Episodi

  • Buttoned Pocket, Frozen Culvert: The Vaudeville Note That Killed

    Buttoned Pocket, Frozen Culvert: The Vaudeville Note That Killed
    Oct 15 2026
    Buttoned Pocket, Frozen Culvert: The Vaudeville Note That Killed

    A young chorus-line comedian found in a frozen culvert with an ironed shirt and its breast pocket neatly buttoned - a tiny detail that turned a death into a deliberate message. The three-word pencil note tucked inside that pocket took eleven days to trace to its writer and nearly a century for archivists to fully confirm; who wanted that pocket kept closed, and why?

    In this episode, we follow the documentary trail from the morning Rachel Schultz photographed the body behind the Kellerton Majestic Theatre to the ledger entries and laundry marks that would later speak. You’ll hear how a billing ledger, a closed railway junction, and a laundry stamp helped answer the question the note seemed meant to prevent.

    Person: Chad Nelson
    Date: December 11, 1923
    Location: Kellerton, behind the Kellerton Majestic Theatre
    Age: 22
    Circuit: Arlen-Paxon Vaudeville

    - The body was found at 4:30 AM on December 11, 1923 under a freshly laundered dress shirt laid flat on the ice.
    - The breast pocket of the shirt was buttoned closed and contained a three-word pencil note written in someone else’s hand.
    - Rachel Schultz photographed the scene with a glass-plate camera and did not touch the evidence before going to the police station.
    - Chad Nelson had been on the Arlen-Paxon circuit since 1921 and had performed in Kellerton for four days, appearing once.
    - A billing ledger kept by Ted Arlen and a laundry customer number stamped on the shirt’s interior hem were key to tracing the note’s origin.

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    © 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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    25 min
  • The Rose on the Ice: How a Flower Broke a Killer's Route

    The Rose on the Ice: How a Flower Broke a Killer's Route
    Oct 14 2026
    The Rose on the Ice: How a Flower Broke a Killer's Route

    A single fresh red rose on the ice, stem moist though the lake was frozen and the nearest greenhouse forty miles away-one detail haunted everyone more than the body it marked. Who placed that deliberate flower, and why leave such a purposeful clue by a tarpaulin-draped curing shed?

    In this episode, the story follows how a journalist without a badge traced that rose across ice, commerce records, and county geography to confront a suspect with a single prepared question. What did Alice Tucker find in the shed’s hidden gap and Pamela Hill’s untouched coat that changed everything?

    Person: Pamela Hill
    Date: November 9, 1893
    Location: Eastern shore of Hadder Lake, near Meridian curing shed
    Person: Alice Tucker
    Person: Sheriff Harold Beem

    - A thirteen-year-old girl, Kathleen Allen, found the long-stemmed red rose between two harvest blocks of ice on November 9, 1893.
    - Pamela Hill, age thirty-eight, worked as bookkeeper at Meridian Ice Company since spring 1891 and was last seen leaving after reconciling the October ledger on November 8.
    - Sheriff Harold Beem, age fifty-one, requested "forensic assistance" within two days of the discovery and received Alice Tucker’s letter of introduction four days later.
    - Alice Tucker, age thirty-four, arrived on November 14, five days after the body was found, carrying a leather satchel and an expense logbook she dated each morning.
    - The tarpaulin was draped from the lake side of the curing shed, and a four-foot gap in the north wall created a concealed shortcut invisible from Larder Street.

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    © 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 min
  • The Ledger That Sentenced a Man: Forgery, Ink, and Justice

    The Ledger That Sentenced a Man: Forgery, Ink, and Justice
    Oct 13 2026
    The Ledger That Sentenced a Man: Forgery, Ink, and Justice

    A single darker ink stroke in a frozen ditch changed everything: a ledger entry dated October 3, 1913 listed Sherry Miller as enrolled weeks after she was murdered and buried. Could a subtle difference in handwriting and ink uncover a killer who trusted his victim, or was it only a clerical oddity that sent a man to prison?

    In this episode, we follow how a road-grader operator found a leather-bound Coldbrook Mission School ledger and how deputy clerk Connie Tate used a cross-referenced notebook and ink comparison to push the case forward - leading to the question that drives the story: did the forged entry hide a deliberate alibi or expose a conspiracy?

    Person: Sherry Miller
    Date: October 3, 1913 (ledger entry)
    Location: Aldenvale / Dunmore, Montana
    Event: Discovery of Coldbrook Mission School ledger on February 9, 1914
    Person: Connie Tate

    - The ledger was found on February 9, 1914, skidded about thirty feet across frozen hardpan.
    - The ledger entry reads "Sherry Miller. Enrolled, age sixty-three, adult literacy, sponsored."
    - Sherry Miller was buried on October 18, 1913, and her probable time of death was between October 5 and 7, 1913.
    - Deputy clerk Connie Tate noted the October 3 entry's ink was darker, slightly thicker, and different from surrounding iron gall ink.
    - Terry Thompson, a freight operator and church acquaintance, had no freight log to account for his whereabouts in October 1913.

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    © 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 min
  • The Chrysanthmum in Her Hands: A Cold Room Secret Revealed

    The Chrysanthmum in Her Hands: A Cold Room Secret Revealed
    Oct 12 2026
    The Chrysanthmum in Her Hands: A Cold Room Secret Revealed

    The chill of a concrete cold room, a white chrysanthemum that had not wilted, and a young woman found with her hands folded as if arranged with care - this case hinges on a flower bought at 4:40 p.m. the day before a body was discovered and a delivery log entry time that shouldn't exist. Who moved deliberately through a closed building and why did a DNA profile point to a woman already dead seventeen months earlier?

    In this episode, we present the known facts of Lauren Mitchell's disappearance and death, the civilian investigation led by Ruth Armstrong, and the clerical details that became the case's crucial leads. How did a florist's sale, a commissary delivery log, and a preserved flower connect to a conviction, a confession, and a late DNA revelation?

    Person: Lauren Mitchell
    Date: September 9, 1943
    Location: Kellner Cold Storage, Dunbar Slip
    Investigator: Ruth Armstrong
    Flower purchased: September 6, 1943 at 4:40 p.m.

    - Lauren Mitchell was 26 years old when her body was found on September 9, 1943 at 6:07 a.m.
    - She left her boarding house the previous evening dressed for choir practice and did not arrive at St. Anselm's.
    - The chrysanthemum between her fingers was fresh-cut and unmarked by frost when discovered.
    - A florist recorded selling three stems to a broad-shouldered man who paid in exact change at 4:40 p.m, on September 6, 1943.
    - A DNA profile from fibers of Lauren's skirt in 2019 matched a woman who had died 17 months before Lauren left her boarding house.

    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 min
  • 200 People Stood Feet Away: The Murder of Jerry Ramsey

    200 People Stood Feet Away: The Murder of Jerry Ramsey
    Oct 11 2026
    200 People Stood Feet Away: The Murder of Jerry Ramsey

    Two hundred fairgoers smiled into a 3:14 p.m. photograph on August 12, 1937, while thirty feet behind them a rides supervisor lay dead from two blows to the back of his skull. The picture sat in an archive for decades as a crowd study - until investigators realized it captured the minutes before Jerry Ramsey’s body was found; how did a single image become the key to a murder no one noticed for fourteen hours?

    In this episode, we lay out what happened on the Harlan County fairground that afternoon, how Ramsey’s audit records and a red metal toolbox redirected the investigation, and why a white van and a fake service badge became central to the case; could a routine scene hide a planned hit?

    Person: Jerry Ramsey
    Date: August 12-13, 1937
    Location: Harlan County fairgrounds
    Case: Unidentified assailant; death discovered August 13 at ~5:30 a.m.
    Investigator: Brenda Schultz, Criminal Investigation Division

    - Photographer Curtis Vane pressed the shutter at 3:14 p.m, on August 12, 1937, capturing roughly 200 people on the midway.
    - Jerry Ramsey, age 47, was found with two blows to the back of his skull and his work badge forcibly removed.
    - Ramsey had been collecting audit documents tied to Dellwood Brokerage and planned to deliver them to the state's attorney.
    - Witness Pete Ingram saw a man with a red metal toolbox and a white van near the Elm Road entrance around 2:15 p.m. but did not see the man’s face.
    - CID agent Brenda Schultz arrived in Dellwood the afternoon of August 13 with a toolbox description and a paper trail linking the crime to Romano Appliance Service.

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    © 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 min
  • The Island Doctor's Four Signed Deaths - Who Was Meant to Die?

    The Island Doctor's Four Signed Deaths - Who Was Meant to Die?
    Oct 10 2026
    The Island Doctor's Four Signed Deaths - Who Was Meant to Die?

    A coastal quarantine station held four signed, dated death certificates for people who were still alive - found in an outgoing mail tray on a granite island at 6:55 a.m, on July 9, 1883. The only physician authorized to sign death certificates at Pelican Narrows, Dr. Vernon Harrison, later ended up in San Quentin, but an overlooked record from 1885 reframed everything: who was Harrison really signing for, and why were four living people declared dead?

