Episode 143: Murder at the General Wayne Inn

On January 2, 1935 a man identifying himself as Roland T. Owen checked into the Hotel President in Kansas City, Missouri. After a brief stay punctuated with odd behavior, the man never checked out alive. Stranger still, there was no man named Roland Owen from the address he listed as his home. This led authorities toward two mysteries: who killed this man and what was his real identity?

Patrick is out this week with an injury so Chris is tackling a heavy hitter solo this time around. Ed Gein, who fashioned strange handicrafts from the skin of his victims is one of the most bizarre and legendary tales from the history of true crime. In the wake of the Ryan Murphy series "Monster" that dramatizes the life of Ed Gein that came out in 2025, this is a summary look at the whole story. The source for this episode was "Deviant" by Harold Schechter.

On December 2nd, 2010, Phoebe Handsjuk plummeted 12 stories down a garbage chute in her apartment building located in Melbourne, Australia. She survived the fall, but would not her injuries. It was clear how Phoebe had died, but how did she fall down the chute in the first place? At her own accord, or did someone else drop her ill intentions? To this day, there are still questions unanswered and loved ones who live on in her legacy.

With Patrick off traveling the world we have a very special episode. Chris sits down to talk to his friend and colleague, retired police officer, Ron Jones. Ron has a wealth of experience in law enforcement and shares some stories of his time on the force as well as an insider's perspective of what officers experience.

Amy Lynn Brown had everything going for her in the Spring of 1998. She had just signed a lease for a new apartment, obtained a new and exciting job, and just adopted her very first dog. She and her family embarked on a tropical cruise vacation to celebrate all of her success. However, what started out as a fun filled celebration turned tragic when Amy went missing while at sea. Did she fall overboard, leave at her own volition, or was foul play involved? 27 years later, Amy's family is still asking "What happened to Amy?"

Pier Paolo Pasolini, the celebrated and controversial Italian film director, was murdered 50 years ago this month and the case is still unsolved. We 'll dive into Pasolini's past and try to piece together how his early demise came together.

Trick or Treating is a common, and fun, Halloween activity for children and adults of all ages. It spans from a rich history of culture and is now a global practice. However, one Halloween night in Deer Park Texas, USA, was cursed with a man who had sinister intentions and took advantage of the innocent nature of the beloved Halloween Tradition. Listen now to hear the real-life murder that spawned decades long suspicion on Trick or Treating's safety.

Tillie Klimek wasn't blessed with good looks, but she always managed to have a man on the line. And when she was between men, it was only because the previous one had met an untimely end. Find out what drove this black widow to kill and what happened next.

The practice of embalming human bodies has been around for ages. Bodies are most commonly embalmed for a short term period so loved ones can say their final goodbyes during the funeral practices. That, some bodies are embalmed for much longer periods of time for cultural traditions or a peculiar way of honoring an idol-like figure. However, in the early 1900s, outlaw Edward McCurdy was embalmed and all though his soul was no longer present, his body would travel all over the USA for decades, Listen now to hear this very odd treatment of a human corpse.

For many generations the General Wayne Inn in Marion, Pennsylvania was a place to gather together, but is it possible some of the former guests didn't care to leave? This location that opened at the dawn of the 18th century also bore witness to a murder at the end of the 20th century. Check out this episode that has a balance of supernatural encounters as well as a real life murder.