True Crime Historian

Episode 440 gives True Crime Historian listeners a chance to discover your second-favorite historical true crime podcast with this showcase, to which we were invited to contribute a short story. Our own entry comes near the end, but it’s worth the wait. It’s a highly interesting tale about a Colorado sheriff who invents a device to let condemned prisoners execute themselves.
If you would like to follow up on some of the other podcasts in the showcase, here are the links:
Ghost Town: https://www.ghosttownpod.com/
Lady Justice: https://linktr.ee/lady.justice.podcast
Ye Olde Crime: https://www.yeoldecrimepodcast.com/
Dial-a-Crime: https://dial-a-crime.pinecast.co/
True Crime Historian: https://www.truecrimehistorian.com/
Old Timey Crimey: https://linktr.ee/oldtimeycrimey

YESTERDAY’S NEWS -- Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told through vintage newspaper accounts from the golden age of yellow journalism...
Homer Bird’s Gold Fever
Episode 438 takes place during the great Alaskan gold rush when a group of adventurous businessmen from New Orleans leave their families and risk all in a quest to gain riches beyond imagination. Yeah, that’s not gonna end well, but the most interesting part of this drama is the influence of two women in the defendant’s life. One, a literal gold-digger, the other, the faithful wife who stands by her husband’s side til the bitter end.
Culled from the historic pages of the Times-Picayune, The Washington Times, and other newspapers of the era.
If you want to dig deeper on this case, check in at the Safe House at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian, where you can listen to an extended edit of this episode that includes more information on the background and family life of the murderer and the victim, or dig really deep and explore the official case file.
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A creation Of Pulpular Media
Also from Pulpular Media:
Portals to Possibility, an improvised mock-talk show that proves you don’t have to be human to be good people. Visit pulpular.com/portals2 for a brand-new episode.
Catastrophic Calamaties, Exploring the famous and forgotten disasters of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!
Some listeners choose to support this podcast by checking in at the Safe House at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian, to get early access, exclusive content, and whatever personal services you require.
Some listeners don’t want to pledge monthly support but just want to send a few bucks this way. You can do that at www.buymeacoffee.com/crimehistorian. You can also subscribe to a $5 monthly or $50 annual membership!
***
Musical contributors include Nico Vitesse, Lucia La Rezza, Joyie, Danielle Mo, Dave Sams, Rachel Schott and David Hisch.
Some music and sound effects licensed from podcastmusic.com.
Media management by Sean Miller-Jones
Richard O Jones, Executive Producer

YESTERDAY’S NEWS -- Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told through vintage newspaper accounts from the golden age of yellow journalism...
The Scoundrel Frank Badgley
Episode 347 is dedicated to the True Crime Historian patron Kim Parkhurst, who discovered several scoundrels, including the subject of this story, on the Indiana branch of her family tree. Her people seem to be as shady as my own, so we may have other stories from them down the road.
Ms. Parkhurst, by the way, is a splendid artist. If you’re in need of a smile, and who isn’t, check out the whimsical paintings in her Etsy shop under the name Toadbriar.
Culled from the historic pages of the Hammond Indiana Times, the Indianapolis Times, and other newspapers of the era.

If you want to dig deeper into this case, complete your registration at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian where you can listen to an extended edit with 30 minutes of additional content, including an attempted jail break from the Michigan City prison that further shows Badgely’s connection to members of the infamous Dillinger gang, or you can delve into the entire case file with complete coverage of Badgley and Brown’s trial.
***
A creation Of Pulpular Media
Also from Pulpular Media:
Portals to Possibility, an improvised mock-talk show that proves you don’t have to be human to be good people. Visit pulpular.com/portals2 for a brand-new episode.
Catastrophic Calamaties, Exploring the famous and forgotten disasters of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!
Some listeners choose to support this podcast by checking in at the Safe House at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian, to get early access, exclusive content, and whatever personal services you require.
Some listeners don’t want to pledge monthly support but just want to send a few bucks this way. You can do that at www.buymeacoffee.com/crimehistorian. You can also subscribe to a $5 monthly or $50 annual membership!
***
Musical contributors include Nico Vitesse, Lucia La Rezza, Joyie, Danielle Mo, Dave Sams, Rachel Schott and David Hisch.
Some music and sound effects licensed from podcastmusic.com.
Media management by Sean Miller-Jones
Richard O Jones, Executive Producer

