True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers show

True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers

Summary: Every week host Dan Zupansky will interview the true crime authors that have written about the most shocking killers of all time.

Join Now to Subscribe to this Podcast

Podcasts:

 BOGEYMAN-Steve Jackson | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 6227

"For years he stalked elementary schools, neighborhoods and playgrounds looking for young girls to abduct, rape and murder. As though invisible, he brazenly struck in broad daylight, pulling children into his van or cars, or he crept into homes in the dead of night to carry away little girls while their families slept. He was the bogeyman they warned their children about disguised as the friendly stranger ... the fiend who lurked in the shadows outside of bedroom windows." From the NYTimes bestselling author of MONSTER and NO STONE UNTURNED comes the incredible cold case manhunt of one of America's most horrific serial killers. BOGEYMAN-Steve Jackson

 DISTURBED GROUND-Carla Norton | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4339

The story begins with Bert, a gentle, unassuming street person who mumbled to himself and talked to trees. He wasn't an alcoholic, but he hung out at a detox center in Sacramento, where a volunteer named Judy took an interest in him. Judy was overjoyed when she found a home for Bert with a silver-haired grandmother, Dorothea Puente, who ran a tidy boarding house in a blue-and-white Victorian. Little did Judy know that Puente (just one of the woman's many aliases) would soon become her obsession. By the end of the story, Bert has disappeared, and the cops are digging up seven corpses from the backyard of the boarding house. Author Carla Norton (Perfect Victim) skillfully unfolds the many-layered character of this classic Arsenic and Old Lace-style serial killer: "At the pinnacle of her fame and glory, Dorothea was like a junkie with a philanthropic habit... Everyone dipped into her pot and benefited from her largesse." She was ultimately tried on nine counts of murder, and sentenced to death. DISTURBED GROUND-Carla Norton

 DISTURBED GROUND-Carla Norton | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4339

The story begins with Bert, a gentle, unassuming street person who mumbled to himself and talked to trees. He wasn't an alcoholic, but he hung out at a detox center in Sacramento, where a volunteer named Judy took an interest in him. Judy was overjoyed when she found a home for Bert with a silver-haired grandmother, Dorothea Puente, who ran a tidy boarding house in a blue-and-white Victorian. Little did Judy know that Puente (just one of the woman's many aliases) would soon become her obsession. By the end of the story, Bert has disappeared, and the cops are digging up seven corpses from the backyard of the boarding house. Author Carla Norton (Perfect Victim) skillfully unfolds the many-layered character of this classic Arsenic and Old Lace-style serial killer: "At the pinnacle of her fame and glory, Dorothea was like a junkie with a philanthropic habit... Everyone dipped into her pot and benefited from her largesse." She was ultimately tried on nine counts of murder, and sentenced to death. DISTURBED GROUND-Carla Norton

 VANISHED: William Hryb | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3850

Nearly forty years after Jimmy Hoffa vanished from the face of the earth his disappearance still remains one of the biggest mysteries in crime history. At his zenith, Hoffa was reputed to be the most powerful figures in North America. The labor boss was never seen again after July 30, 1975 marking one of the most unexplainable cold cases ever. In Vanished: The Life and Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, freelance journalist William Hryb attempts to unravel the five-decade long riddle.The author takes the reader behind the scenes of the man who made the Teamsters the most formidable labor union in the United States. Alleged to have close ties with organized crime, Hoffa became the target of sensational congressional hearings into organized crime spearheaded by Robert Kennedy. VANISHED:The Life and Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa-William Hryb

 VANISHED: William Hryb | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3850

Nearly forty years after Jimmy Hoffa vanished from the face of the earth his disappearance still remains one of the biggest mysteries in crime history. At his zenith, Hoffa was reputed to be the most powerful figures in North America. The labor boss was never seen again after July 30, 1975 marking one of the most unexplainable cold cases ever. In Vanished: The Life and Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa, freelance journalist William Hryb attempts to unravel the five-decade long riddle. The author takes the reader behind the scenes of the man who made the Teamsters the most formidable labor union in the United States. Alleged to have close ties with organized crime, Hoffa became the target of sensational congressional hearings into organized crime spearheaded by Robert Kennedy. VANISHED:The Life and Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa-William Hryb

 LICENSED TO LIE-Sidney Powell | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4354

A tragic suicide, a likely murder, wrongful imprisonment, and gripping courtroom scenes draw readers into this compelling story giving them a frightening perspective on justice corrupted and who should be accountable when evidence is withheld. Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice is the true story of the strong-arm, illegal, and unethical tactics used by headline-grabbing federal prosecutors in their narcissistic pursuit of power. Its scope reaches from the US Department of Justice to the US Senate, the FBI, and the White House. This true story is a scathing attack on corrupt prosecutors, the judges who turned a blind eye to these injustices, and the president who has promoted them to powerful political positions. LICENSED TO LIE-Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice-Sidney Powell

 LICENSED TO LIE-Sidney Powell | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4354

