dry binder, cured concrete dust in a victim's boot heels, and a sealed federal file fit together?

Person: Duane Simpson
Date: September 11, 1943 (body found); time of death estimated between midnight and 3:00 AM on September 7, 1943
Location: Portsmith Basin beside the Aldrich Naval Repair Facility
Person: Terry Ward
Organization: Tidewater Supply Associates

- Body found face-down in eighteen inches of tidal water with clothing and boots waterlogged.
- Tidal reconstruction showed the location was submerged fifteen to twenty-two inches for roughly four hours before sunrise.
- Two blunt-force blows to the base of the skull caused death; no water was found in the lungs.
- A Navy technical specification binder with an embossed anchor seal remained completely dry and contained hand-copied figures.
- Fine cured concrete silicate dust matching the Aldrich facility's storage annex and equipment shed was embedded in the inner heel of the left boot.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080737Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:35 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Dry Binder: Wartime Murder Hidden by the Tide The city detective found a bone-dry Navy binder sitting beside a waterlogged body in eighteen inches of tidal water-yet tidal reconstruction showed that spot had been submerged fifteen to twenty-two...
The city detective found a bone-dry Navy binder sitting beside a waterlogged body in eighteen inches of tidal water-yet tidal reconstruction showed that spot had been submerged fifteen to twenty-two inches for about four hours before sunrise. A procurement coordinator was beaten to death, a Navy technical binder remained perfectly dry, and the binder's hand-copied figures would link to a single handwriting match-so why was the document left on a slim strip of silt instead of being washed away?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and the physical evidence that drew Detective Terry Ward into a wartime case involving the Aldrich Naval Repair Facility, a contractor called Tidewater Supply Associates, and questions about who wanted Duane Simpson silenced. How did a dry binder, cured concrete dust in a victim's boot heels, and a sealed federal file fit together?

Person: Duane Simpson
Date: September 11, 1943 (body found); time of death estimated between midnight and 3:00 AM on September 7, 1943
Location: Portsmith Basin beside the Aldrich Naval Repair Facility
Person: Terry Ward
Organization: Tidewater Supply Associates

- Body found face-down in eighteen inches of tidal water with clothing and boots waterlogged.
- Tidal reconstruction showed the location was submerged fifteen to twenty-two inches for roughly four hours before sunrise.
- Two blunt-force blows to the base of the skull caused death; no water was found in the lungs.
- A Navy technical specification binder with an embossed anchor seal remained completely dry and contained hand-copied figures.
- Fine cured concrete silicate dust matching the Aldrich facility's storage annex and equipment shed was embedded in the inner heel of the left boot.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1322falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-locked-booth-the-upright-shoe-and-a-secret-hand-in-1934--73080736
A single brown leather T-strap shoe, size six with a half-inch heel, stood perfectly upright on a locked carnival platform while the woman who wore it lay dead 240 yards away in a drainage ditch - and no one investigated the impossible object that morning. Why did a padlock, lashed canvas panels, and fourteen photographs hide a secret that kept the truth buried for sixty years?

In this episode, we tell the chronological story of Wendy Stein, the discovery at the Millard County Fair, and the early investigative steps that followed. You will hear how routine records, a missing grocery delivery, and a fourteen-year-old witness connect to the unresolved question: who placed the shoe on the booth and why was it never treated as evidence?

Person: Wendy Stein
Date: August 9, 1934
Location: Millard County Fairgrounds
Person: Beverly Collins
Person: Brian Holt

- Wendy Stein, age 22, was found face-down in a drainage ditch with four inches of standing water and her right shoe still on.
- A girl named Beverly Collins, age 14, found Wendy’s left brown leather T-strap shoe upright on the Wheel of Fortune booth platform that morning.
- The shoe was described as size six with a half-inch heel and was standing on its heel, balanced.
- The Wheel of Fortune booth was lashed shut from the inside with iron hooks and had an intact padlock on the gate.
- Operator Brian Holt had checked in a Master No. Seven padlock at registration, according to the fair’s equipment ledger.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080736Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:32 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Locked Booth, the Upright Shoe, and a Secret Hand in 1934 A single brown leather T-strap shoe, size six with a half-inch heel, stood perfectly upright on a locked carnival platform while the woman who wore it lay dead 240 yards away in a...
A single brown leather T-strap shoe, size six with a half-inch heel, stood perfectly upright on a locked carnival platform while the woman who wore it lay dead 240 yards away in a drainage ditch - and no one investigated the impossible object that morning. Why did a padlock, lashed canvas panels, and fourteen photographs hide a secret that kept the truth buried for sixty years?

In this episode, we tell the chronological story of Wendy Stein, the discovery at the Millard County Fair, and the early investigative steps that followed. You will hear how routine records, a missing grocery delivery, and a fourteen-year-old witness connect to the unresolved question: who placed the shoe on the booth and why was it never treated as evidence?

Person: Wendy Stein
Date: August 9, 1934
Location: Millard County Fairgrounds
Person: Beverly Collins
Person: Brian Holt

- Wendy Stein, age 22, was found face-down in a drainage ditch with four inches of standing water and her right shoe still on.
- A girl named Beverly Collins, age 14, found Wendy’s left brown leather T-strap shoe upright on the Wheel of Fortune booth platform that morning.
- The shoe was described as size six with a half-inch heel and was standing on its heel, balanced.
- The Wheel of Fortune booth was lashed shut from the inside with iron hooks and had an intact padlock on the gate.
- Operator Brian Holt had checked in a Master No. Seven padlock at registration, according to the fair’s equipment ledger.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1138falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/they-wrote-death-before-the-ship-arrived-the-six-pre-dated-corpses--73080735
A ledger found buried in a sand drift recorded six deaths dated July 11-13, 1886-three days before the steamship Galveston Meridian even arrived at Alderman Island Quarantine Station. Someone had predated death certificates, a missing carpetbag with bearer certificates vanished, and one physician named on a teller’s description had already resigned and left-so who signed those deaths and why did they bury the book?

In this episode, we walk through the ledger’s discovery, the passengers named within it, the missing valuables, and the odd sequence of resignations and redemptions that followed, asking how deaths could be declared before a ship docked and what that ledger truly concealed.

Person: Jean Rice
Date: July 12, 1886 (death certificate date)
Location: Alderman Island Quarantine Station
Occupation: Independent trader (listed as seamstress on certificate)
Event: Galveston Meridian arrival July 14, 1886

- The ledger contains six entries dated July 11-13, 1886, predating the Galveston Meridian’s July 14 arrival.
- Jean Rice carried three negotiable certificates of deposit totaling $4,200 when she left New Orleans.
- Two of the three certificates were redeemed in Charleston in September 1886; the third was redeemed in Augusta in October 1886.
- Bank teller’s description of a woman who redeemed one certificate matched physician Nicole Kowalski.
- Stationmaster Clarence Foote countersigned every excess laudanum draw from the station pharmacy between July 9 and July 13, 1886.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080735Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:29 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThey Wrote Death Before the Ship Arrived: The Six Pre-Dated Corpses A ledger found buried in a sand drift recorded six deaths dated July 11-13, 1886-three days before the steamship Galveston Meridian even arrived at Alderman Island Quarantine...
A ledger found buried in a sand drift recorded six deaths dated July 11-13, 1886-three days before the steamship Galveston Meridian even arrived at Alderman Island Quarantine Station. Someone had predated death certificates, a missing carpetbag with bearer certificates vanished, and one physician named on a teller’s description had already resigned and left-so who signed those deaths and why did they bury the book?

In this episode, we walk through the ledger’s discovery, the passengers named within it, the missing valuables, and the odd sequence of resignations and redemptions that followed, asking how deaths could be declared before a ship docked and what that ledger truly concealed.

Person: Jean Rice
Date: July 12, 1886 (death certificate date)
Location: Alderman Island Quarantine Station
Occupation: Independent trader (listed as seamstress on certificate)
Event: Galveston Meridian arrival July 14, 1886

- The ledger contains six entries dated July 11-13, 1886, predating the Galveston Meridian’s July 14 arrival.
- Jean Rice carried three negotiable certificates of deposit totaling $4,200 when she left New Orleans.
- Two of the three certificates were redeemed in Charleston in September 1886; the third was redeemed in Augusta in October 1886.
- Bank teller’s description of a woman who redeemed one certificate matched physician Nicole Kowalski.
- Stationmaster Clarence Foote countersigned every excess laudanum draw from the station pharmacy between July 9 and July 13, 1886.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1276falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-upright-handbag-why-millhaven-s-routine-turned-deadly--73080734
The sight of a clasped handbag standing upright in crushed limestone gravel - untouched cash, ID and two ticket stubs inside - hints at a staged scene that turned a small-town routine into murder. Who carried the bag there, and why leave it deliberately clean while the woman it belonged to lay dead sixty yards away?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and early investigation of Lisa Stein's death at the Starlight Motor Theater, tracking the conflicting accounts, the untouched handbag, and the ticket-stub discrepancy that forced detectives to ask: which version of that Thursday night was true?

Person: Lisa Stein
Date: June 14, 1953
Location: Starlight Motor Theater parking lot and eastern drainage channel, Millhaven, Indiana
Age: 62
Investigator: Detective Jessica Anderson

- Handbag found upright and clasped 40 feet inside the main entrance at 7:20 AM on June 14, 1953.
- Lisa Stein's body found on her back in the drainage channel 60 yards from the entrance; she wore a blue housedress.
- Inside the handbag: $43 cash, ID, a grocery list, a small tin of aspirin, and two ticket stubs dated June 11 with admission time 8:47 PM.
- Carl Lawson possessed a ticket stub dated June 11 with admission time 8:49 PM yet multiple attendants said he did not pass through the gates that night.
- The bottom of Lisa Stein's handbag showed no limestone dust or residue despite the lot being crushed limestone and her shoes bearing embedded limestone on the soles.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080734Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:26 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Upright Handbag: Why Millhaven's Routine Turned Deadly The sight of a clasped handbag standing upright in crushed limestone gravel - untouched cash, ID and two ticket stubs inside - hints at a staged scene that turned a small-town routine into...
The sight of a clasped handbag standing upright in crushed limestone gravel - untouched cash, ID and two ticket stubs inside - hints at a staged scene that turned a small-town routine into murder. Who carried the bag there, and why leave it deliberately clean while the woman it belonged to lay dead sixty yards away?

In this episode, we follow the discovery and early investigation of Lisa Stein's death at the Starlight Motor Theater, tracking the conflicting accounts, the untouched handbag, and the ticket-stub discrepancy that forced detectives to ask: which version of that Thursday night was true?

