Listener Tales 84

Morbid

03/28/24

•

71m

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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)

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 Lipstick Killer (Part 2)

March 25, 2024

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70m

The brutal murders of Ross, Brown, and Degnan shocked the city of Chicago and terrified and outraged the city’s residents, who wanted only to feel safe once again. Under intense pressure from the press, the public, and city officials, investigators were desperate to catch the killer and solve the case by any means necessary, even if they had to break more than a few rules and ignore some inconvenient facts in order to do it.

Thank you to the incredible Dave white of Bring Me the Axe & 99 Cent Rental Podcast for research!References

Amended Petition for Executive Clemency. 2002. C-06103 (Illinois Prisoner Review Board, April).

Arizona Republic . 1946. "Defendant fails in plea to jury." Arizona Republic, June 20: 18.

Banks, Joe. 1946. "Prisoner says he killed girl." Tucson Daily Citizen, June 26: 1.

Chicago Tribune. 1946. "Police resift all clues in Degnan case." Chcago Tribune, January 12: 1.

—. 1946. "2 rewards offered for 'execution' of girl's kidnap-slayer." Chicago Tribune, January 8: 2.

—. 1946. "Call Heirens sane; today's plea in doubt." Chicago Tribune, September 4: 1.

—. 1946. "Child stolen from her bed during the night." Chicago Tribune, January 8: 1.

—. 1945. "Ex-WAVE slain, plea written in red on wall." Chicago Tribune, December 11: 1.

—. 1946. "Handwriting similarity to killer's shown." Chicago Tribune, June 27: 1.

—. 1946. "Heirens gets new grilling following 'futile' lie test." Chicago Tribune, July 1: 1.

—. 1946. "Heirens made choice of plea, attorneys say." Chicago Tribune, August 7: 12.

—. 1946. "Murders, assaults, thefts, shooting; Heirens' story." Chicago Tribune, August 7: 1.

—. 1945. "Mystery grows in WAVE slaying." Chicago Tribune, December 12: 1.

—. 1943. "Organize posse of tenants and catch prowler." Chicago Tribune, August 9: 18.

—. 1946. "Repudiates his 'confession' in Degnan slaying." Chicago Tribune, June 29: 6.

—. 1946. "Student held in Degnan case puzzles police." Chicago Tribune, June 29: 1.

—. 1946. "Tubs in basement, saw and ax held best clews." Chicago Tribune, January 9: 1.

—. 1946. "U.C. Sophomore, facing police quiz, fakes coma." Chicago Tribune, June 29: 1.

—. 1946. "Use of serum in Heirens quiz still mystery." Chicago Tribune, July 1: 5.

—. 1945. "Widow is found in home; suitor quizzed." Chicago Tribune, June 6: 10.

Decatur Daily Review. 1946. "Chicago girl kidnapped; note demands $20,000." Decatur Daily Review, January 7: 1.

—. 1946. "Janitors grilled in kidnap-death." Decatur Daily Review, January 9: 1.

Decatur Herald. 1945. "Brutal WAVE slayer sought." Decatur Herald, December 12: 1.

Higgins, Michael. 2007. "1940s killer denied parole." Chicago Tribune, August 3: 1.

—. 2007. "Is 61 years in prison enough retribution." Chicago Tribune, July 29: 1.

Kennedy, Dolores. 1991. William Heirens: His Day in Court. New York, NY: Bonus Books.

New York Times. 1946. "Heirens confesses in no-chair deal." New York Times, August 7: 36.

Pantagraph. 1945. "Former Wave found brutally slain in Chicago bathtub." Pantagraph, December 10: 1.

People of the State of Illinois v William Heirens. 1954. 33165 (Supreme Court of Illinois, September 23).

People of the State of Illinois v William Heirens. 1995. 1-90-2240 (Appellate Court of the State of Illinois, March 15).

Priddy, Gladys. 1945. "Slain ex-WAVE a friend to all, roomate says." Chicago Tribune, December 14: 3.

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

Happy Land Social Club Arson

April 1, 2024

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75m

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)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.