S3 Ep17: The Double Indemnity Murder
When Ruth Snyder began having an affair with a married corset salesman, Henry Judd Gray, in Queens, New York, in 1925, things soon turned deadly. Ruth convinced Henry to assist her in killing her husband, clumsily staging the murder as an attempted robbery. In today's episode we explore how Ruth Snyder and Henry Judd Gray became known as the Double Indemnity killers, and how  the murder of Albe...
39m Jul 17, 2023
39m
S3 Ep16: Going to the Lordy: The Assassination of President James Garfield
At 9:30 am on July 2, 1881 in Washington, D.C., the 20th American president James Garfield was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. Garfield's assassin: Charles J. Guiteau, a man described as awkward, insecure, and mentally disturbed. Guiteau was motivated by revenge after falsely believing he played a major role in Garfield's election victory, and never being rewarded for it. In...
39m Jul 10, 2023
39m
S3 Ep15: Murder in the Bahamas Part 2
As we explored in our first episode covering this case, Sir Harry Oakes was a member of the "elite" class of men who migrated to the Bahamas to avoid taxes and take part in business activities that weren't on the up-and-up.  This group also included two men who detested each other - the exiled aristocrat Alfred de Marigny and the Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne. In the con...
36m Jun 26, 2023
36m
S3 Ep14: Murder in the Bahamas - Part One
Harry Oakes was an entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and gold miner. Sometime after midnight on July 8, 1943, Oakes was found dead inside his Bahamas house, struck four times behind the left ear and burned all over his body using insecticide. The accused murderer: his son-in-law, Alfred de Marigny. In today's episode, we discuss one of the highest profile cases of the century, the complic...
36m Jun 19, 2023
36m
S3 Ep13: The Massie Affair
In 1931 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Thalia Massie claimed she was raped by a group of men, including Joseph Kahahawai, a well-known local prizefighter. Cracks in Thalia's story throughout the case led to deadlocked jury and a mistrial, leading Thalia's mother, Grace Fortescue, and several accomplices, to murder Joseph Kahahawai. The group soon thereafter were charged with his murder. In today's episod...
42m Jun 12, 2023
42m
S3 Ep12: Stolen Potential: The Murder of Alberta Jones
In 1959 in Louisville, Kentucky, Alberta Jones was named the first woman prosecutor. Only a few years later in 1965, she was found dead in the Ohio River. In today's episode we discuss Alberta's trailblazing life and career leading up to her mysterious death, and what is suspected to have happened that night, as the case today still remains unsolved. What happened to Alberta Jones? "Crimes of ...
36m Jun 05, 2023
36m
From Strange and Unexplained: The Tragicomedy of Typhoid Mary
Hey, Crimes of the Centuries listeners! We’re off for the Memorial Day holiday, but didn’t want to leave you with an empty feed, so we’re featuring an episode from another Obsessed Network show, “Strange and Unexplained with Daisy Eagan” Daisy is a Tony Award-winning actor, writer, and true crime fanatic. But she’s also a skeptic. Each week she looks  at real stories of hauntings, disappearan...
32m May 29, 2023
32m
S3 Ep11: The Last Call Killings
Multiple murders, violent assaults, and a new forensic fingerprint technique. In today's episode we visit the killings, the acquittals, and eventually the conviction of Richard Rogers, a cold-blooded serial killer whose suspected crimes span from 1973 to 1993, and whose final victim count may never be known. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag ...
35m May 22, 2023
35m
S3 Ep10: Finding Her Voice: Sabella Nitti of Murderess Row
In the musical Chicago, the foreign woman held prisoner on Murderess Row has only one line in English: "Uh-uh, not guilty."   In today's episode, we explore the real-life case that inspired that character, Sabella Nitti, who was accused of murdering her husband, and her fight to speak for herself and prove her innocence. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast f...
38m May 15, 2023
38m
S3 Ep9: The Mysterious Case of Edward Earl
Though he had been known by many names throughout his life, it was under the name Edward Earl that he was prosecuted and hanged in 1881 New York.  What would the writings he composed in prison reveal about why he murdered his estranged wife? "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab (https://www.patreon.com/grabbagcollab) exploring forgotten c...
