Listener Tales 93
Morbid
01/02/25
•53m
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Happy New Year, weirdos, and we're celebrating the holidays with Holiday tales brought TO you, BY you, For you, FROM you, and ALLLLL about you!
Today we have boogens, a Hanukkah haunting, horrible Fourth of July discovery, delivery people getting waaaaay much more than a tip, and messages from Beyond sent via ornament! Don't forget to check out the VIDEO from this episode available on YouTube on 1/2/2025!
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 Suspected Crimes of Guy Muldavin
December 30, 2024
•65m
When a girl walking on a Provincetown, Massachusetts beach discovered the decomposing body of a young woman in the summer of 1974, it began an investigation into what would become one of the most notorious cold cases in the state’s history. The victim—who would remain unidentified for nearly five decades—and her killer were the source of much speculation, with theories ranging from an extra in Jaws to the victim of the local mob.
After decades of mystery, DNA from the remains of “the Lady of the Dunes” was subject to extensive genetic matching and was finally identified as thirty-seven-year-old California resident Ruth Terry. A year later, authorities in Massachusetts announced their main suspect in the murder was Guy Muldavin, Terry’s husband at the time of her death. Muldavin died in 2002 and thus couldn’t be prosecuted for the crime, so the case was finally closed.
Identifying Ruth’s killer brought an end to one of the most enduring murder mysteries in Massachusetts, yet identifying the Lady of the Dunes and her killer turned out to the be the beginning of a new mystery. Indeed, investigators soon learned this might not have been Muldavin’s first murder, but one of several mysterious disappearances that traced back to him.
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Abrams, Norma, and Sidney Kline. 1960. "Nab village Casanova onb grisly find." Daily News (New York, NY), December 2: 33.
Associated Press. 1960. "Woman's remains found in search of old Seattle home." Bellingham Herald , August 31: 1.
—. 1950. "Police probe for clues in beach killing." Berkeley Gazette, June 19: 1.
—. 1961. "Rockwell says resentment le to life of deception." Longview Daily News, October 25: 11.
—. 1960. "Rockwell on hunger strike; seeks death." Peninsula Daily News, December 3: 1.
—. 1961. "Rockwell's wife not sure she will remain married." The Columbian, October 20: 2.
Cavallier, Andrea, and Sheila Flynn. 2023. "'Lady of the Dunes' killer identified after nearly 50 years." The Independent, August 30.
Dowd, Katie. 2022. "California man questioned in double murder linked to 'Lady of the Dunes' victim Ruth Marie Terry." SF Gate, November 3.
McClatchy Newspaper Service. 1950. "Sea search is started for missing girl." Sacramento Bee, June 20: 1.
McClatchy Newspapers Service. 1950. "Kidnaping is suspected in beach killing." Sacramento Bee, June 23: 1.
—. 1950. "State detective is called into beach death case." Sacramento Bee, June 22: 1.
Murphy, Shelley. 2023. "DA says husband killed 'Lady'." Boston Globe, August 29: 1.
NBC News 10. 2022. "Man eyed in Lady of ther Dunes murder had a dark side." NBC News 10, November 11.
Reynolds, Ruth. 1961. "Too many women, too many lies." Daily News (New York, NY), December 24: 38.
Rule, Ann. 2007. Smoke, Mirrors and Murder: And Other True Cases. New York, NY: Pocket Books.
Sacramento Bee. 1950. "Humboldt beach slaying may join long list of county's unsolved mysteries ." Sacramento Bee, June 30: 22.
—. 1963. "Lie test plan is dropped in hunt for bones." Sacramento Bee, April 3: 47.
San Francisco Examiner. 1963. "Con tells of killing lovers." San Francisco Examiner, March 22: 22.
—. 1963. "Girl-killer's search for grave fails again." San Francisco Examiner, March 25: 3.
—. 1963. "'Murderer' can't find victim." San Francisco Examiner, April 2: 3.
The Doe Network. 2017. 119UFMA. May 17. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/119ufma.html.
United Press. 1950. "Waitress sought for questioning in state beach death mystery." Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, June 19: 4.
Wood, John B. 1974. "The baffling case of the body on Cape dunes." Boston Globe, December 22: 1.
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
Michael and Suzan Carson: San Francisco Witch Killers
January 6, 2025
•75m
On January 12, 1983, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department received a call from a frantic driver who reported they’d just witnessed a shooting on the side of the side of the road in Fulton, California and the shooters had fled the scene a pickup truck. Deputies quickly located the truck and were led on a forty-five minute high-speed chase through Sonoma and Napa counties before finally being apprehended and identified as Michael and Suzan Carson.
The Carsons were held on a charge of murdering the truck’s original owner, Jon Charles Hellyar, but they refused to say a word to police. In time, however, Michael and Suzan Carson began to talk and eventually held a press conference during which they revealed a great deal about themselves and even went so far as to make ambiguous confessions to other recent murders in Northern California.
In the months that followed their arrest, Michael and Suzan Carson reveled in their notoriety and the media attention their statements captured. In addition to the murder of Hellyar, they would also be convicted of two other murders, claiming themselves to be Muslim warriors on a mission to rid the world of witches and other practitioners of dark magic, earning them the nickname “The San Francisco Witch Killers.”
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Associated Press. 1983. "Couple complains their trial didn't get enough publicity." The Californian, April 28: 29.
Brewster, Rod. 1983. "Carsons claim their killings were 'will of God'." Petaluma Argus-Courier, May 4: 1.
—. 1983. "Carson's preliminary hearing on murder stats." Petaluma Argus-Courier, March 4: 2.
Daily Beast. 2020. "Daughter of serial 'witch kiler': if he goes free, 'someone else will be dead'." Daily Beast, May 27.
—. 2015. "Witch-killers' family: Keep them in Jail." Daily Beast, December 3.
Manes, George. 1983. "Probe of suspects widens." Press Democrat, January 30: 1.
Napa Valley Register. 1983. "Chase probe continues." Napa Valley Register, January 18: 2.
Navarro, Mireya. 1984. "'Good witch' to the rescue." San Francisco Examiner, May 30: 11.
—. 1984. "Remorseless 'witch-killers' get 25 to life." San Francisco Examiner, July 2: 15.
Reynolds, Richard D. 1988. Cry for War: The Story of Suzan and Michael Carson. San Francisco, CA: Squibob Press.
Saludes, Bony. 1985. "Carson says trial unfair." Press Democrat, June 19: 2.
San Francisco Examiner. 1984. "Carson comptent for trial." San Francisco Examiner, January 9: 14.
Sharpe, Ivan. 1983. "Couple boasts to police of killing 3 'witches in holy war'." San Francisco Examiner, April 28: 24.
United Press International. 1984. "Guilty verdict in 'witch' murder." Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 5: 2.
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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