Crimes We Forgot

Crimes We Forgot

Jeff Billington

Crimes We Forgot is an independent true crime podcast that looks a century past to explore unique and sensational crimes that have vanished from public awareness. We share the in-depth stories of murders, kidnappings, robberies and other intriguing cases. But it doesn’t end there, as we also dig through public records and newspaper archives to find out what happened to those involved in the decades that followed.

A Murder on Christmas

A Murder on Christmas

On December 26, 1908, the nude body of a woman was found in Lampblack Swamp along the Passaic River in Harrison, NJ. Police determined she was murdered on Christmas night. For eight days she remained in the morgue unidentified, until police tracked down a piece of clothing found near the body and her sister identified her as Lena Whitmore, even though just a day earlier Lena's husband, the last person known to see her, claimed it wasn't his wife. Hear the full story of the murder of Lena Whitmo

Dec 24, 2024 • 20:49

The Night Dorothy Was Taken

The Night Dorothy Was Taken

In the dark, early morning of May 29th 1928, a man entered a room shared by three sisters, when he left he held 7-year-old Dorothy Selangowski tightly in his arms, his hand over her mouth. A search soon started, with police and neighbors looking, then a grisly discovery was made only doors away, on the porch of the child’s grandfather. Suspects would emerge, including one of the girl’s brothers, but the evidence pointed to someone else, another family member who had at one time lived with Doroth

Dec 3, 2024 • 23:56

The Retribution of Wash Smith

The Retribution of Wash Smith

In January 1928, 18-year-old Wash Smith walked into a small country store in Banks County, Georgia. By the time he walked out, the store’s owner was dead, and Wash was being hunted down by a posse. It is a story of an interrupted love affair and the vicious retribution by both sides that followed, while bootlegging, hidden witnesses, and recanted testimony point to something almost sinister.  Sound Engineering by Dave Harris Theme music courtesy of:Cinematic Epic Emotional | EGLAIR by Alex-Prod

Nov 12, 2024 • 21:07

A Body in a Trunk & a Son on the Run

A Body in a Trunk & a Son on the Run

On a summer day in 1908, a group of picnickers found an old steamer trunk covered in overgrowth in a ravine in New Jersey. Inside was the partially decomposed body of Solomon Rosenbloom, a merchant from Windber, Pennsylvania, some 240 miles west, who went missing in late 1907. This discovery answered the question of where Rosenbloom went, and also revealed a secret, with Rosenbloom's wife sharing that their youngest son Alex had admitted to killing his father before he himself disappeared. S

Oct 22, 2024 • 17:25

Deadly Vows: A May-December Murder

Deadly Vows: A May-December Murder

When Roman Luczkowski was married in January 1928, it was likely a surprise to most who knew him, especially considering the 21-year-old was marrying someone nearly 30 years older than him. But the real shock came a little over two months later, when his bride, the former Marie Slade, was found dead and her body crammed into a 3-foot long box. Roman was quickly identified as the culprit, and an avalanche of secrets followed, such as his intimate relationships with other men and the fact that Ma

Oct 1, 2024 • 20:46

Ransoming the Jeweler's Son

Ransoming the Jeweler's Son

On June 12, 1906, a note was delivered to the Philadelphia classroom of 7-year-old Freddie Muth, claiming the boy's mother was injured and she needed to see the child. None of that was true, and with the boy vanished, with a ransom note soon being sent to the father. Thankfully, the police quickly zoned in on an indebted banker as the kidnapper, which led to a dramatic rescue attempt six days after the boy's disappearance. Sound Engineering by Dave Harris Theme music courtesy of: Cinematic Ep

Sep 10, 2024 • 18:17

The Bludgeoned Tailor

The Bludgeoned Tailor

George Dietz was a popular Chicago women’s tailor and cutter, running a successful shop and investing in artwork and real estate, at least until the morning of April 14, 1913, when he was found beaten to death in his bed. Clues found in his pockets and around his body pointed to a revenge killing for his ill treatment of a teenage girl, but the police soon brushed those off as being little more than plants, and George's wife, Augusta Dietz, soon found herself charged for the crime. Sound Engine

Aug 20, 2024 • 16:21

The Murderous Son of a Preacher Man

The Murderous Son of a Preacher Man

On a warm evening in August 1925, 17-year-old Warren Vandervoort climbed the stairs of the Parkersburg, Iowa Methodist parsonage where he lived with his parents. In his hands he held a .22 caliber rifle, and when his father appeared at the top of the stairs, Warren fired, ending his father's life. Then, as his mother emerged from her bedroom, Warren shot her in the head, then shot her again as she ran to her bed. In the weeks that followed, his mother would recover, while the story of an arg

Jul 30, 2024 • 16:53

The Dirty Cop in Sing Sing's Chair

The Dirty Cop in Sing Sing's Chair

In the early decades of the 20th century, New York City Policeman Charles Becker strutted the city's streets while building a small fortune from the kickbacks he received from local criminals. But when Herman Rosenthal, the operator of an illegal gambling hall, was gunned down in front of the Metropole Hotel late on July 15, 1912, fingers pointed to Becker, who despite his denials eventually found himself in the electric chair. Sound Engineering by Dave Harris Theme music courtesy of: Cin

Jul 9, 2024 • 22:28

The Homesteader Ambush

The Homesteader Ambush

On an evening in March 1922, Utah homesteaders Charles and his nephew George Bradford were in a buggy heading back to their ranch, having gone to the town of Monticello earlier that day on business. But when the buggy finally arrived home, Charles and George weren't with it, and blood was splattered on the seat. A few miles away, the two men laid dead on the road, the victims of a feud dating back a decade. Sound Engineering by Dave Harris Theme music courtesy of: Cinematic Epic Emotional

Jun 18, 2024 • 17:28

The School Teacher's Icy Crypt

The School Teacher's Icy Crypt

On November 16, 1930, school teacher Enid Marriott vanished after getting off a train in Wiggins, Colorado. Within days a search of the area started. But more than two months passed before her younger brother Roy, who was with a search party, spotted a white, stilled hand sticking up from the frozen water of an irrigation ditch, ending the mystery of where she went, but not the one of who murdered her. Theme music courtesy of: Cinematic Epic Emotional | EGLAIR by Alex-Productions | https://on

May 28, 2024 • 17:09

The Habitual Criminal & The Taking of Alma McKinley

The Habitual Criminal & The Taking of Alma McKinley

For around 24 hours in October 1930, Alma Wilson McKinley was missing, kidnapped from the family home in Greenfield, Missouri. Her abductor, after his plans fell apart, let her go less than a day after taking her. Local authorities identified several suspects in the following months before landing on Aden Aven, who was already sitting in a jailcell in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Theme music courtesy of: Cinematic Epic Emotional | EGLAIR by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by h

May 7, 2024 • 20:11

The Child Inmate: San Quentin at 14

The Child Inmate: San Quentin at 14

Standing less than 5 feet and only 14 years old, orphan Claude Hankins would seem an unlikely candidate for California's notorious San Quentin prison. But in 1904, after Claude shot and killed a man who was physically, verbally and possibly sexually abusing him, Judge Eugene McDaniel turned down pleas from the defense council and the jury for the child to go to a reformatory and instead sentenced him to 16 years in the men's ward at the adult prison. Hear the full story of how Claude end

Apr 16, 2024 • 18:31

Poisoner or Scapegoat? Winifred Ankers & the Brooklyn Baby Deaths

Poisoner or Scapegoat? Winifred Ankers & the Brooklyn Baby Deaths

In February 1912, babies started dying at the Brooklyn Nursery & Infants Hospital. The nursing staff was quick to accuse Winifred Ankers, the hospital's cook and an unwed mother who's own child was a patient there, but as the woman's murder trial unfolded, the poor management of the facility came under scrutiny. By the time it was over, nine babies, all under a year in age and most orphans or abandoned by their parents, had died and the real cause remained more speculation than e

Mar 26, 2024 • 19:22

A 20th Century Texas Blood Feud

A 20th Century Texas Blood Feud

The son of a wealthy Texas ranching family, John Beal Sneed was used to getting his own way. So when his wife ran off to Canada with their former childhood friend Al Boyce, Sneed took matters into his own hands. In the year that followed, Sneed would gun down Boyce and Boyce's father, and two witnesses to the elder Boyce's killing would themselves die under mysterious circumstances before the case could come to trial. By the time it was all over, as many as six men would be dead and Boyce would

Mar 5, 2024 • 20:41

The Kidnappings of the Incubator Baby

The Kidnappings of the Incubator Baby

On an August day in 1909, a woman and three men snatched a five-year-old girl from a home in Topeka, Kansas. It was at least the second time the child had been kidnapped, and would open the last chapter of a series of custody cases and actions going back to 1904, when the same little girl was a baby on display in the baby incubator exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. In this episode we explore this remarkable case that emanated from a landmark event from the beginning of the 20th cen

Feb 13, 2024 • 18:18

Forbidden Desires & Court-Martials

Forbidden Desires & Court-Martials

In the early 20th century, consensual sex between men was largely illegal, and for those serving in the U.S. Navy it meant prison, if they were caught. In this episode we follow the tragic lives of three former sailors after they leave San Quentin Prison, where they served multi-year sentences after being convicted of committing sodomy with a fellow sailor. These are the stories of Homer Baker, Sanford Kisner and Grover Roadarmel. Theme music courtesy of: Cinematic Epic Emotional | EGLAIR by Al

Jan 23, 2024 • 19:44

Confessions of a Teen Sociopath

Confessions of a Teen Sociopath

Frank McDowell was considered brilliant by some of those who knew him, finishing high school at 16 before attending two renowned colleges, but his promised start soon turned dark. Before he reached the age of 20 he would be sent to the asylum, while his sisters and parents ended up in graves at Liberty Hill Cemetery, victims of either his greed or his delusions. Theme music courtesy of: Cinematic Epic Emotional | EGLAIR by Alex-Productions | https://onsound.eu/Music promoted by https://www.fre

Jan 2, 2024 • 21:12

Crimes We Forgot - Trailer

Crimes We Forgot - Trailer

Premiering January 2, 2023, Crimes We Forgot is a new independent podcast that explores lesser known murders, kidnappings, robberies and other crimes from a century ago. Host Jeff Billington digs through public records and other archives to tell the story of the crime, and to find out what happened to those involved in the decades that followed.

Dec 8, 2023 • 0:36

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