Person: Lisa Stein
Date: June 14, 1953
Location: Starlight Motor Theater parking lot and eastern drainage channel, Millhaven, Indiana
Age: 62
Investigator: Detective Jessica Anderson

- Handbag found upright and clasped 40 feet inside the main entrance at 7:20 AM on June 14, 1953.
- Lisa Stein's body found on her back in the drainage channel 60 yards from the entrance; she wore a blue housedress.
- Inside the handbag: $43 cash, ID, a grocery list, a small tin of aspirin, and two ticket stubs dated June 11 with admission time 8:47 PM.
- Carl Lawson possessed a ticket stub dated June 11 with admission time 8:49 PM yet multiple attendants said he did not pass through the gates that night.
- The bottom of Lisa Stein's handbag showed no limestone dust or residue despite the lot being crushed limestone and her shoes bearing embedded limestone on the soles.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1248falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-impossible-handbag-how-a-sealed-alley-revealed-a-killer--73080733
A tan calfskin handbag stood upright fifteen feet inside a sealed service alley on a Saturday morning in May 1926 - its contents included a transit pass, forty-three cents, and an employment ID for Crystal Smith. How could a bag enter a gap whose north end was mortared shut and whose south end was blocked by an undisturbed grime-coated standpipe; and what would that impossibility reveal about a vanished woman?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Crystal Smith’s last recorded moments to the discovery of the handbag and the documents that shifted suspicion: the Colfax Laundry Works pay ledger, a fire marshal’s inspection report, and Detective Raymond Vickers’s methodical inquiries. What single detail in the inspection files would turn an oddity in a sealed alley into a lead that stretched decades and reached another cold case?

Person: Crystal Smith
Date: May 9, 1926
Location: Alley between 220 and 218 Harwick Street
Investigator: Detective Raymond Vickers

- Crystal Smith clocked out of Colfax Laundry Works at 8:45 PM and collected $4.70 that night.
- A runner, Janet Coleman, found the tan calfskin handbag standing upright 15 feet inside the sealed gap at 5:50 AM on May 14.
- Inside the handbag were a transit pass, $0.43, and an employment ID card bearing the name Crystal Smith.
- The alley’s north end was sealed by a mortared drain cap installed in 1912; the south end was blocked by a rusted iron standpipe with undisturbed grime.
- Detective Vickers discovered an April 17 fire inspection report by Deputy Marshal Chester Farrow that contained a mismatch when compared to the city registry.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080733Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:23 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Impossible Handbag: How a Sealed Alley Revealed a Killer A tan calfskin handbag stood upright fifteen feet inside a sealed service alley on a Saturday morning in May 1926 - its contents included a transit pass, forty-three cents, and an...
A tan calfskin handbag stood upright fifteen feet inside a sealed service alley on a Saturday morning in May 1926 - its contents included a transit pass, forty-three cents, and an employment ID for Crystal Smith. How could a bag enter a gap whose north end was mortared shut and whose south end was blocked by an undisturbed grime-coated standpipe; and what would that impossibility reveal about a vanished woman?

In this episode, we follow the timeline from Crystal Smith’s last recorded moments to the discovery of the handbag and the documents that shifted suspicion: the Colfax Laundry Works pay ledger, a fire marshal’s inspection report, and Detective Raymond Vickers’s methodical inquiries. What single detail in the inspection files would turn an oddity in a sealed alley into a lead that stretched decades and reached another cold case?

Person: Crystal Smith
Date: May 9, 1926
Location: Alley between 220 and 218 Harwick Street
Investigator: Detective Raymond Vickers

- Crystal Smith clocked out of Colfax Laundry Works at 8:45 PM and collected $4.70 that night.
- A runner, Janet Coleman, found the tan calfskin handbag standing upright 15 feet inside the sealed gap at 5:50 AM on May 14.
- Inside the handbag were a transit pass, $0.43, and an employment ID card bearing the name Crystal Smith.
- The alley’s north end was sealed by a mortared drain cap installed in 1912; the south end was blocked by a rusted iron standpipe with undisturbed grime.
- Detective Vickers discovered an April 17 fire inspection report by Deputy Marshal Chester Farrow that contained a mismatch when compared to the city registry.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1106falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-yellow-glove-on-the-scale-why-it-weighed-nothing-on-her-hands--73080732
A butter-yellow kidskin glove sat upright in a Troemner trade balance, reading four and a quarter ounces, while its owner lay dead twelve inches below-no footprints led in or out and the service door hung three inches open. What could explain a glove deliberately placed in a scale pan above Heather Reed's body, and why did the assay log hide a different kind of tampering that pointed to deliberate fraud?

In this episode, we walk through the morning of April 18, 1893, and the details found by Kathleen Mills that set Sheriff Dale Padgett on a ten-day focus, following the glove, a ledger entry, and mismatched evidence that raised a bigger question: was Reed silenced because she exposed falsified assays?

Person: Heather Reed
Date: April 18, 1893
Location: Harwick Gulch assay office, Smelter Row
Occupation: Independent assay geologist
Event: Replacement of sample bag for sample fourteen

- The scale in the assay office read exactly 4.25 ounces with a butter-yellow kidskin glove, size six, left hand, upright in the pan.
- Heather Reed was found lying beneath the weighing table, twelve inches below the balance pan.
- Kathleen Mills, a 41-year-old meter reader, discovered the scene at 8:17 AM after entering an ajar service door three inches open.
- The assay log entry for sample fourteen listed "eleven ounces, three pennyweight" in a different hand than the bag tag for the same sample.
- Grant Vaughn purchased four lighter-weave burlap bags with cash six days after March 2, and one such lighter bag matched the replacement used for sample fourteen.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080732Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:20 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Yellow Glove on the Scale: Why It Weighed Nothing on Her Hands A butter-yellow kidskin glove sat upright in a Troemner trade balance, reading four and a quarter ounces, while its owner lay dead twelve inches below-no footprints led in or out...
A butter-yellow kidskin glove sat upright in a Troemner trade balance, reading four and a quarter ounces, while its owner lay dead twelve inches below-no footprints led in or out and the service door hung three inches open. What could explain a glove deliberately placed in a scale pan above Heather Reed's body, and why did the assay log hide a different kind of tampering that pointed to deliberate fraud?

In this episode, we walk through the morning of April 18, 1893, and the details found by Kathleen Mills that set Sheriff Dale Padgett on a ten-day focus, following the glove, a ledger entry, and mismatched evidence that raised a bigger question: was Reed silenced because she exposed falsified assays?

Person: Heather Reed
Date: April 18, 1893
Location: Harwick Gulch assay office, Smelter Row
Occupation: Independent assay geologist
Event: Replacement of sample bag for sample fourteen

- The scale in the assay office read exactly 4.25 ounces with a butter-yellow kidskin glove, size six, left hand, upright in the pan.
- Heather Reed was found lying beneath the weighing table, twelve inches below the balance pan.
- Kathleen Mills, a 41-year-old meter reader, discovered the scene at 8:17 AM after entering an ajar service door three inches open.
- The assay log entry for sample fourteen listed "eleven ounces, three pennyweight" in a different hand than the bag tag for the same sample.
- Grant Vaughn purchased four lighter-weave burlap bags with cash six days after March 2, and one such lighter bag matched the replacement used for sample fourteen.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1311falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-confessed-on-a-dead-radio-the-1934-tower-secret--73080731
A stopped wristwatch pressed into a church logbook and a woman's strangled body found 1.5 miles from a radio tower-yet the clearest clue was a man's voice caught by an unintended overnight recording at 11:07 PM. What did that voice say, why was the watch inside the logbook, and who had spent hours alone inside the tower months earlier?

In this episode, we follow the facts as recorded: where Kelly Bauer lived and worked, the timelines set by her cat's cries, and the discovery of a watch inside a logbook that matched her own. How do the tower recording, the logbook, and a local electrician's prior access to the tower connect to her death?

Person: Kelly Bauer
Date: March 9, 1934
Location: drainage culvert off Route 9, 1.5 miles south of the radio tower
Occupation: counter job at Hicks Dry Goods, $8.40 weekly
Suspect: William Morris, electrician, age 38

- Kelly Bauer was 31 years old and lived alone in a two-room apartment on Decatur Street in Dennisburg, Ohio.
- Her three-legged black cat Soot was fed every evening at 5:30 for 18 months and began crying around 6:00 on March 9, signaling Kelly's absence.
- Kelly was last known to be gone from home by at least 5:15 PM on March 9; the county physician estimated time of death between 8:00 PM and 2:00 AM.
- A wristwatch belonging to Kelly was found pressed between pages dated March 9 in a church logbook; its hands stopped at 11:07.
- An overnight carrier-wave test at the Harlow radio tower recorded a man's voice at the 11:07 mark; William Morris had spent approximately three unsupervised hours inside the tower equipment room in July 1933.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080731Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:17 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Man Who Confessed on a Dead Radio: The 1934 Tower Secret A stopped wristwatch pressed into a church logbook and a woman's strangled body found 1.5 miles from a radio tower-yet the clearest clue was a man's voice caught by an unintended...
A stopped wristwatch pressed into a church logbook and a woman's strangled body found 1.5 miles from a radio tower-yet the clearest clue was a man's voice caught by an unintended overnight recording at 11:07 PM. What did that voice say, why was the watch inside the logbook, and who had spent hours alone inside the tower months earlier?

In this episode, we follow the facts as recorded: where Kelly Bauer lived and worked, the timelines set by her cat's cries, and the discovery of a watch inside a logbook that matched her own. How do the tower recording, the logbook, and a local electrician's prior access to the tower connect to her death?

Person: Kelly Bauer
Date: March 9, 1934
Location: drainage culvert off Route 9, 1.5 miles south of the radio tower
Occupation: counter job at Hicks Dry Goods, $8.40 weekly
Suspect: William Morris, electrician, age 38

- Kelly Bauer was 31 years old and lived alone in a two-room apartment on Decatur Street in Dennisburg, Ohio.
- Her three-legged black cat Soot was fed every evening at 5:30 for 18 months and began crying around 6:00 on March 9, signaling Kelly's absence.
- Kelly was last known to be gone from home by at least 5:15 PM on March 9; the county physician estimated time of death between 8:00 PM and 2:00 AM.
- A wristwatch belonging to Kelly was found pressed between pages dated March 9 in a church logbook; its hands stopped at 11:07.
- An overnight carrier-wave test at the Harlow radio tower recorded a man's voice at the 11:07 mark; William Morris had spent approximately three unsupervised hours inside the tower equipment room in July 1933.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1344falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-returned-twice-a-passport-pressed-to-death--73080730
A dead man found with his passport deliberately pressed to his chest-open to the photo page-raises a cold, controlled dread: the passport shows a re-entry stamp dated January 29, but the Ridgecroft log for that day contains no record of him. How can one document say he returned while another, stamped by the same officer, says he never left?

In this episode, we lay out the concrete timeline, the contradictory official records, and the precise anomalies that pulled a claims investigator into a pattern running for years. What do a removed valve stem, a green mileage log, and two conflicting border records reveal about Jason Baker's last weeks?

Person: Jason Baker
Age: 52
Occupation: Commercial insurance adjuster
Date found: February 9, 1946
Location found: drainage ditch behind Sutter Pines

- The passport was pressed flat against Baker’s chest, open to the identification page.
- Baker crossed into Canada at Ridgecroft on January 22, with Customs Officer Edward Crane initialing the stamp.
- The passport bears an apparent Ridgecroft re-entry stamp dated January 29 with Crane’s initials, but Crane’s log for that day lists fourteen names and does not include Baker.
- Baker’s company car, a dark blue 1943 Ford sedan, was found on February 3 parked four miles south of Ridgecroft with the left rear tire flat and keys in the ignition.
- The left rear tire’s valve core had been removed cleanly, causing the tire to deflate over hours, and Baker’s green mileage log in the passenger seat shows the last entry dated January 22.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080730Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:13 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Man Who Returned Twice: A Passport Pressed to Death A dead man found with his passport deliberately pressed to his chest-open to the photo page-raises a cold, controlled dread: the passport shows a re-entry stamp dated January 29, but the...
A dead man found with his passport deliberately pressed to his chest-open to the photo page-raises a cold, controlled dread: the passport shows a re-entry stamp dated January 29, but the Ridgecroft log for that day contains no record of him. How can one document say he returned while another, stamped by the same officer, says he never left?

In this episode, we lay out the concrete timeline, the contradictory official records, and the precise anomalies that pulled a claims investigator into a pattern running for years. What do a removed valve stem, a green mileage log, and two conflicting border records reveal about Jason Baker's last weeks?

Person: Jason Baker
Age: 52
Occupation: Commercial insurance adjuster
Date found: February 9, 1946
Location found: drainage ditch behind Sutter Pines

- The passport was pressed flat against Baker’s chest, open to the identification page.
- Baker crossed into Canada at Ridgecroft on January 22, with Customs Officer Edward Crane initialing the stamp.
- The passport bears an apparent Ridgecroft re-entry stamp dated January 29 with Crane’s initials, but Crane’s log for that day lists fourteen names and does not include Baker.
- Baker’s company car, a dark blue 1943 Ford sedan, was found on February 3 parked four miles south of Ridgecroft with the left rear tire flat and keys in the ignition.
- The left rear tire’s valve core had been removed cleanly, causing the tire to deflate over hours, and Baker’s green mileage log in the passenger seat shows the last entry dated January 22.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1198falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/frozen-ditch-forged-deed-how-a-widow-s-land-became-murder-s-prize--73080729
A frozen ditch, a waterlogged satchel pulled from the Sulphur Fork of the Brazos, and a deed dated two days after a woman was found dead - the Meridian parcel changed hands under a cloud of coincidence and odd details. Who profited, who covered tracks, and what did a length of smooth galvanized wire reveal about that cold January death?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and the documents that connect a death on January 5, 1883, to a registered transfer on January 7, 1883, and the people at the Grover Livestock Exchange whose records and observations keep the story together. How did a clerk’s knowledge of inventory and a satchel from a river expose the contradictions in Holt County’s official version?

Person: Janet Armstrong
Date: January 5, 1883 (body found); January 7, 1883 (deed dated)
Location: Meridian parcel, Holt County, Texas
Person: Robert Gardner
Person: April Rafferty

- Janet Armstrong owned 940 acres and branded 400 longhorns with the Buckle J.
- Armstrong was 46 years old and found face-down in a frozen drainage ditch about 1.5 miles from her property line.
- The overnight temperature before her body was found dropped to 17 degrees Fahrenheit.
- A deed transferring 940 acres from Janet Armstrong to Robert Gardner was dated January 7, 1883 and later registered with deputy county registrar Ed Scoville.
- A horse found saddled on the road had its left foreleg wrapped in smooth galvanized interior stock wire matching inventory at the Grover Livestock Exchange.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080729Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:11 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTFrozen Ditch, Forged Deed: How a Widow's Land Became Murder's Prize A frozen ditch, a waterlogged satchel pulled from the Sulphur Fork of the Brazos, and a deed dated two days after a woman was found dead - the Meridian parcel changed hands under a...
A frozen ditch, a waterlogged satchel pulled from the Sulphur Fork of the Brazos, and a deed dated two days after a woman was found dead - the Meridian parcel changed hands under a cloud of coincidence and odd details. Who profited, who covered tracks, and what did a length of smooth galvanized wire reveal about that cold January death?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and the documents that connect a death on January 5, 1883, to a registered transfer on January 7, 1883, and the people at the Grover Livestock Exchange whose records and observations keep the story together. How did a clerk’s knowledge of inventory and a satchel from a river expose the contradictions in Holt County’s official version?

Person: Janet Armstrong
Date: January 5, 1883 (body found); January 7, 1883 (deed dated)
Location: Meridian parcel, Holt County, Texas
Person: Robert Gardner
Person: April Rafferty

- Janet Armstrong owned 940 acres and branded 400 longhorns with the Buckle J.
- Armstrong was 46 years old and found face-down in a frozen drainage ditch about 1.5 miles from her property line.
- The overnight temperature before her body was found dropped to 17 degrees Fahrenheit.
- A deed transferring 940 acres from Janet Armstrong to Robert Gardner was dated January 7, 1883 and later registered with deputy county registrar Ed Scoville.
- A horse found saddled on the road had its left foreleg wrapped in smooth galvanized interior stock wire matching inventory at the Grover Livestock Exchange.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1237falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-standing-shoe-secret-herb-invoice-that-framed-a-murder--73080727
A single brown calfskin Oxford stood upright in four inches of fresh snow, heel down and toe pointing north, with no footprints around it and an invoice folded inside the toe box dated December 7 - while the owner, Vicki Wallace, was found dead the next morning with one bare foot. What did a herb shop invoice hidden in a shoe mean, and why did no detective question the missing left shoe?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of discoveries and the people involved: the county surveyor who found the shoe, the coroner who ruled the death accidental, the claims investigator who followed a procedural lead, and the family who noticed the first absence. The narrative traces how a routine insurance check and a transcription error led to a fifteen-year confession - but how did the standing shoe connect those threads?

Person: Vicki Wallace
Date: December 11, 1923 (shoe found) and December 10, 1923 (body found)
Location: Garnet Street outside Delancey Terrace and basement of Delancey Terrace, Harwick
Occupation: Billing clerk, Harwick Transit Authority
Evidence: Handwritten invoice from Kam Shing Herbs and Sundries dated December 7 tucked inside the shoe

- The shoe was a brown calfskin Oxford, size five, with a brass buckle, standing upright in four inches of snow.
- County surveyor Lisa Mueller found the shoe on the morning of December 11, 1923, at the base of a brick wall on Garnet Street, toe pointing north.
- Vicki Wallace, age 28, was found dead at the base of the Delancey Terrace basement stairs on December 10, 1923, wearing her work coat and only one shoe.
- Coroner Dr. Samuel Crane ruled the death on December 19, 1923, a natural cardiac episode precipitating a fall and classified it accidental with no detective assigned.
- Claims investigator Mark Powell began his probe in January 1924, starting with “a shoe in the wrong place,” leading to a year-long inquiry that referenced the invoice dated December 7.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080727Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:07 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Standing Shoe: Secret Herb Invoice That Framed A Murder A single brown calfskin Oxford stood upright in four inches of fresh snow, heel down and toe pointing north, with no footprints around it and an invoice folded inside the toe box dated...
A single brown calfskin Oxford stood upright in four inches of fresh snow, heel down and toe pointing north, with no footprints around it and an invoice folded inside the toe box dated December 7 - while the owner, Vicki Wallace, was found dead the next morning with one bare foot. What did a herb shop invoice hidden in a shoe mean, and why did no detective question the missing left shoe?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of discoveries and the people involved: the county surveyor who found the shoe, the coroner who ruled the death accidental, the claims investigator who followed a procedural lead, and the family who noticed the first absence. The narrative traces how a routine insurance check and a transcription error led to a fifteen-year confession - but how did the standing shoe connect those threads?

Person: Vicki Wallace
Date: December 11, 1923 (shoe found) and December 10, 1923 (body found)
Location: Garnet Street outside Delancey Terrace and basement of Delancey Terrace, Harwick
Occupation: Billing clerk, Harwick Transit Authority
Evidence: Handwritten invoice from Kam Shing Herbs and Sundries dated December 7 tucked inside the shoe

- The shoe was a brown calfskin Oxford, size five, with a brass buckle, standing upright in four inches of snow.
- County surveyor Lisa Mueller found the shoe on the morning of December 11, 1923, at the base of a brick wall on Garnet Street, toe pointing north.
- Vicki Wallace, age 28, was found dead at the base of the Delancey Terrace basement stairs on December 10, 1923, wearing her work coat and only one shoe.
- Coroner Dr. Samuel Crane ruled the death on December 19, 1923, a natural cardiac episode precipitating a fall and classified it accidental with no detective assigned.
- Claims investigator Mark Powell began his probe in January 1924, starting with “a shoe in the wrong place,” leading to a year-long inquiry that referenced the invoice dated December 7.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1447falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-bottle-in-the-drain-how-a-vial-exposed-murdered-women--73080726
A two-ounce amber vial sealed with a cork and packed with soil bore a red silk ribbon and a deathbed note naming Gail Hoffman - who had been dead exactly one year - and it forced a quiet institutional crime into the light. What started as a bottle in a drain would tie together two women who died of "cardiac failure" and one doctor whose signatures appeared in unexplained late-night sedative logs; how did a routine intake dispute become a string of suspicious deaths?

In this episode, we follow the documents, the logs, and the small, determined actions that changed an administrative file into a case. You will hear how a clerk's cross-references, a coroner's penciled note, and eleven logged late-night doses raise the question: were these deaths natural or the result of deliberate poisoning?

Person: Gail Hoffman
Date: November 3, 1907 (death); November 14, 1908 (bottle found)
Location: Pelham Cove Institute, Maine
Person: Kent Wells
Case: Eleven late-night Somnal entries signed by Kent Wells between 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM

- Gail Hoffman was 54 years old and died 33 days after admission to Pelham Cove on November 3, 1907.
- The amber medicine vial found by contractor Troy Bell was two ounces, sealed with a cork, filled with garden soil, and tied with a red silk ribbon.
- Pelham Cove's sedative log showed eleven entries for Gail Hoffman outside assigned shift hours, all between 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM, all signed by Kent Wells.
- Kent Wells had been the attending physician on Clara Mott's March 1906 death certificate in Fenwick, Connecticut, listed cause: cardiac failure; he left that institution three months after her death.
- Clerk Jessica Sawyer traced cross-references and compared the sedative log to duty rosters, finding that senior night nurse Agnes Carr and nurse Frances Daly both reported not seeing Wells during the logged nights.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080726Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:04 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Bottle in the Drain: How a Vial Exposed Murdered Women A two-ounce amber vial sealed with a cork and packed with soil bore a red silk ribbon and a deathbed note naming Gail Hoffman - who had been dead exactly one year - and it forced a quiet...
A two-ounce amber vial sealed with a cork and packed with soil bore a red silk ribbon and a deathbed note naming Gail Hoffman - who had been dead exactly one year - and it forced a quiet institutional crime into the light. What started as a bottle in a drain would tie together two women who died of "cardiac failure" and one doctor whose signatures appeared in unexplained late-night sedative logs; how did a routine intake dispute become a string of suspicious deaths?

In this episode, we follow the documents, the logs, and the small, determined actions that changed an administrative file into a case. You will hear how a clerk's cross-references, a coroner's penciled note, and eleven logged late-night doses raise the question: were these deaths natural or the result of deliberate poisoning?

