Today in True Crime

There’s never an ordinary day in true crime history. Flip back the calendar and see how one fateful day can ripple through time. Today in True Crime is a Spotify Original from Parcast.

True Crime
Education
History
276
January 31, 1947: Who Killed Rita Bouchard?
On this day in 1947, 17-year-old mill worker Rita Bouchard disappeared without a trace. Her body was found the next day, stabbed 30 times.
12 min
277
January 30, 1948: Assassination of Gandhi
On this day in 1948, Mohandas Gandhi, better known by his honorific, Mahatma, was assassinated by a Hindu extremist.
14 min
278
January 29, 1958: Charlie Starkweather
On this day in 1958, teenage criminal Charlie Starkweather was apprehended outside Douglas, Wyoming with his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate.
10 min
279
January 28, 1069: Robert de Comines Murdered
On this day in 1069, the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines, was burnt alive by rebel forces in Durham, England.
10 min
280
January 27, 1955: Silk Pajama Murder
On this day in 1955, Wall Street mogul Serge Rubenstein was murdered in his mansion in New York City’s Millionaire’s Row.
12 min
281
January 26, 1966: Beaumont Children Disappear
On this day in 1966, three children from a suburb of Adelaide, Australia went missing, sparking the largest missing persons search the country had ever seen.
11 min
282
January 25, 1990: Escaping Ivan Milat
On this day in 1990, hitchhiker Paul Onions narrowly escaped the clutches of Australia’s most notorious serial killer—Ivan Milat.
12 min
283
January 24, 1989: Ted Bundy Executed
On this day in 1989, serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy was executed via electric chair in a Florida penitentiary.
12 min
284
January 23, 1978: Chase’s 2nd Murder
On this day in 1978, Richard Trenton Chase, “The Vampire of Sacramento,” killed his second victim, Teresa Wallin.
12 min
285
January 22, 1957: “Mad Bomber” Confesses
On this day in 1957, “Mad Bomber” George Metesky confessed to planting over 30 explosives around New York City. Guest hosted by Sam Dingman from Family Ghosts.
11 min
286
January 21, 1793: Louis XVI Executed
On this day in 1793, the 38-year-old former King of France, Louis XVI, was executed by guillotine in Paris.
11 min
287
January 20, 1981: Iran Hostages Released
On this day in 1981, 52 American hostages were released from Iran after being held captive for 444 days.
12 min
288
January 19, 1919: Arnold Rothstein Arrested
On this day in 1919, gangster Arnold Rothstein held a high stakes dice game in a New York City apartment.
10 min
289
January 18, 1967: Albert DeSalvo Sentenced
On this day in 1967, Albert DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery and the sexual assault of four women. DeSalvo is most notorious, however, for confessing to the brutal Boston Strangler murders.
12 min
290
January 17, 1977: Gary Gilmore Executed
On this day in 1977, 36-year-old Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad. He was the first person executed by the state after capital punishment was reinstated in the U.S.
12 min
291
January 16, 1935: The Barker Shootout
On this day in 1935, the FBI killed outlaw Ma Barker, and her son Fred, in a 4-hour shootout.
14 min
292
January 15, 1976: Sara Jane Moore Sentenced
On this day in 1976, 45-year-old Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate President Gerald Ford.
13 min
293
January 14, 1975: Lesley Whittle Kidnapped
On this day in 1975, 17-year-old heiress Lesley Whittle was abducted from her home in the village of Highley, England.
12 min
294
January 13, 1996: Abduction of Amber Hagerman
On this day in 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted from a supermarket parking lot in Arlington, Texas, and murdered.
12 min
295
January 12, 1995: Qubilah Shabazz is Arrested
On this day in 1995, 34-year-old Qubilah Shabazz was arrested for plotting to assassinate Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. She was allegedly seeking revenge for the 1965 assassination of her father, Malcolm X.
12 min
296
January 11, 1965: Wanda Beach Murders
On this day in 1965, 15-year-olds Christine Sharrock and Marianne Schmidt were murdered on the sand dunes off Wanda Beach, in south Sydney, Australia.
12 min
297
January 10, 1983: Roy DeMeo Killed
On this day in 1983, New York mobster Roy DeMeo was shot seven times and left dead in the trunk of his own car.
13 min
298
January 9, 1905: Bloody Sunday Massacre
On this day in 1905, a calvary of armed Russian soldiers fired into a crowd of peaceful protestors outside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
12 min
299
January 8, 1937: Pamela Werner’s Body Found
On this day in 1937, the mutilated body of 19-year-old Pamela Werner was found outside the walls of old Peking, China.
14 min
300
January 7, 1973: Mark Essex Shooting Spree
On this day in 1973, 23-year-old Mark Essex shot 19 people in New Orleans, Louisiana—many of them police officers.
11 min