Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories

After the brutal murder of Arlis Perry, police chased several leads, only to find dead ends. We follow the investigation. Did someone have a vendetta against Arlis? Did she have a secret lover? Or was this evidence of cult activity? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In October 1974, the body of 19-year-old Arlis Perry was found in Memorial Church in Palo Alto, California. Perry went to the church late one night to pray, but the next morning, she was found dead beneath the cross. We navigate the dark turns of this case, and investigate the events leading up to this horrific, violent crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1929, Benny Evangelist, his wife, and their four children were found brutally murdered in their own home. But Benny’s strange past and cult involvement caused police to overlook some key evidence. We examine that ignored evidence, and investigate how the police looked into everything from Benny’s crazed cult followers to the supernatural in an attempt to solve the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On July 3, 1929, faith healer and cult leader Benny Evangelist was found sitting in his home office with his own severed head lying at his feet. Upstairs, his wife still held their youngest child, both brutally murdered, and their three other children laid in a bedroom with severed limbs and crushed skulls. We investigate Benny’s life as an eccentric and wealthy cult leader as we search for the killer and the motive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

World-renowned surgeon and cancer researcher Dr. Mary Sherman was found brutally murdered in her New Orleans apartment in 1964. Her body was burned and lacerated, and during her autopsy, a stab wound was found in her chest. Was this an act of senseless violence, a professional grudge...or something even more sinister? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On July 21, 1964, a fire was reported at the Patio Apartments in New Orleans. The first responders found a disturbing scene...blood splattered on the walls, a burning mattress, and the lifeless body of a world-renowned surgeon and cancer researcher. We dissect the facts to question what really happened to Dr. Mary S. Sherman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On September 16, 1920, an explosion went off at 23 Wall Street, killing 38 people and injuring hundreds more. But no one knew who set off the bomb, or why. We explore the political and financial turmoil that may have inspired the attack, and we look into the man who warned New Yorkers of the bombing beforehand with uncanny detail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After months of receiving terrifying phone calls from an anonymous caller, Dorothy Jane Scott was kidnapped in May 1980. But after her disappearance, her mother starts receiving calls every week for four years, with the sinister man on the other line saying Dorothy was alive... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In May 1980, Dorothy Jane Scott brought a coworker to the University of California Irvine Medical Center...and that’s the last time anyone saw her. Except for one person—an anonymous man who called Dorothy for months leading up to her disappearance. We explore the psychology behind obsession and stalking, and how it led to Dorothy Jane Scott’s abduction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the gruesome massacre of the Donnelly family, the trial to bring their killers to justice becomes chaotic. We examine the trial and its main suspects—a priest and the chief of police—and how the Donnelly reputation caused their murders to go unsolved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Donnellys were a family of Irish immigrants who moved to Canada and became outlaws in the 1800s. Carter and Wenndy investigate the family and the volatile relationships they had with their neighbors in rural Ontario. These ongoing feuds may have led the town to turn a blind eye to the "The Black Donnelly Massacre." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Months after the murder of Rita Bouchard, when the case seemed to be going cold, investigators hear a surprising confession from Rita’s neighbor, Raymond Patenaude. Carter and Wenndy focus on Raymond and his account of the night of Rita’s death… and his recollection of the next morning, when he woke up beside her dead body. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On a chilly February day in 1947, news of an unidentified 17-year-old woman’s body shook the people of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Carter and Wenndy explore the long line of suspects ranging from Rita’s boyfriend to her creepy, pedophile neighbor...but who was present in those final moments of her life, and the first moments of her death? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Austin Texas in a panic, local authorities were desperate to quell citizens fears by prosecuting any suspect--perhaps even one they knew was innocent. Carter and Wenndy follow the search for a suspect with a missing toe, explore possible connections to other violent axe murders during that timeframe, and consider the cases most famous suspect- Jack the Ripper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Servant Girl Annihilator struck late at night, axing mothers while their children slept in the very same bed. The bloody murder of Mollie Smith, and the string of related killings that followed, put 1880’s Austin Texas in a panic. Carter and Wenndy investigate the witness accounts describing a barefoot, hooded man wielding an axe, and how racial tensions muddled the investigation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carter and Wenndy investigate the rumors and reporting around the mysterious death of movie producer Thomas Ince. Between rape allegations, false headlines and whispers of murder, the true story remains a cypher for the ages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It reads like a classic murder mystery. At the height of the Silent Era, a group of Hollywood's elite gathered for a dinner party aboard a capricious millionaire's yacht. When a famous movie producer turns up dead, suddenly no one aboard the ship wants to talk about what really happened. Carter and Wenndy investigate the mysterious death of producer and studio head Thomas Ince, Father of the Western and arguably the most influential founder of the Hollywood studio system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was never caught. So why did Jack the Ripper stop killing? In the finale, Greg, Vanessa, Carter, and Wenndy follow the years-long search