34m May 08, 2023
34m
S3 Ep8: The Case Behind Stockholm Syndrome
You're probably familiar with the concept of Stockholm Syndrome - the phenomenon where people taken hostage come to empathize with or even join up with their captors.  But did you realize that the term comes from a specific incident, a strange bank robbery at the Sveriges Kreditbank that turned into a multiday siege pitting the criminals against the police, with innocent workers trapped in the ...
44m May 01, 2023
44m
S3 Ep7: The "Fireproof" Theatre: Tragedy at the Iroquois
Chicago's state-of-the-art Iroquois Theatre was supposed to be a jewel in the rapidly expanding American arts scene of the early twentieth century.  But in an emergency, a combination of disaster management, design flaws, and construction shortcuts proved to be a deadly combination. Special thanks to Charlie McCarron for producing and performing the out-of-print song "Let Us Swear It By the Pa...
44m Apr 24, 2023
44m
S3 Ep6: Deadly Blaze: The Thiokol Factory Explosion
At the height of the space race, the arrival of the Thiokol chemical company was supposed to bring jobs and opportunities for the small Georgia town of Woodbine.  But a tragic explosion in 1971 killed 29 workers and left many of the survivors in the community entangled in lawsuits for decades afterwards. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag Coll...
37m Apr 17, 2023
37m
S3 Ep5: The Deaths of Herman and Irving Arthur
Brothers Herman and Irving Arthur wanted to leave their life as Southern sharecroppers in Texas and move to the North in search of better opportunities.  But after an encounter with the landowners turned lethal, they found themselves on the run from a town setting out for revenge. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab (https://www.patreon....
33m Apr 10, 2023
33m
S3: Nannie Doss: The Murderous Giggling Granny
This week we dive into our archives for a look back at one our episodes from the first season of "Crimes of the Centuries." Check out this episode and all our episodes from seasons 1 and 2, and we'll see you next week for a brand-new tale! When widower Sam Doss was rushed to the hospital with abdominal pains in 1954, his doctor was flummoxed by his life-threatening yet mysterious illness. But ...
41m Apr 03, 2023
41m
S3 Ep4: The Chippendales Murder - Separating Fact from Fiction
Nick De Noia dreamed of becoming a successful choreographer, a goal he attained through his sexy yet classy routines for the Chippendales all-male revue.  Unfortunately, that job also brought him into the crosshairs of the dance troupe's controlling owner, Steve Banerjee.  With the story recently revived in the Hulu series "Welcome to Chippendales," we're diving deep into the details to sort ou...
37m Mar 27, 2023
37m
S3 Ep3: Dorothy Stratten: A Playmate Murdered
Months after being named "Playboy Playmate of the Year" in 1980, Dorothy Stratten was poised to make the transition from model to Hollywood actress.  But just as her debut film was about to be released, Dorothy's troubled relationship with her estranged husband ended in one final, tragic encounter. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab (ht...
38m Mar 20, 2023
38m
S3 Ep2: The St. Valentine's Day Massacre and the Chicago Gang Wars of the 1920s
In Prohibition Era Chicago, competing gangs of bootleggers battled for supremacy.  In February 1929, notorious gangster Al Capone set up a brazen trap to mow down a slew of his rivals in what would become one of the most infamous crimes of the time.  It would also lead to the creation of America's first-ever crime laboratory, and mark the beginning of the end for some of the most powerful crimi...
36m Mar 13, 2023
36m
S3 Ep1: Dr. Thomas Cream: The Forgotten Victorian Serial Killer
In Victorian England, a serial killer preyed on sex workers and other vulnerable women. But unlike the infamous Jack the Ripper, this serial killer, Dr. Thomas Cream, used his medical knowledge to devise more insidious methods to claim his victims. But once uncovered, his conviction would set precedent for legal cases for decades to come. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/...
38m Mar 06, 2023
38m
Introducing... I Think Not! (A New True Crime Comedy Podcast)
Hey Crimes of the Centuries listeners! The Obsessed Network has as a brand new podcast from the former hosts and creators of Obsessed with: Disappeared. It's called I Think Not! Enjoy the trailer here and check out the first episode out now wherever you get your podcasts. NOTE: If you were already subscribed to Obsessed with: Disappeared, STAY subscribed. I Think Not! is taking over that old f...
