Almshouses in the 19th and early 20th centuries were meant to help society's most vulnerable, but in the 1880s, one in Tewksbury, Massachusetts was accused of such shocking treatment that the governor ordered a months-long investigation that dominated headlines nationwide. Among the claims: that the skin of patients who died was tanned and turned into curiosities for sale. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark an...
Mar 14, 2022•42 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Ken McElroy was killed outside, in broad daylight, with some 60 witnesses watching -- and yet no one copped to having seen a thing. McElroy, who'd long been known as a town bully in Skidmore, Missouri, was shot dead in 1981 after terrorizing his neighbors, two of whom he shot. When the system seemed to fail at holding McElroy accountable, townsfolk took matters into their own hands. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made...
Mar 07, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 9
The Roberts murder discussed in last week's episode wasn't the only murder tied to "Peyton Place," the fictional town depicted in Grace Metallious' 1956 book. Just after Hollywood legend Lana Turner earned an Oscar nomination for her role in the film version of the tale, her mobster boyfriend turned up dead. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter : @cen...
Feb 28, 2022•39 min•Season 2Ep. 8
When the groundbreaking book "Peyton Place" hit bookshelves in 1956, the murder tale at its center was so scandalous that many stores banned it outright. But the truth is that author Grace Metallious ripped that tale from the headlines -- and even softened its edges a bit. The real-life story centered on Sylvester Roberts, who was killed in 1946 by the daughter he had raped. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark ...
Feb 21, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Carl Panzram had a rough life growing up, so he decided to make life hell for everyone around him -- especially innocent young boys. When Panzram finally owned up to his crimes, his confession was so outlandish that authorities thought he was full of it. But then one grisly story was confirmed after another, and soon Panzram earned a reputation as a butcher of humanity. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and h...
Feb 14, 2022•37 min•Season 2Ep. 6
The most popular motives for murder are money and sex. That's as true today as it was in 1903 when Edwin Burdick was found brutally bludgeoned in the den of his home. Soon, the nation would learn that Burdick was an unwilling participant of a love triangle that surely got him killed. But who did it? Was it Burdick's cheating wife or her adoring lover? " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change histor...
Feb 07, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Theora Hix was an enigma to those who knew her. She was witty, intelligent, and ambitious, but fiercely secretive. So when she turned up dead in the summer of 1926, investigators at first had no idea who might have been responsible. Within hours, however, Hix's sex life became national news as two of her lovers were arrested on suspicion of murder -- including James H. Snooks, an Olympic gold medalist. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from ...
Jan 31, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 4
When a beloved 3-year-old boy went missing, only to be discovered soon after in an outhouse with his throat slit, suspicion at first settled on the child's nursemaid in a London-area town in 1860. After local police failed to find any evidence, a brilliant detective was dispatched from the Metropolitan Police. Jonathan Whicher turned his attention away from the lower-class servants living in the home, and toward the family of Samuel Kent, a well-respected government official. " Crimes of the Cen...
Jan 24, 2022•41 min•Season 2Ep. 3
A fun-loving Chicago teenager convinced his mom to let him visit relatives in Mississippi over the summer of 1955. Three days after his arrival, 14-year-old Emmett Till was viciously murdered. Because his mother insisted that the world see the violence inflicted upon her son, the case made international news and galvanized the civil rights movement in the United States. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and h...
Jan 17, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 2
On a crisp fall morning in 1935, two young boys made a grisly discovery in Kingsbury Run, an area in southeast Cleveland, Ohio. The boys, ages 16 and 12, had been playing catch but lost control of the ball. To retrieve it, they ran down a hill affectionally called Jackass Hill, and were stopped in their tracks by the sight of a man’s headless body. When police arrived, they'd find another emasculated, decapitated corpse. Officials didn't know it yet, but the two bodies marked the first in the of...
Jan 10, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 1
When members of the incredibly wealthy Osage Nation started dropping dead of mysterious ailments in 1920s Oklahoma, few people in state power paid it much mind. After all, many of those who could do something about it were benefiting from the deaths. Eventually, with the help of a still-evolving agency called the FBI, federal authorities uncovered an unthinkable conspiracy known today as the Reign of Terror. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes...
Oct 04, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 42
It's possible no one would have known that Richard Biegenwald was a serial killer if he hadn't shown a dead woman's body to a friend he wanted to enlist as a murderous protege. Once police started digging into Richard Biegenwald, they uncovered decades of horrific crimes -- many of which he said he committed just for the thrill of it. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Follow us on I...
Sep 27, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 41
When five college students in Florida were brutally slain in a four-day span in 1990, it sent shockwaves across the nation as newscasters made comparisons to serial killer Ted Bundy. Police frantically worked to stop this new madman before his body count got any higher. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter : @centuriespod...
Sep 20, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 40
As soon as Leonardo da Vinci unveiled the Mona Lisa in the early 1500s, the art world recognized it as a masterpiece. But it wasn't until centuries later that her face became one of the most famous in the world -- thanks to one of the most brazen art heists in history. This crime of the century crosses the pond. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter : ...
Sep 13, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Hey, COTC listeners! We're taking a break for the holiday this week, but we wanted to share an episode from another Obsessed Network show with you. From "Strange and Unexplained with Daisy Eagan," this episode looks at the tragic death of Kendrick Johnson. On January 11, 2013, the body of the 17-year-old high school student was found inside a vertical rolled up mat in the gymnasium. Was Kendrick's death a terrible accident... or was it murder? You can find and follow "Strange and Unexplained wit...
Sep 06, 2021•36 min
A distraught young mother pounded on the door of a stranger's house and told a story that riveted the nation: She'd been carjacked while driving an empty stretch of road, and the man who'd held her at gunpoint took not only her car, but her two young sons strapped into the car seats. As Susan Smith publicly pleaded for her boys to be returned unharmed, she hid a terrible secret that would shock the country and horrify her family. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab expl...
Aug 30, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 38
To outsiders, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg seemed like a typical, if not downright boring, American couple. But then the U.S. government got a tip that the parents of two young boys had provided top-secret information about the nation's efforts to develop the first atomic weapon. Soon, the couple would face trial in one of the highest-profile espionage cases in the country's history. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made ...
Aug 23, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 37
People enjoying a warm, sunny Saturday in New York City first noticed smoke arising from a building at about 4:40 p.m. and rushed to gather at the base of a 10-story building that was quickly engulfed in flames. The scene greeting them was horrific: Dozens of workers were trapped on the building's ninth floor. With the flames closing in, some chose to jump to their deaths. More than 100 years later, the 1911 fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory remains one of the deadliest industrial disaster...
Aug 16, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 36
For years, famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright had made headlines for his personal life. After all, he'd left his wife and six children for a married woman during the Victorian era, and made no apologies for the two "living in sin" in a home he built on family land in Wisconsin. Then, on a hot August day in 1914, Wright's whole world came crashing down: A murderer had attacked his so-called Love Cottage dubbed Taliesin. The case not only riveted the nation but it also changed the course of archit...
Aug 02, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Judy Johnson was horrified when her 3-year-old son told her he'd been abused by a teacher at his preschool. So, too, was her community. Soon, hundreds of parents throughout Manhattan Beach, California, heard horrifying tales from their children describing sexual abuse, animal torture and even murder in a case that epitomizes what came to be known as the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made...
Jul 26, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 34
When a group of kids cooling off along New York City's East River spotted a parcel in the water, they figured a passing freighter had dropped some goods. When they opened the package, however, they discovered a human torso, its arms still attached. So began a murder mystery that helped ignite a news war and forever altered how journalists covered crime in America. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped ...
Jul 19, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Andrew Kehoe really didn't like the new property taxes being leveled to pay for his community's fancy new school. This was well known throughout his hometown of Bath Township, Michigan. What residents didn't know was that his displeasure would turn to murderous rage that culminated on May 18, 1927. To date, the horror unleashed by Kehoe that day remains the deadliest school attack in American history. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from t...
Jul 12, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Hey, COTC listeners! We're taking a break for the holiday this week, but we wanted to share an episode from another Obsessed Network show with you. From "Strange and Unexplained with Daisy Eagan," this episode tells the tale of the vanishing colony of Roanoke, who came to America in the 16th century and then mysteriously disappeared. Daisy explores all the bizarre elements of the story, but as a skeptic herself, also asks for the receipts on what might have actually happened. If you enjoyed this...
Jul 05, 2021•33 min
Tobacco heiress Doris Duke got upsetting news on Oct. 7, 1966. Her longtime friend and art curator, Eduardo Tirella wanted to end their work relationship. Within hours, Tirella was dead, having been hit by a car driven by Duke. Though the crash was quickly dismissed by police as an accident, Tirella's family always believed that the volatile billionaire had killed Tirella on purpose. If so, Duke managed to buy her way out of this crime of the century. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast fro...
Jun 28, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 31
When the granddaughter of one of America's best-known publishing magnates was kidnapped in 1974, the news of course grabbed headlines. But that was nothing compared to the attention the case would receive after Patricia Hearst joined forces with her abductors. The group at the heart of the kidnapping was known as the Symbionese Liberation Army, a radical group of young adults considered to be the first domestic terrorist group to rise out of the political left. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a p...
Jun 21, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 30
The book The Man from the Train describes dozens of axe slayings in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, many of which authors Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James believe were committed by what would be the nation's most prolific serial killer. But a 1911 double homicide near Scappoose, Oregon, doesn't fit the mold. On Sept. 3, 1911, someone entered a cabin and fatally shot Daisy Wehrman and her 4-year-old son Harold. Authorities quickly zeroed in on John Arthur Pender, who was eventually co...
Jun 14, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 29
The Moore house seemed awfully quiet one June morning in 1912, prompting neighbors to investigate. Inside, they discovered a horrific scene: All eight people who'd been inside -- a mother, father, their four children and two young guests -- had been brutally slain in their sleep. The case that followed would be one of the highest-profile, longest-lasting mysteries in the history of the Midwest -- a mystery that a pair of authors think they've finally solved. " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podc...
Jun 07, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Charles Lindbergh became an American and worldwide hero after becoming the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. But five years later, his world was upended when his toddler son was stolen from his nursery. The ensuing investigation into the kidnapping would involved a host of characters, including an amateur detective named Jafsie and a mysterious man named Cemetery John. Even the infamous gangster Al Capone volunteered his services to help. In the end, would the world eve...
May 24, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 27
The sight that greeted arriving medics in February 1970 was so upsetting that at least one had to rush from the scene to vomit. Inside of Army surgeon Jeffrey MacDonald's home were three dead bodies belonging to his two daughters and pregnant wife. MacDonald, too, was injured. But who really killed the Green Beret's family? Was it a quartet of acid-dropping hippies -- or MacDonald himself? " Crimes of the Centuries " is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past th...
May 17, 2021•41 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Hey, Crimes of the Centuries listeners! We're so excited to bring you the new show from the Obsessed Network, "Murder in Alliance." We've got the first episode here for you in this feed, and two more available right now wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to the first three episodes and follow "Murder in Alliance" on your favorite podcast player HERE ( https://lnk.to/98BXWuip ). In the podcast, investigative journalist Maggie Freleng reinvestigates the 1999 murder of Yvonne Layne. Though her ...
May 13, 2021•29 min
