

True Murder: The Most Shocking Killers
Dan Zupansky
Every week host Dan Zupansky will interview the true crime authors that have written about the most shocking killers of all time.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 4, 2021 • 1h 34min
SATIN PUMPS-Steve Kosareff
It was the midcentury murder that fascinated a nation and kept it glued for two years to radio, television and newspapers through three trials.Did the handsome, wealthy doctor and his beautiful young paramour plan to kill his glamorous socialite wife?Or did the gun accidentally discharge as he claimed?Early in the evening on July 18, 1959, Dr. Bernard Finch and his girlfriend, Carole Ann Tregoff, drove from their Las Vegas love-nest to the Finch home in the Los Angeles suburb of West Covina to speak to his wife Barbara about obtaining a speedy divorce in Nevada. But the plan went awry and the conversation turned deadly with Barbara’s lifeless body ending up in her in-laws’ backyard next door.After a high-speed chase with police, Finch was arrested the next morning in Las Vegas and charged with Barbara’s murder. Then, during his court hearing in West Covina, Carole was arrested on the witness stand and charged as his accomplice.Soon others were named as part of a larger conspiracy. But who were they and what parts did they play in these deadly events?Set against the midcentury CinemaScope glamour of Hollywood, Las Vegas and Palm Springs, “Satin Pumps: The Moonlit Murder That Mesmerized The Nation” is a true crime memoir written by former Finch patient, screenwriter and author Steve Kosareff. SATIN PUMPS: The Moonlit Murders That Mesmerized The Nation-Steve Kosareff Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Jan 29, 2021 • 58min
WILDER INTENTIONS-C.J. Wynn
ANGILA WAS STABBED 44 TIMES.THIS WAS PERSONAL.On a November morning in 2015, Christopher Jackson waited for his fiancée, Angila Wilder, to pick him up from work as she always did. But this time, she didn’t show—and Christopher’s calls went unanswered. The police found what looked like a scene from a horror movie at their home. The backdoor kicked in. A bedroom splattered with blood. And a pregnant young woman violently stabbed to death.Could Christopher have murdered the woman he claimed to love? Or was the crime done by an intruder Angila had feared for weeks? Angila’s womanizing ex-husband, Richie Wilder, Jr., aimed detectives straight toward Christopher. The evidence, however, pointed squarely at Richie.Kindergarten teacher Cynthia Wilder thought her dreams had come true when she married Richie. But while her husband sat behind bars, Cynthia grew lonely. When she shared some disturbing details with a former lover, Cynthia finally revealed the truth behind the sinister plot to kill Angila Wilder. After four years of lies and deceit, the real story would shock a community to its very core …WILDER INTENTIONS: Love, Lies and Murder In North Dakota-C.J. Wynn Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Jan 28, 2021 • 1h 5min
TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES-Volume 2-Mike Rothmiller
They were all subjects of true crime newspaper reporting in the 1800s. And now these stories and that of many others are brought together in their original form in a two-volume set: TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES: Serial Killers, Outlaws, and Justice ... Real Crime Stories From The 1800s.Compiled and commented on by New York Times bestselling author and former detective Mike Rothmiller, these classic works of journalism resurrect astonishing stories that will take the reader on a fascinating journey back in time to when these horrific tales mesmerized a nation. Some may find these articles and their descriptions of people and crimes shocking by today’s standards, but they are representative of the most colorful true crime stories of the dayTRUE CRIME CHRONICLES, Volume Two, includes stories about Billy the Kid, Jesse James, the legendary “Jack the Ripper,” Lizzie Halliday, Anna Maria Zwanziger, Jack the Haircutter, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Nebraska Murderer, and many more shocking stories. Follow along as these reporters from another century visit the crime scenes, interview witnesses, and pen the stories of murder, evil, and swift frontier justice. TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES-Volume Two: Serial Killers, Outlaws And Justice....Real Crime Stories from the 1800's-Mike Rothmiller Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Jan 18, 2021 • 1h 14min
BAD MEDICINE-Charlotte Bismuth