3m Jan 05, 2023
3m
S2 Ep42: The Case of Kirk Bloodsworth: America’s First DNA Exoneration
After the 1984 discovery of 9-year-old Dawn Hamilton’s body in the woods, police began their search for a tall, muscular, curly-haired man. Kirk Bloodsworth – fitting that description – was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. Then, he was tried again and given two consecutive life sentences. Finally, nine years after first being blamed for the crime, a breakthrough in DNA technology would ...
35m Dec 05, 2022
35m
S2 Ep41: Illegal Luck: How the New Hampshire Sweepstakes Went Haywire
In the summer of 1964, the first modern lottery was off to the races in New Hampshire. The “Sweeps,” as they were called, were a sensation of national interest, with lawmakers quarreling over the legality of the get-rich-quick horse race scheme and citizens from all over crossing state lines to get in on the action. The craze seemed optimistic, until one man’s attempt at claiming his piece of t...
34m Nov 28, 2022
34m
S2 Ep40: The True Story Behind 'Murder Ordained'
Film adaptations of true crimes have to strike a tricky balance between authenticity and drama. 1987’s Murder Ordained depicts the 1983 incidents within a small town in Kansas, where the mysterious deaths of a minister’s wife and a secretary’s husband converge. But upon its release, residents and journalists alike argued the movie left some accuracy to be desired. So, what happened in Emporia? ...
36m Nov 14, 2022
36m
S2 Ep39: Soul Leaves Body: The Life and Death of Sam Cooke
Singing his way through the 1950s and early 1960s, appealing to audiences across a segregated music industry, churning out hits of dreamy quality like “You Send Me” and inspirational fortitude like “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke was more than an artist. He lived – and died – a legend. So how did he end up shot in a Los Angeles motel in 1964? In this episode, we’ll trace the tale: start to ...
37m Nov 07, 2022
37m
S2 Ep38: The Bender Family: A Suspicious Band of Innkeepers
Inside a modest cabin on the vast prairies of Kansas lived a family, or at least four individuals claiming to be one. The Benders were an odd bunch: grumpy Ma & Pa, mysteriously moody daughter Kate and John, who didn't even share their namesake. The 1870s were a stark time in the yet-to-be-settled, American West. Travelers on long journeys had slim pickings when it came time to seek shelter. Th...
32m Oct 31, 2022
32m
S2 Ep37: Linda Hazzard, the Doctor Who Starved Her Patients to Death
Dr. Linda Hazzard was an extremely unorthodox physician, a so-called "fasting specialist" who believed food to be the cause of disease. After as many as a dozen people died under her care, her sensational trial would make headlines worldwide and expose the dangerously unregulated world of medical quackery. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag Co...
36m Oct 24, 2022
36m
S2 Ep36: The Tragedy of Selena: Fandom Gone Too Far
Selena Quintanilla was on the cusp of becoming a worldwide sensation. The Mexican American had already dominated Tejano music charts for years, but as the mid-1990s got under way, so too did her plans for an English-language album that many predicted would make her a superstar. The world was shocked when that all came to a horrifying end in March of 1995, when the beloved singer was fatally sho...
37m Oct 17, 2022
37m
S2 Ep35: Hilma Marie Witte: Fatal Manipulation
The 1981 shooting death of Paul Witte, a father of two in Indiana, seemed to be an accident: Paul's 15-year-old son Eric said he'd tripped while holding the gun, fatally wounding his dad as he napped on the living room couch. The case was considered closed -- until a few years later when a second accident befell the Witte family. This time, police dug deeper and found that Paul's wife, Hilma Ma...
35m Oct 03, 2022
35m
S2 Ep34: Ramon Novarro: The Life and Death of a Screen Idol
As Hollywood found its footing at the turn of the 20th century, so did a handsome young artist who'd soon be known around the world as Ramon Novarro. In his heyday, the Mexican-born actor was mentioned alongside leading men like Rudolph Valentino. But with the discovery of his battered body decades after his star had faded, Novarro became better known for the personal life he'd spent his whole ...
40m Sep 26, 2022
40m
S2 Ep33: Murder Aboard the Ohio Belle
In March of 1856, when a visibly intoxicated man of means boarded the Ohio Belle steamboat, the crew immediately worried that they were in for a bad trip. Still, they never could have predicted that the arrival of the man calling himself J.B. Jones would ultimately lead to two dead bodies and headlines in newspapers nationwide. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a po...
34m Sep 19, 2022
34m
S2 Ep32: Trapping a Killer: Could a Psychic Help Catch a Serial Killer?
Between 1967 and 1969, terror gripped two college towns in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan, as investigators discovered the mutilated corpses of seven young women and girls. The murderer -- called the Coed Killer by newspapers of the time -- seemed to be so brazen that he was taunting police by returning to crime scenes and leaving behind evidence. The horrified public became so outraged that...
43m Sep 12, 2022
43m
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
Hey, everyone - for Labor Day, we're re-releasing this episode all about a workplace tragedy that helped spark new regulations in the US to protect workers.  Enjoy the episode and we'll be back with a brand-new story next week! ----- People enjoying a warm, sunny Saturday in New York City first noticed smoke arising from a building at about 4:40 p.m. and rushed to gather at the base of a 10-s...
40m Sep 05, 2022
40m
S2 Ep31: Chasing a Ghost: Hunting the Killer of Chief Greg Adams
The heartbreaking murder of a small-town Pennsylvania police chief seemed like an open-and-shut case in December of 1980. After all, whoever shot Gregory Adams appeared to have left a driver's license at the scene of the crime. But investigators soon learned that the case would prove to be much more challenging to close than they ever could have imagined. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www....
38m Aug 29, 2022
38m
S2 Ep30: Scandal in Arkansas: The Murder of Fern Rodgers
Porter Rodgers and his family was as close as royalty as one could get in the small town of Searcy, Arkansas. He was a successful doctor working at a hospital that bore his name. But on Sept. 26, 1974, everything changed when a housekeeper found Mrs. Rodgers dead in the couple's posh home. The case that unfolded was one to be among the most sensational in state history. "Crimes of the Centurie...
34m Aug 22, 2022
34m
S2 Ep29: Alfred Packer: The Colorado Cannibal
When a haggard Alfred Packer stumbled from the Colorado wilderness in 1874, he at first said he'd been abandoned by five traveling companions who'd left him to fend for himself. But his already-shaky story quickly changed once a search party uncovered the remains of five mutilated men. Packer -- sometimes referred to by the first name "Alferd" thanks to a misspelled tattoo -- went down in histo...
37m Aug 15, 2022
37m
S2 Ep28: The Harrowing Murders of Amelia Dyer
To countless women, Amelia Dyer offered salvation: She was a supposedly married but barren woman who offered to adopt babies whose parents (usually unwed mothers) couldn't afford to raise them properly. Dyer promised to rear the "precious" babies as her own and even offered the biological mothers the chance to visit and stay part of the children's lives -- for a small fee, of course. Eventually...
39m Aug 08, 2022
39m
S2 Ep27: Billy Milligan and His Multiple Personalities
Around the same time the first Hillside Stranglers victims were found near Los Angeles, a young man was arrested in Ohio in an unrelated string of robberies and sexual assaults that would have strange bearing over the California cases. Billy Milligan -- who ultimately would be diagnosed as having dissociative identity disorder manifesting in 24 distinct personalities -- would become the first p...
39m Aug 01, 2022
39m
S2 Ep26: The Hillside Stranglings Part 2
After Kenneth Bianchi was arrested in early 1979 on suspicion he was responsible for the so-called Hillside Stranglings near Los Angeles, he made an outrageous claim: He did kill 10 women in LA and another two in Washington state, he said, but not as Bianchi. He was a split personality and had killed them as his alter-ego, Steve. Not only that, he said, but he'd had help from his older cousin, ...
38m Jul 25, 2022
38m
S2 Ep25: The Hillside Stranglings
The first body discovered on a California hillside in late 1977 didn't make much news, but as the body count kept growing, so did the headlines -- and the sense of panic. The slayings, soon dubbed by the media as the work of the "Hillside Strangler," had Los Angeles-area women on edge day and night. It wouldn't be until a pair of similar murders occurred in Washington state that LA police would...
35m Jul 18, 2022
35m
S2 Ep24: The Murder of Phil Hartman
When news spread that a high-profile comedian was killed in a murder-suicide in 1998, the response was disbelief: Phil Hartman wasn't just famous for being funny. He was even better known for being a good-hearted guy. The shocking story behind the deaths of Hartman and his wife, Brynn, not only made international headlines, but it shook the entertainment industry and changed how people talked a...
37m Jul 11, 2022
37m
S2 Ep23: The Easter Sunday Massacre
On Easter Sunday 1937, Ethel Gedeon discovered her sister Veronica and mother Mary murdered in their New York City apartment alongside a third victim, a man who was residing in the apartment as a boarder. As police began to investigate the crime, Veronica's career as a popular artist's model led to a manhunt for one suspect whose bizarre path to the murder highlighted deadly shortcomings in the...
40m Jun 27, 2022
40m
S2 Ep22: The Notorious Case Against Dr. Sam Sheppard
When the county coroner arrived at Sam Sheppard's house in July of 1954, the pathologist was certain the case was open-and-shut: Sheppard, a headlines-courting doctor and serial philanderer, clearly had murdered his 31-year-old wife, Marilyn. Sheppard faced not one but two trials of the century in a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court and continues to stir controversy to this day. "Crimes...
38m Jun 20, 2022
38m
S2 Ep21: The Heartbreaking Slayings of Nancy, Melissa, and Angela Newman
When three members of the Newman family were discovered slain in 1987, residents of Anchorage, Alaska, flew into a panic. Though murders weren't rare there, the slayings were brutal and the potential suspect list uncomfortably long. The case marked the first time that an FBI profiler was allowed to testify to help explain how law enforcers narrowed the suspect pool to a member of the victims' o...
35m Jun 13, 2022
35m
S2 Ep20: Arthur Fried and the 'Kidnap Years'
The Great Depression sparked a desperation in people that led to an epidemic of kidnappings nationwide, including the 1937 abduction of Arthur Fried, a married father of one whose father owned a sand-and-gravel company. As crime writer Sarah Weinman helps explain, Fried's unusual case ultimately led to the state of New York executing two men for the first time on charges other than first-degree...
36m Jun 06, 2022
36m
Rebecca Schaeffer: The Slaying of a Starlet
We're taking a break for the holiday, so we wanted to feature an episode from our first season you may not have heard yet.  We'll be back with a new episode next week! As actress Rebecca Schaeffer rushed around her apartment to ready for the biggest audition of her career, a disturbed young man was pacing the street below, armed with a gun. Schaeffer's senseless death in 1989 would not only sh...
40m May 30, 2022
40m
S2 Ep19: The Reid Technique and the Wrongful Conviction of Darrel Parker
You've probably heard of the controversial Reid interrogation technique designed to extract confessions from suspects, but did you know that the case that put that technique on the map actually elicited a wrongful confession? Rabia Chaudry, co-host of the true crime podcast Undisclosed, helps tell the story of Darrel Parker's 1956 conviction in the murder of his wife, Nancy. "Crimes of the Cen...
38m May 23, 2022
38m
S2 Ep18: Patty Cannon's Murderous Gang: Selling People for Profit
With the issue of slavery dividing America in the early 1800s, Patty Cannon told neighbors curious about the Black people they spotted secreted across her property that she was helping them escape into freedom. In reality, she was leader of a gang that kidnapped free Black people -- often children -- from the streets, forged ownership papers and sold them to plantation owners in the south. And ...
36m May 16, 2022
36m
S2 Ep17: George Remus: Lawyer, Bootlegger, Killer Pt. 2
Pharmacist-turned lawyer-turned bootlegger George Remus had been making headlines for years as one of the richest men in America thanks to his illegal booze-selling operation during the start of Prohibition. Come 1927, however, his legacy was threatened with another title: cold-blooded killer. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab (https:/...
39m May 09, 2022
39m
S2 Ep16: George Remus: Lawyer, Bootlegger, Killer Pt. 1
Defense lawyer George Remus started to notice a new kind of client in 1919 and 1920: the bootlegger. He also noticed that those bootleggers always paid handsomely in cash. Remus, who had a background in pharmaceuticals, decided he wanted in, and within a year, he owned 35% of America's alcohol. The federal government moved quickly to shut down this so-called King of the Bootleggers. "Crimes of...
36m May 02, 2022
36m
S2 Ep15: The Great Train Robbery: A Brilliant Success or Sloppy Failure?
One of the biggest crimes of the 20th century was the type of heist we usually associate with the 1800s: a train robbery. In August 1963, at least 16 people managed to steal more than $7 million from a train in England. And some of them actually got away with it. "Crimes of the Centuries (https://www.centuriespod.com/) " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab (https://www.patreon.com/grabbagcollab)...
38m Apr 25, 2022
38m