Carter Roy
Appearances
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Second, his new identity. Barry may have come upon his current first and last names by chance, as he claims, but there is also another James Simmons who attended Texas Tech University like Barry. Now, that could just be a coincidence, except the original James Simmons was audited twice and got a call from the FBI. They let him know that his identity had been stolen.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
It seems like Barry was using someone else's name and social security number illegally. And finally, the most significant issue There is not a single public record that backs up Barry's story about being found comatose in a Tennessee junkyard. The police department, FBI field office, and hospitals in Memphis all come up empty.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
None of them have any documentation of an injured John Doe being found or treated in the summer of 1984. It's looking more and more like the original investigator's theory was correct. Barry staged his own disappearance. And now he doesn't want to admit it. If that's true, he's not the only one. A few days after the initial press conference, media coverage reaches a frenzied level.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Beth Cox calls her own press conference to tell reporters that, despite all the holes in Barry's story, she believes it. Quote, "...I want to, and I don't have any reason not to." Barry's brother George feels the same way. He stands by his brother and doesn't believe he's capable of lying. That's not all.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry's brand new congregants and employers at White Rock Community Church also stand behind him. Some of them feel honored that their church facilitated the miracle of Barry finding his true identity. They all have faith that he'll be able to clear everything up as soon as he's ready to talk. About two weeks after the story makes news, that faith gets put to the test.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry invites reporters to the community church where he'll be taking questions from inside his new sanctuary. Members of his congregation are present as well, hoping to get clarity on exactly who they've hired to be their new pastor. Anyone hoping for big revelations is disappointed. Barry attempts to field questions, but his answers aren't satisfying to everyone.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
When asked to provide more details on the hospital where he stayed or the family he says helped him out during his time of need, Barry says he can't remember their names. He claims he doesn't really remember anything before hitchhiking in Virginia. Reporters also press Barry on his apparently stolen identity.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He says that he ended up with the original James Simmons social security number through a combination of good intentions and misunderstandings. According to Barry, when he needed a social security number so he could get a job, his landlady contacted Texas Tech University. Why did she happen to call the very university that Barry and James Simmons once attended?
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry mentions that his landlady had a niece enrolled there, and she noticed that he had a Texan accent. But that's the only explanation he offers. Somehow, that phone call resulted in Barry, then James Simmons, obtaining the other James Simmons number. After using that for three years, Barry approached Virginia Congressman Norman Sisiski about getting another number.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Representative Sosiski confirmed that Barry asked for help, but declined to get into any further details. This also doesn't line up with what Barry shared with his new employers. They thought he got his new social security number through the FBI as they worked together to determine his true identity. Then there's the story about searching fruitlessly for the truth about his past.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
31-year-old Wesley Barrett Cox. Wesley Barrett Cox's friends call him Barry. He's a youth minister in San Antonio, where he lives with his wife, Beth, and daughter, Talitha. Barry's professional and family life is just beginning. He became a husband, minister, and father in just the last two years. Talitha is only six months old.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry claims he fixated on finding his family and felt frustrated those efforts weren't mutual. But there's no evidence he actually tried to find out where he came from. There is plenty of evidence that Barry's family and his church community tried everything to track him down, from handing out flyers to hiring a private investigator.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
The sheriff who spearheaded the initial search also filed a national missing persons report. If Barry had ever reached out to federal law enforcement for help, they presumably would have used his dental records to identify him. As Barry continues to rely on vague language and memory loss to dodge questions, tension is rising in the room. He's not winning over any skeptics.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He's only reinforcing their doubts. At one point, Barry seems to acknowledge how incredible his story is, saying that, quote, I don't know if I would believe myself if I heard this story. After Barry can't plug any of the plot holes in his amnesia story, the goodwill surrounding his reappearance dissipates. Nevertheless, he doesn't waver.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He sticks with the explanations he's given, even though almost nobody believes them. Even though Barry knows it's unbelievable. Sometime in the weeks following Barry's disappointing press conference, he fails to win a two-thirds vote of confidence from his congregation at White Rock Community Church.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He resigns from his position as pastor and eventually founds his own church in a storefront just outside Dallas. His ex-wife Beth chooses to overlook the child support payments he owes her. She just asks him to contribute to the cost of Talitha's college education, which is coming up. Beth and Barry negotiate for a year, but no payment is made.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Beth has no choice but to pursue the child support payments in a court battle. Then, Barry files an application to reverse his death certificate. and have the value of his estate restored to him. Back in the 1990s, Beth collected Barry's inheritance on some family real estate. She used the money to support Talitha. Now it's gone.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
If the court sides with Barry, Beth would have to repay that money, but she says that would bankrupt her. According to Barry, regaining his estate is about showing respect for his immediate family. He also says the process is a way to integrate his two identities, as recommended by a therapist. It takes several months, but the courts settle in Beth and Talitha's favor.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry has to pay child support for a few more years, and Beth does not owe him the money from his estate. Despite the legal battle, Barry and Talitha's relationship remains positive. Beth tells reporters that their contact is mostly over the phone, but that it's been beneficial for their daughter.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Because Barry maintains that he can't remember the details of his disappearance, questions about what really happened in the summer of 1984 remain unanswerable. The empty beer can in the trunk of the Oldsmobile, for example – Did Barry plant it there to suggest someone else had been on the scene, or did he drink it, and was alcohol consumption just one more thing he hid from his family?
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Then there are the facial injuries that witnesses noticed after his disappearance. Did he crash his motorbike accidentally? Were the injuries self-inflicted, meant to bolster a story about a beating? Or maybe the tape on his nose was just supposed to make him harder to identify. We'll never know.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
This summer, Barry has spent some time away from his new job and family. He's been working on his doctorate in art education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, about a six-hour drive from San Antonio. Beth and Talitha had visited him a few times, and now, Barry was finally done with the program and on his way home. Beth last spoke with Barry the previous night.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
No matter what conclusions people reach about his disappearance, Barry was in the end able to live openly as his true self, a gay man. The dramatic exit might seem like a bit much to achieve that goal, but let's take a deeper look at the context in which it happened. It's hard to overstate the prevalence of homophobia in 1980s Texas.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
At the time, the AIDS crisis was exacerbating existing prejudices. In 1983, prominent televangelist Jerry Falwell said that God had created AIDS to punish gay people and the people who supported them. In 2001, Beth told reporters that soon after Barry disappeared, the church in San Antonio where Barry worked as a youth pastor hired a private investigator.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
While the PI was searching for Barry, he found out he'd been secretly interacting with other gay people. Beth refused to believe it. Her mind couldn't process how the person she knew, her devout minister husband, could also be gay. She thought that even considering it felt disrespectful to his memory. She went on to say that she regrets that Barry didn't share his true feelings with her.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
At one point during the 2001 media frenzy, Beth told the press she wished this had never happened. But maybe it won't happen again. Today, even among evangelicals, there is support for same-sex marriage. Hopefully, now, young people like Barry won't feel as trapped as he may have. Coming out shouldn't require staging your own disappearance. Thank you for watching Conspiracy Theories.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. If you're watching on Spotify, swipe up and give us your thoughts or email us at conspiracystories at spotify.com. For more information on Wesley Barrett Cox, amongst the many sources we used, we found coverage by the Abilene Reporter News extremely helpful to our research.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Until next time, remember, the truth isn't always the best story. And the official story isn't always the truth. This episode was written and researched by Hannah McIntosh, edited by Mickey Taylor and Connor Sampson, fact-checked by Laurie Siegel, and video editing and sound design by Alex Button. I'm your host, Carter Roy.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He talked about the toys he was bringing home for their daughter and how excited he was to play with her. This time, when the phone rings in their San Antonio home, Beth picks up expecting to hear Barry's voice again. He should be home any time. Instead, it's a sheriff on the other end. As Beth gets up to speed on the investigation over the next day or so, she and authorities agree.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry might have been the victim of foul play. He was carrying cash that's now missing. The empty beer can in the trunk also feels ominous because Barry wasn't a drinker. Even more strange details emerged surrounding the last known sighting of Barry. A little less than 24 hours before his car was found, he'd stopped at a gas station.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He actually walked there in the middle of the night carrying empty jugs. His car ran out of gas two miles away. The clerk who served Barry described him as courteous and friendly, and some folks saw him with a blue helmet. He got the gas he needed, along with water and a 7-Up.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry mentioned his wife liked the soda, so the clerk assumed she was waiting for him in their car with the empty gas tank. A police officer offered him a ride back to his car, which he accepted. The officer didn't see anyone else in the Oldsmobile, but he did notice a motorbike in the trunk. Barry told the officer that he purchased the motorbike for his wife.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
After Barry put a little gas in the tank, he returned to the same gas station to fill it up. The police officer watched him continue along in the same direction. toward where the Oldsmobile would be discovered the next day. In addition to the confusing comments Barry made about his wife, a couple other details strike Beth and investigators as odd. First is his route.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Talitha Cox waits by the phone. It's January 1st, 2001, her 17th birthday. She's anticipating one call in particular. It's one she's been waiting for her entire life. Today, Talitha's getting a phone call from her father. She's heard about him, she knows his name, but she's never met him. After all, he's been legally dead for nine years. Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Barry was not driving toward home. Instead of heading south toward San Antonio, Barry was headed east out of Rotan in the general direction of Dallas. Beth also can't explain the motorbike. It doesn't seem like Barry to purchase such an exciting gift and not show it off. She thinks he would have at least mentioned it to friends around the church. And now the bike is also missing.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
So investigators treat it as another lead. They're not just looking for Barry, they're looking for this motorbike too. The sheriff organizes a search. Law enforcement, local volunteers, and Barry's friends and family from all over Texas descend on the barren landscape. They search half the county over three days, on foot and by air. They don't see any sign of Barry anywhere. But other people do.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
In the days following Barry's disappearance, a few people north of the wrecked Oldsmobile report seeing a man fitting his description. Two women running a convenience store remember selling a man in a motorcycle helmet a pair of sunglasses. It was a quick interaction, but the man was memorable because he had a piece of tape on his nose, like he was recovering from nose surgery.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
A couple of days later, another convenience store clerk remembers a man arriving on a small motorcycle late at night. He was wearing a blue helmet, just like the one the police officer saw in Barry's trunk. The man in the helmet looked beat up. He had a cut on his lip, a bandage on his nose, and two black eyes. And he seemed to be disoriented and confused.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He tried to hand the clerk $4 when he owed less than $1. Barry's family and law enforcement have different reactions to these sightings. Barry's family is uplifted by them. All the witness details about Barry's polite demeanor are reassuring. Even if Barry's gone through some kind of trauma or injury, the heart of the person they love seems intact.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
I'm Carter Roy. You can find us here every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod, and we would love to hear from you. So if you're listening on the Spotify app, swipe up and give us your thoughts. We'd like to give a special thanks to one of our listeners for suggesting today's story. Stay with us.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
And though some of the witnesses aren't absolutely positive that the man they saw was Barry, his family continues chasing down every lead. Beth speculates that Barry might be suffering from some kind of cognitive impairment that left him confused about who or where he is. But as definitive sightings dry up, law enforcement brings up another theory, one that's less palatable to his loved ones.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Perhaps Barry intended to disappear. They point out that if Barry did suffer some kind of injury, either as a result of foul play or an accident, it didn't happen in the Oldsmobile. There was no blood at the scene and no sign that he was injured before he left the car.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Investigators feel confident that Barry left his car and drove north on the motorbike, but if he were truly incapacitated or wanted a reunion with his family, he would have been found by now. Instead, they feel further from finding Barry than when they started. A Texas Ranger tells a reporter that they haven't found Barry because he doesn't want to be found.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Right around this time, Beth gets word that she's received some mail from Barry back at their house in San Antonio. It's a note dated the day before Barry disappeared. He writes about how excited he is about their friend's wedding in a few weeks. As the active investigation in North Texas dries up, Beth tells reporters that she's still praying for a reunion with her husband.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
She maintains her theory that he's suffering from memory loss or is perhaps being held against his will. Beth says she doesn't agree with the theory that Barry planned his own disappearance, but she hedges this a bit, saying, "...if he's had that much pressure, I want him to have the freedom." She also says that she and Barry's employers at their community church are prepared to welcome him back.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
They want him to know he can return no matter what the circumstances of his disappearance are. It takes well over a decade for him to come back. And it's not by choice. After Barry Cox disappeared in the summer of 1984, authorities speculated that he staged his own disappearance. Although his family initially held out hope they'd see him again, time starts to chip away at that faith.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Six months later, as Beth celebrates Talitha's first birthday in San Antonio, she knows life there is unsustainable without her husband. In January 1985, she moves to California, where family can help support them. Several more years pass. In 1991, Beth has Barry declared legally dead and her marriage is dissolved. But Barry's absence continues to burden his family.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Talitha's anger about growing up without a father builds to a boiling point when she's 13. Beth resorts to sending her to a boarding school. As difficult as it is to live without Barry, it's something they have to accept. It's reality. Until suddenly, it's not. On December 10th, 2000, the members of White Rock Community Church fill their sanctuary in Dallas, Texas. There's a sense of anticipation.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Today, they're going to hear from a new pastoral candidate. The church has been searching for someone to fill this role for almost a year. It's been tricky finding a candidate who is qualified, but also willing to serve their parishioners.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
The congregation practices evangelical Christianity but is also predominantly gay, so their church is considerably more progressive than others of the same faith. When church leaders met a minister named James Simmons, it felt like divine intervention. James holds degrees in theology and divinity, and his easy charisma wins over everyone. Today is the final step of the hiring process.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
It's the end of a sweltering day out on the plains of rural North Texas. It's July 1984, and the state is in a drought. Normally, this desolate area doesn't see much traffic. But on this particular evening, the farm road just outside the tiny town of Tuxedo is swarming with cops. A local called them about an Oldsmobile abandoned on the side of the road. It's taken a beating.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He'll take to the pulpit for a trial sermon. James is confident in front of a crowd and with a microphone as he shares his incredible life story. He says although he's 49, he only remembers the last 16 years of his life. In the summer of 1984, children playing in a junkyard found him in the trunk of a car. He was unconscious, beaten within an inch of his life.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
James woke up in a Memphis hospital after a two-week coma with zero memory of who he was and unable to speak. He needed help regaining his ability to walk. Eventually, he wanted to learn his true identity and grew discouraged when the efforts of local law enforcement failed. He felt as though his family, whoever they were, had abandoned him.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
So he started on an odyssey to find himself and ended up hitchhiking to Virginia. Along the way, a hardware store advertisement caught his eye. He took his new last name, Simmons, from the chance encounter. From there, he held a few different jobs before discovering that if someone said the first few words of a Bible verse, he could always complete it.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
So he chose a new first name for himself, Simmons. james from the new testament's book of james later he felt called to pursue an education in theology and enrolled in golden gate baptist theological seminary located in california james performance there was outstanding
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
In addition to completing two master's degrees, James was voted student body president, won numerous academic awards, and was hired to run the seminary's housing department. The story goes over well with the White Rock Community Church congregation. They seem taken with the prospective new minister. But one parishioner needs to know something personal before they're convinced. Is James gay?
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
James answers in the affirmative. One of his earliest memories after waking up from his coma is of a crush he had on a male nurse. The congregation laughs. The deal is sealed. A large majority votes him in as the new pastor. But one parishioner has a very different experience from the rest. When Blaine Huffnagle first sees the prospective minister, he only looks vaguely familiar.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
But as James tells his life story, Huffnagle makes the connection. He approaches James Simmons after the service and tells the minister he recognizes him. His real name is Barry Cox. Hufnagel grew up in the same town as Barry, and it doesn't take long for word to get back to Barry's mother and brother George, and then his ex-wife Beth.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
After speaking to George on the phone, Barry meets his mother and brother on New Year's Day 2001. They immediately recognize him, but to Barry, they're strangers. Yet something in his mother's house triggers his emotions. a chair. He finds himself crying as he looks at it, and he can't explain why. The same day, Barry calls Talitha, the daughter he didn't know he had. Talitha is thrilled.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
Speaking with her dad is something she's always dreamed of. A few days later, Beth asks Abilene Christian University to host a press conference to field media requests about Barry's story. The university, abbreviated ACU, has special significance for the Cox family. Beth and Barry met there.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
And when Barry went missing, many of their friends from the institution joined in the ground search for him. The representative from ACU frames Barry's reappearance and amnesia delicately, admitting that there are still a few missing pieces to the story. The media are not so diplomatic. Within days, reporters identify three main issues with Barry's story. first.
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
The front and rear windshields and other windows are busted. The keys are locked in the trunk, along with an empty beer can. There's some men's clothing in the back seat and some Christian cassette tapes beside the car. A search of nearby roads yields an empty wallet, contents scattered nearby, but no cash. A license plate search confirms that the wallet belongs to the owner of the Oldsmobile...
Conspiracy Theories
The Dead Minister Who Lived
He claims that he's lost over 30 years of memories, but he has no other apparent neurological or physical impairments. There were witnesses who saw Barry with facial abrasions in the days following his disappearance, but according to some doctors, an injury that resulted in such all-encompassing amnesia would have left him with other significant disabilities that Barry doesn't seem to have.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
And perhaps for the same reasons, the Guidestones drew outrage. Reverend James Travenstead, a local minister, was one of the first skeptics to voice his opinions. Given the ten guidelines he predicted, someday a sacrifice will take place here. He thought the stones were the work of Satanists.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
as former elberton granite association employee hudson cone told the new york times to some it's the holiest spot on earth to others it's a monument to the devil a monument to the devil is likely the way former georgia gubernatorial candidate candace taylor saw it but where does that belief come from and has it found it Is it simply the energy some people felt when they visited the Guidestones?
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Is it the enigmatic nature of its creator? Or has the truth been in front of us the entire time? In R.C. Christian's Manifesto. In 1986, six years after the Georgia Guidestones were unveiled, R.C. Christian released a book entitled Common Sense Renewed. The book expands on the ideas engraved on the stones. It also gave rise to a theory that R.C. Christian was an agent of the New World Order.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Now, we've discussed the New World Order more than once on this podcast. It references a broad conspiracy about a cabal of elites who control most of the world governments and economies from the shadows.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Many theories contend that the cabal's master plan is to trigger a doomsday scenario, one which will kill all but a select few humans, who will then be tasked with repopulating the Earth according to strict guidelines. Maybe guidelines etched out on guide stones. Recall the text written on the slabs of stone that I read earlier in the episode.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Number one, maintain humanity under 500 million in perpetual balance with nature. With the current world population sitting at around 8 billion, over 90% of living humans would have to die in order for this guideline to be met, near total extinction.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The second guideline read, guide reproduction wisely, improving fitness and diversity, which can be interpreted to mean humans should procreate based on preferred genetic matches rather than love. Christian expresses a similar sentiment in his book, calling for population policy in governments to combat the growing number of people in the world.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
this idea of selective breeding pairing certain humans together to promote ideal traits or to do away with unwanted ones can be traced to the horrific experiments carried out by nazi scientists during world war ii and the nazis are often seen at the root of the new world order conspiracy in fact it was hitler's regime that introduced the concept of a new order
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
or a radical, violent shift in population demographics. Some theorists hold that the secret leadership of the Order is made up of Nazis who escaped justice at the end of World War II. They and their descendants have since controlled world events from the shadows. When R.C. Christian said, guide reproduction wisely, was he referencing Nazi eugenics?
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
That certainly is a threatening way to read these guidelines, but there's another way to look at them that's much less ominous. The rules are focused on finding balance and harmony within human society, improving fitness and diversity, finding a common language, ruling fairly and justly. In the absence of some genocidal hidden agenda, these seem like laws we could stand to live by.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
An engraving on the capstone was written in four ancient languages, Babylonian, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. When translated to English, it read, "...let these be guidestones to an age of reason." The four other stones were also engraved on both sides.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
But then, why the secrecy? If the Guidestones were built out of benevolence rather than malignancy, why didn't R.C. Christian just reveal his true name? That, some theorists contend, is because R.C. Christian was part of a different secret society, the Rosicrucians. The Rosicrucians were a fabled order of mystics who came to fame in 17th century Europe.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
They were associated with new schools of thought, spirituality, and mysticism, which stood in opposition to the Christian establishment in Europe at the time. While their official doctrine is somewhat dense, they generally supported a practice that combined mystic cultural practices from around the world with modern science in an attempt to help mankind evolve intellectually.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The movement gained prominence due to a series of manifestos which hinted at an exclusive secret society of scholars and scientists who sought to transform Europe across the fields of art, culture, science, religion, and government. The key connection between the Rosicrucians and the Georgia Guidestones is philosopher Thomas Paine.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
In the 18th century, Paine wrote The Age of Reason, a book that challenged institutionalized religion, promoted deism, and advocated for reason over faith. The capstone of the Georgia Guidestones read, let these be Guidestones to an age of reason. Paine also wrote Common Sense, a popular 18th century pamphlet arguing for American independence during the Revolutionary War. R.C.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Christian name-checked this pamphlet in his own book, Common Sense Renewed. And according to the current chapter of the Rosicrucian Order, Paine was among a handful of early American figures to be part of the society in the 18th century. The connecting threads go deeper. The original Rosicrucian texts name the leader of the movement. Christian Rosenkreutz.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
This name, while likely an alias, is similar to the other main pseudonym in this story, R.C. Christian. Furthermore, the Rosicrucians would often refer to themselves as the fraternity of R.C. R.C. in this case stood for Rosy Cross, a society symbol resembling a golden cross with a rose fixed in the apex. Finally, R.C.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Christian's requests for the Guidestones to be a sundial or calendar for the remainder of humanity make a lot more sense when you consider a theory posited by filmmaker and former radio commentator Jay Widener. He contends that since their initial rise in the 17th century, the Rosicrucians have been analyzing the solar cycle.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
They have determined that every 13,000 years, ejections will fall from the sky and destroy most of the Earth. This, in turn, will massively reduce the population. Thus, the Guidestones are intended for those few that are left. This would be a somewhat more optimistic theory than the man-made apocalypse of the New World Order theory.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
But perhaps the apocalypse coming for us won't be triggered by the New World Order or solar ejections. Consider the laundry list of things that have the potential to wipe out most or all of human existence. Natural disasters, climate change, super diseases.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Unlike the capstone, this text is written in eight different languages, English, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, traditional Chinese, and Russian. The engravings on these four stones are the 10 guides. Number one, maintain humanity under 500 million in perpetual balance with nature. Number two, guide reproduction wisely, improving fitness and diversity.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
As rampant overpopulation increasingly strains our infrastructure, it's not totally unforeseeable that in the near future, an extinction-level event could lead to the eradication of humanity. And as for the first guideline, maintain humanity under 500 million, maintain humanity, not reduce humanity to or permit no more than. The word choice of maintain could imply that R.C.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Christian assumed most of the world's population would be long gone by the time people started actually following the guidelines. What if R.C. Christian wasn't advocating for a culling of the human race, as the New World Order theory implies? Christian and his sponsors might not have had vested interest in wiping out the planet, but rather preparing the planet in the event it's wiped out.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
When you look at the geographic factors, the Guidestones actually seem strategically placed to survive an apocalyptic weather event. They are far away from oceans and would endure rising sea levels. Their position atop a hill makes them easily visible from a far off distance. This theory makes sense considering the global political climate in 1979 when the stones were commissioned.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
At that time, Russia and the United States were engaged in the Cold War, a decades-long political rivalry in which Americans were warned every day about the possible threat of nuclear weapons. This theory is supported by Wyatt Martin, the bank president who helped R.C. Christian get his project off the ground.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
In 2010, filmmaker Christian Pinto tracked down Martin for his 2015 documentary titled Dark Clouds Over Elberton. According to Martin's interview, Christian's purpose for the Guidestones was to instruct the remainder of humanity in the event of nuclear devastation. The stones would act as a kind of sundial, a primitive clock that a post-apocalyptic civilization could build itself around.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Wyatt Martin was the only person who knew R.C. Christian's true identity. And while he may have been willing to reveal the purpose of the Georgia Guidestones, he certainly wasn't giving up any names. In 1980, after the Guidestones were unveiled, he told the Atlanta Constitution, When I die, the secret will die with me. Martin kept that promise when he passed away in 2021 at the age of 91.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
But he didn't keep all of R.C. Christian's secrets. Back in 1979, Martin made Christian two promises. The first, keep his identity hidden. The second... destroy any and all documentation and correspondence related to the Guidestones project.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
He'd kept the first, but in a 2009 Wired magazine article, he revealed to reporter Randall Sullivan a computer case full of papers dating back to that very first meeting in 1979. Sullivan asked to see the contents, but Martin refused. Later, filmmaker Christian Pinto interviewed Martin for his documentary, Dark Clouds Over Elberton.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
This time, Martin allowed producers to peek inside the case of documents. It turns out, correspondence between Christian and Martin didn't stop in 1980 when the Guidestones were complete. The men traded letters back and forth for many years after. In the documentary, Martin holds up one of the letters from R.C. Christian. It's dated July 14th, 1998. Martin reads a portion of it out loud.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
There's not much hidden in the contents of the letter. It reads like Christian is just giving an old friend updates on his life. But there's one clue. Christian mentions he's 78 years old, putting his birth year at about 1920. In the next shot, a producer holds up the envelope to the camera. There's no return address, but a stamp shows the letter came from Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Then Martin picks up another package. It's from Smithsonian Magazine to Robert Christian. Care of Robert Merriman. And finally, just before Martin closes up the case of documents, the camera picks up one last clue on a letter from R.C. Christian. This time, it's an actual return address, again from Fort Dodge. The filmmakers are ecstatic.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Not only are they the first people to see inside this case of documents, but they also might have enough clues to track down the real R.C. Christian. They start with the name Robert Merryman, The producers contact Stoyles Graphic Services, the Iowa-based publishing company behind R.C. Christian's book, Common Sense Renewed. It's a hit.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Stoyles confirms that a man named Robert Merriman published the book with their company. Merriman had his own background in the printing business. He'd been a publisher of a newspaper, the Fort Dodge Messenger. But digging into Merriman's history, the filmmakers learn he died in 1992. Because R.C. Christian had sent letters after that date, it was impossible that that was his true identity.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
But they took the name in their back pocket. Perhaps Merriman was a friend of Christian's, or even one of the anonymous sponsors behind the Guidestones. They move on to the return address on Raywood Drive in Fort Dodge. That home did not belong to Robert Merriman, but a Herbert H. Kirsten.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The filmmakers discover Kirsten was a doctor who'd grown up in Fort Dodge and went to medical school at the University of Iowa. He served in World War II, then settled back in his hometown and joined his family's medical practice. He and his wife had four children, and he was heavily involved in his community. Dr. Kirsten died in 2005 at the age of 85.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
He sounds like your average Joe, but digging deeper into his details, the producers find that Herbert H. Kirsten sounded a lot like the R.C. Christian they'd been looking for. First, Kirsten was born May 7th, 1920, making him 78 on July 14th, 1998, the date R.C. Christian wrote that letter to Wyatt Martin.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
In Dark Clouds Over Elberton, Wyatt Martin reveals that just a few months prior to his 2010 interview, he'd received a call from R.C. Christian's son. The son told Martin his father had died several years ago and that now both of his parents are deceased. Martin wouldn't say what year Christian passed, but did confirm it was after 2000.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Furthermore, Dr. Kirsten's obituary indicates his wife died just months prior to his own passing, matching what R.C. Christian's son said about both of his parents being deceased. Lastly, Wyatt Martin told the filmmakers he believed the last letter he received from Christian was in 2001.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
this timeline means it's possible that kirsten who died in 2005 was indeed rc christian and it's not just the timeline that checks out herbert kirsten was an inventor he had at least 10 patents registered with the u.s government one of these patents involved concrete work During R.C. Christian's first meeting with Wyatt Martin, he told the banker he used to work in the concrete industry.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
And as for the pseudonym, it turns out the surname Kirsten is an archaic form of the word Christian. But what about Robert Merriman? Who is he and how does he fit into the Georgia Guidestones story? Well, since Kirsten and Merriman were both prominent figures in the Fort Dodge community, Merriman a newspaper publisher, Kirsten a doctor, the filmmakers thought maybe the two knew each other.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
They tracked down Merriman's nephew, who told them that not only did the men know each other, but they were close friends. If Dr. Kirsten came to his uncle for help with a task that demanded secrecy, He has no doubt Merriman would have obliged. And the Georgia Guidestones may not have been the first time Kirsten and Merriman collaborated on a project.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
According to two local historians, Dr. Kirsten designed and created a small model of a bandstand, much like the one R.C. Christian brought to Joe Fenley. With the help of Robert Merriman, the bandstand came to life and still stands in Fort Dodge to this day. Digging into Dr. Kirsten's writing and philosophy is even more eye-opening.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
First, his obituary states he wanted to be remembered both as a physician and a conservationist. Sounds a lot like a man who would make, be not a cancer on the earth, leave room for nature, a guideline for humanity. In Dark Clouds Over Elberton, the producers discover records in the Fort Dodge library showing Kirsten had other beliefs that matched those of R.C. Christian.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
In an article announcing the doctor's retirement, he was quoted as saying, "...controlling population is the most important problem confronting humanity." But what Fort Dodge historians share with the filmmakers next is a lot more disturbing. Kirsten, they said, was friends with William Shockley, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who is also a well-known racist and eugenicist.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The historians claim Kirsten shared a lot of the same views as his friend. Furthermore, Kirsten once wrote a letter to his local newspaper defending the anti-immigration views of David Duke, one-time Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. However, the ties between Kirsten and Shockley couldn't be corroborated.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
And while Kirsten frequently wrote opinion letters to the newspaper, we couldn't find any evidence of eugenic beliefs. With Kirsten dead and his descendants uninterested in speaking to the media, We may never know whether he was R.C. Christian, what associations he had with the eugenics movement, or what the Georgia Guidestones' purpose truly was.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
But according to some Elberton locals, if the racist connections are true, maybe it's best that the stones were destroyed. Thank you for listening to Conspiracy Theories. We're here with a new episode every Wednesday. Be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. If you're watching on Spotify, swipe up and give us your thoughts. Or email us at conspiracystories at spotify.com.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
For more information on the Georgia Guidestones, amongst the many sources we used, we found Dark Clouds Over Elberton, a documentary directed by Christian Pinto and Randall Sullivan's reporting in Wired Magazine, extremely helpful to our research. Until next time, remember, the truth isn't always the best story, and the official story isn't always the truth.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
This episode was written by Monisha Dadlani and Chelsea Wood, edited and researched by Chelsea Wood, fact-checked by Laurie Siegel, and video editing and sound design by Alex Button. I'm your host, Carter Roy.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Channel through stone indicates celestial pole. 2. Two, horizontal slot indicates annual travel of sun. Three, sunbeam through capstone marks noontime throughout the year. It was signed, author R.C. Christian. Lastly, it mentioned a time capsule placed six feet below this spot. There was no specified date for when the capsule should be opened.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Some unknown man built the Georgia Guidestones for some unknown purpose. They look like the monolith from 2001 A Space Odyssey and had etchings that sound vaguely apocalyptic. It's hard to imagine all of that not eliciting a swarm of conspiracy theories. And boy, did it. From the moment the slabs were erected in 1980, they mystified the residents of Elberton.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
It's the early hours of July 6th, 2022. Most of the residents of Elberton, Georgia are in bed asleep. Around 4 a.m., there's an explosion. Matt Beasley's house shakes like someone slammed a door too hard. Peggy Gross thinks a tree has fallen onto her house. Framed photos fall off Wayne and Mildred Mullinex's walls. No one knows what caused the boom until a few hours later.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
A local minister predicted a satanic sacrifice would take place at the site. Graffiti left on the stones read, Death to the New World Order. Some thought witches were using the monument to cast spells. It came to a head in mid-2022 as gubernatorial candidate Candace Taylor ramped up her campaign. That May, she posted a video ad on social media.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Commuters passing Guidestones Road see that their local landmark... The Georgia Guidestones has been destroyed. Twitter lights up and the conspiracy fires are stoked. Some speculate on who is responsible for the detonation. Fingers are pointed at everyone from aliens to the Illuminati. But one tweet sticks out from the rest. It's from former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Candace Taylor.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The ad features shots of the Georgia Guidestones while Taylor narrates. She says, "...the new world order is here, and they told us it was coming. It's a battle far greater than what we see in the natural. It is a war between good and evil." She outlines her executive orders should she win the race. Her last one is simple— demolish the Georgia Guidestones.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Just over two months later, she gets her wish. On July 6th, 2022, CCTV captures a person running up to the guidestones holding something, possibly a detonation device. Seconds later, the figure sprints away and one of the four granite panels explodes. A separate video shows a silver or gray sedan speeding away from the scene.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Later that day, authorities tear down the remainder of the monument for safety reasons. The County Board of Commissioners votes against rebuilding the Guidestones and donates the rubble to the Elberton Granite Association. The land is returned to its original owner, Wayne Mullinex. The demolition should have put the conspiracy theories to bed.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
After all, there hadn't been a doomsday or ritual sacrifice. And after sorting through the rubble, authorities discovered there wasn't even a time capsule under the guidestones. Perhaps the whole thing was just a big publicity stunt. Maybe an art fixture commissioned by an eccentric millionaire. But in fact, the explosion only breathed new life into the speculation.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
What was the Guidestones' purpose? Who destroyed them? And the most enduring mystery of all, who on earth is R.C. Christian? Elberton is located in Georgia, a little over 100 miles northeast of Atlanta. As of 2023, its population is just over 4,600 people within four square miles of the city proper. It's the self-proclaimed granite capital of the world.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The Guidestones were far from the only granite-constructed wonder within the city limits. Elberton is home to more than 45 quarries, which produce around 250,000 granite markers and monuments per year. The local football team, the Blue Devils, play in the Granite Bowl, a stadium made from over 100,000 tons of local granite. But the summer of 1979 would bring Elberton its biggest project to date.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
That June, a well-dressed, middle-aged man entered the office of Joe H. Fenley, president of the Elberton Granite Finishing Company. He introduced himself as Robert C. Christian, or R.C. Christian. He told Fenley of an ambitious monument he wanted to build in Elberton, one that would be dedicated to the conservation of mankind. He wanted to leave a message for future generations.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Christian had been inspired by Stonehenge, He explained that he had traveled and visited many statues and monoliths throughout Europe, and Stonehenge particularly resonated with him. He'd made a small wooden model of his vision for the Guidestones, which resembled the English monument, itself a target of conspiracy theories and questions about its meaning.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Fenley thought the whole thing could be a hoax, until this RC Christian started talking numbers. He said he could pay six figures for Fenley and his team to build the monument, the size of which had never been constructed in Elberton before. Fenley gave Christian the address of the Granite City Bank, half expecting to never see this so-called RC Christian again.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
But Christian, following Fenley's directions, headed to the Granite City Bank and the office of the bank president, Wyatt C. Martin. He gave Martin the same pitch that he did to Fenley, describing his ambitious monument with excitement. He also revealed to Martin that R.C. Christian was not his real name.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
She says God himself struck down the Guidestones because the monument was the work of Satan. Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify podcast. I'm Carter Roy. New episodes come out every Wednesday. You can listen to the audio everywhere and watch the video only on Spotify. And be sure to check us out on Instagram at The Conspiracy Pod. Stay with us.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
To explain his choice of a false identity, Christian claimed to be representing not just himself, but a band of anonymous people who live outside of georgia he said they were a small group of loyal americans who believe in god rc christian was the name that spoke for all of them this project was their most important work they'd been working on the plans for it for 20 years
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
martin echoed fenley's skepticism but if christian could provide a deposit martin agreed to act as the financial intermediary for the project but there was one other condition he wanted to know christian's true identity christian gave martin his real name in a small bit of his biography He said he'd served in World War II, traveled the globe, and at one point he was a concrete worker.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
His only tie to Georgia was through his great-grandmother, who was from there. Christian also gave Martin enough financial information for the banker to be assured the man could pay for the project. Then Christian had some conditions of his own. He asked Martin to sign a nondisclosure agreement stating he would never reveal Christian's true identity.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The agreement also stipulated that Martin would destroy any information pertaining to the construction and development of the project after it was completed. Martin signed the forms. In regards to the financial deposit, Christian sent Martin money from multiple banks across the United States so that he could not be traced. It was clear this man was serious about his secrecy.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
But he did seem to have the money to pay for the stones. So with a $10,000 deposit in the bank and Martin's financial go-ahead, Joe Finley and his company officially started working on the construction of the stones in the summer of 1979. The material Christian approved for the stones was pyramid blue granite from Fenley's Pyramid Quarry. It took weeks to remove 28-ton stone out of the quarry.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Then each stone needed to be cut down to Christian's requested size, which took another nine months. While Fenley and his company worked on the stones, it was up to Martin to help scout potential sites to place them. Christian had requested an area that was visible to the public, but not so central it would become a tourist attraction.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Martin suggested a five-acre plot of land located about eight miles north of Elberton. It was part of a farm owned by Wayne and Mildred Mullinex. The grassy field was perfect. It was near a road, so it was easy to access, but not too close to the town center. And it was the highest point in Elbert County, ideal for visibility.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
To sweeten the deal, Christian offered the Mullinexes two generations of grazing rights on the grass surrounding the Guidestones if the monument could be forever housed on the land. For $5,000, Wayne signed over the five-acre plot. With the money set and the land acquired, it was time for Christian to disappear.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
He bid Fenley one last farewell at his office once all the pieces were set in motion that summer of 1979. Before leaving, he said, you'll never see me again. And just as suddenly as he had appeared that June afternoon, he disappeared into thin air. All future communication from Christian was conveyed through Martin via letters sent from different cities across the country.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Even from miles away, Christian had some very specific requests. They were so specific, Joe Fenley had to seek the help of an astronomer from the University of Georgia to bring Christian's design to life. First, the center column needed to have a hole in the stone where one could see the North Star at all times.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The column also had to have a slot that aligned with the position of the rising sun during solstices and equinoxes. The specifications also demanded an aperture, so the sun's light could pass through at noon each day. The idea was for the stones to act as a sundial, where you would be able to tell the time and the event of apocalyptic fallout. Then there were the engraved guidelines.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Fenley hired sandblaster Charlie Clamp to etch over 4,000 individual letters into the stones, which required hundreds of hours to complete. 951 cubic feet of granite and about 245,000 pounds later, the Georgia Guidestones were unveiled on March 22, 1980. Roughly 400 people gathered to watch. Television crews from Atlanta came to document the event.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Mayor Jack Wheeler and Congressman Doug Barnard Jr. led the ceremony. The Guidestones drew immediate global interest, and the small town of Elberton became a destination for tourists from Japan, China, and India. In 1993, Yoko Ono even wrote a song about the Stones. They played host to the strange and esoteric.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
The Georgia Guidestones were located in a grassy field not too far from downtown Elberton, Georgia, off Highway 77. At over 19 feet tall and weighing more than 245,000 pounds, they loomed over the green field. The stones were arranged in an X pattern, with one central pillar and four stones that fanned out from the middle with a capstone on top.
Conspiracy Theories
The Fall of the Georgia Guidestones
Nani Batchelder, a psychic counselor, believed there was a healing energy within the stones. Pagan worshippers made pilgrimages to the Guidestones where they'd dance and chant. Multiple visitors noted feeling a strong energy when visiting the monument. During construction, even sandblaster Charlie Clamp said he heard strange music and disjointed voices when he was engraving the stones.
Murder: True Crime Stories
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
She encouraged Cord to channel his grief into action. And before long, he found a new cause to fight for. After becoming disillusioned with the UN, Cord set his sights on a different organization, the United World Federalists. The mission statement was to create a world government, one that was more effective, transparent, and accountable than any single country could be on its own.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
When 26-year-old Mary gave birth to their son, Quentin, in 1946, named for Cord's late brother, Cord was more motivated than ever. He spent the next year spreading the word about the UWF, and in May 1947, all his efforts paid off. That month, Cord was elected the organization's president. Just a few months later, the Myers' second son, Michael, was born.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Sadly, Cord wasn't the most hands-on father. As president of the UWF, Cord was constantly traveling for work. At one point, a friend joked that Cord probably didn't even know how old his sons were. It must have taken a toll on Mary, but she refused to show anything but support for Cord. After all, she was also a believer in his cause. Still, it meant Mary had to put her own ambitions on hold.
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Mary completely devoted herself to her children. After the birth of their second child, she gave up her journalism career and became a stay-at-home mom. The only thing she did for herself was take a few art classes here and there, When 30 year old Mary gave birth to their third son, Mark, in 1950, life only became more hectic.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original show powered by Pave Studios. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. I'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard with a focus on those who are impacted. And for more true crime stories that all happened this week in history, check out Crime House The Show.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Through it all, Mary held on to hope that the UWF would start a new world order. But despite her faith in the organization, Cord was becoming less certain that peace was possible. It was hard to argue for a united global government when the world had split in two. East versus West. Communism versus capitalism.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Lines were being drawn, and Cord started to think that maybe a Cold War was one battle worth fighting for. And there was one organization that seemed poised to bring the U.S. and its allies to victory. The Central Intelligence Agency. Thanks to Cord's family connections, it wasn't too difficult for him to get in touch with the man in charge, Deputy Director Alan Dulles.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Before long, Cord landed a coveted interview with the agency. Dulles offered Cord a job on the spot, but there was a catch. The position was so top secret, he couldn't even tell Cord what it was until he accepted. Cord didn't hesitate. Whatever the CIA was doing, he wanted in. If 31-year-old Mary had any questions or concerns about her husband becoming a government agent, she didn't show it.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
By this point, she'd been a stay-at-home mom for four years. Her feelings about the CIA weren't clear, but it seemed like Mary was willing to follow cord wherever he went. So in 1951, the Myers packed up their family and moved from New York City to Washington, D.C. To succeed in the CIA during the Cold War, a man needed certain qualities.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
For example, a hatred of communism, a flexible interpretation of the law, and an appreciation for good scotch. It was just a matter of time until Cord Meyer had all three. Being in the CIA must have been thrilling, initially at least. While Dulles couldn't tell Cord what his actual job title was during the interview, it quickly became clear. Cord was a spy.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Namely, he was tasked with infiltrating academic groups and labor unions and steering them toward capitalist ideals. Whether that meant taking over leadership, bribing the group, or keeping tabs on people who sounded like dissidents, well, it was all in the name of keeping the country safe. Officially, Cord's department was called the Department of Plans.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Unofficially, it was called the Dirty Tricks Department. But Mary didn't know any of that. While she was aware Cord was in the CIA, his role as a spy was confidential. It's not clear if Mary ever caught on, but given how clever she was, it's hard to believe she didn't have at least some idea of what Cord was doing.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Either way, when they first moved to DC, it seemed like things were going well for the Meyer family. Although Cord was still busy at work, he was able to spend more time at home with Mary and the boys. Plus, they gained a new set of familiar neighbors. A little while after the Myers came to D.C., John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie moved in next door.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
For whatever reason, Cord and John didn't get along, but Mary and Jackie hit it off right away. Beyond the Kennedys, the Myers built a tight-knit circle of friends. The group included James Angleton, chief of counterintelligence at the CIA, James Truitt, an eccentric journalist for Newsweek, and his wife Anne, an accomplished sculptor.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Each episode covers multiple cases unified by the same theme. So every week, you get something a little different. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Anne introduced Mary to DC's thriving art community, and before long, Mary was at every gallery opening in the city. She started taking art classes from a professor at American University and befriended some of the abstract expressionists. Friends said Mary, quote, came alive when talking about the arts.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
But Mary's bliss was short-lived, because in August 1953, Cord was faced with a major predicament at work. He was accused of being a double agent. Cord was told the FBI had been investigating him for months. Because of his ties to the UWF and their desire to create a world government, Cord was thought to be a communist sympathizer.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
He was forced to resign until the investigation was complete and he was cleared, or worse, blacklisted. To Mary, this was all one big misunderstanding. The idea that her husband ever worked with the Reds was laughable. She told Cord to relax until it all blew over. Cord didn't see it that way. He was outraged. After everything he'd worked for, being accused of something like this was humiliating.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Still, Mary was right. Three months later, he was cleared of all charges. Even then, Gord didn't calm down. In fact, the experience radicalized him. He vowed that no one would ever question his loyalty again. After his brush with the FBI, Cord became extremely paranoid.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
His co-workers said he became anti-communist to an alarming degree, accusing people left and right of sympathizing with the Soviet Union. He started drinking a lot and his temper flared. Cord had always been argumentative, but now he was literally jabbing his fingers into people's chests. Once, he lunged across a dinner table to strangle a man.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Not only was his behavior embarrassing, but it was exhausting to live with. By 1954, 34-year-old Mary was losing patience and preferred to paint in her studio rather than spend time with her husband. Eventually, though, she couldn't get far enough away from Cord. Mary needed a break. Her younger sister, Toni, was also going through a rough patch in her marriage.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
So in the summer of 1954, the sisters decided to head to Italy for a getaway. Mary and Tony probably went to Europe hoping to lose themselves in the beauty of the Italian countryside. Instead, Mary fell into the arms of a handsome Italian man. He was warm, carefree, and gentle. Quality's cord seemed to have lost a long time ago. Mary's sister also had her own summer romance.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Their mutual friend, Washington Post reporter Ben Bradley, happened to be in Europe at the time, and he and Tony connected. Tony and Ben remained close after that, and when Mary returned home to D.C., she continued to distance herself from Cord. She spent more and more time taking art classes and continued to exchange love letters with a man from Italy.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Cord suspected something had changed after Mary's trip, but he was too busy obsessing over work to press the issue. By the fall, Mary knew she had to make a change. She confided in her friends, James and Ann Truitt, that she was thinking of leaving Cord. The Truitts had seen how Mary's marriage was falling apart. They told her it was time to tell Cord the truth for both of their sakes.
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And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. This is the first of two episodes on the 1964 murder of 43-year-old artist and Washington, D.C.
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On Mary's 36th birthday, October 14th, 1956, she sat Cord down. She told him she wanted a divorce and custody of the kids. Cord flat out refused. Despite everything, he insisted they could still make things work. Mary pleaded with him, but Cord was firm. So Mary agreed to give him another chance. But there was no rescuing their relationship.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
By the end of 1956, Mary and Cord were so unhappy together, it must have seemed like nothing could make their marriage worse. Then, the unthinkable happened, and Mary's life changed forever. On December 18th, 1956, Marion Cordmire's middle son, nine-year-old Michael, was hit and killed by a car. With Michael's death came the death of Mary's marriage.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Shattered by grief and unwilling to take on the burdens of a man she no longer loved, Mary separated from Cord less than a year later. By 1958, the divorce was finalized. After 13 years, 38-year-old Mary was officially starting over. It was a bittersweet moment for Mary. It took a tragedy to convince Cord to let her move on, but now she was finally free.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
With her two remaining sons away at boarding school, Mary moved into her own townhouse in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. With the money from the divorce and her trust fund, Mary didn't have to worry about finding work, which left her plenty of time to get serious about her art. She enrolled in a class with famous abstract painter Ken Nolan.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
And what started as lessons about his color field style technique quickly turned into more intimate conversations. Before long, Mary and Ken were casually dating. They continued to see each other until 1959 before things fizzled out. After that, Mary and Ken stayed friends and kept panning together. And soon, Mary had another man taking up her time.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
After the trip to Italy, Mary's sister Tony also divorced her husband. But her Italian fling with Washington Post reporter Ben Bradley was more than a summer romance. Tony ended up marrying him. It just so happened that Ben was close with another one of Mary's friends, John F. Kennedy. Both Mary and John were regulars at Ben and Tony's dinner parties.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Despite John's years-long marriage to Jackie, friends noticed he and Mary had a special kind of chemistry. They both had a wry sense of humor and a casual approach to the elite world they inhabited. And before long, their friendship extended all the way to the White House. On January 20th, 1961, John was sworn in as the President of the United States.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
With John and Jackie Kennedy at the helm, Washington, D.C. took on an air of sophistication. Jackie was famous for hosting elegant parties at the White House. Mary was always invited to these events, and the president was eager to turn their subtle flirtations into something more. According to sources, John first propositioned Mary at a party in November of 1961.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
mary turned him down but he wasn't gonna let her go so easily ten weeks later he called mary and offered to send a white house limousine to pick her up this time mary didn't resist soon she was in bed with the president While most Americans had no idea about his womanizing ways, John's serial infidelity was an open secret in DC.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
socialite Mary Pinchot Meyer. Today, I'll introduce you to Mary. I'll walk you through her privileged childhood and transition from outspoken journalist to the wife of a CIA agent. When her marriage fell apart in the late 1950s, Mary decided to devote herself to her true passion. art, but before she could fully find herself, somebody murdered her in cold blood.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Usually there was an attempt to hide away John's girlfriends if they came to the White House, but Mary was a special case. White House aides would later say John seemed to trust Mary in a way he didn't with most people. He never asked Mary to leave the room when he needed to be briefed on business, and he never shied away from telling her the truth.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Between October 1961 and August 1963, Mary's name appeared 15 times in the White House logs. And according to Mary's friend, James Truitt, Mary saw John at least 30 times during this period. But it seems like after the summer of 1963, things between them came to an end. Still, Mary maintained a genuine relationship with him and Jackie. She continued going to White House events.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
It seemed like she'd become a true friend of the Kennedy family. But all of those fancy dances and dinner parties came to an abrupt end on November 22, 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Mary, along with the rest of the country, was in mourning. With John's death, Mary endured yet another loss. But this time she didn't let herself fall apart.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Since her divorce from Cord, Mary had regained much of the confidence and self-reliance she'd lost during her marriage. As the counterculture movement made more progress in the 60s, people started to turn to psychedelics to expand their horizons. Mary embraced the changing tides and leaned on mind-altering drugs like LSD to fully reinvent herself.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
She even befriended the leader of the psychedelic movement, Harvard professor Timothy Leary. With her new lease on life, Mary started to take herself less seriously. Friends described her as courageous and foolhardy. She enjoyed skinny dipping, sunbathing nude, and one winter, she went skating on thin ice across the local Old Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
By that point, Mary was very familiar with the C&O Canal. By 1964, at 43 years old, she developed a routine. She'd paint in the mornings, then walk along the path between the canal and the river in the afternoons. By then, the area was overgrown and neglected, but Mary found beauty in the trees and wildlife around it.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
And unlike many other women in Georgetown, Mary wasn't afraid of the drifters who hung around the area. At around noon on October 12, 1964, Mary decided she was satisfied with the work she'd done on her most recent painting. She hung the canvas to dry, put on her favorite blue sweater, and left for her daily walk. But she wasn't the only person on the path that day.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
And whoever was watching Mary was determined to make sure she never made it home alive. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for part two of our series on the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer. Murder True Crime Stories is a CrimeHouse original powered by Pave Studios.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Here at CrimeHouse, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at CrimeHouse on Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference.
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And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to CrimeHouse Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting CrimeHouse bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertzofsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Carroll, Nick Gauger, Sheila Patterson, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Next time, I'll take you through Mary's winding murder investigation. What initially seemed like an open and shut case was turned on its head when a new theory emerged, one that connected Mary's death to the highest levels of the U.S. government. All that and more, coming up. I've got some exciting news. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer. From serial killers to cult leaders, deadly exes, and spree killers. Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
In the late 1800s, the Gilded Age completely transformed America. With rapid expansion and industrialization, urban centers like New York City boomed. The upper and middle classes grew, and so did the need for specific commodities, including high-quality wallpaper. A New Yorker named James Pinchot took advantage of this opening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
In the late 1800s, he grew his family general store into a wallpaper empire. In the process, he became a millionaire. James funneled those profits into the logging industry, and by the time his granddaughter Mary was born in 1920, the Pinchot family was incredibly wealthy. As one of four children, Mary and her siblings knew nothing but luxury growing up.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
During the winter, the family lived in their Park Avenue apartment in New York City, hosting dinner parties for the city's elite. In the summers, the Pinchos vacationed at Grey Towers. The Pennsylvania estate Mary's grandfather had built in the middle of a 3,600-acre forest. There, the children passed the days by horseback riding, swimming, and playing tennis.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Still, while the Pinchots enjoyed enormous privilege, their wealth was matched by a deep sense of civic responsibility. Mary's dad, Amos, was a lawyer who used his family money to help create the American Civil Liberties Union. He spent his life fighting the evils of big business and corporate monopolies. Meanwhile, Mary's mom, Ruth, was a journalist for The Nation and The New Republic magazines.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
At one point, Mary was one of those ladies. But after a toxic marriage and the death of her son left Mary heartbroken, she picked up the pieces and moved on. By the early 1960s, she was on the cusp of reinventing herself. She dropped acid, experimented with radical therapies. She even took on a lover, the President of the United States himself, John F. Kennedy.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
It was especially impressive considering few women had careers at all in that era. Amos and Ruth encouraged their children to follow suit and become independent free thinkers, which meant getting them the best education money could buy. Sometime around 1932, when Mary was 12, she started at a private girls' school on the Upper East Side called Brearley.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Back then, most elite girls' schools were focused on preparing young women to become partners to brilliant men. Instead, Brearley took what was considered a radical approach and focused on preparing female students for meaningful careers.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
it was a perfect fit for mary she excelled in her classes and had a great group of friends by her senior year mary was attending a whirlwind of debutante balls as boys vied for her attention at one dance she could barely get a word into her date because a handsome young man named john f kennedy kept asking her to dance but Mary's world as she knew it soon came to a halt.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
In 1938, when Mary was 17, her older sister, Rosamund, died by suicide. Everyone was shocked, but Mary's dad took Rosamund's death the hardest. Mary spent the summer before college trying to comfort Amos however she could, but eventually the summer came to an end and it was time for Mary to go off to college.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
In the fall of 1938, 18-year-old Mary started at her mom's alma mater, Vassar Women's College in upstate New York. She made a few good friends while she was there, but after her sister's death, Mary had changed. She wasn't the happy-go-lucky girl she once was.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
instead of spending her free time socializing mary preferred to be alone one acquaintance called her a quote independent soul her behavior might have had to do with her family not only were they still grieving rosamund but amos was struggling After her death, he fell into a deep depression and in 1942, during Mary's senior year, he tried to take his own life as well.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
The topic of suicide was heavily stigmatized, which meant Mary couldn't really talk to anyone about what was going on. So she kept her pain a secret, even from her closest friends. Life only became more hectic as World War II ramped up and the U.S. officially joined the fight in December 1941.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
By the time 22-year-old Mary graduated from Vassar the following spring, the war was in full swing, and with it came some unexpected opportunities. Since most young men had been shipped off to the front lines, it opened up more jobs for the women left behind, including Mary. After graduating, she decided to follow in her mom's footsteps and become a journalist.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
This is Crime House. No matter who you are or where you're from, one thing is true. Sometimes you have to go through some serious trauma to find yourself. And no one knew that better than Mary Pinchot Meyer. In the mid-1900s, Washington, D.C. was a boys' club. Important decisions were made by men in smoke-filled parlors while their wives gossiped in the powder room.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Soon she started writing a column for the United Press, Mary's colleagues described her as defiant and fearless. Like her mom, Mary didn't shy away from controversy. She wrote about things like sexually transmitted infections and sex education, topics that most people didn't even discuss until the sexual revolution in the 60s. But Mary was interested in more than just the risque.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Among her group of friends, she was known as a serious thinker. Like Amos, who was an outspoken critic of war and interventionism, Mary was deeply concerned about geopolitics. It wasn't long until she met someone who knew the importance of these issues firsthand. In 1944, when Mary was 24, she met a handsome Marine lieutenant named Cord Meyer.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Cord was the same age as Mary and had a similar background as her, too. He was Ivy League educated and came from a wealthy East Coast family. When Mary met him, he'd just returned from serving in the South Pacific, and he was a and was still getting used to his new glass eye. Shrapnel from a Japanese grenade had shredded his old one and nearly killed him.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
But Cord considered himself lucky, since the Marine next to him had died instantly. From that day forward, he swore he'd never let his fellow servicemen's deaths be in vain. The only fight he'd take up from now on was the fight for peace. Mary was immediately attracted to Cord's passion and conviction.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
But just as Mary was finally turning the corner, her life was cut short. To this day, no one knows if her death was an accident or an assassination. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Soon they were staying up late into the night talking about the meaning of life, death, and their hopes for a better future. Even though the war was still raging...
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
there was reason to be hopeful around the time cord and mary got together in september 1944 the united nations was being created the u.n's goal was to ensure a global conflict like world war ii never happened again if cord wanted to fight for world peace this seemed like the best place to start The first ever U.N.
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UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
conference was set to take place on April 25th, 1945 in San Francisco, and one of the delegates for the U.S. needed an assistant. Ahead of the conference, Cord traveled from New York to Washington, D.C. to interview for the position. But before Cord went in for the interview, he called Mary. He had a very important question. If he landed the job, he knew it might change things between them.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
He'd be busier and traveling a lot. He wanted to know if the woman he loved was in it for the long haul. Cord proposed to Mary then and there over the phone, and she said yes. Sure enough, Cord landed the job. But there wasn't much time to celebrate. Less than a week later, Mary and Cord left for the conference.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Little did the couple know, the dream that had brought them together was about to tear them apart. Hey everyone, it's Carter with an exciting update. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode of Killer Minds features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer. From infamous serial killers to ruthless cult leaders, deadly exes, and terrifying spree killers.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Along with Vanessa's immersive storytelling full of high stakes twists and turns, Dr. Engels will be providing expert analysis of the people involved. Not just how they killed, but why. Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
Not many newlyweds would consider a work trip to be the perfect honeymoon, but Mary and Cord Meyer weren't most couples. After the two were married on April 19, 1945, they left for the first ever United Nations conference in San Francisco. Cord had high hopes for the UN. After seeing friends die in front of him during the war, he was desperate for another way to solve global conflicts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
But almost as soon as he and Mary got to the conference, Cord realized the people at the UN weren't different from other politicians. He watched as attendees made backdoor deals and lobbied colleagues for favors.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
It's not clear if Mary shared Cord's pessimism about the organization, but she probably had a better time at the conference than he did because she ran into an old friend, John F. Kennedy, The schoolboy who tried to steal her away for a dance was now an up-and-coming politician. But Mary and John didn't have much time to catch up. As the conference came to a close, Cord got a terrible phone call.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 1
His twin brother Quentin had been killed in Okinawa, Japan. It should have been a happy time. Mary was six months pregnant and looking to the future, but Quentin's death cast a dark shadow on her and Cord's life. While Cord sank into a deep depression, Mary was left to deal with the logistics of their growing family all on her own. But Mary wasn't one to sit idly by.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
With all the interest in Ruth's story, it didn't take long for a reporter to dig up some old photos of Ruth from her days as a nude model. Of course, they couldn't take the photos to print, so instead they published headlines like Blonde Model Accused of Killing Ace Race Car Driver and The Back Street's Girl Who Tried to Gate Crash Society.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
All the negative press was a nightmare for her attorneys, but Ruth herself didn't seem to mind. In fact, when she heard she was being referred to as a model, Ruth got to thinking. Since she'd been in prison, her roots had grown out. With her upcoming trial, she wanted to look good in court. She was sure the photos would be published all over town.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
So she arranged for her hairdresser to come to the prison and dye her hair back to platinum blonde. Now that Ruth looked the part of a blonde bombshell, there was only one thing left to do. Go to trial and put on a show. 28-year-old Ruth Ellis' murder trial began on June 20, 1955, in London, England.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
It had been over two months since she shot her lover, 25-year-old David Blakely, outside the Magdala Pub. Since then, the story of Ruth and David's tragic love affair had spread like wildfire. As Ruth walked into the courtroom, The aisles were packed with reporters from the United States, France, Italy and West Germany.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
They all turned to look as Ruth strolled in, wearing a fur-trimmed black suit, white silk blouse and black high heels. Her platinum blonde hair was perfectly coiffed. Once Ruth was seated, her attorney addressed the judge. He said Ruth was pleading not guilty.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
He made it clear that Ruth didn't deny killing David, but he argued that her judgment was compromised given the emotional distress she'd experienced during her relationship with David. Because of that, he argued she should be found guilty of manslaughter, which carried a lighter sentence than murder.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
When it came time for the prosecution to speak, they highlighted all of the unflattering articles that had come out about Ruth and put her complicated love life front and center. The lawyer said Ruth had been sleeping with David and Desmond Cousin at the same time He insisted that when David wanted to end things with Ruth, she couldn't handle the rejection and killed him in revenge.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. This is the second of two episodes on the murder of David Blakely, an English race car driver who was killed in 1955 by his lover, Ruth Ellis.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
When David's friends Clive Gunnell and Aunt Finn later took the stand, they supported those claims. The only witness to offer Ruth some support was Desmond. He told the jurors he'd seen the impact of David's violence on Ruth and had helped her cover up her bruises with makeup. He argued that while Ruth did kill David, it was only because she'd reached a boiling point.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
eventually it came time for Ruth to take the stand she spoke quietly as her lawyer asked her question after question about the physical abuse David had put her through based on her testimony Ruth's attorney insisted her relationship had been an emotional prison that Ruth couldn't escape the jurors were moved by Ruth's experience
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
But whatever mercy they might have felt vanished when Ruth spoke the words that put the final nail in her coffin. Ruth's attorney asked what she planned to do when she confronted David that night in front of the Magdala pub. She responded, quote, It's obvious when I shot him, I intended to kill him. The following day, June 21st, 1955, the court reconvened.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
After just a single day of testimony, it was time for the jurors to make a decision. After 23 minutes of deliberation, they announced their verdict. Ruth was guilty of murder. Ruth smiled as the judge sentenced her to die by hanging. Nowadays, trials and appeals take years, but 70 years ago, things moved much more swiftly.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Ruth's execution was set for July 13, 1955, less than a month after her sentencing. Ruth's situation seemed hopeless, but while Ruth may have accepted her fate, the British public wanted to fight for her. Her story resonated with a lot of people who sympathized with her situation. In their eyes, Ruth wasn't a monster. She was a young woman who had reached her breaking point and acted irrationally.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Beyond that, it was rare for women to be executed in Britain at the time. In fact, only 10% of women sentenced to death during the 20th century were actually executed. Public sympathy for Ruth swelled and death penalty abolitionists wrote letters that were published in the papers. 50,000 people signed a petition to appeal or at least postpone her execution.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Some publications even shifted from covering the story in a sensational way to advocating for Ruth's life. One London newspaper called Ruth the woman on Britain's conscience. Despite all their efforts, the judge upheld the ruling. On July 11th, 1955, just 20 days after her sentencing, the court announced there would be no avoiding the death penalty for Ruth Ellis.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Ruth spent July 12th, the day before her execution, writing letters and receiving visitors, including her parents. She asked her mother to visit the cemetery where David was buried and lay a bouquet of red, white, and pink carnations on his grave. After their visit, Ruth's parents stayed awake into the early hours of July 13th, hoping for a last-minute delay in her hanging.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Last time, I told you about how Ruth and David crossed paths at a London nightclub in 1953. Over the next two years, their turbulent relationship took over both of their lives. Today, I'll fill you in on how Ruth and David's love affair ended in murder. Then I'll take you through the ensuing investigation and sensational trial that upended the United Kingdom's entire justice system.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
That morning, 35 members of the London County Council signed a petition and rushed it to the House of Commons, hoping to change the court's mind. But nothing they did made a difference. While Ruth waited in her cell, 500 men, women, and children stood outside the gates of Holloway Prison. Some were curious onlookers caught up in the media circus.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Others were protesters who believed that a miscarriage of justice was about to take place. Groups of women prayed and wept at the gates. On the morning of July 13th, 1955, 28-year-old Ruth was led from her cell to the gallows. She was executed shortly after 9am and laid to rest in an unmarked grave on prison grounds. But Ruth's story was far from over. The public was outraged.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
A group of teachers from a school near the prison told reporters their young students were horrified by Ruth's fate. One member of the British Parliament said Ruth's execution was, quote, murder in cold blood. Another politician said capital punishment in Great Britain should be outlawed. It took some time, but eventually, all the public outcry over Ruth's death did move the needle in the UK.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
In 1957, two years after her hanging, the Homicide Act was introduced into law. Now, offenders with a confirmed mental disorder could no longer be convicted of murder. In Ruth's case, she had suffered violent physical abuse at David's hands during their relationship, and some would argue she was in a compromised state of mind when she took his life.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
It's possible, had the Homicide Act been in effect during Ruth's trial, she would have been found guilty of manslaughter as opposed to murder, and she would have never been executed. It would take several more years, but the death penalty was suspended in 1965, ten years after Ruth Ellis' death. It was officially abolished in 1998.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Ruth Ellis remains the last woman to be executed in Great Britain. And in 1971, her remains were exhumed and she was given a proper burial. In the late 1990s, Ruth's sister Muriel and her daughter Georgina tried to get her charges reduced from murder to manslaughter. It was a symbolic gesture. Even so, they both passed away shortly after, and Ruth's charges were never reduced.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
they weren't the only ones who were affected long after ruth's death ruth's shadow loomed large in her son's life andy was never able to move past what happened to his mother and eventually developed depression and a substance abuse disorder as a result
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
by 1982 it was too much for 37 year old andy that year he was found dead in his one-bedroom apartment in london surrounded by pill bottles the coroner ruled his death a suicide He was cremated, his remains buried with Ruth. Ruth Ellis was a complicated woman, and while she certainly wasn't justified in her actions, it's easy to understand why she was driven past the point of no return.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
We've all dealt with our fair share of hardships and trauma. Some of us are able to get the help we need and come out on the other side. Unfortunately for Ruth, she was never able to outrun her demons. And both she and David Blakely lost their lives as a result. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Come back next week for the story of a new murder and all the people it affected. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House on TikTok and Instagram.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
All that and more coming up next. By the summer of 1954, 27-year-old Ruth Ellis was well and truly falling for 25-year-old David Blakely. After two dead-end relationships, Ruth felt like David was the one. But he didn't exactly feel the same way.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to CrimeHouse Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertsofsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Carroll, Matt Gilligan, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
while they weren't exclusive david was seeing other women and ruth was sleeping with her mutual friend desmond cousin she was ready to give it all up for david and before long her feelings for him turned into a full-on obsession Despite their arrangement, whenever David was away from Ruth, Ruth worried he was out with other girls, which he was.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
So Ruth tried to even the playing field by pitting him and Desmond against one another. She made sure David knew all about her dates with Desmond and was constantly looking to get a reaction out of him. Sometimes she was successful, just not in the way she wanted. That fall, Ruth and David's relationship became even more erratic, violent even.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
They were both drinking heavily and their arguments would frequently turn into physical brawls. By the time Christmas of 1954 rolled around, David was thinking it was time to move on. He told a friend he wanted to get away from Ruth. But she wasn't the only one who was infatuated. Despite his realization that their relationship had become toxic, David always got pulled back in.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
That might have been because Ruth also knew how to play the dating game. While she was madly in love with David, she still kept her cards close to her chest. For the holidays, she gifted David and Desmond identical silver cigarette cases.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
it was a not so subtle message that they were competing for her affection but as 1954 turned into 1955 28 year old ruth couldn't hide her true feelings any longer because in march of that year she discovered she was pregnant This was the second time Ruth had gotten pregnant while she was with David. The first time, when it wasn't clear whose baby it was, she decided to get an abortion.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
But now that she knew David was the father, she wondered if maybe having a child would finally bring them together in a serious way. The last time Ruth had gotten pregnant, David had offered to help raise the baby, even if it wasn't his. but this time he wasn't interested. The couple fought over what Ruth should do and the argument ended in tragedy.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
And in 1955, the United Kingdom was forced to deal with the issue head on. After Ruth Ellis and David Blakely's tumultuous relationship ended in murder, everyone in London had an opinion about the appropriate punishment for the killer. By the end of the trial, it was decided. And both Ruth and David would wind up dead. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
David became so angry, he punched Ruth in the stomach and she suffered a miscarriage. Despite what he'd done, Ruth didn't or couldn't walk away from David. She continued to spend time with him and even told her friends they were planning to get married. That couldn't have been further from the truth. As the Easter holidays approached, David was ready to end things once and for all.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
On April 8th, 1955, he met his friend Aunt Finn later along with Aunt's wife Carol at a pub called The Magdala. They could immediately tell something was wrong. After a bit of prying, David admitted he wanted to leave Ruth. When his friends asked why he hadn't gone through with it yet, David replied, quote, It's not as easy as all that. You don't know her. You don't know what she's capable of.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
The Finn leaders couldn't argue with that, so they suggested he spend Easter weekend at their place. At least that way he could get a little distance from Ruth. David agreed. Only he didn't tell Ruth about his plans. When he missed their date that Friday, she called the Finlaters. She knew David spent a lot of time with them and asked if he was around. Carol and Aunt told her he wasn't.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Ruth didn't believe them. Not only did she think David was there, but she thought he was sneaking around behind her back. Ruth was convinced David was sleeping with the Finlaters' 19-year-old live-in nanny, and she wasn't about to let him get away with it. Shortly after calling the Finlaters, Ruth showed up at their house.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
She pounded on the door, and when David came outside, she yelled at him, loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. Someone alerted the police, and they talked Ruth down. Once she was calm enough to hold a conversation, David finally told her he was done. He refused to leave with her and said he was staying with the Finlaters through the weekend. He didn't want to see her again.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Ruth was humiliated. She went home and ruminated on everything David had done to her. She couldn't believe that after what she'd been through, he was going to leave her just like that. Ruth felt like she was a true catch. If David couldn't see that well, she'd make sure he regretted it.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
On April 10th, 1955, Easter Sunday, Ruth spent the day with Desmond's cousin and her 11-year-old son, Andy, who was back home from boarding school. But Ruth didn't want him to see what she was about to do. After shopping around with him and Desmond, Ruth tucked Andy into bed at 7.30 p.m. Then she put a gun into her purse and called a taxi. She told the driver to drop her off at the Finlader's.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Around 9 p.m., the taxi approached the house. Ruth saw David and his friend Clive Gunnell walk out and hop into a car. Ruth had a good idea of where they were headed, so she paid the driver and sent him on his way. Then she walked the quarter mile to the Magdala pub. Ruth stood outside the Magdala while David and Clive had a few drinks.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Neither of them noticed her peeking through the window, watching them. At 9.30pm, David and Clive exited the pub. They walked toward the car. As David fumbled around in his pocket for the keys, he heard someone come up behind him and call his name. He turned around to find Ruth standing there. pointing a revolver straight at his chest.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
This is Crime House. When it comes to murder, everyone has a different understanding of what justice should look like. Some people think life in prison is a fitting fate for a killer. Others believe they should be executed. Whatever your feelings about the death penalty are, there's no denying it's one of the most controversial topics out there.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
On Easter Sunday, April 10th, 1955, 28-year-old Ruth Ellis hunted down her lover, 25-year-old David Blakely, outside of a pub. Then she pointed a revolver at his chest. She saw the shock on his face as he registered what was about to happen. David turned and ran. After a few steps, Ruth fired two shots into his back. She followed as David staggered away.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
He didn't get far before collapsing onto the pavement in front of the Magdala Pub. David lay there motionless. But Ruth wasn't done yet. She continued to fire into David as several witnesses watched in horror. Ruth didn't stop until she ran out of bullets. When she was finished, she turned to David's friend Clive. Ruth was calm as she told Clive to go inside the pub and call the police.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
But that wouldn't be necessary. An off-duty officer was already there having a drink. When he heard the commotion, he rushed outside. Ruth calmly handed over the gun. Then she just stood there silently while he called for backup, as if she was contemplating what she'd just done. A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived and paramedics removed David's body from the scene.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Meanwhile, Ruth was taken into custody. By 11 p.m., Ruth arrived at the police station. She was led to an interrogation room where detectives questioned her about the shooting. Ruth didn't hesitate. She came right out and said she was guilty of killing David.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original show powered by PAVE Studios. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
She admitted that when he said he was staying with the Finlaters that weekend, she became enraged and decided to kill him. However, Ruth did try to explain her side of the story. She told the officers all about their tumultuous relationship and the abuse she suffered at David's hands. As for the murder weapon, she insisted a stranger had given her the gun three years ago.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Ruth said she didn't even know it was loaded until she fired it at David that day. Even if that was true, it didn't matter who had purchased the weapon or if Ruth knew it was loaded. There was no doubt about it. Ruth was a killer. And the following day, on April 11th, 1955, she was charged with David Blakely's murder. By that point, the story was all over the English tabloids.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Even today, these publications are known for embellishing their stories with sensational details. But when it came to Ruth and David's tragic romance, they didn't need to do much exaggerating. From Ruth's time as a call girl to David's exciting racing career, the people of Great Britain wanted to know it all.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
As reporters clamored to learn every lurid detail about Ruth's life, she awaited trial in London's Holloway Prison. Longing for a reminder of her old life, she asked the guards for a photograph of her son Andy. Ruth seemed less interested in her daughter Georgina, who now lived with her father George, as he looked for someone to adopt her.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Beyond the photo of Andy, Ruth spent her time reading the Bible, but it doesn't seem like she learned many lessons from studying scripture. Two days after the murder, Ruth wrote a letter to David's mom. Ruth apologized for what she'd done, but insisted it wasn't her fault. Ruth believed the Finlaters were ultimately responsible for driving a fatal wedge between her and David.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Now, because of their meddling, she was going to die. Although it had only been 48 hours since she'd been arrested, Ruth probably knew what was going to happen next. The 1950s saw a number of high-profile executions in Great Britain, and considering how much evidence the police had... It seemed likely that Ruth would meet the same fate. Her only hope was being declared criminally insane.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Over the next two months, Ruth was evaluated by several different psychiatrists. This was her chance to express remorse about her actions, but Ruth didn't show any hint of regret. She told one doctor she felt justified in killing David because of how he'd mistreated her during their relationship.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
Another psychiatrist who spent time with Ruth didn't offer an official diagnosis but concluded that Ruth was emotionally immature. As such, she didn't possess the problem-solving skills to deal with her explosive relationship with David. That same doctor asked Ruth if she'd considered how her actions would impact her two children. Ruth said she'd never thought about it.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
In between meetings with psychiatrists, Ruth was allowed visitors. One of her most frequent was Desmond Cousin, the third wheel in her convoluted love triangle with David. Despite what she'd done, it seemed like Desmond was still very much in love with Ruth. And like the other prison officials, he was shocked by Ruth's indifference to the horrific crimes she'd committed.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 2
But while Ruth may have been apathetic about her actions, there was one thing she was very clear about. No matter what the psychiatrists concluded, she refused to plead guilty by reason of insanity. which meant her lawyers had an uphill battle ahead of them if they wanted to find a way to avoid the death penalty. As they struggled to prepare for her trial, yet another wrench was thrown their way.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Along with Vanessa's immersive storytelling full of high stakes twists and turns, Dr. Engels will be providing expert analysis of the people involved. Not just how they killed, but why. Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters. And for ad-free and early access to murder true crime stories, plus exciting Crime House bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
By the end of July 2003, the disappearance and murder of 21-year-old Patrick Dennehy had been solved. After over a month of tireless searches, authorities had found Patrick's body and his killer, his own teammate and best friend, Carlton Dotson. But while the Waco, Texas Police Department worked to build a case against Carlton, they came across some unexpected information about Patrick.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
And it made Baylor University and its men's basketball head coach look very bad. All at Patrick Dennehy's expense. Apparently, when Dave Bliss first approached Patrick about joining the team, he promised him a scholarship. The only issue was the basketball program had already awarded all their available scholarships by that point.
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SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Bliss knew that, but he also knew Patrick couldn't afford the tuition otherwise. So Bliss paid Patrick's tuition himself without him knowing. He also threw in some additional gifts, including Patrick's Chevy Tahoe. While these allegations didn't have any legal ramifications, they did violate the National Collegiate Athletic Association's bylaws. The NCAA is very clear.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
A coach cannot personally pay for an athlete's tuition, nor pay him in other ways. If the claims against Bliss were true, Baylor was looking at some major consequences, including losing scholarship funding or postseason bans. If that happened, the Bears wouldn't be allowed to play in tournaments like March Madness. And of course, it also meant their coach might be forced to resign.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Even just one of these punishments could set the team back years. Bliss knew he could be in serious trouble. But instead of owning up to his mistakes, he decided to drag Patrick Dennehy's name through the mud. While the authorities were searching for Patrick earlier that summer, Bliss had started spreading some nasty rumors about Patrick and Carlton.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
He told anyone who would listen they were drug dealers, which was pretty convenient since Patrick wasn't exactly able to defend himself at the time. But Bliss was willing to do whatever it took to protect his reputation. He hoped to control the narrative by raising the possibility that any money Patrick had, including tuition payments, had actually come from selling drugs.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
But if Bliss wanted that story to stick, he needed some help. Just before the end of July 2003, around the time Carlton Dotson was arrested, Bliss approached his assistant coaches. He told them he wanted to find some players who would support his claims against Carlton and Patrick.
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SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
According to Bliss, he knew he could get a player named Harvey Thomas to support his drug dealing allegations because Bliss had lied for Thomas. Apparently, Bliss had watched Thomas in a pickup game before he was officially recruited, which was a violation of NCAA rules. Bliss promised to keep the game a secret as long as Thomas went along with his plan.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Thomas didn't want to put his basketball career in jeopardy and agreed. With Thomas on board, Bliss wanted two more players to back him up. It's not clear how he convinced them to take his side, but by early August 2003, Bliss had his three guys, and they met with an internal committee that was investigating the allegations against Bliss. They testified that Patrick Dennehy was a drug dealer.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
It looked like Bliss was in the clear. But then, on August 8th, 2003, it all blew up. That day, Bliss met with the head of the investigative committee. At this time, they asked him to submit a copy of his bank statements. Bliss knew this was the one piece of evidence he couldn't lie about.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Before we get started, you should know this episode includes graphic discussions of murder. Listener discretion is advised. With March Madness kicking off, this one-part special is highlighting two notorious basketball-related murders, one from the world of college basketball and one from the NBA.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Not only would these statements reveal that he had been paying for Patrick's tuition, but they would also lead to the revelation that he had paid for another player's tuition too. The same day he was asked about the bank statements, Dave Bliss resigned as head coach. In the wake of the resignation, Baylor sanctioned itself by declaring that it would not play in any postseason games that year.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
But the story wasn't over yet, because while all of this was going on, there was still a major question to answer, one that was far more important than any basketball game. Would Carlton Dotson be found guilty of murdering Patrick Dennehy? As the university attempted to distance itself from Bliss, the authorities prepared for Carlton Dotson to go on trial for murdering Patrick Dennehy.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
But before he could take the stand, Carlton was evaluated by doctors. According to them, Carlton suffered from hallucinations stemming from his belief that he was Jesus. So in the fall of 2004, a judge deemed Carlton unfit to stand trial and sent him to a mental health facility instead. But just a few months later, that decision was reversed.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
According to Carlton's doctors, he was faking his condition. With that, Carlton was back in the hot seat. In June 2005, he went on trial, but it wouldn't be a long process. Carlton pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. With Patrick's killer now behind bars, the only loose ends to tie up were those connected to Dave Bliss and Baylor University.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Eventually, Bliss admitted to lying to the internal committee. In 2005, Bliss received the equivalent of a 10-year ban from working within the NCAA. But that didn't stop him from accepting other coaching jobs. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Bliss bounced around smaller schools not affiliated with the NCAA.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
However, his career took another turn in 2017 when a Showtime documentary detailed his role in the 2003 Baylor scandal. Apparently, not all of Bliss's assistant coaches had been willing to support his version of events. One of them, a man named Abar Rouse, secretly recorded every single meeting they had. Rouse handed those recordings over to Showtime, and they were featured in the film.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Now, all of America could see just how low Bliss was willing to go to protect himself. Because Bliss hadn't only trashed Patrick Dennehy's reputation, he allegedly knew Patrick was in danger and did nothing. According to some reports, Bliss knew Patrick had received threats but chose to ignore it, something Bliss had repeatedly denied.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Whether it's true or not, it's clear that Dave Bliss was willing to betray Patrick in order to save himself. A young man he'd personally asked to play for him, who some said looked up to Bliss like a father figure, all just to avoid being caught in a problem of his own making. After the show aired, Dave Bliss retired from coaching, but the damage he'd done was irreversible.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
First, we'll dive into the disappearance and murder of 21-year-old Patrick Dennehy, a promising young player with dreams of going pro. In the summer of 2003, he transferred to the Baylor University Bears. But before he could play a single game, he vanished. The winding investigation led detectives to a shocking discovery that involved the university's head coach.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
And Patrick Dennehy paid the ultimate price. Coming up, another basketball-related murder covering the tragic death of Memphis Grizzlies hometown hero Lorenzen Wright. Patrick Dennehy's story is a tragic one, and unfortunately, it's not the only basketball-related murder that's made headlines. Even when a player does manage to achieve his dreams and go pro, it doesn't mean he leaves danger behind.
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SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Sometimes it follows him and comes from the most unexpected place possible. Such was the case with Lorenzen Wright. On Sunday, July 18, 2010, 34-year-old Lorenzen flew into Memphis, Tennessee. After 13 years in the NBA, he had recently retired and settled down in Atlanta.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
But Lorenzen's ex-wife, Shara, and their children still lived in the area, so he was constantly flying into Memphis to see the kids. Lorenzen also made sure to see his friends when he was in town. That day, his buddy Phil Dotson picked him up from the airport. They spent a few hours hanging out at Phil's place.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
Then they went to a local gym to pick up Lorenzen's son, Lorenzen Jr., where he was playing basketball. According to Phil, Lorenzen said Shara wanted them to drop Junior off at her house. They arrived at her place in Collierville, a suburb of Memphis, around 10 p.m. He watched as Lorenzen and Junior got out of the car and headed to the front door. But something wasn't right.
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SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
According to Phil, Lorenzen said he needed to, quote, deal with this and would call Phil later that evening. It was the last time he'd see his friend alive. A few days later, Phil got a call from Lorenzen's mom, Debra. She wanted to know if he'd spoken to Lorenzen recently. Phil said he hadn't heard from him since he dropped Lorenzen and his son off at Shara's the other night.
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When Deborah contacted Lorenzen's other friends in the area, they all said the same thing. No one had heard from Lorenzen in days. Some wondered if he'd left town without saying goodbye. Deborah hoped they were right, but after four days had passed with no word from her son, she couldn't sit around and do nothing. On July 22nd, she reported Lorenzen missing.
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It didn't take long for the news to spread like wildfire through the city. For many in Memphis, Lorenzen was a hometown hero. Although he'd actually grown up in Mississippi, his family had moved to Memphis when he was a teen. He attended Booker T. Washington High School, where he played basketball. And it didn't take long for Lorenzen and his coaches to realize he was good. Really good.
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SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
After high school, Lorenzen played for the University of Memphis. After just two seasons, the 21-year-old became the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. His professional career began with three seasons on the Los Angeles Clippers. After that, Lorenzen bounced around, playing for teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings.
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But it's safe to say the highlight of his career was probably playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, his hometown team. Lorenzen was beloved in the Memphis community. He was gracious to fans of all ages, and more importantly, he volunteered constantly, whether it was speaking at local high schools or visiting sick children at the hospital. Lorenzen was always happy to do it.
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He spent five seasons with the Grizzlies and by 2009, 33-year-old Lorenzen was ready to retire. After 13 years in the NBA, he knew it was time to call it quits and move on to other things. But despite Lorenzen's charisma and positive attitude, not everything in his life was sunshine and roses, especially his marriage.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
After that, we'll move to the murder of 34-year-old Lorenzen Wright, who played for several NBA teams but was retired at the time of his death. In the wake of Lorenzen's murder in 2010, detectives searched far and wide for his killer. After nearly a decade, they arrested several people, and it turned out the mastermind was closer to home than anyone ever thought possible.
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At the time of his disappearance in July 2010, Lorenzen and his wife Shara were estranged. But it hadn't always been that way. He first met Shara while he was a student at Booker T. Washington High School. She was his basketball coach's daughter. And although Shara was five years older than Lorenzen, the two quickly hit it off and began dating.
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They stayed together through all of Lorenzen's big life changes from playing college ball to going pro. They had several kids and got married in 1998 when Lorenzen was 24 and Shara was 29. It seemed like they were happy together and in it for the long haul. But then, in 2003, their 11-month-old daughter, Sierra, tragically died of sudden infant death syndrome.
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From then on, their relationship was never the same. Over the next few years, their marriage deteriorated. When Lorenzen retired from the NBA in 2009, he decided to live in Atlanta while Shara and the kids stayed in Memphis. By early 2010, the couple officially divorced but seemed to be on decent terms.
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Even so, 39-year-old Shara was the last person to have seen Lorenzen before he went missing on July 22nd of that year. And in the wake of his disappearance, she was one of the first people detectives talked to. Shara told investigators that on the night of the 18th, Lorenzen dropped off their son, stayed for a little bit, then left.
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But a few days later, Shara added some more details to her story. According to her, Lorenzen had a box of drugs with him that night. She implied he'd gotten mixed up in dealing narcotics. She also claimed he was being followed by unknown gunmen in the days before his disappearance. But even with all the additional information from Shara, investigators weren't any closer to finding Lorenzen.
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Over the next few days, they searched far and wide. The authorities reached out to Lorenzen's friends in Memphis, Atlanta, Mississippi, and everywhere in between. But no one had seen or heard from him. But on July 27th, Nine days after he went missing, they got an unexpected lead from a local 911 dispatcher.
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She told her supervisor about a strange call she'd gotten back on July 19th, the day after Phil dropped Lorenzen off at Shara's. That day, she heard 11 gunshots on an emergency call and a voice on the other line. The person spoke briefly before the call was cut off. When the dispatcher tried calling back, no one answered.
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For some unknown reason, the dispatcher waited eight days to report the incident. Police didn't waste any time in tracking the call. Using data from cell phone towers in the area, they were able to pinpoint a rough location of where the call had come from. It led them to a wooded area near Germantown, about seven miles outside of Memphis.
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Officers searched the region, known as Callous Cut-Off, with cadaver dogs. It didn't take them long to find the body of Lorenzen Wright. Lorenzen's remains were taken to a coroner for an autopsy. The report revealed he'd been shot multiple times in the head and chest. The reports also indicated the bullets came from two different guns, meaning there appeared to be two killers.
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They knew this wasn't a robbery gone wrong. Lorenzen had been found with a gold chain still around his neck. Beyond that, the area where he was found was littered with bullet casings. Based on the evidence, it seemed like whoever had done this to Lorenzen took him to callous cutoff with the intention of killing him.
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But there weren't any fingerprints or other identifying information at the crime scene, which meant detectives were still a long way from pinpointing a suspect. The only thing they could do was dive into Lorenzen's personal life. They needed to know if there was someone out there who would have wanted him dead.
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Detectives searched far and wide for his killer, but before long, they realized their primary suspect was right under their noses this whole time. In July 2010, the body of 34-year-old former NBA player Lorenzen Wright was found in a wooded area outside of Memphis, Tennessee. An autopsy revealed he'd been shot multiple times by multiple guns.
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SPECIAL: Basketball Murders
All that and more, coming up. I've got some exciting news. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds. Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer. From serial killers to cult leaders, deadly exes, and spree killers.
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But beyond the bullet casings found at the crime scene, there was barely any other evidence for investigators to go on. So detectives started looking for a possible suspect or suspects as well as a motive. Almost immediately, the rumor mill led them to one person, Lorenzen's ex-wife, 39-year-old Shara Wright.
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The month after Lorenzen's body was found, Shara's former assistant reached out to investigators. She told detectives they should look into Shara and allegedly even gave them audio recordings of Shara threatening Lorenzen. Those recordings haven't been made public, but we do know investigators followed up on the assistant's tip and continued to ask around about Shara.
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And the more people they spoke to, the more they noticed something odd. No one came to her defense. In other words, people wouldn't have been entirely shocked if she had something to do with Lorenzen's death. Shara must have picked up on the gossip, because she doubled down on what she'd already told investigators, that Lorenzen had gotten himself mixed up with drug dealers.
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And as new information began to surface, it seemed like maybe she was right. Soon, detectives learned that Lorenzen had been in a bad place financially. Despite earning roughly $55 million over the course of his NBA career, by 2010, Lorenzen was nearly broke. In fact, two of his houses were facing foreclosure. Lorenzen and Shara apparently had a history of frivolous spending.
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New cars, new houses, new clothes, new everything. Investigators and media outlets discovered that two years earlier, in 2008, Lorenzen was hard up for cash. So he decided to sell off two expensive cars to a drag racer named Bobby Cole. However, Cole was more than just a race car driver. He was a drug trafficker for a major cartel.
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Some suspected that perhaps Lorenzen was using the cars to help launder drug money. The DEA and the FBI looked into the connection. Their findings were definitive. There was absolutely no evidence to support that Lorenzen was involved in drug trafficking. More than likely, he simply sold the cars to Bobby Cole, and that was the extent of their relationship.
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So it was extremely unlikely he'd been killed in some sort of drug-related dispute. While the feds worked to clear Lorenzen's name, the people of Memphis continued to keep an eye on Shara. From detectives to reporters to the public, everyone was watching her. And before long, they all found the motive they were looking for. It turned out, Lorenzen wasn't the only one with money troubles.
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Allegedly, Shara was $3 million in debt, which meant she might have been desperate for cash and willing to kill Lorenzen to get it. For the next two years, detectives watched and waited to see what Shara would do. And in 2012, they finally got their smoking gun. That year, Shara received a $1 million life insurance payout from Lorenzen's death.
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This was part of her and Lorenzen's divorce settlement and was meant to go to their kids. But as their mother, Shara was in control of the money until the kids were 18. This led some people to wonder if Shara had arranged to have Lorenzen killed in order to get the funds sooner rather than later. But less than a year later, the money was gone. Shara had spent it all.
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Even though this seemed like a clear motive, investigators couldn't find any clear evidence to link Shara to the crime. And in the years that followed, the case slowly ran cold. Memphis police didn't give up looking for Lorenzen's killer, but the more time that passed, the less hopeful they felt. In the meantime, Shara got on with her life.
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She eventually wrote a novel about a cheating NBA player from Memphis called Mr. Tell Me Anything and claimed it was inspired by her relationship with Lorenzen. She also made plans to write a sequel in which that same NBA player was murdered. The similarities weren't lost on the public. There's no doubt Shara's work was distasteful, but still, it didn't mean she was involved in Lorenzen's death.
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At some point, she decided she wanted a fresh start and moved to Riverside, California. She remarried and tried to move forward. But back in Memphis, people continued to hope for closure. However, by 2017, seven years had passed and the investigation still hadn't progressed. Then, in November of that year, Memphis PD got a tip from an undisclosed source that
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Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts. By the mid-1990s, the Baylor University men's basketball team was floundering. In the nearly 50 years since the school's program was established, they'd only had one March Madness appearance.
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the tipster said there was evidence related to Lorenzen Wright's murder in a lake in Walnut, Mississippi. On November 9th, law enforcement waded through the muddy water and found a gun. Despite all the years that had passed, forensics tests confirmed it was one of the two guns used to murder Lorenzen. And it didn't take them long to figure out who shot it.
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On December 5th, 2017, a man in a white hoodie and black beanie walked into a convenience store in Collierville, the town in Memphis where Sherry used to live. A moment later, police rushed inside and surrounded him. They told the man he was under arrest for the murder of Lorenzen Wright.
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The suspect was 47-year-old Billy Ray Turner, a local landscaper and church deacon with a rap sheet that included kidnapping and assault. And the authorities were pretty sure they knew who Turner's accomplice was. Ten days later, police arrested Shara Wright out in Riverside, California. They charged her with first-degree murder.
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It was welcome news for the people of Memphis, but they were left asking themselves, how were Shara Wright and Billy Ray Turner connected? And what were their roles in Lorenzen's death? The answer finally came five months later. During a May 2018 bond hearing, the public learned the name of the man who had led police to the gun, Jimmy Martin.
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At the time, Jimmy was a convicted murderer, serving a 20-year sentence for killing his girlfriend in 2012. He was also Cheryl Wright's cousin. According to Jimmy, back in 2010, Shara had told him about her plot to kill Lorenzen. She said she and her friend, Billy Ray Turner, who she was sleeping with, wanted to kill Lorenzen for his life insurance money.
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If Jimmy helped clean up the crime scene, Shara would give him a portion of the payout. Jimmy agreed. At the 2018 bond hearing, he testified that he was in Batesville, Mississippi on the night of the murder. A day or two later, Shara picked him up and they drove to Memphis together to get rid of the evidence. In the car, Shara told him the deed was done. She and Billy had killed Lorenzen.
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He said Shara went on to explain how she'd lured Lorenzen into the woods... where Billy ambushed him. After that, she and Billy both shot Lorenzen several times. By the time Jimmy and Shara arrived at the crime scene, Lorenzen had been dead for a few days. According to Jimmy, he helped Shara find one of the guns she'd accidentally left behind.
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Then they drove back to Mississippi, where they dumped the weapon in a lake. The evidence was overwhelming. In July 2019, 48-year-old Shara Wright pleaded guilty to orchestrating Lorenzen's death. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison. In 2022, her accomplice, Billy Ray Turner, had his day in court. A jury also found him guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to 41 years.
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For the people of Memphis, it was the end of a dark and painful chapter in the city's history. While Shara had tried to tarnish Lorenzen's name, in the end, the truth won out. Today, Lorenzen is remembered for his talent, his kindness, and most of all, for his contributions to the city of Memphis and the game of basketball. Thanks so much for listening.
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I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. That's it for our March Madness special, but come back next week as we resume our regular programming. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House.
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By 1999, the Waco, Texas-based team was desperate for a change, so they searched for a new coach. They had their eyes on Dave Bliss, who had had success with the Southern Methodist and New Mexico University men's basketball teams. That year, Baylor awarded him a whopping five-year, $3 million contract, making Bliss one of the highest-paid coaches in the Big 12 Conference.
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Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. And for ad-free and early access to Murder True Crime Stories, plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios.
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This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertzofsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Carroll, Joe Guerra, Hani Asaid, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening. What drives a person to murder? Find out from a licensed forensic psychologist on Killer Minds, a Crime House original podcast.
