Once Upon A Crime | True Crime

In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, 1881, a brutal attack was perpetrated on three sleeping teens in Ashland, Kentucky. Poem: The Ashland Tragedy, composed as a ballad by Peyton Buckner Byrne of Greenup County, Kentucky. Music: The Cherry Tree Carol and Carol of the Bells from An Appalachian Christmas, Composer Mark O'Connor

A 9-year-old girl is abducted in Arlington, Texas. The community and, ultimately, the country would call for changes in the way law enforcement responds to missing and abducted children   You can find the video about Amber and her family here: WFAA Amber Hagerman Documentary Click here to find out more about the AMBER Alert System The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can be contacted at 1-800-THE-LOST or www.missingkids.org . You can see a list of active AMBER alerts here. Tips to keep your children safe: 1) Have a code word phrase. This is a phrase that you would share with your children, especially as it relates to adults they should and can trust. They should know that if you send someone to pick them up from school or any activity, the code word will be used. Make it something funny or personal so it’s easy for the kids to remember. A child should only go with someone who tells them that phrase. 2) Teach your kids that adults don’t need help from kids. If an adult needs directions,

The murder of a young girls leads to sweeping changes in sentencing laws. Polly Hannah Klaas was 12 years old when she was abducted by a stranger out of her own bedroom. Resources:  People v. Davis, Appeal Record, Superior Court of California, June 1, 2009 "The Man Who Kept Going Free" by Jeffrey Toobin for The New Yorker, March 7, 1994.  Polly's Story - www.pollyklaas.org  "An Angel Named Polly" by Elizabeth Gleick and Maria Eftimiades for People Magazine, Nov 28, 1994.  Book recommendation: American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin   

An abused woman spends years being beaten and terrorized by her husband while police and others turn a blind eye. In desperation, she takes the law into her own hands. Resources: The National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.) 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) Victim Support (U.K.) www.victimsupport.org.uk Domestic Violence Resource Centre (AU) www.dvrcv.org.au U.S. Dept. of Justice Office on Violence Against Women www.justice.gov/ovw Book: The Burning Bed by Faith McNulty   People show support for the defendant at the trial of Francine Hughes./Farrah Fawcett's portrayal of Francine in "The Burning Bed".    

A young woman's murder becomes and indictment on American apathy and changes the way crime is reported. Resources: Film: The Witness Book: Kitty Genovese: The Murder, The Bystanders, The Crime that Changed America - Kevin Cook

On this special bonus Halloween episode I share something a little different. Instead of the usual true crime case I'm sharing two ghost stories with you. Feel free to listen in the dark! Happy Halloween! #Halloween #ghoststories #spooky Please rate and review the show on iTunes! And tell a friend. Thanks!

Mark David Chapman stalks and murders John Lennon on a New York city street in 1980. This is Chapter 3 of Fatal Fans. Resources: Let Me Take You Down: Inside the Mind of Mark David Chapman by Jack Jones  www.facebook.com/OnceUponACrimePod

John Hinckley, Jr. tries to impress an actress by killing President Ronald Reagan. Was he legally insane? This is the final chapter in the series "Fatal Fans".  Please rate and review us on iTunes! Twitter: @UponACrime Facebook: OnceUponaCrimePod     Resources: "At the Edge of Death" by Edmund Morris for Newsweek, October 4, 1999. Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Regan by Edmund Morris, Random House, 1999. 

An unhinged fan has murderous plans towards young actress Rebecca Schaeffer. Resources: "An Innocent Life, A Heartbreaking Death" by Pete Axthelm, People Magazine, July 31, 1989.  "In the Mind of a Stalker" by M. Tharp, U.S. News and World Report, Feb 17, 1992. 

A young actress is stalked by an unhinged drifter who is intent on killing her. Facebook: OnceUponACrimePod Twitter: @UponACrime Celebrity crime, stalking victims, true crime.

The Queen of Tejano Music is gunned down by a fan in 1995. Resources: Music: Selena - Ones - (Greatest Hits Album) DVD: Selena - the Movie  Book: To Selena with Love - by Chris Perez To connect with the show: On Twitter: @uponacrime On Facebook and Instagram @OnceUponaCrimePod Website: www.truecrimepodcast.com     Save

Two of music's biggest rap stars are cut down in their prime. But, who killed them? This week's episode - Tupac and Biggie. Follow us on Twitter @UponACrime and on Facebook and Instagram @OnceUponaCrimePod Resources for this episode: Music: 2Pac's Greatest Hits The Notorious B.I.G. Greatest Hits   Books: Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon - Tayannah Lee McQuillar and Fred L. Johnson III, PhD Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of Tupc, Biggie and Jam Master Jay Investigations - Derrick Parker The Rose that Grew from Concrete: Poems by Tupac Shakur Movies and Documentaries: Tupac: Resurrection Notorious Biggie and Tupac: The Story Behind the Murders of Rap's Biggest Superstars  

The second installment in the series about the tragic endings of musical icons this time I discuss the life and death of Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain. Justin Evans from the Generation Why and The Peripheral podcasts weighs in on "Soaked in Bleach" and the murder theory. www.TheGenerationWhyPodcast.com www.theperipheral.libsyn.com Click on the links below for resources and to purchase the music. Books: Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain - Charles R. Cross Videos: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck Soaked in Bleach  

This series tells the tragic stories of recording artists who were killed or died under mysterious circumstances. In the first chapter, Marvin Gaye, a top R&B recording artist is murdered by a family member in 1984. Books: Marvin Gaye: My Brother by Frankie Gaye Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye by David Ritz      

The first school mass shooting in the U.S. is committed by a 16-year-old year girl.    Brenda Spencer's mugshot. January 29, 1979. Wearing her "lucky" hat. Brenda Spencer goes to court. "Does Anyone Like Mondays? The Brenda Spencer Murder Case" by Eric Hart Follow us on Twitter @UponACrime Subscribe on iTunes   

An 11-year-old is accused of murdering two boys in the 1960s. Several resources were used in the research for this episode including:  Gitta Sereny, The Case of Mary Bell (London:Pimlico), 1995.  Audio Clip: The Mary Bell Case. YouTube, uploaded by chewyisacat, March 7, 2013. https://youtu.be/moFhGzE_xRI     

A bonus episode partially recorded at The Warfield Theater in San Francisco, CA. Making a Murderer's Dean Strang and Jerry Buting on their speaking tour "A Conversation on Justice". To subscribe to Once Upon a Crime on iTunes, click here. To subscribe to Once Upon a Crime on Stitcher, click here. Our Twitter feed is here. 

A young serial killer terrorizes South Boston in 1872.                   Book links: The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire and the Hunt for America's Youngest Serial Killer by Roseanne Montillo Fiend: The Shocking True Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer by Harold Schecter The Autobiography of Jesse H. Pomeroy written by Himself Murder, serial killers, true crime, Jesse Pomeroy, Boston, Massachusetts  

When kidnap victims are held for a period of time the public often wants to know "why didn't they try to escape?" This episode explains a psychological phenomenon known as "Stockholm Syndrome", how it might apply to the victims I discussed in the series "Lost and Found", and share probably the most well-known case of Stockholm Syndrome, the kidnapping of Patty Hearst. Kidnappings, true crime, Stockholm Syndrome, Patty Hearst  

Three girls go missing over as many years in a Cleveland, Ohio neighborhood.  Years go by before they are ever seen again. When it was revealed who had taken them and what they were subjected to the city was stunned to find that the perpetrator had been right under their nose all along. Book: The Lost Girls: The True Story of the Cleveland Abductions by John Glatt    True crime stories told one chapter at a time: kidnappings.