Christmas Eve 1963. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 34-year old Lucille Rinaldi, who happens to be five months pregnant, is bludgeoned and suffocated to death inside an apartment belonging to her husband, Frank Rinaldi. Even though Frank was supposedly out Christmas shopping when the crime took place, he is charged and convicted of Lucille’s murder after investigators learn that Frank took out a life insurance policy on his wife and there are also allegations surface that he was a closeted gay man. However, after the Supreme Court of North Carolina rules that the jury was unfairly prejudiced at Frank’s trial, his conviction is overturned and he is acquitted at his retrial. Was Lucille Rinaldi actually murdered by her husband or did the real killer manage to get away with it? On this week’s holiday-themed episode of “The Trail Went Cold”, we explore a controversial and sensationalist Christmas Eve murder case.

Join us on Saturday, December 20 at 8:00pm ET for an online streaming marathon where we will be watching classic segments from “Unsolved Mysteries”. You can enter our screening room by clicking on this link.

Additional Reading:

"Time of Death: The True Tale of a Quest for Justice in 1960s Chapel Hill" by Nora Gaskin

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https://indyweek.com/news/archives-news/cautionary-tale-d-a-jim-hardin/

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.

The Trail Went Cold - Episode 462 - Lucille Rinaldi