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New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
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But even with Dave Bliss at the helm, the team continued to struggle. After a mediocre 2002-2003 season, Bliss knew he needed to find more talented players. So besides recruiting better high school seniors, he looked for college athletes willing to transfer from other schools. One of those students was Patrick Dennehy.
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By the time 21-year-old Patrick came to Baylor in the summer of 2003, he was hoping for a fresh start. Born and raised in Santa Clara, California, Patrick had always dreamed of going pro. Unfortunately, he wasn't recruited by any of the major teams like Duke or Kentucky out of high school. Instead, he hoped his path to the NBA would begin at a smaller school, the University of New Mexico.
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And there's one surefire way to get an NBA team's attention, crushing it during March Madness. For those who make the cut, it might seem like a fairy tale. But a lot of the time, the reality of being an athlete is much darker than anyone knows. And in some cases, it's even deadly. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end.
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where Dave Bliss used to coach. Patrick's time at New Mexico was filled with a lot of ups and downs, on and off the court. Allegedly, he got into an argument with a teammate after a particularly tough loss, and at one point, he was permanently kicked off the team for leaving a workout early.
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Despite these issues, Bliss saw something special in the young player, and in 2003, he asked Patrick to join the Baylor Bears. Patrick jumped at the opportunity. After his missteps at New Mexico, he wasn't sure he'd get another chance on the court. Luckily, he wasn't in it alone. He quickly bonded with one of his new teammates, 21-year-old Carlton Dotson. Carlton was also a transfer student.
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He joined Baylor a year earlier. Originally from Maryland, Carlton got his start playing for a small junior college in Texas. Then in 2002, Coach Bliss offered him a spot at Baylor. Even though Carlton had a year on Patrick, the two quickly hit it off.
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in fact they were so close patrick let him crash at his place when carlton was going through a rough patch in his love life according to carlton's estranged wife he had mental health issues including paranoia it took a toll on their marriage and by the time carlton was staying at patrick's he and his wife were separated
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Still, despite Carlton's personal struggles, he and Patrick were hopeful heading into the 2003-2004 season. They wanted to make it a winning one. Unfortunately, neither one would end up playing in it. June 15, 2003 was Father's Day. Usually, Patrick always called his stepfather to celebrate and tell him how much he loved him, but not this time.
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It was strange, but Patrick's family didn't immediately worry. Maybe he was busy with basketball and couldn't call just yet. but they weren't the only ones to notice something was off. The next day, June 16th, Patrick's roommate, Chris Turk, came back to their apartment after a week out of town. When he got there, he noticed Patrick's two dogs looked like they hadn't been fed in days.
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Chris wondered if Patrick had decided to go on a last minute trip and forgot about his pets. For the next three days, no one heard from Patrick. And by June 19th, four days after Father's Day, his parents had a sinking feeling that something was very wrong. They contacted Baylor's basketball staff, but they didn't seem concerned. They told Patrick's parents that his friend Carlton was also MIA.
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The two boys must be out together having some fun. Patrick's parents weren't convinced. They decided if Baylor wasn't going to do something, they would. That day, they filed a missing persons report with the Waco Police Department. The initial search didn't seem to lead detectives anywhere.
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It isn't entirely clear where they looked for Patrick or who they spoke to, but on June 25, 2003, six days after Patrick was reported missing, his Chevy Tahoe was discovered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 1,400 miles away from Baylor. It was suspicious to say the least. But nothing about the car indicated foul play.
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This is Crime House. Since its founding in 1946, the National Basketball Association has grown to become one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. With millions of fans and billions of dollars at play, the stakes are high, and the competition is fierce. Every year, thousands of college players fight for their dreams of going pro.
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And investigators didn't find anything in or around the vehicle that might have led them to Patrick. For the moment, it seemed like detectives were out of leads. But then on June 30th, a suspect landed in their lap. That day, Waco police got a call from the authorities in Delaware. Apparently, Patrick's cousin had told them he was dead. And the killer was Patrick's best friend, Carlton Dotson.
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Police back in Texas were stunned. If this was true, they needed to speak with Carlton right away. A few days later, they found him in his home state of Maryland and brought him in for questioning. But Carlton wasn't under arrest yet and didn't have a lawyer present. so he was very careful about what he said.
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In the end, he didn't give them any new information about Patrick's whereabouts or whether he was still alive. With no help from Carlton and no evidence to hold him on, detectives were forced to look elsewhere. Over the next few weeks, investigators continued to question those closest to Patrick, But no matter how many people they talked to, no one seemed to know what happened to him.
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However, despite the lack of leads, these interviews did help detectives learn what happened in the days leading up to Patrick's disappearance. Apparently, Patrick and Carlton were involved with some local drug dealers. In early June, Patrick and Carlton started receiving threats from them. At first, it seemed like nothing more than hot air. But then someone broke into Patrick's car.
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The incident sent the boys into a frenzy and they decided to buy guns to protect themselves. Now, with Patrick missing, the authorities looked into the allegations. But they couldn't find anything to substantiate the claims or lead them to Patrick. And it seemed like detectives were back to square one. But finally, about a month after Patrick disappeared on July 17th, 2003, they caught a break.
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But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. I'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard with a focus on those who are impacted.
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That day, Carlton called his local police in Maryland. He said he wanted to talk to them and the FBI. Both parties brought him in for questioning, but it didn't go exactly as planned. During the interview, Carlton seemed panicked. He said demons were after him because he was, quote, Jesus, son of God. It seemed like another dead end.
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But then a few days later, Maryland detectives got a second call from Carlton. This time he was contacting them from a psychiatric hospital. Apparently, he'd had a mental breakdown and was seeking treatment, but he was well enough to tell the detectives everything.
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He told them that back in June, a day or two before Patrick's disappearance, the two of them had gone to a friend's property on the outskirts of Waco to practice shooting their new guns. As they fired off round after round, something strange happened. According to Carlton, Patrick had pointed his gun at Carlton and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed, but Carlton was freaked out.
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In response, he'd aimed his weapon at Patrick's head and fired, killing his friend. After Carlton realized what he'd done, he'd made a run for it. He hopped into Patrick's Chevy Tahoe and drove all the way from Texas to Maryland. Along the way, he convinced a relative to wire him some money.
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According to Carlton, this relative also helped him clean the car of any evidence and dump it in Virginia, where the authorities eventually found it. Carlton said he hid out in Maryland for a few weeks... But when detectives brought him in for questioning, he knew the jig was up. And once he was in the hospital, he decided he was ready to confess. That's when he called the police and the FBI.
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After listening to Carlton's story, investigators had no doubt he was their man. Now, it was time to bring Patrick some justice. On July 21st, 2003, over a month after Patrick was reported missing, 21-year-old Carlton was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. As he waited to be extradited to Texas, Waco PD began searching the property where Carlton said he'd shot Patrick.
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After four days, they found a decomposed body. And soon, authorities confirmed the remains belonged to Patrick Dennehy. It certainly wasn't the outcome Patrick's family had been hoping for. But with Carlton in custody, it seemed like the case was finally closed. Now Patrick's loved ones could lay him to rest and seek justice for his murder. Except it wasn't the end of the story.
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Because while looking for Patrick, detectives learned some disturbing details about Baylor University and coach Dave Bliss. It turned out the Baylor men's basketball team was hiding some very dark secrets. Hey everyone, it's Carter with an exciting update. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds.
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Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode of Killer Minds features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer. From infamous serial killers to ruthless cult leaders, deadly exes, and terrifying spree killers.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Now, this was partially to convince George to get the help he needed, but there was another reason Ruth wanted to stick it out. Besides the fact that George was supporting Ruth and Andy, she also believed he stood to inherit a good deal of money when his mother died. And luckily for her, George agreed to her proposition. After George got back from rehab, the two exchanged marriage vows.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
I'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard with a focus on those who were impacted. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters.
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SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
On November 8th, 1950, 25-year-old Ruth Nielsen officially became Ruth Ellis. Their marriage got off to a good start. It seemed like George was truly committed to staying sober. Ruth was thrilled by the progress he'd made and decided to stop drinking in solidarity with him. Things only continued to improve from there.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Since George had to quit his job when he went to rehab, he looked for a new position. Just a few weeks later, he was hired at a dental practice in southwest London. It was on the other side of town, so the newlyweds, along with Andy, relocated to an apartment closer to the office. For the first few weeks of 1951, life was good for Ruth and George.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
He settled back into work, and Ruth fixed up the apartment. But their happiness was short-lived. At first, George seemed like he was on the path to staying clean. But before long, he was frequenting a nearby pub, buying rounds of drinks for himself and whoever happened to be at the bar. His behavior opened old wounds and soon he and Ruth were arguing on a daily basis.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
This time though, George wasn't the only one battling demons. Around this period in the spring of 1951, Ruth became incredibly possessive over George. Although there was no indication he was cheating on her, Ruth was convinced he was having an affair. She was so paranoid about it, she would show up at his office while George was in surgery, hoping to catch him in the act.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
George denied Ruth's allegations, but it wasn't enough to calm her fears. And eventually, George grew so frustrated with Ruth, he became violent. During one incident that April, Ruth locked George out of the house. He responded by kicking the front door down. It was the last straw for Ruth. She took seven year old Andy and they moved in with her parents.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
But the separation was overshadowed by some unexpected news. Almost as soon as Ruth left, she realized she was several months pregnant. With a baby on the way, Ruth and George tried to work things out one final time. But by then they were too far gone. George kept drinking and Ruth kept worrying he was cheating on her.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
After more fighting and yelling, she decided it was better if she and Andy stayed with her mom permanently. On October 2nd, 1951, Ruth gave birth to a girl named Georgina. George wasn't there for her birth because he was back in rehab. He wasn't ready to be a father and insisted Ruth give the baby up for adoption. Ruth refused, but by this point, the writing was on the wall.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Her marriage to George Ellis was broken beyond repair. And while the couple wasn't talking about divorce, they would never be together again. With George out of the picture, 25-year-old Ruth was facing a grim reality. For the last year, she'd relied on him to support her. Now she was a single mother with two kids, and she couldn't count on anyone but herself.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. This is the first of two episodes on the murder of David Blakely.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
So she got in touch with someone from her past, nightclub owner Maury Conley. Maury was happy to have Ruth back in the fold, and even set her up in an apartment in West London where some of his other employees lived. It's not clear where Andy and Georgina were staying at the time, but they were likely with Ruth's parents.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Which meant Ruth could fully re-immerse herself in the bustling nightlife scene. This time around, she decided to dye her hair platinum blonde, which definitely caught the attention of Maury's clientele. Soon, Ruth was back in the swing of things, and after a very toxic marriage, she finally felt like herself again. But old habits die hard, especially with Ruth.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
It wouldn't be long until her jealous streak reared its ugly head again, and this time the damage would be much more permanent than a broken door.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
In the winter of 1951, 25-year-old Ruth Ellis decided to end things with her husband, George. Although the two never officially divorced, they were very much over, especially because George didn't want to have anything to do with their daughter, Georgina. Not that Ruth was the most hands-on mother herself.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
After returning to Maury Conley's nightclub, she decided to send her two children to live with her parents. Still, it was probably for the best. Ruth worked as a hostess and a call girl for Maury, which meant she kept late hours. On top of that, she lived in a flat with Maury's other employees. Although she didn't have her own place, she was finally happy.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
For the next two years, she thrived at the club. By the fall of 1953, Maury was so impressed with her work as a hostess, he offered to make her the manager at one of his other locations, a spot called The Little Club. Like the Crown Club, it was in a high-end area of town in the Knightsbridge neighborhood. 27-year-old Ruth was thrilled.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Not only would she be in charge of her own establishment, but Maury was setting her up with an apartment all to herself above the club. It was a dream come true for Ruth. After so many years of relying on other people, she felt free. It seemed like things were finally going her way. Now all Ruth needed was someone to share her life with. Before long, her prayers were answered.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
One night in late 1953, Ruth was managing the club when a man named David Blakely came in. They got to talking and Ruth learned that the handsome 24-year-old was a part-time race car driver. It only made him even more attractive to Ruth. David kept coming back to the little club to see Ruth. Within a few weeks of meeting, they were sleeping together.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
an English race car driver who was killed in 1955 by his lover, Ruth Ellis. Today, I'll introduce you to Ruth and David,
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
But while they may have been compatible in the bedroom, Ruth and David came from two very different worlds. Born in June 1929 in Sheffield, England, David had a privileged childhood. His father John was a well-known doctor and his mother stayed home to take care of their four children. Although David may have grown up with more stability than Ruth, he also experienced his own childhood trauma.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
When David was almost five, his father was accused of murdering a waitress he was having an affair with after she died from a failed abortion. While the charges against John were eventually dismissed, it was too much for David's mom to deal with. His parents divorced six years later when David was 11. David went to live with his mother, although he maintained a close relationship with his dad.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
But soon his mom remarried and David had a new father figure in his life, a man named Humphrey Cook. Humphrey was a wonderful stepfather. Not only was he a retired race car driver, but he was incredibly wealthy from all the competitions he'd won. He sent David to all the best schools and made sure he was well cared for.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
But while Humphrey was happy to spoil David, he still wanted his stepson to understand the value of hard work. So in 1950, when David was 21, Humphrey got him a job as a trainee at the Ritzy Hyde Park Hotel in Knightsbridge. The idea was for David to learn the business and then later on he could manage his own hotel.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
they came from very different backgrounds but when they met at a london nightclub in 1953 they were immediately drawn to each other and for the next year their toxic relationship wreaked havoc on their lives next time i'll walk you through the dramatic end of their relationship and the sensational murder trial that followed
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
David did as he was told, but the truth was he didn't want to get into the hospitality business. He wanted to follow in his stepdad's footsteps and become a race car driver. But for that, he needed a race car. His salary wasn't enough to buy anything worthwhile, though, so David begged Humphrey for help.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Eventually, in early 1951, his stepdad relented and bought David a used HRG, a classic English sports car. One of his best friends, Anthony Ant Finlater, was a skilled mechanic and agreed to help David refurbish the car. Together, they fixed it up and soon, David was racing part-time. Still, the entry fees and upkeep were expensive.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
David's salary from the hotel wasn't nearly enough to finance his dreams. It didn't help that he had a habit of buying rounds of drinks for strangers when he was out. In a sad twist of fate, David's fortunes changed in February 1952 when he was 23. That month, his biological father John unexpectedly died at 67 years old. Despite his parents' divorce, David had always been close with his dad.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
He often drove from London to Sheffield to visit him. After John passed away, David inherited 7,000 pounds. Today, that would be almost 225,000 US dollars. Now that David was flush with cash, he had even less incentive to take his job at the hotel seriously. He routinely ducked out of work to drink and run around town with various women.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
In October of 1952, David was fired after a dispute with his manager at the hotel. which was fine by him. Although David quickly found another job with a manufacturing company, he dedicated most of his time to the three things he loved most, racing, booze, and women.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
David continued this way for another year or so, and by October 1953, at 24 years old, he was frequenting a new bar, The Little Club, which is where he met Ruth Ellis. When they got hot and heavy fast, it wasn't a monogamous relationship for either of them. Ruth still worked on the side as a call girl, and David was seeing several women at once.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Even so, they were spending the majority of their time together. And after a few months in early 1954, 27-year-old Ruth got pregnant a third time. Given her line of work, Ruth couldn't be sure who the father was. Still, David asked her to marry him so they could raise the child together. But Ruth already had two children, which was more than enough to keep her hands full.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Her parents were taking care of Andy and Georgina, but around this time, Georgina's father, George, unexpectedly re-entered the picture. He told Ruth he wanted their daughter, who was now three, to go live with him until he could get her adopted into a more suitable home. This time, Ruth said yes. But that didn't mean she was ready to fill the void with another child.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
I'll talk about the impact it left on the British justice system and why this notorious crime of passion forever changed the way homicides are prosecuted. All that and more, coming up. Not everyone believes in signs, but sometimes they seem so obvious it's hard not to. Ruth Nielsen was born on October 9, 1926, in the seaside town of Rhyl in Wales. That day, an unusually strong sandstorm hit Rhyl.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
So in the end, she decided to have an abortion. David didn't seem bothered by her decision. Before long, he and Ruth returned to life as usual. David spent his money on booze at the little club, and Ruth tried to keep him in line. But eventually, everyone at the club got tired of David's drunken antics, including Ruth, his friends in the racing world, and the club's owner, Maury.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Ruth didn't want to end the relationship with David completely, but she decided it was time to add another companion to the mix. That way, she could put some distance between her and David and enjoy the attention of another man. Ruth set her sights on one of David's friends and drinking companions who also frequented the little club. 33-year-old Desmond Cousin.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
It wasn't difficult for Ruth to hook him. Apparently, he'd been infatuated with her from the moment he laid eyes on her. Soon, Ruth was in the middle of a love triangle with Desmond and David. Sometimes at the little club, Ruth would devote all her attention to Desmond while David sat at the other end of the bar drinking gin. Other nights, she would fawn over David.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Manipulation was the name of the game, and Ruth seemed to enjoy pitting Desmond and David against each other. Still, at this point, Ruth wasn't sleeping with Desmond. If anything, she was using him to make David jealous. Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem to be working.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Because while Ruth's thoughts were on David, his thoughts were on the race car he was building with his friend Aunt Finn later. They planned to enter it in races, then sell it as a prototype to car enthusiasts. A few months later, they were ready for their first event. In June 1954, David and Ant went to France to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
David told Ruth he would be back in London on the Tuesday after it finished, but when he didn't return on time, Ruth got very upset. Her feelings of possessiveness kicked into high gear, and Ruth was ready to do some damage. So she decided to get back at David the best way she knew how. by sleeping with Desmond.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Little did she know, her act of revenge wasn't going to pan out quite how she expected. When David learned what Ruth had done, he wasn't angry. He wanted out. But Ruth wasn't ready to let him walk away unscathed. If he wanted to leave her, she'd make sure he was gone permanently. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Come back next time for part two of our series on Ruth Ellis and the murder of David Blakely. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House on TikTok and Instagram.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. And to enhance your murder true crime stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertsofsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Carroll, Matt Gilligan, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
It would set the tone for the rest of Ruth's tumultuous life. Still, the first few years of her youth were relatively stable. Ruth's dad, Arthur, was a cellist and made a decent living playing live soundtracks in silent movie theaters. Her mom Bertha stayed at home to take care of Ruth and her four siblings.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
But by the early 1930s, technological advancements in the film industry meant the end of silent movies, and soon Arthur was out of work. The Nielsen family left Wales and spent the next few years moving around towns in the UK, renting small apartments while Arthur searched for a new job. Arthur was ashamed he couldn't provide for his family.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
By the early 1930s, he sank into a deep depression that only got worse when his twin brother died in a freak bicycle accident. Arthur turned to alcohol to cope with the loss and soon his behavior spiraled out of control. He began sexually assaulting Ruth and her older sister Muriel, who weren't even teenagers yet.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Bertha turned a blind eye, and the abuse reached a horrible turning point when 14-year-old Muriel became pregnant with her father's child in 1934. Even then, no one punished Arthur. After Muriel gave birth, her son was raised as though he was one of her siblings. No one outside the Nielsen family knew the dark truth.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Although the Nielsens tried to pretend they were one big happy family, they were all desperate for a fresh start. They got that chance six years later in 1940, when the family moved to South London. Ruth, who was 14 at the time, was thrilled about living in the big city. She loved the fast-paced lifestyle and exciting new people around her. But the good times didn't last long.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
When the Nielsens first moved to London, the city was relatively unscathed by the violence of World War II. But by 1941, London became a major battleground. That year, Ruth's house was bombed by the Germans. Ruth's father was buried in the rubble, and she didn't hesitate to save him. Despite the awful things he'd done to her and her sister, Ruth still loved him.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
When David Blakely and Ruth Ellis met in 1953, their hot and heavy romance had the makings of a Shakespearean drama down to the murder and betrayal. The difference was this wasn't a work of fiction. These were real people whose actions had real consequences. And when the dust settled, one of them would be facing execution. People's lives are like a story.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
She raced into the carnage to drag him out. Thanks to Ruth's bravery, Arthur survived. But the event made Ruth rethink her life. As a young girl living through a war, she realized she didn't have much use for school. At 14 or 15 years old, Ruth decided to drop out and find a job.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
She was determined to escape the cycle of poverty she'd been born into and didn't think she needed an education to do it. One of her first jobs was as a machine operator at a factory. She wasn't making much money, but it was enough to buy a new dress from time to time. As a teenage girl, that's all Ruth really wanted. She didn't care about boys or making friends.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
She was focused on keeping her head above water. The girls at the factory described Ruth as stuck up. Even though she was one of them, it seemed like Ruth thought she was above her working class peers. She stuck it out at the factory for the next couple of years, but all the while, Ruth imagined a better life for herself, one filled with luxury and sophistication.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
In 1943, 16-year-old Ruth got one step closer to that dream when she took a job as a photographer's assistant at the Lyceum Ballroom in central London. With World War II still in full swing, the Lyceum was packed with soldiers on leave looking for a good time.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
One night, as Ruth made her way around the ballroom taking photographs, a male Canadian soldier in his late 20s named Claire struck up a conversation with her. Although Claire had a wife and two children back home, he was immediately smitten with Ruth. And she didn't seem to mind that he was a married man, especially because he had a lot of money to burn.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Soon he was wining and dining Ruth at fancy restaurants and spoiling her with lavish gifts. Just a few months later, in the winter of 1943, 17-year-old Ruth discovered she was pregnant. Claire offered to divorce his wife and stay in London with Ruth, but her mom Bertha was outraged at the proposal. She basically told Claire to get lost and promised Ruth she would help take care of the baby.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Ruth was devastated, but she didn't put up a fight. With a child on the way, she had to think about her future. She quit her job at the Lyceum and found work as a cashier at a cafe. It was a far cry from the opulence of the ballroom, but at least she could sit down when she wasn't checking out customers. Ruth continued to work at the cafe until she was well into her pregnancy and
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
And in September 1944, just a few weeks shy of her 18th birthday, Ruth gave birth to a son named Andy. When people asked about the father, Ruth said he was an American pilot who had been killed in combat. Regardless of the truth about Andy's origins, the reality was the same. Ruth was a single mother. And even with her family's help, she desperately needed to support her son.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
This is Crime House. There's something about a crime of passion that draws us in. Whether it's love, jealousy, even rage, we can all relate to a certain degree. But while most of us never act on those violent feelings, there are some people out there who can't control themselves. In the end, they wind up hurting the person they love the most in this world.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Which is why a year or so after giving birth, she answered an ad looking for nude models at a studio called The Camera Club. With as many as 20 men at a time snapping pictures of her, it took some getting used to. But Ruth quickly realized how comfortable she was in front of the camera. She gained confidence and soon she actually enjoyed her work at the studio.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
But most of all, she enjoyed getting paid. Ruth was making one pound an hour, which would be around 70 US dollars today with inflation. It was more money than she'd ever made in her life. Plus, the cameramen treated her well. The war was over by then, and after work, they'd take her out on the town and buy her drinks and food.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
One evening in 1946, about a year into her time at the camera club, 19-year-old Ruth and her companions made their way to an upscale nightclub in the Mayfair neighborhood. She had no idea she was about to meet a man who would change her entire life. By 1946, World War II was over and the streets of London were buzzing with activity.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
By then, 19-year-old Ruth Nielsen had been working as a nude model for around two years to support herself and her two-year-old son, Andy. While Ruth still lived in South London with her parents, she was well on her way to the bigger and better life she'd always dreamed of. After finishing up her photo shoots for the day, Ruth would often go out on the town with her friends and clients.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
They frequented fancy spots like the Crown Club in the Mayfair neighborhood. To Ruth, these nightclubs represented the pinnacle of society. The champagne was free-flowing, the clothing was high-end, and the people were rich. It was exactly the kind of place Ruth wanted to be. One evening that year in 1946, Ruth was out at the Crown Club when she started chatting with the owner, Maury Conley.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
He was immediately impressed by Ruth and saw unrealized potential in the tough girl from South London. By the end of the night, Maury offered Ruth a job as a hostess at the club. With a commission from all the money her customers spent at the club, Ruth stood to make way more than she did as a model. Plus, the hostesses were given fancy dresses to wear to work. It was music to Ruth's ears.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
There's a beginning, a middle, and an end, but you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, the Crime House original show powered by Pave Studios. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
But there was a catch. Maury had a reputation for operating outside the law. It was common knowledge that his hostesses also slept with male customers to make extra cash. Ruth wasn't thrilled by the idea, but when Maury told her just how much his patrons were willing to pay, she decided the arrangement was well worth it.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
With her good looks and charming personality, Ruth quickly became one of Maury's most popular employees. For the next four years, she continued working at the club, making a solid paycheck on and off the books. Most of the time, Ruth kept her work separate from her personal life. But in 1950, when Ruth was 24, one of her clients started to develop real feelings for her.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
41-year-old George Ellis was a successful dental surgeon going through what seemed like a midlife crisis. The previous year, his wife filed for divorce and left with their two young children. George was heartbroken and turned to alcohol to numb the pain. He became a regular at the Crown Club, though he wasn't exactly a welcome guest.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
George was usually a drunken mess whenever he showed up and became known as the mad dentist. According to Ruth, she found George pathetic when she first met him, but he spent a lot of money at the club while Ruth was hosting, which meant she got a hefty commission. And after a night of drinking, one thing led to another and she ended up in his bed.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
Their relationship progressed quickly from there. After a few months of actual dating, George invited Ruth to spend the summer of 1950 with him on the English seaside. Ruth jumped at the opportunity. Not only was she excited about the idea of a relaxing getaway, but it seemed like the perfect chance for a fresh start.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
She told Maury she was quitting the Crown Club and arranged for her parents to watch six-year-old Andy while she was gone. The summer passed mostly without incident. George was still drinking and the two would occasionally fight. But on the whole, it seemed like things were going well for the new couple. It looked as though Ruth had developed real feelings for George by this point.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
However, the honeymoon stage came to an abrupt end when they returned to London. George asked Ruth to move in with him and she agreed, on the condition that Andy could join them. George was happy to have Andy around, especially since he was missing his own sons. But while it seemed like George was a relatively good father figure, he wasn't a good partner to Ruth.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
She'd always known he had a drinking problem, but in the fall of 1950, it was worse than ever before. Soon, they were fighting constantly about his addiction. Things reached a boiling point in October. After a particularly bad argument, Ruth told George that if he didn't get his act together, she would leave him. It was enough to motivate George to check himself into a rehab center.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Heartbreak Murder 1
After a few weeks, he came home and almost right away he picked up the bottle again. Ruth was at her wits end. But no matter what she said, George refused to go back to the facility. So she decided to try something drastic. She said she would marry him as long as he gave rehab another shot.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
The prosecution theorized James had secretly placed the drugs inside in order to sedate her. It was just a theory, but whether or not Theora knowingly took the drugs, James was probably the one who acquired them, which made it hard to believe he hadn't planned to kill her. With the drug addict angle all but lost, James' team turned to their next strategy, destroying Theora's character.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
James testified that Theora wasn't the respectable, hard-working medical student the public believed her to be. He insisted she carried a dark secret. According to James, Theora was a sex-crazed maniac. He claimed she was a sadomasochist who took pleasure in causing and receiving pain during sex. James said she was conniving and would stop at nothing to bend him to her will.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House Original. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. And for more true crime stories that all happened this week in history, check out Crime House, the show.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
He detailed their sexual escapades, which included oral sex and bondage, which might be more widely accepted in today's modern society. But back then, they were very much taboo. Remember, oral sex was even illegal at the time. James claimed Theora was always the instigator and he was afraid to tell her no.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
His lawyers hoped James' testimony would prove he was a straight-laced, honest man and Theora was a violent nymphomaniac and it might have worked if it weren't for what James' own family said about him.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
In order to prove James Snook killed Theora Hicks in self-defense, his lawyers called on a total of 42 character witnesses during the trial, including James' mother and his wife, Helen. When Helen took the stand, she testified that on the night of Theora's murder, she found James in the kitchen eating a sandwich.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
She went on to say they spoke briefly and she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about his appearance or behavior. James' lawyers hoped Helen's description would show her husband was innocent. After all, if he had killed someone in cold blood that night, he would have been much more distraught.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
But the prosecution pointed out that based on Helen's timeline, she would have encountered James in the kitchen just a few hours after he murdered Theora. They argued he wasn't calm that evening because he was innocent, but because he was a stone-hearted killer without any remorse. Additional character witnesses only made James look worse.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
The head of OSU's vet clinic, the dean of the veterinary college, the veterinary surgeon, and a fellow member of the pistol team all said that James had been acting strange the last few months. James' co-workers also testified that they knew he was having an affair with a student, though they didn't know it was Theora at the time. And Theora wasn't the only person he was sleeping with.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
According to those co-workers, James was having multiple affairs. What's worse, they said he was recently reprimanded for providing an unnamed woman with narcotics from the clinic. The jury was able to put two and two together.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
It was clear that James wasn't the respectable professor his lawyers tried to portray him as, and based on those testimonies, he was clearly the one who provided Theora with the drugs found in her systems. As the trial neared its end, James had one last chance to prove he had acted in self-defense.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Each episode covers multiple cases unified by the same theme. So every week you get something a little different. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Going back to the confession he'd made to the police, he told the court he only hurt Theora because he was worried she was reaching into her purse to retrieve her pistol. He believed she intended to shoot him with it and hit her with his hammer to protect himself.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
During his confession, James had also said he'd slit Theora's throat afterwards to put her out of her misery, and the autopsy confirmed that she died from this wound. But on the stand, James claimed he wasn't the one who'd cut her throat, that someone else must have done it. The prosecution called on several expert witnesses to prove he was lying.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
They explained that the exactness with which Theora's jugular vein had been cut required a deep knowledge of anatomy, the kind only a medical practitioner like James would have. After two weeks of proceedings, the jury began to deliberate on August 14th, 1929. After just 28 minutes, they came to a unanimous decision. James Snook was guilty of first-degree murder.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
As punishment, the judge sentenced him to death. James' lawyers filed several appeals, and in November of 1929, James was given a stay of execution pending a review by the Ohio Supreme Court, but it only prolonged the inevitable. In the end, they upheld the original ruling. On February 28, 1930, 50-year-old James Snook died by electric chair at the Ohio Penitentiary.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
While James had dragged Theora's name through the mud, he also tarnished his own reputation in the process, and he wasn't the only one who paid the price for his actions. Following the trial, the Ohio State University forced Dean David White to resign. White had been subpoenaed during the trial, And it turned out he knew about James's nefarious behavior and chose not to do anything about it.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
The university issued a public apology to the Hicks family, but didn't do much more than that. As for James's family, his wife Helen continued to proclaim his innocence during and after the trial, but once he was executed, she and her daughter took Helen's maiden name. Helen hoped to protect her family, but it was too little too late as far as public scrutiny.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
In the months following James's trial, public interest in the case only grew. Newspapers at the time refused to publish the details, claiming they were too explicit. But later on, a stenographer published James's uncensored testimony. Although Theora did receive justice, James also got his wish. With those documents swirling around, the truth about who Theora was became muddled.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
People who didn't know her saw a person who was violent and obsessed with sex, a dangerous woman without any self-respect. In the nearly 100 years since Theora's death, our collective memory of her has been marred by James' testimony. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
With everything we know about her true character, it's clear Theora was a brilliant young woman with a bright future ahead of her. She wasn't confined by the restrictions of the society she was born into. And if she had lived, there's no doubt Theora would have continued to shatter the status quo. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Come back next week for the story of a new murder and all the people it affected. Murder True Crime Stories is a CrimeHouse original powered by Pave Studios. Here at CrimeHouse, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
if you like what you heard today reach out on social media at crimehouse on instagram don't forget to rate review and follow murder true crime stories wherever you get your podcasts your feedback truly matters And to enhance your murder true crime stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad free.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
And instead of having to wait for each episode of a two part series, you'll get access to both at once. Plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertsopsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Carroll, Emma Lehman, Sheila Patterson, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
This is the second and final episode on the murder of Theora Hicks, a promising medical student whose burgeoning career was cut short at only 24 years old when she was murdered by her much older professor and lover. Last time, I told you about Theora's childhood, her academic career, and her tumultuous affair with Professor James Snook. For several years, that affair seemed like a true romance.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Until it ended in tragedy. Today, I'll follow the quest to bring Theora's killer to justice. As detectives piece together the facts, they became convinced James Schnook was Theora's killer. But the question remained, could they prove it? All that and more, coming up. On June 14th, 1929, the body of 24 year old medical student Theora Hicks was discovered at a rifle range in Columbus, Ohio.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
The story of her shocking murder made front page news as people wondered who could have wanted Theora dead and why. Thankfully, there were plenty of leads for the police to chase down. After seeing Theora's photo in the newspaper, a local landlady named Margaret Smalley came forward. She said she recognized the murder victim, but she knew her as Theora Howard, not Hicks.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
According to Mrs. Smalley, Theora and her husband James had rented a room at her boarding house. Strangely enough, he'd given up the room the same day Theor was found dead. It seemed like too much of a coincidence. Detectives looked into James Howard and quickly realized he was actually 49-year-old James Snook.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
He was an Olympian and professor of veterinary medicine at The Ohio State University, where Theor was studying. It was enough for detectives to bring James in for questioning on June 15, 1929, the day after Theora's body was discovered. During his initial interrogation, James insisted he had nothing to do with Theora's murder. In fact, he said he barely knew her.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
But after Mrs. Smalley correctly identified him as the man she saw with Theora, James couldn't deny it any longer. He admitted he did know Theora rather well. He had been having an affair with her for around three years. The revelation was enough for detectives to hold James at the station without an arrest warrant. At the time, this was legal.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
It was also legal back then for authorities to deny James access to an attorney during questioning. Miranda Rights, which guarantees suspects the right to counsel, didn't exist until 1966. And they were going to use that time to take him for a little ride. Once the interrogation was over, detectives brought James along as they retraced his steps the day of Theora's murder.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
First, they led him to the rifle range where Theora's body was found. They tried asking James more questions about what happened that day, but he refused to answer. From there, they went to the Scioto Country Club. James claimed to have been there on the afternoon of Thursday, June 13th, hours before the murder. This time, he gave detectives a bit more information.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Even with things like GPS tracking and phone logs, it's hard to do today. Now imagine how difficult it was nearly a hundred years ago in 1929. After 24-year-old Theora Hicks was found dead, the older professor she'd been having a years-long affair with, Dr. James Snook, became the primary suspect. And although detectives had a mountain of evidence against him, the case wasn't clear-cut.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
He explained he went to the club that day to retrieve his shooting glasses, which he'd accidentally left behind. He wasn't giving detectives much to work with, but they weren't done with him yet. After the country club, the group visited the room James had rented from Mrs. Smalley. The landlady told detectives James returned his keys at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 14th, the day after Theora's murder.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
James had told her he was being transferred to another location for work, so he and Theora didn't need the room anymore. Before leaving the building, James had gathered their things, but in his rush to get out of there, he forgot a stained brown hat. Detectives discovered the hat during their tour of the property. It was later confirmed to belong to Theora.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
It was suspicious, but all circumstantial. James admitted he was using the room to carry out his affair with Theora, but that fact alone didn't amount to murder. Luckily for the authorities, the rented room was just the tip of the iceberg. After bringing James back to the station, detectives hunted down more evidence.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
At James's house, officers uncovered a stained shirt and hat, a knife with an unidentified smudge on it, and two freshly dry clean suits. The search of his car yielded even more incriminating information. Inside, detectives found dried blood, a man's hat and women's gloves, both also blood-stained. Then there was an umbrella, hairpins, and locks of hair that were the same color as Theora's.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
And that wasn't all. The authorities also located a hammer and a pocket knife. The knife and hammer had been rinsed off, but not thoroughly cleaned. Once the lab results came in, the answer was definitive. These were the murder weapons used to kill Theora Hicks. Despite James' attempts to throw detectives off the scent, it seemed undeniable he was the aura's killer.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
And the detectives were going to get James to admit it. After a grueling interrogation that lasted anywhere from 19 to 24 hours straight, James cracked. He told prosecutor Jack Chester Jr. that he had killed Theora in self-defense. According to James, on the night of her death, he picked Theora up in his car on the corner of 12th and High Streets near the OSU campus.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
They drove west towards the Scioto Country Club, where they planned to have sex in James Ford Coupe. But once they arrived, Theora wanted to go somewhere more private. According to him, she said, I would like to go someplace further where I can scream. So James drove until they crossed the bridge to the rifle range.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
This is Crime House. When it comes to murder trials, the investigation can be long and winding, even when the case seems open and shut. There can be no room for doubt. The stakes are just too high. One slip up and a killer could go free. That means investigators have to put together a detailed timeline, find a possible motive and gather ironclad evidence.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
After a few failed attempts at intimacy in the tiny car, James told Theora he had to go home. He was taking his wife and daughter to his mother's house for the weekend. James said that when Theora heard that, she flew off the handle. According to him, she threatened to kill his wife and young daughter. After that, James claimed Theora forcibly performed oral sex on him.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
He said it was violent and painful. He started to worry she was going to injure him or worse. According to James, Theora then reached into her handbag. That made him nervous. He'd given her a .41 caliber Derringer pistol a few years earlier, and she always carried it in her purse. James said he was terrified she was going to shoot him with it.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
So he reached into the toolkit he kept in the backseat of his car and grabbed a hammer. Theora realized what he was doing and tried to open the car door and run. James admitted to hitting her in the head with the hammer, but just to stun her. However, prosecutor Chester didn't buy it. Especially when James said he continued to beat Theora until she fell to the ground outside the vehicle.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
By then, Theora was clinging to life. The many blows to her head had already fractured her skull. If James was to be believed, he knew the wound was fatal. In order to, quote, relieve her suffering, he sliced her jugular vein with his pocket knife. And then James watched as Theora bled to death. Despite James's confession, he didn't seem to grasp the severity of the situation.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
During his trial, James Snook turned the tables. Without Theora there to defend herself, he dragged her name through the mud and tried to convince the court she deserved what happened to her. And it was up to the jury to decide which version of the truth they believed. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
After Chester wrapped up the interrogation, he said James casually asked him for a ride downtown. When Chester informed him that wasn't possible since he was a suspect in a homicide investigation, James's attitude changed. Suddenly, he wanted to take back everything he'd said. By then, it was too late, though. James could try to retract his confession, but he couldn't hide the truth.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
After confessing to the murder of 24-year-old Theora Hicks, 49-year-old James Snook tried to backtrack. He insisted the confession was coerced. According to James, prosecutor Jack Chester Jr. and other police officers physically assaulted him to get him to break. Again, this was 1929. It wasn't unusual for the authorities to rough up their suspects, especially murder suspects.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
So James's accusation was certainly possible. If he was telling the truth and the police did force him to confess, it would be a serious miscarriage of justice. But given the level of detail James had provided, it was difficult to believe he hadn't killed Theora, and the authorities weren't about to let him walk away scot-free. They just had to prove it in court.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Jury selection for James' murder trial began on July 24th, 1929, a little over a month after Theora was killed. As word got out about the scandalous affair that ended in murder, Theora's story made waves beyond Columbus. National papers like the New York Times reported on her death and the lurid details of Theora and James' relationship.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
By the time the trial began early that month, the public was raring to get a look at Theora's suspected killer. Spectators started lining up outside the courthouse as early as 3 a.m., clamoring for seats like they were at a movie premiere. During the two weeks of proceedings, there were an average of 150 to 200 people seated in the courtroom per day.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
James' defense team knew they had an uphill battle ahead of them. At first, his lawyers planned to argue temporary insanity. But when a mental health evaluation showed James was of sound mind, they were forced to pivot. After considering the different angles, James' lawyers realized his only hope of escaping a first-degree murder charge was, ironically, his own confession.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
James had claimed he killed Theora in self-defense. If he could show the jury Theora was dangerous, there was a chance they might side with him. As the trial got underway, the first piece of evidence emerged. In James' confession, he claimed that Theora was using drugs and they made her erratic and unstable. The first part of that was true.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
Tests showed that at the time of Theora's death, cannabis and an aphrodisiac called cantharidin were in her system. James' lawyers used that information to push the theory that Theora was a violent drug addict. But there were a few problems with that. First, those drugs would have acted more like a sedative, making it hard for Theora to act the way James claimed she had.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 2
And second, the prosecution argued that James was the one who gave her the drugs to begin with. As a professor of veterinary medicine, he would have had them readily available to him. In fact, quantities of these drugs were found missing from his office. During the autopsy, the coroner discovered Theora had eaten a sandwich that evening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Geology professor Lauren Wright was eating dinner with his family when there was a knock at the door. He opened up to find Richard standing there agitated and out of breath. Richard asked Professor Wright, have you heard? A girl I dated was murdered in the library. But Richard didn't seem upset about it. Rather, he seemed jumpy, almost like he was excited.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Professor Wright found Richard's behavior extremely odd. Still, he didn't immediately report the encounter. He knew Richard well, and he was aware that his star pupil could be strange. So at the time, Professor Wright probably thought Richard's behavior was nothing more than misplaced anxiety.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Maybe if he'd gone to the police that night, the authorities would have connected the dots sooner, especially because there was more evidence Richard may have been involved. And it painted a very ugly picture. After Marilee Erdley and Joao Uafinda found Betsy in the stacks that day, they provided statements to the police.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
As part of their questioning, the authorities asked them to draw sketches of the man they'd seen fleeing from the basement. While Marilee's sketch looked like a generic male student, Joao's was much more detailed, and it looked a lot like Richard Hefner. Joao had followed the man through the library and out onto the street, he would have gotten a much better look at him than Marilee had.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
But for some reason, only Marilee's sketch was released to the public. Whether it was because Joao was a foreign student and they didn't know if his description was accurate or something else, the result was the same. Still, Richard was eventually called in for questioning in the investigation's early stages. The authorities had gotten a tip from Betsy's roommate Sharon Brandt.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
She said Betsy used to hang out with their upstairs neighbor and they might want to speak to him. During Richard's interrogation a few weeks after Betsy's murder, he appeared calm, concerned and helpful. He told police he and Betsy had been on a few dates, but she called things off because of her boyfriend.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
He explained he was at his parents' house in Lancaster the night Betsy died and only found out about her murder the following evening, November 29th. We know those were both lies. Richard was on campus November 28th and was at Professor Wright's house just 41 minutes after Betsy was declared dead. But Richard didn't mention that to the police.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
He also didn't mention how he told his family he wanted to propose to Betsy. However, when detectives followed up with Richard's mother, she confirmed his alibi. And because Professor Wright didn't go to the police, they didn't see any reason to pursue Richard as a suspect. They let him go and moved on with an investigation that would drag on for weeks, then months, then years.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
But just because investigators were done with Richard doesn't mean he had moved on. People who knew him said Richard would often bring up Betsy's murder in strange and unsettling ways. And on at least one occasion, Richard even returned to the scene of the crime.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
One day in 1970, about a year after Betsy's murder, 26-year-old Richard brought a young geology student with him to the Penn State campus. The student worked at the rock shop Richard's father operated from his garage two hours away in Lancaster. That day, Richard led the teenager to Petit Library and down into the stacks.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
The teenager followed Richard through the bookshelves until Richard instructed him to go down a specific row. When they reached the end, Richard told him to stand still and be quiet. Then Richard came up behind him and said, a girl that I used to date was murdered here. You're standing in the exact spot where it happened.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once plus exciting bonus content. This is the second of two episodes on the murder of Betsy Ardsma, a 22-year-old graduate student at Penn State University. On a late afternoon in 1969, she was in the library looking for a book. Minutes later, Betsy was dead.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
in 1972 28 year old richard hefner graduated from penn state with a phd in geology after getting his diploma richard moved back into his parents house about two hours away from penn state's main campus he operated the rock and mineral shop he and his father had set up in their garage before securing a teaching position at the university of south carolina
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
But a successful career wasn't enough to keep Richard's dark impulses at bay. He was accused of pedophilic tendencies more than once, and in 1975, six years after Betsy's murder, Richard was arrested for allegedly molesting two boys who worked at the rock shop. The case went to trial, but it ended in a hung jury and it doesn't seem like he was retried.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Still, Richard served two weeks in jail for contempt of court for speaking out of turn during the trial. He left prison angry and vengeful, eventually suing just about everyone involved in the case against him. But the allegations were enough for at least one person to come forward with additional information about Richard.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
After hearing about the molestation charges, Professor Lauren Wright finally reported his disturbing encounter with Richard to the dean of the geology department. In turn, the dean notified the university's attorney. But after that, the trail went cold and news of the encounter never made it to the police.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Still, more revelations followed that year and they made it very difficult to believe that Richard wasn't behind Betsy's murder. Later in 1975, Richard's nephew, Chris, was helping his 31-year-old uncle in the garage rock shop when Richard's mom came in. She didn't realize Chris was in the garage and started yelling at her son. She was furious about the recent pedophilia charges.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
She said she had protected him and kept him out of jail in the past, only for him to turn around and get arrested for touching children. The argument got louder and louder before reaching a boiling point. Richard's mom told her son, you killed that girl and now you're killing me.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Chris, who was just 17 at the time, never went to the police about the conversation he heard that day, and so Richard was free to continue his unsettling behavior. Seventeen years later, in 1992, 48-year-old Richard took a 13-year-old boy on a trip to Virginia without his mother's permission. The mother had no idea where her son was and reported him missing.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
They tracked Richard down and arrested him for interfering with the custody of a minor. Luckily for Richard, he was able to smooth things over with the boy's mother and the charges were dropped. Even so, that wasn't Richard's last brush with the law. Six years later, in 1998, he got into a verbal altercation with a woman outside a liquor store.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
The argument turned violent and Richard beat her severely. He dislocated her jaw and loosened several of her teeth. Richard served 30 days in jail for aggravated assault. As time went on, Richard's behavior became even more erratic. His neighbors in Lancaster despised him. On several occasions, he punctured their tires and threw dog feces at them.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Richard spent the next few years wreaking havoc in Lancaster, but despite his behavior, only a few people suspected he was involved in Betsy Ardma's murder. None of them, however, were the police. It had been 33 years since Betsy's death, And it looked like Richard would never have to answer any more questions about what happened that day.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
To many, it seemed like he would take his secrets to the grave. Their prophecies came true in 2002. That year, Richard was on a geology trip to the Mojave Desert when he died from a congenital heart defect. He was 58 years old. His nephew Chris was left to clean out Richard's house. According to Chris, the things he saw in there were incredibly disturbing.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
While he refused to give specifics, Chris would state that his uncle clearly had a demon in him. Although Richard was gone, the second phase of the investigation was just beginning. That same year, internet detectives Derek Sherwood and David DeCock began looking into the case, and they quickly honed in on Richard as a potential suspect.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Over the next few years, their amateur investigation gained steam as they interviewed past colleagues, family members, and rock shop employees. They learned valuable information, like the conversation Chris overheard that day in the garage, and the time Richard took his dad's employee to the exact spot where Betsy died.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Both pieces of evidence are some of the most compelling information in the argument against Richard. In 2005, 40 years after Betsy's death, David and Derek went to the authorities with their findings, but since Richard was dead, it was too little too late. With so many witnesses and key players now dead, there isn't much hope that Betsy's case, which remains open today,
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
will ever be officially solved. Still, it seems like Betsy's killer has finally been identified. Mike Mutch, the state trooper who worked on Betsy's case back in 1970, even said as much. In 2010, Mike was asked about Richard's involvement in the murder. He said, I think you've got your man.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
While the Ardma family doesn't give interviews anymore, hopefully Derek and David's investigation has given them some closure. Because although they can never get Betsy back, there are still so many people out there who are fighting for her to get justice. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Come back next week for the story of a new murder and all the people it affected.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
murder true crime stories is a crime house original powered by pave studios here at crime house we want to thank each and every one of you for your support if you like what you heard today reach out on social media at crime house on tick tock and instagram don't forget to rate review and follow murder true crime stories wherever you get your podcasts your feedback truly makes a difference
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertsovsky, Sarah Carroll, Greg Benson, Beth Johnson, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
When 22-year-old graduate student Betsy Ardma was stabbed to death in Penn State's Petit Library in November 1969, her murder sent shockwaves through the community. Betsy was sweet and bright, the kind of person you'd love to count as a friend, which was a huge reason why so many people wanted to help find her killer. In the years after Betsy's death, police honed in on two suspects.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
The first was Bill Spencer, a disgraced former instructor in the Penn State Art Department. At a Christmas party a few weeks after Betsy's murder, Bill told several guests that he knew Betsy and that she had even posed nude for one of his sculptures. He went on to say how easy it would have been to murder her.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
His unsettling comments were reported to the police, and Bill was brought in for questioning. But detectives quickly realized Bill didn't even know Betsy. He was just doing whatever he could to insert himself into a high-profile murder investigation. After cutting Bill loose, police turned their attention to one of Betsy's classmates, Larry Moorer.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Now, Larry did actually know Betsy, but he also knew one of the witnesses, Marilee Erdley, and Marilee had seen Betsy's assailant running from the crime scene. The three of them were in the English department together, and Marilee was able to confirm the man she saw that day was not Larry.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
by the time the authorities had ruled out bill spencer and larry moorer as suspects they had lost precious time and it was too late for them to notice another potential murderer hiding in plain sight It wasn't until decades later that two citizen detectives realized the police were looking in all the wrong places.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
In 2009, 40 years after Betsy's murder, Derek Sherwood and David DeCock were investigating Betsy's case. Growing up, Derek's father worked at Penn State. As a child, his parents would tell him about the female student who was killed in the library. When Derek got older, he started reading about Betsy's case. And eventually, he decided her death should be more than a cautionary tale.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
He wanted to make sense of the decades-old mystery and bring her killer to justice. By the time the case picked back up in 2009, Derek had a blog that was a well-researched, well-documented archive of information on Betsy's life and death. As for David, he and Betsy had gone to the same high school in Holland, Michigan, although they never crossed paths.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Betsy was six years older than David and already way at college by the time David started there. But after her murder, David couldn't stop thinking about what happened to Betsy. Eventually, he came upon Derek's blog and the two connected. Before long, they were working together to find her true killer. After eliminating suspect after suspect, there was only one man left standing.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
After 22-year-old Betsy Ardma was stabbed to death at a Penn State University library in 1969, it seemed like her murder would remain a mystery forever. But that all changed in the early 2000s. As the internet completely altered the way people exchanged information, two citizen detectives became determined to solve her case. And thanks to them, we might finally know who killed Betsy. And why.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
While police focused on what happened the day Betsy was murdered, Derek and David realized a strange event the night before might hold an important clue about her killer's identity. On November 27th, 1969, Betsy had returned to campus after having Thanksgiving dinner at her boyfriend's house a hundred miles away in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
The moment she got back, she went straight to Petit Library. After studying late into the night, Betsy left to go back to her dorm room. There was a campus security officer patrolling the area outside the building. Given the late hour, he approached Betsy and asked if she needed someone to walk her back to her dorm room. She responded, quote, no, the guy upstairs isn't around, so I'll be fine.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
The officer didn't pry, but maybe he should have, because the following afternoon, Betsy was dead and the guy upstairs seemed very suspicious. The man Betsy was referring to was a student named Richard Hefner. Born on December 13th, 1943 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, his parents didn't have a ton of money to go around. Still, they funneled whatever they could into Richard's education.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Richard was an incredibly gifted child and discovered a passion for geology at an early age. While Richard was still in high school, he began volunteering at the North Museum at nearby Franklin and Marshall College. Known as the Lancaster Smithsonian, the North Museum had an impressive rock and mineral collection, which Richard immediately honed in on.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
After high school, he enrolled as an undergraduate at the university and continued to work at the museum. Richard quickly made a name for himself on campus, publishing multiple research articles, even co-discovering a new mineral. But there was a darkness behind all that brilliance.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
While Richard worked at the museum, several parents filed reports that a knowledgeable, well-dressed curator had attempted to inappropriately touch their sons. Those reports were connected back to Richard. He denied the accusations but the evidence was too much for the museum to ignore. Shortly after, sometime before 1965, Richard was let go.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
The museum cited the reason for his termination as a difference of opinion, which was very nice of them. If they wanted to, they could have pressed charges. Instead, they did Richard a favor. And without any official blemishes on his record, Richard finished his undergraduate degree with flying colors.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
After graduating from Franklin and Marshall College in the spring of 1965, 21-year-old Richard was accepted into a PhD program at nearby Penn State. He started that fall. But what could have been a fresh start for Richard quickly devolved into more disturbing behavior.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
This is Crime House. Whenever there's a murder, everyone wants to see the case solved immediately. But as hard as it is to accept, sometimes it's just not possible. Whether you're waiting for a witness to come forward or hoping for a new piece of technology to come around, the wait can be agonizing. But when that one piece of the puzzle finally clicks into place, it can change everything.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
In the fall of 1967, when Richard was 23 years old, he went on a research trip to Death Valley, California with his mentor, geology professor Lauren Wright. Professor Wright thought Richard was a promising young geologist and had taken him under his wing. He had no idea the other people on the trip didn't exactly enjoy Richard's company.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
In Death Valley, Richard met a younger student from another program. Mary Kelling was confident and outspoken, with curly brown hair and a bohemian style. After Richard met Mary, he was smitten. The feelings were far from mutual. Mary found Richard strange and off-putting. The way he stared at her made Mary's stomach turn, and she refused the many advances he made.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
When the trip was over, Mary was relieved to be back in her dorm room at Brown University in Rhode Island and far away from Richard. Until one day, when there was a knock at her door. She opened up to find him standing there, bursting with excitement. He'd driven 800 miles from Pennsylvania to surprise her because he had something very important to tell Mary. He was in love with her.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Mary responded by telling Richard to leave immediately. If he contacted her again, her next call would be to the police. Richard did as he was told, but on the inside he was reeling and confused. But two years later, in the fall of 1969, Richard wasn't thinking about Mary anymore. He had a new obsession with And her name was Betsy Ardsma.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
By the fall of 1969, 25-year-old Richard Hefner had his sights set on his downstairs neighbor, a 22-year-old grad student named Betsy Ardsma. They'd first met in front of their dorm. Betsy was writing a letter and she and Richard got to talking. Richard found Betsy beautiful and interesting. After a few more conversations, he asked her to hang out.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Unlike Mary Kelling, Betsy wasn't totally put off by him, and she said yes. In October of that year, they went to an ice cream shop on campus. Another time they went bowling, and after that they got dinner. Richard described the outings as dates, but Betsy wasn't looking for romance. She was dedicated to her boyfriend, David Wright. Still, she was lonely.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
David lived 90 minutes away and she only got to see him on weekends. Betsy didn't have many friends on campus, and Richard seemed like a genuinely good guy. so she told him she was faithful to David, but she would still like to be Richard's friend. Betsy and Richard continued to spend time together, and she told him things she'd never told anyone else.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
people's lives are like a story there's a beginning a middle and an end but you don't always know which part you're on sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending i'm carter roy and this is murder true crime stories a crime house original every tuesday i'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
But while Betsy was opening up to Richard on a platonic level, he saw her vulnerability in a different light. Because despite what Betsy had said to him, Richard was convinced she wanted to be with him. His delusions ran so deep that he even told his family he was seeing a girl at college named Betsy. He told them he planned to propose to her over Thanksgiving break.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
However, while Richard was busy imagining a future with Betsy, she was starting to become wary of him. Apparently, he was starting to rub her the wrong way, and she even told her family she was scared of Richard, which would line up with what she told the campus security guard the night of November 27th, 1969.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
Remember, the guard had asked Betsy if she needed an escort to walk her back to her dorm. Betsy responded, no, the guy upstairs isn't around, so I'll be fine. But while Betsy believed Richard was out of town that night, that wasn't the case. The guy upstairs was around. Like Betsy, Richard had returned early from Thanksgiving break.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
And from his vantage point across the courtyard, he would have been able to see that Betsy was back in town too. It would have been all too easy for him to wait until Betsy and her roommate left their apartment the next day, November 28th, 1969. Richard could have trailed them to the library, then followed Betsy down into the stacks and confronted her about their relationship.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
If Betsy and Richard did have a conversation in the stacks that day, no one will ever know what was said. But if Betsy's plans to stay with her boyfriend came up, there's a chance that Richard became confused and angry. Angry enough to draw the pocket knife he was known to carry. Now, it wasn't unusual for geology students to carry knives on them for field work.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Library Murder Pt. 2
But Richard brought the knife with him everywhere. And if he did approach Betsy that day and drew his blade, it would make sense that no one heard her scream and that she didn't have any defensive wounds. All signs pointed to the fact that Betsy knew her killer. Whether or not Richard was down in the stacks that day, we do know that by 6 PM that night, he was at his mentor's house.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Marion agreed, on the condition James stopped seeing Theora. And he did, for a while at least. But eventually she and Marion started fighting. Theora broke things off with him and got back together with James. If James was to be believed, it was Theora who started the arguments between her and Marion. He would later testify she started experimenting with drugs around this time.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
which made her erratic and violent the drugs in question were mostly suppressants things like cannabis and an aphrodisiac called cantheridin well neither would cause the kind of behavior james described and no one else in theora's life reported her acting strangely because the only person she may have been using drugs with was james
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
I'll be bringing awareness to stories that need to be heard with a focus on those who are impacted. And for more true crime stories that all happened this week in history, check out Crime House The Show. Each episode covers multiple cases unified by the same theme. So every week, you get something a little different.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
The drugs he claimed Theora was using were available to him in his capacity as a veterinarian. Later, quantities of these medications were found missing from his office. Whether he pocketed the drugs and gave them to Theora, we still don't know. And despite his insistence that Theora was difficult to be around, James continued seeing her.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Once Theora finished her summer classes, she returned to Ohio. James rented them a room in a nearby boarding house under an alias. To explain why he wasn't there all the time, he told the landlady, Margaret Smalley, that he was a traveling salt salesman named James Howard. He said Fiora was his wife. Once their new secret meeting place was secured, he and Fiora used it to their full advantage.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
They would enter through the back of the building and speak with Mrs. Smalley as little as possible. Despite their efforts at keeping things under wraps, they didn't get any more discreet about their public outings. By the spring of 1929, three years into their affair, 25 year old Theora started to develop real feelings for James. She asked him to leave his wife several times.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
He always refused, claiming he didn't want to tear his family apart. He asked her to think logically about the situation they were in. But while James pretended to be a level-headed, clear-thinking partner, it soon became obvious he was a far more unpredictable man than Theora ever knew. And when Theora realized who he really was, it was too late for her to run.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
By the spring of 1929, 25-year-old Theora Hicks had been having an affair with 49-year-old Dr. James Snook for around three years. For a while, neither of them expected anything from one another beyond sex and good conversation. But that spring, Theora began to have actual feelings for James. She even started asking him to leave his wife, something she'd never done before. James said no.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Although Theora was disappointed, she still didn't want to break things off. It seemed like maybe she hoped James would change his mind. But now that she told him how she really felt, Theora couldn't pretend she was happy with the status quo. According to James, Theora became anxious and angry around this time. He said she wanted more from him. Weekends away together, constant communication.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
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Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
In other words, she wanted a real relationship. But James wasn't prepared to give her that, and before long they were fighting constantly. Most of the time these arguments happened in private, at the boarding house or during car rides. But soon they were bickering out in the open, and it was only a matter of time until their secret affair became public knowledge.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
One day that spring in 1929, possibly on June 9th, James was golfing with his colleagues at a country club near OSU. He was out on the course when Theora called the front office asking to speak with him. According to James, the staff went outside to alert him and he went to the office and tried calling her back. But no one answered.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
However, other sources say he refused to take the call from the outset. Regardless, Theora eventually showed up at the club. She was furious that James had ignored her and demanded he leave with her. And he couldn't exactly say no. Not only was James' affair with Theora out in the open, but she was screaming at him in front of his colleagues.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Leaving was the only way to subdue her, but he definitely wasn't happy about it. After this incident, things between them became more strained. Theora's movements over the next few days are up for debate, but by June 13th, 1929, it became clear that something had happened to the 24-year-old medical student.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
It wasn't unusual for Theora to spend nights away from the apartment she shared with sisters Alice and Beatrice Buston. That didn't surprise them. Even though Theora was very private, they were aware that she was dating. They knew she used to see graduate student Marion Myers, but they had no idea she was in a relationship with James.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
And while she may have kept things from them, Theora was still responsible and reliable. She always returned home eventually. So when she didn't come back to the apartment the morning of June 13th, the sisters began to worry. By that afternoon, Theora still hadn't shown up. That's when Alice and Beatrice reported her missing to the police.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
They didn't have to wait long to find out where Theora was. The next day, June 14th, two teenage boys, Paul Crumloaf and Milton Miller, were at the local rifle range. As they prepared for target practice, they noticed a bundle of clothing in the weeds. They went to get a closer look and realized it was a woman lying face down on the ground. She was unresponsive.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
The boys immediately notified the police, who rushed to the scene. But when they approached the body, it was immediately clear. The woman was dead. Officers turned her body over and quickly realized they were dealing with a murder. The victim's injuries were extensive. She was bloodied and bruised and looked like she'd received several blows to the head.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
But the fatal strike appeared to be a deep slash across her neck. Before going any further, the responding officers contacted the department's detectives. They knew Theora Hicks had been reported missing and wondered if the two cases might be connected. The detectives agreed. They contacted the Buston sisters and asked them to come down to the police station.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. This is the first of two episodes on the murder of Theora Hicks, a promising medical student whose burgeoning career was cut short at only 24 years old when she was murdered by her much older professor and lover.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
But the victim's body was so badly beaten, it was impossible to identify the woman based on her features. But Alice and Beatrice recognized the victim's clothes. It was Theora Hicks. Suddenly, her missing person case was now a murder investigation. While detectives waited for Theora's autopsy results, they began searching for her killer.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Alice and Beatrice Buston told them that Theora was dating around and knew she was seeing Marion Myers, so that's where detectives started. Although 35-year-old Marion had since graduated from OSU and moved 130 miles north of the school's campus, he happened to be in town the night of the murder. He was at a party at his old fraternity house.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
By the time detectives arrived at the house, Marion was already aware of Theora's death. He was distraught about what happened and insisted he had nothing to do with it. He explained his relationship with Theora had ended over a year earlier and they hadn't spoken since. Besides, Marion's frat brothers confirmed that he was partying with them the entire evening of June 13th.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
However, a few witnesses told police they saw her on the night of the 13th with a man matching his description. That was enough for the authorities to bring Marion in for questioning. Now, police procedure has changed dramatically since 1929, but back then, they were able to hold Marion indefinitely without charges.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Detectives used that time to gather more information about Theora's movements the night of her death. Meanwhile, local papers reported on the young medical student found dead at the local rifle range. And that's when more witnesses started to emerge. They claimed to have seen Theora at various points on the night of the 13th.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Apparently, Theora went to a nearby hospital that evening for a job interview. She had just wrapped up her second year of medical school and would have been looking for a summer job. A hospital employee said Theora had left the building around 9 p.m. The next person to come forward was a local taxi driver. He said he picked up a woman outside of the hospital that evening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
The woman was agitated and asked the man to drive around in circles. She seemed to be looking for someone who never appeared. But the most important witness to speak with detectives was Margaret Smalley, the landlady at their boarding house where Theora and James rented a room. Mrs. Smalley told police she had recognized Theora's photo in the local papers,
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
But Mrs. Smalley knew Theora Hicks by a different name, Theora Howard. She believed Theora was the wife of James Howard, a local salt salesman. Detectives honed in on the name. They knew if they could find this James Howard, it might bring them one step closer to identifying Theora's killer.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
And after doing some research, authorities realized James Howard was actually James Schnuck, Olympic gold medalist and professor of veterinary medicine at OSU. Once police had confirmation that James Snook was sneaking around with Theora and Mrs. Smalley's boarding house, they spoke with him directly. They found him at home, peacefully eating breakfast.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
When they confronted James, he vehemently denied having anything to do with Theora's murder. They brought him in for questioning anyway. Under questioning, James maintained he barely knew Theora. He said she'd worked as a stenographer in the veterinary department, but they never spoke.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
After a bit more prying, James admitted she had done some secretarial work for him, but he insisted their relationship was strictly professional. Besides, he said he was at his office on the night of June 13th until 9 p.m., then he drove home. Detectives then interviewed his wife, Helen, who confirmed she saw him in the kitchen around 9.30 p.m.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Today, I'll introduce you to Theora. I'll fill you in on her time in medical school and her years-long affair that eventually resulted in her murder. Next time, I'll walk you through the investigation into Theora's death And a trial that was so salacious, the details couldn't be published in newspapers.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
But the authorities weren't convinced by either of their stories, especially because James' left hand was bandaged. When they asked him about it, he said he'd hurt himself while working on his car. The authorities didn't buy it. because by then, Theora's autopsy results had come in.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
The coroner determined she had a fractured skull, bone particles lodged in her brain, and a clean slice across her neck. Her official cause of death was a severed jugular vein and carotid artery, and most telling, her body showed signs of a struggle.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
If she had fought against her attacker, it's possible they would have come away from the brawl with their own injuries, just like the one James seemed to have. Once they realized James wasn't telling them the whole truth, detectives booked him. Like Marion, they held him indefinitely with no charges.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
With the two men in Theora's life sitting shackled in an interrogation room, it was time for the police to narrow down their list of suspects. To do that, they brought in Mrs. Smalley. They led the landlady inside and asked her to identify the man she knew as Mr. Howard. Sure enough, she pointed to James. James knew the jig was up. He didn't try to argue.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Finally, he admitted that he had been having an affair with Theora for years. But the story he told investigators painted a very dark picture. One that made it difficult for anyone to argue that James was a buttoned-up, respectable professor. And if he was to be believed, Theora was a sex-crazed woman with a violent streak. But the lies wouldn't last forever.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Eventually, the world would learn the truth about James Snook. And it was terrifying. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for part two of our series on the murder of Theora Hicks. Murder True Crime Stories is a CrimeHouse original powered by PAVE Studios.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
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Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to CrimeHouse Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode ad-free, and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once, plus exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Nearly a century later, Theora's story remains one of the most complex, fascinating murder cases in US history. All that and more, coming up.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by me, Carter Roy, and is a CrimeHouse original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Murder True Crime Stories team, Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benidon, Natalie Pertsofsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Carroll, Emma Lehman, Sheila Patterson, and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
As the only child of Melvin and Joanna Hicks, Theora was her parents' pride and joy. When she was born in a small village in upstate New York in 1904, Melvin and Joanna were already well into middle age. And although they loved Theora unconditionally, the large age gap between them and their daughter meant they viewed the world very differently.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Melvin and Joanna had come of age in the late 1800s and were raised with traditional Victorian values. While Melvin worked, Joanna chose not to pursue an education or a career. Instead, she was a housewife and homemaker. While her mother was content to stay home with her daughter, Theora didn't want to follow that same path.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
When Theora was a little girl, her family moved to Flushing, Queens in New York and was exposed to a whole new world, one in which women had more opportunities. By the time Theora was in high school, she dreamed of becoming a doctor. At the time, only 4% of US physicians were women. Theora aspired to join their ranks. Melvin and Joanna couldn't quite wrap their heads around it.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
But being the supportive parents they were, they gave Theora their blessing to pursue her goals. And in 1923 or 1924, Theora enrolled at The Ohio State University in Columbus, one of the few colleges that allowed women at the time. But even though OSU welcomed female students, they weren't given the same options as their male counterparts.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
They had fewer classes to choose from, and they also weren't allowed to live in the dorms, which meant Theora had to find off-campus housing. None of it deterred Theora. Although her ultimate goal was to become a doctor, she decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in business. But still, Theora didn't leave medicine behind completely.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
She also worked as a stenographer in the veterinary department to help pay for her tuition. Despite the excitement of being away at college, Theora wasn't much of a social butterfly. Her roommates, sisters Alice and Beatrice Buston, said she was quiet and very private. She didn't share much about her life with them.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Eventually, they stopped asking her personal questions altogether because they knew Theora wouldn't answer. But they insisted she wasn't rude or mean-spirited. Theora just seemed like the kind of person who kept her cards close to her chest. Plus, Theora had a demanding job and a full course load. Beatrice and Alice assumed she just didn't have time for chit-chat.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
For almost a century now, Theora's story has been told through the lens of the man who murdered her. He convinced the courts and the world that Theora was a drug-addled nymphomaniac who couldn't control her own desires. And because Theora wasn't able to defend herself against those accusations, that's what many believed. And for decades, she never got true justice.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
According to the Buston sisters and Theora's classmates, she was straight-laced. She didn't drink or smoke and rarely went out on the town. She dedicated herself to school, filling most of her time with sports, studies, and work. And while Theora wasn't the most social person, she maintained a close relationship with her parents while she was at school.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
They wrote letters to each other constantly, and Theora filled them in on her day-to-day life. At some point while she was at OSU, Melvin and Joanna had moved from New York to Florida. During school breaks, Theora would drive the thousand miles from campus to their home in Bradenton to visit. But although Theora kept in touch with her parents, she didn't tell them everything about her life.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
including her unlikely friendship with an older man. In 1926, three years into her time at OSU, 21-year-old Theora met 46-year-old Dr. James Snook at her stenography job in the veterinary department. To Theora, it looked like James had it all. Before becoming a professor veterinary medicine at OSU, he'd invented the Snook hook, a tool that's still used today to spay and neuter dogs and cats.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
As if that wasn't enough, he was also an Olympian. In 1920, James took home gold in the Antwerp Olympics as a member of the U.S. pistol team. His wife, Helen, supported all of his professional accomplishments. And by the time Theora met James in 1926, he and Helen had a two-year-old daughter.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Despite James's busy schedule, he still made time to attend church, play golf with his colleagues, and practice his shooting at a nearby range. To those around him, James seemed like a stand-up guy. But his behavior with Theora indicated otherwise. At first, their interactions seemed purely professional. He dictated information to Theora, and she wrote it down.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
But one evening, after a long day of work, James offered Theora a ride back to her apartment. It was raining and he figured she didn't want to walk. Theora agreed, and before long, their car rides grew more frequent. It's unclear if anyone at the vet's office noticed James was driving Theora home or considered it inappropriate. If they did, they didn't say anything.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
And they didn't seem concerned that Theora might have felt pressured to say yes to his offers. Either way, their car ride soon turned into coffee dates. They were both progressive thinkers and spent hours discussing taboo topics like STDs and common law marriages. But it wasn't just their conversations that were intimate.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
This is Crime House. Sex sells. It always has and always will. But sometimes our desire for salacious details and juicy escapades can come at a great cost. After 24-year-old Theora Hicks was killed in 1929, the news of her murder shocked the nation. But it wasn't just because of the brutal nature of her death. It was also because of what Fiora's killer said about her sex life.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Within three weeks of that first rainy drive to Theora's apartment, she and James were sleeping together. Theora had no idea their affair would change the course of her entire life.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
In 1926, 21-year-old Theora Hicks was close to accomplishing one of her many goals. She was just a year away from getting her undergraduate degree in business from The Ohio State University. After that, she planned to attend medical school. But while her roommates and family saw her as a docile, mild-mannered young woman, Theora was hiding a racy secret.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
She was sleeping with a married professor named James Snook. What started out as casual car rides quickly turned into a full-blown affair. Before long, Theora and 46-year-old James were spending three nights a week together for hours at a time. And they weren't exactly secretive about it. They were seen out and about, going shopping and hitting the town.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Sometimes James would even take Theora to the shooting range. It's not clear where they went when they wanted alone time, but it seems like they were able to keep that side of the relationship a secret. When James' wife Helen asked why he was home late, he told her he was working or going shooting. Helen believed him, even when Theora called the house looking for James.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
With no one the wiser about the affair, he and Theora continued seeing each other. By the time she started medical school at OSU in 1927, 22 year old Theora had been dating 47 year old James for about a year. Looking past the impropriety inherent in their relationship, the two of them actually clicked on multiple levels. Both of them were incredibly smart and ambitious.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder, True Crime Stories, a Crime House Original. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
They could talk for hours on end about science and politics, literature and music. But there was another very important aspect of their relationship that made things work. Unlike most other men at the time, James was happy to let Theora take the lead in the bedroom. Theora was more sexually adventurous than James. In fact, she was more adventurous than most people of the era.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
In 1927, only half of women enrolled in college reported being sexually active. And not only was Theora having sex, but she was curious about it in a way that wasn't exactly acceptable back then. For example, she introduced James to oral sex. Now, keep in mind, oral sex wasn't just taboo at the time. It was illegal. But Theora viewed sex as something that should be celebrated and embraced.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
More than that, she saw it as a topic that should be studied, the same as other disciplines. Fiora would even give James assignments, instructing him to read books like The Art of Love. She encouraged him to explore sex beyond what was deemed socially acceptable. James was happy to oblige. He had no issue admitting he had more to learn.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Beyond their erotic escapades, there were other parts of James and Theora's relationship that were unorthodox. At this time, James had no plans to leave his wife for Theora. In fact, it seems like James was having multiple affairs, and Theora didn't seem to mind, because she was seeing other people too.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Before Theora ever met James, she was dating a 33-year-old OSU graduate student named Marion Myers. They were never exclusive, which he was fine with, at first, but eventually Marion wanted to be monogamous. He even asked Theora to marry him, but she said no. Still, Theora and Marion continued sleeping together. Like James, she and Marion were adventurous.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
Once, they were even caught having sex by a local river and fined $20 each. James knew all about Theora's relationship with Marion and then some. According to James, she often compared his performance in the bedroom to Marion's. And although she used Marion's sexual prowess to shame him, the doctor didn't seem to mind. If anything, he seemed to encourage their relationship.
