SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: Who Committed the 1912 Villisca Ax Murders?
The hosts recount the 1912 Villisca axe murders in Iowa, describing the Moore family and Stillinger girls, the killer's methodical actions inside the house, and the chaotic discovery that destroyed much of the crime scene evidence. They examine early suspects including state senator Frank F. Jones and traveling preacher George Kelly, then lay out the modern theory that the crime was likely part of a series of connected Midwestern axe murders committed by an unidentified serial killer using the railroad. The episode closes with a listener email about how their earlier hookworm episode helped a listener's cousin finally receive an accurate medical diagnosis.
SYSK's Fall True Crime Playlist: How The Great Train Robbery Worked
Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant walk through the 1963 Great Train Robbery in the UK, in which a gang robbed the Glasgow-to-London mail train of around £2.6 million without using guns. They explain how the plan came together, how the heist was executed, the role of the inside man, and how forensic mistakes at a rural hideout helped police track the robbers. The hosts also cover the dramatic trials, harsh sentences, escapes and long years on the run-especially Ronald Biggs-along with the robbery's cultural legacy and a closing listener segment about fermented horse milk (kumis).