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For years, Ira Einhorn was celebrated as a visionary.

He called himself The Unicorn — a peace activist, environmental prophet, and counterculture icon with powerful friends and devoted followers. He spoke about consciousness, love, and the future of humanity. People believed him.

Then, in March of 1979, police opened a padlocked closet in his Philadelphia apartment.

Inside was a steamer trunk.
Inside that trunk was the body of Holly Maddux.

In Part One of this two-part Crimery series, we peel back the mythology surrounding Ira Einhorn to reveal the man behind the movement. Through his own journals, survivor testimony, and long-buried history, we trace a disturbing pattern of control, sadism, and violence — years before Holly was murdered.

This episode isn’t about speculation.
It’s about how charisma becomes camouflage.
How power protects predators.
And how a man who preached love lived with a corpse beside his bed for eighteen months.

Next episode: the arrest, the bail that set him free, and the international manhunt that followed.

Content warning: intimate partner violence, homicide.

CRIMERY is reported, written, and hosted by Jennifer Novotney. Produced by Timothy Novotney.

Tip line & inquiries: crimerypod@gmail.com

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Legal: Everyone mentioned is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Content may include descriptions of violence. Listener discretion advised.

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