Person: Gail Hoffman
Date: November 3, 1907 (death); November 14, 1908 (bottle found)
Location: Pelham Cove Institute, Maine
Person: Kent Wells
Case: Eleven late-night Somnal entries signed by Kent Wells between 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM

- Gail Hoffman was 54 years old and died 33 days after admission to Pelham Cove on November 3, 1907.
- The amber medicine vial found by contractor Troy Bell was two ounces, sealed with a cork, filled with garden soil, and tied with a red silk ribbon.
- Pelham Cove's sedative log showed eleven entries for Gail Hoffman outside assigned shift hours, all between 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM, all signed by Kent Wells.
- Kent Wells had been the attending physician on Clara Mott's March 1906 death certificate in Fenwick, Connecticut, listed cause: cardiac failure; he left that institution three months after her death.
- Clerk Jessica Sawyer traced cross-references and compared the sedative log to duty rosters, finding that senior night nurse Agnes Carr and nurse Frances Daly both reported not seeing Wells during the logged nights.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1256falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-sealed-ampoule-how-one-lost-vial-exposed-a-murder-cover-up--73080725
A sealed glass ampoule lay unopened beside a young woman's hand in the silt - intact, observable, and ultimately erased from the record. When the county coroner signed a death certificate the same day citing heatstroke and no toxicology, a migrant worker named Amy Quinn was buried five days later; how could an intact vial and four puncture marks be ignored, and who removed the ampoule without documentation?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from discovery to exhumation and the official responses that followed. You will hear how a volunteer intake log and a single letter to the state labor division prompted an exhumation, what the second examination revealed, and the unanswered questions about the missing vial that unlocked the case.

Person: Amy Quinn
Date: October 9, 1936
Location: Carenza Flats, California
Cause of death (initial): Heatstroke with possible cardiac episode
Finding (exhumation): Phenobarbital overdose

- At 6:15 AM on October 9, 1936, postal clerk Stanley Young found Amy Quinn lying beside the tule reeds with one shoe missing and a sealed ampoule beside her right hand.
- County coroner Dr. Raymond Coble signed a death certificate before 4:00 PM the same day and ordered no toxicology or photographs of the forearms.
- Amy Quinn, age 22, was buried in the county plot five days after her body was found.
- Exhumation on November 3, 1936, by Dr. Arthur Fenn found four puncture marks on the inner left forearm, two recent with subcutaneous bruising suggesting injection 24-48 hours before death.
- Laboratory analysis in Berkeley, completed six weeks after exhumation, found phenobarbital at concentrations far exceeding therapeutic doses.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080725Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:25:01 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Sealed Ampoule: How One Lost Vial Exposed a Murder Cover-Up A sealed glass ampoule lay unopened beside a young woman's hand in the silt - intact, observable, and ultimately erased from the record. When the county coroner signed a death...
A sealed glass ampoule lay unopened beside a young woman's hand in the silt - intact, observable, and ultimately erased from the record. When the county coroner signed a death certificate the same day citing heatstroke and no toxicology, a migrant worker named Amy Quinn was buried five days later; how could an intact vial and four puncture marks be ignored, and who removed the ampoule without documentation?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from discovery to exhumation and the official responses that followed. You will hear how a volunteer intake log and a single letter to the state labor division prompted an exhumation, what the second examination revealed, and the unanswered questions about the missing vial that unlocked the case.

Person: Amy Quinn
Date: October 9, 1936
Location: Carenza Flats, California
Cause of death (initial): Heatstroke with possible cardiac episode
Finding (exhumation): Phenobarbital overdose

- At 6:15 AM on October 9, 1936, postal clerk Stanley Young found Amy Quinn lying beside the tule reeds with one shoe missing and a sealed ampoule beside her right hand.
- County coroner Dr. Raymond Coble signed a death certificate before 4:00 PM the same day and ordered no toxicology or photographs of the forearms.
- Amy Quinn, age 22, was buried in the county plot five days after her body was found.
- Exhumation on November 3, 1936, by Dr. Arthur Fenn found four puncture marks on the inner left forearm, two recent with subcutaneous bruising suggesting injection 24-48 hours before death.
- Laboratory analysis in Berkeley, completed six weeks after exhumation, found phenobarbital at concentrations far exceeding therapeutic doses.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1238falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-telegraph-tone-that-hid-a-murder-the-canfield-spur-stone--73080724
A continuous telegraph tone broadcast for 113 hours masked a murder at Canfield Spur, while a fist-sized pale gray creek stone with a diagonal quartz stripe sat depressing the brass key. Who walked forty steps, selected that exact stone, and left a log entry cut off mid-stroke that froze the only four-minute window into Rebecca Young’s final hours?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events from the morning Lloyd Meyer found the open door to the arrival of inquiry agent Ronald Henderson, and the measurements, timestamps, and interviews that shaped the investigation. How did a routine fault signal become the key piece of evidence in determining intent and timing?

Person: Rebecca Young
Age: 38
Date found: September 9, 1893
Duration of tone: 113 hours
Investigator: Ronald Henderson

- The continuous fault tone began on Wednesday, September 6 at 2:22 PM and was received at Dellwood station approximately forty miles east.
- Rebecca Young’s log shows a complete entry at 2:17 PM and a second timestamp at 2:21 PM, with the final entry breaking off mid-character.
- The creek stone was fist-sized, pale gray, with a diagonal stripe of quartz, and left an impression in the green felt pad beneath the key.
- The distance from Rebecca’s desk to the back door was measured at twenty-two feet; from the back door to the creek bed was forty steps.
- Lloyd Meyer discovered the open front door and Rebecca’s body on the morning of September 9, 1893, after delivering a newspaper.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080724Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:57 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Telegraph Tone That Hid a Murder: The Canfield Spur Stone A continuous telegraph tone broadcast for 113 hours masked a murder at Canfield Spur, while a fist-sized pale gray creek stone with a diagonal quartz stripe sat depressing the brass key....
A continuous telegraph tone broadcast for 113 hours masked a murder at Canfield Spur, while a fist-sized pale gray creek stone with a diagonal quartz stripe sat depressing the brass key. Who walked forty steps, selected that exact stone, and left a log entry cut off mid-stroke that froze the only four-minute window into Rebecca Young’s final hours?

In this episode, you’ll hear the sequence of events from the morning Lloyd Meyer found the open door to the arrival of inquiry agent Ronald Henderson, and the measurements, timestamps, and interviews that shaped the investigation. How did a routine fault signal become the key piece of evidence in determining intent and timing?

Person: Rebecca Young
Age: 38
Date found: September 9, 1893
Duration of tone: 113 hours
Investigator: Ronald Henderson

- The continuous fault tone began on Wednesday, September 6 at 2:22 PM and was received at Dellwood station approximately forty miles east.
- Rebecca Young’s log shows a complete entry at 2:17 PM and a second timestamp at 2:21 PM, with the final entry breaking off mid-character.
- The creek stone was fist-sized, pale gray, with a diagonal stripe of quartz, and left an impression in the green felt pad beneath the key.
- The distance from Rebecca’s desk to the back door was measured at twenty-two feet; from the back door to the creek bed was forty steps.
- Lloyd Meyer discovered the open front door and Rebecca’s body on the morning of September 9, 1893, after delivering a newspaper.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1288falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-upright-handbag-how-a-made-bed-became-murder-s-clue--73080722
The sight of a crocodile leather handbag standing upright on a gravel shoulder, clasp fastened and containing a Social Security card for Erin Petersen, chills the ordinary - a made motel bed, an unlatched casement window, and a single faint smear would become the brittle threads of a vanished life. What exactly connected that upright bag, the prepared bed in Room Eleven, and the night visitor seen from two doors down?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events discovered after the grader blade pushed the handbag into view and deputies found Room Eleven empty with the bed made; we outline the clues found in the casement window and the timeline of Erin Petersen’s travel and disappearance and ask who knew to push through that screen and why.

Person: Erin Petersen
Date: August 12-14, 1957
Location: Starlite Motor Court, Route Eleven West
Observer: Duane Bell, highway grader operator
Room key: diamond-shaped plastic fob stamped 11

- Handbag contents: $43, loose change, lipstick, bus schedule, Social Security card with name Erin Petersen
- Starlite payment: Erin paid $3.50 in advance and told the clerk she would leave before 8:00 AM
- Room condition: Bed was made on the morning after her stay; staff had not yet touched it
- Window detail: Casement window at Room Eleven was found unlatched; lower storm screen rail had faint inward pressure marks
- Witness sighting: Roy Gant in Room Eleven reported seeing a van parked at an angle near the service road that night

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080722Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:54 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Upright Handbag: How a Made Bed Became Murder's Clue The sight of a crocodile leather handbag standing upright on a gravel shoulder, clasp fastened and containing a Social Security card for Erin Petersen, chills the ordinary - a made motel bed,...
The sight of a crocodile leather handbag standing upright on a gravel shoulder, clasp fastened and containing a Social Security card for Erin Petersen, chills the ordinary - a made motel bed, an unlatched casement window, and a single faint smear would become the brittle threads of a vanished life. What exactly connected that upright bag, the prepared bed in Room Eleven, and the night visitor seen from two doors down?

In this episode, we tell the sequence of events discovered after the grader blade pushed the handbag into view and deputies found Room Eleven empty with the bed made; we outline the clues found in the casement window and the timeline of Erin Petersen’s travel and disappearance and ask who knew to push through that screen and why.

Person: Erin Petersen
Date: August 12-14, 1957
Location: Starlite Motor Court, Route Eleven West
Observer: Duane Bell, highway grader operator
Room key: diamond-shaped plastic fob stamped 11

- Handbag contents: $43, loose change, lipstick, bus schedule, Social Security card with name Erin Petersen
- Starlite payment: Erin paid $3.50 in advance and told the clerk she would leave before 8:00 AM
- Room condition: Bed was made on the morning after her stay; staff had not yet touched it
- Window detail: Casement window at Room Eleven was found unlatched; lower storm screen rail had faint inward pressure marks
- Witness sighting: Roy Gant in Room Eleven reported seeing a van parked at an angle near the service road that night

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1353falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-left-oxford-how-a-single-shoe-sealed-a-killer-s-secret--73080718
A single left oxford, size six and dark brown, lay forty feet inside a wire fence with its laces tied in a neat bow - no scuff marks, no drag marks, as if the wearer had simply stepped out of it. What makes that shoe chilling is that Clara Christensen, a 24-year-old bookkeeper who never missed a day in two and a half years and kept obsessively consistent ledgers, vanished the morning of July 12, 1941; how did one shoe appear on the Bennett property while her routine stops and nine hundred mornings of habit left no other trace?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries and documents that shaped the case: the missing morning on Morrow Lane, the discovery of the oxford on July 14, and the ledger entries a reporter uncovered that linked Scott Bennett to the cooperative in odd, handwritten margin notes. How did a single shoe, three ledger notations, and a photographer’s plate converge to point at a planned interruption?

