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  • The Night Voice That Hid a Body: The 1937 Harlan Signal

    The Night Voice That Hid a Body: The 1937 Harlan Signal
    2026/07/26
    The Night Voice That Hid a Body: The 1937 Harlan Signal

    Fear of an unsolved secret: a clear voice over a radio log placed a body, a date, a reason and a name - and those four pencil sentences sat unheard in a basement for eighteen years until a runner found a corpse in 1955. How did a transmission recorded at 9:47 PM on March 9, 1937, end up connected to a body hidden behind a Harlan embankment, and who was the name that never appeared in any file?

    In this episode, we follow the sequence of events recorded in contemporaneous documents and later discovered evidence, from the radio transmission logged by engineer Paul Steger to the body found by Richard McCarthy and the detective Pamela Baker’s reexamination that revealed a rehung coal cellar door. What the episode covers is the transmission, the missing woman Linda Russo, the worker Carl Wagner’s abrupt departure, and the unanswered question about the obscure name in Wagner’s employment record.

    Person: Linda Russo
    Date: March 9, 1937 (transmission) / March 11, 1937 (missing reported) / March 3, 1955 (body found)
    Location: Harlan, Ohio; Sennett Creek embankment; Portman boarding house coal cellar
    Person: Paul Steger
    Case: Body discovered in stone cavity March 3, 1955; transmission log entry 9:47 PM March 9, 1937
    - A KWMR-AM night engineer logged "voice clear, not ours" at 9:47 PM on March 9, 1937 and added four penciled sentences in the margin.
    - Linda Russo was reported missing March 11, 1937; she was 37 years old, worked as a bookkeeper, and paid rent on the first of each month.
    - Carl Wagner, a delivery driver hired 14 months earlier, left his job without notice on March 12, 1937, the day after Russo was reported missing.
    - Richard McCarthy found fabric in a stone cavity along the Sennett Creek embankment on March 3, 1955 and called police at 6:31 AM.
    - Detective Pamela Baker discovered a second set of screw holes indicating the coal cellar door had been rehung so the latch would lock from the exterior.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Two Stamps That Sent a Man to Life Behind Bars

    The Two Stamps That Sent a Man to Life Behind Bars
    2026/07/25
    The Two Stamps That Sent a Man to Life Behind Bars

    Cold tea, a blank crossing form and two impossible passport stamps: a woman who double-checked her work noticed a passport stamped twice northbound at the same border crossing on the same day, and three weeks later she was dead-what did she see that made someone silence her? Which man’s routine crossings and a heavyset description tied him to those two stamps, and why was that detail enough to send an investigation racing toward a life sentence?

    In this episode, we follow the discovery and early investigation of Kimberly Schmidt’s death and the odd passport stamps found in the Harmon-Juárez filing room, describing the people, logs and timestamps that became the case’s fulcrum and asking which connection changed routine paperwork into a murder probe.

    Person: Kimberly Schmidt
    Date: February 11, 1947
    Location: Harmon-Juárez border crossing / 41 Crestline Avenue
    Case: Passport stamped twice northbound on January 21, 1947
    Person: Larry Lawson

    - Age of victim Kimberly Schmidt: 61 years old
    - Date Schmidt was found: February 11, 1947 (meter reader contacted authorities ~9:40 AM)
    - Passport entry stamps found: January 21, 1947 at 11:09 AM (guard Thomas Birk) and 2:17 PM (Kimberly Schmidt)
    - Description in log matching suspect: heavyset man, approximately 55 years old, mustache, gray overcoat; note "nervous" underlined
    - Frequency of Larry Lawson’s crossings: 3-4 times per week, almost always northbound during business hours

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    21 分
  • The Brand on a Dead Man's Coat: Murder for Range Rights

    The Brand on a Dead Man's Coat: Murder for Range Rights
    2026/07/24
    The Brand on a Dead Man's Coat: Murder for Range Rights

    The discovery of a brand certificate dated January 3, 1884 - two days after William Allen’s burial - turned a believable riding accident into a suspected scheme to steal range priority. A widow found the paper pinned in Stall 14, bearing Allen’s double-bar-A brand and a signature that matched his bowling scorecards; could a dead man’s handwriting be part of a fraud to steal land and water rights?

    In this episode, we tell how that single document moved a deputy sheriff from routine duty to prosecution and how a county’s brand law made ownership worth killing for. What did the certificate reveal about who stood to gain and how a respected cattleman came to be accused?

