A secret relationship. Two bodies under a crabapple tree. A century-old case that begins with a compromised crime scene.

In Part One, we examine the 1922 Hall Mills murders in New Brunswick, New Jersey. A minister and a choir singer are found dead in a known lover’s lane, arranged side by side with their love letters scattered around them. Before authorities can secure the area, reporters and onlookers flood the scene, disturbing crucial evidence and muddying the investigation from the very beginning. We walk through who the victims were, the origins of their relationship, the tensions in their marriages, and the early timeline that shaped the first wave of suspicion. It is one of the most enduring unsolved cases of its era, and this episode sets the stage for everything that followed.

Edited by Max Holechek