Person: Clara Christensen
Date: July 12, 1941
Location: Morrow Lane / Bennett property, Calloway Crossing
Reporter: Donna Miller
Photographer: Owen Carr

- Clara Christensen worked as a bookkeeper at the Calloway Crossing grain cooperative for two and a half years and had not missed a single day of work in that time.
- On the morning of July 12, 1941, Clara’s routine included stopping at an outbuilding at 6:15 a.m. to feed a barn cat named Pepper, a stop she had made for roughly nine hundred mornings.
- Deputies found a single left oxford on July 14: dark brown leather, size six, laces tied in a bow, located forty feet inside a wire fence on the Bennett property with no surrounding drag marks or scuffs.
- Frank Daly, a cooperative board member, allowed reporter Donna Miller access to three years of ledgers; Miller found three margin notations showing Scott Bennett’s name visiting Morrow Lane three times in six weeks, with the third notation abruptly unfinished.
- Photographer Owen Carr shot eleven plates in Calloway Crossing on July 9-10; the fourth plate, taken around 11 a.m. on July 10 from the south side of Morrow Lane, shows the cooperative’s service entrance with its door ajar and a band of summer light across the threshold.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080718Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:51 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Left Oxford: How a Single Shoe Sealed a Killer's Secret A single left oxford, size six and dark brown, lay forty feet inside a wire fence with its laces tied in a neat bow - no scuff marks, no drag marks, as if the wearer had simply stepped out...
A single left oxford, size six and dark brown, lay forty feet inside a wire fence with its laces tied in a neat bow - no scuff marks, no drag marks, as if the wearer had simply stepped out of it. What makes that shoe chilling is that Clara Christensen, a 24-year-old bookkeeper who never missed a day in two and a half years and kept obsessively consistent ledgers, vanished the morning of July 12, 1941; how did one shoe appear on the Bennett property while her routine stops and nine hundred mornings of habit left no other trace?

In this episode, we lay out the sequence of discoveries and documents that shaped the case: the missing morning on Morrow Lane, the discovery of the oxford on July 14, and the ledger entries a reporter uncovered that linked Scott Bennett to the cooperative in odd, handwritten margin notes. How did a single shoe, three ledger notations, and a photographer’s plate converge to point at a planned interruption?

Person: Clara Christensen
Date: July 12, 1941
Location: Morrow Lane / Bennett property, Calloway Crossing
Reporter: Donna Miller
Photographer: Owen Carr

- Clara Christensen worked as a bookkeeper at the Calloway Crossing grain cooperative for two and a half years and had not missed a single day of work in that time.
- On the morning of July 12, 1941, Clara’s routine included stopping at an outbuilding at 6:15 a.m. to feed a barn cat named Pepper, a stop she had made for roughly nine hundred mornings.
- Deputies found a single left oxford on July 14: dark brown leather, size six, laces tied in a bow, located forty feet inside a wire fence on the Bennett property with no surrounding drag marks or scuffs.
- Frank Daly, a cooperative board member, allowed reporter Donna Miller access to three years of ledgers; Miller found three margin notations showing Scott Bennett’s name visiting Morrow Lane three times in six weeks, with the third notation abruptly unfinished.
- Photographer Owen Carr shot eleven plates in Calloway Crossing on July 9-10; the fourth plate, taken around 11 a.m. on July 10 from the south side of Morrow Lane, shows the cooperative’s service entrance with its door ajar and a band of summer light across the threshold.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1281falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-wet-ledger-on-the-bridge-proof-that-killed-a-roadhouse-owner--73080716
A rain‑soaked ledger, its pages swollen and ink bled in long dark runs, sat open on a bridge railing four days after Neil Larsen's body was pulled from Piney Creek - and its margins held a repeating two-letter column that matched weekly cash amounts. Who left the book on the bridge, and how did those entries connect to Larsen's death and a second buried body?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from Angela Casey's discovery at 6:10 a.m. on June 11, 1931, through the coroner's report and the ledger's contents, tracing what the ledger revealed about payments and a change in Larsen's arrangements that he feared. Could the ledger be the key to who moved through the roadhouse cellar the night Larsen died?

Person: Neil Larsen
Date: June 11, 1931 (ledger found); body recovered June 8, 1931
Location: Piney Creek Road bridge and Piney Creek downstream
Event: Ledger discovery, drowning with blunt force trauma
Case: Payments recorded under column labeled "S. H."

- Angela Casey discovered the clothbound ledger on the bridge railing at 6:10 a.m, on June 11, 1931.
- Neil Larsen's body was pulled from Piney Creek on June 8, 1931, and showed a blunt injury to the left temple before drowning.
- Larsen had kept a ledger every year for nine consecutive years and recorded a new two-letter column "S. H." in 1931.
- Weekly payments in the "S. H." column included specific amounts such as $15, $22, $35 and $40 that tracked liquor volume.
- Larsen mailed a sealed envelope of 12-15 pages to Jefferson City, logged at the state attorney's office on June 2, 1931, before his death.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080716Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:47 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Wet Ledger on the Bridge: Proof That Killed a Roadhouse Owner A rain‑soaked ledger, its pages swollen and ink bled in long dark runs, sat open on a bridge railing four days after Neil Larsen's body was pulled from Piney Creek - and its margins...
A rain‑soaked ledger, its pages swollen and ink bled in long dark runs, sat open on a bridge railing four days after Neil Larsen's body was pulled from Piney Creek - and its margins held a repeating two-letter column that matched weekly cash amounts. Who left the book on the bridge, and how did those entries connect to Larsen's death and a second buried body?

In this episode, we lay out the timeline from Angela Casey's discovery at 6:10 a.m. on June 11, 1931, through the coroner's report and the ledger's contents, tracing what the ledger revealed about payments and a change in Larsen's arrangements that he feared. Could the ledger be the key to who moved through the roadhouse cellar the night Larsen died?

Person: Neil Larsen
Date: June 11, 1931 (ledger found); body recovered June 8, 1931
Location: Piney Creek Road bridge and Piney Creek downstream
Event: Ledger discovery, drowning with blunt force trauma
Case: Payments recorded under column labeled "S. H."

- Angela Casey discovered the clothbound ledger on the bridge railing at 6:10 a.m, on June 11, 1931.
- Neil Larsen's body was pulled from Piney Creek on June 8, 1931, and showed a blunt injury to the left temple before drowning.
- Larsen had kept a ledger every year for nine consecutive years and recorded a new two-letter column "S. H." in 1931.
- Weekly payments in the "S. H." column included specific amounts such as $15, $22, $35 and $40 that tracked liquor volume.
- Larsen mailed a sealed envelope of 12-15 pages to Jefferson City, logged at the state attorney's office on June 2, 1931, before his death.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1367falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-hand-in-the-meter-who-silenced-sandra-underwood--73080714
A cold left hand, palm up with a garnet ring, was found inside a gas meter panel that required a specialized T-wrench to open - and the hand belonged to Sandra Underwood, a thirty-two-year-old copy clerk who vanished after May 1, 1905. Who brought that tool into the alley and why was the severed wrist marked with an impression of machine oil?

In this episode, we lay out the known facts in chronological order and follow Deputy Brian Vogel's repeated interviews, the boardinghouse visitor register, and the physical evidence recovered at 114 Alderman Street to ask the question that drove the original inquiry: who had access, opportunity, and motive to leave only a woman's hand in a meter panel?

Person: Sandra Underwood
Date: May 14, 1905
Location: 114 Alderman Street, Bellgrove, Indiana
Evidence: Left hand with garnet ring, clean bone-saw cut, impression of machine oil in wound channel
Investigator: Deputy Brian Vogel

- The hand was a woman's left hand, cold but not decomposed, with a small garnet ring on the fourth finger.
- Opening the meter panel required a specialized T-wrench that ordinary residents, including landlady Edna Parcell and tenant Sandra, did not own.
- Dr. Walter Hess documented the wrist cut as consistent with a bone saw and noted an impression in the wound suggesting machine oil.
- Sandra Underwood's last independently verified sighting was May 1, 1905; her composition book contains a May 10 entry: "H. has not been back since Thursday. I do not think he means well by me."
- Howard Phillips initially told Vogel he last visited Sandra in late April, later claimed to have seen her May 8, but George Petty's hire ledger and Edna Parcell's visitor register show no trap hire or visit entries for Phillips after April 27.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080714Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:44 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Hand in the Meter: Who Silenced Sandra Underwood? A cold left hand, palm up with a garnet ring, was found inside a gas meter panel that required a specialized T-wrench to open - and the hand belonged to Sandra Underwood, a thirty-two-year-old...
A cold left hand, palm up with a garnet ring, was found inside a gas meter panel that required a specialized T-wrench to open - and the hand belonged to Sandra Underwood, a thirty-two-year-old copy clerk who vanished after May 1, 1905. Who brought that tool into the alley and why was the severed wrist marked with an impression of machine oil?

In this episode, we lay out the known facts in chronological order and follow Deputy Brian Vogel's repeated interviews, the boardinghouse visitor register, and the physical evidence recovered at 114 Alderman Street to ask the question that drove the original inquiry: who had access, opportunity, and motive to leave only a woman's hand in a meter panel?

Person: Sandra Underwood
Date: May 14, 1905
Location: 114 Alderman Street, Bellgrove, Indiana
Evidence: Left hand with garnet ring, clean bone-saw cut, impression of machine oil in wound channel
Investigator: Deputy Brian Vogel

- The hand was a woman's left hand, cold but not decomposed, with a small garnet ring on the fourth finger.
- Opening the meter panel required a specialized T-wrench that ordinary residents, including landlady Edna Parcell and tenant Sandra, did not own.
- Dr. Walter Hess documented the wrist cut as consistent with a bone saw and noted an impression in the wound suggesting machine oil.
- Sandra Underwood's last independently verified sighting was May 1, 1905; her composition book contains a May 10 entry: "H. has not been back since Thursday. I do not think he means well by me."
- Howard Phillips initially told Vogel he last visited Sandra in late April, later claimed to have seen her May 8, but George Petty's hire ledger and Edna Parcell's visitor register show no trap hire or visit entries for Phillips after April 27.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1382falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-standing-shoe-how-a-perfectly-clean-oxford-broke-a-warplant-secret--73080713
A single left brown leather oxford, size six, stood upright in a pool of machine oil with a perfectly clean sole-no scuffs, no transfer, no smear-inside the sub-basement of Building C at Bellard Munitions. Who placed a delicate embroidered shoe in that filthy, greasy place, and why would a padlocked grate and fresh knee impressions in dust point to something that wasn't an accident?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and the physical evidence found at the scene to present the case of Michelle Morgan and the unusual clues that contradicted the plant's first explanation. What do the shoe, the locked drain grate, and the missing coat tell us about what really happened that night?