    Person: William Allen
    Date: January 1, 1884 (burial); January 3, 1884 (brand certificate)
    Location: Holt Crossing, Callow Creek bottomland, north-central Texas
    Person: Ronald Turner
    Person: Deputy Wayne Wilson

    - William Allen was 26 years old and ran close to 200 head under the double-bar-A brand registered spring 1882.
    - Ronald Turner was 44 and ran close to 800 head on two deeded sections south of Holt Crossing.
    - The disputed creek-bottom tract between their leases measured 640 acres.
    - The brand certificate pinned to Stall 14 was dated January 3, 1884 - eight days after Allen’s death and two days after his burial on January 1.
    - Deputy Wayne Wilson identified the signature as matching Allen’s handwriting from Thursday-night bowling scorecards.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • The Vial in Her Hand: How a Frozen Field Lied About Murder

    The Vial in Her Hand: How a Frozen Field Lied About Murder
    2026/07/23
    The Vial in Her Hand: How a Frozen Field Lied About Murder

    A single detail - a cork-stopped glass vial in a frozen field that held no frost - turned a closed coroner's ruling into a lingering question about murder and misplaced traces. Who placed a neatly labeled vial of reddish-brown powder in Janet Jenkins's hand on a night when everything else was glazed with ice, and why did the road she never walked lead to her death?

    In this episode, we follow the facts of the case as recorded by Detective Charles Gray and the coroner: the scene, the people connected to Janet Jenkins, and the strange inconsistencies that kept the investigation open. What does the vial, its untranslated character meaning "fragrant," and the path from Pemberton Street to Pelham Ravine reveal about that December night?

    Person: Janet Jenkins
    Date: December 9, 1923 (body discovered)
    Location: Pelham Ravine near Clement Avenue, Grover Falls
    Cause of death recorded: Cardiac failure with exposure
    Item found: Cork-stopped glass vial with reddish-brown powder, label second character meaning "fragrant"

    - Janet Jenkins was 47 years old, widow, and owner of Donahue Apothecary since 1922.
    - Last confirmed sighting alive was ~3:00 PM on December 8, 1923, with a neighbor placing Eric Powell in her shop at that hour.
    - The ground and Jenkins's overcoat were glazed solid and the overnight temperature did not rise above 19 degrees.
    - The vial in her right hand measured about the size of a tablespoon and showed no frost despite the frozen surroundings.
    - Dr. Ambrose Keefe ruled William Lau's October 1923 death as cardiac failure; his son Henry reported Eric Powell had pressured Lau to leave his shop.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    23 分
  • The Dry Paper at Carrow Point: The Impossible Evidence of 1911

    The Dry Paper at Carrow Point: The Impossible Evidence of 1911
    2026/07/22
    The Dry Paper at Carrow Point: The Impossible Evidence of 1911

    A dry, folded admission form was found tucked behind the buttons of a drowned woman's dress on November 9, 1911 - an impossible object that should have been sodden after at least four hours in salt water. Who placed that bone-dry paper on Valerie Fitzgerald, and why would someone plant evidence that contradicts the tide charts?

    In this episode, we lay out the events around Valerie Fitzgerald's death at Carrow Point and the details that made the paper an unsolvable puzzle to investigators. What does the timing on the Aldercroft admission form tell us about the last eleven days of Valerie's life and the people who escorted her there?

    Person: Valerie Fitzgerald
    Date: November 9, 1911
    Location: Carrow Point, Maine
    Institution: Aldercroft Restorative Institute
    Attendant: Megan Richardson

    - The body was found face down at the south breakwater of Carrow Point, wedged between two granite blocks.
    - Tide charts indicated the body had been in the water for between four and seven hours before discovery.
    - A folded admission form dated November 7 was tucked behind the second and third buttons of Valerie's dress and was completely dry.
    - Valerie had been admitted to Aldercroft eleven days before her death under a diagnosis entered as "nervous collapse with hysterical overlay."
    - Megan Richardson, age thirty-six, had worked at Aldercroft for fourteen months and had a prior personal history with Valerie.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    22 分
  • The Silent Ampoule: How a Forgotten Note Exposed a Murder in 1937

    The Silent Ampoule: How a Forgotten Note Exposed a Murder in 1937
    2026/07/21
    The Silent Ampoule: How a Forgotten Note Exposed a Murder in 1937

    A sealed glass ampoule of pale amber morphine sat in a discarded glass of water beside a dead woman in a 91-degree canvas dormitory tent-an object untouched by the county surveyor and kept three weeks in a desk drawer. What a seven-line undertaker's note, hidden for roughly sixty years, revealed about bruising at an injection site would later turn a certified heat prostration into a deeper mystery: was this death staged or misinterpreted?

