In October of 1871, a mob in Los Angeles descended upon a poor neighborhood and hunted down every Chinese man they could find. The killing spree would last four hours. There were several trials, but many of the witnesses stayed away – and one group, the surviving Chinese, were kept from testifying. Then the entire event was buried so deep in the history books that even the descendants of the survivors didn’t know it happened.

Continue reading “The Night of Horrors: The Story of the Chinese Massacre”

In 1909, a major philanthropist in Missouri died. He was 81 and had a number of health issues. His death might have been natural…. Except…. In the same house a family member had died just weeks before, and another would die weeks later. Fingers pointed to one man, Bennett Clark Hyde. The trials that followed divided a family and left a legacy of doubt that haunts Missouri to this day.

Continue reading “The Man Who Poisoned a Dynasty: The Story of Bennett Clark Hyde”

In 1926, one invention was changing lives all across America. And in rural Wisconsin it was about to the change the life of a young woman who thought she was on the road to her future. When she disappeared, her father did everything to find her, but what he uncovered not only changed his life, it changed everything

Continue reading “Murder at the Crossroads: The Story of Clara Olson”

In 1925 Detroit, Michigan the family of Ossian Sweet, a Black family, moved into a White neighborhood. A mob attacked their home with rocks, and one man was killed. 10 men went to trial for first-degree murder. With Clarence Darrow leading the defense, the attorneys and the NAACP had to convince an all-White jury that defending one’s home was not a crime, but a right.

Continue reading “The Castle on Garland Street: The Story of Ossian Sweet”

If you want love, you might advertise. That was certainly true in 1908 La Porte, Indiana, when Norwegian immigrant, Belle Gunness went looking for a mate in the newspaper’s Lonely-Hearts section. But it didn’t lead to love, it led to murder… and lots of it.

Continue reading “The Bride of Blood: The Story of Belle Gunness”

Love the movie His Girl Friday? It’s tied to a 1920 murder in Chicago where two newspaper men looked behind the headlines to get the real story of a double homicide in the entryway to the home of Carl Wanderer.

Continue reading “From Front Lines to Front Page: The Story of Carl Wanderer”

The History of Murder tells the stories of forgotten crimes from years – and sometimes centuries – ago. We talk to historians, authors, and experts in their field. We also use actors reading the words of the real people involved to help bring the case to life. But rather than just recounting the details of the murder, we also talk about the changes in society that impacted the crime, and the way it changed the world we live in.

More about the show:
🌐 https://thehistoryofmurder.com
📺 https://www.youtube.com/@thehistoryofmurder

Check out this teaser trailer and dive into the dark side of our past, The History of Murder, releasing every other Tuesday, starting September 2nd.

Continue reading “The History of Murder: A teaser of a new true crime/ history series”