On the afternoon of July 18, 1984, James Huberty left his apartment in the San Ysidro neighborhood of San Diego, California, and drove one block over to the nearby McDonalds. After walking through the door of the restaurant, Huberty raised his Uzi semi-automatic 9mm and began indiscriminately shooting at patrons, employees, and anyone else who happened to cross into his line of sight.

At the time, and for decades after, the San Ysidro McDonalds massacre was the worst mass shooting in American history, with the shooter killing twenty-one people and injuring nearly two dozen others before being struck down by a sniper’s bullet. The incident lasted over an hour, during which time San Diego police and SWAT members surrounded the building, but didn’t enter the building until an hour after the shooting started, when Huberty was already dead.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

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Ben-Ali, Russell. 1990. "After a long wait, monument is dedicated at Massacre site." Los Angeles Times, December 14.

Corwin, Miles, and Tom Howlett. 1984. "Neighbors reall a man who never smiled." Los Angeles Times, July 19: 14.

Crea, Jackie. 2025. Survivors remember San Ysidro McDonald's mass shooting. July 18. Accessed August 6, 2025. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-ysidro-mcdonalds-mass-shooting-40-years-later/3569489/.

Cummings, Judith. 1984. "Neighbors term mass slayer a quiet but hotheaded loner." New York Times, July 20: 1.

Freed, David. 1984. "21 die in San Diego massacre." Los Angeles Times, July 19: 1.

Logan, Alan C., Jeffrey J. Nicholson, Stephen J. Schoenthaler, and Susan L. Prescott. 2024. "Neurolaw: Revisiting Huberty v. McDonald’s through the Lens of Nutritional Criminology and Food Crime." Laws.

2016. 77 Minutes. Directed by Charlie Minn.

New York Times. 1984. "Coast man kills 20 in rampage at a restaurant." New York Times, July 19: 1.

Time-Life Books. 1993. Mass Murderers. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books.

Weintraub, Daniel. 1984. "'That guy's gonna shoot you'." Los Angeles Times, July 20: 2.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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On October 30, 1975, fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley failed to return home after a night out with friends in Belle Haven, an exclusive wealthy enclave in Greenwich, CT. The following morning, Moxley’s badly beaten body was discovered underneath a tree, just a few hundred feet from her house, triggering one of the most notorious murder mysteries in the state’s history.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

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References

Associated Press. 1975. "Parents guarding children in Greenwich murder area." Connecticut Post, November 10: 2.

—. 1998. "1975 murder case before grand jury." Hartford Courant, July 12: 22.

—. 1998. "Fuhrman book on 1975 slaying points to Kennedy relative." Hartford Courant, May 10: 28.

Brown, Marian Gail. 2002. "Verdict shocks court observers 27 years after Moxley slaying." Connecticut Post, June 8: 1.

CNN. 2007. Moxley case: Excerpts from the Sutton Report. December 17. Accessed November 26, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.skakel11/index.html.

—. 2002. Moxley Case: Who was Martha Moxley? Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.skakel9/index.html.

Connecticut Post. 1975. "Girl, 15, found murdered at her Greenwich home." Connecticut Post, November 1: 1.

Ellement, John, and Lisa Prevost. 2000. "Skakel is arrested in '75 Conn. murder." Boston Globe, January 20.

Gaines, Judith. 1998. "Grand juror to probe '75 Conn. murder." Boston Globe, June 18.

—. 1991. "Police taking a fresh look at 1975 murder of Conn. teen-ager." Boston Globe, October 7.

Hartford Courant. 2002. "Skakel jurors." Hartford Courant, July 28: H2.

Lang, Joel. 1997. "Martha's murder." Hartford Courant, May 18: 10.

Levitt, Leonard. 2004. Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder . New York, NY: Regan Books.

Mahony, Edmund. 2020. "No retrial for Skakel." Hartford Courant, October 31: 1.

Merchant, Robert. 2016. "Skakel murder conviction reinstated." Connecticut Post, December 31: 1.

Ondek, Richard. 1976. "Prosecutor says family impedes murder probe." Connecticut Post, March 26: 1.

Owens, David. 2013. "Freed on bail." Hartford Courant, November 22: 1.

2003. Mugshots: Michael Skakel. Performed by Single Spark Productions.

State of Connecticut v. Michael Skakel. 2004. S.C. 16844 (Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut, June 23).

Tofig, Dana. 1999. "Suspect's lawyer seeks to suprress comments." Hartford Courant, May 27: B7.

Tuohy, Lynne. 2002. "A life, a death revisited." Hartford Courant, May 8: 1.

—. 2000. "Kennedy nephew facing arrest in killing." Hartford Courant, January 19: 1.

—. 2002. "No apology, no remorse." Hartford Courant, August 30: 1.

—. 2002. "One final chance to make their cases." Hartford Courant, June 4: 1.

—. 2002. "Prosecution puts on its rebuttal."

Hartford Courant

, May 30: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.