In 1935, the body of seven-year-old Richard Streicher Jr. was found beneath a footbridge in Ypsilanti, Michigan—cleaned, staged, and partially frozen. His murder shocked the town, but within months, the case went cold. Nearly a century later, it remains unsolved.

In this episode, we revisit the quiet snowfall of that March afternoon, the frantic search that followed, and the uneasy details that still don’t quite add up. Who placed Richard beneath that bridge? And why has no one ever been held accountable?

Some stories are meant to stay hidden.

But some find their way back.

Welcome to the archives.

⁠Bloodstained: Exploring Michigan's Darkest Murders Forgotten By Time⁠

⁠Householdhistory.com⁠

Instagram: ⁠@allieinthearchives⁠

Source for archival audio:

“Richard Streicher Jr. Gravestone Dedication Ceremony” (2016), available via YouTube:

⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDCKAVB6UMo⁠

In the spring of 1922, 25-year-old Gertrude Hanna stepped out into a rainstorm and vanished. Nearly a month later, her body was found in the basement of a vacant church parsonage—bound, poisoned, and six months pregnant.

The case drew headlines across the country. But there were no arrests. No answers. And no justice.

This episode explores a story of mental illness, family secrecy, and a desperate silence surrounding reproductive rights in early 20th-century America. What happened to Gertrude isn’t just a mystery—it’s a warning.

Welcome to the archives.

Bloodstained: Exploring Michigan's Darkest Murders Forgotten By Time
Householdhistory.com
Instagram: @allieinthearchives

In 1929, the body of Etta Fairchild was found at the bottom of a backyard cistern in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her skull had been shattered. Her body was wrapped in wire and weighted with a cement block. Her killers didn’t deny what they’d done—they insisted it was necessary.

They believed Etta was a witch.

This episode unearths a forgotten crime that feels centuries older than it is. A tale of paranoia, religious fear, and a mind coming undone. Of a woman marked by her differences—and destroyed because of them.

Because the witch trials never truly ended. They just changed form.

Welcome to the archives.

Bloodstained: Exploring Michigan's Darkest Murders Forgotten By Time
Householdhistory.com
Instagram: @allieinthearchives

In 1934, Paul Ostin was a husband, a father, and just another working man in Detroit.

Then he was found dead—posed beneath a tree, dressed in women’s clothing.

For a few weeks, the newspapers couldn’t get enough of the story. The speculation was feverish, the headlines sensational. And then—nothing. The press went silent. The public moved on. Paul Ostin’s name was lost to history.

Until now.

In this debut episode of Allie in the Archives, historian Allie Seibert unearths the strange and largely forgotten death of Paul Ostin, raising new questions about who may have wanted him gone—and why the story disappeared so quickly.

Some stories are meant to stay hidden.

But some find their way back.

Welcome to the archives.

⁠Bloodstained: Exploring Michigan's Darkest Murders Forgotten By Time⁠

⁠Householdhistory.com⁠

Instagram: ⁠@allieinthearchives⁠