Person: Michelle Morgan
Date: April 9, 1943 (body found); clocked in April 7 at 11:58 p.m.
Location: Sub-basement, Building C, Bellard Munitions
Age: 53
Finder: George Myers (maintenance worker)

- The shoe was a left brown leather oxford, size six, with forget-me-not embroidery and a clean sole found standing upright in machine oil about twelve feet from the drainage channel.
- Michelle Morgan’s time card recorded a clock-in at 11:58 p.m. and had no corresponding clock-out; her coat, purse, and street shoes remained in her locker.
- The body was discovered face-down in eight inches of standing water in a drainage channel with an iron grate padlocked shut and showing no sign of forced entry.
- The ventilation shelf ladder had two fresh rectangular knee-width impressions in dust on its upper ledge, suggesting someone had recently knelt there.
- Detective-Sergeant Ryan Boyd arrived that morning for an unrelated theft report, chose to stay, and within four hours the plant issued an official accident story.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080713Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:40 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Standing Shoe: How a Perfectly Clean Oxford Broke a Warplant Secret A single left brown leather oxford, size six, stood upright in a pool of machine oil with a perfectly clean sole-no scuffs, no transfer, no smear-inside the sub-basement of...
A single left brown leather oxford, size six, stood upright in a pool of machine oil with a perfectly clean sole-no scuffs, no transfer, no smear-inside the sub-basement of Building C at Bellard Munitions. Who placed a delicate embroidered shoe in that filthy, greasy place, and why would a padlocked grate and fresh knee impressions in dust point to something that wasn't an accident?

In this episode, we follow the timeline and the physical evidence found at the scene to present the case of Michelle Morgan and the unusual clues that contradicted the plant's first explanation. What do the shoe, the locked drain grate, and the missing coat tell us about what really happened that night?

Person: Michelle Morgan
Date: April 9, 1943 (body found); clocked in April 7 at 11:58 p.m.
Location: Sub-basement, Building C, Bellard Munitions
Age: 53
Finder: George Myers (maintenance worker)

- The shoe was a left brown leather oxford, size six, with forget-me-not embroidery and a clean sole found standing upright in machine oil about twelve feet from the drainage channel.
- Michelle Morgan’s time card recorded a clock-in at 11:58 p.m. and had no corresponding clock-out; her coat, purse, and street shoes remained in her locker.
- The body was discovered face-down in eight inches of standing water in a drainage channel with an iron grate padlocked shut and showing no sign of forced entry.
- The ventilation shelf ladder had two fresh rectangular knee-width impressions in dust on its upper ledge, suggesting someone had recently knelt there.
- Detective-Sergeant Ryan Boyd arrived that morning for an unrelated theft report, chose to stay, and within four hours the plant issued an official accident story.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1259falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-bottle-on-the-storm-cellar-poison-handwriting-and-drought--73080712
A half-empty glass bottle sealed with red wax and labeled as a digestive remedy for Teresa Olson - who had been buried for eleven days - turned out to contain Paris Green, an arsenic insecticide with no medicinal use. Who labeled it and why would a poison be placed where her remedies belonged?

In this episode, we follow the chain of discoveries from a storm cellar find to a farmhouse kitchen, the county doctor’s death certificate, and a visiting hiker who brought the bottle to the sheriff; the episode asks whether Teresa’s death was the tragic result of drought and disease or the product of deliberate poisoning.

Person: Teresa Olson
Date: February-March 1934
Location: Haskell Flats, Oklahoma
Cause found in bottle: Paris Green (arsenic compound)
Investigator: Ryan Walsh

- Teresa Olson was forty-six years old and widowed, working thirty acres of sorghum alone by winter 1933.
- Dr. Howard Peck visited Teresa on February 22 and March 1 and listed gastroenteritis and general debility on the death certificate.
- Debra Bauer’s dog retrieved a bottle from an open storm cellar about ten days after Teresa was buried.
- The pharmacy label read “For T. Olson, digestive complaint, one teaspoon dissolved in warm water.”
- Ryan Walsh measured the bottle base against a dusty gap on the kitchen shelf and found a perfect match.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080712Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:37 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Bottle on the Storm Cellar: Poison, Handwriting, and Drought A half-empty glass bottle sealed with red wax and labeled as a digestive remedy for Teresa Olson - who had been buried for eleven days - turned out to contain Paris Green, an arsenic...
A half-empty glass bottle sealed with red wax and labeled as a digestive remedy for Teresa Olson - who had been buried for eleven days - turned out to contain Paris Green, an arsenic insecticide with no medicinal use. Who labeled it and why would a poison be placed where her remedies belonged?

In this episode, we follow the chain of discoveries from a storm cellar find to a farmhouse kitchen, the county doctor’s death certificate, and a visiting hiker who brought the bottle to the sheriff; the episode asks whether Teresa’s death was the tragic result of drought and disease or the product of deliberate poisoning.

Person: Teresa Olson
Date: February-March 1934
Location: Haskell Flats, Oklahoma
Cause found in bottle: Paris Green (arsenic compound)
Investigator: Ryan Walsh

- Teresa Olson was forty-six years old and widowed, working thirty acres of sorghum alone by winter 1933.
- Dr. Howard Peck visited Teresa on February 22 and March 1 and listed gastroenteritis and general debility on the death certificate.
- Debra Bauer’s dog retrieved a bottle from an open storm cellar about ten days after Teresa was buried.
- The pharmacy label read “For T. Olson, digestive complaint, one teaspoon dissolved in warm water.”
- Ryan Walsh measured the bottle base against a dusty gap on the kitchen shelf and found a perfect match.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1317falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-woman-in-the-willows-promise-policy-and-a-river-s-silence--73080711
The discovery of a twenty-nine-year-old bookkeeper seated upright in six feet of floodwater, dead for nearly two weeks and unmoved by the current, makes the Odell River feel like a witness that refuses to speak. An $800 life policy filed in December 1891 names her fiancé as beneficiary and was paid for in cash-before anyone had reported her missing; who arranged the policy, and why was the body placed where the river would not have carried it?

In this episode, we follow the timeline, documents, and local testimony that framed Janet Mitchell’s arrival in Calhoun Bend and her central question: why was a claim submitted before a body was found, and what does the river itself reveal about Megan Hayes’s last hours?

Person: Megan Hayes
Date (death discovery): February 9, 1893
Occupation: Bookkeeper for Odell River Freight and Commission Company
Beneficiary: Brian White
Policy amount: $800

- Body found seated upright between two willow trunks in six feet of floodwater and had been dead for nearly two weeks.
- Insurance examiner Janet Mitchell arrived by train from Dunmore on February 11 with an unanswered question about a pre-filed claim.
- Life policy for Megan Hayes issued December 1891 by Consolidated Mutual of St. Louis, named Brian White as beneficiary.
- Premiums for the policy were paid quarterly in cash at the Dunmore office by a man matching Brian White’s description; Hayes was never seen there.
- Ledger entries for Hayes ceased at 3:00 PM on January 28, the only workday in two years she failed to be seen after five o’clock.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080711Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:34 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Woman in the Willows: Promise, Policy, and a River's Silence The discovery of a twenty-nine-year-old bookkeeper seated upright in six feet of floodwater, dead for nearly two weeks and unmoved by the current, makes the Odell River feel like a...
The discovery of a twenty-nine-year-old bookkeeper seated upright in six feet of floodwater, dead for nearly two weeks and unmoved by the current, makes the Odell River feel like a witness that refuses to speak. An $800 life policy filed in December 1891 names her fiancé as beneficiary and was paid for in cash-before anyone had reported her missing; who arranged the policy, and why was the body placed where the river would not have carried it?

In this episode, we follow the timeline, documents, and local testimony that framed Janet Mitchell’s arrival in Calhoun Bend and her central question: why was a claim submitted before a body was found, and what does the river itself reveal about Megan Hayes’s last hours?

Person: Megan Hayes
Date (death discovery): February 9, 1893
Occupation: Bookkeeper for Odell River Freight and Commission Company
Beneficiary: Brian White
Policy amount: $800

- Body found seated upright between two willow trunks in six feet of floodwater and had been dead for nearly two weeks.
- Insurance examiner Janet Mitchell arrived by train from Dunmore on February 11 with an unanswered question about a pre-filed claim.
- Life policy for Megan Hayes issued December 1891 by Consolidated Mutual of St. Louis, named Brian White as beneficiary.
- Premiums for the policy were paid quarterly in cash at the Dunmore office by a man matching Brian White’s description; Hayes was never seen there.
- Ledger entries for Hayes ceased at 3:00 PM on January 28, the only workday in two years she failed to be seen after five o’clock.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1383falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/on-z-compressed-double-m-arch-hairline-gap-on-terminal-n--73080710
Fear tightens when an ordinary object is found buried under eleven inches of undisturbed snow - reading glasses in a monogrammed case initialed K.O., placed before the last storm, while the owner lay dead sixty yards away. Who left those glasses on the grate, and why were they there before the body was discovered?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of discoveries from the Crestfall Station Hotel register to the scene outside, and follow investigator Crystal Hayes as she pieces together entries, witness statements, and small anomalies to confront a staggeringly calculated crime. Could a blank clerk's initial and a vouched-for stranger be the clue that unravels a murder?

Person: Keith O'Brien
Date found: January 9, 1926
Location: Crestfall Station Hotel, Wahoo, Nebraska
Investigator: Crystal Hayes
Register anomaly: Room eleven charge slip missing clerk initials

- Glasses case found resting on iron grate, buried under eleven inches of undisturbed snow.
- Snowfall that covered the glasses occurred on December 29, eleven days before discovery.
- O'Brien checked into Room fourteen on December 27, prepaid through January 12 (sixteen nights).
- Hotel clerk Edwin Park had worked three months and normally initialed slips "E.P."; the Room eleven slip was blank.
- Beatrice guest listed as "P. Zimmerman" checked in December 30, dined with O'Brien that evening.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080710Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:31 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTon Z, compressed double-m arch, hairline gap on terminal n Fear tightens when an ordinary object is found buried under eleven inches of undisturbed snow - reading glasses in a monogrammed case initialed K.O., placed before the last storm, while the...
Fear tightens when an ordinary object is found buried under eleven inches of undisturbed snow - reading glasses in a monogrammed case initialed K.O., placed before the last storm, while the owner lay dead sixty yards away. Who left those glasses on the grate, and why were they there before the body was discovered?

In this episode, you will hear the sequence of discoveries from the Crestfall Station Hotel register to the scene outside, and follow investigator Crystal Hayes as she pieces together entries, witness statements, and small anomalies to confront a staggeringly calculated crime. Could a blank clerk's initial and a vouched-for stranger be the clue that unravels a murder?

Person: Keith O'Brien
Date found: January 9, 1926
Location: Crestfall Station Hotel, Wahoo, Nebraska
Investigator: Crystal Hayes
Register anomaly: Room eleven charge slip missing clerk initials

- Glasses case found resting on iron grate, buried under eleven inches of undisturbed snow.
- Snowfall that covered the glasses occurred on December 29, eleven days before discovery.
- O'Brien checked into Room fourteen on December 27, prepaid through January 12 (sixteen nights).
- Hotel clerk Edwin Park had worked three months and normally initialed slips "E.P."; the Room eleven slip was blank.
- Beatrice guest listed as "P. Zimmerman" checked in December 30, dined with O'Brien that evening.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1390falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-wig-in-the-drain-how-a-bow-turned-a-vaudeville-murder--73080708
A marcelled auburn stage wig tied with a gold lamé bow was found dry on a concrete shelf above a frozen drain on December 9, 1926 - three blocks from where twenty-two-year-old vaudevillian Erin Stevens would be found strangled in a root cellar the next day. How did a backstage pinning detail and a ribbon bow point investigators toward a killer who knew Billie Vale’s quick-change secrets?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries from a septic contractor’s lamp to the medical examiner’s time of death, and the paperwork trail from a Pardee Playhouse booking routed through Meridian Artists in Chicago. How did clerk’s notes, a stage manager’s memory, and one deliberate bow unravel the movements of Erin Stevens on the night she disappeared?

