Historical True Crime

In 1935, a tiger shark on display at Sydney’s Coogee Aquarium regurgitated a human arm. The victim was identified as missing man Jim Smith, but the discovery only opened a far more complicated investigation involving insurance fraud, harbour smuggling, conflicting statements, a second murder and several suspects who were ultimately acquitted. Nearly a century later, both deaths remain unsolved.

Support Historical True Crime on Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime. Members get access to bonus episodes and additional historical cases not released on the main feed.Source Materials

Phillip Roope and Kevin Meagher, Shark Arm: A Shark, a Tattooed Arm and Two Unsolved Murders

Alan J. Whiticker, Twelve Crimes That Shocked the Nation

Alex Castles, The Shark Arm Murders

Dictionary of Sydney, “Shark Arm Murder 1935”

ABC Radio National, “The Shark Arm Case,” featuring Alex Castles

Contemporary Australian newspaper coverage of the discovery of the arm, the investigation, the inquest, Patrick Brady’s trial and the murder of Reginald Holmes

New South Wales police records, witness statements and court material as reproduced and discussed in the works above

A conspiracy inside the royal household ended with the murder of Pharaoh Ramesses III. This episode follows the struggle over Egypt’s throne, the trials that followed, and the modern forensic evidence that  revealed how the king died more than three thousand years later.

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Join at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

A. de Buck, “The Judicial Papyrus of Turin,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 23, No. 2, 1937, pp. 152–164.

Susan Redford, The Harem Conspiracy: The Murder of Ramesses III, Northern Illinois University Press, 2002.

Eric H. Cline and David O’Connor, editors, Ramesses III: The Life and Times of Egypt’s Last Hero, University of Michigan Press, 2012.

Zahi Hawass, Somaia Ismail, Ashraf Selim, Sahar N. Saleem, Dina Fathalla, Sally Wasef, Ahmed Z. Gad, Rama Saad, Suzan Fares, Hany Amer, Paul Gostner, Yehia Z. Gad, Carsten M. Pusch and Albert R. Zink, “Revisiting the Harem Conspiracy and Death of Ramesses III: Anthropological, Forensic, Radiological, and Genetic Study,” British Medical Journal, Vol. 345, 2012.

Alexandre Loktionov, “Convicting ‘Great Criminals’: A New Look at Punishment in the Turin Judicial Papyrus.”

Hans Goedicke, “Was Magic Used in the Harem Conspiracy Against Ramesses III? (P. Rollin and P. Lee),” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 49, 1963, pp. 71–92.

Mark Collier, Aidan Dodson and Gottfried Hamernik, “P. BM EA 10052, Anthony Harris, and Queen Tyti,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 96, 2010, pp. 242–247.

Erin Blakemore, “Who Killed Ramesses III? How Science Solved an Ancient Egyptian Murder Mystery,” National Geographic, August 2, 2024.

As accusations from La Voisin’s circle reached Versailles, Madame de Montespan, Louis XIV’s former favourite was drawn into claims of love powders, forbidden rituals, and poison plots. But the evidence was shaped by rumour, torture,fear, and politics, leaving one question at the centre of the scandal: what was real, and what was too dangerous for the monarchy to expose?Support the show on Patreon:
If you enjoy Historical True Crime and want to help support the research, writing, hosting, and production that goes into each episode, you can join my Patreon for as little as $2 a month. Patrons get access to extra episodes and bonus content, including cases that are not in the regular feed.

Patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

Anne Somerset, The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV

Holly Tucker, City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris

Antonia Fraser, Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King

Nancy Mitford, The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles

Benedetta Faedi Duramy, “Women and Poisons in 17th Century France,” Chicago-Kent Law Review, Vol. 87, No. 2, 2012

Erika Carroll, “Potions, Poisons and ‘Inheritance Powders’: How Chemical Discourses Entangled 17th Century France in the Brinvilliers Trial and the Poison Affair,” Voces Novae, 2012

In 1670s Paris, the deaths of a noblewoman’s father and brothers sparked fears of a hidden poison network. As police investigated, they were drawn into a world of fortune-tellers, love powders, secret remedies, and La Voisin , setting the stage for a scandal that would reach Louis XIV’s court.