Murder: True Crime Stories
SOLVED: The Co-ed Murder 1
By June 1928, about two years after 23-year-old Theora and James first started dating, she was in New York taking summer classes at Columbia University. She asked James to come visit, but he couldn't make the trip without tipping off his wife. Still, he was worried Theora was lonely, so he got in touch with Marion and asked him to go instead.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Her first move was to get the trial delayed by almost nine months to July 20th, 1965. Now that she had more time to prepare, Roundtree combed through the thick case file police had assembled, including witness statements from Henry Wiggins and the jogger who passed by Mary that day, whose name was Lieutenant William Mitchell. But nothing they said stood out to Roundtree.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
So she pivoted to establishing an alibi for Ray. Initially, he'd said he was fishing in the river when he fell asleep and tumbled into the water. But police had found his fishing pole at his house. Clearly, Ray's story was fake. Still, he stuck by it when Roundtree first interviewed him. But after some prodding from Roundtree, he finally came clean.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
He said the truth was he was cheating on his wife. That day, he and his girlfriend had gone down to the river to drink and fool around. Ray explained that when they were finished, he fell asleep at the water's edge. He was jolted awake when he rolled right over into the river. He said he climbed back onto shore to find his girlfriend was gone. He was looking for her when Officer Warner found him.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Ray claimed he'd only lied to Warner because he didn't want his wife to learn about the affair. This was great news for Roundtree. If she could track Ray's girlfriend down, it might just crack the case wide open. But when Roundtree finally got a hold of the woman, her hopes were dashed. Although Ray's girlfriend confirmed his story, she refused to testify. She was married too.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
She didn't want her husband to find out she was cheating or become a target for the police. So without an alibi, Roundtree was forced to look elsewhere. She decided to start with the scene of the crime itself. Roundtree and her colleagues headed down to the towpath. They reenacted the attack and ensuing foot search. She was looking for something, anything that could lead her to the true killer.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
And for more true crime stories that all happened this week in history, check out Crime House The Show. Each episode covers multiple cases unified by the same theme. So every week you get something a little different. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
They didn't find anything. But after visiting the crime scene, Roundtree began receiving mysterious phone calls. The person on the other line never spoke and they always called at midnight. During the calls, all Roundtree could hear was heavy breathing followed by the click of them hanging up. The more Roundtree visited the towpath, the more frequent these calls became.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Whoever it was, they were sending a clear message. They were watching, and they wanted Roundtree to stop looking. But Roundtree wasn't the type to back down. As a black female attorney running a large law firm during the time of Jim Crow, she was used to people trying to intimidate her. She never investigated these calls, nor did she learn who was making them.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Whoever was harassing her, they weren't going to stop Roundtree from pursuing justice. Still, despite Roundtree's commitment to the case, it felt like her investigation had reached a dead end. After exhausting all of her options, she decided to review the police files for what felt like the thousandth time. This last resort turned out to be exactly what she needed.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
When Roundtree first read the witness statements from Henry Wiggins and Lieutenant Mitchell, she'd only caught their descriptions of the killer's clothing. Light jacket, dark hat, dark slacks, which matched Ray's outfit that day. But now, Roundtree realized there was a glaring discrepancy. Both Wiggins and Mitchell said the man following Mary was at least 5'8 and 185 pounds.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Ray, on the other hand, was 5'3 and 130 pounds. He was, as Roundtree put it, as slender as a woman. Roundtree was stunned. She believed the police were right. Wiggins and Mitchell had seen the same man, But that man couldn't have been Ray. More than that, Wiggins was 120 feet away from the assailant when he saw him standing over Mary.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
It would be difficult to identify someone from that far away with any degree of certainty. Roundtree finally knew how she'd throw doubt on the prosecution's case. The only question was, would it convince a jury? With Ray's court date quickly approaching, Browntree didn't have much time to agonize over that question. On July 20th, 1965, the court convened for the trial of Raymond Crump Jr.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
in the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer. The courtroom was packed. On one side were Martha's black friends from church. On the other were D.C. 's white elite. The optics were clear and the building hummed with tension. But the prosecutor, Alfred Hantman, resented the assumption that Ray's arrest was the product of racism.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Hantman insisted his case was based on the evidence against Ray and nothing more. With a 25-year career under his belt, Hantman had no doubt Ray would be proven guilty. Hantman was so confident, when he stood for his opening statement, he told the jury exactly what they wouldn't hear from him. Hantman acknowledged there wasn't any blood linking Ray to Mary.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters. And for ad-free and early access to Murder True Crime Stories, plus exciting bonus content, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. This is the second and final episode on the 1964 murder of 43-year-old artist and Washington, D.C.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
He also admitted authorities had never found the murder weapon despite an extensive search. But Hantman reassured the jury that those didn't matter. He had 50 pieces of circumstantial evidence to back him up, and they painted a gruesome picture. According to Hantman, the day Mary was murdered, she had no idea she was being stalked by Ray.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
She only realized someone was following her when they put a pistol to her head and pulled the trigger. Hantman insisted that after Ray killed Mary, he threw his cap and jacket into the river. When Ray saw the police searching the area, he jumped into the water and hid until he thought the coast was clear. Then Ray climbed back onto shore and ran straight into law enforcement.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
Hintman's theory hinged on two main arguments. The first was that police had sealed off all five exits to the towpath in just four minutes, which just wasn't enough time for anyone to escape. And since Ray was the only person they found on the towpath, he was the only one who could have possibly killed Mary.
Murder: True Crime Stories
UNSOLVED: The Murder of JFK's Lover 2
To demonstrate this, Hantman showed the jury a 55-foot-wide map of the towpath drawn by a park ranger. The ranger explained the painstaking lengths he'd gone to to faithfully recreate the scene to scale. But when Dovey Roundtree cross-examined the ranger, he admitted he'd never actually been there. He'd recreated the map based on government records. Roundtree had been to the towpath, though.
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She explained to the jury that it was like a jungle. How could the ranger be certain there was no unofficial exits to the towpath? The ranger admitted he couldn't. And just like that, Roundtree destroyed one of Hantman's first arguments. If the police had missed an exit, it was possible another suspect really had eluded them after all.
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With the exit theory up in flames, Roundtree continued to tear Hantman to shreds. Next up on the chopping block was his star witness, the tow truck driver, Henry Wiggins. Roundtree grilled Wiggins on what he saw that day, from the assailant's clothing to his movements.
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But most importantly, she questioned the discrepancy in size between the 5'8 killer Wiggins saw and the 5'3 defendant sitting in the courtroom. Finally, Wiggins snapped. He told Roundtree, I didn't look at him that hard. It was a devastating blow to Hantman. Wiggins wasn't sure Ray was the man he'd seen, and the prosecution couldn't prove Ray was the only person on the towpath.
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So who was to say he was Mary's murderer? By the last day of the trial, Roundtree had managed to poke holes in every one of the prosecution's arguments. And her efforts paid off. After only 11 hours of deliberation, the jury came back with a verdict. Not guilty. Ray was a free man. It was an enormous relief for him and his family. After a year behind bars, he was finally going home.
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But there was one question hanging over the courtroom that day. If Ray Crump didn't kill Mary Pinchot Meyer, then who did?
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socialite, Mary Pinchot Meyer. Last time, I told you how Mary went from being the unhappy housewife of a CIA agent to a free-spirited artist. and how her life as a new woman was tragically cut short. Today, I'll introduce you to the only suspect in Mary's murder investigation and walk you through his trial.
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On July 30th, 1965, 26-year-old Raymond Crump Jr. was acquitted in the murder of 43-year-old Mary Pinchot Meyer. Since he'd been facing the death penalty, it was a huge relief for his family and a big win for his lawyer, Dovey Johnson Roundtree. If Mary's family and friends felt like there'd been a miscarriage of justice, they didn't show it. Although she'd been beloved by many in the D.C.
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community, the reaction to Ray's acquittal was silence. The spies, journalists, and politicians she socialized with quickly turned their attention to the communist threats abroad and the news cycle focused on other events. But while it seemed like Mary's loved ones had moved on from her death, some were biding their time until the moment was right.
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In 1976, 12 years after Mary's murder, one of her old friends, James Truitt, a former reporter for Newsweek, was interviewed by the National Enquirer. While Mary's obituary had described her as a friend of the Kennedy family, the article claimed she was much more than that. In his interview, Truett confirmed Mary's affair with John F. Kennedy.
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Not only that, but Truett said Mary and Kennedy had smoked marijuana together in the White House. Truett revealed that Mary had kept a diary with the details of her relationship with the president. Shortly after her death, Mary's close friends had rifled through her house looking for it.
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When Mary's sister found the diary, she handed it over to James Angleton, the chief of counterintelligence at the CIA. He destroyed it. Truett didn't say why Mary's friends had gone on a frenzied hunt for the diary, but the implications were clear. The details inside were so scandalous, dangerous even, they could never see the light of day.
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Truett's allegations single-handedly catapulted Mary's story from a local affair to the national spotlight. Because when it came to her murder, there were more mysteries than the identity of her killer. And someone out there was determined to bring those secrets to the surface. Back in the early 60s, Mary had befriended Timothy Leary, known as the father of the psychedelic movement.
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According to Leary, he and Mary had gone on several acid trips together and spoke at length about peace, love, and the unrealized potential of psychedelics. When Leary read the National Enquirer article about Mary, he wasn't surprised to hear she and Kennedy had smoked marijuana together.
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He claimed that Mary had once told him she wanted to learn how to administer LSD to a friend who was, quote, a very powerful man. After reading the article, Leary wondered if Kennedy was the powerful friend Mary had been alluding to. To Leary, the possibility was thrilling, but it also raised some horrifying questions.
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In his memoir, Leary writes that Mary called him the day after Kennedy's assassination. Apparently, she thought the CIA believed the president was, quote, changing too fast and were worried they couldn't control him, which made Leary fear the worst. Was it possible the CIA had been responsible for Kennedy's assassination and Mary's murder?
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Then I'll unravel the shocking allegations that emerged more than a decade after Mary's death. To this day, no one is sure if her murder was a random act of violence or a calculated cover-up to protect the president. All that and more, coming up. I've got some exciting news. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds.
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Now, Leary has never directly accused the CIA of either of these attacks. He's also never stated that Mary and Kennedy did in fact take LSD together. However, after Ray was acquitted, Leary did hire a private investigator to look into this theory. Although the investigation didn't yield any answers, Leary's not the only one who believes there's more to Mary's death than meets the eye.
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In 2012, Peter Janney, who was childhood friends with Mary's sons, published a book that took Leary's allegations to the next level. Now, Peter's theory is a bit out there, so take it with a grain of salt, but here's what he alleges. According to Peter, Mary and Kennedy didn't just have an affair. They were madly in love.
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And after they took LSD together, Kennedy was inspired to change course on the Cold War. After what felt like warmongering madness, Kennedy wanted to improve relations with the Soviet Union. But the CIA was staunchly opposed to any peacemaking efforts with the Soviets. So when they realized they couldn't control Kennedy, they had him killed.
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When they pinned the assassination on Lee Harvey Oswald, Mary saw through the lies and launched her own investigation into Kennedy's death. She confronted her ex-husband Kord with her findings, and he informed James Engleton, the chief of counterintelligence at the CIA. At some point after that, CIA officials decided to terminate Mary to prevent her from revealing the truth.
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They chose the towpath she walked every day to carry out the attack and pin the murder on Ray Crump. Peter's theory is certainly compelling, but most mainstream journalists are understandably critical of it. They describe his book as a leap of faith and point out the many holes in his story. For example, there's no evidence that Kennedy ever did LSD or wanted to scale back the Cold War.
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In the end it seems like Peter's story, like so many others, only raised more questions about what happened to Mary. But while we may never know the truth about Mary's death, we do know the truth about her life. As an adult, Mary was forced to put aside her desires and take on the role of a dutiful housewife.
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And yet, even after her marriage fell apart and she lost her middle child, Mary managed to break down those barriers and reclaim her life. But if there's one way to remember Mary best, it's probably through her art. Mary's final painting, titled Half Light, hangs in the third floor of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It's a circle divided into four colorful quadrants.
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One is olive green, one pastel blue, and the other two auburn and lavender. While the piece is balanced, it gives the sense that there's much more going on under the surface, just like the artist who created it. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for the story of another murder and all the people it affected. Thank you.
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Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer. From serial killers to cult leaders, deadly exes, and spree killers... Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
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By October 12, 1964, 43-year-old Mary Pinchot Meyer had an established routine. Paint in the mornings, then go for a stroll in the afternoon, always alongside Georgetown's Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Washington, D.C., where she lived. A few minutes past noon that day, Mary headed out to the canal. Locals called the walking trail alongside it the Towpath.
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It was flanked by the canal on one side and dense greenery that led to the Potomac River on the other. Mary arrived there about 15 minutes later, and around 12.20 p.m., she passed a jogger as she made her way to a secluded part of the Towpath. A 30-foot hill and a stone wall obstructed Mary's view of the road above. but she would have been able to hear the rumble of cars in the distance.
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Five minutes later, at 12.25 p.m., a mechanic named Henry Wiggins pulled his tow truck over on the side of that road to fix a car. He stepped out to look for the vehicle... but stopped in his tracks when he heard a piercing scream come from below. The distant sound of two gunshots followed. He raced to the stone wall and peered over.
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He was horrified to see a woman, later identified as Mary Pinchot Meyer, lying dead in the middle of the towpath. Her assailant was standing over her. Wiggins noted the man was black and wore a tan jacket, dark hat, and dark slacks. But before Wiggins could call out to him, the man tucked a dark object into his pocket and disappeared into the wooded overgrowth that led down to the Potomac.
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Wiggins ran to call the police and officers arrived at the scene just five minutes later. A dozen men searched the area, while the remaining officers sealed off all five exits from the towpath. It only took them four minutes to do all that, which gave Mary's killer only two ways out.
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He could try to climb the stone wall and get to the road above the canal, but the road was crawling with police officers. He wouldn't get far before someone caught him. The killer's only other option was to make his way through the dense brush to the Potomac River. Then he'd have to swim across the frigid water and make a run for it on the other side.
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The suspect, his lawyer, the witnesses, the prosecution, they all had a different version of events. But none held a candle to another theory about who killed Mary, one that tied her murder to the U.S. government. With so many different perspectives and allegations, it becomes hard to separate fact from fiction, and there's a temptation to try to piece them all together.
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It didn't take long for the authorities to learn which route he seemingly took. Around 1.15 p.m., about 40 minutes after police began their manhunt, Officer John Warner was making his way through the forest when he came upon a short, skinny black man. His white T-shirt and dark, torn pants were soaking wet and covered in brush.
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Officer Warner also noticed his hand was bleeding and he had a cut above his eye. His appearance was suspicious enough for Warner to ask for his ID. He learned the man was 25-year-old Raymond Ray Crump Jr., resident of Washington, D.C. According to Ray, he had been fishing when he fell asleep and tumbled into the river.
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He said the cuts on his hand and above his eye were from trying to climb out of the water. Ray even showed Warner the spot where he supposedly fell in. It was just 10 feet away from where Mary's body was found. Given Ray's proximity to the crime scene, Warner wanted to question him further. He led Ray back to where the rest of the officers were gathered.
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Tow truck driver Henry Wiggins was in the middle of giving a statement to police. But as soon as he spotted Ray, he shouted, that's him. The officers on scene didn't waste any time. They took Ray into custody for the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer. Later in the afternoon, police retrieved a tan jacket from the river, just like Henry Wiggins had described.
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There was no gun in the pocket, only a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes. Ray's wife was called into the station and identified the items as his. When police confronted Ray with the evidence, he said, It looks like you got a stacked deck. Then he burst into tears. To the detectives interrogating Ray, this hardly seemed like the kind of reaction a cold-blooded killer would have.
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And that wasn't the only thing that cast doubt on their theory that Ray had killed Mary. There wasn't any physical evidence. He didn't have any hair or blood on his clothing. And there wasn't any gunpowder on his fingers, which wouldn't have washed off in the river. At this point, police hadn't even found the murder weapon.
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Even so, Henry Wiggins' eyewitness testimony was damning, and Ray's jacket seemed as good as any smoking gun. After that, the case against Ray moved at breakneck speed. On October 15, 1964, three days after Mary's death, the prosecutor took the case straight to a grand jury. They voted to indict Ray for first-degree murder, which meant he was eligible for the death penalty.
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This is Crime House. Everyone loves a conspiracy theory. The idea of powerful forces lurking in the shadows, committing sinister crimes. You can't deny it's intriguing. But what if all those hypotheticals are nothing more than a story? After 43-year-old Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered in Washington, DC in October 1964, a lot of people started telling stories.
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And it wouldn't be easy for him to fight it. Because Ray couldn't afford his own attorney, he'd been assigned a public defender. And while his lawyer was passionate and well-meaning, he was inexperienced and didn't ask for more time to prepare a defense. And so the judge set the trial date for November 11th, 1964, less than a month away. Ray was right.
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It looked like the prosecutor had a stacked deck. Despite the glaring holes in the case against Ray, it seemed like his fate was sealed. But there was one person who refused to give up on him. Ray's mom, Martha. When she learned her son's trial was just a few weeks off, she contacted one of D.C. 's best defense attorneys, Dovey Johnson Roundtree.
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Besides being an attorney, Roundtree was also an ordained preacher and civil rights activist. She spoke in the courtroom with the same burning urgency as she did at the pulpit on Sundays. Her abilities had served her well. 80% of her clients who were accused of murder had been acquitted. Martha begged Roundtree for help.
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she admitted ray had been in trouble before for petty things like theft and public urination but on the whole he was a good person more than that he wasn't capable of doing something like this not only was he too weak but he was too slow-witted she explained that ray had sustained at least two concussions in the past few years and and struggled with excruciating headaches and blackouts.
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But maybe figuring out the truth isn't the hardest part. Maybe it's learning to live without it.
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Sometimes he didn't seem, quote, all there. Roundtree was moved by Martha's pleas, but she wanted to visit Ray in jail before agreeing to represent him. When she did, she found he was exactly as childlike as his mom described. Ray trembled when Roundtree spoke to him, and couldn't fully comprehend the charges he was facing.
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To Roundtree, he seemed like a man who could barely form a coherent sentence, let alone execute a woman in cold blood. Still, she knew Mary was a prominent member of the DC community, When people like Mary were killed, juries didn't let their deaths go unpunished. But after seeing Ray in person, Roundtree had no doubt he was innocent.
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And despite the uphill battle ahead of them, she was willing to give it a shot. She told Martha she'd do everything in her power to save Ray from death.
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Hey everyone, it's Carter with an exciting update. Crime House Studios is launching a new original show called Killer Minds. Hosted by licensed forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels and Crime House's Vanessa Richardson, each episode of Killer Minds features a deep dive into the psychology of a notorious murderer.
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From infamous serial killers to ruthless cult leaders, deadly exes, and terrifying spree killers. Along with Vanessa's immersive storytelling full of high stakes twists and turns, Dr. Engels will be providing expert analysis of the people involved. Not just how they killed, but why. Killer Minds is a Crime House Studios original. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday.
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people's lives are like a story there's a beginning a middle and an end but you don't always know which part you're on sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending i'm carter roy and this is murder true crime stories a crime house original show powered by pave studios every tuesday i'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders
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Follow wherever you get your podcasts. On a crisp October afternoon in 1964, 43-year-old Mary Pinchot Meyer was murdered in cold blood. Two days after her death, on October 14th, a memorial service was held on what would have been Mary's 44th birthday.
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wealthy residents of washington dc's georgetown area turned up in droves to mourn their friend and neighbor but between all the tears there were whispers about what had really happened to mary while most people agreed with the police's theory that mary had been killed by ray crump not everyone was so sure especially mary's friends from the art world
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who were struck by how many CIA officials were at the memorial. They wondered if it was because Mary's ex-husband Cord Meyer was an important figure at the agency, or if something more sinister was going on. As for Cord, he was a mess. Normally, he was known to be aggressive and argumentative. But after Mary's death, that tough exterior shattered, at least for a moment.
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He sobbed for the duration of the funeral, then instructed his sons not to cry about their mom and sent them back to boarding school. Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, far from the prim and proper Georgetown elite, Dovey Johnson Roundtree was evaluating the case against her client, Ray.
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On October 28, 1964, two weeks after he was charged with Mary's murder, Roundtree had officially agreed to be Ray's attorney, and she had her work cut out for her. Not only had the prosecution identified Ray as the only person near the crime scene, but they also had an eyewitness who identified him as the man standing over Mary's dead body. But Roundtree was a skilled attorney.