Person: Erin Stevens (stage name Billie Vale)
Date: December 7-10, 1926
Location: Dellard, Ohio (Crane Street; Pardee Playhouse; vacant fire-damaged house root cellar)
Investigator: Deputy Investigator Marcia Fleming, age 36
Medical Examiner: Dr. Leon Pratt

- The wig was discovered on December 9, 1926, resting dry above the effluent line in a vacant house drainage pit.
- Erin Stevens was last seen leaving the Pardee Playhouse at 9:15 PM on the night of December 7, 1926.
- Dr. Leon Pratt fixed the time of death as the night of December 7, 1926, and ruled the cause as strangulation.
- The wig bore a gold lamé ribbon tied in a neat bow and was pinned in the exact style used for Erin’s second-act quick-change.
- The Pardee Playhouse booking slip confirming Billie Vale’s December engagement was routed through Meridian Artists in Chicago and listed a prior booking as reference.

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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080708Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:27 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Wig in the Drain: How a Bow Turned a Vaudeville Murder A marcelled auburn stage wig tied with a gold lamé bow was found dry on a concrete shelf above a frozen drain on December 9, 1926 - three blocks from where twenty-two-year-old vaudevillian...
A marcelled auburn stage wig tied with a gold lamé bow was found dry on a concrete shelf above a frozen drain on December 9, 1926 - three blocks from where twenty-two-year-old vaudevillian Erin Stevens would be found strangled in a root cellar the next day. How did a backstage pinning detail and a ribbon bow point investigators toward a killer who knew Billie Vale’s quick-change secrets?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of discoveries from a septic contractor’s lamp to the medical examiner’s time of death, and the paperwork trail from a Pardee Playhouse booking routed through Meridian Artists in Chicago. How did clerk’s notes, a stage manager’s memory, and one deliberate bow unravel the movements of Erin Stevens on the night she disappeared?

Person: Erin Stevens (stage name Billie Vale)
Date: December 7-10, 1926
Location: Dellard, Ohio (Crane Street; Pardee Playhouse; vacant fire-damaged house root cellar)
Investigator: Deputy Investigator Marcia Fleming, age 36
Medical Examiner: Dr. Leon Pratt

- The wig was discovered on December 9, 1926, resting dry above the effluent line in a vacant house drainage pit.
- Erin Stevens was last seen leaving the Pardee Playhouse at 9:15 PM on the night of December 7, 1926.
- Dr. Leon Pratt fixed the time of death as the night of December 7, 1926, and ruled the cause as strangulation.
- The wig bore a gold lamé ribbon tied in a neat bow and was pinned in the exact style used for Erin’s second-act quick-change.
- The Pardee Playhouse booking slip confirming Billie Vale’s December engagement was routed through Meridian Artists in Chicago and listed a prior booking as reference.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1216falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-hand-in-the-ice-how-a-photo-hanged-a-man-in-1893--73080707
A pale hand pressed flat against four inches of ice, captured by a glass-plate camera forty feet from Harrow Lake’s northeast inlet-an image that showed a garnet ring yet a body whose ring was later missing. Who planned the hole in the ice, lowered a corpse beneath it, and left a photographic clue that would topple a man in a town of fewer than 400 people?

In this episode, we follow the chain of events from Dennis Bailey’s photograph on November 14, 1893 to the arrival of investigator Lisa Thorpe and the questions she tracked about ice formation and a missing garnet ring. What evidence connected a ledger-keeping widow’s last appointment to a manufactured service call and a conviction months later?

Person: Judith Andrews
Date: November 9-14, 1893
Location: Harrow Lake, Millhaven, New York
Investigator: Lisa Thorpe
Cause of death: Manual strangulation

- The hand was photographed palm-up under four inches of intact ice eighteen inches below the surface.
- Dennis Bailey, a 31-year-old postal clerk, photographed the freeze on the morning of November 14, 1893 from about forty feet away.
- Judith Andrews’ last written appointment, dated November 9, 1893, read: "Stove Works - pipe man - two o'clock."
- Dr. Franklin Bauer’s autopsy concluded death likely occurred on November 9 or 10 and found neck bruising consistent with a large-handed assailant.
- Lisa Thorpe arrived November 17, 1893, was one of two women in field assignments at the Bureau, and had closed nine of eleven prior cases with convictions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080707Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:24 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Hand in the Ice: How a Photo Hanged a Man in 1893 A pale hand pressed flat against four inches of ice, captured by a glass-plate camera forty feet from Harrow Lake’s northeast inlet-an image that showed a garnet ring yet a body whose ring was...
A pale hand pressed flat against four inches of ice, captured by a glass-plate camera forty feet from Harrow Lake’s northeast inlet-an image that showed a garnet ring yet a body whose ring was later missing. Who planned the hole in the ice, lowered a corpse beneath it, and left a photographic clue that would topple a man in a town of fewer than 400 people?

In this episode, we follow the chain of events from Dennis Bailey’s photograph on November 14, 1893 to the arrival of investigator Lisa Thorpe and the questions she tracked about ice formation and a missing garnet ring. What evidence connected a ledger-keeping widow’s last appointment to a manufactured service call and a conviction months later?

Person: Judith Andrews
Date: November 9-14, 1893
Location: Harrow Lake, Millhaven, New York
Investigator: Lisa Thorpe
Cause of death: Manual strangulation

- The hand was photographed palm-up under four inches of intact ice eighteen inches below the surface.
- Dennis Bailey, a 31-year-old postal clerk, photographed the freeze on the morning of November 14, 1893 from about forty feet away.
- Judith Andrews’ last written appointment, dated November 9, 1893, read: "Stove Works - pipe man - two o'clock."
- Dr. Franklin Bauer’s autopsy concluded death likely occurred on November 9 or 10 and found neck bruising consistent with a large-handed assailant.
- Lisa Thorpe arrived November 17, 1893, was one of two women in field assignments at the Bureau, and had closed nine of eleven prior cases with convictions.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1216falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-red-primer-a-girl-who-vanished-from-harwick-s-ledgers--73080706
The smell of rain and the dry spine of a ten-year-old schoolbook set a small Indiana town on edge: a red primer found perfectly dry in a service door led to the body of a sixty-one-year-old records keeper and a missing annual ledger. Who was Nora Calt, why is the 1904 enrollment volume gone, and how was the sealed service door opened without a forced lock?

In this episode, we walk through the morning Ross Foster found the primer, the coroner’s timeline, and the clues Deputy Investigator Wendy Padgett pursued as she traced heel impressions and catalogued a nineteen-year record system disrupted by a single absent volume. Could Jean Stroud’s last phone call about an irregularity point to a secret someone tried to erase?

Person: Jean Stroud
Date: October 8-9, 1914
Location: Harwick Mission School Society, Sycamore Street, Harwick, Indiana
Case: Missing 1904 enrollment ledger and the discovery of a red primer
Investigator: Deputy Investigator Wendy Padgett

- Ross Foster, age 14, found the red primer at 6:20 AM on October 9, 1914.
- Coroner Dr. Samuel Fitch estimated time of death between 10:00 PM and midnight on October 8, 1914.
- Jean Stroud had held her position for 19 years, arriving in 1895 at age 42 and dying at age 61.
- The primer’s inside cover read “Nora Calt, Grade Two, September 1904” and the 1904 ledger volume from the series 1896-1913 was missing.
- Two keys existed for the service door: Jean’s key was in her desk drawer and the spare was in Charles Elm’s home lockbox, both accounted for on the morning of the murder.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080706Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:21 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Red Primer: A Girl Who Vanished from Harwick's Ledgers The smell of rain and the dry spine of a ten-year-old schoolbook set a small Indiana town on edge: a red primer found perfectly dry in a service door led to the body of a sixty-one-year-old...
The smell of rain and the dry spine of a ten-year-old schoolbook set a small Indiana town on edge: a red primer found perfectly dry in a service door led to the body of a sixty-one-year-old records keeper and a missing annual ledger. Who was Nora Calt, why is the 1904 enrollment volume gone, and how was the sealed service door opened without a forced lock?

In this episode, we walk through the morning Ross Foster found the primer, the coroner’s timeline, and the clues Deputy Investigator Wendy Padgett pursued as she traced heel impressions and catalogued a nineteen-year record system disrupted by a single absent volume. Could Jean Stroud’s last phone call about an irregularity point to a secret someone tried to erase?

Person: Jean Stroud
Date: October 8-9, 1914
Location: Harwick Mission School Society, Sycamore Street, Harwick, Indiana
Case: Missing 1904 enrollment ledger and the discovery of a red primer
Investigator: Deputy Investigator Wendy Padgett

- Ross Foster, age 14, found the red primer at 6:20 AM on October 9, 1914.
- Coroner Dr. Samuel Fitch estimated time of death between 10:00 PM and midnight on October 8, 1914.
- Jean Stroud had held her position for 19 years, arriving in 1895 at age 42 and dying at age 61.
- The primer’s inside cover read “Nora Calt, Grade Two, September 1904” and the 1904 ledger volume from the series 1896-1913 was missing.
- Two keys existed for the service door: Jean’s key was in her desk drawer and the spare was in Charles Elm’s home lockbox, both accounted for on the morning of the murder.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1281falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-dry-hand-the-numbered-card-and-a-wartime-secret--73080705
Fear and curiosity collide in a soaked service road: a severed hand found dry in pouring rain, clutching a white card printed with three neat columns of numbers-an impossible detail that remained sealed under wartime censorship for decades. Who placed that preserved card in a closed palm, and why would naval authorities immediately invoke Censorship Order Seven‑C?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Brenda Wright found the hand to the quiet decisions that pulled the case under naval secrecy, and the one records clerk whose pencil tracing kept a vital clue alive. What did the numbered card mean, and how did a requisition form preserve the only lead outside military control?

Person: Alice Simpson
Date: September 8, 1943 (hand discovered); September 7, 1943 (last seen at choir)
Location: Kellerton Naval Dry‑Dock eastern service road
Authority invoked: Censorship Order Seven‑C by Lieutenant Commander Paul Fitch
Preserver: Denise Porter, records clerk (pencil tracing on a supply requisition form)

- At 6:48 AM on September 8, 1943, Brenda Wright's road grader blade uncovered a severed human hand on the eastern service road.
- The hand and a white card inside its closed palm were dry despite hours of rain that night.
- The white card was printed in mechanical black ink with three columns of numbers, edges sharp and uncorrupted.
- Alice Simpson, age 24, was identified mid‑September by a thin gold ring still on the severed hand; her remains were later found wrapped in a naval tarpaulin.
- Denise Porter copied the card's numbers in pencil onto a spare requisition form before Lieutenant Commander Fitch sealed evidence under wartime secrecy.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080705Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:18 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Dry Hand, the Numbered Card, and a Wartime Secret Fear and curiosity collide in a soaked service road: a severed hand found dry in pouring rain, clutching a white card printed with three neat columns of numbers-an impossible detail that...
Fear and curiosity collide in a soaked service road: a severed hand found dry in pouring rain, clutching a white card printed with three neat columns of numbers-an impossible detail that remained sealed under wartime censorship for decades. Who placed that preserved card in a closed palm, and why would naval authorities immediately invoke Censorship Order Seven‑C?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of events from the morning Brenda Wright found the hand to the quiet decisions that pulled the case under naval secrecy, and the one records clerk whose pencil tracing kept a vital clue alive. What did the numbered card mean, and how did a requisition form preserve the only lead outside military control?