    In this episode, we tell how a gas meter reader discovered official death certificates on an island quarantine station, how station routines and a shimmed records-room lock became central evidence, and why a man’s prior history two years later changed the meaning of those documents. Who benefited from certificates signed for passengers who had never set foot on the island?

    Person: Dr. Vernon Harrison
    Location: Pelican Narrows Quarantine Station, Halverson Bay
    Date: July 9, 1883 (discovery), July 11, 1883 (inspection)
    Person: Chad Stroud
    Person: Janet Porter

    - Four signed and dated death certificates were found in an outgoing mail tray at 6:55 a.m, on July 9, 1883.
    - Pelican Narrows occupied a granite shelf roughly 400 yards off the California mainland.
    - Dr. Vernon Harrison was 39 years old and had served four years as the station's sole physician.
    - Janet Porter had a recorded fever of 103°F when the Callista Reed entered Halverson Bay on the evening of July 8.
    - A folded strip of paper was found behind the records-room spring-bolt, preventing the bolt from fully seating, photographed and initialed by station warden Cecil Pruitt.

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    © 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 min
  • The Missing Left Heel and the Ticket That Broke a Confession

    The Missing Left Heel and the Ticket That Broke a Confession
    Oct 9 2026
    The Missing Left Heel and the Ticket That Broke a Confession

    A single cream left heel and a soaked movie ticket stub were found upright on a dry steel worktable with no water source within six feet - and there had been no rain in eleven days. How did a wet ticket from Lane Six, car four, issued at 8:55 PM on June 3 appear pressed beneath a shoe linked to a woman who’d been dead for days, and why would that stub force a confession?

    In this episode, we take you through the timeline, the discovery at the Starview Drive-In, and the investigative threads Detective Howard Riley followed as he tried to reconcile the ticket, the missing left shoe, and Janet Bennett’s death. What sequence of events connects a ticket from June 3 and a confession months later?

    Person: Janet Bennett
    Date: June 3-9, 1953
    Location: Starview Drive-In, rear loading dock, Dunmore, Ohio
    Cause: Manual strangulation
    Investigator: Detective Howard Riley

    - Janet Bennett, age 52, was last seen alive at approximately 9:15 PM on June 3 after leaving the First Methodist Church pantry parking lot.
    - Her body was discovered in a drainage channel along the east fence line of the Starview Drive-In on the morning of June 7, roughly 400 feet from the rear loading dock.
    - Time of death was estimated by Dr. Eugene Mast as a 60-80 hour window, placing death in late June 3 or early June 4.
    - A cream left heel, size six and scuffed at the toe, was found upright on a dry steel table on June 9 at 8:45 AM with a soaking-wet ticket stub beneath it.
    - The ticket stub was from Lane Six, car four, issued at 8:55 PM on June 3, and the surrounding area showed no moisture and no rain had fallen in eleven days.

    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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    24 min
  • A Watch Still Running: The Murder of Thomas Marshall

    A Watch Still Running: The Murder of Thomas Marshall
    Oct 8 2026
    A Watch Still Running: The Murder of Thomas Marshall

    A severed forearm, macerated from days in a Sangamon River tributary, still buckled to a ticking wristwatch engraved: FOR T.M., FROM THE BOYS ON THE LINE, CHRISTMAS NINETEEN - the watch’s seventeen-jewel Waltham movement set the timeline for a disappearance that no one in Calverton had noticed. How did a man vanish from his structured routine without a trace, and why was a floor at the Meridian Steam Laundry intentionally cleared the day before he died?

    In this episode, we follow the discovery and early inquiry that tied a precise mechanical clue to a missing floor supervisor and a cryptic maintenance entry, asking whether routine order masked a deliberate plan to make a man disappear.

    Person: Thomas Marshall
    Date: May 10-14, 1923
    Location: Meridian Steam Laundry area and Corbin Avenue, Calverton, Illinois
    Investigator: Lisa Phillips, clerk-investigator
    Object: Wristwatch - 17 jewels, Waltham movement, inscription "FOR T.M., FROM THE BOYS ON THE LINE, CHRISTMAS NINETEEN"

    - Hand and partial forearm found near a drainage culvert grate on May 14, 1923
    - Wristwatch movement indicated the arm had been in water at least four days
    - Last confirmed sightings: Dempsey's Lunch Counter at 6:45 a.m. and Meridian time clock at 7:22 a.m. on May 10, 1923
    - Meridian maintenance log entry dated May 9: "south wing steam press number three taken offline, coupling replaced, floor cleared per F.B. instruction"
    - Landlady Irene Vogel reported room undisturbed by May 13 except for a missing hat

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    © 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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    24 min