Source Materials

Anne Somerset, The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV

Holly Tucker, City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris

Antonia Fraser, Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King

Nancy Mitford, The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles

Benedetta Faedi Duramy, “Women and Poisons in 17th Century France,” Chicago-Kent Law Review, Vol. 87, No. 2, 2012

Erika Carroll, “Potions, Poisons and ‘Inheritance Powders’: How Chemical Discourses

Entangled 17th Century France in the Brinvilliers Trial and the Poison Affair,” Voces Novae, 2012

When Louise Bailey was shot through the window of a Long Island doctor's office in 1914, suspicion quickly fell on the physician's wife, Florence Carman. But with no eyewitness, no confession, and a case built largely on circumstantial evidence, two juries were left to decide whether suspicion was enough. More than a century later, Louise Bailey's murder remains unsolved.

Source Materials

The New York Times (1914–1915 coverage of the Florence Carman trials)

Chicago Day Book (1914 coverage)

Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1914–1915 coverage)

The Evening World (1914–1915 coverage)

New York Tribune (1914–1915 coverage)

The Sun (New York) (1914–1915 coverage)

The Buffalo Times (1914–1915 coverage)

The Washington Times (1914–1915 coverage)

The Tacoma Times (1914–1915 coverage)

The Freeport Memorial Library Local History Collection

Murderpedia: Florence Carman

Historic newspaper archives accessed through Newspapers.com and Library of Congress Chronicling America

In 1922, Fred Oesterreich was found shot to death in his Los Angeles home. His wife claimed burglars were responsible, but investigators had doubts. Nearly eight years later, a shocking discovery reopened the case: another man had beenliving in secret inside the house for years. This is the extraordinary story of Dolly Oesterreich, Otto Sanhuber, and one of the strangest murder cases of the twentieth century.

Historical True Crime was selected as one of FeedSpot's Top 60 Historical Mysteries Podcasts. FeedSpot helps you find the best podcasts on the web: https://podcast.feedspot.com/

Source Materials

 Wolf, Marvin J. & Mader, Katherine M. Fallen Angels: The True Story of California's Most Bizarre and Spectacular Murder Cases

Parrish, Michael. For the People: A Social History of the American Criminal Justice System

Rasmussen, Cecilia. “Dolly Oesterreich's Secret Lover Lived in Her Attic” (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times archive coverage of the Oesterreich murder investigation and trials

The Los Angeles Evening Express archive coverage

The Los Angeles Record archive coverage

The Los Angeles Examiner archive coverage

The San Francisco Examiner archive coverage

The San Bernardino County Sun archive coverage

The Oakland Tribune archive coverage

The Sacramento Bee archive coverage

The Tacoma Daily Ledger archive coverage

The Pittsburgh Press archive coverage

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle archive coverage

The Milwaukee Journal archive coverage

Newspapers.com historical newspaper archive

California Digital Newspaper Collection

Library of Congress, Chronicling America newspaper archive

In 1937, twenty-year-old dancer Patricia Douglas accused an MGM salesman of raping her at a company convention attended by hundreds of studio employees and guests. When a grand jury declined to indict, she refused to back down, taking on one of Hollywood's most powerful studios in a legal battle that would last for years. In this episode, we examine the assault, the investigation, the court cases, and the woman who spent decades fighting to have her story heard.

Source Materials

Stenn, David. Girl 27 (Documentary Film). Red Letter Films, 2007.

Stenn, David. “It Happened One Night... at MGM.” Vanity Fair, April 2003.

 Stenn, David. “The Systematic Crushing of a #MeToo Pioneer.” The New York Times, January 5, 2018.

Abcarian, Robin. “A Hollywood Role She Never Asked For.” Los Angeles Times, January 19, 2007.

Galloway, Stephen. “How a Hollywood Studio Got Away With Rape in 1937.” The Hollywood Reporter, November 13, 2017.

Schatz, Thomas. The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era. Henry Holt & Company, 1988.

Contemporary newspaper coverage from June 1937, including The Independent (California) and other contemporary Los Angeles-area newspapers reporting on the investigation and grand jury proceedings.

In 1900, fifteen-year-old Eddie Cudahy Jr., the son of one of Omaha's wealthiest businessmen, was kidnapped and held for a record-breaking ransom. The crime sparked a nationwide manhunt, a five-year search for suspect Pat Crowe, and one of the most controversial trials of the era. In this episode, we examine the kidnapping, the evidence against Crowe, and why a jury ultimately found him notguilty despite widespread belief in his involvement.

Source Materials

Garneth Oldenkamp Peterson, The Kidnapping of Ed Cudahy: How Pat Crowe Got Away with the Crime

Albert S. Ritchie, Address to the Jury by Albert S. Ritchie of Omaha, Nebraska, in the Pat Crowe Kidnapping Case (1906)

The Omaha Daily Bee (1900–1906coverage of the Cudahy kidnapping and Pat Crowe trial)

The Omaha World-Herald(1900–1906 coverage of the kidnapping, investigation, and trial)

The New York Times, “'Pat'Crowe Acquitted; Was Accused of Kidnapping Son of Edward A. Cudahy” (February 17, 1906)

The New York Times, “Says He Is Pat Crowe; Man, Apparently Demented, in Custody of Washington Police” (August 16, 1913)

The New York Times, “PatCrowe, Once Noted Outlaw, Beggar Now; Sentence Suspended, Purse Made Up in Court” (December 30, 1925)

The Herald-Democrat (December 25, 1900)

Library of Congress, “The Eye That Never Sleeps: Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Records” (2023)

Pinkerton National Detective Agency Records, Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Jeff Vasishta, “Andrew Hilleman's World Chase Me Down,” Interview Magazine

In 1901, fourteen-year-old Willie Nickell was shot and killed near his family’s ranch in southeastern Wyoming. Suspicion eventually settled on Tom Horn, former Apache War scout, Pinkerton detective, and one of the most feared men connected to the Wyoming range wars. But more than a century later, historians still debate whether the state truly proved he committed the murder.

Source Materials

Ball, Larry D. The United States Marshals of New Mexico and Arizona Territories, 1846–1912. University of New Mexico Press, 1978.

Carlson, Chip. Blood on the Moon: The Life and Legend of Tom Horn. High Plains Press, 2001.

Davis, John W. The Trial of Tom Horn. University of Wyoming Press, 1960.

Horn, Tom. Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter. 1904.

Krakel, Dean. The Saga of Tom Horn: The Story of a Cattleman’s War. University of Nebraska Press, 1954.

Siringo, Charles A. A Cowboy Detective. 1912.

“The Killing of Willie Nickell.” The Lamar Register, August 12, 1903.

Additional contemporary newspaper coverage from Wyoming and Colorado newspapers, 1901–1903.

Robert Stroud became one of the most famous prisoners in American history as the “Birdman of Alcatraz” but the real story was far more complicated. This week, we look at the life of Robert Stroud, the violence that shaped his prison years, the mythology built around him, and the reality behind one of the most enduring legends in true crime history.

Source Materials

Babyak, Jolene. Bird Man: The Many Faces of Robert Stroud.

Bruce, J. Campbell. Escape from Alcatraz.

Gaddis, Thomas E. Birdman of Alcatraz.

Gregory, George H. Alcatraz Screw: My Years as a Guard in America’s Most Notorious Prison.

Quillen, Jim. Alcatraz from Inside: The Hard Years 1942–1952.

Stroud, Robert. Looking Outward: A Voice from the Grave.

Alaska Historical Society — “Robert Stroud: The Birdman of Alcatraz”

Encyclopaedia Britannica — “Robert Stroud”