Historical True Crime Episodes
June 10, 2025
103. Moonshine and Murder in the Smoky Mountains: The Perry’s Camp Murders of 1949
In 1949, deep in the Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee, a savage double murder shattered the stillness of a quiet Appalachian community.
Charlie Perry—a former Knoxville bootlegger turned tourist camp owner—and his longtime housekeeper, Josie Law, were brutally killed in their home at …
May 28, 2025
102. Murder On Route 66: The Welch Family Tragedy
In June 1961 , JD and Utha Welch packed up their car, their four young sons, and headed west from Oklahoma to visit family in California.
It was supposed to be a simple road trip — a summer memory in the making.
But one quiet night near Seligman, Arizona, while the boys slept in a canvas pup …
May 13, 2025
101. Boy in the Walls: The Daniel LaPlante Horror Story
In 1986, Tina and Karen Bowen were just teenage girls when their mother passed away from cancer. Not long after, strange things started happening in their home. Knocking from inside the walls. Furniture moved. Objects disappeared. Messages scrawled in red across the bedroom walls: 💬 “I’m in your ro…
April 30, 2025
100. The Pied Piper of Tucson: Charles Schmid's Deadly Reign Over 1960s Arizona
In this chilling episode of Hard Times and True Crimes, we dive deep into the twisted tale of Charles Schmid, the manipulative and charismatic serial killer who terrorized the young women of Tucson, Arizona, during the 1960s. Known as the Pied Piper of Tucson, Schmid lured teenage girls with his El…
April 15, 2025
99. A Deadly Obsession: The Murder Of Olga Duncan
In 1958, 30-year-old nurse Olga Duncan vanished from her Santa Barbara apartment. She was newly married, seven months pregnant, and full of hope for the future. But what no one could’ve imagined was that the person behind her disappearance wasn’t a stranger… it was someone much closer to home.
T…
April 2, 2025
98. The Doctor's Wife: A Searcy, Arkansas Murder Story
In 1974, the quiet town of Searcy, Arkansas, was shaken by the shocking murder of Fern Rodgers, the wife of local physician Dr. Porter Rodgers. What seemed like a tragic crime soon unraveled as more information came to light that implicated not one, not two, but three suspects.
If you love Sout…
Feb. 14, 2025
91.Love Lost: The Valentine’s Day Murders of Jesse McBane & Patricia Mann in Durham, North Carolina
Send us a text Episode Summary: On Valentine’s Day 1971, a young couple Jesse McBane and Patricia Mann vanished after a romantic night in Durham, North Carolina. Days later, their bound and strangled bodies were discovered d...
Dec. 18, 2024
85. The Ashland, Kentucky Murders of 1881 (Pt.2)
Send us a text On Christmas Eve in 1881, the bodies of three teenagers were found in a burning house. The brutal way in which they were killed would shock the country. Listen to the conclusion of the story on this episode. Mu...
Dec. 11, 2024
84. The Ashland Kentucky Murders of 1881 (Pt. 1)
Send us a text On Christmas Eve in 1881, the bodies of three teenagers were found in a burning house in Ashland, Kentucky. The brutal way that they died would shock not only the community, but the entire nation. Music by Isa...
Nov. 27, 2024
82. Thanksgiving- Eve Murders of the Germond Family
Send us a text On Thanksgiving Eve in 1930 , a dairy farming family of four were brutally murdered. Their deaths shocked the nation. Ninety-five years later, the murders are still unsolved. Listen to the episode to see if y...
Nov. 6, 2024
79. Undark: The Story of The Radium Girls
Send us a text With the discovery of radium by the Curies in 1898, great strides were made in the scientific field. Along with the possibilities were risks not yet known. One of the inventions - luminous paint- made painting ...
Oct. 30, 2024
78. The Real Exorcist
Send us a text In 1973 a movie opened in theaters that scared the nation - The Exorcist. But you may not be aware that it was based on true events that took place in 1949. Billy Graham urged audiences not to see it due to its...
Oct. 9, 2024
76. Carnage in Carthage: North Carolina's Deadliest Mass Shooting
Send us a text A rocky marriage, a controlling husband, an estranged wife, and alcohol addiction; a destructive combination that led down a deadly path and ultimately ended in tragedy for several families. Narrator: Curtis Hi...
Oct. 2, 2024
75. A Murder Farm in Quiet Dell, West Virginia
Send us a text In August 1931, police were investigating the disappearances of Asta Eicher and her three children. They found love letters, which led them to a man named Harry Powers in Quiet Dell, West Virginia. Nespresso Ve...
Aug. 14, 2024
70. The Donner Party Tragedy
Send us a text A group of families headed west to California in the spring of 1846 during the Westward Expansion movement. They were well provisioned for the journey that was expected to take them 4-6 months. But one delay af...
June 19, 2024
64. The Icebox Murders
Send us a text Sometimes a simple "welfare check" for someone's safety turns out to be more than investigators bargained for. For the Houston Police Department in 1965, this was the case when a man called in concerned about h...
June 5, 2024
62. Lobster Boy - Grady Stiles, Jr.
Send us a text Since the 1840s the Stiles family had passed down a rare condition called Ectrodactyly that makes the hands look like lobster claws. Grady Stiles turned his family's condition into a lucrative business perform...
May 29, 2024
61. The Bitter Blood Murders Pt. 2
Send us a text On June 3, 1985, police cautiously pursued a Chevy Blazer with four passengers. A slow chase had persisted for several miles-- from Greensboro into Summerfield, North Carolina. Suddenly, the Blazer stopped an...
May 22, 2024
60. The Bitter Blood Murders Pt.1
Send us a text In the years between 1984 and 1985, three intertwined families experienced the murders of close family members. The murders spanned from Louisville, Kentucky to Winston Salem and Greensboro, NC. Susie Newsome ...
April 24, 2024
57: The Bloody Benders: Homicidal Homesteaders
Send us a text As Westward expansion began in the US after the Civil War, homesteaders staked land claims across the plains. One family set up a crude store and Inn along the trail, taking advantage of the location where many...
April 3, 2024
54. The Disappearance and Murder of Alma Kellner
Send us a text Alma Kellner born in 1901, was the daughter of wealthy brewers in Louisville, Kentucky.On December 8, 1909, Alma disappeared on her way to attend mass at St. John's Roman Catholic Church, not far from her home....
March 20, 2024
52. Father Hans Schmidt: A Killer Priest
Send us a text Today's episode is about the life and crimes of Father Hans Schmidt. He was executed in 1916 for murder. Schmidt is the only priest ever to be executed in the United States. Music- Isaiah Hildreth Male Narrat...
Feb. 28, 2024
49. The MacDonald Family Murders Pt. 2
Send us a text In early 1970 Capt. Jeffrey MacDonald is awakened by the screams of his wife and daughters being attacked. He claims a group of drugged-up hippies were the intruders, but authorities quickly begin to question ...
Feb. 21, 2024
48. The MacDonald Family Murders Pt. 1
Send us a text At the height of the hippie culture and "Satanic Panic" in the early 1970s, a gruesome murder is committed at Fort Bragg, NC. A pregnant mother and her two small daughters are repeatedly stabbed to death. Her...