True Crime Historian Pulpular Media

The Hodges Massacre And Its Awful Aftermath

Put on your favorite indignation hat, my friend, because episode 253 is going to be one of those. This case was mentioned in the coverage of the Padrick case, Episode 245, Slain For Her Own Salvation, and it piqued my interest and the interest of some listeners, so I looked into it. I hesitated going on. We live in tense times but I decided it’s important to remember how ugly things can get. All of my stories are cautionary tales, and we should never forget the dark past so we won’t go there again.The Hodges family massacre sparked a wave of lynchings and other crimes against African-Americans in Georgia and nearby states.

According to the Tuskegee Institute, between 1882 and 1964, 4,743 people were lynched in the United States, 3,446 of them African-Americans, 73 percent. Georgia racked up 531, 92 percent African-American, more lynchings than any other state except Mississippi, 581.

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The Golden Gate Park Tunnel Tragedy


Episode 185 takes us to the West Coast just after Prohibition, when a 23-year-old woman turns up dead, strangled and violated (as they say) in Golden Gate Park, just after being unceremoniously ejected from a rich man’s hotel apartment after refusing his advances. The man has an alibi. See if you buy it.


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The Atrocities Of Albert Fish

I'D TURN BACK IF I WERE YOU!!!

Episode 191 is without a doubt the vilest case you'll ever hear on this program because I don't think I could find a worse one if I tried. There's a lot of evil discussed here: torture, cannibalism, and more. Consider this your trigger warning: I'd turn back if I were you! Or at least put the kids to bed and plug in your ear buds. Keep this between us.

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The Florodora Girl Takes The Stand

Episode 257 combines some of our favorite tropes: the love triangle gone awry, another showgirl and another man about town who wants to eat his cake and take it to Europe, too. There were only two people in that hansom cab when the shot was fired, and the Flora Dora girl said she didn't shoot even though the gun was identified as hers.

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The Stanford Bathtub Murder

Episode 255 examines the sensational events following the discovery of a woman found dead in the bathtub, bludgeoned to death, and all circumstantial evidence pointing to the husband. I’m not so sure. The prosecution theory makes some sense, but I think they failed to prove a crucial element that would have convinced me. Drop me an email or a message on Facebook and tell me if you think the same way, what that missing element might be.

Culled from the historic pages of the Oakland Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other newspapers of the era.



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The Mahoney Trunk Murder of Seattle

Episode 194 takes place in the Pacific Northwest, when an elderly, wealthy widow marries a man fresh out of Walla Walla Prison, then disappears on their honeymoon two months later. I think we know where this is going, and yeah, it's not gonna end well.


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