Murder Or Medicine?
YESTERDAY’S NEWS -- Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told through vintage newspaper accounts from the golden age of yellow journalism...
Bosson’s Bitter Whiskey And Bananas
Episode 436 comes from a request by True Crime Historian patron Marlene Resch, who wanted to hear a story from her home Lane County, Oregon. So I dug up this sordid tale of a man who stands trial for the murder of his wife, with allegations of insurance fraud and lust for his young sister-in-law, who turns out to not have the best reputation herself.
Culled from the historic pages of the Eugene Guard, the Eugene Morning Register, and other newspapers of the era.

***
A creation Of Pulpular Media
Also from Pulpular Media:
Portals to Possibility, an improvised mock-talk show that proves you don’t have to be human to be good people. Visit pulpular.com/portals2 for a brand-new episode.
Catastrophic Calamaties, Exploring the famous and forgotten disasters of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!
Some listeners choose to support this podcast by checking in at the Safe House at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian, to get early access, exclusive content, and whatever personal services you require.
Some listeners don’t want to pledge monthly support but just want to send a few bucks this way. You can do that at www.buymeacoffee.com/crimehistorian. You can also subscribe to a $5 monthly or $50 annual membership!
***
Musical contributors include Nico Vitesse, Lucia La Rezza, Joyie, Danielle Mo, and Dave Sams.
Some music and sound effects licensed from podcastmusic.com.
Closing theme by Dave Sams and Rachel Schott, engineered by David Hisch at Third Street Music.
Media management by Sean Miller-Jones
Richard O Jones, Executive Producer

YESTERDAY’S NEWS -- Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told through vintage newspaper accounts from the golden age of yellow journalism...
The Montgomery Grocer Murder Mystery
Episode 433 follows the investigation of a robbery gone south down South, and while the family battles over the will, police arrest many different suspects, but it takes three years before they get a confession from an unexpected place.
Culled from the historic pages of the Montgomery Advertiser, the Montgomery Times, and other newspapers of the era.
***
A creation Of Pulpular Media
Also from Pulpular Media:
Portals to Possibility, an improvised mock-talk show that proves you don’t have to be human to be good people. Visit pulpular.com/portals2 for a brand-new episode.
Catastrophic Calamaties, Exploring the famous and forgotten disasters of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!
Some listeners choose to support this podcast by checking in at the Safe House at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian, to get early access, exclusive content, and whatever personal services you require.
Some listeners don’t want to pledge monthly support but just want to send a few bucks this way. You can do that at www.buymeacoffee.com/crimehistorian. You can also subscribe to a $5 monthly or $50 annual membership!
***
Musical contributors include Nico Vitesse, Lucia La Rezza, Joyie, Danielle Mo, and Dave Sams.
Some music and sound effects licensed from podcastmusic.com.
Closing theme by Dave Sams and Rachel Schott, engineered by David Hisch at Third Street Music.
Media management by Sean Miller-Jones
Richard O Jones, Executive Producer

The Deadly Trout Creek Land Squabble
Episode 281 is dedicated to listener and patron Kimberlee Anderson, who shares a hometown with the defendants in this case. Although first reports said that Mrs. Alice Harris was a widow, it turns out she was a divorcee whose ex-husband was of THE Harris family of Harrisville, Utah. This story seems like it could’ve been a classic John Ford western, a land dispute in the Utah desert that turns deadly. I think maybe Maureen O’Hara as Alice Harris and Robert Mitchum as the wisecracking Tackman.

