In June 1912 eight people were brutally murdered in their beds in a home in Villisca, Iowa. Despite a long list of suspects and a massive police investigation, one of the most heinous crimes in American history has never been solved.

Thinking Sideways: Villisca Axe Murders

What happens when a double homicide case lands in your lap? What if it is the oldest active cold case in the history of American true crime? What if your father held a family secret for fifty years before he confided in you that one of the victims was your great-great uncle and that your grandfather had been held as a suspect? What if the murders happened during the most corrupt era our nation has ever known? And what if you are a retired detective, like me, with the unique skill set needed to figure out an 87-year-old family mystery? Well, you put everything else on hold and set out to solve it. This is my story.
Shattered Souls: The Car Barn Murders is presented by CrimeOnline and iHeartPodcasts.
Music by Sam Johnson

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Karen wraps up this part of the Car Barn Murders series with her assessment of accomplices Walter Oliver and Robert Janney along with a breakdown of the statement of Francis Gregory. Please go to the Shattered Souls Facebook page for insider details and to render your verdicts on the case. Stay tuned for future episodes and a few surprises! Thank you for listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 17: "Fait Accompli"

After handing off her findings on William Clarke to you, the public jury, Karen details every factor and Clarke's criminal intent to put the final pieces together. She also uncovers the identity of Captain Vollten's confidential informants.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Sixteen: "DC Unconfidential"

Karen makes her opening argument against her primary suspect, William Clarke, based on the information provided in the 1935 reports and from Captain Vollten's confidential informants from 1954....but, who were the informants?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Fifteen: "We, the Jury..."

Karen's friend, Stephanie White, cracked the identity of  DC Metro Police 'ex-Sergeant Greene", named numerous times in Captain Vollten's 1954 Addendum report. Who was this man and how did he play a role in the murders of Emory Smith and James Mitchell?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Fourteen: "The Greene Nexus"

The 1954 Addendum report written by Captain Vollten provided all of the details needed to crack the case, but there were still unidentified persons involved in the murder that Karen has to identify to come to a conclusion.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thinking Sideways: Villisca Axe Murders

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