In 2010, a brave whistleblower alerted the police to Dr. Stan Li’s corrupt pain management clinic in Queens, New York. Li spent years supplying more than seventy patients a day with oxycodone and , trading prescriptions for cash. Emergency room doctors, psychiatrists, and desperate family members warned him that his patients were at risk of death but he would not stop.In Bad Medicine, former prosecutor Charlotte Bismuth meticulously recounts the jaw dropping details of this criminal case that would span four years, culminating in a landmark trial. As a new assistant district attorney and single mother, Bismuth worked tirelessly with her team to bring Dr. Li to justice. Bad Medicine is a chilling story of corruption and greed and an important look at the role individual doctors play in America’s opioid epidemic. BAD MEDICINE: Catching New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher-Charlotte Bismuth Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Jan 15, 2021 • 1h 36min
THE RICHARD STREICHER JR. MURDER-Gregory Fournier
During the depths of the Great Depression in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a seven-year-old boy is found frozen to death under the Frog Island footbridge in Depot Town after being reported missing the night before by his parents. Upon examination, the Washtenaw County coroner discovers the child is the victim of foul play.After three years of investigation, the Ypsilanti and Michigan state police are no closer to making an arrest than they were when Richard Streicher Jr.'s body was discovered. Local gossips and many police are convinced they know who the guilty party is, but proving it in a court of law is a different matter. Who stabbed Richard Streicher Jr. to death? THE RICHARD STREICHER JR. MURDER: Ypsilanti's Depot Town Mystery-Gregory Fournier Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Jan 15, 2021 • 1h 32min
THE SNOW KILLINGS-Marney Rich Keenan
Over 13 months in 1976-1977, four children were abducted in the Detroit suburbs, each of them held for days before their still-warm bodies were dumped in the snow near public roadsides. The Oakland County Child Murders spawned panic across southeast Michigan, triggering the most extensive manhunt in U.S. history. Yet after less than two years, the task force created to find the killer was shut down without naming a suspect. The case "went cold" for more than 30 years, until a chance discovery by one victim's family pointed to the son of a wealthy General Motors executive: Christopher Brian Busch, a four-time convicted pedophile, was freed weeks before the fourth child disappeared. Veteran Detroit News reporter Marney Rich Keenan takes the reader inside the investigation of the still-unsolved murders-seen through the eyes of the lead detective in the case and the family who cracked it open-revealing evidence of a decades-long coverup of misfeasance and obstruction that averted justice for the victims." THE SNOW KILLINGS: Inside The Oakland County Child Killer Investigation-Marney Rich Keenan Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Jan 13, 2021 • 1h 25min
THE MURDER OF KELSEY BERRETH-Rod Kackley
A successful young mother, Kelsey Berreth, vanishes on Thanksgiving Day 2018. The FBI is afraid they’ll have to do a deal with the devil to find her. Kelsey, a pilot so good she taught the military how to fly, goes shopping at a Safeway store, and simply disappears. Her fiance, Patrick Frazee, says he doesn't have a clue. In fact, he says they broke up just a few days before. He's as mystified as everyone else. But Kelsey's mother, Cheryl, is afraid she knows what happened to her daughter. A task force of FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents believe they also know what happened to Kelsey. They have cell phone records and more, including surveillance video and DNA. But they have run into a roadblock. The agents have to get someone close to the killer to flip and turn state's evidence. Are they going to have to do a deal with the devil to find justice for Kelsey Berreth? The Murder of Kelsey Berreth: A Shocking True Crime Story. This is a riveting story of a young woman's disappearance, her family's will to find out what happened, and a 21st-century police investigation that nearly cracks the case wide open. Nearly. Will the FBI do a deal with the devil to solve this crime? THE MURDER OF KELSEY BERRETH: A Shocking True Crime Story-Rod Kackley Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Jan 6, 2021 • 1h 3min
THE WOMAN WHO STOLE VERMEER-Anthony M. Amore
