Today in True Crime

23-year-old Philip Cline was given eight consecutive life sentences without parole for starting a fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel that killed eight people and injured around 200 others. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Three neighbors identified the man who broke into Debra Reese’s home and murdered her. But by the time DNA technology could prove the man's innocence, it was already too late. Guest hosted by Carter Roy from Unsolved Murders, a podcast that digs deep into the mysteries of true, cold cases using a modern twist on old-time radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Until this day, the majority of executions in the U.S. were carried out via hanging or firing squad. Gee Jon would become the first American executed by lethal gas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He killed his wife and two of his children and then buried them beneath his bathroom floor. An international treaty law kept the case in the spotlight for over a decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two gunmen fired on a fraternity party near Youngstown State University, killing 25-year-old Jamail Johnson and injuring at least 11 other people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A robbery gone wrong led to the deaths of Susan Brouk and her children Adrian and Kyle. Investigators found their bodies in a pond near their home in Vichy, Missouri. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ross Ulbricht, founder of the dark web marketplace known as the “Silk Road,” was convicted on several federal charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering, computer hacking, and drug trafficking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An unidentified truck driver killed 27-year-old Terry Milroy and raped 17-year-old Cynthia Nadeau while they were hitchhiking in Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21-year-old convict Susan LeFevre escaped the Scott Correctional Facility in Wayne County, Michigan. She would start a new life under a new name on the West Coast. Guest hosted by Lanie Hobbs of Crimes of Passion, a podcast that delves into love stories gone wrong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, disgraced film director Roman Polanski fled the United States before his sentencing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kathie Durst, wife of millionaire Robert Durst, left her friend's house in South Salem, New York, and was never seen alive again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Archduke Rudolf of Austria and his 17-year-old mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera, were found dead in their bedchambers. It is believed to have been a suicide pact. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

La Fenice, the 229-year-old Venetian opera house, burned to the ground. Investigators would have to determine if it was an accident or arson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Captain Henry Morgan led an attack on the Spanish settlement of Panama with 36 ships and over 1,500 buccaneers. The resulting battle left Panama City in flames. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The body of Gerald Earl Cavanaugh, the first victim of a serial killer called the Doodler, was discovered on a beach in San Francisco. The unidentified serial killer committed at least five murders and possibly up to nine more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz was shot and killed by American philanthropist John du Pont on the millionaire's estate. Guest hosted by Greg Polcyn of Haunted Places, a podcast that takes listeners on an audio tour of a new haunted place and its history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Juana Barraza, also known as the “Little Old Lady Killer,” was arrested shortly after killing and robbing an 82-year-old woman in Mexico City. It was the last of at least 11 victims. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Newbury and Patrick Murphy, the final two members of seven violent prison escapees, surrendered peacefully to authorities. But not before one last word with the media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Later called the Tottenham Outrage, a robbery in North London led to a chaotic chase that lasted two hours and resulted in four deaths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Manoharpur, India, a militant Hindu faction burned Graham Stuart Staines and his two young sons to death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 25-year-old single mother was raped and killed by two teenagers in Dallas, Texas. Despite the evidence against him, 18-year-old Derrick Johnson maintained his innocence until his execution in 2009. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inspired by a Hitchcock movie he saw at 13, Joel Rifkin would go on to murder 17 women over a period of four years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1975, a 15-year-old girl was found beaten to death on her family’s property. Twenty-five years later, Michael Skakel was charged for her murder. Guest hosted by Richard Rossner from Unexplained Mysteries, a podcast about history’s mystifying questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Bonanno was a mobster who was born in Sicily and found notoriety in New York when, at just 26 years old, he took control of one of the five major crime families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Israeli teenager was murdered by Palestinian militants after being lured out of his home by a woman he met online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hervey Medellin, a 66-year-old retired Mexicana Airlines clerk and art collector, was reported missing from his Los Angeles home. His body was found the next day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paul Solomon came home from a date with his 25-year-old mistress to find that his wife Betty Jeanne Solomon had been murdered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tax official Giuseppe Aliberti was arrested for leading an intricate scheme that rigged Milan's lottery and cheated people out of billions of lira. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A seven-man team pulled off an impressive heist at the Banco Río in San Isidro, Argentina, stealing an estimated $20 million worth of loot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler’s second-in-command during the Nazis’ brutal regime, was born on this day. Guest hosted by Molly Brandenburg from Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American journalist Lori Berenson was sentenced to life in prison for her involvement with the Peruvian terrorist organization MRTA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was executed by the Nazi government for setting fire to the building that housed the German parliament, the Reichstag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dorothea Puente, one of California's most prolific serial killers, was born on this date. Seven dead bodies were unearthed in her backyard, though she was only convicted of three murders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

26-year-old thief Allen Kuhn led a Manhattan prosecutor and three New York detectives on a treasure hunt through Miami. They sought Kuhn’s recent haul of priceless jewels — namely, the Star of India, one of the world’s largest gems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The body of 16-year-old Shelley Connolly was found off a highway in Anchorage, Alaska. Her case remained cold for over 40 years until new DNA technology told investigators who the killer was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alessandro de’ Medici, the first duke of Florence, was assassinated in a clever plot executed by one of his closest confidants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When authorities located the body of labor organizer Jock Yablonski, along with the body of his wife and daughter, they determined it was likely the work of hired killers. And they knew exactly where to start looking. Guest hosted by Carter Roy from Solved Murders, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21-year-old Jana Shearer was murdered, mutilated and cooked by her boyfriend Christopher McCuin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After years of spouting fascist propaganda and antisemitic tirades on his radio program “Germany Calling,” Nazi radio host William Joyce was executed for treason. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a murder spree that had resulted in the deaths of three people, authorities in Union City, Tennessee finally caught up to killer Steven Ray Thacker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

20-year-old Betty Smithey strangled one of the four children she was trusted to look after. She was caught a day later attempting to flee to Mexico. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As we look ahead to the new year, we want to take one last chance to say thank you for the year that was — and present our “Best of 2021”! Please enjoy this episode from Disappearances with Sarah Turney, one of our favorite new shows of the year. Officially, 23-year-old Michael Rockefeller drowned off the coast of New Guinea in 1961. But disturbing rumors add another dimension to his death. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A plan months in the making, serial killer Ted Bundy cut a hole in the ceiling of his cell and escaped from a maximum-security prison in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The body of 18-year-old Sarah DeLeon was found on a stretch of isolated train tracks by a railway worker. Decades later, her case remains unsolved. Guest hosted by Alastair Murden from Once Upon A Time, a Spotify Original from Parcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An online fued between two Call of Duty players turned deadly when a swatting incident went horribly wrong, killing an innocent victim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chechen rebels drove two trucks full of explosives past checkpoints at a government building in the capital city of Grozny and detonated them, killing 72 people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On an island off the coast of Scotland, the strange disappearances of three lighthouse keepers called for an investigation. A log kept by one of the keepers only deepened the mystery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Christmas Day 1868, U.S. President Andrew Johnson extended a pardon for Confederate veterans, leaders and supporters who participated in the Civil War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not long after 27-year-old Laci Peterson vanished from her neighborhood in Modesto, California, suspicion fell on her husband, Scott Peterson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following the victory of the Allied powers in World War II, the American military executed seven convicted Japanese war criminals in Tokyo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices