Doris Duke and the Murder of Eddie Tirella
Morbid
04/20/23
•92m
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On a cold October afternoon in 1966, billionaire heiress Doris Duke returned to her palatial Newport estate in the company of friend and interior decorator Eduardo Tirella, stopping her car just outside the large iron gate that barred entrance to the driveway. Having offered to open the gate, he stepped out of the car and walked toward the gate, when the car began rolling forward, knocking Eduardo to the ground and crushing him under the two-ton weight of Duke’s station wagon. Within four days of Tirella’s death, the Newport Police had closed the case, calling it an “unfortunate accident,” but the residents of Newport, Rhode Island weren’t as convinced.
Thank you so much to the remarkable David White for research assistance!
References
Duca, Rob. 2021. "Newport police closed Doris Duke case, again." Newport This Week, November 24.
Duke, Pony, and Jason Thomas. 1996. Too Rich: The Family Secrets of Doris Duke. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Lance, Peter. 2021. Homicide at Rough Point: The Untold Story of How Doris Duke, the Richest Woman In America, Got Away with Murder. Auburn, NH: Tenacity Media.
—. 2021. The triple 'murder' of Eduardo Tirella, gay confidant of Doris Duke. November 29. https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2021/11/29/triple-murder-eduardo-tirella-gay-confidant-doris-duke-newport-rhode-island.
—. 2021. "The Doris Duke Cold Case Reopens: The Only Known Eyewitness Speaks for the First Time." Vanity Fair, August 5.
Mansfield, Stephanie. 1992. The Richest Girl in the World: The Extravagant Life and Fast Times of Doris Duke. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam & Sons.
New York Times. 1964. "Divorce suit filed against Doris Duke." New York Times, January 11: 14.
—. 1935. "Doris Duke is wed to J.H.R. Cromwell." New York Times, February 14: 23.
—. 1966. "Duke estate death ruled an accident." New York Times, October 12: 25.
Newport Daily News. 1967. "Crash victim's kin asks $2.5 million of Doris Duke." Newport Daily News, December 8: 1.
—. 1966. "Death of Miss Duke's friend ruled 'unfortunate accident'." Newport Daily News, October 10: 1.
—. 1966. "Doris Duke kills friend in crash." Newport Daily News, October 8: 1.
—. 1966. "Press blasts police chief Radice on handling public information." Newport Daily News, November 3: 1.
Schwarz, Ted, and Tom Rybak. 1997. Trust No One: The Glamorous Life and Bizarre Death of Doris Duke. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Previous Episode
The Legend of Lavinia Fisher with RedHanded
April 17, 2023
•81m
Some say Lavinia would lure men to the inn and lull them into a false sense of calm, before robbing and killing them, then dumping their bodies in the cellar under Six-Mile House. Others say Lavina would drug the weary travelers with a special tea, before pulling the lever on a trap door and dropping the men into the basement, where they would be robbed and killed by John Fisher. And still others believed Lavina guilty of much darker practices involving the devil.
But stories—especially local legends—have a way of shifting and changing over time, exchanging mundane facts for sensational speculations, and in this case, begging the question, who was the real Lavinia Fisher and just what was she guilty of?
Thank you Dave White for research assistance.
Special thanks to Suruthi and Hannah from RedHanded for joining us today! Listen to RedHanded wherever you get your podcasts, or listen early and ad-free on Amazon Music: https://link.chtbl.com/MorbidRedHanded
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
Curses: Micah Rood & The Omen
April 24, 2023
•55m
Today we are looking at CURSES. We talk about the curse of Micah Rood and his bloody apples which stems from murder, execution and a haunting! Then, we get into the truly real, fatal and terrifying events surrounding the production of the horror film, The Omen. Deaths, plane crashes and bombings? Was it really the wrath of the devil or something else entirely?
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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