A tragic suicide, a likely murder, wrongful imprisonment, and gripping courtroom scenes draw readers into this compelling story giving them a frightening perspective on justice corrupted and who should be accountable when evidence is withheld. Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice is the true story of the strong-arm, illegal, and unethical tactics used by headline-grabbing federal prosecutors in their narcissistic pursuit of power. Its scope reaches from the US Department of Justice to the US Senate, the FBI, and the White House. This true story is a scathing attack on corrupt prosecutors, the judges who turned a blind eye to these injustices, and the president who has promoted them to powerful political positions. LICENSED TO LIE-Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice-Sidney Powell

 MOMMY'S A MOLE-Eve Carson | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4600

 Karen Wolfe Churgin walked her dogs on April 18, 1990, on her remote wooded property on Chebacco Road. The veterinarian spotted a white sphere obstructing a drainage ditch.  When she reached to dislodge it, she reeled back in horror. She immediately called the police. “I saw something in the woods that looked like a punched-in volleyball,” Karen told the Beverly Times on April 25, 1990. “I looked closer and it was a human skull. It had suture-like zigzagged lines. Those are unique to human skulls.” Officer Hatfeld was the first to respond, and the initial conclusion determined the discovery was, indeed, a human skull. Hamilton Police Chief Walter Cullen arrived at the scene next and photographed the find. The Massachusetts State Police Crime Prevention and Control Unit, CPAC, dispatched Cpl. Dennis Marks to take charge of the crime scene. Local police sent the skull and a nearby black boot to Hunt Memorial Hospital to examine, but nothing else surfaced in the initial cursory search of the surrounding area. Notices went out to departments to assist the resident force, and names poured in to compare the cranium to known missing persons. Joan Webster’s name appeared on the list, but the resting spot was more than thirty miles from the long-speculated crime scene at Pier 7 in Boston. “Of course, it’s being checked out, but the location doesn’t seem to correlate. Circumstances pointed to her being taken out in a boat and dumped at sea. MOMMY'S A MOLE-Unraveling The Joan Webster Murder and Other Secrets in a CIA Family-Eve Carson

 MOMMY'S A MOLE-Eve Carson | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4600

 Karen Wolfe Churgin walked her dogs on April 18, 1990, on her remote wooded property on Chebacco Road. The veterinarian spotted a white sphere obstructing a drainage ditch.  When she reached to dislodge it, she reeled back in horror. She immediately called the police. “I saw something in the woods that looked like a punched-in volleyball,” Karen told the Beverly Times on April 25, 1990. “I looked closer and it was a human skull. It had suture-like zigzagged lines. Those are unique to human skulls.” Officer Hatfeld was the first to respond, and the initial conclusion determined the discovery was, indeed, a human skull. Hamilton Police Chief Walter Cullen arrived at the scene next and photographed the find. The Massachusetts State Police Crime Prevention and Control Unit, CPAC, dispatched Cpl. Dennis Marks to take charge of the crime scene. Local police sent the skull and a nearby black boot to Hunt Memorial Hospital to examine, but nothing else surfaced in the initial cursory search of the surrounding area. Notices went out to departments to assist the resident force, and names poured in to compare the cranium to known missing persons. Joan Webster’s name appeared on the list, but the resting spot was more than thirty miles from the long-speculated crime scene at Pier 7 in Boston. “Of course, it’s being checked out, but the location doesn’t seem to correlate. Circumstances pointed to her being taken out in a boat and dumped at sea. MOMMY'S A MOLE-Unraveling The Joan Webster Murder and Other Secrets in a CIA Family-Eve Carson

 THE SICILIAN MAFIA-A TRUE CRIME TRAVEL GUIDE-Carl Russo | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3777

The Sicilian Mafia: A True Crime Travel Guide is the first book of its kind in any language: the ultimate Cosa Nostra experience. Since 2006, author Carl Russo has photographed Mafia hotspots on the Italian island of Sicily: where  murders happened, where the godfathers lived and their victims buried. From the sunbaked fishing villages of the Mediterranean to the darkest alleys of Palermo, western Sicily is the exotic backdrop for over a 100 meticulously researched tales of murder and mayhem, with 200 photographs of the actual locations.They include the childhood home of gangster Lucky Luciano, the hideouts of the fearsome bosses of Corleone, the tombs of the "Robin Hood" bandit and the legendary dons, the roots of the American and Canadian mafias, the Allied landing, pistol-packing priests, political assassinations, playgrounds of the new Mafia and even the anti-Mafia movement.Whether you're planning a trip to Sicily or sticking to the comfort of your armchair, this provocative book will take you closer to the Sicilian Mafia than you dared to think possible. THE SICILIAN MAFIA-A True Crime Travel Guide-Carl Russo

 THE SICILIAN MAFIA-A TRUE CRIME TRAVEL GUIDE-Carl Russo | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 3777

