In 1967, a double murder shocked a small town in Virginia.  A suspect was quickly rounded up, but the case wasn’t truly resolved until decades later when a chance encounter led to a series of events that would ultimately bring about a deathbed confession.  

Resources: 

“Thomas Free on Bond; Hearing Slated Oct 27”, The News Leader, Oct 17, 1967. “Prosecution Rests in Thomas Hearing”, The News Leader, April 10, 1968. “Getting away with murder? Former cop has serious questions about why Staunton’s most infamous killer almost got away”, Lindsay Barnes for The Hook, Jan 8, 2009. 

Sharron C. Smith, Obituary, retrieved from Legacy.com.

“Woman confesses to 1967 slayings”, Ashley Broughton for CNN, Jan 24, 2009. 

“Motive in Double Killing 42 Years Ago is Revealed”, The Associated Press, retrieved from The New York Times, Jan 24, 2009. 

“We just want the truth; Connie Hevener’s family wants to know why a cop allegedly hid her killer for 40 years”, Lindsay Barnes for The Hook, Feb 26, 20...

S6 Ep212: Episode 212: Deathbed Confessions: Diane Crawford Smith

Once Upon A Crime is a weekly true crime podcast that tells “the story behind the story” of real life crime. Told in a storytelling style, host Esther Ludlow digs into the details of each case to bring listeners the facts and information they won’t hear anywhere else.

Esther calls on her background in criminal psychology and includes biographical details of both victims and perpetrators to fully explore the circumstances and motivations behind the most heinous crimes.

Society & Culture

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In this month’s series, we’ll look at people who were manipulated into committing murder.  First up, we’ll take a look at a case where a mother pressures her child to kill his father.  That fact alone would make this story truly horrible but it was not the last murder Marie Witte orchestrated.  The next one would be as cold-hearted as it was gruesome.





Sources: 



https://murderpedia.org/female.W/w/witte-hilma.htm 



https://thecinemaholic.com/how-did-paul-witte-die-where-are-eric-witte-and-hilma-marie-witte-now/ 



Snapped: Hilma Marie Witte, Season 31, Episode 19, Oxygen TV, 2022. 

https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/hilma-marie-witte-convinced-sons-to-kill-husband-grandmother 



Evil Lives Here: She Made Me Do It, Season 2, Episode 2, HBO MAX,  2017. 

S8 Ep318: Manipulated to Murder: Hilma Marie Witte

In this special bonus episode of Once Upon a Crime, I speak with Michael Wolraich, the author of a new true crime book, The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age. 



In 1931, Vivian Gordon’s body was found in a gully in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park. She’d been brutally strangled, her body dumped.  The investigation into her murder would uncover blackmail plots, sex scandals, and corruption at the highest levels of the New York government.  



The Bishop and the Butterfly is a fascinating look into this true-life murder mystery from the Jazz Age. 



For more information about Michael Wolraich’s books and articles, go to www.michaelwolraich.com.  



For a chance to win a copy of The Bishop and the Butterfly go to Once Upon a Crime’s Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/onceuponacrimepod.  Like the post for this episode and tag two friends in the comments for your chance to win. Good luck! 



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S8: The Bishop and the Butterfly. A conversation with author Michael Wolraich.

In this final episode of “Tarnished Hollywood,” I’ll share a story about a promising young actor who ran afoul of the law.  His decision to immerse himself in gang culture at the expense of an acting career would lead to a life sentence in a prison cell and a brutal and bizarre end to his life at the age of 36.



Sources: 

https://chicagodefender.com/how-an-infamous-boyz-n-the-hood-cameo-led-to-real-life-murder/

https://www.thetruecrimedatabase.com/case_file/kevin-roby/



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S8 Ep317: Tarnished Hollywood: The Tragic Life and Bizarre Death of Lloyd Avery II

Amanda Hayes, an actress known for roles on The Sopranos and The Stepford Wives, was convicted of conspiring with her husband, Grant Hayes, to murder Laura Ackerson, his ex-wife and mother of his two children.  The murder  and its cover-up would be one of the most grisly crimes investigators had ever encountered. 



Sources: 

Bitter Remains, author Diane Fanning, Berkley Books, 2016. 



See No Evil: Who killed Laura Ackerson and where are they now? 

ID’s See No Evil: Who killed Laura Ackerson and where are they now? (sportskeeda.com)



Amanda Hayes: Deadly Women - 

https://deadlywomen.fandom.com/wiki/Amanda_Hayes 



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S8 Ep316: Tarnished Hollywood: Grant and Amanda Hayes and the Murder of Laura Ackerson

Danny Masterson is an American actor best known for his role in That 70’s Show. In 2020, he was charged with raping three women in 2001 and 2003. Masterson and his victims were all members of the Church of Scientology. The church’s policies and threats toward the victims caused a 20-year delay in bringing the crimes to justice.



Sources: 

A Timeline of Danny Masterson’s Controversies, Skyler Caruso for People.com, Sept 7, 2023 https://people.com/tv/danny-masterson-charged-rape-timeline-of-allegations/ 

Danny Masterson’s Long History with the Church of Scientology, Christina Dugan Ramirez for People.com, March 3, 2017. 

https://people.com/celebrity/danny-masterson-history-church-of-scientology/ 

Danny Masterson Used Drugging, Scientology to get Away with Rape, Prosecutor Says, Andrew Dalton, AP News, May 16, 2023 

https://apnews.com/article/danny-masterson-rape-retrial-ecf0ee15fb71ef603dc4ad30ba74f3dd

Danny Masterson was Convicted of Rape. What Happens to Scientology?, Tony Ortega for RollingStone, June 5, 2023. 

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/danny-masterson-rape-conviction-scientology-accountability-1234764377/ 

Two Hollywood stars are accused of rape, but Scientology is also on trial, Diana Dasrath and Corky Siemaszko for NBC News, Sept 7, 2023.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-hollywood-stars-are-accused-rape-scientology-also-trial-rcna54196

Danny Masterson is Sentenced to 30 Years to Life in Prison for Two Rapes, Derrick Bryson Taylor, Livia Albeck-Ripka, and Michael Levenson for The New York Times, Sept 7, 2023. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/arts/television/danny-masterson-rape-trial-sentencing.html#:~:text=Danny%20Masterson%2C%20the%20actor%20best,Judge%20Charlaine%20F.

Danny Masterson Branded a ‘Suppressive Person’ After Being Expelled from the Church of Scientology, Favour Adegoke for TheBlast.com, October 24, 2023. 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/danny-masterson-branded-suppressive-person-180002162.html#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20report%2C%20the,growth%20of%20those%20around%20them.

Former members reveal hell of life inside Church of Scientology, 60 Minutes Australia, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Na0EfFTp50

The Untold Story of Danny Masterson, WatchMojo.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPGe120Mlh4

The Most Shocking Revelations from Danny Masterson’s First Trial, Natalie Finn for E News, Sept 7, 2023. 

https://www.eonline.com/news/1350935/the-most-shocking-revelations-from-danny-mastersons-rape-trial



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S6 Ep212: Episode 212: Deathbed Confessions: Diane Crawford Smith

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