for Jack the Ripper, ranging from bloodhound trials to DNA testing. Then our hosts discuss Jack’s last victims, his pop culture influence, and a few major suspects; finally pinpointing the person they believe was Jack the Ripper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the first serial killers to write letters to the authorities, Jack the Ripper’s mail was memorable, to say the least. Our resident Ripperologists examine Jack’s odd correspondence and determine which letters were fakes and which were truly penned by the Ripper. They also examine the “Double Event” murders and how sensational journalism and media coverage influences active killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He's the world's most famous killer. But how could a series of crimes committed in a few weeks in 1888 still be so famous nearly 130 years after the fact? In the first episode of this special series, Unsolved Murders Hosts Carter and Wenndy join Serial Killers hosts Greg and Vanessa to explore the most infamous anonymous killer the world has ever known: Jack the Ripper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the Beaumont children disappeared, Australia was permanently scarred, but they weren’t the only children to disappear around that time. Carter and Wenndy search potentially related cases for connections as they look for a suspect. Our hosts follow the dedicated detective who remained on the case after everyone else gave up, and judge the plausibility of claims from people who came forward, years later, claiming to be the lost Beaumonts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Their disappearance changed Australian parenting forever. Jane, Grant and Arnna Beaumont were last seen five minutes from home, playing at the beach. Mass news coverage brought the investigation to the attention of a celebrity investigator and a celebrity psychic, but even they couldn’t find the poor children. Carter and Wenndy analyze mysterious letters supposedly written by the missing Beaumont children and investigate witness accounts from that fateful day at the beach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the tragic deaths of four children, Oakland County was in a panic, and the Task Force was desperate, even engaging a celebrity psychiatrist to help catch the killer. The investigation fizzled out by 1980… until new leads emerged in the 2000’s. Were the killings tied to a local pedophilia ring? Perhaps the police zeroed in on the wrong leads? Carter and Wenndy investigate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1970’s, the suburbs of Detroit were supposed to be safe. But when children started disappearing, Detectives Krease and Robertson got worried. And when their bodies were found dead, the detectives began hunting a serial killer. Carter and Wenndy dig into the hidden dark background of Oakland County, Michigan and follow the detectives’ investigation until they land on a suspect. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joan Robinson Hill's mysterious death left her wealthy father Ash Robinson desperate for justice. Wenndy and Carter investigate Ash's theory that his philandering son-in-law, John Hill, killed Ash's beloved daughter. Was Ash Robinson hounding an innocent widower, or was he on the trail of a callous killer? And who was really behind Joan’s husband’s murder a mere couple weeks before his trial? Was Ash’s burning desire to avenge his daughter’s death enough to drive him to kill? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joan Robinson Hill, adopted daughter of a Texas oil baron, led a picture perfect life as a beautiful socialite and talented equestrian. Her sudden, inexplicable death at the age of 38 left her family and friends reeling. Join Wenndy and Carter as they try to determine whether Joan died from an incurable malady, if her doctor husband intentionally let her die, or if she was simply poisoned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a result of local gossip, William Gardiner is brought to trial for the murder of Rose Harsent. But Carter and Wenndy can’t shake the feeling that Gardiner may have been framed, and that the seemingly-least-likely suspect may be the most culpable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Peasenhall Murder is one of the most notorious unsolved murders in England. Rose Harsent, a beautiful unwed housemaid, was found murdered in the middle of the night in the sleepy town of Peasenhall. The biggest clue to the murder suspect is Rose’s pregnancy. Was she killed by her unborn child’s father? By a jilted admirer? Or even her ashamed employers? Carter and Wenndy dig into the local gossip of a tiny turn of the century town to find clues on who may have killed Rose Harsent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People across America knew Bob Crane as a famous actor. Many others knew him for his sex scandals. And somebody knew him as a person they wanted dead. But when everyone knows who the victim is, it’s a lot harder to nail down a suspect. Carter and Wenndy investigate; was Bob bludgeoned to death by a jealous friend, an upset lover, an angry ex-wife? Or someone who just knew him as a star? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Famed radio DJ and star of Hogan’s Heroes, Bob Crane was equally famous for his scandals. The last of which is his unsolved murder. Crane was found in his Scottsdale apartment, beaten to death, likely with the very same tripod he used to make his scandalous videos. Carter and Wenndy dig into Bob Crane’s life to search for suspects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The search for Elsie Paroubek ended when her corpse was pulled from a Chicago canal. She had certainly been murdered, but who did it? Carter and Wenndy investigate the suspects in Elsie’s disappearance, including gypsies, a local peddler, and one of the most famous outsider artists, Henry Darger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Though she died at only 5 years old, Elsie Paroubek captured the hearts of Chicago, with over two thousand people attending her funeral. Elsie was an ordinary girl born to Bohemian immigrants in Chicago, until one day, she disappeared forever. This week, Carter and Wenndy ask the question: what happened to Elsie? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Voodoo. Gangsters. A family feud. All were possible factors in the 1943 murder of Sir Harry Oakes, the richest man in the Bahamas. And it only got more complicated when the Duke of Windsor became personally involved in the investigation, bringing in foreign investigators. After following a botched investigation and shoddy court case, Carter and Wenndy consider Oakes’ son-in-law, his friend, and even a Nazi as suspects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No one succeeds without ruffling a few feathers, and baronet Sir Harry Oakes was no exception. Oakes made a fortune off his gold mines, but in 1943 he was found burnt to a crisp in his own bed. Carter and Wenndy examine Oakes’ meteoric success and brutal end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Years after the murder of three young girls with matching first and last initials, advances in forensics bring new suspects to light. Carter and Wenndy dig into the mysterious suicide of not one—but two—suspects, consider the involvement of The Hillside Stranglers, and explore the idea that these murders may not actually be connected at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Carmen Colon. Wanda Walkowicz. Michelle Maenza. Three young girls with matching first and last initials. Three young murder victims. Carter and Wenndy discuss each girl’s disappearance from Rochester, New York, the police’s dead-end investigation, and the public frenzy that surrounded the 1970’s murders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cheryl Crane stepped up to take the blame for her mother’s boyfriend’s death, but was she simply covering for her famous mother, silver screen blonde bombshell, Lana Turner? Carter and Wenndy sift through Cheryl’s trial, Hollywood’s top lawyer, and mob threats to determine who really killed gangster Johnny Stompanato. Though the answer may seem obvious, this case has been heavily debated for decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The official story is that gangster Johnny Stompanato was murdered by a 14-year-old girl. But with a Hollywood starlet, the LA Mob, and an abusive relationship in the picture, the official story may not be the truth. Though the answer may seem obvious, this case has been heavily debated for decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Carter and Wenndy look deeper into a local feud and an alleged affair leading up the murders in Villisca. Suspects in the Villisca Ax Murders include a hired assassin, a transient, a serial killer and a reverend who claimed God told him to “slay utterly”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One night in the sleepy town of Villisca, Iowa, 8 people were hacked to death in their beds. Prior to this, Villisca had been a thriving, prosperous, and mostly crime-free town. Afterwards, Villisca would never be the same. Carter and Wenndy re-examine the day leading up the Villisca Ax Murders, the crime scene, and the immediate investigation into the deaths of the Moore family and the Stillinger girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Lilly Lindestrom was found dead in Stockholm’s Atlas area, the police were baffled. Because she wasn’t just found dead, she was found drained of blood and positioned near a ladle. The search for the Atlas Vampire was on. Carter and Wenndy dig into the odd case, as well as the public’s fascination with vampires. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Detectives Stearns and Flis hunt for the murder weapons in the Robison Family’s case - two guns that are strikingly hard to find, considering that most people in the woods of Northern Michigan at the time owned a gun. After following the gun hunt, Carter and Wenndy look into Richard’s mysterious contact, “Roebert”; the detective’s prime suspect, Joe Scolaro and The Coed Killer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Robison family was found shot to death in their summer cabin in the idyllic town of Good Hart. If that wasn’t bad enough, by the time the bodies were found, they had been dead for almost a month. Carter and Wenndy explore the decomposed crime scene, and then examine suspects including an escaped mental patient, a drifter, the cabin’s “strange” caretaker, and even one of Richard Robison’s employees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The search for answers about the Somerton Man and the intriguing paper found in his pocket leads hosts Carter and Wenndy to the center of Cold War espionage. As they continue the case, the investigation moves from Persian poetry to a mysterious woman who most certainly lied to the police. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Australia, December 1948. A man is found dead on Somerton Beach. The police don’t know his name. They don’t know his age. They can’t even figure out what country he’s from. All they have is the message “Tamam Shud”. Who was the Somerton Man, and what is Tamam Shud? Carter and Wenndy try to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Monster of Florence shook the hills of Italy so strongly that two separate task forces were assigned to the case. Carter and Wenndy examine how the murderer affected local investigators as well as journalist Mario Spezi, who remained hot on the trail, even interviewing an anonymous source. Suspects ranged from a former convict with a suspicious painting, to practitioners of black magic to even Spezi himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When crime reporter Mario Spezi began a story on a murdered couple found in the Italian countryside, he had no idea what a wormhole this chilling tableau would open. The Monster of Florence shot couples and mutilated women, but were the related murders the work of a serial killer, copycat killings, or a member of the mafia gone rogue? Carter and Wenndy investigate the murders’ connections to a Sardinian clan, and discuss the life and theories of journalist Mario Spezi, who spent over 20 years writing about the crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1957, the corpse of a child was found in a box in Pennsylvania. Who was this boy? Where were his parents? How did he end up in the box? Carter and Wenndy investigate the baffling case of “America’s Unknown Child.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s always the person closest to the victim. Or is it? This week, Carter and Wenndy follow the trial of William Wallace. Our hosts try to figure out why no other suspects were tried for Julia Wallace’s murder, when there were plenty of suspicious figures at play. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Knight to E-4. Checkmate. After receiving a mysterious call at his chess club, William Wallace went on a wild goose chase to meet a client. When he returned home, his wife was dead. Did the chess enthusiast plan his wife’s murder with the same strategy and foresight needed in chess, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Carter and Wenndy investigate, because in this crime, none of the pieces are black and white. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices