Old Blood

In 1889, a father discovered his daughter dead at the home of Dr. Etienne Deschamps, a dentist-surgeon and hypnotist. Was the death truly an accident? Or was it, as most of New Orleans believed, a murder? 

Sources:

Castellanos, Henry C. New Orleans As it Was: Episodes of Louisiana Life (New Orleans: L. Graham & Son., 1895).

Meletio, Donna M. “Leona Queyrouze (1861-1938) Louisiana French Creole Poet, Essayist, and Composer.” 2005. Louisiana State University, PhD dissertation. 

Pena, Christopher G. The Strange Case of Dr. Etienne Deschamps: Murder in the New Orleans French Quarter (Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 2017).

Tallant, Robert. Ready to Hang: Seven Famous New Orleans Murders (Gretna: Pelican Publishing Company, 2012).

Wozniak, Robert H. “Animal Magnetism, Early Hypnotism, and Physical Research, 1766-1925.” Bibliographies in the History of Psychology and Psychiatry, A Series. 1988. https://www.esalen.org/ctr/animal-magnetism

Newspapers:

New Orleans Daily Picayune

New Orleans Times-Democrat

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

In 1940, a principal snapped and went on a shooting spree at his Southern California junior high school. Who or what was to blame?

Sources:

Barer, Burl and Frank Giradot Jr.. A Taste For Murder (Denver: Wildblue Press, 2016).

Ban, Thomas A. “Bromides” International Network for the History of Neuropsychopharmacology. 24 October 2013. https://inhn.org/inhn-projects/drugs/bromides

Church, John. Pasadena Cowboy: Growing up in Southern California and Montana, 1925 to 1947 (Novato: Conover-Patterson Publishers, 1996).

Cropeley, Thomas and Zachary Theroux. “The Old Bromides and Their 21st Century Refreshment.” JAMA Network. 2017. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2629878

Faith, Laura. “The Backstory: Mad School Principal Kills 5, Wounds 1.” Iloveyoupug (blog about Margie Alman). http://www.iloveyoupug.com/2011/01/backstory-mad-school-principal-kills-5.html

“John Ernest Alman.”Grave Spotlight. https://www.cemeteryguide.com/gotw-johnalman.html

Peters, William F. “The History of South Pasadena High School” SPHSAA. https://www.sphsaa.org/000/3/0/5/5503/userfiles/file/History%20of%20SPHS.pdf

Plummer, Mary. “South Pasadena Students Recall 1940 Murder Spree.” KPCC. 19 September, 2014. https://archive.kpcc.org/blogs/education/2014/09/19/17256/pasadena-school-students-recall-murderous-rampage/

Rai, Dr. Vandana. “What is Bromide Toxicity?” icliniq. 16 May, 2023. https://www.icliniq.com/articles/vitamins-and-minerals/bromide-toxicity

Rasmussen, Cecilia. “A Principal’s Bloody Rampage.” Los Angeles Times. 20 July 1997. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-jul-20-me-14688-story.html

Underwood, Agness. Newspaperwoman (New York: Harper, 1949).

Williams, Janette. “After 72 years, notorious South Pasadena school shootings still resonate.” Pasadena Star News. 29 August, 2017. https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2012/09/15/after-72-years-notorious-south-pasadena-school-shootings-still-resonate-with-survivors/

Newspapers:

The Los Angeles Times

San Pedro News Pilot

San Bernardino Sun

Madera Tribune

Calexico Chronicle

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

In October of 1789, a search for the owner of an abandoned carriage led to a gruesome discovery in the home of a wealthy merchant. Don Joaquin Dongo and his entire household had been slaughtered. Within days, Mexico City officials had located, arrested, and publically executed the murderers in the same plaza where laborers worked to unearth Aztec relics.

Buy Nicole von Germeten’s book Death in Old Mexico: The 1789 Dongo Murders and How They Shaped the History of a Nation on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Old-Mexico-Murders-History/dp/1009261525

Sources:

Rodriguez, Pablo. “Crímenes coloniales: codicia y crueldad en el asesinato del señor Dongo y sus dependientes (Ciudad de México, 1789)” Historia y Sociedad, no. 40, pp. 243-259. 2021.

Von Germeten, Nicole. Death in Old Mexico: The 1789 Dongo Murders and How They Shaped the History of a Nation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023).

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

The Great Poison Mystery began in 1898 after two people were killed by poison sent to them by mail. The packages were eventually traced back to the ritzy Knickerbocker Athletic Club, and its secretary, the son of a Civil War hero. 

This is PART II of a two-part episode. Be sure to listen to episode 58 first!

Sources:

“How the Molineux Rule Permits Certain Witnesses in the Harvey Weinstein Trial.” NPR. 

Jonakait, Randolph N., “People v. Molineux and Other Crime Evidence: One Hundred Years and Counting.” New York Law School. 2002. 

Pejsa, Jane. The Molineux Affair (Minneapolis: Kenwood Publishing, 1983).

People v Molineux (Court of Appeals of New York October 15, 1901). 

Schechter, Harold. The Devil’s Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial that Ushered in the Twentieth Century (New York: Ballantine Books, 2007).

“The Lost Manhattan Athletic Club–Madison Avenue and 45th Street.” Daytonian in Manhattan. 2 November, 2015. https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-lost-manhattan-athletic-club.html

Newspapers:

The Evening World (New York)

The New York Journal and Advertiser

The New York Times

The New York Tribune

The New York World

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

The Great Poison Mystery began in 1898 after two people were killed by poison sent to them by mail. The packages were eventually traced back to the ritzy Knickerbocker Athletic Club, and its secretary, the son of a Civil War hero. 

Sources:

“How the Molineux Rule Permits Certain Witnesses in the Harvey Weinstein Trial.” NPR. 

Jonakait, Randolph N., “People v. Molineux and Other Crime Evidence: One Hundred Years and Counting.” New York Law School. 2002. 

Pejsa, Jane. The Molineux Affair (Minneapolis: Kenwood Publishing, 1983).

People v Molineux (Court of Appeals of New York October 15, 1901). 

Schechter, Harold. The Devil’s Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial that Ushered in the Twentieth Century (New York: Ballantine Books, 2007).

“The Lost Manhattan Athletic Club–Madison Avenue and 45th Street.” Daytonian in Manhattan. 2 November, 2015. https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-lost-manhattan-athletic-club.html

Newspapers:

The Evening World (New York)

The New York Journal and Advertiser

The New York Times

The New York Tribune

The New York World

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

In the summer of 1914, a fire broke out at the love bungalow of Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress Mamah Borthwick. When the smoke cleared, it became clear that a horrible massacre had taken place, leaving seven dead. Who wanted to kill everyone at Taliesin, and why?

For Magic Mind's limited offer that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one-time purchases, use code OLDBLOOD20 at checkout.

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/oldblood

Sources:

Borthwick, Mark. A Brave and Lovely Woman: Mamah Borthwick and Frank Lloyd Wright (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2023).

Drennan, William R. Death in a Prairie House: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Murders (Madison: Terrace Books, 2007).

Hendrickson, Paul. Plagued By Fire: The Dreams and Furies of Frank Lloyd Wright (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2019).

McCrea, Ron. Building Taliesin: Frank Lloyd Wright's Home of Love and Loss (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2012).

Secrest, Merle. Frank Lloyd Wright: A Biography (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992).

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

Two actors fled Hollywood for Salt Lake City in 1928. One was bludgeoned to death, and the other would call upon none other than Charlie Chaplin for help. As authorities scrambled to uncover what happened to the murdered Don Solovich, Hollywood’s most famous actors fought to keep their secrets safe. Before long, the tiny Utah town learned that Chaplin had been subpoenaed to testify and prepared themselves for a Hollywood invasion. What exactly did the King of Comedy know about the murder of his homosexual butler?

For Magic Mind's limited offer that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one-time purchases, use code OLDBLOOD20 at checkout.

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/oldblood

Sources:

Babcock, Muriel. “The Headline History of Chaplin: 1918-1932.” Movie Classic Vol. 3. No. 3. November, 1932.

“Editor & Publisher: The Fourth Estate.” Vol. 61 No. 1. New York. 6 May, 1928.

Grey Chaplin, Lita and Vance, Jeffrey. Wife of the Life of the Party: A Memoir (Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1998).

Hurewitz, Daniel. Bohemian Los Angeles: and the Making of Modern Politics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007).

“LGBTQ+ ‘Panic’ Defense.” The LGBTQ+ Bar. https://lgbtqbar.org/programs/advocacy/gay-trans-panic-defense/ 

Painter, George. “The Sensibilities of Our Forefathers: The History of Sodomy Laws in the United States.” Sodomy Laws. 2004. https://www.glapn.org/sodomylaws/sensibilities/california.htm

Quinn, D. Michael. Same-Sex Dynamics Among Nineteenth-Century Americans: A Mormon Example (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996).

Newspapers:

Gunnison Valley News

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Manti Messenger

Daily News (New York)

Los Angeles Times

San Pedro News Pilot

New Britain Herald

Imperial Valley Press

San Bernardino Sun

Bismark Tribune

Evening Star (Washington, D.C.)

Variety

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

In the summer of 1914, someone shot through the window of a Long Island doctor’s office, killing a woman inside. When investigators found a dictaphone installed inside the office, they began to suspect the doctor’s jealous wife, who claimed to have been upstairs the evening in question. When the wife’s alibi changed her testimony, Americans had to decide whether to believe the jealous wife or the black maid who contradicted her. Who was the woman in white seen outside the doctor's office just before Lulu Bailey was murdered?

For Magic Mind's limited offer that gets you up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one-time purchases, use code OLDBLOOD20 at checkout.
You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/oldblood
 

Sources:

“Freeport History Encyclopedia.” Freeport Memorial Library. https://libguides.freeportlibrary.info/c.php?g=494599&p=3384485

Hamilton, Marybeth. When I’m Bad, I’m Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997).

Kemp, Kathryn W. “‘The Dictograph Hears All’: An Example of Surveillance Technology in the Progressive Era” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Vol. 6, No. 4. October 2007. Pp. 409-430

Philibert-Ortega, Gena. “Investigating the Murder Mystery of Louise Bailey with Newspapers.” Genealogy Bank. 28 June, 2013. https://blog.genealogybank.com/investigating-the-murder-mystery-of-louise-bailey-with-newspapers.html

Selnes, Bill. “George Morton Levy Lawyer.” Mysteries and More From Saskatchewan. 3 August, 2016. https://mysteriesandmore.blogspot.com/2016/08/george-morton-levy-lawyer.html

Newspapers:

The New York Times (July 1914- May 1915)

The Day Book. 20 October, 1914

The Evening World. 8 May 1915

The Medford Mail Tribune. 5 May 1915

The Tacoma Times, 29 May 1915

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

Before Jack the Ripper, there was the Servant Girl Annihilator. The man who stalked Austin, Texas, in 1885, preying upon the city’s black servant girls. When he targeted two white women in a shocking Christmas Eve attack, all hell broke loose. 

Who was this servant girl killer, and was he the same man that terrorized London in 1888?

Sources:

Galloway, J. R. The Servant Girl Murders: Austin, Texas 1885 (BookLocker, 2010) and the book’s website https://www.servantgirlmurders.com/

History Detectives- HDSI- Texas Servant Girl Murders, 2014. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/video/history-detectives-hdsi-texas-servant-girl-murders/ 

Hollandsworth, Skip. The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America’s First Serial Killer (Henry Holt and Company: New York, 2015) 

and “Capital Murder” Texas Monthly, July 2000. https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/capital-murder/

Psencik, Katey. “The Servant Girl Annihilator: Austin’s oldest unsolved murder case.” KVUE. 7 November, 2014. https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/hidden-austin/the-servant-girl-annihilator-austins-oldest-unsolved-murder-case/269-260196137

Original Sources: 

Burt, Dr. W. J. “Autopsy Report for Susan Hancock, 1885” 29 December 1885. 

Susan Hancock Inquest. 29 December, 1885.

State of Texas v. James O Phillips, 1886.

Newspaper Articles: 

The Fort Worth Daily Gazette, The New York Times, The Austin Weekly Statesman

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com

A widow is found brutally murdered in London's East End in the summer of 1860. Four decades later, Sherlock's creator, Arthur Conan Doyle was still trying and failing to solve the mystery. Can we do better than Sherlock Holmes?

Sources:

Doyle, Arthur Conan. "The Debatable Case of Mrs. Emsley." Strand Magazine. May, 1901.

"JAMES MULLINS. Killing; murder. 22nd October 1860." Old Bailey Proceedings Online. October, 1860. https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18601022-874

McKay, Sinclair. The Mile End Murder (London: Aurum Press, 2018).

Broadsides:

Trial and sentence of J. Mullins for the murder of Mrs. Emsley at Grove-road, Stepney. (London: Disley, 1860.)

Life, trial, sentence, and execution of James Mullins for the murder of Mrs. Emsley, the old lady of Stepney. (London: Taylor, 1860.) 

The Stepney murder ; Apprehension and examination of the supposed murderer of Mrs. Mary Emsley. (London: Catnatch Press, 1860.)

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesliyan Studios & the original by Viriginia Liston

For more information, visit www.oldbloodpodcast.com