Person: Alice Simpson
Date: September 8, 1943 (hand discovered); September 7, 1943 (last seen at choir)
Location: Kellerton Naval Dry‑Dock eastern service road
Authority invoked: Censorship Order Seven‑C by Lieutenant Commander Paul Fitch
Preserver: Denise Porter, records clerk (pencil tracing on a supply requisition form)

- At 6:48 AM on September 8, 1943, Brenda Wright's road grader blade uncovered a severed human hand on the eastern service road.
- The hand and a white card inside its closed palm were dry despite hours of rain that night.
- The white card was printed in mechanical black ink with three columns of numbers, edges sharp and uncorrupted.
- Alice Simpson, age 24, was identified mid‑September by a thin gold ring still on the severed hand; her remains were later found wrapped in a naval tarpaulin.
- Denise Porter copied the card's numbers in pencil onto a spare requisition form before Lieutenant Commander Fitch sealed evidence under wartime secrecy.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1270falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-handbag-twelve-feet-high-how-rachel-larsen-was-silenced--73080704
A brown calfskin handbag was tied twelve feet off a utility pole with a bowline knot above the Millhaven County Fairgrounds while its owner lay strangled and hidden in goldenrod below - a handbag visible from across the field that no one expected to mean murder. Who would knot a purse where anyone could see it, and why was Rachel Larsen killed after settling a $90 claim at the fair?

In this episode, we tell the events recorded in the Millhaven County investigation and trial, presenting what happened the afternoon and night Rachel Larsen left the fairgrounds, the tire sabotage, the wrong turn four miles toward County Road Fourteen, and the discovery that posed the central question of motive and visibility.

Person: Rachel Larsen
Age: 51
Date: August 15, 1934
Location: Millhaven County Fairgrounds / County Road Fourteen
Cause: Manual strangulation

- Rachel Larsen settled a fraud claim for $90 with concessionaire Leonard Pruitt at 3:40 PM on August 15, 1934.
- Her 1932 Dodge coupe had its right front valve stem loosened while she was at the fair, causing a slow deflation and a flat four miles east of the fairgrounds.
- Rachel’s body was found the next morning in a shallow drainage ditch along the fairgrounds’ south fence line, concealed in goldenrod.
- The medical examiner estimated time of death between 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM and testified the strangulation pressure was sustained and deliberate.
- A utility lineman, Dale Hayes, discovered Rachel’s brown calfskin handbag tied to an east-side pole crossbar with hemp rope in a proper bowline knot, twelve feet above the ground.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080704Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:15 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Handbag Twelve Feet High: How Rachel Larsen Was Silenced A brown calfskin handbag was tied twelve feet off a utility pole with a bowline knot above the Millhaven County Fairgrounds while its owner lay strangled and hidden in goldenrod below - a...
A brown calfskin handbag was tied twelve feet off a utility pole with a bowline knot above the Millhaven County Fairgrounds while its owner lay strangled and hidden in goldenrod below - a handbag visible from across the field that no one expected to mean murder. Who would knot a purse where anyone could see it, and why was Rachel Larsen killed after settling a $90 claim at the fair?

In this episode, we tell the events recorded in the Millhaven County investigation and trial, presenting what happened the afternoon and night Rachel Larsen left the fairgrounds, the tire sabotage, the wrong turn four miles toward County Road Fourteen, and the discovery that posed the central question of motive and visibility.

Person: Rachel Larsen
Age: 51
Date: August 15, 1934
Location: Millhaven County Fairgrounds / County Road Fourteen
Cause: Manual strangulation

- Rachel Larsen settled a fraud claim for $90 with concessionaire Leonard Pruitt at 3:40 PM on August 15, 1934.
- Her 1932 Dodge coupe had its right front valve stem loosened while she was at the fair, causing a slow deflation and a flat four miles east of the fairgrounds.
- Rachel’s body was found the next morning in a shallow drainage ditch along the fairgrounds’ south fence line, concealed in goldenrod.
- The medical examiner estimated time of death between 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM and testified the strangulation pressure was sustained and deliberate.
- A utility lineman, Dale Hayes, discovered Rachel’s brown calfskin handbag tied to an east-side pole crossbar with hemp rope in a proper bowline knot, twelve feet above the ground.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1354falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-man-who-signed-a-death-before-she-died--73080703
Fear and disbelief: a woman thanks an orderly at Pelican Narrows and is alive, yet her death certificate shows she died three days earlier at sea-how could paperwork predate a living person? This episode unpacks a stamped death dated July 11 that lists a weight 13 pounds lighter than the intake log, and the unanswered question remains: who wrote a death before she died?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of arrivals, documents, and eyewitness notes that surround Peggy Wilson’s death certificate and the anomalies that followed, and we ask whether a predated certificate points to clerical error, deliberate fraud, or foreknowledge of a death.

Person: Peggy Wilson
Date: July 14, 1883
Location: Pelican Narrows Quarantine Station
Case: Discrepant death certificate dated July 11 vs. intake log dated July 14
Investigator: Russell Ford

- Peggy Wilson stepped off the steamship Caldera and sat near the sorting shed at Pelican Narrows at eight o'clock on the morning of July 14, 1883.
- Orderly James Pratt gave Peggy Wilson a cup of water; she thanked him and was alive at that time.
- Nurse Clara Marsh logged Wilson’s intake weight at 104 pounds on July 14 and noted she was weak but responsive.
- Ship’s surgeon Arthur Voss’s death certificate, dated July 11, listed Wilson’s weight as 91 pounds and cause of death as typhoid fever.
- Russell Ford, a 41-year-old former county coroner, arrived at Pelican Narrows on July 17 and found three death certificates in Voss’s sealed packet, including Wilson’s predated July 11 certificate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080703Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:12 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Man Who Signed a Death Before She Died Fear and disbelief: a woman thanks an orderly at Pelican Narrows and is alive, yet her death certificate shows she died three days earlier at sea-how could paperwork predate a living person? This episode...
Fear and disbelief: a woman thanks an orderly at Pelican Narrows and is alive, yet her death certificate shows she died three days earlier at sea-how could paperwork predate a living person? This episode unpacks a stamped death dated July 11 that lists a weight 13 pounds lighter than the intake log, and the unanswered question remains: who wrote a death before she died?

In this episode, we follow the sequence of arrivals, documents, and eyewitness notes that surround Peggy Wilson’s death certificate and the anomalies that followed, and we ask whether a predated certificate points to clerical error, deliberate fraud, or foreknowledge of a death.

Person: Peggy Wilson
Date: July 14, 1883
Location: Pelican Narrows Quarantine Station
Case: Discrepant death certificate dated July 11 vs. intake log dated July 14
Investigator: Russell Ford

- Peggy Wilson stepped off the steamship Caldera and sat near the sorting shed at Pelican Narrows at eight o'clock on the morning of July 14, 1883.
- Orderly James Pratt gave Peggy Wilson a cup of water; she thanked him and was alive at that time.
- Nurse Clara Marsh logged Wilson’s intake weight at 104 pounds on July 14 and noted she was weak but responsive.
- Ship’s surgeon Arthur Voss’s death certificate, dated July 11, listed Wilson’s weight as 91 pounds and cause of death as typhoid fever.
- Russell Ford, a 41-year-old former county coroner, arrived at Pelican Narrows on July 17 and found three death certificates in Voss’s sealed packet, including Wilson’s predated July 11 certificate.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1407falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-impossible-ticket-how-a-stub-unmasked-a-small-town-killer--73080702
A single folded movie ticket - goldenrod, fifty cents, dated June 14, 1953 - was found in the dead man's breast pocket though he had called in sick that night; how could a stub from a shift he never worked be folded the exact way he always folded it? Who removed thirty-seven consecutive tickets from a roll and why did one of those missing stubs end up on Jason McCarthy's body?

In this episode, we tell how a ticket stub, witness statements, a projection booth ledger and forensic work combined to force Detective Gary Holmes down a path that connected a Harwick killing to at least two other deaths in Ohio. What sequence of choices turned routine records and small habits into the key that opened a violent secret?

Person: Jason McCarthy
Date: June 14, 1953
Location: Harwick, Pennsylvania
Case: Missing ticket roll stubs and homicide
Investigator: Detective Gary Holmes

- The stub was goldenrod paper, blue ink, dated June 14, 1953, and admitted adult entry for fifty cents.
- McCarthy habitually creased each perforation inward before placing the stub in his breast pocket; the found stub had that exact crease.
- McCarthy's projection-booth ledger last recorded final stub number 7,688 on June 7, 1953.
- On June 14 the Meridian ticket collection showed stubs running up to 7,704 then jumping to 7,742 - a gap of 37 consecutive stubs.
- Jason McCarthy's body was found face-down behind his garage on June 17, with his arm outstretched toward the alley gate and crabgrass undisturbed beyond his fall zone.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73080702Tue, 21 Jul 2026 04:24:08 +0000OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENTThe Impossible Ticket: How a Stub Unmasked a Small-Town Killer A single folded movie ticket - goldenrod, fifty cents, dated June 14, 1953 - was found in the dead man's breast pocket though he had called in sick that night; how could a stub from a...
A single folded movie ticket - goldenrod, fifty cents, dated June 14, 1953 - was found in the dead man's breast pocket though he had called in sick that night; how could a stub from a shift he never worked be folded the exact way he always folded it? Who removed thirty-seven consecutive tickets from a roll and why did one of those missing stubs end up on Jason McCarthy's body?

In this episode, we tell how a ticket stub, witness statements, a projection booth ledger and forensic work combined to force Detective Gary Holmes down a path that connected a Harwick killing to at least two other deaths in Ohio. What sequence of choices turned routine records and small habits into the key that opened a violent secret?

Person: Jason McCarthy
Date: June 14, 1953
Location: Harwick, Pennsylvania
Case: Missing ticket roll stubs and homicide
Investigator: Detective Gary Holmes

- The stub was goldenrod paper, blue ink, dated June 14, 1953, and admitted adult entry for fifty cents.
- McCarthy habitually creased each perforation inward before placing the stub in his breast pocket; the found stub had that exact crease.
- McCarthy's projection-booth ledger last recorded final stub number 7,688 on June 7, 1953.
- On June 14 the Meridian ticket collection showed stubs running up to 7,704 then jumping to 7,742 - a gap of 37 consecutive stubs.
- Jason McCarthy's body was found face-down behind his garage on June 17, with his arm outstretched toward the alley gate and crabgrass undisturbed beyond his fall zone.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.]]>1372falsefull