The Sicilian Mafia: A True Crime Travel Guide is the first book of its kind in any language: the ultimate Cosa Nostra experience. Since 2006, author Carl Russo has photographed Mafia hotspots on the Italian island of Sicily: where  murders happened, where the godfathers lived and their victims buried. From the sunbaked fishing villages of the Mediterranean to the darkest alleys of Palermo, western Sicily is the exotic backdrop for over a 100 meticulously researched tales of murder and mayhem, with 200 photographs of the actual locations. They include the childhood home of gangster Lucky Luciano, the hideouts of the fearsome bosses of Corleone, the tombs of the "Robin Hood" bandit and the legendary dons, the roots of the American and Canadian mafias, the Allied landing, pistol-packing priests, political assassinations, playgrounds of the new Mafia and even the anti-Mafia movement. Whether you're planning a trip to Sicily or sticking to the comfort of your armchair, this provocative book will take you closer to the Sicilian Mafia than you dared to think possible. THE SICILIAN MAFIA-A True Crime Travel Guide-Carl Russo

 A VOICE OUT OF NOWHERE-Janice Holly Booth | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5845

A Voice out of Nowhere delves deep into the mind of a psychotic killer. In this tragic true story about one young man's harrowing descent into madness and murder, A Voice out of Nowhere offers a rare glimpse inside the workings of a criminally disordered mind. In the narrative style of non-fiction novels like In Cold Blood and Columbine, best-selling author Janice Holly Booth draws from court transcripts, eye-witness statements and personal interviews to go beyond the headlines and share little-known details of the tragedy. Fascinating, riveting and heartbreaking, A Voice out of Nowhere will will incite readers to think differently about the insanity defense and the awful consequences of untreated mental illness.  A VOICE OUT OF NOWHERE-Inside The Mind of a Mass Murderer-Janice Holly Booth

 A VOICE OUT OF NOWHERE-Janice Holly Booth | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5845

A Voice out of Nowhere delves deep into the mind of a psychotic killer. In this tragic true story about one young man's harrowing descent into madness and murder, A Voice out of Nowhere offers a rare glimpse inside the workings of a criminally disordered mind. In the narrative style of non-fiction novels like In Cold Blood and Columbine, best-selling author Janice Holly Booth draws from court transcripts, eye-witness statements and personal interviews to go beyond the headlines and share little-known details of the tragedy. Fascinating, riveting and heartbreaking, A Voice out of Nowhere will will incite readers to think differently about the insanity defense and the awful consequences of untreated mental illness.  A VOICE OUT OF NOWHERE-Inside The Mind of a Mass Murderer-Janice Holly Booth

 NOT ALL HEROES-Gary Skogen | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4765

(Aired March 12th but due to audio problems-new interview)  Gary Skogen’s tour in Vietnam (1971–72) was the best year of his life. Living with fellow CID investigators in an isolated hooch overlooking the South China Sea at the U.S. base at Chu Lai, Skogen enforced military drug laws during his working hours and yet managed to pursue a life of perfect hedonism—far from the farm life in southwestern North Dakota where he grew up. With unlimited access to cheap beer, a wide variety of compliant Vietnamese women, and a jeep he had somehow commandeered, Skogen perfected his criminal investigative skills at a time when U.S. troop morale had reached its nadir. This unconventional, unheroic, and unapologetic book is not a typical Vietnam memoir. Together with 80 percent of the two million men and women who served in Vietnam, Skogen spent his time behind the scenes at a large support base. He did not slog on midnight patrols through Viet Cong tunnels or rice paddies studded with booby traps. He spent his year investigating the men who endangered the lives of their fellow soldiers by giving themselves over to unrestrained drug use. Skogen’s gritty narrative proves that some whose names are incised on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall died in less than heroic circumstances. Backed by impeccable research in the files of the National Archives and Records Administration, this unromanticized account reveals the sordidness of the war in its late phases, and questions the validity of seeing all Vietnam veterans as victims. NOT ALL HEROES-An Unapologetic Memoir of The Veitnam War, 1971-72-Gary Skogen

 NOT ALL HEROES-Gary Skogen | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4765

(Aired March 12th but due to audio problems-new interview) Gary Skogen’s tour in Vietnam (1971–72) was the best year of his life. Living with fellow CID investigators in an isolated hooch overlooking the South China Sea at the U.S. base at Chu Lai, Skogen enforced military drug laws during his working hours and yet managed to pursue a life of perfect hedonism—far from the farm life in southwestern North Dakota where he grew up. With unlimited access to cheap beer, a wide variety of compliant Vietnamese women, and a jeep he had somehow commandeered, Skogen perfected his criminal investigative skills at a time when U.S. troop morale had reached its nadir.This unconventional, unheroic, and unapologetic book is not a typical Vietnam memoir. Together with 80 percent of the two million men and women who served in Vietnam, Skogen spent his time behind the scenes at a large support base. He did not slog on midnight patrols through Viet Cong tunnels or rice paddies studded with booby traps. He spent his year investigating the men who endangered the lives of their fellow soldiers by giving themselves over to unrestrained drug use.Skogen’s gritty narrative proves that some whose names are incised on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall died in less than heroic circumstances. Backed by impeccable research in the files of the National Archives and Records Administration, this unromanticized account reveals the sordidness of the war in its late phases, and questions the validity of seeing all Vietnam veterans as victims. NOT ALL HEROES-An Unapologetic Memoir of The Veitnam War, 1971-72-Gary Skogen

Comments

Login or signup comment.