Happy Land Social Club Arson
Morbid
04/01/24
•75m
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On the evening of March 24, 1990, nearly one hundred patrons gathered to celebrate Carnivale at the Happy Land Social Club, a small informal night club in the Bronx that catered to a mostly Honduran clientele. The evening took a deadly turn when, around 3:30 am, an explosion of fire roared up the stairway leading to the second-floor club, blocking the only exit from the building and trapping the patrons in a room rapidly filling with toxic smoke and fire. It’s unknown how many patrons managed to escape the fire, but by the time the fire department had extinguished the blaze, eighty-seven people were dead.
Thank you to the amazing Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!
References
Barbanel, Josh. 1990. "Bronx social club's sublease: How a firetrap skirted the line." New York Times, March 28: B1.
—. 1990. "Tracing the club's owners." New York Times, March 27: B2.
Barron, James. 1990. "The living search the faces of the dead." New York Times, March 26.
Blumenthal, Ralph. 1990. "Fire in the Bronx; 87 die in blaze at illegal club." New York Times, March 26.
Gelman, Mitch, Alexis Jetter, and Beth Holland. 1990. "87 die in arson called act of spurned lover." Newsday, March 26: 3.
Gilbert, Allison. 2020. "A faded tragedy's long shadow." New York Times, March 29.
Golden, Tim. 1990. "In the saddest way, New York learns about Hondurans." New York Times, April 1.
Hernandez, Raymond. 1995. "Survivors call settlement 'unjust'." New York Times, July 7.
Hevesi, Dennis. 1992. "Guilty plea by landlord in fire case." New York Times, May 9.
Hirsch, James. 1988. "Most social clubs run the gamut of illegality." New York Times, August 22.
Kerr, Peter. 1986. "Social Clubs: Modern Mob still uses a few as offices." New York Times, April 15.
Lambert, Bruce. 1991. "Confession tape on Bronx blaze is heard by jury." New York Times, August 1.
Lorch, Donatella. 1991. "Ex-girlfriend recalls threat before flames." New York Times, July 31.
—. 1991. "Witness tells of visit by Happy Land fire suspect." New York Times, July 31.
Maykuth, Andrew. 1990. "N.Y. fire suspect described as 'down to his last hope'." Philadelphia Inquirer, 03 27: 1.
McFadden, Robert. 1990. "The Knights of the Padlock Sweep Forth." New York Times, March 31.
New York Times. 1990. "7 victims: their stories, struggles and dreams of better lives." New York Times, March 29.
Nieves, Evelyn. 1991. "Refugee found guilty of killing 87 in Bronx Happy Land fire." New York Times, August 20.
People of the State of New York v. Julio Gonzalez. 1995. 163 Misc. 2d 950 (New York Supreme Court, Bronx County, February 10).
Purdy, Matthew. 1995. "More than five years after the arson fire at the Happy Land Social Club..." New York Times, July 7.
Roberts, Sam. 2016. "Julio Gonzalez, arsonist who killed 87 at a nightclub in the Bronx, dies at 61." New York Times, September 15.
Schanberg, Sydney. 1990. "Please, some respect for 87 who died." Newsday, April 13: 62.
Stanley, Alessandra. 1991. "At Happy Land mass-murder trial, days of tears, humor and boredom." New York Times, July 28.
Stanley, Allessandra. 1990. "25 years to life for the arsonist at Happy Land." New York Times, September 20.
Strom, Stephanie. 1990. "Hispanic residents rally against closing of social clubs." New York Times, April 6.
Terry, Don. 1990. "Social club crackdown is the latest in a series." New York Times, March 26: A1.
Wichers, Christine. 1990. "Male violence the real cause of Bronx fire." New York Times, April 10.
THE BUTCHER GAME will be released on September 17th, 2024! To Pre-order go to (https://zandoprojects.com/books/the-butcher-game/) PLUS! If you preorder the book, get an autographed poster
while supplies last by visiting (http://thebutchergame.com/)
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)
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Previous Episode
Listener Tales 84
March 28, 2024
•71m
BIG, BIG NEWS AHEAD!!!! We are SO excited to announce that The SEQUEL, yes, the 2nd book of The Dr. Wren Muller Series- THE BUTCHER GAME will be released on September 17th, 2024! To Pre-order go to https://zandoprojects.com/books/the-butcher-game/ (https://zandoprojects.com/books/the-butcher-game/) PLUS! If you preorder the book, get an autographed poster
while supplies last by visiting
thebutchergame.com (http://thebutchergame.com/)
Also-- IT'S LISTENER TALES!!!!! And this month's episode is brought to you by gut feelings! In this episode, we hear about a ghostly visitor during an awkwardly intimate moment, a run in an elderly couple near an abandoned asylum, a portal to Marrakesh in a Weirdo's room, a UFO sighting on a beach, and a weird encounter with a car in a ditch!
If you’ve got a listener tale please send it on over to Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line :)
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)
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Next Episode
Marie Robards
April 4, 2024
•77m
When thirty-eight-year-old Steven Robards died unexpectedly in the winter of 1993, everyone including the coroner believed his death to have been the result of a heart attack—unusual for someone so young, but certainly not unheard of. It wasn’t until the following year, when Steven’s teenage daughter, Marie, was practicing for the school play, that the girl confessed the truth to her friend: Steven Robards didn’t die from a heart attack, he was murdered by his daughter with chemicals she’d stolen from the high school chemistry lab.
In the United States, it’s exceedingly rare for a child to kill a parent, and rarer still for that child to be female. The truth about Steven Robards murder shocked the residents of the Fort Worth area and divided the community between those who were sympathetic to her claims of desperation and those who saw her as nothing more than a craven predator who’d do anything to get what she wanted. Indeed, Marie claimed she had only wanted to make her father sick so she could return to living with her mother, from whom she’d been separated since her parents’ divorce, and she had never wanted to kill him.
Ultimately a jury didn’t buy Marie’s story and sentenced her to twenty-seven years in prison, of which she served only seven years before being paroled. Was Marie Robards really just a confused teenager who acted impulsive without regard for the consequences of her actions? Or was she really the calculating self-serving killer some believed her to be?
Thank you to David White, of the Bring Me the Axe podcast, for research assistance!
References
Blaney, Betsy. 1997. "Trial near for NRH teen accused of killing father." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 17: 1.
Cochran, Mike. 1996. "Ex-UT student headed for patricide trial." Austin American-Statesman, May 6: 11.
—. 1996. "Teen says she didn't mean to kill dad." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 6: 1.
Hanna, Bill, and Kathy Sanders. 1994. "Daughter appears in court." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 20: 21.
Hollandsworth, Skip. 1996. "Poisoning Daddy." Texas Monthly, July 01.
Hood County News. 1994. "City staff's reactions mixed on poison suspect's presence." Hood County News, November 2: 1.
Vozzella, Laura. 1996. "Accused dreamed of being coroner, prosecutor says." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 8: 50.
—. 1996. "Chemistry student gets 28-year term in father's death." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 11: 1.
—. 1996. "Teen is found guilty of poisoning her father." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 10: 15.
—. 1996. "Teacher says chemical hidden from police." Fort Worth Star-Telegraph, May 9: 21.
2001. Forensic Files. Directed by David Wasser. Performed by David Wasser.
Alaina's 2nd book in the Dr Wren Muller Series, THE BUTCHER GAME will be released on September 17th, 2024! To Pre-order go to (https://zandoprojects.com/books/the-butcher-game/) PLUS! If you preorder the book, get an autographed poster while supplies last by visiting (http://thebutchergame.com/)
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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