Remastered episode from the True Crime Historian vault
YESTERDAY'S NEWS -- Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told from historic newspapers in the golden age of yellow journalism
The Cayuga Ouija Board Murder
Episode 94 takes place in 1930, when the famed diorama artist Henri Marchand created a set of spectacular dioramas for a Buffalo New York Museum, had an affair with one of his models, Lila Jameson, called Red Lilac by her Cayuga tribe. She so fell in love with him that she tricked a superstitious elderly woman into committing a horrible crime so she and her artist could be together.

Indian Drumming tracks courtesy Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

YESTERDAY’S NEWS -- Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told through vintage newspaper accounts from the golden age of yellow journalism...
Remastered From The True Crime Historian Vault
The Pearce Insanity Plot
Episode 289 is a scandalous story that shook two Midwestern cities in the late 1930s when a woman came forward with a bizarre tale of abduction, adultery, assault, addiction and absconsion. That’s why I’m putting this story on my A-list.
***
A creation Of Pulpular Media
Also from Pulpular Media:
Portals to Possibility, an improvised mock-talk show that proves you don’t have to be human to be good people. Visit pulpular.com/portals2 for a brand-new episode.
Catastrophic Calamaties, Exploring the famous and forgotten disasters of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!
Some listeners choose to support this podcast by checking in at the Safe House at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian, to get early access, exclusive content, and whatever personal services you require.
Some listeners don’t want to pledge monthly support but just want to send a few bucks this way. You can do that at www.buymeacoffee.com/crimehistorian. You can also subscribe to a $5 monthly or $50 annual membership!
***
Musical contributors include Nico Vitesse, Lucia La Rezza, Joyie, Danielle Mo, and Dave Sams.
Some music and sound effects licensed from podcastmusic.com.
Closing theme by Dave Sams and Rachel Schott, engineered by David Hisch at Third Street Music.
Media management by Sean Miller-Jones
Richard O Jones, Executive Producer

YESTERDAY’S NEWS -- Tales of classic scandals, scoundrels and scourges told through vintage newspaper accounts from the golden age of yellow journalism...
Josephine Terranova’s Revenge
Episode 297 is a sad story about a young immigrant woman so abused by her relatives that when the truth is revealed to her newlywed husband, he breaks off the union. The teenage bride believes she has but one recourse: To do what God commands.
Culled from the historic pages of the New York World and other newspapers of the era.
***
A creation Of Pulpular Media
Also from Pulpular Media:
Portals to Possibility, an improvised mock-talk show that proves you don’t have to be human to be good people. Visit pulpular.com/portals2 for a brand-new episode.
Catastrophic Calamaties, Exploring the famous and forgotten disasters of the 19th and 20th centuries. What could go wrong? Everything!
Some listeners choose to support this podcast by checking in at the Safe House at www.patreon.com/truecrimehistorian, to get early access, exclusive content, and whatever personal services you require.
Some listeners don’t want to pledge monthly support but just want to send a few bucks this way. You can do that at www.buymeacoffee.com/crimehistorian. You can also subscribe to a $5 monthly or $50 annual membership!
***
Musical contributors include Nico Vitesse, Lucia La Rezza, Joyie, Danielle Mo, and Dave Sams.
Some music and sound effects licensed from podcastmusic.com.
Closing theme by Dave Sams and Rachel Schott, engineered by David Hisch at Third Street Music.
Media management by Sean Miller-Jones
Richard O Jones, Executive Producer

YESTERDAY’S NEWS
A reading from America’s historic newspapers in the golden age of yellow journalism.
The Sad Death of Ocey Snead
Episode 51 is about the tragic death of an apparently widowed young woman named Ocey Snead, short for Oceania, who was found drugged and drowned in a nearly empty house in East Orange, New Jersey. Three elderly sisters, Ocey’s mother and mother-in-law and aunt, were charged with her murder, but they say “suicide,” or maybe an accident. That Ocey and her husband were first cousins is one of the least sordid details of this tale.