Forgotten Felonies

Pearl Bryan, Part 6: Dead, Dead, Dead

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Scott Jackson finally takes the stand in his own defense—and for six and a half hours, he tries to explain everything. But Scott’s testimony is only the beginning. As the trial barrels toward its conclusion, the courtroom descends into chaos: witnesses are accused of manufacturing evidence, an ex-convict “detective” gets caught coaching testimony, a professional mind reader retraces the alleged murder route, George H. Jackson becomes a dime-museum attraction, and two attorneys come dangerously close to settling their differences outside the courtroom. Then come the closing arguments—and one of the most dramatic lines of the entire Pearl Bryan case. By the end of the episode, the jury will finally decide Scott Jackson’s fate, but questions begin to emerge about a 3rd roommate. And somehow—after 6 full episodes—the story still isn’t over.

Pearl Bryan, Part 5: The People vs Scott Jackson

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Scott Jackson’s trial finally begins in Newport, Kentucky, and after four episodes of rumors, "confessions," strange witnesses, missing evidence, and absolutely bizarre behavior, the Commonwealth finally has to put all of it together in front of a jury. Pearl’s family takes the stand. Letters are read in court. Testimony swirls about blood coagulation, cocaine, and whether or not Pearl had been alive when she reached Kentucky. Little does the prosecution know, but their expert witnesses are playing right into the hands of the defense. And somehow, the circus outside the courtroom is still going strong. Women, children—even celebrities stop in to visit the notorious dental students. And, through it all, the attorney for the defense is absolutely convinced his client will be set free once the whole story is told.

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Pearl Bryan, Part 4: The Road to Kentucky

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Psychics. Séances. Strange packages. Secret transmitters hidden inside jail cells. As the investigation into Pearl Bryan’s murder moves into March of 1896, Cincinnati seems to have completely lost its mind. While mystics and dreamers offer their own solutions to the mystery, investigators uncover new witnesses, physical evidence, and a big problem with Scott Jackson’s latest confession. At the same time, Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling have become tourist attractions—and after weeks of fighting extradition, their time in the safety of an Ohio jail is finally running out. ...because Kentucky is waiting, and Greencastle is on its way. Christian was sick this time, so we had to substitute someone (live and robotic) for the quotes. We omitted ads for this one—nobody can replace Christian's commercial voice! *Feel better soon, Christian!*

Pearl Bryan, Part 3: Everyone Has a Story

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! By the end of February 1896, the murder of Pearl Bryan had become more than an investigation. It had become a true spectacle. Detectives were chasing new leads. Reporters were printing every rumor they could find. Songs were being written, crowds were paying to watch reenactments of the crime, and seemingly everyone connected to Pearl Bryan had something to say. Some witnesses offered details that could change the entire case. Others told stories that became stranger every time they were repeated. In Part 3, a mysterious midnight journey comes under new scrutiny, William Wood’s role in the case becomes increasingly complicated, and two young women step forward with extraordinary claims about what happened before—and after—Pearl Bryan arrived in Cincinnati. Scott Jackson has a story. Alonzo Walling has a story. William Wood has a story. May Smith has a story. And Lulu May Hollingsworth has... several. Everyone has a story. But which one is true? Pearl Bryan folksong used with permission from Smithsonian Folkways Records Vintage Ads: Ayer's Cathartic Pills (1896) Conroy's Washer (1896)

Pearl Bryan, Part 2: The Last Days of Pearl Bryan

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! After Pearl Bryan's identity is finally discovered, investigators begin the difficult task of answering an even larger question: What happened during her final days in Cincinnati? Following newspaper accounts, trial testimony, and contemporary records, we retrace Pearl's last known movements—from train depots and hotels to piano stores, saloons, and a visit to a mysterious trance medium. Along the way, witnesses begin to emerge, conflicting stories multiply, and detectives struggle to separate fact from fiction as two young dental students each point the finger at the other. As the investigation gathers momentum, one overlooked witness may hold the key to where Pearl spent the final hours of her life. This is Part 2 of our in-depth series on the 1896 murder of Pearl Bryan. "Pearl Bryan" by The Phipps Family Band, used with permission from Smithsonian Folkways Records. (Thanks again!) "A Mother's Appeal to her Boy" performed by Joy Byers (The best piano teacher in the West! 😁) Vintage ads: Parks Vaginal Suppositories (1896) Hypnotism lessons by Dr. Stuard (1896) Dr. Conway's Bust Tabloids (1896) The When - Bicycle Exhibit (1896)

Pearl Bryan, Part 1: The Headless Woman of Fort Thomas

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! In January 1896, 23-year-old Pearl Bryan boarded a train bound for Indianapolis... and never came home. When her body was discovered in northern Kentucky a few days later, investigators didn't even know who the victim was. But once they uncovered her identity, the trail led them to two young dental students and one of the most sensational murder investigations of the nineteenth century. In Part 1, we follow the investigation from its shocking beginning through the first confession—a confession that seemed to solve the case but only made the mystery even more complicated. Folksong Pearl Bryan (1965) by The Phipps Family, used with permission from the Smithsonian Folkways. (Thanks, again!) Vintage ads used in this episode: Fat-Ten-U and Corpula, 1897 Ayer's Sarsaparilla, 1897 Ely's Cream Balm, 1896

The Joyce Children: A Mystery in Bussey Woods - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! In June of 1865, fourteen-year-old Isabella Joyce and her twelve-year-old brother John packed a picnic basket, visited their grandmother, and set out for a summer afternoon in the woods outside Boston. They never returned. What followed was years of false arrests, sensational newspaper headlines, an ingenious undercover prison operation, and a suspect with one of the most unforgettable names I've ever encountered: Scratch Gravel. But every promising lead collapsed, leaving behind one of Massachusetts' oldest unsolved murder mysteries.

Murder by Fork: A Tragedy at Suppertime - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! A serving fork isn't supposed to be a murder weapon. In 1911, a Sunday evening argument in a Pennsylvania boarding house ended with one man dead and his wife under arrest for murder. But conflicting newspaper accounts soon turned my research into a detective story all its own. Featuring: De Ring Tailed Coon: The Minster Singers (1911)

Halsey Coon and the House of Fire - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! A respected fire captain. A woman dying from horrific burns. A small Connecticut town searching for answers. In this Fun-Sized Felony, Monica pieces together a forgotten case from scattered newspaper accounts dating back to 1842. What she uncovered was far stranger—and far more haunting—than she ever expected.

William Hooper Young: Murder, Madness, and the Morris Canal

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! In September 1902, the body of Annie Pulitzer was discovered in New Jersey's Morris Canal, weighted down and hidden from view. The investigation quickly led police to William Hooper Young, grandson of famed Mormon leader Brigham Young and a man whose increasingly erratic behavior had alarmed those around him. In this episode, Monica and Olivia follow the case from the streets of New York's Tenderloin district to a lavish rented apartment New York City, where investigators uncovered a trail of bloody evidence and a trunk that became one of the most memorable pieces of the case. Along the way, they explore Annie's life, the sensational newspaper coverage that gripped the nation, and the fierce battle over whether Hooper Young was a calculating murderer or a man descending into madness. More than a century later, it remains one of the most fascinating and forgotten criminal cases of the early twentieth century.

The Tragic Affair at 2305 Brookside Avenue - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Dr. Charles M. Clayton was having a great day... until he came home for lunch. Over the next few months he would shoot a man, face a murder charge, suffer a nervous collapse, accidentally hit a teenager with his car, paint the inside of a jail, and listen as a very nosy neighbor revealed what she'd been watching through their kitchen window... day, after day. Sometimes one bad day really is enough. Join Monica for the bizarre and tragic story of The Tragic Affair at 2305 Brookside Avenue.

Jack Vincent: Professional Bummer of the Western Frontier - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Jack Vincent was a stagecoach driver, prospector, practical joker, hotel deadbeat, prison escapee, alleged murderer, and—according to one newspaper—a professional bummer. In 1882, Vincent shot his brother-in-law, steamboat mate John Westfall, twice in the face during a saloon argument in Toledo, Washington Territory. Westfall survived for nine months before dying from his injuries, setting off a murder prosecution that would leave jurors struggling to decide exactly what happened. This Fun-Sized Felony follows the strange life of Jack Vincent and the tragic death of John Westfall, a case filled with steamboats, stagecoaches, saloons, and one very unforgettable frontier character.

Ellsworth Kelley and the Jones-Murray Gang - Part 2

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! By 1925, the Jones Brothers Gang had changed. Dewey Jones was no longer part of the outlaw life, Milam Jones had vanished, and Oregon Jones was back in the Oregon State Penitentiary ready to cause more trouble. After the deadly prison break that would make headlines across the Pacific Northwest, newspapers began calling the group the Jones-Murray Gang—a nod to the growing influence of escape artist Tom Murray, who had become the mastermind behind their latest plan. In Part Two, Ellsworth Kelley, Tom Murray, James Willos, and Oregon Jones put their most ambitious escape attempt into motion at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Within minutes, two guards were dead, another was gravely wounded, and one of the escapees lay dying beneath the prison wall. This episode follows the deadly prison break, the desperate manhunt that stretched across Oregon and Washington, the capture of the fugitives, and the courtroom battles that would ultimately send two men to the gallows. Along the way, a more complicated story emerges—one involving brutal prison conditions, conflicting testimony, loyalty, desperation, and young men willing to risk everything for a chance at freedom.

Ellsworth Kelley and the Jones Brothers Gang - Part 1

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Ellsworth Kelley became tangled up with the notorious Jones Brothers Gang — a crew of young outlaws, including the elusive Oregon Jones and 20-year-old escape artist Tom Murray, whose lives became a cycle of burglaries, highway robberies, prison escapes, freight-train rides, manhunts, and violence across the Pacific Northwest during the 1910s and 1920s. This story follows hidden loot, prison tunnels, the infamous Oregon Boot, repeated escape attempts from the Oregon State Penitentiary, and a gang of young men who seemed incapable of staying behind bars. But beneath the sensational headlines and outlaw mythology lies something far more tragic: boys who grew into fugitives, prisoners, and condemned men while spending years trying to outrun prison walls.

The Curious Disappearance of Frank E. Clark - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! In the fall of 1910, husband and father Frank E. Clark vanished from Oakland, California without a trace. His wife was left stranded in a city where she knew no one. Newspapers across California carried the story of the missing husband, while neighbors and the Catholic Ladies’ Aid society stepped in to help feed Mrs. Clark and their 5-year-old son. Had Frank abandoned his family? Met with foul play? Started a new life somewhere else? The answer, when it finally came, was far stranger—and far more ordinary—than anyone expected. This is the forgotten story of Frank E. Clark.

Alfred Knapp: Five Murders and a Confession

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! A woman’s body floats more than 150 miles downriver before finally being recovered near New Albany, Indiana. By the time she is identified as Hannah Goddard Knapp, her husband—Alfred Knapp—has already confessed to murdering her. But Hannah wasn't the first—Not by a long shot. In 1903, Alfred Knapp shocked the country with confessions involving multiple women and children across Ohio and Indiana. Newspapers called him insane. Doctors blamed brain injuries, “brain fever,” and hereditary degeneration. His family insisted he could not control himself. Others believed he was simply evil. This episode follows the life, crimes, confessions, and execution of one of the most infamous killers of the early 1900s—the very man who later fascinated child murderer Jesse McClure. Vintage ads for: Dr. Charles Flesh Food, (1903) and Tonsiline. (1903)

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Bertha Boronda: the Mistress of Mayhem - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Bertha “Bessie” Boronda attacked her husband, Narciso "Frank" Boronda, in the middle of the night in their San Jose home in 1907. The newspapers called it a violent, deliberate mutilation. The court charged her with mayhem—a crime defined by the destruction of part of the human body. But no one ever said exactly what she did. Over time, the story became more specific, more certain... and more sensational. But, when you go back to the coverage of the case in 1907… that version of the story isn’t quite there.

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Frank Caruso and the Murder of Dr. Casper Pendola - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! In February of 1927, a Brooklyn father watched his six-year-old son struggle to breathe as diphtheria tightened its grip. Desperate for help, Frank Caruso called for doctors, begged for treatment, and clung to the hope that his boy might survive. But when that hope slipped away, something else took its place. Within hours of his son’s death, Frank turned his grief into blame—and his blame into violence. A physician who had come to help would never leave the apartment alive. What followed was a case shaped by language barriers, fear of modern medicine, and a courtroom battle over whether this was cold-blooded murder… or something far more complicated. This is the story of Frank Caruso—a devastated father—and the moment everything broke.

Jesse McClure: What Sarah Didn't See Coming

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! Years before this double homicide, there were already signs—clear, documented, and deeply concerning. Sarah saw them. Sarah lived with them. Sarah warned the authorities that he was going to kill her. But Jesse didn’t kill her. Even Sarah didn’t see this coming. When he couldn’t reach the person he wanted, Jesse McClure made a different choice—one that ended in the deaths of two small boys. This case takes place in Tipton County and Grant County, Indiana, at the end of 1903.

200 Feet From Home: the Murder of Florence Kane - A Fun-Sized Felony

Send a message to Monica and Olivia! In 1925, 29-year-old Florence Kane stepped off a subway in Brooklyn after a night out with friends. She called her mother to say she would be home in 30 minutes. In the final stretch of just 6 blocks, the unthinkable happened; Florence never made it home. As fear spread through the neighborhood, reports surfaced of other women being attacked in the same way—grabbed in the dark, beaten, and left for dead. And yet, despite witnesses, patterns, and mounting public outrage, the investigation into Florence’s murder was marred by racism, mishandled evidence, and missed opportunities. No one was ever held accountable. At her funeral, hundreds gathered. Women wept in the streets. And one priest stood before her white coffin and asked the question that still lingers today: Where is this murderer now?