    In this episode, you will hear how routine actions by ordinary people - a surveyor who would not touch the glass, a camp manager who sealed the ampoule in an envelope, an undertaker who wrote a terse observation - reshaped a case that sat in a Fresno County archive for decades. How did a single line in Stuart Pratt’s notes change the official story of Sharon Underwood’s death?

    Person: Sharon Underwood
    Date: October 4, 1937
    Location: Tulare Basin Agricultural Cooperative seasonal labor camp, four miles south of Ridgecrest Crossing, California
    Age: 53
    Finding: Ampoule contained morphine sulfate solution, sealed and intact

    - The air temperature inside Building D was ninety-one degrees when Russell Dixon entered.
    - Sharon Underwood missed her only Thursday shift on October 1 after attending consistently since late July.
    - Dr. August Holt spent approximately twelve minutes with the body and signed the death certificate citing heat prostration with cardiac complications.
    - Stuart Pratt’s undertaker note dated October 6 recorded “bruising at interior left elbow, consistent with venipuncture, approximately forty-eight to seventy-two hours prior to examination.”
    - Laboratory analysis, after the ampoule reached a university lab in Sacramento, took eleven days and identified the contents as medically standard concentration morphine sulfate solution with the seal unbroken.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    20 分
  • Locked Room, Cold Coffee, and a Telegraph Key: Fenwick's Secret

    Locked Room, Cold Coffee, and a Telegraph Key: Fenwick's Secret
    2026/07/21
    Locked Room, Cold Coffee, and a Telegraph Key: Fenwick's Secret

    Cold coffee, a skin of cream, and a brass telegraph key resting at the bottom of a porcelain cup - all inside a locked telegraph station where the operator lay dead twelve feet away. How did a key signed for in spring 1892 end up drowned in a cup on the east window sill, and who wrote the twelve blank pages that followed the last log entry at 9:47 p.m.?

    In this episode, we tell the account of the night of September 13, 1892, and the six-week inquiry that followed, focusing on the physical scene, witness accounts, and the overlooked field notes that later mattered most. Can the defective window latch, a diner’s routine testimony, and an eighty-six-year-old deputy’s notation finally explain what happened?

    Person: Craig Perry
    Date: September 13, 1892
    Location: Fenwick Crossing telegraph station
    Cause: Blunt force trauma to back of skull
    Inspector: Warren Baker

    - Perry was forty-four years old and had worked overnight relay shifts since 1889, reassigned to Fenwick Crossing in spring 1892.
    - His last log entry was recorded at 9:47 p.m.; twelve subsequent log pages were blank.
    - The brass telegraph key in the cup was serial-matched to the key Perry signed for in spring 1892.
    - Dr. Irwin Foss estimated time of death between 10:00 p.m. and midnight based on injuries and stopped pocket watch.
    - The relay room east window had a defective latch that could be pressed open from outside; Perry had filed a written repair request in July 1892.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    23 分
  • The Cold Glass Outside Room Six: Why a Stranger Died Here

    The Cold Glass Outside Room Six: Why a Stranger Died Here
    2026/07/21
    The Cold Glass Outside Room Six: Why a Stranger Died Here

    A cold, upright eight-ounce tumbler of iced sweet tea sat in the gravel outside Room Six for seventeen days, at a motor court that had no glasses, no ice, and no explanation. Detective Russell Watson would call the scene a "stopping-place crime" - but who chose the Sundowner and why was a man found dead inside with a door left open?

    In this episode, we follow the timeline from the August ninth discovery to the clues that redirected the investigation, laying out what was found at the Sundowner Motor Court and the questions those details raised: why was a glass traced to a nearby diner left outside a locked-window room, and what did the vehicle marks behind the units reveal?

    Person: Todd Murphy
    Date: August 9, 1954
    Location: Sundowner Motor Court, Route 41, central Indiana
    Detective: Russell Watson
    Evidence: eight-ounce straight-sided tumbler of iced sweet tea

    - At 7:20 a.m. on August 9, 1954, birdwatcher Gina Sharp nearly stepped on an upright glass of sweet tea in the gravel outside Room Six.
    - Todd Murphy, 28, was found face-down on the floor inside Room Six and had been dead for hours when discovered.
    - Murphy had checked in the previous evening, August 8, signing the register as Thomas Murphy and paying $3.50 in cash for two nights.
    - A fresh deep lateral gouge and a spin mark were found on the unpaved east access road behind the Sundowner, with a playing-card-sized dark oily stain at the center.
    - The straight-sided eight-ounce tumbler matched stock from the Millwheel Diner located two hundred yards north on Route 41.

    To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

    © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
    This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.
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    19 分