In early 1922, Hollywood was in damage control. The recent "Fatty" Arbuckle manslaughter and rape case had brought unwanted scandal to the motion picture industry, so when Paramount Pictures director William Desmond Taylor was found murdered in his home on February 1st, the studio tried its best to cover it up. Despite this, the murder case became a national sensation with attention falling on multiple suspects, including a valet who had been blackmailing Taylor, comedy star Mabel Normand and film ingenue Mary Miles Minter. My guest is William J. Mann, New York Times bestselling author of Tin ..read more

On a cold winter night in January of 1833, a teenage farmhand named Abraham Prescott crept into the bedroom of his employers, Chauncey and Sally Cochran, and smashed their heads with an ax. Their neighbors in the town of Pembroke, New Hampshire was astonished when the boy explained that he had been sleepwalking and hadn't purposely attacked them. They were even more shocked when the Cochrans, who had both miraculously recovered, allowed him to continue to work for them. A few months later however, that decision would come back to haunt the family. After inviting Sally Cochran out to pick stra ..read more

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe is considered one of the greatest playwrights of the Elizabethan era, but was also known as a hothead, a scoundrel and a member of the secretive School of Night. When he was stabbed through the eye at the age of twenty-nine in 1593, those who had it in for him were no doubt relieved to hear of his death. He had worked as an agent under Queen Elizabeth's legendary spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham and had very likely taken some reputation-destroying secrets to his grave. Many, however, believed that he was murdered, and theories swirl around his demise to this day. Did ..read more

The July 1926 murder of the editor of the Canton, Ohio, Daily News, Don R. Mellett, was one of the most publicized crimes in the 1920s. For less than a year, Mellett was the editor of the Daily News, owned by former Ohio governor and Democrat presidential candidate James Cox. Having promised Cox he would turn the unprofitable News into a success, Mellett combined personal conviction with marketing savvy and in 1925 embarked on an antivice, anticorruption editorial campaign. The following year, the Daily News and Mellett, posthumously, received the Pulitzer Prize for his columns. His editorial ..read more

In the late 19th century, inventors were rushing to perfect and patent motion picture devices, and leading the race was a Frenchman named Louis Le Prince. In September of 1890 Le Prince said farewell to his brother in Dijon and boarded a train bound for Paris. His final destination would be the United States, where he planned to unveil his movie camera and projector to the world. Unfortunately he was never seen again. There are many theories regarding Le Prince's disappearance. Did he run away with a mistress, or was he murdered? If murdered, then by who? Was it his brother, who he shared an ..read more

On October 24th, 1961, one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in Massachusetts history began when housewife and mother Joan Risch vanished from her home. Investigators were perplexed by a kitchen floor smeared with blood, a telephone receiver ripped from the wall and placed gently on the edge of a trash basket, and a bloodhound who traced her scent to the middle of her driveway. Later, drivers would report seeing someone resembling Joan stumbling along local highways, apparently dazed and injured. My guest, Stephen Ahern, is author of "A Kitchen Painted in Blood: The Unsolved Disappearance of ..read more

On the morning of May 27, 1896, the peaceful township of Campbell awoke to shocking news. Six people were brutally murdered at the home of Colonel Richard P. McGlincy, one of the town’s most respected citizens. The suspect, James Dunham—the colonel’s son-in-law—fled the scene and disappeared into the hills of Mount Hamilton overlooking Santa Clara County. This heinous crime triggered a massive, nationwide manhunt while investigators pieced together the details. My guest is Tobin Gilman, author of "The McGlincy Killings in Campbell, California: An 1896 Unsolved Mystery". He not only summarizes ..read more

On December 30th, 1903, over two thousand people were packed into Chicago's brand new Iroquois Theater for a matinee performance of Mr. Bluebeard, starring comedian Eddie Foy. Little did theatergoers know, however, that the owners of the theater cut corners in fire safety measures in an effort to open as quickly as possible. Despite billing itself as "absolutely fireproof" there were no sprinklers or fire alarms installed, the fire escapes weren't finished and some of the exit doors had been locked during the performance. When fire struck on stage in the second act, the interior of the theater ..read more

In the years following World War II, serial killer John George Haigh committed five perfect murders, using sulphuric acid to dissolve his victims into soup. His sixth murder, however, was hastily done, and led to his arrest, a trial and eventual execution. The case captivated the United Kingdom, especially when Haigh claimed he had drunk a glass of each victim's blood before disposing of their bodies. My guest is Gordon Lowe, author of "The Acid Bath Murders: The Trials and Liquidations of John George Haigh". He walks us through Lowe's murderous life and eventual death at the hands of one of ..read more

On May 30, 1899, history was made when Pearl Hart, disguised as a man, held up a stagecoach in Arizona and robbed the passengers at gunpoint. A manhunt ensued as word of her heist spread, and Pearl Hart went on to become a media sensation and the most notorious female outlaw on the Western frontier. Hailed by many as “The Bandit Queen,” her epic life of crime and legacy as a female trailblazer provide a crucial lens into the lives of the rare women who made their mark in the American West. My guest, New York Times bestselling author and Old West historian John Boessenecker shares incredible s ..read more