The extraordinary life and crimes of heiress-turned-revolutionary Rose Dugdale, who in 1974 became the only woman to pull off a major art heist.In the world of crime, there exists an unusual commonality between those who steal art and those who repeatedly kill: they are almost exclusively male. But, as with all things, there is always an outlier—someone who bucks the trend, defying the reliable profiles and leaving investigators and researchers scratching their heads. In the history of major art heists, that outlier is Rose Dugdale.Dugdale’s life is singularly notorious. Born into extreme wealth, she abandoned her life as an Oxford-trained PhD and heiress to join the cause of Irish Republicanism. While on the surface she appears to be the British version of Patricia Hearst, she is anything but.Dugdale ran head-first towards the action, spearheading the first aerial terrorist attack in British history and pulling off the biggest art theft of her time. In 1974, she led a gang into the opulent Russborough House in Ireland and made off with millions in prized paintings, including works by Goya, Gainsborough, and Rubens, as well as Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid by the mysterious master Johannes Vermeer. Dugdale thus became—to this day—the only woman to pull off a major art heist. And as Anthony Amore explores in The Woman Who Stole Vermeer, it’s likely that this was not her only such heist.The Woman Who Stole Vermeer is Rose Dugdale’s story, from her idyllic upbringing in Devonshire and her presentation to Elizabeth II as a debutante to her university years and her eventual radical lifestyle. Her life of crime and activism is at turns unbelievable and awe-inspiring. THE WOMAN WHO STOLE VERMEER: The True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist-Anthony M. Amore Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Dec 30, 2020 • 1h 6min
TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES-Mike Rothmiller
What do Wyatt Earp, Belle Gunness, Big Foot the Renegade, Billy the Kid, and Dr. H.H. Holmes, and The Black Hand have in common?They were all subjects of true crime newspaper reporting in the 1800s, and now these stories and that of many others are brought together in their original form in a two-volume set: TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES: Serial Killers, Outlaws, and Justice … Real Crime Stories From The 1800s.Compiled and commented on by New York Times bestselling author Mike Rothmiller, these classic works of journalism resurrect astonishing stories that will take the reader back to when these horrific tales mesmerized a nation. Some may find these articles and their descriptions of people and crimes shocking by today’s standards, but they are representative of the most colorful true crime stories of the day.TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES, Volume One, includes stories about Belle Gunness, who had a penchant for killing men and feeding them to her hogs, Dr. Holmes and his “murder castle,” The Bloody Benders, and Amelia Dyer, the “baby farmer,” the darker side of Wyatt Earp, and the forerunners of the American Mafia, “The Black Hand.” Imagine yourself accompanying these reporters visiting the crime scenes, interviewing witnesses, and penning the stories of murder, lynchings, evil, and swift frontier justice. TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES: Volume 1-Serial Killers, Outlaws, And Justice...Real Crime Stories from the 1800's-Mike Rothmiller Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com

Dec 25, 2020 • 1h 28min
FRED ROSEN TRUE CRIME RETROSPECTIVE-IN MEMORY OF
*This interview was recorded in 2019. The late, great Fred Rosen passed away Dec. 2020.Fred Rosen is a former columnist for the Arts and Leisure Section of The New York Times. He is also one of the most important and successful figures in true crime writing, and the author of several true crime classics.He got off to an incredible start with Lobster Boy in 1995, Blood Crimes in 1996, and Gang Mom and The Mad Chopper both published in 1998. Deacon of Death was published in 2000, Needle Work in 2001. Both Body Dump and Flesh Collectors were published in 2002. The Historical Atlas of American Crime in 2005. When Satan Wore A Cross and There But for the Grace of God were both published in 2007. Deadly Angel in 2009 and Trails of Death in 2011. Did They Really Do It? was published in 2015. Born to the Mob and Murdering the President were published in 2016. The Bayou Strangler in 2017 and Bat Masterson in 2019. We will discuss how he got started and what cases and killers in particular most shaped his remarkable true crime body of work. FRED ROSEN TRUE CRIME RETROSPECTIVE-Fred Rosen Follow and comment on Facebook-TRUE MURDER: The Most Shocking Killers in True Crime History https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064697978510Check out TRUE MURDER PODCAST @ truemurderpodcast.com