In the summer heat of 1931, two battered steamer trunks sat abandoned at the Phoenix train station—unclaimed, unremarkable, and nearly forgotten. But when police finally pried them open, they uncovered a gruesome secret: the dismembered remains of two men, packed away like freight. What followed was a twisting trail of clues that led investigators to a woman no one would ever suspect—a quiet, seemingly ordinary figure whose life concealed a darkness few could imagine.

In this episode, host Jon Hagadorn reopens one of the Southwest's most shocking forgotten crimes, tracing the investigation from the train depot to the courtroom, and exploring how a case so sensational could vanish from public memory for nearly a century.

If you enjoy vintage true crime, historical mysteries, and cases that once dominated headlines, this is a story you won't want to miss.

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Join us next Sunday for one of America's most haunting unsolved cases:

A minister. A choir singer. A scandalous affair. And a double murder that captivated the nation—yet remains unsolved to this day.

It was the Hearst newspaper story of the new century in 1902. Everybody loved Jolly Jane Toppan- the loving, caring nurse- until her patients, friends, enemies, and relatives started dropping like flies. When they finally caught up with her, she copped the insanity plea, and told the whole story, admitting to at least 31 deaths she had caused. But many believed she had done away with 100 souls in her 5 years of killing.

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From 1871 to 1873 a loose-knit "family" of serial killers opened up a general store and inn on a popular travelers's route in frontier Kansas.Using a pretty "daughter" they lured single male travelers in and soon murdered them for their money, letting them bleed out under the house and later burying them in their orchard. It is believed they killed 20 people before evidence was found and they were able to flee. Laura Ingalls Wilder, in a public speaking event in 1937.acknowledged that her family stopped at the Bender Inn to water their horses, but as they could not afford anything, they moved on.

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